by Mike Winter
Black had parked his Astra at the bottom of Endeavour Way. The road was dimly lit; the faint glow of the orange street light bounced back off the grey steel fence which was failing miserably to keep back the overgrowing trees and shrubbery. He was early; the rendezvous wasn’t until 2am, although this gave him plenty of time to think and prepare. Unit 11 was round the corner, out of sight. After completing two drive-bys of the unit, Black was confident there was no sign of life, and no vehicles parked at the unit.
Black stared out of the windscreen; the pain of the burns on his hands and wrists had subsided slightly, although they were still noticeable. As the minutes passed, the image of Ross Scott came into his head; had he deserved to die in such a brutal way? Should he have been brought to justice via more conventional methods? He had a son. That son no longer had a father.
Black had killed before. During his time in Afghanistan, he’d taken out several enemies, mainly using his firearm and from distance, not up close and personal like he had with Scott. Apart from once; he had been part of a task force sent to rescue American prisoners in Helmand. He was part of a six man team, and he was the sole survivor. He managed to take out 8 Al Qaeda fighters and rescue the Americans. His team had been killed with a variety of IEDs, enemy fire and grenades and despite Blacks best efforts, he couldn’t save any of them. He returned home a shadow of his former self, filled with rage and anger. His wife didn’t recognise him and his daughter was terrified of him.
He had been contacted by Hamilton two months after returning from Afghanistan. There had been a fight in a local pub; Black had been on a three day drink and cocaine binge which resulted in him putting a pint glass in the landlords face. Hamilton travelled up to Manchester and visited Black in the Police cell. He offered him a way out. Retribution and solace serving his country. Black was highly regarded by his superiors following his heroics in Afghanistan, and the Government wanted to utilise his skills.
His daughter was four years old on the day he left and he hadn’t given her a proper goodbye. He waited until she was at nursery before packing a small suitcase of belongings; only clothes, nothing sentimental. He thought it was quite ironic; regarded a hero for his country, yet he felt a coward, not able to face his little girl to tell her what was happening. Not that she would understand, but that wasn’t the point. His wife was relieved. She’d hoped he might return one day, if he could get the help he needed. For Black however, this was a one way ticket. There was no going back.
An hour passed. Black reached down into a carrier bag in the foot well of the car and pulled out a can of Coke and some more pain killers. He needed to stay alert, and he hoped the sugar and the caffeine would help. He downed a few more pain killers and waited. Rain drops started to appear on the windscreen, slowly at first, before the downpour set in. Black turned on the wipers and took another drink of the Coke.
11
It was midnight when Sarah arrived back at the Tower Gateway office. Jones had ushered her into a meeting room on the sixth floor and locked the door behind him when he had left. It was cold, and she was tired and nervous. She had seen what happened when employees got on the wrong side of Hamilton. Her phone, keys, and handbag had all been confiscated by Jones before they had arrived back in London. He seemed to pity her and kept asking why she had been so stupid. Sarah hadn’t given him much in the way of answers.
Twenty minutes passed before Hamilton unlocked the door and entered. He stood in the doorway for a few seconds, but Sarah tried to avoid eye contact with him.
“Well, Sarah, I must say, this is not what I expected or needed on a night like tonight,” Hamilton walked over and sat in a chair at the opposite side of the desk to where Sarah was sitting. “What were you hoping to achieve? I employ agents to do the eavesdropping round here, I don’t expect it from my analysts.”
Sarah looked blank, her eyes focussed on the door Hamilton had just walked through.
“You’re facing some serious charges here. Accessing protected files is an offence.”
Sarah knew she had to say something, but here she was, sat in the room with the man she viewed as responsible for setting up Black. The evidence would be deleted, and the powers at be would believe his story every day of the week.
“Sir, I……What I did was wrong. It was foolish. I just had concerns over Black, and when I came to you with those concerns, you ignored them. I wanted to ensure his safety and to protect the mission.”
“I told you the mission was proceeding as planned. It still is. Sarah, I need people on my team who I can trust. You are a brilliant analyst, you’ve exceeded all expectations during your time here, but I cannot and will not have people on my team who disobey orders and show the disrespect you have. There is also this situation with Black. You know you cannot become involved intimately with our agents – and for this very reason. You have become emotionally attached. It is dangerous.”
Sarah sensed a degree of sympathy in Hamilton’s voice. She thought it was strange, he had never showed a side like that to her before. Maybe he just felt sorry for her.
“Sir, I’m sorry for my actions. What can I do to put it right?”
“Nothing Sarah. You’re suspended immediately, with pay. I’ll give the matter my full attention once the mission I am working on is complete. Go home, and I’ll call you in due course.”
“Is Black okay?”
“Sarah, that doesn’t concern you. You are to have no further communication with him. If you care about him, you’ll leave him to his work. He works for us, he belongs to us. We control him, Sarah.”
Sarah could feel her eyes begin to water. She breathed in heavily, she didn’t want Hamilton to see an outpouring of emotion. Hamilton handed her back her handbag; her phone and keys were inside.
“Go home. Get some sleep. I’ll speak to you in a few days, and let you know what happens next.”
Sarah got up and left the room in silence. She was still confused, and no nearer to knowing why Hamilton had tipped off Ross Scott. She had some sense of comfort that Black had managed to get out of it in one piece, but now she was no longer involved in the mission, she couldn’t keep tabs on his safety.
12
It was 1.30am. Black was cold; he didn’t want to keep the car engine running, one it would be too noisy, and two, he wanted to make sure he had as much fuel as possible left in the car. There was just under three quarters of a tank remaining.
The can of Coke had long since been drunk and he was beginning to feel tired. He had seen no other sign of life since he had arrived at the industrial park.
Another ten minutes passed, then in the distance down the road, he made out a set of headlights driving up the road towards him. Black inched down in his seat so he was almost completely out of view. He could still just make out the headlights coming up the road. They made a turn to Blacks left and continued to head in the direction of Unit 11.
Black hadn’t been able to make out the model of vehicle, however he could tell that it was a large 4x4 type, and he knew from the mission brief that Saad Khan owned a Land Rover, so he was fairly confident it was him.
He continued to wait. He needed to make sure both targets were on site before he moved in, and there was no sign of Asif. From the conversation Khan had had earlier, they were due to arrive separately.
Black sat up again in the seat of the car. Almost immediately, he spotted another light, this time much brighter, and only one travelling at speed up the road. The engine was loud. Black knew it was a motorbike, and a powerful one at that. The bike also headed in the same direction as Unit 11. This was the confirmation Black needed that both men were now on site. He would leave it a few minutes before moving in on foot.
Black took out his mobile phone and dialled Hamilton’s number. He answered almost as soon as the call had connected.
“Black – talk to me, what is happening?”
“Two vehicles have arrived, Sir. One a 4x4, the other a motorbike. I Was unable to confirm the identities of the
drivers, but I suspect they are the targets.”
“Okay, are you ready to move in?”
“Yes sir.”
“Okay. Black – no mistakes. Take them both out. Once they’re down and the weapons are secure, call me and I’ll arrange for a team to collect the weapons. We’ve taken care of Scott. Nice job you did on him son, very creative well done." Black couldn't tell whether he was being sarcastic. "Oh and Black – Sarah Barnes is no longer involved in this mission so I’ll be carrying out the initial debrief with you when you return.”
“Sir? Is she okay?”
“She’s fine. Don’t concern yourself with her, focus on the job in hand. Don’t fuck this up.”
Hamilton end the call.
Black put the phone into the glove compartment. He ran through the situation in his head. He had no weapons, just the element of surprise. Khan thought he was dead, and he would be in a panic about moving the weapons in case the unit was compromised. Hopefully, he would be able to put his hands on one of the weapons in the unit if things got out of hand.
Black got out of the Astra and put his hood up. The rain was a drizzle now, his clothes barely drying out from the earlier rain in Swindon.
He made his way down the road as it took a left turn. He could make out the silhouettes of the various industrial units which lined the road in front of him. The first one he came to was Unit 6. He kept walking past the other units, ascending in numerical order. Unit 11 was the last building, on the left hand side. Black could hear voices is the distance. He backed up against the corrugated fence and edged along sideways. Once he reached the edge of the fence, he slowly turned his head sideways to peer round the corner.
The Land Rover was parked in the yard in front of the unit. Its rear doors fully open. Black could make out the figure of Saad Khan loading boxes into the back. He could hear his voice clearly now.
“Quickly, man, hurry the fuck up. I want us out of here in the next twenty minutes.” Khan was rushing. This gave Black an advantage. Black always remained composed in these situations, if his enemy was flapping, unorganised and unexpectant, they wouldn’t be able to react effectively.
“There’s another twelve boxes,” came the reply from Asif. “Are they all gonna fit?”
“They’ll fit, just keep them coming.”
“You’ll need to give me a hand with this one. What the fuck is this? An RPG?”
He saw Khan walk back into the unit shaking his head, clearly unhappy with how long things were taking. The Land Rover had been left with the rear doors open. An opportunity was there and Black acted immediately.
He ran, semi crouched, towards the Land Rover. He reached the open rear door, and looked round the side. Black could see Khan and Asif inside the unit packing something into a large cardboard box. He needed to act quickly. There were several other, smaller boxes inside the back of the Land Rover. He slowly took one out and lay it on the ground. He took out his car key and ran it along the brown tape which was holding together the flaps of the box. Inside was a jet black Aral pump action shot gun complete with shells.
Black made sure the safety was on, pointed the barrel away from him and loaded the shells, pushing them into place with his thumb. He held in the release button and pumped the slide backwards. He was ready.
He made his way round the side of the Land Rover to the large shutter door of the unit. He got within fifty yards of Khan and Asif before they realised he was there. Black pulled back the trigger and fired. The shot echoed through the night air. Asif went down. Even from distance, Black could make out the hole in his forehead.
Khan stood still in shock. He looked down at Asif, fragments of skull and brain tissue along with a copious amount of blood covered the cardboard box they were packing.
Black pumped the gun again.
Khan darted for cover under a desk towards the back of the unit. The shot splintered into the set of drawers next to it, fragments of cheap plywood falling in front of him as he cowered underneath.
“Stop!” Shouted Khan. “I’m unarmed.”
Black moved forward, aiming the shot gun at Khan.
“The game is over. There’s no way out of this for you. Whatever the attack was you had planned – it isn’t going to happen.”
The look on Khan’s face changed; it went from fear to laughter in an instant.
“Well done soldier,” he said with an ear to ear grin on his face. “You may think you have won this battle, but do you think this ends with me? Our little collection here is nothing but a scratch on the surface. Yes, you may have saved lives today, but how many? Ten? Twenty? Thirty? Many more will die. Brothers around the world are planning much, much worse against your western friends. When will you people come to realise that your actions against our countries have consequence?”
“Whatever issues you have with our Government, you think the right response is to kill innocent people? If I save one life today, then everything is worth it.”
“You’re a fool soldier. You serve a corrupt Government who doesn’t care about you or its civilians. They’ll chew you up and spit you out, cast you aside once you’re of no use to them.”
Black paused for a moment. Khan probably had a point. Black knew he was fighting a war that wasn’t his, but it was all he knew. He’d seen enough in Afghanistan to know that the west brought terror to other countries, however it was deemed acceptable because the Government and the media said so.
Still Black had a job to do. He didn't have time to think about the moral situation right now.
“Whatever you tell me doesn’t change your situation. I have my orders.”
Khan closed his eyes. He knew it would be quick.
Black pulled back the pump and fired.
13
December 2nd 2008 – TEP Headquarters, Tower Gateway – 6am
Black had arrived back at TEP an hour ago. He had been seen by a doctor who had strapped up his wrists and given him some medication. He’d had time for a shower and a change of clothes before making his way up to Hamilton’s office.
He was smartly dressed, in a dark blue suit, white shirt and blue tie. Although there still hadn’t been time for a shave, his facial hair now thick and unkept. The only saving grace was that his dark hair was combed back neatly which was some distraction from the bags that had formed under his piercing blue eyes. One eye was partly swollen, along with his nose and the skin was beginning to turn a deep shade of purple.
Hamilton walked into the office, still wearing yesterday’s suit which was smelling strongly of cigarette smoke. “Good morning Black. Eventful night wasn’t it?” He seemed to be making light of the events that had taken place. As he sat down, Hamilton reached into the top drawer of his desk and pulled out a small bottle of whiskey. “Would you care for a drink? I’m guessing you could need a little pick me up.”
“No sir, thank you. I don’t drink anymore.” Replied Black
“Ah yes, sorry I forgot, you’ve had problems with the booze.”
Black didn’t want to start discussing his past so quickly changed the subject. “Sir – the mission, I…….”
“Black, you don’t have to say anything, I’m impressed. Last night confirmed we made the right decision in bringing you on board. Yes, you may be young, and you’ve certainly got your demons, but you used that to your advantage. You channelled those into the mission. Everything went to plan.”
“Everything went to plan? Sir, Scott knew I was coming, if he’d have had the balls, he’d have killed me. He had more than one opportunity.”
Hamilton grinned and sipped his whiskey. “Black, come on, you’re an intelligent lad, you must have worked it out by now.”
“Sir, I don’t look for answers to why things happen, I just carry out the mission as ordered.”
Hamilton continued to grin. He admired the ignorance. “Black, it was me who tipped off Scott. You needed a challenge, you needed to prove you could act under pressure. I stuck my neck on the line putting you on to a mission so
early, especially considering your background and your age. Everyone said you needed more training, but I disagreed. This was a test - to show everyone you were more than capable.”
Black was taken aback, although he had his suspicions all along, he would never have confronted Hamilton with them. He had respect for him, for saving him, for saving his family.
“Sir, what if it hadn’t gone to plan? They'd still be out there. People could have died.”
“I had faith in you son. If I didn’t, you wouldn’t be part of TEP, it’s as simple as that. Thanks to you, there is a bent cop off the street, a couple of terrorists dead, and a shit load of weapons secured. Plus into the bargain, you’ve proven you can handle extreme circumstances. I know you already did that in Afghanistan, but I had to see it under my command. Yes, I could have sent an experienced agent, but I knew you'd come through”
“Yes, sir, I understand.”
Hamilton paused for a moment. “Black, there is something else. Talk to me about Sarah Barnes.”
“What about her sir?
“Are you involved with her?”
Black tried to act surprised. “Sir, there is nothing going on. I’m aware she is fond of me, but I can assure you, it isn’t reciprocated on my side. I’ll make sure I keep her at arm’s length.”
“Hmm. She is quite concerned about you, and your past Black. She broke protocol here when you went dark. She is in quite a lot of trouble.”
“Sir, let me speak with her. I’ll set her straight.”
Hamilton thought for a moment. He seemed indecisive. “Black, that’s a big ask. She is lucky she isn’t being prosecuted.”
“Sir, I’ll speak to her, I’ll make sure she knows exactly where she stands.”