The First Time

by Mike Winter

  “I’m the man you’re going to tell all your secrets to.” Black needed to get his point across quickly. “And if you do, I might spare your life. But if you don’t, I certainly won’t spare the life of your son.” Black had no hesitancy with the second part of his statement, even though it wasn’t true. However, whatever happened, Scott wasn’t going to come out of this mess in one piece.

  “Secrets?” Replied Scott. “I’ve no idea what you are talking about. Why are you in my house? Are you someone I’ve had sent down before? Someone I’ve arrested? I don’t understand, just don’t hurt my family.”

  “I’m going to make this really simple for you.” Black pulled out the garrote wire from inside his jacket. “Tell me what I need to know about the weapons you brought down from Liverpool two weeks ago.” Black slowly unravelled the roll of garrote wire. He walked round to the back of the chair and placed it around Scott’s neck. “This isn’t going to be pleasant.” He pulled back, with little force at first, but enough to cause Scott some pain and discomfort. Scott fought for air, spluttering saliva over himself, his arms wildly swinging. Black eased off the pressure around Scott’s neck before kicking the back legs of the chair. Scott crashed to the floor the chair on top of him. “It’s only going to get worse for you, now talk.”

  Scott crawled from under the chair and turned to lay on his back. He looked up at Black.

  “Please,” he begged “I don’t know anything.”

  Black was becoming frustrated. “Tell me where the weapons are. And where Saad Khan is. We know you gave him the weapons. Assault rifles, explosives, grenades. We know you are in debt up to you eye balls, and this, along with the class A’s you are smuggling, is what you’re using to pay those debts with.”

  “You aren’t the Police; I am. Assault of a Police Officer, you’ll do some serious time for this.”

  Black could tell he was wavering; there was fear in his voice. Another couple of minutes with the garrote wire, he would tell the full story.

  Scott clenched his fists and rolled up his face as Black approached him again. “I’m not playing games.” Black’s tone becoming more vicious. He could see the terror in Scott’s eyes as a single tear rolled down his bloodied cheek.

  Black once again placed the garrote wire around Scott’s neck and pulled back with force, applying significantly more pressure this time round. There wasn’t as much resistance from Scott; he was becoming notably weaker. He would soon start to loose consciousness. Black needed to keep him lucid so he slapped him round his cheek with the back of his hand. Scott groaned in pain before wrenching violently, coughing up more blood and saliva.

  Slowly, Black moved to face Scott. He knelt down in front of him and moved his face in close. He could feel Scott’s heavy warm breath on his face. His lungs were gasping for air.

  “This is the last time I’m going to ask you”, there was a strange calmness in Black’s voice. He knew he had broken Scott down, and he would give him everything he needed. “Tell me what I need to know, or the next one will finish you off.”

  There was a brief silence while Scott continued to fight for air. “I…..I had no choice,” he mumbled awkwardly. He knew the game was up. “I owe thousands - tens of thousands of pounds. My son hates me – I owe him money. They offered me a way out.”

  “They?”

  “Saad Khan and his friends. All I had to do was collect a van full of goods from the docks in Liverpool. They said ask no questions and I didn’t. I didn’t even ask what it was I was collecting. I thought it was drugs. That’s what it usually is. I've been delivering drugs for him for months”

  “Where is Saad Khan now?” Black was on the verge. All he needed was Khan’s location.

  “He……he……I don’t know”

  The hesitancy in Scott’s voice made Black frustrated again. “Don’t take the piss, mate. You’ve given me everything else. Think of your son. It’s over for you either way, but it doesn’t have to be for him.” Scott said nothing. There was a genuine fear in his eyes. He was no longer looking at Black; his eyes were moving around the room and he began to blink quickly. He was panicking. “I’m going to give you thirty seconds. Get a grip of yourself.”

  Scott continued to breathe heavily, the blood still pouring from the wound above his eye, down his reddened cheek. Whatever police training he had taken part in over the years hadn’t prepared him for anything like this.

  “Ten seconds.” Said Black. “Ten seconds. Then I call it a day with you and travel to Bath. I know exactly where your son is.”

  The look of fear on Scott’s face increased.

  “Where is Saad Khan?!” Black shouted angrily.

  “He……He’s behind you.”

  Black barely had time to register what Scott had told him before he felt a heavy blow to the back of his head. Then darkness.

  5

  Sarah Barnes dialled 100 on her desk phone. After one ring Hamilton’s voice bellowed into her headset.

  “What now, Sarah?”

  “Sir, we have a problem. I have lost contact with Black - I believe it may be an ambush.”

  There was a panicked tone to Sarah’s voice and Hamilton could sense that Sarah was worried. It was become more obvious that she had clear feelings for Black and this would need to be addressed. “Talk me through what has happened Sarah. I need the detail.”

  “It was going to plan. Black had most of the information, Scott admitted to picking up the consignment of weapons from Liverpool. Black was drilling him on Khan’s location. I heard Scott say “He’s behind you” – then nothing. I have lost communication. Sir, I believe this may have been a set up. Scott knew Black would be arriving and arranged for Khan to be there, it can't be a coincidence.”

  “Sarah – do nothing. The mission is proceeding as planned. Update your report to reflect this. Do not deviate from the plan, is that understood?”

  “But sir, we have lost communication. We…”

  “Enough, Sarah. Do nothing and wait for an update from Black. Do not concern yourself with the situation. Continue to provide me updates as usual. That is all.”

  Sarah was confused, she dwelled on the situation for the moment before bringing the mission brief on her screen and reading it back to herself. Was there something she had overlooked?

  TEP have been surveilling Ross Scott, Police Inspector with Wiltshire CID for the last ten weeks. The TEP comms team have uncovered internet chatter linking Scott to Saad Khan, a suspected terrorist cell operator living in Croydon. Saad Khan has links to Al-Qaeda and spent time in Afghanistan in 2002. He was allowed to return to the UK after no firm evidence was found linking him to terrorist activity. TEP have spent the last twelve months gathering intel on Khan, following known links to Zahid Abbas. Abbas was arrested in 2006 following a failed car bomb attempt in London.

  CCTV footage (attached file 0001) shows Scott meeting with Khan and a bag exchange is clearly shown. We suspect this to be money in cash being handed to Scott. Scott deposited four separate payments into different bank accounts in his name totalling £40,000 two days after the exchange.

  Further CCTV (attached file 0002) shows Scott loading a van in Liverpool with what we suspect to be a consignment of weapons and ammunition illegally shipped over from Ireland.

  Agent Tom Black is briefed to interrogate Ross Scott at his home address with regards to the supply of weapons and also determine the current location of Saad Khan. Khan has slipped off the radar in the last two weeks following the consignment arriving from Ireland.

  Once determining Khan’s location, Black is to eliminate Ross Scott before making contact with Khan, obtaining the weapons before also eliminating Khan.

  More specific information can be found in the attached file (File 0003)

  Brief ends.

  Sarah couldn’t understand why Hamilton was disregarding her concerns. There was no mention of Khan also being at Scott’s address, and now she had lost communication. She checked the GPS locator again on her screen
. Black had a GPS chip placed in the sole of his boot. Providing this was still in place, she was confident he was still at the target address. She waited. It was all she could do.

  6

  A punch to the face woke Black instantly. The room was spinning as he opened his eyes, he felt nauseous. Eventually the sensation balanced out and the room came into focus. He was still in the dining room, sat on one of the wooden chairs, his arms behind his back and tied to the rear of the chair with the garrote wire he had been using on Scott. His head pounded from the inside, the pulsating pain caused a ringing in his ears. He then saw from where the punch had originated.

  Saad Khan stood in front of him. He was short, around five foot six, but stocky. He had medium length black wiry hair and hadn’t shaved for a few weeks. Thin dark eyes stared down at him with a chilling menace.

  “Mr. Scott tells me you are looking for me." Khan had a typical London accent. "Well here I am.”

  Black stayed silent. This wasn’t how the mission was supposed to pan out, and speaking now would be foolish. He had been trained well on remaining calm in these kinds of situations, and conversing with the enemy when captured was unacceptable.

  Black looked on the tiled floor. He spotted his earpiece next to one of the kitchen units, luckily it hadn’t been spotted, although it must have taken a foot during the earlier melee, as it appeared considerably flatter than it should have been. Ross Scott was scrambling through a drawer in the kitchen, attempting to find something to cover the deep cut above his eye. He was in a bad way, still visibly shaken and coughing loudly. Even from distance, Black could see the deep red marks that had been left around Scott’s neck.

  Khan spoke again. “Who are you? Policeman? Drug dealer? What do you know about me?”

  Silence.

  “The tables have turned for you now. You’ve caused pain for my friend here, now I will give you the same punishment.” Khan’s fist connected with the bridge of Black’s nose. Blood exploded outwards, landing on Khan’s pale coloured shirt. His nose was broken. “Argh! Fucking bastard! Seen what you’ve done to my shirt?” Another first reigned in, this time connecting with the side of Black’s head.

  Black was dazed; he was struggling to keep focussed on the situation. Once again the room starting to spin uncontrollably. He could make out the figure of Ross Scott making his way over to him.

  “Anything?” Asked Scott.

  “Nah. He ain’t talkin’. Strange situation this. What do you make of it Policeman?”

  “Dunno,” replied Scott. “Like I told you earlier, I had a call this afternoon – about 1pm. A man warned me someone knew about the weapons and they’d be at my house tonight. I called you straight away. That’s all I know.”

  “He ain’t Police. No ID; No mobile phone. He’ll be Government – fucking Government. You’ve messed up here, you’ve led them to us.”

  Scott took offence. “Hey, don’t be putting this on me. You approached me remember. I was happy making a few quid on the side, bit of dealing. I’d have had stuff paid off eventually.”

  “Shut up! Let me think.” Khan was becoming agitated. He was young and naïve, and hadn’t expected a situation like this. He was trying to impress others who followed his cause, and make himself a martyr. He hadn’t accounted for Government involvement. “We need him to talk. We need him to tell us who he works for and what they know. The attack can’t be carried out with these bastards knowing our every move.”

  “I didn’t sign up for this,” Scott said. “I did my bit bringing the weapons down. What happens now has nothing to do with me.”

  Khan turned his head towards Scott and inched towards him slowly. The size difference between the two was notable. Scott was a good six inches taller than Khan, although Khan was clearly more aggressive.

  “You are in this until the end, do you understand?” Khan was becoming impatient. “You’ll do as I say, or you’ll regret ever meeting me. I’m going to make a call to Asif – let him know we are compromised and that we need to move the weapons. I’ll lie low here for a few hours, see if any of his friends turn up. I’ll rendezvous with Asif tonight and you can take care of him.” Khan pointed towards Black.

  There was reluctancy in Scott’s body language as he nodded. Khan walked through the adjoining door into the living room holding his mobile phone to his ear. He closed the door behind him, although his agitated voice was still clearly audible. “2am. Meet me at the compound. Just you, no one else. I’ll be bringing my guy here.”

  Black sat silently, taking in the information. He knew Khan wasn’t prepared for a situation like this. He was young, foolish and controlled by his ideology, although undoubtedly dangerous. After a few minutes, Khan re-entered the dining room. He looked calmer, as if he had regained a sense of control.

  “Change of plan,” Khan said. “I’m leaving now. Finish him off and leave his body here, and meet with me at the compound at 2am. Whatever happens after that, you’re on your own.”

  Scott looked terrified, he was in way over his head. “You told me this would be an easy job. You want me to kill a Government agent and what – just disappear? His people will know he is here, it’s only a matter of time before they know something is wrong.”

  “I don’t have time for your pathetic worrying. Make sure you are there at 2am, if not, I’ll make sure this little problem is the least of your concern.” Khan moved to face Black. He grinned. “As for you – I’ve no doubt, within the next hour, there will be someone else turning up here to see what has happened to you. Maybe you should have checked the house first, before you beat the shit out of the Policeman here. Your mistake.”

  Black remained silent, keeping eye contact with Khan. The pain in his nose was dull and constant, and he could only breathe through his mouth, however he remained calm and in control, with no increase in his heart rate.

  Khan laughed. “Such a good soldier. Sworn to silence by his country. I’ve heard about people like you. People who have been caught, and tortured, but never crumble, never speak. Loyal to their country – and for what? Your country, your Government, they don’t care about you, or anyone here. All they care for are themselves, their pockets and their power.”

  Black continued to stare at Khan. There was no emotion.

  Khan continued. “They believe they can control the people I represent, the ones who I am fighting for. They bomb our countries, kill our civilians, our children. They think they can show us and the rest of the world how powerful they are, without consequence.” He paused and moved closer to Black. “I know these words mean nothing to you. You believe in what you fight for, just as I do. Your people will care though, when they find your body here, in this house, gutted like a fish. Your country will care when women and children are running for their lives, before being shot down for the world to see.”

  Khan stepped back, before landing another crushing blow to the right hand side of Black’s face. Khan walked past Scott, who was stood watching in the kitchen. “Finish him,” said Khan, before he left the house through the kitchen door.

  7

  The operations room at TEP had become quieter over the last thirty minutes. Sarah Barnes had tried calling Black at five minute intervals since contact was lost; there had been no reply. It was almost 7pm. Sarah glanced over her shoulder. The door to Hamilton’s office remained closed; no one had entered or left it since she had spoken with him last. The normal procedure in responding to an agent who was believed to be captured or under duress would be to send a second agent to the location to provide a real time update on what the situation was. If it was decided the agent was severely compromised, they would be cut off from the organisation, their records erased, and he or she would be on their own. It was clear Hamilton did not want a second agent sending to assess what had happened, which concerned Sarah as this was against protocol.

  Sarah accessed a file on her system. It logged all calls in and out of the office in real time, and made a recording of them. She selected Hamilton’s n
umber; he had made more than forty calls from his land line since he had arrived at 8am that morning. Sarah cross checked the numbers; thirty six of those were recognised as other people working for TEP. The remaining six weren’t. Sarah selected the first of these six calls, made at 8:20am and double clicked on the file name. She was immediately asked to enter a password but this didn't faze her. She could run a patch file which would get round the password protection. Ultimately, Hamilton would find out about it, although she would have a little time to listen to the calls before he realised the file had been accessed.

  It took a few minutes for the patch to open the call file. Sarah pressed play. After a few seconds, it was clear this particular call was of no interest; Hamilton had called his wife. She listened for a moment; it was strange to hear Hamilton speaking like a family man. That side of him never made its way into the office.

  The next call was at 8:28am. Again it was password protected. Sarah ran the same process as before to open the file. The recording started to play back; this one was of more interest.

  “Hello?”

  “Hello. Is this Ross Scott?”

  “Speaking. Who is this?”

  “Don’t concern yourself with that, Mr. Scott. You have bigger things to worry about right now.”

  “Sorry? What are you talking about? Who is this?”

  “Mr. Scott, listen to me carefully. It may just save your life. Someone is aware of the weapons and ammunition you collected at Liverpool two weeks ago. You’ve been under surveillance for quite some time. This person is aware of the money deposited into your bank account, and where it came from.”

  “I……I……who are you?”