I had the stamina.... 50,051 words.....

Chapter One
When you are three floors up, even if it is dark, the ground still looks a long way away. I reached across the gap between the fire escape and the balcony and tried to get a hold of the guard rail. The metal was damp from the fine, misty rain and my fingers scrambled for grip. Leaning further forward I managed to get a good grasp of the cold wet metal. I swung a leg across and let the momentum carry me over the space. I stood on the thin ledge for a moment and tried to calm my breathing. It was not that heights scared me, but only a gibbon or fool would not be nervous thirty feet above the cold, hard pavement clinging desperately to a loose metal guard rail. I began to wonder if thirty-seven was too old to be doing this sort of thing.I shifted my weight slightly, lifted a leg over the rail and then climbed onto the metal platform. Moving slowly towards the window I drew my gun and prayed that my partner was ready by the door to the apartment.I do not know how I did not see him. He appeared suddenly before me, I felt the force of the shot before I heard the blast. It hit me square in my chest, lifting me off my feet and throwing me backwards as a child might throw a rag doll from its pram.I was still accelerating when I hit the guard rail; I heard the ping of the bolt as it snapped and felt the rail give way behind me. I began to tumble, my legs overtaking my head; from the corner of my eye I caught sight of the platform edge. Instinct threw out a hand and fingers scrambled at the wet metal bar. No grip. They slipped. I continued to fall, tumbling towards that cold, hard pavement. Spinning and somersaulting like a badly trained high diver, my world narrowed to sky, wall, pavement, sky, wall, pavement, pavement, pavement. The metal railing hit the ground and the clang reverberated along the alley. I wondered what sort of noise I’d make. Shiny wet stone slabs reached up to greet me and I braced myself for the impact.I jerked awake, like a man who had just received a couple of thousand volts from a defibrillator. The sound of an overly bright early morning DJ filled my head. My skin was cold and covered in a thin film of greasy sweat, adrenalin raced around my body, fear gripped at my stomach, bile filled my throat and my chest felt as though a weight was pressing down on it. I tried to sit up, but some invisible force held me to the bed. I struggled to break free, rolling onto my side and pushing at the weight that held me down. The weight shifted, meowed, and padded around in a small circle. My nostrils filled with the smell of stale fishy breath. Freud, my cat, companion and confidant, purred and nuzzled at my face. I ran a hand over his silky smooth head and down along his arched back. He meowed again, then he jumped off the bed and his black and white body disappeared out through the bedroom door. This was my cue to get up, make my way to the kitchen and feed him.I swung my legs off the bed and stood up, this was my first mistake of the day, but it would not be my last. A violent pain ran up my left leg, spread it self across my hips and then shot up my spine. My legs gave way and I sat back down on the bed. I looked down at the source of the pain, a large angry bruise that started on the calf of my left leg and then twisted its way up onto my thigh. I suddenly recalled being hit by a car last night. I gingerly stood up again. By a process of leaning on furniture and steadying myself against walls I made my way into the bathroom. I leant against the small metal sink and stared at myself in the mirror.Johnny Sharpe, thirty-seven years old, but at the moment looking and feeling sixty. I stared at the tired drawn face that was looking back at me. Ten years in the army and five with Department Q had certainly taken their toll. I hopped backwards, pulled the lid down and sat on the toilet. Grabbing a small aerosol off the shelf, I gave it a quick shake and then sprayed its contents up and down my leg. It stung for a moment and then began to work its magic, soothing the pain and calming the effects of the deep bruising. I should have gone to see the doc last night, but I needed sleep more than I needed prodding by some quack who would tell me what I already new.I sat for a while, letting the spray do its work and trying to piece together the rest of last night’s events. It was like a half finished jigsaw, I had all the bits, I’d even managed to put some of them together in little clumps, but some one had stolen the lid to the box and I had no idea what the final picture was meant to look like.Freud padded into the bathroom, his claws clicking on the tiled surface. He stopped in the middle of the small, brightly lit room and gave me his best stare, part quizzical, part annoyed and part aloof. He started in with his high pitched, ever so slightly annoying, feed me whine.I pulled myself upright and looked down at him, “Bear with me, I’m in pain here.” He flicked his tail and trotted off, click clacking down the hall. I hobbled back into my bedroom, grabbed a pack of smokes off the bedside cabinet, lit one up and did my best to follow him. The estate agent, who had rented me this apartment, described it as luxurious and commodious without being grandiose and unmanageable. This I realised translated as not quite big enough to satisfy all your requirements but large enough to, on occasion, be just slightly bigger than you wanted. I limped into the main living area, described by the same agent as, a modern space affording design, comfort and ease of living. This meant it was a big room, one third living room, one third dining room and one third kitchen. The design came from the innumerable built in gadgets, half of which never worked, half I which I never used. The thing that sold me was the view. The entire south wall was made of glass and from up here, on the forty-second floor, I could see clear across the city. On a good day I could sometimes see all the way out to the smoke rising from the filtration plants in Zone Six.Freud jump up onto the breakfast bar that separated the living area from the kitchen. He began to pace up and down, his tail held high. He started in on that high pitched mewling again. I made my way over to the counter, “Okay, okay you dumb cat, give me a chance.” I reached into one of the overhead cupboards, grabbed a pouch of food and emptied its brownish-grey contents into a clean bowl; very carefully I leant down and placed it down on the floor. Freud dropped to the floor, sniffed at the bowls contents and then gave me his best, what on earth is this? Look.I stabbed at a few buttons on a keypad set into the wall, “I’m sorry lad, but that’s all there is at the moment.” The coffee machine over on the far counter began to gurgle and splutter into life.“You have twenty-seven units of Grade One water remaining.” The voice was soft, soothing, female, and came from a small speaker by the keypad.“Thanks, you’re a mine of fascinating information.” I lit another cigarette and headed over to the window. The horizon glowed yellow gold as the sun struggled to make it self seen through the low hanging reddish-grey October cloud. I picked up a small remote and tapped in a couple of numbers, the large screen on the far wall flickered in to life and the Environment Channel appeared. I scrolled through the menu until I found today’s report. It was the same as yesterday’s report and no doubt it would be the same tomorrows. I switched over to one of the news channels and threw the remote onto the sofa.The coffee machine gave three quick bleeps and emptied its contents into a mug. I took the coffee and returned to the window. My leg was easing up; the spray was working its magic. I stood and watched as the sun slowly fought its way above the horizon the clouds took on their golden red glow of day.Forty-two floors below the streets were quiet, even for seven o’clock on a Sunday morning. The rain was holding steady at a fine drizzle and the UV indicator on the roof of the building opposite was showing 3.2, mind you, the sun had only just cleared the horizon. I took a gulp of the brown liquid that was meant to be coffee and a last drag on my cigarette; it looked like it was going to be a good day. Of course, a good day is a relative value, it all depends where you are viewing it from, and at the moment I was viewing from inside, out of the stinging rain and forty-two floors up from behind UV protective glass. Freud walked himself around my ankles purring as he did so. I looked down at him, “Think I’ll treat myself. Take the day off, there’s nothing in the office that can’t wait until tomorrow.” He gave my leg one last push with the top of his head and then headed over to the sofa to lie down. The screen skipped through several channels as he made himself comfortable on the remote.I rescued the remote and turned back to the news channel. I knew it would not tell me anything I did not already know, I just liked the sound. Images, graphics and video clips flashed around the screen accompanied by the newscasters calming voice. It was like an audio massage, soothing but pointless.The incessant trill of the comms line broke my reverie, I made my second mistake of the day, I answered it. The screen flickered and a small picture appeared in the top left hand corner. Even though the caller was looking down at the desk they were seated at I recognised them immediately, “Morning boss.”The woman on the screen glanced up, “Good morning Sharpe, oh sorry, would like to pop something on?”“No, I’m good.” I had forgotten I was naked, not forgotten, living alone I just never considered it a problem. “Anyway, it’s not anything you haven’t seen before.”She winced; she hated to be reminded that at one time she had found me attractive enough to sleep with. She shuffled a few papers about, made some notes and then typed something into the keyboard next to her. It was one of her little delaying tactics. She figured it made her look busy and important; I always thought it made her look distracted and badly organised.Lynda Savage, Area Chief. We had known each for longer than either of us cared to think about. It was she who had recruited me to Department “Q” just after I had left the army. A lot had changed since then. She had risen through the ranks, a high flier with lofty ambitions. I had stayed pretty much where I was. A grunt; I slogged the pavements, watched the world pass by from the inside of darkened vehicles and shadowy doorways. I spent my nights dodging fists and bullets. I was a thorn in the side of the criminals and the department. It was my lack of a career plan that had split us up. She wanted me to apply to be a Section Manager; I did not fancy the idea of spending my days pushing about bits of paper and data files and my nights pushing food about my plate at various dinner parties and government functions.She laid down the pen and removed her reading glasses, another little affectation in her power game, and stared straight in to the camera, “Would you like to explain what happened last night?”“I’d love to, but I’m having a few problems putting it all together at the moment.” I smiled straight back at the screen.“Let’s see if I can help. A simple stakeout turns into a firefight and an explosion which destroys two buildings in a Muswell Hill side street.”Suddenly I had the image of not being hit by speeding car but of flying in to a stationary one. I looked down at the bruising on my leg and last night came flooding back, “It’ll all be in my report.”“Good, I’ll have to some thing to read over lunch.”“I hope you were planning on having something that will keep. It’ll be on your desk tomorrow.”“It’ll be on my desk by eleven today. I have another assignment for you.” She shifted a manila folder on her desk, “I’ve also drawn up a short list of candidates for you to look at.”“A shortlist, What for?”“A new partner.”“I have a partner.”“It’s been three months Johnny and even if Jake does come out of the coma the doctors say he…”“The doctors know nothing. Until Jake tells me himself that he wants to quit, he’s my partner.”She held up the file, “Just take a look at the list. I’ll see you in here at eleven.” The picture in picture flickered and then disappeared.I threw the remote on to the sofa and headed of to the bathroom. I needed a good breakfast and a proper cup of coffee and I knew of only one place in the whole of London where I could get them.I showered quickly, having been informed by the soothing voice that I had one hundred and eighty-seven units of Grade Two water remaining. To save time and units I skipped the shave and brushed my teeth in the shower. The water tasted brackish, it was not particularly nice but it would not kill you.I dressed, grabbing a clean pair of trousers and a black roll neck sweater from the wardrobe. Last nights clothing, which lay in a heap at the end of the bed, bore more clues as to the extent of last night activities. The trousers were especially scorched and torn.I flicked through to the Environment Channel on the small bedroom screen and checked today’s forecast again. Category seven rain with an 8.7 UV warning. I picked up a tube of SPF 95 and smeared the tart smelling cream over my face, neck, hands and any other areas of skin that might become exposed.In the living room Freud had stretched himself along the back of the sofa, a half open eye keeping a watch on the world. I entered a code into the keypad on the desk and a draw sprang open. Inside laid my BigG, a good old fashioned gun, a design that had not changed for over two hundred years. As they say, if it ain’t broke don’t fix it.Some of the younger members of the department had started using the newer plasma guns, but I preferred a real gun, a gun that when you pulled the trigger made a loud bang, kicked like a mule and left a large hole in whatever you hit. I lifted it out of the draw and held it for a moment. It was engineering perfection, perfect in every way, the way, the balance, the position of the trigger, the contours of the grip. It had never been bettered. I checked the magazine, clipped a couple of spares on to my belt and slipped the gun into my shoulder holster. I picked up my coat from the back of a chair and put it on. It was a long black leather affair; it was old, heavy and carried the scars of seven years with Department “Q”, but its aramid lining had saved my life on more than one occasion, and it kept the damn rain out. I pulled a new exposure indicator from its blister pack and slapped it on my sleeve. The essential hat, a wide brimmed trilby in my case, completed the ensemble. I was ready for whatever the weather and the world wanted to throw at me.Freud yawned and then set about cleaning himself. I stroked the back of his head and then tickled him under the chin, “See you later lad, look after the apartment for me, don’t let anyone in that you don’t know and always ask for ID.” I popped my phone into a pocket, checked that I had my warrant card and wallet and then set off for the best little café I knew.

Chapter Two
Outside on the streets the world had begun to wake up. It was a little after seven thirty and the good folk of Mornington Crescent had started to make a move. Those traders that had closed overnight were rolling back the shutters and the first few customers strolled up and down the aisles, grabbing the early morning essentials of milk, coffee and newspapers. I stepped into a little convenience store that occupied a space on the ground floor of my apartment block. Its owner, Mr Kapur, smiled in recognition as I entered, “Good morning Mr Johnny.”“Good morning Mr Kapur.”He lent under the counter, smiling at me as he did so, his hand reappeared and he placed something on the counter. He kept what ever it was covered and then like a magician at a children’s tea party he uncovered it. I was half expecting a “Ta-dah”. In the centre of the counter lay a packet of my favourite smokes. I raised an eyebrow, “How did you?”“I too have important friends Mr Johnny.” He pushed the packet towards me.“How much do I owe you?”“You don’t Mr Johnny. You’re a good and useful friend to have.”I picked the packet up and sniffed at it. Even through the cellophane wrap the smell of the real tobacco was enough to make my mouth water, “I will treasure these Mr Kapur.”“I hope not, they are to be smoked and enjoyed, not treated as though they are some rare artefact from the twenty-first century.”“Okay, but give a pack of the usual as well.”He handed a plain white pack of cigarettes, “Are off some where exciting then Mr Johnny?”“Not really, breakfast then the office. Stick these on my tab and I’ll see you later.”“Try not to get yourself killed, you owe me money.”I smiled and left, he always made the same joke and yet every time I asked him if I could settle up my bill he apologised and complained about his computer being down, and then he explained that he would have it ready the next time I came in. He never did. It had become a bit of a superstition with the both of us, whilst I owed him money, I could not die.It had begun to rain properly, not heavily but at least you could now tell which direction it was coming from and adjust your gait accordingly. I checked the levels and decide it was safe to walk for a bit. The air was not particularly fresh but it was still better than the recycled stuff on The Tube. Heading off through the side roads I set off towards the old London Zoo. The streets were busier now, a bus whooshed by, its passengers a mixture of those on their way out to work, church or family and those on their way home from work or a night out. I crossed over Albany Street and headed over to the abandoned zoo. The empty buildings stood bleached white by the sun and the rain. They had not held any animals for the past sixty or so years. They stood as a monument to a time when man thought he could control the planet. The black metal framework of the massive aviary stood starkly against the red sky. There was talk of restocking the zoo but the changes needed would blow the cultural budget for the next one hundred and fifty years. I checked my exposure indicator and turning south quickened my pace.The early morning joggers, cyclist and dog walkers were well into their daily routines. It never ceased to amaze me that despite the risks people still felt the need to exercise outdoors; having said that here was I striding through the park, raising my chances of contracting skin cancer with every step, as though it was a bright cold day in April, a hundred years ago. I passed by the softball diamonds where a few elderly folk, under cover of an awning, were performing their Tai Chi exercises. I guessed it was a scene that had not changed for hundreds of years. Despite what nature threw at us we carried on as though nothing had altered. Down by Queen Mary’s Gardens men from the Department of Culture and Leisure were clearing up after a long night changing the leaves on the trees from the bright greens of summers end to the yellows, golds and reds of autumn. They had sprinkled the first of the fallen leaves along the paths edge, and were carefully arranging small piles of dried leaves on the grass. The exposure indicator on my sleeve bleeped and moved into the yellow, I decided it was time to find some cover.Leaving the park I crossed over Marylebone Road and headed down into Regents Park Tube station. The warm stale air hit me in the face as I entered the ticket hall. I flashed my warrant card and made my way down to the platform. I walked up to the far end and sat down on a steel bench. The place was quiet, deserted; there were not even the usual beggars and buskers.After a moment a low distant rumble heralded the arrival of the next train and a wall of hot, dry air gushed out of the dark tunnels mouth. The train slowed to a halt and I stepped in to the empty carriage. The train jerked and pulled off. I did not bother to find a seat, partly because I was only going two stops and partly because the carriage was filthy. The carriage rattled and juddered its way along the dark tunnels. The train stopped briefly at Oxford Circus and a young, kissing couple got on. They sat at the far end of the carriage, oblivious to me and the squalor that surrounded them.At Piccadilly I got off and walked through the tiled tunnels coming up at the end of Shaftsbury Avenue. My exposure indicator had dropped back into the green and I set off for Rupert Street and the best breakfast in London.
Chapter Three
It did not look much from the outside, the weather damaged paint was bleached and peeling, the large front window was steamed up and the net curtain strung across the bottom half was stained yellow from years of grease and nicotine, but inside was the best Full English this side of, well, this side of anywhere.I pushed open the door and was greeted by a wall of stifling hot, humid air. The smell of years of frying and grilling hung heavy in the thick atmosphere, a couple of bites and you would not need to eat for a week. The place was busier than I expected late night revellers and early risers trying to fuel up before the day ahead.A small elderly gentleman dashed about behind the long counter, taking orders, pouring drinks, shouting instructions through the hatch to an unseen chef, preparing bills and working the cash register. He moved lightly on old legs, like a plate spinner in a second rate circus.I shut the door and a small bell tinkled. The old man looked up, raised an eyebrow in greeting and then nodded his head towards an empty table in the corner. I worked my way carefully through the tightly packed tables and sat down. The young waitress appeared and started to clear away the detritus of the previous customer. The old man appeared at her shoulder, “Clear these plates away and then take over behind the counter for a moment.”The girl nodded, grabbed the dirty cutlery and crockery and moved off towards the counter. I watched as her hips swang between the tables and then disappeared through the swing door into the kitchen.The old man pulled out a chair and sat down opposite me, “She’s far too young for you; she’s one of Julie’s college friends.”I turned to face him, “I was merely admiring the vitality of youth.”“You were admiring her ass.”“A man can look.”“Just make sure you don’t touch.” He leant over to another table and grabbed an empty ashtray as I lit up a cigarette, “You haven’t given up then?”“Why bother when there are so many other things that could kill me.”“It doesn’t hurt to lower the odds.” He distractively wiped at the top of the table with a damp cloth that appeared, seemingly, from nowhere. “Do you know what day it is?”“Sunday?”“Don’t get smart with me. That mouth of yours is more likely to get you killed than anything else.”“Sorry. October 13th twenty-three seventeen.”He looked at me, staring me straight in the eyes, I saw myself in thirty years time; he broke off and looked over to the girl behind the counter, he waved a hand and signalled for some drinks, “Does that mean nothing to you?”“I err…” I stalled for a moment, searching my memory for the date and its significance.The hardness in his eyes changed to a sadness, “Your mother died eight years ago today.”“I’m sorry dad, I forgot. I’ll take some flowers over to the cemetery.”“Don’t make promises you won’t have time to keep. Just keep her in your thoughts and perhaps light a candle for her.”I felt ashamed, just like I did when I was a kid and he would catch me do something bad. He never used to lose his temper or tell you off, he’d just let your own guilt and shame do the work. The girl arrived and plonked a couple of mugs of dark steaming liquid in front of us. I eyed it suspiciously. My father lent forward and spoke in a conspiratorial tone, “Don’t worry, it’s real.”I lifted the mug and inhaled the beautiful aroma; I took a sip and let the bitter fluid wash over my taste buds, “I don’t want to know how you get this stuff, and I don’t think I want to know, but just keep getting it.”He smiled and took a drink himself, “So how’s Lynda?”“Dad, will you drop it. Me and Lynda split eighteen months.”“She was good for you.”“You have a strange definition of the word good.”“She looked after you. If you had stuck with her you could have a career.”“I have a career.”“Running around like a kid, waving a gun about and still playing the superhero at your age is not a career.”I jabbed the cigarette out in the ashtray, “Well at least I won’t still be frying eggs in my seventies.”I did not even see his hand move, but I felt its force as it struck my cheek. He was old, but he was still fast. The café fell silent and for a moment the atmosphere fizzed with tension, then everybody suddenly became very interested in the food on their plates. I stroked my jaw; I could feel the stinging skin redden.“This old man frying eggs put you through university and made sure you never went short as a kid.”Again the shame washed over me. I stared at the table and lit another cigarette. He wiped again at some unseen mark, “You want the Full English then?”I looked up, “Of course.”“You look like you could do with a good meal. I think you only eat when you come here.”“I eat.”“I mean properly, not sandwiches and that rubbish from the machines. Real food.”“You have real food?”“You’ll have to wait and see if daddy has a treat for his little boy.” He smiled, patted the back of my hand and then headed off to the kitchen. I sat back, and took a drag on my cigarette. I looked around; the place had not changed since I was a kid. The paint work had faded and there were a few more chips and scratches in the table tops, but it was essentially the same as the day it had opened thirty years ago. He was right this place had not only paid for my childhood, it was my childhood. I spent so many hours as a kid, sat on the stool at the end of the counter, watching my parents as they worked from early morning to late at night feeding the folk of Soho.The street door swung open and the little bell tinkled as some one entered. I looked up, it was my elder brother, Frank, his eldest child, Julie, trailed in behind him. He scanned the café and then spotted me. We nodded a greeting and he moved through the tables and into the kitchen. Julie worked her way quickly through the tables and came and sat opposite me.“Uncle Johnny.” She lent over the table and gave me a kiss on the cheek; she pulled off her heavy overcoat and shook her long hair out from under her hat. Seventeen years old, a young woman in the making, she bore a striking resemblance to my mother when dad had first met her, “Have you brought me anything?”“No, your too old for prezzies, anyway I wasn’t expecting to see you here at this time in the morning.”“Well, dad wanted to put some flowers on Nanna’s grave and I thought I’d go with him and give him some moral support.”“You’re a good daughter.”“That and the fact that Steff gets off in a few moments; we’re going shopping and I hate travelling on the Tubes.” She gave me the same grin she had given me when she was a child and had been caught with her hand in the proverbial cookie jar.The waitress, who I assumed was the Steff question, appeared and placed a plate piled high with what looked exactly like a full English breakfast in front of me, “Hi Julie, do you want any sauces Mr Sharpe?”“Thanks, do you have any ketchup?”“Yeh, course.” She turned to Julie, “So where we going?”“Thought we’d start in The Oxford Arcade and work our way down.”“Yeh, okay, as long as we can pop into Selfridges, they’ve got some new winter coats in.”They continued to chat for a moment, the empty nothingness of the young, the importance of clothes, boys and music. I coughed, “Ketchup?”“Oh yeh, sorry Mr Sharpe.”I turned back to Julie, “So, how is your dad?”“You can ask him yourself you know.” She jerked her head in the direction of the counter, “He’s only over there.”I looked over to where Frank was now working behind the counter, his white apron tied round his waist and his shirt sleeves rolled up, “He looks busy, perhaps later.”“You two are worse than Petey and Johnny Jnr.” Petey and Johnny Jnr were two of her brothers, twins, ten years old and constantly at each others throats, “At least they know what they are arguing about most of the time. I think with you two it’s been so long you’ve forgotten what it was that started it all and now you’re both to proud to apologise in case it wasn’t originally your fault.”“You’ve been talking to Gramps again.”She raised the family eyebrow and I avoided her gaze by tucking into my food. A ketchup bottle clunked onto the table and Steff stood there in her coat and hat, it was obviously time to go shopping. Julie stood and began to slip on her coat, “Talk to him, it’s ridiculous, you come here for your breakfast and to see Gramps and yet the pair of you carry on as though the other doesn’t exist.”“Look Julie, I appreciate your concern, but I’m an adult and your still just a kid, things aren’t always as simple as they look.”“Behave like a grown up then, set an example for me and my brothers. Besides, mum would really like to have you round for a meal.”She had inherited dad’s ability to make me feel ashamed and embarrassed and her mum’s way with words. She gave me another peck on the cheek, said her goodbyes to Frank and dad and then headed off on her shopping trip with Steff.Dad strolled back over to my table; he stood in silence and watched as I ate. It was something he had always done, he liked to watch people, especially his family enjoy the food he had prepared for them.He sat down, “Well?”I finished the mouth full I was chewing, “Well what?”“Have you worked it out? Have you worked out what your treat is?” His eyes sparkled with excitement, he loved to tease, he loved to play his little guessing games.I inspected the remaining food on the plate, a few beans, half a sausage, some mushrooms, a fried egg and half a fried tomato. I poked at the food with my fork, sneaking looks at my dad as I did so, trying to gauge his reaction. “I’m going to go with tomato.”He smiled, “Very good. Home grown.” He winked.“Well there’s a definite difference. The flesh is firmer, and the taste is stronger.”“That’s all down to the feeding.”“I’m impressed. Where did you get the seeds?”“I know a man who knows a man.”“And the water?”“I built a filtration unit. I wouldn’t drink from it but it’s good enough to water a few plants.”“You never cease to amaze me.”I finished up the final few fork fulls and wiped a piece of fried bread around the plate. I sat back with satisfied smile of a man with a well filled belly. “That was fantastic, but I have to love you and leave you, I’ve got stuff to do at the office.”“Are you going to speak to your brother?”I glanced over, Frank was dashing backwards and forwards behind the counter, “He looks busy, and I really have to get going. I’ll pop in when you’re a bit quieter.”“If I could get you stand next to each other I’d knock your heads together.” I stood and my dad helped me on with my coat, “So, how’s Jake?”“He’s still in the coma.”“Have you been to see him?”“Of course.”“When?”“A few days back.”He turned me to face him and started do up my buttons like he did when I was a kid, “When?”The shame kicked in, “Six weeks ago, the night it happened.”“Johnny, he needs his friends around him, he needs to see you.”“Look, it’s hard. You know how busy I am and he doesn’t know who or who isn’t there.”“You don’t know that Johnny. Go and see him. You owe him that.”“I’ll try and find some time, soon, I promise.”“Make sure you do, if not for his benefit, for yours.”We hugged and said our goodbyes; I looked over to where Frank was steaming milk for a couple of coffees. He glanced over his shoulder and for a second we made eye contact, a brief nod and then he went back to making the drinks. I promised dad again that I would go and see Jake as soon as I could, and then with a final check of my exposure indicator I set off for the office.

Chapter Four
Department “Q” was commonly known, by those who knew what the department did, as The Trashmen. We cleared up the little messes that nobody else wanted to know about or think about. We kept the streets clean, we kept the rubbish from piling up in front of their doors and we kept them safe from all the stuff that the news channels told them to be scared of. Our offices were located in a tall, bright, shiny, modern building on the banks of the Thames, opposite the Houses of Parliament. For something that did not officially exist we sure had a lot of money and we were not shy about spending it. The bright, chrome and marble foyer area did its best to look like any other office block. Uniformed receptionists sat behind the long, wood effect, reception desk, answering phones, tip-tapping at keyboards, dealing with personal callers. I flashed my warrant card at the security guard and walked over to the lifts. The place seemed surprisingly busy for a Sunday morning, not that I was usually here on a Sunday morning. I was either still dealing with the crap from the previous night, or sleeping off the effects of the previous day. Up on the twenty-third floor the main, open plan, office area was a hive of activity. Every desk seemed to be occupied, the lads and lasses of my section where working hard. As I crossed to my small private office on the far side, the room fell silent. People stopped what they were doing and watched as I walked across the room, as my hand reached for the door handle spontaneous applause broke out. I turned to face the room and found myself in receipt of a standing ovation. I bowed and entered my office.On my desk was a pile of reports from the previous few days. This is why I avoided promotion, the higher up the ladder you go the more bits of paper they want you to fill out and the more boxes they want you to tick. It was also why I avoided coming into the office. There was a tap on the door and Nardone, one of the section juniors, popped her head round, “Are you free Boss?”I hated it when they called me Boss. I was not their boss; I was only senior to them because of the amount time I had been with the department, and I had only been with the department longer than most because I had managed not to get myself killed or promoted, which frankly amounted to the same thing. I nodded her in and shifted the pile of files to one side, “Would you like to tell me what that was about.”“What what was about?” Nardone was good at feigning innocence; she was going to go far in this business. She was an ideal candidate for undercover work, pretty without knowing it and with an assured air of confidence without being cocky.“What that standing ovation was about?”“Oh that, you haven’t seen the footage of last night operation then. You were magnificent.”“Magnificent, as in you couldn’t have made a bigger hash of it if you had tried?”She hesitated for a moment and then smiled, “Yeh.”“Do we know what caused the explosion?”“We think you did.”“Me?”“It looks as though it was a lucky shot. From what the lab boys have managed to pull off the tape it would seem you some how shot a guy who was about to let fly with a rocket launcher, well to be more precise, you hit the rocket launcher and ka-blewy.”“Remind to pick any-prize from the top row.”She grinned at my feeble attempt at a joke, then for the first time since I had known her she looked embarrassed, “Sir, there’s talk that you are going to be interviewing for a new partner.”“And you’d like to be considered?”“Well… yes… I mean I know I don’t have the field experience of some the others but…”“Look Nardone, nothing personal, but I’m going to nip this in the bud right now.” I stood up and moved over to the window and looked down on the Mother of all Parliaments, “Savage wants me to find a new partner, but as far as I’m concerned Jake is my partner and will be until he says otherwise.” I turned round to see her crestfallen face looking back at me. “Tell you what, until Jake comes back off sick leave you’ll be my number one go to guy, should I need anyone to go to. Now do me a favour,” I flashed her a smile, “take these files with you and fuck off.”She picked up the files and almost skipped out of the office. I sat down at my desk and dragged the keyboard towards me, it was ten o’clock, and I had an hour to get a report together for Savage. It is amazing how many other things you can find to do when you are meant to be doing something else.I logged onto Diana, the Data Index and Archive. I was going to access the information I needed to write the report on last night’s debacle, but instead I found myself scrolling through the report on the incident that had led to Jake lying in a hospital bed, hooked up to half a dozen machines and in a coma.I must have read through the report a good two dozens times or more over the past few weeks, reading and re-reading the witness statements, forensic reports and my own statement. I had no real idea what I was looking for; I just hoped that at some point it would reveal itself. There had to be something in there that would tell me how Jake came to be lying in that alley, three floors below where he had started and fizzing from an illegal blaster charge.I knew what had happened. I knew how it had happened. I even knew who was responsible for shooting him. What I needed to know was why he had allowed it to happen.I flicked and scrolled through the various screens, pulled up new files and cross referenced evidence. I normally worked on gut instinct, but this time that had got me no where. So here I was, acting like one those academy trained detectives.I paused for a moment on one of the photos. It was a still of me and Jake outside the front of the building ten minutes before he got himself shot. It had been pulled from one of the security cameras and we appeared to be arguing. I say appeared because I could not remember us having an argument. I searched through the index looking for the actual video footage, it had not been included, but I knew that if I could find out which cameras covered that area I could use Diana to access the originals. My train of thought was disturbed by the incessant buzzing of the comms line.I tapped at a key and Nardone’s face filled the screen, “Don’t forget you’ve got an appointment with Miss Savage.”I glanced at my watch, “Yeh, I suppose I should take a stroll up there.”“I’ve got your report.”“Sorry?”“Your report on last night’s incident.”“I haven’t written a report on last night’s incident.”“We guessed you might not have, so we cobbled something together. It’ll keep her off your back for a few days, until she reads it properly.”“Cheers, what would I do without you lot?”“Disappear under a sea of paperwork.”The screen flickered and the report on Jake reappeared. I shut down the file and looked at my watch again, I wondered if I had enough time for a smoke. Lynda Savage’s office was up on the seventy-second floor and still it was not high enough for her. I tapped on the door and went in. Her office was bright, large and expensive. She was seated behind her desk, shifting files about, tapping at the keyboard, making notes and generally doing her, I’m a busy woman routine. I stood by the empty chair on my side of the desk and waited for her to notice me and give me permission to sit. I did not have to, but I knew it annoyed the hell out her when I took the mickey and pretended to play along with her little power game. She laid down her pen, took off her reading glasses and looked at me, “Sit down Johnny.”“Thank you Ma’am.” I sat.“I’m in no mood for your piss taking Johnny, so drop the act.”“Feeling the pressure are we?”“I’m trying to clear up the mess you made last night.”“Surely the sanitation people deal with that, all that rubble and stuff; you need a couple of skips and some lads with shovels.”She flashed me one of her, your pushing it and in a moment you’re going to regret it looks, “The minister wants me to suspend you pending an investigation.”“Yeh, well, the minister is an idiot.”“I persuaded him that suspending you was not the best idea. I explained that you have been under a lot of pressure recently.”“Pressure?”“This business with Jake, I know how close you two where.”“Are, he’s not dead and he’s still my partner.”“About that,” she slid a file across the desk towards me, “There’s a list of names and the access codes to their records on Diana. I don’t need a decision straight away but sometime before the end of the week would be good.”I picked up the file, “Is that it?” I started to stand.“No, I have a new assignment for you.” She typed something, took a disk from the burner and handed it to me, “And this one shouldn’t end up with you destroying a street full of private property.”I looked at the small shiny disk, “Anything interesting?”“About six years ago a minister’s son went missing. His father did all he could, at the time, to try and find him but in the end he had to admit that the lad either didn’t want to be found or, was dead.”“So?”“So, two weeks ago the lad walks into A&E seeking medical assistance for a stab wound. He gives a false name and gets the wound sorted; by the time records had traced who he really was he had long gone.”“And now you want me to find him?”“Yes.”“Oh come on, this is a job for the police; we shouldn’t be fiddling around with this sort of stuff.”“The minister wants his son found and I said you were the best man for the job.” I could see that that phrase had caused the bile to rise to the back of her throat, she hated to admit I was useful or even good at anything, “Besides, whilst you’re doing this there is less chance of them calling for your suspension.”“So I get sidelined into a baby sitting role until some one decides I can come out of the corner.” “I just need you to keep your head down and stay out of trouble until all this blows over. Do you think you can do that?”“You know me Lynda; I never go looking for trouble.”“I know, but it’s surprising how easily you seem to find it.”Back in my office I slipped the disk in to the machine and took a look through the file. There was not a lot to go on. Apparently I was looking for a James Andrew Watt, son of Michael Watt, First Minister for Leisure and Culture. I scrolled through looking for anything that might give me a clue to his whereabouts now. He had signed into casualty using the name Tony Street. From the witness statements he was obviously living rough somewhere, other than some background stuff about his education and army career there was very little. I looked through the file for photos, there was only one, taken about seven years ago, he stood stiffly for the camera in full dress uniform, flanked by his proud mother and father, according to the note that accompanied it he had just received, The Star of St Anthony for bravery in the field. The citation was not present, I would have to follow that up; it would be interesting to see where he had served.I decided my first port of call would have to be the hospital. I could pick up the security tapes and have a word with anyone who was present when he came in. He may have said something to some one that would give a clue as to where he was now. I logged on to Diana, Booked out a vehicle and headed down to the garages.
Chapter Five
The casualty department of the Whittington Hospital was like many others I had been in over the years. Sometimes as a patient, I had laid on a gurney, staring at the ceiling whilst doctors and nurses rushed about putting me back together, and sometimes as now, in an official capacity, tracking some one down or making sure that they stayed under arrest. The hospital, like most public buildings, was dull and functional. You could see there was never quite enough money to do all that needed doing. There was always an air of organised chaos, people rushed backwards and forwards, the few doctors that there were barked orders and the hard pressed nurses dashed about trying to fulfil them. These places always seemed to teeter on the very edge of collapse, but somehow the staff always managed to hold it all together. Three hundred and fifty years of public health care and still it battled on. Twelve o’clock on a Sunday afternoon and the place was packed. Most of the patients’ problems looked self-inflicted, sports injuries, skin damage and the results of too much fun the previous night. I approached the harassed looking nurse behind reception and flashed my warrant card, “I wonder if possible to have a word.”She glanced up at the badge and then returned to sorting the stack of files in front of her, “As long as it’s a word, and it’s quick.”“Okay, I’m trying to trace some information on a patient who was treated here about two weeks ago.”“You need Records. Follow the yellow line, third floor, follow the blue line.”“Thanks, but I was hoping to have a chat with any one who was on duty the night he came in.”“Human Resources, follow the yellow line, third floor, follow the blue line.”“I thought that was Records.”“They’re in the same department.”“Well, that should save me a bit of time.”It turned out that the two departments were not only on the same floor, they were in the same room, and run by the same girl, a bored looking individual who had obviously hoped for a little more out of life. She looked as though she was only doing this until an offer of marriage, from one of the handsome doctors, came along.I gave her what information I had and she pulled me the Medical records for the man who had called himself Tony Street, I also got her to do me a copy of the records for James Andrew Watts. After a bit of negotiation I managed to get the name of the nurse who had signed him in and dealt with him during his short stay. Just before she lost total interest I got her to point me in the direction of Security.As always, and for a reason I have never quite fathomed, Security was located in the basement. The head of security was more than happy to burn me a copy of the footage for the night in question, for some reason these guys were always more than happy to help anyone with a government badge. I now had a nice little pile of disks but was no nearer to knowing what had happened and where my man was. As I left the security guy said something that I should have taken more notice of, but at the time I just assumed it was all part of an earlier investigation, apparently I was not the only person who had requested a copy of that particular night’s footage.I found Nurse Taylor in the staff canteen, stocking up on caffeine and placing herself on the outside of a large plate of steak and chips. For a woman who was halfway through an eighteen hour shift she sure looked good, short blond spiky hair and the type of complexion they used to call English Rose. It was hard to tell whether her skin colour was a fashion statement or a consequence of working long hours. A grabbed a coffee and went over to where she was sat, “Do you mind if I join you?”She threw me the sort of look that would have had a weaker man scampering off in to a corner clutching at the remains of his balls. I pulled out my warrant card, “I’m not trying to hit on you, I just need to ask you a few questions.”Her face softened slightly, “You’d better take a seat then. This had better not take long; I have to be back on duty in ten minutes.”“Don’t worry; I won’t keep you from your work. Besides I’ve had a word with your matron, she won’t dock you if you’re late back.”She hacked at her steak and sliced of a bloody chunk, “So how can I be of assistance to..? You didn’t say where which department you were from.”“No I didn’t.” I pulled out the old photo of James Watts and showed it to her, “Do you recognise this man? The one in the middle.”“Can’t say that I do.” She waved a chip filled fork at the photograph, “Isn’t the old guy a government minister?”“Yes. The man in the middle is his son. He came in about two weeks ago, you signed him and sorted him out and then he disappeared.”“His face doesn’t ring any bells.”“Well this photo was taken about seven years ago. We think that for the past six years he’s been living on the streets, so I’m figuring his appearance will have changed some what.”“What was wrong with him?”“He’d been stabbed in his left hand side. He gave his name as Street, Tony Street?”“Oh yeh, I remember now. He came in, in the early hours, about half two. It looked as though he’d been bleeding for several hours. The wound wasn’t deep, there was no internal damage, but there was a lot of blood. It was, well it was odd; it was like he couldn’t stop bleeding.”“A haemophiliac?”“No, that was the first test we did. His blood work came back fine. We did the only thing we could do; we cleaned him up and then sealed the wound.”“Then he was free to go?”“No, Doctor Samuels wanted to keep him in. I mean bed space on the public wards is short but we wanted to confirm that the bleeding had stopped.”“So you admitted him?”“No, there were no spare beds. I found a free gurney and made him as comfortable as I could.”“How was he?”She reached into her bag and pulled out a packet of cigarettes, I quickly pulled out the special packet that Mr Kapur had given me and offered her one. She smiled an impressed smile, took one and I, ever the gentleman, reached across the table and lit it for her. She took a long drag and then blew the smoke out slowly, “Which ever department you’re from it obviously has its advantages.”I lit a cigarette for myself, “You were about to tell me how he was.”“Jumpy, kept asking how much longer he’d have to stay here. He was constantly checking the room, watching for who was coming and going, that sort of thing. I just put it down to the usual street induced paranoia.”“And then?”“As you said, he just disappeared. One moment he’s lying on the gurney, I go off to check on another patient and when I came back, about ten minutes, later he’d gone.”“Why didn’t you stay with him?”“Have you seen it down there?” I nodded, “Well that’s quiet; you should be in here at two o’clock in the morning. Some nights it’s like a Combat Support Station in Sector 11.”“You’ve been there?”“Six month tour.”It was my turn to smile an impressed smile, “So he just upped and left?”“I suppose so. Why all the interest?”“Daddy wants his little boy back.” She stubbed out the cigarette and glanced impatiently at her watch. I picked up the picture and placed it back into the file, “One last thing, was there any one with him?”“Not as far as I know, but I didn’t see him arrive.” She stood up and smoothed out her uniform, she looked even better standing up, she was what could best be described as petite, just over five foot tall but with a figure most women would kill for, and come to think of it, so would a lot of men.“Well, you’ve been very helpful Nurse Taylor.”“Sarah.” “Sarah.” I watched her leave, there were not many pleasures in this job, but occasionally a little joy did enter my life. I decided to head back to the office and see if I could make any sense of all of this. I scooped up the disks and the paper work, shoved them into a pocket and headed back to my vehicle.I stood outside, under the large canopy that protected the entrance t A&E, and lit another of Mr Kapur’s cigarettes. I watched the constant stream of ambulances, and other emergency vehicles, come and go. I watched the tired faces of the dedicated staff as they ran to save another life, and suddenly I remembered the last time I had been here.
Chapter Six
I stepped out of the lift and was immediately struck by the contrast with the chaos and utilitarian starkness of the lower floors. Up here, on the private wards, all was calmness, light and hi-tech gadgets. I almost felt as though I should go home and put on a tie. I tip-toed across to the reception desk and was greeted by the warm smile of a young un-harassed nurse. I wondered if Nurse Taylor even knew this place existed.The young un-harassed nurse smiled again, “Can I help you sir?”“I, I err, I was wondering if you could tell me how a patient was doing?”She pulled a keyboard towards herself and turned the screen slightly, “What name is it sir?”“Hemmings, Jake Hemmings.”She typed away, “Are you a family member sir?”“No, he’s a, err… work colleague… we worked, work together.”“His vital signs are fine, and the external injuries are healing, but unfortunately there is no sign of him coming out of the coma.”“Thanks.” I turned and started back for the lift.“You can go in and see him if you’d like.”“I, err… I don’t really have time.”“You wouldn’t have to stay long sir, just talk to him for a bit.”“I, don’t, know.”“It’s good for coma victims to hear familiar voices. Medicine can do a lot of things nowadays sir, but when it comes to the brain, the old ways are still the best.”“What would I say?”“Just tell him what you’ve been doing sir, what you’re going to do, what you hope to do when he wakes up.”Before I knew it she had taken me by the arm and was guiding me towards his room. “Has he had many visitors?” even I could hear the guilt in my voice.“Not many, a couple of friends have popped in, and someone did bring his dad over from the care home, but the old fella didn’t really understand what was going on.”Suddenly we were by the entrance to his room. She turned the handle and pushed the door open and there he lay, a tangle of wires, tubes and monitors, bleeps and buzzes and the constant in out rhythm of the breathing machine, and some where in the middle of it all, my partner, my friend. I turned to the young un-harassed nurse, but she had gone. From this point on, I was on my own. You would think that to take a step would be the simplest thing in the world. All you have to do is lift one foot and place it in front of the other. You would be surprised how hard that can be some times. I had spent much of my adult life stepping into situations and places most sensible people would run from. I had stepped on to planets whose dangers were unknown. I had stepped into battles were the odds were stacked against us. I had stepped into rooms filled with people who wanted me dead. Hell, I had even stepped into bed with Lynda Savage.Yet now here I stood, unable to step into a room to speak to a friend. I wiped at the sweat that had appeared across my top lip. Another moment of hesitation and then I turned to leave. The young un-harassed nurse had reappeared behind me, “I thought you looked like you could do with this.” She handed me a coffee.“Thanks.”“Can I get you anything else?”“No, thanks.” I stood, trapped between the young un-harassed nurse and Jake. She was obviously not going anywhere until she was sure I was safely ensconced in Jakes room. “Thanks again, for the coffee.” I turned back and found myself standing in Jakes room.The room was stark white and windowless, hidden lighting gave it a strange ethereal glow. The air was the sweetest I had smelt in a long time.Jake lay there in the cream sheeted bed. There was not a mark on him. The night they had brought him in he had looked terrible. His face was puffed and swollen from the effects of the charger blast. Blood was running from his ears and nose, a large, angry purple, scorch mark, blistered and bubbled on his chest. Now he look well, happy and relaxed, as though at any moment he would open his eyes, sit up and say, “Hi Johnny, what we doing today?” I knew he would not. The tubes and wires told me that all was not well. The way his chest raised and fell in time to the breathing apparatus they had him hooked up to. The way the monitors beep and buzzed with the rhythm of his heart. The array of I.V. drips that feed into his arm, delivering nourishment and drugs.I stood at the end of the bed, unsure of what to do next; unsure of what to say. I took a sip of coffee and cleared my throat, “Hi Jake.” It seemed as good a place as any to start, “You’re looking better than when we brought you in. That nurse you’ve got yourself seems nice, good looking as well you lucky dog. Do you think if I asked her nicely she’d give me a bed bath?” I regretted the last comment the moment it had left my lips. Me and Jake never talked like that, I think that was part of the problem, me and Jake never really talked.I moved round to the side of the bed and pulled up a chair. It was not that we did not have anything to say to each other, and it was not because we did not like each other, it was that we knew each other. There was no need for us to talk. We chatted, we chatted constantly about absolutely nothing, films, music, books, sports, TV shows, but the important stuff never needed to be said.We had first met in the army. We had both been in for about two years when we were posted to the same base. There are times in life when the brain makes snap decisions for you without asking your permission first. When we met was one of these occasions, we clicked instantly and over the years we had become closer than brothers, which in my case, considering my relationship with my real brother, was not difficult.Now here I sat, staring at his inert body, unable to think of anything to say. I took another drink of coffee and went to light a cigarette, fortunately I remembered where I was and put the packet away, “Look, Jake, I’m sorry for not coming to see you sooner. You know how it is at the department, they never give you any time for yourself and at the moment I’m having to do the work of two men. Well one and a half, you never did much of the real work did you?” I turned to him, smiling, half expecting to see him sitting up, a broad grin stretched across his face and the words fuck off forming on his lips.His chest raised and lowered slowly, in, out, in, out. I stood and walked around the room, I wanted a window; I liked windows. Even if you were trapped indoors a window gave you a means of mental escape. “We caught Montell, and most of his crew. I don’t know if the charges will stick but at least he’s off the streets for a while.” I stared in to the empty coffee cup, “They’ve given us, me, a new case, missing persons, the son of some minister.” I sat back down, “I’ve been sidelined Jake, placed on the bench. You always said I wouldn’t survive with out you, perhaps you’re right. I know I’ve certainly put a few noses out of joint since you’ve been in here. Do want to hear something funny? Savage defended me. I know, I was gob smacked too. Apparently they wanted to suspend me, I caused a little bit of bother last night.”I turned to face him again looking desperately for a sign that he understood what I was saying, “You would have loved it, I blew up a house. It made quite a mess by all accounts.” I watched his face, hoping for something, anything, to indicate that he was still in there. But there was nothing. Then it happened, I began to talk, not about anything important, just chatting as we did when we were sat on a stakeout, or over a meal.“Excuse me sir.” The young un-harassed nurse had re-appeared at the end of the bed, “We need to change Mr Hemmings’ dressings. You can wait outside if you whish, it won’t take us long.”I glanced at my watch, it was nearly six o’clock, somehow I had lost five hours, “No, I have to go.” I turned to Jake, “I’ll see you later mate, I’ve got to go and do some work.” I stroked the back of his hand, “You concentrate on getting better and don’t give this nice nurse any hassle.”Then young un-harassed nurse started to remove the dressing on his chest. At the door way I stop and turned back, “Look after him nurse, and Jake, I promise I won’t leave it so long next time.”
Chapter Seven
It was dark out now and the danger from the UV had disappeared below the horizon with the sun. The forecasters had, as usual, got the rain level wrong, it was now at least level nine and my windscreen wipers fought hard to keep the screen clear in front of me. I drove through the busy streets, not really sure of where I was heading, just pleased to be out of the hospital and not wanting to go either home or to the office.The comms line chirruped and I jabbed at a button on the dash board, the small screen that had been showing a schematic of the area changed to reveal Lynda’s face, she looked up from her paper work, “Sharpe, where are you?”“I’m not really sure at the moment,” I looked through the gaps in the rain, “It looks like Hackney.”“Are you on your way back in?”I thought fast, something I was good at especially when dealing with Lynda, “No, I’m following up a lead, it may be nothing but I don’t want it to go any colder than it already is.”“Right, okay, keep me posted. The minister is ringing me every hour wanting to know if we’ve found his precious son yet.”“I promise you, you’ll know as soon as I know.” I reached forward and jabbed at the button again. Now I had to find something to do and something to report on.I turned south and headed for the river. As I did so the old gut instincts kicked in. I glanced into the rear view mirror, indicated and turned left. The large dark vehicle behind me followed me round the corner. I accelerated slightly and then turned hard right across the oncoming traffic, the vehicle behind stayed with me, just missing a bus in its hurry to keep up. Who ever they were they weren’t very good. Now I found myself in the position of having to make one of three choices. Number one; let them stay with me. They say you should keep your friends close and your enemies closer. Thing was, was the person behind me a friend or an enemy. Number two; lose them. Not a difficult task given the standard of their driving. Number three; pull over, drag the driver out of the car, shove a gun down their throat and find out who the little shit was.I glanced back, they were still there. They had dropped back a bit, but they still stood out like a pickle in a bowl of custard. I decided to open box number two. I turned onto the Expressway and gunned the motor, the traffic was fairly light and I weaved between the vehicles putting a good few car lengths between me and my pursuers. The rain was falling heavier now and I used it to my advantage. I pulled out into the outside lane, making sure I was there long enough for them to get a good look at me, then I accelerated across into the inside lane, I slipped in, in front of a large lorry, and lowered my speed to match that of the lorry. I looked into the side mirror and could see the dark vehicle accelerating up the centre lane in an attempt to catch up with me. I switched off my lights and turned onto the hard shoulder. I slowed and drove along beside the truck using it to screen me. I watched as my pursuers shot by unsure of where I had gone. I pulled back out into the traffic and tucked in behind the lorry. Then at the next junction I pulled off, my tail lost. They were obviously amateurs. No professional would have fallen for such an old trick.I drove slowly through the side streets and got my bearings. I circled the block a few times to check that I had lost my new friends and tried to figure who it might have been and why they were following me. My subconscious had obviously been hard at work. It had brought me to Brixton and now I knew exactly what my next move should be.The stairwell stank of piss and the harsh white lights did nothing for the graffiti covered décor. My footsteps echoed up the concrete stairs and twice I had to negotiate an obstruction on the landings. The first was a large split bag of rubbish covered with rats that scattered as I approached. The second was a sleeping man. At first I was not sure whether he was asleep or dead but then, as I got nearer, he let out a long low fart.I made my way quickly along the long communal balcony until I reached a heavily armoured door, number seventy-two. I gave it a swift kick, “Open up, it’s chucking it down out here.” I gave the door another kick just to make sure.A small overhead security camera whirred and moved to focus in on me. I looked up at it and gave the door a series of impatient kicks, “Come on, for fucks sake I’m getting soaked.”The camera moved again and a distorted voice crackled through a speaker, “Identify yourself.”“Oh come on Mayberry, it’s me.”“Identify yourself.”I held up one of the brown paper bags I was holding, “I’ve got food you little shit.”There were several metallic clicks and the heavy, outer, steel door, swung out towards me. A skinny, shaven head appeared, it checked up and down the balcony suspiciously, “Chinese?”“Chinese.”“C.K. House?”“Of course.”“You’d better come in then.” To the untrained eye Edward William Mayberry’s small, third floor flat bore a remarkable resemblance to a scrap yard. But as any regular visitor knew there was order in the seeming chaos. We pick our way carefully between the piles of boxes and teetering mounds of junk and made our way through to the astonishingly ordered kitchen at the rear of the building.I dropped the two, large, brown paper bags onto the table that dominated the middle of the room, “How’s it going then, Edward?”Edward snatched up the bags, “Fine, fine.” He checked the table where the bags had stood, “I, err, I… Fine.” He turned and placed the bags down on a sheet of newspaper that was spread out on one of the work tops. “Plates. We’ll be wanting plates. Take a seat, take a seat Mr Sharpe.” He indicated which seat I was to take.“Can I…?” I began to slip off my coat.“Oh, yes. Allow me, allow me. Drying cupboard. I’ll pop it in the drying cupboard.” He took my coat and disappeared back down the corridor.I looked around the tiny, well ordered kitchen. I moved slowly being careful not to move anything. Everything had its place and there was a place for everything. Edward entered the room, “Sit. Please sit Mr Sharpe.” Again he pointed to the chair.I moved around the table and sat, “Have you been out this week Edward?”“Out? Well, yes, well sort of, yes. Been out.” He began to set the table, darting quickly between the cupboards, grabbing mats and plates, knives and forks.“Where did you go?”“Go? Out. I went out. Oh yes, I went out. Out and about.” He smiled a greasy, yellow toothed grin.“Where Edward?”He stopped moving and clutched the plates to his chest, eyes lowered, avoiding my gaze, “To the rubbish chute.”“Come on Edward, you know that doesn’t count. You’re meant to go for a walk each day.”He began to set the table again, slower this time, “Yes, well, I’ve been busy. Been very busy. Been busy mending things for people. Haven’t got time to go wandering about.” He fussed with the bags of food.“It’s only rain Edward.”“Only rain. Only rain. Rain that burns. UV rays that blister the skin. Air that’s full of chemicals and pollutants and germs. Germs everywhere, people and germs everywhere.” He became very animated again, darting backwards and forwards between the table and the bags, laying the cartons of food out with great precision.“Edward… Edward… sit, eat, calm down.”He stopped and squared up the last of the food cartons on the table, “Drinks, we ought to have drinks.” He pressed a couple of keys on the wall mounted keypad, “I… I err don’t have any err…”“Here you go.” I handed him my water card.He swiped it and pressed a couple of buttons, “Thank you, I’ll err… I’ll…” He turned on the tap and poured two glasses of water.We ate the meal in silence, Edward fussing and inspecting every mouthful. He picked and prodded at every piece of food, searched through every forkful of rice, rinsed with a sip of water between each mouthful.When we had finished he carefully cleared the table, placing the plates and cutlery in the cleaner, neatly resealing the cartons, dating them and placing them in his bare fridge. I sat and watched as he sprayed and wiped down the table and the work surfaces. When he was quite sure everything was back in its proper place and that all dirt and germs had been properly dealt with he sat back down, “To err, business then Mr Sharpe.”“You guessed it wasn’t a social visit then.”“No one ever visits me socially. They always want something.”I held up one of the disks I had picked up from the hospital, “I wondered if you could work your magic on this.”He took it off me, “What’s on it?”“Security footage. There’s a fella on there I’m particularly interested in I was hoping you could make me some 3Dees.”“Let’s see what we err… have.” He set off down the hallway; I followed, picking my way once again through the various piles of boxes and worn out electronics. We entered what I always figured must have been a bedroom, it was now the hub of Edwards little world. The room was dark save for the glow of the numerous screens which flicked and scrolled with hundreds of images. Edward sat down on a wheeled chair and rolled over to a keyboard, he pushed the disk into one of the readers. The disk loaded and the first section of footage appeared on the screen.He typed something and the screen split to reveal the numerous camera angles and areas covered by the security footage, “Who or what are we looking for then Mr Sharpe?”I gave him the few details we had and we scrolled backwards and forward through the footage until we found Nurse Taylor treating the man who had called himself Street.“That’s the guy I’m interested in.” I tapped a finger on the screen.Edward wiped at the screen, “Okay, I’ll try and get you a, err… 3Dee image of him.”“Can you track him back to his first appearance?”“Oh yes, of course, I’ve err got nothing else to do.”“Cheers Edward.”“I suppose you’d like some err… versions without the beard and stuff.”“If you could.”“Well, err leave it with me and I’ll err see what I can do.”“Tomorrow morning?”“I won’t guarantee any err… thing but I’ll see what I can do.”I let him use my card to get another couple of unit of water and then bid him good night. He was the best techie I knew. He could do in hours what it would take our lab boys days to achieve, and his results would always be better.I made my way, past the still sleeping drunk and the rats, down to my vehicle. I had to find something to report on for savage and so for the want of a better idea I headed back to the Whittington hospital, the last place he had been seen.
Chapter Eight/Nine
I pulled the vehicle over and parked up opposite the entrance to A&E. Nurse Taylor had said that Watt had lost a fair amount of blood, so I was guessing he couldn’t of come far. Most street folk stayed under cover during the hours of daylight, they could not afford the creams and lotions needed to protect the skin against the UV. It was easy to avoid the worst effects of the rain, all you had to do was stay covered up. I turned on Diana and checked the area schematic. There was not anywhere that leapt out and said, ‘this is where I’m hiding’. I decide to fall back on the good old fashioned methods. I would drive around until the old gut instinct kicked in. I took another look at the schematic and decide that Archway was as good a place as any to start.Sunday evening is the no-mans land of the week. The best of the weekend lays stretched behind you and all that lies ahead is Monday morning. The rain had eased off and had returned to its usual fine drizzle. I cruised the quiet streets; in the well lit bars and restaurants people made the best of the few hours they had left before they had to return home to bed and work in the morning.I had no real idea of who I was looking for and only a vague idea of where he might be. I turned off the main roads and started to tour the side streets. Large areas still lay to waste, piles of rubble, bleached concrete and brick lay in heaps. If my man was going to be anywhere, it would more than likely be somewhere like this. I pulled my vehicle over and watched in the mirrors, as the vehicle that had been tailing me since the hospital, turned down a side road and parked up. It didn’t look like the same vehicle that had been following me earlier but the driver was just as useless. For the moment I would go with box number one, I would let them stay with me, who ever they where they were determined and I had to give them credit for that. The thing that bugged me was, why? Was it me or Watt that they were after and why would either of us be of interest to them.I sat in my darkened vehicle pondering this conundrum and watching to see if my new friends would make a move. Who ever had sent them had made at least two mistakes; firstly they had figured me to be nothing more than some dumb gumshoe; secondly they had hired a bunch of idiots. I watched in amazement as the guy in the front passenger seat sparked up a cigarette, the red glow lighting up his young face. A hand appeared from the back of the vehicle and slapped the cigarette from his mouth, so there were at least three of them in there. Thanks guys.I realised it was time to open box number three. I needed to draw these idiots out into the open, that should not be to difficult. I reached into the glove compartment and took out the long, heavy torch. I smeared some more protective cream on my face, neck and hands, pulled my trilby on and climbed out of the vehicle.I walked down the road for a bit, flashing the torch over the waste ground. It was all a show, put on for their benefit; I was hoping they would think I was on to something. I stopped and lit a cigarette, then with great dramatics I shone the torch onto a large pile of rubble. I stubbed out my cigarette and then set off up the large crumbling pile. I figured that that would get their attention and their interest up.I crested the heap and dropped down the other side, stopping almost immediately, just below the apex. I rolled onto my stomach and listened intently, I heard the soft whir of the motor as the vehicle started up and pulled off. It stopped almost directly in front of me on the far side of the heap. A door clicked as someone tried to exit the vehicle as silently as possible. A moment of quiet and then their unsure footsteps scrambled over the rubble in the dark. The vehicle moved off again. They had obviously thought about this, one of them was to follow me on foot; the others were going to take a turn around the block hoping to spot me as I exited the waste ground. They had just made my job a whole lot easier. I slid down the slope and then spotting a hollow I rolled sideways into the darkness just in time to see a figure appear at the top of the mound, nicely silhouetted against the purple night sky. He scanned the side of the mound and then set off down it towards me. He mumbled something into his mobile comms, and almost lost his footing in the darkness. I reached out a hand and felt around, it found what it was looking for, a length of metal pipe. I let him draw level and then take a step or two by me, I sat up, swinging the length of pipe as I did so, it struck him hard in the back of the knee. He let out a surprised, pained squeal.His leg collapsed under him and he fell back, his mobile flying from his hand. I sprang forward, drawing my pistol as I did so. I landed on him, knocking the wind out of him as he hit the rubble. I straddled his chest, pinning his arms with my knees. With my left hand I grabbed his cheeks, squeezed and shoved the business of my gun into his newly formed little fishy mouth, “Hi there, we’re going to have a little chat.” I lowered my face towards his, “Correction, I’m going to ask a few questions and you’re going to answer them. If you don’t give me the right answers I’m going to get even angrier than I am now. Do you understand?”He did his best to nod his head, there was no real need, his young, wide, scared eyes told me he understood. So did the feint smell of urine. I shifted my weight slightly, “I’m going to get off you now and you’re going to place your hands behind your head and sit up for me. Okay?”Again he tried to nod.“If you do anything other than those two things, I will blow your fucking head off.” I moved back and stood up. Very slowly he slid his arms up until his hands met behind his head. He began to sit up. As he did so two things happened almost simultaneously, his eyes flickered off me and for a fraction of a second focused on something further down the slope, at the same time a heard the whine of a blaster pistol as it reached full charge. I dived sideways, back into the hollow, as the bright blue ball of plasma slammed into the chest of my new young friend. I rolled and turned firing at the figure at the bottom of the slope, I was expecting to hit anything I just wanted them to stop firing at me. It had the desired effect and the figure scrambled for cover.This meant I now knew where two of this happy little band where. One was laying a few feet away, unconscious and twitching like a freshly landed fish from the affect of his friend’s blaster charge. The other had scrambled for cover at the base of the slope. The sixty-four thousand Euro question was, how many more of them were there and where were they?Part of the question answered itself as a second blaster charge exploded several feet above me up the slope, the force threw me forwards and I tumbled downwards followed by a shower of concrete and dust that rained down on me. So, there was at least one more of them and he was over to my right. I fired blindly into the darkness, rolling to my left as I did so. Another ball of blue exploded just to my right, the guy at the bottom the slope had regained his nerve and had popped his head up just long enough to loose of another shot. There may have been two of them but I had the advantage. Firstly I knew what I was doing, and secondly I didn’t have to wait for my gun to recharge. I slammed a new magazine into my pistol and fired a few rapid shots down the slope to where the first guy had taken cover. From the corner of my eye I saw the second guy raise himself up and take aim, I swung my pistol across and fired, hitting him in the shoulder, he spun round and his body somersaulted backwards down the slope, followed by a stream of loose rubble. Two down. I turned back to where the first guy was. It was make your mind up time. Did I go down there and flush him out or did I wait for him to make his move? My mind was made up for me as automatic fire raked the slope in front of me. There was a fourth, and he had found an assault rifle. I scrambled backwards, round the curve of the slope, firing as I did so. Thankfully whoever it was with the assault rifle was not the best of shots. They where good enough to make me want to keep my head down but if they actually hit me it would be more down to my bad luck than their good judgement.The firing continued in short bursts. They had obviously had some basic training; they knew how to lay down covering fire. I could only assume they were trying to retrieve their injured colleagues. My best bet was to try and get back to my vehicle and then try and follow them to where ever they were going. The firing continued, interspersed with the occasional shot from the blaster pistol. I scrambled round the side of the mound, heading in the direction of my parked vehicle. The firing stopped and I realised they must have got their fallen comrades into their own vehicle. I ran the last few yards over the loose rubble and jumped into the driver’s seat. I gunned the engine and pulled away with a squeal of tyres. I pulled up the area schematic and flicked over to Heads Up. I quickly realised they only two routes out of here, I mentally tossed a coin and headed south.I cut quickly through the side streets and headed for the main through route. If I was lucky I would come out just behind them, if I was not I would come out in front of them. I had not figured on the third possibility.The firework display back there had obviously disturbed the neighbours and some one had called the good folk of law enforcement. The inside of my vehicle was suddenly illuminated by the stark white light of a Police Flyer. The large black bulk of the aircraft dropped down just in front of me and hovered a few feet above the ground. A distorted metallic voice crackled over the tannoy, “Driver, pull your vehicle over to the side of the road and stop. Failure to comply will be responded to by force.”I thumped the steering wheel and swung the car over to the side of the road, a string of expletives falling from my lips as I did so. One day I would laugh about this.
Chapter Ten/Eleven
I was awoken from my fitful sleep by the bleep of the comms channel and Freud's fishy breath. I rolled over and checked the time. It had just gone seven in the morning. I had been in bed less than three hours, having spent several hours last night trying to track down my new friends after being interrupted by the ever helpful Police. I grabbed the remote, flicked on the screen and sat up. Lynda’s face appeared, did this woman never sleep? Actually I already knew the answer to that question and it was no.“Good morning Johnny. Did I wake you?”“No I had to get up to answer the comms. What can I do for you?”“Just a couple of things; firstly how is the search for Watt going, and secondly, why did you feel it necessary to wake up half of Archway last night?”“Would it surprise you if I told you the two where connected.”“Quite frankly, with you, no. I give you a simple missing person’s case, in the hope that it will keep you out of trouble, and still you manage to wake up most of N19 and involve half the law enforcement officers in London.”“That wasn’t down to me. I was merely trying to question a bloke when his friends decided to get involved.”“Are we any closer to finding Watt?”“I have a few leads,” I lied, “I’m just waiting on some 3Dees.”“Well keep me posted, and if you could avoid endangering the public and destroying private property today, the department would be most grateful.” She hung up and the screen went blank. Freud stood on the bed meowing, I stroked his head, “Okay then lad, I suppose I better get to work.”I fed Freud, made myself a coffee and then logged onto Diana from the terminal on my desk. There was a message in my inbox from Edward. It contained a series of attachments, the 3Dees he had been working on for me. I scrolled through them on screen and then downloaded them to my HandHeld. I called them up and scrolled through them again. He may be a weird little fella but he was good. Damn good. There were several close ups of Watt/Street, with and without the beard and several long shots, again with and without the beard. I watched as the 3D images revolved slowly, I zoomed in and out, altering the angle of view, familiarizing my self with his face, his stance, and his gait. I wanted to be able to recognise this guy in the dark, from behind, on a level ten night. I showered, dressed and prepared myself and my skin for a day pounding the streets. It was just after eight o’clock when I pulled out of the apartment block’s under ground car park. I had brought the department vehicle home with me. It was not something you were meant to do, but they knew where I lived should they need it urgently.I headed back over to the Whittington Hospital. I had pulled off a list of drop-in centres, soup kitchens and hostels. I’d start with the ones nearest to the hospital and work my way out. If Watt was living on the streets then hopefully someone in one of these places would recognise him.There are times when this job can be dangerous. There are times when it can be dull. It can also be exciting, frustrating, rewarding, annoying, tiring and sometimes downright hilarious. This morning though, it was depressing. I had spent four hours trawling through the dregs of humanity. I spent it in the company of men and women who had been cast aside by society, or who had, in the face of one too many problems, cast society aside and gave up on themselves. I began to wonder what had sent James Andrew Watt down this road. Why a young man, with what appeared to be a successful military career and a loving family, would chose this life. A life living from hand to mouth; a life hiding in the shadows; a life having to rely on the charity of others for food, warmth and clothing. I needed to get the stench of piss and failure out of my nostrils. I needed to get the image of large grey rooms, full small grey people, filling their mouths with wretched grey food, out of my mind. I turned the car round and headed for Soho. I figured a bit of lunch in the bosom of the family might help. My father’s small, steamy café was packed with the usual lunch time crowd. I made my way through the packed tables, nodding greetings to the regulars, reaching across and shaking the hands of familiar faces. My father dashed about behind the counter, he waved a spare hand and indicated that I should sit down. No matter how busy my father’s café was he always kept a table free in the far corner, just in case family should drop by.I sat down and Barbara, Franks wife, appeared, notepad in hand, she smiled, “How you doing then Johnny?”“I’m fine, yourself.”“Okay,” She glanced around the café, “rushed off my feet as usual. When you going to come round for lunch then?”“Well I err… you know how it is… work…”“I know how it is. You two are worse than when you were kids.” She looked over towards the kitchen. I could see Frank through the hatch, surrounded by steam and pots and pans.My HandHeld bleeped, I pulled it from my pocket, “I’d better get this, it’s probably work.”She gave me her, your not off the hook yet, look, “Okay, I’ll get you the special, do you want the salad.”I nodded my reply as I answered the call, it was Edward, “Hi there Edward, what’s up”“Nothing’s up, err… Mr Sharpe. I’ve managed to prepare a few more 3Dees. If you’re near a, err, Diana terminal you can download them now.” “That’s really good of you Edward, but the 3Dees you did me already are fine, really good. No one knows him of course, but that’s the way it goes.”“Err… no… no… you misunderstand me Mr Sharpe. These err 3Dees aren’t of the first man, they are of the other man… the err man who was with him.”“I didn’t know there was another man with him.”“Well… err… on the footage you gave me there err… wasn’t. You only had footage from the interior security cameras. I err, managed to get hold of the footage from the err… exterior cameras. The err, ones covering the err… entrance to the building.”“I won’t ask how, but well done. I’ll send you round a pizza.”“Mario’s”“Of course. Cheers Edward.”“Thanks Mr Sharpe.”The call terminated just as Barbara appeared with my lunch, my father’s lasagne and a green salad; she placed the plates down, “Frank grew the salad.”“I seem to have missed out on the green finger gene. I can’t even keep cactus alive. Does dad have a Diana Terminal yet?”“Your dad doesn’t even have a proper comms channel still.” I tucked into my lunch, a download could wait, my father’s lasagne could not. I ate in silence, savouring each mouthful, wondering how different my life might have been if I had not joined Department “Q”. As I finished Barbara reappeared to clear the plates, “Do you want a coffee?”“Yeh, I just have to pop out to my Vehicle, I’ll be back in a mo.”When I returned my father was sat at the table, I joined him and lit up.He took a sip of his coffee, “So, what’s so important that you have to leave a meal for it?”“I didn’t leave my meal. I ate my meal and then went to download this.” I pressed a couple of buttons and a 3Dee figure appeared just above the tiny screen of my HandHeld.It was not so much a man as a moving collection of things; hair, beard and layers of clothing. What looked like the flotsam and jetsam of a life time of scavenging hung from the bear like body from various straps, belts and buckles. It looked and moved like a living, breathing trading post. My father stared intently as the figure revolved before us, “Who or what the hell is that?”“I have no idea dad. He was seen with this guy.” The 3Dee changed to the slim frame of Watt, “This is James Andrew Watt, I spent most of last night and all of this morning trying to find him.”“Any luck?”“No. As usual no one has ever seen him or heard of him.”“What’s his relationship to the big fella?”“I don’t know. The big guy helped Watt to Casualty and then left him.” I flicked back to the 3Dee of the big guy.“Seems to me,” my father said, running his hand back and forth through the 3Dee like a kid with a candle flame, “That this is the guy you should be looking for.”“That’s what I was thinking.” I switched off the HandHeld and slipped it back in my pocket.“What’s the young fella done?”“Nothing, his mum and dad just want him back.”“That’s not your usual line of work.”“His mum and dad aren’t usual people.”It was time to hit the streets again, this time armed with a 3Dee of a guy no one could miss, even if they wanted. I spent the next few hours retracing my steps, visiting the places that earlier had seemed like sinkholes for humanity. Now, armed with the new 3Dee they didn’t seem so bad.Nobody in the actual drop-in centres, soup kitchens or hostels would admit to knowing the big guy, but it was easy enough to find the information I needed. He was not the sort of fella who could fade into the background. I changed tactics and began to talk to the local shop keepers and residents. It appeared he was quite a character and well known around the area. I slowly began to piece together a picture of him.Of course no one knew where he was now, or where he hung out. I left my comms number with everyone who would take it and hoped that at least of them would come through for me in the next twenty four hours.I decided I deserved a treat. A home cooked meal, a crap film and an early night. As I drove home I logged on to Diana and dictated a report for Lynda. It was not much, but it should keep her happy until the morning.
Chapter Twelve
For the first time in weeks I had managed to get a good night’s sleep. Admittedly I had not made it to bed. I had dropped off on the sofa, a combination of tiredness and alcohol finally taking their toll at about one in the morning. I woke up with my mouth tasting about as good as Freud’s smelt.There was a message on my comms channel, it was Lynda. Apparently she was not at all happy with my report and demanded that I go and see her in her office before I did anything else. She would have to wait, there were a couple of things I needed to do before I went into the office. The first of which was to get a coffee, the second of which was to get this dead, furry animal out of my mouth.I drove slowly to the office, partly because I needed to think, partly because of the level six rain, but mainly because of the hangover. I parked up and then sat in the vehicle smoking a cigarette. The comms channel on the dashboard chirruped into life, I tapped a button, number withheld, it was not Lynda then. I answered the call but the screen remained black, I spoke, unsure whether the call had connected or not, “Hello, who’s there?”“Mr Sharpe?”“Yes, who’s this?”“I’d rather not say at the moment.”“Well that does make it rather difficult. I don’t usually deal with anonymous callers,”“You’ll deal with me Mr Sharpe. I’ve got some information for you, about the big fella, the bloke they call Rinty.”“Okay then, what do you want to tell me?”“Not on the comms. You never know whose listening. I’ll meet you; do you know The Worlds End?”“In Camden?”“Public bar, this afternoon, about two o’clock.”“How will I know you?”“You won’t. I’ll find you.”The line went dead and the screen changed colour slightly. I realised that who ever it was had not killed the vision they had simply held something over the camera.I managed to make it to my office without being stopped. I was just sitting down at my desk when Nardone stuck her head round the door, “Sorry Boss, Miss Savage wants to see you the moment you get in.”“Does she have to know I’m in yet?”“She already knows.” she tapped the watch on her wrist.There where a few advantages to working for the department. The pension scheme, should you live long enough to claim it, being one of them. There were also some disadvantages, the main one being them knowing were you where twenty four hours a day.I stared at my own watch, “Tell her I will be straight up.” Nardone nodded and disappeared. That was yet another of Lynda’s little power plays. She loved to send a minion to fetch you. All she really had to do was press a button on her desk and call you into her office herself, but no, that was not good enough. You had to know that she had the power to order other people to fetch you.I made my way up to seventy-second floor, pausing briefly for a smoke. The personal assistant who sat guard outside her office indicated that she was in, so I knocked and waited to be given leave to enter.She was, as usual, sat behind her large oak and chrome desk, her back to the plate glass wall. I had to admit to myself that she was looking good this morning. Her long dark hair fell loose about her shoulders, like rich, melted, dark chocolate. The tight white blouse hugged her slim frame in all the right places.She was on the HandHeld, obviously a private call. She waved a hand to indicate that I should sit and wait. Who ever it was, on the other end of the comms line, was definitely giving her a hard time. I recognised her, I’m so pissed face, she only used it when being berated by a superior whom she could not tell to fuck off.After several moments of silence she spoke, “Yes minister, of course, as soon as I hear anything, I have Sharpe with me now… thank you… goodbye sir.” She slammed the HandHeld onto the desk, “Wanker.”“Me or him?”She paused for a second, “Both of you.” “Well it’s good to know that I’m held in the same high esteem as a minister of this fine government.”She glared at me over the rims of her reading glasses. God she looked hot this morning.She picked up her pen and began to twist it between her fingers, never a good sign, “So, are we any closer to finding the ministers son?”“Well I’m pleased to report that I got a call about twenty minutes ago. I’ll be following it up this afternoon.”“And what about this…” she scrolled through the report on her screen, “…Rinty chap?”“That’s who the call was about.”“Is the source trustworthy?”“I have no idea, and quite frankly I don’t care. I’m trying to track down the prodigal son of some high-up, not crack a Bolivian drug cartel.”“I’m sure you know what you’re doing.”“Be careful that almost sounded like a compliment.”She flashed me another of her stern looks, “I can assure you that it wasn’t meant to.”“If I do track this Rinty guy down, do I have your permission to bring him in?”“Why do you need my permission?”“Well, it may have escaped your notice but neither of them has, as far as we know, broken law, and well, Justice gets a bit ‘iffy’ if we start dragging people in off the streets.”“Okay, if you have to, bring him in as a material witness. I’ll square the paperwork.”Back down in my office I logged onto Diana. I figured I ought to start behaving like a detective. I entered the word Rinty into the data base and hit enter. Unsurprisingly there was very little info.It appeared he was very good at keeping out of trouble. He had been picked up once or twice for illegal trading, nothing serious, each time he had got away with a warning and a small fine. The last time was nearly a year ago. Since then he had fallen off the radar. It amazed me how easily people could disappear. At a time when the basics where on ration and you needed a form to get hold of a glass of water, how did these people survive.I spent the next couple hours catching up on paperwork. It was something I used to leave to Jake. He seemed to enjoy it, or perhaps he just got on with it knowing that I never would, unless forced. At a little after one I set off to meet my mystery caller at The Worlds end. If this went to plan the minister could be raising a glass of champagne, to welcome home his long lost son, over dinner tonight.
Chapter Thirteen
The Worlds End advertised itself as ‘The oldest traditional pub in London’ and at well over seven hundred years old who was I to argue. Inside was all dark wood, bare floor boards and tarnished brass. The atmosphere was thick with cigarette smoke, stale beer, and desperation. I ordered a pint and found an empty table in the corner, somewhere where I could see the entrance and still keep an eye on the rest of the room.For a weekday lunch time the place was quiet, unlike the neighbouring bars and restaurants which heaved with customers grabbing a snack, or settling in for a long afternoon meeting, lubricated by a constant supply of rich food and alcohol. Alcohol was one thing that never went on ration.I opened the packet of crisps I had also bought at the bar, took a long drink of my warm pint, and settled back and prepared for a long wait. In a situation like this you could never be quite sure how it would go. Sometimes the informant would arrive bang on time, like an eager new boy on the first day of work. Normally they kept you waiting, either because they were unreliable and would be late for their own funeral, or because they were afraid there would be some sort of trap.In this case my man was only a few minutes late. I recognised him as soon as he entered the bar. He was an elderly man, somewhere between his late fifties and early seventies, it was hard to tell, life on the streets had not been kind to him. He was one of the people I had spoken to at a hostel near the Whittington Hospital. Yesterday he had denied all knowledge of both Watt and Rinty, but I guessed he would have denied his own mother if he thought it would keep him out of trouble. Something, or someone, had changed his mind.He limped over to my table, his body slightly stooped from years of poor diet and sleeping rough, “Mr Sharpe?”As I suspected he was not the man who had rung me this morning, “Yes, can I get you a drink?”“Well, if you’re offering.” He sat down, “A pint of mild would go down nicely,” I stood up, he continued, “and perhaps a whiskey, just to keep out the cold.”“Can I get you something to eat?”“Well, no, well, perhaps a pork pie, and some pickle, if they have any.”When I returned from the bar he was trying to roll a cigarette from a collection of dog ends and dry tobacco. I put down the drinks and food, sat and offered him a real cigarette.“Thank you sir, you’re a real gentleman.” He took the cigarette, broke it in half, placed one half in his small tin and then rolled a cigarette with the other. He patted his pockets; I reached forward and lit the cigarette for him and then handed him the lighter, he smiled in thanks and shoved the lighter into one of his many pockets.He downed the whiskey in one, and then emptied half of the pint down his throat in a seamless motion, “Ah, thank you sir. That will keep the rain out.” He set about the pork pie, attacking it with a knife and the few teeth he had left in his mouth. I took a sip of my pint and watched him, waiting for a suitable gap in the feeding frenzy, “This Rinty fella, you know him?”“Oh yes sir.” My timing was slightly off and a shower of pork pie crumbs sprayed across the table towards me.“And you know where he is?”“Not exactly, but I can get him to contact you.”“Could you do that for me?”“Well,” he took another large gulp of the pint and the empty glass hit the table, “that depends on why you want him and what there is in it for me?” “I’m hoping that he can help me find this young man.” I placed my HandHeld on the table and the 3Dee of Watt revolved slowly before us.The old man stared at the small figure, “What’s he done then?”“He hasn’t done anything. He has some very worried parents who would like to make sure he is okay. I’m sure they would be grateful to anyone who helped them.”“How grateful?”“Very grateful.”He finished the last few mouthfuls of pie and then looked at his empty glass. I made another trip to the bar. I placed the whiskey and the pint down in front of him. He again downed the whiskey and half of the pint as though he had not had a drink for weeks.I took a gulp of mine, just to show willing, “So…?”“Folks call me Stan, sir.”“So Stan, can you put me in touch with Rinty?”“I’m sure I can sir; especially if you’re sure there are grateful parents involved.”“How long do think it will take?”“Not long. This afternoon I should think. We don’t want this young fella’s parents worrying any longer than needed.” He grinned a snaggle toothed grin.It was as I had suspected, it was Rinty who had called me this morning, it was Rinty who had sent Stan along and if my hunch was right, Rinty would be somewhere in the area keeping an eye on this pub. I slid ten euros across the table, “Here, get yourself a decent meal.” I finished the last of my pint and stood up to leave, “Here you go.” I handed him a fresh pack of smokes, he smiled gratefully and gathered up the money and the cigarettes. I was guessing that Stan had had a good afternoon, food, drink, cigarettes and money from me and I should imagine Rinty would not have left him short.I left the pub and headed back to my vehicle. The man who had been following me since I had left the office was still with me, only now he had gained a friend. Despite the fact that the rain had now increased to level five, I slowed my pace and strolled slowly down the busy high street.These two were good; they were in a different league to the guys who had been trailing me for the past couple of days. The first guy, a stocky fella with a dark beard, hung back, watching the entrance to the pub, he was obviously going to pick up Stan. The new one, a tall thin fella with a shock of ginger hair peeking out from under his hat, kept his distance, if I hadn’t spotted him chatting to beardy guy I would not have know he was tailing me. I was fed up with playing. These new guys meant that either the first bunch of muppets had been given their marching orders or there was a second party interested in my activities. Either way it raised the stakes, and I do not like the stakes being raised if I do not know what game I am playing and what the odds are. I crossed over the road and quickened my pace. This threw ginger guy slightly, as it now meant I was heading away from my vehicle and back towards beardy guy. From the corner of my eye I saw ginger guy mumble something into a wrist comms, up ahead of me beardy guy threw a glance in my direction and then stepped back in to the doorway of a café. Over the road ginger guy was trying his best to stay level with me without making it obvious.I quickened my pace again and then started to jog towards the entrance to the café. I could see beardy guy watching me through the window. Realising his cover was well and truly blown he turned and disappeared into the darkness. I sprinted the last few yards and hit the door at full speed, almost falling into the café. I entered just in time to see beardy guy, a trail of up turned tables and shouting customers left in his wake, disappearing through the kitchen door. I ran after him, drawing my pistol and shouting a warning as I did so.I gate vaulted the counter and followed him into the kitchen; lesson one of pursuit on foot, never follow an unknown quantity into an unknown situation; machine pistol fire ripped across the door just above my head. I instinctively ducked and rolled forward, crashing into the polished metal doors of one of the ovens. I sat with my back to the oven, my knees tucked under my chin, contemplating my next move.The decision was made for me, more machine pistol fire raked at the oven top, sending hot oil spraying in all directions. The chef and his two assistants who had been lying face down on the floor scrambled towards the kitchen door and out into the restaurant. I moved to my left, working my way around the large unit that dominated the centre of the kitchen. I reached the far end and then rolled out, firing rapidly as I did so. All I hit was hot steamy air and the door, to the alleyway at the back, as it swung shut. Remembering rule one I kicked the door open and then cautiously looked out into the alley. Beardy guy was running towards the far end that led back out on to the main road. I took aim and fired, catching him in his right arm, he span round, hit the floor, scramble to his feet and began to run again, firing blindly back in my direction. I dived behind the dumpster as bullets ricocheted all around me. There was a squeal of tyres and the firing stopped. I popped my head out just in time to see ginger guy exit the vehicle, which had just pulled up, and lay down covering fire for his injured friend. Bullets thumped into the side of the dumpster and I again ducked for cover. I heard the slam of vehicle doors and the squeal of rubber on wet tarmac as the vehicle fought for grip and then sped off.I sprinted to the end of the alley and then into the middle of the road. Ignoring the sounds of heavy braking and of horns beeping behind me, I began firing at their vehicle which was accelerating away from me. I realised they where heading in the direction of my park vehicle and so I ran after them, knowing they would get way ahead of me but that I could then at least follow in my own vehicle.I rounded the corner just in time to see them pass my parked vehicle; they slowed and raked the sides and tyres of it with machine pistol fire, then, almost as an after thought, one of them tossed something out of their vehicle and through the shattered window of my vehicle. Tyres squealed and smoke poured from the over heating rubber as they accelerated away. I sprinted after them again and regretted it almost immediately; lesson two of pursuit on foot, if an unknown quantity throws an unknown object and then rapidly evacuates the area, do not run towards the object. The force of the explosion lifted me off my feet and the shockwave carried me down the street, bouncing me off a vehicle roof and slamming me into a into a comms booth. My brain only registered the sound of the explosion when my ears began to roar in the silence. I sat for a moment, dazed, unsure of where I was or what had happened, then the need to survive and the years of combat experience kicked in. I staggered to my feet, my head swimming from the concussive blow, my ears screaming with noise, and my chest aching from the force of the blast. I did a quick check, nothing seemed to be missing and there did not appear to be any heavy bleeding. I began to walk back up the street to where the burning remains of my vehicle lay, in a charred and twisted heap, partly in the road and partly on the pavement. A man, his suit torn and charred, his face smeared with blood and soot, ran up to me, I could see the fear and anger in his face and eyes and I could see his lips moving as he screamed something at me, but nothing could get through the roaring in my ears.I reached into my pocket and showed him my warrant card as though this would explain everything. I pushed by him and continued to move towards my wrecked vehicle allowing the chaos to unfold around me. Slowly, through the fug of noise and pain, I began to hear wail of car alarms and the screams of sirens. Emergency workers started to appear; a man in a medic’s uniform took me by the arm and tried to lead me to the back of an ambulance, I pushed him off, I had not got time. I needed to find beardy and ginger. I needed to find Rinty. I needed to find Watt. I needed to sleep.
Chapter Fourteen
I fell back and let the water envelope me. The dark, star speckled night sky faded as I sank beneath the surface. The water drew me down and I sank into the inky blackness. I drifted into the darkness, all sense of up and down disappearing as weightlessness took over. The roaring in my ears became louder and louder as the pressure on them increased. I struggled for breath, each burning lungful sending shockwaves through my body.Then in the roar, a voice; a distant, muffled, indistinct voice trying to break through. It called out to me, a Siren in the darkness. I began to push against the water, scooping great handfuls of it, trying to drag myself back towards the surface. The water closed in, pulling me down, increasing its hold. I fought back, thrusting upwards, the voice called again, clearer this time. Overhead feint specks of light danced against the velvety black sky as I neared the surface.I broke the surface, my lungs sucked at the cool clean air, my chest expanded and filled. My eyes squinted at the harsh white light. The muffled voice called my name again, clearer, sharper, still slightly fuzzy but recognisable now, “Mr Sharpe, Mr Sharpe, Johnny, Johnny do you know where you are? I think he’s coming round.” Nurse Taylor’s voice cut through fuzz and roar, “Leave the mask on Johnny, you need the oxygen, you’ve got a bit of lung damage.Hands grabbed at mine and pulled them away from my face. The bright lights stopped dancing about in front of my and my eyes did there best to focus. Shapes appeared out of the haze. Blurry figures in pale green and blue. Voices talked over each other, instructions were barked, over to my left someone screamed, some of the figures disappeared, other figures took there place and all the time one voice, one voice that I tried to focus on, cut through the chaos. “Come on Johnny, lay back, stop trying to sit up, you need to lie down.” Said Nurse Taylor’s soothing voice.I stopped struggling and lay back. The world was beginning to come back into focus, slowly I began to remember what had happened and realise where I was. I lay, eyes closed, the surrounding noise and confusion filling my head and tried to separate fact from fiction.The fog began to clear, the world came into focus. I opened my eyes and looked around at the familiar room, Whittington Hospital A&E. I sat up slowly and immediately wished I had not as somebody started to pull my head apart from the inside. I pulled off the oxygen mask and then set about the I.V. needle that was taped into my left arm.A familiar voice rang out across the room, “Mr Sharpe, Johnny, What the hell do you think you are doing?” Nurse Taylor appeared beside me and slapped my hand away as though I was a naughty child trying to nick and extra sweet, “Would you like to bleed out, or are you just trying to see how annoyed you can get me.” She may been small, but she was a real little demon when roused, she would have made a good teacher.“Look, I’m not going to bleed out,” I twisted the needle and slipped it out, “You’d be surprised how many times I’ve had to do that.” I swung my legs round to the side of the gurney and got ready to stand up, then realised that I was wearing only a hospital gown. “I need to get out of here. I haven’t got time to lie around whilst your doctors decide whether they have time to see me or not. So if I could have my clothes, I’ll sign the paperwork and we can both get on with our jobs.”“We need to do some more test, you could have a blood clot or…”“…Internal bleeding, or brain damage, or hairline fractures, or cancer, or a hundred and one other things. Life’s a gamble and sometimes you have to play the odds. Clothes please.”I thought for a moment she was going to stamp her foot, but instead she folded her arms across her chest, gave me stare that could steam rain, turned on her heels and set off at speed across the crowded casualty department. I slid off the gurney and tried my legs. They appeared to be working and where happy to hold me up as long as I was leaning against something. If I let get go of the gurney then the problems started, the room spun and rocked liked a cheap whore on rubbing alcohol.Nurse Taylor reappeared with a yellow plastic bag and a clipboard, “Here’s your clothes and here’s the paper work.” She dumped them both down on the gurney and yanked the curtain across the cubicle entrance. I could hear her footsteps stomp off. I pitied the next poor soul who crossed her.I checked my watch and realised I had lost about four hours. I dressed slowly, leaning against the gurney to steady myself. As usual the bottom of my trousers had come of the worst, but they where still wearable. I was about ready to leave when my comms line rang, I grabbed my hand held, number unknown; I knew who it would be, “Hello.”“Good evening Mr Sharpe.”“Good evening, Rinty?”“Well done. I’m surprised you even know who you are. You put on one hell of a show Mr Sharpe.”“How can I help Rinty?”“It’s more a case of how I can help you”“Do you think you can?”“Oh yes. I understand you’re looking for Stickman.”“Stickman?”“Sorry, Jimmy Watt.”“Do you know where he is?”“Tell you what. You meet me, we’ll discuss how grateful his parents are and then we’ll take it from there.”“Okay then, do you have a time and place in mind.”“Of course. There’s an all night café called Peppino’s, on Archway Hill, I’ll see you there at midnight.”The line went dead; I glanced at my watch, just over four hours. I needed to clear my head. I needed to work out what the hell was going on. I needed a cigarette. I was coming to the conclusion that what had started out as a simple missing persons case had just got a hell of a lot more complicated.I made my way up to the canteen, grabbed an extremely strong coffee, found a seat in a quite corner, sat down and lit a cigarette. Some thing about this case did not sit right and I did not mean the fact that people kept trying to kill me. I sat with my HandHeld and scrolled through Watt’s file, there was so little information in it and I had no idea what I was looking for any way. I needed some one to talk to.Jake had been moved into a shared room. The department had a good health plan but even they liked to save money if they could. Jake and his new room mate bleeped and buzzed in rhythm if not in unison. At least this new room had a view.I began to outline the case. I talked and Jake listened, at least I hope he listened. The missing persons bit seemed self explanatory. Many of us had come back from our last tour of duty to nothing. We had been demobbed and then left to cope. No heroes welcome, no land fit for heroes. Me and Jake were among the lucky ones, we had been recruited by the department. We carried on doing what we best at. But many had been left with nothing. Even the son of an influential man could feel left out in the cold I suppose.What was bothering me though was not the missing minister’s son, but that people had taken an unhealthy interest in my activities since I had started looking for him. Why would people want me dead? What was so important about this lad that I was worth killing?That was it. That is what did not sit right. They were not trying to kill me. If they had wanted me dead they had had plenty of opportunities. Yes they had tried to kill me but only when they had felt cornered. They were not tailing me because they wanted me dead, they were tailing me because they wanted something I had, or something I had access to, or some one I was looking for. They were after Watt.I stood and stared out of the window, out across the city, the towers of lights twinkling in the night. The wind had picked up and the level six rain drummed against the glass.Somewhere out there was a man. A man from a successful family who had, for reasons perhaps only know to himself, decided to leave the comfort, warmth and safety of the family home, who had given up the chance of a good career in the city; a position within one of the ministries; a seat on the board of one of his fathers friends companies. He had thrown it all aside to live on the streets, hiding from the U.V. rays, dodging the rain showers, begging borrowing and stealing to survive. Also out there were at least two more groups of people who for there own reasons wanted him. It had to be money. It was always money, but what was the angle. I had to assume they knew who he was. The question of course was how did they know who he was? Had someone in the department leaked the info hoping to make a few euros? Had his father hired some private-eyes as insurance policy just in case the department did not come through? Something somewhere still did not sit right.My comms line rang, it was Lynda, “So you’re alive then?”“Try not to sound so disappointed.”“I hear you’ve discharged yourself.”“You hear right.”“So why are you still at the hospital then? If you feel you’re well enough to return to work you can get your ass in here. Perhaps you could explain to me and the minister why you felt it necessary to destroy half of Camden High Street, and put six people in hospital. I suppose we should be thankful no one was killed.”“I’d love to, but I’ve had a better offer. Tell the minister that if all goes well, and no-one else tries to kill me, we could have his son back by morning.”“You better not be shitting me.”“Ma’am, when have I ever shit you?” There was annoyed grunt and she hung up. I looked at my watch; I had about forty-five minutes before my meeting with Rinty. Just enough time for a little scouting mission.-*-Casualty was filling up nicely with the self-induced injuries of a good night out. I caught Nurse Taylor’s eye as I made my way over to the exit, she gave me another of her piercing looks. She was quite sexy in a scary sort of way. I could see she thought I was a fool for signing myself out without having all the proper tests and allowing the doctors to keep me in overnight for observation, which was there way of covering their backs; but I always figured that if you woke up, after a major trauma, being shot, a car crash, being blown up etc, and you were not dead, then things were pretty much going to stay that way for the foreseeable future.I stepped outside, through the automatic doors, into the night and lit a cigarette. The air was relatively cool compared to the humid atmosphere of the hospital. The rain had eased off to level one, the standard drizzle that was the backdrop to our lives.I looked about, hoping that some sign or landmark would trigger a memory and remind me where I had left my vehicle. My brain took two steps to the left a performed a cartwheel. In reality I had known all along where my vehicle was, my aching limbs, bruised muscles, tinnitus and dizziness were a constant reminder of the day’s earlier excitement. According to the schematic on my HandHeld the all night café was just around the corner and up the hill. Perhaps the walk would do me good. I crossed over the road and walked up on the opposite side to the café. I kept to the shadows as much as I could, partly to keep out of the drizzly rain, and partly to check I was not being followed again. If anybody was following me tonight they were either very good or extremely cautious.Peppino’s was a typical all night café, all bright lights, polished chrome and easy to wipe down surfaces. I stood in a doorway over the road and watched the comings and goings. It appeared to be mainly young people, more likely than not friends of those awaiting treatment in the casualty at Whittington Hospital.The turnover seemed pretty steady, most people using it as a takeaway joint rather than a sit in café. The only people who were seated in the café were two dealers doing their best to look casual and inconspicuous with their cans of pop and plates of chips. On any other night I would have busted them or at least got the local police to bust them, but tonight was not a night for excitement and grabbing at small fry. I needed to find Watt, I had only been on this case for three days and already that was three days too long. I checked my watch, it was nearly midnight, I glanced up and down the road, no sign of Rinty. Perhaps he was doing the same as me, perhaps he was stood only metres away from me awaiting my arrival. Then there he was, on the far side of the road, his massive frame ambling up the road. I watched him, a man mountain, he seemed to have got rid of a lot if the stuff he had had hanging off him the other night and even though there was a fair few things hanging from his belt, he seemed to be travelling light. I hoped to god that he was in a good mood and that everything went smoothly, I was in no mood or state to deal with him if he was not or it did not.He walked slowly past the front of the café, glancing in checking to see if I was there. He obviously was not going to go in until arrived, as he turned to walk back in front of the café, a young man, the worse for drink, staggered out of the café, he stumbled dropping his chips as he did so, I smiled to myself, I remembered that feeling well. The young man scrambled about on all fours trying to rescue his food, as Rinty drew level the young man stood and bumped into him, words were exchanged and the young man, even through the alcohol induced fug, realised that he would come off worse if blows were exchange and so he backed off, hurling a few choice insults in the direction of the confused Rinty. What happened next was poetry, as a professional I could not help but admire it, it was beautiful. Rinty turned and glanced up and down the road, obviously looking for me. He turned back to the face the restaurant, as he did so he stumbled as though he had lost his balance; he reached out an arm trying to find something to steady himself against. A helpful young woman took it and steadied him. She spoke to him, he replied, he staggered; then they moved in, they broke off from the various groups they had been chatting with. There was about six of them, they moved as one well rehearsed unit, Rinty fell back, they gathered him up, the doors of the van opened they slid him gracefully in, and they were gone. I ran as fast as I could, dodging the traffic as I crossed the road, I fired at the hastily retreating vehicle, but to no effect, they were gone, disappearing into the night, my only link to James Andrew Watt with them.
Chapter Fifteen
I have had to make some difficult phone calls in my time with the department but the one I had just had with Lynda was perhaps the hardest for a long time. To say she was annoyed would be the understatement of the century; I wondered if I would still have a career in the morning. What I needed to do right know was to put myself on the outside of a good bottle of whisky and have a good long soak in a virtu-bath. I hailed a cab and headed back to my apartment.There are times when you notice the little things and your senses leap to full alert. There are times when you would not even notice the elephant in the middle of the room. Tonight I was so tired, my body so battered, my brain so fuddled that I would not have noticed the elephant in the middle of the room if it had been juggling fire whilst riding a bicycle across a high wire.I had barely stepped into my apartment when I felt the barbs bite into my calf; the high voltage charge tore through my body milliseconds later, and the floor came up to greet me. The inky black water closed in around me again.I took a guess that I had not been out for too long. Whoever it was that had stunned me had moved fast, I was taped firmly into one of my own dining table chairs, a piece of tape over my mouth. I listened for a moment before opening my eyes and letting my captors know that I was conscious. I counted three by the sound of their voices, two males and a female who appeared to be in charge.One of the men was standing close to me, obviously my guard. The other two were over at my Diana terminal; the woman was berating the other man, “I thought you said you could fucking crack this?”“There’s something wrong, this isn’t the normal encryption code, it seems to be double layered.”“I don’t care if it’s double layered, triple layered or fucking layered with fucking ice-cream and fucking sprinkles get me into the fucking files.“Okay, okay.” I listened intently as he tapped away and then thumped at the keyboard, “This is wrong Elly, I don’t know who this fucking guy is, but he ain’t Security. There is some weird arsed shit going on here.”She moved across the room, “Is he awake yet?”The man near me poked at me with his pistol, “Not yet.”I decide it was time to find out what was going on here. It was about time I knew who these assholes where. In the past couple of days I had been shot at, blown up and now I had been electrocuted. To but it nicely I was pissed and these idiots were the nearest ones to be pissed at. I did my best coming out of a feint impression.The fool nearest me whispered hoarsely, “Elly, Elly, I think he’s coming round.”Slowly and with much drama I opened my eyes, doing my best to try and looked shocked and surprised, rather than the angry and murderous that I actually felt. I was right there were three of them. The woman, Elly, nodded to the fool standing next to me, I recognised him as one of the idiots from the waste ground the other night. He reached across and pulled the taped off my mouth, I looked at them nervously, “Who… Who are you? What do you want? I have nothing of value. Please don’t hurt me.” I was good, I almost convinced myself.Elly stepped forward, “Drop the act Mr Sharpe, we know you’re with Security…”The guy at the Diana terminal interrupted her, “I keep telling you he’s not with Security.”Elly turned and glared at the guy at the terminal, “Just concentrate on getting into that fucking file.” She turned back to me, “Look Mr Sharpe, Johnny, it would appear that we, that is you and I are looking for the same thing, a certain Tony Street.”“Sorry, you’ve lost me; I have no idea what you talking about.”“Do I look stupid?”“No, but he does.” I nodded towards the fool standing next to me.Elly continued, “We have been tailing you.”“Really, you don’t say.” I turned to the fool nearest to me, “How is your mate, not the one I shot, the one you shot?”The fool stepped towards me fist raised, Elly stepped forward and grabbed his arm, “Don’t let him ride you.” She turned back to me, “I know the government would love to get there hands on Street and I’m sure he’d help swell the Treasury coffers, but we can’t allow that to happen.”“Can’t you. Can I just ask, just exactly how long was I out?”“About ten minutes, why?” answered Elly.“I just wondered if I’d slipped through into some parallel universe.”The fool spoke, “You’re not funny you know.”“No, perhaps I’m not, but you lot are.”Before Elly had time to stop the Fool smacked me across the side of the head with the barrel of his pistol. I blinked once or twice trying to clear my head and then stared at him, “You’re going to regret that later.”Elly stepped in between me and the fool, “Look Johnny, we know all about Street. We know how valuable he is, we know the government would love to get there hands on him; it would solve a lot of their problems and make them a small fortune at the same time. We would like to see what he has made freely available to everyone, we don’t think anyone should profit from him…”I had to interrupt, “What the hell are you… He’s the missing son of some cabinet minister who wants his little boy back; the only money to be made from this deal is from the reward, if there is one.”“Very good Mr Sharpe, you stick with that story, but we all know different really don’t we.” She turned to Terminal Guy, “Are you in yet?”“No, none of the security codes work, I don’t know who he is working for but it definitely ain’t Security.”She turned back to me, “Right Mr Sharpe, you’re going to tell how to access the files that we need.”“Or what?”“Or I’m going to let my friend here,” she indicated the Fool, “loose on you.”“Lady, Elly, I’ve been threatened by scarier people than you, and I’ve been threatened with scarier people than him.”“You will tell us what we want to know.”“Look, if you want Street, why don’t you just ask your new friend.”“Our new friend?”“Yeah, the big guy with the beard, Rinty.” I did not think that they had Rinty, but I needed to confirm it.She looked at me, trying to figure out what my game was, “Was that the guy outside the café?”So they did have someone there, “You should know.”“We thought you’d arranged that. What does he have to do with Street?”“Well, now we’ll never know. I don’t suppose you’d consider untying me?”“I can’t do that. Just tell how to access the files we want and then we’ll be gone.”“I can’t do that.”Her comms trilled and she pressed the small button on her ear piece. She listened in silence for a moment, and then she spoke, “We have to go.”“What about him?” the Fool asked. “Forget him, the Police are on there way up here, we have about thirty seconds.”They gathered their stuff and headed for the door, Elly turned, “If you really think that Street is a minister’s son, then you are a fool, but you don’t seem like a fool and you don’t seem like the sort of man who likes to be taken for a fool.” She shoved something down the cushion in the back of the sofa and was gone. Freud trotted over and rubbed himself against my legs, purring and meowing as he did so. I looked down at him, “Thanks lad, but I didn’t ask you to call the police did.”He looked up at me and purred; I smiled down at him, “Okay, I suppose you were only doing your job, but next time, wait.”Moments later the Police burst in. They asked all the wrong questions and looked for all the wrong clues. They spent about an hour chasing around after their own tails and when they were satisfied there was nothing left to learn, they left. After they had gone I set about sorting out exactly what was going on and who my uninvited visitors were.

Chapter Sixteen
They had made one hell of a mess in the short time I had been unconscious. Not only could they not follow anyone or shoot straight, they could not search a room either. I began to tidy up, all they had done was pull things of shelves and empty out the draws, if they had thought about it they might have found some of the information they had wanted. I took the disk from under the mug on the desk and slipped it into the terminal.I decided it was time to start asking some questions, perhaps I taken too much for granted, which can be a dangerous thing and had got more than one man killed. I poured myself a whiskey and loaded up the files. I could see this was going to be a long night.I started with the file on Watt. I wish I had looked at three days earlier, it surprisingly contained very little. It was only the very basics, a short Biog, educational history, military service, medical notes and two photos. There was just enough in there to satisfy a quick glance through but there was no depth. Everything was the top page of what should have been longer reports.I flicked over to the file on Street. Unsurprisingly there was very little in it. It contained his admission papers, diagnosis and treatment orders and an oral medical history which was obviously taken at the time that he was admitted. There was also a follow up document, from Admin, saying that no other records could be traced and that it was believed Street was a false name. I poured another drink and spent the next half an hour flicking between the reports. There had to be something.I fetched a fresh bottle of whiskey from the cupboard, opened it, poured a glass and then sat on the back of the sofa, staring at the screen; Freud lay at my feet dozing, “Come on Freud, what am I looking for. I’ve got two incomplete reports, my main lead has been kidnapped and I’ve run out of gut instinct.”I drained the glass, refilled it and walked back over to the terminal. I stared at the two reports side by side. They were incomplete, but they did both contain a medical history. It was not much but it was something they shared in common. Perhaps something in there would give me a clue. I began to compare them and was immediately struck by one very interesting fact; they bore no resemblance to each other, they could have been written for two totally different people, they were written for two totally people; one was real and one was fictitious. My money was on the one for Watt being the fictitious one.I took a gamble; my bet was that the man who had called himself Street really had done military service, hence the photo of him in uniform in the file for Watt. Any military guy knew that you could lie about a lot of things, but you did not lie about your medical history, not if you did not want to end up worse off than you already were.I went back to the Street file and logged onto Diana. If I was lucky I might be able to track him down through his medical records in the data base. If I could not track him down I might get one step closer to finding out what his real name was.I pulled up the hospital file on Street from Diana and began the search. I knew it was a long shot and I knew it could take hours but it was the only real clue I had to the guy’s identity.I poured another drink and sat back prepared for the log wait. I was used to waiting; most of my working life had been made up of waiting. Waiting for orders, waiting for things to start, waiting for things to end, waiting for people to make their move, waiting whilst people made their move, waiting for reports, waiting for permission, waiting, always waiting.Thousands of file extensions began to scroll down the screen. I lit a cigarette and took a sip of whiskey and waited. I scooted my chair back and turned it to face the window. Even on a dark, wet night like this the city still looked magnificent. The tall skyscrapers stood silhouetted against the dark red clouds.There was a beep from the terminal and I scooted the chair back over to the desk. The message on screen surprised and intrigued me, it read, File Removed. I tapped a few keys, again the message came back, File Removed. I scrolled through the screens, in total there were about half a dozen files all of them came back as, File Removed. So now there was a mystery. A man walks into casualty, he has been stabbed, he gives a false name and some dodgy details, but it appears that he does not lie about his medical history. The good folk in casualty patch him up, they would like to keep him in overnight but he disappears. Then some twelve days later, some of the files from that night, and several others to, are removed from the system and Department “Q”, in the shape of yours truly, are given the task of tracking this guy down. From then on in things get really weird, as Terminal guy would say.There was only one thing left for me to do, the one thing I should have done three days ago. The thing I should have done first this evening but did not. Why not? Because part of me, that old gut instinct knew I was being lied to. The thing was who by, and why. I entered the name James Andrew Watt into the Diana terminal and pressed enter. The thousands of file extensions scrolled by, I sipped at my whiskey and lit another cigarette. As I suspected it did not take very long, it returned one file, the Diana version of the file I already had. That was not the answer I wanted. It was the answer I had expected, but we do not always want what we expect or get.What I had to do now was work out who was doing the lying. I hoped it was the minister and that Lynda knew nothing about the deceit. If Lynda was involved this was going to get really messy.The other part of the mystery was why I was being lied to. What was so important about this guy? If Elly was to be believed, why was he so valuable? I could not see a reason for her to lie and it was true that a lot of people had suddenly become very interested in his whereabouts.What did he have that so many people could want? What could it be that people were ready to kill for? That people were ready to kill me for. Elly seemed convinced that it could solve a lot of the government’s problems and that it could make a lot of money for somebody. She also hinted that she and her ragtag group of idiots wanted to make what ever it was freely available to all. I was guessing that it was not an invention, or even some scientific discovery. Street had been living rough, and for several years if Nurse Taylor’s description was to be believed. If he had invented something, or discovered something, I would have thought he would have sold the idea to the highest bidder and bought himself the biggest apartment he could find.It had to be something about him. It had to something that they had found out about him when he was in casualty. I looked at the missing file extensions. It had to be something that someone had found out about after he had left casualty. All the files were deleted twelve days after he had disappeared.I suddenly regretted having drunk quite so much whiskey. What I needed right now was a clear head. What I had was a brain that was swimming in too much alcohol. What had threatened to be a long night had started to become an early morning. Over to the east the horizon had begun to lighten. I needed a good mug of coffee. I needed the best breakfast in London.

Chapter Seventeen
I left the apartment block and headed off down Cryer Road. The first glow of dawn was making itself visible through the low grey clouds on the horizon. I crossed over the road and cut through Graeme Gardens, over Taylor Brook, into Ruston’s Yard and then out onto Lyttelton Way.The Tube station at Mornington Crescent was just opening as I arrived and the station guard rattled back the gates as I approached. I bought a paper, made my way down to the deserted platform a waited for the arrival of the first Tube of the day.I started to thumb through the paper. I very rarely bought one; I knew what was happening in the world, a lot of the time I was helping to make it happen. Anything I was not sure about I could find out about through Diana. Occasionally it was good to but a paper to see what the public was being told was important. It did not appear to contain any real news; its sole purpose seemed to be to scare people. The stories ran along the lines of, be afraid of this group of people, be afraid of this type of food, be very afraid of that group of people, be very afraid if you do this, be afraid if you do not do that. Be afraid because this could happen, be very afraid because this will happen, be very, very afraid because this is about to happen and be very, very, very afraid because this has just happened. In short, be afraid.The Tube arrived and I, and about half a dozen other early risers, got on. I found a seat in the end carriage, already there were about seven or eight people in there. The menial workers, the cleaners, the kitchen staff, those that had to be in to get things ready for the others, those that considered themselves the real workers.I carried on scanning through the paper, the stories had moved on to gossip, half truths and speculation about any body unfortunate enough to be in the public eye.The carriage rocked gently and what with that, the humidity, the rhythmical rumble of the wheels on the track and the hum of the motors, I soon found my eyelids growing heavier and heavier.The rain drummed against the window and shimmered in the sodium street lights, on the pavement three floors below. I reached across the gap, trying to get a grip of the wet metal. I managed to stretch across and grabbed hold of the railing. I swung one leg across and allowed the momentum to carry me over the gap. I shifted my weight slightly and felt the railing give; I glanced over to where a single rusted bolt stood between me and the cold, hard pavement. I turned back and there he was, gun raised. I felt the force of the blast before I heard the sound. The force threw me backwards and I heard the ping as the bolt sheared away from the wall. I began to fall, my legs over taking my head. I span and somersaulted, tumbling towards the cold hard pavement. The railing hit the ground and the echoing clang filled the alleyway. I wondered what sort of noise I would make when I hit the ground. The pavement reached up to greet me and I braced myself for impact.I jerked awake, almost sliding off the seat as the Tube pulled into the station. The carriage was packed, but the people around me had still found room to take one step back. Most of them avoided my momentarily confused gaze, but one or two met it directly, perhaps worried that that this, dishevelled, unshaven man who stank of whisky and screamed in his sleep would attack them.The voice on the public address system made an announcement, “This is Waterloo, Waterloo. Change here for Bakerloo line, Jubilee line and main line stations.”I staggered to my feet and headed for the door feeling like Moses parting the Red Sea; it is amazing how quickly people will let a lunatic out of a Tube carriage. I stumbled out, on to the platform gasping for breath. I sucked in lungful after lungful of stale, humid air. I pushed my way through the early morning commuters, my eyes searching up and down the platform for the nearest exit. I pushed and fought my way along, battling through the endless hoards of humanity whose one aim was to get to work.I spotted the entrance to one of the small side corridors, I was pushing against the flow and I found myself forced to the edge. I worked my way along the grimy, tiled wall. Over the heads of the people I could see the exit that led towards the escalators. I quickened my pace, barging my way through the oncoming crowd. Ice cold sweat ran down my back. My hands trembled, my legs felt weak, my stomach twisted itself into a knot and bile rose to the back of my throat. I steadied myself against the wall as my world began to swim around me. I needed air. I needed space. I staggered along the wall and found a short connecting corridor, I turned into it. I walked down the corridor for a few feet and then lent my back against the cool tiles and breathed in trying to steady my breathing. I lent forward, supporting my weight on my knees. The corridor began to spin, everything swayed backwards and forwards and I began to shiver uncontrollably. Then my stomach began to spasm, nothing, another spasm, nothing, a third and a mixture of whiskey, coffee and bile poured from my mouth and splashed onto the floor between my feet, another spasm, and another torrent of the vile mixture. My whole body shook and what little strength I had left drained out of me.Then the dry heaving, spasm after spasm and nothing left to bring up. The stomach muscle ached from the exertion and each wave jarred my ribs. I sucked in air trying to regain control of my body, the warm, fetid air burnt at my throat and lungs and another muscle tearing spasm ran through my stomach. I forced myself to stand upright and leaned against the.Another spasm and my body doubled up and my throat and mouth filled with acrid, stinging bile, my eyes watered and my skin dripped with a thin film of greasy sweat. I pulled myself upright again and moved off down the corridor, leaning against the wall for support. I followed the draft in the hope that it would lead me to the surface.The corridor opened out in to a junction, a high, wide open space with escalators and a further four corridors running off it. I made my way over to the escalators and headed up and out.The station concourse bustled with commuters but I managed to find an empty seat on a bench and I sat head in hands. I was still shaking and all the energy had drained from my body. I tried to steady my breathing and regain some control over my muscles.“Can I help you sir?” said a stern but friendly voice.I looked up, one of the station security guards stood before me, hands on hips, looking concerned, “No, it’s alright, I’m fine.” I replied.“Are you sure sir? I could get you a station medic.”I pulled out my warrant card, “You could get me a cab.”“Yes sir, straightaway, if you would like to follow me.”Sometimes an abuse of power was a good thing.I arrived at the café at almost the same time as my father. I stood, as I had when I was a child, impatiently on the pavement whilst he undid the various locks and bolts that barred our entrance. After what always seemed like an age of rattling keys and sliding bolts, the great metal shutter rolled up and at last we entered the café.There is something about training and muscle memory; some things never leave you no matter how long ago you stopped doing them on a regular basis. My father went straight in to the kitchen and set about preparing the kitchen, turning on the various hotplates etc. I filled and turned on the enormous, ancient coffee machine, and then I began to take the chairs down from the tables and lay out the condiments. Without thinking I had slipped into my teenage role. I checked the pressure on the water heater and ground a fresh batch of beans. All was done automatically, without question.Terry, my father’s young cook, arrived and headed for the kitchen. I heard my father’s voice quietly berate him for being late, as he had done with every cook since I was a child.My father appeared from the kitchen and began to fuss about around the counter, “so, what’s troubling you then lad?”“Nothing.” I replied, pulling the silver tap and pouring us the first mugs of steaming coffee.“Nothing, I may be getting on but dementia has not set in yet. You turn up looking like shit, stinking of booze and vomit, you look like you haven’t slept for days and you tell me nothings the matter.”“It’s nothing; really, it’s just a work thing.”“You never get this wound up over work.”“I do when I’m being screwed over”“By the department?”“Forget it. It’s just your baby boy’s paranoia getting the better of him.”“Sit.” He pulled a chair out at the family table.“We haven’t got time. You haven’t got time. People will be arriving expecting breakfast soon.”“Terry will deal with them. Sit.” It was more an order than a request. I sat. He pulled up a chair and sat opposite me. “Look lad, you’re your very much like your mum, god rest her soul, logical and level headed but always led by your gut. She could sniff out a shyster at four hundred meters and you’re the same. If something is bothering you then you are probably right. Go with the gut my boy. Go with the gut.” He patted the back of my hand.“Thing is though dad, I don’t like what my gut is telling me.”Terry appeared and plonked two breakfasts down on the table, he mumbled something and then disappeared back into his kitchen. I stubbed out my cigarette and pulled my plate of food towards me, “I need to talk to someone.”“Anyone in particular?”“Yeah, but if the department get wind of it, they’re not gonna like it.”“Well, make sure they don’t get wind of it.” He grinned at me and I grinned back. I felt like a kid who had just been given permission to skive off school.We ate our breakfast in silence, each of us deep in thought, each of us lost in our own world.It had just gone eight o’clock when I left my fathers café. The sun had clawed its way above the horizon and was know doing its best to fight its way through the low clouds. I smeared some cream on my face and hands, checked my exposure indicator and set off to find a bus.Three quarters of an hour later I was back at my apartment. I shoved my hand down the back of the sofa and retrieved the small card that Elly had left there.Twenty minutes later I was climbing into bed having arranged to meet Elly that evening. I lay back on the pillows, closed my eyes and slipped gently into the welcoming arms of Morpheus.

Chapter Eighteen
I jolted awake fractions of a second before I hit the ground. I lay for a moment in the dim half light unsure of where I was. Then slowly the trill of the comms line filtered through my brain and into my conscious. I rolled over and punched at the panel of buttons beside my bed.There was a momentary pause and then Lynda’s voice, “Sharpe?”“Yes.”“What are you doing?”“Trying to wake up and work out where the fuck I am.”“According to this you’re at home.”“Yes, I know, look, what do you want?”“Are you okay?” she almost sounded concerned.“Yeah, I think so, I must have dozed off. What time is it?”“Twenty one seventeen.”My brain stirred a little, trying to remember something, but then gave up, “Don’t you ever go home?”“How soon can you get into the office?”“Is it important?” I knew it was a stupid question, but my brain was trying really hard to help.“No, I thought you might fancy popping out for burger and a coffee, perhaps we could take in a movie later. Of course it’s important.” That was the Lynda I knew and had once thought I loved.“Okay, sorry, give me an hour.”“You’ve got thirty minutes. I’ll see you at twenty two hundred hours.”My brain took a step and a half to the right and performed a little jig, it had remembered what it had been trying to remember, my phone call with Elly, “I can’t.”“You can’t what?”“I’ve just remembered, I’ve arranged to meet someone.”“Well far be it from me to get in the way of your sex life.” I waited for the sting, “Ring her, apologise, tell her to keep her knickers warm and be in here in half an hour.”“Very funny. It’s a lead about the Watt lad.”“Forget it, I’ve got a new job for you, I’ve given the Watt case to Baile, send him the details, he’ll sort it out.”“I can’t my contact is a bit nervous, they’ll only talk to me.”“Just give the details to Baile; I’m sure he’ll persuade your contact to talk to him.” I could almost hear her twirling her pen. “I can’t do that. I’ve got to go, I’ll call you later, we can discuss this new job then.”“Johnny, let me put this in terms you can understand, I’m giving a direct order, hand the Watt case over to Baile and get into the office now.”“Well, I’m going to have to directly disobey you.”“Sharpe you’ll get in here now or you’ll be on suspension.”“Okay, okay.” This case had got me bugged and I was not going to drop it now, “I’ll take the suspension. Gotta go, I’ve got a meeting.” I jabbed at the button and ended the call.I now had to move fast. I jumped out of bed and went into the living room. I logged onto Diana and ordered up a car. If I knew Lynda she would storm about the office for about ten minutes, lashing out verbally at anyone within reach. Then she would calm down and set about making this suspension official. It would take her another twenty minutes to fill out the correct forms and start the process to rescind my privileges, hopefully by then the car I had just ordered would be pulling up outside my apartment block.I showered and dressed quickly, slapped on a fresh exposure indicator, left some instructions with Freud, and made my way down to the foyer. There was no sign of the car so I popped in to Mr Kapur’s and brought a couple of packets of smokes, we were discussing the latest ration cuts when I heard the unmistakable hum of a department engine.Outside was a large, dark coloured department vehicle. The driver stepped out, he was a young staffer whose name I could never remember.“Good evening Boss.” He reached to open the back passenger door.“It’s okay… err?”“Peterson, sir.”“Yes, sorry. It’s okay Peterson, I’ll drive myself, you can go.”“Yes, well, the thing is boss, Miss Savage has ordered me to take you straight back to the office.”“Oh, right. Okay then.” I opened the front passenger door and started to get in, “Peterson, could you do me a favour?”“Sure Boss.”“Could you pop in and get me a pack of smokes,” I nodded towards the shop, “I’ll call Lynda and tell her we’re on our way.”He eyed me suspiciously for a moment, “Okay Boss, what brand?”“Just tell Mr Kapur that they’re for Mr Sharpe, here you go.” I handed him a small bunch of Euros.He crossed the pavement and entered the shop. I climbed into the car and slid across into the driver’s seat; I knocked the car into gear, gunned the motor and pulled off in a cloud of tyre smoke and screeching rubber.I knew they would be tracking me, and the car, as soon as Peterson plucked up the courage to call Lynda and explain to her how he had let me get away. I headed for the old Blackwall Tunnel, it was not used much nowadays but occasionally it could be useful. The streets were relatively quiet and I made good time. I pulled into the tunnel and drove until I was at the half way mark, the lowest point. I stopped the vehicle and prised the front off the Diana terminal, I disconnected the tracker, as far as the department could tell I had driven into the tunnel, the single would get weak and then disappear, they would wait for me to emerge from the other end, but I would not.Now there was the problem of my personal tracker. Again they would have lost the signal as I entered the tunnel but now I had to get rid of it. I got out of the car and flagged down an approaching cab. The driver stopped and wound down his window, “Anything up mate?”“Yeah, I can’t get a comms.” I said leaning against his open window.He gave me a disdainful look, “You won’t mate, you’ll have to wait until you’re out of the tunnel.”“Oh, right, cheers, I’ll try that.” I said walking back to my car.He shook his head in disbelief and pulled off, taking my watch with him in his jacket pocket. All that had done was buy me a bit of time, a department vehicle still stuck out like a sore thumb and it would not take a police flyer long to spot me. I needed something a little less conspicuous. I drove out of the tunnel and headed west, keeping to the side streets and built up areas, anywhere where a Flyer would have problems seeing the roads. I found a piece of waste ground about two kilometres from my destination, I parked the vehicle in a row of deserted garages and set off on foot. Twenty minutes later I was standing outside a heavily armoured door waving at a tiny camera, “Edward, open up, it’s me, Sharpe.”After a brief pause and the clunk and rattle of locks the door swung open and Edwards head appeared, “You’d better come in.”I stepped in and followed him through the maze of boxes and discarded electrical to the neat and well ordered kitchen. He indicated that I should sit, “No err, food Mr Sharpe?”“I’m afraid not this evening Edward, I’m in a bit of hurry and I have a favour to ask of you.”“Oh err, right, and err what might that be? More 3Dees or perhaps a little file err, hunt.”“I was wondering, do you still have your mother’s vehicle?”“Mothers vehicle? Well, I err, I don’t know, I mean mother’s vehicle. Why?”“I was hoping to borrow it.”“Borrow… Borrow…” he stood up and began to pace the kitchen wringing his hands as he did so, “Borrow mother’s vehicle. I don’t know Mr Sharpe, I mean what would she… I… Mother’s vehicle…”“You know I wouldn’t dream of asking unless it was really important.”He turned on the tap and tried to pour himself a glass of water, nothing came out. I stood up, swiped my water card in the terminal and tapped a few keys. He smiled gratefully as he filled his glass and then took a long drink.He turned the empty glass over and placed it on the draining board, “Couldn’t you use a err, department car.”“Me and the department have fallen out.” I held up my watchless wrist.“Oh, err, right.”“I’ll look after it. You know you can trust me Edward.”“Yes, well, but err, mother’s vehicle.”“You know your mother would be proud of you if she thought you were helping a friend solve a case.”Ten minutes later I was back on the road, Edward having given me strict instructions about what I could and could not do with, in, on, or around his mother’s vehicle. The vehicle itself was a big old clunky beast, or so I thought. It was already old when Edwards’s mother had died and now it looked as though it belonged in a museum. I had not figured on Edwards’s inability to leave anything alone, what ever it was he had to fiddle, to improve, to upgrade.I flicked on the screen, expecting the basic Diana terminal and found myself greeted with a list of options and sub-menus, I scrolled quickly through and realised that far from being an old heap that had sat in the garage I was driving an up to date vehicle with all the latest modifications and a motor that would put a department vehicle to shame. I resisted the urge try it out, the last thing I needed to do was draw the attention of a police flyer and besides I had an appointment to keep.I arrived at the little pub with a few moments to spare. When she had suggested we meet in the centre of the West End I was more than a little hesitant, but when I found the pub I realised she had, from her point of view mad a very good choice, she had obviously had some training.The Tom Cribb was a small pub situated on the corner of two side streets, consequentially it had two entrances. Inside there was only the one room, long and thin with a bar down part of one side.I ordered a pint and found a seat where I could see both of the entrances, not easy in the long, narrow room. I sat and sipped at the warm beer. Glancing about the bar I checked out the other customers, there were not many, when I had entered I had increased the numbers by twenty-five percent.The two doors swung open simultaneously and a pair of men entered through each door. They made no attempt to approach the bar or to blend in they took up their positions by the entrance. I took a wild guess that these were the advance guard. The surprising and slightly worrying thing was that the few customers and the barman did not even look up or make any attempt to acknowledge their presence. For the next five minutes nothing happened. I sipped at my pint and kept an eye on the four men, the four men stared straight ahead, the customers chatted quietly and the barman slowly filled in a crossword puzzle.Then it happened, the strange woozy head, the room going out of focus, the two men by the nearest door moving towards me, I tried top draw my gun, but my arms refused to move. They grabbed me under the arms and lifted me up, through the haze I could hear them laughing the barman saying that some people can not take their drink. I could feel my body, the limbs limp, heavy and useless, my vision became blurred, lights sparkled into stars, colours ran together, sounds melted through my head.We were now outside, fresh air, fresh warm air. The four of them picked me up taking a heavy, dead limb each, my mind raced trying to make sense trying to catch up but the messages could not get through, got lost on the way or got lost in translation. They bundled me into the back of a vehicle, a van, a truck, a lorry, I tried to remember, I must remember. One of them grabbed my wrist, his voice echoed through the fuzz, “He’s done us a favour, he’s already got rid of the watch.”Another voice, a female voice, her voice, “Check his pockets, get rid of the gun.” We were moving, “No don’t chuck it, he can have it back but I don’t want him armed when he comes round.”More hands, searching checking, the vehicle swaying turning, left, left, right, slowing down, how long? how long have we been moving? Right, left, can not remember, head, can not clear head, must stay awake, must stay awake.-*-Very slowly the world drifted back into focus. My brain felt like day old scrambled egg and my mouth tasted like a sheet of used toilet paper. I opened my eyes, it remained dark, I wiggled my head and the blindfold moved slightly. I was lying on a thin mattress in a large, well lit room.I heard a familiar voice, it was the Fool from the previous night, “See I told you we ain’t given him too much.”Elly’s voice cut through the fug, “Okay, get him into the chair and get the blindfold off.”More hands grabbed and lifted, I struggled and this time my limbs worked but I was bound hand and foot. I was shoved, unceremoniously, down into a chair and the blindfold was pulled off. I blinked at the harsh white light and allowed my eyes to adjust. There were three of them again. Elly, the Fool and a new guy with a goatee beard. I realised why my mouth tasted like used toilet paper, I was also gagged.The room was large and white tiled, there was a heavy steel door at the far end. It looked as though it was once a cold store. Goatee stood by the door cradling an automatic rifle, the Fool stood just to my left with a machine pistol. Elly took a few steps towards me, “Sorry about this Johnny but you must understand our situation.”I tried to let her know how much I understood. She looked into my eyes and stepped back. She cleared her throat, “I going to take the gag off okay, there is no point shouting no one will hear you down here.”Again I gave her the sort of look that could kill, and if not exactly kill then cause its recipient to limp for a day or two. She nodded to the Fool and he undid the gag.I spat out a goblet of foul tasting saliva, “You sure know how to treat a guy, the third date must be a real doozey.”“All of this has been for your benefit as much as ours.” She grabbed a chair, and pulled in front of me and sat down.“My benefit. Why thank you, I didn’t realise you were so concerned about me, the electrocuting, the drugging and the hog tying had me confused.”“Johnny…”“No please, call me Mr Sharpe.”She shot me the sort of look that could kill. Up until that point I had not realised quite how sexy she was. I mean I had noticed she was attractive, you could not help noticing that about her. She had a lithe supple body, a natural athlete who would have been school captain without even trying. Her rich dark hair was chopped short and spiky, it was the sort of look that was meant to look as though you did not care about your appearance, but actually took about hour in front of the mirror to achieve. When we had met the first time, at my apartment, it had been fairly dark and she had been wearing black shapeless combats with a bullet proof vest and a stupid woolly hat, but now she sat before me, still in black combats, but without the vest, the hat and all the paraphernalia hanging off her; and boy did she look good. “Mr Sharpe, we know your reputation, we’ve seen you at work, you do tend to blow things up first and ask questions later.”I shifted uneasily, my hands had started to go numb, “It’s a tried and trusted method and I find it works fairly well for me.”“Yes well, that was a situation we wanted to avoid.”“I promise I’ll behave tonight.” I tried to smile jokingly, “Any chance of a drink, god knows what that gag was last used for.” I spat again.Elly nodded at the Fool and he disappeared behind me, there was the sound of running water and he reappeared with a glass. He held it out at me as though it contained something dangerous or as though I might suddenly spring forward and attack him. He thought better of coming any closer and placed the glass down in front of me and the backed off. I watched him return to his original position.I looked down at the glass and then up at Elly, “Either you’re going to have to help me or untie me, the choice is yours.”She looked at me as though she was studying a rabid dog on the end of a very long chain; she turned to the Fool, “Help him.”The Fool stepped back, “Fuck off, I ain’t going no where near him.”Elly looked at him with despair, “For fuck’s sake. He’s tied up and you’re fucking armed.”The Fool shifted uncomfortably, “Yeah, but still.”Elly walked forward drawing her pistol as she did so, “Right Mr Sharpe, I’m going to untie your fucking hands.” She moved round the back of me, “You do anything other than pick up that fucking glass and drink and I will blow your fucking head off.”I could not resist a dig, “Not with that gun you won’t,” I felt the cold blade of a knife run between my wrists, “You’ll make a hole, but my head will stay on my shoulders.”She twisted the knife and the plastic tie dug into my flesh before snapping, “There you go Mr Sharpe, I hope I didn’t hurt you?”“No.” I rubbed my wrists and then lent forward, “Thanks.” All three of them tensed, Goatee even went so far as to take the safety of his rifle. I very slowly and deliberately raised the glass to my lips and drank. The water was warm, grade two, but it was at least better than the taste I had in my mouth.I sat back in the chair, “Well I know I wasn’t bought here for a social call, so lets get down to business.”Elly sat back down, her gun on held in her lap, “Business?”“I assume you’ve worked out some way of benefiting from this situation. Profit is such a good motivator.”She looked annoyed, “Profit, we’re not in this for a fucking profit Mr Sharpe.”“You surprise me.” She looked at me quizzically, I continued, “No you genuinely surprise me, most folk are out for all they can get.” I took another sip of the water, “What do you and your happy little band of merry men want then?” She stood up and started her well practised little speech, “We want freedom, we demand equality, we…”I interrupted her little speech, “Yaddah, yaddah, yaddah, very, very nice I’m sure. Very worthy, I bet it has the boys standing to attention every time.” It was time to start seeing what cards they were playing with, “What do you actually want? What do you hope to gain right now? What do you hope will be the outcome of this little tête-à-tête?” She stood up and moved across the room, “We want Stickman.”It was my turn to look quizzical, “Stickman?”“The young man you are looking for.”“Stickman, well that’s one name I haven’t got on my little list. Why do you want him?”“Why do you think we want him?” “My first guess was that you wanted him because he was a minister’s son and you could see the Euro signs, but obviously that was wrong.”“A minister’s son?”“Yes, we aren’t going to get very far if you just keep repeating what I say in the form of a question.”“Okay, tell me what you know.”“I’d love to, but after your little visit the other night I’m not sure what I know.”“You believe us?”“At the moment you’ve not told me anything, so I have nothing to believe or disbelieve.” I lent forward and fiddled with plastic tie around my ankles, it was beginning to dig in, “Any chance of loosing the ankle chain.” The three of them eyed each other, “Look,” I continued, “You’ve got my gun, and you’ve got me intrigued. I promise you, I won’t blow anything up.”They looked at each other again and then Elly spoke, “Untie him.” The fool stepped forward and cut the plastic tie.I rubbed some feeling back into my ankles, “I’m going to stand up, to try and get some blood back in my feet.” I stood up, the three of them backed away slightly. I walked over to the sink and refilled my glass.Elly joined me at the sink and poured herself a glass, “So what did you think you knew?”I decided to take a risk and show her my cards, “I thought I was looking for the missing son of a cabinet minister, but I have a nasty feeling that that was all bullshit. According to the file I had his name was James Andrew Watt. He’d been missing for about six years when he suddenly surfaced in the casualty at Whittington. I was given the task of finding him.”She took a drink, “How did they know who he was?”“Pardon?”“He used a different name didn’t he?”“Yes, Tony Street?” I wondered how she knew.“So how did they know he was James Andrew Watt, cabinet minister’s son?”There are times when something is so blindingly obvious that you do not see it standing in the middle of the room waving its arms about and screaming its head off. How did they know he was the missing minister’s son?I turned to her, “And now you’re going to tell me.”She smiled and head off across the room, “Follow me.”I followed her like a school kid being taken to see the dead body of the tramp that had washed up on the river bank. We left the white tiled room and made our way down a couple of dingy corridors. She took me into a small dark room and we sat down at a Diana terminal. She reached into a draw and took out my belongings, placing them on the desk.“Here.” She slid my gun across to me, “Nice gun, I like a fella who has a big weapon.”I ignored the sarcasm, “Do you think you can trust me?”“Not yet, but let’s see how you feel after you’ve seen this.” She slipped a disk into the terminal and my file on Watt loaded onto the screen, “This is your file on Watt.”“I hate to tell you but I’ve already read this.”She ignored my sarcasm and slipped two more disks into the terminal. The file on Tony Street loaded, I stared at her eyebrow raised.“As you have probably realised,” she said, “The Watt file is complete fiction.”“You cracked the security codes then?”She ignored me and carried on, “The Street file is basically true apart from the name. Like you we don’t have a real name for him, but we do know that on the streets he’s known as Stickman.”“Nice nickname and the third file.”“The third file. The third file is why we, you, and several other people are actually looking for him.” she loaded up the third disk.I looked at the screen, “It’s a medical file.”“In one; but it’s a very important medical file.”“There is no name.”“No, but the information is all about Stickman.”“Okay, now I’m listening.”“Did you talk to Nurse Taylor?”“Yeah.”“Did anything she said strike you as odd?”“Not really, bloke comes in off the street with a stab wound, they treat him, he fucks off.”“What about the bleeding?”“She said they had a few problems getting it to stop.”“Yeah.” She let the thought hang in the air for a moment.“You’re telling me that I’ve nearly been killed on three separate occasions because some guy bleeds a lot?”“No, it’s a lot better than that.” She started to scroll through the screen, “This isn’t even an official hospital report.”“So what is it then?”“It’s a bit of research that the government would like kept quiet.”I smiled, “That’s nothing new, there’s a lot of research the government would like kept quite.”“Well yes, but this piece of research is being done by a young researcher at Whittington Hospital.”I stared at the file on the screen, “So what’s so important about Stickman that he’s got half the country chasing after him?”Elly scrolled through the various pages until she reached the one she wanted, “This.”I stared at the list of figures and charts, “You’re going to have to help me here, I think the drugs you pumped me with may have made me forget my medical training.”“The researcher was working on a project looking at the effects of the weather on the skin.”“We know what the effect is. Cancer.” I light a cigarette and offered Elly one, she took it and I lit it for her.“Yes, but the he was looking at the effectiveness of the various creams etc. He was trying to see what effect prolonged exposure had.”“So, this is nothing new, there have been people looking into this for years.”“Yeah, well, he got lucky.”“Lucky?”“Our mutual friend, Stickman.”“What about him?”“His skin is not affected.”“It has to be, every body has some damage.”“Not Stickman. The researcher did every test he could on Stickman’s blood and skin samples, and there was no effect, in fact it started to repair itself. Something to do with his DNA they think.”I scrolled through reading the actual report, “If some one could synthesis the effect or even manufacture the DNA code…”“Exactly, whoever gets hold of him and can work out how his body is doing this then they will make a fortune.”“So, if what you’re saying is true, why would they tell me he was a minister’s son?”She looked at me as though I were half witted, “You accidentally discover a possible cure for the biggest drain of government funds, are you going to announce it to the world or are you going to keep it quiet, use a cover story and hopefully solve two of this worlds biggest problems in one go?”I sat back in the chair, “Okay, so that’s why I’m looking for him, why are you?”“We believe that was ever it is about him should be available to everyone and not just the highest bidder.”“Sort of human shareware.”“Exactly.”“That explains part of it, but who has got Rinty then?”“Ah yes, Stickman’s friend Rinty. We think the pharmaceuticals have got him.”“Why would the pharmaceuticals want Stickman?”“They make a fortune from manufacturing the creams and sprays that keep us all safe. If Stickman is the answer to the effects that the weather has on our skin then they are well and truly fucked, unless they get there hands on him first.”“But surely there will still be money in it for them. The government will need to licence the process.”“Why make something on licence when you can own the patent and world wide rights.”I stood and began to pace, I liked to drink when I thought and if there was no drink the I found a good pace up and down usually helped. She watched me for a moment, “You looked troubled.”“If what you’re saying is true then there are three groups looking for Mr Street,” I corrected myself, “Stickman, two sets of bad guys out to use him for profit and you and your merry men. Thing is, I’ve never been on the side of the bad guys before.”“You don’t sound convinced.”I turned to her, “How did you lot find out?”“Did you notice the missing files?”“Yeah, there were about five or six, all removed on the same day.” I lit another cigarette.“That’s when the government got involved, they wanted to bury the reports and find him before any one got wise to what was going on. The missing files are the ones on my disk. Fortunately we have friends all over the place and sometimes they send us things they think we might find interesting.”“What about the pharmaceuticals?”“We think the researcher told them, as you say most folk are driven by profit, perhaps he was hoping for a reward or job. I should imagine a private company would pay better than the Health Department.”I stood thinking for a moment, “Can I get a copy of your disk?”She popped in blank disk and hit a couple of keys, “You gonna help us then?”“Help you? Is this what all this is about?”“Look, you’ve got the contacts and the knowledge, I’ve got the manpower.”I allowed myself a little laugh, “What Tweedle-Dum and Tweedle-Dee out there?”“There are more of us.”“Well I hope for your sake they’re better trained.”“Are you going to help us or not?”I took the disk from her, “At the moment, not; but then again I’m not going to hinder you either.”She looked disappointed, “You do realise what this could mean for humanity if we can get to him first.”“All I know for certain is that I’ve been told to find this guy and that some one is lying to me about the reason I need to find. So first things first, I need to sort out what the truth is, then I can decide who gets my help.” I picked up my belongings and slipped them into my pockets, then I picked up my gun and checked the clip, “Now are you going to show me the way out or do I have to start shooting people?” She blanched visibly, “I’m kidding.”

Chapter Nineteen
There were no drugs or electric shocks this time, they merely drove me back into the West End and dropped me off near to the pub. We had travelled in silence, the fool had driven and Goatee had travelled in the back, seated behind me just in case I decided to cause any trouble. According to the tiny digital clock on the dashboard it was nearly half past five in the morning. I seemed to have lost a few hours somewhere, but I guess that was down to the Mickey Finn they had slipped me. I walked quickly back to where I had parked my vehicle, the rain was falling heavily and it was several hours since I had had a chance to apply any cream. I guess Elly was right, life would be a whole lot easier and better if we could find a permanent solution to this problem. I climbed in to the vehicle and sat thinking, I lit a cigarette, I knew Edward would go mad but I needed a smoke, I didn’t have a drink, I couldn’t pace, I needed something to help me think.It was decision time. Big decision time. I could either drive around, trying to avoid the department and the police flyers, and try and figure what was going on for myself, or I could go into the office and demand some answers from Lynda and anyone else who might be involved.Option two seemed the favourite.The early morning streets seemed fairly quiet and the rain had begun to ease of by the time I pulled into the underground car park and parked up.One of the building security guards appeared and wandered over as I was getting out of the vehicle, “Morning Mr Sharpe.”“Morning Pete.”“We wondered who it was, that’s not one of our vehicles is it?”“No, it’s not. I had a bit of trouble with mine and had to swap over vehicles.”“Oh, right.” He did not sound convinced, but then again he did not have to be. I smiled and left him admiring what was, to all intents and purposes, an ancient clunker. The foyer and most of the building was fairly empty, there were only a few night staff on duty and I was able to make my way up to my office without any further interruptions.Once I was in my office I sat down at my desk and took out the new disk, the one that Elly had copied for me. I held it carefully by the edges and tilted it under the desk lamp, there where neat finger prints on either side. Hopefully one of them would tell me what I wanted. I placed the disk into a scanner on the desk and closed the lid, then I logged onto Diana and type in a few instructions. The scanner hummed and whirred as it went about its business. It occurred to me that I had been able to log on and that my security clearance had worked and that my pass had actually got me into the building in the first place. I could not decide whether that was a good thing or a bad thing.The scanner stopped humming and the results popped up on the screen in front of me. I read through, one smudged, one partial and two positive identifications. I skipped over my report, I knew I had handled it and I knew who I was. It was the second set of results I was more interested in.I began to read; Elysium Fielding, twenty seven years of age, well educated, a doctorate in psychology, what looked like a promising career and then eighteen months ago she was arrested in connection with a plot to steal drinking water, she escaped custody and apparently joined the underground. I girl with a cause, you had to love a girl with a cause. So now at least I knew who I was dealing with.The door swung open and I looked up expecting to see Nardone’s face, I was met with Lynda’s glare, “My office, five minutes.” The door slammed as she left.I took the disk out of the scanner and placed it into an inside pocket. It was not much but it was the nearest thing I had to evidence, and it was the closet thing I had to an insurance policy. Lynda was, as usual, on the HandHeld comms line and shoving bits of paper around the desk when I entered her office. She shot me a look and indicated that I should sit down. It did not look good, whoever she was talking to was obviously giving her a dressing down, I could tell by the look in her eyes. She struggled to get a word in occasionally, but most of the time she just nodded her head and opened and closed her mouth like a bored fish. After a moment or two the call seemed to be coming to an end, “Yes sir… Thank you… He’s with me now,” another murderous look in my direction, “Yes sir, thank you, good bye.” She flicked off the comms line and calmly placed the handset on the desk.We sat staring at each other, like two kids playing chicken, each waiting for the other to flinch, to look away or to speak. I knew I had all day to do this if necessary, I wondered how much time Lynda could afford to waste.She blinked, not physically but metaphorically. She reached into one of the desk draws and took out my watch, she tossed it across the desk to me.I picked it up and turned it over, inspecting it with great care, “You found it. I wondered where I had lost it.” I looked up at her and gave her my best innocent little lad lost look, “Where was it?”“Don’t bullshit me Sharpe, you know exactly where it was, in the pocket of the cabbie you spoke to in the tunnel.”It was never good when she called me Sharpe, she had a way of making my surname sound like an admonishment. I slipped the watch back on my wrist, “Go on then, what’s this new case?”“You think that’s it. You assume you can disobey a direct order, steal a department vehicle and purposely disappear of the map for nearly seven hours and then come strolling back in to the office as though none of it happened.”“I thought I’d explained all that.”“You have explained nothing. Where did you go last night?” “I told you last night, I had a meeting. A lead on the Watt case.”“And?”“And what?”“And what happened at the meeting?”It was cards close to the chest time, “Not a lot. I met a girl who said she had some info about James Watt”“Had she?”“You know how it is. Tell you what, give a couple of hours you can read it in my report.” I started to stand.“Sit down Sharpe, I have not given you permission to leave. What did she have to say?”I sat back down, “She had one or two bits of interesting information. Some I already knew and some I didn’t.”“Any closer to finding him then?”“Well, that’s the funny thing.” I lent back in my chair, “I’m no longer really sure who I am looking for.”She stopped twirling her pen and laid it carefully on the table, “That’s an odd thing to say.”“Turns out it’s a very odd case.”She shifted uneasily in her chair and began to move files around on the desk, I had rattled her, “Odd, in what way?”“Well, I thought I was looking for the son of a minor cabinet minister and yet when I get round to doing some basic background checks it appears he doesn’t exist.” I was pleased, she looked as shocked as I must have done when I first realised there was something fishy about all of this.“He doesn’t exist?”“No, the file on him is a fake. It’s a good fake and it was obviously done by someone with access and influence, but it’s still a fake.”She started typing furiously, “That’s not possible.”“Oh it is. At first glance the whole thing checks out, but if you dig a little deeper there is nothing there, like one of those big meringues in the cake shop window, you look at it and you think to yourself I could do with one of those, that will fill this rather large gap in my stomach, and so you take a big bite and it is only then that you realise that it is actually ninety percent air.” “Thanks for the simile. Have you any idea of what is going on?”“Not yet. All I do know is that this Watt guy is not who we think he is and that we are not the only people interested in him.”“Do you know how else is looking for him?”I still was not sure if I wanted to trust her, which was hard, she was my boss, she was an old friend, and we had been lovers, but as they say, can you truly know any one, “Not yet, I was hoping my contact last night might have had some info.”“And did they?”“Not really.” I was time to raise the bid and see if she would call or fold, “I suppose I’d better get this all into a report and send it over to Baile.”She picked up her pen and began twirling it again, “No, stick with the case you taken it this far, you might as well see it through to the conclusion.” “You’re the boss.”“I wish you’d remember that all the time and not just when it suited you.” I smiled, stood up and headed for the door. As I reached for the handle she spoke, “Johnny.”“Yes.”“Be careful.”“That almost sounded as if you cared.”“You just watch yourself Johnny. Sometimes you rush headlong into a situation without weighing up the consequences, either for yourself or for others.”“That almost sounded like a warning.”“Just a word of advice from an old friend.” I stood outside her office and lit a cigarette; somebody in this department was playing me for a fool but I still was no nearer to knowing who. Was it Lynda pulling the strings or was some one above her the puppet master. I needed to have a chat to try and make sense of all this and I knew just the fella.

Chapter Twenty
Even this early in the morning the casualty department of Whittington Hospital was busy, it looked as though last night had been busy. There was no sign of Nurse Taylor and after a quick chat to the harassed nurse behind reception I found out she had actually gone home for once. I went up to the café and grabbed a coffee before heading up to see Jake.I was just finding myself a chair and lighting a cigarette when my comms line rang. It was Edward, “Mr err Sharpe?”“What can I do for you Edward?”“I’m err, my err, you see, I was just wondering about, my err mothers vehicle.”“Your mother’s vehicle is fine Edward. I’m being very careful with it, I promise you. I have to say I approve of the upgrades.”“Well thank you. They err are err alright?”“The ones I’ve tried, yes.”“Good, good. When do you err think you will be bringing it back?”“I’ve got to go and chat with someone and then I’ll bring it back. Don’t worry. Actually Edward, while you’re on the comms I’m going to send you some files, find out what you can about them for me.”“Oh err right, anything in err particular you’d like to know?”“If you can find out who erased them from Diana I’d be eternally grateful.”“I’ll do my err bets for you Mr Sharpe.”“Thanks Edward. I’ll see you later with your mother’s vehicle, okay.”“Oh err kay Mr Sharpe, I see you later.”I went over to the Diana terminal and sent off a copy of the files, then I headed up stairs to discuss the case with my partner.Jake was still in his shared, double room with the great view, but his room mate had changed. The young man on the ventilator had gone and had been replaced by an old man on a ventilator, or perhaps it was the same guy and he had just gone down hill in the past few days.I pulled up a chair and sat down next o Jake’s bed, “Well, this is a right old game. I could really do with your help right now.”I began to outline the case and the problem I was having working out who were the good guys and who were the bad guys. Even after I had laid out all the facts and come at them from every direction I could think of it still did not make much sense, I still had no idea who was screwing me over.I don’t know if it was the warmth of the room or the side effects of the drug Elly and her band of merry men had given me but I suddenly felt very tired. I glanced at my watch, it was mid afternoon. I needed to go home have a good hot shower and a kip. Sometimes things became clearer after a good sleep, well the gut instinct was not working so I was prepared to give anything a go.I stood outside the entrance to A&E and lit up a cigarette. There was the usual level one background drizzle and for once the air was almost cool. I stood under the canopy that project out from the entrance and watched the comings and goings, I was hoping that the reasonably fresh air might wake me up a bit, or at least enough to make it safe for me to drive home.I heard the footfall behind me and thought nothing of it until a familiar voice spoke close to my ear, “Afternoon Mr Sharpe, don’t turn round and keep your hands where I can see them.” I felt something solid push into the small of my back.“Good afternoon Rinty, you managed to get away from your new friends then?”“Aye, fuckin’ bunch of bastards; I thought they were your lot to start with.” “I take you soon realised they weren’t”“Oh aye, I decided it wasn’t safe for a fella to hang a round in their company.”“So you decided to leave?”“Well, you don’t want to out stay your welcome do you?”“So, I take it this is not a social call. What do you want?”“I don’t want anything Mr Sharpe, but I have to say that the fact that some one went to all that trouble to kidnap me got me to thinking.”“About anything in particular?”“Aye. It made me wonder what was so all fired fucking important about Stickman that you and half of London seem to be looking for him.”“I don’t know Rinty. I just want to unite a father and his missing son.”He pushed what ever he was holding harder into my kidneys, “Ab-so-fucking-lute bollocks and you know it. There is something that he either knows or that you lot want from him and tonight we’re going to find out what it is.”“Are we?”“Aye, be at the Minstrel Boy at midnight. I’ll contact you then with further instructions.”“And if I don’t come?”“Then you, Mr Sharpe, will miss your chance to bid on lot number one. I don’t think the others will be turning down this opportunity, but I’m sure you’ll make the decision that’s right for you.”“You’re going to auction him off?”“All you need to worry about is getting to the Minstrel Boy by midnight. I don’t think I need to tell you to come alone?”I felt the pressure, of whatever it was pressed into my kidneys, lift and he was gone. Now I really did need to go back to my apartment and get a shower, some food and some sleep. It looked like it was going to be another busy night. I lit another cigarette and strolled back to my vehicle, Edward would have to wait a bit longer before I could return his mothers vehicle.




Chapter Twenty-one
I pulled my vehicle over a few hundred metres from he Minstrel Boy and parked up in the shadow of a broken street lamp. For the first time in weeks I had managed to get some decent, undisturbed sleep and had actually been woken by my alarm rather than the recurring nightmare I had been having for the past five weeks.I turned off the lights and sat in the darkness. It had just gone twenty-three forty five but the pub was still fairly busy. The Minstrel Boy was situated on the ground floor of an announcement block. The building was new but according to Diana there had been a Minstrel Boy public house on the site for hundreds of years. It had had a long an chequered history and a reputation for aligning itself with any anti-government cause that came along.I watched the comings and goings for a while and then decided that it was time to make a move. I smeared some more cream on my hands an face and was about to get out of my vehicle when I spotted Elly coming out of an all night café a little further up the road.She stood in the doorway watching the front of The Minstrel Boy. After a moment she turned back to look into the café, she was joined by Goatee guy. They stood, close together, and he slipped his hand around her waist. She turned to face him and smiled, he lent down and moved his head close to hers, he spoke into her ear, she smiled again, stroked his cheek and then kissed him. A slow tender kiss. My stomach did a little somersault. I knew she was attractive. I just had not realised I found her that attractive.They parted, another soft kiss, hands held as they drifted apart. Goatee guy remained in the doorway and watched as she crossed the road and entered The Minstrel Boy. The he spoke into a HandHeld and disappeared back into the all night café.It was time to make a move.Inside The Minstrel Boy the air was thick with cigarette smoke and the smell of stale beer. I made my way across the dimly lit room towards the bar. The Minstrel Boy was the kind of pub whose clientele did not like to be easily identified. They preferred the shadows and dark corners. It made it easier for them to conduct their business.I bought a large scotch and looked around the bar. Elly was at the far end, leaning against the counter. I walked over and joined her, “What a nice girl like you doing in a place like this?”She turned to face me, “Ha ha. Do you think it’s just us?”“No, I should think we’re going to joined by at least one more.”She swirled her drink, “Have you come to a decision then?”“Not yet, but it looks as though my options are being narrowed down for me.”She thought about my reply for a moment and was about to speak when a familiar voice rang out across the bar, “Mr Sharpe, Elly, so glad you could make it.”I turned round to see Rinty’s huge frame ambling across the bar, he held out his arms as though he were greeting long lost friends, “Come, let us find a table, I don’t suppose either of you two lovely folk could find it in there hearts to buy a man a drink?” I smiled and nodded, “Thank you Mr Sharpe you are a gentleman.” He turned to the lad behind the bar, “A pint of Guinness if you would be so kind, Steve, and perhaps a large Irish, just to take off the chill and another round for of whatever they are having for my new friends here. Mr Sharpe is in the chair.”I paid for the drinks and the three of us found a table. “Is this it then Rinty?” I asked as we sat down.“Oh no Mr Sharpe. I’m expecting one more, but he appears to be running a little late.” He lifted the whisky to his lips and drained the glass in one.A comms line trilled and I checked my pocket. Rinty reached into the folds of his coat, “That’ll be me.” he answered the call, “Aye, we’re all inside. Come right on in and join the party why don’t you?” he put the HandHeld away, “And now we are four.” he took a large drink from his pint and then played with the empty whisky glass. I took the hint and went over to the bar to order some more drinks.I stood in the shadows at the far end of the bar, where I could watch both the table and the main entrance. The door swung open and beardy guy, one of the two men who had blown my vehicle up the other day, entered. He stood in the doorway and scanned the bar. Seconds later a short neatly dressed man entered the bar, he was accompanied by Ginger guy. He turned and spoke to Ginger guy, ginger guy nodded and then both he and Bearded guy left.I watched as Rinty introduced himself and then invited short guy to join him at the table. I waited for a moment or two whilst Rinty introduced Elly then I joined them. As I approached Rinty completed the introductions, “Mr Romanov this is Mr Sharpe.” Mr Romanov nodded. A short, sharp, single nod from the neck.I held out a hand, “Good evening Mr Romanov. I’m sorry, would you like a drink.Mr Romanov took my out stretched hand and shook it. His skin was soft and cold, “It is fine Mr Sharpe. I prefer to keep a clear head.” His speech was as clipped and as sharp as his suit.Rinty picked up his fresh glass of whisky and held it aloft, “A toast madam, gentlemen, to business and our mutual benefit.” We did not join in the toast and Rinty looked slightly crestfallen. Then he raised his glass and downed it in one.He slapped the glass down on the table, “Right then, to business. I believe that all three of you share a common interest in the same young man. Why you want him is of no concern to me. What you do with him once you have him is no concern of mine.”Mr Romanov flicked some of the ash from Rinty’s cigarette off his sleeve, “Is there a point to this Mr Rinty?”“Oh aye Mr Romanov. I have what you want. Now obviously there is only one young man and three of you. A mathematical conundrum if you will. I have decided that the fairest way to solve this problem is to hold an auction. The lad goes to the highest bidder.Elly slammed her glass down, “That’s disgusting.”Rinty turned to her, “No young lady that is life. I have something you all want and we are about to find out exactly how much each of you wants it.”I sat back in my chair, “You know I could never agree to this Rinty.”“Perhaps you can’t Mr Sharpe, but I’m sure that if you had a word with the appropriate minister you’d get the necessary permission.”Romanov shifted uneasily at the mention of government involvement. For the first time I saw the icy cool drain from his eyes and a flash of panic run across them.I lit a cigarette. An uneasy silence hung over the table as we each considered or options and our next move.Mr Romanov broke the silence, “How is this to work then Mr Rinty?”“Sealed bids Mr Romanov. You each have twenty-four hours. Go back and discuss it with your business partners, bosses or comrades. I will contact you in twenty hours time and give you your next set of instructions.”Mr Romanov nodded. Elly looked as though she was ready to shoot Rinty on the spot. I had to ask the obvious question, “What’s to stop me from having you arrested right now?”“The same thing that is stopping Mr Romanov from kidnapping me again and the delightful miss Elly from shooting me. You do want to shoot me don’t you?” he smiled at Elly, “It is quite simple. If I don’t return in the next hour the young lad dies.”The three of us looked at each other and then back at Rinty.He finished his pint, “Good, well we all seem to understand each other, so gentlemen, madam, until tomorrow night.” With that he stood and made to leave the bar. He got about half way across the bar when he stopped and turned back to face us, “And before any of you consider having me followed, remember I will not hesitate to kill the lad if my instructions are not followed to the latter.” With that he smiled a broad grin and left.The three of us sat in silence. After a moment Romanov took out his HandHeld and dialled a number. It was answered immediately, “I am ready to leave now.”The bar door swung open and Beardy and Ginger appeared. They scanned the bar, spotted Romanov and started to walk towards us. About half way across the bar they spotted me seated at the table. Their step faltered and they stopped, gun hands twitching, in the middle of the room. Romanov turned to see what had so gripped my attention. He looked at his two thugs and then back at me, “Ah, Mr Sharpe, I believe that you may have already made the acquaintance of my two colleagues.” “Yes. I have a good mind to run them both in. I have a few things I would like to discuss about the other day. I think endangering the public and destruction of government property would be a good start.”“I am afraid that that will not be possible Mr Sharpe. As you are aware it would be your word against my men’s word and my legal department would have them back out on the street and you suspended before you had even got back to the police station and started the paperwork.”I lent across the table towards Romanov, “You have made two mistakes Mr Romanov. Number one you have assumed I work for the police and number two, you seem to think that being suspended is some sort of threat.” I glanced over Romanov’s shoulder, Beardy and Ginger guy had reached into their coats, “I’d tell your friends that I will not hesitate to shoot you and them if they so much as twitch.”Romanov raised a hand and Beardy and Ginger guy removed their hands slowly from inside their coats. Romanov stood up and bowed slightly, “Mr Sharpe, madam, until tomorrow. May the best man, or woman, win.”We watched him and his colleagues leave and then Elly spoke, “Do you think he would?”“Do I think who would what?” I said offering her a cigarette.Elly took the cigarette and lit it before replying, “Do you think Rinty would kill Stickman?”“I think he’s capable of it and I think he would like us to believe he would do it.”“That’s an odd statement.”“A lot of us are capable of killing, but not many people would actually do it. What you have to decide is which one you are and which one the guy facing you is.”She looked me in the eye, “Which one am I?”“I think you’re capable of killing and I think it scares you to admit that to yourself, but I also think that if someone pushes you hard enough you’d pull the trigger and you’d love it.”She was fast. Her hand struck my face before I had time to block it. The good folk of the bar did not even glance over, they would not move until the bullets started flying.I rubbed the side of my jaw, “Well that touched a nerve.”She stood up to leave, “I’ll see you tomorrow evening Mr Sharpe. As Mr Romanov said, may the best man, or woman, win.”“Aren’t you going to try and persuade me to help you.”“I’m coming to realise Mr Sharpe that you are only out to help yourself and if that means doing what your masters say, even if you think their wrong, then that’s what you’ll do.”“You’re not a very good judge of character are you Miss Fields.” I watched the colour drain from her face.“Very clever Mr Sharpe.”“Not really.”Goatee guy appeared at the bar door. “Your boyfriends here.” I said nodding in the direction of the entrance.She turned and then went over to him. They spoke, what ever she said he was not happy with and he shot me several murderous looks. She placated him with little kisses and cheek stroking. After about five minutes he gave her a final kiss, a final long look at me and he left.She returned to where I was seated, “Come on, have you got a vehicle, we’re going for a drive.”“Well, with an invitation like that how could I refuse? What about the boyfriend, is he coming with us.”She bristled slightly, “Just come on, I want to show you something.” She pulled on her coat and headed for the door. I followed unsure of what I was getting myself into but intrigued enough not to care.






Chapter Twenty-two
We drove south for what seemed like an age, heading out, over the river, and on towards zone six, the furthest edges of the city. The landscape and buildings became more industrialised and the smell of sulphur hung heavy in the air. I had been out this far on many occasions, always on business and always with back up. Even I who had been involved in some of the worst battles in the Peninsular Wars felt wary of coming out here virtually unprotected.Elly guided me through the maze of buildings and roads. There were little or no schematics for these areas, Diana only showed the main through routes and fizzed and crackled in the poor reception.I tapped the screen, not that it would do anything, but it made me fell like I was doing something, “I hope you know where you’re going because we are quite literally off the map.”“Don’t worry Sharpe, I won’t get you lost.”“Getting lost is the least of my worries right now.”She stifled a laugh, “My goodness, the big brave detective is scared.”“Laugh it up lady, but I’ve seen what’s happened to police patrols that have strayed to far into this area.”“Well you aren’t a police patrol and you’re with me.” “And that’s meant to make me feel better?”“If anything was going to happen, it would have happened by now.”We drove on in silence. After a few more minutes Elly spoke, “Pull in over there.” She pointed towards a collection of rough shanty dwellings. I parked up, Elly started to hunt around in the glove box.I watched her, “Is there something I can help you with?”“Creams, I take you have creams?”“Yes, here.” I reached over onto the back seat and dragged a small bag towards me. I passed it to her.She opened it up, “Brilliant,” there were seven or eight tubes in there; she started to climb out of the vehicle.I turned to her, “Aren’t you going to use any?“No, I’m fine. These are for those people.”I looked over the road to where a few inquisitive faces were looking out of the rude huts.“Come on,” she said, “I want you to meet some people.”We crossed over the road, Elly spoke to a few of the folk and we went into one of the huts.She handed out the tubes of cream the people were grateful. She pulled out some water cards and passed them round. Like a rich old aunt showering gifts, the people were pleased to see her.Like Johnny Sharpe I have know idea where this scene is going or what the point of it is I was hoping it would get Elly and Johnny together and I am sure at some point it might but I need to get then in to bed and this ain’t doing it for me so what I am going to do is move on I haven’t got time to sit and fret about it. Back to Johnny.We had sex, fantastic sex. I do not know where and I do not know why because the author is to stupid to work it out but after we had sex Elly and me chatted until the early hours and I came to realise that I was being played for a fool.I had believed every thing the army, then the department and the government had fed me and most of it was lies. I would have to have a word. A word with the only person who had the answers. The only person I thought for all these years I could trust.Tell you what we will have sex one more time and then I will go and sort out all this problems.Lovely bouncy juicy sex.Right I have to go. Tell you what though let’s see if I can get to the three thousand mark before ending this chapter. It is not really cheating what it is expounding on an idea to see if it works. I now need him to be angry. In the next chapter he is going to go off and find savage. They will have words. He will demand answers. She will try and avoid them. He will demand again even though he knows that the answers he will get will not be the ones he wants. His world will come crashing down around him and his life will be destroyed. Okay not quite destroyed. Severely upset. A quick snog and he is away into the night.













Chapter Twenty-Three
It was still dark when I left Elly. She was still sleeping and I did not wake or say goodbye. I had some thing I needed to do and I do not think she would have approved.The streets were quiet and the rain was coming down hard as I drove through the darkness. Despite the early hour I knew Lynda would be up and I knew where she would be. I headed for the private gym that she attended every morning before heading in to the office. Lynda was a creature of habit, which did make her very predictable but it did mean I could find her twenty four hours a day without having to try. I looked at my watch. By now she would have finished her workout and be in the shower. I parked up round the corner from her gym and then walked down the street. I slipped pass the security guard, not a difficult job. He was more interested in the latest goings on in his soap then what was happening in the real world around him.I went down to the underground car park. Predictable as ever Lynda had park her car in the same spot as she had done for the previous for years. I had accompanied her some mornings and one day some one had beaten her to her spot. She had been unable to function properly for the rest of the day. I checked my watch. Another five minutes and she would be heading for her car. I found a quiet corner and lit up a cigarette. Right on time Lynda appeared at the doors to the lift. She started the walk to her car. As she approached I stepped out of the shadows.She jumped involuntarily and then recognised me, “Jesus Sharpe, are trying to give me a fucking heart attack, or get yourself shot?”I realised that she already had her gun in her hand. That was new. What would make a woman like Lynda so nervous that she would carry her gun at the ready even in a secure car park? There was some thing worrying her and hopefully I was about to find out what.I stepped further out of the shadows, “Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you.”She lowered the gun, “What the fuck are you doing here?”“I was just passing, thought you might give me a lift in to the office.”She unlocked the vehicle and threw her gym bag in to the back, “You talk some bollocks some times Johnny.” She slipped the gun back into the holster on the back of her belt, “What are you really doing here?”“We need to talk.”“Okay. I’ve some things to do, but come and see me in my office in a couple of hours. Shall we say eight o’clock?”She was stalling, not a good sign, “No I’d rather chat now. I don’t think that the office would be the best place for what I have to say.”“Get in then. We can talk on the way.” She did not sound happy. She hated to be caught off guard. She liked to be in control of the situation. Even if some times it was a situation that could not be controlled. I climbed into the passenger seat and I was pleased to see her put her gun into the glove compartment. If you are a creature of habit you often do things with out even thinking through the consequences. As she slammed the little compartment shut I could see that she instantly regretted the move.Some thing or some one had definitely got her rattled. She was so nervous about what ever it was that she did not feel safe in the vehicle with me. I had to wonder, did that mean she did not trust me? Did she think I was some sort of threat? Was she so scared of what ever it was that she believed even I would not be able to protect her.She sat for a moment, obviously undecided as to whether to reach back into the glove box and retrieve her gun or whether to trust me either not to shoot her or to save her from being shot. The gun stayed where it was.She did not start the vehicle but instead turned to face me, “So what’s so important that you are prepared to get up this early and track me down?”“You’re assuming that I’ve actually been to bed.”She glanced at her watch. I was putting her behind schedule. She was losing control of the situation, “Can you just tell me what the problem is?”“There is no problem, just a few questions I have about the Watt case.”“Why are you making such a big issue out of this? It’s a simple missing person’s case.” “Well that’s what I thought, but it would appear other people seem to think differently.”“Other people?”“Yes. Last night I had a very interesting meeting with some other interested parties. It would appear that the Minister is not the only person interested in the whereabouts of his missing son.”She looked uncomfortable, “Who else is looking for him then?”It was time to start showing a few of the cards I held, “Well, it would appear that for some odd reason, the pharmaceutical industry is very interested in him.”“Pharmaceuticals?” she tried to sound surprised. It did not work, “Are you sure.”“Oh yes. I spent a very unpleasant half hour sat across a table from him and a gentle man who said he could bring Watt to us.”“When will he do that?”“That’s where it gets complicated. The man, who has Watt, is not prepared to hand him over for free. He is auctioning him to the highest bidder. This is why I am beginning to have problems with this case.”“Problems? The guy is obviously a chancer. Can you even be sure he has Watt?”“Oh he has Watt; I sure of that and so was the man from pharmaceuticals. In fact the man from pharmaceuticals seemed so convinced that it appeared he would be quite happy to bid a very large amount of money to get hold of Watt.” “Do we know if any one else is looking for Watt?”“No. Not as far as I’m aware.” There were some cards that need to remain hidden and Elly and her little band was one of them. Lynda glanced at her watch again. Not only was this situation going out of her control she was beginning to plummet downhill with no ski sticks, “I’m sure there is a very logical reason for all of this. I will of course report all this to the minister as soon as I get in to the office.”It was time to force her hands and try and get a peek at her cards, “Then there is the problem with files of course.”Lynda stiffened, “Yes that. I’ve looked into it. It would appear the Minister himself had them edited. Security. He felt that there was a lot of information in there that if it got into the public knowledge it could be hazardous to his family’s safety.”“Really. Because a friend of mine has checked them out and he seems to feel that the whole thing is a complete load of bollocks.”If she had been holding a pencil she would have twirled it so fast it would have snapped. Instead I saw her knuckles whiten on the steering wheel, “I can assure you your friend is mistaken. Hold on.” She made a great play of searching her pockets, “Damn, I’ve left my HandHeld in my bag. Hold on.” She stepped out of the vehicle and made her way round to the rear, the boot popped up and so did my gut instinct. I quietly unlatched my door and un-holstered my pistol. The next few seconds moved incredibly slowly considering the amount of things that happened all at once.The boot lid slammed down revealing Lynda stood with a SPAS shotgun levelled at my head. I hit the door latch and rolled backwards as she fired. The car seemed to exploded around me in a hail glass, upholstery and lead shot.I dropped into a kneeling position and fired rapidly, through the side window, at the rear of the vehicle. Lynda, realising I was not where she hoped I would be and finding herself receiving return fire, ducked down behind the boot. It gave me a precious few seconds to scramble for cover.I dived behind a row of parked vehicles, Lynda had emerged from her hiding place a little sooner than I had hoped and glass reined down on me as I made my way along looking for somewhere to either return fire from or get out the car park. I pulled my watch off and slid it under a vehicle. The last thing I needed now was a tracking device.The shooting stopped and Lynda’s voice rang out over the wailing car alarms, “You know you aren’t going to get out of here don’t you Johnny? In about two minutes this place will be crawling with agents and officers.” Another shot thundered into the side of a nearby vehicle, “It will be a shame of course. I liked you Johnny, but you always had a problem with following orders.” Another shot closer this time.I moved as quietly as I could over the broken glass and shards of metal, “What are going to tell them Lynda? You can’t just order them to kill me. There will be questions.”“Of course there will. It’s just a shame that the pressure of your partners accident, an accident you apparently blamed the department for, got to you and you decided to get revenge on me.” another shot and the window above me exploded.Then the moment I had been waiting for, she began to reload. In half crouch I sprinted for the exit. I had not reckoned on Lynda being as street wise as she was. She had retrieved her pistol from the glove compartment and now semi automatic pistol and shotgun fire echoed through the underground car park. I leapt for cover as bullets and shot ricocheted of walls and vehicles.I rested my back against a vehicle and listened to the crunch of glass as Lynda approached, “Can I just as why Lynda?”“As you always say Johnny it comes down to money every single time.”“How much are the pharmaceuticals paying you?” I moved slowly along the side of the vehicle trying to time my steps with hers.“The pharmaceuticals? You think you’re so good at this and yet some times you can a real fuckwit Johnny.”“How are you working for then?” I looked under the vehicle, I could see her feet about fifteen metres away. From the angle of her feet it looked as though she though I was further along the row of cars than I actually was.“Who I’ve always worked for.”“Yourself.” “No, how little you know me Johnny. I work for the government. People need protecting Johnny, some times from themselves and a lot of the time they don’t even realise it.”I took a gamble and rolled out from between two cars firing at were I hoped she was still standing. The first two shots went wide and she began to turn, raising the shotgun and pistol as she did so. I pulled the trigger rapidly firing three more shots. The first hit her left arm just below the shoulder, blood sprayed from the wound and splashed against the wall. The pistol flew from her hand and spun across the floor. The second two shots hit her in the chest and she lifted off the ground and smacked into the wall behind her. A lot of us are capable of killing, but not many people would actually do it. What you have to decide is which one you are and which one the guy facing you is. I realised nearly two late that Lynda was capable of killing. Not to save her own hide but to protect the security and reputation of the government,Over the wail of the car alarms I could hear the approaching sirens of the police and the various good folk of law enforcement. I figured that hanging about much longer would not be good for my health and so without even going to check whether Lynda was dead or alive I found the nearest fire escape and made my way out on to the streets.A running man always attracts attention so I slunk into a nearby building and lay low before returning at a leisurely pace back to Edwards’s vehicle.




Chapter Twenty-Four
I drove aimlessly through the awakening city. The events of the past hours running through my mind like a film loop. Images of Elly, her pale white skin, lying naked on the bed intermingled with those of Lynda and the vivid splashes of red as she hit the floor.My once secure world was crashing in on me. All that I held sacred was being pulled down before my eyes. The department, the government the two institutions I thought I could rely on were no better than the big business and the corrupt criminals that I had spent the past seven years fighting for them.Instinct and a need for some sort of security had pulled to somewhere I thought I might find help. Once again my subconscious was doing a better job of looking after me than I was. I turned onto Highgate Hill and headed up towards Whittington Hospital. I spotted them before they spotted me, a police road block by the entrance to the hospital. It was an obvious move and one I would have made if I had been in charge of looking for me. I slowed the car down and pulled into a side street. My brain clicked over a couple of gears. The road block meant one of two things. Either they expected me to head for the hospital to try and see Jake or they had some one in there that they thought needed protecting. Either of those options could only lead to one conclusion. Lynda was still alive and giving out the orders. I pulled over and logged on to Diana. My access had been withdrawn I could get no further than the normal publicly available screens. I tried again, this time using Nardone’s access codes. I was in. her security clearance was not as high as mine but it least it meant I was able to find out what I needed to know. It appeared I was now a wanted man. Lynda was alive and if not well, still well enough to have put a price on my head. Fortunately I still had one advantage at the moment they did not know what vehicle I was using. I logged off from Diana before Nardone had a chance to notice that someone was using her access codes and a trace could be started. I needed some where to lay low and think. I also needed a secure Diana terminal and some access codes with a higher security clearance.I knew that I could get all of these from Elly, with Goatee guys help, but I had no way of contacting her for at least three hours. I had arranged to call her at midday, she would be waiting at a public comms terminal. For obvious reasons they did not like to use easily trackable HandHelds for anything other than calls between themselves. I turned my vehicle round and headed away from the hospital. I could probably have slipped by the outer ring of police quite easily but I knew that the inside of the building would be sealed tighter than a drum.I decided that it was time to regroup. It was time to get a good breakfast and a hot coffee inside of me. I always found that things always looked better from the opposite side of a good feed.I parked up several streets away from my father’s café. Life had taught me to always approach an unknown situation on foot. Turning and running is a hell of a lot easier than trying to slam a vehicle into reverse and turn it round in a narrow side street.By the time I arrived my father’s café the place was crowded. I looked in through the window and scanned the faces of the customers looking for any that seemed out of place. I never flinched from fighting my way out of a situation but I did not want to bring that world in to my father’s café.My father looked up and waved a hand indicating that I should go and sit at the family table in the corner; I ignored his instruction and went through into the kitchen. My brother, Frank, was working at the massive grill. He glanced up as I entered gave a begrudging nod of welcome and then returned to his task. My father followed me in, “What has happened?” he said.I turned to face him, “What, no hello, no how are you boy do you want some breakfast.”“If you sit at a table you get a hello and breakfast. If you come in and hide in the kitchen like a common criminal on the run you get a, what is the matter? What has happened?”“It’s nothing serious; I just need somewhere quiet for a couple of hours.”My brother stopped what he was doing and turned to face me, “And of course this was the first place you thought of, the kitchen of the café during the breakfast serving. Not your apartment; not your office; not even the portrait gallery of the National.” He stood and stared.My father stepped between us, “I’m sure Johnny has his reasons.”Frank turned back and aggressively flipped sausages, “He always has his reasons, and they normally mean that we have to sort out the shit he leaves behind.” I stepped forward, “When have I ever left you to deal with the shit?”Frank slammed the spatula down and turned towards me, “When have you ever stayed and dealt with the shit?”“I always sort out my problems.”“No you fucking don’t. You sort out the big stuff, you piss off to save the world when you’re needed at home. You chase around town fighting fucking bad guys when in fact your family needs you.”I stepped forward but found my way blocked by my father, “You talk some shit sometimes.”“Well it’s better than talking shit all the time. It’s always been the same with you Johnny. When sally went missing, when mum died, where were you? You were off fighting imaginary demons on behalf of fucking planet earth, when you were needed here to help this family fight its own demons.”“I had a job to do.”“You had a family that needed you. You could have come home at anytime but instead you decided to stay away and play games with the big boys.”My father was now between the two of us, holding us apart. He knew these things needed saying but he also knew we were capable of physically hurting each other.The kitchen swung open and thingy, the young waitress, poked her head around the door, “Firstly can you keep your voices down you’re scaring the customers and secondly two police cruisers have pulled up.”Frank stared at me shaking his head, “Just go. We’ll sort out this fucking shit as well.”I gave my father a quick hug, and he kissed me on the cheek, “Look after yourself Johnny.”I Turned to my brother and held at a hand. He looked at the hand and then took it, “Just go, if they find you here we’ll all be in the shit.” I headed for the back door and heard his voice call after me, “And don’t get yourself killed, Barbara wants you over for Sunday lunch.”I stepped into the narrow alley that ran along the back of the buildings. I had an advantage over the police, I had been playing in these streets and back alleys since I was a small child.I walked down the alley until it met a junction; I turned right which took in the rough direction of where I had parked my vehicle. The alley was narrow and dark. The red brick walls, of the alley, were greasy from years of fat, from the extractor fans of the numerous restaurant kitchens, which shared access to the little backwater.I followed the alley until I reached a little side lane. I turned down it and walk along it, doing my best to avoid the piles of kitchen waste and pools of scummy water. Over head I could hear the buzz of the police flyers. If I was lucky I would make it to my vehicle without being spotted. If I was not lucky this day was going to end very badly for some one.I stepped out on to the street, staying close to the entrance of the little alley way. I was no more than a hundred metres away from my vehicle. If only I had had the foresight to park opposite the entrance I could be in my vehicle and away by now.I listened to the buzz of the flyers. They were flying a regular search pattern. I waited until they were at their furthest point from my position and then walked slowly towards my vehicle. I had almost reached my vehicle when a police cruiser rounded the corner not ten metres from where I stood. I continued to walk, head down, trying my best not to draw attention to myself. As I neared the vehicle I unlocked the driver’s door, my hand reached for the handle just as the police cruiser drew level. It slowed and the familiar whoop-hoop of the siren rang out. I resisted the urge to look up.That was my mistake. People with nothing to hide look up when they heard a police siren, only people with something to hide don’t look. I should have looked. They would have thought nothing of it and driven on. Instead they stopped and watch as I got into my vehicle. I could see them in the rear view mirror watching as I sorted myself out. The tannoy cut through the quiet of the early morning, “Citizen, step out of the vehicle and place your hands on the roof.”It was decision time. Did I do as requested or did I find out exactly what Edward’s mother’s vehicle. I decided to go with option two. I watched as the policeman in the passenger seat got out of the cruiser. He approached my vehicle in standard training stance, slight crouch, weapon holstered but hand at the ready. I waited until he was almost level with rear of my vehicle and then I hit the accelerator. The vehicle shot forward even faster than I was expecting and I fought to regain control of the wheel. I narrowly avoided hitting a vehicle park on the other side of the road but still scraped along the side of another as I straightened the vehicle up.Behind me the police officer had managed to draw his weapon and was firing at my rapidly accelerating vehicle. His partner was trying to turn the cruiser around in the very narrow street. I needed to clear the area and clear it fast.High above me the police flyers circled, narrowing the search area and closing in on me. This was no time for subtlety. I just needed to get away and do it however I could. I pulled the vehicle out onto the main central highway and headed south. In the rear view mirror I could two police cruisers pull out onto the highway and fall in behind me. I accelerated and weaved between the traffic. A police flyer swung across my path I needed to get out of here and I really need to sit and plot this. I need a chase scene but I have no idea where or how. He needs to head south to zone six. He needs to head into the industrial zone where the police cruisers don’t like to go. There needs to be destruction of property. There needs to be crashes. There needs to be explosions and stuff.Johnny needs to end up at the shanty town; he needs to hide out with the people who he met yesterday with Elly. He needs to contact Elly and arrange to meet her in a few hours time and I need to get on with the next chapter.

Chapter Twenty-five
I stepped back into the shadow of the bridge as the police flyer came in low along the river. It just another regular patrol but when you’re a hunted man it is amazing how quickly the paranoia kicks in. It felt unusual to be on this side of the fence. I had never really given a thought for who ever I was tracking down. I just assumed they accepted it as part of their life. It was my job to harries and chase them until they made a mistake. Now I was the one being hunted. I was the one being harried. And it was not a good feeling.Every noise made you me jump every sudden movement had my trigger finger twitching. I stepped back under the bridge and lit a cigarette. The smoke was cool but not as relaxing as I had hoped. When I had been in the army I had always found a cigarette a comfort in times of stress but now it was just a cigarette.I heard the crunch of gravel behind me. I spun round pistol drawn. I aimed into the darkness and a figure moved silhouetted against the dull night sky.The figure raised their hands and spoke, “If I had wanted you’d be dead by know.” It was Elly.I lowered the pistol, “I was beginning to wonder if you were coming.”“What and miss the chance to see the hunter become the hunted.”“I thought you find it amusing.”“So what happened?”“I decided to find out who was telling the truth and unfortunately I ask the wrong person, or actually I ask the right person and got the wrong answer.”“Well you’re all over Diana.”“Does it say anything about Lynda?”“Is that who you ask?”“Yeah.”“It doesn’t name any one. It just says you’re wanted in connection with the attempted murder of a government official.”“That will be Lynda.”She stroked my face bruised and blooded face, “You look like you’ve been through hell and back.”“No. Just some police road blocks.”“Come on. I’ll take you back and get you cleaned up.”“What about Goatee guy?”“Who?”“The boyfriend.”“Don’t worry about him.”We drove back to their base in silence, mainly because I kept dozing off this is crap. Journey bit. Needs a massive rewrite but that is what the second draft is for.Elly began to clean up my wounds. I winced slightly as the antiseptic fluid stung the cuts.She smiled, “Be a big brave boy and I’ll give you a lollypop.”I ignored the sarcasm, “Has Rinty been in touch?”“Yeah. We’re to meet him at the old Silvershield building in Vauxhall at midnight. He does love his set pieces doesn’t he.”“He likes to feel he is in charge. Like a lot of people I know.”She jabbed at a cut, “Is that a dig at me?”I flinched, “Not particularly, but if the cap fits.” She jabbed again, I flinched, “okay, okay, I get the message.”“He seemed rather annoyed with you.”“Why?”“He’d been trying to contact you, but apparently he’s had some trouble.”“Yeah well, I didn’t think that strolling about with a trackable HandHeld was a particularly good idea.”“He says he will keep trying, but I explained that you where having some personal problems and that it might be better to include you out.”“Hey you’re learning. Knock off the opposition anyway you can.”She stopped cleaning my wounds, “I don’t think Rinty will see it that way. I have the feeling that he will still find some way of having a government representative there.”“We could use this to our advantage.”“Could we?”“Yes. If Rinty thinks I’m out of the game it means I can attended the meeting in an unofficial capacity.”“I don’t think Rinty will go for that.”“I wasn’t planning on letting Rinty know I was there.”“It would be good to know there was some one watching my back, should anything go wrong.” She began to put the medical kit away.“How is your bid looking.”“Not well.”“I thought you had some influential backers.”“Influential, committed and vocal but unfortunately not very rich.”“I always imagined that your lot were bankrolled by some Mr Big.”“No. we survive on handouts and passing the hat round to sympathetic parties.”“Like the good folk in The Minstrel Boy.”“Exactly. Their hearts are in the right place but unfortunately their wallets are not.”I laughed, “That’s where we’ve been going wrong all these years then.”“Sorry?”“Well we’ve been looking for the king pin, the power in the shadows, the puppet master, and you’re telling me there isn’t one.”“No, it’s just us, and several groups like us doing what we can to fuck with the system and generally be a thorn in the government’s side.”“Brilliant, we could not crack the organisation because there is no organisation to crack, both literally and metaphorically.”“I’m so pleased that we can provide you with a laugh. We are only trying to save the planet after all.”“You’re not saving the planet. You’re making things slightly better for a few poor folk and occasionally you slightly inconvenience everyone else.”Elly flashed me one of her deadly looks and was about to speak when I heard something, the crunch of glass under foot. I held up a hand and placed a finger to my lips.Elly's eyes widened and she was about to let fly with a full on tirade. I again signalled for her to be silent, drew my pistol and pointed towards the door. There was another crunch. Elly drew her pistol and pointed towards the back of the room where there was a ventilation shaft. I nodded and she headed towards it. I moved forward until I reached the back of the thick steel door which had been left slightly ajar. I took a deep breath and shoved the door to, swinging down the large steel latch as I did so and slipping the heavy bolt into place.From the far side of the door I could hear urgent voices; somebody started to scramble with the latch on the other side. I hoped the bolts would hold.I sprinted across the room. Elly had already climbed into the ventilation shaft, I hit the wall at a sprint and climbed up to join her.She pulled me in with her, “Friends of yours?” she asked.“I don’t think so. We would have been dead before we even knew they were in the building if they had been from the department.” We started to crawl down the shaft. Behind us there was a loud explosion as whoever it was lost there patience and blew the door of its hinges.I followed after Elly, “You seem to know where you’re going.”“We have trained in here on a regular basis, I just never had need to do it for real.” She stopped by a grill, do you recognise anyone?”I crawled forward and peeked through the metal grill. We were looking down into the main warehousing area. A group of men, dressed in full combat gear, stood in a small group in the centre. They were obviously awaiting their next instructions. In the centre of them, barking orders into a HandHeld, was Beardy guy.“The guy on the HandHeld,” I said, “He works for Romanov.”“The pharmaceuticals guy? What the fuck are they doing here?”“Thinning out the opposition I should imagine.” I said.For the first time Elly looked genuinely worried. The realisation that real people with real guns were out to kill her for no other reason than she was in their way frightened her. Until then she had seen herself and her merry band of men as shadows flitting about jabbing at the government and big business and then disappearing into the darkness like a bunch of kids playing a very large game of knock door run. Now someone had turned on a big harsh spotlight and decided that these people, Elly and her friends, were a nuisance. A nuisance that needing wiping out like flies round a picnic table. From behind we could hear the clatter and drum of bodies as they crawled their way hastily along the ventilation shaft. It had not taken them long to work out where we had disappeared to and now they were in pursuit.Elly indicated that we needed to keep moving and I nodded my full agreement. She set of down the ventilation shaft, following the various twists and turns until she came to a small T-junction. Instinct told me we should go left, but Elly paused, the clatter of bodies and the hum of voices grew closer, Elly reached forward and placed a had on the metal wall opposite her. She pushed up and out, there was a soft click and the wall moved.She slid the metal panel to one side and climb through. I followed her and dropped down into what I could only assume, in the darkness, was a small room. When we were both in she slid the panel back and with another soft click it slid back into place. The room became bathed in a red light. It appeared to be a store room of some sort. It was piled high with various ammunition boxes.I turned on my torch and began to look round, “Good grief, you’ve got enough here to equip a small army.”Elly opened up one of the boxes, “We are a small army.” She began to clip spare magazines to her belt, “If you see anything you like please help yourself.” I shone my torch around the room and spotted a crate of forty-five ammunition. I opened it up and put a couple of boxes into my pocket.We both froze and feel silent as just above us or pursuers reached the junction. There was a muffled discussion and then the hunting party split in two and then they set of again. We waited until the sound of them had faded into the distance and then we started to look through the boxes again.“Here you go.” Said Elly.I moved across and joined her, she had found a large crate containing stun grenades. I clipped a few to my belt.She glanced at her watch, “Come on, we had better get going, or we’ll be late.”“I take it you have a way out of here.”“Of course.” She moved over to the far corner and pulled a stack of boxes out of the way. Beneath them was a trap door. She opened it up and the stench of the sewer filled the small room. “It’s not particularly nice but it will get us away from here in one piece.”I looked down into the darkness, “I don’t know. I think I might take my chances with Beardy guy and his friends.”“Come on you wuss. It smells a lot worse than it actually is.” She climbed down into the inky blackness. The beam of her torch which she had gripped in her mouth lit up the greasy, rusting rungs of the metal ladder. I waited until she was several feet down and then I started my descent. We followed the sewer system for what seemed like ages. The stench filled my nostrils but Elly seemed to know exactly where she was heading. After a while she stopped and we climbed up and out and onto the street.I estimated we were about a kilometre from where we had started. I looked about, “I’m impressed. Do you have a vehicle?”“Of course.” I followed her over to a row of semi-derelict garages. Inside the end one, the only one that had a proper door and locks, was an old vehicle. I raised an eyebrow.Elly caught my look of disdain, “It runs a lot better than it looks.” She said, “We find that we don’t attract as much attention if we potter around in what looks like an old banger.”The engine hummed in to life and we set off for Vauxhall.

Chapter Twenty-Six
We took a slow drive by the old Silvershield building. I hunkered down in the rear seat and checked out the building as we passed. It did not look as though it was heavily guarded. There was a bloke by the gate and another two on the roof. They looked as though Rinty had dragged some friends in off the street with the promise of what I can only imagine.Elly parked up well out of sight of the building. I climbed in to the front, “Okay, give me ten minutes to get into the building and then drive up to the front.”“Are you going to be okay?”“Don’t you worry about me. I’m big enough and ugly enough to look after myself.”She lent across and kissed me on the lips. The first kiss was soft, gentle, and almost unsure of itself. Then she kissed me again, harder, the lips firmer, searching. I placed a hand around the back of her neck and pulled her towards me. We kissed again, my hand slipped inside he coat she half pulled back, “We have a meeting to get to.”“I know,” I kissed her one last time slid back towards the door, “Look after yourself and watch out for Romanov.”“I don’t have to. I’ll have you doing that for me.”I reached across and stroked her cheek with the back of my hand, she took the hand and kissed the palm. I stepped out of the car and with a final smile and wave, set off in the direction of the Silvershield building.The Silvershield building was a large, old abandoned factory. It stood in the centre of a large empty yard surrounded by a high, single gated, wall. The wall was no problem. I scaled it and dropped down, finding cover behind a stack of empty metal drums that stood a few metres away. The first problem was getting across the large, empty yard without being spotted. I knelt for a moment and watched the four men that Rinty had hired to guard the yard. They were big and thuggish but they were not particularly clever or bothered about the task they had been given.They gathered together in the far corner and passed around a bottle drink. It looked like it was a present from Rinty along with the cigarettes they were lighting up. Soon they were in their own world. The task they had been given was soon forgotten.I moved quickly and silently across the yard and found a side entrance. I drew my pistol and cautiously entered the building. Inside the building was made up of one large room in the centre and then a series of gantries and offices that went up and round the outside walls.I made my way to the nearest set of stairs and started to make my way up. I could hear voice s coming from an office on the first landing and so I crept quietly over to a position were I could here what was being said. As I got closer I heard the click of the latch and I quickly entered the nearest office. I peeked through a tiny gap I had left and watched as Rinty exited the office. He locked the door behind him and placed the key in one the innumerable pockets inside his coat. His HandHeld rang, he answered it, mumbled a reply to the caller and then headed off downstairs. I waited until I was sure the coast was clear and then moved over to the office. The door was locked and solid pus there was no window.I could have kicked the door of its hinges but I was trying not to attract attention. My guess was that even if the guys Rinty had hired were useless, the ones Romanov will have brought along would not be.I peeked over the railing, down into the main area, what would have originally been the factory for. Someone had found some old tables and laid them out in a row. A crude stage had been built out packing cases and planks of wood. I took it that this would be where Rinty would conduct the meeting from. Elly was right he was a showman. He did like his drama.To the next set of stairs. Keeping low against the railing. As quietly as I could I made my way up to the second level. I needed to be high enough up to see all the action but not so high that I would be totally useless if Elly need any help. I figured that they would search her when she entered and confiscate any weapons that they found; therefore I had brought along a spare pistol for her just in case things started to go wrong. I crept along to the far end of the building, and found some cover behind some packing cases. From this position I could see the main entrance at the opposite end and the area where it looked as though the meeting would take place. I checked my watch and then remembered I had thrown it away so that I could not be tracked.In the centre of the large room Rinty was having a few words with a couple of his ill trained and lazy thugs. These two did at least look as though they were ex-forces. They at least seemed to know how to hold a gun. I looked, as best I could, around the large empty factory. I could hear a set of footsteps directly above me and through the metal grill of the platform I could see someone patrolling up and down. Rinty either knew what he was doing or had got some help in from some one who understood the basics tactics wise. The problem was of course was that the people they had given the various tasks to had little or know idea of what they were doing. The guy above me paced backwards and forwards as though he was guarding a gate. He had seen one too many war moves where anybody guarding anything marches up and down. In reality he was not on guard, he was on watch and to be on watch you need to be standing still so that you can keep an eye on whatever it is you are observing and so that you don’t give your position away.He got to the end of his little area turned and started back. He moved as regular as a clockwork soldier, ten paces one way, turn and ten paces back. Every third pass he would stop in the middle and do what he was meant to be doing, watching the centre of the room and the sets of gantries around the wall.The trouble was that he did standing as close to the rail as possible. If I was a sniper he was the sort of person who was a godsend. All you had to do was watch them for a moment and wait for them to walk into your sights. From where I was I could have reached up and pulled him of the platform.My attention was drawn back to the centre of the room by the ring of Rinty’s HandHeld. He nodded as whoever was calling him spoke. He looked about the deserted factory to check that his men were in position. When he was satisfied that all was in place he said something into the HandHeld and ended the call.He moved up the little steps that had been built so that he could climb up onto the stage. He stood in the centre of the stage, checked the room once more, struck what he obviously felt was a suitable pose and then nodded to the group of men my the main doors. The rain began to fall heavier, at least a level six, and it drummed on the large flat roof, exactly what I didn’t want. I could only just hear what was being said in the centre of the room as it was now I had no idea. The heavy steel outer doors were swung open and in the gloom I could see Elly. One of the men in the group motioned that she should come in. She moved forward into the light and was directed over to a table behind which stood another of Rinty’s men. He was obviously hoping to make a lot of money from this deal.Elly approached the table and the guy behind it spoke to her. She emptied out he pockets and laid the few contents on the table. The guy checked through them and nodded. He indicated that she should step back, open her coat and lift up her arms. She followed the instructions and a man standing behind her patted her down. He carefully removed her pistol from its belt clip and placed it on the table. The guy behind the table said some thing to her and she was allowed to enter the main body of the room.As she approached the centre of the room she scratched the small of he back and the HandHeld she had given me, but which I had felt it unnecessary to mention until the plot required it, vibrated gently in my pocket. It was a text message that read, ‘use earpiece and tune to channel one five six nine nine eight.’I pulled out the small earpiece and slipped it in. I retuned the HandHeld and was not overly surprised to hear Elly’s voice, “Good evening Rinty. It looks as though I’m the only one.”Rinty’s voice was quieter but still audible, “Oh no Elly, the others will be here in a moment. Ah good, here is Miss Savage.”My gaze shot over to the main doors and indeed there stood Lynda, she approached the table and was put through the same process as Elly had just been through. I could tell by her body language she was not at all happy. Lynda was only happy when she was in control and at the moment she could not be less out of control. Her left arm was in a sling and she winced visibly as the guy searching he insisted that she lift up her arm.That was so typical of Lynda. She could have stayed in the office. She could along, but no, she had to do it all herself, she hated to delegate. Mind you in a situation like this perhaps she could not afford to delegate. Perhaps however it was who ultimately in charge of this operation knew they could not afford to widen the circle any further. They had already made the mistake of trying to use me and that had backfired when I had started asking to many questions and so perhaps the only option was for Lynda to come along herself. Other than the sling she looked unharmed. She had obviously taken to wearing a bullet proof vest at all times as well as carrying her pistol at the ready. She glanced about the hanger like room and I could see her mentally making a note of the positions of all the armed men. She moved with her usual self assured grace and even though she looked out of place in her designer short skirt and jacket you got the impression that she was not one to mess with.Rinty spoke as she approached, “Ah good evening madam, you must be Miss Savage. Miss Savage this is Elly. Elly this is Miss Savage. Miss Savage is replacing Mr Sharpe who is I understand unavailable.”“That’s a shame,” said Elly turning to Lynda, “I quite liked Mr Sharpe. Nothing too serious I hope?”“Let’s say there was a difference of opinion, a clash of personalities.” said Lynda.“Odd, I found him quite charming. What did you think of him Mr Rinty.” Elly turned to face Rinty who was still standing on his little stage like a conductor waiting for the signal to start the show.“Oh aye, charming man, charming.” Rinty’s attention was not really on the two women in front of him, it was on the main door and he kept glancing at his watch. He was waiting for his co-star, Mr Romanov, to arrive. Lynda glanced around the room again. Other than her usual air of self confidence there was something different about her.All eyes turned to the main door as Mr Romanov’s voice filled the empty space and even cut over the rain, “I do not carry a gun you imbecile. I am a businessman not a gangster.”The man who was attempting to search Mr Romanov turned for guidance to Rinty. Rinty waved a hand and the search was waived. Mr Romanov walked to the centre of the room.Rinty was now ready, “So pleased you could join us Mr Romanov, Elly you already know…”Romanov cut over him. I don’t care who these people are. Do you have the boy?”“Well yes,” replied a flustered Rinty.“Good.” Snapped Romanov, “Let’s get on with this then.” He pulled out a white envelope and slapped on the table in front of him, “Ladies, if we could, please.”Elly and Lynda produced their envelopes and placed them on the table. One of Rinty’s men ran forward and gathered up the envelopes. He handed them to Rinty who man no attempt to open them, but slipped them into an inside pocket.Rinty stood, enjoying his moment, “ladies and gentlemen thank you for your time. I will study the bids and contact the winner about payment and delivery in about two hour’s time.”Romanov raised a hand and stepped forward, “One moment Mr Rinty. How much longer must we play your silly game? Do you or don’t you have the boy?”Rinty tried to regain control of the situation, “Of course I do, but I need to make sure that…”“Do you have him here?” Interrupted Mr Romanov.It was an almost imperceptible movement, only fractions of a econd long, but Rinty’s eyes darted over to the office on the first level which he had come out of earlier. None of those on the ground floor seemed to notice it and you may be wondering how I, who is hiding behind Rinty, noticed it but I did so there.“No,” said Rinty, “do you take me for a fool. Now Mr Romanov, ladies, we will proceed as I have instructed or the deal will be off. Do I make myself clear?” The three of them looked at each other and then at Rinty. Lynda raised a hand too her ear and I suddenly realised what was different about her. It was her glasses. They were almost but not exactly like hers. They were just very slightly thicker. That was the reason she had been looking round, they were a camera.I turned away from the centre of the room, pulled the earpiece out and shoved my fingers into my ears as hard as I could. I felt the rumbles and heard the dull thump of percussion grenades, the inside of my eyelids light up white.I waited for a second and then turned back to face the room. Keeping low I moved towards the railing. A group of department commandoes had blown a hole in the corner of the roof and had taken up position on the top landing raking the other platforms with fire.Romanov had scrambled for cover and was doing his best to keep low to the edge of the stage platform. Rinty was crawling as fast as he could towards the stairs on my side. Lynda had pulled a pistol from somewhere and was returning fire to those of Rinty’s men who had dared pop their heads up over the railings.Worryingly Elly had disappeared. Or perhaps that was nothing to worry about perhaps that was a good sign. My main aim now was to get to the office that Rinty had come out of earlier. I started to crawl towards the stairs. Two of Rinty’s men, on their way up to deal with the commandoes, appeared running up the stairs, I fired twice and they bodies flew back down the staircase. Over by the front door a new firefight broke out and I assumed Romanov’s men were trying to gain access to rescue their boss. The department commandoes had begun to work they way down, clearing each floor as they moved. I had to get to that office before the department men and before Rinty.I reached the bottom of the flight of stairs and spotted Rinty. He was on his belly banging on the door to the office. I went to step forward but small arms fire raked the wall just in front of me. I glanced across to the right and saw that I had been spotted by the guys from the department. I moved round to the far side if the stairs. They didn’t offer much cover but it was than I had kneeling at the bottom of the stairs. More fire raked at the floor where I knelt. Some one was shooting at me from below. I glanced down the stairwell, Lynda had made her way over obviously alerted by the department guys, I levelled my pistol to fire when Elly appeared travelling at speed. Elly had blindsided Lynda and hit her full on with a crunching tackle. If Lynda’s arm and ribs did not already hurt from today’s earlier excitement they definitely would now. Lynda crunched face first into the steel steps and her pistol flew from her had. Momentarily stunned she lay there winded. Elly flipped her over and punch her in the face. Automatic fire ricocheted off the banister as Lynda's men tried to give her covering fire and drive off Elly.“Elly, up here.” I shouted over the sound of the battle.Elly looked up and then started to scramble over Lynda’s inert body and up the stairs towards me. Lynda began to come round and grabbed at Elly’s ankle as it passed by her head. Elly rolled onto her back and stamped down hard on Lynda's head. Lynda held tight and Elly stamped again at the head and then at Lynda's injured shoulder. Lynda released her grip and clutched at her injured arm.Elly scrambled up the last few steps and joined me. I handed her the pistol I had bought for her, “Here you go, little prezzie, thought you might need it.”“Cheers,” she said, “What’s the plan? I take it there is a plan.” She checked the magazine.“Get out of her alive and with what ever or who ever is in that office, I pointed over to where Rinty was still lying on the floor by the office door. He hammered again and this time the door opened. Rinty scrambled in.Down below us the three groups, Rinty’s men, Romanov’s men and the department commandoes where now involved in a full scale firefight. It was now merely a matter of survival. It looked as though it would be a close run thing between the department and Romanov.Now that the fire seemed to be concentrated on other people I decided it would be safe to move in on the office. I turned to Elly, “I don’t know how many people are in there and whether or not they armed but we have two choices, we can either wait until they come out or we can go in.”“Have you still got the stun grenades?”“Yes.”“Then I’m all for going in then. Whilst we have whoever it is suck in there we have the upper hand.”“Seems like a reasonable plan to be. Do you want to go high or low?”“I think low. Give me a couple of those.”I passed her a couple of the stun grenades, “Come on then, lets see how well you handle that gun.”We were about to move forward when the door to the office opened and two armed figures appeared. One high, one low. They scanned the landing and spotted me and Elly. Automatic fire ripped across the wall just above our heads sending us scurrying for cover. The firing stopped and I peeked out from our hiding place. Again automatic fire ripped across the wall and into the packing boxes we were hiding behind.I kept as low as possible while the two figures worked a clearing pattern. They were heading for the fire escape at the end of the gantry. Two more figures appeared and the four of them formed a defence box. Once they were sure that they had control of the area the signalled into the room and Rinty and a young man who I recognised as Stickman appeared and stepped into the middle of the defensive box. The group move down the gantry as one. I had no idea who they were but they were definitely professionals. They were leagues ahead of the other numbties that Rinty had hired. Every time I or Elly raised our heads automatic fire ripped into the area around use.I watched them through a gap in the boxes. As they reached the fire escape the lead guy kicked it open and went through. There were a few bursts of automatic fire and he reappeared and signalled it was safe to continue.Some thing about the whole scene had struck me as odd. Not just the professionalism of the soldiers, there was something else but I could not put my finger on it. Then as the group prepared to exit through the fire escape I realised what it was. I watched in stunned amazement as Stickman stepped to one side and allowed Rinty to exit first, he then turned and said something to the two guys holding the rear. One of them nodded then stickman and the other one exited. The guy left behind held his position for a moment and then with a final burst of fire into the packing cases went out the fire escape. I gave it a second or two and then began to run along the gantry. I could hear Elly’s feet clatter along behind me. Almost immediately two grenades rolled in through the door. I turned round and grabbing Elly threw us both through open office door as two explosions ripped through the far end of the building. Shrapnel thudded into the side of the office and dust showered down on us.Elly pushed me off and spat the dust out of her mouth, “Well that went fucking well.”“You can always trust the department to fuck things up. Mind you, it’s nice to know that it’s not just me.” “Come on,” said Elly standing up, “let’s get after them.”I sat up, “They’ll be long gone by now.”“Yeah, but I should have some one on their tail by now.”I stood up and dusted myself off; down below there was still the sound of sporadic firing, “Are you telling me you’ve got some one following them?”“There should be. Did you not wonder where the rest of my team has been all evening?”“I just assumed they were out playing Robin Hood with the water supply.”“No.” she looked hurt, she hated it when I took the piss out her important as she saw it work, “they have been in position nearly all day.”“Well, where were they when the firing started?”“They were under strict instructions to stay out of it and only follow whoever had Stickman and failing that to follow Rinty to where ever he was holding Rinty.”“Come on then,” I said, “There is another fire escape at the far end, hopefully that lot will still be too busy trying to kill each other to notice us.”“Yeah, we’d better get a move on before the police flyers arrive.”Down below the three groups had been reduced to two, most of Rinty’s men had fled the building. He was obviously not paying them enough to risk getting killed for.Surprisingly Romanov’s men seemed to have the upper had and were making their way to the main entrance. Elly was right it would only be a matter of moments before reinforcements arrived in the shape of police flyers and more folk from the department. It was definitely time to get out of her and if what Elly said was true we could hopefully get one step ahead of the others and find out where Rinty was holding Stickman. But I had begun to doubt, after seeing what I had seen happen at the fire exit, that Stickman was actually being held at all.We made our way as quietly as we could to the far fire exit and then out into the dark, storm lashed night.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
We jumped into the car and set off. I, being the big hunky hero that I am, drove. Elly made a call on her HandHeld and pulled the area schematic on the Diana terminal. She pressed a few keys and a small white dot appeared on the screen heading north.She spoke into the Hand Held and then ended the call, She tapped the screen, “That’s our car, he’s about three kilometres ahead of us. He’s got a visual sighting on the car containing Rinty and Stickman thing is they’ve got two of those blokes with them and four more in a car behind.”“I hope your lads don’t get too enthusiastic. They are not the best tailers in the world.”“Hopefully Rinty is not expecting to be followed.”“He might expect it but those guys in the other car will.”“Why should they?”“Because they are professionals, it’s what professionals do. We expect to be followed. We expect to be shot at. We expect the unexpected.” I gunned the engine and the little whit dot moved closer. Over head police flyers were heading south towards Vauxhall and the old Silvershield building. A department cruiser and two personal vans shot by on the south bound carriage way, sirens blaring and lights flashing.Elly lit a couple of cigarettes and handed me on, “How will she explain it?”“How will who explain what?”“Lynda. How will she explain what went on this evening?”“She won’t have to. She’ll allow it to explain itself.”“I’m sorry.”“People very rarely want the truth. What they want is some thing the can explain and that fits in to their world view. That includes ministers and civil servants. So you allow the situation to explain itself.”“And how do you think it will explain itself that won’t involve Lynda either losing her job or being locked up?”“Very simple. She went along to negotiate for the release of Stickman/the minister’s son, but Rinty had double crossed her, he had invited other people along and was trying to make money from the situation. Suddenly it all went wrong. Somebody, probably you being the leader of the underground movement stared shooting. I was there obviously helping you and you band of merry men. Romanov’s men tried to storm the building and so she had to call for back up in an attempt to protect herself and hopefully rescue the poor minister’s son.”She stared out of the window and watched the rain. After a moment she spoke, “I’ve ruined your life haven’t I?”“Not really. I think I pretty much screwed it up myself.” “But you’re a wanted man.”“Don’t fret, I’ll sort it. It may take a while but I’ll get it figured.”“What will you do until then?”“My first aim is to get hold of stickman and get this mess sorted out.”“And after that?””I’m sort of hoping that after that I will be able to prove that I haven’t actually done anything wrong.”“I suppose I was rather hoping you’d join us.”“You know my views on your little troupe. What you do doesn’t change anything. People still live in shit surrounded plastic flowers and robotic animals. No matter how many water cards you hand out or tubes of cream you give away nothing is going to change.”“I suppose what you do is so important?”“What I do is stop it getting any worse. I stop the shit piling up round your doorstep. I make so that you don’t have to wade through crap every day. I do the stuff that no one else wants to do. I do the stuff that most folk don’t want to even think about, the stuff that they wish didn’t exist.”She turned back to face me, “Why do you do it?”“Why do you hand out water and creams? Because you need to feel you’re making a difference. My brother says I’m running away.”“Are you?”“If I ever find out you’ll be the first to know.”