‘We don’t use them.’ Bill answered.
‘Don’t give me that bullshit.’ He pulled the hand laser-gun from his belt and waved it in Bill’s face. ‘That fancy looking bitch has to be your missus. If you want her in one piece you’d better co-operate.’ He nodded to Jilly who pulled Veronica from her chair and pushed her toward the man. ‘Where’s the bedrooms bitch?’
Veronica rubbed her arm and glared back at Jilly. ‘Up..stairs.’ She said.
All the while the thin man remained aloof and silent, his penetrating eyes roving around the apartment, stopping to rest when he spied something of interest, then moving on, covering every area of the room. It was unspoken but Nick realised that this man was in charge.
His cultured voice spoke slowly. ‘I’ll watch these two.’ Indicating Karen and Nick. ‘While Daddy here and his lady give you a personal tour.’
Jilly and the bandanna man marched Bill and Veronica ahead of them out of the dining-room into the foyer, just as the lift doors were opening to reveal Graham inside. Veronica called out and made a dash towards Graham and the lift. The bandanna man raised his hand gun to fire at her. Bill, realising what was about to happen threw himself between Veronica and the gun. There was a loud explosion as the gun went off and Bill spun around. As he fell against Veronica, a searing, blinding pain clutched at his right shoulder, and they both went down on the floor. Graham froze in the lift facing the frightening scene, the bandanna man had his gun trained on him. At the sound of the shot the three others rushed from the dining-room to find Jilly leaning over Bill, as he writhed in pain on the floor. Veronica was sitting on the floor beside him crying hysterically.
‘Good Lord man. What did you shoot him for?’ The thin man growled. ‘Bobby said no killing!’
‘Shut up! I didn’t kill him, he’s only winged. Good thing too, show them we mean business. Who’re you?’ He said to Graham who remained rooted to the spot.’ Where’d you come from?’
‘I’m a neighbour.’ Graham said thinking quickly, horrified at the scene confronting him.
‘Get in here and shut your mouth. Don’t do anything stupid’ He said as he patted Graham down for a weapon.
Karen rushed to Bill’s side. ‘Look out of the way!’ She demanded. ‘I’m a nurse. Bill, let me see that wound.’ His shirt was stained red and blood was flowing profusely from the gunshot wound.
‘Cut his sleeve.’ She ordered Jilly.
Jilly whipped out her long-bladed knife and hacked at Bill’s sleeve. ‘Euww,’ she said as blood oozed from his arm.
Karen examined his arm, wadded the material and pressed it against the wound. ‘It’ll be okay, the bullet went straight through. I’ll need to sterilise this and wrap it up. Here, hold this tight against the wound.’ She instructed Bill. ‘I’ll go look for some first-aid equipment.’
Karen knew she had her kit in the Veto and started toward the lift. Graham shook his head, warning her not to let them know about the Veto. She paused, understanding Graham’s silent signals, they shouldn’t let the looters find out about the Liberty.
‘Veronica, where do you keep your first aid kit?’
Veronica looked up. ‘We’ve got a good kit. It’s in the kitchen, above the fridge.’ She blubbered.
Veronica continued sobbing. She was amazed and grateful that Bill had thrown himself in the path of the bullet, and stroked his good left arm with a tenderness that she hadn’t felt for Bill since they were first married.
Karen wasted no time finding the kit. The looters didn’t try to stop her, and watched silently as she dressed and bandaged the wound. Nick and Graham helped Bill to his feet and led the others back to the living room, settling Bill gently into a chair while Nick went to the bar and poured him a stiff scotch.
‘Thanks.’ Bill mumbled gratefully. ‘For once I really need this.’
‘He’ll be okay,’ Karen reassured Veronica. ‘I’ve taped the wound shut. The bleeding’s stopped. It’ll be painful for him but it should heal with no permanent damage.’ She glared at the bandanna man who was still holding the gun in his hand. The thin man waved the gun at Graham and inclined his head toward the other lounge chair.
‘Hud?’ The bandanna man said.
The thin man he called Hud spun around and scowled at him.
‘Idiot! Search the place while I keep an eye on these people.’
Jilly and the bandanna man began systematically searching the lounge room, opening cupboards, pulling everything out onto the floor with no regard to the amount of damage they wrought. They smashed vases to see if they contained any valuables, pulled priceless paintings from the walls and hurled them onto the pile of items gradually accumulating in the centre of the room. Veronica started to whimper, despondently watching her treasures being desecrated. Karen placed her arms around her offering comfort, there had always been an unspoken rivalry between the two women, and a show of affection from Karen was completely foreign. The looters continued in this careless manner until they were satisfied they had not missed anything, then they moved into the next room to repeat the exercise.
Time was marching on and Nick was nervous. Three o’clock! He looked out the window to see the afternoon shadows deepening. Didn’t these idiots know they were risking their lives; they could never escape now, it was too late. His eyes scanned the horizon anxiously looking for any sign of the sea rising.
The man with the bandanna stormed angrily back into the room waving the bunch of keys he had found on a hook by the stairs entry. ‘The lift won’t go up to the next floor! These keys are no good. Needs some sort of code! Get up, all of you! Jilly, bring them!’
They moved into the foyer that was littered with debris from the bomb blast. ‘All of you, into the lift. What’s the pass code?’ He demanded, pushing his gun into Nick’s side.
‘I don’t know!’ Nick pleaded. The man raised his gun, but Veronica called out first.
‘Please, don’t hurt anyone else. I’ll do it.’ Veronica cried.
Jilly pushed Veronica into the lift and motioned for Veronica to punch in the code. The lift moved silently to the next floor, stopping with a soft hiss.
The accommodation floor of Bill’s penthouse was as sumptuous as the one below. The marble floors had given way to thick plush cream carpet that caressed the feet and softened the sounds. The walls were covered with velvet wallpaper, but in soft pastel tones creating a feeling of tranquillity and silence. Bill had all the interior walls insulated and the windows were of the soundproofing Navilon, so once one entered a room and closed the door they would be completely divorced from any sounds from other rooms or the outside world. Each room was a suite containing its own bathroom, dressing room and a sitting room.
The looters began in the master suite, tearing open all the drawers just as they had done downstairs. They hooted with delight at finding fifteen hundred dollars in old money Veronica had stashed in her bedside table. Bill and Veronica sat grim faced side by side on the king size bed, watching the destruction of their prized possessions, while the others found seats around the expansive suite.
Jilly was busy picking out pieces of jewellery, shoes and clothes from Veronica’s walk-in wardrobe. ‘Holy shit, this’s like a department store.’ She commented, pulling out sequinned gowns. ‘I’ve never seen so many posh clothes.’
You’ve only seen half of it Nick thought, thinking of Veronicas fur coats, cashmere sweaters and leather clothes she had taken up to the roof.
‘What’s on the next floor?’ Jilly asked Veronica.