Free The Network by Luke Delaney Page A

– I can see it in you, smell it on you.’
    ‘What?’ Sean asked hungrily. ‘What do you see?’
    Conway laughed as he answered. ‘I see myself, Justin. I see myself.’ Sean felt the nausea rising in his stomach, the blood rushing from his head leaving him pale and clammy, dizzy, his vision blurred. ‘It’s time to expand The Network. You grow or you die and to grow I need you. That’s why I have to know if I can trust you. Trust you with my life.’
    ‘You can,’ Sean managed to say through rising bile. ‘I swear you can.’
    ‘I believe you,’ Conway smiled looking from Sean to the Ford Zodiac. ‘We’ll take your car. I’ll drive.’
    ‘What about me?’ Sean asked.
    ‘Oh, don’t worry – you’re coming too. You’re my guest of honour.’ He looked to the man who’d threatened to cave Sean’s skull in and gave a single nod of his head, prompting him to step forward and pull a white hood from inside his jacket, which he tossed it to Sean. ‘Put that on.’ Conway ordered.
    ‘Why do I need this?’
    ‘All will be revealed,’ Conway promised. ‘Trust me – it’s for your own protection.’
    Sean forced himself to slide the hood over his own head, the material instantly stifling and suffocating – intruding into his mouth as he tried to breathe and making him gag as he felt hands gripping him under the arm-pits and dragging him upright. The car keys with the fob – his lifeline – were snatched away and his arms pulled around his back, thin plastic strips tightened around his wrists. The soles of his shoes slid and bumped on the tarmac as he was led to the rear of the Zodiac. He heard the boot of a car being opened, the smell of the recently cleaned carpet inside assuring him which car it was as his legs were kicked from under him, tipping him into the open space. Conway’s voice cut through his fear. ‘Don’t worry. We don’t have far to go.’ Before he could answer the boot was slammed shut and he was swallowed by the darkness, the sound of his own breathing and cascading heartbeats deafening in the small space. The only other sound he could hear was the muffled laughter of the men who now controlled his destiny. He worked hard to control his bladder and bowels, slow his breathing and pulse rate.
What did they know? What did they know?
He convinced himself it was all part of the plan, assuring himself that if he was in their shoes he would have done the same to any wannabe new member of their illicit club. He heard doors slamming and engines starting, the sudden motion of the car rocking him to-and-fro in the boot. In a few minutes he would know – know if it was soon to be the end of The Network or soon to be the end of Sean Corrigan.
    ***
    The car stopped abruptly, rolling him around in the boot like a small boat in a stormy sea. He heard doors open, but no voices – no mocking laughter – just intimidating silence. They were getting ready for something. The boot was opened, flooding it with light and making Sean squint even though he was still covered with the hood. Arms grabbed at his clothes and pulled him up into a sitting position before wrestling him over the ledge and dropping him on the floor with a sickening thud – his bound wrists preventing him from breaking the fall that knocked the wind out of him. More hands grabbed at him, pulling him up and onto his knees and cutting the plastic twine from his wrists before someone whipped the hood from his head, the brightness of the sudden light making him seal his eyes shut for a second or two. When he opened them, the men in balaclavas were gone, replaced by the strange creatures he’d seen in the obscene films – creatures with the ugly unclothed bodies of men and the beautiful heads of wild animals. He took a few seconds to take in the scene, looking up at the men standing in a line in front of him, trying to work out which one was Conway, until finally he removed his mask – the maned mask of the lion, of