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Chapter 1
Chris Granger, a lecturer at the Vasile Pârvan Institute of Archaeology in Bucharest, sat in the departure lounge of Romanians Henri Coandă International Airport waiting for his flight back to the UK after spending two weeks in the Dacia Forest, Transylvania.
He sat in one of the many food courts cradling his laptop that was secured in its brown leather satchel. He hoped, after two weeks surveying the ancient Dacia fortress that him and his colleague, Grigor Lazar, had collected enough evidence and data to convince the Institute about financing a full-scale archaeology dig.
Not wanting to get his laptop back out, Chris reached inside his jacket pocket to retrieve his phone. The geophysical surveying image had now successfully synced across from his laptop and he could see on his phone the outline of thirteen spherical shapes, that to the untrained eye looked like giant springs but were in fact the once fabled ‘Golden Spirals.’
While reading the images on his phone, Chris didn't initially see a couple of business men came into the food court and sit down with their trays on the opposite table to him. Chris eventually looked up and upon seeing them, put his phone back into his pocket. Then turning away from them, he looked at his watch.
Tanya Granger said goodbye to her team mates and checked herself in at the British Airways desk for her flight BA856 back to the UK, which was departing 20.46 local time. She was looking forward to seeing her family and friends again after spending two weeks training with the Great Britain Archery Team in readiness for Tokyo 2020 next year. Tanya's archery equipment had already cleared customs and was stoled in the cargo hold. That just left her suitcase to go through the security checks. With her boarding pass in her hand, she made her way through to the departure lounge and the food courts.
Two weeks on a restricted diet, like her training, had finally come to an end, for the time being at least, and she was looking forward to tucking in to her KFC and Coke.
The food court was quiet compared to how the rest of day would have been. Not many flights were scheduled to leave that evening and so she found it easy to order her large chicken sandwich, with fries, together with that all important Coke.
Paying for it with the last of Forints and Euros, she looked around the diner and apart from the two businessmen, there was just one other lone diner.
The solitary figure was too deep in thought to see the tall dark-haired woman approach him.
“Excuse me, is this space free?” Tanya asked, placing her tray opposite the man without waiting for a reply.
Chris Granger looked up, then smiled. “Tanya!”
“Hello dad!” Father and daughter embraced each other over their trays of KFC.
Both then took their seats once more as Tanya ripped off the wrapper to her chicken sandwich and as she stuffed her mouth full of fries asked, “So, how long have you been waiting here?”
Chris took a slurp with his straw, draining what was left from the bottom of his paper cup. The Coke dregs now mixing with melted ice cubes. “Only half an hour. Grigor, from the Institute, gave me a lift to the airport.”
“So, how did the survey go?”
Looking across at the other two sited figures, Chris fidgeted in his chair before running his fingers through his greying hair. He eventually then leaned forward and whispered. “Tanya, I think we have found them.”
Tanya let her chicken sandwich full back onto her tray then grabbed her father’s hands. “That’s great. What did the Institute say?”
Chris Granger looked pass his daughter again at the businessmen. He wasn’t sure if it was his imagination, but they seemed to be more interested in what he was sharing with Tanya rather than their own business.
“We can’t talk here. All I’ll say is that Grigor and I have to present our findings to the Institute when I come back from vacation.”
At the mention of the word ‘vacation’, Tanya picked up another hand full of fries. “I’m so looking forward to just the two of us going off somewhere hot. Where did you say we were going?”
“I didn’t.” Chris teased. “It’ll be a surprise.”
Tanya looked at her father. “You know it’s so good to see you making plans again, you know after...”
Chris bowed his head as he fiddled with his wedding band. “It’s three years this year that your mother died.”
Tanya placed her hand on top of his. “2016, a year I’ll always remember. First, being selected to represent Britain in Archery at Tokyo 2020. Then mum dying from yellow-fever after coming back from Vietnam.”
“Your mother loved helping out in the orphanage in Ho Chi Minh City.” said Chris.
At the same time as the monitor above their heads displayed their flight, the public address system confirmed that all passengers for BA856 flight to London Gatwick should now go to Gate 5.
"Come on. I'm dying to get home so I can have a decent shower." said Tanya, helping her father with his laptop before both of them headed out of the food court towards their departure gate.
The two business men that sat opposite Chris and his daughter watched as the two of them went off to mingle with the rest of the passagers called for the BA flight. Then, without saying a word to each other, the two men left their unfinished food and started to follow the unsuspecting pair.
Milko Olga and Stefan Borgia were two business men involved in the type of activities that would not be found on any of the world's stock exchange. Their type of business involved; prostitution, gun-running, drug-trafficking and anything else illegal that the head of their crime syndicate asked them to be involved with. Today, it was murder. Their task was to eliminate the archaeologist, Chris Granger and now, unexpectedly, his daughter before snatching the archaeologists laptop.
Olga and Borgia pursed their quarry as they headed towards their gate, pushing aside any slow moving commuters. Both assassins simultaneously reached inside their jacket pockets and retrieved a black ski mask. Not caring that they now were drawing attention to themselves, Borgia slipped down from the inside of his right-hand sleeve, a short metallic object. With a flick, a silver blade sprung out from the side of the handle.
Tanya had her boarding pass all ready in her hand, but her father had to stop and bend down to fetch it from the side pocket of his leather satchel. It was while he was looking for his pass, that Tanya was becoming increasingly aware of the commotion behind them. It seemed that the two business men from the food court were now trying to push their way to the front of the queue.
The British Airways staff were also becoming concerned and made gestures to the surrounding security team of the developing situation.
Chris too now looked behind him as he reached for his pass. But unfortunately for him the events unfolding were gaining momentum. Seeing that her father was the intended target of these two men, Tanya attempted to block their path. But her frame was slight and Olga pushed her aside. Borgia was soon at Chris Granger side attempting to pull the satchel strap off his shoulder. Chris swung his bag to his other side and firmly shoved Borgia in the chest, rocking him on his feet. Olga now tried to rob the archaeologist of his laptop, but Tanya put her arm around the assailants throat at the same time screaming for help.
The British Airways staff were ushering the rest of the passengers back away from the developing incident at the same time as the security guards were drawing their firearms.
The 'hit' Olga and Borgia had been assigned to do was becoming increasingly sloppy. Not to the high standard their boss would have expected. With the odds of a successful assassination rapidly slipping away. Borgia who could see that his associate was engaged in a fight with the daughter, realised that only part of their objective was possible and so plunged his flick-knife into the stomach of the archaeologist.
Chris Granger let out a cry that made both his daughter and Olga look round. Borgia now grabbed the satchel containing the laptop and shouted to Olga, "Come on. Let's go!"
Olga, still grappling with Tanya, elbowed her in the centre of the chest, letting her fall to the floor. The two security guards with their firearms now pointed directly at the two killers, ordered them to halt. Then just as Olga was going to drag Tanya up from the floor as a human shield, the side of Borgia head exploded into a cloud of red mist. The sight of the half decapitated Borgia falling to the floor sent the remaining staff and passengers running for cover. The two security guards ducked knowing it was neither of them that let off the shot. There was someone else loose in the airport armed and dangerous.
Olga seizing his opportunity, grabbed the satchel containing the laptop, and made his escape. No more shots rang out.
Tanya now scrambled over to her dying father. He was reeling in agony trying his best to steem the flow of blood.
"Dad, dad!" Tanya plunged her hands into the pools of blood trying, although in vain, to prevent anymore blood loss.
"It's no good Tanya, my stomach has been ruptured. I haven't got long!"
Tanya hugged her father.
With his right hand, Chris Granger fumbled into his jacket pocket. He pulled out his phone. "Listen, everything on that laptop is on here. Phone Grigor, tell him I'm dead and to get this phone to the Institute!"
Tanya took the blood covered phone and pocketed it just as the medics arrived. She hugged her father for the last time then held his hand as he slipped away.
© Alice White
He sat in one of the many food courts cradling his laptop that was secured in its brown leather satchel. He hoped, after two weeks surveying the ancient Dacia fortress that him and his colleague, Grigor Lazar, had collected enough evidence and data to convince the Institute about financing a full-scale archaeology dig.
Not wanting to get his laptop back out, Chris reached inside his jacket pocket to retrieve his phone. The geophysical surveying image had now successfully synced across from his laptop and he could see on his phone the outline of thirteen spherical shapes, that to the untrained eye looked like giant springs but were in fact the once fabled ‘Golden Spirals.’
While reading the images on his phone, Chris didn't initially see a couple of business men came into the food court and sit down with their trays on the opposite table to him. Chris eventually looked up and upon seeing them, put his phone back into his pocket. Then turning away from them, he looked at his watch.
Tanya Granger said goodbye to her team mates and checked herself in at the British Airways desk for her flight BA856 back to the UK, which was departing 20.46 local time. She was looking forward to seeing her family and friends again after spending two weeks training with the Great Britain Archery Team in readiness for Tokyo 2020 next year. Tanya's archery equipment had already cleared customs and was stoled in the cargo hold. That just left her suitcase to go through the security checks. With her boarding pass in her hand, she made her way through to the departure lounge and the food courts.
Two weeks on a restricted diet, like her training, had finally come to an end, for the time being at least, and she was looking forward to tucking in to her KFC and Coke.
The food court was quiet compared to how the rest of day would have been. Not many flights were scheduled to leave that evening and so she found it easy to order her large chicken sandwich, with fries, together with that all important Coke.
Paying for it with the last of Forints and Euros, she looked around the diner and apart from the two businessmen, there was just one other lone diner.
The solitary figure was too deep in thought to see the tall dark-haired woman approach him.
“Excuse me, is this space free?” Tanya asked, placing her tray opposite the man without waiting for a reply.
Chris Granger looked up, then smiled. “Tanya!”
“Hello dad!” Father and daughter embraced each other over their trays of KFC.
Both then took their seats once more as Tanya ripped off the wrapper to her chicken sandwich and as she stuffed her mouth full of fries asked, “So, how long have you been waiting here?”
Chris took a slurp with his straw, draining what was left from the bottom of his paper cup. The Coke dregs now mixing with melted ice cubes. “Only half an hour. Grigor, from the Institute, gave me a lift to the airport.”
“So, how did the survey go?”
Looking across at the other two sited figures, Chris fidgeted in his chair before running his fingers through his greying hair. He eventually then leaned forward and whispered. “Tanya, I think we have found them.”
Tanya let her chicken sandwich full back onto her tray then grabbed her father’s hands. “That’s great. What did the Institute say?”
Chris Granger looked pass his daughter again at the businessmen. He wasn’t sure if it was his imagination, but they seemed to be more interested in what he was sharing with Tanya rather than their own business.
“We can’t talk here. All I’ll say is that Grigor and I have to present our findings to the Institute when I come back from vacation.”
At the mention of the word ‘vacation’, Tanya picked up another hand full of fries. “I’m so looking forward to just the two of us going off somewhere hot. Where did you say we were going?”
“I didn’t.” Chris teased. “It’ll be a surprise.”
Tanya looked at her father. “You know it’s so good to see you making plans again, you know after...”
Chris bowed his head as he fiddled with his wedding band. “It’s three years this year that your mother died.”
Tanya placed her hand on top of his. “2016, a year I’ll always remember. First, being selected to represent Britain in Archery at Tokyo 2020. Then mum dying from yellow-fever after coming back from Vietnam.”
“Your mother loved helping out in the orphanage in Ho Chi Minh City.” said Chris.
At the same time as the monitor above their heads displayed their flight, the public address system confirmed that all passengers for BA856 flight to London Gatwick should now go to Gate 5.
"Come on. I'm dying to get home so I can have a decent shower." said Tanya, helping her father with his laptop before both of them headed out of the food court towards their departure gate.
The two business men that sat opposite Chris and his daughter watched as the two of them went off to mingle with the rest of the passagers called for the BA flight. Then, without saying a word to each other, the two men left their unfinished food and started to follow the unsuspecting pair.
Milko Olga and Stefan Borgia were two business men involved in the type of activities that would not be found on any of the world's stock exchange. Their type of business involved; prostitution, gun-running, drug-trafficking and anything else illegal that the head of their crime syndicate asked them to be involved with. Today, it was murder. Their task was to eliminate the archaeologist, Chris Granger and now, unexpectedly, his daughter before snatching the archaeologists laptop.
Olga and Borgia pursed their quarry as they headed towards their gate, pushing aside any slow moving commuters. Both assassins simultaneously reached inside their jacket pockets and retrieved a black ski mask. Not caring that they now were drawing attention to themselves, Borgia slipped down from the inside of his right-hand sleeve, a short metallic object. With a flick, a silver blade sprung out from the side of the handle.
Tanya had her boarding pass all ready in her hand, but her father had to stop and bend down to fetch it from the side pocket of his leather satchel. It was while he was looking for his pass, that Tanya was becoming increasingly aware of the commotion behind them. It seemed that the two business men from the food court were now trying to push their way to the front of the queue.
The British Airways staff were also becoming concerned and made gestures to the surrounding security team of the developing situation.
Chris too now looked behind him as he reached for his pass. But unfortunately for him the events unfolding were gaining momentum. Seeing that her father was the intended target of these two men, Tanya attempted to block their path. But her frame was slight and Olga pushed her aside. Borgia was soon at Chris Granger side attempting to pull the satchel strap off his shoulder. Chris swung his bag to his other side and firmly shoved Borgia in the chest, rocking him on his feet. Olga now tried to rob the archaeologist of his laptop, but Tanya put her arm around the assailants throat at the same time screaming for help.
The British Airways staff were ushering the rest of the passengers back away from the developing incident at the same time as the security guards were drawing their firearms.
The 'hit' Olga and Borgia had been assigned to do was becoming increasingly sloppy. Not to the high standard their boss would have expected. With the odds of a successful assassination rapidly slipping away. Borgia who could see that his associate was engaged in a fight with the daughter, realised that only part of their objective was possible and so plunged his flick-knife into the stomach of the archaeologist.
Chris Granger let out a cry that made both his daughter and Olga look round. Borgia now grabbed the satchel containing the laptop and shouted to Olga, "Come on. Let's go!"
Olga, still grappling with Tanya, elbowed her in the centre of the chest, letting her fall to the floor. The two security guards with their firearms now pointed directly at the two killers, ordered them to halt. Then just as Olga was going to drag Tanya up from the floor as a human shield, the side of Borgia head exploded into a cloud of red mist. The sight of the half decapitated Borgia falling to the floor sent the remaining staff and passengers running for cover. The two security guards ducked knowing it was neither of them that let off the shot. There was someone else loose in the airport armed and dangerous.
Olga seizing his opportunity, grabbed the satchel containing the laptop, and made his escape. No more shots rang out.
Tanya now scrambled over to her dying father. He was reeling in agony trying his best to steem the flow of blood.
"Dad, dad!" Tanya plunged her hands into the pools of blood trying, although in vain, to prevent anymore blood loss.
"It's no good Tanya, my stomach has been ruptured. I haven't got long!"
Tanya hugged her father.
With his right hand, Chris Granger fumbled into his jacket pocket. He pulled out his phone. "Listen, everything on that laptop is on here. Phone Grigor, tell him I'm dead and to get this phone to the Institute!"
Tanya took the blood covered phone and pocketed it just as the medics arrived. She hugged her father for the last time then held his hand as he slipped away.
© Alice White
