by Tim Jopling
Olsen made his way to Operations Command and received a look of concern from Carter across the circular table. Aside from Jordan, the whole team was assembled.
‘We have a lead. An abandoned building in the Kennington area; Baldon House.’ He looked at Carter. ‘Find the address and any information you can on that building.’ ‘We’re going to investigate straight away. All team members will be armed.’
Carter laid the map on the table as the others gathered round. ‘Baldon House is on the edge of Kennington. It has five floors. Up until a month ago, an insurance firm occupied it. Now it’s supposed to be empty. It’s going to be demolished in March of 2013.’
Olsen studied the map further. ‘Ok. This is our only lead so let’s make it count.’ He turned to Carter. ‘Make sure we have a Thermal Imaging Camera with us; I want to know what we’re heading into. Let’s get organised and be on our way.’ Olsen eyed up his trusted allies. ‘All set?’
Chapter 7
Thursday, July 26th 06:00,
Elephant and Castle area, London.
Jordan loaded his black Glock pistol and looked out at the residential estate ahead of him. An abandoned car had been left outside the nearest block of flats and several windows on the ground floor had been smashed, leaving glass on the pavement.
Making his way up the staircase, he kept his weapon concealed at his side just in case. His thoughts turned to Burton and the inquiry that had been so painful months before. News of Burton’s betrayal had initially been surprising but the more Jordan thought about it the more it made sense. Burton had changed so much over the years that the professional and reliable S.U.C.O. commander had long gone even before the operation in Poland. All that was left was a man corrupted by money with too many addictions to cope with. Jordan walked past a man sleeping rough on the staircase and wondered how Burton had fallen so far. At the top of the staircase, he saw the front door of the flat was slightly ajar. He listened for any sound but both flats were silent. Should I call for backup? Dismissing the idea, he peered through the crack in the door. No movement could be seen or heard. Slowly, the door was pushed open and he moved into the hallway with his pistol out in front of him. Lights flashed on at the flick of a switch and Jordan moved in, his senses on edge for any sound or movement. To the left of him was an empty kitchen with several plates and beer bottles on the work surfaces. Upon entering the living room, litter could be seen on the floor with clothes hanging over the sofa. One of the windows was wide open. The television was on with the sound down. Jordan rushed over to the door of the bedroom and waited. Again, there was no noise. He burst in, at the ready and froze at the sight ahead of him.
On the bed was Hal Burton’s body, sprawled out awkwardly. Jordan didn’t even have to check for a sign of life, the sight was so bad. He glanced around the room and saw the wardrobe and drawers were open and had been emptied. He let out a sigh and glanced at Burton for a moment, seeing the lifeless look on his face. The inquiry faded from his mind, replaced by Burton’s wife and child who had lost a father and a husband.
Jordan found his mobile phone in his jacket and dialled the number of his superior. ‘Sir? It’s Jordan. I’m in Burton’s flat. You can call off the search, he’s here; I’m afraid he’s dead, sir.’
Ramsey was walking from the tube station to MI6 HQ and felt no remorse at the news. ‘I see…I’ll be right there with an investigation team.’
Olsen allowed the car to coast down the quiet street and caught sight of the building they had come to investigate, pulling over some distance from Baldon House. The leader turned around to face his team who were all looking in the direction of the building.
The surrounding area appeared peaceful. The early morning sun was starting to spread across the first few floors of the target building.
Olsen turned to Carter who was alongside him in the passenger’s seat. ‘Have you got the plans?’
Carter pulled out a folder and laid the plans of the building over the dashboard. ‘This place has five floors, supposedly all empty. It shouldn’t take us long to sweep through and find our leads.’
‘With the Thermal Imaging camera it’ll take even less.’
Carter was already setting up the device, which would be able to detect heat signatures in the building and transfer the results to the computer built in to the car. He trained the camera on the building and operated the display. ‘Got it Sam, pass me the cable from the dashboard.’
Olsen watched the screen ahead and saw the results displayed. ‘Keep your wits about you and stay sharp. According to this any possible targets are on the fifth floor.’ His Beretta pistol was pulled out of his jacket. It was fully loaded. ‘We’ll go in through the front and take any targets alive. Any questions?’ Olsen heard none and led his team to Baldon House.
Jordan looked out of the living room window and felt a moment of exhaustion as he laid his head on the glass. It didn’t last long as a knock echoed through the flat from the hallway. Jordan found Ramsey and an investigation team waiting there and gestured for them all to enter.
Ramsey looked around. One look told its own story. The flat had clearly been neglected, with little housework or improvements, together with paintwork that looked a few decades old. For an instant, the MI6 veteran could not help but feel sorry for Burton in some way, no matter how hard he tried to feel detached. The car ride over had made him dredge up memories of an effective and talented Hal Burton. True, he had betrayed his colleagues and the service he had worked so long for but whichever way you looked at it, it was a sorry end to such a glittering career and a man who had once been trustworthy and dependable. Ramsey rubbed his temples as several questions floated around in his mind. ‘Anything?’
The S.U.C.O. agent thought of a sarcastic comment but decided against it. ‘Hal was murdered. Single bullet to the middle of his forehead.’
Ramsey studied the run-down flat. ‘This is no place to raise a family though, is it? Any sign of his wife and child?’
‘I checked what’s left in the wardrobe sir and there are only clothes for Burton, no one else.’
Ramsey looked up with surprise. ‘Living on his own? Well that certainly answers some questions. It’s a likely assumption that the terrorists didn’t want any leads to them so killed him for it.’ Ramsey studied every corner of the room. There wasn’t much to look at. Several bags of clothes were stacked up, with a few newspapers, all months old, piled up beside them. He trusted his observation skills and began to look around more closely.
Olsen stepped in the large open space that was the fourth floor of Baldon House and saw the same result as the previous floors; an empty office space.
‘I don’t need to remind you to stay in control, Sam.’ Carter had an edge to his voice whilst he scanned the space ahead with his pistol.
‘I’m in control Dan, what you saw on the roof was…blind rage.’
‘I know what I saw Sam, I’m just hoping I won’t see it again.’
‘We wouldn’t have this lead without my actions.’
Carter turned to face Olsen. ‘Don’t think for one moment that justifies what you did. I just need to know you’re in control and in touch with what’s at stake here. You’re responsible for this team, remember.’
Olsen put a hand on Carter’s arm. ‘I realise that. I also realise I did cross the line but this isn’t easy for me. I came very close to losing Rachel today, I can’t let that happen again.’
‘I get that Sam but in future if you need some support, you come and find me. Are we clear?’
‘It’s clear. You have my word, I’ll come and find you.’
‘Good. Then let’s keep moving.’ Carter watched Olsen take the lead but was not convinced and vowed to keep a closer eye on his friend as events progressed.
Ramsey and Jordan studied the living room closely. One of the investigators joined them. ‘Sir, the front door has several of Burton’s prints, nothing else. The kitchen hasn’t been touched and my colleague is finishing up the living roo
m.’
Ramsey walked around the others to face the bookcase in the living room. It was barely standing and was holding a few magazines and tatty looking books, all of which had a heavy layer of dust. Kneeling down, he studied the layout of the chairs nearby and noted there was definitely enough space for the bookcase to be dragged out if need be. On the floor, papers and litter obscured the view he wanted to see. After moving them out of the way, long scuffmarks on the wooden boarded floor appeared; marks where the bookcase could have been dragged out. ‘Look at this.’ Ramsey pulled the bookcase out to reveal a safe with its door wide open. He rummaged through the contents and found some MI6 files and what looked like blueprints for Operations Command at MI6 HQ. ‘I can’t believe this. How long was he selling information? And to who?’
Jordan looked at the blueprints with the same disbelief. Did I ever know the real Hal Burton? ‘These layouts are out of date slightly, the rest of the papers aren’t worth much, just standard staff reports. Anything in those files?’
Ramsey shook his head, threw the files onto the floor with disgust and walked over to the window. ‘Empty. All of them. Some, which I worked on I, might add. Heaven knows what else was in that safe and who has it now.’ All the papers were handed to the investigators. ‘See what you can find on these and the safe. I wonder why they didn’t take the plan of Ops?’
Jordan responded straight away with a concerned voice. ‘Maybe because they already had the up to date versions?’
Olsen came to a corner of the staircase and paused. Very slowly, he turned and saw one armed target standing at the entrance. He looked past Carter and spoke to the other two S.U.C.O. agents. ‘Head back down to the fourth floor and take the fire escape staircase to the fifth. We need to surround these people and get them to surrender. Go!’ He made sure the silencer attachment was secure on his Beretta and fired one shot at the head of the target, dropping him silently.
Straight away, all hell broke loose with machine gun fire blasting against the wall and pummelling the entrance doorway. Screams of a foreign language and a lot of movement could be heard. Olsen didn’t want to wait around and give them anymore time. ‘Move!’ He took one side of the doorway with Carter diving to the other narrowly avoiding more gunfire.
‘We can’t stay here, we’re penned in!’
‘I know, hold on!’ On his knees he turned and fired off several shots, clipping one target in the shoulder. ‘Cover me!’ Olsen ran from his position and finished off one attacker as Carter followed him into the office area, taking cover behind several bookcases.
Ahead were the remaining two terrorists who had now barricaded themselves behind a stack of desks and were attempting to kill the S.U.C.O. agents.
Olsen knew it was just a case of waiting for his other team members to arrive via the fire escape staircase. Sure enough they appeared and Olsen and Carter made their move but neither was expecting what was to come.
The lead target, a woman, fired in both directions with her machine gun and then seemed to see the predicament she was now in and took evasive action. Without even thinking about whether to go through with her decision or not, she killed her colleague and then blasted a nearby laptop.
‘HOLD IT!’ Shouted Olsen, who had now appeared to one side with Carter at the opposite end.
The female target raised the machine gun to her head and put enough distance between her and the S.U.C.O. agents to create a stand off. ‘Don’t come any closer!’
Olsen lowered his weapon. ‘Just slow down; you don’t have to do this. We can protect you.’
Her eyes were defiant and her fingers tightened her grip on the weapon. She smiled faintly. ‘Not from them.’
‘WAIT!’ Olsen only had time to take one step forward as he watched her fall to the ground, dead. He knelt down to help her but it was too late.
Carter came closer, shocked at what he had just seen. ‘There is no doubt they’re committed. She even killed her partner.’ He looked to his left. ‘Hold on, we may have something.’ He picked up a laptop that was badly damaged with several bullet holes through the chassis. ‘It’s a long shot but there is a chance the hard drive might be salvageable. We’ll need Jordan to get started on this when we get back to HQ.’
Olsen tried to stay positive, despite the dead bodies around him. ‘Agreed, he is the technical specialist.’ He picked up a stack of papers and flicked through them. ‘Several clippings on the Olympics. This one focuses on the opening ceremony too. This one looks like it could help us.’ He handed a small torn piece of paper to Carter. ‘It looks like some sort of blueprint of a house or building.’ Olsen felt more interested in the blueprint, knowing all too well the opening ceremony was a definite target. He took the torn blueprint from Carter and laid it out on a nearby desk. ‘It’s too big to be a house, maybe some sort of layout for a floor of an office building. Possibly somewhere else they might be using for cover. Doesn’t look like any layout I’ve ever seen. We’ll have to run it through the databases back at HQ, see what it can come up with.’ Olsen placed the piece of paper in a plastic wallet. ‘Let’s take what we have and get out of here. I’ll take the first watch in Ops, the rest of you can get some sleep.’
As the team began to make their way down the fire escape, Olsen found his mobile and dialled a direct number to Operations Command at MI6 to speak to a S.U.C.O. agent. ‘This is Olsen. We’re heading back now. No sign of Kiprich but we have some leads to go on. I need you to send out a cleanup team here together with an investigation team. See what they can find. We’ll need someone posted here just in case Kiprich returns as well. Also, found half of a blueprint for a building of some kind. I’ll send it to you from the car in a second; have it run through the databases for the whole of the UK. I’ll see you in a bit.’ Olsen snapped his phone shut and started to follow the rest of the team back to the waiting car.
Jozef parked his car on the edge of a quiet housing estate in the Kennington area and set the air conditioning to its coolest setting. He wasn’t used to English summers. Not for the first time in recent days, he thought of his brother, Gyorgy. My dead brother he reminded himself. Jozef’s mind raced back to the events of a few months ago, as he stood outside the house in Kraków and saw his brother struggling to walk after being hit by one of the S.U.C.O. squad members. The pain came to him once more. The pain of losing his brother, his role model; his only family. The promise he made to Gyorgy resurfaced, one of revenge on the English. Jozef couldn’t help but feel he needed his brother’s guidance more than ever with the manpower losses he had already endured.
Jozef’s parents had both died young. He had never met his mother and had only faint memories of his father, a famous military General, who died before Jozef had reached his fifth birthday. During his teenage years, Jozef had accompanied his brother across Europe working for anyone that would pay their fee. Together, they had carved out a reputation as a duo that would carry out any abomination to the highest level of efficiency.
Jozef’s mind recalled a spell in Israel where the leader of a terrorist faction had questioned his abilities, praising those of Gyorgy’s instead. He disagreed vehemently which eventually led to him terminating the faction leader, with the Kiprich brothers taking over the group. Jozef closed his eyes as he remembered how proud Gyorgy was, for the first time he had proved how powerful he could be. The reverie ended with a momentary look in the right wing mirror as someone approached from the shadows. He recognised the form of Ferec straight away.
‘Are you well, Jozef?’ Ferec asked, as he closed the door.
Jozef had a look of anger as he spoke. ‘Olsen is still alive, S.U.C.O. is active and we have so far lost several men. Would you be happy?’
Ferec showed no signs of annoyance. ‘I apologise, Jozef. Surely, with the death of Burton and the leader of their agency, they will be rocked and disorganised enough for us to focus on our plans unhindered for the next few days?’
‘I’m beginning to wonder whether our plans will be enough to fulfi
l my promise, Zoltan.’ Jozef sat back in the chair. His steely dark green eyes looked ahead. He sighed and studied Ferec, who was now the closest thing he had to a brother. ‘I can’t leave here with nothing. I want everything. The Royals, the Prime Minister, our planned attack on London Underground but more than anything, I want MI6. They are proving to be more disruptive than I had anticipated. I’m afraid I must ask you to play a larger role than we had previously discussed.’
Ferec showed no change in expression. ‘Whatever you need, Jozef.’
‘The British killed everything I have…I cannot do nothing; Gyorgy’s soul will not allow it.’ Jozef leaned closer, with a stare of belligerence. ‘They will be broken, by us, it will go no further!’
Ferec felt an urge of sympathy for his friend, who had not been the same since the loss of Gyorgy. A man twisted with revenge, he thought. ‘I will help you Jozef.’
Jozef placed a hand on Ferec’s shoulder. ‘Everything will go according to plan. You have to trust me.’
Ramsey turned around as the security team filed in through the door of Burton’s flat. Investigations had finished their work; the door hadn’t been forced and only the safe had been found with the possibility of any leads. ‘I want this place secure twenty four seven. No Police, no public and definitely no reporters. This whole area is 100% classified. You got that? Right.’ He turned to Jordan. ‘I’ll meet you downstairs; I’ll give you a lift back to HQ. Oh and good work today.’ The two investigators passed him. ‘Those results had better be with me by early afternoon; we can’t afford to hang around on this.’ His phone started to ring as he walked out of the door. ‘Ramsey.’