Andy McNab: Avenger

Dr Jacobson shook her head. 'Good idea, but it's too late now. Black Star would spot it immediately. He knows Elena's computer language. Everyone has their own unique way of abbreviating text, and if Danny stopped to think about Elena's way of replying, BS would smell a rat.'

Dudley nodded and then turned to Fergus. 'And your thoughts, Mr Watts?'

Fergus had trained raw recruits before. He knew exactly what was required out in the field. 'Operationally, neither Danny or Elena are ready. Sitting behind a computer is one thing, but being out on the ground is completely different. I need more time.'

Dudley sighed and glanced at the newspapers scattered about the desktop. 'Unfortunately time is one of the many things we do not have on our side. This is now a global situation. Other national security organizations will be taking their own measures, but for the moment it's been decided that we in this country keep what we know to ourselves. And make our own moves.'

He stood up and slowly and deliberately began to button up the overcoat he wore in almost all weathers. Fergus watched him, not for a single moment taken in by Dudley's gentlemanly ways and polite manners. No one got to his position in the Security Service by being Mister Nice Guy.

Dudley secured the top button and brushed away an invisible speck of dust from the collar of his coat. 'We take the risk,' he said. 'We get Elena to convince Black Star that she's completely ready to move on to the second stage. We must hope that that is enough to lure him into making a mistake.' He looked at Fergus. 'And my decision is final.'

The table in Fergus's room was laden with items from a shopping expedition to Tesco. Some of the plastic bottles and tubs remained unopened, but in the middle lay a pile of aspirin tablets.

Danny and Elena were sitting on one side, while Fergus stood on the other, leaning on the tabletop for extra support. His injured leg was getting stronger, but his recent gunshot wound had been in almost the identical place to one he had taken in Colombia nearly eight years earlier, so it was taking longer to heal. Every day his leg felt stronger and every day he pushed himself a little more. He could stand unaided now for a short time and even walk a few steps without crutches. But there was still a long way to go.

It was just after two in the afternoon and, as always, the day had been planned to make maximum use of every available hour. Elena usually made contact with Black Star in the early or mid evening. As far as Black Star was concerned, that was after she had finished her shift at the hotel. Mornings were for updates and debriefs and afternoons were for training.

'Show-and-tell time,' said Fergus as Danny and Elena eyed the bizarre assortment on the table.

Danny was staring at a large cooking pot. 'Are we cooking, then?'

'Something like that,' said Fergus. 'I'm going to show you a thing or two about plastic explosive.'

Danny's and Elena's eyes widened.

'These are the same everyday items that Black Star's Angels have used to make their PE.'

'You mean they made their bombs themselves?' said Elena.

'IEDs,' said Fergus, correcting her. 'I made one myself, remember? When we were in the warehouse – before we were dragged into this business. But I had proper PE to work with; the Angels are using a homemade variety.'

Danny and Elena listened in complete silence as Fergus explained that all versions of home-made explosive have a mix number, and that when he was in the Regiment he had learned to remember all the ingredients and recipes for every different mix.

Many of his covert jobs had involved going into enemy territory with no equipment at all. Once there, he would have to buy the ingredients – everyday items that would arouse no suspicion – to make HE.

Depending on the target – say a power station or a bridge – the mix number would be different, because each mix had a different detonation velocity. And some mixes were easier to make than others.

Fergus looked down at the items on the table. 'Forensic tests show that the Angels were using this stuff to make a PE called mix thirty-nine.'

Danny was staring at the ingredients with a new fascination, but Elena was looking worried. 'Are you saying I might have to make one of these IED things?'

Fergus nodded. 'It's possible, Elena. We don't know how far down the line you'll have to go with Black Star before we can get to him. After the attacks in Japan and America yesterday, we now know that Black Star doesn't meet with his Angels to make the IEDs, unless he has accomplices. My guess is that somehow he provides instructions on how to make them.'

'And that's what I'll have to do?'

Fergus was trying his best to be reassuring. 'Look, don't worry. I'll be giving you something to make the mixture safe.'

'Really?' said Elena, looking far from reassured. 'And what's that?'

'It's a… a powder. You'll mix it into all the ingredients you have here.'

'What sort of powder?'

'One step at a time. Thirty-nine is highly dangerous at the mixing stage and extremely volatile once it's made.'

'But you said the mixture will be safe.'

'And it will. But you need to be prepared for every eventuality. And even if you had to go through with making the PE for real, you could still make the device safe by detaching the det wires from the battery – although it'd still be unstable.' He saw Elena's look of confusion and smiled reassuringly. 'Like I said, one step at a time. And we won't let it get that far.'

Elena and Danny sat back and listened as Fergus explained that the high explosive the ingredients made was a 'cousin' of TNT and was called Trinitrophenol. He pointed down at the aspirin on the tabletop. 'By extracting the Trinitrophenol from these little things and then mixing it with Vaseline and candles, anyone with the know-how can make their own plastic explosive within three hours.'

Danny was anxious to know more. 'So how's it done? Are we gonna make some mix thirty-nine now?'

'The aspirins are boiled down, and then some of the other ingredients are added to extract the Trinitrophenol. And no, we're not making it. Apart from anything else, the fumes are poisonous during the mixing.'

Elena was looking more and more concerned and Fergus could see it. 'Look, you just have to know about it – we'll probably get Black Star long before this stage.'

'Probably?'

Fergus was suddenly aware that his leg was aching badly. He moved slowly round to the other side of the table, pulled up a chair and sat between Danny and Elena.

He kept his voice low as he spoke. 'We can't step back from this now. We have the best chance there is to rid the world of this Black Star scum.' He leaned closer. 'But what I care about most is keeping you two safe.'

'You mean with the IED?' said Danny.

'Not just the IED.' Fergus deliberately spoke softly so that they were forced to lean in even closer to hear his words. 'We've got to tread very carefully around Deveraux. I never trusted her before and I still don't. She's only interested in getting Black Star. Once that's achieved, we become a problem again. So then, she has three options. One, she lets us walk away and get a life away from all this. Two, there's another job that we have no choice but to take. Or three…'

'She kills us,' breathed Danny.

Fergus nodded. 'And that seems the most likely option to me. So here's the plan. The moment Black Star is found and we've done our bit, you do only what I tell you. You ignore any further orders from Deveraux. I'll get us away to a safe place, and I'll make certain that Deveraux will never be able to hurt us.'

'But how can you do that?' said Danny urgently.

'I'm putting together a security blanket that will take care of us all. But just remember, once Black Star is found, you do exactly what I tell you.'