The Rock (11 page)

Gardner watched as the chopper powered into the breaking dawn.

Who the fuck is that guy? he wondered. To be able to call upon an emergency evac with a Black Hawk told Gardner that Golan had to be a top-level operator. More than that, it also meant protecting Bald was high on someone else’s agenda.

He stumbled back up Rosia Road. His mobile squawked. The comms systems were back up and running. Then he heard the nasal voice on the other end of the line.

‘Where are you? Where the devil is Bald?’

‘He escaped.’

Land breathed his relief, heavily. ‘Meet me at Europa Point. I’m at Harding’s Observation Post, next to the rather charming lighthouse. Do hurry along. It’s important.’

0645 hours.

Europa Point lay at the southernmost tip of Gibraltar. Morocco’s Atlas mountains were a faint wash in the distance. Gardner passed the Ibrahim al-Ibrahim mosque to his left, cricket field to his right, the crease a strip of grass surrounded by sand.

At the very edge of the cliffs stood the lighthouse. Below it, three chimneys protruded like blocks of salt. And east of the lighthouse stood Harding’s Observation Post.

Land stared down at a shiny metal plaque fixed to the ground that indicated the direction of North Africa across the Strait. He didn’t turn to greet Gardner as he strode up the concrete path fixed between the cricket ground and the mosque.

‘So,’ Land said to the sea. ‘You made it.’

‘No thanks to you,’ Gardner replied, hanging back a few feet from the agent.

‘Oh? How so?’

‘That intelligence you had about Bald escaping on the
Defiant
down at the marina? Bullshit. He’d hidden a boat in the smugglers’ tunnel. If it wasn’t for the Israeli and his transponder, I’d never have found him.’

Land tapped a cigarette from his pack. He rolled it in his hands mournfully.

‘We gave you the best information we had available to us at the time, old boy.’

‘Well, your so-called best stank the place out.’

Land spun round and walked towards Gardner. For the first time, Gardner saw aggression in his face. ‘Look, I’ve already apologized to you. What more do you want from me? Christ, even when we did eventually work out Bald’s escape plan, we had no way of reaching you. All of our radio and mobile systems were down.’

‘Golan mentioned that. Speaking of which, any more news on this guy?’

Land shrugged as he put the cigarette between his lips. The breeze rolling up from the cliffs conspired to extinguish his lighter.

‘We’re getting nowhere. All of our enquiries have hit a dead end. Our best guess is he’s a criminal freelancer.’

‘Could be Mossad.’

‘Not a chance,’ Land said, striking a match and cupping the flame around his cigarette. ‘I spoke to their chief earlier. He assures me that Golan is not one of their people. I’m inclined to believe him. We have a good relationship with the Israelis, you know.’

‘Golan – he got away too. A Black Hawk lifted him out. That’s no criminal.’

‘Well, you might be right,’ he shrugged.

‘They haven’t caught Killen yet?’

‘Matter of time.’

Land stubbed out his half-smoked cigarette on the plaque.

‘There’s another thing—’ Gardner began.

‘You saw a familiar face on the boat.’

Gardner angled his head at Land.

‘How did you know?’

‘One of our SIGINT listening posts intercepted an exchange two days ago between Bald and Major Pete Maston. Or
ex
-Major, I should say. Old mentor of yours, I believe?’

‘And you didn’t think to let me know?’

‘The identity of the driver of the boat doesn’t affect your mission directly.’ Land inspected his shoes. ‘And anyway, Maston suffered a bad fall from grace. The head shed had to let him go. Afghanistan did, shall we say, odd things to his mind. He drowned his dog in the bath. Then he tried to do the same to his pregnant girlfriend.’

Gardner said nothing. All Special Forces soldiers were trained in first aid, and every patrol had its specialist medic. Gardner knew of more than one guy who could take out a dozen armed men but struggled to come to terms with his own mind. Some topped themselves. Others destroyed their own lives, or the lives of their loved ones.

‘After he got the old heave-ho, Maston went looking for answers in the bottom of a whisky bottle. He was declared bankrupt late last year and a few months ago the bailiffs seized his house. Been sleeping on friends’ floors since, apparently.’

‘So you’re saying Maston’s doing this for the money?’

‘I’m saying, Joe, the man’s broke. I imagine Bald offered him a cut in exchange for his help.’

Out of the corner of his eye, Gardner noticed a figure sitting on a bench sixty metres to his right, by the cricket clubhouse. The man was tearing chunks off a white loaf. He threw the chunks to the seagulls. Paused, glanced across his shoulder and carried on feeding the birds. He had hair the colour of volcano ash and a hangdog expression. His face, dappled with liver spots, was more creased than an old shirt. Gardner guessed he could be anything from sixty to ninety.

Gardner looked back at Land.

‘So it’s all over? I can go home now?’

Land smiled.

No more Bald, no more fucking Firm. You’ll be back in the line of duty, Gardner thought. Away from the politics and the lies and the mind games.

‘Certainly. But first I would like you to meet someone.’

Land gestured to the old man feeding the birds. He nodded at Land. His large hands gently placed the remainder of the loaf by his side on the bench. The seagulls flocked to the bread as he walked over to the two men, his crisp suit rustling in the breeze, his blank eyes staring right through Gardner.

‘This is Massimo,’ Land said. ‘And he’s here to make you an offer you can’t refuse.’

Faster, Grittier, Darker, Deadlier…Chris Ryan Extreme

When an old friend makes a desperate call for help, former SAS Warrant Officer Joe Gardner is thrust back into the line of fire. His journey leads him into the deadliest favela in Brazil, where violent gangs, crazed hitmen and trigger-happy paramilitaries lurk. Gardner’s only hope of staying alive is through his supreme survival skills and warrior’s instinct.

A chance encounter with an agent from MI6 leads Joe Gardner into a perilous mission in Gibraltar. His objective: bust a major cocaine-smuggling ring involving former a Regiment operator and the Royal Navy. But Gardner isn’t alone. A mysterious killer with expert martial arts skills is shadowing his every move. And it’s about to get noisy.

Dispatched to a postwar Belgrade crawling with criminals and bad memories, Joe Gardner is on a collision course with his one-time Regiment friend John Bald. Gardner plans to put a stop to Bald once and for all. But with the Russian mafya and Italian mob closing in, is Gardner too late? If he fails, tens of thousands will die.

In the aftermath of a devastating nuclear attack, Joe Gardner discovers a terrifying secret. In order to protect the truth, he must escort special agent Aimee Milana to safety, all the while hunted by government agents and a former Navy SEAL operator equipped with a lethal weapon. The race is on to reach Parliament Square before the clock runs out – and the world descends into all-out war.

All available in exclusive ebook edition.
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