Chapter 20
389 Words
20
Detective Price called up a number on the speakerphone of the Mondeo.
Rudenko answered. “Tell me it’s good news.”
“It's good news, Mr Rudenko. I’ve got the kid.”
Rudenko breathed a sigh of relief on the other end of the call. “And Breaker?”
“He handed him over. Just like you said.”
“Good. I’ll deal with that fucker when this is over."
"You want me to bring the kid to you?"
"No, I’m on my way to court. Meet Frogger at the usual place.”
“And the money?” Price asked.
“Frogger will bring it. Then don’t make contact with us again, understand?”
“Oh, you don't have to worry about that,” Price said.
Ending the call, the detective drove to a deserted part of town. He steered the grey Mondeo along a hidden backroad where prostitutes lurked. A couple were still out, attempting to flag him down.
The old abandoned mills rose high to the left. Pigeons breaking out of smashed windows across a grey morning sky.
It had been a long night. A stressful one. But Detective Price could relax. He’d hand over Danny. The kid would disappear. And so would he, once he got that money.
He was tired of the police force and who needed the full pension when Rudenko was handing over half a million in cash?
Yes, one more little job and he’d be done with the force. The babysitting of witnesses. The criminal scum. The lot of it.
As he pulled off the road onto a stretch of wasteland, Price thought he heard the sound of a speeding engine. He turned his head to the left in time to see the dark front end of a car. It came at him fast, ploughing into the front passenger side.
The wheel jerked out of Price’s hands as the Mondeo came to a sudden stop. He lurched forward in his belt and back against the headrest.
The engine was still running, so he shook off the impact and put the car in reverse.
Rudenko had screwed him over, Price thought. They were going to snatch the kid by force and keep the half a million.
If he could escape the scene with the witness in the boot, he still had a chip in the game.
But too late. Before he could back up the Mondeo, the driver door swung open. A huge gnarled fist introduced itself hard and fast to his right cheekbone.
As soon as the punch landed, Price’s lights went out.
- Writer
