فاجعه!

CHAPTER TWELVE

Disaster!

The next morning, after breakfast, Tom and Kemal sat looking at a street map of Istanbul. ‘Look here,’ Kemal said. He pointed to a small street.

‘Diinya’s shop is in this street. Now, look at the street behind his shop. We’ll have to find a way into the courtyard from that side.’

‘Do you know that part of the city?’ asked Tom.

‘Not very well. As far as I remember, there are only offices, warehouses and workshops there. At night it will be quiet, but we’ll have to be very careful.’

‘OK, we’ll do it tonight,’ said Tom.

They left Kemal’s flat in Sisli at ten o’clock and drove across the city to Diinya’s shop. They parked the car two blocks from the workshop. There were not many street lights there and it was dark.

‘Come on,’ said Kemal. ‘We must walk from here.’

They walked along the dark streets. They were both wearing dark clothes. They came to the street which ran behind Diinya’s workshop and courtyard.

‘You see?’ said Kemal quietly. ‘Only offices, warehouses and workshops - nobody lives in this street. The courtyard must be up this alleyway, behind these buildings.’

They looked up and down the dark street. No cars, no one in sight.

‘Let’s go,’ whispered Kemal.

They walked quickly up the alleyway. Tom’s heart was beating fast, his mouth dry with fear. They stood behind one of the warehouses, beside the courtyard wall. Somewhere in the distance a dog barked.

‘Help me up,’ whispered Kemal. ‘Quietly!’

Tom stood with his back against the wall. He held his hands together. Kemal put his foot in Tom’s hands and reached up.

‘OK,’ Kemal whispered.

Kemal looked carefully over the wall. The courtyard was empty.

Kemal pulled himself up and sat on top of the wall.

‘Give me your hand,’ whispered Kemal down to Tom. ‘I’ll pull you up.’

Tom reached up. Kemal took his hand and pulled. Tom put his other hand on the top of the wall and climbed on to the wall beside Kemal.

Kemal dropped silently to the ground in the courtyard. Suddenly there was a noise. It came from inside the workshop.

Kemal pointed to the side. They hurried silently over to the wall, and waited.

Another noise. A door opened and closed inside the workshop. A light came on in the workshop and shone out across the courtyard. Tom and Kemal stood frozen against the wall. They expected a door to open and men to run out into the courtyard. But nothing happened. They heard people talking and moving about inside. Kemal put his mouth close to Tom’s ear.

‘This is our only chance,’ he whispered. ‘We have to try to see what they’re doing in there.’

They moved very slowly towards the window. It was so quiet that Tom could hear his heart beating. At last they were going to find out what was happening.

There were some men in the workshop. One of them was working with an onyx table lamp. The lamp had been cut in half. He put a small plastic bag inside the lamp. Then he fixed the two halves of the lamp together again.

Tom looked at all the onyx and brass ornaments, the cutting tools, the pile of plastic bags on the table. Suddenly he understood what was happening.

Ornaments for export to England, and inside the ornaments - opium!

‘So that’s it!’ he whispered to Kemal. ‘They’re smuggling drugs in the ornaments!’

Tom stepped back from the window. Perhaps he was excited by what he had seen. Perhaps he forgot where he was. But suddenly, he put his foot on a stone and slipped.

He put out his hand and knocked against a piece of wood. The piece of wood fell to the ground with a loud crash.

A light came on, a door opened, and men rushed out.

‘Run!’ shouted Kemal.

‘Stop!’ shouted a man. ‘Catch them!’

Seconds later, Tom and Kemal were at the wall. They jumped, but Tom was too slow. One of the men caught his legs and pulled him to the ground.

Kemal turned to help Tom. Then it was too late. The other men jumped up and pulled him back into the courtyard. A few seconds later it was all over. Tom and Kemal were prisoners.