He paused. ‘Desperate people do desperate things. The stakes have been raised and they may have to think big to survive. Be careful not to cross their paths – they are in a dangerous mood.’
Rafi felt the colonel place his large hand on his shoulder. ‘I have more bad news. Just before I left I was informed that the FSB have reopened their investigation into the death of Pinja Koit. They now think that the charred body in the plane crash was not his after all. Perhaps you could tell your people at MI5?’
The colonel’s voice reverted to his normal deep growl. ‘Great party, thank you, Rafi. Kristina has had a ball. She’s very excited; it seems your sister has invited her over to shadow her for a couple of days’ work experience; even offered to put her up. Say a big thank you to Saara for me. And, Rafi, remember, let me know if I can be of any help. You know where to find me.’
Rafi hesitated before replying; he was still taking in what the colonel had just said. Jörg Emcke’s team were only in the preliminary stages of researching the financial grey areas and piecing together the web of cross-border crime syndicates. Colonel Matlik had given him another whole angle to consider.
Rafi turned around to ask him a question, but he had vanished into thin air.
Kate was standing nearby.
‘Have you seen Matlik?’ he enquired.
‘Yes, he left a moment ago, just after chatting to you,’ replied Kate. ‘You look as if you’ve seen another ghost.’
Rafi took a deep breath. A sense of foreboding came over him. If Matlik was right and the criminal classes were about to flex their muscles, Jörg’s team had two groups to worry about. On the one hand there were those whose finances had been crippled by their losses in the derivatives markets – they needed to make money fast. On the other hand, there were those champing at the bit to grab market share, intent on eliminating their weakened competitors. And on top of this, Kate and he possibly had two rogue bulls to contend with: Pinja Koit with his Chechen contacts, and Miti Lakhani about whom they still knew practically nothing. They would have to watch their backs. Unwanted memories of the Headland Hotel crept back into his mind. A cold shiver ran down his back.
Kate squeezed his hand. ‘Are you alright?’
Rafi pulled his overactive imagination back to the present. ‘Sorry, I was just mulling over something Colonel Matlik said. Oh, by the way, Saara has offered Kristina a couple of days’ work experience and invited her to stay after she has finished her finals. Your introduction seemed to do the trick!’
‘I’m pleased for her.’
‘Have you seen Jeremy?’
Kate pointed to the back of the restaurant.
‘I won’t be long - there is something I need to ask him.’
Jeremy was sitting at a corner table talking quietly with Ewan.
‘Am I interrupting you?’ Rafi asked them. ‘As it’s work-related, would you prefer we chat when we’re back in Luxembourg?’
‘Not at all,’ replied Jeremy. ‘We were just catching up on a few matters relating to Maryam and her bank.’
Rafi sat down with his back to the room.
‘We have managed to get into the bank accounts Maryam was using to fund the terrorist activities,’ added Ewan. ‘In some cases the payments go back over three years. She was using numbered accounts so at this stage we have not been able to put precise names to them. However, what has caught our attention is the series of large payments which first went to an Estonian bank account, but stopped and then started again a week or so later, but this time they went into bank accounts in Pakistan and Iran. We were speculating as to whether these accounts were linked to Pinja Koit.’
‘Could I add something?’ asked Rafi butting in. ‘I have just been chatting to Colonel Matlik and he was telling me that the Russians – the FSB – have been looking into Pinja Koit’s death. There seems to be considerable doubt as to whether he was on the plane that crashed.’
‘When was that?’ enquired Ewan.
‘About fourteen months ago,’ answered Jeremy. ‘He makes a good addition to our team, doesn’t he, sir?’ added a beaming Jeremy. ‘It seems Colonel Matlik trusts him more than you or me!’
Ewan nodded, deep in thought. ‘Fourteen months ago… That ties in with the switch in the bank payments. So we can assume Mr Koit is still out there.’
‘That makes sense,’ added Jeremy. ‘And when Radu Dranoff arrived to help Aslan Popovskaya, I bet it was Pinja Koit who arranged it. He must have been involved behind the scenes coordinating all the dirty work. As I see it, he was so incensed by you, Rafi, that he sent Dranoff to take you out. Unfortunately, I don’t see why he shouldn’t still be pissed off.’
Rafi looked shocked. He thought for a moment. ‘How do you think Jameel Furud and Basel Talal’s charity, the suicide bombers and Kaleem Shah fitted in?’
‘I am not sure,’ said Ewan. ‘The attack on the atomic weapons establishment at Aldermaston and the style of Kaleem Shah’s operation have had me thinking. I am wondering whether it was the terrorists’ insurance policy to get the Iranians on their side.’
‘Pardon?’ said Rafi.
‘Well, let us assume for one moment that the terrorists’ plans had been successful; Maryam, the sheikh, Jameel and Talal would have become pariahs in the Western world and would have needed somewhere to go to escape the reach of our laws.’
‘Hence Iran?’ asked Jeremy.
‘That is my thinking,’ said Ewan. ‘Especially as they are prevented from having any nuclear capabilities. Iran doesn’t like being excluded from the nuclear club and they can’t have been happy with the UK’s decision to upgrade Trident. One set of rules for us and another for them.’
‘So do you reckon Pinja Koit is in Pakistan or Iran regrouping?’ asked Rafi.
‘Yes; probably Pakistan,’ replied Ewan.
‘But they have one serious problem,’ interjected Rafi. ‘They will have lost their source of funding!’
‘Good point,’ said Ewan, ‘but we shouldn’t underestimate Koit’s capabilities. I will bring MI6 up to speed and make tracking him down a priority.’
‘In the meantime,’ added Jeremy, ‘if I was you, Rafi, I’d try and avoid dark alleyways – and that applies to Kate as well.’
‘On the bright side, after Newquay, we at MI5 and the SAS owe you one, so we will do our best to keep an eye on you,’ promised Ewan.
Rafi was about to reply, when Saara ambled over. ‘So this is where you have got to!’ She was beaming. ‘Steve is making a real night of it. I doubt whether I’ll get him home for hours. I’ve given Kate my set of keys, in case you want to leave before us. Last I saw of her she was looking for you.’ .
Jeremy smiled at Rafi. ‘Let’s chat some more back in the office.’
Rafi spotted Kate in the distance. He got up and shook hands with Ewan. ‘Thank you for bringing me up to speed. If you will excuse me, I should go and see why Kate wanted me.’
‘It has been a pleasure talking to you… And Rafi, please, remember to keep Jeremy in the loop with all your thinking. I sense that these are still treacherous times,’ added Ewan.
Rafi, with Saara beside him, went off to find Kate.
Kate greeted him with a hug and a lingering kiss, and then jangled Saara’s keys in front of his nose. ‘How’s about we say our remaining few goodbyes and then try out the new bed in your flat?’ she asked.
‘Great idea,’ Rafi replied.
He looked at her smiling face and realised that she made him feel alive. He had traded the comfy and highly paid world of the City for the adrenaline-filled world of counterterrorism, and to his surprise he wondered what he had ever seen in his previous existence.
Then he saw in Kate’s eyes the same fire that had burned that first night they were in Luxembourg and with a flutter of her eyelashes, any worries he had about the jeopardy that lay ahead vanished.
About the Author
Piers Venmore-Rowland grew up in Hertfordshire. He read Estate Management and Contemporary European
Studies at Reading University, and Finance at City University Business School. He worked in London, first as a chartered surveyor and then as an investment analyst. He spent fifteen years at City University, London, where he was a professor and a member of City University Senate. He was also a visiting professor at the Faculty of Art, Design & Architecture, Kingston University, London. Piers is now a full-time writer, is married, with three daughters, and lives in Suffolk, England.
www.latenthazard.com
Table of Contents
About LATENT HAZARD - on the edge
Praise for LATENT HAZARD
Title page
Copyright
Dedication
Acknowledgements
Index
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
About the Author
LATENT HAZARD: On the Edge Page 48