The Hit List (21 page)

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Home Office to accede to Serbia's demands for his release on the grounds that the arrest was technically illegal. Now of course we don't accept that it was illegal and we're not about to give up Karadjic, but illustrated details of our close involvement with an overtly genocidal organisation like the Khmer Rouge would be very embarrassing indeed. A decade ago John Pilger made a TV programme accusing the British government of aiding and abetting the perpetrators of genocide in Cambodia - names were named, et cetera - but the government of the day denied its principal charges on the record and the whole thing faded. This will bring it all back with a vengeance. There's nothing like necklaces of human ears and severed heads on stakes to put the citizenry off their morning cornflakes, and the Serbian PR people would make sure that those pictures went round the world. You can imagine how weighty our accusations against Karadjic and his merry men would sound then.

'Unfortunately, the Cambodia pictures are not the limit of our problems concerning Antoine FanonKhayat. Our intelligence reports suggest that his recent world tour, which took in a number of weaponry fabrication sites and known middle-men, had a specific purpose. Namely, to set up a conduit to provide Serbian defence installations with a state-ofthe-art surface-to-air missile capability. The system's called "Ondine", it's manufactured in France by Issy Avionic, and the material we think will be going to Serbia is nominally destined for the "friendly206

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designated" Burkina Faso. We're not a hundred per cent certain that Belgrade's the real end user, but we're ninety-nine-point-nine per cent sure. We're also pretty sure that being the kind of operator that he is, Fanon-Khayat's kept both ends of the chain from meeting in the middle. The sellers won't know who they're selling to, the buyers won't know who they're buying from. Fanon-Khayat remains the vital link the man that everyone needs.

'Basically, our man's decided to throw in his lot with j Serbia. If he succeeds in securing them a high-end |SAM capability as well as brokering the release of |�Karadjic, he can write his own ticket. Serbia would Ireinvade Kosovo on the back of a huge PR victory, id with the Ondine systems in place there's not a in thing -- short of a lethal, costly and quite possibly ansustainable ground war - that we or anyone else Could do about it. The voting public simply wouldn't /ear the sight of Nato fighter jets being blown out of le sky on television night after night, and Milosevic rould win. In Serbia, Fanon-Khayat would be a ational hero, with Branca Nikolic as his adoring ink-draped princess. And let's face it' - Manderson srmitted himself a wintry smile as he re-projected the iredding photos - 'there are worse ways for a balding, irerweight fifty-year-old to live out his days. 'However . . .' he looked at them all in turn. 'We do at intend any of this to happen. We intend - that is say this department has been tasked -- to assassinate itoine FanonKhayat.'

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A silence of some intensity followed this pronouncement. Slater nickered a glance around the room. Andreas appeared openly amused, Eve expressionless, Leon and Terry thoughtful, Chris almost absentminded.

'At present,' Manderson continued, 'the target is in Paris, where he is expecting to conduct a meeting with one of MI6's Balkan desk officers. The subject is the handover of the Cambodia images against the release of Karadjic. For the sake of believability we've given Fanon-Khayat the impression that we may be prepared to negotiate some Pinochet-style deal - not mentally fit to stand trial, something like that -- but that we draw the line at conceding any illegality in his arrest. Our best guess is that he will go for that.

'Now the reason that Fanon-Khayat's in Paris, and that we're seeing him in Paris, is that he's there for a series of meetings relating to the Ondine deal. As I said, he's handling the whole thing himself, so if we can eliminate him before the deal's done, there will be no deal, no Ondine system for Serbia. Our intelligence is that the whole thing is expected to be wrapped up by Monday - Tuesday at the latest - so we have two days in which to get the job done.'

Manderson leant back in his chair and spread his hands. 'So there you have it. Before I ask Eve to go through the operational details, has anyone got any questions? For example does anyone think that eliminating the target is morally or politically unjustified, given the circumstances?'

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'Can we be sure that if Fanon-Khayat is taken out the Cambodia pictures won't resurface?' It was Chris i who had spoken. She looked, thought Slater, like a Gwar^i'an-reading, left-leaning teacher from a Hackney comprehensive. He'd have to watch his p's and q's with her.

Manderson nodded and frowned. 'My guess is that '{he's flying solo on this, as he is on the Ondine deal. He I may have married a Serb, but that doesn't mean he trusts [ them. Those pictures are his pension -- he won't have I handed copies around to his mates in Belgrade. My estifrnation, with which P4 concurs, is that he'll play it straight and give us all of the pictures in return for iKaradjic. He knows us well enough to know that if we Ihear so much as a whisper that copies are still floating ijbout after the deal's done, we'll come for him. Except, af course, the whole thing won't get that far.' , 'Are we certain that he doesn't know that we know |ibout the SAMs?' This time it was Leon, the black ay.

'If he thought we knew about them, he wouldn't be ing to negotiate with us about the pictures,' said landerson. 'Experience would tell him that the scales were stacked up too high against him. Blackmailing le'd reckon we could accommodate. But rearming Serbia at the same time? He'd know that was a bridge 30 far, that if we knew about the Ondine system we'd ave to get rid of him. And if he suspected that's what are wanted to do, then he wouldn't see us. And he is eeing us.'

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Leon nodded. 'And it wouldn't be possible to spike the Ondine deal by leaking it to the press?'

Manderson shook his head. 'Not without risking the lives of some of our most important agents-in-place, no. There must be no sign that we know about it.'

'Then what will those involved in the Ondine deal think that the motive was for killing FanonKhayat?' asked Leon.

'A couple of the least damaging of the Cambodia pictures will be found hidden in FanonKhayat's apartment. That'll send the right message to the right people.'

Leon nodded. His mind, Slater could see, was worrying away at every aspect of the case like a terrier. Terry, by contrast, presented a picture of almost Buddhist calm, and sat unmoving and without expression.

Slater found the atmosphere unsettling. He had been more shaken than he cared to admit to himself by the question of whether or not the hit was justified. He'd have preferred a direct order -- waste the fucker and then get the hell out. The soldier was carrying enough of a load without having to consider the moral justification of his actions at every turn. But then, of course, he wasn't a soldier any more. He was a civil servant.

'Will this operation save lives?' he found himself blurting out.

That had always been the question he'd asked himself in Northern Ireland. Would his trigger210

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jueeze save some unsuspecting squaddie from a bullet etween the shoulders, some housewife or child from smemberment by a nail-bomb? The answer - apart from that terrible night near Forkhill -- had been yes, fcvery time. And even the killing of poor, simple Joey )elaney had flushed out McGirk, sent the bastard ming from the hills of Armagh and back across the Atlantic.

'Yes it will,' said Manderson without hesitation, ecting the full force of his gaze at Slater. 'This is not : a matter of political advantage; the target has to be linated to avert widescale bloodshed. Without his iduits and underground networks there is no way it a system as sophisticated as Ondine would get trywhere near Serbia. This would mean that as far as |r defences are concerned, Milosevic would be stuck ith his Russian-made SA7s, which frankly don't ry us too much. The Ondine system is something though, and would really frighten us. If Fanonayat pushes this deal through the Serbs will know at they can re-annex Kosovo with impunity, and flen, I promise you, there will be a bloodbath. A loodbath we will be powerless to prevent. Does that swer your question?' Slater nodded.

'Anyone got anything else before I hand over to Ive?'

Silence. A slow shaking of heads. So, thought Slater. She's his deputy. Eve straightened a sheaf of papers in front of her.

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'Right. First things first. The name of the operation is "Firewall" and it is a sealed operation -- no one outside this department is involved in any capacity. Nor can we reveal our hand to the French. At best we could expect non-cooperation, at worst -- given the touchy feely relationship between certain of their secret service people and Milosevic -- active sabotage. The French, in short, are to be treated as hostiles. We will be on enemy territory.

'For the purposes of Firewall the team will divide into two groups. The forward team will consist of myself, Neil and Andreas; the back-up team will be Terry, Chris and Leon. Fanon-Khayat's apartment, which he's owned since his divorce from Solange, is in the Rue Molitor in the sixteenth arrondissement. This is a smart area, very "bon chic, bongenre" as the Parisians say -- imagine Knightsbridge on the edge of Hampstead Heath. Big money, big houses, big privacy.

'So we're going to have to look and behave right. Debbie's done some research on this and is acting as our wardrobe expert -- in fact she's buying the stuff as we speak. We're leaving this afternoon and we're booked into two hotels: the forward team are staying a kilometre to the north of Fanon-Khayat's apartment, at the Hotel Montmorency at Ranelagh; the backup team on the Rue Molitor itself at the Hotel Grand Exelmans.

'The Grand Exelmans overlooks FanonKhayat's apartment,' Eve continued. 'And tomorrow morning Terry, Chris and Leon will set up an OP there. From

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11.30 Andreas and myself will occupy a table Cafe Molitor, which is opposite the Grand Exej and next door to the block containing Fanon-KK , apartment. The apartment occupies the whole ^c . fourth floor. At midday Fanon-Khayat is expectj^ MI6 representative to arrive there to discu$s , Karadjic business and negotiate the handover q*- , pictures.'

To Slater, knowing what she was going to say t the moment seemed to go into slow motion. The f ' of his new colleagues, polite and solicitous, bli^

j They were throwing him in at the deep end.

'That MI6 representative,' Eve continued, '\viji .

I reality be Neil. Neil will enter the apartment, djs ,

I the two bodyguards, and take out FanonKhayat.1

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'Right. First things first. The name of the operation is "Firewall" and it is a sealed operation - no one outside this department is involved in any capacity. Nor can we reveal our hand to the French. At best we could expect non-cooperation, at worst -- given the touchy feely relationship between certain of their secret service people and Milosevic - active sabotage. The French, in short, are to be treated as hostiles. We will be on enemy territory.

'For the purposes of Firewall the team will divide into two groups. The forward team will consist of myself, Neil and Andreas; the back-up team will be Terry, Chris and Leon. Fanon-Khayat's apartment, which he's owned since his divorce from Solange, is in the Rue Molitor in the sixteenth arrondissement. This is a smart area, very "bon chic, bongenre" as the Parisians say - imagine Kmghtsbndge on the edge of Hampstead Heath. Big money, big houses, big privacy.

'So we're going to have to look and behave right. Debbie's done some research on this and is acting as our wardrobe expert -- in fact she's buying the stuff as we speak. We're leaving this afternoon and we're booked into two hotels: the forward team are staying a kilometre to the north of Fanon-Khayat's apartment, at the Hotel Montmorency at Ranelagh; the backup team on the Rue Molitor itself at the Hotel Grand Exelmans.

'The Grand Exelmans overlooks FanonKhayat's apartment,' Eve continued. 'And tomorrow morning Terry, Chris and Leon will set up an OP there. From

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111.30 Andreas and myself will occupy a table at the Cafe Molitor, which is opposite the Grand Exelmans |#id next door to the block containing FanonKhayat's lapartment. The apartment occupies the whole of the llburth floor. At midday Fanon-Khayat is expecting an |MI6 representative to arrive there to discuss the jradjic business and negotiate the handover of the pictures.'

To Slater, knowing what she was going to say next, ie moment seemed to go into slow motion. The faces if his new colleagues, polite and solicitous, blurred, icy were throwing him in at the deep end. 'That MI6 representative,' Eve continued, 'will in lity be Neil. Neil will enter the apartment, disable ie two bodyguards, and take out FanonKhayat.'

213

NINE

Slater woke shortly before 7am, showered, dressed and left the Hotel Montmorency. The deserted streets shone with the night's rain, and the morning smell of the city -- wet grass, fresh bread, petrol -- rose from the pavement to meet him.

He walked for ten minutes through the streets before he found a cafe that was open, and installed himself at an outside table. Beside him, a woman was setting up a stall selling chrysanthemums, tulips and roses, and the scent of flowers drifted towards him on the damp air. Slater's French had never been up to much but he could manage 'cafe creme', and when the steaming tray was laid before him it occurred to him that he could not remember a more perfect beginning to a day.

A pity, really, that he had to spoil it.

The day before had been knackering. After the briefing, in the course of which he and the team had covered every possible eventuality and factored in every possible fuck-up, they had been dispatched to the Nine Elms safe house for outfitting. Slater had walked home with a battered Louis Vuitton suitcase

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