Matthew Dunn - Spycatcher

“Oh, my God. What happened, Laith?”

Laith shrugged. “The couple walked toward me.” He enunciated each word as if he had to force it out of his mouth. “I didn’t want to call you, since that could have looked suspicious. So I moved and casually walked toward them. As we passed each other, the man pushed the woman to the ground and rushed toward me. I dropped low to take out his legs, but he must have anticipated that, and he dived over me, grabbed my throat from behind, and stabbed me.”

Will looked up Prospect Avenue. “Which way did they go?”

Laith nodded toward Fairview Avenue behind him, the street Will had just sprinted up. “You must have seen them.”

Will frowned before widening his eyes in absolute frustration at his stupidity. “Oh, fuck.” Will recalled the group of five hatted and scarved people on the opposite side of the road on Neil Street. He recalled the man and woman at the back of the group. “I walked right by them. They attached themselves to three random walkers. Megiddo might even have had a gun trained on them.”

Laith breathed deeply. “My wound is bad. My liver is punctured. I’ll be dead without urgent treatment.”

Will nodded. “And that’s exactly what you’re going to get.”

Laith exhaled slowly. “I know, but I don’t need your help to get it. I need you to get after that bastard and finish this.”

A distant siren wailed. It sounded different from the one Will had heard from the passing police car.

Laith smiled again and raised his phone a little. “I knew that when you found me like this, you would never leave me until I had medical help. So I took the decision out of your hands and called them myself to let you get on with the mission. That siren belongs to the ambulance coming to get me. I said I was mugged. When the police arrive at the hospital, they won’t believe that story considering everything that’s happened here tonight. But what the fuck can they do to me?” He smiled wider. “If I’m still alive when I reach the hospital, maybe I’ll get a bed next to Roger. I hope not, though. The man snores like a buzz saw.”

Will tried to smile but felt utter desperation. “Keep applying pressure on your wound. Stay conscious.”

Laith responded in a firm, stronger voice. “I know exactly what to do, Will Cochrane.”

Will nodded. “I know you do.” The noise of the siren was drawing nearer. “Have you got anything compromising on you?”

Laith shook his head. “No ID, only cash. But you better get rid of my phone, gun, and clips.”

Will took them, glanced over his shoulder, then back at Laith. “Thank you for everything, Laith.”

“There’s no need for thanks. If I’m still alive and my liver’s up to it, just buy me a beer when this is over.”

Will was about to go, but Laith grabbed his hand, holding him firm with incredible strength. “After he ripped open my stomach, the man crouched before me. He said he knew that Nicholas Cree was close by. He told me that I needed to stay alive long enough to tell you that I’d been gutted by a man called Megiddo, the man you seek.” He winced in pain and coughed. “He wants to meet you alone in one day’s time in New York City. If you don’t meet him, many innocents will die.” He spat a clot of blood away from him onto the snow and cursed. “If he has the slightest suspicion that the meeting is being watched or that you have others with you, Lana will die.” He sucked in air between gritted teeth and was clearly in severe pain. “You must be in a private location, or the meeting will not take place. You’ve got to send Lana a message saying where you will be.” His breathing became shallow, but he gripped Will even harder. “He said that you must make the most of the next twenty-three hours, because on the twenty-fourth hour he will come to you, talk to you, and kill you.”

Will checked his watch. It was just after 6:00 P.M. He shook his head. “What the hell is he doing? He’s risking his own operation. What’s his game?” He felt a rush of adrenaline. “Whatever is going on, the attack must be taking place in New York City.”

Laith nodded, released his grip, placed his hand over the other hand that was pressing against his wound. “There’s something else you should know.” He spat more blood. “I’ve beaten or killed every man who’s ever pissed me off. No one’s ever been stronger than me, faster than me, or better trained. But”-he coughed again and winced-“Megiddo was different. Will, listen to me. The man was so fucking fast, so damned deadly.”

The siren was very close now. Will nodded, stood, looked at Laith, turned, and ran after the man who had killed or severely injured the best special-operative team he’d ever worked with.

He ran back down Fairview Avenue and moved onto Neil Street. He kept his gun held forward and didn’t care if he was spotted holding a weapon. He scoured the area before and around him for the group he’d seen earlier. Two hundred meters ahead, he saw an ambulance speed across the road and up William Street before it disappeared from view. He kept running until he reached the intersection, looked left and right and ahead, cursed as he saw nothing, wondered which of the three routes Megiddo would have taken, and decided that the man would have headed south along Leona Street and away from the area where Laith had been stabbed. He moved quickly down the street until he was at the junction with Olive. He looked right and saw nothing. He looked left and saw them.

The group of five was approximately 150 meters away from him. Will raised his weapon, breathing fast, and pointed it at the man at the rear of the group, walking next to the woman. He focused his eyes through the snowfall. He knew that he could make the shot and send a bullet into the man’s brain. But he also knew that in doing so he would kill all remaining hope of stopping Megiddo’s assault, that his bullet might cause Megiddo’s hand to squeeze tight around a handgun pointing at Lana and send a bullet into her, that Will’s high-velocity projectile might pass though Megiddo’s skull and enter any of the three innocent men in front of him. He cursed and lowered his weapon slightly, taking several steps forward. He saw the man and woman break away from the group and start walking to the other side of the road. He quickly raised his weapon again. He heard noise. He saw flashes on the ground around him.

He heard a man shout, “Stop! Police!”

Will exhaled slowly but did not move.

He heard a different man shout, “Drop the weapon! Raise your hands and kick your weapon away from you!”

Will did not move.

“Do it or we will shoot you!”

Will knew that there were at least two police officers behind him. He sighed, moved his arms outward, paused for a moment before dropping his Heckler amp; Koch MK23 to the ground. He turned quickly to face the police. Two male officers were before him, standing apart from each other at a distance of about thirty feet. They had handguns pointed straight at him. Behind them was their stationary police vehicle. Its doors were open, and police lights flashed silently on its roof.

“Stand still. Nobody told you to turn around.” This came from the officer to his right. The other officer took two sideward paces, and Will knew that the man was creating a greater angle between him and his colleague so as to minimize the chance for Will to assault the men and escape.

Will silently cursed. A moment ago he had been very close to Megiddo. But now the man would be rushing away with Lana and no doubt searching for a populated place to hide among other civilians. He cursed that the men before him were doing their job but were also unwittingly allowing the most dangerous man on the planet to escape in their village. He looked at the faces of the police officers. He could see no fear in their eyes, no hesitation and no uncertainty. They looked professional and competent. But he knew that he would be quicker; he knew he could pull Laith’s handgun from his pocket and put bullets into their brains before they could even blink. He sighed as he looked at them. He knew there was no way he could shoot dead two American police officers.