‘OK, but can you tell me what you do know?’
Natasha hesitated. ‘I’m not supposed to, but since we’ve been working on this together I think maybe now is the time.’
She bit her lip, then continued. ‘The weapon is a bit like the guided bombs they dropped on Iraq and Afghanistan: the ones that can be guided in to a building to the nearest metre. The weapon can be focused on either surface ships or submarines. It transmits energy in the form of sound waves. There’s a receiver that picks up returns and adjusts the frequency of the waves its sends. It finds the frequency of vibration of the enemy and literally shakes the ship to death. The engineers told me that once it’s targeted it can make rivets pop and weld seams come apart. It’s worse than any torpedo. Once it locks on target it’s difficult to shake off and the ship will soon take on water and sink.’
DD thought for a moment. ‘If all it’s doing is generating sound waves under water, it could go after any number of ships.’
Natasha looked at DD and saw the frown of concern on his forehead. ‘Correct. The sub is powered by a compact nuclear plant. The weapon gets its energy from that. It’s an inexhaustible supply.’
‘Bloody hell, this gets worse!’ DD ran his fingers through his hair.
‘You don’t know the half. This sub can survive for more than a year underwater. It can go anywhere. And it can use its weapon over and over again. Any ship or submarine it encounters, it can sink. Nothing can match it and it’s almost impossible to detect because of its small size. It’s virtually indestructible.’
DD looked shocked. ‘And the day after tomorrow it’s going to take out a Russian nuclear submarine.’
‘What was all that business I overheard between you and Lomax?’ asked Sean.
DD looked nervous. ‘I can’t say.’
‘You can say,’ replied Sean. ‘I need to know what’s going on around here. Otherwise you might find yourself in another fix and I won’t be able to help.’
DD thought for a moment. ‘I want to tell you about it, but Lomax said not to discuss it with anyone. In any case I don’t think it’s going to make that big a difference.’
Sean glared at DD. ‘But I’m the guy that has to make that decision. If I haven’t got all the information I can’t do my job properly. Don’t you see that?’
DD looked towards the door. ‘Lomax asked me to create a new itinerary for Cetus. I’ve put it on the same kind of USB memory stick ...’
The door opened and Lomax appeared. Sean eyed him carefully. ‘What’s this about a new itinerary for Cetus?’
Lomax gave DD a look and turned to Sean. ‘Just a little side job that London asked me to do. It doesn’t change anything.’
It was clear that Lomax didn’t want to talk about it and Sean thought he wouldn’t get any more information out of him just now. ‘I’m going to take a look round.’
‘Don’t be long’ Lomax replied in a clipped voice.
Something about the tone made Sean turn round. Lomax gripped the door knob with white knuckles.
‘What’s the matter?’
Lomax waved Sean away. ‘Just some bruises from the raid on AMA. I’m too old for this game,’ Lomax replied.
Right then Sean knew there was a problem. Lomax would never complain about his injuries and especially about being too old. Not the Lomax he had come to know. ‘Let’s take a look.’
Lomax gritted his teeth and held up both hands.
‘Not necessary. I’m OK. You go and take a look around.’
Sean stopped, unsure whether to go.
‘Go on’ urged Lomax. ‘You need to check the area out - you should go.’
‘Are you hurt?’ asked Sean.
‘Not so as you would notice’ was the terse reply.
‘Will you let me get the doc?’
Lomax shook his head. ‘I’ve seen him already. Just bugger off and check the environment.’
‘OK, I’m going. Listen, if I ring you, you need to get everyone out fast.’
As Sean pulled away he noticed a parked car that had not been there before. In the driver’s seat was a man reading a newspaper. Sean continued to drive sedately along the street, checking in the mirror every few seconds. After a minute he saw a tail join him from a side street, keeping a good fifty metres behind.
Sean turned left at the next side street and wound through the estate of large detached houses, coming out south of the safe house. He pulled into the side of the road and took out his mobile. The car behind overtook at a leisurely speed and disappeared around the next corner.
Sean left the motor running and keyed in the number. Lomax answered immediately. ‘You’ll have to pull out’ said Sean. ‘Pronto.’
Lomax coughed and replied with curt ‘OK’. Immediately Sean thought something wasn’t quite right. The cough was not part of any recognition code he knew.
The second Lomax put the phone down Lomax would begin to organise an immediate withdrawal. This would include hitting the destruct button on DD’s computers and heading straight for their car. But Sean was afraid it might already be too late.
Time to give the opposition a distraction. Sean floored the accelerator and shot off down the road. The reaction was almost comical. Out of the corner of his eye he saw a car frantically trying to turn into his road. Then he saw the headlights of a second car coming towards him - a novel way of following, thought Sean as he aimed for the front bumper. The car chickened out at the last moment, mounting the pavement and colliding with a lamp post. Sean’s car scraped along the pedestrian iron railings to a cacophony of sounds.
Back in the safe house Lomax slumped over his desk, still clutching the phone.
Sean abandoned the car, thanking his lucky stars that it was night. Although the roads were well lit with street lights, there were plenty of shadows he could use for concealment.
A cop car screeched around the corner. Sean drew back into the darkness between two houses. Luckily this was a quiet estate. Sean watched as the car shot past and waited another minute before moving on. Moving at a rapid walk, he was just about to cross the road when he heard the clatter of a helicopter.
They were pulling out all the stops, he thought with a sinking feeling. It would be a miracle if they all managed to evade capture. He peered around the corner of the house. The lockup stood amongst a row of garages in a cul-de-sac. And blocking off the road was a cop car, blue lights flashing.
Sean halted in the shadows. It was now or never. He dashed across the road in full view of the cops.
The reaction was predictable. Instead of getting out immediately and chasing on foot, they used the car to head him off. That created time, and time created distance. At last the car braked violently with a screech of tyres. One of them left the car to chase him, and the other stayed to report on the radio.
Sean weaved in and out of the streets, sometimes turning, sometimes cutting back. If it wasn’t for the sharp pains in his side, he could have enjoyed the run. He was about to dash across another street when he heard the helicopter again.
A brilliant spot light weaved its way towards him. Sean glanced around quickly. There was no immediate cover. He eyed a four by four in a nearby drive. He might have time to start the ignition and lead them a merry chase. But the chances of escape that way were slim. What to do?
At that moment, the householder who owned the four by four appeared on the drive, shielding his eyes from the strong light. Immediately the spot light moved to pick him out and the helicopter side-slipped until it was vertically overhead. A voice boomed out over the loudspeaker system.
‘Stand right where you are. Stand still.’
Sean turned and kept the house between himself and the helicopter. By doubling back and then choosing another approach he came to the back of the garages. He looked around carefully. All attention was on the unfortunate householder on the other side of the lockup. Sean moved slowly and deliberately towards the garage, reaching for the key to the door.
‘Hey!’
/> Sean kept on, resisting the urged to turn around.
‘Hey, what’s going on?’
It was just another nosey neighbour. Sean raised his hand in the air and shook it vaguely, continuing towards the garage as if to say he didn’t know or care. In a second the key was in the lock and the door opened upwards. Sean peered around towards the back of the garage. Everything appeared to be in place. He entered, closing the door behind him before switching on the overhead light. The bike was at the back, covered by an old piece of carpet.
Sean examined the telltale he left earlier. The oil stain, half on the carpet, half on the floor, matched exactly. The carpet had not been moved.
Sean opened a cupboard set against the far wall and withdrew a rucksack. It was heavy and bulky, filled with emergency items.
He hefted the rucksack and then pulled away the carpet to reveal a Honda Off Road CRF 450R. The chrome glinted in the light. He marvelled at Lomax’s taste – Sean had only asked Lomax for a fast bike. He went back to the cupboard to withdraw a flak jacket. The outer was covered in a thin layer of black Gortex. Another layer of reinforced carbon fibre was incorporated into the inner lining. Sean strapped it on before pulling on the rucksack. He hoped he wouldn’t catch any bullets lower than the flak jacket - it would blow up the petrol tank around him.
He switched off the light and slowly opened the garage door to its full height. Swinging his leg over the broad black leather seat, he mentally rehearsed the next steps. Hefting the machine from side to side, he checked that nothing was loose.
Breathing in sharply, he kicked on the starter. Night beckoned through the garage doors.
Chapter 28
‘This is a police SWAT team. Put your hands in the air and come out through the front door, one at a time.’
DD and Natasha glanced at each other. Between them they held Lomax, struggling to keep him upright.
‘What shall we do?’ Natasha looked to DD for an answer.
‘We need to get him into the car’ said DD, panting with the exertion. ‘God knows how long he’ll last.’
Natasha saw sweat beads covering Lomax’s pale face. His eyes were closed and he appeared to be unconscious. Together they half carried, half lifted his body through the door into the garage.
‘You have one minute to come out with your hands high’ blared the speaker again. ‘I repeat this is a police SWAT team. Do not think of trying to escape.’
Natasha opened the rear car door and they both pushed Lomax into the back. DD ran around the front and jumped into the driver’s seat as Natasha strapped herself in the passenger side.
‘Wait!’ DD jumped out. He ran upstairs to his bedroom and scooped up the memory sticks lying around. There was no need to destroy the hard drives as they were encrypted. He saw that one memory stick was still plugged into a laptop. He removed it quickly and pocketed it along with the others.
He heard the police again, ordering them to leave the house, swiftly followed by Natasha’s shout from below to hurry up.
DD hadn’t the breath to reply. He turned and ran back down the stairs into the garage. On the way down he could see blue flashing lights from the landing window. DD’s mind calmed and focused on the present and what he had to do. He needed a diversion. There was only one person who could help.
‘We should just give ourselves up’ said Natasha, frantic with worry.
‘I need you to create a diversion.’
‘What?’ Natasha was dumbfounded. ‘Why me?’
‘Don’t ask questions, just do what I say!’
Natasha was surprised at the sudden authority in his voice.
‘We don’t have time for chit-chat’ he warned. ‘Just get going.’
‘What do you want me to do?’
‘When I drive out, you spill the petrol in that can over there. Be sure you are able to get out quickly, then use this lighter to set fire to it. Sneak out the back if you can and meet me at the lock-up. It’s two streets away. Follow the road around to the left, then first right and right again.’
Natasha gritted her teeth as she unbuckled her belt and got out of the car.
That was DD’s signal to get going. He shoved it into auto and slammed on the brake and the accelerator at the same time. The car lurched forward then stopped with a screech. The engine screamed. When it had reached a peak, DD braced himself and let go of the brake. The car shot forward, smashing into the wooden garage door, brushing it aside like a leaf in the wind. There was a brief moment when the air was filled with the mangled scream of tortured metal, then they were through.
A police car blocked off the ramp from the garage. Two other police cars sat either side in the street with their lights flashing. DD wrenched the wheel to the right, taking the car over the front garden and onto the street. In that split second DD heard the pop of rifle shots and then the thwack as rounds hit the side of the car. DD pressed the accelerator to the floor. The wheels spun and the car bucked wildly over the rose beds until meeting the tarmac on the road. As soon as the front wheels caught the hard ground, the car rocketed forward. DD saw the horror and dismay on the men’s faces when they realised how easily DD was making his escape.
As he followed the curve of the street around, he thumped the wheel in a mixture of excitement and relief. He was travelling so fast that he didn’t see the police car blocking the road immediately ahead. He drove straight into the side and Lomax crashed against the back of his seat.
Without thinking, DD reversed in a haze of blue smoke from burning tyres. He yanked the wheel over, changed quickly into first gear and drove around the crippled police car.
Sean listened. He could hear the police over their loud hailer. Lomax was one of the few executives who relished this kind of action and Sean knew he would do everything in his power to prevent the team being taken. But nothing was certain.
On balance Sean felt he should intervene. Alone, Lomax would have no problem evading capture. But he had a student and a civilian in tow and they would slow him down.
Next problem was how to approach the safe house. He could open the throttle of the bike and roar off to the rescue, or go quietly like any other law abiding citizen. If he roared off, he would attract attention more quickly. If he went cautiously, he always had the option to use the power of the bike later to make his escape.
Sean twisted the throttle to the maximum and roared out of the garage on the big bike, heading towards the flames lighting up the night sky. Before reaching the street he took a detour through the grassy stretches between the houses. He wanted to avoid the police cars by approaching the house from the rear. Even following the light from the flames it was easy to take a wrong turning. He had to backtrack twice before picking up a new path. The roar of the motorbike engine was lost under the noise from two fire trucks, sirens wailing at full volume.
Natasha picked up the petrol can and quickly unscrewed the cap. In her unsteady hands some of the petrol spilt onto her jeans and shoes. She sloshed the petrol around, on the ground and over the wooden bench where tools and rags lay scattered. When there was no more petrol she threw the can onto the bench. She noticed some bottles of white spirit which she opened and left on their sides, spilling out clear liquid. The garage began to stink of petrol fumes. Natasha ran over to the rear door, brought the lighter up and flicked it on. She grasped the door handle and threw the lighter onto the floor. The petrol caught alight with a whoosh! Natasha turned the handle, but the door wouldn’t move. It was locked.
Natasha could escape the garage through the doors which DD had blown open. But she would be escaping into the arms of the police.
The flames were so close now she felt a searing heat along one side of her face. She grabbed a wooden trestle standing just two feet away and swung it hard at the big window next to the locked door. The window smashed easily. She kept hold of the trestle and raked the remaining glass away from the bottom of the sill.
A burning cinder landed on her head and for a moment she thought her hair
would catch light. She brushed it off roughly, feeling her palm blister as it made contact. She put the trestle down underneath the window, stepped up on it and launched herself through the space, landing on a hard concrete path outside. She was disorientated but the adrenaline surging through her blood stream carried her forward towards freedom. She heard the fire engines above the roaring of the flames and started to follow DD’s directions to the lock-up.
She had taken no more than ten steps when she stopped dead in her tracks. In the narrow alley the noise of the engine was overpowering. Silhouetted in a street light was a massive motorbike. She didn’t recognise Sean until she heard his voice.
‘Hop on, Nat. Let’s get the hell out of here.’
They put DD in a windowless and featureless room where he was kept waiting for two hours. Eventually a tall man wearing a fawn coloured overcoat came in. DD saw drops of rain on the coat. He wondered why there was only one man. Maybe he was their star performer, he thought - or maybe he was the warm-up before the main act.
The man sat down on the opposite side of the metal table and opened the jacket of his suit. Carefully he rested one leg over the other. ‘Evening DD. I hope you’re comfortable?’
DD could not hide his astonishment. How did they know his name? ‘Never felt better’ he said sourly.
‘I expect you thought you’d escaped our police cordon. Perhaps you were beginning to feel pleased with yourself?’
DD’s lips formed a thin line.
‘You must know how we do things in this country. Especially when we’re chasing criminals.’
DD’s expression hardened.
‘We laid on more cars than you thought. Surely you know how we work - after all, haven’t you been studying in one of our finest Universities for the last year?’
DD remained silent.
‘I expect if you don’t check back soon, there’ll be asking for you.’
Silent Warpath (Sean Quinlan Book 1) Page 24
