by Jim Eldridge
‘I’ve told them that,’ said Nelson. ‘But this is an Intelligence operation, we’re just the foot soldiers. We stay as backup.’
Benny shook his head angrily.
‘This ain’t Intelligence, Colonel!’ he snapped. ‘This is lack of intelligence.’
‘I think they can hear you,’ Mitch pointed out. ‘The comms are still on.’
‘I don’t care!’ barked Benny. ‘It’s madness to crash in there without checking things out.’
Even as he spoke, two black vans appeared. The back doors opened and several armed men encased in black body-armour and armed with automatic rifles leapt out. They headed towards the warehouse, using the surrounding buildings for cover.
‘Well, at least they look the part,’ commented Gaz. ‘I mean, here we are in civilian clothes, with a tenth of their firepower . . .’
‘It was still our operation,’ muttered Benny. ‘These guys don’t know Deacon. They don’t know what they’re going into!’
They heard another vehicle approach from behind them. They turned and saw a car pull up and Gerald and Nelson get out. Nelson looked at his four soldiers with an apologetic shrug.
‘Sorry, guys,’ he said. ‘Being a colonel doesn’t carry the same weight here.’
Gerald had gone over to the fence and watched from a distance as some of the response team reached the rusty metal door into the warehouse. Others disappeared round the side of the building, making sure all the exits were covered.
‘Anyone come out since Lavall and Smitt went in?’
‘No,’ said Tug.
‘So they’re still in there,’ muttered Gerald.
‘Any sign of Deacon?’ asked Nelson.
‘Nope,’ said Benny.
‘So it’s likely he was in the building already, waiting for Lavall and Smitt,’ said Gerald.
‘Or he was somewhere outside, watching and waiting. In which case the sight of your toy soldiers arriving like that will have scared him off,’ snorted Benny.
‘We know what we’re doing,’ said Gerald curtly. ‘We’ve been conducting this sort of operation for a long time.’ Into his headset, Gerald snapped: ‘OK, go. Casualties are acceptable.’
In other words, thought Mitch, kill Deacon and his two fellow assassins. Job done.
Delta Unit watched as the armed response team members nearest them opened the door, then slid silently into the building. They knew the same thing would be happening on the far side of the warehouse. The metal doors swung shut. There was a pause, then they heard the unmistakeable chatter chatter chatter of automatic gun fire, and the next second there was a deafening explosion. The metal doors of the warehouse flew open and fire and black smoke belched out.
‘What the . . .!’ Gerald shouted, gaping at the scene in front of him.
The five soldiers of Delta Unit already had their weapons drawn and were running towards the warehouse in zig-zag patterns to stop any sniper from getting an easy shot.
Behind them they could hear Gerald shouting into his headset: ‘Come in, team! Report! Come in, team!’ But the men of Delta Unit knew there wouldn’t be any reply. The force of the explosion meant that everyone in that building would have been killed instantly.
18
The emergency services had done their work and gone. The fire was out. The bodies had been removed.
The police had arrived but been sent away by Gerald. Forensics were now examining the smouldering remains of the building. Everyone knew what their findings would be.
‘A massive bomb,’ said Tug.
Benny sighed. ‘We tried to tell you,’ he said to Gerald.
The MI6 man said nothing, just turned away, shaken. Mitch looked at the scorched warehouse. ‘Deacon intended for Delta Unit to be the ones getting the force of that blast,’ he said. ‘You guys are the only ones who really know him. You’re the only chance there is of stopping him. Once he realised you weren’t taking his warnings and backing off, he had to get rid of you.’
‘Bit extreme – using his own men as bait,’ said Gaz.
‘And killing them in the process,’ added Tug.
‘They were expendable,’ said Mitch. ‘That’s the kind of guy Deacon is now. He’s not your pal any more. He’s not jolly Jimmy Deacon. He’s a ruthless killer.’
‘I think Deacon always intended to use Pavel, Lavall and Smitt as decoys – a backup plan in case he couldn’t get rid of you as early as he’d hoped,’ said Nelson. He turned to Gerald. ‘That’s why it was so easy for you guys to find them and trail them.’
‘A Jimmy Deacon conjuring trick.’ Tug nodded. ‘He used to do cards tricks, now I recall. This has been a classic case of misdirection. He set those three up for us to follow, while the real team gets on with things without being bothered by us.’
Gerald looked at them, a new expression of horror on his face.
‘What?’ he asked, his voice hollow. ‘Who?’
‘Deacon has another squad,’ said Tug.
Gerald swallowed. ‘But who are they?’ he asked. ‘We’ve had no other leads.’
‘Ain’t that what you’re supposed to be the experts in?’ asked Benny bitterly. ‘Finding out information like that?’
There was an awkward silence, then for the first time since Delta Unit had met him, Gerald’s confidence seemed to crack. He hung his head. He looked like a defeated man, thought Mitch.
‘Maybe he doesn’t have another team?’ Gerald said, a note of desperation in his voice. ‘Maybe he’s working on his own?’
Nelson shook his head. ‘Taking out the British prime minister at an event this size, with the place swarming with the Intelligence services and security from twenty countries? This is big. He’ll be using backup for this.’
‘We have to stop him,’ Gerald muttered fiercely. ‘We can’t let this happen!’ He lifted his head and looked at the soldiers, an agonised expression of appeal on his face. ‘How do we stop him?’ he demanded. ‘How do we find him?’
‘We don’t,’ said Nelson. ‘We let him come to us.’
‘We’ve tried that already,’ protested Gerald. ‘He got to Trooper Graham – and to Trooper Mitchell.’
‘Those were different scenarios,’ said Nelson. ‘He was in control of them, not us.’
Mitch noticed both Tug and Benny nodding in agreement, and it suddenly struck him: they’ve been working out a plan. Nelson’s next words confirmed it.
‘Look, Gerald, so far we’ve done it by the book. Your book. We’ve followed orders. The end result is that too many of your people are dead, Two Moons is in hospital, Mitch here nearly got killed, and Deacon is still on the loose. All the while, all we’ve been doing is running around chasing our tails.’
‘That is unfair!’ protested Gerald. ‘There are proper procedures to follow. We’re not just some gang of hot-headed soldiers . . .’
‘And neither are we,’ Nelson cut in firmly. ‘We’ve tried it your way and it hasn’t worked. The conference starts the day after tomorrow. Deacon is still out there. If we go on as we have, he’ll kill your prime minister for sure. Do you want that to happen?’
‘Of course not!’ shouted Gerald.
Once again, Nelson didn’t give him time to carry on. ‘Then hand this operation over to us,’ he said. ‘To Delta Unit. You brought us in because we know Deacon. You don’t. We’ve got more chance of stopping him than you have. You think you’re just dealing with some ordinary assassin. You’re not. He’s one of us. We trained with him. We fought with him. We know how he thinks, his methods – we know him from the inside.’ He pointed at the still smouldering building. ‘We advised you against going in like that because we know him.’
Gerald stood, his face betraying his inner turmoil. Mitch could tell that every instinct in him, every part of his Intelligence training, told him to say no. But the prime minister’s life was at stake, and the spy had already seen what Deacon could do.
‘What’s your plan?’ he asked, finally.
‘Like I say, we get Deacon to come to us,’
said Nelson. ‘I’ve talked this over with my senior officers, Captain Tait and Lieutenant Jaurez . . .’
Just as I thought, mused Mitch. They’ve been planning for this.
‘You put out a report that the prime minister’s had to go into hospital for some minor exploratory procedures just ahead of the conference. But instead, one of us goes in, while you keep the prime minister somewhere safe.’
‘What makes you so sure that Deacon will go for the prime minister in hospital? Surely he’d wait until the conference?’ argued Gerald.
‘No,’ said Tug. ‘This will seem like the ideal opportunity for Deacon. When’s the prime minister going to be easiest to target? At the conference, surrounded by top-level security? Or in a hospital, with just the regular bodyguards on duty?’
Gerald thought it over. ‘He’ll see through it,’ he said. ‘He’ll know it’s a decoy – he’s used the same trick himself.’
‘We can convince him,’ said Benny. ‘Deacon knows we’ve been brought in especially for this because we know him. So we make it public that we’re the bodyguards in the hospital.’
‘How? Put out a press release?’ asked Gerald sarcastically.
‘Use the TV,’ said Tug. ‘Put out the announcement that the prime minister’s going into hospital. Show him on the news coming out of Number 10 and getting into a car. I’ll be the driver. Mitch and Benny get into the car as bodyguards. The colonel and Gaz get into a second car and we all drive off. Deacon is sure to see it – he’ll be keeping an eye on any media surrounding the prime minister.’
‘Once we get to the hospital, you lot smuggle the prime minister out and one of us takes his place in the private room,’ added Benny.
‘But you’ve got to keep all your troops out of sight,’ finished Nelson. ‘Make Deacon think it’s just us in there, that we’re the only line of defence.’
Gerald thought it over. Mitch could tell he was concerned. ‘It’s very risky,’ he said. ‘If it doesn’t work . . .’
‘It’s got more chance of working than anything we’ve tried so far,’ said Nelson. ‘But we have to be in charge. You can have your people as backup, hidden well out of sight . . .’
‘Hospital porters, nurses, that sort of thing,’ added Tug.
‘But we call the shots,’ said Nelson firmly. ‘We give the orders. No one moves without our say.’
Gerald fell silent. Then finally, he nodded. ‘Very well,’ he said. ‘But which one of you will double for the prime minister?’
Nelson grinned. ‘I think you can count me out,’ he said.
‘It has to be me,’ said Mitch. ‘I’m the nearest to him in build and looks. And, with some good old movie make-up, I’ll look right from a distance. From reasonably close-up, even.’
Tug and Benny nodded in agreement. Gaz grinned. ‘My pal, the PM,’ he chuckled.
‘Say Deacon’s plan is the same as at the warehouse?’ asked Gerald. ‘High explosives. He could blow up the hospital.’
‘We make sure he can’t,’ said Benny. ‘We use Bomb Disposal to openly scan for explosives. Get them to do the same scans at the conference venue ahead of the summit. When Deacon realises pre-planted explosives are out, he’ll be forced to fall back on other strategies.’
‘Personal contact,’ murmured Tug. ‘Gun. Knife.’
‘He’s likely to be in disguise,’ added Gaz. ‘A doctor, a hospital orderly, a nurse.’
‘We also need to identify and locate the rest of his team,’ said Benny. ‘Keep an eye on them. Take them out before the attack, if we can. If we can’t, at least we’ll know who to watch out for.’
‘We thought we’d done that,’ groaned Gerald. ‘We thought Pavel, Lavall and Smitt were the ones.’ He paced around, deep in thought. Then he finally said: ‘The other team have to be among the bodyguards.’
‘At the conference?’ asked Benny.
Gerald nodded. ‘It’s been done before. Bodyguards are perfect as political assassins. They’ve got full security clearance. They’re allowed to carry as much weaponry as they like. They’ll be the ideal people for Deacon to use.’
Mitch nodded. ‘Makes sense to me,’ he said.
‘That’s where I’d be looking as well,’ nodded Nelson. ‘But which ones?’
‘I’ll run a security check on every bodyguard attending the conference,’ said Gerald determinedly. ‘See if there are any who believe they’ve suffered because of the prime minister’s actions. Check out any who are in financial trouble.’
‘If there’s anything we can do . . .’ offered Nelson.
Gerald shook his head.
‘This is my department,’ he said. ‘I’ll get my people on it.’ He took out his mobile and began dialling. ‘Once we’ve set that in motion, we can get this hospital business sorted out.’
19
Two hours later Delta Unit met with Gerald in his office at MI6 HQ. Nelson told Gerald he’d chosen the small military hospital where Two Moons was already a patient as the best place to set their trap. He listed his reasons.
‘One, we don’t have to worry about civilian patients getting injured in any crossfire,’ he said. ‘Look what Deacon has done so far. He doesn’t care who gets killed. We’ll do our best to make sure we don’t injure anyone else, but we can’t speak for Deacon and his team.
‘Second, using the military hospital will convince Deacon that we’re for real, because it’s where we can ensure the best security. And that doubles as the third reason. We will be in charge of the situation in there, not some bureaucrat or hospital manager.’
‘Makes sense,’ said Gerald. Just then his phone rang. ‘Yes?’ he said. He listened, then looked at Nelson. ‘Thank you. Colonel Nelson and Delta Unit are with me at the moment. Prepare the briefing room.’ He hung up. ‘We think we’ve got some leads on Deacon’s team.’
‘Good,’ said Nelson. ‘Let’s see who they’ve got.’
Delta Unit sat in the briefing room. As before, Gerald was at the laptop with the PowerPoint display. This time there were two silent men, both with bulges in their jackets under their armpits, guarding the door.
‘We did intensive background checks on every official member of every party who will be attending the treaty conference,’ announced Gerald. ‘Six of the bodyguards have been flagged as “possibles”.’
‘What made their names pop up?’ asked Mitch.
Gerald shook his head. ‘I’m afraid that’s classified information,’ he said. ‘We’ve had to work very closely with foreign security on these enquiries. One thing I can tell you for sure: all of them have been associated in some way with Deacon.
‘A file has been prepared for each of you containing the photographs you are about to see on screen,’ he told them. ‘As none of these men have had anything proven against them, it is critical that you ensure these names and pictures are not leaked. We cannot afford an international incident.’
‘No problem.’ Nelson nodded. ‘We’re used to keeping secrets, just the same as you are.’
Gerald nodded, then pressed a key on his laptop and a picture of a short-haired, clean-shaven man in a white shirt with dark tie appeared on the screen. He looked like a respectable banker.
‘Walter Kornick,’ announced Gerald. ‘Former US marine, now working for US Government Security. He’s here as part of the team protecting the American representative at the conference.’
Kornick’s face vanished and was replaced by that of a black man, dressed in the same style as Kornick. ‘Edgar Weathers. Like Kornick, he’s a former US marine working for US Government Security. He’s also here to protect the American representative.’
‘Let me guess, Weathers and Kornick were in the same branch of the marines together?’ asked Tug.
Gerald nodded.
‘Brothers in arms,’ murmured Benny.
The picture of Weathers disappeared and an image of a dark-haired man in a military uniform came up on the screen. ‘Carlos Dominguez, security with the Argentine delegation,’ Gerald told th
em.
Next up was an unsmiling tough-looking blond man. ‘Horst Weissman,’ said Gerald. ‘Part of the German Ambassador’s security team.’
The picture of Weissman now disappeared and in its place they saw a Chinese man wearing the uniform of the Chinese army. ‘Pin Chao Lat,’ Gerald told them. ‘Very well regarded by the Chinese. Excellent military record. Here as one of the bodyguards to the Chinese delegation.’ He turned back to the screen. ‘And now for our final suspect.’
He clicked for the next picture. As the face appeared on the screen, Mitch let out an involuntary whistle. ‘It’s Koman,’ he said.
Gerald looked at Mitch. ‘You know him?’ he asked.
‘We all know him,’ said Nelson. ‘Mehmet Koman. We were on an operation recently in Turkey. Koman was our link with Turkish security.’
‘He’s also a damn good operative,’ said Benny. ‘You sure he’s working with Deacon on this assassination?’
‘We did extensive cross-checks working with the Intelligence services of the other countries who are coming to the summit,’ Gerald told him. ‘Finance, politics, personal tragedies, every last little piece of info. Then we did more cross-checks and carried on digging. These are the ones who fit the profile best.’
‘But we don’t know for sure,’ said Mitch.
‘They’re the most likely suspects, Mitch,’ said Nelson. ‘And, remember, we all felt the same doubts about Deacon when this started.’
‘True,’ agreed Mitch.
‘OK, so what’s the score with these guys?’ Nelson asked Gerald. ‘Do we take care of them, or what?’
Gerald shook his head. ‘I’m afraid there are political issues to be taken into consideration. We’ve alerted our counterparts in their own Intelligence services about our concerns. I’ve been assured that the suspects will be kept under close observation the whole time they are here.’
‘So hopefully we’ve isolated Deacon,’ said Tug.
‘Unless he puts another team together,’ said Gerald.
Nelson shook his head. ‘One, he doesn’t know we know about his team. Two, even if he did, he’d have no time to put together another outfit.’ He looked around at the rest of his unit. ‘All we can do is hope the intel’s good, and that we get lucky.’