I stopped in my tracks and turned on Suzy. ‘I’m getting out of here with all five bottles of this shit. If you, or these boys, try to stop me, I’ll throw them. Got that? You’d better go and tell them.’
‘I haven’t told anyone anything. I don’t know how they know.’
Sundance and Trainers shadowed me, and the other two moved out of the way, as I lifted the bottle to reinforce the threat. ‘You called it in while I was getting this shit, didn’t you?’
She came up level with me. ‘No. It was just a dead spot. Why would I call this in?’
I could think of plenty of reasons. The words ‘permanent’ and ‘cadre’ topped the list. We joined the stream of trolleys overloaded with suitcases and duty-free bags aiming for the blue EU channel.
‘He could have had the tickets flagged up to him or tracked the plastic – who knows?’
We got to the chicane and were caught in the bottleneck. I wanted to push through and run, then just keep running, but I couldn’t risk attracting any of the overt security, who probably had no idea this was happening. Running would turn the whole thing into even more of a gang fuck. I just had to act normal, while feeling the pulses in my neck doing their best to burst out of my skin.
I fell in behind a group of four women in their forties, all pushing trolleys. They looked like four mums who’d been away by themselves, all tanned up in shorts and T-shirts, laughing and joking as they clung to the holiday mood, but pissed off that they had to be back in the office tomorrow morning.
I turned round. Suzy was about three paces back, with Sundance and Trainers another twenty behind. I hoped they weren’t going to try it here. What could I do? Break a bottle over one of the women’s heads? Throw this shit on to the floor? I stayed just a pace or two behind the girls, the bottle slightly raised in one hand and the bag in the other.
The sliding doors parted and we came out into the terminal, only to be channelled immediately by steel barriers past rows of seats with people bent over laptops or drinking coffee from the nearby Costa franchise. My eyes were drawn to the coffee shop. The other two guys were already waiting this side for me.
I kept close to the four mums as they wandered across the busy glass, steel and concrete concourse, giggling about how lucky their husbands were going to be tonight after two weeks without. ‘Of course, that’s not two weeks for all of us, though, is it, Kate?’ The other two burst out laughing.
Kate didn’t like it. ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about, Andreas and I only—’ I lost the rest as a family hurried between us, on their way to Departures.
Kate and her friends wove their way through the foot traffic heading for the lifts that would take us down to the car park and railway station directly under the terminal.
My head spun as I worked through the options. I wanted to stay near these four, but if they got out at the car park, the first floor down, I’d have to carry on to the station level and latch on to someone else. No way was I going to get myself isolated in the car park, or get into the Micra and drive. I’d be on my own. They could control me when I got out on the road.
I could see both teams, flanking me about thirty behind. Suzy was still following me, and we had eye to eye.
‘I’m staying.’ She pointed behind her. ‘You’re wrong.’
I ignored her. We got to the lifts, and as soon as they could see what I had in mind, Sundance and Trainers took to the stairs, leaving the other two to keep eyes on target.
The large steel doors shuddered apart and the women added to the scrapes on the sides as they wedged in their trolleys. I squeezed in behind them. Kate pressed the button for the station. ‘What do you want, love?’
‘The same as you.’ Her friends had another fit of giggles.
I felt an elbow in my back: Suzy had pushed in just as the doors closed. I kept my hand clenched round the neck of the bottle, making sure she saw it. ‘Don’t fuck me about.’
When the doors opened again the women gave us both a bit of a sideways look. They understood: they’d had plenty of rows of their own. I stepped out and to one side to let them pass, then kept right behind them as they pushed their trolleys into the station cavern. No doubt Suzy was behind me somewhere. I couldn’t be arsed to look.
Sundance and Trainers were waiting, gulping in oxygen, as their two mates came down the stairs three at a time. I lifted the bottle and got eye to eye with the shorter one. He made a calming motion with his hands.
By now the girls had got to the touch-screen ticket machines and were buying singles to London. I got out my card and bought one too, then followed them towards the waiting train. The platform was alive with the buzz of Italian and German voices. The tannoy announced the imminent departure of the train for London Liverpool Street in three languages, to the relieved nods of the tourists. Trolleys rumbled, kids shrieked. I watched the four-man lift team staking me, but caught a glimpse of Suzy, ticket in hand.
The women dumped their trolleys and heaved their far-too-big suitcases into the blue interior of the worn-out train. As I followed them, Sundance and Trainers boarded the next carriage. Sure enough, the other two ran past me and got into one further along.
Our carriage was packed with bags, people, and even a rat dog being carried in its own shoulder-bag by a doting Frenchwoman. All the foreigners had their travel guides out, and some were already dozing off. I stood near the public credit-card phone, next to the toilet. Suzy worked her way past some cases and a three-wheeled baby buggy to the opposite side of the train.
There was a tannoy announcement in English that the train was going direct to London, stopping at Tottenham Hale. Translations followed as the buzzer went, the doors closed and we started to move.
Suzy came within a few paces of me.
‘Just keep your distance, OK?’
‘Nick, I didn’t—’
We were plunged into darkness for a second or two before the lights came back on. I couldn’t hear the rest of what she said as we went through the tunnel: there was too much noise. I just leant back against the telephone, bottle in hand. I wasn’t going to throw it, but I had to look as if I was ready to.
As we came out of the tunnel I heard another estuary voice, male this time. ‘Tickets, please.’ The guy was working his way towards us on auto-pilot. ‘Tickets, please.’ I looked down the lines of heads towards the next carriage. Sundance and Trainers had come through the connecting door and were leaning against the luggage racks. I understood the look on their faces only too well. Sundance was talking into his cell. The QRF would be fast-balling from in front of the TV and heading for Liverpool Street.
The train rumbled on, not very fast, shunting us from side to side. Suzy’s phone rang as some kids went running past and their father yelled after them in German. She looked surprised. I wasn’t.
She put the phone to her ear and listened. ‘Hello? Yes, sir. We have it.’ There was a pause. ‘No, we can’t do that, sir. I’m sorry.’ Another pause. ‘I understand the risks, sir, but there are reasons for this happening and I’m not going to— No, sir, I can’t do that. Everything is under control.’
She held up the cell between us and I heard him ranting, ‘I want Dark Winter handed over now! Do not disobey me – do not waste your career for this man! What on earth do you think you’re doing?’
I managed to get my mouth up against the mike. ‘You can have it once I’ve finished. I’ll explain later.’
‘Stone, I know what’s happening. You were not at the flat this morning, we went looking for you. Where is the source? He’s missing – does he have your child? Does he intend to use Dark Winter? I can help you, but I need that agent now.’
‘Tell the team to withdraw. If they try a lift I’m going to throw one of these bottles. What have I got to lose?’
His voice went steely calm. ‘Listen to me. You will not do any such thing. The team will not withdraw, and you will not throw anything, anywhere. I know what is happening; I’ve opened up the old ops number so we can talk. I can help you. Do you understand me?’
I matched his tone. ‘Do
‘Hand the bottles over, Stone. Only then can I help you with this situation. I will get your child back, but I must have control of the bottles.’
‘Can’t do that. Listen in: there are at least two contaminated bodies in Berlin, and maybe a bottle already opened – smashed, whatever. Flat twenty-seven, twenty-two Bergmannstrasse. You got that?’
There was a slight pause. ‘Got it. Now, come in and we can help you. I understand the situation with your child, but we can work together and—’
I pulled down the little window next to me and threw the phone out, then dug around in my jacket for Geoff’s
