The explosion obliterated the horizon.
One moment Mahdi was there beside his car, the next a burning wreckage lifted into the air before plummeting into a crater of sand that sent a plume of dust in all directions.
Adrian stomped on the brake pedal, the four-by-four sliding to a standstill on the uneven surface while sand and stones peppered the windscreen, splintering the glass.
A wave of heat tore across the upholstery, Adrian’s eyes wide as air was forced from his lungs by the shockwave.
Ears ringing from a piercing white noise tearing into his brain, he loosened his seat belt with shaking hands and stumbled from behind the wheel, dropping to the sand.
He cried out as his ankle twisted – then he was up, limping away from the four-by-four.
The crackle and pop of the fire tearing through what was left of Mahdi’s car seemed distant, vague, and as he glanced over his shoulder, he whimpered.
They hadn’t just killed Mahdi.
He had been annihilated.
Adrian tripped, then raised his gaze to the sky.
His hopes were fading, only to be replaced by a menacing terror growing closer every second.
‘Please, God – no.’
He began to run, ignoring the searing pain shooting up his leg.
The second explosion threw him forward, his body limp as it slammed into the desert earth.
All the air was sucked from his lungs as the four-by-four disintegrated, a subsonic roar piercing his eardrums before his skin began to burn from the shrapnel tearing into his flesh.
He raised his head to scream, but no sound came.
As he tumbled to the ground, blood oozing from his nose and mouth, Adrian realised that his greatest fear was not of dying, but of what would happen next.
Because with both him and Jeffrey dead, it could only mean one thing.
His contact in Europe was the only one of them left, and what they were trying to stop was inevitable if he failed.
War.
Chapter Thirty-One
Belarus
* * *
Eva hunkered beside Nathan and Decker and peered through a gap in a natural boundary of tangled brambles towards the clearing beyond the trees.
She grimaced as cramp threatened her calf muscles, her legs tired from the circuitous walk they had undertaken after ditching the car Decker had stolen on the outskirts of Deggendorf to get Marie to safety the night before.
They had set out as soon as he had returned from the airfield Knox had indicated, travelling along side streets and country lanes to pass through Germany into Poland and now, here.
A low sun warmed her neck, the horizon streaked with indigo and orange as it set behind her, blinding anyone who might be facing towards them.
Decker dropped to his knees and motioned to her to do the same, Nathan at her heels.
‘We’ll get closer, take a look and then come up with a plan,’ he murmured.
She nodded in response, then crawled through the undergrowth in his wake, their movements slow and meticulous.
Above her head, the tree canopy remained silent and a shiver crept over her shoulders at the peace enveloping them.
It made for slow progress, and she fought down the paranoia that they would be heard by whoever was patrolling the airfield.
Nathan had been quiet since they set out overnight, and she knew he was worried about his sister.
Marie would be safe in London all the time she was under the protection of the Section, but what would happen to her if they didn’t stop whoever was responsible for ordering the murder of Jeffrey Dukes and stealing the Hellfire missiles?
Eva had tried her best to reassure him, telling him that Miles and Knox hadn’t let him down before but she knew her words had fallen on deaf ears.
Nathan wouldn’t rest until they had stopped the rogue Reaper and its new owner for good, and she wasn’t going to let him down – or let him get hurt.
She owed him too much.
Ahead, Decker raised his hand and she stopped, listening.
Still that deathly silence.
Eva kept her eyes tracking the undergrowth as they passed, her keen senses alert to any hidden cameras or tripwires.
But there was nothing.
‘This doesn’t look good,’ Decker murmured.
To her surprise, he rose to his feet and brushed off his jeans before holding out his hand to help her to her feet. Once Nathan had caught up, Decker reached forward and pushed back the final branches in their way.
‘We’re too late,’ he said, and stepped into the clearing. ‘Whoever they were, they’ve gone.’
Eva swore under her breath as they followed him, her gaze taking in the flat landscape stretching out from their position towards the tree line over a mile away.
To her right, half a mile from their position, two hulking metal skeletons reached up to the darkening sky, twisted and scorched.
‘Those were the hangars Marie told us about, right?’ said Nathan.
‘I reckon so,’ said Decker. He sniffed the air. ‘That was recent, too. Can you smell it? Petrol.’
‘It must’ve taken a hell of a lot of it to do that to two hangars,’ said Eva. ‘I can’t see anyone around – let’s take a closer look.’
Despite the place looking abandoned, they circled the airfield rather than enter the clearing, approaching the still-smouldering remnants as the sun’s rays dipped below the line of trees they had emerged from.
Small bats fluttered in the air, swooping on moths in the twilight by the time Eva reached the first hangar but she left the flashlight in her backpack alone.
Until they were sure no-one else was around, she didn’t want to flag their position.
‘What do you think?’ she said as the others joined her.
‘Whoever we’re dealing with, he’s thorough.’
‘No shit.’ She peered into the distance. ‘No sign of a Reaper or the command centre, either. Do you think they broke camp right after killing Jeffrey?’
‘If they did, how did they move the Reaper?’ said Nathan. ‘This landing strip isn’t long enough for a transport plane.’
‘They must’ve flown it out under cover of darkness,’ said Decker. ‘No need to worry about being seen on radar, either – they could fly at a low altitude for most of the time if they needed to.’
Eva reached out her hand and patted one of the corrugated iron panels that had crumpled from the heat. ‘This is cold – I think they left days ago, rather than hours.’
‘So we need to get onto London and have them track any trucks hauling shipping containers out of this area,’ he said. ‘At least they might be able to give us a direction, if not a final destination.’
‘Not to mention finding out how the hell these people got their hands on the command centre in the first place,’ said Nathan. ‘I mean, it’s one thing getting your hands on a drone if it crashed somewhere remote and was considered a write-off, but a whole command centre as well?’
‘You’d be amazed how much kit goes missing after a retreat,’ said Decker, his eyes glinting. ‘How do you think I got my hands on half the stuff I store at home? All they’d have to do is break it up into smaller pieces of equipment and scatter it to the wind. Wouldn’t take much.’
‘How much would a Reaper be worth?’ said Eva.
‘I think the flyaway cost is a shade under sixteen million dollars,’ said Nathan. ‘I’m not aware of a resale cost but given that the RAF is phasing them out and replacing with the Protector generation of autonomous drones, I’ll bet a few countries will be eyeing up the UK’s existing stock of Reapers rather than having nothing at all.’
‘How accurate are the records regarding Reapers that have been shot down in action or crashed?’ said Decker.
‘It’s never been questioned before,’ said Nathan, rubbing his chin. ‘That said, US and UK forces lose somewhere around twenty every year – that’s more a reflection of how many missions are being flown these days rathe
r than specific mechanical issues.’
‘Still, if there’s been a miscount at some point along the command chain or a Reaper went missing and was presumed destroyed…’
‘Then that would explain how this rogue one ended up in the hands of a terrorist,’ said Eva.
Nathan visibly shuddered. ‘In which case, we have to keep a tight control on who knows about this until such time as we have those answers.’
‘This is no time to play politics,’ Decker growled. ‘If someone’s got hold of a drone and is using it to target and kill British citizens then a full audit of the write-offs needs to be done now. Not to mention who’s got access to ordering missiles – or a way to steal them.’
Eva turned away from the airfield and eyed them both, her hands on her hips. ‘There’s a bigger problem we need to consider at the moment.’
‘What’s that?’ said Nathan.
‘Who’s flying the drone now?’
Chapter Thirty-Two
Monaco
* * *
Elliott Wilder stood at the threshold to his office and squinted against the bright sunlight streaming into the room.
He stared out across a paved patio area leading away from open French doors providing a panoramic view of the Monaco coastline. Sipping jasmine tea from a bone china cup, he contemplated the azure blue waters a moment longer before turning back to the room, a frown creasing his features.
‘You’re absolutely sure about this, Sophie?’
‘Without a doubt.’ A slender woman with jet black hair sat on the white leather sofa beneath a gilt-framed mirror and crossed her legs, her grey trouser suit pristine. She held out a tablet computer to him, the silver bangles she wore on her left arm jangling. ‘Photographic evidence, as requested.’
Elliott ignored it, wrinkled his nose and placed his cup and saucer on a desk carved from a single tree, the whorls and knots polished to a high sheen that reflected the spotlights in the high ceiling.
‘Where was this taken?’
‘North of Ankara – somewhere remote where the detonations wouldn’t cause too much interest, apart from the local herdsmen. We were able to infiltrate the intelligence Ogilvy’s contact received and draw them both out there. Both confirmed dead.’
‘Has Dukes’ body been recovered for identification?’
‘Last night.’ Sophie turned around the screen, then flicked through the images. ‘Well, what was left of it anyway. There were two other people travelling in the vehicle with him at the time of impact.’
‘Do we know who they were?’
‘Not yet. Probably his local fixers, that’s all.’
‘Find out, Sophie. No loose ends, remember?’
‘I understand.’ She rose from the sofa and smoothed down her thin jacket. ‘Was that all for now?’
‘Yes. Send in Aaron, will you? And tell Sean I want to see him, too.’
Elliott reached out for a sheaf of financial statements that lay within an open leather signature folder and wandered out to the patio, his bare feet burning on the hot pavers before he reached the other side and descended onto the cool grass.
Palm trees swayed above a pagoda several metres away from the house, providing both shade and solitude from the main building.
After reclining in one of four wicker chairs and rearranging a cushion against his spine, Elliott pulled reading glasses from his shirt pocket, ran his thumb down the side of the page and smiled.
‘Good news, I take it?’
A shadow fell across him, and he looked up, shading his eyes with his hand. ‘Have a seat, Aaron. I presume your trip was successful?’
‘As much as it could be in the circumstances, yes.’ At forty-two, Aaron was three years his junior and the exact opposite in looks.
Whereas Elliott’s complexion was pale and prone to sunburn, his brother’s skin bore a perpetual tan all year round, enabling him to blend in more easily in a number of the countries within which they operated their burgeoning business.
Elliott leaned forward, placed the paperwork on a low table between the chairs and dropped a silver drinks coaster on the top to stop the pages fluttering away in the light breeze. That done, he removed his glasses and peered at his brother.
‘Are you sure none of this can be traced back to us?’
‘I’m sure.’ Aaron sat, stretching out his long legs. ‘As far as the embassy is concerned, the story is buried, along with Jeffrey Dukes. They haven’t got a clue how it happened or who was responsible, so while they try to fathom out that – which they won’t – they’re going to lie about it.’
‘But they’ll keep digging.’
Aaron shrugged. ‘Of course they will.’
‘Are they going to find anything?’
‘No.’ Aaron’s gaze locked with his for a moment, and then he choked out a laugh. ‘Come on, Elliott. Relax.’
‘I will, when this is done.’
He held up a hand as a younger man appeared at the side of the substantial property, lumbering towards them along a gravel path snaking around ornate grasses and exotic shrubs.
The man slowed as he grew nearer as if wary of the two men under the palm trees, and Elliott waved him forward with an exasperated sigh.
‘I haven’t got all day, Sean.’ Elliott waited until Sean had walked over to where they sat, and then reached into his jacket pocket and unfolded an A4-sized piece of paper, flattening the creases with his hand before holding it up. ‘Your ability to create problems continues, it seems. You were photographed at the airport on your arrival in Belarus. You’re all over social media.’
The man paled, his gaze darting from Elliott to Aaron as he licked his lips. ‘That’s impossible. I took the usual precautions.’
‘You were sloppy.’ Elliott snapped, and jabbed his finger at the page. ‘If you’d been taking precautions, you wouldn’t have appeared in the background to this family’s group photograph, would you?’
Sean’s eyes fell to the image, and his Adam’s apple bobbed. ‘I– I don’t know how that happened.’
Aaron emitted a snort, then looked away as Elliott glared at him before turning his attention back to the younger man.
‘Why did you eliminate the Reaper crew? That wasn’t in the plan.’
‘One of them – the intel coordinator – recognised Dukes, I think.’
‘What?’ Elliott sat forward, unable to keep the shock from his voice. ‘How?’
‘I don’t know. It was in the final seconds before the missile hit. She was about to change the camera angle when he peered out through the window of the vehicle. She got a clear view of him.’
‘That doesn’t explain why you killed the crew,’ said Aaron.
‘She started asking questions, all right?’ Sean held up his hands. ‘Look, maybe I panicked but I told her that her job was to follow orders, not ask questions. She stormed out of the command centre. Next thing I know, one of the men tells me that all three of them are making a run for it.’
‘You panicked.’ Elliott failed to keep the sneer from his voice.
‘I didn’t know what else to do!’ The man looked from him to Aaron. ‘Can’t you see that if I’d let them go, they’d have found out we weren’t who we said we were?’
‘You, Sean – not we.’ Elliott folded his hands in his lap. ‘We have a further problem. One of the crew managed to escape.’
‘I know. I’m sorry – I’ve got people trying to trace her.’
Elliott choked out a bitter laugh. ‘You’re too late – she’s had help. Some sort of splinter group in Prague.’
Sean’s brow furrowed before he turned to Aaron. ‘We have people there. Send them after her.’
‘We did. They’re dead.’
‘All of them?’
‘All of them.’
Sean dropped his hands, his gaze falling to the lush grass. ‘I’m sorry, Elliott. It won’t happen again.’
‘Your mistakes will make our work more difficult.’ Elliott drummed his fingers on the arm of th
e wicker chair, then turned to his brother. ‘Are you still walking around with that pistol you were showing me this morning?’
‘Here.’ Aaron opened his jacket and pulled the weapon from its holster before passing it to him.
‘Thanks.’
Elliott swung around, aimed the weapon at Sean, and pulled the trigger before the man had a chance to react.
He fell to the ground as the gunshot echoed through the garden, his gaze a mixture of surprise and fright as he clutched at his chest, pawing at the blood oozing out from a gaping wound.
‘You’re right – it’s balanced perfectly.’ Elliott turned to Aaron and handed him the gun. ‘Tell your contact we’ll take fifty of them.’
‘What are we going to do about the Hellfire missiles? We need more – and soon. We shouldn’t have used the ones we had until we were assured of the next delivery.’
‘We didn’t have a choice. Our client insisted on a demonstration once he learned the command centre is constructed from parts sourced from several suppliers.’ Elliott reached out and squeezed his shoulder. ‘Don’t worry. I have a source that I’m currently negotiating with in an attempt to secure a new delivery within the next three days. We’ll arrange to take what we need before it reaches Ízmir.’
‘That’s risky – they know about the other four now.’
‘We don’t have a choice. This deal will make us richer than we can imagine, and serve a higher purpose.’
‘Are the finances in place?’ Aaron jerked his chin towards the statements on the table. ‘Everything good there?’
‘Our buyer received approval for the money late last week. He’s simply waiting for the funds to be transferred into his account so he can pay us. His superiors have no idea.’
‘I take it the latest demonstration helped to sway him, then.’
‘Just as well, given that he had to find his own crew.’ Elliott extracted a piece of paper from his trouser pocket. ‘In the meantime, it seems our friend Jeffrey Dukes had been up to his old tricks. He managed to post something to his girlfriend in London before he left Gaziantep for his final mission.’
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