Smoke and Mirrors (The Acer Sansom Novels Book 3)

by Oliver Tidy

  ‘We can’t be sure that’s all of them,’ said Acer. ‘We need to remain on our guard and vigilant. What was the explosion?’

  ‘One of the dirty buggers threw a hand grenade. I never heard of that before.’

  The words were barely out of his mouth before the air pulsed faintly with the thumping rotors of an approaching helicopter. They turned to look at the lights in the sky coming up fast off the starboard side.

  The walkie-talkie crackled in the seaman’s big hand. He said, ‘Typical of the Yanks to show up when it’s all over.’

  ‘We’ll leave you to it,’ said Acer, and limped off into the darkness before the troops arrived with their questions and forms to fill out.

  Niki followed him. ‘You’re hurt?’

  He stopped and faced her. ‘Just a nick. Nothing serious. You saved my life.’

  ‘I did what I had to do. I did what you’d have done. That’s all.’

  ‘Thank you. I owe you.’

  ‘No, you don’t.’ She pushed past him and he watched her back until she was swallowed up in the darkness.

  ***

  46

  What was left of his trouser leg was rolled up to his knee and Dominique was cleaning his wound when the door was tapped. She rose and crossed the small room to the door. A crew member identified himself. She opened up.

  ‘Captain Wallace asks if your husband would join him in his cabin,’ he said.

  Dominique hid her feelings for the mention of her husband.

  ‘Two minutes,’ called Acer.

  The door was shut.

  ‘He should come here. Your leg hasn’t stopped bleeding. You should keep it raised.’

  Acer was already rolling his trouser leg down. ‘It needs a bandage. They’ll have something I can use.’

  He grimaced as he tried his weight on it.

  ‘Thanks for your efforts. Go to bed, Dominique. I think this might take a while.’

  She gave him a long and difficult-to-fathom look before nodding once and turning back to the bedroom.

  He hadn’t shared the details with her. He didn’t want to go terrifying her any more than she already was. The threat had passed. It was an act of simple piracy, nothing to do with them. The pirates had aborted their attempt after a brief exchange of fire. An unfortunate ricochet had clipped his leg. That’s what he’d told her.

  The crewman had waited. So had an armed man in uniform. In response to Acer’s reaction, the crewman said, ‘Until the boat has been thoroughly searched, no one’s allowed anywhere unaccompanied.’ It made sense. Everyone would look pretty silly if the troops were sent away and uninvited guests crawled out of their hiding places wielding weapons and threats.

  Acer followed them slowly along the corridor. His leg felt hot and tight.

  On the way back to his cabin after the fray, he’d knocked on the other three men’s doors and told them the bare minimum. It had been the right thing to do and it was closer to what he’d told Dominique than the truth. He told them someone’s navy were dropping men onto the ship and they should stay inside. There was still a danger of being shot, just by different people.

  In with Wallace was a big, powerful-looking fellow dressed head to toe in black, just like the guard who had escorted him from his cabin and who was now stationed outside. His skin was naturally black, too. Contrastingly, his teeth were very white and he bared them in a warm smile as Acer entered. Both his hat and his weapon were on the floor by the seat he was folded into. Ship’s captain and US Navy SEAL Captain Taylor both stood. Wallace made the introductions and then they noticed his trousers.

  Wallace said, ‘You were hurt? I had no idea. Sit down, man. I’ll send for our first-aider.’

  Acer slumped into one of the vacant chairs.

  Taylor’s voice was low and calm, but his face betrayed his concern. ‘Bullet?’

  Acer nodded. He’d have been happy to talk about something else.

  Taylor moved to the door, opened it, issued an instruction and came back to join them. ‘Leave it to us, Captain Wallace. It’s our area of expertise, after all.’

  Wallace didn’t argue. Taylor appraised Acer for a long moment before saying, ‘We have something of a situation, Mr Sansom.’

  ‘Don’t you mean, had?’

  Taylor shook his head. ‘A new one, involving four dead men and what to do with them and about them.’

  ‘Don’t tell me you don’t have a procedure to deal with this kind of thing. It can’t be the first time it’s happened.’

  ‘Tell me a little about yourself, would you?’

  ‘Why? I mean, why is that important?’

  ‘Just interested, for now.’

  ‘Don’t you have better things to be doing?’

  ‘My men are searching the ship. My vessel won’t be joining us for a few hours yet. Time is something of a luxury for me. And I like a good story.’

  Acer didn’t immediately answer and Taylor misinterpreted his reticence. ‘Look, I’ve got to sort this mess out. We’ve been deployed. We arrive and it’s all over. And there are dead men littering the deck. NATO don’t like this kind of thing. They want piracy eradicated and confidence restored in the water here. There’s something else – piracy is on the wane in these waters. We haven’t had a determined boarding in a long while. We haven’t had a reported death in a very long while.’

  ‘Really?’ said Acer.

  ‘Not reported. Officially. Some shipping lines still carry armed response teams. We hear things.’

  ‘What sort of things?’

  ‘Pirates are dealt with the old-fashioned way with new-fashioned weapons, their bodies are dumped into the sea and the boats don’t stop. Stopping and reporting are expensive and time-consuming processes. Time is money for these people.’

  ‘But now you’re here and that won’t do?’

  Taylor smiled. ‘We’ll see. But if it won’t then there’ll be implications for you, implications for the vessel, implications for me and implications for all our masters. Do you have a master, Mr Sansom?’

  Acer smiled back. ‘I’m going to say no.’

  ‘Then what the hell are you doing on board here with no papers, armed and able? You see my position, now?’

  There was a firm rap at the door. Wallace called, ‘Come’. One of Taylor’s men came in with a small bag. After a nod from Taylor he wasted no time in cutting off Acer’s trouser leg, cleaning the wound, assessing it, providing an injection, putting in half a dozen stitches, dressing it and retiring. He was good. Acer wondered what he was like under fire.

  In the dead time Wallace had got himself and Acer small glasses of something strong and amber. Taylor declined, although he looked like he would’ve liked one.

  When the medic had shut the door after him, Acer looked at Wallace and said, ‘You haven’t told him?’

  ‘I said it would be better coming from you.’

  Acer nodded understanding. ‘OK. I’m on a job for British intelligence. It became something it shouldn’t have. The woman and child in my care were kidnapped over a year ago. I’m trying to get them home. To England.’

  ‘Why not fly?’

  ‘We have no paperwork. We have determined people trying to stop us. It got messy.’

  ‘How messy? Where?’

  ‘Two dead in Dubai.’ Acer looked at Wallace. ‘I didn’t think you’d want to know.’

  ‘What about embassies?’ said Taylor.

  ‘Too dangerous trying to get into one. More dangerous trying to get out. I have reason to believe they’re watching everywhere. Also, the other woman with us is an Iranian national. She’s helped a lot. Her brother could now be dead for his assistance. She’s my responsibility, too, now. The only way to be sure of getting everyone back to the UK and quickly is to avoid conventional channels.’

  ‘Why so dangerous?’

  ‘Like I said, the people with an interest in stopping us getting home to tell our tales are determined. Very determined.’

  ‘Who are ‘they’?�
��

  ‘VEVAK. You know them?’

  ‘Iranian intelligence service. Not nice people. You must have quite a story to tell on them.’

  ‘We have. So you see our predicament. We can’t really afford to become embroiled in local issues like piracy if it means we’re going to be delayed anywhere round here. We’d become sitting ducks.’

  Taylor sat forward and put his elbows on his knees. ‘I told you, this is a very unusual attack. Could this have not been about piracy? Could this have been about you? Could they have known that you were on board this ship?’

  ‘It’s occurred to me that the answer could be yes to each of those questions.’

  ‘Can your story be corroborated?’

  ‘Which part?’

  ‘The British intelligence part.’

  ‘Find a man called Crouch – MI6. He’s the man got me into this. Perhaps he can get me out of it.’ Acer smiled.

  Acer finished his drink and it seemed to signal something to each of them.

  Taylor breathed out heavily. ‘Why don’t you go back to your room, Mr Sansom. We’ll know more by the morning. We’ll talk then.’

  ‘Fine by me,’ he said. He stood and winced.

  Taylor said, ‘Have you spoken to the other passengers?’

  ‘Only to say that the threat seemed over and to stay in their rooms.’

  ‘Can I suggest you don’t provide details about last night to them?’

  Acer nodded. He had his hand on the door handle, when Taylor said, ‘Where did you learn your skills, Mr Sansom?’

  Acer was smiling when he said, ‘Oh, I’m just lucky. Ask Crouch.’

  He was escorted back to his room. He asked the Navy SEAL if they’d found any more of the pirates on board. He said they hadn’t. He sounded disappointed.

  Acer’s leg throbbed. He let himself in quietly, slipped off his shoes and trousers and eased himself down on to his bed, which suddenly felt a great deal more comfortable than when he’d last been in it.

  As he lay with his mind replaying the events of the last couple of hours he found himself irresistibly drawn to one particular scene – the moment that Niki had been backlit and framed by the moonlight having shot a man dead. He could have been mistaken, but in that moment he’d believed she’d wanted to put a bullet in him too.

  ***

  47

  It was banging at the door that woke Acer. Perhaps, he thought, they’d tried tapping again, but he hadn’t heard them. The daylight was flooding in the little windows where the curtains had been left open.

  Acer rolled himself up and was reminded he’d been shot by the sharp pain in his lower leg. Dominique came out of the bedroom in response to the noise. Acer was looking undignified on all fours on the floor in his underwear. He smiled a little self-consciously.

  Dominique stopped and her eye was drawn to the white bandaging on his leg. ‘Are you all right?’

  ‘Fine. I’m just trying to get up.’

  The door was banged again and she answered it while Acer heaved himself up into a chair.

  Taylor was framed in the doorway.

  ‘Good morning. May I come in?’

  Dominique stood aside. Acer studied the man’s face for something of the news he brought.

  ‘You must be Mrs Hammond,’ said Taylor. They shook hands and hers was lost in his big black paw. ‘Could you give us a minute, please, ma’am?’

  Dominique withdrew into the bedroom and shut the door. Acer pointed at the only other place to sit. Taylor took it and the chair complained.

  ‘Find any others?’

  Taylor shook his head. ‘Negative. Pissed a few of my boys off, you doing all the work.’

  ‘Don’t think I enjoy that kind of thing.’

  Acer had not shared with anyone else that Niki had shot and killed one of the pirates. If there was trouble brewing for their actions then he thought it best that he bore the brunt of it himself. Sheep and lambs.

  ‘Man’s gotta do, right?’

  ‘Something like that.’

  Acer would have liked to have explained that they’d been victims of piracy once in their lives; that they’d all lost loved ones because of it; that it was the danger of history cruelly repeating itself when he could stop it, whereas before he couldn’t have; of defending innocent people from the threat of pirates, that had driven him to go on the offensive. But he didn’t. Taylor probably wouldn’t have been interested. Taylor had other, more important things on his mind.

  ‘Did you get hold of Crouch?’

  ‘No.’ In response to Acer’s look of concern, he said, ‘But someone on my ship got hold of someone who did.’

  ‘And?’

  ‘You check out. He’s been worried about you.’

  ‘He’s a natural worrier.’

  ‘He wants to talk to you.’

  ‘I’d like to talk to him. Can you arrange it?’

  Taylor smiled. ‘Mr Sansom, I can arrange pretty much anything. My ship’s alongside. Come across. Use our comms.’

  ‘Thank you. I’d like that. And what about this?’

  Taylor breathed in and out. ‘It’s going to suit everyone if this didn’t happen.’

  Acer raised his eyebrows. ‘You can arrange that, too. Erasing people’s memories? Bringing back the dead?’

  ‘Told you last night: the shipping company don’t want it to have happened. NATO don’t want it to have happened.’

  ‘Surely you can’t cover up an act of piracy. Not one where lives were threatened and lost.’

  ‘We’ve put a spin on it. This wasn’t an act of piracy. This was about you and your people. You said yourself that it could’ve been. These were people hired to get your people back or to silence them.’

  ‘That’s easier to cover up?’

  ‘Strangely enough, yes, it is.’

  ‘And what about the dead men? How are we going to explain them?’

  ‘What dead men?’

  The room was quiet for a moment.

  ‘You think you can stop people talking about it?’

  ‘Have you told the other passengers what happened?’

  Acer shook his head.

  ‘So don’t. The crew will all be on bonuses to keep their mouths shut.’

  ‘What about the families of the dead men?’

  ‘You think anyone that side is going to make a fuss? They were pirates.’

  ‘Not according to you.’

  Taylor frowned. ‘We’re just trying to help this to go away, partly so that you can carry on your journey. Get these folks home.’

  ‘Sorry. I know. Thanks.’ Acer rubbed at his face.

  Taylor stood. ‘Listen, don’t beat yourself up about those guys. They were an attacking force – armed, shooting to kill indiscriminately. They threw a grenade for Christ’s sake. That would’ve made a mess of someone in the wrong place. These people might be poor and desperate but they’re also ruthless and brutal. They know the risks.’

  When Taylor had gone, Acer dressed in a spare pair of trousers courtesy of the hotel. Dominique came out of the bedroom with Zoe. Zoe looked like she’d regressed. Acer could see immediately that the frightened wariness was back haunting her pretty gaunt features. He smiled at her and with something of a false bravado said, ‘Let’s go and get breakfast. I’m starving.’

  The small dining room was crowded and a gentle hum of noise filled the air. A lot of it stopped when Acer limped in after Dominique and Zoe. And then it resumed again quickly.

  Gordon, David and Peter occupied one table and they were obviously enjoying the excitement of having a small force of US Navy SEALs sharing the space for an hour or two. Acer thought they’d be drafting their blog entries for the next time they were ashore in an Internet cafe. He wondered whether they’d be spoken to before then. Maybe asked to sign the Official Secrets Act.

  He caught the looks of a couple of the US Navy SEALs. They nodded some respect in his direction. One of them raised a coffee mug. Acer just nodded back. Let them think what th
ey wanted.

  He sat with his ‘wife’ and ‘daughter’ and they ate and drank and eventually relaxed. There was no sign of Niki.

  ***

  48

  The warship had taken up a position a little off their starboard bow. A rigid inflatable boat was sent across and the team of SEALs made light work of getting into it. Acer followed them down a little more slowly, a little more carefully, but he had a good excuse.

  They bounced across the water and the process was reversed. Deck to deck in a little under five minutes.

  Taylor led a limping Acer through the labyrinth of corridors and multitude of watertight doors into the nerve centre of the vessel – the communications room. Taylor was greeted warmly everywhere, as a returning hero might be. He was obviously popular.

  Taylor introduced Acer to an officer wearing headphones as their ‘friend’ who needed to speak with London. Acer was offered a seat and then a headset. He waited and listened to some line interference for a while. And then he was listening to Crouch.

  ‘Acer?’

  Acer smiled. ‘Hello.’

  ‘Where on earth have you been? Why no word?’

  ‘Since when?’

  ‘Since your hotel in Tehran.’

  That surprised Acer. ‘Weren’t you contacted? Didn’t you get my message?’

  ‘What message? I’ve had nothing.’

  ‘They said they’d left a message with someone your end.’

  ‘Who said? Who are you talking about and what the hell are you doing on a ship in the Gulf of Aden?’

  ‘What exactly do you know?’

  ‘Our last intelligence is of someone impersonating you getting hauled off the flight to Vienna at the last minute. Nothing since.’

  ‘I don’t understand.’

  ‘That makes two of us.’

  ‘You know I have Mrs Hammond and her daughter with me?’

  ‘What? Of course, I don’t. How the hell would I? Explain.’