by Matt Johnson
‘It’s one of our most closely guarded secrets … for obvious reasons,’ Howard said, finally.
‘Better to know what your enemy is doing than drive them underground,’ commented Batey. ‘And better to have them venting their energies fighting each other than uniting against the West as a common enemy?’
‘Exactly.’ Howard seemed to be enjoying the audience.
Toni was beginning to understand. But so far, it didn’t explain why the soldiers had been killed, and it didn’t solve the mystery of how Robert Finlay and Kevin Jones had been drawn into it.
‘Are you saying there are politicians in the UK who are part of this Al Anfal group?’ she asked.
‘Yes, all the way through from local councillors, MPs and, until recently, a Government Minister.’
‘Who?’
‘Don’t be naive, Toni. Best you don’t know.’
‘Does this have anything to do with the Al-Liby enquiry – the so-called ‘Manual of Jihad’ that the French journalists are planning to expose?’
‘You’re finally getting it,’ Howard sneered. ‘That manual is a small part of the document the SAS lads found.’
‘Jesus … those journalists were also warned off. So you’re taking steps to stop knowledge of it leaking out.’ Toni was aware that the cab was steaming up. She wiped the moisture from the glass and was reassured to see Stuart, the tramp, standing a few yards away. ‘How come we don’t know about it, in MI5, I mean?’
‘At the highest level, you most certainly do. But the security clearance is top flight.’
‘So is there a connection between it and the deaths of the ex-SAS soldiers?’ asked Toni.
‘The Jihad manual is nothing compared to the Al Anfal document. One of the Increment men – Blackwood, we think – photocopied it and kept the copy. A while ago he had it partially translated and, bingo, he realised it was worth a fortune if he could hawk it to a national newspaper.’
‘You’re not telling me MI6 took him out for that?’
‘At that point it wasn’t known about. It was only when he actually took it to the papers that one of our agents managed to intercept it. As I understand, an attempt was made to persuade him to stay quiet, but then we found out he’d made more copies, given them to his mates. So, an operation was launched to ensure Al Anfal was kept a complete secret.’
‘What kind of operation?’ asked Toni.
‘Damage limitation. We needed to plug the leak. The plan was to use the same kind of coercion that you’ve just used on me.’
‘I understand,’ said Batey. ‘But on home soil that would need MI5 involvement.’
Howard smiled, raised his eyebrows, but said nothing. He didn’t need to. Both Batey and Toni realised MI5 had been involved. In fact, they had taken on the job. Monaghan must have been the officer deputed to do it.
Toni could hardly believe her ears. ‘That meant that everybody who knew of it had to be silenced?’ she asked.
‘Indeed.’
‘So the solution was to kill them all … including McGlinty in Belmarsh? I thought there were rules governing that kind of thing – signed approvals from the Home Secretary … don’t you follow any rules at all?’
‘We have rules. Monaghan broke them. He was supposed to just persuade the soldiers to hand over any documents they had and to keep quiet. It should have been a relatively simple job to blackmail them. But, no, he took it upon himself to have them terminated.’
‘All of them?’
‘Yes, all of them … and now I’m having to clear up the mess he left behind.’
‘Does that include Brian McNeil? He was also one of the other Increment men.’
‘Yes, he was one, last heard of in Iraq, I believe.’
‘He’s alive?’
‘To the best of my knowledge, yes. I can confirm he was one of the men that Monaghan was supposed to speak to.’
‘And what about the last one, Chris Grady – what’s become of him?’
‘Grady I can’t discuss other than to say that he’s also alive.’
‘Was Monaghan supposed to speak to him, too?’ Toni tweaked her first fingers to emulate inverted commas and emphasise the word.
Howard shifted in his seat, seemingly uncomfortable at her inference. ‘He was.’
‘Is he in hiding or something?’
‘Sorry, Toni. I can’t discuss Grady.’
‘And what about the others? There were a total of twelve men on that patrol – thirteen if the account given by Chas Collins is to be believed. Ten of them are dead. Did Monaghan get rid of all of them?’
‘Monaghan had his faults but he was thorough.’
‘Jesus. That’s wholesale bloody murder.’
‘Like I said, the intention was to give them the option to keep quiet. Perhaps Monaghan tried that and failed?’
‘OK … but killing off McGlinty wasn’t Monaghan’s doing. That was you tidying up any link back to the Security Service?’
‘That’s about the sum of it. We couldn’t take a chance he knew what Monaghan had been doing.’
‘What kind of rule is it that allows you to steal my fucking identity card and use it to kill a man in prison?’ Toni felt her temper rising.
‘I’m sorry, Toni. We needed a way into the prison and your card … well, it just became available at the right time. Nothing personal … and, like you said, we needed the option to get you out of the picture in case you got too close.’
Toni became aware of Batey placing a hand on her forearm and squeezing it gently. She forced herself to relax. The time to get even with Howard Green would come later.
Batey resumed the questioning. ‘Finlay and Jones … they had no knowledge of the document, and they weren’t on the team that you used in Afghan.’
‘Again … not one of our finest hours, I’m afraid. When Nial Monaghan was given the job, he succumbed to the opportunity to settle some old scores. Those two were added to his hit list. If he hadn’t been killed himself, then likely as not, he would have got away with it. He would have just reported that they also knew about Al Anfal and had to be taken out.’
‘So who killed Monaghan?’
‘We’re not sure. One of the terrorists he’d engaged to do his dirty work, we think. Probably the Irishman who had been posing as an Arab. He thought he’d been betrayed by Monaghan, so he had the motive.’
Toni breathed a shallow sigh of relief. Finlay and Jones were in the clear.
Chapter 77
With Howard Green released, Toni and Dave Batey sat for several moments before either of them spoke.
What Howard had said had stunned them, as had his willingness to talk. But now, they began to realise that he wasn’t afraid to tell them, because he knew they would dare not tell anyone else. Knowledge gave power but, in this case, it was just as Howard had described: a poisoned chalice. Neither of them could admit to anyone that they knew about Al Anfal, or that they had even heard of it. To do so would place them at risk. The very same risk the former soldiers had exposed themselves to when they had decided to try to sell the story. The soldiers had been silenced. Two more casualties, even MI5 officers, might easily be justified to maintain such a sensitive secret.
As Toni watched Howard march along the pavement towards King’s Cross, she understood why he walked so confidently.
The best thing to come out of the meeting was the promise that Howard had made to ensure that the copy of her pass would be sent to Dave Batey the very next day. At least her career was saved.
The tense atmosphere in the rear of the taxi was only broken when Stuart Anderson opened the nearside door.
‘Your man has hailed a cab, are we done for the night?’
Toni turned to face the door. ‘Yes, thanks. You did a great job. Tell the others to stand down.’
‘You OK?’ Stuart asked. ‘Not being funny, but you look a bit shocked.’
‘We’re fine … really. Can you close the door a moment, we need a few more minutes.’
‘When is your repo
rt on Monaghan due with the Director?’ Batey asked, as the door closed.
‘Already late with it,’ Toni said. ‘I’m wondering exactly what to put in it now.’
‘Well, you can’t mention Al Anfal. Finish the report tomorrow, please.’
‘On a Sunday?’
‘Yes. I’ll be in as well, so you can run it past me. Make your conclusion that Monaghan was acting alone and to his own agenda. Endorse what the police Commander said about it being a jealous husband and a vengeful terrorist.’
‘You think Howard is telling the truth?’
‘If I’m completely honest with you it explains some other things that have happened in the last few years. Nothing I can share with you, though.’
‘What do you want me to tell Finlay and Jones?’ Toni asked.
‘Again, stick with the initial conclusions. There’s no need for them to know any more and no need for any further worry on their part. They don’t know about this political Jihad and they need have no idea as to the real reason their mates were killed. Let’s leave it that way.’
‘They seem to have no idea how many former soldiers have been eliminated.’
‘Best it stays that way, I think.’
‘Time to mind our own business?’
‘Exactly.’
‘I just don’t understand why Monaghan had to kill all those men. Why not simply blackmail them? They could have used the same kind of leverage we threatened Howard with.’
Batey smiled. ‘Think about it Toni. You can’t have that many people subject to the same kind of blackmail at the same time and not have one of them leak it … or maybe some journalist somewhere put two and two together. I wouldn’t be too sure that was Monaghan’s decision, despite what Howard says. I wonder if it might have been a deniable judgement made at a much higher level. Whatever happened, a decision was made and people like us carried it out.’
‘What about Grady and McNeil?’
‘Forget about them. In the case of Grady, I’d guess he’s not only alive, he’s one of us – probably still working for the Security Service. It would seem a likely progression from Increment.’
‘Maybe that’s why Monaghan didn’t find him. What do you think will happen with Collins?’ Toni asked.
‘At a guess, MI6 will have plans to finish off what Monaghan started.’
‘Kill him, you mean?’
‘If you want to put it that way. Fear you would discover what was going on is probably the real reason you were warned away from him.’
‘And what did you think of the Al Anfal thing, a plan to create some kind of Caliphate in the Middle East?’
Batey thought for a moment. ‘I’ve got no idea. If what they are saying is right then people like Gaddafi are going to be prime targets. We would like that, so would the Americans. Better to have the threat of disorganised fundamentalists than the power of a dictator and, like I said to Howard, better to have them fighting each other.’
‘And what about on home turf?’
‘At Director level, we must already be aware. There’s no way that Six could run an op like that on home soil without the Security Service knowing about it. That means you can’t tell your team what Howard told us … not a soul, in fact.’
‘Trust no one?’
‘The world of the spy, Toni … And on the subject of Finlay and Jones, you’d better be careful about what you tell Stuart and Nell about them as well.’
‘What about the report on my security card?’
‘Leave that with me.’
As Batey opened the rear door to the taxi, Stuart appeared. He was wet, and Toni could see it had started to rain. He looked agitated.
‘Nell’s been trying to reach you. Green is on the phone; you’re not going to believe who he’s just called.’
Chapter 78
‘Give us a moment, Nell,’ said Toni.
They were back at the office and Nell was squirming in her chair, rubbing her hands together and clearly bursting to share what she had heard. Toni flung her wet coat onto the nearest desk and wheeled her chair over to join Nell in front of her screen. Dave Batey and Stuart had just arrived and were in the process of closing the security door.
‘Make us a brew, lad,’ said Batey.
Stuart frowned, his sense of disappointment apparent. He wasn’t going to be close enough to hear the recording Nell was about to play back.
Batey saw his face. ‘Sorry Stuart. This is for our ears only.’
Toni understood. Although Stuart was aware that Nell had recorded Howard Green telephoning Dirt, he was in the dark regarding the content of the conversation. As for Nell, it was already too late; she had listened to it live.
‘Where exactly did it take place, Nell?’ she asked, as her assistant lined up the beginning of the recording.
‘Sounded like he was in the back of a cab. It was just a few minutes after he left you.’
Batey raised an eyebrow. ‘So he called the Director straight after talking to us?’
‘And he wasn’t happy,’ said Nell.
‘Is he out to make trouble?’ Toni asked.
Nell rubbed her hands on her thighs and then pressed a key. ‘Listen for yourself.’
Toni leaned forward as the voice of Howard Green began:
‘Apologies for calling you at this late hour, I have a problem that I need a decision on.’
There was a pause, as if the recipient of the call was trying to decide how best to respond.
‘Where are you?’
‘In a taxi on the way back into town. It’s safe.’
‘What’s the problem?’
‘I’m compromised. Two of your staff have just done a number on me.’
‘Really? Am I to presume that one of them was Ms Fellowes?’
Listening to the second voice, Toni was at first uncertain as to Nell’s earlier assertion it was Director ‘T’ Howard had called. But as she heard the way he pronounced ‘Ms Fellowes’, those doubts disappeared. It was him.
‘The bitch tried a fucking honey trap on me. I thought I saw it a mile off but they were clever; set me up with a tart and then filmed it.’
‘A compromat? Fellowes has the makings of a spy, after all.’
‘Yes, a fucking compromat. Made it look bad for me and then threatened to send the recording to my wife.’
‘That could have been awkward, Howard. I presume this threat didn’t actually happen.’
‘No. I called their bluff.’
‘Their bluff? Who was with her?’
‘Her Section Head, David Batey.’
Another pause. Toni glanced across. Batey stared intently at the PC screen, beads of sweat forming on his brow.
‘So … that rather explains why he has been a little slow in coming up with a report on the misuse of Fellowes’ security pass. Am I to conclude they worked out it was you responsible for copying it?’
‘Correct. And that the termination of McGlinty was undertaken by Six.’
‘Do they know why?’
‘They know about Al Anfal. Fellowes thought it was an artefact, some form of treasure, but she had worked out it was the connection between the dead soldiers.’
‘They know about Al Anfal? Interesting … and I issued her with specific instructions to keep me informed of any unusual developments in her enquiry. It is most regrettable that she chose to ignore my order.’
‘They asked about the searches at the Skinner and Bridges homes as well.’
‘What did you tell them?’
‘Nothing … but they’re not fools. They know it was us.’
Batey leaned across in front of Toni and placed a firm hand on Nell’s shoulder. ‘Pause it a minute, Nell,’ he said, firmly.
Nell tapped a key.
‘Nell, I’m going to need to ask you to join Stuart in the tea room while Toni and I talk.’
The researcher squared her shoulders and stood, silently. Without uttering a word, she slid back her chair and walked to join her colleague.
&nbs
p; Toni flinched as the tea room door slammed shut. ‘Sorry about that,’ she said to Batey. ‘Nell has her own particular way of expressing herself.’
‘I have two daughters, Toni. Trust me when I say I’m quite familiar with door slamming. Now, first things first: are we absolutely sure Howard Green isn’t aware his phone conversations are tapped?’
‘He isn’t. Nell was well aware he uses a secure service device and when she tells me she can hack into it without him knowing, I trust her completely.’
‘OK … it’s just that it occurred to me that this might be a conversation he knows we are listening to.’
‘If he did, would he have let himself get caught shagging a tart on a rooftop in King’s Cross?’ said Toni.
‘I suppose he could have allowed himself to fall into our trap without actually doing that, but what about after he left us? He could have decided to stage this to misdirect us?’
‘Do you really think that?’
‘No … I’m just trying to cover all possibilities.’
‘So, are you suggesting he wanted us to catch him?’ It was a development she hadn’t anticipated.
‘No … I’m just being cautious. That is our Director he is talking to, without doubt.’
‘Agreed.’
‘So, I also think we need to be prepared for what this recording may reveal. It’s already certain the Director knew far more about McGlinty’s death than he let on at the post-incident briefing.’
‘That’s for sure,’ said Toni. ‘He had me in his office afterwards and asked me to keep him updated on my investigation. Even gave me his private email. He wanted to know what I discovered before anyone else did.’
‘And you definitely haven’t mentioned Al Anfal to him?’
‘No … I was only planning to do so once I was sure what it was.’
‘He was using you to test the water, to see if the existence remains a secret or not. And it’s my guess Howard is about to tell him we know all about it.’
‘Dob me in, you mean?’
‘Us in. This isn’t a school prank we’re talking about here, Toni. Men like Howard deal in much higher stakes.’
