Cats and Mice
Humphrey paced up and down with his hands behind his back. He always did that when he was thinking. Kirstin had tried to break him of the habit. He reminded her of an annoying Australian judge who went around the world hosting TV-programs and moralising on other people’s problems.
‘Stop doing that, Humphrey.’
‘Stop what? Mother?’
‘You know what. Can’t you sit still and think?’
‘Only in my meditation pose.’
‘That makes you look ridiculous.’
‘As you say, Mother.’
‘What is on your mind?’
‘Something is happening up there at the castle. Helicopters have been coming in from the direction of Toulouse. Petra and Mario will have been on one of them. We need to know what’s going on. Olaf should have phoned by now. He was expecting them.’
‘Perhaps we should go and look for him.’
‘Perhaps we should, Mother. On the other hand … perhaps not. You have always said that Olaf is a devious fellow. We could be walking into a trap.’
‘I thought you regarded Olaf as a little-boy-lost.’
‘That doesn’t stop him from being devious.’
‘And homicidal …’
‘That’s the worrying point. He was in a homicidal mood yesterday. I’d not seen him like that before. It was more than a bit revealing. He had a robotic cat.’
‘And what was he doing with it?’
‘Catching mice.’
‘Were the mice robotic?’
‘No. They were real. Ian said Olaf buys them from a shop in town and kills them for sport. He wears headgear and lunges around with his hands as if they are claws. The cat follows his movements.’
‘What’s so odd about that, Humphrey? Olaf is an inventor. He has to try out his invention.’
‘It was the way he tried it out. He was foaming at the mouth. Ian said he gets hyped up like that before he goes off on one of his secret missions. Ian’s had enough. He wants out and so does Roger.’
‘And you think Olaf was hyping himself up?’
‘It looked very much like that.’
‘Then that’s all the more reason to go and see him.’
‘Will you take your gun?’
‘Yes, Humphrey. Mummy will take her gun. She’ll make sure nothing nasty happens to you.’
Mario glanced at his watch. It was just after 5 pm. They had ample time to break into the strongroom and load the explosives into the van. There was no need to go so fast. Olaf was driving as if every second counted.
He was half-normal when they left the castle. He showed his pass to the security guards and they waved them on. After that, his condition deteriorated sharply. He sped up and started to skid around corners. Right now, he was hunched over the wheel, swinging his body from side to side and making grunting noises. His tongue poked out and saliva dripped from his chin.
Mario had seen him like that before. On those memorable occasions, he was playing with his robot cars. His behaviour had been disturbing then. Now it was distinctly scary. Olaf was driving a real vehicle and he and Petra were crammed in beside him.
They reached the bottom of the mountain, the road straightened and Olaf started to calm down. There was a wet patch on his jacket, where he had dribbled, but his tongue was no longer poking out and he had stopped grunting.
The tunnel with the explosives was inside the perimeter fence of the Cabal’s airfield. Olaf used his remote to open the gate. It clanged shut behind them and he drove to the building where he worked with his assistants, Ian and Roger.
They stopped and he opened the cabin door.
‘Kill or be killed.’
They were the first words he had spoken since they left the castle. Mario expected him to say more but he didn’t. Olaf stumbled from the van and wandered off, leaving the engine running. Mario yanked on the parking break, as the vehicle rolled forward, and switched off the engine.
Petra turned to him.
‘He’s totally mad.’
‘Yes. He gets like that.’
‘Did you hear what he said?’
‘Kill or be killed?’
‘Yes, Mario. It’s what Carla said when we were in the shark cage. Before she and Dino were about to send us to the bottom.’
Mario thought for a moment.
‘And not the only time. She said it when she was with her mother at the Flamingo. When they were planning to kill us.’
‘That’s where Olaf got it from,’ Petra said. ‘Olaf would have heard her. He would have planted bugs in the rooms. He probably had cameras too. He has spyholes into the bedrooms back at the castle.’
‘Yes,’ Mario grinned. ‘Olaf is a spymaster and a Peeping Tom. That’s what he does when he’s not killing people.’
‘And he spies on members of the Cabal. That’s the point I’m making, Mario. He spies on them and he feeds them lies when it suits him. Cuthbert believed all that stuff about us being kidnapped by David and he believed Carla was some sort of hero who tried to stop David. That’s what Olaf told him.’
‘Yes. I’d worked that out.’
‘So who told Olaf to kill Carla and her parents?’
‘His minder, Petra.’
‘You mean your mother?’
‘Yes. She wants you as a future daughter-in-law. That means she must eliminate anyone who is trying to eliminate you. My mother doesn’t let anyone stand in her way. I sometimes wonder how many people she has told Olaf to kill.’
Mario’s head dropped. Tears flooded his eyes and he began to shake. Petra had never seen him in such a state. He was usually so strong. Her hands went out to comfort him.
‘What’s the matter?’
‘I knew my parents were murderers. I worked that out years ago but I never thought it would come to this. They killed your father and your uncle’s family. Now I am planning to kill them and fifty other people. I know how David felt when he killed Dino and Rambo. I thought he would go on and kill Carla but he just slumped onto the deck. I picked up her gun and I almost killed her myself. Then I found I just couldn’t bring myself to pull the trigger.’
‘Are you saying you don’t want to go on with this?’
‘No.’ Mario took in a deep breath. ‘David said he didn’t like violence but sometimes it was the only way. It was the only way on the boat and it was the only way when we shot down the helicopter.’
‘And it’s the only way now?’
‘We have no choice, Petra. If we don’t destroy the Cabal our friends will die. Sipho and the others will be hunted down and killed. When you weigh things in the balance you have to decide which is the more important. Are you going to protect decent, ordinary people or will you do nothing because you are related to some of the people who want to murder them?’
OTHER BOOKS IN THE SERIES
The Invisible Drone is Book 5 in the Hansen Files Series. The Emerald Buddha is Book 4. To receive a FREE COPY: http://eepurl.com/bQYShb