A Fatal Game

by Nicholas Searle

  ‘I’m sorry,’ said Mr Masoud, ‘but I feel a little fatigued. I’m nearly always tired at the moment. I hardly get any sleep at night.’

  ‘I apologize if I’ve been insensitive,’ said Zaki, looking abashed. ‘When you have so much to contend with. My mouth runs away with me occasionally.’

  ‘No, it’s perfectly all right. I’m just tired.’

  ‘Of course. I’ll go. But if there is anything, just let me know. If you need anyone to help in the shops, I know some very good boys.’

  It took some effort for Mr Masoud to hesitate. ‘That’s extraordinarily kind of you. I know how busy you are, so it must have taken something to make the offer. It’s all right, though. The family have all rallied round wonderfully.’

  When Zaki had left Mr Masoud felt the rage bubbling still, bringing on his heartburn. ‘Why has this man come here?’ he said. ‘With his stupid comments about this society and these people. These Westerners, he calls people here. But we’re all Westerners. This is where we are, this is who we are. Does he just want to show how fortunate he is at my expense? I hardly know him.’

  ‘He was only paying his respects,’ replied his wife. ‘It’s normal. I don’t like the man either. He’s vain and he shows off. He has no modesty. But it was decent of him to pay a visit. It’s what you would expect from an honourable man.’

  ‘He is a man without honour or belief. But he is someone with an angle. Zaki Ibrahim always has an angle.’

  7

  ‘I don’t know why you’ve dragged me down to London, Stuart,’ said Jake’s boss.

  ‘George, you have to pull Jake Winter from the case. I’m taking heat from the Home Sec and from the police.’

  ‘From the police? First I’ve heard.’

  ‘Perhaps you’re not speaking to the people who matter.’

  ‘Possibly not. Do we really have to go through this again? The agent won’t deal with anyone else, it’s that simple. I’ve tested this extensively, believe me.’

  ‘He’ll have to deal with whoever we field, I’m afraid. I thought the first rule of this business was that until an asset had been handed on to another case officer they hadn’t been fully recruited.’

  ‘So did I. But we live in exceptional times.’

  ‘I’ve no patience for the cult of the individual.’

  ‘Nor have I. But Jake leaves the case and our boy walks away.’

  ‘Walks straight into prison, you mean. Does not pass Go.’

  ‘It’s a risk he’d be prepared to take, I’m sure of it. He knows well enough.’

  ‘How do you know?’

  George looked wearily at Stuart Calloway. ‘Because we conduct bloody due diligence. We watch the recordings of the meetings. We cross-question the case officers. We get the psychiatrist on the case. We read the tea leaves, we sacrifice goats to the god of true sources and we examine the entrails of especially prescient lizards for signs. Jake and Leila have been through this with the source several times, assiduously. The management team has looked at options. We’re certain that we can’t withdraw Jake. We can’t afford to freak the guy out.’

  ‘Couldn’t Jake Winter fall ill? Break a leg, die even? These things happen.’

  ‘If we told the source that, he’d probably still walk. That’s what the psychologists say. He has a dependency that may not be healthy but is what it is. It’s a fine balance. It’s a tightrope we’re walking anyway. After the station attack he’s very twitchy.’

  ‘Aren’t we all? And if I insist?’

  ‘You’re not in a position to insist, Stuart. You can push it and you can have Jake’s resignation and mine. I can’t speak for the rest of the team.’

  ‘There’s no need to be melodramatic. This is a reasoned conversation between friends.’

  ‘I’m not being melodramatic. I’m trying to give you a sense of the reality. We’re in the middle of something quite dramatic in itself and none of us can afford to be drama queens. There’s a lot at stake. What we need to do is to move forward slowly and carefully without distractions. If we lose this case now we lose sight of what this group is doing. If you want my view, which you probably don’t, it’s more than tenuous as things stand. It looks so much like the prelude to the station attack, and I sense the police are hanging on in there simply because we’re so bullish and upbeat. And I’m not broadcasting the fact that Jake’s involved.’

  ‘All the more reason to get him out of there.’

  George sighed. ‘We’ve been through this, Stuart. I would if I could. My professional judgement is that we can’t.’

  ‘We need to bring this home. We’re scrabbling for cred as we are. We need a success.’

  ‘It needs to be brought home safely, though.’

  ‘Of course safely. Of bloody course. Bloody hell, George, what do you think I am? We have the technical. And the data feeds are spectacular, from what I’m being told.’

  ‘They’ll only take us so far. There’s nothing incriminating on the technical. Maybe minor offences, nothing that would attract custodial sentences. If we were to arrest at this moment all it’d do would be to alert them to our interest and stop them for a few months.’

  ‘We need to do better than that.’

  ‘Agreed. But we need more if we want to keep this running. The data sets tell us everything about the boys’ normal lives but nothing at all about their secret plans and intentions. We can only be grateful that everything the source has told us that could be corroborated has been. I can’t pretend that the police aren’t nervous as hell about the bits that can’t be verified. The really hairy stuff. As we stand, though, there’d be nothing on which to charge these boys apart from these trivial offences. Unless another of them apart from the source decides to turn, which is unlikely. As it is, his evidence on its own would be torn apart without corroboration. Especially after Abu Omar. The CPS think there’s the faint possibility of conspiracy charges but they’re not optimistic. They see everything, day by day. Everything depends on the agent.’

  ‘Disruption? Not in favour at all at present, but how’d it look?’

  ‘They’d be back, I’m sure. And sooner or later it’d all come out when they carried out their next outrage. We’d have endangered a source, we’d have screwed up a live terrorist investigation, and the conspirators would live to kill another day. You know how it would play. The spooks had a handle on these people and dropped the ball.’

  ‘So we’re agreed? Full speed ahead. Don’t frighten the horses. Or the cops. Don’t give them extra stuff to fret about. And think again about bloody Jake. It’s a complete hostage to fortune.’

  ‘No, it isn’t.’

  ‘Do you trust him? After he bolloxed everything with Abu Omar?’

  ‘Did he actually, Stuart? You’re leaping to conclusions from circumstantial evidence. You’re hearing the media reports and not the facts. Jake’s playing the faithful soldier at the moment, at the inquiry, not telling any porkies but not volunteering any of the embarrassing detail.’

  ‘For how long, though? I ask again. Do you trust him?’

  ‘I do. And to answer your first question: for as long as nothing comes along to disrupt that highly attuned moral compass of his.’

  ‘Is that supposed to be a warning to me?’

  George sighed. ‘Come on, Stuart. You’re a big boy. You can deal with it. We’ve more substantial things to deal with than our egos.’

  ‘The inquiry has been adjourned for a day. Legal wrangles, apparently.’

  ‘That’s the reason you called me down?’

  ‘We’ve no idea what this is about. Our counsel and those for the survivors and the victims’ families have been excluded. We’re hearing that the Chair is in discussion with the counsel for the inquiry, but nothing more.’

  ‘So?’

  ‘So there’s peril here. God knows what tomorrow will herald. They may bring out some dirt about Jake Winter. That’s where the smart money is.’

  ‘Should I warn him to be careful?’


  ‘God, no. It was an inspired moment when the lawyers told us that anyone appearing at this thing should get their own personal legal advice.’

  ‘You know how I felt about that.’

  ‘Water under the bridge, George. It was correct, though, wasn’t it, in hindsight? None of us could actually visualize a situation where the legal interests of the organization might diverge from those of the individual. This could be the moment.’

  ‘We owe it to him to protect him.’

  ‘Not if he’s done something naughty that he hasn’t told anyone about.’

  ‘What makes you imagine he has?’

  ‘Nothing at all. But there has to be some reason why they need this confab right in the middle of his evidence. Just be clear on this, George. If something appalling emerges tomorrow regarding Jake Winter, you will bring me his head on a platter by close of play. And we will deal with the consequences.’

  ‘I’ll make it easy for you. If that’s what you want, you can have both our heads and I’ll DHL them to you. Special delivery. But it won’t come to that.’

  ‘Won’t it?’

  The safe house was cold. Jake fiddled with the gas fire.

  ‘So it’s on,’ said Leila.

  ‘Home game against Real Madrid next Wednesday,’ said Rashid.

  He went through the details of the meeting.

  ‘He said it was the last time you’d see him?’

  ‘It may be.’

  ‘How will you receive your final instructions? And the stuff he says he’ll provide?’

  Rashid shrugged. ‘No idea. We’ll find out next week, I suppose. He said he’d find some way of giving us things individually. He was hot on the security thing.’

  ‘How would he do that? Use the messaging app?’

  ‘How would I know?’

  ‘The explosive devices. Any idea what they’ll be? Belts, rucksacks?’

  ‘Not a clue. I’ve told you everything he told us.’

  ‘We’re just trying to think this through. What about the things you have to obtain?’

  ‘We’re going to start on that straight away. Abdullah will be doing most of that. White face. We’ll collect everything together at the room.’

  ‘And what about Sunday?’

  ‘He was clear we shouldn’t have anything incriminating on us. No weapons, no documents, nothing. It’s just a rehearsal.’

  ‘Right. But we can’t ignore what happened with Abu Omar.’

  ‘I know. I was just thinking that.’ He breathed deeply. ‘Bloody hell. But from what he said I think he meant it.’

  ‘This is where we need to be really careful,’ said Jake.

  ‘You’re telling me.’

  ‘I am,’ said Jake.

  ‘I’m not sure I’m up for this,’ said Rashid.

  ‘That’s only to be expected,’ said Leila. ‘We’ve been through this.’

  ‘Think about it, though,’ said Jake. ‘What options do we have?’

  ‘I’m just saying, man,’ said Rashid. ‘I know where we are. I should have walked when the sheikh said.’

  ‘Not sure that would have done any good,’ said Jake. ‘I don’t think they’d have let you just walk.’

  ‘I know. I’m just saying.’

  ‘If it comes to the point, just speak to us. We need to work together. You can trust us on this. You can trust us on everything.’

  Rashid simply looked at him.

  ‘But will it work?’

  ‘I think so,’ she said. ‘But no one can make any guarantees. If we’re professional and work together, that increases the chances. Thing is, we don’t have much time. We need to work out how the three of us get through the next few days, in practical terms. You want out, just say. At least we’d have clarity on one thing.’

  ‘I’m so scared. I’m afraid I’ll show it.’

  ‘It’s normal,’ said Leila calmly. ‘Think about it. You’re on a suicide mission and everyone’s blasé?’

  ‘Adnan seems to be.’

  ‘You’re not Adnan. It’s natural for you to be on edge. To put it mildly. And also to try to hide it from each other with varying degrees of success. They won’t think anything of that. They’ll be too busy thinking the same things about themselves.’

  Rashid sighed. ‘Yeah, I know. I guess.’

  ‘We need to talk about contingencies,’ said Jake. ‘I don’t mean to be harsh but we need to get this sorted. If it starts to go pear-shaped and we have no contingencies then we really are in trouble.’

  ‘Contingencies?’

  ‘Yes. If A happens, we do B. If on the other hand X happens, we do Y. We need to be clear and precise, and what we decide needs to be easy to remember and to do. Right?’

  ‘Yeah. I guess so.’

  ‘This is boring,’ said Leila, ‘but important. We need to agree some basics.’

  ‘All right.’

  ‘First point. If at any stage for any reason you need to step out of this, that needs to happen in the right way, so that you don’t cause yourself any harm.’

  ‘What reasons?’

  ‘You tell me. If you genuinely think you’ve come under real suspicion from the others, for starters,’ said Jake. ‘If you’ve been asked to do something you know you can’t, legally or for other reasons. Or if it all gets on top of you and you genuinely can’t cope. But you need to realize that this is a difficult thing to do, so you have to be certain you have no alternative. There’s no way back afterwards. We can’t predict every circumstance, and you’d have to be moving quickly. We can’t design the perfect response for every situation. Much of it would be done on the hoof, in emergency mode.’

  ‘So what do I do?’

  ‘Make yourself safe first. Most of this is basic common sense but it bears saying. Don’t say anything to the others, don’t make it obvious you’re getting out. Be as normal as you can in your demeanour. Disappear between meetings. Take yourself to somewhere they can’t find you. Not home, not somewhere you usually go. Ditch your mobile.’

  ‘Where should I go?’ At times like these he seemed helpless, a child.

  ‘I don’t know. Think of somewhere. Go and have a look. Check it out. Then if you need to use it, give yourself ten minutes or so to clear your head. Make sure you’re not followed. Then make your way to one of the safe places we’ve talked about. But only afterwards. You remember them?’

  ‘The list. Yeah.’

  ‘Remind yourself of them. Make sure they’re engraved on your heart. Get yourself to the nearest one. There’s a phone at each one. All you need to do is to switch it on and press the green button. We’ll be there in a few minutes. If you really feel you’re in imminent danger then make your way to the nearest police station. Report there and give them my number to call.’

  ‘And they’ll let me in?’

  ‘They won’t know who the hell you are. So you’ll probably need to convince them that your life is in danger. Once they call the number we’ll get things moving as quickly as possible. And as smoothly as possible.’

  ‘What happens then?’

  Jake looked at Leila before replying. ‘Then you’re safe. It’s over. It’s time to think of the rest of your life. It’ll be messy, but it’ll be all right.’

  ‘It’s going to come to that one day, though, isn’t it? I’ll have to leave my family behind. This place.’

  ‘I think so,’ said Jake. ‘This is where we are. There’s no going back and starting again.’

  ‘We need to be ready for other things, too,’ said Leila. ‘Like if you’re stopped by the police.’

  ‘That’s not going to happen, is it?’ he said.

  ‘I hope not. But we can’t rule it out. For obvious reasons, we can’t tell every single police officer in the country that you’re working for us.’

  ‘So what do I do?’

  ‘You need to be completely compliant. You need to be polite and you need to do everything you’re asked, instantly. This applies especially if the officer is armed
. Don’t resist and above all keep your hands away from your body and wide open.’

  ‘This is getting serious, isn’t it, man?’

  ‘This is well past serious,’ said Jake. ‘But it’ll be all right. Trust us.’

  Rashid understood now, with the full force of a jolt in the stomach, what his future, in this next week, held. He’d known, in a way, before, but now it became real. The hours of planning with the other boys. The walk to the stadium, rucksack on back. The inchoate sense of being followed, with the concrete knowledge that somewhere behind him they were indeed following him. The shouted challenge. The gun pointed at his head. The panicked expression of the officer in his plain clothes and baseball cap or beanie with POLICE in big letters – he’d seen all the TV series and the films. After that, what?

  Rashid had been delivered home and they were back in the office.

  George had returned from London and dropped by, leaning on the door jamb and looking distracted.

  ‘So it’s all go for next week.’

  ‘Looks like it,’ said Jake. ‘We’ll see. That’s our aiming point.’

  ‘The police know?’

  ‘I’ve done a verbal briefing of the SIO. We’re writing up the report.’

  ‘Action stations, then. They’ll call an immediate ELG.’

  ‘Yeah. Everything’ll ratchet up.’

  ‘The ELG will need to consider the risks again.’

  ‘Losing the faith, George? Or is Stuart?’

  ‘No. Stuart’s as keen as ever. Sees the possibility of redemption.’

  ‘But?’

  ‘It’s easy for him to say.’

  ‘He deals with the consequences too.’

  ‘I know. But at one remove. I’m not sure about this at all.’

  ‘None of us is. Is this about me again?’

  ‘It’s the whole thing, Jake.’

  ‘How many bloody times do we have to go through this, George? I made my mistake. I’m not going to mess up again.’

  ‘Jake,’ said Leila.

  ‘I know, I know. I’m not normally like this, blah-di-blah. Sorry.’

  ‘It’s understandable,’ said George.

  ‘Bloody unlike me, though. That what you were going to say?’