False Friends (47 page)

‘Give me a minute, Spider.’ Button stood up. ‘I need everybody’s attention, right now.’ She looked over at the clock on the wal . It was twelve minutes to six. ‘We are looking at multiple armed attackers at Westfield shopping mal , Stratford.’ She pointed at Commander Needham. ‘We need al your ARVs there now, and any others you can raise.’ She looked over at Lesporis. ‘Luke, maintain surveil ance on the other vans. As soon as you can confirm that they are heading to the mal , we need them intercepted and neutralised.’ Button pointed at Zoe. ‘Get the Met helicopter over the mal , now.’ Zoe nodded and started talking into her headset.

A tal man in a black leather jacket looked over at Button, waiting for instructions. She only knew him as Terry and he was her SAS liaison. The SAS had a team outside the house where Khalid was holed up, ready to move in and do whatever was necessary. The SAS weren’t hampered by the same rules and regulations that governed the police so the house clearance wouldn’t turn into a siege situation.

‘Hang fire, Terry,’ she said. ‘Let’s wait until we have them al .’

Terry nodded. ‘Ready when you are, ma’am,’ he said. He was holding a pack of chewing gum and he slid a piece into his mouth.

Button put her mobile back to her ear. ‘What’s your situation, Spider?’

‘Al good,’ said Shepherd. ‘The passenger took a bul et; the driver’s under control. I need to get to the mal .’

‘Negative on that. We’l take it from here.’

‘Charlie, I saw al their faces on the photos at Thames House. I’m the only one that can ID them. Get a bike here and I can be there in minutes.

The cops aren’t going to know who to take out. It could get very messy.’

‘We can take out the vans before they get there.’

‘And what about the ones who aren’t in the vans? What about the ones going by tube? Or bus? I need to be there, Charlie. Get me that bike.’

Button looked over the clock again. The seconds were ticking away.

‘What’s happening?’ asked Chaudhry. He turned to look at Shepherd and as he did so Afzal slid his hands off the steering wheel.

Shepherd pointed at the driver. ‘Raj, keep the gun at his head. Afzal, you do anything other than grip that wheel and he’l put a bul et in you, I swear.’

‘Okay, okay,’ said Afzal. His face was bathed in sweat and his hands were trembling.

‘I’m serious, Raj. He moves, you shoot him.’

Chaudhry nodded. ‘I wil do,’ he said. His voice was shaking and he took a deep breath. ‘I wil ,’ he said, louder and more confident. ‘What are you going to do?’

‘I’m going to the mal .’ He pul ed the lid off the plastic crate containing the backpacks and pul ed one out. He unzipped it and looked inside. There were two Glock pistols, several dozen fil ed magazines and two boxes of extra ammunition.

‘I’m coming with you,’ said Chaudhry, keeping his eyes on the driver.

‘You can’t,’ said Shepherd.

‘I’ve been trained,’ said Chaudhry. ‘I can shoot.’

Shepherd slung the backpack over his shoulder. ‘Raj, trust me. There are armed cops from al over London heading towards that shopping mal .

The last thing you want to be is an Asian with a gun. Best wil in the world, you might as wel have a bul ’s-eye on your chest.’

‘The world is fucked up, John.’

‘Yeah, isn’t it just?’ He heard the roar of a motorcycle engine and, in the distance, the sound of a siren. ‘Now listen to me, Raj. In a few minutes the cops wil be here. Armed cops. They know you’re one of the good guys and they know you’re in the van, but accidents can happen so as soon as they get here you slide the gun to the back of the van and you do exactly as they tel you. They have a procedure to fol ow and it doesn’t involve them minding their manners. Just grit your teeth and it’l soon be over.’

‘I hear you.’

A motorcycle pul ed up behind the van.

‘I’ve got to go, mate,’ said Shepherd, taking off the wool gloves. He held out his hand. ‘And my name’s Dan,’ he whispered so that Afzal couldn’t hear him. ‘Dan Shepherd.’ Chaudhry reached out with his left hand and awkwardly shook with Shepherd, al the time keeping the gun aimed at Afzal’s head. ‘You did good today, Raj. Real y good. But your part’s over now.’

‘I’l see you again, right?’

Shepherd nodded. ‘You can count on it.’

He climbed out of the back of the van. A group of housewives were staring wide-eyed at the van. One of them was pushing a toddler in a strol er.

‘Ladies, you need to get away from the van for your own safety,’ he said. The siren was louder now. The women hurried away.

The dispatch rider was dressed al in black, his face hidden behind a tinted visor. He nodded at Shepherd and revved the powerful engine.

Shepherd climbed on to the pil ion. The engine roared and the bike sped off.

‘Right, everybody, status reports, please, and let’s keep them short,’ said Charlotte Button. ‘Commander?’ She looked over at Commander Needham.

‘I have three ARVs heading to Westfield now,’ said the commander. ‘The first one is ETA nine minutes. The second wil be there in eleven and we’re looking at twelve minutes for the third. I’ve asked two to go to the main entrance and one to the other end of the mal . Al on the ground floor.

That’s where we assume most of the shoppers wil be.’

Button nodded. ‘That’s three confirmed but more on the way?’

‘I’m working on that now,’ he said. ‘The timing is dire.’

‘I’m sure that’s deliberate,’ said Button. ‘What about the vans?’

‘We are close to the three that we’ve been tailing and can take them out on your word,’ said the commander.

Three of the screens on the wal were now showing floor plans of Westfield shopping mal . Entrances were marked with flashing red squares.

‘Let’s see if we can tel what the drop-off points are going to be,’ Button said. She pointed at the screens. ‘We’re looking at fourteen entrances and exits in al . Several are reached by the car parks so if we can ascertain that any of the vans are heading to particular car parks we take them out and then we’l know that those entrances are going to be safe.’ She cal ed over to Lesporis. ‘Luke, we do have comms with Spider?’

‘Working on it,’ said Lesporis.

‘Soon as you can,’ she said. ‘And tel your watchers that as soon as they know where their targets are going to pul in they must let us know. And Zoe, that goes for the helicopter. The sooner we know where exactly they’re headed, the sooner we can take them out.’

Zoe flashed Button a thumbs-up as she continued to talk into her headset.

‘Commander, we need regular police in the area because assuming the armed response teams start firing there’s going to be panic. We’l need to get people moving in the right direction.’

‘Can I suggest an evacuation of the mal and the surrounding shops?’ said the commander.

Button looked over at him. She knew that the commander was covering his back, making sure that everyone realised that the decision to al ow the terrorists to continue was her decision and hers alone. ‘As soon as we know that we can neutralise al the shooters, we’l clear the area,’ she said. ‘If we evacuate now we might tip them into shooting before the six o’clock deadline. But your suggestion is noted.’

Button looked at the clock. Ten minutes to six.

Lesporis raised a hand. ‘Charlie, Tango Two is heading for car park A, at the John Lewis end. Nowhere else it can be going.’

Button turned to the commander. ‘Take out Tango Two, Commander.’

Commander Needham nodded and pressed a number on his console.

Lesporis raised his hand again. ‘We have Spider on comms,’ he said. Button reached for a headset and put it on.

The motorcyclist was a true professional, barely using his brakes as he wove in and out of the traffic. They had already gone through two red lights, taking one at ful speed and the other much more slowly with the bike’s hazard lights flashing. With no official markings or siren they were leaving angry looks and blaring horns in their wake.

The driver had had to remove the ful -face helmet and pass it back to Shepherd because HQ wanted to talk to him and he needed the microphone and earphone built into it. It was now only the driver’s glasses that kept some of the wind out of his eyes as the bike continued powering east.

‘Spider, can you hear me?’ Button’s voice was coming through the earphone.

‘Yes, I hear you.’ There was no mic switch so Shepherd assumed it was voice-activated.

‘What’s your ETA?’

‘At the rate we’re going four minutes, maybe five.’

‘You’re armed?’

‘I have the guns that Khalid supplied, plus a few dozen clips.’

‘Where were Chaudhry and Malik supposed to go?’

‘They were dropping us at one of the car park entrances that would put us on the first floor. We were to chain the doors, start shooting and then escape via Marks & Spencer.’

‘Spider, it looks as if most of the vans are heading to the car parks. We’re taking them down now so the imminent threat is from the terrorists arriving by the tube and by bus. The likelihood is that they wil be heading for the main entrances on the ground floor and the lower ground floor.’

‘Which is where I should be?’

‘Exactly. The first ARVs to reach the mal wil head for the main entrance too and move in that way.’

Shepherd looked at his watch. It was eight minutes to six. ‘Charlie, you have to give them my description. Blue jeans, black polo shirt, brown leather jacket. I’m wearing Harvey’s green parka but I’l dump that as soon as I get off the bike. The last thing I need is to get caught in friendly fire.’

‘It’l be done,’ said Button. ‘We have ARVs en route but most of them are going to be getting there after six so you’re going to be on your own for a few minutes.’

Shepherd’s stomach lurched as a bus pul ed out in front of them. The motorcyclist had seen the vehicle and accelerated at the same time as he leaned over to the right. Shepherd leaned in sync and they missed the bus by inches. ‘How’s Raj?’ asked Shepherd.

‘Raj?’

‘Raj Chaudhry. I left him at the van with a gun.’

‘The van has just been secured. We’re taking him to see Malik. Spider, one other thing. We’re going to start evacuating the mal within the next couple of minutes. We’re on to the mal people now and we’re going to start emptying the first and second floors through the department stores.’

‘What about just sounding the fire alarm?’

‘If the terrorists lock the ground-floor doors we’l just be sending people towards the guns,’ she said. ‘Best you and the ARVs get there first.’

Shepherd looked over the shoulder of the motorcyclist. Ahead of them was Westfield mal . ‘Almost there, Charlie.’

‘Good luck, Spider.’

Button looked up at the screen showing the view from the police helicopter. She could see the motorbike arriving at the main entrance to the mal .

‘Commander, how are we doing with the ARVs?’

‘Two minutes until the first one arrives,’ he said. ‘Two minutes after that we should have a vehicle at car park B.’

‘And the vans in transit?’

‘Two have been stopped without shots being fired. We should have the third within the next minute or so.’

Button looked over at Zoe. ‘What’s happening with the evacuation?’ she asked.

‘I’m having problems getting someone there to approve it,’ said Zoe. ‘No one seems to know who’s responsible for authorising it.’

‘Head of security, presumably.’

‘He’s saying that unless he knows the nature of the threat he’s not prepared to evacuate the building. I’m contacting the owners of the mal as we speak.’ She held up her hand and began talking into her headset.

Button caught the commander’s eye. ‘Do you have any uniforms close by?’ she asked.

‘Two TSG vans already, more on the way,’ he said. ‘No blues and twos and they’re staying in the vans until needed.’

‘I think we need them in now, Commander,’ she said. ‘Tel them to go straight up to the top floor and get people moving through the department stores.’

Zoe waved at Button and Button nodded for her to speak. ‘It’s okay. The CEO is on to the head of security now. He’l get the security teams to begin moving people out.’

‘Through the stores, not through the main entrances,’ said Button. She looked back at the commander. ‘We stil need your people in there, Commander. We need to start getting people out. But discreetly. No panic.’

‘They’re on their way,’ said Commander Needham. ‘They’ve been told to say that there’s going to be a power cut.’

Button looked at the screen showing the overhead view of the mal . Shepherd was standing by the bike, opening his backpack. It was five minutes to six.

Shepherd rested the backpack on the pil ion of the motorbike and handed the helmet to the driver. ‘Thanks,’ said Shepherd.

The driver slid the helmet on as Shepherd unzipped the backpack. The guns were both Glocks, similar to the MI5-issued one that he’d left with Chaudhry. He pul ed one out, ejected the magazine, checked that it was ful and then slotted it back into place.

‘Anything I can do?’ asked the driver.

‘Are you firearms trained?’ asked Shepherd. He slid the Glock into his shoulder holster.

‘Afraid not. Strictly surveil ance.’

‘Then thanks but no thanks,’ said Shepherd. He took off Malik’s parka and gave it to the driver. ‘You can hang on to that for me, if you don’t mind.’

He shouldered the backpack and began running towards the main entrance.

Zoe waved over at Charlotte Button. ‘The security guards on the upper floor are now directing people out of the mal and into the department stores.’

‘Excel ent,’ said Button. She looked over at the clock. Four minutes to six.

‘We’ve just intercepted the fourth van,’ said the commander. ‘It was heading for car park B. Four men in custody; no shots fired.’

‘And the ARVs?’

‘First one wil arrive in about one minute. Second one two minutes later.’

‘Make sure they have a ful description of Spider and explain that he is armed. I don’t want any friendly fire incidents.’