Chapter 18

"Single to Buenos Aires please," Jamie said with a grin and put the passport on the desk. The young woman fumbled on her computer and then looked up.

"When do you want to leave, sir?"

"Today," Jamie said confidently and looked at her. "Please."

"We have a seat, sir. Do you want first class or standard class."

"Oh standard," Jamie told her."

"Priority Boarding? Number of bags sir?"

"No, and one."

She punched away at her keys and he slid his stolen passport under the counter for her to tap away. She glanced at the passport number and then slit back to him with a request for over eight hundred pounds. Jamie took a deep breath and opened his wallet, passing Tom's credit card under counter.

Jamie thought it looked less suspicious if he opened a wallet to pass a credit card instead of paying in cash and tapped in the PIN he had memorised from the sheet of paper. She printed out the tickets, sliding them underneath the glass screen and wishing him a safe journey.

Jamie nodded and put them inside his stolen passport, thanked her and left. The checking-in desk was on the other side of the atrium and he idled over to join a small queue; he didn't feel happy about giving the bag in as hold luggage but didn't want his hand-luggage to be scanned with the statue in it.

Jamie reached the front of the queue in no time, and passed his bag containing all his worldly possessions to the woman as well as his ticket who slid a tag around the handle of the bag and he watched it disappear out of sight.

The gruff woman grunted, passing him a boarding pass and pointing him towards a "gate" at the other end of the terminal. Jamie had half-an-hour before boarding officially opened but he wandered towards it anyway, passed the line of security personnel and the Police. He had never been that close to the Police Officer since the raid but they were looking for suspicious characters not burglars, and Jamie had changed his appearance considerably in the last few days.

Jamie helped himself to a drink with some change in his pocket as well as a burger and then bought some sweets for the outbound journey. He would be free of Britain once and for all in less than an hour. By then, he would up among the clouds and en route to the South American country of Argentina, where he would be rich.

His flight was called and he walked purposely down towards the gate. Jamie could see the Departure Gate and almost ran towards it, his heart beating furiously. He nodded towards the security guard stood waiting as they went past and felt an arm go across his chest. "Excuse me, sir."

Oliver passed into the small room and the busty frame of Charlotte came running over. "Oli, what the hell did you do?"

Oliver took a deep breath and licked his lips. "I got involved with Jamie and Emma," he muttered and glanced over at the female prison guard watching over him. "They wanted to raid Doszak and I got roped into it."

Charlotte took a deep breath and adjusted her top. "Yeah, I was speaking to ya mum the other day, she has been proper roughed up by Mr Doszak."

Oliver gasped in horror and shook his head. "She didn't know about anything," Oliver blurted out and rubbed his nose. "I've not seen her, she knows nothing."

Charlotte adjusted herself again. "Well I got a visit. And I don't work there no more. I got thrown out 'cos they reckon I was involved."

Oliver frowned. "But you knew—"

"Yeah Oli, I fuckin' know," Charlotte snapped. "But they didn't believe it. They said I needed to see stuff. And I was supposed to be doing the fuckin' cards wasn't I? So they reckoned I'd been bought off."

"But you know, well I barely knew. They just wanted some info on the house and stuff," Oliver explained. "And then I got roped in when this guy got nicked. I said no but they kept on."

Charlotte adjusted herself again and Oliver looked at the big-bosomed girl. "I thought you couldn't wear bras so I didn't but it's 'orrible without support," she moaned and Oliver stared at her big breasts straining at the material, punctuated with a small broach.

"What?"

"Yeah well, ya can. But I thought I'd get pulled if I had a bra on, carrying in drugs or owt."

Oliver shook his head and suppressed a titter, glancing around the grey, soulless room and then back at his visitor, illuminated by the window behind her and the feint light from an underpowered strip light above them. "I think you could have come properly dressed," he muttered. "But thanks for comin'"

"Well what happened?" Charlotte demanded, her face scowling at him. "I lost me job and got proper roughed up for you."

Oliver took a deep breath and stared at the table, clearly feeling guilty and wretched. "Well, we broke in, got the stuff – we had away over three-quarters of a million, the statues and some jewellery – but had to use me card to get out. Emma drove us to a cottage and then we split up."

"So where is everything?"

"Oh I dunno," Oliver said quickly. "I had over a quarter of a million but it disappeared when I got to the Police Station. They are saying it wasn't there, but it fuckin' was. I checked it before I went into the shower and five minutes later, I am nicked and I see the officer take the bag. By the time the bag is at the station, it's empty. The Inspector or someone had it away."

Charlotte licked her lips. "Are you sure?"

"Of course I am sure. But they kept saying that it wasn't reported so I can't have had the money, but I did. I was with a girl I used to go to College with, she went downstairs to make breakfast and then the Police turned up. It's a fuckin' disgrace. Bunch of bloody criminals. And they are doing me for not cooperating but I have been. I told them I was trying to get to Buenos Aires."

"Buenos Aires?"

"Yeah. It's where Jamie and Emma are going."

"So where are Jamie and Emma?"

"How the fuck do I know?" Oliver snapped and glanced up at her. "Sorry. It's all the Police keep asking. I was dropped off in a small town. Whitchurch I think it was. Jamie was at a tiny village in the middle of nowhere and Emma took the van. But I think I'm the only one that's been caught."

"Yeah I know."

"Look, if ya see my mum, tell her I'm sorry," Oliver told her. "She ain't been to visit. Reckon she is proper pissed with me, but I didn't want to get involved."

Charlotte sighed and then rubbed her face. "The one thing I don't get is how you managed to get into the vault."

Oliver smiled. "Ahh well that was Emma. She set the alarm off, waited for Jaroslav to unlock the vault and watched him type in the code from behind her statue."

"Crafty," she muttered in grudging admiration.

"I know. She was proper clued up. Told us to keep movin' and not to stay in one place for too long. And so I am here 'cos I stopped with Vicky."

Charlotte pursed her lips together and then smiled. "Well I am workin' for a travel agent now. Met the manager in a night club, very fond of me and got me a job."

Oliver raised his eyebrows and sniffed. "In exchange for certain services?" He said with a grin and Charlotte giggled.

"So what's it like in here?"

Oliver shrugged. "It's not so bad. It's not prison so it's not hardcore. It's shit but it's OK, I s'pose. It could be worse. I mean, it hurt so much when they arrested me as I was getting it on with Vicky."

"Oh my God, they arrested you while you were shagging? And you always wanted that girl from the College."

Oliver smirked. "No, not while I was shagging Vicky, while I was getting on with Vicky. We really hit it off, and I always wanted a relationship with her, but I got nicked so it has sort of ended. But we have been shagging, just not when I was arrested." Charlotte smiled at him and grinned. "Anyway, I come in here, and it's big news. I've done over the guy who everyone is shit scared of, so they think I am a criminal mastermind. I've never had so much respect."

Charlotte laughed out loud and Oliver shrugged. "You serious?"

"Yeah. First day, this guy comes up to me, pats me on the back, says I've got balls of steel as Doszak had him beaten up. There's a dozen people in 'ere with big grudges against Doszak so I am proper flavour of the month."

Charlotte sniffed and looked at her watch. "Look sorry Oli. I gotta shoot. I'll try and see ya in a couple of weeks time, promise."

Oliver sighed; they had only had fifteen minutes but glanced at the guard walking towards them. "Ok cheers, for coming to see me."