Latent Hazard

by Piers Venmore-Rowland

  ‘What speed has Golden Sundancer been cruising at?’

  ‘Between thirty-seven and forty-one knots – very respectable given the conditions down there. Their de-icing system seems to be working well; unusual, though, for this type of boat.’

  ‘How many do you reckon are on board?’

  ‘Two men; the captain and a crew member are all we’ve seen. Give me a moment and I’ll send through the pictures.’

  ‘While you’re at it, could you include any markings on the wooden boxes?’ asked Kate.

  ‘Will do.’

  ‘Is there any chance of them picking you up on their radar, seeing or hearing you?’ asked Kate.

  ‘Don’t worry; we’re as good as invisible as we’ve got our radar-cloaking device on.’ He paused. ‘They’ve completed the unloading of the dinghy and the two boxes have been safely stowed on board.’ After a moment’s silence he went on, ‘Golden Sundancer is returning to her bearing of 1528 and is getting back up to her previous speed. I’ll keep you posted if she alters speed or course, or has another rendezvous. Out.’

  Kate looked up. ‘Emma have you got the pictures?’

  ‘Yep,’ came the reply. ‘The boxes and their markings are just what we wanted.’

  ‘Brilliant; these confirm the whereabouts of our missing Kornet missile launcher. Now we’ve only got one missile target to find, not three!’ Kate picked up the phone and relayed the good news to the commissioner’s assistant, Beverley.

  John, who was back in the room, raised his coffee cup towards Kate, toasting her.

  ‘Here’s to your eclectic team. Twenty-four hours ago I wouldn’t have given you a cat in hell chance. Now – who knows? – we might beat the buggers, yet.’

  Alex entered the room. ‘I thought I’d see how the other half lived. My goodness, it’s cosy in here!’

  ‘You should have seen it thirty-six hours ago – none of this mess was here,’ replied Rafi.

  ‘No,’ said Emma, ‘it was all tidied away into the filing cabinets!’

  Alex walked across to Rafi’s desk and pulled up a chair. ‘I am so pleased that you are OK. Might I ask why you chose me when you could have picked one of the high-profile City economists?’

  Rafi looked at Alex. ‘It was a no-brainer. How are you getting on with your colleagues?’

  ‘Really well.’

  ‘There’s your answer,’ he said with a broad smile.

  ‘Thank you. Thank you for choosing me. Oh, by the way, your little sister is proving an inspired choice; she’s a bright cookie and has us all organised. Chat to you later.’ With that Alex turned and left.

  Kate looked across at Rafi. ‘You don’t by any chance have a brother? If so, I’d like to meet him, please.’

  ‘Afraid not.’

  She looked at Rafi, her head slightly to one side. ‘You’re proving to be a most resourceful guy with some great friends. I’m pleased that I allowed David to bully me into getting you out of Paddington Green!’

  As Kate and Rafi were finalising the background materials for the presentation to the Chiefs upstairs, Jeremy bounced into the room.

  ‘Well done tracking down the fifth missile launcher; at last we’ve something to celebrate.’

  How he managed to keep up to date amazed Rafi.

  ‘Talking of fun, we’ve been over to Aidan’s office. Greg has had a field day, borrowed three large state-of-the-art video conferencing screens, a large plasma screen and various other useful gismos. The basement store proved to be a real Aladdin’s cave. Aidan did a brilliant job of distracting his two security guards and he even got them to lock up the conference rooms before he left, saying that they were to remain locked until 8 a.m. tomorrow. Greg is down the corridor setting up his new toys now. How long has the meeting been going on upstairs?’

  ‘Almost an hour, I reckon,’ replied Emma. ‘The PM arrived a bit late.’

  ‘My inside line,’ said Jeremy, ‘is that we can expect the politicians to play it slow and to insist that COBRA – the normal emergency committee – is brought into session as soon as the meeting finishes, and they will ignore MI5’s concerns about there being sleepers. This flap will really test the PM.’

  Rafi nodded – the PM would be in uncharted waters – and wondered how he would react.

  Kate had finished her collating and crossed over to her desk. ‘Well, I seem to be ready. How are you feeling, Rafi?’

  ‘Given the circumstances, not that bad, thanks. At least my brain is still working; the rest of me feels due for a refit and needs a bit of TLC.’

  Kate smiled and whispered, ‘When all this is over, I’ll see what I can do – as a small thank you.’

  ‘A thank you for what?’ Rafi replied.

  ‘Bloody hell, you’re impossible! What planet are you on? If it hadn’t been for you, I’d be having a normal night, oblivious to the fact that tomorrow would be hell.’

  ‘Sorry.’ Rafi, still deep in thought, walked off down the corridor to the interview room. He wondered how the economics team were getting on. He put his head around the door. The six occupants had reorganised the room, with a group of desks in the middle. Alex and Donald were sitting next to each other, opposite Matthew and Bob. Saara was at one end and Aidan at the other. On one side of the room were a couple of PCs and a printer photocopier. A whiteboard, now covered with writing, had been hung on the opposite wall. Plates littered the table. The room definitely had a ‘work-in-progress’ air to it.

  ‘Just thought I’d drop by to see how you were getting on and to let you know that we currently have a good idea where seven of the eight terrorist targets are.’

  ‘And they’ve traced the two suicide bombers and the journalist Shah to the outskirts of Aldermaston, not far from the Nuclear Weapons Research Establishment, as Emma predicted.’ added Kate who had arrived just behind Rafi.

  Matthew spoke up. ‘Emma and Aidan have filled us in on what the terrorists are planning. My view is that you’re understating the financial downside.’

  ‘But at least we have advance warning,’ said Aidan.

  Rafi smiled at his sister.

  ‘They’re being very tolerant of my lack of finance skills,’ she said.

  ‘Have none of it Rafi; this young lady could join my team any day!’ said Donald, Rafi’s former boss, with a smile.

  Rafi turned to leave and heard the soft voice of Saara follow him down the corridor. ‘Rafi, look after yourself.’

  Back at his desk, Rafi was feeling depressed and downright irritable. He’d been chatting with one of John’s team, who had been working on the properties the terrorists were involved with. He too had come to the same conclusion as Rafi, but had spoilt it by saying, ‘I’m glad my head isn’t on the block on this one. Your hunch seems logical and you seem to sense how they’d operate, but bugger me, talk about pissing in the wind!’

  ‘Thank you for those well-chosen words of wisdom.’ Rafi replied.

  Kate stood next to him. ‘Don’t for one moment feel sorry for yourself. How you manage to think straight, let alone sort out this bloody jigsaw puzzle after what you’ve been through, amazes me – not long now,’ she said in a caring tone.

  Rafi was halfway through a sandwich when Kate’s phone rang. ‘We’re on. Time to face the music!’

  As they went down the corridor, Kate put her head around the door of the interview room and asked Aidan to join them.

  They walked past a positively beaming Greg, who by the looks of things had the Ops Room fully up and running. He gave a thumbs up sign to Aidan, who acknowledged it with a wave and a grin.

  The walk up the back stairs took him back to his school days; it conjured up memories of visiting his house master – the gloomy lighting and the greying wall paint added to his apprehension.

  Part 5

  The team walked into the commissioner’s anteroom, where Beverley was at her desk. ‘Giles is ready for you. Do go straight in.’ The commissioner’s conference room had a very businesslike air to it.


  ‘Good evening,’ said Giles, standing up as Kate entered the room. ‘Please be seated. John and Jeremy, would you let Rafi, Kate and Aidan sit at the table and pull up two chairs behind them? Thank you,’ said Giles. ‘Sorry it’s a bit of a squeeze, but I reckon we can manage. Time for some introductions: Prime Minister, Secretary of State for Defence, Air Chief Marshal Sir Nigel Hawser, head of the armed services, and Ewan Thorn, head of MI5. It’s my pleasure to introduce to you: Jeremy Welby of MI5, Detective Chief Inspector John Dowsing of Special Branch, Detective Inspector Kate Adams of our Economic Crime Department, Aidan Gilchrist of Maine Leadbetter – a derivatives expert – and Rafi Khan.’

  Giles continued. ‘We have had a fruitful discussion, but before we go any further the Prime Minister and his Defence Secretary would like to ask you some questions.’

  ‘Thank you, Commissioner,’ said the PM in a measured voice. ‘Three hours ago I had envisaged spending the evening dealing with mundane matters. Suffice it to say, Giles’s revelations have come as a serious shock – the intricacy and scope of the terrorists’ threat to our energy supplies, our financial system and our country’s economic welfare is every bit as grave as anything we’ve faced since the Second World War,’ he looked at Giles reassuringly. ‘I’m not going to shoot the messenger. Indeed, I understand that you’ve been working day and night since Monday. To have come this far with your investigations in such a short time deserves my considerable gratitude.’

  The PM paused and looked around the room. ‘Unfortunately, all you have accomplished will come to nought unless our next steps are the right ones. As has most eloquently been pointed out to me, we have to be proactive and not reactive in the face of these heinous threats.’ He looked at his Defence Secretary, then continued. ‘There are a number of questions to which we would appreciate candid answers. First of all, why do you believe that COBRA is not the right way forward at this point in time?’

  Kate looked across at the PM. ‘I wish it were, sir,’ she said slightly shakily. She paused and fully regained her composure. ‘MI5’s and our worry is that the terrorists could have contingency plans. At this point in time we’ve a lead on all except one of the expected terrorist targets. We know that we’re up against well-trained and battle-hardened mercenaries. If they were to be tipped off, such is the transportability of their missile launchers that they might simply switch to a plan “B”. To answer your question, whilst the chances are small, the downside hazard is too large.’ Kate paused.

  ‘Where precisely is the threat of an internal tip-off?’ asked the PM.

  Kate pulled out some stapled sheets of paper from the small bundle in front of her and passed one to each of the individuals around the table.

  ‘In front of you are the names of individuals we and MI5 can place within the terrorists’ web of companies. To put it bluntly, all these individuals are on the terrorists’ payroll – whether they know it or not. You will note that there is an executive officer of a metropolitan authority on that list, which falls within the London disaster planning area. On page four is a list of the organisations which the terrorists have infiltrated through their huge outsourcing service business and the limited liability partnerships they run. The list includes: the Ministry of Defence, GCHQ, Paddington Green police station, the Home Office—’

  ‘Thank you,’ cut in the PM.

  ‘This list is impressive, but can it be verified?’ asked the Defence Secretary.

  ‘The names come from Companies House and have been given the once-over by MI5.’

  ‘Let us be clear; you’re suggesting,’ the PM turned the sheet over, ‘that a special adviser to me at Number 10, whom I was with not four hours ago, is on their payroll, as are two individuals who provide support to COBRA. Is that correct?’

  Kate looked straight at the PM and said, ‘Yes, sir.’

  ‘The problem is that we believe we have identified two potential moles in COBRA, but we can’t be 100% sure that we haven’t missed a third,’ said Ewan.

  The PM looked at Ewan, the head of MI5. ‘This is very disturbing; why the hell didn’t I know about this sooner?’

  ‘Unfortunately, we’ve only just uncovered them. They’re “sleepers”, put in place to carry out one or more specific activities. Up to that point, they are in effect invisible. I’ve seen the documentation relating to one of the limited liability partnerships controlled by the terrorists, on which an MP sits as a non-executive. He gets paid £40,000 per annum for attending four half-day meetings a year. Although the sum is disclosed in the Members’ Register, there’s nothing there about the fact that his daily rate is £20,000. The going rate for an individual with little business experience would be less than one-tenth of what he’s being paid. The fact that this MP sits on a couple of sensitive committees is what concerns us at MI5. Following our investigations into the activities of Maryam Vynckt we have become aware that many on the list could be receiving large payments offshore via Gulf Trade Bank. The problem is that to all intents and purposes these offshore payments are very hard to trace unless one knows exactly where to look. For the time being, it’s difficult to confirm that the list is comprehensive.’

  The Defence Secretary kept quiet, but looked agitated.

  ‘So, it’s a matter of timing?’ asked the PM. ‘Whilst the terrorists have their Kornet missiles and remain at large, you believe COBRA should not be activated?’

  ‘Precisely, sir.’

  The Prime Minister looked thoughtful. Rafi sensed he didn’t agree.

  ‘Thank you,’ said the Prime Minister, ‘that answers my first question. My second question is: how certain are we that the terrorists have Kornet missiles?’

  Kate flicked through her bundle of papers, pulled out copies of the digitally enhanced photo of the two wooden boxes strapped into the inflatable dinghy and passed them around the table.

  ‘This photo was taken under an hour ago. The markings on the boxes in the picture correspond to those for the Kornet missile launcher and its missiles. The boats involved are owned by the terrorists. Similar boxes were seen by the manager of the terrorists’ warehouse in Tallinn. The Russian Security Service has confirmed that five missile launchers and twenty missiles have been stolen. The markings on the boxes match those mislaid by the Russians.’

  ‘Thank you. Now for question number three. Could you please tell me why you are so confident that the four Chechen mercenaries have two targets each?’

  ‘A combination of things, Prime Minister. Firstly we have confirmation that they took delivery of five Kornet missile launchers and twenty missiles, four of which we know have been fired. This leaves them with sixteen missiles. The photos we have just received indicate that a launcher and probably four missiles are now on board Golden Sundancer. This leaves the four Chechen terrorists with a launcher and three missiles each. We have been talking to the army; the launcher, its tripod and the missiles are cumbersome for one man to move around quickly. We therefore believe the Kornet launcher will be used to fire three missiles and then left behind. Each terrorist will then move on to where they have hidden a Vektor mortar and use it to attack their second target. Our Estonian friends have confirmed that the terrorist have taken delivery of four such mortars with eighty high-explosive shells.’

  Kate paused to let what she had just said sink in, and was about to carry on when the Defence Secretary enquired, ‘Could they not use the mortars first?’

  ‘Yes that is entirely possible. Our thinking was simply that the Kornet missiles would inflict more damage, so would be used first,’ replied Kate.

  The Defence Secretary nodded and she continued. ‘If we consider the types of targets close to the terrorists’ vacant properties and their weapons – they correspond. The Kornet missiles will be used on the substantially built targets – the nuclear power stations – and the Vektor mortars will attack lighter-weight targets – the oil and gas facilities.’

  ‘OK. Question number four: when and where do you believe that the terrorist attack
s will come?’

  ‘Our educated guess is that the attacks will be tomorrow between 7.30 and 8.00 a.m. – from first light to when the Stock Exchange opens. This will maximise the news coverage and the adverse impact on the markets. This theory is supported by the information we have from the local harbour masters who have informed us that the trawlers are all due to slip their berths tomorrow between late morning and early afternoon.’

  Kate passed across more sheets of paper detailing where they believed the attacks would take place.

  The PM looked around at his colleagues, who were deep in thought. ‘Any questions or shall I carry on?’ After a short pause, he moved on to his fifth question. ‘Why do you want us to let the terrorists escape and make them believe that they’ve successfully hit their targets?’

  Kate looked behind her at John and Jeremy. Neither showed any desire to tackle this question so she carried on.

  ‘It’s our desire to catch the four main ringleaders: Sheikh Tufayl, Basel Talal, Jameel Furud and Maryam Vynckt and any other people who have been helping them,’ said Kate. She paused momentarily to collect her thoughts.

  ‘Perhaps I can shed light on this Prime Minister,’ said Ewan. ‘Our intelligence unit tells me that the four main ringleaders and the escaping terrorists will meet up. We believe that their destination is Morocco. Jameel is there and confirmation has come through that the sheikh’s private jet has filed a flight plan to Marrakech airport. It’s scheduled to land at 12.45 p.m. on Monday. We believe the terrorists will leave Britain on the trawlers and rendezvous with their fast motor vessel, Golden Sundancer, which will then sail to Morocco.’