The Increment

by Chris Ryan

  SEVENTEEN

  The house was larger than Matt had expected. An elegant Victorian villa, double-fronted, with its own garden both front and back, it was on the corner of Carlton Hill, just a short walk from Regent's Park. A new Land Rover was sitting on the driveway, and next to it a bright red Mini Cooper.

  I might not be keeping up with London property prices. But this place wouldn't leave much change out of two million.

  'I'm busy, old fruit,' said Abbott, opening the door only a fraction. 'We'll have to talk another time.'

  Matt stepped forward. 'We'll talk now.'

  The door was carved from a solid chunk of wood, with at least three sets of bolts running through it. But it swung easily enough when you put pressure on it. Matt pushed with his fist and stepped quickly into the hallway. Eleanor was following close behind.

  Abbott can get those assassins called off.

  'Like I said, this isn't the right moment, old fruit,' said Abbott, backing away into the hallway. 'Why don't you call my secretary, make an appointment.'

  'I've been shot at once today already,' said Matt. 'I need this cleared up and I need it cleared up now.'

  Abbott started walking towards the drawing room. It was painted pale yellow, with a pair of hunting prints dominating one wall and huge gilt-framed mirror over the marble fireplace. From the bachelor furnishings, Matt judged that Abbott lived alone.

  'Do you want a glass of sherry?' he said, walking towards a silver drinks tray with a set of three decanters on it.

  'I want the truth.'

  Abbott smiled. 'Nice play on words, old fruit.' He looked across at Eleanor. 'And how about the young lady? I don't believe we've met.'

  Eleanor looked up towards him. 'I'm fine, thanks.'

  'Who is she, Matt? Your new squeeze?' He paused. 'You certainly seem to get through them.'

  'She's the sister of a friend of mine. Guy called Ken Blackman. Do you want to know what happened to him?'

  Abbott started pouring himself a drink. 'Not really. Don't go much on family histories, not really my bag. But I've a nasty feeling you're going to tell me.'

  'He was a soldier,' said Matt. 'XP22 was tested on him. Down at a place called the Farm in Wiltshire. A couple of weeks ago, he went crazy, killed some people, then killed himself. Same thing has happened to a whole group of soldiers across the country. We reckon XP22 was tested on all of them.'

  Abbott took a sip of his drink. 'I do hope you're not going to bore me on the subject of that drug again. What do you think any of this has to do with me?'

  'Very simple,' said Eleanor. 'XP22 was developed in the Soviet Union. Lacrierre bought up that technology from a gangster called Serik Leshko. He sold it to the Ministry of Defence, along with God knows what other lethal concoctions. They tested it on some soldiers. Some of those men have since suffered severe side effects. Next, to cover up what had happened, you sent Matt out to destroy Leshko's operation, and kill him.'

  Abbott looked at her and smiled. 'So you're the brains of this little outfit. Sure you don't want that drink?'

  Eleanor shook her head. 'I told you, I'm fine.'

  'You should, you know. You're going to need it.' Abbott walked across the room, pulled aside the curtain, glancing out on to the dark and empty street. 'What do you think I'm going to do now?'

  'Have Lacrierre arrested,' snapped Eleanor. 'The man's responsible for dozens of deaths.'

  Abbott nodded, as if he were turning the idea over in his head. He lit up a cigarette, the smoke curling away from his face. 'Interesting idea,' he said slowly. 'But I was thinking more along the lines of having you arrested.'

  The look of shock took a moment to register on Eleanor's face. Matt could see her brain working furiously.

  'Us?'

  'And why not?' continued Abbott. 'You seem to have figured out most of the story. It's just the ending you haven't guessed. True, XP22 was acquired from the old Soviet Union. True, it was tested on British servicemen. Very effective it was too. But unfortunately, as you have discovered, the drug has side effects. A few of the fifty men who have taken it – not all, about a third so far – have turned into psychopathic monsters. Many of those on whom it was tested have had to be eliminated.' He paused, taking a long, deep drag on his Dunhill. 'For the good of the wider community, you understand.'

  'Ordinary squaddies are always expendable,' said Matt bitterly.

  'Quite so,' said Abbott. 'Put with your characteristic verve and wit, Matt. You see, Tocah couldn't be allowed to take responsibility for the experiments with XP22. It's a big important company, and it does a lot of covert biological weapons work for the MOD. Then, of course, the Firm wasn't about to take responsibility either. That's not our bag. So, we needed someone to clear up the mess for us.' He looked towards Matt. 'We chose you.'

  'It was a set-up all along,' snapped Matt.

  'More an unfortunate misunderstanding,' said Abbott. 'We got you to take out the factory, then to kill Leshko, so we could cover up what had happened in the past. If you'd just done that, you could have gone home and everyone would have been happy.'

  He tossed the butt of his cigarette into an ashtray. 'Your mistake, Matt, is that you seem to have stumbled across too much information. You know too much. That's why you've been shot at today.'

  'The Increment,' Matt muttered darkly.

  'Old friends of yours, I think,' said Abbott. 'Always good to meet up with old pals, have a jolly good get-together.' He chuckled to himself, a small mirthless giggle that rattled up from his throat.

  Matt moved across the room. He was standing next to Abbott, leaning into his face. 'You miserable bastard,' he shouted. 'I should never have trusted you, never. I should never have trusted the Firm.'

  'Probably not,' replied Abbott. 'Still, thanks for all your help. I would shake your hands to wish you goodnight, but I don't like touching dead people.'

  The punch landed hard against the side of Abbott's face, sending him sprawling on to the floor. 'I'll kill you first,' snarled Matt.

  'No,' shouted Eleanor. 'Leave him. We'll get the evidence and destroy him that way.'

  Matt's fist was poised in front of Abbott's face. His shoulders were drawn back, ready to punch. Abbott looked back at him and smiled. 'I've pressed an alarm button,' he said. 'Why don't you take a seat and wait for your old pals to come and deal with you?' He pulled himself up, retrieving the end of the cigarette, taking a quick nervous drag. Then he got up quickly and walked back towards the window, looking out anxiously on to the street. 'You're good, Browning, I'll grant you that.' He turned again to look at Matt, rubbing the red stain where the blow had landed. 'But you're up against the Increment. It's the most lethal, ruthless killing machine on earth. You haven't got a chance.'

  Matt moved forward. His face was red with anger, and his muscles were tense, prepared for violence. 'No,' shouted Eleanor, dragging him backwards. 'He's already called for help.'

  Matt started to advance towards Abbott again but he knew Eleanor was right. The Increment would be here in a few moments. If we're to save ourselves, we have to flee.

  The room was damp and cold. The carpet had been rolled up, and the floorboards were grey and dusty. There was one chair in the corner, and some old net curtains hanging across the windows.

  'It's not much,' said Ivan, putting down his kitbag, starting to whistle under his breath. 'But it can be home for a few days. And at least it's safe.'

  Matt smelt the air. It could have been years since the place was cleaned. From the kitchen, he could detect some ancient, decayed food, and from the state of the floorboards it looked as if mice had been chewing their way through the place. From what he knew of the safe houses run by the IRA through London, there might well be a couple of corpses rotting out the back.

  Nothing would surprise me right now.

  'It's fine,' said Eleanor, looking across at Ivan and smiling. 'We'll be OK, thanks.'

  'Like I said, it's not much.'

  As they'd fled Abbott's house, Mat
t had called Ivan. From his time in the IRA, Ivan knew of some of the safe houses, and quite a few of them were empty now, abandoned and collecting dust. He'd taken them to this one, a nondescript Victorian terrace in Cambridge Grove, just off Hammersmith Broadway.

  If you were fighting the Increment, decided Matt, Ivan was the man to turn to. He'd waged war on the British Army for half his life.

  Matt was aware that Ivan was putting himself on the line. But, he reflected, if the Increment is coming after me, they'll be after him next. We're all at risk.

  From his bag, Ivan pulled a few essentials: a kettle, a jar of instant coffee, some sandwiches, packets of crisps, chocolate. He handed a bottle of shampoo to Eleanor. 'Keep you hair clean,' he said, with a smile. 'When you're on the run, hiding out, it helps to wash. Makes you feel human, even when nothing else is pointing in that direction. Trust me, I've been there.'

  She took the bottle, putting it to one side. 'Thanks,' she replied.

  'What are you going to do now?' said Ivan, looking towards Matt.

  Matt walked over to the window. The sun had already set and the sky was clear of clouds. The stars were looking as bright as they ever did through London's haze and smog. 'We fight back,' he answered. He turned to look at Ivan. 'Oh, I know what you're going to say. Maybe we should turn and run? Get ourselves some new identities and get the hell out of the country? Put it all behind us, and start again somewhere else?' He paused. 'If I could, I would. But I don't know how.'

  'It's the Increment that's coming after you, Matt,' said Ivan. 'You know what they're like. Even back across the water, we were scared of them.'

  'I know, I know,' said Matt. 'But those bastards tested that drug on a bunch of good men. While we still have a chance we have to keep trying.'

  Ivan sighed. 'Okay, I'll help you anyway I can. But you can't say you weren't warned.'

  'I understand.'

  'New identities,' said Ivan. 'You'll need those for a start. Remember, the Increment has the whole government machine working for it. Use your credit card, your phone, drive your car, check into a hotel under your own name, they'll be on to you in a flash.'

  'You know anyone who can help us?'

  Ivan nodded. 'I know some guys,' he said. 'They used to work for my lot, doing forged passports, new credit cards, identity theft. They went freelance after the Troubles ended. I'll organise it for you.

  You'll be OK for a couple of days, then, so long as you're lucky.' Ivan paused. 'The issue is what do you do next?'

  'We go to the papers,' said Eleanor. 'We expose what's happened.'

  Ivan shook his head. 'Not yet,' he replied. 'You haven't got enough.'

  'Then we'll get it,' said Matt.

  'We'll get a sample from one of the dead men,' said Eleanor. 'If we can get it analysed, then we'll have proof that XP22 was tested on British soldiers.'

  Ivan nodded.

  'There are only four things the Increment does,' said Matram, looking around the room. 'Killing, killing, killing and killing.' He paused, taking a sip of water. 'And there's just one thing it doesn't do. Failure.' Eight people were sitting in a semicircle around him, the entire Increment gathered in one place.

  This was an emergency.

  Matram put two photographs down on the desk. They were meeting at the Travelodge just next to Wandsworth Bridge in south London; if you looked out of the window, you could see a B&Q and a McDonald's. It was too sensitive for them to meet at the Firm, and although there were several barracks around London they could have used, he preferred to keep well away from the mainstream army.

  We're operating off the books. The less anyone knows about what we're doing right now the better.

  Matram held up the first picture between his fingers. 'This man is Matt Browning.' He picked up the second picture. 'And this woman is Eleanor Blackman.'

  He paused. 'I want them both dead,' he said, spitting the words out of his mouth like little chunks of gravel. 'Immediately.'

  He looked closely into the faces of his unit as he delivered Browning's name. The entire membership of the Increment was turned over every few years, so of the current unit only Harton had served alongside Browning. He, Matram knew, would say nothing to the others. Still, it was possible they might have heard of him, but judging by their expressions none of them had. They showed not even a flicker of recognition. The name meant nothing.

  He was history. And in a few more days they would have buried him.

  Browning, thought Matram. Most jobs were just work, but the great God of soldiering has smiled on me this time. I always wanted to get even with that coward. This one will be a pleasure.

  Matram glanced at Turnton and Snaddon. 'You were sent to deal with her yesterday. She was lured to a prearranged property where she could have been quietly disposed of. The job went wrong. You must explain what happened.'

  Turnton leant back in his chair, his arms behind his head. 'The target was rescued, boss, before the job could be completed.'

  Matram rubbed his brow wearily. 'Rescued? What do you think this is, a fucking Bugs Bunny cartoon? People don't get rescued from the Increment, man. They may pointlessly sacrifice their own lives by attempting a rescue, but they only end up dying themselves. I can't believe I have to spell this out to you. If anyone attempts to rescue a target, then they get eliminated as well. Simple as that.'

  Snaddon stood up, looking straight ahead at Matram: she'd always believed herself to be his favourite operative within the unit. 'We gave chase, sir,' she said crisply. 'We were waiting for the target to go inside the house, then we were going to deal with her. This man, the one in the picture, started fleeing with her, and jumped into a car. A Porsche Boxter. Fast.'

  'I think I'm aware that a Porsche is quite a fast car. Just because I have to work with idiots doesn't mean I like being treated like one.' Matram paused, noting the way she blushed at the insult. 'You gave chase?'

  'Of course,' answered Snaddon. 'He was good. He took the car up on to the pavement, then pulled it out on to the open road ahead of some traffic lights. There was no chance of following unless we went on the pavement as well.' She paused, her eyes cast down to the floor. 'Standard operating procedure for the Increment is to avoid civilian casualties, unless intervening to prevent a domestic terrorist incident. Because of that, I didn't think it was right to inflict injuries on bystanders.'

  'I'm familiar with the SOPs, thank you,' said Matram coldly. 'I wrote them.'

  'I think the man knew them as well,' interrupted Turnton. 'He was aware of the limitation on our actions, and he took advantage of them.'

  True, thought Matram to himself. Browning knows how the Increment works.

  'When I want your opinion, I'll ask for it,' he snapped. 'Your inability to eliminate this man will be noted in the next review. I understand your failure, but I cannot accept it.'

  Matram looked towards the rest of the unit. 'Nothing like that is going to happen again, because the rules have just changed. Hunting down these two people has now been reclassified as a counter-terrorist operation. That means the gloves are off. A full-scale terrorist alert has gone out to police forces across the country. Every policeman will be watching out for them. Every credit-card company and bank will be alerting us if they use a card, or withdraw any cash. Every hotel company will tell us if they book a room. These two show their faces anywhere, we're going to know about it. When it happens, the police will notify us. They've been told not to approach them. Too dangerous. The last thing we want is for the boys in blue to starting flapping around, buggering everything up.'