“Trust me. I’ve been doing this job five years. Active duty rota isn’t usually this exciting. There are thousands of people watching. Our job will be to run around the country chasing.”
David smiled. “Okay Beaumont.”
They got their coats and headed down to the lobby. After being checked out by security they headed for Euston station.
“Good sandwiches at the station. The fresh air will get the brain cells going.”
Inverness watch picked Spencer out from the morning traffic at the airport. Meanwhile Decryption were getting ready to run the four images through MI6 computer when they got in, invisible to the secret service computer system and its anti-intrusion software.
Back in his office Jack Fulton stared at the footage of Marco Spencer eating breakfast at Inverness airport. His eyes hardened. He knew this one from somewhere of that he was sure. He stared harder at the image.
“Who are you?” He spoke aloud to the empty room.
Chapter 17
The Home Office
9 – 30 a.m.
April 17th
“Mr Robinson will see you now.”
The secretary opened the thick wooden door and let the blandly dressed man into the ornate and beautiful office. Behind the desk Tarquin Robinson, the Minister for The Home Office, sat waiting, reading through documents. He was a short and extremely plump man. Known for being outspoken his heavy build, short stature and wobbly chins made him the target of many satirists. This greatly annoyed him as he took himself very seriously. He watched the man walk in; a medium build man, grey suit and nylon mackintosh, hair blonde, though not naturally so as his eyebrows were brown. The man had serious brown eyes and a thin pointed face.
“Have a seat Mr Bentall.”
Bentall sat and waited to be spoken to.
“No-one here aware of who you are?”
“No. Your secretary has a false name. I’m listed as a security firm expert.”
“Good. What can I do for you?”
“I believe that after the last work done for you by my superior he expressed a concern about a certain ‘situation’ and you agreed that ‘elimination’ by some means would be desirable.”
“Indeed I did. Mutually beneficial I think we agreed.”
“You discussed a plan I believe.”
“Yes.”
“That plan is now in motion.” Bentall’s face was impassive as he looked at the man’s black eyes.
Robinson shifted forward in his seat, his bulky body shifting with difficulty in the heavy and softly furnished office chair.
“Is it indeed, is your boss sure this will work?”
“Yes.”
“I’ll be safely distanced?”
“Yes.”
“Do his superiors suspect anything?”
“No. We deal with people like this all the time it’s part of departmental work and no traces have been left. Our department is kept at arms length. No-one generally wants to know what we’re up to. It allows them to truthfully deny our work and if need be drop us in it. It’s not a good position. That’s why my superior has sought this…er… alliance, shall we call it?”
“Yes I see. The results on the target will be permanent will they?”
“Finished for good we should think.” Bentall couldn’t resist a small smile.
“The official explanation will pass muster?” Robinson probed somewhat nervously.
“Easily, it seems sensible given the security climate.”
“It’ll be a very satisfactory outcome. The time has come for change in that area.”
“We think so.” Bentall again gave a small smile.
“Your superior will gain from this himself, but what would he like from me?”
“Support.” Bentall had been told to make the cost clear. ”Of course if you’d like to cancel?” He added knowing that the fat, greedy man was hooked.
“No. Let’s proceed. It’s begun now.”
“Good.” Bentall felt in control. The old man was sweating. It was always the same with the power hungry, keen, but afraid when the moment came.
“What if I need to contact your superior?”
“We have a method. A mode of untraceable and disposable contact will simply appear and disappear as easily as you desire or he desires.”
Bentall took out the brown ‘jiffy’ parcel, sealed, and put it on the table.
“One number in the memory, untraceable, registered to a fake name and disposable.”
“Good. That’s all then.” Robinson once again spoke with authority, reminding himself he was speaking to a government lackey.
Bentall got up.
“Thank you minister, I’ll pass your consent to my superior?”
“Please do.”
Bentall left quietly.
Robinson opened the parcel and took out an orange coloured Bic ‘disposable’ cell phone. It was a clever gadget. It came with a pre charged battery and pre paid talk time. He’d seen them in France. This one was citrus orange colour.
Chapter 18
Inverness
10 a.m.
April 17th
Peter Mason arrived at Inverness rail station, close to ten in the morning. He knew that he was booked on the night train, but he also knew that he had the option to trade the ticket for a single ticket going south during the day. He’d had enough of trains. He wanted to be more independent. He knew that the credit card would stretch to a rental car, but that would leave a trail.
He caught a bus out of the city going north towards the Moray Firth. Sure enough, within fifteen minutes he’d found himself on the Carse Industrial Estate. After getting off the bus he wandered around the various units, scanning the car parks. He wanted an old car, the kind with visible pull up locks. He found what he was looking for under trees in the car park of a delivery firm. The owner of the mid nineteen-eighties white Alfasud Ti, a classic hatchback, was going to be devastated by the loss of his pride and joy.
Mason pulled up his hood, knowing he looked suspicious, but wanting to avoid the CCTV getting too good an image. He didn’t mind that he had been seen on other security systems CCTV cameras, it was being recorded committing a crime that counted; just being around when it happened wasn’t a crime. He was shielded from the building partly by the small trees lining a pathway, which ran through the estate.
He pulled a 30 centimetre piece of nylon parcel binder from his rucksack, creased it, slid it in through the driver’s side window and worked it down to the knob topped door lock release, on the inside; making a loop, by pushing one end of the binder, he slid it over the lock, pulled both ends tight and lifted the lock. The door opened
