Sure Fire

by Jack Higgins

  “Look, John,” Phillips said, “I have to get this sample from you. We need to get it analysed and find out what Vishinsky is up to. I’ll come over this evening. Better when it’s dark. When the kids are asleep.”

  “No,” Chance said. “Not here.”

  “You really think the flat’s being watched?”

  “I can’t take that risk.”

  “Safer at the flat than anywhere else though.”

  “For you and me maybe,” Chance agreed. “But not for my children. I can’t risk them getting involved. I’m not putting them at risk, not at all, not for myself or you or anyone. Got that?”

  Phillips seemed to sense Chance’s determination. “OK. Whatever you say. Look… I’ll call later and we can discuss a good meeting place. You… get yourself sorted. Do whatever you have to do.”

  “Thanks. I don’t know really where to start. But that’s it, isn’t it? A new start. When I went up to Sandra’s funeral, I had no idea. I mean – they told me there were two children, twins, and they’re mine and I have to look after them. But that’s so sort of abstract. I thought, just pack them off to school. Nothing to do with me. But then you meet them and they’re actual real people. I can see so much of myself in them – in both of them. They’re stubborn and argumentative and angry and unhelpful. But I can’t blame them for being like me, can I?”

  “Don’t sweat it, John,” Phillips said quietly. “It’s a shock. You’ll get over it.”

  “Get over it?” He sounded surprised. “I don’t want to get over it. I don’t want to change anything. I just want to be a good father – and I don’t know how.”

  Ardman clicked off the MP3 player. He looked up at Rich, but he seemed to be looking past Rich, at someone standing with them at the table.

  Rich turned to look and saw that Jade was there, the phone still pressed to her ear. Slowly, she lowered it and ended the call.

  “We never realised,” she said. Her voice sounded strange, like it was being filtered through something that broke it up and then put it back together again slightly wrong. “He never said…”

  Ardman picked up the phone from the table and handed it to Rich. “Adults often can’t say what they mean or how they feel,” he said quietly. “Which is really quite childish of us, don’t you think?”

  “You’ll find him, won’t you?” Rich said. “You’ll get him back.”

  Ardman sighed. “Unfortunately, for all the reasons we spoke of earlier, my hands are rather tied. Yes, I’ll do what I can. But I’m afraid it won’t be much.”

  “But – this is our dad we’re talking about,” Jade insisted. “You have to help us.”

  “I can’t be seen to act against Vishinsky. I told you that. I told you why. But I’ll do everything I can. I promise.”

  “So Chance does care,” Magda said. She smiled at Mr Stabb. “Vishinsky will be so pleased to hear that. We can put pressure on Chance by threatening the children.”

  “Only if we have them to threaten. Let’s hope our luck holds. It was only by luck that you overheard the MI5 men at the internet café mention the Clarendorf Hotel as a backup plan.”

  Ardman’s voice was still coming through the tiny speaker on the table, but they paid it little attention now. The microphone had a built-in digital recorder that could later provide them with any information they missed.

  “You said we needed them both.” Magda pointed at the three people round the table in the bar below – Ardman, Rich and Jade. “There you are.”

  “Given what we’ve just learned, what we’ve heard, we may only need one of them.” Stabb pulled a gun from inside his jacket. “But let’s not look a gift horse in the mouth.”

  Magda took a small pistol from her handbag – the same one she had used to shoot the policeman. There was no need for the silencer this time; it was cumbersome and it slowed the bullet, making the weapon less effective.

  “Let’s do it,” she said.

  “Like I told you,” Ardman said, “I can’t get directly involved. Not until I have some proof about what Vishinsky is up to. My department does not officially exist and what we do is never acknowledged, but there are plenty of people who do know about us and would dearly love an excuse to shut us down. One wrong move and I’ll never be in a position to help anyone again, including your father.”

  “So what can you do?” Jade demanded.

  “I can put you in touch with someone who can help you.” Ardman took a card from his jacket pocket and a fountain pen. He wrote on the back of the small card. “Dex Halford is an old colleague and friend of your father’s. They were in the SAS together.”

  “The SAS?” Rich whistled, impressed. “He never mentioned that.”

  “They never do.” Ardman handed the card to Jade. “That’s his address. Go and see him. He worked with your dad recently on something for me, something connected to the current situation. He may know things that can help. If nothing else, he’s a good man to have with you in a crisis, even if…” He broke off.

  “Even if what?” Rich wondered.

  But Ardman was looking past them, towards the main door from the foyer. “Down!” he yelled and launched himself at Jade and Rich.

  Ardman’s arms wrapped round Jade and dragged her into the chair where Rich was sitting – a high-backed, solid leather chair. She gave a yelp of surprise and pain. But it was drowned out by the sounds of the bullets that ripped up the carpet close to where she had been standing, and thudded into Ardman’s chair, knocking it over.

  The barman had disappeared down behind the bar. Ardman struggled to pull something from his pocket. A pistol. He leaned out round the back of the chair for just long enough to fire two shots in rapid succession.

  “Woman with long black hair,” he said quickly as he ducked back into cover.

  “That’s her, Magda,” Jade said, breathless. She was crushed between Rich and Ardman. More shots. They all felt the chair move, but the heavy upholstery seemed to have stopped the bullets. For the moment.

  Ardman leaned out and fired twice more. “There’s a man too. I’ll cover you – get out quick.”

  Jade risked a quick look round the other side of the chair and saw Magda aiming a pistol back at her. The man was behind her, the other side of the door, his face hidden in shadows. But there was no way past them and no other doors out of the bar.

  “Get out?” Jade gasped. “How? Where? We’re trapped.”

  The chair shifted again as more bullets hit it. For the moment, Ardman’s return fire was stopping the attackers from coming any closer. But Rich guessed it would not be long before Ardman ran out of bullets.

  “Come on!” he yelled to Jade, struggling past her and out of the deep chair. He grabbed her hand. “Cover us now!” he told Ardman.

  The man nodded. “Go!” As he spoke, Ardman launched himself out of the chair and rolled across the room. Bullets kicked up at the carpet around him as he dived for another chair.

  And while Magda and her accomplice were shooting at Ardman, Rich dragged Jade to her feet and they ran – not towards the door, but away from it.

  Rich had considered there must be a way out behind the bar, but it was too far away, and it might just lead into a room beyond with no other way in or out. So he was running head down as fast as he could for the nearest window.

  “Oh, no!” Jade gasped. Rich felt her tug at his hand but he did not let go. He leaped, Jade close behind him, his shoulder down, crashing into the window, smashing his way through.

  Arms up to cover their faces from flying debris, they exploded out of the hotel in a cloud of broken glass and fractured timber. They fell, rolled, were back on their feet.

  “Thanks for that,” Jade said, shaking slivers of glass from her hair.

  “Don’t just stand there,” Rich told her. “Come on!” He could hear sirens as they ran for the cover of the next street. Gunshots as someone fired after them.

  Moments later, an unmarked car screeched to a halt outside the hotel, two police ca
rs close behind it. By then, Rich and Jade were long gone.

  Magda rushed upstairs, grabbed the digital recorder from the front of the gallery and slipped the recorder into her handbag, before leaving with Stabb through the door at the back.

  Goddard was out of the car and through the lobby in a blur. Gun in hand, he raced into the bar. There was no sign of whoever had staged the attack, but it was apparent there had been a gun battle. He looked up to the gallery as the door swung shut. He ordered his men to spread out and search the hotel and surrounding area.

  He ran to Ardman, who lay sprawled across a leather armchair. A ragged red line cut across Ardman’s forehead, and blood was soaking through his jacket from a shoulder wound. Goddard yelled for the paramedics.

  Ardman’s eyelids flickered. “Did…” he croaked. “Did they get away?”

  “Clean away,” Goddard told him. “I’m sorry.”

  Ardman clutched at Goddard’s arm, shaking his head painfully. “No, the children – did they…?”

  “They’re not here,” Goddard said. “Maybe they were lucky. You did your best, sir.”

  “Gone to…” He was losing consciousness now as he tried to speak. “They’ve gone to… Gave them address… Gone to…” His voice faded.

  “Where? Where have they gone? Where did you send them?” Goddard asked, aware of the two paramedics now waiting impatiently beside him.

  But it was too late, Ardman was out cold. Goddard moved to let the paramedics push past. One of them quickly took Ardman’s pulse.

  “He’s lost blood, had a nasty blow to the head,” one of the paramedics said, after a brief examination. “He should be OK, but he could be out for hours.”

  “Hours?” Goddard asked them.

  The second paramedic had lifted Ardman’s eyelid and was shining a torch into the eye beneath.

  “That might be a bit optimistic,” he said. “I reckon this guy’ll be out for a few days.”

  16

  They took the tube right to the end of the line, then managed to find a taxi. Rich had stopped to buy an A to Z, and Dex Halford’s address was right at the edge of the area it covered. The taxi dropped them outside a farm gate, and Jade paid with almost all the rest of their money.

  “If he doesn’t help,” she said, “then we’ll be walking back.”

  “If he doesn’t help, that may be the least of our problems,” Rich said.

  Through the gate there was a long narrow track that led to the farmhouse where Halford apparently lived. They passed several outbuildings on the way – barns and sheds. But there was no sign of farming apart from the rough tracks. One of the barns was full of old cars, all clean and polished.

  “Maybe he collects them and does them up,” Rich suggested.

  They turned a corner and saw that there were more cars left on the verge by the side of the track. Some were mere shells, with no wheels even. Others looked like they’d just been parked. The track led into a large farmyard and there were more cars parked here. In the middle of the yard was a Range Rover, and Rich could see the keys dangling in the ignition – maybe this was the vehicle Halford actually used for day-to-day driving.

  “There are more cars in that barn,” Jade said, pointing to a large shed. “Looks like he’s repairing them.”

  Rich could see a ramp over a pit, with an old MG up on it so the underside could be worked on. Several others were parked around it, a Mini jacked up, an old Triumph Herald on bricks.

  The track led through the farmyard and then up to a house a short distance away. The contrast was striking. Unlike the dilapidated barns and outbuildings, the farmhouse looked like it had been recently renovated and painted. Attached to the stone building was an enormous conservatory. As they approached, Rich could see that it was a large covered swimming pool. There were plastic chairs and loungers arranged round the edge, and at the side was an area with weights machines and other gym equipment.

  “Looks like he does OK out of old cars,” Jade said.

  “Perhaps he’ll give us a lift back in one then,” Rich said.

  They decided to work it the same way as with Ardman, though this time Jade insisted she should be the one to go in.

  “We don’t know anything about this man,” Rich pointed out. “How he’ll react or anything. We don’t really know if we can trust Ardman.”

  “He hasn’t actually tried to kill us so far,” Jade said. “That’s a pretty good start.”

  “Yeah, but even so…”

  “That’s why only one of us goes in. It pays to be cautious.” Jade took out her phone. “Same as before, only I’ll keep the phone in my pocket. You’ll hear everything.”

  “That may not be good enough.” A thought occurred to Rich. “Tell him you want to sit by the pool. At least I’ll be able to see you then as well.”

  “Oh, right. Shall I tell him I want pizza and ice cream too?”

  “Think he’ll do that?” Rich asked hopefully.

  Jade just glared.

  Dex Halford sounded pleasant, if a little bewildered when Jade introduced herself and asked if she could come in. Halford seemed unwilling to let Jade into the house, and watching from across the yard, Rich could see the man gesturing for her to go away. It was weird – his voice was calm and reasonable, but he was trying to shoo Jade away at the same time. Almost like he knew that someone was listening in on the conversation and didn’t want to upset them.

  But eventually, he let Jade inside, and Rich found himself a good spot at the edge of the farmyard from where he could see into the large conservatory. He heard Jade asking if they could sit by the pool.

  “I just love to sit by the poolside,” she said.

  “Don’t overdo it,” Rich muttered. He saw Jade walk into the pool room, followed by a tall man that must be Halford. He was about the same age as their father, but he walked slowly, with the help of a stick. When he sat down on one of the plastic chairs, he stuck one leg out straight in front of him as if he had trouble bending it.

  “Didn’t know John Chance had kids,” Halford was saying. His voice was faint but audible through the phone that Rich had jammed hard against his ear.

  Halford listened while Jade gave a very brief explanation. She mentioned Rich but gave no indication he was with her or even nearby.

  “So, can you help?” she asked, leaning forward from her own chair so she was close to Halford.

  Rich saw the man lean forward as well. He looked to be very close to Jade now, so close that even though he seemed to be talking very quietly, his voice came clearly through the phone.

  “I don’t know why you came to me. It really wasn’t a good move. Not a good move at all. You have no idea how much danger you are in right now.”

  Rich saw his sister lean back in surprise. Halford stood up, looking down at her. He suddenly looked very threatening indeed, and Rich strained to hear what the man was saying.

  But all he could hear was a high-pitched whine. He checked the phone display – CALL TERMINATED. Either Jade was out of credit or her battery had packed up. Typical.

  Halford was leaning over Jade now and Rich could just about make out his sister’s face – a mixture of anxiety and fear as she looked past Halford, down towards where Rich was hiding. But what could he do? How could he possibly help? He looked around him in despair for something – anything – that might be of use…

  The image through the telescopic sights of the sniper rifle was crystal clear. Magda watched as Halford leaned over Jade, talking to her urgently. Magda could not hear what Halford was saying, but then she didn’t need to. That was not her job. She was to watch and wait for the signal – if it came.

  Once they had Halford’s name – from the digital recording made at the hotel – it had been easy enough to trace him. And Magda had been waiting, watching the house through the sniper sight, until the two children arrived.

  * * *

  “You shouldn’t have come here,” Halford hissed at Jade. His face was down low, close to hers as
he leaned over her menacingly. But Jade wasn’t listening, wasn’t even looking at him. She was staring in disbelief through the glass wall of the pool room.

  The Range Rover roared up the track, bouncing along the uneven surface, lurching towards them. It didn’t turn where the track bent away to the front of the farmhouse. It just kept coming in a straight line – right at the pool room. And now Jade could clearly see Rich hunched down over the steering wheel, face set in a determined stare as the Range Rover picked up speed.

  The sound of the straining engine reached Halford and he turned to see what it was.

  He was just in time to witness the Range Rover connecting with the glass wall. Just in time to see it explode into the pool room. Just in time to dive out of the way.

  Jade was up and running as the Range Rover slewed sideways in a mass of broken glass and metal. It skidded through ninety degrees before its tyres found their grip on the slippery tiled floor. Then it shot forward, over the edge of the pool.

  Water splashed across the room, drenching Jade. Through it she could see the Range Rover sinking into the pool – and Rich heaving himself up on to the poolside close by. He ran towards her, slipping and sliding in his haste.

  “Are you all right?” he asked as he reached her.

  Jade nodded. “Idiot,” she said. “You might have drowned.”

  “That wasn’t the plan,” Rich admitted.

  He was interrupted by the sound of laughter from nearby. Halford struggled to his feet, leaning heavily on his walking stick. He looked from the Range Rover, which was submerged in the pool, to Rich and Jade, then at the shattered side of the room. And he continued to laugh.

  “I think we should get out of here,” Jade said quietly. “He’s mad!”

  “What did you do that for?” Halford asked between guffaws of laughter.

  “I came to get Jade,” Rich told him.

  Halford’s laughter slowly subsided. “You were watching,” he realised. “You thought I was threatening your sister and you came to the rescue?” Rich nodded dumbly. “By driving into my swimming pool – through the wall?”