Light of the Sun: They always make a mistake and when they do, we kill them...

by David Costa

  ‘Are you sure it’s him?’ asked Anna.

  ‘Not a hundred per cent but there’s something about him.’

  ‘Did you see where he came from?’

  ‘No, I noticed him as we came out of the side street. He seemed to be walking with his head down and looking discreetly around him.’

  The target crossed the road again taking his time to look right and left, pretending to look at the traffic while at the same time watching for followers. It had started to rain again, and the dark evening light didn’t help surveillance. After crossing the road, the Arab turned into the next street down.

  ‘Target One into Upper Berkley Street.’ It was the voice of Cousins, who was now closer than he would like to be because of the man crossing the road almost in front of him.

  ‘Be careful,’ said Reece.

  ‘Roger that,’ replied Cousins.

  Cousins held back to give the target time to get a little further ahead. When he turned into the street, he could see the man turn into the first street on the right.

  ‘Target now into first street on the right,’ said Cousins.

  ‘Confirmed, Seymour Place. He appears to be walking the square may be looking for you, over.’ It was the voice from the Ops room following the movement on the board in front of them.

  Surveillance teams knew the term, which referred to checking for surveillance by identifying the same people or vehicles taking the same route especially if it’s an obscure route.

  ‘I’m going to try to make up some ground to see where he’s gone,’ said Cousins.

  Reece and Anna crossed the road, keeping to the opposite side as Cousins and increased their pace to make up the ground. The loud crack of three gunshots in quick succession split the night air. They had lost sight of Cousins as he had turned into the street on the right ahead of them. Both broke into a run at the same time pulling their weapons from their holsters. As they rounded the corner into the street Anna sprinted across to take up the further footpath while Reece swept the street looking down the barrel of his gun. The rain and darkness made it difficult to focus. He could see the body of a man, lying on the path forty yards in front of him. He could see no one else, the street was empty, even the traffic seemed to have deserted it.

  The closer Reece got to the figure, the more he swept the area with the gun as his pointer. Anna crossed over and knelt by the man while Reece continued to give cover. Cousins was on his back, staring up at the sky, his eyes blinking and his breathing heavy, as the rain washed down his pale face.

  ‘He’s alive,’ said Anna.

  ‘Alpha one to control, I need an ambulance and back-up to my location now.’ Reece spoke into his body mic.

  Kneeling beside Anna there was no sign of blood. Cousins was fully conscious but in a lot of pain groaning and trying to move.

  ‘Stay still Joe, more help is on the way. What happened, where are you hurting?’ asked Reece.

  ‘The bastard was waiting for me when I turned the corner,’ Cousins said through gritted teeth and short sharp intakes of air. ‘He was pointing his gun straight at me and when I went for mine, he fired. One just missed my head but the other two hit me in the chest.’

  Cousins gave out another loud groan as he tried to pull open his coat.

  Reece pushed his hand away and after putting his 59 in its holster pulled open Cousin’s coat and saw two neat holes in the sweater. He pulled once more, this time exposing the bullet-proof vest where he could see the two heads of the flattened bullet rounds embedded in the material.

  ‘Joe, you’re one lucky son of a bitch.’

  ‘Or one smart one,’ said Anna.

  ‘At this moment I’m not sure,’ said Cousins still taking short sharp breaths.

  ‘Take it from me Joe. A couple of broken ribs are better than a pine box,’ said Reece.

  ‘What about our man?’ asked Cousins.

  ‘Don’t worry. He got away but he won’t be far, we’ll get him soon. For now, it’s a warm hospital bed for you.’

  Reece gave control a sit-rep on everything that happened while Harrison brought one of the cars to the street.

  ‘Control. Can you have our CCTV people check all the cameras in my area to see if they can pick up our friend?’ Reece also passed on the description of who he now believed to be Target One.

  A few minutes later some of the Red Team and armed officers from the police SO19 unit arrived and sealed off the street. They were closely followed by the ambulance, which quickly lifted Joe Cousins, who gave a thumbs up as the doors closed.

  ‘Alpha One from control,’ it was the voice of Matthew Simons.

  ‘Go ahead control,’ replied Reece.

  ‘CCTV has your man crossing over Oxford Street and halfway down North Audley Street. He entered a bar; we think it’s called The George. SO19 and more back-ups are heading there now.’

  ‘Roger that we’re on our way,’ replied Reece.

  With Harrison driving, all three agents pulled into North Audley Street just as the police were sealing it off at the opposite end. Reece and Anna pulled on their police baseball hats and were getting out of the car before Harrison had completely come to a stop.

  ‘There may be a lot of people in there so we try to do this as quietly as we can. Steve, go and tell our uniform friends that Anna and I will go in on our own and try not to look out of place. Tell them to hold back and don’t shoot us by mistake.’

  Harrison ran to where the police cordon was now set-up and speaking to them, pointed back at Reece and Anna who had now taken off their caps and putting them into their pockets walked through the doors of The George.

  The bar was the style of a Victorian era pub with dark wood, with snugs to the left as they entered. The lights shaped as globes were connected to chains falling from the ceiling. On the right, the bar itself filled the full length of the room, with a mirror covering the wall behind. Being early, the bar was not yet full. A few of the snugs and tables were taken up mainly by couples, with at least ten people standing at the counter either drinking or awaiting service by the two women behind the bar. The light was bright enough for them to see everyone’s face. It was one of those drinking establishment’s where people were more interested in their own company and conversation than anyone coming through the door. Trying to look like customers was not a problem and they walked from the door all the way through to the rear with no sign of Target One. The only place left to search was the toilets. Anna checked the ladies while Reece waited. It only took twenty seconds before Anna returned to shake her head indicating no show she then waited while Reece searched the gents again after twenty seconds he returned.

  ‘No show there either,’ said Reece. There were two more doors one with the word ‘Staff Only’ and the other the rear emergency escape door which was closed with the bar still in place and locked. Reece stood at the end of the bar where the hatch letting the staff in and out of the bar service area was open. After a few seconds one of the women behind the bar noticed him and came over.

  ‘Can I help you?’ asked the girl who looked about twenty.

  Reece discreetly showed her his Security Services ID which he always used on such occasions. He always found when people took a good look at the document their eyes would open wide with surprise and then with a touch of panic, they would always answer his questions quickly.

  ‘It’s nothing to worry about. We are looking for a man wearing a green parka who may have come in about fifteen minutes ago have you seen him?’

  ‘It’s been terribly busy. I think he was in, but he didn’t get a drink.’

  ‘Has anyone gone out the emergency exit?’ asked Anna.

  ‘No, the alarm would have gone off if it were opened.’

  Reece took another look around the bar then came back to where the barmaid was standing.

  ‘Where does the staff door go to, is there stairs?’

  ‘No stairs they were concreted over years ago. The only thing back there is a small kitchen, the dri
nks store and a back door where the deliveries come in.’

  Reece turned and pushed through the door followed by Anna and the voice of the barmaid shouting,

  ‘Hey, you can’t go in there.’

  The room was small and filled with stock for the bar. A small cooker and a freezer made the path between narrow, leading to a closed door at the back. Both agents drew their guns once more and Reece pulled open the door covered by Anna. Outside there was a small closed in yard with another door which Reece opened to reveal a large car park. Reece swept the yard again using the gun as a pointer in front of him, but it was quiet apart from the gentle dripping of the rain from an overflowing drainpipe.

  ‘He’s gone. There’s no cameras in here and about six exits out of the car park.’

  They retraced their steps through the bar and Reece briefed the police on the cordon.

  ‘You can go mobile again. Our bird has flown, thank you for the back-up. Steve, can you drop us back at the other car and we can take a drive around Edgware Road and Oxford Street? I think our friend was walking on foot for a reason, he could still be working out of somewhere local maybe even his two pals as well.’

  On the way back to the car Reece updated the Ops room and requested that Jim Broad be informed.

  ‘He knows Alpha One.’ again, it was the voice of Matthews.

  ‘Thank you. Can I request all teams to pay particular attention to the two-mile radius of where we first saw Target One? Can you also have our CCTV people check all the cameras coming out of the car park to the rear of The George within the last thirty minutes? If they get anything it would be helpful.’

  ‘Roger that. The director asks that you return here to give a complete update before you stand down tonight.’

  ‘Roger will do,’ replied Reece.

  It was then that Reece looked at the Casio G Shock watch. It was almost eight thirty. He dialled Mary on his phone. When she answered he could hear the noise of the restaurant in the background.

  ‘Don’t tell me something came up,’ said Mary.

  ‘I’m sorry I’m afraid it did. Can you forgive me?’

  ‘Of course. I’m getting used to it, but I don’t want it to be the norm between us. I hate it when you’re not with me, and all I can think about is the danger you might be in.’

  Reece didn’t want her to worry. She was expressing the words that he was thinking about earlier in the day. The dangers were part of his life, but now he was sharing it with someone he loved it wasn’t fair on her, or them both.

  ‘No danger, just something that had to be checked out. How’s the food?’ Reece asked trying to change the subject.

  ‘I don’t know, yet I’ve just ordered, but from the smells I’m getting it’s going to be good.’

  ‘I’ll get there as soon as I can. I’ll pick up a bottle of Bush for the room and at least we can have a nightcap.’

  ‘Hurry I miss you.’

  ‘Miss you too, see you soon.’

  ‘You should tell her you love her,’ said Anna smiling.

  ‘I do tell her, but when we are alone.’

  ‘Knowing this type of work that won’t be too often.’

  ‘When we get back to the car remind me to find an off-licence and buy a bottle of Bushmills.’

  The Arab had wasted no time in leaving the bar by the rear door. He had crossed the car park, keeping his parka hood up to avoid recognition from any cameras. He had spotted the man following him when he had crossed over Edgware Road. His suspicions were confirmed when the man turned into one street then heard his increased footsteps as he turned in behind him in the second street. He had pulled his gun and pointed it towards the street corner. It had been his plan to challenge the man, not knowing if he was just a criminal looking to mug him, or a serious threat. When the man saw his gun and went for his he fired. He saw him go down but did not wait around to confirm he was dead. He took many more diversions and checks after leaving the back door of the bar. He was confident he was alone, and he knew the shooting of the man would distract his enemies long enough to allow him to get back to the security of his hotel. He waited until he was in his room before he phoned Hassan.

  ‘The enemy are close. I had to deal with one on the way back to my location. I’m sure they still don’t know our locations, so I’ll stay here and see you as arranged on Friday, understand?’

  Hassan, who had listened the whole time, replied ‘Yes’ then heard the empty buzz of the call ended from the phone.

  Reece and Anna spent the next hour driving around Edgware Road and the side roads and streets while Harrison did the same in the Oxford Street area. Calling it a night Reece dropped Anna off at the Israeli Embassy where she was now staying and headed back to the MI6 operations room to brief Jim Broad.

  ‘Any word from the hospital?’ asked Reece.

  ‘Joe will be all right. Two broken ribs and severe bruising. He is a smart man. That vest saved his life.’

  ‘I know. I think we all need to take a leaf out of his book. I put mine on when we got back to the car and before I went into that bar.’

  Broad walked to the back of the room where there were a few chairs and invited Reece to join him. Reece could tell by his expression he wasn’t happy.

  ‘David, the record so far is not good. We keep getting close then we lose them again. We could have lost one of our own this time.’

  ‘I feel your pain. It is not nice getting this close and nothing to show for it. What will we do now? There’s a lot of agencies involved and I’m sure Sir Martin Bryant isn’t too pleased. Probably sitting sipping whisky with the PM as we speak.’

  ‘To say the least. The only good thing that came out of tonight’s debacle was that our man wasn’t seriously hurt. We can put it about that it was a mugging and keep the press and media away from it. Our people will go to ground, and if their operation is still on, which giving everything we know about the Arab, it will be, then we can expect their next move to be on the day they intend to move. We are keeping our people on the streets day and night and pulling in all the information we can from all our sources including CCTV and GCHQ. The next time they move we need to be ready. We cannot rely on them to make a mistake. When they do move, we come down on them hard no second chances anymore.’

  ‘You’re talking to the converted here. I’m heading back to the hotel to get a good night’s rest.’

  Broad stood and stretched.

  ‘Good idea David. I’m staying here. If anything happens, I’ll let you know. Give Mary my best.’

  ‘I will. I hope she’s not too angry. I was supposed to meet her for dinner at eight, it’s now ten fifteen.’

  Reece went to the armoury, took the H&K from the boot of the BMW and returned it. He sent Mary a text to say he was on his way. She replied that she would meet him in the hotel’s Primo bar.

  Chapter 24

  Mary was sitting at a table by the window looking out at the Thames. With its reflections of light, it made it look like the city was twice the size. When he looked at her, her smile made him feel that his day had just got an awful lot better. He kissed her on her cheek and sat down.

  ‘What’s in the bag?’ she asked.

  Reece placed the plastic shopping bag gently on the table.

  ‘It’s a bottle of that liquid gold I said I would pick up.’

  ‘Your favourite Bushmills. The bar does serve alcohol, you know.’

  ‘This is for the room.’

  Reece beckoned one of the waiters and when he found they had Bushmills ordered a double and a Gin and Tonic for Mary.

  ‘You look like you had a rough day, Joseph.’

  Reece liked her calling him Joseph. It always reminded him how they met.

  ‘You could say that, and it will be even busier in the next few days.’

  The drinks came and Reece clinked his glass with Mary’s before taking a mouthful of what he considered to be the best whisky in the world.

  ‘I’ve already booked a flight for the morning
to Belfast. I can cancel it if you need me here.’

  ‘No, don’t worry. Stick to your plans. This will only take a few more days and then I can join you there.’

  Mary reached across the table and took his hand in hers.

  ‘If you’re sure, but please be careful Joseph.’

  ‘I could say the same to you. You need to catch-up with your mother I know, but I’m not one hundred per cent sure about you going to Belfast. Don’t be taking any risks.’

  ‘I won’t if you won’t.’ She smiled, as she clinked the side of his glass with hers once more.

  Reece thought a change of subject was required.

  ‘So, what was the food like?’

  ‘Just as good as it say’s on the tin.’

  ‘What did you have?’

  ‘I was a good girl. I had the salmon fillet with baby potatoes and a cold glass of Chablis. Every time I drink that wine it reminds me of our lunch in that beautiful restaurant in Grosvenor Street.’

  Reece remembered the day just before he went to Manchester on the mission that would bring him closer to Mary moving from agent handler to lover.

  ‘I remember. I’m a little hungry. Let us order a bottle of that nice wine and some sandwiches and get them sent to the room.’

  ‘Now that’s the kind of plan I like.’ She smiled.

  The wine was just as good as Reece remembered, the sandwiches excellent and making love to Mary, everything. Now he lay awake beside her, he watched her breasts rising and falling under the thin white sheet, her breathing soft in the night air as she slept the sleep of a child.

  He had tried to sleep but the work of the day kept spinning in his mind. She was going to Belfast in the morning, a day that was already here. He was not happy about it. Too many bad memories of the dangers, the violence, the friends he had lost. Mary turned in her sleep and stretched her arms across his shoulders. He closed his eyes once more and at last sleep came.

  The darkness of the winter morning was brightened by the streetlights through the window when he woke. A glance at his watch told him it was 06.30. Mary was up already up; he could hear the shower and her voice singing to herself. She didn’t have a bad voice, and he had sung along with her in the times they’d a few too many drinks relaxing at the villa in Malta.