Latent Hazard

by Piers Venmore-Rowland

  The commissioner looked carefully and determinedly at the team around him.

  ‘Thank you, Kate. What you’re asking David and me to approve, in terms of our careers, is suicide – if you’re wrong! I only have one question for you: have you corroborated the facts as if we were taking these bastards to court?’ There were nods all around.

  ‘We’ve sought supporting evidence to confirm each link in the chain,’ said Kate. ‘The final proof will be if the terrorists are where we say they are. If they’re not, we don’t have a clue where else to look.’

  ‘Your suggestion is that the SAS and anti-terrorist squads are put in place to prevent the terrorist attacks?’

  Kate nodded.

  ‘It’s this statement that I have problems with,’ explained the commissioner. ‘We’re duty-bound to treat this threat with the seriousness it deserves, but with the recognition that if we mess this up, it’ll be ranked amongst the biggest police cock-ups on record. The SAS will require full military support at each of the locations, plus field hospital and medical support, in case any of the missiles reaches its target. We don’t have the powers to run this scale of operation alone.’ Giles turned to David. ‘Who do we need to persuade?’

  ‘I reckon we need the say-so of four people: the Home Secretary, the Secretary of State for Defence, the head of MI5 and the chief of staff of the armed services. The Home Secretary is out of the country until tomorrow attending an inter-government conference in Germany. We’ll need to get his stand-in. From a practical point of view they’d need to be based here, as this is where all the information is. I agree with MI5: it would be too risky to use COBRA, given the likelihood of there being embedded sleepers.’

  The commissioner turned to the chief superintendent and said, ‘Are you willing to gamble your career and pension on this?’

  ‘Sir, as I see it, I’ve no choice. If we don’t follow this covert route and MI5 was proved to be right, and the terrorists do have moles within COBRA, it would be a total disaster. They would be alerted and could change their targets.’

  ‘Right, it’s agreed: you and I will take full responsibility for this if we’ve got it wrong.’

  ‘Agreed, sir,’ said David gravely. ‘I have one other issue, but it can be discussed at a later time. I’m uncertain it would be wise to let terrorists leave the UK mainland.’

  ‘Perhaps one could view it as letting them move to a location where it would be safe to capture them and where the chances of collateral damage would be low,’ suggested Kate.

  The commissioner tipped his head to one side, taking on board her comment. ‘Thank you – your observations and the hard work of your team are noted. However, before our political masters arrive for a briefing, I have two strong requests. First, get confirmation that there are only four missile launchers on the mainland. Second, find the whereabouts of the unknown properties.’

  ‘David, will you please phone the Home Secretary’s office and see which minister is covering for him and get their phone number? And get the number for the Secretary of State for Defence. I met with the head of MI5 a couple of days ago concerning Rafi. I promised to keep him in the loop. I’ll call him and invite him. I’ll also speak to the chief of staff of the armed services who, as luck or good planning would have it, is due to have dinner with me tonight at my West End club. I’ll arrange for them to be here for a council of war at 8 p.m. I’ll then invite the two ministers. Kate and the rest of you, please find me the missing pieces of the jigsaw puzzle.’

  Jeremy turned to John, as Kate’s team were leaving the room. ‘I think we did rather well there, don’t you?’

  ‘Yep, I couldn’t have put it better if I’d tried,’ said John.

  They shot an approving glance at Kate, who had heard their comments.

  ‘Thanks guys, I’m so pleased you kept quiet!’

  At that moment the phone next to the commissioner rang. It was Jeremy’s boss at MI5. Giles switched the phone to conference mode.

  ‘Evening all. Just a quick call to update you before your meeting ends,’ said Neil. Kate and her team moved back into the room and stood by the door. ‘We’ve tracked down and have under surveillance all bar two of the UKSOIL trained bombers. Five minutes ago we didn’t have a clue where the man in charge, Kaleem Shah, and the last two suicide bombers were. We took DC Jessop’s advice and paid Unicorn Sceptre Finance’s offices an undercover visit. Without too much difficulty we hacked into their system and found the information on their “in-house” credit cards. Thankfully Faakhir – one of the suicide bombers – used his Unicorn Sceptre Credit Card in Tilehurst, on the outskirts of Reading, yesterday evening.’

  ‘We’ve sent one of our armed response units to the area. I promise that they won’t approach the terrorists unless it becomes absolutely necessary. However, we’ve as yet to track down their exact location.’

  Emma looked across at Jeremy and spoke in the direction of the phone. ‘Sir, my guess is that they’re there to attack the Atomic Weapons Establishment at Aldermaston and/or Burghfield, where nuclear warheads are put together. Both sites hold stocks of plutonium. I was wondering whether the terrorists’ logic might be: why should Iran not be allowed to move on to the nuclear ladder, when the UK has decided to climb up several more rungs by designing a more deadly version of the Trident II nuclear missile? I suggest your colleagues look for them around Aldermaston. Kaleem Shah, the cell leader, has many years’ experience of living on battlefields. My guess is that he’ll want to lie low somewhere near to the targets; somewhere they won’t be noticed. In that part of the country, I’d look for a modern horsebox parked in a field somewhere near to the suggested targets, with, say, a 4x4 next to it; something that wouldn’t be noticed by the local green-welly-boot brigade.’

  ‘Thank you,’ said Neil, ‘that definitely sounds plausible. I’ll add it to our list.’

  ‘While you’re on . . . Do you happen to know where your boss is?’ asked the commissioner.

  ‘He’s sitting next to me as we speak.’

  ‘Good evening, Giles,’ said the head of MI5.

  ‘Hello Ewan. Can you attend a briefing and strategy meeting here at 8 p.m.?’

  ‘My pleasure, see you then.’

  The phone line went dead.

  ‘Right, you’ve got until 8 o’clock to find me the missing information,’ said the commissioner.

  Kate looked at her team, seated around her in the fourth floor office. They looked very tired. She had to keep their adrenaline flowing. ‘We have less than two hours to find a way to get confirmation that the fifth missile launcher is on board Golden Sundancer, and we have to find the missing properties – Emma please chase up Rick in Manchester. In the meantime, Rafi please decide on who you want on the economics team. The commissioner has put his head on the block. Let’s tie up some loose ends! We have to deliver!’

  Emma phoned Rick Feldon in Manchester. After a brief conversation it transpired that the word search of the computers had revealed nothing relating to the missing development properties.

  ‘Mr Wesson is being as uncooperative as ever and suffering from a huge persecution complex. How long have we got?’ asked Rick.

  ‘Well, put it this way, by dawn tomorrow it could be too late.’

  Rick went quiet for a moment. ‘I’m really getting nowhere with Mr Wesson. He’s cantankerous and tired; if I push him any more I reckon he’ll go into his shell and won’t come out again for a long while. Mr Stone has clammed up and is refusing to talk to anyone. I think the only thing I can do is be extra nice to Mr Wesson and see if I can get him chatting about anything – he might let something slip.’

  ‘Good luck,’ said Kate, and hung up.

  Rafi’s thoughts had turned to the economics team when Kate came and sat on the edge of his desk.

  ‘How do you think the briefing went?’

  ‘As well as we could have wished for,’ Rafi replied. ‘You were outstanding.’

  ‘Thanks. This economics team of yours – I
’m looking forward to meeting them, if they’re anything like you and Aidan!’ she said with a twinkle in her eye.

  He nodded. His thoughts were already back on who he needed.

  Sensing that his mind was elsewhere, Kate returned to her desk.

  Rafi started with the easiest choice: the real estate analyst. It would have to be Bob Tieson. He worked for one of the big US banks and Rafi spoke to him on a regular basis at work. His knowledge of European and North American REITs, and the real estate investment trust sector was second to none. Yes, Bob was his first choice.

  He called across to Jeremy who was sorting out supper with Luigi’s. Jeremy sensed that he was needed and gave Luigi carte blanche. ‘Supper for, say, ten . . . No make that fifteen, please. Something we can eat whilst working. And orange juice, water and lots of strong coffee, please, delivered in, say, three quarters of an hour? Great – thanks Luigi.’

  Jeremy put down the phone and looked across at Rafi. ‘What can I do for you?’

  ‘I’ve five people that I need brought in to work with Aidan. Kid gloves approach, but no taking “no” for an answer. OK?’

  ‘Who did you have in mind?’

  ‘The first person is Bob Tieson.’ Rafi gave him the contact details. ‘I’ll let you have the next four names in a couple minutes.’

  ‘Good,’ said Jeremy, ‘that’ll give me time to track him down.’

  Now for the financials analyst, Rafi thought. He wondered who Callum would have picked. His first idea was the sector’s star analyst, Steven Moreland, but both Callum and he viewed him as a bit of a prima donna and he was not really a team player. Rafi moved on to the next name: Matthew Wilson who worked for a large European bank. Yes, he was highly regarded, very bright and would work well with others under pressure. And he’d been around for long enough to understand how painful extended bear markets could be.

  Rafi passed Matthew’s details to Jeremy. He now had two excellent people, but neither had any experience of dealing with the Treasury mandarins or the Bank of England. The economist would have to be someone to whom they’d listen. Rafi had a choice of five or six individuals. Then it came to him: why not get someone from the inside? Yes, Alex Lynton – the relatively new senior economist at the Bank of England. Before joining the Bank he’d held down impressive posts in the private sector and in academia. Was Alex a gamble? What if he’d become institutionalised and unwilling to take painful decisions? The more Rafi considered him, the more sure he became of his choice and passed Alex’s details to Jeremy.

  Now for the corporate finance specialist – he needed someone who understood real estate investment vehicles. Rafi thought of a name straight away: Donald Hollingsworth. He was a friend of his from his corporate finance days, where he had been Rafi’s boss. Donald still ran a very successful corporate finance team. Several years ago he had become a non-executive director of a leading listed property company. He knew his way around the corporate finance market blindfold and had a good working knowledge of the commercial property market. Donald’s experience would be a great help and he was undoubtedly very well connected in financial circles.

  Jeremy took the fourth name and what Rafi could remember of Donald’s contact details.

  ‘How are you getting on?’ enquired Rafi.

  ‘We’ve tracked down Matthew and my colleagues are working on Bob as we speak.’

  The fifth member of the team should be able to think out of the box. Rafi thought for a few moments. He needed an individual with a clear and incisive mind, who didn’t necessarily come from the financial markets, but understood the need for a clear hypothesis and a distinct solution. His sister fitted the criteria perfectly. He scribbled a note for Jeremy. ‘Here’s the fifth name.’

  Jeremy looked at it. ‘Saara Khan of Birmingham University. Ah, your little sister; our background research shows her to be an impressive academic and just as unassuming as you are! She’s in Birmingham . . . Do you think that she would prefer a smart squad car or a helicopter?’

  ‘Which do you think would be the faster?’

  ‘Let me make a call.’ A few minutes later Jeremy replaced the phone. ‘They have arranged a car with a couple of motorbike outriders to keep the road in front clear.’

  Jeremy then spoke to his colleagues back at MI5. ‘We’ve traced the other four: Donald Hollingsworth and wife are on their way to Dorset, where they have a cottage. We’ve sent a helicopter down in the direction of the A303 and have the traffic police between here and Yeovil looking out for their car. John has left to collect Bob Tieson; he’s working late at his office in the Docklands. I’m collecting Alex Lynton from the theatre – I hope the performance hasn’t started! And last but not least, Matthew Wilson is flying into Heathrow. He’s been working in Frankfurt. I’ve arranged for him to be met by a colleague and taken through Immigration and Customs the VIP way.’

  ‘Excellent,’ said Rafi with a smile.

  Jeremy called across to Kate. ‘Do we have any cars left?’

  ‘Of course, but heaven only knows where,’ came the reply. ‘If you go down to reception I’ll get you one.’

  ‘Thanks.’

  Rafi sat there, thinking. Would this team of five plus Aidan have sufficient gravitas to stand up to the new Chancellor of the Exchequer? He was a serious politician, but with only a few months’ experience of the job, it was difficult to predict whether he had become influenced by the highly PR conscious Treasury team. And how would he react when the chips were down? Would he understand the seriousness of the huge risks facing the country, or opt for the easier strategy of procrastinating?

  ‘Where have we got to on the London property front?’ asked Kate.

  ‘I’ve been trying to find out the address of the London or South of England property that HFFF own,’ replied Emma. ‘I’ve spoken to the Land Registry Office again. Sadly, their system isn’t set up for this type of general enquiry. I spoke to Justin again and he’s been trawling through their property databases. He says that there are too many permutations, even if you try to narrow down the search criteria, and that it’s likely the deal would have been done subject to a confidentiality clause, so wouldn’t even be on the databases!’

  ‘Emma,’ Kate called across to her, ‘the immigration officer, Roger Harewood – the man who keeps the notebooks – is en route back from the West coast of the United States. Could you find the airline and flight number? There can’t be many long haul planes from the USA landing at Manchester Airport early tomorrow morning. Then arrange for us to speak to him, in case he can remember something.’

  ‘I’ll get straight on to it.’

  There was a momentary lull. Rafi leant back in his chair. What else could he be doing on the property front? What seemed like moments later, but was in fact half an hour, he was woken by Kate, standing over him and calling his name.

  Rafi looked up into her hazel eyes. A sight to lift the spirits, he thought to himself.

  ‘I thought you’d better be left to your short power nap. Here’s a cup of coffee. The first two members of your economics team should be here in five minutes,’ said Kate.

  Jeremy and John arrived almost simultaneously. They had two very angry individuals with them: Bob Tieson and Alex Lynton. They were taken up to the fourth floor interview room.

  ‘I think that you’d better placate your two friends,’ said John as he walked into the office. ‘Even though we told them otherwise, they still think they’ve been arrested. Bob definitely didn’t want to come. I had to threaten him with handcuffs. I told him he could speak to his lawyer, if he wanted, when he got here.’

  Jeremy came off his mobile phone. ‘Saara is making excellent progress down the M1 and Matthew has landed at Heathrow where his reception committee is waiting for him on the tarmac. They should both be here within the hour, hopefully sooner. We caught up with Donald on the A303. His helicopter is en route to the rugby pitch at the Honourable Artillery Company, just around the corner.’

  ‘You better go and
greet your two irritable friends. Jeremy no doubt has arranged for fresh coffee and something or other as a peace offering. And Aidan is on his way – says he’s finished his filing!’ said Kate.

  Alex and Bob were sitting in silence awaiting their fate.

  Rafi walked in with Kate and Aidan following close behind him. He realised that he probably looked like someone who had been dragged through a bush backwards and sensed that they feared the worst – being implicated as one of his friends. He sat down opposite the two irate individuals, who eyed him suspiciously. Kate sat to his left and Aidan to his right.

  Kate started the conversation. ‘We will shortly be joined by Donald Hollingsworth, Matthew Wilson and a fifth person who is winging her way down the M1 as we speak. You know Rafi and Aidan Gilchrist? Good. No doubt you want to know why we’ve hauled you in here. Rafi was quietly released from Paddington Green police station earlier this week and has been helping us to unravel a terrorist plot. It’s probably simplest if I get Rafi here to explain what is going on and how you can help us.’

  Rafi observed the two of them: Alex Lynton, the economist, sat uneasily, whilst Bob Tieson looked as if the father of all black clouds was hovering over his head. Rafi guessed he still had a lot of work to do on the IPO he was launching in a few days’ time and didn’t appreciate being dragged away from his office, even at this hour of the evening.

  ‘If it makes you feel any better,’ said Rafi in a calm and collected tone, ‘in ten minutes’ time a home office minister, the Defence Secretary, and the heads of MI5 and the armed forces are meeting with the commissioner two floors up. Like you, they have been asked in for a briefing, and like you, have dropped whatever they were doing . . . We have uncovered a terrorist plot to attack a number of key energy and nuclear facilities in the UK. They are also planning to cause havoc in the financial markets where they have built up massive positions in the derivatives markets. To cut a long story short, we believe the terrorist attacks will severely knock market sentiment and the closing of their derivative positions will turn the falling markets into a rout.’ Rafi paused then went on. ‘We have to stop the markets gaining any major downward momentum.’