White Gold (24 page)

London, England

Dan spun the wheel and slid the car to a halt. He switched off the headlights and stared into the darkness. He lowered his window and strained his ears. He could hear the sound of a helicopter drawing closer.

‘Keep your head down,’ he said to Sarah, and slouched behind the wheel. Sarah took off her seatbelt and lowered herself into the foot-well of the passenger side of the vehicle, just as the headlights of another vehicle lit up the back of the car seat.

Dan threw himself across Sarah, keeping his face close to hers as the other car sped past theirs. Its brake lights flared as it flicked round the corner of the building next to them. Dan and Sarah raised their heads and peered out after it.

‘Was that him?’ asked Sarah.

Dan nodded. ‘That was our bomb-maker. And the car we’ve been searching for.’

‘Now what do we do?’ said Sarah, impatiently shuffling in her seat.

Dan put his hand on her arm. ‘Just wait. It’s a dead-end – he’s not going anywhere.’

They both looked up at the sound of the helicopter as it hovered above them. It began to drop closer to the ground, a searchlight skimming the road beside them.

Dan turned to Sarah. ‘Phone David and tell him we’ll get out the car after he’s landed. I don’t want to lose my night vision with that searchlight shining right on us.’ He closed his eyes and looked away while the helicopter continued its descent.

Sarah made the call, and then put her phone away. ‘He’s here, Dan.’

The helicopter landed and Dan looked up as the searchlight died away. The rotors slowly stopped and David and his team climbed out. Dan walked over to them.

‘Where did he go?’ asked David.

Dan pulled up his jacket collar against the cold breeze coming off the river and pointed. ‘It’s a dead-end. I haven’t taken a proper look yet though. I thought I’d wait for the cavalry to arrive.’

He glanced across as Sarah joined them. ‘You stay right behind us. We have no idea what this guy could do.’

She nodded, up zipped her coat and shoved her hands in her pockets. She looked to where David had walked over to his team.

‘What are they going to do?’

Dan followed her gaze. ‘They’ll work their way along the buildings to wherever Terry’s parked the car.’ He glanced up, tilting his head slightly to one side. ‘I can still hear the engine running.’

He walked over to where David was speaking with his assault team, Sarah following close behind. David turned as they approached.

‘Right, well we’re ready. You stay behind us.’ He pointed at Dan. ‘You too. I need you in one piece to take apart whatever this maniac has designed.’

Dan nodded and watched as David’s team broke away and began to filter across the open expanse of the riverside wharf and headed towards the buildings. He walked over to their car, opened the door and reached inside for the gun David had given him. He shut the door quietly and looked up, realising Sarah was watching him steadily.

‘This is really happening, isn’t it?’ she said. ‘You’ve really got to stop him.’

Dan nodded. ‘Any way we can.’

She walked up to him, wrapped her arms around him, and looked up at his face. ‘Be careful.’

He nodded, bent down, and kissed her. ‘Behave yourself. Stay out of the way when I tell you to.’ He took her hand and led her down the track between the buildings, staying close to the side of the warehouses. He glanced ahead and saw the shadowy figures of the assault team methodically working their way down the line of buildings.

At the end of the track, about seventy metres away, the buildings formed a u-shape. Parked in the middle of the space, its headlights switched off and its engine running, sat the black sedan.

Dan stopped and looked at it. He felt relief, thankful they’d finally found it. He realised the adrenaline had kicked in. It felt like a lifetime since he’d felt it properly like this. He could feel his heart pounding in his chest, hard, rapid. Already, he was thinking. Imagining what the bomb would look like, how it would be wired.

He stopped dead as a shout from one of the assault team members reached his ears.

‘It’s him!’

Six bright torches switched on at once, illuminating a figure walking away from the black sedan.

Dan stepped out from the building into the path of the figure and stared in disbelief at the wretched form pacing towards them. He jumped instinctively as another figure loomed out of the darkness to the side of him and pulled him close to the opposite wall.

‘Concentrate, Dan!’ said David. ‘For Christ’s sake, we don’t know if he’s armed and there you go walking out right in front of him!’

Dan shook his head in disbelief. ‘I just can’t believe it’s him.’ He peered around David and watched the figure approach.

David walked out from the shadows and yelled. ‘Stay right there, Terry, otherwise we shoot!’

The figure stopped and a cackle emanated from the shadow in front of them.

‘Well, what have we got here? A fucking reunion?’ laughed Terry. ‘I hope your bomb disposal skills have improved, Dan.’

Dan made a lunge for Terry but David held him back and muttered in his ear. ‘Leave it. We don’t know if he’s wired himself up.’

Dan shrugged off David’s grip and nodded.

‘It’s not too late, Terry,’ yelled David. ‘Tell us how to disarm the bomb. Tell us how we can help you.’

Terry growled. ‘Help me? It’s a bit fucking late for that, isn’t it? You bastards – you were always going to leave me behind…’

He trailed off, rambling. Dan strained his ears to listen but couldn’t make out the words.  He looked at David and shook his head. ‘I don’t think we’re going to be negotiating.’

David nodded. ‘Reckon you’re right.’ He turned back to Terry. ‘Okay, Terry. Game over. We’ve got Delaney in custody. Uli’s dead.’ He nodded at Terry’s look of disbelief. ‘That’s right – it’s just you. So, raise your hands and get on the ground.’

Terry nodded. He raised his hands halfway to his chest. And then began to laugh. He turned his hands away from Dan and David’s view. Dan saw something glint in the light of the torches. He saw Terry wince as if he’d been struck by something. And then David screamed.

‘Everybody down! He’s injected himself! He’s going to blow himself up!’

The assault team ran for cover as Terry walked slowly towards them, laughing. Dan grabbed Sarah and pulled her behind an industrial waste bin, just as David landed on top of them.

‘You’re never going to take me alive,’ Terry called. ‘That’s what I told them. That’s what I said. They chased me over that damn desert. But they couldn’t catch me, they couldn’t…’

Terry’s voice was swept away by the sound of a sickening explosion.

As the sound died away, Dan raised his head. There was nothing human left. Terry’s body had been completely incinerated, wiped away by the force of the explosion and ensuing soundwave.

‘What the hell was that?’ said Sarah, her face pale in the glow of David’s torchlight.

David visibly shuddered. ‘The next phase in terrorism. Forget suicide bombers strapping explosives to themselves.’

Dan spun round to look at him. ‘What do you mean?’

David leaned against the wall, his face tired and drawn. ‘What I mean is we have reason to believe, now proved, that in future terrorists will simply inject themselves with the chemicals needed to make themselves into a walking time bomb. And we have no way of telling. They use the same sort of needles as diabetics. Can’t spot them.’

He eased himself off the wall and looked at Dan. ‘Ready to go and play?’ He began to walk away, in the direction of the black sedan.

Dan pulled Sarah to her feet. ‘I need to take a look at that bomb. Don’t look at the walls. Do you hear me?’

She nodded.

‘I mean it. You don’t want nightmares like mine. Ever. Just keep your head down. I’ll lead you past it.’

She grasped his hand tightly and squeezed. He pulled her towards him and turned, running towards the car, David leading the way. They edged around what was left of Terry and approached the vehicle.

Sarah ran up to the car and grabbed hold of one of the door handles.

‘No, don’t!’ yelled Dan, running towards her and slapping her hand away.

Sarah looked at him, bewildered.

‘Look!’ he pointed.

Sarah peered through the back window and shuddered. A silver canister perched on the back seat of the car. Half a metre in length, it was held in place by two metal posts drilled into each of the back doors of the sedan. She shuddered.

Dan scratched his chin. ‘I’ll have to go through the front door – it’ll make it more awkward to defuse it though.’ He studied the canister. ‘I can’t see a timer from here – it must be inside that panel there.’

He stood back, crossed his arms. Closing his eyes, he recalled every scenario he’d experienced before, desperately trying to think of a solution from his catalogue of memories. He squatted on the floor, taking in the details of the car, how to gain access and how to defuse the bomb.

One of the team members ran over, placing a small tool kit next to him.  ‘Sorry sir, it’s all we could find.’

Dan opened the lid and looked through the contents. ‘It’ll have to do – thanks.’ Standing, he stretched and cricked his neck muscles.

‘Everybody out,’ he commanded, picking up the tool box.

The group of people milling about the car began to run out of the enclosed space, making as much distance between themselves and the impending explosion.

‘I’ll stay,’ said Sarah.

He shook his head and gave her a slight push. ‘No – get going. There’s nothing to be gained by playing hero around a bomb. I want everybody out of this area – including you. Follow the team to their muster point and wait there.’

Sarah nodded, knowing he wouldn’t change his mind. She put her hand on his shoulder and squeezed gently. ‘Good luck.’

Dan looked up at her briefly and smiled.

‘Well, look at it this way – whatever happens, you’re going to have one hell of a story to write.’

She didn’t return his smile, but turned on her heel and walked away.

Dan watched her go until she was out of sight, and then reached out for the front door of the car. He rubbed his thumb across his fingers, took hold of the handle and pulled the door slowly open.

Nothing happened. He breathed out slowly.  He climbed in, pulled the tool box in with him and placed it in the foot-well of the car. He leaned behind the front seat and looked down at the silver surface of the canister. Taking a small screwdriver from the tool box, he began to gently remove each of the screws holding a small panel in place. Once each screw was halfway out, he placed the screwdriver on the front seat and began to gently remove each screw in turn, careful not to let the panel drop from its slot until he was ready.

As the last fastening came away, Dan used his left hand to hold the panel in place. Then, slowly, he placed his fingernails under each end and carefully lifted the panel away.

He breathed out as it cleared the canister, and dropped the panel onto the front seat. Turning back to the bomb, he surveyed the layout.

The timing cavity was the space of a man’s hand, with four alloy posts supporting a small digital timing display and a series of switches. Wires protruded from the timer display in the top left-hand corner, wound their way through the alloy posts to the switches then out again, disappearing into the hulk of the canister in the bottom right-hand corner. Dan had never seen anything like it.

His hand twitched, once, as it hovered over the wiring. The timing mechanism was complex – if his team hadn’t apprehended Charles on the ship, the device could still have been deployed remotely by mobile phone. Sweat ran down his face as he considered his options. If he worried about what could have happened, he’d never focus.

Dan concentrated on slowing his breathing, desperately trying to lower his heart rate. He wiped his face with his sleeve, rubbed his fingers together and shuffled to try to get a workable position in the cramped quarters of the back seat of the car.

Dan ran his fingers down the wires, testing their thickness. He raised his gaze to the timer, now showing five minutes and twenty seconds. Three years ago, he would have considered that a luxury. He let go of the wires and turned to the front of the car, where he’d placed the tool box. He rummaged around until his fingers found the pliers – small, compact, and perfect for working in small spaces. He removed them and sorted through the contents of the box until he found a small pen-like torch. His fingers wrapped round it and he turned cautiously back to the bomb.

Shining the torch directly onto the wires, he cocked his head to one side, trying to get a look under the switches. He nodded to himself, convinced.

Cutting the blue wire, Dan eased himself back onto his haunches.

Suddenly, hell broke loose. Dan jumped as the car alarm shrieked. He looked down at the timer – at that instant, two minutes dropped off the countdown.

‘Shit!’ Dan tried to block out the noise from the alarm, concentrating desperately and went back to work on the timer – only two and a half minutes now remained. He growled loudly in frustration. So much for luxury. He bound the two ends of the broken blue wire together and the alarm stopped.

A noise at the end of the row of buildings made him stop and look round. A shadowed figure was walking towards him. Dan drew the gun from the waistband of his jeans and released the safety catch. Raising it, he sighted it on the figure as it drew closer. ‘Hold it right there.’

The figure froze. Then slowly raised its hands. ‘Dan, it’s me.’

Dan lowered the gun. ‘Sarah?’

She came running then, tears streaming down her face. ‘I couldn’t leave you!’

Dan extracted himself from the car and caught her in his arms. ‘I don’t need to tell you how stupid you are, do I?’

She sniffed and held back from him. ‘No, not at all. How long have we got?’

He looked back at the timer. ‘Just over a minute and a half.’

Sarah managed a weak smile. ‘Better get to work then.’

He nodded and climbed back into the car. Reaching over to the canister, he ran his fingers gently over the remaining wires. Red, white, green. Red, white, green. Which one?
Which one
?

He wiped the sweat from his eyes and noticed his hand was shaking. Breathing hard, panting, his mind flashed back to the desert, the dust in his eyes, a friend looking at him desperately, pleading, defuse the bomb! He couldn’t do this, it wasn’t possible –

‘Dan!’

He blinked, looked up at Sarah.

She nodded at him. ‘You can do this. I trust you.’

He closed his eyes, re-focused, then looked at the wiring array below him. And then somewhere, in the back of his mind, he realised he wasn’t going to be able to defuse it. He desperately pulled at the wires, separating them between his fingers. It was no use, Terry had used an illogical pattern. No way of telling which wire would stop the bomb. It was impossible.

He realised his hands were shaking. He tried to think, tried to remember…

Then it hit him. Hard. The fuel cells weren’t hiding the weapon. They
were
the weapon. He turned and shoved Sarah out of the way.

She stumbled, tripped and fell onto the ground. ‘What are you doing?’ she demanded.

Dan ignored her. He ran round to the driver’s door and wrenched it open. Sliding in behind the wheel, he pulled the door closed, shoved the gears out of neutral and spun the wheels on the wet bitumen. He flicked the lights on and they illuminated the sides of the buildings.

He floored the accelerator and the car shot forward. Sliding the vehicle past what was left of Terry, Dan steered the car between the buildings, the speed increasing with every metre. He glanced in the rear view mirror at the silver canister on the back seat, gleaming in the moonlight. He smiled to himself. There was only one way to do this.

So be it
.

As the car shot out from between the buildings, it swept past David and his assault team. They watched in disbelief as the car skidded past the helicopter, accelerated once more and hit the side of the wharf.

Time seemed to slow down as the car lifted off of the wharf, became airborne, then slewed into the dark waters of the Thames below.