‘Fucking kids,’ Eddie said loudly. He waited for the boat to stabilise before rising again. The driver pulsed the outboard to get as close as he dared to the cliff. ‘Okay, hold it steady, hold it…’
He waited for the boat’s shoreward side to roll upwards — and jumped.
Even though the gap was only just over six feet, he didn’t quite clear it. He slammed against the wall, both hands finding grip on the rock, but his feet splashed into the water. ‘Shit!’ he growled, pulling himself upwards to find dry footing.
Zane stopped and looked down. ‘Did you get your feet wet, old man?’
‘Old man, my arse,’ Eddie said, glowering at the Israeli. ‘Go over to the left; those plants above you won’t take any weight.’
‘This isn’t my first climb.’ The younger man resumed his ascent.
Eddie shook his head, then started after him. The boat turned back out to sea, and the pair were left alone.
It didn’t take long for Eddie to catch up with Zane, though to his annoyance, he realised it was because the Mossad agent had deliberately slowed down. ‘Okay,’ said the Yorkshireman, ‘wait here for a sec.’
‘Why, are you out of breath?’
‘Piss-taking little bastard… No, I want to find the best route so we don’t get stuck — or climb up right in front of one of his guards.’ Eddie cautiously leaned backwards to survey the cliff. The villa’s lowest floor was about sixty feet above, a wall marking the patio’s eastern end. If anyone looked over it, the climbers would be seen, but the chances of that happening were low… he hoped.
Besides, the patio wasn’t his destination. ‘We should be able to reach one of those balconies on the top two floors,’ he said. ‘Okay, so if we keep going straight up, then when we get level with that bush go right and then back around towards the house where those vines are, we’ll avoid that really steep bit.’ He indicated a near-vertical chimney that rose from the sea almost to the villa’s foundations.
‘That takes us the long way round,’ Zane complained. ‘We should go left before we get to the bush. It’ll be much quicker.’
‘It’s an overhang! The whole point of doing this was that we wouldn’t need ropes and pitons to get up there — never mind having to be fucking Spider-Man.’
‘I know I can make it,’ the Mossad agent sniffed. ‘Come on. We’re wasting time.’
‘For fuck’s sake,’ said Eddie, but his companion had already started climbing again. With a rumble of irritation, he followed.
They picked their way upwards. Thirty feet above the water, Eddie peered over his shoulder. There was a risk that somebody on a passing boat might spot them and draw the attention of the watchers on the shore, but the vessels were all some distance out, and those aboard were focused on their own pleasures.
He looked up again. Zane was clambering towards the villa with apparently zero effort despite the seventy-degree slope. ‘Christ, the kid’s a fucking gibbon,’ Eddie grumbled as he searched for his next handhold.
The Israeli was indeed taking the quicker route, heading for an overhanging arch sixty feet up. Small stones dropped from a crevice as he moved his foot from it, forcing Eddie to shield his eyes as they pattered down on to his head. ‘Oi! Fucking watch what you’re doing,’ he said, stopping to brush away the debris. ‘That almost—’
Dirt crumbled — and his feet slipped.
He gasped as he dropped, free hand snatching desperately at the bare rock—
His nails found a crack and he jerked to a stop, all his weight taken by his fingertips before he found new support with the edge of his sole. ‘Jesus Christ!’ he gasped.
‘Chase! Are you okay?’ asked Zane.
‘Yeah, fucking wonderful!’ he snapped back. ‘That’s what happens if you knock stuff down on to people underneath you. You fucking bell-end,’ he added.
‘Sounds like you’re okay,’ said the Mossad agent. ‘But I’ll be more careful.’
‘You’d bloody better.’ Eddie carefully checked his hand. His palm had acquired a nasty graze, and his fingers were throbbing, but beyond that he was unharmed. He had been lucky.
Zane had already set off again. Eddie allowed himself a few more seconds to recover from his fright before following. ‘I still think we should go the easier way,’ he said, keeping his voice low now that they were potentially within earshot of the people above.
‘We’ll be okay,’ the younger man replied. ‘If you get stuck, don’t worry — I’ll help you up.’
‘Funny kid,’ Eddie muttered. He paused to survey the cliff again. From this angle, the overhang looked more treacherous than ever, and to complicate matters further, the wind had picked up.
Zane was still heading for the arch, however. Eddie sighed, glancing over one shoulder as he started after him—
A launch was angling towards the jetty.
‘Hey!’ Eddie hissed. ‘There’s a boat, keep still! They’re more likely to see us if we’re moving.’
No response. Zane hadn’t heard him over the wind. The Israeli had reached the overhang, his bare hands the only thing keeping him from a long fall as he clambered along its underside. Eddie moved higher and tried again. ‘Zane!’
The other man looked back. ‘What?’
‘There’s another boat coming in! Keep still or they’ll see us!’
Zane twisted to look, and let out a Hebrew curse. He stopped his advance, digging his fingers into a crevice on the underside of the rock.
Eddie reached a secure position. The guard on the dock was now in view, walking to meet the incoming boat. Three men were aboard the small but expensive-looking craft: two crew in the front, and an older passenger. All were watching the guard, but if they looked along the cliffs…
‘Chase!’
The cry from above was almost strangled, Zane desperately trying not to shout. Eddie looked up. His companion was still suspended from the overhang… but the cliff face beneath it was too friable for him to brace himself with his feet.
And his hands were slipping.
The boat slowed as it lined up with the jetty. The guard went to the edge of the dock to receive a mooring line. The passenger gazed up at the villa — putting the two climbers in his peripheral vision. If they made any big movements, he would see them…
‘Chase!’ Zane gasped again, now with fear. ‘I can’t hold on!’ He tried to pull his legs towards the rockface — but the movement tore his right hand loose from its grip.
The guard caught the rope and wrapped it around a metal cleat. The passenger looked back at him—
The Israeli scrabbled frantically for a new handhold, but found none. He hung for a moment, suspended only by the fingertips of his left hand…
Then he fell.
16
Zane plunged straight down—
Eddie’s outstretched hand clamped around his wrist.
Pain flared in the Englishman’s other hand as his clawed fingers took Zane’s full unsupported weight. ‘Don’t — fuckin’ — move,’ Eddie rasped.
The boat was now tied up. The passenger stepped on to the jetty.
‘Chase, I’m slipping!’ Zane gasped. Eddie felt the Israeli’s sweat-drenched hand sliding through his. He squeezed more tightly, but knew he was about to lose him…
The new arrival rolled his head to work out a crick in his neck, then spoke to the guard. The man replied, the visitor nodding. For an agonising moment they remained still… then the pair started for the steps.
The crewmen turned their attention back to the boat. Eddie waited, still straining to keep hold of Zane’s hand. The instant the two men on the jetty passed out of sight, he hauled the younger man upwards. ‘Get a foothold!’
Zane’s feet scrabbled at the rock, finding a small protrusion. He pushed himself higher. Eddie shifted to bring his companion’s free hand within reach of the cliff. The Mossad agent grabbed it, letting out a loud gasp of relief. ‘You safe?’ Eddie asked.