The Woman in Red: Chapter 44

44. A new plan

Katarina and Jean-Pierre had listened well to the General. It hadn’t escaped their attention that he pointed at their participation to get Beatrice back. They hadn’t grown wiser when he told them what their role would be at this moment.

            ‘You’ll just return to your room in the Carlton and try to sleep a little bit. Tomorrow you certainly will get new shadows. So never mind and don’t act suspicious. They have to believe that you’re not aware of them.’

            He had taken a little box out of his inner pocket with two little capsules in it. Jean-Pierre thought they looked like a sort of pill. When General de Tavernier explained what these little things could do, both Katarina and he furrowed their brow.

            ‘These are two little transmitters. You have to swallow them at the right time. These little things transmit a signal during the time they are inside you. It lasts till they leave your body in a natural way. Be assured, they are totally harmless for the human body, no radiation or danger op poisoning. I suspect this gangster gang will soon make contact, certainly after their defeat of this night. That’s the right time to swallow these objects. We’ll follow you, whatever happens.’

            Katarina looked at the capsule in her hand, she had received from the General. ‘What happens if they want to harm us. We have seen their faces. Will they voluntary let us go or for that matter release my mother? I don’t have a good feeling about this.’

            The General straightened his back. ‘Katarina, on my honor as a soldier, I promise you, you won’t be hurt a hair of your head or for that matter of your mother’s or Jean-Pierre’s. In the case you think you’re in danger you give a sign.’

            Jean-Pierre widened his eyes. ‘A signal? How do you mean?’ The General wasn’t used to elaborate on his plans with people he assumed to be subordinate because he just let bit by bit let them know how he would act.

            ‘I suppose you simply say you’re feeling nauseous. At the moment we’ll go in pursuit after you, we’ll receive your voices with a directional microphone. When you say the sentence, we’ll hit them, hard and unsuspected.’

            It sounded cool as a war general who knows he has the power and isn’t afraid to use it. They both felt they could trust the man, nonetheless they did now, it couldn’t take the fear away that something could go wrong.

            The General gave them both a powerful handshake and asked Jacques to accompany them to a taxi. Jacques was Jacques and with an ironic grin on his face the opened the door of the limousine and let them get out. It was obvious things wouldn’t get better anymore between Katarina and Jacques. Jean-Pierre couldn’t be sorry for that, he hadn’t liked the guy from the beginning.

            Back in the Carlton Katarina immediately laid herself on the bed. ‘I’m beat, Jean-Pierre. It’s getting all too much. I’m even too tired to cry.’

            Jean-Pierre nodded that he understood. ‘The contrary would surprise me, Kat. We aren’t professionals who on a daily base handle such cases. What has happened has left his traces, that’s very normal.’ He sat beside Katarina on the bed and started softly caressing her cheek.

            ‘Just take me in your arms, Jean-Pierre. I’ve got this desire to be held close. Just hold me and…’ Her voice broke being so tired.

            Jean-Pierre took her in his arms. He felt the feverish warmth radiating from her. It was something he had never felt before. Katarina was dead tired, that’s for sure. Her eyes slowly closed and her breath became deeper. It didn’t take two minutes before she fell asleep in his arms. He almost didn’t dare to move at first, afraid he would wake her from a healing sleep. After a while he gently put her beside him and, without putting his clothes out, he lay down beside her. Jean-Pierre got his arm around her waist and also tried to sleep a bit.

            The last thought that went through his head before he sank away in restless dreams was that he would go through fire to give Katarina back her mother, he would do everything he could to protect Katarina. His Katarina!

© Rudi J.P. Lejaeghere

19/09/2015