Chapter 8 Milosh
8 MILOSH
‘You all right?’ I ask, walking into the snug where Amelia told me I would find Daphne. She’s sitting on the floor in front of the fireplace, covered in a white fluffy blanket, clutching a hot chocolate.
‘Miss Green?’ I prompt when she doesn’t respond.
‘Huh? Oh yeah, sorry.’ It comes out rushed. ‘I’m okay, thank you.’ She looks up at me with a weak smile.
I go to sit beside her and we both stay quiet for a moment, watching the flames dance in front of us.
‘I just don’t get it,’ she says softly after a beat, wrapping herself a little tighter. ‘Why was he here? How did he even get in? Why did he have to hurt me?’ A single tear rolls down her face and it’s the most heart-achingly beautiful image I’ve ever seen. She even cries with poise.
Cupping her cheek, I turn her face to look at me and wipe the tear away with my thumb. ‘Don’t cry over him. Once he’s conscious again we’ll get the answers we need. Okay?’
‘Yeah, okay.’ She nods.
‘Good.’ I wipe away the last of her tears and draw back my hand, turning to face the fire again, needing some distance from her.
People cry all the time, so why am I so affected by her tears?
‘That knife thing you did was pretty cool,’ Daphne says, a small smile creeping across her face.
‘Oh yeah?’
‘Mm hmm.’ She nods, biting her lip.
‘Want me to teach it to you?’ What the hell am I saying?
‘What?’
‘I can teach you, if you’d like.’
‘You’d teach me how to throw knives?’ She looks at me, her big brown eyes filled with scepticism.
‘That, and maybe how to protect yourself… If that’s something you’d want?’ What am I doing?
She contemplates for a moment. ‘I never want to be in that situation again, but if I am, I want to be able to protect myself.’
‘All right, good.’
‘You’ll really train me?’ She looks at me like I’ve just hung the moon, and boy, if it doesn’t make me want to do everything in my power to protect her, task force be damned.
‘Yeah.’
‘Milosh?’ Henry calls, as he opens the door.
‘Uh-huh?’
‘Stefan’s awake,’ he says, voice cold. He looks over to Daphne, concern and guilt enveloping his face. ‘Daph, how you doing, sweetie?’ I can tell he feels guilty and somewhat responsible because he wasn’t there to stop all of this, but Daphne’s been trying to reassure him it was fine. She’s told both him and Amelia at least twice already that they don’t live to serve her and they deserve a date night once in a while. It just so happened that their date night coincided with tonight’s attack.
‘I’m fine, Henry, thank you for checking up on me.’ She smiles sincerely.
‘Okay,’ he responds, clearly not convinced. ‘Call me if you need anything, I’m gonna get Meelie to keep you company.’ He closes the door behind him, leaving me and Daphne alone again.
‘Tomorrow,’ I tell Daphne as I get up and head for the door. ‘We’ll start tomorrow.’
‘Milosh?’ she whispers. I stop short of the door and turn around when I hear my name, hating how good it sounds when it rolls off her tongue.
‘Yeah?’
‘Thank you.’
I nod and close the door behind me quickly.
Trying to shake off whatever happened in there, I focus on the task at hand as I walk back towards the study. My phone rings so I pull it out to check the caller ID.
Major Andy Davis.
‘Sir?’
‘Petrov, we did a search for Stefan Mikelson and can confirm his movements line up with Daveeno,’ Davis’s Tennessee drawl fills my ear.
‘Who is he, sir?’
‘Stefan Mikelson. Age thirty-four. In and out of prison over the last fifteen years for petty theft, breaking and entering, drunk and disorderly conduct, arson, robbery – the list really does go on,’ Davis recites. ‘We believe he was recruited into Daveeno five years ago, after he finished his third stint in prison. I’ve sent someone from Interpol and the NCA to come and collect him so we can do a thorough questioning.’
‘All right. He didn’t have many personal belongings with him but he did have a burner phone. I did a general check and couldn’t find any immediate red flags, but I’ll give it to the team so someone in tech can take a look.’
After ensuring Stefan Mikelson was secured in the study, me and Henry swept the house. When we confirmed it was clear, Amelia took Daphne away to get checked over by Josh – who, yes, is the Greens’ cook, but also used to be a doctor – Henry went to wake up George and I called Davis. I gave him the report of what happened and sent him the security footage of Stefan entering the house. It was during the night guards’ shift change so he entered undetected, picking the lock of the front door effortlessly. He entered just before I came downstairs so that explained why I didn’t hear him entering.
I explained the Daveeno tattoo I recognized to Davis, and that I believe this is the same man that broke into George’s work office. Davis agreed that I might be right so went to get more information on Stefan and organize discreet transport telling me he’d call back once he had more.
‘Understood,’ Davis replies. ‘While the team is on their way I want you to press for any information you can get. But not just from Mikelson, from George as well. We need to know what they want from him. Is it all a coincidence or is he hiding something too?’
‘Got it.’
‘Okay, call me with any updates. Oh, and Petrov?’ He pauses. ‘How’s the girl?’
My jaw clenches at the memory of Daphne lying unconscious on the floor. ‘She’s fine. The Greens have a cook who used to be a doctor so he checked her over and all her cuts and bruises should heal quickly. I’m gonna start teaching her self-defence too, so she doesn’t feel so helpless if this situation arises again.’
‘Good idea. If you need any training equipment let me know and I’ll get that arranged. The team are also bringing an updated security system for the Green estate so there’ll be more surveillance and evidence. See if you can talk to the head of security about hiring more help. I can’t spare any more men right now but I’m sure they have reliable contacts for this.’
‘Copy. How quick can you get equipment here?’
‘I can have it to you end of day today.’
‘Great. I’ll send you a list.’
‘All right, talk soon. Good job tonight.’
‘Thank you, sir.’
I hang up and walk the rest of the distance to the study where George, Henry and Amelia are standing outside.
‘Major Davis is gonna have someone from Interpol and the NCA come and detain him,’ I explain once I reach them. ‘It’s confirmed he works for Daveeno but we don’t know what he’s after.’
Henry’s nostrils flare and George shifts from one foot to the other.
‘The team should be here soon so we only have a short time to ask him any questions. After he’s gone I may get a few updates but overall it’s easier to just try to get the information we want out of him now.’
‘Well, then, I’ll leave you to it,’ Amelia says, giving Henry’s hand a gentle squeeze before walking off. ‘Oh, and Milosh.’ She stops abruptly, looking back at me, water pooling in her eyes. ‘Well done for tonight. I dread to think what would’ve happened if you hadn’t been down here.’
‘Just doing my job, Mrs Harris.’
‘No, she’s right, Milosh,’ Henry adds. ‘You really stepped up, and you’ve only been here a day.’
‘I just can’t believe this happened to Daphne, of all people,’ George says, guilt coating his voice. ‘She doesn’t deserve it.’ He looks down when tears start welling in his eyes. ‘She doesn’t deserve any of it.’
‘Sir, you need to focus,’ I cut in. We really don’t have contemplation time right now. ‘She’s safe and that’s all that matters. Before we go in I need to ask, do you know what these guys are after? They’ve targeted you three times now, taking it to the extreme of breaking into your house and hurting your daughter. They’re clearly after something.’
‘What was in that journal they took from your office at work?’ Henry enquires, crossing his arms and leaning against the wall.
‘I honestly don’t know,’ George replies. ‘It was an old work journal I had lying around in my office. I think there were some formulas for antidote serums I used to work on with MI6 in there. But I don’t understand what else they would want. If the antidote formulas are what they were after, they got them.’
‘Hmm,’ Henry hums in agreement. ‘I suggest we go ask Mr Mikelson.’ He turns to look at me. ‘How did you wanna play this?’
‘I’m happy to observe while you take the lead.’ I direct my words to Henry. ‘Me and George will take a back seat so he doesn’t get strung up on power dynamics. If need be I’ll step in, but I think you’ll do fine. Use whatever methods you want.’
When I see the glint in his eye I specify, ‘Within reason.’
The background check I ran on Henry Harris showed that he was ex-army. I’m not entirely clued up on British Army methods, but from what I understand he should’ve been given basic interrogation training.
‘All right, that sounds like a plan.’ George nods.
‘Great. Let’s see what Mr Mikelson has to say for himself.’
‘Mr Mikelson!’ Henry chirps, bending down to rip the tape from across his mouth. ‘How’re ya doing, huh?’
Stefan just glares at him, spitting some leftover blood onto the floor. Henry tracks the movement, a sly grin emerging on his face. ‘Feeling better now?’
‘Go to hell.’
‘Nah, I’m all right,’ Henry replies, before drawing a long sigh and straightening back up. ‘I have a few questions for you, Stefan. Now, if you give me the answers I need we won’t have a problem, but if you don’t I’ll start by breaking your other wrist, then your shoulder, then your knees. And I’ll continue until there are no unbroken bones left in your body.’
Stefan is sitting in a sad old wooden chair, hands bound behind his back with cable ties. I can tell that they’re cutting into his skin and agitating the wrist I cracked earlier. George and I are standing near the door, leaning against the wall, watching the scene unfold.
When I first walked back into the study and got another look at this guy, my blood burned with fury. But my anger simmered down once I saw much pain he was in.
There really is nothing better than making a grown man cry.
‘Now, Stefan,’ Henry continues. ‘Out of all the stupid things you’ve done in your lifetime, attempting to strangle that girl was by far the stupidest.’
‘How is the little princess doing?’ Stefan retorts, closing his eyes. ‘I see why you’re all so protective of her. Those muffled screams and that soft skin.’ He lets out the most disturbing noise and George pushes off the wall, going to move in on him. It takes all my strength and discipline not to join him, but instead I reach out and grip George’s wrist, shaking my head. Don’t give him what he wants. ‘I’d do it all over again if I could, but I’d really savour it this time. Maybe I’d get her down on her knees and—’ He doesn’t get to finish that sentence because Henry backhands him across the face so hard one of his teeth fly out.
Well, that was awfully satisfying.
‘Imma stop you right there, Mr Mikelson.’ I can feel Henry’s rage permeate the air. With every word he says, his cockney accent becomes clearer and stronger. ‘See, you’ve just crossed a line into the no-limits zone. You crossed it earlier, too, and you’ve got all your injuries to show for it. You talk about that girl again and I will kill you. It’ll be slow, and painful, and I’ll really enjoy watching the life drain out of your eyes. So, let’s get back to the topic at hand, yeah?’
I look back over to Stefan to see his face pale and sickly, any trace of amusement long gone.
‘I’m going to ask you this one time, and one time only. Why are you here?’
Stefan looks between me, George and Henry, clearly weighing up his options. I put myself in his shoes for a second, wondering what he must be thinking. There are now three tall, bulky men staring down at him, and somehow he’s managed to piss each and every one of us off. We’ll get the information out of him one way or another. Whether Interpol takes him out in a body bag or not is really up to him.
‘Read the note in my wallet,’ is all he says.
Henry looks over to me and George, and I leave to get Stefan’s belongings. I check his wallet, my eyes settling on a crumpled receipt stashed at the bottom. I snatch it out and head back into the study, opening the note on my way.
Just give us what we want and this will all go away.
D.
The D must be for Daveeno, but what do they want? They already have the journal with all the antidote formulas. What else do they need? What else is George not telling me?
I slam the door on the way back into the study, shoving the note into George’s hand as I pass him to reach Stefan.
Reaching behind him, I take his broken wrist in my hand and contort it, pressing down on the bone with my thumb.
He yelps in pain as I calmly drop to my haunches. ‘What does Daveeno want with George?’
‘I don’t know what Daveeno is,’ he cries.
‘You have their insignia on your neck. Maybe be a little more discreet with your tattoos next time.’
I let go of his wrist, stand back up, then deliver a swift blow to his stomach before leaning down with a hand on each arm of the chair.
‘Now. I’m going to ask again. What does Daveeno want with George?’
He coughs and splutters for a moment, so I step back and wait for him to gather himself. After a minute, he swallows then looks directly at George.
‘You have something they want.’ He shrugs. ‘And they’ll stop at nothing to get it. Including hurting your daughter. They’ve taken your wife away from you so they have no problem dealing with the girl as well.’
‘What do they want?’ George seethes.
Stefan doesn’t answer. He just smiles. ‘Wouldn’t you like to know.’
George storms past me and punches Stefan in the jaw. ‘What. Do. They. Want.’
Stefan smiles, his mouth full of blood. ‘I’ll let you find that out by yourself.’
Henry’s radio buzzes and one of the security men calls in. ‘Sir, I believe Interpol and the NCA have arrived.’
Stefan laughs. ‘Looks like you’re out of time, boys.’
‘Mr Mikelson, I assure you, this was a walk in the park compared to where you’re going. I suggest you wipe that smile off your face because by tomorrow you’ll be wishing we’d killed you.’