by Rob Sinclair
‘Logan, that could describe about five million people in this city.’
‘Yeah, well, she was sure he was following you.’
‘There was no one following me.’
‘And you haven’t made any new friends here?’
‘I haven’t made contact with anyone here other than you, if that’s what you’re asking. The Chinese authorities have no idea I’m here.’
‘Well, whoever it was, he got the slip on Grainger. He’s got her now.’
Winter stopped and turned to face Logan. ‘Are you sure about that?’ he said.
‘Sure about what?’
‘That someone’s snatched Grainger. Are you sure you can trust her?’
‘I trust her more than I trust anyone else. You included.’
‘But it wouldn’t be the first time she’s betrayed that trust, would it?’
‘She’s been snatched,’ Logan said through gritted teeth. ‘I know it.’
‘Well, if she has, it was nothing to do with me.’
‘Maybe. Maybe not.’
‘You see what’s happening here, don’t you?’ Winter said.
‘You tell me,’ Logan responded. ‘Not so long ago, you were blaming me for killing Mackie. I was the bad guy. You wanted to hunt me down and end my days.’
‘A lot’s changed.’
‘You don’t say. Now, all of a sudden, you want to play nice. And yet no sooner have we planned to meet than Grainger gets kidnapped.’
‘If that’s even what’s happened to her, I assure you it wasn’t me,’ Winter said. ‘And I know now that you didn’t kill Mackie.’
‘You really thought I could kill Mackie, after everything we went through?’
‘Yes,’ Winter said without thinking. ‘I think people are capable of anything in the right circumstances. Given what happened to you, being locked up like that, do you really blame me for thinking you did it?’
‘No. But I do blame you for leaving me in a torture chamber for three months.’
Winter tutted, as though fed up with going over old business. But Logan felt fully justified in bringing that up. He was yet to have any sort of apology from Mackie or from Winter or anyone else for his having to spend three months in the hands of the FSB in that godforsaken gulag.
‘You know that’s not how it was,’ Winter said.
‘If you say so.’
‘You were set up, Logan. And it wasn’t me or Mackie.’
‘Lindegaard,’ Logan said, venom in his voice.
‘You knew?’ Winter said, clearly surprised by the fact.
‘I’ve been putting the pieces together. It was always Lindegaard. But I’m not sure why. He’s always had a beef with me, but this?’
‘It’s not just Lindegaard. It’s Evans too. And they’ve both got a beef with you.’
Logan raised an eyebrow. ‘I’ve barely ever spoken to Evans. How could that be?’
‘I told you your past was coming back to haunt you.’
‘Yeah, but I’m finding it hard to believe this is all about me. Too many people have died for that to be the case.’
‘You’re right, it’s not. And you don’t know the half of it. John Sanderson was killed in his home in London two days ago. Did you know that?’
‘No, I didn’t,’ Logan said.
He hadn’t known Sanderson well, but his death was still shocking, given his senior position at the JIA. Together with Mackie’s death, it was like the heart of the JIA was being torn out.
‘And in Moscow, you already know about Medvedev and Belenov?’ Winter asked.
‘Of course. Apparently it’s me who’s copping the flack.’
‘Well, something you might not know is that three days ago another JIA agent was killed there.’
‘Who?’
‘Irina Tarasenko.’
Logan racked his brain but the name didn’t fit anything he knew.
‘She was a sleeper agent.’
‘Mackie’s?’
‘Yes. I met with her in Moscow. The information she gave me helped me to piece together the final pieces of the jigsaw. I thought I had a real asset on my hands. But the following day she was found dead with her throat slit.’
‘And you’re telling me you’re not being followed?’
Ever since escaping from Evans outside Astana, Logan had wondered why there was no sign of anyone following him. And now it was making sense. It was Winter they were tracking. Not just his movements but probably his phone calls with Logan too. Evans and Lindegaard had been banking on Logan and Winter meeting, because they knew Winter was getting too close to the truth.
‘Look, Logan, don’t you see what’s happening here? These deaths aren’t unconnected. You might be central to what’s happening now, but only because you’re one of the few men who could ever stop it. You’ve rubbed the wrong people up the wrong way and you’re on their hit list.’
‘But why? You said something about Venezuela before.’
‘Logan, there was so much fucked up about Venezuela you wouldn’t believe it.’
‘The CIA agent I killed – Janet Ford. She was Lindegaard’s agent.’
Winter stared at Logan, an impressed look on his face. But Logan had known about that for years. It was the first time that Lindegaard and Logan had crossed paths. It had taken a lot of work by Mackie to keep the CIA off Logan’s back.
‘What I bet you don’t know is that Erika Sandstrom was his agent as well,’ Winter said. ‘But she was deep, deep cover. Only three people ever knew about her. Pinilla wasn’t one of them.’
Logan tried to hide his surprise at the revelation. Leo Pinilla’s girlfriend. The woman Logan had shot with a tranquilliser dart. The woman Pinilla had insisted on bringing with him as they tried to escape from the cartel.
How could Logan not have known she was another agent, even after all this time?
‘So what, this is just some kind of revenge against me?’
‘No, not at all,’ Winter said. ‘Certainly that’s been a catalyst for a lot of things that have happened since, the bad blood that there’s been between Lindegaard and the JIA for years. His dislike of you, me, Mackie. All of us.’
‘Then what else is there?’
‘Take a guess.’
‘Lindegaard. He’s playing us. The JIA, the CIA. It’s the only thing that makes sense.’
‘You’ve hit the nail on the head. Lindegaard has been dirty for years. I’ve got all the evidence now. He sold out you and Mackie both. But when you escaped in Russia, his whole world was turned upside down. You got away. You messed up everything for him. He knew with you on the run it was only a matter of time before you got to the bottom of what he’s been doing all these years. He’s been trying to take out anyone who’s had a whiff of his dirty deeds ever since.’
‘You included.’
‘Absolutely. Oh, I’m sure he thought I wouldn’t be a problem, but clearly he underestimated me like he did you. You know, the JIA only exists because we operate in the shadows, away from prying eyes. There’s only so long the sponsors will put up with all of these inexplicable events. Logan, Lindegaard is trying to take down the JIA. And once we’re out of the way, I’m not sure who’s left to stop him.’
Logan’s mobile phone began to chirp in his pocket. Winter and Logan looked at each other, both knowing what this meant. Logan reached down and took out the phone and looked at the caller ID, which confirmed what he already knew. It was Grainger’s number.
He pressed the button to accept the call and put the phone to his ear without saying a word.
‘Logan, I know you’re there.’
It was Evans.
‘I’m going to keep this really simple for you. Look down.’
Logan looked down and saw a small red dot hovering on his chest. He held his hand up, intersecting the laser a few feet in front of his body. He found the line of sight where the beam was coming from. He couldn’t tell exactly how far away the sniper was, but the laser was coming from the buildings to the
north, the nearest of which were at least a couple of hundred yards away.
‘Very clever, Logan, you’ve figured out where the shooter is. But it’s not going to help. As soon as the call is finished, we’re moving.’
‘What do you want?’
‘I want you to do exactly as I say. If you don’t, Angela Grainger is dead.’
Chapter 48
Evans stood over Angela Grainger, who was slumped on the chair in front of him. They’d transported her to the empty industrial unit in the nearby Xicheng district in a battered old minivan. The vehicle had been supplied by a thirty-year-old Chinese man who called himself Jeremy and had previously worked for the Beijing police, but had long been a useful informant for the JIA. These days, he was effectively a mercenary. Much like Evans’s other helper, Mason.
But then, Evans figured, wasn’t that what all JIA agents really were? Largely they were paid not to think, not to question orders, but to just bloody well carry them out. It was the way of the world. Secret agents were looked up to as heroes when really they were just gutless, self-centred arseholes who cared for no one but themselves. How else could they get through life doing the things they were told to do without ever questioning their morality?
Really, though, Evans didn’t mind that. If anything, it made his job all the easier because the likes of Jeremy and Mason and the countless other men Evans used didn’t care to ask why. They just took their money and did as they were told.
Evans kneeled down by Grainger’s side and reached forward, extending his forefinger and lifting Grainger’s eyelid. Her pupil was big and black, taking up almost all of her eye. There was only the slightest movement as the pupil shrank a little, reacting to the dim light. She was clearly still out of it, but Evans guessed it would only be minutes before she started to come around.
Everything had happened so quickly after Winter had left the hotel where he’d arranged to meet Logan. The move hadn’t taken Evans by surprise. He had guessed Logan would try to lure Winter elsewhere. What he hadn’t known was where. So he’d had Jeremy follow Logan and Grainger to the hotel some two hours before the planned meeting. Then, when Grainger had gone inside, leaving Logan in the car, Mason and Jeremy had taken up positions, ready to tail. When it became clear that Grainger was following Winter, and with Logan nowhere in sight, Evans had decided to snag Grainger.
Once Jeremy had lured her into a quiet alley, Mason delivered the blow – a tranquilliser-filled syringe. Not a big dose, just enough to knock her out. Much like what had been delivered to Evans himself during his faked kidnapping back in Russia.
Now, an hour later, Evans knew it wouldn’t be long before Grainger started to stir.
He lifted her head up. She held it in position for a few seconds and then it lolled left and right as she struggled to maintain control. Finally it flopped down again. He lifted her head up again and smacked her lightly on the cheek. This time, she seemed to take notice and her head snapped back stiffly and her eyes opened and closed a few times.
Grainger moaned and groaned and fought to keep her eyelids open. When she finally managed it, her gaze fixed on Evans’s smiling face. All of a sudden, she seemed to find the strength to fight. She began to jump up and down in her seat, her arms and legs bucking and flailing. Evans just grinned. There was nothing she could do. Her ankles were taped to the chair legs, her wrists to the chair arms. The chair itself, a simple metal structure, had been bolted to the floor.
‘Hello again,’ Evans said, still smiling, when Grainger stopped her fruitless resistance.
Grainger didn’t respond. She took her glare away from Evans, an angry look on her pained face.
‘I bet you’re feeling pretty drowsy. It’ll wear off soon, though. Do you want some water? It might help.’
‘Why are you doing this?’ Grainger slurred.
‘Doing what?’
‘I don’t understand what you want from me. I don’t even know you.’
‘You’re right. It’s who you know, I’m afraid. Wrong place and the wrong time. Or something like that.’
‘If it’s Logan you want, then why am I here?’
‘Do you really need to ask that? That man is crazy about you. Or maybe he’s just crazy. I can see why, though. You’re a looker. Clearly a bit mental, what with you organising the kidnapping of the Attorney General, but definitely a good-looking lady.’
‘Fuck you.’
‘I really don’t care about you, Angela Grainger. The Americans might want you to face justice, whatever that might mean, and the Russians probably want you dead, given the trouble you’ve caused them. But I don’t care what you did. I don’t care about the people who lost their lives in Paris because of you, or the trail of bodies Logan left behind in hunting you down. This isn’t about you.’
‘I never asked to be saved,’ Grainger said. ‘I don’t even know why Logan did it. Don’t forget I shot him so I could get away from him.’
‘Ouch,’ Evans said, then laughed.
Her response surprised him, but he assumed she was just trying to bluff. He had to admit, he was impressed by her resolve, given the circumstances. But then, he guessed, she must be a cool character to have organised the plot to kidnap Frank Modena.
‘It’s just as well Logan isn’t around to hear you say that,’ Evans added. ‘It’d break his feeble little heart. But it does play nicely into what we have planned for you.’
‘Which is what? You use me to lure Logan here, then kill us both?’
‘Not far off, I have to admit. But there’s a bit more to it than that. We thought you might be so good as to help us.’
‘Who is us? And why the hell would I help you?’
‘Us is me and my associates. You’ve met Mason before.’
Evans turned around and pointed at Mason, who was sitting on a chair at the far side of the expansive but bare room.
‘And there’re others as well. You’ll meet us all in due course. You help us, we’ll help you.’
‘I can’t see that happening. You could say we’ve got off on the wrong foot.’
Evans sighed. ‘Why don’t we just stop this now? I can see you think you can get through this situation with your tough girl bravado, so well done for that. But you’ll see why you’ll help us. We’ve got a very good reason.’
‘And what’s that?’
‘Ah, in time. First of all, I need to tell you what you’re going to do for me. For us.’
‘Which is?’
Evans leaned over to Grainger and whispered in her ear. She snorted. Evans carried on, telling her the plan. But just as he began to move away, her head shot forward and she sank her teeth into his cheek.
Evans screamed in pain and laid a fist into Grainger’s stomach, then another into her head. The blows made her release her grip and Evans stood straight, feeling at the wound on his cheek. Blood poured down onto his clothes and filled his mouth. He moved his tongue up and realised she had bitten right through the flesh of his cheek.
Grainger looked up at him, defiant, red liquid dripping from her mouth and covering her teeth, making her look manic and crazed. She spat out a mouthful of blood and smiled.
Acting on instinct, Evans lunged forward and sent a crushing blow into Grainger’s nose. Her eyes rolled and her head bowed again. Evans kneeled back down next to her and tugged on her hair sharply, lifting her heavy head back up.
‘You will help us,’ Evans said, blood dribbling down his chin.
Evans nodded over to Mason, who stood up from his chair, completely relaxed and unmoved by what had just happened – which only made Evans all the angrier. Mason moved over to the large steel door that led to the storage room, pulled the lever and slid the door open.
Grainger was managing to hold her head up but she was clearly dazed from the punch; her eyes were closed, her nose streaming thick red blood.
‘Look!’ Evans shouted at Grainger. ‘Look, you stupid bitch!’
Grainger slowly opened her eyes and Evans waited. It took a
few seconds for her to fully focus, but when he saw the terror in her eyes, Evans knew he had her full attention.
Standing in front of Grainger was Jeremy. Not a big surprise really – Grainger had been following him earlier, after all, so she surely could have guessed that he’d be there too. But it wasn’t Jeremy she was looking at, Evans knew. She was staring at the second man. The one who was on his knees at Jeremy’s feet. The one who had the barrel of a silenced revolver stuffed into his ear. His hands were tied behind his back and glossy tape was wrapped around his head, covering his mouth.
Finally, Grainger’s resolve broke and she began to sob.
Even with the pain that was coursing through his cheek, Evans couldn’t help but smile.
‘Now that I’ve got your attention,’ he said, ‘why don’t we start again.’
Chapter 49
Logan parked the car on the road outside a looming red-brick industrial unit. The location Evans had directed Logan and Winter to was just past Beijing’s 3rd Ring Road, about four miles from where they had started, though with the traffic the journey had taken the best part of an hour.
‘You know they’re setting us up,’ Winter said as he got out of the car.
‘Of course,’ Logan replied as he opened his door and got out. ‘But what choice do we have?’
‘I could call some other people here. Get this done properly. I know you like to take on the world, but it doesn’t always have to be that way. We could have a Chinese ops team here in no time to sweep through the place.’
‘Evans gave us two hours. More than half of that has gone already.’
‘Evans wouldn’t know what to do if we didn’t show. Trust me. We’d have the time. He wants you, Logan. He’s not going to just disappear if we don’t show.’
‘It’s not just about me. He’ll kill her. I don’t think he’s bluffing. I’m not risking Grainger’s life. I’ve come too far for that.’
Logan looked up at the structure in front of him. Although the brickwork was in good condition, it was clear the property was no longer in use. Its windows were either boarded up or broken, weeds were growing uncontrollably out of the ground surrounding the building and the rickety chain fence along the perimeter was in a state of serious disrepair.
