Hot Zone (Major Crimes Unit Book 2) (9 page)

“In Libya?” asked Sarah.

Her father shrugged. “It won’t need to pass deeper
inspection. We’re already through.”

“How did you get diplomatic designation?”

“High friends in high places. The people I am working for
have a great deal of clout.”

“So why do they need someone like you? You’re just a thug.”

The comment earned a scolding glance and her father’s
emerald eyes drilled into her as he spoke. “Great minds don’t always have great
stomachs. A driver might steer a car, but he will go nowhere without tyres on
the ground. I am a tyre. I carry the drivers of this world where they need to
go, and if anything gets in my way, I roll right over it.”

“I thought you were done taking orders?”

“I’m done being expendable and I’m done following orders I
don’t agree with.”

“You still sound expendable to me,” she said, not sure why
she was so intent on harassing her father. “Tyres get replaced. I would much
rather be the driver. The driver is in control of the tyres and they go
wherever he wants them to, until they wear out or burst.”

Her father’s ruddy cheeks quivered.

“I think,” Krenshaw interrupted, “that Major Stone merely
used a flawed analogy. Truthfully, he is more like a syringe; surgically
precise with the ability to penetrate while barely being noticed. While doctors
may think themselves gods, it is the unassuming syringe that makes things
happen.”

Major Stone nodded at Krenshaw in what seemed to be thanks.

Sarah cursed. “What the hell is going on here? Why is our
hostage jumping to your defence? And why does he seem so perfectly content to
be in our custody?”

“Because he knows what’s good for him,” said her father
flatly.

“How? South Africa will be far less gentle than we are.”

“Trust me, daughter. I know what I am doing and Krenshaw
understands his role. Everything is going as intended.”

Sarah glanced at Krenshaw who seemed to be smiling, if a
little confused by the conversation. Her father was looking at her now in a way
far softer than she was used to, and it crumbled her resolve. He seemed to be
asking her to trust him, which was something he never would have cared about in
the past.

She grunted, flapped her arms in defeat. “Not like I can
turn back now, is it?”

“Good. Let’s go and get eyes on Rat and the others, then we
can kick our heels for an hour until the flight.”

They headed into a wide eating area and sat down at an open
plan cafe, ordering some drinks and snacks from the tired-looking waitress.
There, they were eventually joined by Ollie, Spots, and Rat. Rat, as usual,
sneered at her on sight. Ollie was far gentler and gave her a pat on the back
where she was sitting alone in the corner.

“Everything go okay?” he asked her.

She nodded. “Yeah. Too easy, in fact.”

“That’s what’s so great about your father; he makes tough
work seem like nothing.”

Sarah studied Ollie as he sat down opposite her. There was
something very comforting about his face, maybe even something familiar. He was
a soft man doing hard work, and he didn’t wear it well. “I don’t get you,” she
said. “How did a man like you ever end up with a man like my father?”

“Obligation.”

“Why are you obligated to my father?”

Ollie seemed put off for a second, as if he had spoken
without thinking. It became obvious when he tried to backtrack. “He’s…allowing
me to make amends for what happened. My wife.”

Sarah nodded. “I don’t believe that’s all of it. You’re not
a violent man — not by choice, anyway. My father rallied you to his cause, made
you take up arms, but how did he do it? How did he even find you?”

Ollie sighed. “I’ve known your father a long time, Sarah,
although he pretty much disappeared off the face of the earth when he joined
the army. We grew up together as kids, me a few years older. Even back then,
your father was tough. At school he would keep the bullies off me, even thought
he was younger, even when they towered over him. He was my little bodyguard. It
wasn’t because he loved me — I’m not sure he’s ever loved anyone.” He looked at
her then and realised what he’s said. “Sorry. It was because of his sense of
duty that he protected me, and his sense of duty is unbreakable.”

“Why did my father feel a sense of duty to you?” she urged.

Ollie began fiddling with his fingers and looking down at
the wedding ring he still wore. “Your father never met my wife. We had already
lost touch long before then, but when he found out she had died, he came
immediately to visit me in Sri Lanka — again, probably because he felt a duty
to do so. I found out that he had been in Sri Lanka a few times before, helping
the government fight the Tamil Tigers, and he told me that he had once even
looked in on me. He had seen how happy I was and felt his duty to me was
complete, which was why he never reached out to me. His life and my life were
too different to gel comfortably, so he stayed away. But when Darla was killed
he had to come and make sure I was okay.”

“I still don’t understand,” said Sarah. “I never heard him
speak about you once. Who are you to my father?”

Ollie shook his head and exhaled slowly, before looking at
her and saying, “I’m your father’s brother, Sarah; your uncle. My wife was your
auntie and the four-year-old son I had snatched away in the attack on my school
was your cousin.”

Sarah reeled back in her chair. As a young woman she’d had
no one. Her mother died young and her father had shown no interest, yet all
this time she had had a kindly uncle, a man who had now been turned to killing
upon her father’s influence. She floundered for a moment. “I…why didn’t you
ever…I…”

Ollie shrugged. “I didn’t know you existed until six months
ago. Your father and I had gone so long without contact that I grew old in the
time since you were born. I’m sorry I kept it from you, but your father…”

Sarah nodded. She understood very well how her father had a
way of making people dance to his tune, even if he was playing nothing but
wrong notes. “It’s okay,” she said. “I’m glad I know.”

“Okay, men,” said her father almost half-an-hour later. “The
plane is boarding, so let’s move.”

Everyone finished their drinks and got up. When they began
heading towards the gate, Sarah noticed that Krenshaw had forgotten his
briefcase. He’d left it beneath one of the tables. She headed back to get it.

“Leave it, Sarah,” her father shouted.

Sarah pulled her hand away from the briefcase and frowned.
“Why?”

“Because it’s set to go off.”

W
hen
Mattock sat up minutes after the attack, swearing and shouting, Howard almost
wept. The man was part of his family and, while they may not always agree,
there was a mutual respect between the two of them, as there was between all members
of the MCU, which was what made Sarah’s actions extra sickening.

“She’ll pay for this,” Howard growled as he knelt beside
Mattock. The grenades had made short work of the three MCU Range Rovers and
Major Stone and his people had got away; but no one was seriously hurt and that
was the important thing. The only people to die were two of Major Stone’s men.
Men they were currently in the process of IDing.

Mattock gritted his teeth, pulled up his shirt and
protective vest, and examined the damage. Blood was everywhere and Howard felt
himself growing ever more furious at what his former colleague had down, but
Mattock just ended up chuckling.

“Just a flesh wound,” he said. His hands were covered in
fresh red blood but he seemed entirely composed. “I’m bloody embarrassed for
passing out like some pansy. She barely hit me.”

“We have a team on the way,” said Jessica. “We’ll get you
back to the Earthworm where I can take a proper look at you.”

“I’m fine, luv.” Mattock managed to climb to his feet,
barely wincing. “Just point me in the right direction and I’m dandy.”

Howard placed a hand on the man’s shoulder. “I’ve got this
now. Wherever Sarah and her father have gone with Krenshaw, I’ll be the one to
find them.”

“Go easy on Sarah,” said Mattock.

“Why? She shot you.”

“If that bird had wanted me dead, I would be, mate. She shot
to wound — barely at that. She’s not too far gone. Reach out to her.”

Howard thought about things for a minute. He’d seen Sarah
shoot a gun before and it was true she knew what she was doing. There was
little chance she would’ve missed the mark with a full magazine from a machine
pistol. Perhaps she
had
intended merely to graze Mattock, but she still
helped Krenshaw escape. After what he had witnessed at Whiteknight Hospital,
that was unforgivable.

“Hey, I’ve got something over here.”

Howard looked around to see one of the strike team members,
a young blond guy called Wilder, shouting him over. At the man’s feet was the
body of an elderly gentleman, looking much frailer in death than he had in life
only an hour before.

“What do you have?” Howard asked the young officer.

“I found these.” Wilder handed over what he had, then said,
“Oh, that I had wings like a dove! I would fly away and be at rest.”

“I’m sorry, what?”

“It’s from the bible. Seems like Major Stone and his people
are planning on flying.”

Howard frowned, then took the passport and ticket from the
strange young man and ran his eyes over them. The name on the documents would
probably be false, but the destination was Libya. It was it pretty obvious
Major Stone planned on getting out of the country.

“Can I leave you with this?” he asked Jessica, meaning the
mess that was the three disabled Range Rovers and a handful of disorientated
MCU agents.

“Yes, of course, but where are you going?”

Howard showed her the tickets. “There’s no way I’m letting
Krenshaw leave this country. I’ll shoot him if I have to. They could still be
heading for Heathrow.”

Jessica sighed. “Wait for backup, Howard.”

“Backup is here, licking its wounds.” Mattock glared but
Howard continued. “Major Stone’s flight leaves in less than an hour. Someone
needs to go, right now. It will take too long to assemble another team and make
a plan.”

“Then have Palu ground all flights to buy us time.”

“We do that and Major Stone goes to ground. Our best chance
is to pin him down at the airport where he can’t escape, but I need to move
now.”

Jessica nodded slowly, knowing him well enough not to bother
arguing. “Then go,” she said. “But bloody be careful.”

Howard put a call in to Mandy, MCU’s most skilled driver,
and told him he needed to get to the airport quickly. Ten minutes later, he was
picked up by a sleek black Jaguar. Mandy spoke little, so Howard stated his
destination. “Get me to Heathrow.”

M
andy
dropped Howard right outside the entrance to Terminal 1. Howard wasted no time
rushing inside. He flashed his badge at airport security and was let through
the check-in barriers without question. Palu had called ahead and airport
security were ready and waiting to help in whatever ways it could. The leader
of the security force was a short man named Tariq Riaz.

“What do you need from my team?” asked Tariq obligingly.

Howard told him. “I need a radio that I can reach you on. We
are looking for a small group of men, and a woman with a badly scarred face.”

“Should be easy enough to find. Here, take my radio. Set it
to ‘wide’ and you’ll broadcast to every member of the team. There are over a
hundred of us in total, more than enough to handle whatever you need.”

“Good. I don’t want anyone getting hurt, so I’m going to try
and get a view of the targets before deciding how to proceed. I’ll head to the
gate and see if I can get eyes on, but if your men spot the targets first I
want to know right away.”

Tariq nodded. “Of course. Is it true that one of the men
you’re after is responsible for the Ebola epidemic in Reading?”

“How did you know that?”

“The news. I just got an update about a firefight in Watford
involving MCU and a man suspected for the Reading outbreak. Now, here you are,
another MCU agent, chasing down a group of dangerous men.”

The local police must have arrived on scene after Howard had
left Mattock, Jessica, and the others. Once the local police got wind of
anything, it went straight to the attention of the press.

Howard smiled. “You’re smart. That’s good. And you’re
correct, one of the men is responsible for Ebola Reading. He is extremely
dangerous, so help me catch the sonofabitch.”

“I’ll do whatever you need me to,” said Tariq.

Howard rushed off towards the appropriate departure gate,
staying close to the walls and trying to merge with the various groups
travelling. It was difficult to blend in with the various families,
businessmen, and lovers on route to exotic destinations. He was the only one
not wearing sandals and t-shirt, or formal business attire; not to mention that
those travelling to Libya specifically wore the traditional gowns of that
country. Howard stuck out like a sore thumb in his cheap suit and tie. He
decided to roll up his sleeves, ditch the tie, and unbutton his collar. He also
took the time to quickly purchase a baseball cap from one of the stores. It
wasn’t a perfect disguise, but it didn’t need to be.

A ringing sound made him flinch and he realised it was his
mobsat. He answered the call and it was Palu.

“Howard, the remainder of Mattock’s team are finishing up
with the local police and will be on your location in twenty. Can you hold
things that long?”

“No. The flight to Libya leaves in twenty minutes. I have
airport security helping me, so I will have to bring the targets in myself.”

Palu breathed down the phone. “Okay. Are you armed?”

“Yes.”

“I suspect Major Stone will be also.”

“How would he get a gun through check-in?”

“Diplomatic papers. The entire team here at the Earthworm is
working the Intel, and as part of that we ran every single check-in confirmed
through Heathrow in the last hour. Three people were passed through as
diplomats. Two men and a woman. When one of the analysts called up to confirm
details, the officer in charge described the female in the group as ‘a freak’.
Upon elaboration he said that her face was badly scarred.”

Howard exhaled. “Sarah. Pretty hard to hide with wounds like
hers.”

“If they got through with diplomatic bags they could be in
possession of anything. Be careful. We’ve been getting more Intel that tells us
Major Stone has been behind several recent attacks against UK assets abroad.
I’m not sure he’s simply gone rogue. I think he’s turned against us entirely.”

“Is there anyway Sarah doesn’t know what her father is
doing?”

Palu breathed down the phone again. “I don’t see how. She
engaged in a firefight with Mattock’s men and helped Dr Krenshaw escape. We
both know that Sarah has a grudge against this country. Her father might have
convinced her to join his cause under the mutual flag of disenchantment.”

“I still don’t know what Major Stone’s cause even is.”

“I think it has something to do with Syria,” said Palu. “I
still have analysts working the angles, but Major Stone went rogue during a
mission in Syria to take out an ISIS arms cache. He successfully found the site
and lased it for an airstrike but never returned radio communication after the
bombs dropped. Command assumed he and his team were lost, but they popped up a
month later and assassinated that ISIS leader. Just be careful, Howard. Major
Stone is one of the deadliest men this country has ever had at its disposal,
and somehow we pissed him off.”

“His daughter, too,” said Howard. “I’ll call in when I have
something.”

“Roger that.”

Howard got moving again. He was approaching an eating area,
surrounded by cafes and fast food chains on both sides. It was then that he saw
Sarah sitting and drinking coffee. He had to suppress the urge to draw his gun
right then and there, but it would have been the wrong move. With Krenshaw, Major
Stone, and the other men, Sarah’s group equalled six — all of them deadly.

Howard grabbed the radio Tariq had given him and called it
in. “All targets located in,” he looked around for a landmark, “area between
Lorraine’s Bistro and Lanier’s Italian Cafe.”

“Sending a team to you now,” came Tariq’s reply. “Over.”

“Roger that.” Howard moved into the doorway of a small
amusement arcade and peered around the edge of the wall next to a fruit
machine. There were people all around and the last thing he wanted to do was
test the theory that Major Stone was carrying a weapon. The targets were all
finishing their drinks and preparing to get up, though. The call had been made
for their flight and they were able to board. That could not happen. If Major
Stone made it onto the plane, he had the option of taking the pilot hostage and
forcing a take-off. A man of Major Stone’s abilities could drop himself down in
the middle of the Sahara and disappear with the winds.

While Howard was still deciding what to do, Sarah broke off
from the departing group and travelled back towards the cafe. For a moment,
Howard thought she had spotted him, but he soon realised that she had forgotten
something. Sarah bent down to pick up a briefcase from beneath one of the
tables but recoiled when he farther shouted at her.

Howard heard the words exactly as Major Stone said them:
“It’s set to go off.”

Howard had no choice anymore. He stepped out from cover and
pointed his gun. “MCU, freeze!”