He ignored the metal turnstile set into the ornamental hedgerow that acted as a boundary between the park and the street, and instead pushed past others escaping the park through the double wrought iron gates that had been flung open. As he burst through the entrance he dodged between the concrete bollards set onto the pavement, which prevented any vehicles from entering the park.
Congestion had set in on the two-way traffic that rumbled past as drivers slowed to gawk at the events happening before their eyes.
As he dashed across the first traffic lane, four police cars screeched to a halt at the kerb, the occupants spilling from the vehicles and converging on the green space.
Whoever the shooter was, he’d taken one hell of a risk. The city had been in lockdown for over a year now due to escalating terrorism alerts, and yet Eva was evidently deemed enough of a threat to carry out such an audacious attack in broad daylight.
It meant his fears were justified, and that her enemies were becoming more desperate.
But would she believe him?
He cursed under his breath at his own stupidity.
He’d been used, and he could only hope that he still had time to make amends, before somebody else was killed because of the political wrangling within the Section.
He’d been surprised at the appearance of Decker.
The way Knox spoke about the man, Miles had assumed the Caretaker would never set foot on British soil again.
Miles picked up his pace, knowing that if he was apprehended, the Section would disown him and the police wouldn’t believe him.
The Section didn’t exist as far as the law was concerned, and its affairs were conducted away from Parliamentary committees and the like.
It answered to no-one.
He knew he had to find Eva, to explain.
It was evident she was still in danger, and he held himself responsible.
If he hadn’t insisted on running his own investigation behind Knox’s back, none of this would have happened.
He could only hope she was telling the truth when she said the children were somewhere safe, far away from here.
He doubled back towards the entrance Eva and Decker had left the park through, and quickly found a trail of bloodstains leading across the road.
Decker was right – he’d winged the shooter.
Miles paced the pavement, his eyes monitoring the traffic for a break in the constant stream of buses, taxis, and cyclists, then gave up and launched himself across the busy street, earning a torrent of abuse and almost colliding with a car travelling from the opposite direction.
He held up his hand in apology to the driver who glared through the windscreen, then took off along the street, following the trail of blood.
A stream of people was now running away from the park, the realisation that an armed man had been seen finally registering with them, the wave of panic palpable as confused bystanders stood stock-still on the pavement, wondering whether to run or watch.
Miles brushed past a man holding a mobile phone aloft, filming the exodus, and muttered under his breath at the stupidity.
Any sane person would seek shelter, and put as much distance between them and the sound of gunfire as they could.
A bus rumbled to a standstill behind him, belching out fumes while its passengers descended the back of the vehicle, only to take one look at the pedestrians pushing and shoving to board it before changing their minds and retreating back into the safety of the vehicle.
As it pulled away, Miles’s gaze dropped to the pavement once more and he frowned as he saw the increasing number of bloodstains he passed.
He began to run.
He had to reach the shooter before Eva and Decker caught up with the man – he needed answers, and he wasn’t sure they’d ask the right questions.
There was no doubt in his mind that they would kill the man when they found him. That was what they did.
And, from looking at both their files, they did it very effectively.
Of course, now Eva wouldn’t believe that he hadn’t been the one to betray her, and that he hadn’t set her up purposely for the meeting.
Miles prayed he would get a chance to explain himself before she or Decker decided he was one risk too many, and killed him. For that was what it would come down to, he had no doubt.
There was only one thing more dangerous than an assassin – a pissed off assassin.
Nine
Eva thumbed the gun’s safety on, and then leaned against the wall of the alleyway, breathing hard.
She swore under her breath.
She hadn’t expected Parkes to reveal who he reported to, but at the same time was disappointed that she was no closer to finding out who was responsible for the events of the past few weeks.
She felt no remorse for killing the assassin.
After what he had done to Sally, he deserved what he got, and at least now one of the people trying to hunt her down had been eliminated.
Despite the suppressor fitted to the weapon, she knew the report had echoed off the walls of the buildings that hugged the narrow thoroughfare.
The sound of Parkes’s scream would have carried even further.
Now, she needed to return to the basement flat as quickly as possible and arrange to leave the country with Decker and Nathan so that they could try to stop Maxim.
A faint click reached her ears, and she spun round, weapon raised.
‘Forget it, Delacourt. You haven’t got the angle.’
‘Shit.’
She dropped the gun to her feet and raised her hands as Miles emerged from behind the bin.
‘Was he the shooter?’
‘Yes.’
He drew closer, keeping enough distance between them so she couldn’t try to wrest his gun from him, and glanced down at the body at his feet.
‘Same guy from Berlin?’
‘Yes.’
His eyes flickered back to hers. ‘I’m not a traitor, Eva. I’m simply trying to find some answers. I didn’t know he would be in Berlin, and I didn’t know he’d be there today.’
‘Bullshit. Both locations were suggested by you.’
His gun wavered for a fraction of a second, but it was enough.
Decker loomed out of the shadow of a doorway behind Miles, and pressed his gun to Miles’s head.
‘Give me one reason not to shoot you.’
Miles handed over his weapon, a disgusted expression on his face. ‘You need my help.’
Eva retrieved her gun from the ground, and made her way over to where the two men stood.
‘Start talking. How can you help us?’
‘Maxim’s created a weaponised version of smallpox and is preparing to unleash it within the next week.’
‘We know.’
‘But you don’t know what he’s doing with it.’
Decker lowered the gun, but kept it trained on Miles.
Eva narrowed her eyes. ‘What’s going on, Miles? You could’ve told me this in the park. Or by email.’
He sighed, a defeated expression crossing his features. ‘I didn’t set you up, Eva. There’s a leak. I had to talk to you face to face. It was a risk contacting Nathan as it was.’
‘You could’ve come to us.’
He shook his head. ‘You’ve seen what just happened. If I’d come to you, I might have been putting the twins in danger, too.’
Decker turned and kicked at an empty soft drink can, sending it spiralling through the air until it landed with a crash further down the alleyway.
‘What makes you say that?’ said Eva. ‘And why should we believe you?’
‘Because the moment you disappeared from Prague, Knox started to cut me out of the loop. I was left high and dry, Delacourt – just like you. Knox is up to something, and I can’t work out what. In the end, I arranged to go and see Petersen.’
Eva snorted. ‘What good did you think that would do? He’s got dementia. He’s no use to anyone anymore.’
‘There’s nothing wr
ong with him.’
Decker spun on his heel. ‘What?’
‘I know, I couldn’t believe it either. That whole business of the Section telling everyone he’d been put out to pasture was a complete fabrication. Sure, he’s in a nursing home, but I can assure you – he’s as sharp as ever.’
Eva tilted her head at a sound, her senses alert.
‘We need to move. We’ve been here too long.’
Decker placed a hand on Miles’s shoulder. ‘In front, where I can see you. No funny business, otherwise—’
‘Yeah, yeah, I know.’
Miles shrugged off his hand and began to hurry along the alleyway, Decker at his heels.
Eva swept her eyes over the area to double check she had cleared it of spent casings, despite the weight in her pocket, and took off after them.
They sprinted to the end of the alleyway, then slowed their pace before bursting onto the main road once more.
Eva switched positions with Decker, and then looped her arm through Miles’s and picked up her pace.
‘Smile, dammit,’ she hissed.
‘Oh, yeah, this is just great,’ he said out the corner of his mouth. ‘Just me and two assassins out for a stroll on a fine winter’s day.’
‘Anyone ever told you sarcasm doesn’t suit you?’
‘They have now. Where are we going?’
Eva didn’t respond.
As it was, the only safe haven they had was the basement flat, and right now she was trying to decide whether it was a good idea to lead Miles there.
Decker was obviously mulling over the same conundrum, as he caught up with them and nodded towards the end of the road.
‘Turn left up here. We’ll make our way back to the apartment via the cricket ground. I’ll go on ahead to make sure it hasn’t been compromised.’
‘Copy that.’
Decision made, Eva watched as his tall figure loped away, and then glanced over her shoulder as a police car shot past, heading towards Paddington Station.
It was closely followed by a second and third vehicle.
The police and military response to terrorism threats in the city meant armed force was only minutes away, with personnel being stationed strategically throughout the metropolis.
If she wasn’t careful, they’d be corralled into a security checkpoint, and that would be the end of it.
She checked her watch.
‘We’re going to miss our train,’ she exclaimed.
Thankfully, Miles had spent enough time in the field to pick up on her cue instead of questioning her motives, and played right along.
‘Run,’ he said, raising his voice so it would carry over the pedestrians around them. ‘We still might make it.’
They began to sprint, the people around them clearing a path, more than one person wearing a bemused expression at the couple that tore past bickering about whose fault it was that they were going to be late home.
‘Down here.’
Eva pulled Miles with her into a side street to their right, then looped back to pick up their route in a zigzag pattern past the train station.
Once she was in sight of the large hotel at the end of the street, she finally slowed, then took a left and followed the main road as it crossed over the waters of the Paddington Basin.
She spotted a path leading down to the water’s edge, and loosened her grip on Miles as they approached the first of a row of narrowboats moored against the concrete path that wound its way past a hospital.
‘Wait.’
She stopped, and raised an eyebrow as Miles doubled over and rested his hands on his knees.
He raised his eyes to hers. ‘I’ve been behind a desk for too long.’
‘Don’t you still work out?’
‘Obviously not enough.’
A smile formed on her lips. ‘There’s a bench seat over there. Come on. Two-minute break. I can’t have you dying on me, not yet.’
‘Fabulous, thanks.’
He curled his lip before collapsing onto the wooden structure with a sigh of relief, and after a moment checking they hadn’t been followed, she joined him.
Decker was nowhere to be seen, but she knew he’d be watching.
Somewhere.
‘So, are you going to kill me?’
‘Not sure yet. Any reason why I shouldn’t?’
‘I meant what I said. I never gave up your location, Eva. I wouldn’t do that to you. I certainly wouldn’t do it to Alex. The poor kid had been through enough in his life.’
‘You knew about Prague?’
‘The engineer’s defection?’ He shook his head. ‘Not at the time. Knox eventually let me have the information – piecemeal, mind. Probably trying to work out how to control this whole mess.’
‘Who told them about Sally’s location?’
He visibly shuddered. ‘I don’t know.’
‘You went there?’
‘I got a call from a contact at Interpol. Was Parkes responsible for her murder?’
She nodded.
‘Then I’m glad you killed him.’
She turned her gaze back to the boats. ‘Me too.’
‘Decker doesn’t trust me, does he?’
She laughed. ‘Decker doesn’t trust anyone. You shouldn’t take it personally.’
‘He cares about you though.’
She glanced down at her hands. ‘Douglas was his brother.’
‘Oh.’
She pushed herself up from the seat and turned back to him. ‘You can stay there, or you can come with me.’
‘What? No threats?’
‘No threats. If the Section has a leak, which is what we suspected, then we’re on our own. And we still have to stop Maxim. I think you might be one of the good guys. For some reason, I get the impression that our mole doesn’t want him stopped, so we’re going to need all the help we can get.’
‘Any idea why someone in the Section is helping Maxim?’
‘None whatsoever.’
Miles sighed, stood, and brushed his trousers down.
‘I guess you are going to need my help, then.’
Ten
Decker emerged from an alleyway close to the cricket ground as they approached and sprinted across the road to join them, barely out of breath.
‘We’re clear,’ he said, shoving his hands into his pockets.
‘Parkes must’ve been working alone, then.’
He grunted in response.
They walked in silence, Eva keeping a watchful eye on Miles.
She knew she didn’t have a choice in bringing him with her, but despite her assurances to him, it made her uneasy.
She believed him when he said he didn’t know he’d put her life in danger, but couldn’t quite grasp the reason why the shooter knew she’d be there.
She stopped suddenly, and grabbed hold of his arm.
‘Who else knew I’d be coming to London?’
Miles shrugged off her grip and held up his hands. ‘I thought Knox was the leak, especially when I was taken off your case after discovering you’d beaten us to France.’
‘You got it wrong, didn’t you?’ said Decker, rounding on him.
‘Yes.’ Miles dropped his hands to his sides. ‘I admit it, I made a huge mistake, but you have to understand – Knox had locked me out of the investigation. I suspected him of setting you up. After all, he admitted to me that he was the one who had recruited Samuel Parkes, so I thought he’d arranged for you to be killed. That’s why I went to Petersen for help. Big mistake.’
‘So, Petersen is the leak, not Knox? What makes you think it’s him?’
Miles exhaled and shoved his hands in his pockets, then moved to one side and leaned against the high brick wall that bordered the cricket ground. ‘Instinct, more than anything. I last saw him three days ago and he insisted that I speak with you in person. I pointed out that it was easy enough to email you via Crowe’s contact details, but the old man wouldn’t take no for an answer. Got quite agitated, actually. Said it
was a matter of national security, and that I had to try to persuade you to meet with him.’
‘So, what was your plan?’
‘Originally, I believed him – I was going to meet you at the park, and then get you to come with me to see him. When Parkes attacked us I realised I was wrong.’
‘How did Petersen find out I was in Prague?’
Miles shook his head. ‘Not me. Who did you contact while you were there?’
Eva bit her lip. ‘Scott Lancaster.’
Miles snorted. ‘CIA informant. He must’ve told Petersen – for a price.’
‘Give me one reason not to kill you now,’ said Decker, advancing on him. ‘Why the hell should we trust you?’
Miles slowly extracted his hand from his pocket. ‘This.’
Decker snatched the USB stick from him and passed it to Eva.
‘What’s on it?’ she said.
‘The truth. Everything about what happened from three years ago. Everything about what’s happened since.’
She frowned. ‘Does Knox know you have this?’
‘It was Knox who asked me to pass it on to you.’
Decker led the way down the short flight of narrow concrete steps towards the basement flat, the afternoon light fast receding over the horizon.
Eva kept an eye on where she trod, avoiding the lichen that clung to the concrete and made the surface slippery under her footsteps.
The basement flat had belonged to a contact of Decker’s – someone who was out of the country “on business”, he’d said.
Eva could guess what that meant.
She sighed.
If she survived the current situation, she realised she’d have to set up a whole new set of safe houses for herself, a decision tinged with sadness as she concluded the bookshop in Prague would have served its usefulness by then, and would have to be sold – or destroyed.
Nathan rose from his seat next to a small electric fire when they entered the room, and took a step backwards when he saw Miles.
‘What’s he doing here?’
‘He’s with us now,’ said Eva. ‘He can bring you up to speed with regard to the politics in the Section, but in the meantime, I need you to take a look at this.’
Assassins Retribution Page 4
