Deakin looked momentarily nonplussed, but recovered quickly. ‘I was laying out our stall, Mr Chi, that was all. You tell me what you need and we’ll see how we can accommodate you.’
Wien Lu Chi smiled briefly and put down his glass. He straightened his already immaculate tie and stood up. ‘Admirably blunt and to the point, Mr Deakin. I like that. In which case, let me reciprocate. It has come to my attention that one of the “specialists” currently available — and one which you have not mentioned — is someone with information of a far more. . shall we say, non-combatant nature.’
‘I don’t follow.’ Deakin was surprised. He had come here expecting a shopping list of hardware data, but he’d been sidestepped. ‘What non-combatant nature?’
Wien Lu Chi glanced at Turpowicz, who seemed much less puzzled. ‘I think your colleague understands,’ he said. ‘But to save us all time, I will be more direct. I am talking about a young woman who has recently gone absent without leave — another delightful dressing up of words — from a position of considerable. . shall we say, delicacy. . in the high command structure in Kabul?’ He looked from one to the other as their faces slowly showed their understanding. To help them, he added, ‘A Miss Tan, gentlemen? An aide to the British Deputy Commander ISAF?’ He walked over to the door and knocked twice, and the security guard appeared. He was carrying a small aluminium briefcase. ‘Bring her specialized knowledge to me, gentlemen, and I think we will do business.’ He gave a signal for the guard to hand the briefcase to Deakin. ‘As a sign of good faith, we are making a down-payment of fifty thousand dollars, non-refundable. For the correct quality of this particular item, delivered in prime condition, I am authorized by my clients to go up to one million dollars.’
Deakin stood up, his face flushed, and took the briefcase. Behind him, Turpowicz slipped his shoes back on. ‘I think we can accommodate you,’ Deakin said calmly. ‘Just give us a week or so to come up with-’
But Wien Lu Chi held up a hand to stop him. ‘No. For a down-payment such as this, Mr Deakin, it is my clients who make the conditions. And this one is non-negotiable. You have five days. Five days from today and you must have the item in question ready to ship.’
‘But that’s very short notice.’ Deakin looked stunned, but was reining himself in. ‘Why only five days?’
Wien Lu Chi remained unperturbed. ‘Beyond that time, her value reduces day by day as her superiors amend or block any useful information she may have taken with her.’ He gave a humourless smile. ‘It is like a supermarket, no? She has a sell-by date, beyond which, she is — ’ he flicked a careless hand — ‘disposable. You understand?’
‘We get it,’ said Turpowicz. ‘But what happens to Miss Tan afterwards?’
Wien Lu Chi looked faintly puzzled. ‘Come now, Mr Turpowicz; surely you realize that this is what the one million dollars is for: you do not need to know, and should not ask.’ He stood up and clapped his hands. ‘Thank you for coming, gentlemen. My colleague will show you out.’
Less than three minutes later they were outside the hotel. Turpowicz turned to Deakin and muttered, ‘Christ, Deak, what did you just sign us up to? You promised Charlie Chan back there that we’d bring him Tan within five days? We don’t even know where she is!’
Deakin looked unconcerned as he walked back to their car. ‘Then we’d better find her, hadn’t we? You heard him: they’re interested and they’ll pay big bucks. That’s good enough for me. This would be the biggest sale we’ll ever make.’
‘That’s if we get her to the church on time. But how? She’s out there in the frigging wind! So far there’s been no sign of her, none of the usual flags going up when someone cuts and runs. All your guy in London can give us is her service details and some useless crap about home, but there’s no substance.’ He shook his head and got in the passenger seat. ‘If we don’t deliver on time, that guy back there will cut our balls off. Nobody gives away a case full of money that easily, especially the Chinese.’
Deakin shrugged and switched on his mobile, checking for messages. There were two texts. The first was news from Ganic, and made him curse aloud. They had lost another one. While the Bosnians were busy dealing with Barrow, another target had had a change of heart. He’d slipped away from the hotel outside Brussels where they had installed him and was heading for the UK. They had missed him by minutes but had picked up his trail and were asking for instructions.
‘What’s up?’ said Turpowicz.
Deakin ignored him, and was already composing a reply. There was no point in trying to persuade the target to come back; it was too late for that. But he’d met Deakin and could identify Turpowicz and the Bosnians. To prevent him talking, there could only be one outcome. He sent a terse text back to Zubac. Cancel the contract. The Bosnians would know what to do. He finally looked at Turpowicz. ‘Another one down. McCreath’s done a runner from the hotel. They think he’s heading for London.’
‘I thought we’d him won over to the idea.’
‘Me, too. He must have had a change of heart.’ He gave an almost buoyant smile. ‘Never mind, there’s plenty more where he came from. Get hold of Nicholls and Paulton and get them to focus harder on Tan’s trail. She could make up for all of the losses so far. Someone must have an idea of where she is.’
The American took out his phone ready to make the call, then said, ‘What about the guy who found Barrow? If he’s so hot he might lead us right to her.’
Deakin nodded. ‘Maybe he will. I don’t care what we have to do, but this one’s not getting away from us, you hear?’ Deakin checked the second text message and grinned. ‘Well, speak of the devil. Our man’s name is Tate. . and he’s a bloody warrant officer in the British army. How about that?’ He switched off the phone and dropped it in his pocket, then turned the ignition, suddenly energized by the news. ‘You were right, Turp; all we have to do is find Tate and see where he goes next. And when he leads us to Tan, we’ll have her and we can get him out of our hair. Permanently.’
TWENTY-NINE
It was seven the following morning when Harry’s bedside phone rang. He rolled over and took the call, wincing at stiff muscles after the journey back from Germany. It was Ballatyne and he sounded hyped.
‘Some news,’ the MI6 man said. ‘We might have a serious lead on Deakin and his crew. Staff Sergeant Gerry McCreath just walked into a south London police station and asked for protection. He says his life is in danger.’
‘I think I know the feeling.’
‘He had a meeting with Deakin and an American in Belgium. They pitched him a deal to provide a ton of information on the latest trial versions of NATO operational networks and communications in return for cash — a lot of it. He agreed in principle, and was told to stay low and given an open-ended account at a hotel outside the city. They said they’d call him with details of the next stage and make a first payment. Can you believe it? “Agreed in principle”. These people amaze me. They think selling secrets is like signing up to a bloody mortgage.’
‘What made him run?’
‘He heard about Pike. Seems they trained together, although he hadn’t seen him for a while. McCreath had been away from his home base playing Action Man stuff with the Air Assault Brigade. He got wounded and decided he’d had enough of being chucked out of helicopters and being shot at, so he went on the run to sort himself out. He got a lead from a mate about the Protectory, and next thing he knows is, he’s been approached by Deakin and offered a way out.’
‘Deakin wouldn’t have told him about Pike, though.’
‘No. He says he heard about it from the same friend. He started to get worried that he might end up in a ditch somewhere, so he ducked out and headed back to England by train and boat.’
‘Why south London?’
‘He used to live in the Brixton area. Probably figured he could go to ground and get lost.’
It was no surprise to Harry. Most runners headed for the familiar by instinct, looking for comfort in any place where they fe
lt safe. They usually didn’t realize that it was the worst thing they could have done until a knock sounded on the door.
‘He claims he saw a face in the crowd on the way over,’ Ballatyne continued. ‘A man named Zubac — a Bosnian. He travels with a man called Ganic. McCreath says they’re enforcers for the Protectory, ex-militia or military, he reckons, and highly nasty. Sounds as if they’re the men who killed Pike and Barrow. If they’re that close behind McCreath, they’ve only got one thing in mind. I’ve cleared your entry down at Brixton. The sooner we question him the better.’
Harry swung out of bed. ‘I’m on my way.’
THIRTY
Milan Zubac was studying a small electronic box on his lap, eyes on a set of coloured lights numbered Level 1 to 5. He was slowly turning a dial on its side. When the level 5 light glowed red he nodded to his friend and former Bosnian army colleague, Zlatco Ganic, who was behind the wheel of their car, an anonymous Vauxhall Corsa.
‘He is here. Time to go.’
Ganic took a last drag of a Marlboro and flicked it out of the window, where it bounced in a shower of sparks before dropping through a drain cover. From where they were sitting, they could see the rear gates of a large building, and through the bars, the colourful flash of police vehicles. It was barely nine in the morning and everything seemed quiet apart from an irregular flow of police cars entering or leaving the compound behind the gates. But they had no illusions; this was a busy station and things would change dramatically the moment they got inside. Once they began, there was no going back.
Ganic gave a wry smile and uncoiled his heavy, six-foot frame ready to get out of the car. ‘This time,’ he said with exaggerated courtesy, ‘I think you should go first, my friend. It is only fair.’
Zubac shrugged and reached for a heavy rucksack between his feet. ‘OK by me,’ he said. ‘You can play the tail of the dog if you like.’ He opened the bag and took out two 9mm Ruger SR9 handguns and half a dozen black cylindrical objects each with two pull rings and a safety lever. American-made M84 stun grenades or ‘flash-bangs’, they held a mix of magnesium and ammonium, and were designed to distract and disorientate anyone in an enclosed space. He passed Ganic one Ruger with a seventeen-shot magazine and a spare, along with three stun grenades, then slung the bag with the remaining handgun and grenades over his shoulder. If they had to use all seventeen shots plus spares, then they were in trouble. But he didn’t plan on that happening. You won in these situations by always going prepared.
They climbed out and checked the street in both directions. Police activity this close to the station was likely to be heavy, and although the car was done with and they wouldn’t be coming back to it, there was no future in being stopped by a policeman or traffic warden for parking in a restricted area before they even began the next stage of their plan. When Zubac was satisfied, he nodded to Ganic and the two men walked along the street and turned in at the barred gates.
Zubac, whose accent was less noticeable then Ganic’s, pressed the call button on the intercom.
‘Yes?’ The voice was tinny, with a faint wheezy quality. Too old to be a cop, Zubac noted. Probably a retired officer reduced to playing security guard.
He read the prepared sentence. ‘Hi. Wilkins and Collier from the MOD, to assist with the interview of Staff Sergeant McCreath.’ Short and sharp, was the advice he’d received from Deakin; sound businesslike and don’t take any shit. They get people coming and going all the time. You’re just following orders like everyone else.
The priority was to get through the gates. Once inside, the rest would be easy.
‘Hold your ID up to the screen, please.’ The man sounded bored, going through the motions.
Zubac did so. This was the weak point. If the guard saw or heard something he didn’t like, they weren’t going any further.
‘OK. Come across the yard to the red door and wait.’
The gates swung open with a whine of an electrical motor. Both men stepped through, walking past a line of empty police vans, patrol cars and a couple of transits with swing-down mesh riot screens. No people, though; the yard was deserted.
Zubac slid his hand inside the rucksack, fanning himself with the fake ID with his other hand to distract attention. He glanced at Ganic and said, ‘Remember, we need directions. After that, anything goes.’
Ganic nodded and stuffed small rubber cones into each ear. Whatever else happened, the next few minutes were going to be very noisy. Zubac would put his in place once they got past the security guard. After that it wouldn’t matter because they would have no need to talk or to listen.
THIRTY-ONE
Staff Sergeant Gerry McCreath was looking every one of his thirty-eight years, with a yellowish tinge to his skin and dark hollows beneath each eye. His white shirt and dark slacks were creased, evidence of a long journey without being able to change, and he looked strung out, eyes searching for a way out like a rat in a box. He’d take some stopping, thought Harry, if he decided to get up and go. Operating with 16 Air Assault Brigade in the hills of Afghanistan had toughened up the Signals NCO in a way that playing with communications equipment never would have.
Harry sat down opposite him and dropped a packet of cigarettes on the table. A pair of large constables were stationed by the door, and one of them, with ginger hair and pale skin, shifted his feet.
‘Can’t do that in here, sir.’
Harry looked at him. ‘Don’t worry, officer, I think he’s got more pressing problems than breaking the smoking ban.’ He took out a cheap Bic lighter and slid it across the surface. ‘You want to smoke, go ahead.’
McCreath shook his head. ‘I’m trying to give up. Who are you?’
‘You can call me Harry. I want to help you get out of here in one piece.’ He sat back. ‘I hear you’ve got Ganic and Zubac on your tail.’
‘You know them?’
‘I’ve seen their handiwork.’
McCreath grunted and looked around the room. ‘Then you know this place won’t stop them. Nor will the two plods on the door.’
‘You think they’ll come inside? Why would they risk it?’
‘Because they’re mental, that’s why. I’ve seen their type before — even served with one or two like them. They get off on proving how tough they are, thinking they can go through anything or anyone. If Deakin sets them on a target, that’s all they need.’
‘And you think he’s set them on you?’ He sounded deliberately sceptical; he wanted McCreath to become unsettled, even angry. It would lead to the truth that much quicker.
McCreath blinked. ‘Of course. I bugged out, didn’t I? Left his cosy hotel and fancy meals and legged it back here. It was saying I didn’t want to play his game or take his money. He wouldn’t like that. If they can’t get me in here, they’ll wait for me to go out. . just like they did Pike.’
Harry ignored that for the moment; he wanted to get McCreath talking about the Protectory. ‘Tell me about Deakin; how you met him.’
‘Will it help my court martial?’
‘I can’t guarantee that, but your cooperation will certainly be taken into account. Did he order Neville Pike killed?’
‘He’s the only one who could have. I’m not sure he’s all there, to be honest; there’s something behind his eyes, know what I mean? I saw the same thing in some of the prisoners taken in Afghanistan, even in some of the subcontractors out there. Like they’re living on a hair-trigger, waiting to blow. But he’s different when he’s talking; then he’s all good ideas and friendly, just like you want to hear when you’re on the run. Then, when I heard about Pike, I just. . I decided it wasn’t for me.’ He shifted in his seat as if embarrassed to admit it. A faint burst of shouting sounded somewhere in the building, muffled and distant. A door slammed followed by another, and the overhead lights flickered.
Harry glanced at the constables, but they hadn’t reacted. In a busy station like this, shouting was the norm, doors slamming a sound everyone learned to live with day and ni
ght.
‘How did you get in touch with him in the first place?’
‘I didn’t.’ McCreath’s breathing rate had increased and his fingers were tapping out a rapid staccato rhythm on the table surface. His nails, Harry noted, were bitten down to the quick. ‘I was bunking with an ex-army mate in Antwerp after leaving Selly Oak.’
‘That’s where you had treatment?’
‘Yes. The place got on my wick. . people coming and going like it was a bloody theme park. . charity visitors treating us like a bunch of mental cases, doing their good fucking works. . It finally got to me when one woman spoke louder to me because I’d been wounded — can you believe that? She thought because someone mentioned trauma I was a bleeding cabbage case. Then there were the therapists and psych people, all telling us how we’d soon recover and how we had to stay positive, how it’d be all right in the end and look at how some amputees were even trekking to the North frigging Pole and climbing mountains on their false fucking legs!’
As McCreath started breathing faster, gradually becoming more and more worked up, one of the constables shifted his feet and prepared to step forward. But Harry held up a hand. He had to see where this would lead. McCreath was venting his frustration. If they shut him down now, he might never tell them what they needed to know.
McCreath gradually regained control. He took a deep breath, placing his hands flat on the table and shaking his head. Then he continued in a calmer voice. ‘I’d had enough so I got up and walked out. When I got to Antwerp, my mate said he knew someone who could help me; someone he said was part of a group who helped out guys like me. I thought he was taking the piss. Next thing I know, this guy Deakin’s at the door, saying he was from the Protectory, like it should mean something. I mean, it sounded like some sort of loony religious order to me. I nearly told him to piss off, thinking what could a bunch of bible bashers do to help me?’ His head came up as a dull concussion sounded. ‘What was that?’ This time the two guards looked at each other.
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