Chameleon - A City of London Thriller by J Jackson Bentley Page A
Authors: J Jackson Bentley
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eventually be hired
by one. As a result, Mac had been in the Ukraine with an assignment
to detonate a bomb at a political rally and kill the trouble-making
opposition leader. Perhaps Mac should have followed his first two
rules; don’t work for zealots and don’t work with
amateurs.
Working under
the scrutiny of CCTV and observation by his government employers
who recorded the whole process on DVD, Mac had been careful and
cautious in his preparations; he had handled the explosives and
detonators by the book. His methodology was foolproof except for
one thing; an idiot Irishman whom the client assured Mac was an
explosives expert. Whilst they were packing the perfectly safe and
malleable Semtex into two briefcases, the Irishman inadvertently
detonated his Semtex. The explosion simultaneously detonated Mac’s
otherwise stable Semtex just inches away. The two men were almost
vaporised. The building was destroyed and the DVD picture vanished
into a universe of white noise. Eventually Mac’s belongings were
sent to the Chameleon’s London drop box, with a note of regret and
an explanation that no further payment was due. Thankfully, Mac’s
employers were religious extremists who believed that they were
under an obligation to ensure that as many body parts as possible
were properly interned. As a result the drop box contained the DVD
and a receipt for Mac’s remains, which had been sent to Cryostorage
UK, in London. Gil knew that sooner or later she would have to
recover the remains and have them interred, but somehow it never
seemed to be the right time.
Later Gil
would reflect on why Mac had come into the forefront of her mind at
the exact moment that someone else was looking for him urgently, an
ex colleague whose search for the Chameleon would bring him to her
door.
Chapter
1 9
Vastrick
Security, No 1 Poultry, London, Wednesday 4pm.
Geordie,
recently released from the accident and emergency unit at Guys and
St Thomas’ Hospital near London Bridge, was looking at Dee’s plan
and smiling for the first time since the deaths of the
Hokobus.
“ This is
brilliant! It is a real tribute to Victoria. How did you manage to
arrange it so quickly?”
“ I spoke to
Angela, explained the circumstances and she insisted on helping. I
didn’t even have to ask. She adores you, apparently. What is it
with you and these older women?” Dee paused. “Anyway, grateful as
she was for your protection in 2009, she said that it was the cause
that obliged her to become involved.”
“ Aye, she
insisted on calling me Bonnie Lad because she heard that Geordies
use the expression. No-one had called me Bonnie Lad since me
Granddad died.”
They went over
the plan again in detail so that Angela’s hard work would not be in
vain.
***
The telephone
rang at the Celebrato Cards reception. The receptionist answered
the phone, avidly following her usual script.
“ Ms Davis,
please. Tell her that Peter Wright from the Foreign Office is
calling.” His name was not Peter Wright, nor was he from the
foreign office; that was an in joke based on the fact that an ex
employee called Peter Wright had almost ended MI5’s secret
existence by publishing his notorious book ‘Spycatcher’. The caller
expected Gil to recognise the long unused code for an urgent
meeting.
He was
eventually put through to a voice he recognised, even after all of
this time.
“ Gil, it’s
Tim McKinnon. We need to meet urgently.”
“ Well, hello
to you, too, Tim. It’s been a long time. You never write, you never
call....”
“ Sorry, Gil.
How have you been? Are you married yet? Kids?”
“ I expect you
already know the answer to those questions and many more. Do you
still keep files on ex employees’ lives after the
service?”
“ Astute as
ever, I see. I know most of what you have been up to, yes. As for
me, I married Celeste, after the world’s longest engagement, and
now we have two kids. But we can catch up on all of that when we
meet.”
“ Why
by one. As a result, Mac had been in the Ukraine with an assignment
to detonate a bomb at a political rally and kill the trouble-making
opposition leader. Perhaps Mac should have followed his first two
rules; don’t work for zealots and don’t work with
amateurs.
Working under
the scrutiny of CCTV and observation by his government employers
who recorded the whole process on DVD, Mac had been careful and
cautious in his preparations; he had handled the explosives and
detonators by the book. His methodology was foolproof except for
one thing; an idiot Irishman whom the client assured Mac was an
explosives expert. Whilst they were packing the perfectly safe and
malleable Semtex into two briefcases, the Irishman inadvertently
detonated his Semtex. The explosion simultaneously detonated Mac’s
otherwise stable Semtex just inches away. The two men were almost
vaporised. The building was destroyed and the DVD picture vanished
into a universe of white noise. Eventually Mac’s belongings were
sent to the Chameleon’s London drop box, with a note of regret and
an explanation that no further payment was due. Thankfully, Mac’s
employers were religious extremists who believed that they were
under an obligation to ensure that as many body parts as possible
were properly interned. As a result the drop box contained the DVD
and a receipt for Mac’s remains, which had been sent to Cryostorage
UK, in London. Gil knew that sooner or later she would have to
recover the remains and have them interred, but somehow it never
seemed to be the right time.
Later Gil
would reflect on why Mac had come into the forefront of her mind at
the exact moment that someone else was looking for him urgently, an
ex colleague whose search for the Chameleon would bring him to her
door.
Chapter
1 9
Vastrick
Security, No 1 Poultry, London, Wednesday 4pm.
Geordie,
recently released from the accident and emergency unit at Guys and
St Thomas’ Hospital near London Bridge, was looking at Dee’s plan
and smiling for the first time since the deaths of the
Hokobus.
“ This is
brilliant! It is a real tribute to Victoria. How did you manage to
arrange it so quickly?”
“ I spoke to
Angela, explained the circumstances and she insisted on helping. I
didn’t even have to ask. She adores you, apparently. What is it
with you and these older women?” Dee paused. “Anyway, grateful as
she was for your protection in 2009, she said that it was the cause
that obliged her to become involved.”
“ Aye, she
insisted on calling me Bonnie Lad because she heard that Geordies
use the expression. No-one had called me Bonnie Lad since me
Granddad died.”
They went over
the plan again in detail so that Angela’s hard work would not be in
vain.
***
The telephone
rang at the Celebrato Cards reception. The receptionist answered
the phone, avidly following her usual script.
“ Ms Davis,
please. Tell her that Peter Wright from the Foreign Office is
calling.” His name was not Peter Wright, nor was he from the
foreign office; that was an in joke based on the fact that an ex
employee called Peter Wright had almost ended MI5’s secret
existence by publishing his notorious book ‘Spycatcher’. The caller
expected Gil to recognise the long unused code for an urgent
meeting.
He was
eventually put through to a voice he recognised, even after all of
this time.
“ Gil, it’s
Tim McKinnon. We need to meet urgently.”
“ Well, hello
to you, too, Tim. It’s been a long time. You never write, you never
call....”
“ Sorry, Gil.
How have you been? Are you married yet? Kids?”
“ I expect you
already know the answer to those questions and many more. Do you
still keep files on ex employees’ lives after the
service?”
“ Astute as
ever, I see. I know most of what you have been up to, yes. As for
me, I married Celeste, after the world’s longest engagement, and
now we have two kids. But we can catch up on all of that when we
meet.”
“ Why
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