‘My daughter’s got a name. Kelly. She’s seven years old, Stu. Seven.’
‘I know.’
‘Have you got kids?’
Shepherd stared at Rose. As Stuart Marsden, he didn’t, so the answer was no. He was in character, and it was against every rule in the book to step out of role. But Keith Rose deserved better than a lie. ‘A boy. Eight.’
Rose smiled grimly. ‘So you know exactly how far a father will go to save his child. If you were in my position, you’d do whatever you had to.’
‘You killed two people, Keith.’
‘They were drugs-dealers. And they started shooting first.’
‘You sold drugs.’
‘They were on the streets anyway. I just changed their location.’
‘You broke the law.’
‘Whose law?’ said Rose. ‘The state’s? Fuck the state, Stu. My daughter’s dying and the state isn’t lifting a finger to help her. So I’m doing what I have to do. End of story.’
‘It’s not like I don’t understand,’ said Shepherd.
‘
‘What do you want me to say? That life’s not fair?’
‘Life isn’t fair,’ said Rose. ‘We cops know that better than anyone. We know that the biggest villains never go down because we don’t have the resources to take them down. And they have enough cash to buy the best lawyers and pay off anyone who needs paying off. Cops, CPS, judges, juries. You know how it works. Speed cameras generate revenue, but putting drugs barons behind bars doesn’t. So millions of motorists send off cheques every year while the biggest, hardest bastards live lives of luxury. The state chooses the soft targets. Always has and always will.’
‘So you started ripping off drugs-dealers to redress the balance?’
‘By hook or by fucking crook, my daughter’s going to live. I’ll do whatever it takes.’
‘I don’t have time for this,’ said Shepherd. ‘There are terrorists on the tube system. Suicide bombers.’
‘Bollocks there are,’ said Rose.
‘They got one at Brixton. They think Victoria’s a target.’
Malik walked up to the two constables. They were deep in conversation, close to the tube-station exit. One of the policemen nodded curtly when Malik approached them. ‘Yes, sir?’ He was young, maybe a year younger than Malik. He was good-looking, thought Malik, handsome, even. A man who would have no trouble winning the hearts of pretty girls. ‘I have done a terrible thing,’ he said.
The second constable was in his early thirties, with a square jaw and unfriendly eyes. ‘What would that have been, sir?’ he said.
‘I have followed the wrong path. I know that now. I need to repent.’
The second constable raised his eyebrows at his colleague. ‘What exactly have you done, sir?’
Malik stepped closer to the two policemen, unbuttoning his raincoat.
‘Not a bloody flasher,’ muttered the older policeman.
‘You must take me somewhere safe,’ said Malik, ‘somewhere I can take this off.’ He opened the raincoat so that they could see the vest and its pockets of explosives.
The two policemen froze. ‘Bloody hell,’ said the younger constable.
‘It’s okay,’ said Malik. He held up his hands to show that he was not holding a trigger. ‘It will not go off.’
‘Bloody hell,’ repeated the constable, taking a step back.
‘It is safe,’ said Malik. ‘I don’t want to harm anybody.’
‘Who are you?’ said the older constable.
‘My name is Rashid Malik. I was to explode this bomb in the Underground but I cannot be a murderer. I cannot kill women and children.’
The younger constable reached for his radio mike but the older one grabbed his arm. ‘No!’ he said. ‘Radio frequencies can set them off.’ He looked at Malik. ‘How does that thing go off?’
Malik opened his coat wider so that the policemen could see the button tucked into one of the vest pockets. ‘I have to press that.’
‘What about if you take it off? Is that okay?’
‘I think so.’
‘We’re not going to touch it, are we?’ said the younger constable, his voice shaky.
The older constable gripped his shoulder.‘It’s going to be okay, Chris. We have to start moving people back, just to be on the safe side. Can you do that?’
Chris nodded.
‘Okay. I’ll sit him down here.’
Malik smiled encouragingly. ‘It is okay, really,’ he said. ‘It is safe now. Nobody is going to get hurt.’
Rose’s hand was still on the butt of his Glock but he made no move to take it from the holster. ‘Your name isn’t really Stu, is it?’
Shepherd shook his head.
‘What is it? Or are you undercover guys not allowed to say?’
‘Dan. Dan Shepherd.’
‘At least I got one truthful statement out of you– but it’s your job, isn’t it, to get close to people and then shit on them?’
‘It’s not like that, Rosie.’
Rose’s earpiece crackled. ‘MP, Trojan Five Six Nine, what is your location?’
Rose kept his eyes on Shepherd as he took the call. ‘Trojan Five Six Nine, still at Victoria station.’
‘MP, we need you at Charing Cross station concourse, suspected suicide bomber.’
Rose’s eyes widened.
‘What’s wrong?’ asked Shepherd.
‘They’ve found one. Charing Cross.’
Shepherd frowned. ‘You mean it’s gone off?’
Rose shook his head. ‘They want us there now.’
The two men stared at each other. ‘That’s it, then,’ said Rose, eventually. ‘Whatever happens, it’s over for me, isn’t it?’
Shepherd said nothing. Rose started walking towards the tube entrance.
‘Rosie?’
Rose stopped. ‘What?’
‘I’m sorry.’
Rose held Shepherd’s eyes for two seconds, then jogged away. Shepherd watched him go. Then his earpiece crackled. It was the major.‘Where are you, Spider?’
‘Just got here, heading downstairs now.’ Shepherd ran down the escalator. A train must have arrived because passengers were heading up. Several looked at him curiously, wondering why he was the only person going down.
Major Gannon used the mouse to change viewpoints. There were tube staff and BTP officers on the platforms, and each time a train arrived they ushered the passengers quickly out of the carriages. He flicked from platform to platform. There were just too many passengers, too many possibilities. He looked up at the clock. Four fifty-six. If there were multiple bombers, they would almost certainly be under orders to detonate at about the same time. As soon as one device exploded, the authorities would have to evacuate and all advantage of surprise would be lost. If Gannon had been planning it, he’d have them primed to explode at the same time. The chances were that
