Meltdown

by Andy McNab

  Deveraux smiled slightly and Fergus sensed that she had been thinking something along the same lines.

  But the smile was wiped from her face with Dudley's next words: 'Oh, but I have, Mr Watts.'

  She could only listen with visibly mounting frustration as he continued.

  'This is my last job; it's also my most important job. Meltdown is a global threat, and must be stopped. This mission cannot be allowed to fail. If Miss Deveraux does anything, anything, to compromise the success of my operation, then I'll make sure that her career is finished. She won't even get to make the tea at the Firm.' He turned and looked Deveraux directly in the eyes. 'Do you understand that . . . Marcie?'

  It was no idle threat. Dudley was famed as the quiet man, unassuming in manner and appearance. But he wielded enormous power throughout the British security services and had huge influence up to the highest levels of government; he'd had the ear of every prime minister for the past thirty years.

  Even Deveraux knew there was no point in any further argument. She nodded slowly and deliberately.

  Dudley gave a faint smile. 'If my operation succeeds, your operation will succeed. So you will co-operate fully.'

  'Yes, but if I'm to take on your mission too, I need more people. I've got four operatives out here, but I'll need more if we're to tail Kubara and take care of the twins.'

  'Miss Deveraux! Let me make myself plain.' Dudley's long years of high command were apparent. 'This is no longer solely your mission. My mission takes precedence and Watts is in command. You will work with him. That is an order. Thanks to Watts we know that Kubara has arranged to meet the twins again at the football match tonight. He's provided tickets for a private box. There are things we need to put into motion straight away and there's no time to bring in backup from the UK – we have to go with what we've got.'

  'What – a lame geriatric and an inexperienced boy who can't take orders!?'

  'Danny has done well; he's shown he can operate as part of a team – and as for Watts, he's had more experience of missions like this than you're ever likely to see!'

  Dudley turned to Fergus. 'What do you think?'

  Fergus shrugged his shoulders. 'I've worked with arseholes before.'

  'That isn't the attitude I'm expecting, Mr Watts. The operation must come first.'

  'OK,' said Fergus. 'But Danny's got a say in this, and he won't take too kindly to her' – he nodded towards Deveraux – 'being involved.'

  'Then make sure you persuade him, Mr Watts,' said Dudley wearily. 'Nothing must get in the way of the ultimate success of the mission.'

  31

  Danny was on stag at the hotel, staying close to the twins. They were taking a late breakfast with Storm and some of their clients while Danny sat in reception, casually leafing through a city guide but keeping eyes on the entrance doors and the corridor leading to the restaurant.

  The twins had been buzzing with nervous energy following the dinner with their contact the previous evening. Will was clearly excited, but Teddy was very twitchy and had insisted that Fergus or Danny stay near them at all times. When Fergus got the summons from Dudley, he had called Teddy and told him he was going out to buy a ticket for the match from a tout, so that he could be in the stadium as backup if they needed him.

  Reception was busy with late checkouts and early arrivals, but nothing out of the ordinary. Danny glanced towards the entrance doors and saw his grandfather coming in.

  Fergus went straight over to Danny. 'All right?'

  Danny nodded towards the restaurant. 'They're in there. Having brunch, as they call it.'

  Fergus led Danny to a quiet corner where they could talk without being overheard. He knew it wasn't a good location for the conversation they were about to have but he didn't have any options. He didn't want Teddy emerging from the restaurant and finding their security had gone missing.

  'What did Dudley want?' Danny asked his grandfather as they sat down. 'Is there a problem?'

  'You could call it that. It turns out that our operation has come up against someone else's.'

  'What – the Spanish Firm?'

  'No, ours . . . You're not going to like it.' Fergus paused. 'I don't like it. It's shit.' He looked at Danny. 'The other op is being run by Deveraux. She's here.'

  Danny stared at him, his eyes wide with horror. 'What . . . ?'

  'She's after the twins' contact too – his name's Kubara; no surprise – he's big time – terrorism, the works.'

  The shock on Danny's face was turning to rage and his voice rose. 'Dudley lied to us again – he promised—'

  Fergus gestured to him to keep quiet. 'Dudley didn't know anything about it until last night,' he said softly, holding Danny's furious gaze. 'Deveraux's team was snapping pictures of Kubara and the twins. When Deveraux saw me in the pictures, she put two and two together. That's what brought Dudley over. To sort out the turf war between us and the Firm.'

  Danny turned away and swore. Fergus waited, watching Danny breathing deeply, trying to calm himself. When he spoke, his voice was deep with suppressed fury.

  'So what now? Where do we go?'

  Fergus shook his head. 'We don't. We stay. We see the operation through.'

  'So she goes?'

  'No. It's now a combined operation. Me in command.'

  'What!' hissed Danny loudly. 'You're expecting me to work with the person who killed Elena in cold blood. And you've agreed to go along with this without asking me—'

  Fergus could see that people in the lobby were beginning to stare. He had to make Danny get a grip and not compromise the situation.

  'No, I haven't. I've told them that I've got to talk to you before agreeing to anything. But I think we should stick with it. Dudley seems to have Deveraux under control—'

  'Yeah, right!' sneered Danny.

  'We'll have to watch her,' said Fergus quickly. 'But this mission's important, Danny. If Phil can locate the DMP back in England, and we can sort things here, we have a chance of stopping this. And then we can get out. For good. Don't you want to see it through?'

  Danny turned away again and stared out at the busy street. 'Not with her. I can't.' He looked at his grandfather with disgust. 'And how can you?'

  Fergus sighed. 'It's a job, Danny. If that Meltdown crap gets out . . . ' He started again. 'One last op and then we're out. Danny, you know the only way to handle this sort of shit is just to do it. Focus. And leave the feelings out of it.'

  Feelings, Danny thought. His grandfather had always been a cool operator, detached, ruthless. That was how he'd survived. He'd seen terrible things, he'd seen friends die but he'd always managed to move on. He'd concentrated on just two things: the ongoing mission and staying alive. Like now.

  'Yeah, well, I'm not you.'

  There was a tense moment before Fergus replied. He looked towards the restaurant and saw a couple of the twins' clients coming down the corridor. Brunch was obviously over and the twins would be out soon. Time was up.

  'No, you're not.' Fergus had had enough. 'OK, Danny, you're out of this. Dudley wanted you in because we're short-handed and there's no time to get backup. He's seen what you can do and he's impressed. But if you can't handle it, you're no good to anyone.' He got up to leave.

  'Wait!' said Danny quickly. He took a deep breath. 'I'll do it.'

  'What?' said Fergus.

  'I'll do it. Not for you, not for Dudley. For Elena.'

  Fergus was not impressed. 'For Elena? This isn't another revenge thing, is it? I'm not taking you if that's what you think!'

  'No! I'll do it because I think . . . I know . . . it's what Elena would have wanted. She wouldn't have backed out and neither will I.'

  Fergus looked hard into Danny's eyes and said nothing for a moment. Then he nodded. 'OK. You're in.' The tension between them eased. 'Just don't get big-headed about the fact that Dudley wanted you.'

  Danny nodded and smiled. 'So what next?'

  'We're assuming Kubara wants the formula for Meltdown, which means
he's planning to take over from the twins. He won't make his move at the football tonight, not in a stadium full of people. It'll probably be after the game.'

  Danny thought for a moment. 'What about the twins? Do they suspect any of this?'

  Fergus shook his head. 'Will seems to think Kubara's their kind Uncle Enver, but Teddy's worried about the meeting tonight. I'm going to reassure him. We want to make sure they turn up for the match.'

  'So what do I do?' asked Danny.

  'Keep an eye on Kubara's car outside the stadium,' said Fergus. 'Don't let it out of your sight. I'll be out in the crowd. Dudley's contacts are fixing surveillance in Kubara's box right now; we'll all have a link to a transmitter so we can hear what's going on.'

  'Sounds sorted,' said Danny.

  'As much as it can be. But remember, Deveraux's gone along with all this, but she wasn't happy. Whatever happens tonight, she'll still have her own agenda.'

  The twins had ordered a cab to take them to the stadium. While they waited for it, Fergus sat with them in the hotel bar, giving them last-minute instructions and doing his best to keep Teddy's spirits up. He asked for the new numbers of their phones and programmed them into his own mobile.

  'Keep yours switched on all the time,' he told them. 'If there's any sign of trouble, all you need to do is signal by hitting my number on your speed dial. I'll get you out.'

  'I'm not expecting trouble,' said Will confidently. He sneered at his brother. 'I don't know what's got into you, Teddy. Our contact's a businessman. He knows a good deal when he sees it. All he wants to do is make it even better. He said as much last night.'

  Teddy didn't look convinced, so Fergus came up with a few more reassuring words. 'You run away and what does that say to your guy? And what will it mean for the business? See him; talk. You brought me along to sort things out if they get ugly. I'm here. It'll be fine.'

  Teddy nodded. 'I'm sure you're right. It's just that after Siddie—'

  'Siddie was a small-time hood. From what I've seen, I'm guessing this bloke's in a different league. You're making him a lot of money; make him some more. And yourselves.'

  Will was up for it. 'You were worried about the business coming to an end,' he said to his brother. 'You were wrong; I think this is just the beginning. A whole new beginning.'

  32

  The Nou Camp in Barcelona is the third biggest football stadium on the planet. One hundred thousand people can be seated on the three banks of terracing that climb into the sky.

  In the luxury executive box, Kubara was glued to the match. He watched as Ronaldinho gathered in a pass from Deco. He dribbled the ball past one defender, and then another, before chipping in a teasing cross, which the opposition goalkeeper just managed to gather. The crowd groaned as one. 'That Ronaldinho, he is the maestro, eh?' said Kubara, smiling at the twins.

  He turned to watch the replay of the action on the television monitor at the back of the box, unaware of the tiny transmitter that was hidden there, picking up every word he said, recording his every movement.

  Teddy and Will didn't know one player from another – they barely knew which team was which – but they smiled and nodded and tried to appear interested, glancing nervously at Kubara's bodyguard, big and totally bald, who was standing at the back of the box. He was paying little attention to the football – that wasn't what he was paid for. His eyes were fixed on his boss and his guests.

  As the opposition goalkeeper booted the ball upfield, Kubara got up and went over to revisit the impressive buffet. He filled his plate once again.

  The twins sipped at glasses of mineral water and glanced at each other, surreptitiously looking at their watches. They were desperate to know what Kubara had to say to them.

  So was Fergus: he was surrounded by Catalans munching on enormous hot meat sandwiches from the takeaway stands. If he had stood up and looked back, he would have been able to see right into the box, but his eyes stayed on the game. He knew exactly what was being said in the box, courtesy of the earpiece he was wearing, which was routed into the surveillance system. It looked just like a Bluetooth mobile phone earpiece so no one would have thought anything of it – least of all the excited Catalans, who were totally engrossed in the match.

  Danny was sitting in his hired Corsa outside the stadium, listening to what was going on in his own earpiece and keeping a trigger on Kubara's black Merc. The driver was watching the match on the vehicle's TV.

  Marcie Deveraux was sitting in front of a monitor with two of her team, watching and listening in an office close to the stadium.

  Everyone was waiting to hear what Kubara was planning.

  Fergus was giving a good impression of watching the game intently as Barça put together a neat series of passes. Suddenly, from way outside the box, Ronaldinho fired in a thunderous shot, which sailed past the goalkeeper's hands into the top corner of the net.

  Fergus's eardrums were almost shattered as Kubara screamed his delight. On the monitor Deveraux saw him leap out of his chair as he yelled and punched the air.

  Danny heard it too, and got his own view of a victory punch as the Merc driver's arm pumped upwards through the open car window.

  Danny sighed. 'Barcelona must have scored. Big deal.'

  He was no football fan, and neither was Fergus, who was surrounded by yelling, shouting, screaming Catalans, dancing and jigging in delight. The man on Fergus's right turned and grabbed his shoulders, beaming through tobacco-stained teeth as he hugged him like he was a long-lost brother.

  Soon after the crowd had finally settled down, the referee's whistle sounded to bring an end to the first forty-five minutes and the applause rang around the stadium.

  In the executive box Kubara was still eating, apparently in no hurry to get down to business. He looked over at the twins, a frown on his face. 'You should eat something – you need to keep your strength up,' he told them.

  'We're not really hungry,' said Teddy.

  'We ate earlier,' added Will.

  The big man laughed. 'I too ate earlier.' He patted his stomach. 'But there is always room for a little more.'

  Teddy wanted to get on with it. 'You said you needed to talk to us . . .'

  Kubara continued chewing for a moment and then swallowed. 'Talk? I said we'd talk? . . . I don't remember. When did I say this?'

  'At the restaurant,' blurted out Teddy. 'You said we'd talk at half time.'

  The Bosnian put his head on one side and gazed blankly through the plate-glass window at the front of the box, as though trying to recall the conversation they had shared the previous evening.

  'Oh, yes,' he said at last. 'My plans.' He shrugged. 'Well, it can wait. I'm enjoying the football. Don't you think Barcelona are the best team in the world – such skill . . . ? We will wait till after the match.'

  In the nearby office, Deveraux glanced at one of her operators. 'Clever bastard,' she breathed, recognizing the tactics. 'He's just twisting the knife.'

  It was too much for Teddy. He stood up. 'No! Please – surely you can tell us now! We have a right to know what you're planning.'

  'Teddy!' said Will, getting to his feet and taking his brother's arm. 'Don't let's rush Mr Kubara. We don't want to spoil his enjoyment of the match.'