Cassie would have liked to have told the bitch from hell just where she should stuff her cleaning utensils, instead she said nothing, for to do otherwise would have brought swift punishment upon her, punishment of the very painful kind. Cassie knew this because she had tried it once and then she had suffered for it. Some might say the pain would have been worth the effort, but Cassie knew better, she just prayed to god to save her, to save Christina and to ensure that nothing happened to the twins, she knew that Rob could look after himself. Cassie did not know it but the prayers of the righteous, when coming from Hell, carried more weight than if they had been said on Earth.
**********
Veigel was in New Delhi investigating the report that Christina Hinds was in the house of Shekhar, a relatively powerful Indian Satanist; he had visited the house before so he knew exactly where it was. Veigel also knew the layout of the large house, having been summoned to it by the Satanist Shekhar, and he guessed that Christina was being kept in the cellar beneath the rear of the house. To ensure that he was not spotted, for Moira would make him pay dearly if she learned that he had been working against her, Veigel meant to stay only fleetingly within the cellar, he certainly did not need to materialise, however to his consternation he was stopped from entering by a similar protection spell to the one that Rob used. However, Veigel knew the house quite well, so he quickly went around to the rear of the house and looked through the small window of the cellar. There was just enough light for him to see her, and also the demon watcher who being a very minor being did not notice him.
It was growing dark when Veigel, still feeling very delicate after his drinking session, and now tired from his travels around the planet and across dimensions, returned to the house in Walton on Thames, here he found Rob and David growing more and more impatient.
"Masters, I have located the woman named Christina Hinds, she is in India, in New Delhi learning to be the hand maiden of the great lord Lucifer, however the younger one, Cassie, is in the hell dimension of the Netherworld, there she too is a hand maiden, but in service to the powerful Satanist Moira Bourbon, your sworn enemy." Veigel declared loudly and happily for he was only moments away from receiving his prize. "You should be aware that a very minor demon guards the cellar where Christina Hinds is imprisoned, although it is quite large and very strong."
Rob knew that they could easily deal with a minor demon and so he just breathed a sigh of relief, for he knew that he would soon have Christina back, however he knew that he would have to think long and hard if he was going to find a way to get Cassie back. Pushing this problem to the back of his mind, he cross-examined the demon.
"Where exactly in New Delhi is she being held Veigel?" Rob asked.
Veigel waved his hands and a veil of mist appeared to one side of him, within the veil Rob could see the city of New Delhi appear, and just like Google Earth, the demon slowly zoomed in on the house of the Satanist.
"Hold that picture Veigel while I identify it on my computer." Rob ordered the demon.
Soon Rob had Google Earth on his laptop screen and zooming in as he had seen the demon do; he had soon identified the area where the Satanist lived. It took a bit of fine-tuning, with Veigel zooming out again and then back in, but Rob soon had the exact house on his screen.
"Good work Veigel, now tell us exactly whereabouts in the house they are keeping my wife, and then all of the Scotch whisky will be yours." Rob said.
"Thank you Master, your woman is in the cellar beneath the rear of the house, it can be reached from the store cupboard just before the kitchen door. One other thing Mr Hinds, the whisky is just a bonus, you still have to pay me the blood fee." Veigel replied happily.
Rob looked at David and asked quizzically. "The blood fee?"
"I am afraid that it will have to be paid, the demon employed by a Satanist must be paid with one pint of the Satanist`s blood, or else the demon is liable to become angry, Veigel may decide to let Moira know where we are and what we have learned. Once paid however, the demon cannot reveal to anyone his dealings with the Satanist." David replied guiltily. "I am afraid my jet lag is still playing havoc with my mind."
"Veigel, I will pay the blood fee, but no more than one pint mind you." Rob said.
Veigel moved quickly to Rob`s side and bit into his neck, Rob winced as the sharp teeth cut into his neck and then he felt his blood being sucked out of his vein. True to the deal, Veigel had soon taken his blood fee and moments later, he and the box of Scotch whisky disappeared.
Rob and David now demon proofed the one room they were using so that Rob could use his mobile phone without being overheard.
**********
Sitting in his office within the headquarters of the SIS, Sir Willoughby Brown was working at his desk when his phone rang, picking up the phone he just said yes, it was Rob on the other end of the line.
"Sir Richard, I know where Moira has taken my wife, New Delhi, I need passage for David and me of the express kind, can you help me?"
"New Delhi, yes Rob I can, I happen to know one of the senior men in India`s intelligence agency, Rahul Chowdhury. Tickets will be waiting for you two at the British Airways desk at Heathrow, you will be met there by the head of security for the airport, he will give you further instructions." Sir Willoughby Brown replied.
"Thank you Sir Richard." Rob replied gratefully,
"Tell me everything Rob and I will give Rahul what I think he should know."
Rob was loathe having this information given out to anyone, let alone a stranger, but he told Sir Willoughby Brown everything, if Sir Richard vouched for him then he must be all right. After making a few notes, Sir Willoughby Brown said.
"All right Rob I will have Chowdhury supply you with a weapon, as you are unlikely to get one through security these days." With that, he ended the call.
Rob had no fear of a demon overhearing their conversation for Rob knew that Sir Willoughby Brown would have personally demon proofed the whole of the area within and around his office to ensure this, having noted the procedure when Rob carried it out. Sir Willoughby Brown had also ensured that Rob always kept an adequate supply of the necessary items in the store cupboard for just such an occasion as this.
**********
From within their secure room, Rob now told David what had transpired over the telephone, and after ringing Angela Collins and checking on the twins, they left the house and drove off for Heathrow Airport.
On arrival at the British Airways desk, they were given their tickets and an envelope containing their instructions. Ruhal Chowdhury had agreed to have them met at the airport by an agent of the Indian intelligence agency as they passed through passport control, there would be no written sign in the arrivals lounge to give their arrival in India away to any potential enemy.
The flight was long, boring and Rob thought that it would never end, but finally they were sitting in an office speaking to Rahul Chowdhury.
"I have checked Shekhar out on our computer Mr Hinds, and also on the IPS computer of our Police Service, but I did not find anything, however if he is a serious player of the black arts then he would keep it a dark secret. Tonight I will have two of my best men accompany you and Mr Pritchard to Shekhar`s house, there you will be met by a third man, an expert in by-passing alarm systems. The operation will be an extremely covert affair as Sir Willoughby Brown would not tell me what proof you have that your wife is actually there, nor how you found out her precise location within the building. However, I have been hearing strange things regarding your agency, and especially lately, so maybe I would have believed whatever it is that your department is hiding. I also heard that it was your agency that was behind the attack by your Navy on the supposed Daesh submarine. One that was supposed to be within your country`s waters, and the attack was carried out with the full agreement with not just the NATO countries but also Russia, this I find most intriguing."
Rob merely smiled at Rahul Chowdhury, and as he was bound by the official secrets act, he could d
o no more.
"I realise that you are eager to free your wife from the clutches of a Satanist, however as I just said, your refusal to offer any proof whatsoever means that this operation must be covert, so at 2am tomorrow morning you will be taken to Shekhar`s house where my two agents will help you to rescue your wife. Remember Mr Hinds, this is not your country, it is mine, Agent Aghari will be in charge of the operation, the two of you will do as he says, is that understood?" Chowdhury asked of Rob and David.
"Yes Sir, we fully understand and we will comply with your orders." Rob replied politely.
And he would keep to his word, if at all possible, but he was not going to leave the Satanist`s house without his wife, he would do whatever it took to ensure that.
"In the meantime gentlemen you will be our guests, you will be escorted to our guest quarters where the two of you can catch up on your sleep; you will be called when it is time to leave." Rahul Chowdhury said firmly.
Rob Stood up angrily and asked. "Do I understand that we are to be kept here whether we like it or not Sir?"
Chowdhury looked up at Rob and simply replied yes, he then rang a bell and two agents entered the large office.
"Mr Hinds, these are the two agents who will assist you tomorrow morning, I am told that you use a Walther P99, Agent Aghari will provide you with one." Chowdhury said before turning to David. "Mr Pritchard, I am told that you do not use any weapons except your mind, I am impressed." Chowdhury said and then he turned to Aghari. "Agent Aghari please escort these two agents to the guest quarters and ensure that they stay there until it is time for your team to set off.
**********
It had just turned one o`clock the next morning when Rob and David were woken from their sleep, for despite their eagerness to rescue Christina Hinds, they both fell into a deep sleep, caused by the sleeping draft they had inadvertently taken when they had a cup of tea after their meal.
It was just a minute after two o`clock when their vehicle stopped in a street at the back of the Satanists house, Agent Sanjay Aghari now told Rob and David all that the two agents had discovered about the house and its grounds.
"Rob, Manu and I scouted out the place while the two of you slept. The place has two male and four female servants, there are also three very large Rottweiler dogs that have the run of the grounds, we will have to take them out quietly before we can break into the house." Sanjay Aghari began. "Manu here has been trained to use a tranquillizer rifle; he will take them out before they wake up the Satanist."
"Good to hear it Sanjay." Rob replied.
"More good news is the fact that the staff all live away from the place, apart from Shekhar the place should be deserted, I suppose he does all his black arts during the night and he does not want any of the servants around to talk about what they might witness." Sanjay said.
"As you say Sanjay, more good news." Rob replied a lot happier.
"The place is alarmed of course but an old friend of mine will get us inside the house and from there all we have to do is find your wife." Sanjay Aghari said and then he smiled.
Just then, a very short man appeared out of nowhere to tap on the side window of their vehicle.
"Ah, this is Arun Ram our alarms expert, he is an ex-con, but he owes me so much that he has agreed to help us out, he also never talks about his jobs so no one will get to hear of our covert operation, at least not from him." Sanjay Aghari said. "Right you will be glad to know Rob that it is time to move out.
The moon was out, lighting up their way, which was something that Rob was happy about seeing as there were three large dogs in the grounds of the Satanist`s house. Sanjay moved off in the lead carrying a large bag with Manu Patel following on behind him carrying a similar bag, then came Rob carrying a large holdall, David carrying a similar bag and Arun Ram who just carried a black attach? case. Sanjay stopped at a high wall and here he put his bag down and on opening it, he pulled out a stout piece of rope with a large hook on the end, this he threw to the top of the wall and pulled it tight. He then climbed up the rope to the top of the wall, David followed, although he needed some help from Rob and Manu. Once at the top David dropped down to the other side of the wall, Sanjay now threw the five bags down to him and David was soon joined by the others of the team. The ground on the other side of the wall was mostly open with just the odd tree and decorative bush. It was behind one of the bushes that they first caught sight, and then heard the three guard dogs that were worrying an Asian palm civet that was trapped up a Mulberry tree. This was why the dogs did not hear the five men enter the garden and it allowed Manu to set up his rifle. The first of the dogs fell silently to the ground, but this had the other two animals looking around them for the reason why. Manu now took out the second dog and while the third animal headed his way, he took it out. Rob and his team could now approach the side of the house where Arun Ram would deal with the alarm system. It took the retired burglar fifteen long minutes to ensure that their entrance into the house went unnoticed.
Arun Ram led the way into the kitchen of the large house, and using a powerful torch he was soon standing before the door that led from the kitchen to the rest of the house. Instead of just opening the door he first checked to ensure that it was not connected to an internal alarm system, finding that it was not he opened the door and stepped through into a long hallway, which he scanned with his torch. Moments later, he located another door, it was to a cupboard, once again he checked it to ensure that it was safe to proceed and then he stepped inside the cupboard to search for the hidden entrance to the cellar. Suddenly there was a loud click and the secret door swung inwards into blackness.
"Sanjay, Manu, perhaps the two of you should stay here on guard, we have been told that a minor demon is on guard down below, and when we deal with him he is sure to scream long and loud." Rob advised.
Hearing about the demon caused Arun Ram to step back into the hallway, however Sanjay had been ordered to establish whom or what was in the cellar, and to establish that Christina Hinds wanted to be rescued.
"I will lead the way Rob, you two can follow me." Sanjay said in a commanding tone.
"Sanjay, perhaps I should lead the way." David advised. "You can follow and Rob can bring up the rear. If there is indeed a demon down there then it needs another expert to deal with it."
David put down his own large holdall and pulled out a large 20-litre garden pressure sprayer, it was filled with water that David had blessed before that had their meal, Rob was now similarly armed, they both slung them over their shoulders.
Sanjay looked quizzically at David and then Rob and then he shrugged his shoulders.
"All right then, Manu you stay here with Arun Ram while we three go down and rescue the lady in distress." Sanjay said with a bemused smile upon his young face.
Rob looked across at Manu and gave him some advice.
"Manu, the Satanist will probably appear when he hears the demon scream, use your tranquillizer gun to take him out immediately he shows, it may not be necessary but if he is half as powerful as the other Satanists we have met, he will not need a weapon to take you out, just his mind." Rob said.
Manu looked as bemused as Sanjay had done as he looked from Rob to David; Sanjay merely nodded his head in agreement and said.
"Do it Manu, just do it, we already knew that this operation would be a weird one."
With everyone happy, if bemused, David led the way down to the cellar, his garden sprayer over his back, his right hand on the trigger, and a powerful torch in his left hand.
At the bottom of the wooden staircase they came to another door, which was bolted on their side. Sliding the bolt across with his torch David pushed the door open and stepped forward into a dark and very cold room, his torch swinging across the room as he looked for the demon, and of course Christina.
**********
Christina Hinds had been woken by the voices of people talking on the floor above; however, their voices were too indistinct to make out who they were or
what they said. Then she heard the bolt on the only door that provided access to the room, slide across, and in the dim light coming through the smallest of grilled windows she saw the door swing open. First the light of one torch blinded her followed by a second and then a third; the torches stopped searching the room when they reached Christina. However, before they could react to the sight of her, they heard a noise, for behind the three men a sleeping demon had awoken because it too had heard their voices followed by their descent to the basement. However, it was only after the light from the powerful torches lit up Christina that it realised that the intruders had come for her. The demon leapt to its feet growling threateningly, the three men swung round to confront it just as the demon charged towards them. Rob and David were sent flying to crash down heavily upon the floor, winded, as Sanjay, who almost froze at the sight of the demon, reacted to the danger. Firing his automatic pistol, he emptied his magazine but to no effect, the demon howled in pain, knocked his weapon from his hand and then picked him up and began to shake him. Manu hearing the shots and roars coming from the cellar rushed down the staircase screaming out the name of his friend. However, Rob and David had both recovered enough to aim their high-pressure garden sprayers at the demon and they sent the full 40 litres of holy water shooting across the room to hit the demon fairly upon its demonic back. It stopped its shaking of Sanjay and instead it screamed in pain, and then it disappeared leaving only the ghastly smell of hell behind it.
Sanjay fell to the floor in a heap as Manu using his torch quickly found the light switch, temporarily blinding them all.
"Sanjay, are you all right?" Manu gasped out looking for whatever thing, person or demon, or whatever the others had been fighting.
"I`m fine Manu." Then Sanjay saw Christina standing by the small cot, "Everything is fine Manu, just go back up and keep watch for the Satanist, and take him out immediately you see him." Sanjay advised for he now believed all that Rob and David had said to them, even if it turned all of his previous thoughts upside down.