The Face Stealer

by Robert Scott-Norton

  But Linwood looked uneasy.

  “Is there a problem? You do have a team here we can use?”

  Linwood exhaled deeply. “I don’t know who we can trust. Most of the team have been down into the Tombs for one reason or another in the last few weeks. If he’s able to control people the way he was Carey, I don’t know who I can trust.”

  “I’ve told you. I’ll send the police in. Even without your people. I’ll put a request out for more people.”

  Linwood was shaking her head. “You won’t get past the front door. It doesn’t matter how many people you have. Our security’s second to none. Brute force just won’t work.”

  “OK. We’ll keep him holed up. He can’t stay in there forever.”

  “That won’t help us find out what he’s up to. He’s got enough supplies to last him months down there. He might not need to leave the base to finish his plans.”

  Payne held up his hands in mock defeat. “OK, OK. You seem determined to shoot down any suggestion I have. What is there left? Have you got any suggestions?”

  “We need information. One person can get that, it doesn’t need an army.”

  “No, you said we wouldn’t get past the front door.”

  “No, actually, what I said was that you wouldn’t get past the front door. I’ll get in. He’s got no reason to keep me out. He’ll want to see me. He’d sooner have me in there where he can keep an eye on me.”

  “I can’t let you go in alone,” Payne said. “He’s a dangerous man.”

  “We don’t have anyone else,” Linwood said frostily. “I can take care of myself. I know what’s at stake.”

  It was an argument that wasn’t going to get them anywhere so Payne backed off. There was a tightness in his chest. He started to pace the floor, following circles as he counted to ten in his head. Linwood was right. It didn’t mean he had to like it. If this was a police operation, would they be doing anything different? This didn’t feel right at all.

  Finally, he turned round and stopped pacing. Linwood was looking at him.

  “OK,” he said, “let’s get this operation started.”

  36

  For a Saturday night, the streets were surprisingly quiet. After the events of the last couple of days, Payne wasn’t surprised that people were choosing to stay in. Payne wound down his window and listened to the sea in the distance. The wind was blowing in the right direction and he could hear crashing waves.

  Linwood had parked the car by McDonalds. Payne had persuaded her to go round the drive-through to grab some coffees and he was now busy sprinkling sugars into Linwood’s cup.

  From his position, Payne could make out the edge of the pier where he’d first seen Heather Hudson’s faceless body and shivered at the memory of how this whole sorry mess had started. That night, his world had been turned upside down again. He wondered what Anna would have made of all this. She’d have been scared, he knew that for starters. Anna got scared whenever Payne was late home from work. She knew the kind of people that Payne was dealing with and she’d often spoken about how unpleasant she found that aspect of his job. Your regular criminals were bad enough but whenever Payne was involved in a murder investigation, it made everything that much worse. Southport was most often the safe picture postcard Victorian seaside town, but every now and then, the rocks were lifted and the insects came scuttling out. He should have listened to her more often.

  Linwood pulled a thin tablet computer from the back seat and handed it to Payne.

  “What’s this?”

  She swiped a finger over the surface and it came to life. A couple more taps and he saw a receding tunnel of tablets spinning off into the distance, but when Linwood shifted, the images changed to the side of his head.

  “It’s a good camera, I’ll give you that. Where is it?”

  Linwood pulled out a splinter of metal from the lapel of her coat, and spun it around in her fingers. The images on the tablet spun in sync.

  “He won’t find it?”

  She shook her head. “Unlikely. They’re invisible to our usual scans. Don’t worry, I’ll be fine. If you talk normally, I’ll be able to hear you in my ear piece as well. And no, he’s not going to find that either.”

  Although he’d never met Thadeus, he’d seen how violent he was to people who crossed him. The man must already be paranoid and Linwood’s arrival was surely going to send his suspicions soaring.

  Linwood opened her door and stepped out. Payne followed her across the car park and the bridge that spanned the Marine Lake. The wind tugged at Payne along the bridge and ran through his hair like icy fingers. On the other side, Linwood took Payne down a flight of steps leading to a sheltered footpath beside the lake. The cracked tarmac harboured a small forest of weeds and the odd broken bottle. They followed the path to a spot underneath the pier and Linwood stopped abruptly.

  “This is it,” she announced.

  On the ground, set well into the tarmac, a manhole cover was barely noticeable.

  Payne dropped to one knee and felt around the edge but couldn’t find any gap to work his fingers into.

  “We should have brought some tools to lift this.”

  “It doesn’t matter. The hatch will be sealed. You won’t get it open until I release it from inside the base.”

  “Isn’t he going to be keeping an eye on this entrance?” Instinctively, Payne glanced around him, into the dark spaces of the pier above him, looking for cameras.

  “It’s possible. But, I’m guessing he’s got enough to do without worrying about an emergency exit hatch.”

  “And it’s the only other way in or out?”

  “Yes. That is, if he’s cleared the access corridors. They got damaged, but I’m guessing he would want a way out in case things turned bad.”

  The more she explained, the worse it seemed. Linwood was going to walk through the main entrance and confront Thadeus in an attempt to find out what he was doing, but once inside the base, she was going to arrange for this hatch to be opened, and Payne would enter with the police and provide a backup force.

  That was the plan. But Payne hated it, but at least with the tablet and the camera, he’d be able to follow what was happening, and she promised that it would help lead him to her.

  “How long till your friends arrive?”

  “They’ll be here in a few minutes.”

  “OK. I’m going.”

  Payne bit his tongue. He wanted to tell Linwood not to go in there. The more he thought about it, the less he thought it was a good idea, but he didn’t want to argue any more. On a moment of impulse, he lent in and kissed Linwood’s cheek.

  “Be careful in there.”

  “Always careful.”

  She lingered a moment, a sad smile hovered on her lips, then she spun around and practically ran back the way they’d come, leaving Payne alone in the dark. He felt exposed under the pier, cautious about who might be watching, so he headed farther along the path where it opened out into the smarter, more touristy gardens that surrounded the lake. He approached one of the Victorian shelters and took a seat on one of the benches inside, facing the water.

  “You’re meant to be dead,” said a familiar voice. Nixon appeared from around the corner of the shelter, a smile beaming from his tired face.

  “Yeah, sorry about that,” Payne replied, accepting the hand that Nixon had extended and shaking it warmly. “Things were getting a bit crazy. In fact, it’s about to get a whole load worse.”

  A flurry of movement skirted around Nixon and embraced Payne in a tight grip. Payne patted Carter awkwardly on her back, never having seen such a display of affection from her before. “It’s OK Sally. I’m sorry to have put you through that.”

  Carter let go and stepped back beside Nixon. Her face was glistening and she absent-mindedly wiped the back of her hand across a cheek. “Sorry about that sir. But—for God’s sake, don’t do that again you bastard.”

  Nixon grinned. “She’s got a point sir.”

  �
�Well, maybe she has. I’m not in a position to argue am I? But, I am sorry.”

  Payne saw another two police cars pull up onto the tarmac beside the pier. “How many have you managed to rouse?”

  “Eight constables, and me and Carter. I’ve got the firearms team on standby like you said, but are you sure we don’t need them here now?”

  Payne shook his head. “No, too much activity and our target will make his move too early. Tell them to put the cars somewhere else. We’re meant to be doing this discretely. He could be monitoring this area.”

  “You still haven’t told us what this is about,” Nixon said.

  “It’s about everything. The body under the pier, the blanks at the police station, the explosion at my house. It’s all connected, and the man behind it all is hidden underneath this lake, pulling strings and watching us run around like blue-arsed flies.”

  “You’re not serious sir?” Carter said, a bemused look on her face. “Nothing’s under that lake.”

  “I’m serious,” he replied, and he proceeded to explain most of what he knew about Thadeus and MI18, leaving out some of the more far-fetched notions about their remit. He didn’t want to scare these too off with fanciful tales of aliens. “Linwood is my contact. She’s the head of this section but her team has been sequestered by her second in command.”

  “And that would be Thadeus,” Nixon said.

  Payne nodded. “But he’s protected. We need Linwood to open that hatch so we can get inside.”

  “Where is she now?” Nixon asked.

  Payne held out the tablet in front of him and gave the others room to see what was shown on the screen. The pictures were dark and jumpy like the camera was shaking around.

  Payne swiped a finger over a control and spoke. “The cavalry’s arrived. I’ve got Nixon and Carter here.”

  “Good. Am I coming through OK?” Her slightly out of breath voice came from the speakers on the tablet she’d given him.

  “Yes, fine.” The screen showed a wobbly image of gates at the main slip road by the boatyard on the other side of the lake.

  “I’m entering the boatyard. I won’t be talking much now in case he’s watching this approach. I’ve probably already set off the perimeter alarms.” The screen showed the gates at the main slip road down into the car park which led through to the boatyard. Payne had been there a couple of times but wouldn’t say he was familiar with the place. He was feeling like a fifth wheel.

  Linwood hurried down the road and turned quickly into the boatyard. A line of street lights lit the area and Payne could make out the scene quite clearly. She walked between lines of boats, heading to a building straight ahead. Large shuttered doors sealed up the main part of the structure. Payne guessed it was a workshop for the boats. He thought she was heading for the doors, but before she reached them she turned to her right and walked towards a small office building attached to the workshop.

  “Is this it? The main entrance we saw back in the base?”

  “Yes.”

  Carter spoke. “Is this Thadeus just going to let her into the base?”

  “We’ll know in a few minutes.” Payne said.

  As she entered the office the lights came on and Payne recognised the place from the CCTV images he’d seen earlier. Linwood closed the door behind her and sat in front of a computer, which she ignored in preference to the telephone on the desk. Payne watched as she tapped out a number so long he had no idea how she would have remembered it, before she replaced the handset and stood to leave.

  “Is she giving up? Is she locked out?” asked Carter.

  Payne shrugged his shoulders. None of this made any sense to him. “I guess we’ll see.”

  Linwood opened the door and for a moment Payne watched the screen, confused as to what he was seeing. He’d expected to see a view of the lake as she stepped back outside, but that was the issue, she wasn’t outside any longer. In front of her, a tunnel stretched out into the distance. Lights shone from regular intervals along the wall.

  “What just happened?” Nixon asked.

  “She’s in.”

  “That’s their base?” Nixon said, pointing at the dingy looking tunnel on the tablet screen.

  “It would appear so.”

  “But she was in an office.”

  “I know. I saw it too.”

  “So how—”

  “Stuart, if I had the answers I’d give you them, but I’m in as much of the dark as you are.”

  Carter spoke up again. “Well not quite as much in the dark sir. You’ve spent some time with this woman, and spoken to her first hand about all this. You’ve thrown us into the deep end.”

  Payne gave a short bark of derision. “You two are trained police officers. You don’t need to know everything in order to follow instructions.” Payne cringed as he heard himself speak to his subordinates like that. Hell, he didn’t really think of them as subordinates—they were his friends. “And again I’m sorry. You’re right to ask questions. I’m just worried that’s all.”

  But what he was most worried about was that if Thadeus was as unstable as Linwood painted him out to be, Payne might never see Linwood again.

  Carter and Nixon sat down on either side of Payne as they watched the screen. Linwood moved steadily along the corridor. After a couple of minutes she reached a door, entered a code and stepped through the opening doorway. Payne made out a stairwell that led down.

  “Jesus, how far down is she going?” asked Nixon.

  Payne didn’t reply. He had no idea. How did something so big exist under the lake without anyone knowing anything about it?

  Linwood took the stairs down and ended up in another corridor, this one more brightly lit, showing off the red brick walls. Payne’s heart beat faster. So far she hadn’t come across anyone. For a top secret base, it just didn’t ring true.

  “Where is everybody?” he asked.

  “I don’t know,” Linwood replied, softly over the tablet speakers.

  And then Linwood turned another corner. Someone, a woman was walking towards her. Linwood paused and let the woman come to her.

  “Emma, I need to see Thadeus. Where is he?”

  Emma was pretty. Her expression full of surprise. Despite it being difficult to tell for sure, it looked like she was avoiding looking at Linwood. Her whole body language screamed to Payne of avoidance. Seeing Linwood was uncomfortable for her. Was she another one working against Linwood? Had she been sequestered too?

  Emma’s voice was harder to make out over the tablet. “He’s in the operations room.”

  “Great. I’ll speak to him there.”

  Emma nodded but as she turned away, she paused for a second and Payne got the distinct impression she was staring right at him. Despite the distance between them, Payne edged back in his seat.

  “She’s seen the camera,” Carter hissed.

  “No,” Payne replied. “She’s fine.” But, he didn’t do a great job of convincing himself.

  As Emma headed back along the corridor she’d come from, Linwood paused a second before following.

  “See,” Payne said, turning slightly in his chair. “She can handle herself.”

  Linwood followed Emma along a few more corridors until eventually they entered a room. From the wall of video monitors and the large desk in the middle of the room, Payne felt sure this must be the base’s operations room. The camera panned quickly across the gloomy space, the majority of light coming from the video screens. As it passed over the room though, Payne did make out another person. Someone else was in the room. A man hunched over the central desk, rose and turned to meet the new arrivals.

  Max had dragged Dennis into a nearby room labelled ‘Communications’ in faded lettering. A few minutes later, he’d heard someone coming along the corridor. Max’s heart had been beating so fast that he’d felt sure they’d be discovered, but the newcomer walked quickly past their hiding place without slowing. He allowed himself to breathe again. Eventually, someone would be along to
check on them though and realise they were missing. Whatever they were going to do, they had a small window of surprise left to them. But now what was he meant to do? He couldn’t confront Thadeus with Dennis like this, and he couldn’t leave him here.

  Dennis moved his head and moaned. Max was relieved to see that the make-shift bandage was holding up better than expected and the bleeding had stopped.

  “How you feeling?” Max asked, helping Dennis sit upright. The older man grabbed onto Max’s arm for support.

  “Right as rain.” He groaned as he sat up, looking around the small confined space they were trapped in. “We’re still down here aren’t we? I’d been hoping it was all a bad dream.”

  “Yeah, sorry. I didn’t want to risk carrying you up the stairs,” Max said. “Didn’t think your head could take another knock.”

  “We need to get out of here. Tell someone about all of this.”

  “I’m not sure that’s going to do much good.”

  “Of course it is. You’re being defeatist. We can get the army.”

  “How long is that going to take? They’re doing something down here. They’ve got an army of their own waiting in that room.” Max resisted the urge to shiver at the memory of the blanks’ hands reaching out for them.

  “What are they for?” Dennis asked.

  “Your guess is as good as mine.”

  “You want to stay and find out don’t you?”

  Max hesitated. “Yes. I want to find Cindy and find out what she’s doing with Thadeus. Can you move?”

  “Yeah, I think so.”

  “I’ll get you out and then come back in. Once you’re out, go to the police. Tell them everything you think will help.”

  Dennis nodded slowly.

  Max checked the corridor again and relieved to see it empty, opened the door wide and gestured for Dennis to follow him. They walked together, briskly along the corridor, almost at a run. If Dennis hadn’t been with him, Max would have been running. At the bottom of the stairs, Max pressed the button on the keypad to open the door and it swished open.