At the top, they headed left following the Victoria Line signs. They found themselves in a tunnel, following the passengers heading in the only direction possible, towards the Victoria Line.
Tom accelerated his pace as he knew Simpson wouldn’t be hanging around and he also hoped to find Miller. Melanie linked her arm in his and they looked like any ordinary couple in a hurry.
They overtook several slow walking passengers and then twenty five meters ahead, Tom caught sight of Miller. Melanie had also seen him and squeezed Tom’s arm. Miller seemed unaware of them and Tom wondered if he had also seen Simpson leave the train and was following him. Miller was moving at quite a fast pace and they wouldn’t be able to close the gap on him without running, which would potentially make Simpson aware of their presence, so wasn’t an option.
Miller had alighted from the train at Green Park, planning to search the next couple of carriages, when he saw Simpson hurry from the train and head for the exit to the Victoria Line. Miller hung back out of view as he didn’t want to challenge Simpson in such an enclosed space, with so many members of the public around. He didn’t fancy Simpson taking further hostages. There was also the minor matter of him not being armed and in no position to apprehend Simpson without help.
A crowd formed around the exit and Miller noticed Simpson pushing himself to the front. Miller followed discreetly behind. He followed Simpson up the busy escalator but stared at the adverts on the wall rather than in Simpson’s direction.
As he followed Simpson along the tunnel towards the Victoria Line, he was surprised that Simpson didn’t look behind at all. He obviously thought he was safe and Miller hoped that over confidence would make him careless. He descended a flight of steps to the platforms and momentarily lost sight of Simpson, as up ahead he turned onto the actual platform.
Miller was concerned about his next move. If Simpson had chosen to stand on the platform right by the entrance from which Miller would emerge, then he might find himself walking right into him. He hung back a second and then, as a middle aged couple joined the platform, he followed close behind using them to obscure Simpson’s view. He glanced nervously to each side and could see Simpson ambling down the platform to his right seemingly still unaware he was being followed.
At the same time a train was approaching from the left. Miller quickly turned to look at the oncoming train in case Simpson also turned and thus he would now only have a rear view of Miller. As the train came to a halt Miller risked a glance in Simpson’s direction and saw him boarding the front carriage. Miller hurried down the platform a little to get closer to Simpson and joined the front of the third carriage.
The train was packed and he stood crammed up against an assortment of people. He had about three minutes before the train would arrive at Victoria and he knew from past experience that on arrival, virtually everyone would make a sudden rush for the exit that led to the escalators, which took you up to the mainline station. As one of the last on the train, Simpson would be one of the first off. In the mass exodus it would be easy to lose Simpson and he would have to be on his guard. At least he too would be one of the first out of his carriage.
Once above ground he would be able to call on reinforcements and was confident they would then run him to ground. They just had to be very careful not to give him the chance to take any further hostages and ensure members of the public weren’t in the line of fire.
Miller had another thought, which was why had Simpson taken this rather scenic route to Victoria? At Gloucester Road when he started his journey, he was just three stops from Victoria on the Circle line. Then again it had been a smart move which had almost succeeded in him escaping. If the train had come a minute earlier he would have done. Miller recognized he had been lucky. And maybe Simpson had only decided once on the train, where he was going and plumped for Victoria. Why Victoria though? Where was he going next? He didn’t have time to dwell on the thought as the train was arriving at the station.
As the doors slid open, he stepped backwards onto the platform and pretended to adjust his clothing while keeping his back to anyone exiting the first carriage. Then after a few seconds he turned and could see Simpson joining one of the escalators that ascended to the tube station concourse. Swamped by people around him he headed in the same direction, buffeted on the way by someone with two large suitcases.
He nimbly skipped by a large woman holding a young girl’s hand, who was getting in the way of people who were in a hurry. Simpson was near the top of the escalator as Miller joined it and he decided he needed to walk up it, rather than just ride it, in order to close the gap a little.
As Miller jumped off the end of the escalator, he could see Simpson walking up the steps directly in front that lead to the mainline station. Miller reached for his mobile and called Taylor.
“Where the hell are you, boss?” Taylor asked.
“I’ve just come up out the tube at Victoria station. Simpson is about thirty meters ahead of me, looking at the departures board. Get some men here fast and lock everything down. But we have to be careful. Simpson isn’t worth any member of the public getting killed.”
“Will do,” Taylor agreed. “Be careful boss, he’s not going to come quietly.”
“I know,” was all Miller said before
