completed our
search of the tapes. The vehicle was dumped on level 2. Forensics
have scanned the area and the vehicle is in and being stripped as
we speak, so a report should be in from that quarter very soon.
There is a clear view of the occupants bundling, who we assume to
be Charlie, up one level.’ John paused and looked at Lorne. She
nodded at him to continue.
‘ From there, they broke into
a Mercedes and used that to continue their journey to wherever. It
has been reported as missing and the woman claiming to be the owner
checks out. We have uniform keeping an eye out for it as well as
alerting all manned CCTV operators, so any sightings will be
reported back.’
‘ Keep on top of that, John,
there’s every possibility the vehicle could lead us to The
Unicorn.’
‘ Hey, quiet everybody,
listen to this!’
Julie Saunders, the youngest member of
Lorne’s team, pointed the remote at the portable TV in the corner
of the room. The volume shot up and everyone stared at the
screen.
Sky news had a breaking news yellow banner
running along the bottom of the screen that read:
A bomb has exploded in a building next to the
Houses of Parliament.
A reporter shouted a live update over the
noise of the sirens and against a backdrop of flashing blue
lights.
‘… As you can see behind me,
half the front of the building was blown away in the blast. Sources
tell me that no warning, I repeat, no warning call was received.
Luckily, this happened at four am this morning. Can you imagine
what sort of casualties we would be looking at, if this had
happened four maybe five hours from now?’
‘ As you say, one can only
imagine, Scott. Have the authorities given any indication of who is
responsible and why this bomb was planted?’ The newscaster at the
studio was asking, his eyes glued to the computer screen in front
of him, keeping an eye on the news coming through the A.P.
wires.
‘ I’m afraid it’s chaos at
the moment as you can see. No one has arrived from any official
source and there is no spokesman from the emergency services as
yet.’
The correspondent signed off giving the time
as 4.25am. The newscaster stated they would stay with the situation
and update every few minutes or sooner if something specific
happened.
Chapter Twenty-Five.
Every available phone in the incident room
started to ring. Lorne looked at the Chief and raised her eyes to
the ceiling. Here we go!
‘ It’s the Superintendent for
you, sir.' AJ shouted.
‘ It’s Tony Warner for you,
ma’am.’ DS Fox said, offering Lorne his phone.
They both set off for their respective
offices to take the calls.
‘ I take it you heard the
news, Tony?’
‘ Yes, any idea why he’s
pulled this stunt, Inspector?’
‘ Christ knows. He sent a
photo of Charlie to my mobile and followed it with one increasing
his demand to thirty million.’
‘ Shit. Dare I ask how
Charlie looked?’
‘ Pretty roughed up and full
of drugs. Who would do that to a thirteen year old
girl…’
She swallowed hard.
‘ What can I say? You know as
well as I do how dangerous this criminal is, Lorne. You say he’s
upped the price, did he say why, or give any other
ultimatum?’
‘ I don’t know, unless…It’s a
bit of a long shot. What if he found out the party was being
observed tonight. That would piss him off!’
‘ Um, unlikely. The MI5 guys
we worked with are supposed to be the best. As far as I know
everything went without a hitch.’
‘ What other reason should we
be considering, Tony. I’m open to suggestions?’
‘ Well, hypothetically
speaking, what if one of the MP’s we clocked at the party tonight
told the Unicorn or Abromovski that the Houses of Parliament was
being swept today?’
‘ Another inside job you
mean?’
‘ Could be.’
‘ Look, I know we aren’t
supposed to step on toes, but MI5 might not keep us in the loop. So
I’m going to get our guys to run checks on the partygoers. Just to
make sure nothing is missed, or…
search of the tapes. The vehicle was dumped on level 2. Forensics
have scanned the area and the vehicle is in and being stripped as
we speak, so a report should be in from that quarter very soon.
There is a clear view of the occupants bundling, who we assume to
be Charlie, up one level.’ John paused and looked at Lorne. She
nodded at him to continue.
‘ From there, they broke into
a Mercedes and used that to continue their journey to wherever. It
has been reported as missing and the woman claiming to be the owner
checks out. We have uniform keeping an eye out for it as well as
alerting all manned CCTV operators, so any sightings will be
reported back.’
‘ Keep on top of that, John,
there’s every possibility the vehicle could lead us to The
Unicorn.’
‘ Hey, quiet everybody,
listen to this!’
Julie Saunders, the youngest member of
Lorne’s team, pointed the remote at the portable TV in the corner
of the room. The volume shot up and everyone stared at the
screen.
Sky news had a breaking news yellow banner
running along the bottom of the screen that read:
A bomb has exploded in a building next to the
Houses of Parliament.
A reporter shouted a live update over the
noise of the sirens and against a backdrop of flashing blue
lights.
‘… As you can see behind me,
half the front of the building was blown away in the blast. Sources
tell me that no warning, I repeat, no warning call was received.
Luckily, this happened at four am this morning. Can you imagine
what sort of casualties we would be looking at, if this had
happened four maybe five hours from now?’
‘ As you say, one can only
imagine, Scott. Have the authorities given any indication of who is
responsible and why this bomb was planted?’ The newscaster at the
studio was asking, his eyes glued to the computer screen in front
of him, keeping an eye on the news coming through the A.P.
wires.
‘ I’m afraid it’s chaos at
the moment as you can see. No one has arrived from any official
source and there is no spokesman from the emergency services as
yet.’
The correspondent signed off giving the time
as 4.25am. The newscaster stated they would stay with the situation
and update every few minutes or sooner if something specific
happened.
Chapter Twenty-Five.
Every available phone in the incident room
started to ring. Lorne looked at the Chief and raised her eyes to
the ceiling. Here we go!
‘ It’s the Superintendent for
you, sir.' AJ shouted.
‘ It’s Tony Warner for you,
ma’am.’ DS Fox said, offering Lorne his phone.
They both set off for their respective
offices to take the calls.
‘ I take it you heard the
news, Tony?’
‘ Yes, any idea why he’s
pulled this stunt, Inspector?’
‘ Christ knows. He sent a
photo of Charlie to my mobile and followed it with one increasing
his demand to thirty million.’
‘ Shit. Dare I ask how
Charlie looked?’
‘ Pretty roughed up and full
of drugs. Who would do that to a thirteen year old
girl…’
She swallowed hard.
‘ What can I say? You know as
well as I do how dangerous this criminal is, Lorne. You say he’s
upped the price, did he say why, or give any other
ultimatum?’
‘ I don’t know, unless…It’s a
bit of a long shot. What if he found out the party was being
observed tonight. That would piss him off!’
‘ Um, unlikely. The MI5 guys
we worked with are supposed to be the best. As far as I know
everything went without a hitch.’
‘ What other reason should we
be considering, Tony. I’m open to suggestions?’
‘ Well, hypothetically
speaking, what if one of the MP’s we clocked at the party tonight
told the Unicorn or Abromovski that the Houses of Parliament was
being swept today?’
‘ Another inside job you
mean?’
‘ Could be.’
‘ Look, I know we aren’t
supposed to step on toes, but MI5 might not keep us in the loop. So
I’m going to get our guys to run checks on the partygoers. Just to
make sure nothing is missed, or…
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