Page 83 of Miki

I wanted to struggle, but I couldn’t sum up the energy and I didn’t seem to care as the world wavered in and out of focus. Instead, I just hung there, limp, while I was carried away, fighting to stay conscious.

A few minutes later, my assailant bundled me into somewhere small, and I heard a noise above me like a boot closing. A car! I was in a car. My mind registered the fact, and I vaguely thought that I should try to escape, but it was impossible. I couldn’t even muster a scream.

Lying curled up in a ball, I felt the vibration of the engine as I was driven away from the hotel. I must have passed out because I woke again as the car turned a corner and I was thrown against the side. That should have hurt, but it didn’t. My mind felt like it was floating, and my body was warm and relaxed.

I’m high!

Did I get injected with heroin? I wasn’t sure, but I didn’t seem to care. My eyes grew heavier again, and I drifted off.

The jolt of the car as it went over a bump woke me the next time.

A short while later, the vehicle stopped. Nothing happened for quite some time, and I lay there practically paralysed, but finally my thoughts cleared a little. I was still too weak to do anything about my predicament, but aware enough to know I was totally screwed.

Thankfully, I was still too high to panic.

CHAPTER 30

MIKI

THAT NIGHT – EILIDH’S GONE

After reluctantly leaving Eilidh at the hotel, Luca and I headed off to the old factory building in the Govan area of Glasgow to look around before putting up the cameras for our surveillance.

We’d easily located the entrance to the tunnel, which was a hatch within the floor of a small cupboard at the back of the factory. Just where Marko said it should be. There was some musty old carpeting over it, and we pulled it up.

Dust flew around and we both sneezed.

There was a bolt keeping it closed, but it was in surprisingly good condition, considering the time that passed since the tunnel had been in use.

However, even though it didn’t take too much effort to open the bolt, it immediately became clear that the tunnel was sealed from the inside.

Damn! I knew it was too easy.

“We’ll need to get the other end opened and then access this one,” I told Luca.

On the way over to the factory, I’d called Jim MacArthur to inform him about the plan, and he sent one of his guys out to meet with Vlad. Apparently, the guy had worked at the old docks on the banks of the River Clyde and knew about the tunnels, and so, with his help, Vlad had already located the other entrance we’d use to access the factory.

After relaying the carpet loosely back over the top of the hatch, we headed off to meet them and inspect the other end.

Just like with the factory end of the tunnel, it was in an old building that was empty but still accessible. We were lucky because there was a lot of development going on in the Govan area, especially along the Clyde side where the building was located, and that could have caused us a significant problem. Thankfully, it hadn’t reached that area yet.

However, the tunnel had been sealed well and needed special equipment to re-open it. Jim MacArthur kindly provided a crew, and the equipment. He and his crew arrived within the hour and his men got to work right away.

Of course, for his help, Jim had requested I return the favour and bring another guy out for him. Since Mathieson was mine to deal with, he wanted Gerry Thomas, the other leader of the Thomas gang.

Naturally, I agreed. Gerry Thomas had been a problem for Jim for a long time and had caused him a lot of trouble. Jim wanted his revenge just like I wanted mine.

Unfortunately, that meant things were even more complicated as now we had three guys to get out: Mathieson, Martin Johnson, and Gerry Thomas.

Since Vlad had slept little in days, I made him return to the hotel to get some rest and help Marko look after Eilidh. Luca and I remained at the site with Jim for the tunnel to be opened up.

It took a few hours, but when it was finally opened, we were pleasantly surprised that it was still intact and, all things considered, in perfect condition.

The air was stale, but in general the quality wasn’t bad and even though we needed to take shallower breaths than usual, we didn’t need the oxygen that Jim’s men brought with us as we explored. That was an enormous relief, because getting the three men out was going to be hard enough without having to worry about having enough oxygen.

Once inside the entrance, the ground sloped downwards for some distance until we got to the deepest part. The semi-circular shape and dark grey concrete walls reminded me of an unused subway tunnel. Electric lights were spaced out at regular intervals but wouldn’t be of any use to us. However, the camping lanterns we carried lit the small space well enough for our purposes.

This tunnel wasn’t part of the telephone network Eilidh mentioned, but one of the old escape routes which connected air-raid shelters.

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