Fortress (40 page)
Mandler didn’t attempt to protest.
‘And now he’s untouchable, I suppose.’
Mandler gave him a curt nod, not wishing to rub it in. ‘I think that’s the right attitude.’
‘What will you do with him?’
‘That’s probably up to him, I suspect.’
It had been a long night for Tom. After the Secret Service heavies had fallen on him he was cuffed and carted off to a secure room where they’d tried to question him. He had told them to piss off and call Mandler. In the end Sarah Garvey had come to his rescue. She had witnessed the whole incident, and after one of her trademark bollockings, during which the men of the US Secret Service heard words they had never known a female politician to utter, she had sent them off to find him somewhere to shower and a change of clothes and Tom was released into British custody. Even then there were a lot of questions about what had made him focus on Nasima. The device in her hand was the answer. But what had also come back to him, from among the many mysteries about his time in Texas, was what he had heard on the building site. And as he had zeroed in on her, the thought had flashed through his mind: was she the woman to whom the mosque would be dedicated?
Woolf caught up with Tom later that night. He had been at Karza’s bedside, piecing together his story and wondering how long he could hold off telling him about the fate of his brother. They had contacted his mother, who sounded like a handful, and she was coming in by plane that morning.
Woolf didn’t go in for jubilation. ‘I think a drink is in order,’ was about the sum total of it. Very British, for two men who together had just saved the lives of the leaders of the Western world.
‘Your round, I think,’ said Tom.
‘So, what now?’
‘I’ll let you know when I know,’ he replied.
Low cloud hung over the city. Central London was still on lockdown. The tubes and buses weren’t running, checkpoints had been set up all round Westminster, and what looked like every serving member of the Metropolitan Police had been called out onto the streets. As Tom walked across St James’s Park, he marvelled at how only the ducks were calm, happy in their oblivion. The question on everyone’s lips: was this a one-off, or was there more to come?
The few pedestrians he encountered eyed him, and each other, uneasily. Not a good day to be carrying a backpack – or sporting a dark beard. A row of police vans with armoured mesh over the windows parked nose-to-tail formed a cordon around the Invicta headquarters.
Inside, Phoebe was still at her post. The look in her eyes as Tom approached suggested Woolf had kept her up to speed. She came out from behind the desk and put her arms round him. ‘So, I guess this is it?’
He smiled at her.
But before he could answer Rolt was at the door. The gleam in his eye said it all. ‘A good night for Invicta, you might say.’
No pretence now, no frown of concern.
Tom nodded. ‘Yes, you might say that.’
Rolt let him into his office and closed the door. The sun was blasting in through the huge windows. The Turner over the mantelpiece looked fabulous. ‘Well, what’s your decision?’
Tom clasped his hands. There was a tiny fleck of Nasima’s blood under a fingernail. He scooped it out, then looked up at Rolt. ‘Count me in.’
GLOSSARY
| ACU | Army Combat Uniform |
| ANA | Afghan National Army |
| Bergen | Full size British Army combat rucksack |
| Bradley | US-made armoured fighting vehicle |
| Desert rose | British Army slang for a crude urinal comprising a large tin with the top removed and the bottom perforated. |
| DSF | Director of Special Forces in the UK |
| Hesco barrier | A collapsible wire-mesh container and heavy-duty fabric liner, which can be filled with sand or rubble and used as a barrier against explosions or small-arms. |
| ISAF | International Security Assistance Force, a NATO-led security mission in Afghanistan established in 2001 by the UN Security Council. Its main purpose is to train Afghan National Security forces and assist in rebuilding key government institutions. It is also engaged in the war with insurgent groups. |
| ISO container | A shipping and storage container. ISO stands for International Standards Organization. |
| MPV | Multi-purpose vehicle |
| MTP | Multi-Terrain Pattern; a camouflage pattern printed on equipment issued to British forces. |
| NVs | Night-vision goggles |
| OBL | Osama Bin Laden |
| One-star | Brigadier general in the US Army |
| PE | Plastic explosive |
| POTUS | President of the United States of America |
| PSNI | Police Service of Northern Ireland |
| RPG | Rocket-propelled grenade |
| RTU | Returned to unit |
| SCO19 | Metropolitan Police Service Specialist Firearms Command |
| Shura | Arabic word for ‘consultation’; used to describe a tribal gathering. |
| SO6 | Metropolitan Police Service Diplomatic Protection Group |
| UNHCR | United Nations refugee agency |
| WO2 | Warrant Officer class 2 |
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
From the day he was found in a carrier bag on the steps of Guy’s Hospital in London,
Andy McNab
has led an extraordinary life.
As a teenage delinquent, Andy McNab kicked against society. As a young soldier, he waged war against the IRA in the streets and fields of South Armagh. As a member of 22 SAS, he was at the centre of covert operations for nine years, on five continents. During the Gulf War he commanded Bravo Two Zero, a patrol that, in the words of his commanding officer, ‘will remain in regimental history for ever’. Awarded both the Distinguished Conduct Medal (DCM) and Military Medal (MM) during his military career, McNab was the British Army’s most highly decorated serving soldier when he finally left the SAS.
Since then Andy McNab has become one of the world’s bestselling writers, drawing on his insider knowledge and experience. As well as three non-fiction bestsellers – including
Bravo Two Zero
, the bestselling British work of military history – he is the author of the Nick Stone and Tom Buckingham thrillers. He has also written a number of books for children.
Besides his writing work, he lectures to security and intelligence agencies in both the USA and UK, works in the film industry advising Hollywood on everything from covert procedure to training civilian actors to act like soldiers, and he continues to be a spokesperson and fundraiser for both military and literacy charities.
Also by Andy McNab
Novels featuring Nick Stone
REMOTE CONTROL
CRISIS FOUR
FIREWALL
LAST LIGHT
LIBERATION DAY
DARK WINTER
DEEP BLACK
AGGRESSOR
RECOIL
CROSSFIRE
BRUTE FORCE
EXIT WOUND
ZERO HOUR
DEAD CENTRE
SILENCER
Featuring Tom Buckingham
RED NOTICE
Andy McNab with Kym Jordan
WAR TORN
BATTLE LINES
Quick Reads
THE GREY MAN
LAST NIGHT ANOTHER SOLDIER
TODAY EVERYTHING CHANGES
Non-fiction
BRAVO TWO ZERO
IMMEDIATE ACTION
SEVEN TROOP
SPOKEN FROM THE FRONT
THE GOOD PSYCHOPATH’S GUIDE TO SUCCESS
(with Kevin Dutton)
For more information on Andy McNab and his books, see his website at
www.andymcnab.co.uk
TRANSWORLD PUBLISHERS
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A Random House Group Company
www.transworldbooks.co.uk
First published in Great Britain
in 2014 by Bantam Press
an imprint of Transworld Publishers
Copyright © Andy McNab 2014
Andy McNab has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this work.
This book is a work of fiction and, except in the case of historical fact, any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
Version 1.0 Epub ISBN 9781448111145
ISBNs 9780593069837 (cased)
9780593069844 (tpb)
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