To Kill a Grey Man (12 page)

 
“Got it,” said Jonathan.
 
“So why buy these stupid baseball caps?”

“Simple.
 
We need them to
cover our faces,” said Surge.
 
“The UK
has more CCTV than any other country in the world.
 
All of which can be accessed by security
services.
 
But if you can imagine the
amount of information all these cameras generate, flooding in every second of
everyday, it is impossible for human beings to watch each one to constantly
monitor the images and be able to pick anyone out, so computers are used with
sophisticated monitoring software, this software is good but not perfect.”

“It cannot recognize clothes for example, or the way you walk, or
many other recognizable traits that a human could pick up on.
 
It has to rely on facial recognition.
 
If it can get a clear picture of your face
and you are wanted it will get you, but to do this, unlike what you see on the
tele
, it has to have a full frontal view, so we ensure we never
look straight up or go out without something to shade our face.
 
Hence the caps.
 
Got it?”

“Now in most major cities you are captured on camera at least twice
every twenty minutes.
 
In Swanage there
is no need for such measures as it is so safe so there are only a few cameras
and if you know what you are doing, they are easily avoided.”

By this time they were approaching the main street.
 
Surge stopped, “One hundred yards on the left
above the bank is one.
 
Note it does not sweep
but is fixed.
 
This gives us blind spots
to use.
 
Put your cap on square and look
down as you walk, under no circumstances look up.
 
The brim of the cap will shade your face and
stop a clear image being captured.”

“Once past this one we will cross over the road and you will see the
other camera across from the supermarket.
 
Keep close to the shops and again don’t look up.
 
Walk to the end and stop.
 
Everytime you come into town ensure you
follow this procedure.
 
Remember never
take your cap off or look into a camera.”

“There are two supermarkets in town that I noticed when we drove in,
one big one by the station and one small one in the High Street.
 
Which one should we use?” asked Surge.

“No idea.”

“The big one is no good to us,” said Surge.
 
“It has a big car park and is by the station.
 
Both will have sweeping CCTV.
 
Also the big one is much newer and will have
internal cameras.
 
The smaller, older one
suits us better.
 
You see how this all
works?”

“I think so,” said Jonathan.

“It is all about awareness of where you are and basic common sense,”
said Surge.
 
“If in doubt stop and
backtrack, never take any chances and you will be fine.
 
Now time for a cup of tea I think.”

Surge chose a small tea and cake shop opposite the amusement arcade.
 
He ordered a tea for Jonathan and a mineral
water for himself.
 
Jonathan went to sit
in a window seat but Surge motioned to him to one slightly back and to the left.

“Why here?” smiled Jonathan.

“Easy,” said Surge.
 
“Clear
view of the front door and the street plus a clear view of the back access
through the kitchen.
 
If you look at
where the overhead light is placed it throws a shadow on this table which
should obscure us from anyone walking past unless they push their face against
the glass.”

Jonathan was starting to enjoy himself.
 
“Tell me more.”

“Okay.
 
Was anyone following
us and are we being observed now?”

“No idea.”

“The answers are ‘no’ and ‘no’,” said Surge.
 
“I have repeatedly stopped, back tracked and
looked round and no one is interested in us plus no one has come in since we
got here and a professional would not wait for us in the street without being
able to observe the door and if you look carefully no one is doing that.
 
The only issue I had
was
with the red Hyundai which went past us twice but I am confident he was just lost.”

“What do I look for?” said Jonathan.

“Surveillance is very complicated and you need to spend time with The
Grey Man who wrote the book on it.
 
But
for now you need to get the feel of the street, look for anomalies, anything
out of the ordinary.
 
Professionals will
work in teams of up to twenty, constantly ringing the changes.
 
Amateurs will work alone or in pairs.
 
First discard any that don’t fit.
 
The young, the old, the groups,
the
ones that stand out by their clothes, their look or the
amount of noise they are making.
 
The
watchers need to blend into the back ground.
 
Then try to absorb as much information as you look.
 
Professional watchers will not want to follow
you for more than thirty seconds before
swapping,
it
is like a relay race with watchers on and off point constantly, which means
they have to try to change their appearance many times in a day.”

“Things that are hard to change quickly are lace up shoes and
trousers but skirts, jackets, shirts, glasses, hats, coats and bags can be
removed instantly with the next change of clothes underneath.
 
Wigs can be obvious even on a woman and they
take time to get right so are not often changed but can be removed quickly.
 
Look for the small things, watches, rings,
earrings.
 
Many are personal and are not
changed.
 
In fact the watchers can forget
they have them on.
 
Also look for cars
and motorbikes with certain marks on their bodywork but whose number plates
have changed or their riders have.”

“The Grey Man calls it the ultimate “Kims” game and he is quite
phenomenal at it. Develop a healthy level of paranoia.
 
That really helps.
 
If you even feel something is not quite right,
walk away.
 
Better to
be safe than sorry.”

Jonathan felt he had walked into James Bond’s world.
 
If it was not for the two heavies who came
into his shop this morning and the fear he had felt standing in the hidden
room, he would think this all a game.

They visited the supermarket and bought a few days supplies.
 
Then they went to a small electronics shop
where Jonathan bought a secondhand but powerful laptop using the specifications
The Grey Man gave him paying cash for everything.

Then they went to an old fashioned and curiously expensive clothes
shop where they bought The Grey Man a dark suit and a selection of clothes and underwear.
 
Finally they went in a sports shop where
Surge bought trainers, shorts, T-shirts and sweat pants for both Jonathan and
him.
 
Fully laden, they staggered up the
hill home.

Chapter 17

Repercussions

Sir Thomas Robertson sat behind his large 18
^th
Century desk
complete with polished wood and a green leather writing section.
 
The room was in his office in London and
decorated to his taste and standards.
 
Normally
it gave him pleasure to be in such refined opulence and he often glanced out of
the window into the back garden of Buckingham Palace, but today he was a
worried man.
 
He knew there was not
enough distance between him and John Sea and The Grey Man would
definitely put two and two together if he every regained his sight.
 
As C, he had the full resource of the Secret
Service and The Firm at his disposal but such was the legend of The Grey Man he
knew he could not set them against him.
 
The
Grey Man was above reproach.
 
He also
knew too many people and too many secrets.

But Sir Thomas had to protect himself as best he could.
 
He finally took a chance and sent out a memo
to the other heads of the Secret Services in the European Union and the main
controllers of The Firm.
 
Marked ‘
Most
Secret
’
it
read:

I have reason to
believe The Grey Man has been kidnapped and may possibly be under the control
of a hostile force.
 
Until this has been
verified I request that any communication purporting to be from The Grey Man
be
referred directly to me.

The Grey Man’s
well being is my first priority and I would further request any action to
recover The Grey Man is put under my direct control.

He then set a meeting for his Chiefs of Staff.
 
He wanted the ports and airports buttoned
down, the whole country locked tight.
 
He
also wanted all details on The Assassin, The Grey Man and the Surgeon
researched,
every false name, passport and address gone
through with a fine tooth comb.
 
The
story he had fabricated would not stand up to scrutiny but he was C and his
people knew when not to argue.

He knew also that this could hit the fan in a big way.
 
If The Grey Man and his friends were picked
up in the UK there was no issue as C could have them disposed of with few
problems, just a lot of explaining.
 
However
if The Grey Man was picked up overseas it was a different issue.
 
He would be interrogated and the truth would
come out.
 
Then there was nowhere in the
world where Sir Thomas would be safe.
 
He prayed they were still in the UK.

He called up John Sea.
 
Without
any introduction he snapped out “Progress?”

“Everything is under control,” said John Sea.
 
“I estimate I have at least a thousand
operatives throughout the UK all focused on eye hospitals and specialists.
 
There is nowhere in the country they can go
to without me knowing.”

“Okay,” said Sir Thomas.
 
“What
they will probably do is go to ground for at least a few days, stay indoors and
keep their heads down before having to act.
 
Keep your men alert and let them know that
they will come to them.
 
No question they
will be in disguise but three old men, one of them blind and a boy should stick
out no matter what they are wearing.”

“May I ask what you have been doing?” said John Sea.

“I have locked down the country tight, every port and airport.
 
One of them might get through but not all
four.
 
They will know this and not even try.
 
I cannot alert the police as it would not be secure
and the last thing we need is the press getting involved.
 
I suggest they will need to act within the
week.
 
Make sure your guys are vigilant.”

“No problem,” said John Sea.
 
“Anyone spotting these guys becomes rich and they are all greedy
bastards.”

Sir Thomas rang off feeling marginally better.
 
In their day these old boys had been good, he
thought.
 
They had The Firm behind them
and great
intel
from The
Grey Man but now they were now blind in more ways than one and the whole world
was looking for them.
 
It was just a
matter of time.”

Sir Thomas decided to put in place the workings of his original plan.
 
Over the last few years he had quietly added
many computer experts to his large staff and started to introduce them to The
Firm.
 
He knew The Grey Man was watching
so he’d been extremely careful about how deep he would let them investigate the
vast network and test the series of security measures, all of which were designed
to keep each company in The Firm separate and isolated, preserving their
security and anonymity.

This was of course the secret of The Grey Man’s power.
 
He was the only one who knew exactly who was
in and who was out of The Firm, what they could offer and how they could be
contacted.
 
Sir Thomas wanted all of it.

Sir Thomas pushed a small button on his desk to call in Hugh
McDonald, head of the new computer team.
 
Hugh was a slight man in his mid-forties dressed in a pinstripe suit and
round rimless glasses.
 
Despite his name
he spoke with an Oxbridge accent.
 
He was
a genius in the computing world.
 
He
stood quietly in front of Sir Thomas his head cocked to one side.

“You are a go,” Sir Thomas said.
 
“Let loose your computer experts, find it all.
 
I want to know every secret, every password
and I want to know who is in and what they can offer and exactly what The Firm
is capable of.”

Hugh said nothing, but a small smile appeared on his lips.
 
He had hated The Grey Man since he
had shown him up in a security seminar.
 
Hugh
had made a presentation about a delicate piece of software he was designing
which The Grey Man had derided and caused the funding to be stopped.
 
They had been enemies ever since.
 
He hurried away full of ideas, itching to
break The Firm.