Gray Salvation (28 page)

Chapter 31

12 February 2016

Ellis steered the rented Chevrolet off the freeway and into the suburbs, the windows open as the Florida sun beat down from an azure sky. The satnav told her to make a left turn at the junction, and she obeyed the electronic instructions until she found herself outside Tom Gray’s house.

It looked much as it had a few weeks earlier, though the grass was a little longer. The most striking difference was the real-estate sign on the front lawn.

Ellis climbed out, and Harvey and Thompson got out of the rear seats.

‘Nice place he’s got,’ Harvey noted, as they walked towards the front door. His gait had returned almost to normal, but Sarah still walked tentatively, the result of the skin grafts she’d been undergoing to heal the cuts on her legs.

‘Are you sure he’ll be pleased to see us?’ Thompson asked.

‘I don’t see why not,’ Ellis said. After her last visit, she knew what kind of reaction to expect if they just turned up on his doorstep, so this time she’d called ahead. ‘We’re bringing him good news, and we’re not here to separate him from his daughter again.’

She knocked on the door, and Gray opened it, looking genuinely happy to see them.

‘Come in.’ He smiled and led them through to the kitchen. ‘So what brings you over here? Your call said it wasn’t work-related. I hope that’s true.’

‘I just wanted to thank you personally for all you did,’ Thompson said as Gray put on a fresh pot of coffee. ‘Andrew wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for you.’

She threw her arms around Gray and hugged him tight.

‘I had a lot of help from some good people,’ Gray said, once she’d let go. ‘How are you holding up? I hear you went through a lot.’

‘I’m good,’ Thompson assured him. ‘The scars are healing nicely.’ She held up her hands and showed off her fake fingernails.

Harvey went over to Melissa, who was sitting at the dining table drawing a picture. ‘Remember me, darling?’

Melissa looked nervous, shifting her gaze towards her father, so Harvey backed away.

‘She’s still a little shy around some men,’ Gray explained, lifting his daughter up. ‘Hopefully that will change once she starts nursery.’

Ellis sipped the coffee Gray had placed in front of her. ‘I noticed the “For Sale” sign outside. You going somewhere?’

‘Yeah, I found a place in San Giovanni in Fiore near Ken and Mina. Melissa thinks of them as Grandma and Grandpa, and I thought it best if she had more family around her. They have quite a large English community over there, and it’s the perfect opportunity for Melissa to learn a second language. They say the younger they start the easier it is.’ Gray shrugged. ‘We really should have gone there in the first place, but I always liked the idea of living in America.’

‘That’s a fair point,’ Thompson said. ‘You can feel isolated without friends and family around you.’

‘The reason I’m here,’ Ellis said, ‘is to pass on some good news. Andrew told me you had an agreement to replace McGregor’s helicopter if you broke it.’

‘I did,’ Gray admitted. ‘That’s the other reason for selling up. We don’t need a place this big, and after I buy a house in Italy I’ll use what’s left to square things with Mac.’

‘Well, the good news is that he got his chopper back, all in working order.’

‘He did? How?’

‘A gift from President Milenko,’ said Harvey with a smile.

Gray looked confused. ‘I thought you said he was the main reason Veronica lost her job?’ He turned to Ellis.

‘He was,’ Ellis said, ‘but when he found out that it was your actions that stopped the sniper, he wanted to repay you.’

‘But it wasn’t me,’ Gray said. ‘You told me that something had gone pear-shaped in the apartment block and the sniper was trying to get away. Even if I hadn’t stopped him, he wouldn’t have been able to complete his mission.’

‘You know that,’ Harvey said, ‘and we know that, but Milenko must have got a . . . slightly different account. He also had Veronica reinstated.’

Gray turned to Ellis. ‘You got your job back? Congratulations!’

‘It was a combination of Milenko and the PM,’ Ellis said. ‘While you were chasing Zhabin – that’s the sniper’s name, by the way – an attempt was made on the health secretary’s life. It was pure coincidence that the call came in just as Oliver King was getting out of his car. The security team heard about the threat and forced him back inside, which saved his life. A bomb was detonated outside the car, but the reinforced chassis barely suffered a scratch. Our actions saved both Milenko and King, and I guess the PM would have found it hard to justify sacking me.’

‘I saw that on the news,’ Gray said. ‘Did anyone claim responsibility? They were calling it a terrorist attack.’

‘Far from it. His name was Richard Notley, an accountant from London. His suicide note blamed King for his wife’s death in hospital a few years ago.’

‘There was no mention of a suicide note,’ Gray said.

‘And there never will be. If it ever got out that NHS privatisation was the reason for the attack, the Left would have a field day. Not something the PM wants to have to deal with right now.’

‘So how long are you guys staying?’ Gray asked. ‘I’ve got plenty of spare rooms but no beds in them.’

‘Just overnight,’ Ellis said. ‘We’re booked into the Radisson.’

Gray saw Melissa taking an interest in Thompson, and decided to make the most of it.

‘Do you want to go outside and play with these lovely ladies?’ he asked his daughter.

Melissa smiled, and he handed her over, then opened the French windows that led onto the expansive rear garden.

‘Careful, she’ll wear you out,’ he warned them.

With the women out of the way, Gray asked about Hamad Farsi.

‘He’s doing well. He’s recovering at home and should be back to work in a few weeks. As will Doc Butterworth. I told Ellis how he’d done a good job patching me up over there, and she managed to arrange a flight home last week. I went to see him, to offer my thanks.’

Gray nodded. ‘I knew about Doc. Len told me he’d made it home. But that’s great news about Hamad. Give him my regards.’ Gray took a sip of his coffee. ‘So how are you and Sarah really holding up?’

‘I won’t pretend it’s been easy,’ Harvey said. ‘Sarah wakes up sweating most nights, and once or twice she’s woken me with her screams. She insists everything’s fine, but throughout the day there are signs that she’s still traumatised. She jumps when the postman arrives, and when we went for a walk in the park a few days ago, her eyes were everywhere and I could feel her shaking.’

‘What about professional help?’ Gray asked.

‘Five have arranged counselling sessions for both of us. The woman we’re seeing is supposed to be one of the best in her field. It’s early days yet, but I’m hopeful she’ll help Sarah break through this.’

‘And you?’

‘I’m good,’ Harvey said. ‘According to the shrink, I have high resilience factors. I guess that comes from growing up on a rough estate as a teenager. Sarah’s different, though. She had what she calls a sheltered background, and all this violence was completely new to her. It’s not something you can screen out at the application stage, unless you’re looking for a field-based assignment. Sarah was in it for the career progression, and the ability to withstand extreme torture wasn’t something that came up in the job interview.’

‘She seems happy enough now,’ Gray noted, watching the women play with Melissa in the garden.

‘I think the change in location is helping,’ Harvey said. ‘When we drive through London she’s constantly on edge, especially if we have to go within a mile of Bessonov’s place. Once the plane took off, the change in her was remarkable. It’s as if she literally left all of her troubles behind.’

‘Well, you’re welcome to stay as long as you like,’ Gray told him. ‘I can get a double bed for one of the spare rooms. I’m sure she’ll love the sunshine. Speaking of which . . .’

Gray went to the fridge and brought out a plate of steaks, burgers and chicken breasts, along with a bag of vegetables. ‘I thought we’d have a barbecue tonight.’

‘Sounds great,’ Harvey said.

‘Like I said, you’re welcome to stay longer . . .’

‘We would, but I’m afraid we have to head back tomorrow. We have a three-week break in Aruba planned for the end of the month, but first I need to prep the team about a new threat coming out of the Middle East.’

‘Oh? Anything I should be concerned about?’

‘I shouldn’t think so. An ISIS splinter group. Up until now they’ve had a rigid structure, so why this new unit was created is worrying us. It’s been suggested they may be about to bring the fight to us.’

‘I suppose that was inevitable,’ Gray said. ‘Any idea when?’

‘Not yet, but Six have a man in their ranks and he’s keeping us updated. We’re confident we can stop them when they make their move.’

Gray carried the food out to the garden and got a fire going under the grill before preparing a side salad. Sarah was given the job of buttering the bread, while Harvey’s task was to thread chicken cubes, onion and peppers onto skewers.

‘Anything I can do?’ Ellis asked.

‘Yeah,’ Gray said with a sly grin. ‘Andrew told me about your ISIS problem. If you need any help – anything at all – do
not
call me.’

If you enjoyed this story and want to know when Alan McDermott will release his next book, just send an email to
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with Next Book in the subject line.

About the Author

Photo: © Darlene McDermott, 2013

Alan McDermott is a husband and a father to beautiful twin girls, and currently lives in the south of England.

Born in West Germany to Scottish parents, Alan spent his early years moving from town to town as his father was posted to different army units around the United Kingdom. Alan has had a number of jobs since leaving school, including working on a cruise ship in Hong Kong and Singapore, where he met his wife, and as a software developer creating clinical applications for the National Health Service. Alan gave up his day job in December 2014 to become a full-time author.

Alan’s writing career began in 2011 with the action thriller
Gray Justice
, his first full-length novel.
Gray Salvation
is the sixth title in his Tom Gray series.