by Mike Winter
Hamilton paused for another half a minute. “You’ve got one shot at it Black. If she doesn’t take the hint, then she’s gone, and gone for good.”
“Understood, sir.”
“Black, just before you go. The media are all over this. You’ll see the reports of Scott going missing. His body will never be found, and the Police will never find any evidence. We needed to make sure the public were unaware of his involvement in terrorism. Once the Police force are complicit, you’ve lost any remaining trust they had in them.”
Black nodded.
“There will also be reports on the bodies of Saad Khan and his mate being found in Croydon. It will be put down to drugs, some kind of dealing rivalry.”
“Yes, sir. Is that all?”
“For now. Have a few days’ rest. I’ll be in touch. The good news for you is, it’s a fucked up world out there, so there is plenty to keep you busy with.”
Black stood up. His body ached, and he was tired; he hadn’t slept in thirty six hours. The thought of going home to sleep was welcoming. But first, he had to go and see Sarah.
14
Angel, Islington – 8.00am
Black got off the tube at Angel Underground Station and walked the short distance down City Road towards Sarah’s apartment. He had already called her to make sure she was on her own; she was, her husband had already left for work.
He reached the apartment and rang the bell. Sarah opened the door after a couple of minutes. She looked a mess; she was wearing a blue hoodie and grey jogging bottoms, her hair covering part of her face, and she smelt strongly of alcohol.
“Sarah, what the fuck?” Black was taken aback. He hadn’t seen her like this before, although he knew she liked a drink.
“Come in, Tom. It’s good to see you.”
Black entered the apartment behind her. It was on two levels; the main door led into the upstairs, with bedrooms and on either side of the landing. A balcony looked down into the living area and kitchen. It was an old building, with lots of character and high ceilings and must have cost a small fortune to rent each month. Her husband was involved in banking in the City, and Sarah would earn a decent living too. He followed her down the stairs to one of the two red leather sofas. A half drank bottle of red wine stood on the coffee table next to an empty glass.
“Do you want a drink?” She asked.
Black smiled. “Jesus, it’s eight in the morning and that’s the second drink I’ve been offered.”
Sarah laughed. “Let me guess. Hamilton? Have you spoke with him?”
“Yes Sarah, I have. He tells me you broke protocol, that you could be in trouble? What did you do?”
She poured herself another glass of red and sipped it gently before she spoke. “I was worried about you Tom. He was trying to fuck you over. He called Ross Scott, told him you were coming. Why would he do that? He has it in for you.”
“Sarah, get a grip. It is nothing like that.”
“Yeah, that’s what he’s made you think. He manipulates everyone.”
“It isn’t like that. You’ve got it all wrong.” Black was becoming frustrated.
“Tell me then, what is going on? I was worried about you Tom. I’ve told you, you’re worth more than this. I’ve seen first-hand the things they will make you do. There’s no going back. They will own you.”
Black stood up, anger showing in his face.
“Sarah, do you think I don’t fucking know this? This is my life and my decision, and it is what I want to do, and the only thing I know how to do. Hamilton made the call to Scott. It was a test; he’s put his neck on the line for me, people don’t think I’m up to the job round here, but last night, I proved everyone wrong. I fulfilled the objectives of the mission, and ultimately saved lives. That’s what the job is about.”
Sarah stood up and walked over to Black. “And what about the people you take down along the way? I saw what you did to Ross Scott. Why kill him like you did? What was it? Some kind of statement? Did you get a kick out of it? You’re no better than the people he was working for.”
Black saw red. He pushed Sarah down, back onto the sofa, her wine glass dropped and smashed on the wooden floor. “I did my job Sarah,” Black snarled. “Scott had to die, I apologise if how he checked out wasn’t to your taste. Saad Khan went out a little quicker, he had a shot gun fired in his face, is that a little more humane for you?”
Tears started to roll down Sarah’s face. “You’re fucking sick. To think I was standing up for you, worrying about you, caring about you.”
“I told you not to get involved, Sarah we spent one night together, and it meant nothing. You think you know me, you think you can preach to me about how I should behave, about my family?”
“All I know is that this isn’t you. This job, the things they make you do isn’t who you are. Afghanistan messed you up, you need professional help, not a lifetime of murder and war. Get out of this game Tom, before its too late.”
“You know nothing about me. I don’t want to hear it any more. I’ve managed to convince Hamilton to let you back to TEP, but you must stay away from me Sarah. If we talk in the future, it is on a professional basis only. What ever happened between us, get it out of your head. I’ve got a job to do and so have you.”
Sarah continued to sob; she thought she could get through to Black although others had tried and failed. In her mind, eventually Black would burn himself out and TEP would cast him aside once he was of no more use to them, or worse, he would get himself killed.
“I’m leaving now Sarah. Sort yourself out and get back to work tomorrow and start begging. You’re the best at what you do, Hamilton needs you, make sure you remind him of that.”
Sarah said nothing as Black walked back up the stairs. He looked down over the balcony at her as she drank the remaining wine straight from the bottle. A sense of regret rushed over him; he’d shown that side of himself to her; the angry, violent side. She was right in everything she said, this wasn’t the real Tom Black, but it was the only Tom Black he knew now, and he was too far down that path to ever come back.
He walked back out of the apartment door and onto the street, buttoning up his long black overcoat to shield him from the bitter cold and made his way back to the underground station.
15
December 6th 2008 – TEP Headquarters, Tower Gateway – 9am
Black arrived back at Tower Gateway after a few days deserved break. The rest had given his wrists chance to heal, and he felt almost human again. He’d spent most of his time at home, apart from one day where he took a drive to the coast to try and clear his head. He had taken a long walk along the beach, the fresh sea air helping cleanse the memories of the last mission. The image of Ross Scott had been engraved into his mind, no matter how much he told himself his death was necessary.
Black arrived on Hamilton’s floor and exited the lift and headed into the IT room. He spotted Sarah Black at her desk on the far side of the office. She looked up at him briefly, but quickly turned her head back to her monitors. Her desk was as messy as ever.
Hamilton opened his office door and greeted him before he had time to knock.
“Good morning Black, you’re looking much better. Shall we go inside?”
“Thank you sir." Black sat down. There was no offer of a whiskey this morning.
“As you can see, Sarah is back in work. I trust your conversation got through to her?”
“Yes, sir, I’m confident it did. There will be no need for you to worry about her.”
The look on Hamilton’s face gave the impression that he wasn’t convinced. “We’ll see about that. She is walking a very thin line at the moment. One more foot out of place and she’s gone.”
A large file was open on Hamilton’s desk, and he had noticed Black looking at it eagerly. “I’m guessing you’re keen to get back to work?”
“Yes, sir. What do you have for me?” Black needed to keep occupied, the more time he was sat at home thinking, the more likely he was to hit the drink ag
ain.
“Have you ever been to Hong Kong?” Hamilton already knew the answer.
“No, sir. I hear it’s an interesting place.”
“It will certainly be interesting for you. You fly out a week today. I’ve sent you the mission brief on email.” Hamilton handed Black a pouch containing his flight tickets. “I’m throwing you in at the deep end. We’ll see what you’re really made of.”
A mixture of excitement and dread came over Black as he walked out of Hamilton’s office, giving Sarah a casual glance as he walked by. He opened up his emails on his mobile phone and keyed in a password. The words “Hong Kong Brief” showed on the email subject. It would be best to wait until he was home before reading it.
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Rogue - the second Tom Black novella - January 2017
Tom Black is sent to Hong Kong to track down a rogue agent suspected in selling secrets to the Chinese. The problem is, no one knows who the agent is.
Mind Games - the first full length Tom Black novel - March 2017
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