by Mike Winter
Mike Winter
Rogue
First published by DN Publishing in 2017
Copyright © Mike Winter, 2017
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise without written permission from the publisher. It is illegal to copy this book, post it to a website, or distribute it by any other means without permission.
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Contents
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Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
A message from Mike
In the Tom Black series
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First of all, thanks for downloading this Tom Black Novella - Rogue. I hope you enjoy it.
I'm really into giving things away, so for those who sign up to my readers list, you can get a free copy of the first Tom Black Novella - The First Time.
As well as this, I'll also send you the Prologue to the forthcoming Tom Black novel - Mind Games, due for release later in 2017 to whet your appetite!
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1
December 14th 2008 – Hong Kong – 16:00 (Local Time)
The Harbour Plaza Hotel had a welcoming fragrance, which was refreshing following the torrid journey Tom Black had made since his departure from Heathrow Airport the day before. He wasn’t a fan of flying at the best of times, but delays because of freak weather made it worse. The flight had been far from enjoyable; only economy class had been provided, and a combination of turbulence, less than generous leg room and a snoring passenger next to him meant Black had managed no sleep on the near thirteen-hour flight. The elevator slowly carried him from the entrance up to the lobby; hopefully, there wouldn’t be a queue for check in.
The bar at the top of the elevator was awash with a mixture of Chinese and Western businessmen, the odd holiday maker and a group of Australian revellers who looked like they’d turned up at the wrong hotel. Black was momentarily tempted to grab a beer from the bar; he’d been twelve months sober and this wasn’t the right time to fall off the wagon.
A young local woman was working on the check in desk. Thankfully it wasn’t busy.
“Good afternoon sir, can I help you?" she asked, with a perfect smile on her face, although Black doubted she was really that happy.
“Yes. I’d like to check in, please. Thomas Wood. I have a reservation for four nights.” Black had been assigned an alias for the mission. Agents always kept their Christian name when issued with an alias, as it helped them react more naturally if they were addressed by their first name.
“Ah yes, Mr Wood. We have you booked in a harbour view room on the sixteenth floor – Room 1607,” she handed him an electronic key card. “Could I see your passport and credit card please?”
Black handed her both. TEP (Threat Elimination and Prevention) had set everything up for him. A fake passport, bank account and credit card. Thomas Wood existed in the electronic world. He was a thirty-two year old from Leeds who worked in the banking sector, and he was in Hong Kong on business meeting clients. Nothing could be further from the truth. Black was here to take down a rogue TEP agent. Sensitive TEP documents had fallen into the hands of the Chinese Government, resulting in an agent being apprehended in Shanghai a few weeks earlier.
“Thank you, Mr Wood. The elevators are to your right. Do you require anything else?”
“No thank you.” Black replied shortly. The journey had taken its toll; he was tired and needed a shower and a couple of hours sleep. The dark blue suit he was wearing was becoming uncomfortable, and the white shirt beneath it would definitely not be looking or smelling fresh.
Frustratingly, the elevator was busy, packed with enthusiastic businessmen arriving back from meetings. Black struggled to fit inside with his suitcase. It seemed to stop on every floor before the sixteenth, but finally Black was where he needed to be.
Room 1607 was a short walk down the corridor, on the right-hand side. Black entered his key card into the slot and opened the heavy wooden door. The room was large enough, with a king sized bed dominating it. A flat screen television hung on the wall, with a small desk and office chair to the right-hand side. The bathroom was small, but enough for what was needed. Black threw his case on the bed, undressed and headed for a shower. He looked in the mirror. Sleep was definitely needed, the bags under his eyes made him look older than what he was. His usually neat and tidy dark brown hair looked windswept and he needed a shave. There was time for all of this. It was now four-thirty, and he wasn’t meeting the source until eleven.
2
The alarm clock on Black’s mobile phone woke him immediately. It was 9 pm. As he sat up in bed, he half wished that he hadn’t bothered sleeping. He felt lethargic and his body ached. In the back of his mind, he knew he had needed the rest. The three hours sleep he had managed to fit in would definitely be worth it in the long run.
It was dark outside now. Black looked out of the window. The hotel was surrounded by other tall skyscrapers which were all enclosed in glass. The speeding headlights on elevated highway glistened on the water behind it.
Black checked his mobile phone although there were no missed calls or messages. The email with the mission brief was downloaded to it, and Black went through it once more. Attention to detail was key. There had been a meeting set up between Black and an American informant. He was known as Jerrard, and there was no other information about him, other than that he may have been ex CIA. Will Hamilton, director of TEP had set up the meeting, as Jerrard claimed a TEP agent was selling intelligence secrets to the Chinese Government. Exactly what the secrets were hadn’t been told to Black; it was above his pay grade. His only focus on the mission was to eliminate the rogue agent. TEP had narrowed it down to one of four operatives working in that part of the world, but they needed the confirmation from Jerrard.
Black dressed into a fresh pair of clothes. Dark jeans, t-shirt and a blue hoodie were his choices for the evening. The humidity was lower than normal, although most places still had the air conditioning running at full pelt.
The meeting place with Jerrard was at a bar in Kennedy Town, which was a good twenty minutes away on the MTR, then another ten minutes in a taxi. He wanted to do a recce of the area before he arrived. There was no telling what kind of person Jerrard was. He could turn hostile if Black pushed too hard.
A text message came through on the mobile. It was Hamilton.
Status update?
Hamilton was blunt with his words. It was his way of getting straight to the point, and Black was okay with that. It ultimately saved time.
Leaving hotel. Will confirm once contact made.
The hotel bar was filling up. There was a band playing live music, the Australians were still there singing along badly to whatever song was being played, much to the annoyance of the other customers.
The smell of alcohol lingered in the air. Black ignored it as he made his way to the escalator down to the street level exit.
It was cooler outside now the sun had set. Quarry Bay MTR station was over the busy main road in front of the hotel. The neon glow of signs on the nearby buildings blended with the buzzing car lights, the stre
et still busy with pedestrians, hurriedly making their way up and down the sidewalk. Black walked over the crossing towards the MTR station. He took his Octopus card from his wallet and swiped through the security barrier and continued down the long wide corridor to the platform.
The platform for the train to Sheung Wan was still busy, even though it was well past 9 pm. There were mainly local’s with the odd scattering of westerners waiting to board the train. Black admired the glass wall which separated the platform from the track. The stations here felt a lot more modern and safe compared to its counterpart back in London.
The lights of the train appeared, and the sound of brakes were still audible from behind the glass wall. Several passengers exited before Black stepped on the train and made himself comfortable for the twenty-minute journey to Sheung Wan.
3
The meeting place was a Tequila Bar situated on Davis Street. It was located close to the water, and Black had found a bench to sit on around two hundred yards from the bar, with an unobstructed view. It was still around an hour until the meeting, and he’d done two laps of Davis Street and hadn’t seen anyone matching Jerrard’s description. He was exceptionally tall, around six foot seven, medium length blonde hair with a four-inch scar on his forehead. Definitely someone you would pick out of a crowd.
There was a small taxi rank on the opposite side. As Black sat and watched from distance, one of the battered old red and white taxi’s pulled up in the rank. A man and a woman, a little worse for wear exited the vehicle and made their way into the Tequila bar. It looked a popular destination, even for a Sunday night. Black guessed those enjoying themselves inside probably didn’t have to be up for work early the next day.
Black got up and walked passed the bar again. He checked his watch: still thirty minutes until the meeting. There was every chance Jerrard or someone working with him was surveilling Black at the same time. In fact, Black would have been surprised if they weren’t. There were hundreds of windows looking down on him from above. It was impossible to tell, so there was no point worrying about it.
Another fifteen minutes passed, and Black walked back to the bench and sat back down to await the arrival of Jerrard.
A steady stream of taxis picked up and dropped off from the nearby rank. Eventually, one of the exiting passengers was of interest to Black. He was tall, wearing a knee length black coat carrying a black leather case. His white chinos almost matched his bright blonde hair, although from distance it was impossible to tell whether he had the scarred forehead. Black’s eyes followed the man as he crossed the road and entered the Tequila Bar. Black waited for a moment to see if anyone followed behind him. No one did.
The bar was busy. Groups of young friends huddled round tables, and the couple he saw enter earlier were sat at the bar drinking cocktails. Music played in the background, although it was a genre Black wasn’t familiar with. The tall blonde haired man was sat at a table to the back of the bar. He looked up as Black walked over, the scar on his forehead now completely visible. Jerrard gave Black a welcoming smile as he continued to walk towards him with caution.
“Good evening Mr Wood,” he was well informed enough to be using Black’s alias. “Can I get you a drink? I can recommend the Whisky Sour.”
Black looked at the drink on the table as he sat down. “I’ll have a Coke. I don’t touch alcohol.” although not well informed enough to know that Black didn't drink.
Jerrard snapped his fingers at a barman as he walked by “A Coke for my friend here,” he said.
“I presume you’re Jerrard?” Black wanted to get to the point. Jerrard appeared jovial as if he wasn’t taking the situation seriously.
“You presume correctly. Is there anything else you’d like to presume?” He asked sarcastically, taking a sip of his whisky drink.
“Let’s get to the point – I believe you have information for me?”
“Maybe I have, maybe I haven’t. Christ man, how old are you anyway? When Hamilton said he was sending one of his agents to meet me, I didn’t expect him to be fresh out of kindergarten.”
Black was becoming visibly frustrated. “Don’t fuck me about. I’m not here to waste time.”
“Chill out my friend, I’m messing with you. Hamilton said you didn’t have a sense of humour. Jesus, you need to be less uptight. Don’t take this job seriously – if you do, it will consume you, day and night.”
“I’ll bear that in mind,” it was difficult to work out whether this was Jerrad’s genuine demeanour, or whether he was putting on a front, trying to be funny and friendly, luring Black in with a fake sense of trust. Either way Black kept up his guard. “I believe you know the identity of the agent selling sensitive information to the Chinese?”
“Actually, that isn’t what I said. I know the selling of information is happening, I know the guy buying it, and I know it is coming from a TEP Agent. Who that agent is, well, isn’t for me to say, but I can, and I will point you in the right direction. I’m sure you’re capable of tracking him down from there.”
Black paused and thought for a moment. It was obvious to him that Jerrard knew who the agent was, but didn’t want to tell him. He felt this was some kind of game, and he didn't like having no control of the situation.
“If you know who the agent is, what benefit is there in not telling me? It would save time for everyone.”
“Listen, son. I have my own interests to think about. People pay me money, good money for the information I can obtain. Maybe if your bosses put another zero on the wire transfer, then I’d give you the name. They didn’t, so I won’t. I’ll give you the name of the Chinese Diplomat. After that, you’re on your own.”
There was an awkward silence for a brief moment. Black wasn’t impressed by Jerrard’s patronising tone. “Maybe I’ll get the information out of you myself; like I said, I’m not here to mess around. Time is a luxury I don’t have.”
Jerrard laughed loudly, drawing attentions from the other customers. “Listen, motherfucker – I’m helping you here. I suggest you take what I’m offering, or walk away. I’ll let Mr Hamilton know his little boy scout isn’t up to the job.”
Black gritted his teeth as he resisted the temptation to throw a punch to the opposite side of the table, into Jerrard’s smirking jaw. There was no choice but to comply and take what was being offered to him; without it, there was no other lead on the rogue agent.
“What do you have for me?”
“I knew you’d come around to my way of thinking. You’ve a lot to learn in this game. Hamilton talks you up, says you’re the best young agent they’ve ever had. Maybe he’s right, but make no mistake, son, this mission will make or break you.”
“Who is the diplomat? His name, and where I can find him.”
“Under the table, you’ll find a bag. All his information is in the file. As well as something extra. Hamilton insisted.”
“I’ll be sure to tell him thank you.”
"One more thing son,” Jerrard leant over the table. “You’ve got heart, I’ll give you that, but this game will eat you up inside. It will consume your life. Forget about family, friends, a girl – they’ll always be in danger. You’ll make enemies you don’t even know about and one day, they’ll kill you, or you'll kill yourself. I hope you’re ready for the ride.”
At that moment, the image of Black’s daughter entered his mind. He hadn’t seen her since joining TEP, and that was the way he wanted to keep it. The decision wasn’t easy, but it was the only option following his return from Afghanistan. The second tour there had damaged him mentally and emotionally, and his family bore the brunt of his frustrations.
“I’m ready,” replied Black. “This is my life now. If it kills me, there’s no one who’ll miss me.”
“I’m sure that is what you believe, son.”
“So – what’s your story? You seem to know a lot about me. What are you? CIA?”
Half of the bar looked around again as Jerrard shrieked once more. “CIA? Nah, got out of
that game a long time ago. I’m, erm, with another agency. I work my own agenda and answer to no one. That’s all you’re gonna get from me, son. For now at least.”
“For now? You could at least tell me why you’re helping TEP.” Black was intrigued.
“I have my own interests,” Jerrard lowered his voice so only Black could hear him. “The man selling this information has threatened someone close to me. No one crosses me and lives to talk about it. Once you take him out, it will be a win win scenario for everyone. Apart from him.”
Black was not convinced. Everything seemed far too convenient from Jerrard’s point of view.
Jerrard stood up, his imposing frame towering over Black. “I’m sure our paths will cross again one day. It’s a very incestuous world out there,” he threw several Hong Kong Dollar notes on the table. “Tell him to keep the change.”
The bar tender walked over as Jerrard made his way out of the door. “Anything else, sir?” He asked politely.
The temptation almost took over as Black looked longingly at the row of optics hung behind the bar. A vodka would be welcome right now.
4
TEP Headquarters, Tower Gateway, London – 16:00 (Local time)
Package received
That was the text message that had been received on Will Hamilton’s mobile phone a few minutes earlier. It had been a long day; the rogue agent had been evading TEP for months and the pressure was on to apprehend him. The powers that be were unconvinced at Hamilton’s recent record and nervous at the fact he’d sent a young agent to sort out the situation. On the other hand, they believed they had given Hamilton just enough rope to hang himself with.