Adrian Magson - Deception

‘I don’t know yet-’ He broke off, glancing automatically towards the block of flats. Jean was standing by the side of the building, out of sight of the street. She waved and gave a signal that she was OK, and Harry heaved a sigh of relief. He said, ‘Forget that. . I see her. She’s fine.’

‘Glad to hear it. There’s an undercover unit not far from you. They’ll pick them up and tail them. Leave it with us from here on.’

Harry thanked him and tossed the driver his keys through the window. It was time for some play-acting to fool the watchers. ‘One thing you should know,’ he said coldly. ‘If I see you again, I’ll kill you.’ He jerked his thumb in dismissal.

‘That went well,’ said Rik, as the Kombi disappeared along the street. He looked at Harry. ‘I don’t know what that order to shoot did to those two, but it frightened the crap out of me.’ He frowned. ‘What’s going on?’

‘My guess is,’ said Harry, ‘they were meant to be seen and someone else wasn’t. They were decoys. Follow me and don’t look round.’

They crossed the street to the cover of the block of flats, and Harry folded Jean in his arms. ‘You all right?’

‘Yes.’ Her voice sounded firm, but he could feel a faint tremor running through her. ‘Well, I am now.’

‘Where were you?’ he asked, biting down on an instinctive desire to reproach her. ‘Your door was open.’

She pulled back from him. ‘I did what your colleague said.’

‘Colleague?’

‘Yes. A woman. She sounded young. She said I was in danger and should go immediately to a neighbour and stay there until you arrived, and to leave the door unlocked to prevent damage if they forced their way in.’

Harry stared at her. What the hell was going on? Was this Ballatyne working behind the scenes, putting someone on to Jean as a precaution? He remembered the young woman who’d been watching them in Victoria Embankment Gardens. Maybe that was who the caller had been. If so, why hadn’t he said anything just now?

‘She said we were colleagues?’

‘Well, not exactly.’ Jean looked confused. ‘But she said it was for my sake and yours, and you were on your way.’ She looked at him, eyes wide. ‘What’s going on? You don’t know who she is, do you?’

‘I can guess.’

‘Never mind. Did you see the other men?’

‘What others?’

‘Two older men. They’re in a grey car down by the shops. They arrived just after the woman called, and I was looking through the window for you. They crossed the road towards the building, so I slipped out the back and left the door open as she’d said.’

Harry let out a long breath. This was all moving too fast. Behind him, Rik was standing by the corner of the building, studying the street. ‘Harry.’

Harry moved alongside him. The FedEx truck was gone. It had been concealing a grey Renault parked further along the street. Two men were sitting inside. Both looked big, one with short hair, the other bald.

Zubac and Ganic. It had to be.

Instinct made Harry glance up the street behind him. A police car was approaching. He recognized one of the Armed Response Unit Volvo V70 vehicles. Remembering the Bosnians’ disregard for the police, and their likely response when they saw the car, he stepped out from behind the building and started walking along the street, his semi-automatic cradled inside his jacket. Rik followed and crossed the street to the far side.

They were thirty yards along, walking in parallel, when the men in the Renault sat up and the engine burst into life. It was unclear whether they were reacting to Harry and Rik or the police car. Seconds later, the Renault was reversing at speed, side-swiping a scooter parked at the kerb, then it performed a handbrake turn and raced away after the red Kombi.

The police car, caught by a line of school children on a pedestrian crossing, sat helplessly, then roared off in pursuit. But they were already too late.

‘The two in the red van were low-level messengers,’ said Ballatyne. He called later that day as Harry was heading home. Rik had made his own way earlier, to continue the hunt for Tan. Jean had agreed reluctantly to stay with friends for a couple of days, and Harry had seen her safely delivered to make sure she wasn’t being followed.

‘Who for?’

‘Not sure. But they led the undercover unit to a C’emal Soran, a shopkeeper in Hackney. He’s clean here, barring missed opportunities by the Serious Organized Crimes Agency or Five. But they’ve got quite a file on him in Sarajevo. He was suspected for years of being a freelance quartermaster for a number of gangs, supplying weapons and cars. Unfortunately, with all the fighting, they didn’t have the resources to get hard evidence. He got out ahead of an investigation and so far, nobody’s been able to come up with reasons enough to bring him up on charges. Call me prejudiced, but I doubt he’s changed his spots. We’re doing a thorough check on him right now.’

‘Who were the two in the van?’

‘Family members, that’s all we’ve got. No papers on file, though. They claimed they knew nothing about nothing, jobbing decorators waiting for a pick-up until you arrived and started waving guns in their faces. They looked terrified, according to the officer who interviewed them, but he thinks that was down to Soran hovering in the background like the angel of death.’

‘Soran? Or Zubac and Ganic?’

‘Good point. All three, probably. The cops didn’t have reason to search so they had to pull back after talking to the two young ones. In the end, they had nothing to hold them on. My guess is they’ll be out of the country by morning.’

‘And no signs of Zubac and Ganic?’

‘No. Nothing obvious at the ports, anyway. They’ve probably gone to ground until the fuss dies down.’ He paused. ‘Any idea what their plan was?’

‘With Jean? No.’ Harry didn’t like to think what would have happened if the two men had taken her. The message would have been simple: back off and stay that way. Whether that would have resulted in getting Jean back in one piece was a moot point.He doubted it somehow; the Protectory seemed to be playing for keeps, and getting him off their tail would have been a high priority.

Ballatyne continued, ‘We’re going to spring a surprise on Soran this evening, just for the hell of it. SO19 are going to raid the shop. If you want in on it, be my guest. You might find something. I’ll let you know where and when.’

‘Thanks. I’ll be there.’ The answer was automatic. This had gone too far already, and Harry wanted to get the men responsible.

‘You didn’t get far with Fort Knox, I hear.’

‘Not yet. Why?’

‘I had a call from the State Department. Seems Major Dundas carries some weight in the corridors of power, courtesy of a brother-in-law who’s a state senator. He complained about interference from the British, namely you, and they’re currently assessing how much to share with us.’

‘Dundas is an idiot. I asked for a check on a name, that’s all.’

‘Right. I think rubbing Bradley Manning in his face was a bit harsh. They’re all a bit sensitive about that young man. Still, I’ll leave it with you to sort out.’

Harry rang off wondering if the real purpose of that exchange had been to get him involved in the police raid on Soran. As for the message from the US State Department, he didn’t hold out much hope of getting any further cooperation from Garcia. The lines would have been instantly shut down. But why the reluctance to help? All he was looking for was a name.

He was surprised, therefore, to find an email waiting for him at home. It was from someone calling himself candlepoint81 at a Gmail account, and the message read: