Richard Wiseman - To Kill Or Be Killed

“He’s going to be fine, but a fair bit of reconstruction on his face. He took quite a beating. He could have shot Mason there and then, but he didn’t; didn’t have the killer instinct.”

“Stanton said that about me.”

“He’s wrong. If anyone has it’s you and that’s why you’re back here so soon. However I’ve booked you in to see Else our counsellor.”

“Good. I’ll go down and create a brain pool with other duty team members.”

When David had left Jack pulled CCTV files out of the computer that he’d been scanning. He carried on looking and captured faces digitally and sent them. He had thirty faces in separate files and he called the decryption team.

“Are you in yet?”

“Ten minutes Jack. Do keep it short, the spooks are getting jumpy.”

“Okay.”

Jack called another extension in the building. He’d put together a scanning team and he told them to get ready to match the files he was sending them to faces in MI6 and other security services files. Then he waited for decryption to call back.

David found the duty room offices empty. He went to the canteen to find Terry, Tony, Jaz and Ellie eating lunch.

“Hey McKie come on over and join the club.” Tony was eating a French bread sandwich and waved David over, dropping salad and mayonnaise on the carpet as he did so.

David drew up a chair and sat with the group.

“Hi Jaz. You back from the hospital.”

“Yeah, Shadz is okay. He looked terrible though. His nose was smashed, black eyes, broken jaw, was wired. He wasn’t conscious as they’d drugged him to stop the pain. Mason made a right mess of him. Still it could have been worse, he could have killed him.”

“And you Jaz, you alright?” David asked tenderly. The team had been through a lot in the last few days.

“I’m fine. I hear Beaumont’s okay.” She added thinking not just of her own horror, but of David’s too.

David nodded there was a small silence and then Tony spoke.

“Well that small group of people who’ve killed in the line of duty is getting bigger. That’s David, Ellie and me have had to kill.”

“You too Ellie?” David asked.

“Yeah. We both shot Cobb.” She said and put her hand on Tony’s shoulder and none of them missed the warm contact between the two.

“Have you got to see the counsellor Else?” David said ignoring the urge to make a teenage comment about Ellie and Tony.

“I saw her today, Tony did too. She’s nice, but don’t be fooled she really can read people. It was nice to talk and I did get upset, but she said it was healthy. At least I’ll sleep better.” Ellie said with a small smile following.

David recalled his dream.

Terry suddenly spoke

“It was sad at Wally’s funeral. I got a bit choked there and Jack, well Jack, his eyes were streaming.” He shook his head. “I’ve spoken to Else too. She says I’ll need a little grief therapy. Sadness touches people in al sorts of ways she says.”

“I didn’t expect this when I took the job on. Stanton was in my house, nearly murdered me.” David said gauging their faces for shock.

“My God that’s terrible. You poor man. Were your family there?” Ellie said thinking of her own children at home being baby sat by her mother.

The two weeks of duty team rota was the only draw back to a job that was perfect for a single mother. Ellie had got pregnant young and done her degree through the Open University. She was only a year on the police force as a forensic scientist before DIC head hunted her.

“No they were out and I nearly had him. I wanted him alive, shooting would have been easy. I had the laser dot between his eyes. He was willing to die. They don’t want to be captured these assassins, love their freedom too much. They don’t value anything. I feel lucky to be alive, but angry I didn’t end it there, but killing an unarmed man, even one like Stanton isn’t a good thing to do, that’s a fact. I’ll be glad to talk to Else find out what the right reactions are to doing this kind of work. It’s not what you expect is it?”

“Well I spoke to Else and she said that this isn’t the first time there’s been this level of death and destruction. There have been five or six times in the past when DIC has had agents in such danger and when agents have had to kill under diplomatic. She says it’s rare, but not unknown. We’re just unlucky to be the team on duty when it happened.” Ellie smiled at David when she said it.

She admired him, they all did. She felt camaraderie too. She, Tony and he had killed. She had been keen to get Cobb in revenge for Wally, a man she had admired too, but when she had she was swept over by nausea. She liked the way the killing had made David poignant in outlook. She also worried about Tony, who seemed breezy in spite of the ‘heavy burden of taking a life’. That had been Else phrase and she liked it. ‘The heavy burden’ which she was concerned Tony was carrying with too little effort.

“Listen has anyone got any ideas about where Stanton will pop up next?” David changed the subject in keenness to get the job done.

“We’ve talked it through. He can’t go to Priory Arms. We’ve got an armed team member there.”

“Who’s that?” David asked.

“Liam.” Tony answered.

“Sure I know the guy. So what will Stanton do?” David replied not to be sidetracked.

“Well if I was him I’d have got on a ferry at Dover and left.”

“That doesn’t suit the man I know.”

“You know him, you think?” Jaz exclaimed.

“I saw him on the Inverness CCTV footage, he didn’t stand out and was unclear on the film, he can blend himself in; he’s like a snake, deadly and invisible against the right patterned background. I saw him at Perth on the platform, looked into the eyes. He was bold and not at all panicked. He’s got this far because he’s slick. He’s experienced and a very cool customer. He climbed my roof, was unafraid of me when I had a gun on him and his eyes showed a determination you don’t often see in anyone but terrorist extremists. He’ll carry on. Not because he needs the money, or the help of the employer on this job to help him escape, but because he really believes he can do it. He’s something of a terminator Stanton.” David said clearly focussing his eyes on the face of Stanton in his mind’s eye as he spoke.

They all nodded.

“So assuming he’s coming to London what would he do?” Tony asked.

“Maybe he’s got a contact number or something, a back up place maybe.” Jaz shrugged as she spoke.

“Unlikely. We know his target is high profile so for a million the employer wouldn’t want to be linked so easily if any of them were caught. Add to that the fact that the landlord of the Priory Arms identified Cobb as having been there. There was only one meet point. Now it’s gone. What can he do?” Ellie said and picked up her coffee mug and took a reflective sip.

“You think you know him David, what would you do if you were him?” Tony asked and popped the last part of his sandwich into his mouth.

“I’m not sure, but think bold and clever that’d be the way.”

They were all silent for a moment and Jack Fulton approached them and pulled up a chair.

“I’ve got interesting news. We’ve identified one member of MI6 at the scene of Mason’s killing. I sent the photo to Liam at the Priory Arms on the off chance and the landlord recognised him as a regular.”

There were low whistles and expelled breaths.

“Yes. MI6 are linked to this which probably means Sternway. We’re not getting anything from the listeners, but we’ve got teams ready at four of his favourite cafes and restaurants. We may get something, in the meantime any ideas about Stanton?” Jack looked around at the group.