Tested by Fire

by David Costa

  Now, as Reece had been taught, he steadied his feet and his breathing and waited for the target to speak once more. Costello taking a breath to speak would be the signal he needed to ensure he didn’t miss.

  ‘No, you…’ Costello never finished the sentence Reece fired once… the bullet hitting the middle of Costello’s temple and blowing off the back of his head and spraying blood, bone, and brain matter out in a straight line behind him. The force of the round spinning him backwards, his grip on Mary lost, and the gun falling from his dead hand. His fall was broken partly by the boot of the BMW and he finally rolled to a stop in the road on his back. His eyes open, staring in surprise at the sky. Reece moved above him and put two more rounds into Costello’s chest. Make sure when they are down, they’re down for good, so went the training.

  It was then that Reece heard Mary screaming above the noise of the arriving emergency service vehicles. She was on her knees looking at her hands with tears streaming down her face. He could see there was blood on her cheek and in her hair. He knelt beside her stroking his hand through her hair but he couldn’t find a wound…the blood belonged to April and Costello. She was still screaming when he pulled her close to him.

  ‘You’re all right, it’s over,’ he said.

  Her screaming stopped and she buried her head into his shoulder sobbing. The paramedics quickly hooked April up to a drip and started working on her in the ambulance.

  ‘Can you go to the hospital with April?’ Reece asked looking into Mary’s tear-filled eyes. ‘I need to stay here and chase up the woman and I want you to get looked at as well, can you do that for me?’

  Her voice was hoarse with all the screaming and she struggled to whisper, ‘OK, but come and find me, I need you.’

  ‘Call it in, Joe, get these two to the hospital, Steve and I will see if we can find Lyndsey. There was only one way it was going to end for this bastard, he knew it and he would have tried to take as many of us as he could before then.’

  ‘No argument from me, David, if you hadn’t shot him, I would have.’

  Reece walked back to the car. Harrison had arrived at the same time as the ambulance and the armed police response teams. Reece was surprised to see ACC Lockwood.

  ‘Mister Reece, I’ve taken control of the scene and circulated the description of the woman who shot your friend here. You can get your people off the ground now and leave this to me.’

  ‘That’s OK by me, sir. Did we grab the other man at the Conference?’

  It was Harrison who replied.

  ‘We have him, David, he came quietly, and the Tango Team are taking him to the hanger as we speak. CCTV showed the woman who shot April go into the NCP down the street but then we lost her.’

  ‘If she’s as smart as we think she is, she’s long gone but we can make a search through the car park and down to the train station. Lockwood, can you get your people to the station and continue to check the CCTV?’

  ‘You still have priority when it comes to these people, Mister Reece, and to tell you the truth, you’re welcome to them, but we’ll help you look for her. In the meantime, we’ll have SO19 clear the apartment,’ said Lockwood.

  Reece was pleased that at last he seemed to get the whole idea that the SG9 team were not the bad guys.

  The three SG9 agents headed to the NCP car park, Reece in front, followed closely by Harrison and Cousins. The car park was like any other, large and cavernous, and there was no sign of the woman they were looking for. They continued to walk down to the Deansgate rail and tram station, still no sign.

  ‘Alpha One, this is Alpha Control, come in, over.’

  It was the voice of Jim Broad.

  ‘Go ahead, Alpha Control,’ replied Reece.

  ‘David, we’ve been checking all the CCTV in your area through our live feed here. We have the woman in the scarf entering the NCP on foot but not leaving on foot. However, we do have a Ford van, similar to the one we were looking for, leaving the car park shortly after the shooting but we lost it heading towards the city centre. We’ve put out a stop with caution alert to all police in the area, but she may be well gone by now.’

  ‘Understood, Alpha Control, we’ll take a final look around the station area then come back to you for a debrief.’

  ‘Roger that, Alpha One. See you soon.’

  The further search produced nothing and the three SG9 agents returned to the hanger for the debrief to Jim Broad.

  It soon became clear that with the two dead terrorists in Irlam and Costello in Deansgate Lyndsey was now on the run and keeping her head down. It didn’t take them long to interrogate Mohammad and get the full details of what the terror group had been planning. It appeared he was a willing talker and not as brave as he thought he was.

  ‘Any word on April?’ asked Reece.

  ‘I’m sorry, David, she didn’t make it. She died in the ambulance without saying anything. She lost too much blood. Mary stayed with her all the way, she’s at the hospital now,’ said Broad.

  ‘Now that we have everything under control here, I’m off to the hospital to pick Mary up.’

  Chapter Sixty-six

  The Prime Minister and Sir Martyn Bryant had listened quietly when Sir Ian Fraser briefed them concerning the morning’s activities.

  ‘On the whole, your team have done a fantastic job, Sir Ian,’ said the PM. ‘I mean, tracking these people down to completely breaking up their plans, not to say anything about killing three and capturing one. Of course, we must remember the brave SAS soldier who lost his life and your dead agent.’

  ‘It’s hard to lose anyone, but she was one of our best and will be sorely missed. Her family will never know the true sacrifice she made. They never knew she was one of our agents, only that she was attached to the police in some capacity. And of course, we must not forget the regrettable loss of the caretaker, Mister Williams.’

  ‘Of course, Sir Ian, and the fact that this woman who you believe to be Lyndsey escaped,’ said Sir Martin Bryant.

  ‘Yes, that’s the only downside, that, and the sad death of our people and the innocent civilian. We have an all-ports bulletin out with her description and I’ve instructed our agents and stations around the globe to find out where she is, but she knows all the tricks to keep her head down and has many friends in the Islamic world who will give her protection, but she’ll stick her head out of her hiding place again and we’ll be ready.’

  Peter Brookfield held his hand up to take over the conversation.

  ‘I’ll be addressing the Conference shortly. All I’ll be saying is that our security services have prevented a terrorist attack in the streets of this city. I won’t be specific on what the target was and that’ll remain our secret. In the meantime, Sir Ian, I want to thank you and your agents for the great service they’ve done for our country. They were truly tested by fire and have come through with flying colours. Please pass on the thanks of a grateful nation. I’ll see you at the next Intelligence Committee meeting with Sir Martin in London next week and maybe you’ll have some more news on this Lyndsey woman.’

  Hurghada, Egypt: Two Weeks Later

  Reece and Harrison had arrived at the Egyptian Airport of Hurghada on a tourist flight from London Gatwick. The taxi to the 5-star Hilton Hotel resort in the city took fifteen minutes. The hotel itself overlooked the bay at the southern end of town.

  Jim Broad had briefed Reece the day before in the SG9 office in London. As a result of the SG9 operation in Manchester and the follow up, they had sent full-face photos of Sharon Lyndsey to all European, Middle East, and Far East security agencies to look out for and report back to London.

  Three days ago, MI6 had received a report from its embassy spook in Cairo that a woman they believed matched the photo and description of Sharon Lyndsey had travelled to the Hilton Hotel Resort in Hurghada after crossing the border from Sudan.

  She seemed to like Hilton Hotels, thought Reece when he heard. The photo taken of her at the border checkpoint had been quickly ma
tched using facial recognition confirming her to be Lyndsey.

  Reece and Harrison had been met outside the airport terminal by the resident Cairo spook and given a large buff envelope in a handoff that took a split second.

  When they had booked into the hotel, Reece opened the envelope in their room. Inside was a folder containing the up-to-date photos taken by the Egyptian surveillance team of Lyndsey sunning herself by the pool and swimming in the Red Sea of the resort. A short note confirmed she just seemed to be filling the role of a tourist relaxing and using the resort facilities with no sign of bodyguards.

  The envelope contained two Berretta Semi-Automatic .22 pistols with fully loaded magazines. The pistol of choice for the assassin teams of the Israeli Mossad Kidon units. Each bullet would contain half the powder, this made the weapon just as deadly up close but with the noise given out of a silenced gun making it easier to conceal and use. The note had also said that in the short time they’d been watching Lyndsey each evening she’d taken a walk to a coffee shop and supermarket in the street behind the hotel. There was a small map with an X showing the café and a photo showing Lyndsey sitting at an outside table.

  The spooks could also confirm through a contact that she was staying in the hotel for a week in one of the penthouse rooms and seemed to have plenty of cash. Reece took the note and map into the bathroom and burnt them in the sink; washing the charred pages down the drain. He used his encrypted mobile phone to let Broad know that it was Lyndsey and they would confirm her movements tonight and move at 2000hrs Egypt time the next evening.

  Reece and Harrison left the hotel at 7.30 p.m. and walked to the café taking seats at the back facing the street. From there they watched Lyndsey walk out the rear hotel door and cross the street to take up a table at the front, facing back the way she’d travelled.

  She ordered from the waiter and lit a cigarette. Even though it was now dark, it was still warm. She wore large wraparound sunglasses, a silk scarf around her neck and pulled up to her mouth, and a white linen dress. She was carrying the same type of shoulder bag she’d carried in Manchester. No doubt containing a gun, thought Reece. There was no obvious sign of bodyguards, but they noticed two men of Middle Eastern appearance walk into the café and take up a table to the right of Lyndsey seconds after she’d sat down. To Reece they didn’t fit. They were watching the street to the front of the café. Reece recognised the signs they were there because she was there. The Cairo spook had missed them because they didn’t walk close to her. That could be a problem, but one they were prepared for. If they got in the way they were going down with her, thought Reece.

  Reece and Harrison stayed in the café until Lyndsey left and the two men followed her a short distance behind. When Reece returned to the room, he contacted Broad once more and updated him on the two men. They weren’t sure if they were bodyguards or Egyptian security, but either way the operation would go down at the café the following night.

  As far as the two men were concerned they would work to the rules used by Mossad: if they moved to become combatants then they would be treated as such and dealt with.

  Reece and Broad had agreed the escape plan for afterwards. Nothing that would show who they were would be left behind. Lyndsey left the café around 8 p.m. each night so the operation would be aimed for that time.

  The following night Reece and Harrison took up the same seats at the café and ordered coffee. As far as both could see there was no CCTV which was to be expected…Lyndsey wouldn’t want to be caught on camera either. She arrived and sat at the same table as yesterday, closely followed by the two men. Their table was already taken by a young couple holding hands over a pot of tea, so they chose a different spot.

  Reece watched Lyndsey closely. She looked every inch the tourist wearing the same wraparound sunglasses and light clothing similar to that from the night before. She sat facing the street watching the world go by as she took sips from her cup. The two men sat deep in conversation looking around them as they talked.

  Reece and Harrison did the same and to anyone watching the scene, it was a normal café filled with everyday customers enjoying their coffee on a warm evening.

  Lyndsey searched in her shoulder bag and producing her purse she left a note of money under the saucer on her table and started to rise. This was the moment Reece and Harrison had agreed to move. The two men were also preparing to leave, and one produced his wallet, starting to extract the money to pay their bill. Reece moved behind Lyndsey as she stood while Harrison stood in front of the two men blocking their view.

  The two lovers told the police afterwards everything happened in seconds although it seemed to be in slow motion.

  Reece got close enough to whisper in Lyndsey’s ear, ‘This is for April.’ He pointed the Beretta at her right temple and as he pulled the trigger he was close enough to see through her sunglasses and the look of surprise as the two bullets, fired in quick succession, blew a hole through her brain. The blood spray was short as it poured over the white linin cloth on the table in front of her. Reece held her as she fell, and he was able to set her back in the chair and rest her head on the table.

  Harrison had the two men covered with his gun as they saw what had happened to Lyndsey. Both reached under their jackets but too late. Thanks to being seated, their options were limited. They had become combatants. Harrison shot the one to his right twice in the chest while, as they’d planned, Reece did the same to the one on the left. Both men fell, knocking over the surrounding tables, both dead before they hit the ground.

  The young lovers were in shock and looked on, mouths open as the two gunmen turned and walked casually down the street towards the corner of the hotel opposite and disappeared into the night.

  They walked down to the deserted beach and within seconds a Royal Navy dingy with two Special Boat Service operators arrived. They sailed out one mile to where they boarded the Royal Navy Destroyer HMS Ardross which had, until two days ago, been on exercise in the Red Sea. The ship sailed to Cyprus, leaving the Egyptian authorities totally baffled that the two men had completely disappeared.

  Not knowing who the men were and the discovery that their victims were Islamic terrorists, they believed the assassinations were the work of Mossad. The Egyptian authorities didn’t want the world to know Lyndsey and her friends had been enjoying themselves in their country so they decided not to look into the murders too closely, better to let sleeping dogs lie.

  Malta: One Month Later

  David Reece sat on the bench at the head of the costal walkway between Qawra and Bugibba watching the waves of St Paul’s Bay splash over the rocks below. He always enjoyed the walk along this path first thing in the morning when everything was still fresh, and the sun was just above the headland in front of him. The walk took him about a quarter of a mile from his small piece of heaven on earth the Villa St Joseph. From where he sat, he could see the new motor carriageway as it passed around the headland heading towards the capital Valletta.

  Mary sat down next to him. Even though it was the middle of November, the sun still radiated heat warm enough to allow them to wear light jackets over their T-shirts. When she sat down, she asked, ‘What are you thinking, Joseph?’

  He looked at her beautiful brown eyes as if for the first time. He loved how this woman could see into his soul and take away all the fears of life.

  ‘You asked me that once before and I think I told you I loved you and we’d be together after the work was over. Well, the work is over for now but there’ll be other times when I’ll have to work, maybe be away from you and I don’t know if I want to do that anymore.’

  ‘Let’s not worry about the future, let’s just have today, now, right here.’

  ‘You’re right. The work is done’

  ‘So, as I said, there’s nothing for us to do now except drink our coffee and then head back to the villa where we can make warm passionate love all day.’

  He loved her smile and the love they made together.

&nb
sp; ‘Answer me a question. Why do you still call me Joseph even though the job is over? You’re no longer my agent, you’re the woman I love?’

  ‘I know, and I love you too. I first knew you as Joseph, and you saved me from a life that was destroying me inside when you were called Joseph. So you’ll always be Joseph to me. The one man who kept his promise.’

  ‘All right, Joseph it is, but only for you, now let’s go get that coffee.’

  She took his hand and looking into his eyes she smiled.

  ‘Let’s skip the coffee.’

  About the Author

  The author has twenty-six years of experience working in anti-terrorist operations throughout the world and has used that knowledge throughout this book. Because of this background David Costa is of course a Pseudonym. David has been published in a short story anthology ‘When Stars will Shine’ and in three Poetry Anthologies.

  This book introduces David Reece, a terrorist hunter with a Black Ops Group SG9 attached to the British Secret Service MI6. His remit: to find the terrorists and eliminate them. In the first of three novels, we follow Reece and his team in their hunt for a terrorist cell who are determined to carry out a spectacular attack on British soil by killing the Prime Minister.

  A Note from the Author

  I hope you enjoy this story and if you would like to hear more or send me your thoughts, please feel free to do so.

  www.https://DavidCostaWriter.com

  Email. David.costa.writer@outlook.com

  Twitter. @Davidcostawrite

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