by Chris Ryan
Hex indicated Trilok’s files: ‘We can’t find anything about that in here, though.’
‘No.’ The investigating officer shook his head. ‘It’s not connected with Trilok. But Sergeant Chopra’s confessed. He was selling to the eye bank and receiving payments from Trilok to protect him. When you turned up looking for Bina, he called his friends at Vikram and had her put in one of their vans. So he’ll be arrested for corruption and abetting an abduction.’
Paulo yawned. ‘Where is Trilok?’
Li grinned. ‘The police tracked him using his mobile. He was in Mount Road but when we looked out in the street we couldn’t see him. So I called his number and waited to see where the sound came from.’
Hex was grinning too. ‘He was right outside the General Medical Ethics Committee building. In a dustbin.’
They all laughed. Even Paulo and Amber chuckled quietly. ‘Very appropriate,’ drawled Amber in what was almost a whisper.
Hex found it strange to have her operating at half volume. He patted her head. ‘I rather like this new, quiet Amber. She’s like a pussycat.’
‘Watch out,’ said Amber sotto voce. ‘I may be cute but I bite.’
The investigating officer told them, ‘We’ve got Trilok downstairs in the cells and those files will be very useful.’ He looked at the doctor. ‘What do you make of them, Doctor?’
The police doctor looked up. ‘The test results are rather interesting. There are a lot in one kind of handwriting that are complete nonsense. They can’t have been done by anyone with medical knowledge.’
Li replied, ‘We think he was looking for people who had been refused transplants. He’d tell them he would find them a kidney and get them to keep paying for tests until they died.’
The doctor’s face was grave. ‘Yes, that could well be what was going on here. How despicable.’ The contempt in his voice was clear.
‘What I don’t understand is why he kept them,’ said Hex. ‘All those reports in his own handwriting are incriminating.’
‘I think I can help with that,’ said the doctor. ‘He’s faking the names of the donors, so he has to make sure he doesn’t duplicate them. Otherwise the patient might spot that they’ve already paid for a match test with, for example, a Mrs Patel of Egmore Road.’
Alex looked at the investigating officer. ‘What will happen to Trilok and Chopra? Will they go to jail?’
The officer shrugged. ‘Chopra definitely. He’s confessed. The committee members will probably be struck off and fined. But Trilok . . . he’s saying nothing, he’s demanded to talk to his lawyer. With all this evidence, we can make a good case. But he’s a rich man and he has rich friends.’
Alex smiled wryly. ‘And he obviously knows about bribing government officials.’
The investigating officer nodded. ‘We’ll do what we can.’
The doctor was riffling through papers. ‘Interesting,’ he said loudly. ‘Look at these.’ He spread the papers out so everyone could see.
The pages were from a private hospital. In the space that said ‘Patient’s name’ was written ‘Tagore Trilok’.
Having looked through so many similar papers, Hex had an idea of what they might be. He looked at the doctor. ‘Are these tests done on Trilok?’
The doctor nodded. ‘These are kidney function tests. Genuine ones – I know the consultant who’s signed them. It looks like Trilok’s suffering from kidney disease.’
Li turned to Paulo. ‘You found that drug wrapper,’ she said. ‘And you said he didn’t look well.’
The doctor nodded. ‘Looking at these it’s not surprising. Within a year, he’s going to be very ill indeed. Whether he’s in jail or not he’s going to need all that money he made.’
34
END OF A LONG DAY
Alex, Li and Hex opened the door to their room in the hostel. A few hours earlier they had brought Bina, Amber and Paulo back so that they could sleep off the effects of the drugs properly.
Alex peeked in. The room was dark. He turned back to the others. ‘They’re still asleep,’ he hissed.
As if to confirm this, a loud snore came from the room.
‘That’s got to be Paulo,’ said Li.
‘I bet it’s Amber,’ said Hex.
‘Lazy louts,’ said Alex. ‘They’ve had a couple of hours.’ He, Li and Alex had spent the time at the police station, helping the officers sort through all the evidence and providing other evidence of their own.
‘So what shall we do, put the light on?’
Suddenly the lights came on on their own. There was a great chorus of ‘Surprise!’
Alex, Li and Hex whirled round. Standing behind the door – and very much awake – were Bina, Amber and Paulo.
But they weren’t alone. Bina’s whole family were there – Mootama, Naresh, and her sisters Radha and Sami.
Naresh stepped forward and shook Alex solemnly by the hand. He didn’t say anything, just gave his hand a firm shake and held it for a moment. Then he moved on to Hex, shaking his hand and holding it before releasing it.
Li expected she would be next and went forwards to offer her hand, but Amber gave her a look that said No. Li remembered. There were strict rules about when Indian men could touch women, and that included shaking hands.
Naresh let Hex go and stood in front of Li. He didn’t need to shake her hand; his eyes said it all.
Alex recovered from the surprise first. ‘How did you get here?’
Amber answered. ‘I wasn’t tired, so I made some phone calls. Paulo had the number of the phone in Nayla and they got a message to Mootama.’
Mootama took up the story. ‘Pradesh was coming into town to pick up materials. He offered to bring us in and pick us up later.’
Amber sniffed. ‘What’s that smell?’
Alex and Li fetched a couple of large baskets from outside the door. ‘We brought a takeaway. The police recommended a restaurant.’
‘Not the one Sergeant Chopra goes to,’ added Li quickly with a shudder. Her four friends laughed.
Amber’s eyes lit up. ‘Fab.’ She clambered across the bed and opened one of the baskets. Inside were smaller baskets, their contents wrapped in napkins. She unfolded one and saw little chunks of marinaded lamb. It smelled delicious. Another contained a porcelain bowl with a fragrant dish of lentils and spices.
Li hefted another two baskets in from outside the door. ‘There’s plenty here,’ she said to Mootama and the others. ‘Do please join us.’
Naresh looked at his eldest daughter. ‘I don’t think we’ll be able to leave for a while anyway.’
Bina looked as though she would swoon with bliss. ‘I haven’t eaten proper food for days.’ Now she had got rid of the surgical gown and the police had found her a clean sari, she looked like a normal, healthy teenager again.
They laid a bedspread on the floor and put the food out on it, like a picnic, then they all sat down to eat. Naresh and Mootama ate only sparingly, preferring to watch as Bina attacked the feast. Sami and Radha insisted on sitting on either side of Paulo and acting as his own personal waitresses, passing him dishes faster than he could eat. They were so intent on feeding him that they hardly bothered to eat anything themselves.
What is this effect he has on girls? wondered Li.
For a while the only sounds in the room were the sounds of enjoyment. Alpha Force tucked in, eating the south Indian way – making a small handful of rice into a ball and dipping it into a sauce.
Amber poked Hex in the ribs. ‘By the way, I do not snore.’
‘You do,’ said Hex. He looked round to see Radha watching them intently. ‘She was snoring in the police station,’ he explained to her. ‘Like a buzz saw.’
‘Rubbish,’ said Amber. Her phone rang and she glanced at the screen. ‘I’ll deal with you later,’ she said to Hex severely, then moved away from the party to take the call.
Radha looked at Hex intently. ‘Are you and Amber married?’
Hex’s eyes nearly popped out o
f his head. Then he realized he wasn’t the only person who’d been dumbstruck. Everyone else had gone quiet too.
Bina was toying with a chapatti, her appetite gone. Mootama and Naresh gave each other uncomfortable looks. Paulo, Li and Alex looked down into their plates, not knowing what to say.
Of course, thought Hex. It’s like we thought all along. We may have rescued Bina, but nobody knows what to do about her dowry – or dowries for the other girls. Radha’s cheeky remark had brought into the open the problem that nobody wanted to think about. But hopefully the school would change all that, wouldn’t it?
Hex asked: ‘How’s Pradesh getting on fitting out the school?’
‘It’s now got electricity,’ said Naresh. ‘Soon we will be ready for furniture and equipment. But we’ll get our teacher through the aid programme and they’ve told us it will take at least twelve months.’
Alex caught the tone in Naresh’s voice. It was the tone of a man who had been beating his head against a brick wall – Alex had felt just the same when he had tried to get a doctor for the young boy. Bina was now thirteen. Many of the girls were married at twelve. The family wouldn’t be able to wait another year to see what happened with the school, they would have to get her married off soon or she would be too old. And Radha would be coming up to marriageable age soon.
Suddenly, Alex felt very tired. Everything they had gone through, everything he had been inspired to do since seeing that TV report, turned to dust. He had hoped they would change lives, but all they’d leave behind was an empty building.
Amber finished her call and rejoined the party. She was shocked to see the circle of sombre faces.
Mootama reached over and patted Bina’s hand in an attempt to reassure her. Amber understood that gesture: it was trying to say everything would be all right, even if she had no idea how.
Amber sat down next to Hex again. ‘I’ve just been talking to my uncle John in the States,’ she said. ‘He’s got a friend with a multinational company who was thinking of setting up a big call centre. You know, when you phone up to buy more mobile phone time and you think you’re talking to someone just downtown? Well, usually they’re actually somewhere like the Far East or Pakistan. Anyway, Uncle John’s just persuaded him to locate it in Chennai. It’ll take them a year to kit it out, but it means that kids just coming out of school can walk straight into jobs.’
Everyone nodded, looking impressed. But their response was lukewarm, as though they were just trying to be polite. Not as if she’d just dropped an amazing bombshell.
‘What’s up?’ said Amber. ‘Did I leave out the bit about them employing nearly four hundred people?’
It was Alex who answered. ‘The problem is, the aid programme can’t send a teacher for twelve months.’ The others nodded.
‘Oh, I sorted that as well,’ said Amber. ‘Uncle said they’d need specific training anyway. The company will get grants because they’re preparing pupils to work in emerging technologies. They can sponsor a teacher and send him or her over as soon as you like.’
At last the news seemed to go down well. Amber could feel the tension in the room melt away. Mootama and Naresh looked at each other, tears in their eyes.
Paulo and Hex resumed joking with the two younger girls; Alex and Li were challenging each other to eat the two fieriest dishes on the table. Amber felt very happy. Her uncle had powerful friends and although she didn’t like to rely on them, she had to admit there were times when they were very, very useful.
Paulo looked at Radha and Sami. ‘So in a few years’ time, when I’m trying to top up calltime, I might be speaking to one of you guys.’
‘Or me,’ said Bina, grinning broadly. Her appetite had returned and she dug a chapatti into the vegetable curry.
‘No, me,’ said Sami. She saw Bina mopping up more food and swiped the bowl of lentils, offering it to Paulo.
‘No, no more,’ said Paulo helplessly. ‘I’m full to here.’ He put his hand over the top of his head.
‘Give it to me,’ said Bina.
‘No,’ said Radha, ‘you’ve had loads. Give it to’ – she looked around to see who she wanted to bestow her favours on next – ‘give it to Alex.’
Alex saw the lentils advancing towards him and shook his head, his eyes bulging and watering. His hands fanned his mouth as though he’d eaten a hot coal. He grabbed a bottle of water and downed the whole lot.
It was another few moments before he could speak. ‘Phew, that was hot. I think I am going to need a transplant.’
‘Why?’ said Li.
Alex wiped his eyes. ‘Dodgy tikka.’
CHRIS RYAN’S TOP SAS
TACTICS ON STREET
SURVEILLANCE
In Blood Money, Alpha Force use all their street surveillance skills to follow the crooked agent around Chennai. And in a country where they can easily stand out simply because of their ethnic origin, they really do need skills. As a member of the SAS, I have often had to follow someone as part of the intelligence-gathering stage of a mission, and there are some basic rules that are worth keeping in mind if you ever need to follow someone yourself.
Do remember, however, that these skills are for serious operations only, where it is necessary to gain vital intelligence. Never follow anyone unnecessarily. It can be very scary to discover someone is following you – and if you are spotted following a stranger, you could be putting yourself into danger. So these skills should only be practised with your mates. This will mean that your skills will really have to honed well as your friend is very likely to spot you!
Here are my top ten SAS tactics for following someone in an urban environment:
1. Teamwork
To avoid being spotted it is best to operate as a team. Obviously, the more people you have, the more you can vary who’s following. One of you follows for ten minutes, then the other takes over. When I worked on a surveillance operation in Scotland following a guy for over a week, we had a team of three, on foot and in cars. If our target stopped, the person following would keep on walking and overtake them. Someone else then took up the pursuit.
If you’re in a team, communications are vital. We kept in touch by radio and earpiece, but you could use mobile phones. One of your team is the controller: he or she knows where everybody is and can plot where the target might go next. When we were in Scotland, we marked up local maps with zones – red, yellow, green and so on. When we needed to tell the controller where the target was going, we’d say, ‘In yellow five moving to green three’ – and if anyone was listening they’d have no idea what we were doing. If the target disappears, the controller can look at the map and send people to block off where he might be.
You might want to use hand signals, in which case make sure you all know exactly what they mean. Each team member could be represented by a different finger on your hand – so if you put one finger up to scratch your ear, you mean for Team Member A to take over; three fingers could mean Team Member C; and so on. If you work as part of a team – like Alpha Force – you will soon develop a range of ways of communicating with each other without needing specific equipment.
Let everyone share the workload. The longer that just one person follows the target, the more likely they are to be spotted. Don’t try to be a hero and follow them yourself all day – swap regularly.
2. Know your area
Try to get to know the area you will be working in before the operation starts. It certainly won’t help if you get lost as you won’t be able to report the target’s position back to team-mates! Look for places that may cause problems. For example, a street market may be filled with people and it is worth knowing if your target is heading in that direction as you will need to move closer to avoid losing them. If you do lose them, knowing the surroundings means you can scoot on ahead, say to the other shopping mall exit, and be ready to pick them up when they reappear.
There may be times when you’ll need to look at your map, but don’t do it in full view of everybody – duck
into a shop.
3. Useful items
Again, if you have advance warning, there are practical items you can take with you that may make the difference between success and failure. For example, take some loose change in case you have to follow a suspect onto a bus. You’d feel pretty silly if you lost your target simply because you had failed to make sure you had the bus fare!
A mobile phone is always useful, but a phone card or change may be vital if you are in an area where the signal is poor.
And make sure you are wearing comfortable and appropriate clothes and shoes or boots. If the furthest you normally walk is to the bus stop and back, a three-hour walk following someone could give you blisters! And you’d be pretty uncomfortable, too, if you set off in a T-shirt and it poured with rain.
4. Blend into your surroundings
There’s a saying: When in Rome, do as the Romans do, and this certainly applies to surveillance. When I was in Scotland, we looked at what the locals were wearing and tried to blend in. That’s another reason to visit the area beforehand – you’d really stand out if you wore sports gear and they were all in business suits. Alpha Force are at a disadvantage in Chennai because they don’t look like the local race. Their untouchable costume does two jobs – allows them to blend in while covering their distinctive hair and skin colour.
Many people think that you should always wear a disguise. This all depends on how well the subject you are following knows you – and how good you are at disguising yourself. A large false nose or a silly hat will only make you stand out in a crowd. Instead, disguise yourself with ‘normal’ things – a baseball cap, a coat that is different from the kind you normally wear, glasses or sunglasses will all make a big difference. You don’t have to use them all at once: first try a pair of glasses, then swap these for a baseball cap, and finally try a different coloured top. But how you move is probably even more important; as Paulo knows, many people have a distinctive way of walking or using their hands or other gestures that make them recognizable. Try copying the way your mates walk and you will realize how much of this kind of thing you do notice yourself. Then ask them to copy you and you will know what you will need to disguise!