A Killing Place in the Sun

by Robert F Barker

  Even before he turned the corner, he pictured the image that would greet him. It was close enough. The four men were standing over a pile of earth next to the pool, each little more than a silhouette in what was left of the night’s shadow. As he and Gina drew near, he saw they were waiting for him. They’d have heard them driving in.

  Murray approached the hole and peered in. It was about five feet deep, enough at the time that the builders wouldn’t unearth it. By then, all the footings had been long finished, the shell of the house already up, the pool already dug. In the hole’s dark depths, Murray could just make out that they had already begun to excavate beneath the wooden crate that lay there, exposing the lifting chains threaded under. But there was no sign yet of any block and tackle. Given the crate’s size - and weight - Murray wondered if it would be enough.

  'Didn’t expect you back so soon,' Red said.

  'We went first-class,' Murray said, not looking up. 'That’s the nice thing about Cyprus. Authority and patronage still work here.'

  The four waited while Murray completed his inspection. Eventually, he turned to them. The way they were lined up, ready, he could imagine what each was thinking. Where does friendship begin and end?

  A noise to his left made him turn. Next to him, Gina was staring into the hole. She looked distraught. As bad as the times he’d caught her dwelling on Ileana, he thought. Her hand was over her mouth, doing her best to stifle the sobs of disappointment that were trying to escape. As he looked at her, she lifted her head so their eyes met and he saw what she was thinking. It lanced straight into his heart.

  'Time’s pressing Plod,' Red said. 'And it’ll take us another hour yet to lift the bugger out. Why don’t you and Gina go and-'

  'It was my home, Red,' Murray said. He turned square-on to the ex-sergeant. 'Mine and Kathy’s.' Red didn’t move though the others shuffled straight. As always when Kathy’s name was mentioned, Kishore looked uncomfortable. And well he might.

  'I know that, Pete,' Red said. 'Don’t worry. We’ll put everything back. It’ll be good as new.'

  Murray was having none of it. 'You should have asked.'

  Now it was Red who straightened, but only to show a regretful smile. 'Sure. And what would you have said? Certainly? Feel free? We know you too well for that Peter. And what the eye doesn’t see, the heart doesn’t worry about.'

  Murray shook his head. He looked over at the others. None met his stare. 'You still should have asked.'

  Red’s expression grew serious. 'We didn’t. I’m sorry. Now let us-'

  'It was you.'

  Red hesitated, becoming wary. 'What was me?'

  'The paint job in the kitchen. Shooting up his BMW. You did it.'

  The former SAS man stood his ground. There was too much to lose not to face things. 'It was just meant to give him the jitters. Help him come to a decision, that’s all.'

  Anger crept into Murray’s voice. 'Come to a decision? Well that certainly worked well didn’t it?'

  'Peter, I-.'

  'His decision was to see me off.' Red said nothing. 'And when that didn’t work, then what happened?' He turned, holding out a hand as if introducing her. 'Go on, explain to her why her sister was blown up, why her cousin was murdered, why she was tied up while a bloody psycho used her as practice.' He cast about him, letting his anger go. 'Why all this, tonight?'

  Red said nothing, glaring back at Murray while the others stayed out of it. Murray caught Gina’s confused look.

  'You mean-?' She stopped, pointing into the hole. 'So this- This was not you?'

  For a moment Murray returned her questioning look, before turning it on Red. He waited. At last Red spoke. He had no choice.

  'You’re right love. This was- is, nothing to do with him. This was us.' He gestured to his comrades. 'And believe me, we are all sorry for what your family has suffered.'

  'But not sorry enough to walk away,' Murray said.

  Now Red was defiant. 'You know better than that, Peter. It took a lot to get this over here.'

  'I can imagine.'

  'And you know we aren’t just going to give it up.'

  Murray nodded. 'That’s what I thought you’d say.' The hand in his pocket felt for his mobile. He thumbed a button.

  'If you knew it, why did you bother asking?'

  'I just thought I would give you the chance.'

  'Chance? To do what?'

  'To give it up peacefully.'

  As the implication registered, the men’s stances altered, though subtly. A hollow laugh sounded from Red’s throat.

  'I don’t think you’re in a position to make threats Peter. Not with her here.' He nodded to Gina. 'And especially with only one arm.'

  Murray shook his head. 'I’m done with threats.'

  Red relaxed a little. 'Good in that case-'

  'But I’m not.'

  They all turned.

  The other side of the pool, Major Glyn Westgate and three men in battle-fatigues were pointing weapons at them, exactly as Red’s team had covered Podruznig’s men hours before.

  For several moments there was only silence, then Red turned on Murray.

  'Westgate? You sold us out to Westgate?' The disbelief in his voice was clear.

  Murray blanked him, saying nothing, gauging.

  Westgate’s assault rifle swung right as Kishore edged towards the table where their G36s lay. 'Don’t be stupid, Corp.'

  Kishore froze.

  Satisfied his squad had them covered, Westgate came round the pool to peer down into the hole, just as Murray had done. 'I have to say, that was awfully good of you. Saves us a job.'

  Red’s fists balled and his lip curled. 'If you think you’re just going to waltz in here and, UUMMPHH.' He doubled up as the stock of Westgate’s rifle jerked back into his midriff. As Kishore and the others reacted, Westgate brought his weapon up, as did his support.

  'Ah-ah. Let’s not have any unpleasantness. I’m sure Peter would rather not have his swimming pool contaminated with his friends’ blood. Am I right Peter?' Murray still said nothing, waiting.

  Recovering, Red turned a disappointed face to Murray. 'I thought that after the way they fucked us over, you’d had it with the Army?'

  Murray kept his gaze steady as he weighed things. 'I have.'

  'So why-?'

  'Oh don’t worry Sergeant McGeary,' Westgate chipped in. 'Your erstwhile leader hasn’t struck any deals with anyone. In fact I suspect he’s as surprised to see us as you are. Right Peter?'

  Murray shrugged. 'Maybe, maybe not.'

  Westgate smiled. 'You don’t change do you? You always did like to give the impression you were one step ahead. Well not this time I’m afraid.' Seeing Red’s puzzled expression, he continued. 'You see, this,' - he indicated his companions - 'Isn’t quite what you probably think it is.'

  Murray’s head lifted. I knew it.

  Red exchanged wary glances with his team.

  'You see, it would be nice if I could stand here and tell you how good it feels to have succeeded for Queen and Country. That after three years of patient watching and waiting, Her Maj’s Armed Forces will now see justice done by returning the goods you’ve so kindly delivered back to their rightful owner. Good for International Relations and all that, wouldn’t you say sergeant?'

  Now it was Red who stayed quiet, eyes narrowing, realisation beginning to dawn. 'Unfortunately that’s not quite how it is.'

  'Priscilla.'

  It was Murray who had spoken and they all turned to him. Westgate smiled.

  'What about Priscilla?' Red said.

  Murray nodded at Westgate. 'He’s not here on the Army’s behalf, Red. He was part of it all along.'

  Red looked from Murray to Westgate and back again, as did Kishore. Gina simply looked confused, everything way over her head. Then Red put it together. 'He was part of the Priscilla organisation?' He turned to Westgate. 'You two-faced bastard.'

  Westgate’s smile stayed. 'Well someone had to watch the backs of those at the t
op. And being SIB, I was in an ideal position. And let’s face it, the gold might just as well be in my employers’ hands as some quasi Middle East President… or yours.'

  'And of course,' Murray added. 'The rewards just happen to be a tad higher than the army’s.'

  Westgate smirked. 'In the words of someone I forget, “You may think that, I couldn’t possibly comment''.’

  'You toffee-nosed twat,' Kishore said. 'So you’ve been fucking the army over all this time?'

  Westgate sneered his reply. 'Just as you did when you decided to take the gold.'

  'We didn’t steal it from the army. We took it from Isil. They were the enemy, remember?'

  'I think that’s a rather dubious distinction, don’t you?'

  'Maybe so, but I never betrayed my country.'

  But Westgate was tiring of the argument. 'Given that we’re stood here arguing about something that doesn’t rightly belong to any of us, I could contest that, but I won’t.' He motioned to his squad. 'Now, if you’ll kindly lie yourselves down like your Russian friends did a couple of hours ago, we’ll-.'

  'LOOK OUT PLOD.'

  Kishore hurled himself over the earth-pile towards Murray as a gunshot rent the still morning air. As Murray spun around to see Kishore flying towards him, he caught a fleeting glimpse of the giant Siberian, Uri, stood atop the cliffs, the discharge from the gun in his hand still snaking.

  Away to his right, and before Uri could move to get another clear shot - he probably hadn’t even seen them in the half-light - the nearest of Westgate’s gunmen responded as per his training, dropping to one knee and sending an arc of fire through the bushes towards where the shot had come from. Uri clutched at his side, staggered backwards, then disappeared over the cliff he must have climbed after evading Pippis’s mop-up team. About to use the diversion to make a grab at their weapons, Wazzer and Ryan stopped as Westgate’s rifle rounded on them.

  'Don’t.'

  On top of the earth mound, Murray cradled Kishore, his hands already red from the blood seeping through the back of Kishore’s shirt. 'You stupid little bastard, what did you do that for?'

  Grimacing with the effort, Kishore gasped out his reply. 'Bad enough Kathy’s not here,' he wheezed. 'You’ve got to live her dream, Plod.' His eyes closed, and he died in Murray’s arms.

  For a long time no one spoke, or moved. Murray held Kishore like the friend he was, despite the gold. Eventually Westgate broke in.

  'I’m sorry that had to happen, Peter. I’d rather everyone had walked out of here intact.' Murray rocked back onto his heels, still cradling Kishore’s body. Westgate motioned to his team as he’d started to before.

  'Let’s get this over with.' He turned to Red, Wazzer and Ryan. 'Now you lot can-.'

  'It’s too late,' Murray interrupted.

  Westgate misunderstood. 'Don’t be difficult Peter. There’s plenty of time yet. And whatever you say, we’re not leaving here until-.'

  'That’s not what I mean.' Letting go of Kishore, he stood up.

  'Then what-?' Westgate stopped, following the direction Murray was pointing, out to sea where the sunrise over the Pafos hills behind was beginning to chase the dark away over the horizon. Even as Westgate looked out over the water, the white light that could have marked an aircraft dropping towards Pafos Airport changed course, brightening as it turned towards them.

  'What the…?'

  Everyone watched in silence as the ball of light grew, rapidly. It must have been a trick of the air-currents over the sea, as it wasn’t until it was within a hundred metres that they heard the thrup-thrup-thrup of the rotors.

  CHAPTER 60

  As realisation hit, Westgate opened his mouth to instruct his team. He didn’t get a word out. The cold metal that suddenly jammed into his neck stopped them in his throat. Glancing sideways, he saw the automatic in Murray’s hand.

  'As you said earlier, Glyn, let’s not do anything stupid.'

  Westgate’s men turned to him, looking for direction in the face of a situation Murray knew would not have figured in their pre-op briefing. But when they saw what was happening, they froze. They weren’t paid to make the sort of decisions this new development demanded. At the same time, Murray saw the way Ryan looked at Red, motioning towards their weapons. Red shot Murray a glance. It took him only a second to read Murray’s face. Which was when he knew. He turned back to Ryan, and shook his head, his face betraying his thoughts. We’re fucked.

  The 725 Cougar helicopter- the upgraded version of the old-but-reliable Puma - slowed to a hover as it cleared the cliff edge. The down-draft hit first as a breeze then, as it made landfall, a full-blown windstorm. They had to lean into it to stay on their feet.

  Even before the Cougar touched down on the stretch of bare ground between the pool area and the cliff-edge, its occupants were already bailing out. In their black jump-suits, balaclavas and body armour, and carrying the sort of kit all except Gina had seen before, those watching had no difficulty marking them as Special Forces. The only question on everyone’s mind was, whose?

  Around twenty in number, it took them less than thirty seconds to secure their drop-objectives. Half deployed around the house, guarding against any further interruption. The rest split into two groups, one covering those already present, the other forming a cordon round the hole. None of them spoke. They didn’t need to. It was obvious what they’d come for, and that they were ready to deal with any resistance. As everyone waited to find out what would happen next, a figure swung himself out of the helicopter to cross towards where Murray and Gina stood, Red next to them.

  Unarmed, and wearing fatigues rather than battle dress, the man’s relaxed manner hinted at non-military status. But it wasn’t until he neared that his middle-eastern features became visible in the half-light. Picking out the face he recognised, the man Murray had not seen in the flesh since their meeting at the Kurium ruins, but had communicated with several times since, approached. About to smile, he stopped when he saw Kishore’s body. A look of regret came into his face.

  'We came as soon as we got your signal, Mr Murray. I am sorry if it was not soon enough.' The others turned, faces registering varying degrees of shock.

  Murray sighed and put up the gun he’d kept on Westgate during the Iraqi Golden Division’s landing. He just wanted it all to be over.

  'You said five minutes. It was close enough. I’m not complaining.'

  'Nevertheless, I am sorry.'

  By now Red was coming round, working things out. This time he was nearer the mark. 'You had this set up all the time?'

  Murray’s response was a twitch of an eyebrow.

  Red realised what it meant. 'So you must have known about the gold?'

  Murray pursed his lips, considering his answer. 'The more I thought about it, the more I realised the timing fitted. If it was anywhere, it had to be here.'

  By now everyone was looking at him, as if seeing him for the first time. The one man they’d always intended would never know, had known all along.

  'You sly bastard.'

  Murray saw the irony in his former colleague’s accusation, but let it go. He looked down at Kish’s body. He liked to think that, eventually, they may all come to feel like him. It wasn’t worth it. It never would have been. But he knew they wouldn’t.

  'Shall we get on now Mr Murray?' the Iraqi Agent said.

  Murray looked up at him, then the others, then down at Kishore. He nodded. 'Take it and go.'

  They used the helicopter to lift the crate out. It saved messing with hoists and blocks. As it hovered above the house, they all watched as the crate some of those present had schemed and waited on for three years, was winched inside. When the helicopter landed again and the remaining Golden Division troops broke stations to re-board, the man leading the recovery mission came back to Murray. He held out a hand. Murray took it.

  'Our Government thanks you, Mr Murray.' Murray nodded, but said nothing.

  The sky was a deep shade of early-morning blue as the
Cougar headed out over the sea. It flew West then, when far enough out, turned North-east in the wide arc that would take it and its cargo home. They watched until it was out of sight.

  When it was gone, Murray turned to the others. His arm was round Gina’s waist. His eyes locked first on Red, then the rest of his team, and finally, Westgate. There were questions he still needed to put to the SIB man, but they would wait for another time. He may have to look for him by then, but he doubted it would be too big a problem. Besides, he may even enjoy tracking him down. So might Pippis for that matter. As for the rest of it, he wondered if his feelings would change in time. He wasn’t sure he wanted them to. Treachery is treachery, no matter how you dress it up.

  Gathering himself so he looked less like some walking wounded, and more like the soldier he was, he addressed them.

  'Now, I’d appreciate it if you’d all get the hell off my property.'

  Later, when they had all gone, taking Kish with them, Murray and Gina stood at the edge of the cliff that looked down on the caves that Murray had once looked forward to exploring with his son. Weary to the point of exhaustion, Gina hung on his one, good arm, head resting on his shoulder.

  The sun was up now, turning the sea many colours of blue. The water was dotted with fishing boats from Coral Bay and the little fishing port of Agios Georgios, a little way along the coast. They would be bringing in the catches that in a few hours would find their way to table in the more honest of Pafos’s many eating houses - the others would serve the remains of yesterday’s haul. After a while Murray stirred, conscious that the woman whose face had been playing through his mind, was not the one by his side.

  He turned to look at her. The low sun played through her hair. She was still beautiful. More important, she was alive. He took a deep, cleansing breath.

  'Things to do,' he said.

  She read through it. 'Will you be alright?'

  He flexed his injured arm before nodding. 'I think so.'

  'That is not what I meant.'