The tension the following morning is almost unbearable. They sit around, saying nothing, doing nothing and trying not to look at the telephone which lurks like an alien insect on the bedside cabinet.
When it rings, they all jump. Klugman and Kent are approaching Birmingham. Mac gives them the address and hangs up. He suggests that the girls go and pack and while they're gone, he clears away all the clutter, pushes the bed aside to give a large clear area behind the door and places a straight backed chair in the centre of the space facing the door.
When the girls return they look at him in astonishment. He gives them a lop-sided grin.
"I may be daft," he says, "but there's something about this I don't like. I want you to go and sit in that corner and keep quiet."
Wearing worried frowns, the girls do as they are bid.
The phone rings. "Mr McDonald? There's a Mr Klugman in reception for you."
"Is he alone?"
"No, sir, a Mr Kent is with him."
"Send them up, please."
He takes out the gun Klugman has given him and sits on the chair, the gun pointing at the centre of the door. There are voices in the corridor followed by a knock on the door.
"Who is it?" he calls.
"Mac? It's Klugman."
"Mr Klugman, before I open the door, I must ask you a question."
"What? What sort of question?"
"Before you hired me, you researched my background. Tell me something that's not generally known."
"Mac! Of all the confounded… I know you're cautious but this is ridiculous."
"I'm serious, Mr Klugman."
Klugman is silent for a moment. "Okay, we'll play it your way. Seven years ago you did a job with someone called Marston. That good enough?"
Mac grins, remembering Wendy Marston. After the job was finished, she and Mac spent a torrid week in Madrid.
"Very good, Mr Klugman, the door is open."
"You're a complete bastard, Mac," Klugman says, barging into the room. He stops dead at the sight of the gun in Mac's hand. "What the hell…?"
"Mr Klugman, I apologise for the inconvenience. Please stand right there."
Kent has entered behind Klugman. He spots the girls and makes towards them. They jump to their feet with glad cries.
"Mr Kent," Mac says in a hard flat tone, "you will stay exactly where you are."
"This is utter nonsense," Kent blusters. "These are my daughters. You can't stop me from seeing them."
He starts to move. Mac points the gun towards the floor.
"I'm told a bullet in the foot is very painful," he says, tightening his finger on the trigger.
Kent looks at Mac's expressionless face. "This is an insult," he mutters. "I will not be treated like a criminal." But he stays where he is.
"Now, Mr Klugman, would you please remove your jacket and place it on the floor behind you. Very slowly." Pale under his tan, Klugman does as he's asked. "Aranya, pick up Mr Klugman's jacket please and search it. Whatever you do, don't get in the way of this gun."
Looking equally pale but very determined, Aranya crawls on hands and knees until she can reach the jacket. Standing beside Klugman but out of his reach, she empties the pockets one by one and shows the contents to Mac.
"Thank you, Aranya. Could you put it on a hanger, please? Now Mr Kent, your jacket."
"This is complete nonsense. You've no right to strip and search me. I won't have it."
"Mr Kent, either you take it off or I will. I promise I will not be gentle."
"You go too far. This is outrageous," Kent protests but he takes off his jacket anyway and throws it on the floor in front of him.
Mac is now in a small quandary. He can't ask Aranya to retrieve the jacket as she'll be in his line of fire. Very carefully, without taking his eyes off Kent, he slips off the chair and squats on the floor. He reaches out and hooks it with his fingers. Still squatting, he quickly feels in the pockets. From an inside pocket, he draws out a small plastic rectangular object about the size and shape of a mobile phone. He puts it on the floor and studies it for a moment. There is utter silence in the room.
"Aranya, give me one of your shoes."
It is a measure of both her trust in him and her intelligence that, without hesitation, she removes a shoe and slides it across the floor to him. He holds the shoe by the toe and raises his arm, intending to bring the sharp heel down on the plastic object.
At that moment, Kent launches himself at Mac. To the onlookers, Mac seems to slump and roll forward, almost as if he has overbalanced. His forward roll takes him under the feet of Kent. The result is that Kent, instead of pouncing on Mac, trips over him and goes flying. His head meets the edge of the bedside cabinet and he crashes to the floor. In an instant Mac is on his feet poised in what the girls recognise as one of his attack positions. There is no need for Kent is out cold. Quickly and efficiently Mac checks his pulse and breathes a sigh of relief that he is still alive.
He straightens and puts a finger to his lips in a dramatic 'hush' gesture. Klugman starts to speak but Mac glares at him so fiercely that he subsides. Mac suddenly realises that the girls have stayed quietly in their corner. They haven't immediately rushed to tend to their father. He is most impressed and very grateful. He beckons to Aranya who hobbles over before pausing to remove her other shoe.
Mac puts his mouth close to ear and whispers, "Listen carefully. Don't speak. Your father's okay. Just unconscious. Go and run the bath. About a foot of water. Close the bathroom door. Make no noise. Nod if you understand."
Aranya is totally bewildered but nods. He pats her bottom to send her on her way.
She tiptoes to the bathroom and closes the door - closes it quietly Mac notes approvingly. Fortunately the soundproofing in the hotel is good so they can only vaguely hear the sound of running water. When she returns she gives him a thumbs up. He smiles his thanks. He gestures to the girls and Klugman to go to the far corner of the room and hunker down. Aranya gather's Sunita who has turned so white that Mac fears she may faint.
Klugman looks grim. He doesn't have the faintest idea of what is going on but knows a professional when he sees one. He puts a comforting arm round the girls' shoulders and, together, they watch as Mac picks up device and takes it to bathroom doorway. He holds the door handle with one hand and tosses the device at the bath with the other. The instant the device leaves his hand, he pulls door tightly shut and scrunches up against the wall. There is a muffled explosion from bathroom and the sound of a wave of water.
Mac breathes a sigh of relief. "I'm afraid our hotel bill will be a bit higher than expected," he says in a normal tone of voice and grins at Klugman who looks perturbed but remains silent. "It's okay, you can talk now."
They all burst out at once. Klugman demands to know what's going on, Sunita wants to know if her father is okay and Aranya thanks him for saving them again.
Mac holds up his hand for silence. "That device was a radio tracker. I don't know if it could pick up voices but I didn't want to take a risk. Booby trapped, too. Thank God I didn't hit it with your shoe, Aranya. That was bloody stupid." He shivers. "Your father will be okay Sunita, he hit his head and is unconscious but he's not otherwise wounded. I don't know what the hell is going on but I intend to find out. Help me get him up on the bed, Klugman." Together the men heave the unconscious Kent onto the bed. "I don't know how long he'll be out and I don't trust him. We'd better tie him up."
He looks round the room for something suitable.
"Would a stocking be any good?" asks Aranya.
"Perfect."
"Well," she says with a twinkle, "if you gentlemen would turn your backs, I'll provide."
Grinning, Mac and Klugman turn their backs. Mac glances up to find he can see Aranya in mirror. She knows he can see her for she winks at him then, putting one foot up on a vanity stool, she makes great show of raising her skirt, unclipping her stocking from her suspender belt and rolling it down her leg. Mac is entranced and big grin spreads across his face.
'Little minx,' he thinks.
Klugman notices his grin. "What's funny?" he growls
"Oh, just a stray thought," Mac replies, struggling to keep his face straight. Sobering, he clears his throat. "While I appreciate there's a delicate art in stocking removal," he says, looking pointedly at the wall, "I would like to get your father tied up sometime soon."
He glances in the mirror and Aranya pouts and sticks her tongue out at him. However, she removes her other stocking without any finesse and hands them to Mac. He quickly binds Kent's wrists and ankles - not a permanent job but enough to keep him immobile.
Kent is still out cold. Mac is aware that time may be running out and they might need to leave quickly. He inspects the bathroom. It is a mess. The bath is cracked and there is water all over the floor. He grabs a towel and soaks it in cold water.
"Now, if one of you would like to minister to your father, we'll see what he has to say."
Sunita volunteers and tenderly wipes his face. Mac tells Aranya to bring their luggage from next door.
"I'm suspect that the goons will have a fix on our position," he says to her enquiring look. "I'd like to be out of here as soon as possible."
She pales but asks, "Couldn't he have phoned from the car?"
"Possibly but remember I didn't tell Klugman where we were until they were near Birmingham." He turns to Klugman. "Did Kent know where you were going?"
"Other than Birmingham, no," Klugman replies.
There is a groan from the bed. Kent is coming round.
"Perhaps we'll get some answers, now," Mac says grimly.
"I bloody hope so," Klugman says.
Kent comes to cursing - the more so when he realises he's tied up. He refuses to answer Mac's questions. Mac threatens take the girls and Klugman and go, leaving him there. At this threat Kent becomes scared and eventually, in fits and starts they get the story from him.
Kent is a 'fixer'. He finds someone with idea or need and hooks them up with other person or people who can implement the idea or meet the need. Most of the time it's quite legitimate and simple - an entrepreneur wanting start-up capital, a manufacturer needing raw materials or sub-assemblies.
Some time back, however, he was approached by group wanting finance to buy some property in the East End of London. The word was that there would be major redevelopment, similar to Docklands, and the group wanted in on ground floor.
Kent did his usual and put out feelers and set up some contacts. Unfortunately Kent has a drink problem. When well oiled his tongue loosens and he mouth's off. On this occasion, he mentioned the rumour to others - in fact he gave the distinct impression that the proposed development was a great deal more than a rumour. Unfortunately for all concerned, the rumour turned out to be just that and no development plans materialised.
Doubly unfortunately for Kent the 'others' to whom he'd mentioned the scheme happened to be firmly on the wrong side of the law and had, by fair means and foul, acquired a great deal of the available land. Now, instead of having a valuable investment, they were left with a lot of sub-standard houses, second-rate warehouses and factories, and so on. To say they were not amused would be an understatement.
They demanded compensation and insisted that, as it was Kent's fault they had invested unwisely, he should pay them. Kent, quite rightly, refused and relations became strained. (Mac reckons there is more to this relationship than Kent is admitting but he keeps quiet.) The investors became quite stroppy and the stroppier they got the more determined Kent was that he wouldn't pay. Apart from anything else the sums of money that were being mentioned were well beyond his means to command.
Then the threats started, becoming stronger and stronger until, finally, actual bodily harm was threatened against Kent and his family. Kent, knowing the background of these people, was sure they meant kidnap or worse - hence his precautions for the safety of his wife and daughters.
In the meantime he hires his own heavies to put pressure on them to persuade them to lay off. Kent has no experience at this game and his hired heavies botch the job. The investors are now very angry indeed and grab Kent. They make a number of very graphic threats and finally tell him his only recourse is to bring them his daughters
Mac is not at all convinced by this explanation. He presses Kent strongly to tell him exactly what sort of hold they have over him that would make him sacrifice his own daughters.
It takes all of Mac's skills as an interrogator but, after much huffing and puffing, Kent finally breaks down. Despite having fathered two daughters, he is a homosexual. In itself nothing to be ashamed of but Kent is a pederast. One night, while drunk, he had sex with two very young boys - boys well under the age of consent. Being drunk, he did not realise this was a set-up and his activities were being secretly filmed by his enemies.
"If this ever gets out, I'll be ruined - completely ruined. I'll lose everything - my marriage, my house, my career, my reputation - everything," Kent finishes, tears streaming down his face.
Mac is absolutely disgusted. While Kent has been narrating his sorry tale, a slow rage has been building inside him.
"You make me sick," he shouts. "You disgusting, pathetic excuse for a man." He makes to strike Kent. Klugman grabs him and hauls him away.
"Mac. Calm down. Everything he thinks he's fighting to protect he's already lost. Look." He indicates the girls.
The girls have been listening to the tale with mounting horror. The man they called father, the man they thought they knew and loved, is turning into monster before their eyes. Their safe, comfortable world with its certainties and security is crumbling moment by moment. Their faces are masks of disbelief, uncertainty, fear and dislike. One look at them and Mac's heart swells, his rage forgotten. His duty lies with them.
He turns again to Kent. "So, once you'd delivered your daughters, then what?"
Kent turns a desperate pleading face to him. "I was going to ask you to get them back." His voice is little more than a whisper.
"So what are the arrangements? What was supposed to happen now?"
"I was to persuade you to go back with Klugman and I was to take them to Bristol. I was to drive to Bristol, not on the Motorway, and check into a hotel. I'd be given more instructions then."
Mac snorts in derision. It's fairly clear that they would never reach Bristol. Somewhere along the way there would be some sort of hold up; an accident, roadworks or something of that nature. The girls would be spirited away and Kent's body disposed of, perhaps a driving accident. Alternatively they would let him live and make his 'indiscretions' public. That would be a fitting revenge.
Mac is silent. He is doing a great deal of rapid calculation. Assuming the enemy, as he thinks of them, set off towards Bristol when the radio beacon started to move, they would stop at Reading and wait. When the signal stopped moving they would know he was in Birmingham. When it started moving again, he was on his way to Bristol. So they would set off using the Motorway and waylay him somewhere near Bristol.
Now the signal has ceased so they will be aware there is a problem. They will be hot-footing it to Birmingham. Assume the signal has lasted long enough for them to get a fix on the hotel. He glances at his watch. It's only thirty minutes since he destroyed the device so they probably have about another thirty - twenty at worst, forty five at best.
He looks up to find everyone looking at him expectantly.
"Right, we've twenty minutes. Mr Klugman, could you please settle up with the hotel - pay them lots of money for their bath. Aranya and Sunita, take your cases and go with Mr Klugman. Head for the car. Don't wait. Kent, do your friends know Mr Klugman?" Kent shakes his head. "Good. Then we'll head straight off and call you later. Right, lets move."
His voice is so decisive that everyone, Klugman included, does as he bids without a single question.
Mac unties Kent and hustles him downstairs, grabbing his suitcase on the way. At the desk Klugman is deep in a heated conversation with the manager. Mac ignores them and hurries Kent out to where the girls are waiting by the car. While they stow the luggage, he pushes Kent into the front seat and tells him if he so much as moves a muscle, he'll knock him out. Kent gets in without demur, all the fight and bluster has deserted him. Glancing at his watch, Mac sees that over fifteen minutes have passed. They have escaped not a moment too soon. He drives off, carefully as usual, Aranya is amused to note, but almost immediately turns into a quiet alley and stops.
"What… What are you doing?" Kent asks fearfully.
"Trying to save your pathetic arse," Mac snarls. "Not because I want to for, as far as I'm concerned, you're a worthless piece of shit and deserve everything that's coming to you, but because in the back are two fine girls who don't deserve any of this and I intend to do everything in my power to save them. If that means saving you, too, it's worth it."
He takes Aranya's stockings from his pocket and ties one of Kent's wrists to the door handle and the other to his thigh.
"That way, if you should open the door," he tells Kent with mirthless grin, "you won't get very far."
The smell of fear from Kent is tangible and Mac wonders if he's about to shit himself.