Christopher Reich - Rules of Vengeance

Kate took a disk out of her jacket. “We have a visual.”

“May I?” asked Graves, rising from his chair. He handed the disk to a deputy, who placed it in the DVD player. A moment later the image of the auburn-haired murderer taken by One Park ’s CCTV camera filled the screen.

“Not much to go on,” said Kate. “She did an outstanding job keeping her face away from the camera.”

“A pro, as you said.”

Just then there was a loud knock on the door. Reg Cleak entered breathlessly. “Sorry I’m late,” he said, crossing the room and taking a seat next to Kate. “I’d just nodded off when a big bloke showed up at the back door. Nearly scared the missus half to death.”

Introductions were made, but Cleak was barely paying attention. “Just got off with the boys in Automobile Visual Surveillance. They weren’t able to get a line on the car all the way from Windsor, but they came darned close.”

“Where did Russell go after leaving his parents’ house?” asked Kate.

“To his club in Sloane Square for about an hour.”

“That only takes us to one a.m.,” said Kate. “Where did he go afterward?”

“Hold your horses, boss. I’m getting to the interesting part. From his club Russell drove to Storey’s Gate. We’ve got stills of his car parked on the sidewalk for over an hour. Don’t ask me what he was doing.”

“Storey’s Gate? That’s not far from here.” Graves instructed his deputy to bring up a map of London on the SMART Board. A moment later a city map appeared, with a circle indicating the location. Storey’s Gate was a short, narrow two-way street running east to west about a half-mile from Buckingham Palace and St. James’s Park.

“Do you see what I see?” asked Kate, standing and walking to the screen.

“What is it?” asked Cleak, but Graves was already nodding.

Kate guided her finger along the map down Storey’s Gate Road and turned a corner onto a broader thoroughfare. It was labeled “ Victoria Street.” “There’s our Victoria,” she said.

If she expected Graves to show some surprise, she was disappointed. He remained nailed to his seat, smoking his cigarette ruminatively. “So it’s a place,” he said. “Not a name. Now what?”

But Kate wasn’t finished. Sliding her finger up Victoria Street, she came to a rectangular gray outline commonly used to denote a government building. “This is a ministry building. I believe it used to be the Department of Trade. Can you tell me who’s housed there now?”

Graves snapped his fingers and his deputy clicked on the interactive map. A photograph of the building appeared, and under it the name of its current occupant. “Department of Business, Enterprise, and Regulatory Reform, formerly Trade and Industry.”

“Business, Enterprise, and Regulatory Reform,” said Kate. “B-E-R-R.”

“Bear,” said Graves in the same calm voice.

Cleak screwed up his face. “I’d call it ‘brrr.’”

“And if you were foreign, like the person who gave Russell’s girl the clue?” asked Kate. “‘Bear’ sounds right to me. Bear on Victoria Street,” added Kate. “Victoria Bear.”

“I’ll be a monkey’s,” added Cleak, eyes wide, fidgeting in his chair, the only person in the room not above showing some emotion.

“Bring up a list of the building’s tenants,” commanded Graves.

A moment later, a list of all government agencies having offices in 1 Victoria Street appeared. They included the Office of Employment, the Economic Development Agency, the Bureau of Competitiveness, and the Office of Science.

“Get on to Diplomatic Security,” Graves continued. “See if any foreign dignitaries are slated to visit any of the agencies on the list. Then contact BERR’s chief of security. Tell him to lock down the place until we arrive. We’ll be over in ten minutes.”

“What about traffic?” asked Kate. “Shouldn’t we block off all roads leading to the building?”

“If we locked down traffic every time we had a threat, London would go out of business in a fortnight.” Graves looked at his assistant. “Get the demo boys over there. Can’t hurt.” He stood and faced Kate. “I take it you’re joining me.”

Kate, Graves, and Cleak took the elevator to the ground floor, where Graves ’s Rover had been brought round and stood waiting, engine idling, doors open. Kate climbed into the front seat next to Graves, while Cleak slid into the back. The blast barrier was lowered and Graves accelerated onto Horseferry Road, where he quickly became enmeshed in traffic. The Rover advanced slowly, making it through one signal, then another. Kate glanced at the clock: 11:03.

“Got a flasher?” she asked, referring to a portable siren.

“Afraid not. We’re more in the preemptive line of things.”

The traffic light changed and Graves pulled across the intersection. After traveling 50 meters, he came to another halt. Victoria Street was less than two kilometers away. In reasonable conditions, the drive would take three minutes. As it was, they were looking at upwards of twenty.

Graves was on the phone with his assistant. “No foreign parties visiting BERR today,” he said to Kate, relaying the news as he received it. “The minister is in Leeds. Everything’s business as usual.”

The car inched forward.

Kate noted that Graves ’s cheeks were flushed and that he was batting his hand against the steering wheel. “Maybe we should walk,” she suggested.

“Forget it.” Graves studied the road in front of him, his blue eyes no longer so divinely certain. Suddenly he swung the car into the oncoming lane of traffic. The road was clear for 30 meters. He floored the Rover, keeping his palm on the horn, until a lorry forced him back into his own lane.

Again they came to a dead halt.

The clock read 11:06.

Five minutes later they reached the intersection of Victoria Street. Graves turned right and sighed with relief when he observed that traffic was flowing nicely. He accelerated to 80 kilometers an hour, rocking in his seat, mumbling, “Come on.” The light turned red and he braked hard.

“There it is,” said Kate, pointing to a modern office building 300 meters along the road.

“Thank God,” registered Cleak from his post in the rear seat.

The light turned green, but the traffic didn’t move. The driver of the vehicle in front of them opened the door and put a foot on the pavement. Kate got out of the car. “They’re running a temporary road block,” she said, sticking her head into the cabin. “Someone’s coming through. Raja from Whitehall or a visiting dignitary. I thought you said there was nothing scheduled for the area.”

“I said nothing was scheduled inside the building.” Graves threw open the door and climbed out. He had his cell phone to his ear, but Kate couldn’t make out to whom he was talking.

Just then she caught sight of the first car in the motorcade barreling out of Storey’s Gate and turning in front of them onto Victoria Street. It was a black Suburban, windows tinted, riding low to the ground. An armored vehicle moving at speed.

“Who’s in town?” she asked Graves. “Looks like the bloody president of the United States.”

Graves was shaking his head. “I’ve got nothing on this,” he said, his calm suddenly in short supply.

Somewhere in the distance Kate caught the sound of a man shouting. Over the roar of the passing motorcade she couldn’t make out what he was saying. It sounded like he was calling someone’s name. One thing was for sure: he was worked up.

“Do you hear that? Something’s wrong.”

“Where?” asked Graves, only half listening. He was conducting a running skirmish with the office, demanding to know what foreign dignitary was in the city and why he hadn’t been informed about it.