The Hostage s-1

by Duncan Falconer

  He had questioned the wisdom of having the American’s wife courier the virus into London. She did not know what was in the box, but she was not trained in awareness and reaction techniques and she would not take evasive action if the need occurred. O’Farroll’s reasoning was that there was something still to be gained if she was for some unexpected reason discovered. If, for instance, a RIRA member were busted carrying the virus it would go badly in all directions. But if she was discovered there was some positive publicity mileage to be had as the wife of the kidnapped American.

  None of that mattered now anyway. She was on the train to the rendezvous and Brennan was her tail. He was curious about the character she was to hand the box over to. O’Farroll had revealed she was to be met by one of their people in Brit military intelligence. Brennan hadn’t known they had anyone that deep, although he’d heard the rumours about the famous mole. He’d always thought these to be nothing more than wild propaganda, but it seemed they were true after all.

  Brennan decided to kill some time by calculating the value of the operation and how much money he should ask for. The deeper he got involved, the more he figured he was worth. There was a limit, of course. It would all depend on how it finished. That was surely going to be interesting no matter what.

  Stratton sat at the open door of the helicopter, looking out at the countryside where it met the horizon. He had been trying to clear his mind of all the recent events, but without success. He could usually manage a crude form of meditation before an operation and found the cleansing helpful when it came to refocusing on the job. But this one was too complex. His focus was being divided. He knew he should be concentrating on the virus and Hank but all he could think about was the mole. Somewhere along the line his fixation had taken on a personal element. Perhaps it was because this traitor had been behind the attempted kidnapping of Spinks, one of Stratton’s team, and now Hank, who had been Stratton’s responsibility. Or perhaps it was because Stratton knew he had come close to the mole in Paris and that he should have got him. There was something about that day, a clue he’d missed that left him unsettled and frustrated. The answer had brushed past him, he was certain of that, and he hadn’t seen it. Stratton’s anger was fuelling a growing obsession with finding the mole.

  Captain Singen tapped his shoulder and snapped him out of his thoughts.

  ‘It’s King’s Lynn,’ Singen said, wearing his communications headset and shouting close to Stratton’s ear over the noise of the engines and the wind. ‘The Alpha Star is a very good possible.’

  ‘Is she alongside?’

  ‘Been in port about two hours,’ Singen said. ‘Your lot from the NI detachment have already been diverted to Lynn. They’ll be there before us.They’ve been told to put it under immediate surveillance. We’re landing at Sandringham House. They’re laying on transport for us. The old girl isn’t home but she’s given us the okay.’

  Stratton gave him the thumbs-up, dug his mobile phone out of his pocket, put in the earpiece and hit a memory code. Covering his ear he could just about hear the phone ringing.

  Singen squatted to unzip a bag revealing dozens of neatly folded maps. He thumbed along them, occasionally lifting one partly out to check it before moving on to the next. He found what he was looking for and pulled out two of them. The first was an Ordnance Survey of King’s Lynn and the surrounding area. He found Lynn and then Sandringham a few miles to the north, then his eyes lost focus for a moment as his mind conjured up images of previous ship assaults.

  This would be his fourth. The first had been an Iraqi merchantman during the Gulf War when he was a brand new, straight out of the box, operative, one month after he’d joined the SBS.The op had been quite basic since there had been no opposition but it was a fine introduction to the art. The second ship was a drug runner heading into UK waters from Africa.There were five armed couriers on board that one, but the teams had hit the boat so swiftly and quietly the two on the bridge didn’t know about it until the lads came crashing through, and the other three were asleep in their bunks. Not a shot was fired. The most notable point of that op was the strong smell of shit and urine immediately after the couriers were held at gunpoint. It was not unusual: the experience of a team of highly aggressive, swift and powerful men dressed from head to toe in heavy black fireproof material, armed to the teeth, with chest harnesses bristling with all kinds of weaponry and sophisticated devices was enough to make anyone crap themselves.

  The most memorable assault was the last one he’d done, off the Colombian coast. There had been eleven armed, mostly South American, drug couriers on that one. The two men on deck, wide awake at one in the morning, had spotted the teams in their assault craft before they had actually reached the side of the ship. The couriers were either high on their own merchandise, or they were more frightened of what their bosses would do to them if they did not put up a fight, because they went immediately on the offensive with their selection of sub-machine-guns and assault rifles. Singen’s team bagged three but unfortunately, because he was in the tail pair and his team were the back-up assault wave, he did not personally have the opportunity of a hit himself. Six couriers were killed and four seriously wounded within three minutes, which was as long as it took to secure the boat once on board. The only injury among the teams was a creased arm from a ricochet. That had been a good day’s work.

  But this boat was going to be tactically different. It was static alongside, which meant the first phase would be as if for a building. In theory it should be much easier, and normally Singen’s concerns would be only along the lines of the overall success of the operation since, being an officer, he would never take point on the assault and so his chances of taking a hit were similar to those for him getting a kill. But this bio thing was a different story. This was a first for everyone. They were going into the record books once again, but he wondered how it would read this time. It had to be treated like any other ship assault and they would just have to hope to God luck was on their side when it came to the bio itself.

  He tapped Stratton on the shoulder and handed him the other map.

  Bill Lawton was at the window of his apartment looking down onto the street. It was quiet, the occasional car, but no pedestrians. He hadn’t been able to get rid of the frown on his face since Father Kinsella had left. How could a day that started so well turn into such a disaster so quickly? And it was only going to get worse.

  The phone rang. He looked at it. Had it not been for Kinsella’s sudden and unannounced arrival he would have bet his life the caller was Aggy. There was no longer any joy or sudden expectation at the sound of its chirp. He wanted to let it ring but he could not. It might be Kinsella. If it was Aggy he would explain that they could not meet. He couldn’t tell her that meant never again, which was why he had delayed making the call himself.

  He picked up the phone.

  ‘Get something to write with,’ Father Kinsella instructed. It had been too much to hope his prayers had been answered, that Kinsella had been struck by a bus. Bill found a pen and scribbled on the phone pad to check it worked. ‘Okay,’ he said.

  ‘You’ve got an hour to get to King’s Cross railway station, platform 9, and meet the train from King’s Lynn. Have you got that?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘You’re going to meet someone off the train. A woman. She will meet you outside the platform building. She’s a pretty woman, dark hair, well dressed, thirty years old. She’ll be carrying a hatbox. You will walk up to her and ask her if the Hoste Arms was crowded. Say it back to me.’

  ‘I’ve got it,’ Bill said tiredly.

  ‘I’m sure you have, Bill me lad. Say it back to me anyway and keep an old man happy.’

  ‘Was the Hoste Arms crowded?’ Bill said, tiredly.

  ‘You’ll then take the hatbox and escort her away. Now this is what I want you to tell her once you’re clear of the station. She’s to go directly to Heathrow airport, terminal four. In the arrivals terminal there is a meeting pla
ce designated by a sign that says just that. She’s to wait there and she will be met and given her next instructions. Is that all clear?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘As for you, Bill.You’ll go back home to your apartment and you will open the box and carefully place the contents into the briefcase I left with you. The glass container will fit neatly into the space in the sponge mould. I’m sure I don’t need to emphasise the word carefully, do I, lad?’

  ‘No,’ Bill said. There was a flutter in the pit of his stomach as the unthinkable began to take shape.

  ‘At around seven p.m., when it’s good and dark,’ Father Kinsella continued, ‘you will make your way to Millbank and MI5 headquarters.’

  Bill’s jaw dropped visibly as he heard the destination of the virus. ‘You’ve got to be kidding,’ he said.

  ‘Do I sound like I’m in a jocular mood?’

  ‘But MI5—’

  ‘Listen to me,’ Father Kinsella growled. ‘You will enter the building with the briefcase. The detectors will not trip as I explained. Make sure you don’t carry anything metallic on your person.The rest, Bill, is up to you, as we discussed. As long as you crush the vial.’ Father Kinsella let those last words hang as he listened to Bill’s breathing. ‘Make sure you have your passport with you and nothing else,’ he went on. ‘You’ll be going into the building as you are. When you’re done you will go to Heathrow airport, terminal four arrivals and wait in the designated meeting area. Is that clear?’

  ‘Yes . . . Where am I headed?’ Bill asked.

  ‘Now you know better than to ask questions like that, Bill. Everything will be taken care of. I’m not going to wish you good luck because you’re not going to need any. Now get going.’

  And with that final command the phone went dead.

  Bill pushed the receiver pedals down, took a moment to collect his thoughts, and then dialled a number.

  Aggy was lying on her bed staring at the ceiling. It was at times like these she liked to read a book, but she would have been unable to concentrate. She couldn’t decide whether to call Bill and cancel the evening or wait until she got a call from Stratton to tell her she was to move. There was the possibility Stratton wouldn’t call that night and she was toying with the idea of inviting Bill to come around and see her. He wouldn’t be able to stay the night, but they could talk. But then it would be difficult to explain why she couldn’t go out, and then why she had to if Stratton should call. The sensible thing to do was cancel but she couldn’t think of an excuse. Bill would be so disappointed. She would too, but not as much as him judging by his comments the day before; he was going to have her clothes off before he’d even shut his front door.That hadn’t sounded such a bad idea this morning, but strangely, since Stratton had called, it was no longer as attractive.

  The phone lying beside her gave off an electronic ring and she picked it up. ‘Hello,’ she said.

  All she could hear was a loud static hiss and rumble, then Stratton’s voice echoed in the background. ‘Aggy?’ he said. ‘Aggy, it’s Stratton.’

  ‘Yes,’ she said, sitting up.

  ‘You’re on your way to King’s Lynn railway station. King’s Lynn. You got that?’

  ‘King’s Lynn,’ she said.

  ‘I’ll meet you there, at the station,’ he shouted. She realised he was in a helicopter.

  ‘I’m leaving now,’ she said as she stood up and took her leather jacket off the back of her dresser chair.

  ‘Soon as you can,’ he said. ‘And Aggy?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘I’m looking forward to seeing you.’

  ‘Me too,’ she replied, without even thinking about it.The phone went dead.

  It was odd how those few words had made her feel so good. She never expected to hear them from him. She dropped the phone on to the bed and pulled on her jacket.

  As she opened her bedroom door to leave, the phone rang again. The first person she thought of was Bill. She hadn’t called him and was about to leave having completely forgotten to. But then it might be Stratton again. She picked it up.

  ‘Hello,’ Bill Lawton said.

  ‘Hi. I was just about to call you,’ she said, screwing up her eyes and hating herself for being such a lying coward.

  ‘Melissa. I’ve got to go somewhere,’ he said. ‘Would you believe my boss just flew into town. Remember I’d told him I’d come back to London because my mother was sick? He called and wants to see me, to go to dinner if I’ve got the time. I could hardly say no. I’m sorry.’

  ‘That’s okay,’ she said, relieved. She wouldn’t tell him she couldn’t make it either.

  ‘I’ve got to run,’ he said. ‘I’ll talk to you later.’

  ‘I might be out later,’ she said quickly in case he did call or come around to the house. ‘I’ll probably go and see some old friends.’ At least that wasn’t a lie.

  ‘Okay. I’ll call you tomorrow.’

  ‘Don’t forget I’m heading back to the obvious early tomorrow,’ she reminded him.

  ‘Oh, right. How could I forget that? I’ll call you when I can then.’

  ‘Okay. Bye.’ She was about to put down the phone when he called out her name quickly.

  ‘Yes,’ she said.

  ‘Melissa . . . I just want you to know . . . well, I want you to know that I’ve gone and fallen in love with you.’

  Aggy couldn’t say anything, but she wished he hadn’t said it.

  ‘I don’t care if that scares you. Strangely enough it didn’t scare me to say it . . . I’ve gotta go. Have a great night.’

  The phone went dead in her hand. She tossed it on to the bed.This was not the time to think about it. Fortunately she had enough to distract her for now. She had to get to King’s Lynn.

  She double-checked she had money and ID. Then suddenly something occurred to her: what if Bill was on the same operation? There was something odd about the way he had cancelled the evening, something in his voice, what he had said.

  She closed her bedroom door and walked down the stairs. There was no point coming up with a new excuse for her mother. She’d let her continue to think she was out with Bill for the evening, and if the op went on for days she would have to wing it. Life was not this complicated a few weeks ago.

  Chapter 21

  Kathryn listened to the announcement that the train would soon be arriving in King’s Cross, London, where it would terminate. The carriage had almost filled up at Cambridge and she had had to put the hatbox on her lap to allow someone to sit beside her.

  As the train slowed to a crawl and the platform appeared alongside the window she decided to avoid the press of the crowd and wait until most of the people had got off. It came to a complete stop with a jerk, and a gush of compressed air announced the opening of the doors. The passengers streamed out and when the carriage was almost empty Kathryn stood up with her hatbox and left her seat.

  She was not the last person to alight from the carriage. Brennan climbed out of his seat after she stepped through the door and watched her walk down the platform. He felt a twinge in his leg where the bullet had grazed the bone and he flexed it a couple of times to loosen it up before stepping through to the next carriage. He kept Kathryn in his sights as he limped along the aisle, keeping slightly behind her.

  The mass of passengers moved ahead of her, slowed by the funnel effect at the end of the platform. Kathryn noted she was on platform 9 and took her time so as not to catch them up. Her nerves started to increase again as the next phase of her ‘mission’ grew closer and she went over it in her head. None of it had been difficult so far but she kept dreading something might go wrong, be it her fault or anyone else’s. What if this next person didn’t turn up, for instance? What was she supposed to do with the box? She did have that emergency number. She told herself not to think about any of that unless it happened. There was no need to add to the stress she was already under.

  As she stepped outside the platform she followed her instructions precisely and turned
to the right, walked a few paces so that she was out of the flow of human traffic, and stopped.

  She looked at almost every man that came into view even though for the most part she saw only the backs of their heads since more were leaving the platform than entering it. She hoped to find a pair of eyes looking at her. Then her peripheral vision picked up movement on her right, a lone man crossing the road, heading directly towards her.

  At that precise moment Aggy walked out of the alleyway that connected the main station to the entrance to platforms 9, 10 and 11. She slowed as she saw Bill walking directly across her front at an angle that would put him on a collision course with her if she continued towards the platform entrance. She stopped, not wanting to meet him, even though it appeared they might well have the same destination. This was too much of a coincidence otherwise.

  Someone walked out of the alleyway behind her and bumped her in the back without offering an apology. Aggy flashed him a look and might have snapped a remark about his bad manners. Instead she stepped aside to allow the flow of passengers from the alleyway and watched Bill. She started to move off, slowly, giving him time to get ahead and for her to decide whether to catch him up. She had to keep with the possibility he was not on the op and it might therefore be wiser to leave him be. After his parting comment on the phone it would all be a bit strained anyway. Then he stopped to talk to a woman standing outside the station. Aggy stopped. If he turned to look in her direction, despite the people moving between them, he would see her. She should have turned around and walked back into the alleyway, but remained where she was.