To Kill Or Be Killed

by Richard Wiseman

  “Okay. Now if you have to shoot, Shadz you aim low, Jaz you hold back at the right and kneel down, that means you can take a second to pick and aim at his gun arm or hand okay.”

  “My god you had better be right Tony.”

  Tony smiled and patted her shoulder. “Let’s go.”

  They made their way down the narrow dimly lit corridor with, at each end, armed police waited.

  “You’re to put these on. No Questions.” An armed officer handed them some bullet proof vests.

  Tony nodded and took the Kevlar vest. Having taken a moment to adjust and fit the bullet proof vests the three DIC officers took up positions at the hotel room door. Tony paused and kicked the door in.

  The crash of the door and Tony’s shouted ‘Armed Security show yourself’ woke several guests on the corridor, especially the drunk next door.

  Shadz was in the room in a second his Sig before his face pointing where he looked. Jaz knelt on one knee to Tony’s right her Sig steady at the end of her pointing arm, the muzzle like an accusing finger.

  The empty room, unmade bed and lack of articles around the room didn’t put them at ease. All three pistols pointed at the bathroom door. Slow steps to the door, all three fingers now edgy on the triggers, ignoring the voices in the corridor the three inhaled, Jaz pushed the door open from the hinge side and Shadz put his weapon hand around the jamb as Tony stepped into the door way. Finally the empty bathroom put them at their ease.

  “That was great!” Shadz finally breathed. “Man what a rush!”

  “Bloody men!” Jaz laughed and shook her head.

  They made their way into the corridor.

  “Empty.” Tony said.

  “We’re sweeping the rooms and corridors one at a time, one guest at a time. We’ve got the manager’s list. You think he might be in another room.”

  “No.” He’s gone.” Tony shook his head. “We’re too late. Keep checking the rooms though.”

  “Mr Deany this man’s got an interesting story.” Tony turned to see a young man in his late twenties, hastily dressed, ruffled morning hair and red eyes.

  “Someone stole my stuff in the night, wallet, car keys and phone.”

  “What make of car?”

  “Citroen C4, pale metallic blue.”

  “Check the car park.” Jaz spoke to the nearest officer. He radioed the request. They all heard the reply.

  “No car like that in the car park is he sure he parked it here?”

  They all looked to the man.

  “Yeah of course I left here and we went into the city and got bladdered, used the bus there and back.”

  “That’s your answer then.”

  Jaz, Shadz and Tony walked down to reception. The Chief Inspector was waiting with the manager.

  “He went in the night then?”

  “Yes.” Tony answered, slowly calming from his adrenalin high.

  “He’ll have watched the news late and seen the Perth footage and the news item on Wally’s murder. That’s when he’ll have decided to get out.” Jaz spoke excitedly, still pumped up by the danger.

  “I’ll put out an alert for the Citroen C4.” The chief inspector said calmly.

  “How far south could he be in say eight hours?” Jaz asked.

  “A long way.” The inspector replied ruefully.

  “Let’s set up and see what local DIC have on the CCTV for roads out of here and service stations in the last eight hours. Can we have your office?” Shadz turned to the manager.

  “Yes of course. Follow me. Can I get you some coffee?”

  “Please and thank you.”

  As they made their way to the office the head of armed police called out to them “All rooms are clear, he’s not here.”

  The chief Inspector wound up the operation and cleared away his staff within fifteen minutes. He popped his head into the manager’s office.

  “We’re all done here is there anything else I can do?” There was a note of angry tension in his voice. They’d be alerted and called out early and all for nothing. He wasn’t a happy man.

  “Yes come in. Have a coffee.” Jaz looked up from her laptop and gave the police man her warmest smile. “You must be exhausted.”

  “Thank you.”

  He sat and Jaz poured him a coffee.

  “Sugar?”

  “Two please.”

  “We’re checking all CCTV. It looks like he headed up the M62 around midnight any ideas where he could have gone?”

  “Well assuming he wanted somewhere isolated the Daisy Nook Country Park would have been the best spot.”

  “Good thinking. I’ll just get a map up, can you show me?” Jaz smiled sweetly again.

  Shadz caught the tone of her voice and looked up. Jaz leaned into the Chief Inspector. Shadz suppressed his smile and looked down at his laptop. She was a sly one. She knew how to play men that was for sure. With the thought that if she’d found men attractive she’d be lethal he began scouring into city routes CCTV from eight am onwards realising that Cobb had to be back on his way into the city. Luckily for him local DIC were already on the case and with a shout of triumph Shadz declared the car was on a street near the city centre. They grabbed their equipment and ran for the car park. The chief inspector called a quick armed response team to meet them on Gun Street.

  Just before the DIC team had arrived at the hotel Cobb had turned off the A62 onto Great Ancoats Street and having parked half way up Gun Street he threw the car key away. He then made his way onto Pickford Street and walked through the car park. He was approaching his target building, the wig suppliers, Wigs Up North, from the back. It was eight thirty-five and he had to hope that the workers didn’t arrive until gone nine. As it was he was wrong. The manager and deputy were at the front of the store as Cobb arrived at the back. In a way Cobb was lucky for that as the alarm system would have tripped when he picked the back door lock and entered the storage rooms, but for the fact that it had been switched off at the front two minutes before his consummate lock picking skills gave him access.

  Cobb had no way of knowing where to look for the kind of wig he was seeking. He walked the large back room storage staring at piles of boxes, on the side of each one, clearly visible in black marker, was a stock number. He was about to start looking box by box when he heard the voices in the corridor outside. Looking to the door he saw a clipboard with listings hanging on a hook. These weren’t the made to measure specialist work that the firm made its real money from.

  Cobb froze and stepped to one side of the door. He eased his silenced pistol from inside his jacket. He heard a kettle boiling in the next room and some muffled words. One set of footsteps passed the door. Some moments after the sound of the kettle another set of footsteps passed. Cobb looked at his watch. It was a quarter to nine.

  He waited by the door, still, expectant and listening. There were no sounds. He pulled the manifest from the wall and looked at the listings. There were order numbers on the left and descriptions to the right. He scanned the list and caught sight of the word he was looking for, ‘blonde’. The product number fixed in his head, he scanned the boxes. It was quickly found, though there were two unwanted boxes on top. He quietly lifted the light boxes and placed them in front of the door by way of a warning hazard. He slipped out a lock knife and opened the box. Inside there were a number of blonde wigs. Cobb pulled out Wally’s pass and looked each one over. In the end, not able to try them on he chose four with curls and packed them into his rucksack.

  Just as quietly as he had removed them he put the two boxes back and made his way to the back door. He flipped the Yale catch and left as he had come, unseen.

  Down stairs in the shop the manager and his deputy had no idea how close to death they had been. Sipping coffee they waited for their day’s custom.

  The DIC team were on Gun Street by ten past nine, the Vectra and the armed response car were backed up by a police car at each end of the street. Tony and Jaz got out with the Inspector. They approached the
car and looked around, trying the doors.

  Back in the Vectra Shadz sat with his cell phone linked to his laptop waiting on messages and tapped into the city CCTV.

  Still one step ahead and more by luck than planning Cobb had pulled the black coat on at the back of the wig shop building, pulled up the hood and wound the scarf around his face ‘hoody’ style. He was heading into the city centre and there was CCTV there, lots of it. On his way in, close to High Street, two police cars flew past him, blue lights flashing, no sirens, heading, he knew, for Gun Street.

  He quickened his pace and made it to the Arndale Centre around ten past nine and rapidly found the Vision Express. Outside he checked Wally’s Pass again to get a picture of the glasses. Before he went in he took off the hood, undid the coat and loosened the scarf. CCTV camera ten metres away caught his image and as he walked into the shop DIC alerts in the city flagged up on Shadz’s laptop.

  Cobb knew he didn’t have long, but played it cool nonetheless. He walked around the shop looking at the racks of glasses frames, each with clear plastic lenses firmly fixed in. He was asked if he needed help and politely explained he was browsing. A rack containing the frames that looked most like those in Wally’s pass was his third stop in the store. He selected the frames, then four others and tried each different frame twice putting them, not back on the rack, but on the shelf in front of him. In the shuffle of hand to eyes, down to shelf and hand to eyes he palmed the wanted frames into his sleeve.

  Casually he glanced at his watch and made the look of a man who is late. Leaving the unwanted frames on the shelf in a pile he left the store. It was ten minutes before the tutting assistant went to replace the frames on the rack and noticed the stolen item, by that time Cobb was away.

  The Vectra came skidding at high speed into the Arndale Centre pick up point and the three DIC team members jumped out slamming doors. Armed response vehicles pulled up and plain clothes and uniformed armed police scurried to every exit and entrance.

  Each door team was given a picture of Cobb and were told he was wearing a black coat.

  Tony, Jaz and Shadz sprinted the short distance to the Vision Express and once outside the door only Jaz went in whilst the other two scoured the crowds.

  A very short distance away Cobb was in River Island, buying clothes in as similar a style to Wally as he could remember, duffle coat included, and he added a shoulder bag to replace his recognisable rucksack.

  The girl with dark hair took his card and smiled.

  “Wow a completely new look for you and well chosen too. You ought to grow your hair.”

  “Good idea.” Cobb said. “Do you think long blonde curls would suit m?.”

  “Yeah better than a pony tail if you don’t mind me saying. A lot of older men do that to look cool and it doesn’t work.”

  Cobb smiled. He punched the pin number into the receptor praying for the girl’s sake that the card hadn’t been cancelled.

  Luckily for Cobb the drunk he had robbed in the room next to his back at the hotel hadn’t cancelled the card. That morning after being woken by armed police at the hotel the muzzy headed lad had taken a shower, got dressed and was just finishing breakfast at the hotel as Cobb used his card. The unlucky hotel guest was regaling his mates with his possible near death experience and how he would have handled the armed killer. His friends joked about his car being filled full of holes and he was horrified to recall his laptop being in the boot. It was only hours later, when he needed to check out of the hotel that he remembered, with embarrassment, that he didn’t have his card. His friends paid for him with the thought that there’s one born every minute and Cobb had the same thought as the girl thanked him and bagged the items, giving him the receipt.

  “Could I change into these now? I have a…” Cobb paused for effect “… date and I wanted to wear them.”

  “Yes that’s fine the changers are over there.”

  Cobb walked casually to the changing room, pulled the curtain across and began his transformation.

  Once in the Vision Express store Jaz had pulled out her pass and angled her arm so that the underarm holster and shiny black Sig showed a little. She ‘tagged’ a shop assistant and held up the sketch of Cobb.

  “Have you seen this man?”

  The girl looked at the pass, noted the gun and stared back at the picture.

  “Yes he was in here about ten minutes ago. He was looking at frames. Is he dangerous?” The assistant who had put the frames back wandered over.

  “Is this about the shoplifter?” He asked.

  Jaz stared hard at the boy. “Shoplifter?” She exclaimed.

  “Yes.” He looked at the picture. “I saw that guy trying frames. Anyway he left them in a mess and when I went back to put them on the rack there was a frame missing.”

  “Thank you.” Jaz joined Shadz and Tony outside. Tony was holding his cell phone.

  “Local police are in the CCTV security booth watching for him.”

  The phone rang.

  “Yeah?” He listened, nodded and flipped the phone shut and turned to Jaz and Shadz. “River Island, don’t pull weapons in the store. Just wait.”

  “He’s got glasses.” Jaz spoke as they half jogged across the mall.

  “Glasses huh? Disguises. Damn.”

  Cobb came out of River Island unnoticed by CCTV watchers and made his way to the front exit. In the changing booth his rucksack, packed with the old clothes sat waiting. Two metres from the front exit he noticed the armed police. He took out the drunk’s cell phone.

  “Is that the police? Yes I’d like to report a bomb in the Arndale Centre. River Island changing rooms, you have three minutes.”

  Cobb shut the phone, dropped it in a bin near the door and walked past the armed police, all of whom were checking for a man in a black coat with a shaved head.

  Too late Shadz, waiting outside River Island, called the Inspector and suggested a change of clothes and some glasses and even then they wouldn’t have thought he’d have long blonde curls.

  As Tony and Jaz pushed their way to the pay desk showing badges, the fire alarm sounded and Tony’s phone rang.

  “Yeah, well damn it get people out, but we’re staying here.” Tony argued.

  The voice on the other end, the Chief Inspector’s, was so loud it could be heard from the phone’s tiny speaker. Tony winced.

  “We have to get out. Someone phoned from a cell phone and said there’s a bomb in this store.” Tony said ruefully.

  “Where?” Jaz asked.

  “The changing rooms of River Island.” Tony said.

  “It’s Cobb. He’s changed and left his bag!” Jaz replied.

  “Regardless he could have explosives. We have to get out.” Tony said with urgency.

  They joined Shadz outside the shop and began speed walking to the exits.

  “He’s a clever one, very slippery customer!” Shadz said almost gleefully.

  “A bold one too.” Tony said harshly.

  “Not so smart though we know where he’s headed and Manchester wasn’t a scheduled stop. The hotel suggests the airport and the road routes out would need a car. With every copper in the city on alert he won’t steal a car and rentals are traceable so he’ll want the quick way out. He must have used the internet to find his way round and that means he’ll have booked a car or a flight or train online, meaning he used a card.” Jaz spoke quickly and breathlessly as they headed for the exit.

  “Brilliant.” Shadz exclaimed.

  “My money’s on flight.” Tony said.

  “Mine too.” Jaz added.

  “Let’s get to the airport, sit in their security centre and check all of today’s bookings.” Shadz grinned. “Plus we call these guys pull some muscle and find out which card he used.”

  “Very clever Shadz but we don’t need to. Find out the name of the guy who was robbed at the hotel. Five quid says the dumbo hasn’t cancelled the card yet.” Jaz said grinning.

  As they made their way to the exit t
he building was nearly clear and when they got to the exit doors bomb squad officers rushed past them.

  “My God I hope hasn’t really got explosives! Suppose this place is the target?” Tony said looking at the crowds exiting the shopping centre.

  Chapter 54

  London

  9 – 30 a.m.

  April 18th

  Mason’s train journey had been a pleasant affair. The April rain was holding off and a mild sunshine was brushing the Hertfordshire landscape with light spring strokes. His view from the window slipped over the jigsaw of fields with neat hedge edges and the trees so recently furnished with leaves, having for the last two days drank in the rain were greedily absorbing the least rays of light.

  Mason’s eyes wandered over the commuter crowds, a healthy and unhealthy range of every type, all shot arrow like into London’s heart. At times he envied such mundane existences, but knew his adventurous soul would break free of such a treadmill within months of joining it. An attractive office girl, well made up, pristine, scent of perfume cutting through the musty dry cleaner smell of surrounding suits, caught his eye. He glanced three or four times, drinking in the highlighted honey and chestnut hair, the heavy push of breasts against the buttoned suit jacket and the neat line curve of her lower leg beyond the edge of her skirt.

  His mind turned to army days and job or no job he was due some rest and recreation time. The three word contact information, ‘Priory Arms Vauxhall’, fixed in his head could wait until tomorrow. Spencer was dead. Mason hadn’t liked the sneaky ex secret serviceman and had given him a wide berth on the cramped submarine. Stanton he knew had escaped, but surely must be trapped in Glasgow, given the tightness of the net surrounding him and Wheeler, as much as he knew then, was in the same position. Surely even Cobb, given the high media profile of his murders must have gone to ground, if not have quite a numerous task force dedicated to his capture. No even then as he thought of it he must be the first into London.