“Abi, go secure.”
“Hi, Boss. Going secure, wait … Okay, secure now. How can I help you?”
“I need you to prepare urgent assistance to extract Mikey and one other. I’ll get Mikey to send his coordinates as soon as I’ve warned him on my next call. Who have we got in the area who can assist?”
“We can ask the TRG to send a team.”
“No, we can’t do that. They have a mole in the organisation.”
“Crikey. Okay, Plan B. We can make the research team operational. We can take Emily and Sean out of the game for however long it takes. Or we could try to convince the embassy or consulate to send a team. We would have to justify using British assets, but that shouldn’t be a problem, as two of the victims of the massacre were British citizens. We would only be a request for provision of support during an ongoing investigation.”
“Right, Abi, time is not on our side, or Mikey’s, so use Emily and Sean. But let the embassy know what’s going on; maybe they can provide refuge. This is a matter of the highest priority, and it’s a matter we can’t discuss with senior intelligence officials and TRG in the area.”
“Right, Boss, I’m on it now. Please send me the coordinates when you have them. Let’s set access codes now, wait one. You can tell Mikey that they’ll be using verbal parole number five for authentication when they arrive at his location.”
“Will do, Abi. But before I go, can you get Bernie to look for a charter flight for us in Malé, preferably a jet. We’re en route now and will arrive within the hour. And we need to know where Marne’s plane is going. He’s currently in a helicopter and has a head start on us, and he should leave within the next hour. We need to know where he’s going.”
“You’ve been on speakerphone, so Bernie’s onto it right now.”
“How is Dom doing at the mother’s place?”
“He’s bored witless,” replied Abi.
“Shame. Tell him to stay put. Marne trusts her, and that can open doors for us. How is the information flow from the Aussies?”
“To be honest, it’s virtually non-existent. The last things we had were the list of the casualties and their profiles. Which we’ve worked on at our end. None of the casualties appeared to have links with the anti-mine campaigners, and none were wanted for anything apart from the odd overdue utility bill here and there.”
“Do me a favour: the next time you hear from the TRG, let it slip that we have information that heavily implicates the bikies in all of this as part of some drugs turf war. It would be good if you could ensure that the TRG liaison gets a copy of a document with that text included.”
“Okay, Boss, it will be a pleasure. I’m going now and will let you finish your boat ride. Say hi to Fi from us, will you? Oh, and are you able to tell us who that mole might be? It would be useful to know, regarding who we can and can’t contact.”
“In answer to your first question, yes, I’ll say hi to Fi. And it looks as though the mole is our friendly liaison officer, Captain Bennet. If you do some digging, take care; we don’t want to spook him just yet. I would appreciate it if the guys would start locating his assets, but hold off stripping them until I’m on my way back to Perth. Speak soon.”
“Okay, Boss, no problem. I’ll get the guys onto it. Stay safe.”
The call ended and Jago called Mikey.
“Mikey, this is Jago. Go secure.”
“Okay, secure now. Hi, Jago. How are things?”
“Shall we say, developing? I need you to send me the coordinates for your location.”
“Why, are you thinking of dropping in for tea?” asked Mikey jovially.
“No, but somebody might be and they wouldn’t be any good for your health or that of your friend.”
“Seeing as you put it like that, I’ll send them to you straight away. Anyone I know?”
“Bennet, it must be Bennet. We’ve just had a little tête-à-tête with one of the bad guys and they had photographs of us all at the station and at Cassidy’s place. Plus, they had other information that’s personal and only Bennet knew that information. I’m tasking two friends to collect you and Rich Cassidy. How far are you from central Perth?”
“About an hour and a half. How will I know them?”
“One male and one female. They’ll use the verbal parole, ‘Hello, Mr Henderson, do you still have the puppies for sale?’ Your response will be, ‘My name’s Hanson, and I only have one left, and he’s tiny.’ The tail of the parole is, ‘I’m sure he’ll be fine. We only have a small place.’ Did you get all of that?”
“Yes, Jago. I got all of that. I’ll expect them within a couple of hours then.”
“Good, that’s set then. Take care, Mikey.”
“Will do. I’ll see you when you get back,” replied Mikey before he ended the call.
Jago watched the white breakers of the turquoise waters breaking against the tiny island paradises dotted around while enduring many proclamations from Yusef about every island they passed. And then, as he was looking behind, he spotted the whitewash of two boats in the distance on the same course. He kept his eyes on the boats and nudged Fi, pointing rearwards. She promptly took out a pair of high-powered binoculars from her kit bag and studied the pursuing craft.
Jago continued his conversation with Mikey. “Are you sure nobody in the department will know where you are?”
“I’m as sure as I can be. We’re at an old friend’s new place; he hasn’t even moved in yet. Cassidy is holding up well, and he’s been helping to do stuff around the house. He’s not a bad guy really, just a little lost, but definitely not a killer.”
“Okay, I’d better go now and send the coordinates to the team, and then I’ve got a plane to catch. Let me know when you’re both safe.”
“I’ll do that. Cheers, mate.”
Jago received Mikey’s coordinates on a secure message and forwarded them to Abi and the team. He then patted Yusef on the back. “Yusef, did I hear you tell Fi that your cousin lives on that tiny island over there?”
“Yes, that’s what I told her when you were on the telephone, Mr Jago. But I’m afraid to say that I’ve been so busy I haven’t had time to see him.”
“Well, Yusef, today is your lucky day. You’ve completed your working hours with us. We’ll leave the boat in the airport harbour. Just send your bill to Miss Abi and you will be suitably recompensed for all of your excellent help.”
“But Mr Jago, if I go now, I will not have fulfilled my contract in delivering you to the airport.”
Fi set down the binoculars and took out her MP5. Yusef watched as she expertly inserted a magazine into the weapon. He also looked behind them and saw the wash of the two boats closing in.
“Oh, I see what you’re doing, Mr Jago. You are trying to protect me, and that’s very good of you. But you need me to control the boat; it’s very powerful, you know.”
Jago stepped in and took the boat controls. He increased the throttle and expertly swung the boat around, heading towards Yusef’s cousin’s home.
“Yusef, we’ll be passing the island fast and close. You can swim, can’t you?”
“Yes, sir, I can swim, but why are you asking?”
“We won’t be stopping, Yusef, that’s why.”
Fi placed a life jacket over Yusef’s head. “Better safe than sorry, eh!”
Yusef swallowed hard. “You don’t mean that—”
He didn’t have time to finish his sentence, as Fi gently nudged him overboard. Jago increased the throttle, accelerating out of Yusef’s sight in seconds. Fi maintained watch behind as Jago deviated from the set course.
Fi shouted to Jago, “They’ve split, one either side of the island, and they have no air support.”
“Are we in their sights?” asked Jago.
“No, not at the moment. But my guess is that they’ll try to take us front and rear.”
“Hold on,” instructed Jago as he decelerated and turned the boat towards the coastline. He headed for an inlet they had just
passed and quickly reversed into it, close to and slightly underneath the hanging foliage.
The first boat passed without noticing them, and Jago slowly moved out of position, hugging the coastline. Fi looked through the infrared monocular, through which she could see a small vessel three kilometres away. Her monocular illuminated the hottest part of the view, which was obviously the engines. She watched as the two boats converged.
“They’re slowing now, to get alongside each other.”
“Okay, pass me my MP5 and get ready. We’ll take them on directly,” said Jago as he sped towards the now-stationary craft.
Fi tried to maintain a watch on the boats, but it proved difficult given the speed of their boat. She called out to Jago, “It looks as though there are two people in each boat.”
Yusef was right; they were in a powerful boat. “Let’s go then,” said Jago, “full throttle.”
Fi and Jago were quickly upon their pursuers. As soon as the crews in the boats realised that they were being approached, they panicked, and it looked as though the crew in one boat, the one facing Fi and Jago directly, couldn’t start its engine. The other boat was moving and turning, presenting an excellent target for Jago and Fi, who advanced on its broadside and riddled the boat’s hull with bullet holes. The boat’s occupants dived overboard to escape the hail of bullets.
Jago spun to port just as the second boat was getting underway. Its crew spotted Jago’s course and darted to starboard to evade his attack. Fi fixed herself with rope on to the side of the boat and fired short bursts. A crew member erratically returned fire, and although the rounds pinged close by, nothing appeared to hit the boat.
Jago spun the boat around and headed directly for the craft to their front. He rested his weapon on the top of the dashboard and Fi joined him at his side. As they neared, they fired continuously, until the boat veered to their port side. Jago slowed to turn, while Fi changed position and continued to put down fire.
The pursuers’ boat was slowing and Jago increased the throttle to meet it broadside. There was no returning fire. Only one man was visible, and as Jago and Fi approached, he raised his hands in the now-still boat. Fi trained her weapon on him as they drew alongside. They could see that the other man was down and not moving.
Jago called over to the surrendering man, “Take off your shirt and shorts and slowly turn around.”
The man complied without hesitation, leaving him naked.
“Okay, put your shorts back on and step onto the bow with your hands held high.”
Once again, the man complied.
“I’m going to board your boat. Don’t move and you will not be harmed. Nod if you understand.”
The man nodded profusely.
Jago boarded and cuffed the man’s hands behind his back, and then guided him to a position where Fi could train her weapon on him.
“Don’t put a foot wrong and give her the pleasure of killing you. She won’t hesitate.”
The man’s eyes widened as he stared directly down the barrel of Fi’s weapon.
Jago quickly checked for any sign of life in the other man. There was none. He searched the body and the boat, finding nothing of value. Jago guided the captive to his boat before grabbing the flare gun and pouring fuel from a fuel can over the boat. He stepped back over to his boat and slowly made off, before firing the flare gun into the pursuers’ boat. Within seconds it was on fire, and then it exploded into smithereens.
Jago engaged the throttle and corrected the boat’s course for the airport.
Fi sat the captive down and applied a gag. “What shall we do with him?” she asked, directly in front of him.
“We have a few options.”
The man’s ears pricked up upon hearing this.
Jago continued, “We can take him with us and hand him over to the authorities, but I doubt that will serve any purpose. I suspect that the local police will be in Marne’s pocket. Then there’s option two: we could just shoot him and throw him overboard for the sharks.”
Fi cut in, “So far I’m in favour of option two, Boss.”
The gagged man made unintelligible noises and shuffled in his seat, trying to attract their attention.
“Then we have option three, and that is to simply throw him overboard.”
“Okay, option three sounds good, but with hands tied or free? I think tied would be better. And there’s the question of throwing him overboard near an island or miles away from one?”
“Yes, these are true dilemmas. But let’s not forget that Marne will be none too happy with him and might kill him anyway. That would save us a job. I say untie him and throw him off ASAP. We could do with losing the weight, as it seems we’re leaking like a sieve.”
Fi looked at the ingress of water. As the two exchanged more banter, they drew close to a trio of islands.
“Shall I send him over now, Boss?”
“Hang on a second, I’ll slow down.”
Jago relaxed the throttle, and Fi drew her combat knife from its sheath and stepped towards the fidgeting man.
“Turn around and hold still,” she ordered.
The frightened man rose to his feet warily and turned. Fi cut his cuffs, and as he brought his hands together in front of his body, rubbing them to help the circulation return, she shoved him over the side.
“All done, Boss. We can go full throttle now, if it will take it. Mind you, Yusef will be none too pleased by the state of his boat.”
Chapter 28
Jago and Fi arrived at the bay next to the runway in their bullet-riddled boat and secured it to a mooring. As they walked away, towards the airport, the boat exploded, leaving a single rope tied to the dock cleat.
Jago and Fi looked back at the explosion. “Well, we only just made it back in time, Boss!” exclaimed Fi as she watched the debris landing all around the dockside.
“Yes, we were lucky. Let’s find that airline that Abi sent us details of. We’re looking for the ExecJet hangar.”
Within minutes, they could hear the sirens of the emergency service vehicles as they headed towards the burning debris.
They passed a row of single-storey offices adjacent to the main hangars before they happened upon the ExecJet office. The light was on, and as they were about to enter a burly chap exited, cursing in a broad Australian accent at someone inside the office. He was wearing black trousers and a white shirt with an insignia on his epaulettes.
He looked at Fi and Jago. “What are you two looking at? What do you want?”
“I think you’ll find that we’re actually paying your wages, if you are who I think you are. So, I’d change your attitude if I were you,” replied Jago, as he gently placed his bags on the ground and walked towards the man. “I take it you’re the pilot of the jet we’ve booked?”
“Err, yeah, I’m the pilot. The name’s Mack. Look, I’m sorry if I offended you in any way. It’s just that the guy in there is a real pain sometimes. He pays well, but he’s a real pain.”
“Apology accepted. Do we have to check in inside the office?”
“Yes, you do. He’ll do all the paperwork and I’ll get her ready.”
As Mack walked away, Jago asked, “Fi, can you get an update from Abi on Marne’s position? I’ll get the paperwork done.”
Jago knocked on the counter in the office, where a tall, slim Asian man stood with his back to Jago. He was reading a document.
“Look, Mack, you’ll just have to wait for your money until you’ve done this last job.”
“Excuse me,” said Jago in a low tone.
The man, possibly of Indian origin, spun around and hurriedly placed the document on his desk.
“I’m sorry, sir. I thought that you were—”
“Our pilot?”
“Err, yes. But how did you know?”
“We met him outside. He’s a colourful chap, isn’t he?”
“Err, yes, he is. Although he’s one of our best pilots, but don’t tell him I said that, will you?”
; “I won’t.”
“Oh, how rude of me. I’m Pradip Desai, proprietor of ExecJet. Am I correct in assuming that you are Mr Jago? Your office said to expect you sometime this evening. Have you had a pleasant journey so far?”
“You could say that. It’s been eventful.”
“Oh, good. I’m glad to hear that,” said Pradip, and he opened a folder containing a prepayment slip and booking form. “I need to see your passports, and can you let me know your destination? I have everything else from your office, including payment authorisation.”
Jago handed him the passports. “I’ll have the destination in a couple of minutes. My colleague is on the phone right now.”
“You mean that you don’t know where you are going? Doesn’t that concern you?”
“Not in the least. It’s all part of the job – security. We can get sent anywhere at any time.”
Pradip shook his head in disbelief as he copied the passports and completed the forms.
Fi entered the office. “It looks as though we’re off to Mauritius, Boss.”
“Okay, Pradip, you heard the lady – put our destination down as Mauritius. We might not be there long, so we would like to keep the jet at our disposal while we’re there. We’ll pay the going rate.”
“Yes, of course, sir. But I must check with the pilot that he’s available.”
“If he’s as good as you say he is, tell him we’ll pay him double the salary he’d usually get. That should persuade him, don’t you think?”
“Yes, I think that offer should suitably persuade him. Let me check with him.”
Jago watched with interest through the aged blinds at the window as the two exchanged views. Mack remonstrated with arms flailing around, while Pradip, the more subservient, did his best to put his point of view across. Pradip left the pilot outside and made his way back to the office. Jago continued to look through the window and saw Mack set his bag on the ground, take out a bottle and drink an almighty swallow from it. Jago made a mental note of Mack’s action.
“Well, Mr Jago, I think we have a deal. You’ll be pleased to know your flight time will be approximately four and a half hours.”
“Thank you. I don’t suppose – and this is for future reference, you understand – that you do a self-fly deal, do you? It might be nice to zip around this area in one of your jets.”
Lethal Promise Page 18
