Stephen Leather: False Friends

‘Thanks, Zoe. Tell them we don’t need infrared,’ said Button. ‘And to keep high — no tipping them off.’

‘Will do,’ said the woman.

‘Luke, please tell me that we have eyes on Khalid.’

‘He’s in a terraced house in Tower Hamlets with three other men,’ said Lesporis. ‘Spent a lot of time washing his arse this morning but we had a dozen men on him so we stayed with him.’

‘Has anybody heard from Shepherd?’ asked Button. She sighed when there was no reaction. ‘Well, somebody try his mobile again. And keep trying.’

Chaudhry had reached the Indian restaurant and stood with his back to it, looking down the street.

‘The van’s on its way,’ said Lesporis. ‘The same one as last time. The plumber’s van.’

‘Right, everyone, here we go,’ said Button. ‘We need to stay on top of this. All the signs are that this is the real thing.’

Commander Needham raised a hand. ‘Two more ARVs en route,’ he said. Button thanked him. She had a strong feeling that they were going to be needed.

The van pulled up at the kerb. Harith was in the front passenger seat, bundled up in a thick cloth coat and with a white wool scarf wound twice round his neck. ‘Salaam, brother,’ he said. ‘Where’s Harveer?’

‘He’s not feeling so good,’ said Chaudhry.

‘What do you mean?’ said Afzal, leaning across from the driver’s seat. ‘Is he not coming?’

‘No, he’s coming, but he was just on the toilet. He’s got the shits.’

‘Nerves,’ said Harith. ‘Probably nerves.’

‘No, he’s picked up a bug.’ He looked down the pavement. ‘Here he comes now.’

A figure in a green parka was hurrying towards the rear of the van, the fur-lined hood up, his hands deep in the jacket pockets.

‘Get in the back, brother,’ said Afzal. ‘And make sure that Harveer doesn’t throw up. This is my uncle’s van and there’ll be hell to pay if I return it stinking of vomit.’

‘I’ll watch over him, brother,’ said Chaudhry.

‘Make sure you do,’ said Harith, winding up the window.

Chaudhry went to the rear of the van and opened the door.

‘What the hell is going on?’ asked Charlotte Button as she saw the man in the green parka walk up to Chaudhry. Chaudhry got into the van and the man in the parka followed him. ‘Who is that?’ she said, pointing at the LCD screen. ‘Is that Malik? Malik’s still in hospital, right?’

Nobody answered and other than the police commander everyone in the room avoided eye contact with her.

‘Will somebody please find out if Harveer Malik is still in hospital? If he is then we need to know who is wearing his parka.’ The words had barely left her mouth before she realised that there was only one person who could possibly have stepped in to take Malik’s place. ‘Has anyone managed to get through to Dan Shepherd?’ She was faced with a dozen or so shaking heads. ‘I think we now know why,’ she said.

Shepherd sneaked a look at his watch. They had been in the back of the van for just over half an hour and without windows he had no idea in which direction they were heading. When they first got into the van they had headed south but there had been a number of turns and a roundabout and now with no indication of the speed of the van he couldn’t even calculate how far they were from Stoke Newington, never mind in which direction they were going.

He was sitting on the floor at the rear of the van, facing the double doors. He was about the same height and build as Malik and provided he stayed in that position, with his hood up, the driver and front passenger couldn’t see his face. He’d found a pair of wool gloves in Chaudhry’s flat and he was wearing them to conceal his hands.

Chaudhry kept talking to Harith to keep his attention away from Shepherd, mainly asking questions about what was going to happen. Harith kept telling him to wait, that all would soon be explained.

During a lull in their conversation Afzal looked over his shoulder. ‘Harvey, brother, are you okay? You’re quiet.’

Shepherd grunted and shrugged.

‘He’ll be okay. He’s just got a tummy bug,’ said Chaudhry, leaning forward to get between the driver and Shepherd. ‘So where’s Khalid?’

‘The control room,’ said Afzal.

Harith held up a mobile. ‘He called me on this just half an hour ago,’ he said. ‘This time it’s for real, brothers. This time we change England for ever. From today onwards they will treat us Muslims with the respect that we deserve.’ He looked at his wristwatch. ‘It is time,’ he said.

‘Time?’ repeated Chaudhry.

‘Brothers, it’s time for you to learn what it is that you are to do,’ said Harith. ‘Today will be a glorious day. Today the British government will learn what it means to betray its Muslim population. Today is the day we strike back. Today we teach them to respect us. And to fear us.’ He reached into his jacket and pulled out a sheet of paper. ‘We are going to Westfield shopping mall. There will be more than a dozen brothers there. This is where you need to go.’

He handed the paper to Chaudhry. The sheet was folded in half and Chaudhry opened it, then leaned over and tapped Shepherd’s shoulder with it. Shepherd took it and stared at the hand-drawn map. It was marked ‘First Floor’. There were two crosses by doors that led to a car park.

‘We will drop you at the car park. In the crate next to you are two backpacks. They contain your weapons, ammunition, a chain and a lock. There are also ski masks so that you can cover your face. At exactly six o’clock you are to run the chain through the handles of the doors and use the lock to fasten it.’

Shepherd slowly pulled down the zip of his parka. Underneath he was wearing his leather jacket. The Glock was in his shoulder holster, snug under his left arm.

‘All the doors will be locked and there will be brothers on every level, at every entrance and exit. Then you are to begin shooting. In the backpacks are guns and pre-loaded clips. You are to shoot as many kaffirs as you can, avoiding brothers and sisters wherever possible. Do you understand?’

Chaudhry nodded. So did Shepherd.

‘You will be on the first floor. You are to go straight inside and chain the door shut. And then begin shooting. After ten minutes you are to make you way to Marks amp; Spencer. You can use the internal escalator to reach the ground floor. It has its own exit, separate from the mall. As you move through the store you can drop your weapons and remove your masks and disappear into the crowds. Once outside you can make your way to the tube. There are Oyster cards in the backpacks.’

Chaudhry smiled. ‘It is a good plan, brother.’

‘Are you all right, Harveer?’ asked Harith.

Shepherd waved his gloved hand and grunted.

‘You should look at the map.’

‘I told him not to order the prawn vindaloo,’ said Chaudhry. ‘Never a good idea to go with the prawns. Get a bad one and you’re as sick as a dog.’

‘But you can do this, brother? You’re not going to let us down, are you?’ Shepherd didn’t react. ‘Harvey?’ said Harith.

‘He’ll be fine,’ said Chaudhry.

Harith stared at the hood of the parka. ‘Harveer?’

Shepherd grunted again and waved his hand.

Harith’s eyes narrowed. He reached inside his coat and pulled out a gun.

‘Gun!’ shouted Chaudhry, and he lunged forward, trying to grab it.

Shepherd grabbed for his own Glock as Chaudhry seized Harith’s wrist. Afzal looked over at Harith, his mouth wide open. Harith lashed out with his left hand and smacked Chaudhry across the nose. Blood spurted down Chaudhry’s chin but he refused to let go of Harith’s wrist.

‘What are you doing?’ shouted Afzal. ‘What’s happening?’