by L J Morris
Sinclair tried to sit up. ‘What? How?’
‘Callum Porter’s dad. He’s got some heavy-duty contacts in his network. He’s arranging for your sentence to be commuted to time served. In the meantime, the Mexican government are happy for you to be released into our care.’
Sinclair held her hand to her mouth, fighting back tears. ‘It’s over. My nightmare’s finally over.’
Lancaster put his hand on Sinclair’s leg. ‘You’ve earned it, Ali. Now, relax, get well, I’ll see you soon.’
As Lancaster left the room, Mick Butler appeared at the door. ‘Mind if I come in?’
Sinclair waved for him to come over to the bed. ‘All these visitors. Aren’t I a lucky girl?’
Butler placed a bouquet of flowers and a small box of chocolates on the bedside locker. ‘Just a little something, by way of an apology.’
‘Apology for what?’
‘Well, we did almost kill you both.’
McGill laughed. ‘So where are my flowers then?’
Butler shrugged. ‘I’ve never bought a marine flowers, and I ain’t startin’ now.’
McGill stood up and kissed Sinclair on the forehead. ‘Don’t overdo it, Ali. I’ll see you this afternoon.’ As he walked past Butler he patted him on the back. ‘Don’t worry, lover boy, I know I’m not as attractive as Ali. A bar of chocolate would’ve been nice though.’ He winked at Sinclair. ‘I’ll leave you two alone for a while.’
Outside in the corridor, Callum Porter had just arrived. When he saw McGill he walked straight over and wrapped his arms around him. ‘Thanks, Frank. Thanks for everything. If you ever need anything at all, just let me know.’
Porter’s father was standing behind him. He held out his hand. ‘That goes for me, too.’
McGill shook Senator Porter’s hand then turned back to Callum. ‘You saved my life, Callum. I’ll never forget that.’
Porter smiled. ‘How’s, Ali?’
‘She’s fine, just needs some more rest and relaxation. I’d give her a few minutes before you go in there, though. I think someone’s trying to chat her up.’
Sinclair took a sip of water. ‘What happened in the house? My memory’s a bit hazy, the doctor said it’s because of the head wound. No one else has explained it all, yet, probably don’t want to stress me out.’
Butler perched at the end of the bed. ‘It was a close-run thing. We received the abort message just as we were throwing in the stun grenades. A few seconds later and you might’ve been dead. We managed to check fire, seconds away from a major fuck-up. It was a shame you face-planted the concrete, though, you gave me quite a fright.’
Sinclair smiled. ‘Remind me to thank whoever raised the alarm.’
‘You’ve got DS Gardner to thank for that, or, Detective Inspector Gardner as she is now. She arrested her boss as well. She had quite a night.’
‘I know the feeling.’
Butler checked behind him, making sure they were still alone. ‘I’d like to make it up to you, over dinner sometime, somewhere posh, if you’d like that?’
Sinclair laughed. ‘Bloody typical. The first time in years I’ve been invited to go somewhere nice, and I look like I’ve been in a car crash.’
Butler smiled. ‘You look just fine to me.’
Chapter 56
Lancaster and Carter sat on the park bench beside the lake. A lot had happened since they’d last had a meeting there. The world was a very different place now, for both of them.
Carter picked up his cup and, as usual, took off the plastic lid and threw it in the bin. ‘I still hate drinking through those things, gives it a funny taste. Next time, we meet in a nice café, use proper mugs, and have a piece of cake to go with it, or, better still, a full English.’
Lancaster nodded. ‘It’s a deal. It is nice to be able to meet as friends, though, Simeon. Not so much of the sneaking around, now the conspiracy has collapsed.’
‘We still have to be careful, Edward. The world’s a dangerous place. It’s only the end of part of the organisation. We still can’t be sure who to trust. Vadim is still out there, he still has backers.’
‘Hadley was last spotted heading out to sea in a helicopter. We found wreckage, and the body of the pilot. There were no ships in the area that could have picked up a survivor. We have to accept that, in all probability, he’s dead.’
Carter shook his head. ‘I won’t accept that until I see his body. I don’t think Sinclair will either.’
‘With everything else that’s going on, the service isn’t going to use up resources looking for a dead man. If any evidence comes to light to suggest he’s still alive, I’ll let you know.’
Carter knew that Lancaster would do everything he could to track down Vadim, but, in the current climate, his hands were tied. ‘That’s fair enough, Edward. I’ll wait for you to contact me.’
Lancaster nodded. ‘I’ve a feeling I’m going to need you and your team again. There’s always room for an off-the-books resource, in today’s messed up world.’
‘I’m not sure the others will want to be seen as a resource for you to call on. I think they’ve had enough excitement.’
Lancaster sipped his coffee. ‘If Sinclair gets the chance to go after Vadim again, or cause some problems for what’s left of his organisation, I’m sure she’ll be interested. Once you have Sinclair, you have McGill. They’re inseparable.’
‘At least give them time to rest, let all of us rest and get back to some kind of normality. There’s going to be a shitstorm of political positioning until a new government’s in place. We don’t want to get mixed up in all that.’
Lancaster looked at his driver, who was tapping his watch. ‘There are a lot of people who see this as an opportunity, a chance to climb the ladder – fill the holes left by the sackings and resignations. Typical politicians.’
Carter smiled. ‘What about you, Edward? Head of MI6, who’d have thought that would happen?’
Lancaster finished his coffee and threw the cup into the bin. ‘Not something I was looking for, Simeon, or particularly wanted. I’m not the kind of man who should be head of anything, I’m just the last man standing, who else would they choose to do it?’
‘You underestimate yourself, Edward. You inspire confidence in your staff, they all look up to you. You’ll make a great leader.’
They stood up and shook hands. Lancaster buttoned up his jacket. ‘This new job means I’m going to be hard to get hold of from now on, Simeon. I’m going to be in a lot of meetings, locked away in rooms without windows, discussing things that the rest of the population are better off not knowing. If you, or any of the team need me, contact Vicky Thomson. She’ll know where I am at all times.’
Carter nodded. ‘I understand, Edward. Take care of yourself and I’ll see you again soon.’
The two men separated and walked off in different directions. They didn’t need to be so secretive about their meetings, Lancaster was the boss now and didn’t have to explain himself, but it had become a habit, something they couldn’t just stop doing. In the months and years to come, with Vadim’s organisation looking to continue their quest under a new leader, and members of the conspiracy jockeying for power, it was a habit that would serve them well.
THE END
Acknowledgements
As always, this book wouldn’t have been published without those behind the scenes who helped to make it happen. I’d like to say thank you to the following people.
Ali, the real life inspiration for my protagonist, and Vicky for joining her in the cast of characters. My wonderful editor, Jo Craven, who turns my inane scribbles into something readable. Mike Craven, Matt Hilton and Graham Smith for their unending and freely given advice on all aspects of writing.
All my friends at Crime & Publishment. Too numerous to mention here, but you know who you are and I couldn’t have done it without you. Rosemary, Debbie, Chelsea, Keith, Andy, Graham, Jay, and Clive who’ve supported and encouraged me at every opportunity.
About the Author
L J Morris is an author with a lifelong love of books and storytelling that he developed as a child. He spent most of the 80s and 90s serving in the Royal Navy as a Weapons Engineer and now lives in Cumbria, with his family. He currently works within the defence industry and continues to write at every opportunity.
His short stories, ‘Blood on Their Hands’ and ‘Cold Redemption’ were published in Volumes 1 & 2 of Best-selling author Matt Hilton’s anthology series ‘ACTION: Pulse Pounding Tales’.
Other anthologies he has appeared in include ‘Happily Never After’, ‘Wish You Weren’t Here’, and ‘Liminal Time, Liminal Space’ where one reader described his tale ‘True Colours’ as “Riveting and powerful”
His first novel ‘Desperate Ground’ was published in May 2018 by Bloodhound Books.
You can connect with me on:
https://ljmorrisauthor.com
https://twitter.com/LesJMorris
https://www.facebook.com/LesJMorris
Also by L J Morris
L J Morris’s first novel, Desperate Ground was published in 2018 and attracted good reviews.
‘Morris is destined to be a big name thriller writer to watch for in the future.’
– Matt Hilton
“Good solid thriller this. Morris knows his stuff and his writing is pacy and effortless.”
– M W Craven
“A taut, tense thriller…” – Crimesquad.com.
Desperate Ground
When the secrecy of a nuclear weapon agreement is thrown into doubt, a disgraced intelligence operative is recruited to find out if the deal is still safe…
Ali Sinclair, wrongly convicted and on the run from a Mexican prison, is enlisted to infiltrate her old friend’s inner circle and find the evidence.
The only people on her side are an ex-Cold War spook and the former Royal Marine that was sent to find her. Together they discover that the stakes are much higher than anyone knew, and the fate of the world is at risk…
But when you’ve lived in the shadows, who can you trust?
