Mitch turned away, held up his hand and waved. A team of agents, dressed in black and carrying assault rifles, appeared from behind various vehicles and walked towards Mitch.
‘Get him bandaged up, then put him on a flight to Canberra,’ he said. He reached into the car and picked up the manila file from the passenger seat. ‘I think we’ve got some mutual friends down there who will want to have a quiet word with him.’
Chapter 49
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.’