11 The Revelation Code by Andy McDermott

Author:Andy McDermott [McDermott, Andy]
Format: epub
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

20

‘Ee bah gum,’ said Tom Harkaway in an exaggerated attempt at a northern accent. ‘It’s Eddie Chase!’

‘That’s Lancashire, not Yorkshire, you thick southern bastard,’ Eddie replied, grinning up at the large bearded man on the deck of the motor yacht. ‘We say “Ay up!” not “Ee bah gum!”’ He shook his head. ‘E. B. G. Chase? You daft twat.’

‘Whatever, you’re all bloody barbarians as far as I’m concerned.’ Tom tramped down the gangway to the wooden dock, shaking his fellow Englishman’s hand before clasping him in a bear hug. ‘So, how’s things?’

‘Right now? Been better,’ Eddie replied as he extricated himself. ‘In the past few days I’ve been Tasered, waterboarded and shot at, I’ve driven a Porsche off a bridge, and just since I arrived on this island someone’s tried to kill me. Oh, and my wife’s been kidnapped by a bunch of religious nuts.’

Tom cocked his head to one side. ‘Business as usual, then.’

‘Yeah, more’s the fucking pity. Thanks for agreeing to help me out.’

‘Us SAS boys have to stick together,’ replied his old squad mate. He gave Nelson a concerned look. ‘Someone tried to kill him? You okay?’

‘Fine, both fine,’ said Nelson, sounding aggrieved. ‘But my taxi got a bullet hole! Who gon’ pay to fix that?’

Tom’s eyes went to Eddie. ‘Don’t look at me,’ he said. ‘You’re the one with the yacht.’

‘Yeah, and you arrived on a private jet!’ The older man sighed, then told Nelson: ‘I’ll sort it out. Take it to Viv at the boatyard.’ He gestured across the harbour at a cluster of industrial buildings. ‘He’ll patch it up for you. Elena doesn’t have to know anything about it.’

The taxi driver looked relieved. ‘Thanks, Tom.’

‘Cheers for the lift,’ Eddie said as Nelson departed, before turning to take in the moored yacht beside them. The name Flirty Lady was painted on the hull of the seventy-foot white and blue vessel; he was no nautical expert, but from its decided lack of sleekness compared to the other craft nearby, he guessed it was a good few decades old. ‘Never imagined you as a navy man. Go cruising with Seaman Staines and Master Bates, do you?’

‘Ha ha. Fuck off, Eddie. This is how I make a living now – tourist trips. We go out around the island, drop anchor off some of the nicer beaches and let ’em go snorkelling before partying on the way back.’

‘Sounds like really hard work,’ Eddie joked, surveying his surroundings. Jolly Harbour was an attractive and clearly wealthy enclave with rows of houses right on the waterline, many having their own docks. Steep little hills rose around the bay, providing a backdrop of lush tropical vegetation. ‘Nice place. My mum always wanted to come here. You’ve got a tough life.’

‘You can joke, but you try keeping up with the payments on a ship this size, even a third-hand one,’ Tom told him as he ascended the gangplank. ‘Then there’s the insurance, fuel, berthing fees, all that crap. It’s not exactly a licence to print money.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.