The Consultant - NaNoWriMo2021

Chapter 31

We drive for a good hour according to my watch before the car turns off the motorway or main road, threading its way through narrower and more twisty lanes before finally coming to a stop. Once again, I hear the door slam and finally, blessedly, the boot opens and I am assaulted by fresh air, relieving the fetid atmosphere that has built up in here. He motions me out with the pistol and as I slowly drag myself out, partly playing for time and partly allowing the circulation in my joints to recover, I become aware that we must be on the coast. It's still pitch black outside but the smell of salt, rotting seaweed and damp, coupled with the indignant cry of seagulls means it is the only conclusion to draw.

I am unsteady on my feet after the spell in the boot and it's freezing; even colder than the car had been. Daniel has a couple of backpacks with him and he motions to me to pick one up. He grabs the other and with me in front, directs me along a track towards the water. I have a sudden moment of panic; what if he shoots me here in this desolate place? There are only a couple of lights illuminating a sliver of cold, green water and a small sailboat. There were no lights around us at all; no signs of habitation anywhere, which is presumably why Daniel chose this place. I would probably just drift out to sea, never to be found, or perhaps my body would wash up with the tide. My poor parents losing another child. I push the thought firmly from my mind. Perhaps he will want to kill me, but if I go down, it will be fighting.

Daniel draws level with me as we approach the boat, and slings his backpack onto the small deck.

'Welcome to your temporary home,' he smirks as he pushes me onboard. I stumble as the boat rocks beneath me but fortunately, the knife remains hidden in the small of my back where I placed it after freeing myself. Having realised that there was no way out of a moving car, I had loosely retied the bonds in the boot and he doesn't seem to have noticed; intent as he is on getting on board. He pushes me to a small opening with a short ladder extending down into the cabin.

'It's cold, so you can go down there; you'll find a small heater and you can make some coffee whilst your at it. There's a radio down there but it needs a PIN to operate and if you try anything, rest assured you'll be fish food before you know it. We have to trust each other out here, so it's entirely your choice. Do you sail?'

I shake my head and he grins.

'Good, shall we cast off?' I make my way down the companionway and find the light switch. I set about lighting the paraffin heater and then the stove, banging around so he knows I am making coffee and not plotting my escape, but I am taking notes in my head. He looks familiar, comfortable on the boat so he's obviously an experienced sailor. I recall Felix talking about how he used to love sailing but between his job and me, he rarely had time, so I figure Daniel must be fairly experienced, thanks to his Dad's enthusiasm.

I hear an engine start and there is some thumping on deck, presumably ropes being flung around and Daniel organising himself, and soon we are underway, motoring out into the inky black night, away from safety and away from the SIS team. Eventually, the coffee is done and donning a heavy duty looking coat that I found in a closet, I make my way up the ladder again with the Captain's coffee. He is right above the ladder, steering the boat and darting his head around, checking all directions though other for other boats or for pursuers I'm not sure.

'I'm sure there are easier ways to leave the country you know,' I quip as I hand him the mug.

'No doubt, but none so anonymous. We will make mainland Europe in a few hours and from there, I can disappear. I learnt a few tricks from Sebastian and having false identities is just the tip of the iceberg.'

'You're not worried about getting caught? No regrets about what you've done? Is this how you wanted your life to pan out? Being a fugitive and all?'