Slow Burn (2010)
Page 29
“Why did you block my request Agent Spence?”
“I`m afraid that`s classified, Superintendent.”
“Why?”
“Why what?”
“Why would footage from check-in desks and boarding gates be classified information?” Alec wasn’t going to be fobbed off. “We were in pursuit of dangerous criminals, that`s what we do, and you stopped me doing my job.”
“You have no solid evidence that the Bernstein brothers were in the airport, let alone that they boarded a plane. We will release the passenger manifest and the camera evidence to you tomorrow.”
“Thank you, now it`s virtually useless.” Alec raised a finger to his lips and looked confused. He was playing Spence. “Why did you mention the Bernstein brothers?”
“I beg your pardon?”
“You said we had no evidence that the Bernsteins were in the airport, why mention their names?”
“We were following your investigation.” Spence looked down at the floor, another lie.
“I thought you were following Malik Shah and his gun running business?”
“We were.”
“How do the two things collide?”
“I don’t understand your problem,” Agent Spence was on the back foot. He had slipped up mentioning their names, and he knew it.
“The Bernstein investigation uncovered a tragic family history connected to Shah and his cronies when they were teenagers, but nothing to do with gunrunning or arms deals.”
“We are aware of your findings, Superintendent.” Spence straightened his tie, and sat rigid. He wanted to look composed, but he wasn’t at all.
“Then how would Shah`s gunrunning be connected to the Bernsteins?” Alec frowned again.
Agent Spence smoothed his hair back again. He had blushed again. The Commander remained quiet while Alec made the agent squirm. “I`m sorry, Superintendent but that is classified.”
“I`ll ask you again, Agent Spence, why would the Bernstein family have anything to do with your arms dealing investigations?”
“It`s classified.”
“So it is connected?”
“You`re repeating yourself, Superintendent.”
“You`re damn right I am.” Alec turned the volume up a few notches. “The Bernstein investigation revealed a family grudge, a bitter campaign of revenge against a group of men that raped their sister, now tell me what the fuck that has to do with international arms deals?”
“It`s classified.”
Alec turned to the Commander, and tried to read his face. He couldn’t look him in the eye. Alec`s brain was working overtime, and he wasn’t enjoying the answers that it was coming up with.
“You didn’t want us to capture the Bernsteins did you?”
“Don`t be ridiculous.” Spence tried to be aloof and bat the question away, but he failed miserably. Alec was all over his reaction immediately.
“You blocked our request for information at the airport, because you didn’t want us to capture them, why else would you block it and then release it to us when it`s useless?”
“The reason is classified.”
“The reason speaks for itself, Agent Spence.”
“I`m not sure there is any point in continuing this line of questioning, Commander,” Agent Spence looked for a way out.
“You couldn’t nail Malik Shah could you?”
“What are talking about now?”
“You couldn’t nail Malik Shah, but the Bernsteins could use methods that you couldn’t.”
Agent Spence shifted in his chair and crossed his arms. Alec was driving him into a corner and he wasn’t articulate or intelligent enough to fend off his questions. “I think we`ve accomplished all we can from this meeting.”
“You let them go, why would you do that?”
“What, that`s ridiculous!” Spence looked shocked by the remark, but Alec was onto the truth.
“Are you that stupid, or do you think that I am?”
“I`ve had enough of this, I`m calling it a day. If you need anything else do it through the proper channels. We`re done.” Agent Spence tried to stand up, but Alec was too quick. He closed the gap between them and grabbed Spence by the tie, and twisted it tightly. Spence tried to relieve the pressure on his throat, but Alec squeezed harder. The Commander raised a hand to intervene, but he was gobsmacked by the accusations Alec was making, and the credibility that they had.
“I think the least you can do, Agent Spence, is listen to me for a few minutes. You see I`m just a bog standard detective. I follow the evidence and try to put the bad guys in jail, no bullshit, no cover-ups. I have to play by the rules, and I want to know what happened.”
Agent Spence held up his hands in surrender and Alec relieved the pressure on his necktie. He brushed down the agent`s suit with the back of his hands, and straightened his tie sarcastically. Stepping back, he sat back down in his chair.
“I`m pissed off, Agent Spence, because I watched a good man get blown to bits by the lunatics that you let walk. Now I want to know why you would let them leave the country, why?” Alec was beginning to put the pieces together himself, but that didn’t mean he was about to let the MI5 man off the hook.
“That`s classified.” Agent Spence looked jumpy. Alec had him rattled, but he wasn’t going to spill the beans.
“So you did let them walk?” Alec pressed, looking for a chink in the armour. “Did you know David Bernstein was here all along?”
There was a flicker of recognition in his eyes as Alec mentioned it. It was enough to cement Alec`s theory in his head. David Bernstein was an operative in one of the world`s most secret military units. The Israelis denied that the unit actually existed at all, and so would MI5 if they were asked. Alec could tell by his reaction that he knew David Bernstein was in the country.
“That`s classified.” Agent Spence wanted to make a bolt for the door, but he could tell Alec wasn’t going to let him walk out. He had to stand his ground though. “I really can`t say anymore on the subject of the Bernsteins, Superintendent.”
“Fucking hell!” Alec looked at the Commander and slapped his knees with his hands, as if he`d had a Eureka moment. “They knew he was here, and they knew he was Israeli Special Forces, and that`s why the Israeli military wouldn’t cooperate when we asked them where he was.”
“I can see where you are coming from, Alec, I`m not so sure there`s anything that we can do about it now,” The Commander wobbled his jowls as he spoke. “If this is true then it will have been approved by the top brass.”
“Was David Bernstein sent here by the Israeli government?” Alec turned back to Spence and jabbed a finger toward his face. The agent looked away.
“I`m not saying anymore, Superintendent.”
Alec sat forward in his chair. He was calm because he was amazed at what he`d discovered.
“Was Malik Shah selling weapons and munitions to Israel`s enemies?”
“Yes, that I can confirm.” Agent Spence looked relieved that he could answer a question at last. “He was supplying Hamas with reactivated weapons”
“I thought Shah was a non-religious Muslim?” the Commander looked to Alec for confirmation.
“He was,” Alec agreed. “This was all about money, not religion, wasn’t it?”
“In the Middle East there are a lot of incentives on offer to those who support the Arab struggle against the Jews.”
“Yes, I bet there are,” Alec laughed sarcastically. “Shah has business interests in Dubai, Saudi and Qatar, not bad for a drug dealer from Liverpool, eh?”
“That`s the way business works there, Superintendent. Support is rewarded with money.”
“So Shah was targeted by the Israelis as a legitimate target, and David Bernstein is one of their operatives?”
“My God,” the Commander whispered. “He was sent here.”
“He wasn’t sent here,” Spence said curtly.
“He wasn’t sent here officially, you mean?” Alec taunted him. “The Israelis knew where
he was, but they didn’t try to stop him, it would kill two birds with one stone.”
“All I can tell you is that he wasn’t sent here.”
“Bullshit!” Alec sat forward and shook his head in disbelief. “Mossad highlighted Shah as a legitimate target on their list, and David Bernstein was made aware of the fact, and allowed to disappear for six months. In the meantime no one knows where he is, conveniently?”
“We were not aware of the Bernstein connection, until you uncovered it, Superintendent.”
“No, maybe not, but you knew there was an Israeli agent in the country stalking Shah, didn’t you?”
“Anyone supplying Hamas is an enemy of the Israeli state, and so they should be.”
“If only we could all just assassinate our enemies, Agent Spence,” the Commander chipped in. He was shocked but not surprised.
“I`ll bet David Bernstein jumped at the chance to take Shah out of the game, and you lot at MI5 jumped at the chance of letting them do it as well. You couldn’t do it yourself so you let a foreign government do it for you, David Bernstein happened to have a history with Shah, and his brother was only too willing to go along with it. He`d planned revenge for decades. How neat for you. All you had to do was cover their escape from the country when it was done, or am I wrong?”
“We didn’t know about his brother, I can assure you of that. We didn’t expect bombs, and we weren`t sure it was them when they started.” The Agent coughed nervously. “I can`t comment anymore.”
“You really don’t need to, Agent Spence. Tell me were any of your agents killed investigating Shah or the Bernsteins?”
“Yes.”
“Then you and your superiors are disrespecting every one of them and their families. You let killers off the leash to kill one of your most elusive targets, and then you let them escape.”
“I think we`re going around in circles, Superintendent.”
“Where did you let them go to, Agent Spence, are they all in Israel now?”
“I`m leaving, Commander, and if there`s any repeat of your behaviour earlier, then I will press charges, is that clear?”
“Perfectly, leave, because I won`t be responsible for what happens if you stay,” the Commander snarled. “I will be speaking to the director later today, and you can tell him from me that we will be raising this case with the Home Secretary.”
“Fine, do that, he`s very familiar with the case, if you know what I mean,” Spence stood up and winked at Alec, smoothed his suit and left in silence.
Alec felt enlightened, but numb. Either the Intelligence Services, worked with the Israelis or they knew David Bernstein was here and chose to ignore it, despite his history with Shah. There were times when the politics involved in his job made him puke. The door closed loudly as the agent slammed it behind him.
“What are we supposed to do with that, Commander?”
“Absolutely nothing, Alec, there`s nothing that we can do.”
“What do I tell my team?” Alec shrugged. “We were shafted by our own people, and the whole fucking investigation was a smoke and mirrors operation by the Israeli Secret Service?”
“Whatever you decide to tell them Alec, they`ll believe you, and the next bad guy that you investigate will get their undivided attention. Put this one to bed, you couldn’t have done anymore than you did.”
“I`m not so sure, Commander,” Alec felt drained. Was it time to pack it all in? “This time around, I am just not so sure.”
CHAPTER 61
Checkmate
Richard Bernstein was sweating profusely in the front seat of a battered Mercedes as it hurtled through the Moroccan desert toward the thirteenth century city of Touradant. The compacted sand road was more than a match for the aged suspension of the rusty old taxi, and he was bouncing about like a space-hopper in a giant salt pot. His shirt was sticking to his back, and there were dark patches spreading beneath his arms. All four windows were down but it had no effect on the soaring temperature in the ancient vehicle.
“How much further is it?” Richard asked, wiping sweat from his brow. He was hungry. The breakfast at the hotel in Agadir was paltry; bread rolls and bland cheese were not his idea of a good start to the day. There was no bacon to be had in this godforsaken country.
“See there,” the driver, pointed to the east with enthusiasm. His toothless smile and sundried skin made him look a hundred years old. Richard was immediately sorry that he`d asked the question as the driver`s body odour wafted over to him when he raised his arms. He smelled and looked like he hadn’t bathed for decades. “Ten minutes!”
David Bernstein was asleep in the back seat, as was Nick. They had been up until the early hours of the morning drinking local brand whisky, and it had caught up with them now. The flight from Liverpool to Agadir was under three hours, but it felt much longer. The anticipation of armed police greeting them at the gate was gut wrenching. It had been a huge relief when they breezed past customs and walked out of the airport unhindered. David said they wouldn’t be stopped, but it was still a worry. Their documentation was forged, but they were top of the range quality, and impossible to spot. They stayed two nights at the beach resort, before heading off to Marrakesh, via Touradant. David had contacts in Morocco, and they`d arranged sea passage for them across the Mediterranean to Israel. They had to meet their contact the following day in Marrakesh, and decided to see some of the country on the way there. Richard couldn’t be bothered. It was a shithole of a place, sand and more sand, and no bacon.
David woke up when the taxi hit a pothole at thirty miles an hour. He was jolted violently and his head hit the window frame. The desert wind blew in his face, which would have been pleasant if it didn’t carry the scent of the driver with it. He opened his eyes and wiped the crusty sleep from the corners. They were approaching the walled city, and red-ochre fortified ramparts stretched into the distance as far as he could see. The size of the fortifications were testament to the skill of the thirteenth century Muslim engineers. They drove by groups of local woman, all dressed in blue robes and matching headscarves and veils. The men they saw held wooden staffs, which they used to guide their goats, or whip their donkeys. Their leathery faces were full of loathing and suspicion for foreign visitors that earned more money in a day than they did in five years. As they approached the huge gates the smells and sounds of the city drifted into the car.
It was Friday, and the city was packed with locals heading to Friday prayers. The narrow streets were awash with colours, as traders showed their produce to the faithful as they passed by to their Mosques. Fruit and vegetables of every shape and colour were on sale, and the smell of rotting meat hung heavily in the air as the butchers plied their trade too. The Imams could be heard wailing from the minarets, calling the faithful to prayer. The smell of spices was powerful as they drove near to the Souk, and shoppers flooded out of the exits as prayer time neared. David watched the crowds with his head resting on the backseat. His head was tilted so that the breeze would blow into his face and cool him. He couldn’t care less about the sightseeing, he needed to contact his colleague here, pick up documents and find somewhere that they could drink. The previous months had been hard work, mentally and physically, but they`d been worth every second. Shah and his nest of rats were annihilated and they were nearly a million pound richer. He would call it compensation for his loss. His superiors would be pleased that Malik Shah was no longer in business, but another arms dealer would take his place immediately. The Israelis would also have a place for Richard. He was a very talented man in many ways. Israel is nothing but an arid, salt encrusted desert. The only water supply was the River Jordan, and all the farming and agriculture were created by extensive manmade projects. Richard`s fertiliser expertise would be worth millions there, as would his talent for making explosive devices. Unfortunately, David`s superiors were not happy about the way he had taken Shah out of circulation. The bombing campaign attracted far too much attention, and the world`s media were still focusing o
n it. It was only a matter of time before the blame was laid at Israel`s door, and an international scandal was on the cards, but David didn’t care. He would face the music when the time came.
The taxi slowed to walking pace as the crowd thickened, and the driver honked the horn constantly to no avail. Locals called abuse and spat at the car as it crawled alongside them. David recognised a barbershop where he`d been shaven once before, it was a block away from the hotel they were heading to. A trader proffered his selection of fruits through the window and David waved him away. The wrinkled old man fired a string of abuse at him for his troubles.
“Turn down here,” David tapped the driver on the shoulder. He wanted to get out of the crowds. The road would take them the back way to the hotel. “Down there!”