It was an hour after it got dark when the car doors were thrust open and two men were stood either side of the car brandishing guns.
‘Well, well ladies, what have we got here?’
Murky managed to hide his shock but was very annoyed with himself for assuming he wouldn’t be caught out. He had never been this clumsy before and vowed silently to himself it would never happen again.
‘What’s your problem and what the hell do you think you’re doing? Just close the doors and disappear before I get out and show you the way!’
‘Oh! You are both getting out and coming in with us, don’t worry about that!’
This was said menacingly as they each pointed their guns into both their faces.
It was no use protesting but as Murky was about to leave his side of the car, he nudged Jonah and nodded. It was a silent way letting him know he intended neutralising them as soon as they got out.
Jonah didn’t need any prompting and knew exactly what to do and when to do it.
They both exited the car slowly passively to throw their would be captors off guard and as soon as they were free of the car, they acted in unison.
They both swung round each grabbing the hand holding the gun catching both men off balance.
In a flash, both men fell to the ground choking because of the straight fingered punch to their Adam’s apples. Removing the guns from their hands was easy since they were both trying hard to breath. Murky had his would be assailant bound up like a Christmas turkey in a flash and went round to help Jonah. Jonah was kneeling next to the other one of them and in a very calm but menacing voice asked how many others were inside.
‘Go and stuff yourself, you won’t even make ten yards before you’ll be taken out!’
Jonah had removed a strange looking tool from his bag and grabbed his little finger. He placed the tool around the little finger and told him it was his last chance. The man just laughed saying that they didn’t who they were dealing with.
‘Wrong answer!’
Jonah squeezed the handles together and the little finger was cut away from his hand. He screamed in agony and began to struggle violently trying to break free, but he was being held down too tightly.
‘Give me any more wrong answers and you lose nine other fingers and thumbs. Then, I really will start to hurt you. Believe me, I really don’t like doing it but if I have to, I will take you apart piece by piece. Now be a good chap, how many are there inside?’
He just spat at Jonah who grabbed his index finger and did the same causing him to scream again.
‘You’re crazy man, who are you? You’re not the police; if you are from another gang, you’ll all be taken out really slowly and painfully. Trust me, you are in over your heads.’
It was quite pitiful because he was now crying with the pain and also being afraid of what would happen next.
‘Who are you and what do you want?’
This was shouted by the other man who Murky had trussed up.
‘All we want is information and then you can both go back home to your mummies.’
‘Now I will only ask once more and if you think your fingers hurt, it would be nothing compared to what I intend doing next to your balls. If you make me put my hand down there, and believe me, I don’t want to; you will end up singing like a soprano. For your sakes, how many?’
‘Ok! Ok! Just keep those bloody clipper things away and I’ll tell you.’
Jonah removed the device from around a finger and told him to start singing and fast.
‘There are three others and some dogs.’
‘Does that include Charles Andrews and if you’re lying, whatever you ate at lunchtime would be your last meal.
‘How many dogs are there?’
‘Andrews has just come back from his meeting and there are three dogs patrolling with the three men.’
‘So that was him in the car, Jonah thought.’
‘Now then, that was less painful wasn’t it?
He was telling them all they needed to know freely now realising that they weren’t amateurs and meant what they said. Once Jonah and Murky had all the information they wanted, they bound and gagged both men and bundled them into the car.
Realising that they would be missed and expected back to the house very soon, they drove the car away some distance and hid it down a dirt track removing any signs as to its whereabouts.
‘If they knew the car was there, it is almost certain that they would have seen it move and even more than likely they would know their men have been neutralised. We need to act fast now and get in before they fully realise they are under attack!’
From the boot, they took their favoured weapons; a ‘Fairbairn-Sykes’ and Glauca B1, some rope, and then they blackened all exposed skin. Murky decided to leave the gun behind because although it did have a silencer, to use a weapon not in the interests of the general public could end his career. They decided they would enter the grounds from two different locations. Murky would slide in to the front entrance over the wall where there were trees and Jonah would go around the side where they had found the clearing earlier that afternoon.