by R D Shah
Devon raised his eyebrows at the quick change of conversation, but then he glanced over to Sloan who, with her sunglasses on, leaning comfortably in the front passenger seat, looked as though she was fast asleep. “New lady friend, Ethan? Good for you.”
“No, she’s just a work colleague,” Munroe was quick to correct. “She works in our admin department.”
Now wasn’t the time to tell Peter he was giving up his career as a hostage negotiator. He would spin that tale another time.
“Well, how about a fry-up before you go. There’s a small cafe nearby that does a full heart-clogging spread, bacon, eggs, mushrooms, sausages, baked beans and a grease-packed side order of fried bread… Tempt you?”
Both he and Sloan had a meeting with McCitrick later that afternoon at the Ministry of Defence, but they had time. “Why not?”
Munroe walked over to the car as Sloan wound down the window. “Jax, this is Peter Devon. He was in charge of Strawberry Field when I was a boy, and… he’s family.”
Sloan reached out and shook Devon’s hand. “You poor man. He must have been a nightmare.”
“You have no idea,” Devon replied, climbing into the back seat as Munroe got in and started up the car. “He was a constant bed-wetter. In fact that was one of the more pleasant things about him.”
Sloan let out a deep chuckle as Munroe shook his head in dismay. “Don’t make me dump you by the side of the road, old man.”
Munroe put the BMW into first gear and took off at speed, leaving the sight of Strawberry Field’s red gates in his rear-view mirror as he headed into an uncertain and secretive future. The summer was approaching but with the threat of Daedalus on the horizon it could prove to be bitterly cold. Frankly, he couldn’t wait.
Epilogue
The old man tapped at the black keypad and then waited as his sliver monitor flickered brightly and the image of a middle-aged woman appeared on the screen. “Do we have a problem?” she asked politely, but with a stern resolve in her voice. “Ryan’s car crash is all over the news.”
The old man appeared in complete control, exuding authority, and he shook his head. “No, my dear. There is more than one way to skin a cat, and everything is proceeding as we expected.”
The woman looked doubtful. “Ryan’s death was not expected. How do we proceed? The timing is crucial, and this throws everything up in the air.”
The old man looked surprised by the woman’s lack of faith, and he raised one of his decrepit fingers in front of him and wagged it slowly. “Home Secretary Jacob Ryan was an unfortunate casualty of war, and although unexpected, it was not without a modicum of forewarning. As a result, we were not incapable of preparation. You may rest easy knowing those preparations are now in place.”
The old man’s vagueness did little to quench the woman’s concerns and she was already shaking her head. “With respect, sir, his position was vital if we are to move to the next stage, and as of this moment I can’t see that changing.”
“The change is already being implemented as we speak, and we have many more hands to play. If you remember correctly, it was you who had hit a brick wall until we had Ambassador Breams make a breakthrough for you. Isn’t that right?”
The woman now sat back in her chair, and although there was still much concern in her expression she nodded. “And I am grateful, as you know, but after the collateral of the attack on Parliament I am troubled by the options left to us. This is the first time in over twenty years we have had the chess pieces laid out in the right places, and there is only so much carnage we can cause before the media and the public take an interest in us. Our high profile is becoming unsustainable. And the mess with Icarus only appears to be galvanising DS5, hardening their resolve. Perhaps we should pull back and regroup.”
The suggestion received a furious look from the old man and he slammed his hand down on the table before him. “Insurrection is a dangerous game. We are all expendable in our efforts to forge a new Reich. Don’t ever forget that. Neither will we accept cowardice.” He leant towards the screen and his eyes tightened. “You, like the rest of us, are in too deep to turn back now, and neither will I allow it. We are within grasp of fulfilling our goals and I won’t allow your jittering nerves to fuck things up. We wouldn’t want the tragedy of your predecessor repeating itself.”
The warning had a notably calming effect on the woman and she relaxed in her chair. “Very well, but I ask that you tell me what your plans are, because we are running out of time.”
“Don’t worry, we have more than enough time, and even as we speak the wheels are turning, as you will see in the coming days. As for DS5, they are already dead in the water… You will see to that. Have some faith, Colonel Sinclair.”
Colonel Anne Sinclair, US section head of DS5, sat back in her chair, looking uneasy, but she nodded. “Yes, Reich Führer Bormann. You have my unwavering support and loyalty.”
Bormann looked pleased by the display and he smiled as she added, “Your father would be proud of his son. As we all are.” Sinclair raised her right arm high up in the air. “Heil the coming of the Fourth Reich.”
Acknowledgements
To Kit Nevile my editor for all his hours of help and advice in writing this book, both conventional and unorthodox. Couldn’t have got there without you.
To Tom Marshall for giving me his time and insight into the man who would become Ethan Munroe.
To Michael, Iain, Nick and everyone at Canelo Publishing.
And as always Alison.
About the Author
R.D. Shah spent his formative years in the north west of England before attending Rugby School in Warwickshire. At seventeen he attained his private pilot’s licence in Florida and shortly after attended the University of Miami where he studied motion picture & psychology before returning to the UK to work in television & leisure. He has travelled extensively throughout Europe, Russia and the Americas. R.D. holds a scuba diving licence, which he gained along the shores of the Hawaiian island of Kauai. All this experience has prepared him for a career in writing. He lives in Wiltshire with his wife and young daughter.
Also by R.D. Shah
The Harker Chronicles
Relics
The 4th Secret
The Last Judgement
The Dark Temple
The Shadow Conspiracy
The Disavowed
Project Icarus
First published in the United Kingdom in 2021 by Canelo
Canelo Digital Publishing Limited
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Copyright © R.D. Shah, 2021
The moral right of R.D. Shah to be identified as the creator of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
Ebook ISBN 9781800325296
Print ISBN 9781800325302
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places and events are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
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