by Taylor Leon
52
THERE WAS A loud squeal of ambulances pulling up outside the shopping centre, along with several more marked and unmarked police cars. A team of medics burst through, three of them stopping at Lee Riley, another three continued running down the concourse towards Pembertons.
Arnie appeared behind me as I stood watching them work on Riley’s body.
‘You okay?’ he said over my shoulder.
I turned in surprise. ‘How did you and Gregson get here so fast?’
‘Same as you,’ he said. ‘Norris told Gregson half an hour ago that this shopping centre had been the next target on Mark Riley’s short-list five years ago. That’s why we put a call out to you all on the secure line.’
I hadn’t picked up that alert, but at least it explained to Arnie why I was here.
He stepped forward and called over to Gregson who was stooping over the medics. ‘How is he?’
Gregson rose and shrugged. He looked across at the crowd forming in front of us. Joe Public, believing the immediate danger had passed was now interested in watching the aftermath.
‘One injury in the clothing store where the explosion took place, but it’s not critical,’ Gregson said. ‘It could have been a lot worse.’
As he said that, the crowd parted to let an ambulance through, lights glowing and sirens blaring. The doors of the centre had gone into emergency mode and opened-up the whole way so emergency vehicles could come inside.
Gregson came over to us. ‘We need to clear this centre,’ he said. ‘Check Riley didn’t plant any other devices.’
‘Riley isn’t acting alone,’ I said. ‘There were two of them in Arlington Road.’
‘Any ideas who the second person is?’ Gregson asked.
‘Why don’t you ask your friend Norris?’ Arnie growled sarcastically.
‘It’s Carl Riley,’ I interjected. ‘Lee Riley’s other son.’
‘Okay,’ Gregson said, backing away, ‘let’s put the word out.’
‘No need,’ Arnie said calmly. ‘We already have him. We picked him up half an hour ago.’
Gregson nodded and smiled. ‘Good work. Let’s get to work on him.’ He turned to go back over to where Lee Riley was lying.
Arnie moved ahead to speak to the “lids”, as he referred to the uniformed officers, and as he did so I noticed my ear-piece on the floor nearby.
I put it back in place and turned it on. ‘Jessie can you hear me?’
‘Christ Erin, we couldn't get hold of you,’
I stepped away out of earshot and lowered my voice. ‘You were watching the CCTV cameras you saw what happened. I got him. We got him.’
‘Erin, listen to me-’
I heard the panic in her voice. Something was still wrong.
‘Frankie’s still inside his head, seeing everything through his eyes.’
I looked across at the small group of people crouched over Lee Riley. They were starting to lift him onto a gurney ready to put him in the ambulance. I had no idea whether he was alive or dead. Didn’t care too much either.
‘He’s still there,’ Jessie said.
The floor dropped from beneath me, and I went into freefall.
But he’s there in front of me, lying unconscious, maybe even dead.
‘She hasn't been inside Lee Riley’s head,’ Jessie continued quickly. ‘She’s been inside his partner’s.’
Arnie was looking over, sensing there was something wrong by the expression on my face. Beyond him Gregson stepped back from the gurney and called out to me.
I spun around, facing away from everyone.
‘Where is he?’ I hissed down the phone. ‘What can Frankie see?’
‘She sees you,’ Jessie said. ‘He’s there, looking right at you.’
53
I TURNED BACK around. Looked beyond Arnie, beyond Gregson. The crowd that was being pushed back by the police.
Gregson was waving me over. Arnie was coming towards me to see what was wrong.
‘Talk to me Jessie,’ I snapped, my voice rising. Looking across at the sea of faces, all of them looking in my direction.
‘He’s on the left-hand side of the crowd,’ she started saying.
I looked over at the left side of the crowd, just as she corrected herself, the stress of the situation was making her fluff her lines. ‘My left,’ she stammered. ‘I mean Frankie’s left. Your right.’
I switched to the other side. Too many people. No-one standing out.
‘Erin?’ Arnie asked, resting a hand on my shoulder.
‘There’s a teenager filming on his mobile just in front of where Frankie’s looking from,’ Jessie continued.
I peered around Arnie and he instinctively turned to see what I was looking at.
‘Detective Dark,’ Gregson called in the semi-distance, where he was in a huddle with a couple of his colleagues. ‘You’re needed over here!’
I ignored him, as Jessie shouted in my ear. ‘I’m looking at the CCTV. I can see him now. He’s in a black hoodie, right behind a kid who’s holding his mobile up.’
And then I clocked him, our eyes locking on one another for an instant.
I recognised the young face, but just couldn’t place him. He knew I had him, and he turned away and started pushing back through the crowd.
I charged forward, past the ambulance that was being loaded with Lee Riley’s body, and past Gregson who screamed out my name as I went by. I barrelled through the crowd, amidst screams from the throng of onlookers, worried that this was another attack.
I heard Gregson behind me, yelling above the noise, screaming for everyone to get back. Maybe his men were coming after me, but I had no time to turn and check.
My suspect had broken free from the crowd and was sprinting down the final empty hundred yards of concourse that led to the space where the exit doors had been. He was carrying a blue hold-all over one shoulder, and as three Uniforms moved together to try and block his run, he reached into the back of his jeans and pulled out a gun.
Coming up behind him, I screamed at them to get out of his way.
No more killings, please.
He fired twice. I saw one Uniform twist round, grip his upper arm and crumple to the floor. The other two instinctively moved away and he charged between them and out through the empty hole.
I hit the street seconds after him. More shops lined the pedestrian square on either side. There were pockets of people standing and gawping. Nobody seemed to be in the shops now, everyone was out here trying to see what the commotion was. They must have heard the explosion in Pembertons, and the sirens moments later.
‘Get out of the way,’ I yelled at them, as my suspect charged down the road ahead of me. There were more screams as people realised he was waving a gun.
He stopped at a row of parked cars and dived into the back of one. Immediately it pulled out of its space. I stood my ground in the road as it came rushing towards me. Briefly, I saw the whites of the getaway driver’s eyes. It was a face I recognised, but didn’t have time to register who it was because he had no intention of slowing down, and so I dived out of the way as it sped past.
The bastards were escaping!
But, as I rolled over and started getting up, I heard a thunderous bang, and instinctively thought the car must have hit another vehicle or bollard. I could see it up ahead. There was smoke rising from its crumpled bonnet and standing there in front of it was Bella, rising up like a phoenix from its flames. Then, she was around the side of the car and pulling open the driver’s door.
I got there just as she yanked the driver out, a big bear of a guy.
Chris Bramble.
The back door swung open and the runner leaned out, his gun pointing right at Bella’s head.
I spun around and saw two of Gregson’s agents standing two hundred yards away, weapons trained in our direction. Just behind them, I could see both Arnie and Gregson.
‘Let him go bitch,’ the kid snarled at Bella. He looked over his shoulder at me. ‘One more move from
you Detective and I kill her and then you.’
In the movies at this point, the hero would tell the would-be killer that he didn’t have to do this, that there had to be another way etcetera. But this wasn’t a movie, I wasn’t a hero and this person, I knew, had no intention of stepping down
I held up my hands. The kid nodded and climbed out of the car with the holdall.
He was sweating, unsure what to do next. This had never been part of the plan.
‘Get back over there,’ he said to Bella. She looked at me and I nodded. As strong as she was, she couldn’t do anything about a bullet that was fired into her from point blank range.
Chris Bramble turned towards me and started raising his hands in resignation.
There was loud crack, and with a cry, he slumped to the floor.
The kid’s gun was smoking as he muttered, ‘Pussy.’ Then he was onto me in a flash, dropping the holdall, and spinning me round to form a shield in front of him. He pushed his chin into the crook of my neck and pressed his gun against my temple.
‘This is the endgame!’ he called out to the MI5 agents, and started pulling me back across the road.
54
HE PULLED ME inside a sports shop, backing between several large tubs of footballs.
He saw two sales assistants in their red polo shirts and blue tracksuit bottoms, on the far side near the tills.
‘Run,’ he snarled at them and then waited as with wide eyes they fled out the store, a young teenage customer with them.
Once they had gone, he pushed me forward and let me turn to see him. His gun was still trained on me.
He pulled his hood back with a free-hand, then stretched the neck down so I could see the deep scratches. The damage I’d inflicted when he’d attacked me in Arlington Road.
‘I should have put a bullet in your head when I had the chance back then,’ he said. ‘But Uncle Lee has his own way of doing things.’
Uncle Lee.
That’s where I had seen him before. In an old photo at Judith Riley’s house. The same face, the same eyes.
‘You’re Georgie,’ I whispered.
He adjusted his aim.
‘You’re not a terrorist,’ I said. ‘You were never part of the NID.’
‘I should have been,’ he said. ‘I ran errands for them. Waited patiently for my time. They promised me.’
‘Your time?’
‘My time. To prove myself. My Dad, Uncle Lee, Anthony Norris, it was always “Mark this, Mark that.” They just saw me as some kid hanging onto their coat-tails. I was only three years younger than him.’
‘The NID was just a group of thugs, Georgie. Killers. Is that what you aspire to be? There’s no grand plan, no ending. Just a trail of killings. And now there’s no NID either.’
‘While there’s Anthony Norris there’s the NID.’
‘Ah, of course, the brilliant Anthony Norris.’
If he realised I was being sarcastic, then he chose to ignore me.
‘Anthony Norris has a vision,’ he said. ‘One day he’ll be PM, and me and his other foot-soldiers will be ready.’
I couldn’t help smirking as I burst his bubble. ‘I hate to break it to you, but it was Norris who gave Mark up; Norris who betrayed your beloved movement.’
Georgie thrust his arm forward his face contorted in anger, and I suddenly realised I had probably pushed him too far.
‘You’re lying,’ he said.
‘Really? Why do you think he’s never been put behind bars? You think he’s that good? Who do you imagine funds his political campaign? We do.’ I saw the uncertainty in his face.
‘You’ve lived a lie,’ I told him. ‘Your cousin, your Uncle, your Dad. All of it wasted on a cause betrayed by its own founder. And now you, Georgie, are about to end up in jail for life.’ I nodded at the huge glass panes at the front of the store. ‘Unless they shoot you first.’
I didn’t see him coming. He sprang forward, his arm a blur, as he pistol-whipped me across the face. It felt like he’d split my head in half. I felt my earpiece spring out, as I fell to my knees, trying to hold my face together.
Georgie stood over me and pushed his gun against my head.
‘If I do go, then you’re coming with me,’ he said.
So, this is how it ends.
I looked up and saw an expression of pure hate.
‘Die, bitch,’ he snarled.
55
I WAS AMAZED that it didn’t hurt to die.
I once read there was a momentary flash of pain and then it’s over. But there was no pain, no white tunnel, no being of light. Nothing. Just the darkness behind my closed lids. I hadn’t even heard the gunshot.
I opened my eyes and looked up.
Georgie’s head was pulled back, his face contorted in pain. My first thought was that he was having a heart attack. He staggered towards the back of the shop. Slipping and stumbling, he looked like he was being dragged there by some invisible assailant.
He spun around, and with a shriek flew back with incredible force against the racks of sport equipment. His gun flew across the floor and landed right in front of me. I crawled forward and lifted it, training it on the prone figure now slumped in an unconscious heap.
And that’s when I felt someone wrap their arms around me from above and pull me up.
I looked over my shoulder. At first there was nothing there, then there was a materialisation of colour that formed into a tall blonde figure, dressed in a black sweat and leggings.
‘Get up soldier,’ Victoria said. ‘He’s all yours.’
She reached down, took my earpiece off the floor and inserted it into her own ear.
‘Jessie, can you hear me?’ she said. ‘Erase all the footage from inside this store. Right now.’
‘You came, you saved me.’ I stammered, as I gingerly straightened up, my bruised and battered body aching.
‘Of course I did,’ Victoria said. She gave one last smile as she melted away.
I staggered over to where Georgie lay, keeping the gun trained on him. I reached into my pocket and brought out my phone, then dropped to my knees just an arm’s length away from him. Resting the phone on my lap, I called Arnie on speed-dial.
‘It’s over,’ I said. ‘The suspect has been apprehended.’
Part Five
REVELATION
56
CADE LOWERED THE newspaper when he saw me in the doorway of his ward. It was five days later and I’d been in to see him every day.
‘Well, if it isn’t our very own superhero,’ he smiled.
He had a few cuts and bruises to his face, but otherwise all he needed to do was rest for a few weeks now. His stubble was now more of a beard, but his smile shone through
He nodded at the tabloid on his lap. ‘They’re still talking about you,’ he said.
I smiled and probably blushed a little.
‘By the way, I keep meaning to ask you,’ he said. ‘How did you know about the house in Arlington Road?’
‘Sixth sense,’ I joked, playing for time so I could come up with a proper answer.
He cocked his head. ‘No really, Erin. How?’
‘Dadeeeee!’ A shrill voice sounded from the doorway and I saw Sean run in and throw his body across they bed.
Saved by the bell!
Cade winced in discomfort as the boy’s little head thumped against his chest, but he put a brave face on it, reaching out for his son.
‘Go easy on Daddy,’ a tall brunette said, striding into the room. She was attractive, dressed in a black blouse and floral skirt, her coat was folded over one arm.
I stood up and smiled. ‘I’m Erin.’
‘Oh, I'm sorry,’ Cade said, his face buried under Sean’s hugs. ‘Fiona, Erin. Erin, Fiona.’
‘Hello,’ she said in a very formal well-spoken voice. ‘Sean’s mentioned you.’
‘We must have missed each other these last few days,’ I said, assuming she had been in to visit him.
‘She’s daddy�
��s girlfriend,’ Sean said, without looking around.
Fiona raised her eyebrows at me and I could have sworn I saw a wisp of a smile.
‘I think he getting his meanings of “partner” mixed up,’ I stage-whispered.
She laughed at that, and that made it seem like a good time to leave.
I stopped in the doorway. I could sense Cade was still watching me and when I turned he was looking over his son’s head, past his ex-wife, and smiling at me.
‘See you later, partner,’ he called.
57
THE HEADLIGHTS FLASHED at me across the underground hospital car park. It was a black BMW with darkened windows.
I crossed over cautiously, as the back window slid down. Victoria in dark shades looked at me across the back-seat.
‘Get in,’ she said.
I climbed in next to her, and is if on cue her chauffeur climbed out and stood to the side of car, arms clasped across his front.
Victoria waited until he was safely out of earshot.
‘You’ve been avoiding us all for several days,’ she said. Her voice was calm, her expressive eyes hidden behind the shades I suspect she had worn deliberately to keep me off guard. ‘I thought you would have been pleased. You wanted your own little band of superheroes and you got one.’
I looked away and didn’t answer.
‘Well, Erin?’ Victoria eventually asked.
When I still didn't answer, I felt her sink back into the leather seat and sigh deeply. ‘I always feared this,’ she said. ‘That one day you would want to walk away.’
I didn't react, but she was determined to keep chipping away. ‘I didn’t think it would be this soon. Maybe one day when you had a husband and a family. When you couldn’t keep going with this double life. But not now. Not like this. Not after what we did.’
‘It’s Desiree,’ I said without turning around. ‘The girl I saw is Desiree. But you know that, don’t you?’
I would have loved to have known what she was thinking right at that moment.