Andy McNab - Meltdown

Fergus smiled. The warning was clear enough and he reckoned that Deveraux would be only too pleased if he or Danny got anywhere near her line of fire. But he was going to make absolutely sure that didn't happen.

The pilot's voice came over the intercom. 'He's just entered French airspace. Still staying close to the coast.'

Dudley was overseeing the tracking of the Sikorsky, working in tandem with experts back at GCHQ in Cheltenham.

The helicopter was being tracked through the EU's air traffic control centres. All countries would no doubt have co-operated with GCHQ had there been time to make the arrangements. But there wasn't time and it wasn't necessary anyway. GCHQ boffins could easily infiltrate the systems. They were reporting directly to the Cougar pilot, who was passing everything back to Deveraux and Fergus over their headphones.

It meant they knew exactly where the Sikorsky was heading, but they still had no idea of its ultimate destination. Kubara was getting stuck into a plate of bread and cold meats. He wanted to keep his strength up.

Teddy watched him, too scared to ask questions for fear of hearing the answers.

Will had his eyes closed and his head against a window. He wasn't asleep; there was no way he could sleep. He was thinking; he'd been doing a lot of thinking since they got on the aircraft.

He'd glanced back at Storm several times. She seemed perfectly calm and unruffled, even flicking through a magazine as casually as if she were on a pleasure trip; some specially arranged mystery tour.

The helicopter suddenly dropped as it hit an air pocket, and Will opened his eyes and saw Kubara slip a large piece of bread and meat into his mouth. The Sikorsky sank again and he continued to chew contentedly. Will wanted to throw up.

The Bosnian smiled at Will and lifted the plate he was holding, offering him some food. Will barely had the energy to shake his head.

Storm finished her magazine. She tossed it onto the seat next to her, got up and walked over to the sofa where Kubara was sitting. She smiled as she sat next to him, and then, to the twins' amazement, she took a small piece of meat from his plate and popped it into her mouth.

Teddy could keep quiet no longer. 'Storm! What are you doing? Get away from him!'

She smiled. 'Oh, Teddy. I don't know how you could have been so stupid for so long.'

Teddy stared, his tired brain struggling to make sense of the situation.

Storm was still smiling at the total confusion written all over his face. 'You don't get it, do you, Teddy? Even now.'

He didn't. Maybe it was the fear, the terror of flying into the unknown, but he still didn't understand what Storm was trying to say.

But for Will it was all becoming horribly, terribly clear. 'She's right,' he said, shaking his head. 'We've been so fucking stupid.'

Kubara laughed at Teddy's bewildered face. 'Did you never wonder how I found you? And how I knew exactly what you were doing? All the time? The trucks… the coaches? Yes, you told me the basics, but didn't you ever think that somehow I always knew more than you told me? No, because you were too arrogant, always too arrogant.'

Teddy looked at his brother and then back at Kubara. 'You mean… you mean Storm was working for you?'

Kubara laughed again. 'Oh, more than that, Teddy. Much more than that.'

This time both brothers looked at Storm, their minds racing with the implications of what he was saying.

'She's… she's your…?' Teddy was desperately struggling to voice what he was thinking. 'She's your… your girlfriend?'

Storm shook her head. 'You know, I somehow knew you'd think that when the time came. Someone else for you to be jealous of. But no, Teddy, I'm not his girlfriend.'

'Then what?'

Kubara leaned close to them. 'Don't you English have a saying about blood being thicker than water?'

Teddy gasped. It was impossible.

But Kubara was nodding proudly. 'Yes, Storm is my daughter. The most wonderful daughter any man could have.' He kissed her on the cheek. 'And the image of her beautiful mother.'

The Sikorsky was beginning to descend, and in the Cougar the pilot came on the intercom. 'He's going down. Looks to me as if he's going into the heliport at Monaco. What do you want me to do?'

'Wait out!' said Fergus into his mic before Deveraux had the chance to reply.

'Roger that,' came back from the pilot.

Deveraux turned to Fergus, her eyes demanding an explanation.

'We don't know that this is his final destination,' he told her. 'He may just be refuelling. Wait until we know for certain, and in the meantime find somewhere we can refuel if necessary'

Deveraux nodded. Fergus was right. They needed to be able to refuel quickly if the Sikorsky was preparing for a longer stretch of flying time. The heliport at Monaco perches on a stretch of land reclaimed from the sea and is a favourite arrival point for visitors to the millionaires' playground of Monte Carlo and for the residents of Nice.

The Sikorsky touched down smoothly and Kubara was quickly out of his seat. His dark eyes rested on Teddy and Will. 'My earlier warnings still stand.' He gestured towards his bodyguard, who had sat in menacing silence throughout the flight. 'If I am not watching you, he will be. At all times.'

They stepped out of the aircraft and Teddy and Will saw the lights of Monte Carlo glittering back at them from the shoreline. The harbour was full of yachts the size of cruise liners, many with helicopters of their own resting on the stern. The twins had visited Monaco for the Grand Prix, but all that – all their past life – seemed a million miles away now. Everything that was normal seemed a million miles away.

Kubara went over to talk with one of the heliport officials and they were left with Storm, under the ever-watchful eyes of the bodyguard.

She was gazing back towards the shoreline.

Teddy went to stand beside her. 'Are you going to explain?' he asked quietly.

Storm shrugged her shoulders. 'Is there any point?'

Teddy was suddenly angry. 'Of course there is! You led us into this trap.'

'You brought this on yourselves; you're hardly a couple of innocent victims.'

'You made fools of us,' said Will, glaring back at her.

Storm laughed. 'It wasn't difficult.'

The insults no longer bothered Teddy, but there was something more he needed to know. 'I still don't understand. How can he be your father?'

The hardness went from Storm's eyes. 'My mother was in Bosnia as a volunteer, working for a relief organization. She met my father and they fell in love and got married. She gave up everything to be with him.'

She gazed out at the dark sea. 'When my mother became pregnant, they thought she would be safer in his home village. And she was, for a while. My father was away fighting when I was born. Then the village was attacked, my mother was killed and…' She fell silent for a moment. 'A few people escaped. My aunt smuggled me away and we hid in the hills. I was two years old when my father found me again.'

'But he sent you to school in England,' said Will. 'If he hates the British so much, why did he do that?'

'Because it was safe. Because he wanted me to have a good education. Because he wanted to use the British system, take everything it had to offer. Because one day he knew that the sort of opportunity that you two presented was bound to come along. And he was right. My father is always right.'

Before the twins could say any more, Kubara came striding back towards them. He had caught the tail end of their conversation. 'So now you know the whole story,' he said. 'Good, I'm glad. Come, we are leaving.'

*

HMS Cornwall, a type 22 frigate, was cruising in the north Mediterranean after a goodwill visit to the deep-water port at Villefranche in France.