thoughts. ‘One final thing,’ she said. ‘It’s most important that these . . . these . . .’ She struggled for the word.
‘Hits?’ Spud suggested helpfully.
‘That they look like accidents,’ she continued. ‘There can be no sign of a struggle. No sign of interrogation, violent or otherwise.’
‘You’re crazy,’ Danny said. ‘These foot soldiers are your best lead to Abu Ra’id.’
‘We have our own avenues of inquiry,’ Buckingham replied sharply. ‘Your job is quite simply to eliminate the targets. When we give you Abu Ra’id’s location, we’ll give you the go-ahead for the hit.’
Danny shrugged.
‘We won’t be able to stop the conspiracy theories flying around,’ Victoria added, ‘and we’re quite happy for any of the terrorists’ associates to infer what is happening. But there can be no link between the security services and these . . .’
‘Hits,’ Spud said again.
‘Quite,’ said Victoria. ‘That, of course, is the reason for all this secrecy.’ She waved one arm to indicate the room in which they sat. ‘From now on, we communicate by dead-letter drop. That’s how you will receive the details of your targets and any other instructions. And it hardly needs to be said, I hope, that if either of you are exposed in the course of your duties, we will be obliged to deny all knowledge of your activities.’
‘How does the drop work?’ Danny asked.
‘Hugo will give you the details. Any day-to-day requirements, speak to your police liaison. Otherwise, unless you have any other questions, I think we’re done.’
She stood up abruptly. The remaining three spooks did the same. They clearly wanted to leave as quickly as possible.
‘Actually,’ Danny said, ‘I do have a question.’
Silence. The spooks sat down again.
‘Go ahead,’ Victoria said reluctantly.
‘How come it doesn’t add up?’ Danny said quietly.
All eyes were on him. ‘What do you mean?’ Victoria asked.
‘The bomb was, what, three days ago? Already you’ve got the names and addresses of two suspects. They’re still in the UK, not even lying low. From what I can tell, they might as well be walking round with targets on their chests. If I was one of the most wanted men in the UK, I’d be a bit harder to find than that.’
There was no response. And no eye contact. From any of them.
‘I’m just saying,’ Danny added, ‘are you sure you’ve got the right guys?’
A pause.
‘Yes,’ Victoria said quietly. ‘We’re quite sure we’ve got the right guys.’
‘Good,’ Danny said. ‘Because I’d hate to kill the wrong ones.’
‘What you’ve got to remember,’ Chamberlain butted in, ‘is that these bloody terrorists aren’t quite the master criminals they’d like to believe they are. Not a match for England’s finest, eh, lads?’
‘If it’s all the same to you, I won’t underestimate the enemy.’
An irritated frown crossed Chamberlain’s forehead.
‘What I think Piers is trying to say,’ Buckingham interrupted smoothly, ‘is don’t over- think the whole thing, old sport. We’re on top of the intelligence. All we require of you is to act on it.’
Or to put it another way: shut up and follow your orders. It was the second time in twelve hours that somebody had said something similar to Danny. He could take his orders as well as the next man, and he was quite used to knowing only half the story. Why, then, did he feel so uneasy?
The spooks filed out of the room. Victoria first, dowdy and flustered. Then Chamberlain, with his strange squint and soldier’s gait. And finally Maddox, calm, relaxed, as though he was a vacationing tourist wandering through this tawdry country house for pleasure.
Which left Hugo Buckingham, standing by the fire, waiting for the door to shut, with a small flicker of something approaching satisfaction showing in the corner of his handsome mouth.
Six
Danny, Spud and Buckingham stood alone in the murky room. Buckingham had
‘Hits?’ Spud suggested helpfully.
‘That they look like accidents,’ she continued. ‘There can be no sign of a struggle. No sign of interrogation, violent or otherwise.’
‘You’re crazy,’ Danny said. ‘These foot soldiers are your best lead to Abu Ra’id.’
‘We have our own avenues of inquiry,’ Buckingham replied sharply. ‘Your job is quite simply to eliminate the targets. When we give you Abu Ra’id’s location, we’ll give you the go-ahead for the hit.’
Danny shrugged.
‘We won’t be able to stop the conspiracy theories flying around,’ Victoria added, ‘and we’re quite happy for any of the terrorists’ associates to infer what is happening. But there can be no link between the security services and these . . .’
‘Hits,’ Spud said again.
‘Quite,’ said Victoria. ‘That, of course, is the reason for all this secrecy.’ She waved one arm to indicate the room in which they sat. ‘From now on, we communicate by dead-letter drop. That’s how you will receive the details of your targets and any other instructions. And it hardly needs to be said, I hope, that if either of you are exposed in the course of your duties, we will be obliged to deny all knowledge of your activities.’
‘How does the drop work?’ Danny asked.
‘Hugo will give you the details. Any day-to-day requirements, speak to your police liaison. Otherwise, unless you have any other questions, I think we’re done.’
She stood up abruptly. The remaining three spooks did the same. They clearly wanted to leave as quickly as possible.
‘Actually,’ Danny said, ‘I do have a question.’
Silence. The spooks sat down again.
‘Go ahead,’ Victoria said reluctantly.
‘How come it doesn’t add up?’ Danny said quietly.
All eyes were on him. ‘What do you mean?’ Victoria asked.
‘The bomb was, what, three days ago? Already you’ve got the names and addresses of two suspects. They’re still in the UK, not even lying low. From what I can tell, they might as well be walking round with targets on their chests. If I was one of the most wanted men in the UK, I’d be a bit harder to find than that.’
There was no response. And no eye contact. From any of them.
‘I’m just saying,’ Danny added, ‘are you sure you’ve got the right guys?’
A pause.
‘Yes,’ Victoria said quietly. ‘We’re quite sure we’ve got the right guys.’
‘Good,’ Danny said. ‘Because I’d hate to kill the wrong ones.’
‘What you’ve got to remember,’ Chamberlain butted in, ‘is that these bloody terrorists aren’t quite the master criminals they’d like to believe they are. Not a match for England’s finest, eh, lads?’
‘If it’s all the same to you, I won’t underestimate the enemy.’
An irritated frown crossed Chamberlain’s forehead.
‘What I think Piers is trying to say,’ Buckingham interrupted smoothly, ‘is don’t over- think the whole thing, old sport. We’re on top of the intelligence. All we require of you is to act on it.’
Or to put it another way: shut up and follow your orders. It was the second time in twelve hours that somebody had said something similar to Danny. He could take his orders as well as the next man, and he was quite used to knowing only half the story. Why, then, did he feel so uneasy?
The spooks filed out of the room. Victoria first, dowdy and flustered. Then Chamberlain, with his strange squint and soldier’s gait. And finally Maddox, calm, relaxed, as though he was a vacationing tourist wandering through this tawdry country house for pleasure.
Which left Hugo Buckingham, standing by the fire, waiting for the door to shut, with a small flicker of something approaching satisfaction showing in the corner of his handsome mouth.
Six
Danny, Spud and Buckingham stood alone in the murky room. Buckingham had
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