by Paul Blake
‘You’re tracking me too? Of course, you are. Do you want a Head of Section job after this? Mine will be up for grabs.’
‘Shut up Alec, you aren’t going anywhere. I’ve told everyone that you foiled a plot to assassinate the PM and are on your way to apprehend the ringleader. You might even get a medal.’
‘I could kiss you.’ Damn right, I will.
‘I expect more than that. Someone mentioned going shopping I seem to remember.’
‘I’ll buy you the biggest, the gaudiest ring a lowly intelligence officer can afford.’
‘Head of Section, please remember that I wouldn’t lower my standards to be with anyone less than that.’
‘Of course not, my darling, maybe I should start looking for promotion opportunities to keep you in the luxuries you deserve.’
‘There is a Head of Berlin job recently vacated. Nudge, nudge.’
‘Only temporarily at the moment. I plan to make it permanent.’
‘You be careful, I’ll be along soon to clean up after you.’
‘Where’s Sara? Is she ok?’
‘She's shaken up, but Peter is looking after her. They’re at mine; I figured that was the safest place for them.’
‘Good idea. Peter stayed an extra day?’
‘He said something about you owing him the best kebab in Berlin. I’m not sure he wanted to leave Sara though. I kept seeing him looking at her.’
‘And you left them alone!’
‘Settle down Dad, not everyone is like you, always thinking about sex.’
‘Well… thinking about the other night, I pity them.’
‘Alec!’ He could hear her blush.
‘The station’s coming up, I better go.’
‘You be careful, he’s bigger than you.’
‘And older.’ Alec said, as though the three years would make that much of a difference.
‘Just be careful. I love you.’
‘You too… bye for now, beautiful.’ He hung up.
The train came into the station and slowly halted. Alec was the first one off and went straight to the electronic station departures board. Platform 7, that’s on the lowest floor. How long have I got? Four minutes, shit! Alec was on Platform 16 on the upper floor. He sprinted to the platform exit and bounded down the stairs, pushing past passengers coming up.
27
Alec made it to the entrance to Platform 7 with a minute to spare and a lot of angry people in his wake. He spotted the tall figure of Newbury get on the train further down the platform. He entered the First-Class carriage. Of course. The door close alarm started, and Alec ran to the nearest carriage and jumped on just as the doors closed.
The train started off with a jerk and Alec made his way through the carriages. He was breathing heavily from his sprint through the station and coupled with his earlier exertions escaping from the palace, he was struggling. He decided to take his time, it’s not as though Arthur is going anywhere. It’s a four-hour train journey. By taking my time, it’ll give him a chance to relax, think he’s got away. Alec sat down at a free chair and let his body recover.
After twenty minutes, his pulse was strong and steady, the blood rushing around his head had diminished, and his breathing was no longer ragged. Alec decided to call Claudia to let her know what was happening.
‘Hi Alec, what’s this? The third or fourth time you’ve called me today? How’s the trip?’ Claudia said. Alec could hear a lot of noise in the background.
‘The third, I think. I miss the sound of your voice, obviously. It’s a lovely smooth train journey. Where are you?’
‘We got to the station a minute or two after the train departed. We’re now travelling to Wolfsburg to catch it at the next stop. Have you seen Arthur yet?’
‘Are you flying? It’s very loud your end.’
‘That’ll be the helicopter, it’s not the quietest.’
‘I can imagine. I saw Arthur get on the train, and then I had to jump on before the doors closed. I’m just lulling him into a false sense of security before going to see him. I’m looking forward to dashing his hopes and bashing his skull.’
‘I may have said this but be careful. You can always wait until Wolfsburg. Harper has already informed the train station and German police that we are tracking a known terrorist. The train won’t go any further than the station. Oh, you owe Harper a drink by the way. I had to tell him we suspected him instead of Arthur. He was quite put out at the thought.’
‘I suppose he would be. I may have been blinded by my dislike of the man and the trust of a so-called friend.’
‘What is done is done. We can’t change it. We just have to move on and make right what went wrong.’ Is she talking about us or Arthur? I suppose it’s the same either way.
‘You’re right, as always. I’m going to go and have a chat with Arthur. I’ll be careful, don’t worry. I can’t wait to see you.’
‘Make sure you are, I don’t want a dead lover. Not my kind of thing.’
They said their goodbyes and Alec hung up the call. It’s strange, this feeling of teamwork and counting on others. In the early days of his career, he’d been alone in the field and had got used to the feeling, relying on himself, not having to worry about anyone else. As time went by and he became more senior, he still preferred the solitary role, the undercover lone agent. The promotion to Head of Section took this away from him, and he didn’t like being behind the action. He now had the chance to learn from his past and take the sensible, team decision. That's not going to happen. There are thirty minutes or so until the first stop. It’s time. Alec stood and started walking through the train. He reached the beginning of the First-Class section, a narrow corridor down the left-hand-side of the carriage, eight individual compartments on the right. Each compartment had a clear glass sliding door, and Alec could see the occupants inside. The downside was that they could see him too. He longed for the olden days where the compartments had curtains that could be drawn across the windows giving privacy inside. A flash of memory struck him of enjoying that privacy with Claudia, many years ago, when they took the train for a romantic break in Prague. The curtains were drawn for the entire trip. He smiled at the thought, and his smile faded as he got his head back in the game.
He slowly walked down the corridor looking into each compartment as he passed. No Arthur… No Arthur. He came to the last compartment in the carriage and peeked into it. Yes! Newbury was sitting against the window, his back to Alec. He was watching the world speed by, gathering his thoughts. Alec put his hand on the door handle, took a deep breath and slid the door open.
‘Arthur? Arthur Newbury? What a coincidence us being on the same train, how the devil are you?’ Alec exclaimed with false camaraderie. He closed the door behind him, not taking his eyes off Newbury. ‘You can stay seated, Arthur. The jig is up, the fat lady has sung, and you’re going down for a very long time.’
‘Cut the crap, Alec, I should have known you’d turn up. You’re like a bad penny.’
‘Don’t you want to know how I knew you’d be on this train? It’s quite clever.’
Newbury stayed silent. His body was very still, but his eyes were darting all around, like a cornered animal.
‘No?’ Alec made his voice sound disappointed. ‘It’s not as ingenious as starting World War Three because I can’t be with the woman I want, but it’s pretty good.’
‘Leave Julia out of this.’
‘Oh, I would, but you brought Sara and Claudia into it. I’m just lowering the conversation to your level.’
Newbury didn’t respond to that. Alec was struck by how much larger Newbury was compared to him. Alec was giving up six inches in height, at least thirty pounds and Alec recalled the punch he received in the office the day before, and that in his youth Newbury had been a boxer, regularly taking part in intra-service bouts. Maybe I should have waited for back-up. Too late now, just have to roll with it. What’s it they say in the movies when against a stronger, bigger opponent? Make the
m angry, so they make a mistake? Time for some lies then.
‘Speaking of Julia, did you know she came to see me when she found out about you and that tart from the office?’
Newbury looked up at Alec, a question on his lips.
‘Yeah, she wanted to know if I knew about the affair, how long it had been going on and how serious you two were. She was very upset, you know. She really loved you.’
‘Go on,’ Newbury said. Alec could see his cheeks reddening.
‘Well we had a few drinks; I comforted her and told her the truth about you. Then we kissed. I don’t know who started it. It could have been her, it may have been me,’ Alec could see Newbury’s fists clenching and unclenching. The knuckles white. Alec braced himself for the attack and continued, ‘the next thing I knew we were undressing each other, pure raw passion, her hands all over me. She’s a wild one, that woman. Her new fella must be having the time of his life.’ Newbury lowered his head slightly, got ready to charge. ‘Anyway, I can see why you’d give up the world for her. She tasted delicious.’ Alec deliberately licked his lips as though remembering the time and taste.
Newbury leapt from the chair and charged at Alec. It was the opportunity Alec had been waiting for, as Newbury closed the small gap between them Alec raised his arm and slammed his elbow into Newbury’s face. The impact pushed Alec back against the door. Newbury fell backwards. Alec followed up the strike with a kick to Newbury’s unprotected groin. Newbury doubled up with an “ooomph” escaping from his lips. Shit, it worked. Alec stepped forward and aimed a punch at the side of Newbury’s head. Newbury, however, was waiting for the move and blocked it with his forearm. Alec lost his balance from both the momentum of the punch and the train taking a corner at speed. He staggered forward and cracked his head against the window. Newbury, now behind Alec, launched a series of blows to Alec’s back, each one felt to Alec like a jackhammer, with his back the pavement. I have to move. He pushed himself backwards using his leg on the seat. Newbury grabbed him around the throat with his arm and squeezed. Alec stamped his feet hoping to catch one of Newbury’s feet. He kicked backwards trying to rake his heels down Newbury’s shins. Newbury kept his legs out of Alec’s reach, bent Alec backwards putting more and more pressure on Alec’s neck and throat. Alec clawed at Newbury’s arms and hands, they didn’t move. Alec’s vision narrowed, the edges turned black. He couldn’t breathe. He knew he didn’t have long. He closed his eyes. I can’t end like this, this is pathetic. Think of Claudia and Sara. Their faces came to his mind. He saw them fade away in the darkness.
Alec did the only thing he could think to do. He placed his feet on the chair cushions, one either side of the aisle, he pushed with his legs, lifting his body and legs as high as they could go and then dropped placing all his weight in the lower part of his body. It felt like his head was going to be torn off, but the energy of the drop was too much for Newbury to hold. His grip on Alec’s neck broke, and Alec dropped to the ground. He gasped for air, taking big gulps. His right hand slid down to his pocket looking for anything that could be used a weapon. He pulled out Mihael’s phone, wrapped in his fist. He thrust it blindly over his head, He felt, then heard a crunch and then a thud. He rolled around to face Newbury and scampered back against the side of the compartment as far away as he could. He looked up and saw Newbury with one hand over his mouth, the other on the back of his head, shock and pain in his eyes.
Alec struggled to his feet; Newbury brought both arms out in a boxer’s stance, one hand guarding his face, the other ready to jab. His mouth a bloody mess. The phone must have caught him. POW! Right in the kisser! Alec laughed at the inappropriateness of the thought. Newbury snarled and dropped the guard and launched himself at Alec, he led with the jabbing hand. Alec dropped to his knees, his feet planted against the side of the carriage and pushed himself forward. Alec felt Newbury’s fist glance off the side of his head with a sting. Alec continued the motion and felt the top of his head hit Newbury’s face. Newbury cried out, he was forced backwards, and his legs went from under him, and he collapsed to the floor. Alec landed on top of him. Alec started punching Newbury’s already bloody face, the nose snapped, the eyes shut, tears and blood dripped from the closed lids. He felt Newbury go limp underneath him. He punched a few more times to ensure it wasn’t a fake. He stopped; his breathing hard, his damaged throat restricted his swallowing. He used the chairs either side to lift him up, and he slumped onto one of them exhausted, his shaking hands were bloodied and sore. His face felt like it had been run over. He stayed that way for a few minutes until the sliding door opened, and a voice started to ask, in German, to see his ticket. The question died as soon as they saw the man on the floor and Alec, bloodied, on the chair.
‘Sorry.’ Alec said. ‘I’m schwarzfahren,’ Travelling without a ticket. ‘I’ll have to accept the fine.’ He burst into a fit of laughter and tears.
28
The train pulled into Wolfsburg Hauptbahnhof station and ground to a halt. A tannoy announcement advised passengers that the train would be stopping there due to a mechanical problem and they were to get on the next one. Alec stayed in the compartment with the subdued and restrained Newbury. The train conductor, once Alec had told him what had happened, had provided some ropes for Alec to tie Newbury up. Alec had his eyes closed, head leaning against the window when the door opened. He opened his eyes and was greeted by Harper, Claudia and four officers holding guns. He recognised them from the embassy but didn’t know their names.
‘Hi, honey. There’s a present for you on the floor. Sorry, it’s not wrapped.’ He said, his voice croaked. He was feeling lightheaded from the painkillers and two whiskies the conductor gave him to wash them down with.
The officers dragged Newbury out of the compartment. Claudia sat next to Alec and hugged him; he winced at the pain but accepted the hug without complaint.
‘Well done, Foster,’ Harper said. ‘You did really well, saved the Prime Minister, stopped World War Three and also answered one of the questions that always comes up at office parties.’
‘What question is that?’ Alec asked.
‘Well, who would win in a fight between you and Arthur, of course. I always said you’d win, you’re scrappy and willing to break the rules. Arthur didn’t stand a chance.’
Alec smiled, ‘Richard, why haven’t we ever gone drinking together? I think I like you.’
‘Maybe we will. I’m going to make sure Arthur is apprised of his rights. I’m sure you read them to him, and he resisted, but it is good practice to have them on record. I’ll see you around.’ He left the compartment, leaving Claudia and Alec alone.
‘I thought he’d never go.’ Alec said, as he broke the hug and brought Claudia’s face to his. They kissed deeply and passionately. Alec forgot about the pain.
◆◆◆
The taxi stopped on Mommsenstraße, outside Claudia’s apartment building. Claudia got out first and went round to Alec’s door. She opened it and helped him out of the vehicle. Alec shuffled round in the seat and dropped his legs out of the door. Claudia gave him her shoulder to lean on. Together they walked and hobbled to the apartment building door. The taxi drove off, splashing into puddles from the recent downpour as it went.
‘It seems strange we were only here yesterday morning. It’s like a lifetime ago.’ Alec said.
‘We should have stayed in bed.’
‘Sadly, that was not an option. The dreams wouldn’t let me.’ Alec prodded his head with his free hand.
‘I suppose the guilt of letting the PM die could have put a dampener on things.’
Alec’s hand moved to her breast, he gave it a little squeeze, ‘Probably not, to be fair.’
‘Alec, oh my god! You can barely walk, and you’re having dirty thoughts. Also, we’re on the street, what would my neighbours think. This is an upmarket neighbourhood.’
‘You’re the one who said we should have stayed in bed. Besides, I was just checking they were still there. I missed them.’ He kisse
d her on the cheek.
‘Well, keep your naughty thoughts and your filthy hands to yourself. Your niece is upstairs, and Peter. They won’t want to see you groping a middle-aged woman.’
‘The sexiest middle-aged woman anyone has ever seen.’ Alec said.
Claudia hit him gently in the stomach, ‘you’re supposed to say, “You’re not middle-aged, my beautiful darling.” I guess there is time to fix you, you’ve spent far too much time on your own.’
‘I wouldn’t argue with that.’
‘That’s a good start.’ She kissed him and then opened the door to the building.
‘Oh crap! I forgot about the stairs.’ Alec cried.
They reached the top of stairs after much sweat, tears and cursing. Alec must have said the word “lift” at least twenty times.
‘You should have tried doing that with a buggy and a screaming infant three or four times a day. Mind you they didn’t scream as much as you just did.’ Claudia said with a sweet smile on her face.
Alec grumbled under his breath as Claudia rang the buzzer to the apartment. Alec recalled the harsh sound from the night this all started.
‘Hello?’ Sara’s voice spoke over the intercom.
‘Hi, Sara, its Claudia and your Uncle… Just checking you and Peter were decent before we came in.’
‘Aunty!’ Sara exclaimed in shock. Alec’s eyes widened in surprise.
‘I’ll take that as you are okay for us to come in then.’
‘Of course, oh my god.’
Claudia put her key in the lock and twisted. She pushed the door open.
‘You’re a wicked woman, Claude,’ Alec said with a smile.
‘Of course, also you’d probably have a heart attack if we went in and they were on the sofa in flagrante delicto. I can’t be having that.’
‘That’s true, I almost had one going up those stairs.’
They went into the apartment, Alec kicked off his shoes beside the door and closed the door behind him.