Page 102 of Mann Hunt
“Okay.”
“I want you to pull up and block the alleyway. I’ll seal it off at the other end with the van. Stay in your car until you see me.”
“Got it,” Charlie said.
Declan moved the van around to the back of the alleyway and pulled in. Charlie had already blocked off the other end. Declan got out and waved towards Charlie, who left his car and ran to him.
There, at the small dumpster where he’d had his first encounter with Brick Wall, Declan gave Charlie his next instructions. “I want you to climb up here and carefully peek inside the window. I’ll hoist you up and then brace it so it doesn’t roll. Tell me if you can see anyone in there.”
“Okay,” Charlie whispered. Declan checked to see if anyone was watching, then placed his hands around Charlie’s waist and lifted him up onto the lid. Charlie raised his head so he could see through the window and scanned the room. Charlie looked down at Declan and shook his head. Declan signalled for him to come down.
“They’re probably in the basement,” Declan whispered. “Come on.”
He led Charlie to a side door where he tried the handle. It was locked. Charlie tapped him on the shoulder and pointed up. There, in faded peeling paint, was an old sign that read “Monarch Bakery.” Declan hadn’t spotted that on his previous night-time visit.
“All roads lead to Monarch,” he said.
“What now?” Charlie whispered.
Declan pulled out a small case. “They probably haven’t updated these locks since that sign was painted.” The door had an old wafer-tumbler lock.This should be a breeze.
Declan inserted the thin picks into the keyhole, and in less than a minute, was able to rotate the tumbler. He eased open the door, praying it didn’t squeak, then stuck his head in. It was, as Charlie had said, empty. But from the basement, he could hear voices, then a muffled scream.
Declan pulled back out of the doorway. “Give me your phone,” he said, dialling a number and handing it back to Charlie. “Ask for Staff Sergeant Sam Hunt. If it’s not him that answers, tell whoever it is that his son’s life is in danger. Give him the address. Tell him I said no sirens. And no matter what you hear, you stay here. We can’t take the chance that they’ll miss the place. And if for some reason Luke runs out of here, you run the other way, ‘cause he’ll be pissed.”
“All right,” Charlie said. Declan saw him press ‘Dial’, then he headed through the door.
Declan crept to the back of the building then took the stairs to the basement.
He heard a voice from below, “I didn’t tell anyone. Please, let me go. I’ll go away and you’ll never see me again. I promise…”
Declan got to the bottom of the steps and rounded the corner. Luke stood with his back towards him, maybe fifteen feet away. Too far to rush him unnoticed. Beyond him Justin was tied to a chair, his head lowered like he didn’t want to see what was going to happen to him next.
“Let him go, Luke,” Declan ordered.
Luke spun around, pulling out his gun from his waistband. Declan stood still, his hands raised to show Luke he was unarmed.
“Fuck, Declan… Why are you here? How did you…”
“Put the gun down, Luke. I’m not going to do anything. I just want to talk. That’s all.” He could see the wild-eyed look of confusion on Luke’s face.
“Justin,” Declan said, maintaining a calm tone, “are you hurt?”
The boy raised his head. He was terrified. “No. I told him I wasn’t going to say anything but…” He broke into quiet sobs.
“Luke, put the gun down. Tell me what’s going on.”
Luke kept the gun trained on Declan. “It wasn’t my fault,” Luke said. “I had no choice. I had to help them.”
“Help who?”
“You know who,” he spit back. “You’ve seen what they can do.”
“You mean Monarch? What do they have on you, Luke?”
Luke lowered the gun slightly. Declan knew from experience that a gun might not be big, but it could get very heavy when a person pointed it at someone they didn’t want to kill.
“I owed them money—a lot of it—and I couldn’t afford to pay them back. Never go to a loan shark. Not even to pay off a bookie.”
