Decker dropped the hose to the floor and signalled to Eva, before walking towards the door, turning off the water faucet on his way past.
Eva tossed the sodden towel into Lancaster’s lap and hurried over to join him.
He lowered his voice as she approached.
‘I don’t think we’re going to get anything more out of him. He’s obviously been dealing directly with Maxim but I think he’s telling the truth about not knowing who the leak is in the Section.’
‘I think you’re right. We’re done here.’
Decker opened the door for her, and they made their way along the corridor until they reached the office.
Nathan spun round in the chair he had found, his face ashen.
‘Is it over? Did he tell you anything?’
Eva hovered at the threshold. ‘Yes, we’ve got some useful information about Maxim’s base, especially the sort of weaponry and guards that he has. Better than going in blind.’
‘We need to get a move on,’ said Decker. ‘We should get back to the apartment and start to make plans to go to Poland.’
Nathan rose from his chair and brushed down his jeans. ‘All right, let’s go.’
He swept past Eva without meeting her gaze, and began to walk along the corridor towards the exit.
Eva glanced down as Decker’s hand wrapped around her arm.
He pulled her to a stop, and let Nathan walk on ahead of them.
‘Petersen can’t be allowed to warn Maxim. We need to get a message to Knox.’
‘Agreed.’ She glanced over her shoulder at the sound of sobbing from the other room. ‘What do we do about Lancaster?’
‘He’s too much of a risk. You and I both know the moment he gets out of here, he’ll either try to contact Petersen – or worse, Kowalski.’
‘Do want me to do it?’
He shook his head. ‘I know you want justice for Douglas, but so do I.’ He jerked his chin towards Nathan, who was waiting by the double doors, his eyebrow raised. ‘Take him. I’ll see you back at the bookstore in half an hour once I’ve had a chance to dump the body.’
Eighteen
Two hours later, the three of them were sitting in the apartment above the bookshop, poring over all the information that they had gleaned to date.
Nathan had his laptop open, and Eva glanced up as he emitted a surprised grunt.
‘What is it?’
‘A message from Miles. He says he’s just landed here.’
‘Give him the address for the bakery at the end of the road,’ said Decker. ‘Tell him to get a taxi. I’ll wait out of sight for him to make sure he hasn’t got a tail before bringing him back here.’
He grabbed his jacket while Nathan’s fingers flew over the keyboard.
‘Are you absolutely sure we can trust him?’
‘I don’t think there are any absolutes in this whole situation,’ said Eva, ‘but as I said before, we can’t do this on our own.’
Decker disappeared out the door, his footsteps echoing down the stairs before she heard the outer door slam shut.
She wandered over to the window and peered through the net curtains, watching as he shoved his hands in his pockets and disappeared from view.
‘You never did tell me how you found out about the threat on my and Alex’s life in Cyprus,’ she said.
She heard Nathan’s typing stop, and turned to face him.
He stared at her defiantly.
‘What? You think I’m the traitor in the Section? Are you going to start torturing me now?’
She crossed her arms over her chest.
He sighed. ‘Look, I’m not a mole. The week before the attack, I was reviewing a whole heap of communiqués that had been collated by other analysts – people like me. I guess I saw something I wasn’t meant to, because when I tried to find it again it had gone missing. It was just a two-line message that had been sent to Petersen. I was surprised, because given his ill-health I didn’t think he was still being sent weekly updates. I couldn’t prove anything – the report I then sent to Knox was simply a precis of what I’d seen, but without the proof I guess it wasn’t taken seriously.’
Eva dropped her hand to her sides and wandered over to where he sat, sinking onto the cushions as he shuffled over to make room for her.
She leaned forward, placed her elbows on her knees and ran a hand through her hair.
‘I’m sorry. I’ve been doing this for so long, I don’t know how to trust anyone – let alone who to trust.’
He reached out and wrapped his fingers around hers, and waited until her eyes met his.
‘You can trust me. I would never do anything to harm you, or Alex and Grace. When this is all over, you and I need to have a long talk.’
She nodded, and bit her lip.
He smiled, squeezed her fingers, and then let go and pointed at the screen.
‘In the meantime, I’m going to see if I can find some more up-to-date information about the terrain around the laboratory to help us.’
Thirty minutes later, Eva heard footsteps coming up the stairs, and then the tell-tale beep of the security mechanism.
Decker appeared, Miles at his heels.
He held a canvas holdall in one hand, and a laptop bag was slung over his opposite shoulder. He dropped both onto the coffee table and removed his coat before throwing it over the back of a chair.
‘All right. Knox is on board and expecting our call. Secure line through to his private number as soon as you can, Nathan.’
‘Before we do that, are we sure we want to get someone like him involved?’ said Nathan. ‘The three of you all have field experience – Decker here is, frankly, terrifying. Surely it would be better if we just do this ourselves?’
‘I’m an assassin. I’ve never been part of an assault team. I’m used to working alone, working out how best to kill someone without being caught, and not drawing attention to myself.’ Eva waved her hand at the maps and satellite photographs strewn across the table. ‘By comparison, this is suicide.’
‘However much it pains me to admit it, she’s right,’ said Decker. ‘I haven’t got a problem attacking the place, but I want to go in fully equipped. We don’t have the time or the money to put together the sort of assault that’s needed to finish off Maxim once and for all.’
Miles pointed at Nathan’s laptop. ‘Get Knox on a secure video call. I’ve got some ideas about how we do this that I want to discuss with him while all of you are in earshot.’
Moments later, Knox’s face appeared on the screen.
Compared to when Eva had last seen him, his appearance was haggard, and he made them wait while he ensured the door to his office was locked and the blinds pulled down across the window behind his desk.’
‘The biggest problem we’ve got is lack of weapons,’ said Eva, once they’d updated him. ‘And, given that I’m sure Lancaster has been reported as missing by now, any attempt by us to approach contacts that you might have here is going to raise a bloody big flag.’
Knox pinched the bridge of his nose, then aimed his glare at Decker.
‘You couldn’t have just roughed him up a bit?’
‘He was a traitor.’
‘Yes, but the Americans are meant to be our allies. It does make things a little… awkward, doesn’t it?’
Decker sighed, and ran a hand over his cropped hair. ‘I had a feeling you’d say that. You’d better let them know they can find him in a dumpster in an alleyway behind the US Embassy.’
Eva frowned, then turned to him. ‘You mean – you didn’t kill him?’
Decker shrugged. ‘I figured it might cause more problems than he’s worth.’
Knox exhaled. ‘I’ll make some discreet calls once we’re done here. We’ll have to deal with the fallout later, but in the meantime, I’ll let Lancaster’s countrymen know about his treachery and ensure they hold him at a secure facility until our business with Maxim is taken care of.’
‘We still need weapons,’ said Eva, ‘and n
either Decker nor me have anyone we can speak to here, or over the border in Poland. So, what are we going to do?’
‘I can get us assault rifles, handguns, grenades – pretty much anything you need,’ said Miles.
‘And how, exactly, do we get that sort of equipment?’ said Decker.
‘Alan Greene, currently with Interpol.’
Eva raised an eyebrow. ‘Since when do Interpol have that sort of remit?’
‘They don’t,’ said Miles. ‘Greene is NSA and has been after Maxim for years. If we tell him we know where to find him and what he’s capable of, it’ll be like dangling the biggest carrot in front of Greene that he’s ever seen. He won’t be able to resist helping us. Not with what’s at stake.’
‘I thought we didn’t want to involve any other parties?’ said Nathan. ‘Won’t Greene try to keep the smallpox for the American government?’
Miles shook his head. ‘Greene doesn’t work like that. Trust me. I’ll vouch for him. We worked together—’
‘In South America. Right.’ Eva held up her hands. ‘I swear blind, Newcombe – once this is all over, you are going to tell me what you got up to down there.’
She was rewarded with a sly smile.
‘All right. What about Petersen?’ said Eva. ‘Any ideas, Knox?’
A mirthless chuckle reached her ears.
‘Leave him to me.’
Nineteen
London
* * *
Knox left his car parked several streets from his ultimate destination and began the laborious walk up the steep uneven pavement towards the park at the top of the road.
A light drizzle peppered the evening air, and he relaxed a little. The inclement weather would keep people indoors, where they would remain warm and dry after their late afternoon commute, blissfully unaware of the spy that passed by their homes.
A chilly breeze flapped the ends of his overcoat, and he shoved his hands in his pockets as he hunkered down and considered his options once more.
There weren’t many.
A heavy weight rested over his heart, and he shifted uncomfortably as he reached the crest of the hill.
He turned and surveyed the blinking lights of the business end of the city laid out below. The borough sprawled out each side of the road he’d followed, trees on either side rocking gently as the wind increased and whipped branches and leaves.
Knox exhaled, and cut through an alleyway that passed between two large houses before depositing him in a neighbouring street.
Privet hedgerows lined the cul-de-sac, enabling its residents to protect their privacy at all times.
Knox had maintained a watching brief on the house that backed onto the far end of the dead end street for a long time now; off the books, and entrusted to no-one.
There were some jobs better done alone.
He checked over his shoulder, but no-one followed; no-one hesitated in the shadows. The cars parked alongside the pavement were as familiar to him as their owners.
Nothing was out of place.
Everything was as it should be.
He placed a gloved hand on the low wooden gate, and pushed.
It swung open easily, on recently oiled hinges, a legacy of Knox’s last fleeting night-time reconnaissance.
He prided himself on his foresight. It was something he’d honed over the years out in the field, and something that he’d successfully applied to his meteoric rise to Section chief.
Though prepared, he was disappointed it had come to this.
He stepped through the gate, ensuring his shoes fell on the soft grass verge of the footpath, not the mud, and closed the gate behind him.
Despite the guest the home concealed, there were no security patrols on the grounds. A CCTV network of cameras surrounded the facility, but Knox knew none of those faced the copse of trees. He’d been the one to arrange the system’s upgrade, after all.
A shuffling sound to his right caught his attention, and he froze, stock-still, until a young fox cub bounded across the path, a small rodent between its teeth.
Knox followed its progress with his eyes, briefly reminded of his childhood in the Berkshire countryside, and silently marvelled at the animal’s presence in the urban sprawl.
He inhaled the aroma of pine needles and damp leaves underfoot, and then began to move once more.
As the trees gave way to the lush grass of the retirement home’s manicured lawns, Knox slowed his pace and began a reconnaissance of the grounds.
He took his time; there was no need to rush. Dawn was still hours away, and he was willing to wait if he had to.
He’d spent the afternoon reading the files on Petersen’s guards.
The old man had picked them himself; a last act of defiance before Knox claimed his job from him.
He used a copy of the building’s keys to enter through the kitchen door, then made his way through the reception area and crept up the stairs, his senses alert for any movement above.
The house was silent, its residents asleep and oblivious to the assassin that crept past their rooms.
He reached the door to Petersen’s room, and held his breath.
Closing his eyes, he recalled the layout of the room, putting himself in Petersen’s place and tried to anticipate whether the old man would be fast asleep or expecting a visitor.
He opened his eyes. Petersen wasn’t a fool, despite the impression he gave to the other residents and to those who had taken his career away from him.
The knowledge made Knox’s job easier to bear.
Petersen had to die.
There was no other way.
He pushed against the door, and in a split second the shock of it giving way on his touch hit him, and he realised he’d been fooled.
The old spymaster was ready for him.
He’d waited, biding his time for the past three years in order to exact his revenge.
As the door swung open, Knox dropped to the floor, but too late.
Fire ripped through his shoulder a moment before the muted cough of suppressed gunshot reached his ears.
A muffled curse came from the window, and he swung his own weapon up, firing twice.
A cry, a stumble, and a body crashed to the floor before him.
Knox staggered over the threshold, weapon raised.
Petersen had fallen against the side of a plush armchair next to a floor-to-ceiling window, clutching his stomach.
As Knox advanced, the man spat blood onto the ornate carpet and glared at him.
‘You should’ve stayed out of this, Gerald.’
‘Why? Why betray your country?’
Knox kicked at the man’s leg, satisfied when it caused a judder through Petersen’s body and made him howl in pain.
‘What was it? Money?’
Petersen smiled through the pain. ‘You’d never understand, Gerald. That’s why you were never allowed to become involved. There’s a power shift happening in Europe, and I was going to lead the British side.’
Knox blinked. Black specks formed at the corner of his vision as the sound of sirens in the distance filtered through the window.
His orders had been received from the upper echelons of the Section – execute Petersen, rather than have the agency and any dignitaries remotely connected to it publicly embarrassed by a criminal prosecution.
He couldn’t afford to be found here, not like this.
The Section worked out of sight, and there had already been too much activity surrounding the secret agency of late.
He raised the weapon until he had Petersen’s forehead in his sights, and then took the final, lethal shot.
Knox turned and staggered towards the hallway, clutching his shoulder and all too aware that the blood seeping between his fingers would lead the police straight to him.
He had to act fast, but in his weakened state, he knew that if he failed to get away only one option remained.
He tested the weight of the weapon in his other hand, and wondered if he’d be
able to pull the trigger on himself.
Movement at the end of the passageway caught his eye, and his hand jerked up, sighting the barrel on the figure at the top of the stairs.
One of Petersen’s bodyguards stood facing him, his own weapon raised.
Twenty
Eva wrapped her fingers around the strap fixed above the passenger window of the old four-wheel drive and braced her feet against the floor as Decker drove the vehicle through another shallow river bed.
A muffled curse from the back seat reached her ears, and she checked the wing mirror to her right to make sure no important parts were now hanging off the vehicle.
Such as the exhaust pipe.
Twilight hugged the trees on each side of the narrow track, and her gaze fell to the map she held in her other hand.
The village was another mile away, and they would have to stop soon, or risk the noise from the engine creating unwanted attention.
Eva ran through the plan once more in her mind, making sure she hadn’t overlooked anything.
It was risky, and she wouldn’t get a second chance, but they couldn’t work out another way to get close to the testing laboratory.
Decker swung the car over to the right and as the vehicle bounced between gnarled tree trunks and brambles, Eva began to concentrate on her breathing, keeping her heart rate low.
Once she left the relative safety of the vehicle, she would be on her own.
Decker killed the engine and rested his hands on the wheel.
‘Are you sure you want to do it this way?’
‘Yes. It’s the best chance we’ve got. We can’t turn back now.’
He nodded before she opened her door and lowered herself to the ground.
Nathan emerged from the back seat and held out one of the handguns that Alan Greene had sourced for them earlier that morning.
She shook her head. ‘If I walk in there armed to the teeth and I get stopped, no-one is going to believe my story. We have to assume that I’ll be searched.’
He replaced the gun in the bag with the others, but didn’t look happy.
Assassins Retribution Page 8
