Towards the end of the debrief, Semi gave his account. ‘When I took off after that squirter out the back of the alley, I bumped into what I assumed at the time was some lost tourist or something – but the more I think about it, the more that doesn’t make any sense to me,’ said the corporal.
Rachel froze. She knew he meant Matt. She hadn’t yet had the opportunity to contact the Australian High Commission, but deep down she already knew the answer that they were going to give her. Should she tell them now that she knew who he was? She had been struggling with this ever since she’d seen his face on Semi’s body cam. What was he even doing there? She just couldn’t work it out.
‘What doesn’t make sense?’ Glyn asked. ‘What’s the issue?’
‘Well, he came through a gate leading from a courtyard at the end of the street. When I bumped into him he said something to me, I can’t recall exactly what it was, but I could tell he was Australian. The interesting thing, though, is that the guy shaped up to me for a moment. I thought that was weird at the time, and now I think of it, I’m pretty sure he must be military or police or something similar. I mean, my weapons didn’t shock him at all and he actually sized me up. Not my usual experience with civilians, especially after a big blast like that.’
‘No, you’re right – that is peculiar,’ Glyn remarked.
‘I know who it is,’ Rachel blurted out.
The men all turned to look at her.
‘Go on,’ said Glyn. He straightened, lifting his chin in the air and looking down on her.
‘It’s Matt Rix, an Australian commando officer.’
There was some murmuring and raised eyebrows at this.
‘Second Commando Regiment?’ asked Bluey finally.
‘Yes, that’s right,’ Rachel confirmed.
‘I worked with those guys in Afghanistan, Glyn. They’re legitimate – and I mean legit,’ said Bluey.
‘Yep, I know about them,’ said Glyn.
‘I’ve worked with them too,’ Oisín chimed in. ‘Jesus, what the hell is 2nd Commando Regiment doing poking around here?’
‘I would like to know that too,’ interjected Major Faruk. ‘I like Australians, don’t get me wrong, but their presence here makes me a little nervous. We have a history…’
Rachel looked across at the Turkish major, trying to interpret his remark, and saw his lips twitch. He was joking, of course, but this reference to Gallipoli had clearly gone over the heads of the SBS guys. Rachel nodded to show she understood and he gave her a wry smile.
‘Leave it with me, and I’ll see what I can find out,’ Rachel said. ‘I’m sure it’s just a matter of wrong place, wrong time.’ But something in her gut told her the opposite was true. Matt was there for a reason…but she had no idea what it could be.
22
ISTANBUL
Hassan al-Britani and Abu Brutali stopped at the edge of the wall leading to the side entrance of Faisal Khan’s hotel. Large drops of water pattered from the terracotta guttering overhead, the remnants of an early-morning shower that had since dissipated. Hassan listened for any movement around the corner of the wall. When he was confident it was clear, the two men crept through the archway and made their way down the side of the wall and around to the fire stairs.
The sound of the dawn call to prayer resonated softly across the sprawling city. The beautiful sound continued to increase in volume as it echoed from minaret to minaret and out into the suburbs and countryside.
The two Brits looked at each other in the shadows.
‘I’ll go first, you follow,’ said Hassan.
‘Right.’
Treading carefully, the pair climbed the stairs to the third floor. Before exiting the fire stairs, Hassan whispered, ‘Faisal Khan is as cunning as a fox, Abu. I will open the door; if it’s chained you need to smash it down and then finish him in quick time. If it’s not chained, we go in quietly. Cover his face and kill him. Do you understand?’
‘Yes,’ said Abu as he took his silenced Glock from his jacket.
‘Good – let’s finish this then.’
Hassan made his way slowly to Faisal’s door and took out the room card that he had been given the evening before. The concierge had asked no questions when offered a thousand US dollars for his troubles, especially since he had taken a similar bribe a few days prior from the Turkish secret police. It was his lucky year.
Hassan unlocked the door and gently pushed it open, relieved to find that there was no chain across it. Abu Brutali placed the silenced pistol back inside the suspender holster in his jacket and crept past. The giant British–Lebanese man moved with the stealth of someone a quarter of his size. Hassan moved in behind him and the two approached the double bed in the dark. Abu gently picked up a pillow to cover Faisal’s face.
Suddenly Abu stopped and Hassan looked past him, squinting to try to make out what he had seen in the dark.
Abu looked around in panic and pulled the pistol back out of its holster. ‘Shit, where is he?’ he hissed.
Abu made for the lights and turned them on. They could both see that the bed had not been slept in. The bathroom door was closed; Abu flung it open. Nothing.
‘He’s not here, Hassan.’
‘Yes, I can bloody well see that, Abu,’ the smaller man fired back.
‘Do you think he is at the mosque, perhaps?’
Hassan slapped his hand against his forehead. ‘Yeah, of course he is. I should have thought of that. Okay, let’s just grab the case and get the hell out of here. We can finish him another time.’
The two men looked around the room. Abu opened the wardrobe doors and Hassan looked behind the curtains. They searched everywhere, becoming more frantic as time dragged on.
‘Where is it?’ Hassan demanded.
‘I don’t know, but it has got to be here somewhere.’
Abu turned over the bed and then the couch in the corner. Behind the couch were two plastic bags. ‘What have we here then?’ said Abu, picking up one of the bags.
‘Don’t worry about it, Abu,’ said Hassan impatiently. ‘It’s not the suitcase, is it?’
‘No, it’s not the suitcase – but it’s explosives and plenty of it. Detonators and detonation cord, and this vest as well. It’s military grade, too; that’s some serious shit. There’s a radio frequency device and a garage remote, too.’
‘Cheeky fucker, isn’t he? Right, put the couch back and the bed too. Are you sure we’ve searched everywhere? It’s got to be here!’
‘It’s not here, Hassan – it’s not here.’
‘He must have taken it with him.’
‘Or run off with it,’ said Abu. ‘Maybe he’s double-crossed us.’
‘Well, it’s lucky we had the foresight to ensure we had a bargaining chip then, isn’t it, Abu? Let’s get out of here – I’ll call him and see what the fuck he’s playing at.’
...
Matt Rix placed the listening device receiver on the bedside table and quickly dialled JJ’s number.
‘Hey, mate, we’ve got a problem here – grab TC and come down to my room.’
‘Be two minutes, boss.’
Matt hung up and looked again at the receiver, amazed by the conversation he had just heard take place in Faisal’s room.
Shit…I’m not sure I like where this is going, he thought.
...
Hassan al-Britani and Abu Brutali left the Hotel New House the same way they had arrived. They walked in silence to the top of the street, where Hassan stopped and turned to face Abu. He waited for a couple of young men who had alighted from the tram to walk past. It was now just past six am and soon the streets of Sultanahmet would be alive again, crowded with people.
‘We need to find Khan and get that case. If Steph smells a rat, we won’t get out of this city alive, Abu, let alone this country.’ Hassan pulled his phone out and punched in Faisal’s number. It rang out. He tried again with the same result.
‘Let’s get down to the Sultan Ahmed Mosque. It’s just do
wn the road; perhaps the pious bastard is hanging around there after the early morning prayers.’
The two of them headed down the hill towards Sultanahmet Park.
...
From across the street, Faisal watched the two ISIS operatives walk away. He had been sitting at the small cafe since returning from prayers. He stretched his legs, grateful for the outdoor gas heater that stood above his table, then rubbed his hands together and shoved them in his shalwar kameez to protect them further against the cold. He had been on the verge of returning to his room when he’d thought better of the idea, and his caution had been rewarded on seeing the two Brits coming out unexpectedly. He drained his coffee then paid the bill and headed for the hotel.
23
ISTANBUL
The single knock at the door alerted Matt to their arrival. Todd and JJ were dressed and ready to go. In variations of blue jeans and black windbreakers, the two of them looked like they were special forces trying to disguise themselves as tourists, which of course they were. As they entered the room, JJ handed Matt a takeaway coffee from the cafe downstairs. The three men sat down on the couches arranged on either side of the low brown table next to the window.
‘What’s the situation then?’ asked Todd.
‘Well, about thirty minutes ago, the two Brit guys that Steph has working as part of her supposed “Afghan CIA cell” were in Faisal Khan’s room looking for the case,’ Matt said.
‘Just a tad rude, arriving uninvited,’ JJ remarked. ‘I hope Khan killed them and them him?’ He laughed.
‘No such luck, mate; Khan wasn’t even there – and neither was the case, by the sounds of it. They definitely had it in for him though, and it was obvious from what they were saying that they’ve turned against Steph. In any case, they didn’t find the nuke, but they found some explosives – not that we should be surprised by that, given who we’re dealing with.’ Matt took a sip of coffee, he winced at how hot it was then looked up to the faces of the other two to gauge their reactions; they were both stony-faced and professional.
‘So where’s Khan gone?’ asked Todd.
‘I don’t know where he went, but I do know where he is now: he’s back in his room. I heard him come back and he’s been pottering around, coughing and snorting and doing God knows what in there ever since.’
‘Easy days then. Let’s get in there and pick him up, you can contact Steph and we can deliver the nuke to the British military guys who took out the Russians.’ JJ slapped his giant paw on his leg.
‘Nope, that’s not going to work. I think Khan has hidden the case. We need to keep monitoring him and be there during the handover. I have a feeling that Steph is being screwed by these guys.’ Matt trailed off; he lifted the lid off the paper cup and blew softly into the coffee to cool it down. ‘Why else would they turn up at Khan’s room looking for the case from Khan when he was always going to give it to them in the first place? Other than them wanting this over quick, it just doesn’t make any sense.’
‘What have they got to gain by double-crossing Steph though?’ JJ countered. ‘That doesn’t make any sense either.’
‘Actually, it makes perfect sense.’ Todd stood up. ‘Think about it: they probably don’t want the actual suitcase weapon at all. Steph might want to get it off the streets, or perhaps her job was to have the cell destroyed and recover the weapon, and that didn’t happen. Remember, those things are big and cumbersome and the chance of detection is pretty high. It would be very complex for them to actually deploy the weapon against any meaningful target. It’s the plutonium that they’re after. They couldn’t conduct the exchange themselves, right? They’re a couple of opportunistic lads from the UK; there’s no way the Russians would trust them with it. But if these guys really do have access to ISIS, then they could use Khan as a front man to gain access to the nuke and then sell the stable plutonium for much more than they – or the CIA, I should say – paid for it. They must have thought all their Christmases had come at once when this fell into their laps. I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re part of a sleeper cell and Steph didn’t do the due diligence on them in the first place. They know ISIS would have access to scientists who could then weaponise that plutonium. It’s more than likely that they don’t even want the weapon for use in the Middle East; it’s probably destined for the States. It would be devastating.’
Matt looked at Todd, then JJ, then back to Todd. ‘Jesus, TC – where did that come from?’
‘Can you keep a secret, Matt?’
‘Yeah, I guess I could start,’ said Matt.
‘What do you think the CIA and Green Berets were training to do during the Cold War? This exact same thing against the Russians. The CIA would infiltrate their ranks, steal their codes and weapons and then the Green Berets would deploy inside their territories to detonate their own weapons against them. It’s a little more complicated than that, but you get the picture.’
‘You need to ring Steph, Matt,’ JJ said urgently. ‘I mean, she needs to know what the hell is going on.’
‘I agree,’ said Todd. ‘She might be able to get some real resources onto this before those arseholes get hold of the case. You have to hand it to your man Faisal though – he’s not stupid.’
Matt took out his mobile and looked at the screen. ‘I hate talking to this chick.’
‘Just get it over with, boss,’ JJ advised. ‘Then we can wrap this mess up.’
Matt pressed the only number on the speed dial. The ring tone at the other end confirmed the international connection had been established, and a scrambled voice assured Matt the connection was secure.
‘Matt, how’s it all going?’ Steph said. She sounded relaxed. He visualised her sitting in the high alpine town, looking smug over a cup of warm chocolate.
‘Your guys are in the process of double-crossing Faisal Khan,’ Matt declared without preamble. He waited for Steph to respond, but she didn’t. ‘Steph, did you hear me? They broke into his hotel room and would have killed him. Now they’re after the case.’
‘Yes, I heard you.’ Her voice was faint. He heard her cough into her hand, away from the handset. ‘What are you going on about, Matt? The last I heard from them was that the drop-off was going to be later on today. Job complete, everyone can go home.’
Trying to repress his irritation, Matt said, ‘Listen, Steph, I’ll spell it out slowly for you so you can keep up. Your boys had no intention of going through with the drop-off you’d arranged. They went to Khan’s room early this morning and were planning to take the case by force – but he’d hidden it.’
‘Wait – what? You’re not joking, are you?’
‘I heard them, Steph; I had a listening device in his room. I assume they’re working for the Islamic State; it doesn’t take a genius to work that out. Jesus, Steph – you’ve just bought ISIS a nuclear weapon.’
‘No, that’s impossible.’ Steph muttered something inaudible and then lapsed into silence. Matt could hear her tapping something on her desk. After a few moments she said, ‘Matt, are you still there?’
‘Yes, of course I’m bloody here, I’m waiting for you to tell me the plan! And I’m here because you sent me here – and now there’s a nuclear weapon floating around the streets of Istanbul! What are we going to do, Steph? Huh? Let me tell you a good place to start: we need some reinforcements over here asap and we need to seal the place shut. You need to inform your bosses to tell the White House that we’ve probably lost this thing and have them mobilise the Turkish military.’
Steph fell silent again. Matt looked at the enquiring faces of Todd and JJ and shrugged.
Finally, the CIA agent spoke. ‘Matt, we haven’t lost anything. You see, there was no mission.’
‘What?! What the hell are you saying?’ Matt snapped.
‘I’m saying you’re on your own, Matt. I don’t know you, you don’t know me. That’s what I’m saying.’
‘Don’t you dare, Steph! We need to get this sorted. You can’t run from this like you ran f
rom Afghanistan.’
‘Bye, Matt – until we meet again.’
‘NO! I swear to God, I will kill you, you fucking bitch!’ But he was talking to a dial tone. ‘Jesus!’ Matt threw the phone across the room and it hit the wall, hard.
‘So, it sounds like that’s all sorted then,’ said JJ, getting slowly to his feet.
‘She’s dropped us in it; left us here with no support. Can you believe that?’ Matt made a fist and thought about putting it through a wall. ‘We can’t run away from this; we need to get this bloody suitcase and secure it. We need to find those Brits who tried to intercept the handover, find out what their role is in this whole bloody mess.’
From the floor, Matt’s phone started to ring.
‘Change of heart, perhaps?’ said JJ.
Todd picked up the phone and tossed it to Matt.
Matt looked at the number; he didn’t recognise it, but he knew it was local. ‘Hello?’
‘Matt, it’s Rachel.’
‘What?’ Matt took the phone from his ear and looked at the screen again, then put it back to his ear. ‘What?’ he repeated.
‘We need to talk, Matt.’
‘Now’s not a good time, Rachel. I’ll call you in a few days.’
‘Wait – don’t you want to know how I got your number?’
He blinked. It was a good question; what the hell was she doing calling on the phone that Steph had given him? ‘I’m listening,’ he said.
‘We need to meet; there are some things we should discuss in person.’
Matt sighed and ran his hand through his hair. ‘Rachel, like I said, this is going to have to wait. Seriously, I am under the pump here on an important job and just don’t have the time to—’
‘I know everything, Matt. You’re trying to find a nuclear weapon – and so am I.’
Matt fell back onto the couch. He looked up at JJ, wide-eyed, shaking his head slowly from side to side in disbelief. ‘Okay,’ he said into the phone. ‘I’m staying at the President Hotel. There’s a cafe downstairs – we can meet in there.’
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