The Winter Man

by Perry Bhandal

  ‘I won’t be long.’

  He left the room, nodding to the vigilant heavily armed officers who were standing on either side of the door.

  Rainer parked outside the police barracks and made his way down a gloomy corridor. He knocked on a door. Michael opened it, his hair shorn, the stubble gone, his clothing simpler, faded jeans and a shirt.

  His office was small and sparsely furnished, most of its floor space was taken up by boxes of DVDs and data storage drives. One wall was dominated by computer equipment. A single photograph showed Michael with a woman. He looked very different. The office would not have been so cramped had it not been for the cot and locker in the corner. Rainer sighed. He slept here in this dingy office because he had no other home. The nature of his deep undercover work would not allow it. His manufactured identity that had been tested again and again by police, secret services, and the criminal underworld he had come to serve had not allowed it. Just then he felt a terrible shadow fall upon this room and his heart fell as if coming free of its moorings. Michael must have seen the look.

  ‘What’s wrong?’

  Rainer pushed the feeling away.

  ‘When did you get out?’

  ‘Yesterday. Still waiting for the entire edifice that I built up to collapse,’ replied Michael.

  Rainer shook his head. ‘Seven years undercover.’

  ‘What can I do for you, my friend?’

  ‘Nothing. just came to tell you I’m retiring.’

  ‘Not before time. You look like shit.’

  Rainer smiled. He looked around, the empty coffee cups, takeaway containers.

  ‘You’re eligible for early retirement. Maybe time to get out for good. Find yourself a good woman, settle down.’

  Michael scoffed. ‘I had a good woman. Fucked that up, remember?’

  ‘She left you, Mike.’

  ‘She didn’t leave me. She left the man I became.’

  ‘How is she?’

  ‘Married. Kids. Lives by the sea. All the shit we were going to do.’

  Michael looked around the room.

  ‘Job eats you up. You of all people should know that.’

  ‘You could still do normal.’

  Michael scoffed. ‘Normal. Nice.’ He gestured round. ‘How can anything be normal after this?’

  Rainer’s gaze settled on the boxes of DVDs.

  ‘I thought it was all online now, digital.’

  ‘Used to be the safest place but now with all the tracking, NSA, GCHQ - physical product is on the up. They’re changing, adapting. Real messengers for the important stuff, physical product, they’re moving off the net when we’re getting good at tracking and moving into the real world where we are cutting back on manpower and resources.’

  Michael picked up a DVD case. The cover was a well known American film. He took out his phone and pointed the camera at the cover. Rainer stood beside him to look.

  The cover changed to one of a young boy.

  ‘Modified camera app. Shows the real cover image.’

  Michael opened the DVD, inside sat the disc, a mirror image of the American cover formatted for the shape of the disc. When Rainer passed the camera over it it changed. The image was a group of young boys.

  Michael lifted out the disc.

  ‘Put this in any player in the world and it will show you the American movie. Pass it through a tiny bit of software on a phone and it shows you what’s encrypted underneath. They’re hiding in plain sight.’

  ‘Get your phone out.’

  Rainer took out his phone. Michael scrolled the camera app icon, pressed share, found Rainer’s phone and pressed send.

  Rainer saw the share pop up on his screen and accepted it. The app installed. In all it took ten seconds.

  Michael handed the DVD to him. Rainer turned it over, pointed his camera and could now see the image underneath of the boy again, prominent on the cover.

  Michael sat on the edge of his desk.

  ‘They found him this morning. Stuffed in a suitcase and dumped in a landfill.’

  Rainer held his stare. He put the DVD on the table. The yellow casing of the one underneath was bright. A famous children’s film. Rainer pointed his camera at it and it transformed into a huddle of small faces with saucer eyes staring out. Rainer’s gaze fell on one and stayed.

  ‘The ones that did this? Halfway across the world now. Tipped off from the inside and out of our reach. You know what I’m going to do? Hunt them down and kill them myself.’

  Rainer picked up the case.

  ‘Where did you get this?’

  A raw wind pulled at Blake’s new clothes. The air was fresh and he breathed deeply of it. An optimism tugged at his heart. It was alien to him, but after all his time spent in exile, it was welcome. A part of him did not want to meet Rainer. In these short few weeks his life had changed.

  The promenade was empty this time in the morning. He crossed to the side that overlooked the pebble beach and made his way towards the pier. The sun was low in the sky lighting up the dark low clouds from below, streaks of green and yellow breaking up the mottled grey expanse, like brightly coloured rags.

  He walked past the burnt out wreck of the south pier. The sun was directly behind the structure and its yellow light filtered through the broken windows and burnt out doors.

  He continued along the promenade to where a single figure stood at the end leaning on the wall, looking out over the dark sea.

  The meeting place was shielded by a waist high wall on top of which a walkway had been constructed. It slowly narrowed until at the end there was a small circular area to stand and look out.

  He walked along it to the end. In the distance, shrouded in mist was the north pier, its fairground lights shimmering.

  He stopped next to Rainer. He turned to look at him and smiled. Rainer smiled back tightly and Blake saw a terrible sadness in his eyes that frightened him.

  ‘You look different,’ remarked Rainer.

  He in turn, looked tired. Blake made out dark lines under his eyes that were not there when they had last met. The inside of his collar of his white shirt was dirty. He wondered if it was the same one. The suit looked the same.

  ‘I feel different,’ he said.

  Rainer looked out across the water in silence. A flock of seagulls flew in formation overhead, squawking.

  The wind picked up and found its way into the warm recesses under Blake’s clothes. He pulled the coat tighter, buttoned up the collar.

  Rainer held out a brightly coloured case. Blake took it. A famous American children’s film.

  ‘What’s this?’

  Rainer handed him his phone.

  ‘Look at it through this.’

  Confused, Blake took the phone and passed it over the cover.

  ‘I’m so sorry,’ whispered Rainer

  On the cover were the faces of many young children. It took a moment for Blake to see his daughter’s amongst the crowd of tiny faces.

  His vision contracted. The coloured photons glittered off his fovea, the small face filled his vision.

  Blake felt the connections to his just discovered new life fall away. Rainer kept talking but Blake could not hear him.

  The small grainy face began to blur in his hand. The case began to crack from the pressure of his grip.

  He had forsaken her. Forgotten her. Abandoned her. Left her to the wolves. Going for walks along the beach, when he should have been looking for her. Laying, warm and safe in bed when she was out there unprotected, crying for her father, waiting, wishing for him to come and find her and wondering why he did not.

  His pathetic and weak legs buckled. Rainer moved to catch him, but he did not need him because inside him the dark thing, silent for so long, rose.

  His heart threatened to wrench from his chest, but only briefly for the dark thing had already reached it, emptying it. It swallowed back his tears as the last remnants of his newborn self withered and died.

  The case broke in his grip.
>
  He looked out across the sea trembling with rage. He handed the case back to Rainer, his expression and demeanor changed so much that the man took a step back.

  ‘Who did this?’ whispered the darkness

  ‘We’ve traced its origin to a facility not far from here. We can take you.’

  ‘We?’

  ‘Yeah. I have someone who can get us inside.’

  ‘I’m not going there to arrest them.’

  ‘Neither are we,’ replied Rainer

  CHAPTER 29

  took everything from me...wake them for our guests...the sacrifice...

  Rainer pulled up to a broken down warehouse. Blake in the passenger seat. A van was parked nearby. Behind it a top of the line Range Rover. Blake followed Rainer through the warehouse door and into a lit area beyond.

  Michael was standing at a long table. He was dressed in a black suit, the rings back on his fingers. Josie was with him. There were maps, weapons and C4 explosives strewn across the table. There was also a case full of cash. Michael looked up to see Rainer.

  ‘She gave me no choice.’

  Rainer shook his head at Josie.

  ‘How are you even walking?’

  Josie showed him a pack of tablets.

  ‘Morphine Sulphate. Top of the line.’

  ‘You sure about this?’

  ‘I’m sure,’ she coughed. ‘Never felt better.’

  Rainer pulled her to him.

  ‘Just don’t do anything stupid.’

  ‘You know me.’

  Rainer let her go. She saw Blake. Walked over to him.

  ‘I’m sorry. Didn’t know we were all on the same side.’

  Blake said nothing. He barely acknowledged her. There was a terrible resignation in his eyes.

  Rainer joined Michael at the table.

  ‘You check your cover?’

  ‘Yeah. It’s still intact, but I don’t know for how much longer. My phone’s stopped ringing which is always a bad sign. We have to move quickly if we’re going to do this.’

  He gestured to Blake.

  ‘That him?’

  ‘Yeah,’ replied Rainer.

  ‘This a one way trip?’

  ‘Not as far as I know.’

  ‘You may want to tell him that. I’ve seen that look before.’

  ‘Let’s just get started.’

  Blake walked over. Michael turned satellite photographs toward him and Rainer.

  ‘These are the latest images but they’re over a month old.’ He traced out a line on the map.

  ‘This is the entrance. We’ll get x-rayed on the way in. This here looks to be the main processing area. Once we’ve isolated any minors we’ll exit here, where you Rain and Josie will be. This is the only bridge across the river for twenty miles. The van will be parked on the other side.’

  ‘How many are we up against?’

  ‘We can expect at least ten heavily armed at all times. They won’t allow weapons inside but you can be rest assured that anyone on site to do a deal will have their own team holding outside.’

  ‘What’s your cover?’

  ‘International distributors. Looking to supply our outfits in Belgium, Holland, France and Germany.’

  Michael turned to Blake.

  ‘You’ll be my bodyguard so just let me do the talking.’ He looked him up and down. ‘I brought an appropriate outfit.’

  ‘Let’s get moving.’

  They gathered up the weapons, satellite info and began preparations.

  Half an hour later they exited, Blake was dressed the same as Michael, expensive plain black suit, open neck shirt.

  ‘Blake, you’re with Michael. Josie with me.’

  Michael and Blake got into the Range Rover. Rainer and Josie loaded the van. Both vehicles moved off.

  The van and Range Rover sped along the country road. The Range Rover overtook.

  Michael drove fast as Blake looked out of the window.

  Josie exchanged a look with Blake as the Range Rover accelerated past.

  ‘There’s still time Josie. You don’t have to do this.’

  Josie remained silent. Then she turned to Rainer.

  ‘I thought all I had to do was endure. Because sooner or later you would come. But no-one did.’

  Rainer started to speak. Josie laid a hand on his arm.

  ‘I know you put everything on the line for me,’ her voice quivered. ‘But it still wasn’t enough. The great Sam Rainer not enough.’

  Rainer stayed silent.

  ‘They took everything from me. Now I’m going to take everything from them.’

  The vehicles cleared a rise. In the distance sat a farm and warehouse complex.

  They pulled into a side road and drove for a few minutes before stopping. The Range Rover pulled up alongside. Michael lowered the passenger side window and leant across.

  ‘You’ve got thirty minutes to get into position.’

  ‘We’ll be there,’ replied Rainer.

  Blake looked across at Josie. Blake nodded in return. She did likewise. Michael put the car into gear and moved off.

  A few minutes later, the trees gave way to an open free fire zone. Blake and Michael approached a large set of gates. Automatic lights kicked in. Michael stopped at a camera post. He wound down the window.

  Inside a high tech office, pattern recognition software plotted Michael’s face onscreen. A match. A dossier came up.

  ‘You’re running a little late.’

  ‘If the party’s over we can take our money elsewhere.’

  The voice clicked off. Michael looked at Blake. They waited. The voice clicked back on.

  ‘Don’t deviate from the marked route.’

  The gates slid across. Michael nudged the car forward. A red light marked STOP appeared up front between two lorries. Michael stopped.

  ‘X-Rays.’

  The light changed to a green ‘Go’ and they continued on towards another gate guarded by masked and armed men. The gate was opened and they moved across an open lit area towards a large warehouse structure. Cargo doors slid across revealing a large floodlit area beyond. Boxes were stacked high. Rooms like offices lined one side. Masked guards stood watching at the periphery of the room, holstered shock sticks at their sides. Everyone was masked.

  In the middle stood a smartly dressed Caldwell consulting with a group of men, all suited. He was the only one unmasked. Blake sat up at the sight of him.

  Michael noticed the change in Blake.

  ‘You know him?’

  ‘Saw him at a place called Wunderland.’

  ‘He see you?’

  ‘No.’

  Michael handed him a mask.

  ‘Put this on.’

  Michael stopped the car at a gesture from one of the guards. They got out. One of the men, Giles, detached himself from Caldwell’s retinue and approached.

  ‘I am afraid you’ve missed the auction,’ he said in a clipped English accent.

  ‘Nothing left?’ replied Michael.

  ‘Unfortunately not.’

  ‘How many were there?’

  ‘We had fifteen premium in this week’s batch,’ replied Giles nonchalantly.

  ‘What were the bids?’

  ‘Now that’s confidential but I can tell you two went for the high hundreds.’

  Caldwell stepped alongside Giles.

  ‘We have another batch coming in next month,’ he offered cheerfully.

  ‘Do you have pictures?’ asked Michael.

  ‘No. But we have a couple awaiting shipment to the Americas. Give you an idea of the quality you can expect. Would you like to view them?’ asked Caldwell.

  ‘That would be excellent, thank you,’ said Michael.

  Caldwell gestured to a side room.

  ‘Giles, if you could wake them and bring them in for our guests.’

  Blake and Michael followed Caldwell into the room. It was like a small fashion walkway. Large flatscreens hung dormant high up in the corners. The remains of a luxury
buffet lined one side of the wall. A number of champagne bottles remained unopened. Caldwell moved towards them.

  ‘Champagne?’ offered Caldwell

  ‘That would be wonderful,’ replied Michael. ‘Can they be traced?’ he asked after a sip.

  ‘No. We are very careful. The ones we employ to physically collect the merchandise are expendable cut outs. Any link back to us dies with them.’

  Blake thought back to William Straw holding his eye stumbling out into the corridor and slumping to the floor. Then to the memory of the silhouetted man kneeling down and removing two metallic darts from his neck and face.

  ‘Good,’ said Michael, flicking a look at an agitated Blake.

  A door opened and a girl, fifteen years old, pretty, stepped out. A slightly smaller figure trailed behind her. Both were dressed in robes. Caldwell sidled up to Michael and handed a glass to him. The girl came to a stop. The smaller girl stepped from behind to stand beside her.

  Her hair was long. Eyes lined. She looked a little underfed.

  ‘Sara,’ whispered Blake

  Sara looked up blankly at her father.

  ‘Fucking he…’ was all the masked guard could utter as Blake slammed his fist into his throat knocking him choking to the floor.

  Michael was quick. He turned, but Caldwell had already secreted a blade. Michael grabbed him. They struggled. Caldwell was far stronger than he looked. He forced Michael to his knees. Through the open door Blake could see guards rushing towards them.

  ‘Get out!’ screamed Michael.

  Blake grabbed Sara. The other girl turned for the door. Blake grabbed her hand and hauled both screaming through the door they came through. Blake turned and saw Michael held down on his knees. Caldwell smiled and sliced the knife across Michael’s throat.

  Blake kicked the door closed. He bolted across the room to another on the far side, Both girl’s hands in his. Blake kicked the door off its hinges and dove through.

  The large area was lined with bunk beds. Blake ducked along an aisle aiming for the door across the other side of the area.

  The door Blake was aiming for was ripped open. Blake stopped, veered towards another set of doors. Those were ripped open. He turned. More doors opened.