Shepherd grimaced. The American clearly knew everything. ‘I gave him names and addresses, yes.’
‘What about Denis Volkov?’
Shepherd shook his head. ‘That’s not a name I’ve come across,’ he said.
‘That’s surprising because he’s Yurin’s boss. Well, was his boss. Volkov is dead now, along with a few of his minions. Yurin is apparently alive and well, albeit walking with a limp, and has already taken over from Volkov. Oleg Ivchenko is alive and well, but if Standing is on the rampage that could very well change soon.’
‘And this is down to Matt, you think?’
‘I’m sure of it,’ said Yokely. ‘But it’s a lot more complicated than just a few dead Russian hoodlums, which is why I need to know the full extent of MI5’s involvement.’
‘Officially, there is zero involvement,’ said Shepherd. ‘Matt approached me on a personal level and asked for some help. I gave him a couple of names and addresses.’
‘And Erik Markov?’
Shepherd nodded. ‘As I’m sure you know, the principal who was killed out in LA was also the victim of an intended assassination here in London. His business partner – Markov – had connections with the Solntsevskaya.’
‘You didn’t think that he might take matters into his own hands?’
‘He wanted to help his friend, that’s all. Is Markov dead, too?’
Yokely smiled. ‘Not yet. But the way things are going …’ He shrugged and took another drag on his cigar.
‘Is Matt in trouble?’ asked Shepherd.
‘I think the question that’s better asked is whether or not he’s in danger. And the answer to that is yes, because you do not fuck with the Russian mafia. But so far as trouble – legal trouble – goes, the cops aren’t officially looking for him.’
‘Officially?’
Yokely sighed. ‘Spider, this is what we in the States call a regular clusterfuck. What’s going down is so convoluted you’ll need a road map to follow it.’
‘Are you going to explain it to me?’
Yokely blew smoke up at the sky. ‘What theories did you have for the attack on Koshkin in London?’
‘Various,’ said Shepherd. ‘He was getting divorced, he’d fallen out with Markov, the Russian government wanted his scalp. Lots of options, but the fact that he died in LA put a stop to the investigation.’
‘Well, what I can tell you is that Koshkin was sure that it was Markov that tried to have him killed. That’s why he ran off to the US. He wanted to hurt Markov, and the way to do that was to tell the authorities how Markov helped influence the 2016 presidential elections. He had the smoking gun the FBI wanted and was prepared to hand it to them in exchange for protection and citizenship.’
‘Erik Markov wanted to influence the election?’
‘Markov just provided the money and the resources. He was doing it for the Solntsevskaya, who were almost certainly acting on behalf of the Kremlin. And Koshkin was the man who could tie it all together.’
‘So it was the Russian mafia who had Koshkin killed, to keep him quiet?’
‘That’s what it looks like.’
‘From what Standing told me, the plan was to frame an American for it. Bobby-Ray Barnes was supposed to have died in that house with the murder weapon in his hand. But something went wrong and Barnes did a runner.’
‘And you believe that?’
‘I believe that Standing believes it. I’ve no way of knowing if that’s what happened. It does seem to me that if this Bobby-Ray is innocent then he should talk to the police.’
‘That’s where it gets complicated,’ said Yokely. He took another drag on his cigar and blew a fairly decent smoke ring. ‘Two FBI agents went to see Barnes at the motel where he was holed up. Not to arrest him but to kill him. They fucked up and ended up dead.’
‘FBI agents? Real FBI agents?’
‘Real, genuine, time-served Feds. But their loyalties were with the Solntsevskaya. That’s the problem we’ve got with the Russian mafia now. They’re everywhere. They’ve infiltrated the government, the police, the armed forces. They’re like a cancer that’s spread to all the vital organs.’
‘So now they think Bobby-Ray is a Fed killer?’
‘Spider, he IS a Fed killer. They were bad Feds, they were there on the Solntsevskaya’s behalf, but they were still FBI agents.’
‘But there’s nothing in the media?’
‘There’s a media blackout. Someone high up in the FBI or the LAPD is making sure that the full details of what happened aren’t released. It’s been made to look like a drug-related killing. And the same thing has happened with Koshkin’s assassination. That’s been sold as a home invasion.’
‘And the papers and TV are buying that?’
Yokely shrugged. ‘Journalists these days just accept whatever line they’re fed. Though that’s just got harder after what happened in Bel Air yesterday. Two LAPD cops were killed in the very same house where Koshkin was killed, along with two members of the company that Barnes was working for.’
Shepherd’s jaw dropped. Yokely held up a hand. ‘I know, I know. Like I said, it’s complicated. One of the cops was the lead detective on the Koshkin killing. The other cop was also on the case. Barnes’s boss was killed along with the guy who was driving Koshkin the night he was killed. The only guns involved were those belonging to the cops. It looks as if Reid, the junior detective, shot the lead detective and the lead detective shot him and the two other men.’
‘But Standing wasn’t involved?’
‘His name hasn’t come up – yet.’
‘So what do you think? That one or both of the detectives was working for the Solntsevskaya?’
‘That’s how I read it. Maybe the bodyguarding company guys said they had information for the detectives and the detectives didn’t want it getting out. As I keep saying, this is complicated.’ He took another drag on his cigar, exhaled, and followed it up with a sip of coffee. ‘Your friend has gotten himself into a whole world of pain, Spider.’
‘He’s not my friend,’ said Shepherd.
‘Associate, colleague. Fellow warrior. Whatever. At the moment you’re the only line I have to Standing. So my first question is, what’s his family situation? Married? Siblings? Parents?’
‘He’s never been married. His father is serving a life sentence for murdering Standing’s mother. He had a sister but she died.’
‘So he’s got no one. That’s the first good news I’ve heard today.’
‘Why’s that?’
‘Because if the Solntsevskaya get on his case they’ll kill him and everyone he loves. That’s what they do. How driven is he?’
‘He’s SAS, Richard. That should answer your question.’
‘He won’t stop?’
‘Not until he’s achieved his objective. And as I understand it, his objective is to help Bobby-Ray.’
‘And he’d do that even if it meant putting his own life on the line.’
Shepherd nodded slowly. ‘Sure.’
‘That’s what I figured.’
Shepherd sipped his coffee. ‘My turn? To ask a question?’
Yokely nodded. ‘Go ahead.’
‘You know what’s going on, obviously.’
‘Most of it.’
‘So why the hell don’t you put a stop to it? You know Bobby-Ray didn’t kill Koshkin, you know he was being framed …’
Yokely put up a hand. ‘I’ve got to stop you right there,’ he said. ‘There are two issues here. There’s the issue of whether Barnes killed Koshkin and the bodyguards. And there’s the issue of what Matt Standing is up to and the waves he’s creating. I have no clue as to whether or not Barnes killed Koshkin or if what Standing says is true and that he’s been framed. But I do know for sure that the Solntsevskaya is mightily pissed off at Standing and that there will be repercussions.’
Shepherd nodded thoughtfully. ‘And I’m guessing that those repercussions could help you in your investigation.’
Y
okely laughed. ‘You know me so well,’ he said. He nodded. ‘Your man Standing has banged into a right hornet’s nest and so everyone is buzzing around like crazy. The fact that at least one very high-up cop is trying to keep a lid on what’s happening is an eye-opener, and we’ve already seen things happening within the FBI that have given us another couple of leads that we weren’t aware of. We already have two high-ranking Solntsevskaya officials and several soldiers in the morgue, and the way it’s going there’ll almost certainly be more. So yes, your man Standing is being very helpful indeed.’
‘And what about Erik Markov?’
‘Ah yes, the two billion dollar question.’
‘Is that what he’s worth?’
‘And some,’ said Yokely.
‘Is he of interest?’
Yokely took another pull on his cigar.
‘I’ll take that as a yes,’ said Shepherd. ‘So you’re looking for evidence that Erik Markov was meddling in the presidential elections? You had it within your grasp but lost it when Koshkin was murdered.’
‘That’s one way of looking at it,’ said Yokely. ‘But trust me, there were quite a few people who were relieved when Koshkin was killed.’
Realisation dawned and Shepherd raised his eyebrows. ‘Of course, Grey Fox works for the White House. And the last thing the White House wants is for someone to come up with evidence that the Russians tampered with the US electoral process.’
‘Not just the White House,’ said Yokely. ‘But yes, there are some dirty secrets that are better off not aired.’
Shepherd sighed through pursed lips. ‘I see what you mean about it being complicated.’
‘It’s messy,’ said Yokely. ‘What we have is this triumvirate of the Kremlin, the Russian mafia, and a powerful oligarch. They all help each other, they all use each other and they all profit from each other. Koshkin and Markov fell out over business and Markov decided he wanted his partner killed. He probably used his Solntsevskaya contacts to arrange that, but they fucked up and Koshkin fled to the States. Koshkin decides that the best way to get back at Markov is to tell the authorities what he did, but as soon as he does that he incurs the wrath of the Kremlin. And Markov, of course. So either Markov or the Kremlin gets the Solntsevskaya to finish off what they started in London. Now that Koshkin is dead, everything should be fine and dandy, except for the fact that Barnes is on the run and Standing is on the offensive.’
‘And what the White House wants is for all this to go away and presumably for Markov to get the hell out of Dodge.’
‘Except Markov seems to be hanging around to see how the Barnes business plays out. Now the burning question I’d like answered is if Standing discovers that Markov is behind all this, what will he do?’
‘Will he go for Markov?’ Shepherd shrugged. ‘I think he’s more concerned about getting his pal out of trouble. Once Bobby-Ray is free and clear, Standing will back off. He’s not the sort to go looking for trouble, but he will always fight his corner.’
‘The problem is, the Solntsevskaya won’t see it that way. No matter how this pans out, he’ll be on their shit list for the rest of his life.’ He took another pull on his cigar.
Shepherd stared at Yokely for several seconds. ‘How do you want this to pan out, Richard?’
Yokely blew smoke up at the sky. ‘It’s not what I want that matters.’
‘Your bosses, then. What do they want?’
‘I think they’d be happier if Markov was no longer an issue.’
Shepherd’s eyes narrowed. ‘You want him dead? Is that what this meeting is about? You want to find out if Matt is capable of killing Markov?’
Yokely smiled. ‘That’s not what I said, and you know it.’
‘But it would make the White House’s life a lot easier, wouldn’t it?’
‘That I can’t deny,’ he said.
‘That’s why you were asking about his family situation, isn’t it? Because if Standing does kill Markov, the Solntsevskaya will want revenge. Which means any family he has will be at risk.’
‘I’m afraid that ship has sailed, Spider. As soon as Standing killed Volkov, his name went right to the top of their shit list.’
‘I need you to promise me that Standing won’t come to any harm,’ said Shepherd.
‘I can’t promise that, but I’ll do my best,’ said Yokely.
‘I’m serious, Richard.’
‘So am I.’
32
Kaitlyn told Standing when to turn off the main highway. They drove down a narrow two-lane road that twisted and turned through thick woods. They saw the occasional SUV or pick-up truck passing in the other direction but for most of the time they were the only vehicle on the road.
They went down into a valley from where they could see rocky peaks towering over the forest, then the tree cover became so thick that Standing had to turn on the headlights.
They began to climb again and Kaitlyn told him to slow down. The turn-off she was looking for was so narrow that they could easily have missed it. It was a single track of rutted dried mud that wound its way through towering redwoods. Standing had to slow to ten miles an hour or so, as to have gone any faster would have risked damaging the vehicle. They bumped their way for about a mile along the track and then it opened onto a makeshift parking area of flattened grass with space enough for a dozen or so vehicles. ‘This is it,’ said Kaitlyn, though Standing had already brought the SUV to a halt. The undergrowth was head height around them and the canopies of the huge trees all but blotted out the sky.
Standing climbed out of the car and tucked the Beretta APX compact he’d taken from Yurin’s house into the waistband of his trousers. ‘If Bobby-Ray is in the cabin, wouldn’t he have left his pick-up truck here?’ he said, looking around.
Kaitlyn nodded. ‘This is as far as you can drive,’ she said.
‘Is there anywhere else he could have left the truck?’
‘This is the only track in,’ she said.
Standing walked around, looking at the flattened grass, trying to see if another vehicle had been there. He saw some relatively fresh tyre marks and frowned as he saw they went to the edge of the clearing and ended at a large bush. He went over to the bush. Many of the branches and leaves were mangled and there were specks of oil splattered all over it. He pushed through and the next bush was in a similar condition and then he saw a flash of red in the undergrowth ahead of him. He kept pushing through the vegetation until he reached the rear of the truck. ‘It’s here!’ he shouted.
Kaitlyn made her way through the bushes to him and nodded when she saw the vehicle. ‘That’s Bobby-Ray’s,’ she said.
‘Then we know he’s here,’ said Standing. He slapped the tailgate. ‘Clever move hiding the truck, but if we found it others could.’
‘No one knows about the cabin, it’s a family thing,’ she said.
‘I hope so,’ said Standing. ‘Come on, let’s go surprise your brother.’
They went back to the clearing. Standing opened the rear door of the SUV and took out the carrier bags containing the provisions they had bought at a Safeway in Redding and a cooler in which Mrs Barnes had put the pie and muffins that she had baked. They also had two backpacks filled with clothes and toiletries. Standing took out his cellphone and checked it. There was no phone signal.
‘It’s always like that,’ said Kaitlyn. ‘There are some places high up where you can sometimes get a signal but it’s patchy.’ She shouldered one of the backpacks and picked up the cooler. Standing threw the other backpack on and picked up the carrier bags. Kaitlyn was already heading across the clearing to a small track that led between two bushes. It was barely a couple of feet wide and it zig-zagged through the undergrowth but Kaitlyn strode on confidently.
The sun was starting to go down but the tree canopy had already cut out most of the light. It reminded Standing of the jungle phase of his SAS training but without the energy-sapping rain and heat that he had faced in Brunei. And none of the bees, wasps, centip
edes, snakes, spiders and scorpions that had made his life a misery for six weeks, or the mosquitoes that he had come to hate with a vengeance.
The track opened into a small clearing and Kaitlyn waited for him to catch up. ‘It’s not much further,’ she said.
‘It really is in the middle of nowhere,’ said Standing.
‘That’s the attraction,’ said Kaitlyn. ‘The nearest neighbour is about five miles away. But it’s not as heavily wooded as it is here, the cabin is up on a hill and there aren’t as many trees.’ She nodded at the carrier bags. ‘Can I have a bottle of water?’
‘Sure,’ said Standing. He put the carrier bags down and pulled out two bottles of water. He gave one to her and unscrewed the top off the other before drinking greedily. Kaitlyn did the same. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and put the bottle back in the carrier bag. Kaitlyn put the cap back on her bottle and held it out to him. Standing took a step forward and his foot brushed against something. He looked down and saw a rope underfoot and then he heard a swishing sound and a rustle of leaves and the rope wrapped itself around his ankle and yanked him up into the air. Before he knew what was happening he was hanging upside down.
‘Matt!’ shrieked Kaitlyn.
‘I’m okay, I’m okay,’ said Standing. He tried to reach up to his ankle but the effort was too much and he dropped back, gasping for breath.
‘What’s going on?’ she asked.
Standing was turning slowly. A rope had looped around his left ankle and he was hanging from it. The rope disappeared into the branches of the tree overhead. His right leg was swinging out to the side and his hip was burning. The blood was rushing to his head making it difficult to focus his eyes. ‘Some sort of trap,’ he gasped. ‘See if you can cut me down.’
‘I don’t have a knife,’ she said.
‘Neither do I.’ The gun was still in his belt but he couldn’t see himself being able to shoot the rope.
He tried to grab his ankle again, but it was harder the second time and his hands couldn’t even reach his knee. He fell back, his stomach muscles burning.
Last Man Standing Page 24