The Mallorcan Bookseller (The 3R International Series Book 1)

by PETE DAVIES

  “Just teasing. Now, hello everybody. As you’ve gathered my name’s Daniel and I’ll be flying you today, together with my co-pilot Frances.” He turned and waved forward a young woman wearing the same uniform type of clothing as Daniel, but with epaulettes showing she was a senior first officer, rather than Daniel’s four band Captain’s insignia. Daniel and Frances then escorted the group forward through to the Security and Customs control and then they boarded a people carrier that took them out to a jet.

  Greg sat down in one of the seats towards the front. It was obviously a fair bit smaller than Sir Henry’s jet, but this Cessna Citation XLS was still a very impressive aircraft. He had been on this aircraft on a number of occasions when clients needed him somewhere and quickly. It had an eight passenger capacity and so it was perfectly comfortable for the six of them. Daniel came up on the radio and told them about the flight plan to Zvartnots International. It was just over 1900 nautical miles and with the Citation having a range of only 1800 nm, they would need a quick re-fuel at Athens, but with good weather they should arrive around 17.00 local time. As the plane was taxiing, Daniel stepped back into the galley and checked on everyone and sorted out cold drinks for those who wanted them.

  “We’ll do tea or coffee once we’re airborne, but it’s never a good idea on take-off or landing. Can you also hold off on any mobile calls just whilst Frances gets us in the air, but after that you can make and receive calls as you wish.”

  It was a silky smooth take-off and once they had levelled off, Sam, Greg, Anna and Terri sat around the table to go through the outline plans once again, whilst they had some peace and quiet, as they didn’t know how much time they might have once they got to Yerevan. Sam took a call from Jimmy about what he had found out about Sergei Grigoryan. This confirmed what Sam had found about Sergei’s daughter and the regular trips to the main square in Yerevan, but Jimmy was able to add in the crucial missing piece of the jigsaw, which was the actual location, as he’d found an otherwise irrelevant intel entry about the Meeting Point, a café in Republic Square.

  Terri swopped seats with Tommy as she and Simon immediately started researching the area for the logistics of the planned interaction with the Armenian OCG boss, including access and exit points to the Square as well as line of sight into the Square from up to three quarters of a kilometre away. Tommy then joined the others looking at the seating plans of the Meeting Point and deciding on the final tactics to engage with Sergei. They weren’t on the ground for long in Athens and Daniel confirmed they would be landing on time at 17.00 hours local time in Yerevan.

  As they made their approach into Zvartnots International airport Daniel’s voice came over the intercom.

  “As you can see ladies and gentlemen, we are making our final approach into Zvartnots International. You should be able see the old circular Terminal 1 on your left hand side which sadly is no longer in use, as they closed it down around 2011, but in its day it must have looked pretty impressive. We’ll be going through to the VIP Terminal where you can collect the two hire cars you’ve booked.”

  Daniel finished his update with the usual, ‘Please ensure your seats are returned to the upright position and your safety belts are fastened’.

  Within minutes they were on the ground and had taxied to the allotted space in the private jet area. As they stepped out onto the tarmac they could feel the heat. It was as hot as in Mallorca, with the same white glare of the sun bouncing off the runway. The VIP Lounge staff were waiting for them with a people carrier that took the six of them to the VIP Terminal, leaving Daniel and Frances to complete their check-in procedures and then make their own way into the city to their hotel. Daniel was being well rewarded from John’s operational fund and was well aware that they may need to depart at short notice, so he would ensure the plane would be ready for take-off within an hour of getting Terri’s call.

  The group proceeded through the customs check without any awkward questions, with Greg telling the Customs Officer that they were there looking for investment opportunities. They were all only carrying hand luggage, including some dummy material on investment opportunities in Armenia, just in case anyone should want to take a look in any of their cases. And the Customs Officer did just that, picking two bags at random and finding an assortment of business clothing and various documents relating to Future Investments, one of a number of shell companies Greg had in place to provide cover for team members when they were visiting different countries.

  He knew that there was a fair chance that their presence would draw some attention and that someone, maybe even the Customs Officer himself, would be making a call to either the local police or the OCG or maybe even both. As it turned out, the call went into just the OCG and a message was passed to Miqayel, one of Sergei’s Lieutenants that a group of British investors had just arrived in a private jet from Mallorca. Miqayel wasn’t privy to anything that was going on in Mallorca with Sonny and so merely kept the information to provide to Sergei in tomorrow’s morning briefing.

  As they walked out of the Terminal, Terri saw the Hertz rep and she took care of signing for the cars and confirming the driver details. She then handed Tommy the keys to a blue Mercedes GLE, whilst she walked to a smart looking red BMW X5 series. As they loaded the cars, Terri and Tommy quietly checked the cars were clear with an anti-bugging device. Anna then got a text from Carruthers, ‘Meet 10.30 tomorrow Tairov Street. Off M5. Take jct opp Kilicia Bus Stn. Turn left for 200 yds.’

  “I’ve got the contact point. 10.30 tomorrow morning,” said Anna.

  They checked the location on one of their maps and calculated it was only about five to ten minutes outside of the city and was actually just off the main road they would be taking into the city, so they could do a quick recce on the way in.

  It was twelve kilometres into the city centre, straight along the M5, one of their regional roads, so slightly better than most of the road system in Armenia. They were still in a poor state of repair compared to most European countries, but the cars were new and so the suspension systems dealt easily with the bumpy road surface. Terri led the way and after double checking that they weren’t being followed, she turned off when she came to the Kilicia Bus Station and they drove slowly up and then back down Tairov Street. It was open ground and as the packages were relatively small, a quick exchange shouldn’t be too difficult.

  They got back onto the M5 and headed for the Marriott Hotel in the centre. Terri had put the pilots in the Europa Hotel that was a short walk across the other side of the Republic Square. She wanted to keep a bit of distance away from the pilots, so they weren’t immediately associated with their passengers, plus there was the added bonus of the other hotel providing a different option if they needed to regroup somewhere. At the end of the M5 they turned right and crossed the Victory Bridge that spanned the Hrazdan River and followed the road around and into the city and pulled up outside the Armenia Marriott Hotel in Republic Square. It was housed in one of the impressive buildings within the square, with beautiful arches and the only open air café in the Square, the Meeting Point.

  They had thought about whether they should split the group into different hotels, but decided that as this wasn’t a covert operation, they would stay together and use the cover of the Future Investment Company to explain the size of their group. The hotel front reception team greeted them and Terri and Tommy gave up their keys to two of the guys who took the cars off to park.

  Terri had made the reservations under their own passport names and had booked three rooms. Greg was sharing with Anna, she was with Simon, and Sam was with Tommy, who hadn’t stopped grumbling about having to share a room since he had found out on the plane. She had particularly wanted to share with Simon, so that they could talk through any operational issues about their role the following day. She had originally put Sam and Anna together, as mother and son, but changed her mind at the last moment. She wasn’t actually sure why, but realised later that she must have subconsciously thought Greg and
Anna might have things from their past they might want to talk about in private.

  After checking into their rooms, they met downstairs and ordered coffee in the Meeting Point. Tommy was still making noises about sharing until Terri told him in no uncertain words to ‘Shut up and move on’. They sat at a table with Terri, Simon and Greg facing out onto the street and Anna, Tommy and Sam facing inwards. They looked like any other group having conversation over coffee, whereas they were carrying out the first recce on the location where they intended to speak to Sergei.

  “I’m getting a good visual on the Central Library at around 1 o’clock,” said Terri.

  “Yes, it looked good when we researched this and I like it even better now we’ve seen it. The trajectory is good too, especially with this sun blind they’ve got here,” said Simon. “Do you see any problems with direction of the sun?”

  “No, that should be fine. We can see where it is now and so thinking about where it will be, at what, three hours or so before the same time tomorrow, I don’t think it’s going to be a problem,” said Terri.

  “Okay, so what about his team? How many do you reckon he’ll have and how do we deal with them?” said Greg.

  Simon spoke first, “This is home turf for him isn’t it? So, I’d be surprised if he has more than two close-by, plus two more with the two cars nearby. Thoughts?”

  “Yes, I’d go with that,” said Sam. “Certainly it would be the way I’d do it if I was arranging his protection.”

  The conversation then settled into finalising some of the detail as to who would be doing what. Sam had asked and Greg agreed that he would be the one to approach Sergei. Greg and Anna would be sitting in the Meeting Point keeping watch and Tommy would be within twenty five metres of the Café, ready to intervene if required. Terri and Simon would be providing long-distance cover from the roof of the building at 1 o’clock. They finished their coffee and after agreeing to all meet in the hotel in the bar at 8pm for a pre-dinner drink, Terri and Simon made their way across the Republic Square to check out the Central Library.

  “Terri, can I just check, not that it bothers me either way, but I’m more thinking of the exit plan, are you planning on taking a shot?” said Simon.

  “I’m not planning on it, but there’s no point in offering up a bluff is there.”

  It was a statement, more than a question back to him. Simon just nodded. He might have said out aloud that he was okay either way, but he wouldn’t have been happy with a bluff as that wasn’t the way he’d been trained. He had worked with Terri on many occasions since she’d joined 3R and he knew how good she was in the field. She was a meticulous planner and she expected the same from her team, so if your plan included a possible action, then you needed to be prepared and ready to carry out that action and just as importantly, to have considered all the scenarios of whatever may come as a result of your action.

  They carried on walking around the Square, like any other couple on the tourist trail and then spent the next thirty minutes checking out the block, where the Library was situated, looking for ways to get up onto the roof. After a few dead ends they found a fire escape with a pull down ladder in a back alleyway. They looked around for something to grab the ladder by and eventually found a pole that should have presumably been somewhere close to hand to the ladder, but had been misplaced behind some waste bins. Simon pulled down the ladder and checking no one was looking they went up one at a time. Once up on the roof they checked for any CCTV cameras and worked their way around them to a position where they could see Republic Square and then The Meeting Point on the other side of the Square.

  Terri took out a distance finder and checked the line of sight.

  “Okay, it’s 442 to 446 metres depending on seating position.”

  “Nothing for a hotshot like you then,” said Simon smiling.

  “I reckon even you might hit a barn door from here,” she teased.

  They checked the view around them from where they were positioned to see if they would be overlooked from anywhere. They had good cover from some air conditioning units situated on the roof and Simon also found another fire escape ladder on the other side of the building, which gave them a second option if needed for their exit. Once back on the pavement below they walked around the perimeter of the building looking for possible locations to leave a vehicle in the event of a fast get away being required. It was mostly street parking, so they would play that by ear and if need be, use Tommy to pick them up. Satisfied with their work, they strolled back in the sunshine into Republic Square and then into the hotel to get ready for dinner.

  TWENTY SEVEN

  Sonny banged the table hard with his fist.

  “What is that damn woman doing?”

  Garcia’s team had been busy and had been targeting the sites on the list that Greg had given her. Sonny had been told that another of his premises had been hit by the police that morning. He didn’t know how the police were getting this information, but it was potentially the two idiots, Davit and Vardan, who Alex had sent to follow the white Merc seen leaving the Martínez villa. Whilst they didn’t know everything about how the OCG worked, they knew enough to make things difficult for him at the moment if they had been giving up information.

  He could deal with the police raids on the clubs as a business inconvenience, but this latest hit was on one of his drugs distribution warehouses. He had lost a significant quantity of good quality coke that was cut and ready for sale. This meant a loss of income that at some stage he would need to explain to Sergei. He had planned to stay away from the city for a day or so to let things quieten down after the kidnap had gone so badly wrong, but he was now having to rethink this strategy. Whilst he was pretty happy that the police couldn’t pin anything on him, he was nevertheless concerned at what the Garcia woman was doing to his business, not to mention the London cop. The Martínez guy and the others were last seen by his sources at the airport and now he had no idea where they had gone. He knew they had left in a private plane, which also worried him. Where were they getting the sort of money required to pay for a private jet?

  At least he had heard from Jaz that she had got to London safely and without incident and was now on board a flight back to India. What he didn’t know was that after she had been identified by Rob, a notification mark had been added by Martin Carruthers, who was now tracking her movements in and out of British ports and he had seen Kaur had arrived in London the day before and had flown out today on the BA flight to Mumbai.

  Sonny checked his watch. She would still be in the air, so he would ring her later to explain what was happening.

  *****

  They had spent an uneventful evening having dinner at the Marriott and had all gone up to their rooms by 10pm. Once back in their room, Greg went around checking to see if anything had been disturbed and looking for any surveillance bugs with the anti-bug device, but found nothing.

  “This feels just like old times,” said Anna. “Checking cars and hotel rooms for bugs.”

  “Are you okay with all of this Anna?” said Greg.

  She thought for a moment before responding.

  “Yes. I haven’t missed it, at least not after the first six months or so which was probably because I had a baby to think about. But now with Luis gone, I’m thinking ‘Why not?’ Does that make sense Greg?”

  “It makes absolute sense to me,” he smiled, “and look, you only need to do whatever you want to get involved in. A lot of what we do isn’t this secret squirrel stuff that you used to be involved in. Most of it is often routine and if I’m honest, a bit boring, which is why I like having Terri to look after the bulk of the business and she leaves me to schmooze the clients and cherry pick which jobs I want to be a part of.”

  “Well it sounds perfect to me Greg. I don’t feel old and past it and I still want to do things with my life, especially now I have lost Luis, so I’d love to help out where I can.”

  “I’m glad and I can’t believe we have met up after all t
hese years. It’s meant that I can tell you something now that I never got the chance to ever tell you,” said Greg.

  Anna flinched, thinking he was about to say something about the time they had spent in Cambridge and she wasn’t sure how she would react.

  “You were considered the best of the best and it is down to you that I am still here in one piece. Your training saved my bacon on so many occasions I can’t begin to tell you,” said Greg.

  He saw Anna relax and smiled.

  “Oops. Did you think I was about to say something about undying love and a love lost?”

  “Well,” she paused. “Yes I did and I wasn’t sure what I’d say,” said Anna.

  “Oh Anna, I hope you’re not disappointed, but it was the ‘saving my bacon’ bit I wanted to tell you. You have always been special but…,” said Greg.

  “Look, stop there, no apologies needed. What we had was really special but I haven’t been pining for you ever since,” said Anna smiling.

  “Oh good. That was a bit awkward for a moment,” said Greg and they both started laughing before he carried on, “Do you think Sam is okay with everything?”