Cloak of Silence (Jake Harding Adventures Book 1)

The sleeves of Taki’s robe were rolled up to his elbows as he finished his chores in the kitchen, but he was focussing on his meeting with Jake.

He hadn’t finished telling him what he had overheard, but then what had he actually heard? They had used the word ‘blitzing’ but he didn’t know what that meant. And the operation being at risk. It didn’t sound good. Were they talking about Zoë? Surely not.

He’d go and write a note for Jake that Alesandro could take tomorrow – really detailed and saying sorry for having to leave him in the basement.

Father Ilir bustled into the kitchen. ‘Brother Warren he want see you in basement room,’ he said importantly.

Taki sighed inwardly but quickly finished what he was doing.

The rustle of his habit and the pattering of his sandals on the stone flagstones were the only sounds to be heard in the sleeping monastery. Being bossed about by Brother Warren was not why he had wanted to spend his time here. It had been fine until the silent order had appeared. Tomorrow he’d go and discuss this with Father Theo. He’d tell him straight. After all, it was Father Theo who had encouraged him to come to Agios Petros. The picture he had painted of life in the monastery was quite different to the reality he was experiencing now.

Yes, he’d had enough. He’d quit; Father Theo couldn’t stop him.

The heavy door to the museum was locked and he let himself in with the key fixed to the cord of his robe. He kicked the skirting board unnecessarily hard and the panelling clicked open with its usual creak. He pulled the door closed behind him with a bang as the lights flickered into life.

As he walked down the stairs he promised himself that he would see Father Theo just as soon as he could in the morning. Then he would walk out of the monastery and over to Thunder Bay and tell them everything he knew. He let himself into the basement with a spring in his step.

‘Come here, Taki,’ Warren’s voice called. Taki frowned. The voice came from behind the door in the first archway on the right. That was the private room where he had overheard them talking. The door was ajar but he knocked tentatively. How did Warren know it was him?

‘You want me to come in?’ Taki pushed the door open and looked into the room that he had briefly glimpsed before. It was a big space, the same size as the kitchen further along the corridor, with which he was now all too familiar. It was fitted out as an office, with two desks and a long table down the centre, strewn with maps and other papers. An exercise bike and another piece of gym equipment sat in the corner.

‘Yeah, I want to show you a picture.’ The voice came from the well-lit area beyond the row of tall grey filing cabinets.

Warren was sprawled in an easy chair in front of a flat screen TV. He was wearing his monk’s robes but had a can of beer in his hand. Taki shook his head sadly.

The space was remarkably untidy, with a stack of DVDs and magazines on the table next to the TV. A radio transceiver mounted on the wall at the back of the room hummed and popped.

‘Recognise those people?’ Warren asked, jerking a thumb at the TV screen, which was showing a still picture. A man with dark hair wearing a monk’s habit was talking to someone wearing a bright yellow shirt. Yellow numbers at the bottom of the screen displayed the date and time and the title, ‘CAM 3’. Taki screwed up his eyes and stared at the image. His heart missed a beat when he realised who it was.

‘It’s me,’ he said quietly.

‘But it can’t be you,’ Warren’s voice was a sneer. ‘You are not supposed to talk to anybody.’

Taki said nothing but stared fixedly at the TV screen.

Warren pressed a remote control and the picture changed. ‘Ten seconds later, Taki, and they are still talking.’ The picture changed again. ‘Twenty seconds…thirty seconds. I could go on. The lights went out but you talked to him in the dark for about five minutes. These little cameras can operate by the light of a candle.’

Warren turned from the screen and stared coldly at Taki. ‘You are supposed to be a silent order monk. Remember?’

He turned off the monitor. ‘Who is he, Taki? What were you talking about?’

Taki said nothing.

‘It’s all right, you can talk to me,’ Warren said softly.

‘He’s a friend of mine,’ Taki said at last. ‘From the adventure school. I went on a course there last year.’

‘Is his sister called Zoë?’ Warren asked.

Taki’s eyes widened. ‘How do you know?’ he asked.

‘I’m asking the questions right now,’ Warren replied curtly. ‘What were you talking about?’

Lying did not come easily to Taki, but he mustn’t let on what he’d told Jake.

‘He’s a friend…’

‘You said that already,’ Warren cut across him. ‘What did you tell him?’

‘I didn’t tell him anything. He talked about his school and the holidays and stuff like that.’

‘Nothing about his sister?’ Warren took a gulp of beer.

‘Yes, his sister is missing and everyone is looking for her.’

‘So he told you all about that?’

‘Yes, he is worried very much about that.’

‘And you said…?’

‘I said the monks all looked for her and the villagers looked as well and I am very sorry for his problems.’

‘Is that all?’

‘Yes, he mostly talked about the adventure school.’

Warren tossed the empty beer can into a waste bin. ‘You’re lying,’ he said flatly.

Taki shifted on his feet and said nothing.

‘And the other day you were listening to me and Father John talking in the boathouse.’

‘I wasn’t listening.’

‘So, what were you doing then?’

‘I was only taking a walk. I didn’t hear what you were saying.’

Warren looked at him with a disbelieving expression.

‘And you let that boy in here.’

‘It was almost closing time and I didn’t think it was a problem to talk to my friend here,’ Taki said sullenly.

‘How did he get out of here?’

Taki looked at him balefully.

‘The garden door was locked.’

Taki’s face fleetingly registered dismay and Warren nodded with satisfaction.

‘Guilty as sin,’ he remarked. ‘Father Ilir and I are the only ones with keys to that door. We’ve increased security and he’s sure he locked it, so I don’t know how your friend got out.’

Taki didn’t know how Jake had got out either, but he was very relieved that he had.

‘You realise who arranged for you to become a silent order monk, don’t you?’

Taki resumed his stony faced expression; he mustn’t react like that again.

‘It was us, sunshine, me and Scorp. We twisted the arm of lovely Father Theo.’

Taki remained impassive. Why had the archimandrite caved in to these two? What had they said to him to convince him that he should become a member of their silent order? Or so-called silent order. It was actually an insult to the monastery. Here was Warren, drinking beer and talking angrily when he was supposed to have taken vows of silence. Father Theo was supposed to be giving him an induction tomorrow into the silent order but he would tell him what he thought of it and then he’d leave. Down the drive, out of the gate and away from these people.

‘I’ve been through that security video,’ Warren was saying. ‘And you’re doing almost all the talking. You didn’t know we even had a security system here, did you, Boetie?’ he asked as an afterthought.

Taki stared at him impassively.

‘Did you?’ Warren repeated.

Taki shook his head.

‘What did you really tell him?’ Warren rose out of the chair in an easy movement and placed himself in front of Taki.

Taki involuntarily moved back, but Warren moved with him, uncomfortably, aggressively close, hands on his hips.

‘We talked about what he was doing.’

‘And what you were doing?’

‘Only a little.’

‘About your work?’

‘Only that I work hard, in the kitchen and cleaning.’

‘And about the pilgrims?’

Taki’s eyes flickered. ‘No,’ he replied.

Warren’s right hand closed around the front of Taki’s habit and he pushed him slowly back towards the wall. ‘You’re lying again,’ he said in a voice loaded with menace.

‘I only say I work hard and sometimes there are some pilgrims.’

Warren swore, hard and fluently. ‘So you did tell him about the pilgrims!’ He pushed Taki roughly against the wall. ‘You’re a silent order now, right? We’ve warned you not to talk to anyone. And now you’re talking to an outside person about the damn pilgrims.’ Warren’s voice had risen to an angry shout, but Taki knew that nobody else would hear through the massive stone walls.

‘You’re putting this whole operation at risk.’

Taki was thinking that was what he’d heard Father John say when Warren’s fury erupted and he hit him across the face with the back of his hand.

Taki staggered but recovered and looked directly into Warren’s snarling face. ‘You’re not a monk. You’re a troubled man. I pray every day for you and Father John.’

There was silence as Warren stared at him incredulously.

‘I’m going to enjoy this,’ he said with a grim smile and pulled his robe over his head and tossed it onto the desk behind him.

‘There, I’m not a monk now, I’m a game ranger again – my bush shorts and shirt, see.’

Taki looked at him impassively.

A game ranger? He was supposed to be a missionary.

He was certainly impressively well built, broad shouldered and hard muscled.

‘Right, you’re the bastard who says I’m troubled. But you’re also the guy who’s talking when he’s not supposed to,’ Warren was working up his temper. His right hand flashed and the back of his hand caught Taki’s face again.

Taki’s dad had insisted that one of his bodyguards give his son lessons in self-defence and he reacted almost involuntarily by swinging his right fist in a sweeping uppercut. But Warren was a tough proposition. An evening’s drinking back home wasn’t complete without a brawl in a bar and he had gained the reputation of someone that you didn’t mess with lightly.

He saw Taki’s punch coming and tried to roll with it but it snapped his head back. He quickly regained his balance and looked at Taki, eyes narrowed in surprise before responding with a powerful punch to the face. Taki’s nose bore the brunt of the impact and the back of his head hit the wall behind him. He brought his hands to his face and they were immediately covered in blood.

‘You’re Father Theo’s favourite,’ Warren said, moving close and burying a fist in Taki’s stomach. ‘But he’s not here to help you now.’

As the novice gasped for air, Warren punched him savagely under his chin. Droplets of blood flew from Taki’s nose.

A shadow fell across the floor as a heavy figure entered the room and a deep voice called out, ‘What the devil’s going on?’

‘I’m just sorting out this bloke, Scorp.’ Warren punched Taki on the side of his head sending him crashing into the filing cabinets before he collapsed onto the floor.

Father John stared with unconcealed irritation at his compatriot, who was breathing hard, his shirt and arms spattered with Taki’s blood.

He bent down and pulled the unconscious boy onto his side and made sure his airways were clear. He had seen guys in the bush die unnecessarily because nobody had bothered to put them in the recovery position.

‘Geeze, Warren, was that absolutely necessary?’ His black eyebrows were drawn together in a scowl.

‘He punched me,’ Warren said, rubbing his chin.

‘And so you bladdy well half killed him,’ Father John said angrily. ‘You’ve really messed up big style this time.’

‘Sorry, Scorp. It’s no big deal though – he’ll be okay.’

‘And calling me Scorp bloody irritates me.’

‘Sorry, Scorpion,’ Warren said.

Father John shot him a warning glance.

‘Well, there’s no way I’m calling you Father John,’ Warren said.

‘Call me what you bladdy like,’ Scorpion replied, ‘That’s the least of my worries; I’ve had the Boss on the phone.’

‘What did he want?’

‘He said he expects your friend will be found floating face down in the sea.’

‘She’s not my friend,’ Warren said sulkily.

Scorpion ignored the remark. ‘He also said he’d sorted out the police.’

‘Good,’ Warren grunted.

‘Yes, but another little problem,’ Scorpion said with heavy sarcasm. ‘Is this boy.’ He peered at Taki to make sure he was still breathing. ‘Theo told us to look after him.’

‘Who cares about that?’ Warren retorted.

‘But now,’ Scorpion said grimly. ‘The Boss has told me the same.’

Warren swore, his face suddenly pale despite his tan.

‘His exact words were, ‘If he joins your silent order, you are responsible for making sure he doesn’t get hurt.’’

They gazed down at Taki who was groaning quietly. Warren had only met the Boss once, and that was enough. ‘What’s he to the Boss?’

‘No idea. But now the problem is yours.’ He poked a finger angrily into Warren’s chest. ‘You nurse him ‘til he can travel, then you take him to Syntagma.’ He turned for the door.

‘Okay, but he can only stay there ‘til Saturday.’

Taki groaned again and tried to sit up.

‘Your patient needs you,’ Scorpion said over his shoulder before slamming the door behind him.