seen him become a hostage to events rather than the person in control of them.
He was standing behind his immense glass desk when Arley walked in, the backdrop of a murky London skyline stretched out behind him. ‘Thanks for coming so promptly,’ he said, without gesturing for her to take a seat. ‘How are things in 1600?’
‘We’re under the cosh, sir. Do you have any more information on the Stanhope attack?’
‘Apparently a group of gunmen have broken into the building and are taking hostages. There are unconfirmed reports of casualties, and we do know that shots were fired from inside the hotel at the first officers on the scene. That was about twenty minutes ago. But so far the picture of what’s actually going on is very patchy. Chris Matthews, the chief inspector down at Paddington Green, is on the scene. He’s put a cordon in place and set up an RP in Hyde Park, but he’s being hampered by all the gridlock round there. It looks like everyone’s trying to leave the city at once.’
‘I can’t say I blame them. We’re getting a lot of claims of responsibility for what’s happening, but nothing’s confirmed. Whoever it is is clearly well organized.’
‘I’ve just been on to Hendon. They say one call stands out. It was made to the
Evening Standard
at 4.34 p.m., just after the Paddington bombs had gone off. It came from a mobile in the western Hyde Park area, which is a good three-quarters of a mile from the scene.’
‘So there’s no way the caller could have known about the bombs unless he was responsible for them?’
‘Exactly. It was too quick and too assured to have been a hoax. The caller claimed to be from an organization called the Pan-Arab Army of God. They’re not on our list of proscribed organizations and no one at Counter Terrorism Command seems to have heard of them, so we’re guessing they’re new boys. It’s possible they’re being sponsored by an unfriendly Arab government because the caller said something about the attacks being in retaliation for British and NATO interference in Arab and other Muslim countries. He also claimed that there were bombs at a number of London’s other mainline railway stations. Have you had any other reports of bombs going off?’
Arley shook her head. ‘Plenty of scares, but nothing else.’
‘Thank God for that. We’re stretched enough as it is.’
The commissioner looked shaken by the afternoon’s events, which wasn’t good. Arley was shaken too, but she knew how to keep a lid on her emotions, and she was hoping that Commissioner Phillips did too. Trying to remain as businesslike as possible, she filled him in on the evacuation plans she was putting in place.
‘You’re doing a good job,’ he told her, sounding like he meant it. ‘But I need you out in the field. It looks like it’s turning into a siege situation at the Stanhope. The PM’s been informed and he’s convening a meeting of COBRA for six p.m. In the meantime, we have to respond fast. We’re using the usual structure. I’m Gold Commander. Assistant Commissioner Jacobs is Silver. We’ll both be based here. I want you as Bronze, running things on site at the Stanhope. I’ve asked Paddington Green to requisition a suitable building you can use as an HQ, and we’re sending over a mobile incident room as well, but in the meantime you’re just going to have to make do with whatever’s available at the scene.’
Arley was pleased to be Bronze Commander, though a little awed by the size of the task ahead. ‘I’ll get down there as soon as I can but you know what the traffic’s like. It may take me some time.’
‘We haven’t got time. There’s a helicopter waiting on the roof. It’ll take you there now.’
The phone on Commissioner Phillips’ desk rang. He picked up the receiver, listened, then replaced it. His expression was grim. ‘That was Hendon. They’ve just had a call from a wounded kitchen worker inside the building. He told them that there are
He was standing behind his immense glass desk when Arley walked in, the backdrop of a murky London skyline stretched out behind him. ‘Thanks for coming so promptly,’ he said, without gesturing for her to take a seat. ‘How are things in 1600?’
‘We’re under the cosh, sir. Do you have any more information on the Stanhope attack?’
‘Apparently a group of gunmen have broken into the building and are taking hostages. There are unconfirmed reports of casualties, and we do know that shots were fired from inside the hotel at the first officers on the scene. That was about twenty minutes ago. But so far the picture of what’s actually going on is very patchy. Chris Matthews, the chief inspector down at Paddington Green, is on the scene. He’s put a cordon in place and set up an RP in Hyde Park, but he’s being hampered by all the gridlock round there. It looks like everyone’s trying to leave the city at once.’
‘I can’t say I blame them. We’re getting a lot of claims of responsibility for what’s happening, but nothing’s confirmed. Whoever it is is clearly well organized.’
‘I’ve just been on to Hendon. They say one call stands out. It was made to the
Evening Standard
at 4.34 p.m., just after the Paddington bombs had gone off. It came from a mobile in the western Hyde Park area, which is a good three-quarters of a mile from the scene.’
‘So there’s no way the caller could have known about the bombs unless he was responsible for them?’
‘Exactly. It was too quick and too assured to have been a hoax. The caller claimed to be from an organization called the Pan-Arab Army of God. They’re not on our list of proscribed organizations and no one at Counter Terrorism Command seems to have heard of them, so we’re guessing they’re new boys. It’s possible they’re being sponsored by an unfriendly Arab government because the caller said something about the attacks being in retaliation for British and NATO interference in Arab and other Muslim countries. He also claimed that there were bombs at a number of London’s other mainline railway stations. Have you had any other reports of bombs going off?’
Arley shook her head. ‘Plenty of scares, but nothing else.’
‘Thank God for that. We’re stretched enough as it is.’
The commissioner looked shaken by the afternoon’s events, which wasn’t good. Arley was shaken too, but she knew how to keep a lid on her emotions, and she was hoping that Commissioner Phillips did too. Trying to remain as businesslike as possible, she filled him in on the evacuation plans she was putting in place.
‘You’re doing a good job,’ he told her, sounding like he meant it. ‘But I need you out in the field. It looks like it’s turning into a siege situation at the Stanhope. The PM’s been informed and he’s convening a meeting of COBRA for six p.m. In the meantime, we have to respond fast. We’re using the usual structure. I’m Gold Commander. Assistant Commissioner Jacobs is Silver. We’ll both be based here. I want you as Bronze, running things on site at the Stanhope. I’ve asked Paddington Green to requisition a suitable building you can use as an HQ, and we’re sending over a mobile incident room as well, but in the meantime you’re just going to have to make do with whatever’s available at the scene.’
Arley was pleased to be Bronze Commander, though a little awed by the size of the task ahead. ‘I’ll get down there as soon as I can but you know what the traffic’s like. It may take me some time.’
‘We haven’t got time. There’s a helicopter waiting on the roof. It’ll take you there now.’
The phone on Commissioner Phillips’ desk rang. He picked up the receiver, listened, then replaced it. His expression was grim. ‘That was Hendon. They’ve just had a call from a wounded kitchen worker inside the building. He told them that there are
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