in and do whatever was necessary. The SAS weren’t hampered by the same rules and regulations that governed the police so the house clearance wouldn’t turn into a siege situation.
‘Hang fire, Terry,’ she said. ‘Let’s wait until we have them all.’
Terry nodded. ‘Ready when you are, ma’am,’ he said. He was holding a pack of chewing gum and he slid a piece into his mouth.
Button put her mobile back to her ear. ‘What’s your situation, Spider?’
‘All good,’ said Shepherd. ‘The passenger took a bullet; the driver’s under control. I need to get to the mall.’
‘Negative on that. We’ll take it from here.’
‘Charlie, I saw all their faces on the photos at Thames House. I’m the only one that can ID them. Get a bike here and I can be there in minutes. The cops aren’t going to know who to take out. It could get very messy.’
‘We can take out the vans before they get there.’
‘And what about the ones who aren’t in the vans? What about the ones going by tube? Or bus? I need to be there, Charlie. Get me that bike.’
Button looked over the clock again. The seconds were ticking away.
‘What’s happening?’ asked Chaudhry. He turned to look at Shepherd and as he did so Afzal slid his hands off the steering wheel.
Shepherd pointed at the driver. ‘Raj, keep the gun at his head. Afzal, you do anything other than grip that wheel and he’ll put a bullet in you, I swear.’
‘Okay, okay,’ said Afzal. His face was bathed in sweat and his hands were trembling.
‘I’m serious, Raj. He moves, you shoot him.’
Chaudhry nodded. ‘I will do,’ he said. His voice was shaking and he took a deep breath. ‘I will,’ he said, louder and more confident. ‘What are you going to do?’
‘I’m going to the mall.’ He pulled the lid off the plastic crate containing the backpacks and pulled one out. He unzipped it and looked inside. There were two Glock pistols, several dozen filled magazines and two boxes of extra ammunition.
‘I’m coming with you,’ said Chaudhry, keeping his eyes on the driver.
‘You can’t,’ said Shepherd.
‘I’ve been trained,’ said Chaudhry. ‘I can shoot.’
Shepherd slung the backpack over his shoulder. ‘Raj, trust me. There are armed cops from all over London heading towards that shopping mall. The last thing you want to be is an Asian with a gun. Best will in the world, you might as well have a bull’s-eye on your chest.’
‘The world is fucked up, John.’
‘Yeah, isn’t it just?’ He heard the roar of a motorcycle engine and, in the distance, the sound of a siren. ‘Now listen to me, Raj. In a few minutes the cops will be here. Armed cops. They know you’re one of the good guys and they know you’re in the van, but accidents can happen so as soon as they get here you slide the gun to the back of the van and you do exactly as they tell you. They have a procedure to follow and it doesn’t involve them minding their manners. Just grit your teeth and it’ll soon be over.’
‘I hear you.’
A motorcycle pulled up behind the van.
‘I’ve got to go, mate,’ said Shepherd, taking off the wool gloves. He held out his hand. ‘And my name’s Dan,’ he whispered so that Afzal couldn’t hear him. ‘Dan Shepherd.’ Chaudhry reached out with his left hand and awkwardly shook with Shepherd, all the time keeping the gun aimed at Afzal’s head. ‘You did good today, Raj. Really good. But your part’s over now.’
‘I’ll see you again, right?’
Shepherd nodded. ‘You can count on it.’
He climbed out of the back of the van. A group of housewives were staring wide-eyed at the van. One of them was pushing a toddler in a stroller. ‘Ladies, you need to get away from the van for your own safety,’ he said. The siren was louder now. The women hurried away.
The dispatch rider was dressed all in black, his face hidden behind a tinted visor. He nodded at Shepherd and revved the powerful engine. Shepherd climbed on to the pillion. The engine roared and the bike sped off.
‘Right, everybody, status reports, please, and let’s keep them short,’ said Charlotte Button. ‘Commander?’ She looked over at Commander Needham.
‘I have three ARVs heading to Westfield now,’ said the commander. ‘The first one is ETA nine minutes. The second will be there in eleven and we’re looking at twelve minutes for the third. I’ve asked two to go to the main entrance and one to the other end of the mall. All on the ground floor. That’s where we assume most of the shoppers will be.’
Button nodded. ‘That’s three confirmed but more on the way?’
‘I’m working on that now,’ he said. ‘The timing is dire.’
‘I’m sure that’s deliberate,’ said Button. ‘What about the vans?’
‘We are close to the three that we’ve been tailing and can take them out on your word,’ said the commander.
Three of the screens on the wall were now showing floor plans of Westfield shopping mall. Entrances were marked with flashing red squares.
‘Let’s see if we can tell what the drop-off points are going to be,’ Button said. She pointed at the screens. ‘We’re looking at fourteen entrances and exits in all. Several are reached by the car parks so if we can ascertain that any of the vans are heading to particular car parks we take them out and then we’ll know that those entrances are going to be safe.’ She called over to Lesporis. ‘Luke, we do have comms with Spider?’
‘Working on it,’ said Lesporis.
‘Soon as you can,’ she said. ‘And tell your watchers that as soon as they know where their targets are going to pull in they must let us know. And Zoe, that goes for the helicopter. The sooner we know where exactly they’re headed, the sooner we can take them out.’
Zoe flashed Button a thumbs-up as she continued to talk into her headset.
‘Commander, we need regular police in the area because assuming the armed response teams start firing there’s going to be panic. We’ll need to get people moving in the right direction.’
‘Can I suggest an evacuation of the mall and the surrounding shops?’ said the commander.
Button looked over at him. She knew that the commander was covering his back, making sure that everyone realised that the decision to allow the terrorists to continue was her decision and hers alone. ‘As soon as we know that we can neutralise all the shooters, we’ll clear the area,’ she said. ‘If we evacuate now we might tip them into shooting before the six o’clock deadline. But your suggestion is noted.’
Button looked at the clock. Ten minutes to six.
Lesporis raised a hand. ‘Charlie, Tango Two is heading for car park A, at the John Lewis end. Nowhere else it can be going.’
Button turned to the commander. ‘Take out Tango Two, Commander.’
Commander Needham nodded and pressed a number on his console.
Lesporis raised his hand again. ‘We have Spider on comms,’ he said. Button reached for a headset and put it on.
The motorcyclist was a true professional, barely using his brakes as he wove in and out of the traffic. They had already gone through two red lights, taking one at full speed and the other much more slowly with the bike’s hazard lights flashing. With no official markings or siren they were leaving angry looks and blaring horns in their wake.
The driver had had to remove the full-face helmet and pass it back to Shepherd because HQ wanted to talk to him and he needed the microphone and earphone built into it. It was now only the driver’s glasses that kept some of the wind out of his eyes as the bike continued powering east.
‘Spider, can you hear me?’ Button’s voice was coming through the earphone.
‘Yes, I hear you.’ There was no mic switch so Shepherd assumed it was voice-activated.
‘What’s your ETA?’
‘At the rate we’re going four minutes, maybe five.’
‘You’re armed?’
