But given your past and that ever so annoying trait of yours for tying up loose ends, we somehow knew that you would take things just that little bit further than the brief that you had been given, and in turn provoke them into doing something, foolhardy. But I must say, it was rather sloppy of you to lose Mr Caplin, like that. We’ve had the drug boys crawling all over us. They’re saying that you deliberately let the American get away, and that he’s back in Cuba. Surrounded by bodyguards and no extradition treaty with the United States. Anyway, the Partners want to kick you out on your ear, but I’ve eventually managed to get them to see a degree of reason.”
“How very magnanimous of you,” I said quietly.
“What was that? Magnanimous, no, not really. Even though you are a maverick, you do actually have your uses – some of the time,” he added, shuffling a large pile of papers around on his desk, before adding. “Oh, by the way, that request for two weeks paid leave has been authorised, with immediate effect, of course. Take a holiday, they say Florida is good at this time of year.”
I closed the door gently as I left.
Chapter 43
The next day, I took all the material relating to the assignment down to Adrian Vass for safe keeping at the Central Archive Depository. He signed and stamped the official receipt before asking his assistant to cart it all off to the scanning suite, a quite room where a number of men and women sit methodically scanning all hard copy literature on to portable storage discs.
Afterwards the discs are brought back to Vass’s office to be safely deposited in the enormous walk-in safe within his inner office, known as Fort Knox.
After thanking him for his help once again, I left his office wondering why he was always so happy and smiling, given his mundane and seemingly boring job?
As I drove through the city back to the office, I felt detached from the humdrum of life in the capital; perhaps I’d been by the seaside to long.
“Now you see what it’s like where the real work is done,” said LJ, and went on to make provocative remarks about lying around in the sun. LJ had convened the new training group meeting on my behalf. It was a masterstroke in his battle with Bingham-Carter at M16 for control of the new network. LJ had divided up the various agency representatives equally between Communications and Finance, with the exception of Bingham-Carter. LJ was all elbows and knees. He sat in one of his leather easy chairs and puffed clouds of cigar smoke at Winston Churchill, and said that being successful was merely a state of mind.
Roberts had spread himself all over my office again, but had taken care not to do any of my paper work. The computer monitor screen had strawberry jam on it, and my secretary had been whisked off to another department somewhere in the building while I had been on the Poseidon assignment. I kicked Roberts and his many lever arch files out, and although he protested volubly he set up office elsewhere. “Oh and by the way I’m afraid I’ve used all of your coffee beans, I’ll try and remember to get you another bag tomorrow,” he said as he left.
There were numerous emails waiting for me, according to the screen. The first one was from Fiona Price informing me that Harry Caplin had managed to get away to Cuba. Her disappointment came through loud and clear that the authorities on the island were not prepared to extradite him. How did I fancy two unofficial weeks in Florida Keys with a quick hop over to Cuba one evening?
“Um, sounds like fun but could be dangerous in more ways than one,” I said, smiling.
All the others were just routine correspondence except for the last; this was from the Partners. It was to the point and very brief, confirming the two weeks leave that I was to take immediately, until the Harry Caplin escape saga had blown over. I would be contacted via email at the appropriate time. I left the building.
* * * The weekend came and went in a flash. Tats dragged me off on Saturday to view a friend’s collection of urban landscapes at a trendy art gallery in the West End. On Sunday we simply relaxed, drinking red wine and lazing around on the roof garden of my apartment, watching the boats going up and down the Thames and the world passing by.
My mobile phone rang; it was LJ working on a Sunday afternoon. After twenty minutes, I managed to hang up on him.
“Who was that?” Tats asked dreamily.
“LJ. He phoned to inform me that Oliver
Hawkworth was found dead at his home in Winchester early this morning.” “Hawkworth is dead?” She exclaimed, and then added, “Was it suicide or murder?”
“The local police seem to think it was suicide. Apparently, there was note confessing to his involvement down in Dorset with Harry Caplin, and sleeping pills scattered over his desk. They also found an empty bottle of vodka on the floor.”
“But you’re not convinced, are you?”
“It doesn’t matter what I think, does it. But I’d say it all looks a bit contrived if you ask me.”
“Well, look at it like this, Jake. Hawkworth led a full, privileged and opulent life. To go to prison, simply wasn’t an option for him, and by committing suicide. Well, he’s saved the British tax payer an extremely large amount of money.”
“Tats, that’s very harsh.” I said.
“Well, harsh and callous, it may be, Jake. But, all I’m saying, is that for once in his miserable life. He’s actually gone and done something honourable for a change.”
“Well, I suppose you’ve a point there.” I said reclining the back on the wooden sun-lounger, and remembering that last meeting I’d had with Hawkworth.
I closed my eyes and tried to relax, soaking up the tranquillity of the rooftop garden, and enjoying the sunshine. Only the occasional sound of a car horn from the city traffic far below interrupted this.
After about five minutes I sat up and dialled Fiona’s mobile number. She answered immediately.
“Jake,” she said.
“Fiona, have you heard the news about Hawkworth?”
“Yes, my boss phoned me this morning. Good result if you ask me.” She said matter of factly.
“Um, that’s what Tats said.”
“What’s happening with Robert Flackyard?” Fiona asked.
“Hassan has picked him up in Marrakech and is holding him there until your lot can bring him back to the UK.”
“Well that sounds promising, and what about the Rumples. Have they been tracked down yet?” She asked.
“No, they’ve gone to ground, and you can rest assured that’s where they’ll stay until things settle down. LJ seems to think that they might, have absconded with Harry Caplin to Cuba.” I said a sheepishly, adding.
“And what about his consignment of opium that we’ve still got hidden on that German submarine in Dorset?”
“What about it? The local police will have it brought up, I suppose.”
“Oh no, that can’t happen. That sub has to remain a secret, Fiona. If plod go crawling all over it. Well, for a start it’s location will be leaked and that will attract every amateur weekend diver down to it. Remember, there’s still live torpedoes on board. No, we’ve got to blow the charge that I left inside the chamber.”
“So, do it.” Fiona said
“I can’t, I’m already talking to you on my mobile. You do it.”
“Okay, hang on a moment, while I go and get my phone, its in the other room.”
Fiona returned a moment later with her mobile phone. “Okay, Jake. Tell me what I’ve got to do?”
“Press nine and then send.” I said.
“Okay, I’ve done that, now what? Wait a minute, there’s a video message coming through,” I could hear Fiona lightly breathing at the other end of the phone. “Well I’ll be damned.”
“What’s that, Fiona?”
“You know exactly what, Jake Dillon. But I’ve got to admit it, this is pure techno genius.”
“So you approve, then?”
“Approval given. But when did you plant the video camera in the U-boat?”
“As we were leaving, I thought it might be useful to have a method of surveil
lance. All I had to do was wedge it alongside one of the torpedoes in the rack. Once we were on the surface, I simply used my mobile phone to hook-up with it as and when I wanted to take a look. The best part is, that when you detonated the explosive charge in the chamber, from that point, the camera recorded everything in real time, and then converted it into a video message. This was then instantly transmitted to everyone whose number I’d programmed in.”
“So who got the message, apart from you and me?”
“There were only two other numbers. One of them was LJ, and…”
“Not Harry Caplin?”
“I simply couldn’t resist it. By now he’ll know what we’ve done, and I’d really love to be a fly on the wall, wherever he is.”
“So what happens now?”
“Nothing. Now that the remote detonator inside the chamber, has been blown. Those opium sacks will have been automatically disintegrated. But without doing any damage to the sub itself. I’d say that there’s likely to be a few very light headed fish swimming around that U-boat right now!”
Fiona remained quite at the other end of the phone and then said. “So, Jake. Back to Harry Caplin, who’s now safely back in Cuba. Thanks to you.”
There was tension in her voice.
“Oh, I wouldn’t say that he was that safe there, Fiona.”
“Well, what would you say, Jake? After all, if it hadn’t been for your Lone Ranger bravado in Dorset. I’d have had him locked up by now.”
“Ouch, Don’t remind me, I’m embarrassed enough already. I know what I did was a mistake, Fiona. But, I promise you that I’ll put things right. All that I ask is that you don’t shut the book on me just yet. Deal?”
“I suppose, but you’d better be as good as you think you are, Jake Dillon.”
I broke the connection with Fiona, pondering about whether the Rumples were with Harry Caplin in Cuba, after a moment I’d made my decision.
“Tats, first thing tomorrow morning. Could you book me onto the next available British Airways flight to Florida. Oh and I’ll need a 4x4 Jeep on arrival, please.” I said, rotating my head from side to side in an attempt to relieve the tension in the back of my neck.
“Is that all, sir?” Tats said rolling over onto her back, stretching and yawning as she did so. “Why don’t you roll over here lover boy and I’ll see what can be done about relieving that tension.”
“What a massage?” I said enthusiastically.
“Well sort of,” she sat up and unfastened her bikini top, discarding the flimsy piece of material. “I was thinking more along the lines of a distraction.”
Until the next time…
THE END
Constantine Legacy (Jake Dillon Adventure Series) Page 25