The Trojan Boy (43 page)

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Authors: Ken McClure

Tags: #Mystery; Thriller & Suspense, #Thrillers & Suspense, #Medical, #Suspense, #Thrillers

BOOK: The Trojan Boy
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After only one burst Kathleen saw that Kell, determined to
achieve the aim of the operation at all costs, was trying to roll
over again and open fire at his original targets. She could see
the Royal Party being hurriedly escorted away across the
wide lawn but they were still within range. She was nearest
to Kell but was helpless to stop him.
Among the others, it was Martin O'Neill who realised
Kell's intention first and rushed up in the open to throw his
body at Kell in an attempt to smother his fire. Kell turned the
gun as he heard O'Neill approach and fired as O'Neill
launched himself. O'Neill was cut to pieces but his dead body
fell over Kell and trapped the gun momentarily. Kathleen, who was still nearest, rushed towards Kell and joined the
tangle of bodies in an attempt to wrestle the gun away while
Avedissian and Bryant and his men sprinted over the final
few metres.
Bryant shouted to his men, 'They are all
IRA!
Destroy
them!'
'No!' cried Avedissian in utter horror. 'Wait!' But the
bullets tore into the three on the ground and then the
shooting stopped.
Avedissian was stunned with grief and anger. He knelt
down beside the broken bodies and cradled Kathleen's head
in his arms. There was a flicker of life left in her eyes. 'Oh my
love,’ he whispered, unable to stop tears welling up in his
eyes as he put his cheek against hers.
Kathleen tried to speak. 'Thank you,’ she said. 'For a
moment. . . you almost made me believe
...
it was pos
sible.' Her head fell back and she was dead.
Avedissian was beside himself with rage. He got up and
threw himself at Bryant, intent on killing him with his bare
hands, nothing else mattered. He got within a few feet of him
but Bryant side-stepped smartly and hit him on the side of the
head as he charged past. Avedissian fell to the ground, dazed
from the blow but the strength of his anger keeping him
conscious. He rolled over and looked at Bryant saying, 'Go
on, kill me too. That's your style isn't it? No loose ends?'
Bryant was not looking at Avedissian. He was looking at
the shambles the party had become, panic-stricken people,
running policemen, screaming sirens and, overhead, the
ridiculous whine of fireworks that he had hoped might mask
a single shot but which now were only adding to the con
fusion. The royals were safe but it was a mess that his career
would never recover from. He looked down at Avedissian
and rasped, 'The O'Neills were terrorists, Irish terrorists, the
scum of the earth. Go home, Doctor. This isn't your world. It
never was.'
Avedissian watched as Bryant walked over to the bodies to
take a last look at Kell and the O'Neills. As he pulled Kell's
body free of the others and stood over it Avedissian caught a
slight movement out of the corner of his eye. Nelligan was
not dead! Miller had knifed him from behind, and it had been
assumed that he was dead, but his hand was moving and he had his gun in it. Avedissian opened his mouth to cry out a warning but the words froze on his lips.
The bullet ripped into Bryant's chest, and, with a last
startled look at the world, he crumpled slowly to lie on top of
Kell.
Nelligan's body jerked on the ground as Bryant's men
riddled it with bullets and the killing was finally over.
Avedissian was left sitting alone on the ground. When his
head cleared he got to his feet and walked over to where
Bryant and Kell lay together in death. He looked at them long
and hard and then said quietly, 'If any people ever deserved
each other . . . you two did.'
Avedissian collected Sarah Milek's car and stopped at a
telephone box. He called Directory Enquiries and made his
request. The operator gave him the number.
'Children in Need,’ said the voice.
'I'd like to make a donation.’
'Thank you, sir. Small donations can be . . .'
'A large one.’
'In that case, sir, perhaps I can send you the relevant information?'
Avedissian said not and asked for the charity's bank
account details.
'Might I ask how much, sir, if it's not too impertinent?'
'Twenty-five million dollars,’ said Avedissian.

 

 

THE END
Other Titles by Ken McClure

 

The Steven Dunbar Series

 

LOST CAUSES

DUST TO DUST

WHITE DEATH

THE LAZARUS STRAIN

EYE OF THE RAVEN

THE GULF CONSPIRACY

WILDCARD

DECEPTION

DONOR

 

 

 

Other Novels

 

HYPOCRITES’ ISLE

PAST LIVES

TANGLED WEB

RESURRECTION

PANDORA'S HELIX

TRAUMA

CHAMELEON

CRISIS

REQUIEM

PESTILENCE

FENTON'S WINTER

THE SCORPION'S ADVANCE

THE ANVIL

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

 

 

KEN McCLURE is an award-winning medical scientist as well as a global selling author. He was born and brought up in Edinburgh, Scotland, where he studied medical sciences and cultivated a career that has seen him become a prize-winning researcher in his field. Using this strong background to base his thrillers in the world of science and medicine, he is currently the author of twenty-four novels and his work is available across the globe in over twenty languages. He has visited and stayed in many countries in the course of his research but now lives in the county of East Lothian, just outside Edinburgh.

 

www.kenmcclure.com

REVIEWS

 

'His medical thrillers out-chill both Michael Crichton and Robin Cook.'

Daily Telegraph
.

 

'McClure writes the sort of medical thrillers which are just too close to plausibility for comfort.'

( Eye of the Raven)
Birmingham Post
.

 

'Well wrought, plausible and unnerving.'

(Tangled Web)
The Times

 

'A plausible scientific thriller . . . McClure is a rival for Michael Crichton.'

(The Gulf Conspiracy)
Peterborough Evening Telegraph
.

 

'Contemporary and controversial, this is a white knuckle ride of a thriller.'

(Past Lives)
Scottish Field
.

 

'Ken McClure looks set to join the A list at the top of the medical thriller field.'

The Glasgow Herald
.

 

'McClure's intelligence and familiarity with microbiology enable him to make accurate predictions. Using his knowledge, he is deciding what could happen, then showing how it might happen . . . It is McClure's creative interpretation of the material that makes his books so interesting.'

The Guardian
.

 

'Ken McClure explains contagious illness in everyday language that makes you hold your breath in case you catch them. His forte is to take an outside chance possibility, decide on the worst possible outcome . . . and write a book.'

The Scotsman

 

'Original in conception . . . its execution is brilliantly done . . . plot and sub plot are structured with skill . . . the whole thing grabs the attention as it hurtles to its terrifying climax.'

(Requiem)
Independent Newspapers (Ireland).

 

'Absolutely enthralling.'

(Crisis) Medical Journal

 

'Pacy thrillers from Scotland's own Michael Crichton.'

Aberdeen Evening Express

 

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