فرار کردن

Chapter seven

Breaking out

Shortly before four o’clock, Munro got up off the bed. The grey man was still asleep in front of the television. Munro thought that he and the man were probably about the same size. Looking in the wardrobe again he found some old black trousers, and a dark blue wool jacket, also quite old and dirty. In one of the drawers he found a dark blue baseball cap and some sunglasses. Quickly, he changed. Looking in the mirror, he was pleased at the difference.

There were some trainers on the floor so Munro decided to change his shoes too. They were a bit small but not too uncomfortable. Anyway, Munro thought, small trainers would make him walk a little differently. That would be useful. Often we know someone by the way they walk. So it was a good idea to change your walk as well as your clothes. Everything about his appearance was now very different.

As a final touch Munro drank some whisky and put some more whisky over his clothes. Anyone who met him now would think he was in the middle of a weekend he would never remember.

As he moved things from the pockets of his old clothes to his new clothes, Munro turned his phone on and checked for messages. There was just one. from London. It read: VEJ 563.

Before he left the room, Munro looked out of the window down into the car park at the back of the hotel. On the far side was a blue car with a man in the driver’s seat. He was smoking a cigarette and reading a newspaper on the wheel in front of him. From time to time he looked up at the back door of the hotel. It was still going to be difficult to get away from the hotel, but at least now they did not know what he looked like.

As Munro went quietly down the stairs, he decided to try getting away through the back door. He was almost sure there would be someone watching both the back and the front. But if there were going to be any problems, the car park at the back was not so public. The London office did not like their executives making trouble in public places.

Munro got to the bottom of the stairs, pushed open the back door of the hotel and half fell into the car park. He wanted anyone watching to think that he had just come from the bar after a few too many drinks. He walked a little way across the car park towards Hameenkatu, and then he suddenly turned round, moving like a man half asleep, and started walking in the opposite direction. As he did so, he saw the man in the car open the door and start to get out. He was wearing a red T-shirt with the name ‘Harri’ on it. Perhaps it’s his name, thought Munro. Munro looked at him and realised that Harri’s orders must be to speak to everyone leaving the hotel. Munro moved closer to the wall of the hotel so that it would more difficult for other people to see them. As Harri came across to Munro, he spoke to him in Finnish.

‘Are you having a good party, my friend?’ he asked.

‘Not bad,’ said Munro in Finnish, his voice thick like a man who has had too much to drink.

‘I don’t drink here much myself,’ said Harri. ‘I prefer more expensive places.’

‘Got a cigarette?’ asked Munro.

He wanted Harri close to him and he wanted to be sure he didn’t know who Munro was. Harri put his hand into his jacket pocket, but suddenly stopped and looked closely at Munro. Munro couldn’t take a chance. He took one step forward and brought his knee up hard between Harri s legs. Harri’s head came forward and Munro hit him as hard as he could in the face. This time his head went back and he crashed to the ground. As he did so, however, Munro saw a dangerous-looking knife in Harris hand. Munro knew from Harri’s face that he had hurt him and that this fight was now very serious.

Harri got to his feet, his face red with anger. Holding the knife in front of him, he moved towards Munro.

‘You’ll be sorry for that,’ he said in English.

Munro moved back until he could feel the wall behind him. Harri smiled.

‘You can’t go back any further, my English friend. Now I have you.’

And as he said this, he ran forward. Munro took a step to his right. The knife hit the wall and flew out of Harri’s hand. His hand crashed into the wall and he half fell, turning towards Munro. Munro closed his hand into a fist and threw it hard, crashing it up into the bottom of Harris nose. There was a horrible sound as the bone in his nose broke. Harris eyes closed. His body dropped to the ground.

Munro looked down at him.

‘I should have told you,’ he said. ‘I’m Scottish, not English.’

Munro’s hand hurt and he was shaking after the fight.

He checked the car park quickly but no-one else was around. He moved the body under one of the cars near the back of the car park and then ran towards Hameenkatu. Now he had to take care of the men at the front of the hotel.