Gray Vengeance (26 page)

Certain. He just told Gray. Ordered team to come home

Thompson had since been in touch with Harper, though only to pass on the message, and what the home secretary had done from that point was anyone’s guess.

Hamad Farsi stuck his head into the room and handed Harvey a piece of paper.

‘We have a flight to Cuba, but the trail ends there.’

Harvey took the single sheet and read the brief details. It seemed a strange destination for Farrar, whose profile suggested he hadn’t exactly enjoyed his other stints in hot climates. In most of the reports Farrar had submitted from his assignments in Belize and the Philippines, the humidity had been mentioned at some point. It was this knowledge that had helped him shape his original search for the man, but it appeared that decision had been flawed.

On the flip side, the Cubans were known to offer political asylum to wanted men, especially those with a background in
intelligence
.

‘Good work so far, Gerald. Keep trying.’

Harvey followed Farsi back to their bank of desks. He unlocked his computer and opened up the Maps application.
He sa
w th
at Cu
ba was roughly six hundred kilometres long, though it was a relatively thin island. The capital, Havana, was located in the northwest, near a major town whose name caught his eye.

‘Wouldn’t it be ironic if he was staying here?’ he asked Farsi, pointing to a town called Moron.

‘Yeah, I saw that, but knowing the man as I do, he’d more likely be here.’ Farsi moved his cursor over a place named Colon, and they both had a chuckle.

‘Time to get serious,’ Ellis said as she strode over to them. ‘I just got off the phone with Harper.’

‘What did she say?’

‘She wants everything we have on Farrar with a view to sending a team in.’

‘I’m guessing that team won’t involve us,’ Harvey said.

‘Correct. At least, it won’t involve me. I’ve been relieved of duty, effective immediately.’

‘She can’t do that!’

‘No, but she can have a quiet word with the person who can. My counterpart at Six, Martin Evans, will run both units until my replacement can be found. He’ll be here in the next fif
teen minutes.’

‘So that’s it? She wins?’

‘Perhaps not, Hamad. You still have a quarter of an hour, maybe twenty minutes, to get what you need before you head out.’

‘Where are we going?’ Harvey asked.

‘Cuba. I suggest you start by checking their real estate websites for recent rentals and purchases, notably high-end properties.
Farrar
likes his comfort, so forget about the poorer areas of the island. Andrew, get on to Doug Wallis at the CIA and see if he can help. They should have people in-country who can call in a
few favours.’

‘Is all this really necessary? I mean, if Harper and Farrar are working together, one phone call from her and he’ll be long gone by the time we get there.’

Ellis offered a grim smile. ‘Not if she thinks we’re looking in the wrong place. I told her we’d tracked him to Cairo, then on to a place in Indonesia. I think her priority is to get me out of the picture so that the investigation stalls, so I need you to create some evidence pointing to Farrar landing in Jakarta with no onward travel.’

‘She must realise you weren’t doing this alone,’ Harvey pointed out. ‘Thompson, for one, knows that Hamad and I were looking for him, too. Add the fact that my workstation is probably being
monitored
and she’ll probably know everything we do.’

‘I thought we agreed that Hamad would handle the searches. What digging have you done?’

‘Nothing, really, but I did just search for Cuba online.’

‘Then I suggest you book a package holiday to Havana in the next five minutes to throw them off the scent. A week in April should do it. Once you’ve done that, arrange to meet Agent Wallis for a late lunch. Hamad, you were looking to see who owns the flat Thompson is living in. What did you find?’

‘It’s owned by one of a dozen firms run by a holding company that has its headquarters in the Cayman Islands. That’s as far as
I co
uld get.’

‘Then after you’ve tried the real estate websites, look into each company and see if any have property in Cuba.’

‘That’ll take a lot longer than fifteen minutes,’ Farsi said.

‘You can do it remotely. As of now, you are both on leave. Good luck, gentlemen.’

Ellis returned to her office and began clearing out her drawers, and Harvey went back to Small’s station to pass on the news.

‘You’re just in time. I managed to get into your terminal at Haddon Hall.’

‘That’s great. The only trouble is, I have to clear the building in the next ten minutes. I’ll be working remotely for the next few days at least.’

Small turned to his keyboard and tapped out a series of
commands
, and Harvey soon recognised his own desktop profile
on th
e screen. ‘I’m putting a shortcut to the Haddon Hall server on your laptop. You’ll be able to access it from anywhere, just as long as you log into our network first. The username and password are already configured.’

Harvey gave a long, low whistle at the hacking job his colleague had performed. ‘That’s remarkable. Nice work. But I’ve got a feeling my account is going to be locked out pretty soon. I’ll nee
d a
way to get back in if that happens.’

Small scribbled something on a slip of paper and handed it to Harvey. ‘I’ll create a new profile with that username and password. If you get locked out of your normal account, try that one. I’ll put the shortcut on there, too.’

‘Thanks, Gerald. I need you to buy a burner cell and text me on this number.’ Harvey jotted down the number for his own anonymous phone. ‘Just in case I need your help again.’ He smiled. ‘And you know I will.’

He left Small to finish up and went to Ellis’s office.

‘I’ve been thinking,’ he said as he walked in. ‘If we do
go t
o Cuba and find Farrar, then what? We’re not exactly equipped t
o bri
ng him home. I mean, it’s not as if we can just knock on his door and ask him to come with us.’

Ellis put a silver pen in her cardboard box, followed by a photograph of her Alsatian puppy. ‘I thought about that, too, but there’s nothing I can do. You’ll have to go with what’s already available.’

‘You mean Gray and his team?’

‘You’re the one who wanted your friend on board. Now it’s up to you to make it work. Go and give him the good news.’

She sat down heavily in her chair, surveying the empty desk. ‘Keep me in the loop,’ she told him. ‘I’m not sure I can help much, but . . . .’

Harvey looked at the dejected figure before him. Only now that she was being forced out did he realise what a special person she was. They’d had their share of disagreements, but she’d always been fair and had the team’s best interests at heart. To be dismissed for wanting to see justice done was an absolute travesty, and he was determined to make it right.

‘We’ll get him, Veronica. I’ll see to it personally.’

Chapter 36

19 December 2014

Tom Gray looked up as Ackerman entered the hotel room. He’d been gone for fifteen minutes, and had a serious look on his face as he walked through the door.

‘Well?’ Gray asked.

Ackerman handed over his phone and Gray looked at the screen. ‘The tickets are booked. We leave here at seven th
is evening.’

Gray scratched the side of his head, and Smart took his cue to walk over to the window, directly behind Mackenzie.

‘So what do we do until then?’ Sonny asked.

‘Maybe Mack can tell us a bit more about himself,’ Gray suggested. ‘For starters, who’s this girl you told me about? What’s her name?’

‘Helen,’ Mackenzie said. ‘Why do you ask?’

Gray cocked his head. ‘It’s funny. I just don’t picture you with a Helen. Now a Sarah . . . .’

Mackenzie’s expression didn’t change. ‘Trust me, she’s unlike any Helen you’ve ever known.’

Gray hit a couple of buttons on the phone and kept his eyes on Mackenzie as he waited for it to ring. He noticed a slight twitch as the call connected, but otherwise Mackenzie remained calm.

‘Aren’t you going to answer that?’ Gray asked as Smart wrapped a powerful arm around Mackenzie’s neck.

‘What the hell’s going on?’ Sonny asked.

‘If you feel inside his trousers you’ll find a phone on vibrate,’ Gray told him. ‘It was the one used to notify MI6 that we were here and looking for Farrar.’

Sonny did as instructed and soon came across the mobile. ‘And you were going to tell me about this . . . when?’

‘I didn’t have the chance,’ Gray said, ‘but now you know. Mack here is also the one who told Six where to find my daughter. Isn’t that right?’

Mackenzie simply stared straight ahead, and Gray knew he wouldn’t get anything out of him, even with the threat of torture. Everyone in the room, with the exception of Ackerman, had been through interrogation training in the regiment, and Gray knew Mackenzie could hold out for at least a couple of days.

Time they couldn’t afford.

‘So now what?’ Sonny asked.

‘We tie him up and go. Kyle has paid for the room for two more days and asked that we not be disturbed. That should give us enough time.’

Ackerman opened the door and brought in a large paper bag. He rummaged inside and handed one knife to Gray, another to Sonny. Next, out came an ancient petrol lamp, its glass housing blackened and cracked. Gray took it and removed the glass, leaving just the copper base, with a full reservoir and singed flat spirit wick. In the bag was a disposable lighter, and Gray used it to test out the lamp, which produced a decent flame the first time of asking. Thankfully there were no smoke detectors in the room, as a column of black wound its way towards the ceiling.

Gray set the lamp aside and walked over to Mackenzie,
placing
the tip of his knife under the man’s eye.

‘We’re going to get up nice and slowly, and you’re going to lie on the bed. No need to tell you what’ll happen if you make any sudden movements.’

Smart dragged Mackenzie to his feet and walked him over to the nearest bed.

‘Lie down, arms outstretched.’

Ackerman walked over with a handful of rope and tossed some to Sonny. They both began tying Mackenzie to the top corners of the bed, then moved down to work on his feet.

Once he was secure, Gray took his knife from Mackenzie’s face and slit his T-shirt open from waist to neck, the two sides flopping down onto the sheet.

‘Anything to say before we go?’ Gray asked.

Mackenzie offered only silence in return.

‘Fair enough.’

He instructed Sonny to gag the prisoner, then fetched the lamp and extended the wick to a couple of inches before placing the apparatus on Mackenzie’s chest. Ackerman came over with the bag containing the finishing touch.

‘This is fine thread cotton,’ Ackerman said. ‘I took the
liberty
of dousing it beforehand, so it should take a flame nicely.’ He
demonstrated
by slicing off a strip and holding it over the lamp, and the fabric caught immediately.

Ackerman threw that piece into the metal bin and used his knife to slice the remainder of the cloth into thin strips, which he placed either side of Mackenzie’s torso.

‘That flame should keep going for a couple of days,’ Gray said, ‘so I wouldn’t try to struggle if I were you. If that falls, you’ll be toast before anyone finds you. Meanwhile, I’d try real hard to stay awake for the next forty-eight hours. Shouldn’t be hard once the place starts to stink of your shit and piss.’

Ackerman left the room and returned a moment later, holding Mackenzie’s passport. ‘Ready to go?’

‘Where are we heading?’ Sonny asked.

‘Jakarta,’ Ackerman told him. ‘That’s where the trail ends.’

Andrew Harvey sat in Armando’s, nursing a half of lager, checking his watch every thirty seconds. It was unusual for Doug Wallis to be late, even to these impromptu meetings, and he couldn’t help but feel nervous.

It wasn’t often that he called upon his American friend, but it was times like this that made him glad they had the informal arrangement. They got together roughly once a month to share the latest scuttlebutt, though there were times when one of them would call an emergency liquid lunch in order to get intel that the bosses didn’t want to share with each other.

When Wallis finally arrived he was full of apologies. ‘I got dragged into an emergency meeting. What’s so urgent?’

He motioned to the barman for his usual pint of bitter while Harvey told him what he needed.

‘You want access to our people in Havana?’

‘I don’t need to meet them, just some help with . . . logistics.’

‘Such as?’ Wallis asked, sipping from the brown drink that had been placed in front of him.

Harvey handed over a handwritten list of the items Gray had requested, having also added a couple of his own.

‘Looks like you’re planning an invasion.’

‘We’re just after one man,’ Harvey assured him. ‘One of ours.’

‘I’m going to need a lot more details before I sign off on this. Give me names, for a start.’

Harvey rubbed his temples. ‘I can’t, Doug. I need you to trust me on this one.’

‘Then I’m afraid I can’t help,’ Wallis said, standing up and straightening his coat.

Harvey grabbed his sleeve and pulled him back into the booth. ‘Okay, but this can’t go through official channels.’

‘I’m listening.’

‘His name is Harold Ericson. I need to send an ex-fil team in to bring him home.’

‘What’s Ericson done?’

‘We believe he’s behind the recent attacks,’ Harvey said.

Wallis sat back in his chair. ‘So tell me why this doesn’t go beyond the two of us. One call from your prime minister and our guys would pick him up for you.’

‘Because the PM doesn’t know. We think a senior cabinet
member
was in on it, and this is big enough to bring down the entire government.’ Harvey waited for Wallis to absorb the implications of his statement. ‘See? This is why I’m saying you can’t tell a soul.’

Wallis allowed himself a chuckle at Harvey’s predicament. ‘Christ, Andy. You Brits don’t do things in half measures.’

‘From what I’ve heard, your government’s not exactly squ
eaky clean.’

‘Touché,’ Wallis conceded.

Harvey leaned in close. ‘Look, if you don’t help me, the people ultimately behind these atrocities will walk, and God knows where they plan to attack next. It could well be Stateside . . . .’

Harvey locked eyes with his CIA counterpart, and the silence seemed to drag on for what seemed like minutes. Eventually,
Wallis relented.

‘I know one of the people in Havana. I’ll make a call.’

Harvey exhaled, not realising that he’d held his breath while awaiting the answer. ‘Thanks, Doug. I owe you.’

‘Oh, don’t you worry. I plan to collect big time.’

Harvey assured him he would repay him any way he could, and explained that in addition to the armaments, he would need help locating Ericson. ‘Our men are already on their way, and Hamad and I will be setting off tonight. If you could have an address by the time we get there, that would be great.’

Wallis nodded. ‘How many did you send?’

‘There’ll be five of us in total.’

‘All your own people?’

‘We had to go external, but they’re good men. The best.’

‘Okay, I’ll go and make the call. Give me a ring later when you have further details.’

‘It’s best if we meet in person,’ Harvey said.

They agreed to join up again at six that evening, and Harvey left, grabbing the first available taxi. He gave the driver Farsi’s address and hoped his colleague would have everything they’d need for the trip by the time he got there.