Chapter 15

Finding the address had been easy. Gavin programmed it into the satnav in Christine's Ford and followed the tinny voice's directions until he turned into a quiet suburban street. He wanted one drive past to fix the house in his mind.

Peering through the windscreen, he tried to count the house numbers to identify the one where David Bosman lived. Seconds later he realised there was no need to check the numbers. Bosman's house stood out like a sore thumb due to the state it was in. Clearly the neighbours had demonstrated their disgust at Bosman by taking it out on his home. There wasn't a single window left unbroken and the words 'BEAST' and 'RAPIST SCUM' had been spray-painted on the white shingles.

"It seems as if we have some other vigilantes in town," Gavin smiled to himself as he passed the house.

While it was somehow entertaining to know that there were others with similar views to his own, Gavin knew that the attack on Bosman's home meant that the man would be holed up somewhere, in hiding from the angry public. It was unlikely that Gavin would be able to find him now and that was disappointing.

Retracing his route, Gavin was just pulling into the drive when his mobile phone chirped to let him know a text had been received. He parked before picking up the phone and, scrolling down, read the message, his excitement rising when he saw that it was from Rose.

Osvaldo has picked up Donald. We are in Biloxi and now onboard a yacht - MARIA. Don't know where he's taking us next. Please help!

All thoughts of David Bosman were banished for the moment, as Gavin realised that Rose's message changed everything. He no longer had to look for Donald. Now his job was to find where Osvaldo was taking mother and son so that he could free them both.

Dashing into the house, Gavin searched frantically for the business card that Henry Sinclair had given him. He eventually found the card sitting on the base unit of his computer and wasted no time in ringing the number that was printed on it.

"Hello?"

"I'd like to speak to Henry Sinclair please?" Gavin asked. "It's urgent."

"I'm sorry, who is this and how did you get this number?"

"My name is Gavin MacSween and Mr Sinclair gave me the number when I visited him last week," Gavin explained.

"Please hold, Sir."

Gavin guessed that it had been Henderson who had answered the phone and that he was now transferring the call to Henry Sinclair. He heard a click on the line and then Sinclair's voice.

"Mr MacSween? To what do I owe this pleasure?" Henry asked.

Gavin felt that there wasn't any time to sugar coat the news that he had and so he launched right in with what he now knew.

"There's no easy way to say this, Sir. Osvaldo has taken your grandson and Rose and he's on the run somewhere."

"Yes, I know that. He's also responsible for the deaths of six innocent people when he snatched the boy. What I don't understand is how you know?"

"Rose sent me a message to tell me that she was onboard a yacht in some place called Biloxi. She also told me that Osvaldo has taken Donald," Gavin explained.

"Did she say anything else?"

"She's given me what I think is the name of the yacht — Maria — and she's asking me for help. She doesn't know where they are going," Gavin replied.

"I need to go, there are some people who can help me track the yacht perhaps. What are you going to do?" asked Henry.

"My first thought was to make my way to Biloxi, but that's probably a waste of time. I can only hope that either you can track the boat or that Rose sends me another message, there's little else I can do."

In Baton Rouge, Henry Sinclair was thinking furiously and he made an instant decision. If Rose was somehow communicating with MacSween, he wanted Gavin close by.

"How quickly could you get back here to Baton Rouge?" he asked.

Gavin paused. The prospects of facing the long drive again weren't thrilling, but he knew that Rose needed him, was depending on him.

"It's a long drive — I could maybe be there by this time tomorrow," he said.

"How quickly can you be ready to leave?"

"I'm ready now," Gavin answered.

"Okay. Look, I'm going to pass you over to Henderson and he can sort out travel for you. I have to go and get people tracking the yacht. I'll see you soon."

Henderson had obviously been monitoring the call and with a click he was back on the line. The resourceful butler had also quickly used his computer to find what he needed to speed Gavin's journey somewhat.

"Mr MacSween?"

"Yeah, hi Henderson," Gavin answered.

"You need to get to Cedar City Regional Airport; it's just outside the city to the north. I'll make all the arrangements from here."

"You mean you're going to fly me to Baton Rouge? Neat!" Gavin exclaimed.

"One of the benefits of wealth I suppose," Henderson chuckled. I'll meet you at this end, see you soon and enjoy your flight, Sir."

Gavin ended the call and rushed to stuff some clothes into a rucksack. He made sure that everything he chose was black and the final two things into the bag were the gun he had taken from Oscar and his ski-mask.

Hurrying through to the family room, he gave a quick explanation of what was going on. It was a shame that Fiona and Lizzie were both out shopping, but in the circumstances, that couldn't be helped.

"Rose has contacted me again," he told Frank and Christine. "She's being taken somewhere, still held captive, but at least she's been reunited with her son. I'm going to see if I can help her. Would it be possible to get a lift to Cedar City Regional Airport?"

"The airport? You're going to fly? Are you sure that you'll be able to charter a flight at such short notice?" Christine asked.

"That's being taken care of. The man who died — Johnny Sinclair — his father is arranging it for me. I think he's desperate to get his grandson back."

"Be careful son, the deeper into this you get, the more risk there is that your past might come out," Frank warned. "Remember that the FBI are still looking closely at you. Weren't you supposed to advise them if you planned to leave town?"

"I know, but I have to try to help Rose and I won't be able to do that with the FBI looking over my shoulder," Gavin replied. "Tell the girls I'm sorry for rushing off while they're out."

Henry made a call to Gryffe Wilder, which ensured that the USA's military resources were immediately being tasked with identifying the yacht Maria. The General had even promised to task some satellite time if necessary. The leader of the FAT was also updated, but without a final destination there was nothing for the FAT boys to do yet.

With all that set in motion, Henry returned to the library and updated Richard Malmesbury.

"Why invite the young man back?" Richard asked.

"If Rose is sending him details of where they've been taken, I don't want any delays in finding out. It's best to have him here so I can keep an eye on him," Henry replied.

"Is the FAT team on standby?"

"Yes, the council have decided that Osvaldo and Macheda have gone too far this time. As soon as we know where they are, the FAT will go in and take them out," said Henry.

"I know you don't agree with this, Henry, but sometimes violence is a necessary evil," said Richard.

"I'm nothing if not a realist, Richard. I've got a choice — either move with the times and do what the council wants, or step down as Knight Commander. I must admit that I'm not happy about sanctioning killing and even less so about using US forces, but needs must.

"When are you expecting Mr MacSween?" asked Malmesbury.

"If Henderson has sorted out a flight, he should be here mid-afternoon. Maybe you'd like to stay and meet him when he arrives?" Henry suggested.

"I'd be delighted, old boy, absolutely delighted," said Malmesbury. "The boy's story is quite fascinating don't you think?"

The flight had actually been a bit of a disappointment for Gavin. Although it did cut the time taken to get to Baton Rouge considerably, cloud cover meant that he couldn't really see much of the scenery he was passing over.

Henderson was true to his word and he had a car waiting at Baton Rouge Metropolitan to pick Gavin up. The butler was polite and offered a friendly greeting, but didn't talk much on the drive back to Henry Sinclair's huge plantation house.

"Would you like to freshen up, Sir?" the butler asked as the pulled up outside the house.

"No. If you don't mind, I'd like to find out how Mr Sinclair has got on in the time I've been in the air," Gavin replied.

"As you wish, Sir."

The butler led the way to the same library where Gavin had met with Henry Sinclair before.

"Mr MacSween, Sir," Henderson announced, as he held the door open.

Gavin saw immediately that Sinclair had another visitor.

"Mr MacSween, come in, come in. Let me introduce you to one of the auld enemy — Lord Richard Malmesbury," said Henry.

His reference to the 'auld enemy' let Gavin know that Lord Malmesbury was English.

"Please, call me Richard," said Malmesbury, extending his hand to shake Gavin's.

"Pleased to meet..."

Gavin's greeting petered out as he caught sight of the materials spread out on the table between the two men. He saw the old photograph of his father and his mother that he had seen once before — when Frank (at that time still Fraser) had convinced him that he was his real father. He also recognised some of the newspaper headlines.

"Richard is the chair of the UK Joint Intelligence Committee, quite an important man really," said Henry, watching Gavin's reaction with interest.

Gavin's stomach lurched as the fear struck home, but with sheer will-power he kept a calm look on his face.

"Okay, he's in charge of British intelligence, but if he was going to have me arrested he wouldn't be smiling and shaking my hand surely," he thought quickly.

"Any further messages from Miss Latour?" Henry asked.

Gavin shook his head to indicate that he'd heard nothing further.

Henry and Lord Malmesbury returned to their seats and Gavin pulled another close to the table and joined them. No-one made any reference to the material on the table and Gavin forced himself not to keep glancing at it.

"Actually, her name is Mrs Sinclair — remember, your son chose to marry her," Gavin reminded Henry.

"Yes, mores the pity," Henry replied, a pained look on his face.

"They loved each other deeply, Sir. I don't understand why you can't accept that," said Gavin.

"Johnny could have done much better than a filthy Latour," Henry snapped.

"How can hatred run so deep as to blind otherwise intelligent men?" Gavin mumbled almost to himself.

Sinclair heard his words however, and it was as if they were a challenge to the man.

"Maybe it's time for me to give you a history lesson young man. It started more than six hundred years ago," Henry began. "My ancestor, Henry Sinclair, Earl of Orkney set sail for a land that was rumoured to exist across the Atlantic Ocean. With him he took other family members and a cargo of gold and jewels that the Knights Templar had provided. The Earl was a high ranking member of the Order and he was trusted to establish new lands and generate wealth so that others could follow. It was all about escaping the French King and the Pope. That was on 1398."

Gavin gave him a look that made it clear he was having difficulty in believing what he was hearing.

"It's all true, I can assure you," said Henry. "Christopher Columbus sailed for the same lands for the first time in August 1492, bankrolled by Queen Isabella of Spain. He tried again in 1493 and this time he had with him a Franciscan monk — Juan Perez - and a French nobleman - Francoise de La Tour. Father Juan Perez was Queen Isabella's confessor and it was he that secured her support for Columbus' expedition.

"What is not known is that the monastery where Perez came from — La Rabida — had remained secretly sympathetic to the Knights Templar during the Order's persecution by Pope Clement V. Perez and de La Tour were both members of the Order — outwardly they were seen as good Catholics, but their real loyalty was to the Knights Templar. I suppose you would call it 'hiding in plain sight'."

"A tactic used much more often than you might think," said Richard, his experience of intelligence work coming to the fore.