The Hostage (55 page)

Kinsella let go of Kathryn’s arm, all the while keeping his eyes on the man, and noticing a pretty girl a few feet away watching him.

Stratton had been studying this large man in a tweed jacket talking with Mrs Munro as he walked across the hall, but it was not until he saw him grab her arm and utter what sounded like a threat to her children and then turn to look at him that he noticed the dog collar. It might not be too much of a wild guess that this man was the priest Lawton had referred to.

‘Father Kinsella,’ Stratton said, more of a statement than a question.

‘And who might you be?’ Kinsella asked, hostility in his voice, an instinctive reaction since this man was obviously a fighter like himself. He might never have faced the enemy before but that did not mean he would not be up to the task. If anything, years of hatred had ensured his aggression come the opportunity.

Stratton weighed the situation.Was this American a RIRA godfather? If so, he no doubt had a great deal to do with the events of the last few weeks. It was times like this he asked himself what Sumners would want him to do. He could arrest him on suspicion under the terrorism act, but there were other games to play.That was an aspect he enjoyed about this business. It wasn’t always about grabbing everything in reach. In fact, it was often quite the opposite. Stratton took a long look at the man. His arrogance was the clue to his next move.

‘I’m here for Kathryn,’ Stratton said.

‘She’s with me and we’re catching the first flight to the States,’ Father Kinsella said.

‘Don’t push it,’ Stratton said. ‘You can come along too if you want. Or you can walk away, alone.’

The priest knew he had lost this fight before it began.

But at least the man wasn’t here for him. The best he could do was cut his losses and walk away. He eyed Stratton coldly for a moment then looked at Kathryn.

‘You be careful, girl,’ he said, softly, hoping the threat was hoisted aboard.

Kathryn stood firm and looked at him defiantly. Father Kinsella could see it in her eyes and nodded. He stepped back, took another glance at Stratton, then walked away.

‘Be seeing you,’ Stratton said, unable to resist the parting shot, something for the man to sweat over.

The priest paused and started to turn his head to look at Stratton, then changed his mind, clenched his jaw, and walked on.

Kathryn turned to face Stratton as Aggy came alongside him.

‘Hank’s going to be okay,’ Stratton said.

‘When can I see him?’ she asked.

‘Soon . . . We need to go back into London. Some people want to talk to you.’

‘Am I under arrest?’ she said. There was no fight left in Kathryn. She felt tired and humble but above all relieved it was all over, the kidnapping at least. She felt guilty, even though she did not know exactly what she had done wrong.

‘That’s not for me to say,’ Stratton said.

She nodded and picked up her bag. Perhaps her feeling of guilt stemmed from her flirtation with the idea of freedom from Hank. She would live with that for the rest of her life.

Stratton indicated the exit and she walked past him towards it. Stratton and Aggy followed.

‘If he is a RIRA godfather, why’d you let him go?’ Aggy asked, out of earshot of Kathryn.

‘The devil you know . . . This war’s gonna last a long time. He’s not gonna get lost. I suspect she knows him pretty well. If he did have anything to do with what went on today we’ll have all the help we want from the Americans. He may be more useful on the street and we can pull him in any time. Something tells me that one will be in the fight to the bitter end.’

‘Will she be arrested?’ Aggy asked.

‘For meeting terrorists and carrying a parcel with no idea what it contained because she thought it would get her husband back? I doubt it. She’s the wife of a hero who risked his life in the fight against terrorism and helped save thousands of lives. He’ll probably be decorated by the Americans and us, and her part in it will remain a secret.’

Aggy nodded, her thoughts turning to her own situation. ‘And what about me?’

‘I’ve been thinking about that. You did everything right once you knew the facts. You held it all together at one point. They’ll want to keep the bio a secret; if it got out RIRA will have put some points on the board. You could play hardball with them. They’ll have no loyalty to you. The trick is to get them to decide it would be better to keep you in the fold.’

‘I meant with you,’ she said, keeping her eyes ahead.

For a second after her question he had wondered if that’s what she meant. ‘I could be useful to you, but not if they thought there was something between us.’ As soon as he said it he wondered why he had slammed the door in her face like that. But it was true. He could lever Sumners into batting for her. The man owed him enough favours. Back in the detachment was the best place for her.

Aggy lowered her head and put her hands in her pockets. She would say no more to him. There was no point.

They followed Kathryn through the automatic doors and out into the cold air.

‘This way,’ Aggy said to Kathryn and led her to a waiting police car.

Stratton climbed in the back beside them, next to Aggy. She looked away from him, out the opposite window, avoiding him as best she could in the confined space, wondering why he hadn’t sat the other side of Kathryn.

‘I should think they’ll let me go back to the obvious when the paperwork on this one is all done. You lot need looking after anyway . . . What do you think?’

Aggy never moved and continued looking out the window. Only someone who knew her very well could tell that deep inside she was smiling.

As the car left the kerb and headed away from the airport, Stratton stretched his neck from side to side and rested his head back. He’d hoped the successful end of the operation would have given him some kind of relief from the darkness that seemed to surround his soul, but it did not. Now that it was over he felt nothing had changed inside. Even the decision to return to Northern Ireland had no effect. He knew what part of the problem was. The only time he seemed to come to life was in the heat of action. Or perhaps that was just a distraction. But the closer he came to death the more alive he felt. It was like a drug though; the high lasted only as long as the fight. He thought about quitting altogether, but civvy street was on the outside in many ways. There was action to be had for sure, but it had to be found. Money became a factor, and the jobs were uncertain and usually the scraps. In the service the big ones came to you.

The East was the place to be now.That’s where the stakes were the highest. Perhaps he would never go back to Ireland. It would no longer cut it for him. It was a dead, or at least dying, war, and minuscule in comparison to other troubles in the world. The bio had been serious enough, but that card had been played by the RIRA and was more than likely now out of their deck for good. The crusades were always the ultimate. That fight would last for ever. The people and the terrain were fiercer and that made it much more interesting.

The East it was to be then. He would ask Sumners in the morning.

He glanced at Aggy. As he had always said, it was never meant to be.