Scion (17 page)

“
Some training!” laughed the PM. “By the age of sixteen, Scott here was already a highly trained fighter. The islanders had trained him in martial arts from the moment he could walk. I read the report filed by the Gurkha CO after he had seen Scott on a few exercises. Exceptional talent, unlike anything he had ever seen. He instantly enlisted him despite the lack of papers and ethnicity. Too good to lose he had stated in his justification. Scott probably doesn’t know this but his enlistment was originally rejected. His first few months of pay came straight out of his CO’s pocket. It was only after the Regimental Commander visited and witnessed the young Scott in action that the CO was reimbursed and Scott’s enlistment backdated.”

“
You’re right, I never knew that,” said Scott quietly.

“
From then on, Scott excelled in everything he did, Royal Marine Officer training, the hardest there is. He was fast tracked. The thirty-two week programme cut down to 12 for him. After a year, he was promoted to Lieutenant. From there, he went through Special Forces selection and broke half the records, joined the SBS and soon after was selected to join K Squad.”

“Quite a history!” exclaimed George, turning to Scott.

Scott merely shrugged his shoulders, uncomfortable with the attention.   

“And you guys have no issue with the killings?” asked George.

“As long as they
’re a threat to the sovereignty of the country and a threat to others lives, no.”

“
Our agreement and the conditions of operation are prerequisites. No sanctions can ever be issued that do not meet these criteria. Those two conditions are controlled by us and one by the K Squad just before a kill” added the PM.

“What if I don’t believe I can give the order for a sanction?”

“I’ll accept your resignation and have you out of here in the next two minutes,” said the PM with a completely straight face. “We are constantly at war and these guys,” pointing to Scott. “Keep it as far away from our front door as they can. We hit first and we hit hard.”

“Fair enough,” replied George
. “I’m in.”

***

  Kelly sat in the outer office waiting for Scott, wishing she knew what was being said. She had found out after the door shut that the PM was also in there. The plot was thickening. Her thoughts, however, were interrupted by her cell phone ringing.

“DS
Kelly,” she answered.

“Hi,
Operations Room here, I have a Rosie on the phone asking for you.”

“Put her through please.”

“Hello?”

“Hi Rosie, it’s Detective Sergeant
Kelly here.”

“Hi, I just called to tell you I was on my way but they said you
’re not here, you’re in London.”

“Yes sorry, it’s a long story, I can’t really talk now but if you give me your number I’ll call you back shortly, is that OK?”

“Of course, my number is 07673245480.”

The number should have alarmed
Kelly but with everything going on she missed why an American having just landed would already have a British cell phone number.

However,
Clark hadn’t missed the error and almost punched fake Rosie as she began to recite the recently purchased pay-as-you-go number.

***

“I honestly don’t think there’s a link between the rapes and the attempts to kill me. Why get me thrown in jail when you want me dead, it just doesn’t make sense.”

George and the PM
also struggled to understand the rationale. Scott was right which of course left the dilemma that he was being targeted because he had been recognised.

“Maybe somebody recognised you from the TV footage and knew who you were.”

Scott suddenly remembered the mysterious Rosie.

“Actually somebody did
. An American girl called Rosie but I don’t know who she is or how she fits in.”

“Maybe you killed someone she knew and is getting her revenge
?”

Scott
looked at George deadpan. “If I kill somebody the only person who knows it is dead.”

George looked into
Scott’s eyes and could see he was not in the least bit exaggerating.

“Perhaps we should ask
Kelly?” suggested Scott. “She spoke to Rosie.”

“Get her in, but before she comes in, no mention of the
K Squad.” The PM checked for agreement and receiving two nods asked for Kelly to be sent in.

Kelly
entered the room and after getting over her initial nervousness quickly updated the three on Rosie. With little new information, the PM quickly concluded that no-one had any idea what was going on and until they did, lives were at risk. As long as Scott was around, people were likely to get killed in the crossfire.

“
Scott, you’re not going to like this but I’m afraid the best thing we can do is get you out the country until we find out what’s going on. Too much is at stake if you have been recognised.”

Scott
had arrived at the same conclusion. Staying there meant innocent people could die.

“I agree
Sir. Perhaps I should head home until you give me the all clear or let me know if I can help.”

The PM
, understanding Scott’s offer perfectly, nodded subtly. If they found out who was behind it and they were not on sovereign territory, Scott wanted the sanction.

Scott
checked his watch, it was 11.45 a.m.

“Sir
. I’m rather keen to get going. You couldn’t help get me on the Qantas flight leaving at 12.20 could you? It just catches my connection in Hong Kong.”

“No problem,” he replied picking up the phone.
As he replaced the receiver, the PM had a thought.

“DS
Kelly, perhaps you should accompany Scott. He may have information that he doesn’t even know is relevant.”

Scott
looked at the PM as though he couldn’t be serious.

“I agree,” said George
. “DS Kelly, is that OK with you?”

“Yes, of course,” she stammered.
She had never been to Hong Kong and had to admit that the thought of the mysterious and very attractive Scott disappearing from her life had surprisingly disappointed her. “If it’s OK with Scott that is.”

“
Scott will do as he’s told,” said the PM, picking up the phone and instructing a change to two seats in first class.

As they made to leave
, the PM had some final words.

“And
Kelly, not a word to anybody about where you’re going, not even your boss.”

Twenty five minutes later
, Scott and Kelly stepped on board Qantas Flight 30 direct to Hong Kong. Scott was under one of his many assumed names. Although he had a number of identities and covers, he surprisingly had no passport in his own name. Kelly on the other hand carried a letter from the PM which he assured her would more than cover for her lack of passport.

Chapter 26

Kelly had been in such a rush that she had forgotten to call Rosie who sat with Clark in the Range Rover willing the phone to ring. With every second that passed, Clark felt sure Rosie had blown it. Just as he was concluding he’d have to dispense with her services, her phone rang,

“Hello,” she answered.

“Hi Rosie, it’s DS Kelly.”

“Hi there
, I was beginning to think you’d forgotten about me.”

“
Sorry got caught up, anyway I have Scott here with me and he’s wondering how you know him?”

Rosie
froze, not knowing what to say. Clark, listening in, also had no idea what to say and with no idea what else to do, reached over and switched the mobile phone off.

“What the hell are you doing
?” protested Rosie.

“Not fucking up
. Hold on,” Clark dialled a number and after only two rings it answered.

“Hello,” responded
Walker tentatively.

“It’s me,” reassured
Clark.

“What’s wrong?”

“We’ve got a line to the target but we need to know how the girl is supposed to know him so we can reel him in.”

Walker thought for a second, conscious he did not want
to be on the phone long, even though it was a pay as-you-go phone he’d never used before.

“Tell her to say she know
s who his father was but won’t discuss anymore until they meet face to face.”

“Will he buy it
?”

“Yes.”

Both hung up, having been careful not to mention any key words.

Clark
relayed the detail to Rosie before switching her phone back on.

It rang less than two minutes later
.

“Sorry, I ran out of juice,” explained Rosie.

“No problem wasn’t sure if it was me or you,” said Kelly, still excited that she was sitting on the phone in a First Class seat on her way to Hong Kong.

“I’ll just pass you to
Scott, hold on.”

“Hi Rosie,” said
Scott cheerily.

“
Hi Scott.”

“So Rosie
, how do you know who I am?”

“I don’t know you as such but I know who you
r father was.”

The silence that followed had Rosie wondering whether the line had
been cut off.

“You know who my father was?” repeated
Scott slowly.

“Yes, but I’m not
saying any more over the phone. We need to meet.”

“But I’m on a plane, I’ve already left the country.”

“That’s OK, tell me where you’re going and I’ll meet you there,” suggested Rosie.

Without referring to
Kelly, Scott gave her the details. The mention of his father was too much for rational consideration.

“We’ll be in Kota Kinabalu tomorrow morning at 11.05 a.m.
, arriving Dragonair from Hong Kong.”

“I’ll see you there,” promised Rosie
before ending the call.

Clark
was ecstatic. The gamble had paid off. Now all they had to do was get to Kota Kinabalu, wherever the hell that was before 11.00 the following morning. He picked up his PDA and checked the flight schedule software and discovered two things - it was a fucking long way away and he had no chance by commercial airline of beating Scott to it.

His next call was to an air charter brokerage firm he had an account with
.

“I need to get to Kota Kinabalu asap from London.”

“No problem Sir, just let me check…”

After a few minutes of clicking at her keyboard the operator returned
.

“It’s very short notice
Sir but we can do something.”

Clark
recognised the international code for it’s a fuck you price.

“We can get
you a Gulfstream G550, a very luxurious and comfortable jet that will get you there in thirteen and a half hours. Now would you like the quote to include a return leg?”

Clark
just wished she’d get to the punchline.

“Is there much of a difference?”

“Actually no it’s pretty much the same price.”

“I’m sorry but I am in a hurry here, can you just give me the fucking price?”

The operator dropped the polite tone.

“$320,000,
Sir.”

“Holy shit, I don’t want to buy the fucking thing.”

“Sir do you want the plane or not?”

Clark
had no option.

“I want it.”

Clark proceeded to give the woman his account details, an account held by a small private company registered on Grand Cayman, one of the world’s more famous tax hideaways. Known only to himself, the million dollar fund instantly dropped by a third. 

Clark
would be in the air within the next sixty minutes and taking the time difference into account, should be landing thirty minutes before Scott.

Chapter 27

Walker perked up as Clark relayed what was happening. It was time to get his life back. He knew it was pointless phoning Freeman. He did what he was told. He needed to speak to Dan Baker. He was the only one with the influence to change the others’ minds and he was fairly sure that Dan was the one who would have wanted him dead in the first place. If he could turn Dan, the others would follow.

Walker purchased a new
Pay-As-You-Go phone and inserting the phone charger into the cigarette lighter socket, dialled Baker’s number.

Dan
was in the middle of a breakfast meeting with Chicago’s more influential business owners when his cell phone rang. Not recognising the number, he almost didn’t answer but very few people actually had his number, so he answered.

“It’s Walker,”
said Walker confidently. He wasn’t going to let Dan intimidate him.

“Hi William, what can I do for you?” asked
Dan cheerily with no hint of any animosity. He motioned to his guests that he had to take the call, stood up and walked out of the room.

“Cut the act
Dan. I’ve got you’re man.”

Finding a qui
et corner.

“
Listen you fucking cock sucker, do not fuck with me.”

“Why
? What you going to do? Kill my wife? Oh sorry, you’ve already done that!”

“Don’t give me that shit
. If you’d wanted her alive you’d have taken her with you. We’ve done you a favour.”

Walker should have known better,
Dan’s mind worked very like his own.

“Do you want him or not?”

“Of course,” replied Dan trying to remain calm.

“Call off your dogs and I’ll make him disappear. I am not a threat to you. I fucked up, you killed my wife. I’ve paid for my error,” reasoned Walker.

Dan considered Walker’s proposal.

“
Well, whether you’ve been punished or rewarded is debatable. But I’ll call you back with an answer.”

“I’ll call you back
. This phone’s going in the bin. You’ve got 30 minutes.”

Walker opened the car window and tossed the phone in the nearest bin and put his foot down
. He wanted to be as far away from it as possible.

Dan
dialled Ernst.

“Max Ernst
here.”

“Any news?” barked
Dan.

“I’m sorry Mr Baker, nothing yet but we’ll find them. We know Walker is still in the New York area but as for the target
, we’re still looking.”

“Fuck. I need a conference call, I’ll hold.”

Ernst knew that meant get the other four on the phone immediately.

He quickly opened up a s
ecure line and started dialling.

“
Mr Freeman, Mr Baker wishes a conference call immediately.”

Freeman dismissed
everyone from his office and waited.

Ernst dialled a number in London,

“Mr Russell, Mr Baker wishes a conference immediately.”

Charles Russell was CEO of Transcon EMEA, covering Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Charles dismissed his lunch guests and waited.

Ernst dialled a number in Geneva.

“Mr DuPont, Mr Baker wishes a conference immediately.”

Andrew DuPont was the Chief Financial Officer of Transcon Global and the CEO of Transcon Banking and had within his control more monies than any other individual ever born.