Red Notice (12 page)

‘Hey, buddy, what makes you so goddamn important that you can’t take your turn like the rest of us?’

Tom heard the dispatcher give a final blast on his whistle. Ignoring a warning shout, he lunged for the carriage as the door started to close, squeezed through the gap and stood in the lobby, chest heaving. The sweat dripped from his face onto the carpet as the door clunked shut behind him.

A few moments later, the Eurostar began to move. When he’d got his breath back and his kit on, Tom straightened up and scanned the length of the carriage. He spotted Delphine at once, sitting with her back to him and staring out of the window as they emerged from under the great glass roof into the morning sun. Her iPhone lay on the table in front of her. Tom pulled out his mobile and dialled her number as he walked quietly down the aisle.

31

AS HER PHONE
began buzzing, Delphine leaned forward to check the caller ID. When she saw Tom’s name, she gave a slow shake of her head, rejected the call and then switched off the phone.

‘Do you really hate me that much?’ Tom whispered in her ear. He winked at Rose and Daniel, then sat down facing her.

‘What do you think?’ she said. She knew where the marks on Tom’s face had come from, the very thing that had kept him from her, but she still wanted to comfort him. It took all of her determination not to show any concern. ‘I gave you one last chance to keep your word to me. And as usual the mistress won.’

‘Please don’t say that . . . Look, I’m sorry. And I’m here now to make it up to you.’

She shook her head. ‘It’s too late.’ Her face sank into shadow as the train began its seven-mile run underground to Stratford.

‘It’s not too late. The train stops at Ebbsfleet. We can get off there and catch one straight back again.’

She shook her head. ‘I’m not coming back.’

‘Then at least let’s get off at Ebbsfleet, have a coffee and talk things over. Just let me explain things and tell you how I feel. If you’re still determined to go home when you’ve heard me
out, you can just catch the next train.’ He tried to read her expression, but she showed no sign of softening. ‘Come on, Delphine, you can’t end it this way. Come home with me now and we’ll sort this out.’

‘You don’t get it, do you, Tom? I am going home. You could have saved yourself the journey. That’s what I was going to tell you last night – if you’d bothered to turn up.’

‘I came as soon as I could. Gavin had a problem and I had to help him out.’

‘And that just proves the point. I –
we
– have a problem, too, but, as always, the Regiment and your mates took priority.’ She paused. ‘Anyway, none of that matters now. I’m going back to France.’

‘And when did you decide this? You’ve never breathed a word about it until now.’

‘You knew my contract was almost up,’ she said.

‘You’ve renewed it before. Why not again?’

‘Because my career was just like us – not going anywhere fast.’ She studied him for a moment. ‘I was going to tell you last night, but when you didn’t turn up, I just thought this way would be easier – for both of us.’ She stared at him in silence. ‘So I’m afraid you had a wasted journey, because my mind is made up. And what are you doing here anyway? You’re supposed to be on thirty-minute standby, aren’t you?’

He took her hand in his. ‘I’d get binned if things kick off, but that’s a risk I’ll have to take. You’re worth taking a few risks for.’

She looked at him, then gently disengaged her hand from his. ‘It’s a pity you didn’t realize that earlier – but I’m sorry, Tom, it really is too late. It’s a lovely gesture, but in the end, that’s all it is.’ She stared out of the window into the darkness of the tunnel, not even wanting to meet his gaze.

‘This can’t be the end of us, Delphine, it mustn’t be. For God’s sake, please – what do you want from me?’

‘No, Tom, what do
you
want from
me
?’

It was the million-pound question, and he didn’t have the answer.

Her eyes burned into him. ‘You’re on thirty-minute standby? Well, I know what it’s like. I feel permanently on standby. If your mates and your Regiment give you a night off, you might get around to spending a few hours with me, but the rest of the time, I might as well not exist. And meanwhile, I’m putting my life on hold, in the vain hope that some day you might eventually get around to making me part of yours.’

‘That’s just not true.’

‘I’m sorry, Tom. It is true. And unlike the Hereford girls, who’d do anything for a Man in Black, I don’t need you or your precious Regiment.’

‘Well, I need you.’ He took a breath, really not wanting to know the answer to the question he was about to ask. ‘Is there someone else?’

She looked back at him, then caught sight of Rose, watching her, wide-eyed, from the seat in front. ‘I’ll talk to you in a little while,
ma chérie
. . .’ Delphine forced a smile, not wanting to worry her ‘. . . but first I just need to have a talk with my big ugly friend here.
Ça va
?’

Rose hesitated, then abruptly disappeared from view as her mother pulled her back down onto her seat with another muttered apology.

Delphine shook her head. ‘This is ridiculous. We are not going to have this conversation here.’

‘OK,’ Tom said. ‘So, like I said, let’s get off at Ebbsfleet, have a brew and talk there. And if you’re not happy at the end of it, you can catch the next train.’

The Eurostar roared into another tunnel, and the change in pressure made their ears pop. Tom opened his mouth and yawned, but Delphine couldn’t clear her ears. As Tom looked at her, he realized that she was chalk white and her brow was clammy with sweat. ‘Are you all right?’

She shook her head. ‘No, I’m not. I’m not at all right. In fact, I think I’m going to be sick.’

‘Come on, then . . .’

He helped her to her feet and she leaned against him as he steered her down the aisle. The lavatory at the end of the
carriage was occupied and, after a quick glance at Delphine, Tom hurried her through towards the Disabled toilet at the far end of the next coach.

32

LASZLO CROUCHED OVER
the body.

The trousers of the grey suit were a little short, particularly when his knees were bent, but that didn’t bother him. The uniform suited his purpose. He slipped the attendant’s keys into his pocket, then straightened up.

He stepped over to the mirror and examined himself and his new disguise. Satisfied, he listened at the door for a few moments, then opened it and stepped outside.

As he looked up, he saw a couple hurrying towards him. Their urgency, the deathly pallor of the woman’s face and the fact that she was totally unaware of anything but her own discomfort left him in no doubt about where she was heading.

He stepped in front of them. ‘Sorry,’ he said, with an ingratiating smile. ‘This toilet is flooded. Please use the one in the next coach.’ He turned his back on them, fumbled with the keys and locked the door.

As the attendant turned back, Tom held his gaze.

Delphine shuddered, covering her mouth with her hand, and walked on. Tom stared at him for a few more moments, frowning, then hurried after her. When he got there, the toilet door at the far end of the aisle was already locked.

‘Are you all right?’

He was answered by a groan, the sound of retching and vomiting and, finally, the flushing of the toilet.

The train swept into Ebbsfleet station. The doors opened, a handful of passengers got off and many more boarded. Tom rapped on the toilet door. ‘Delphine? If we hurry we can get off here.’

Even as he said it, he heard the beeps signalling that the doors were about to close. By the time Delphine emerged, dabbing at the corners of her mouth with a tissue, they were already picking up speed.

‘Looks like I’m going to Paris after all.’ Tom helped her clean herself up.

But by then it wasn’t Delphine who had kept him on the train.

33

DELPHINE WAS STILL
as pale as a ghost as Tom steered her back through the carriages. ‘Just wait here,’ he said, as he helped her into her seat. ‘There’s something I need to check. I’ll be right back.’

‘Why? What is it? Where are you going? What are you doing?’

‘You’re not going to like this.’ He bent down to kiss her cheek. ‘But something just came up.’

She stared at him, anger flaring in her eyes. ‘So the great romantic gesture of pursuing me to London, and to Paris if necessary, was just a sham, was it? And to think for a moment I almost believed you.’

He didn’t hear any of it. He was already moving away from her, back along the carriage.

He hurried to the Disabled toilet. Too many people disregarded things they thought weren’t right because it wasn’t worth the embarrassment to check them out. Thieves and terrorists melted away because passers-by, particularly of the British variety, were too heads-down, not wanting to make a fuss. But Tom wasn’t one of those people. He’d check things out. It didn’t matter that he was out of Hereford when he shouldn’t be; it didn’t matter if Delphine thought even less of him. It was the right thing to do.

Even if he got binned for calling in a possible on a train he shouldn’t be on, so what? It would just bring on the next stage of his life more quickly than he’d planned. That was nothing compared to the nightmare of not taking action and discovering later that he’d let Laszlo slip through his fingers.

And there was another, even more important, reason why he needed to check out the possible: Delphine’s life, and the lives of hundreds of other innocents on the train. The smell of death followed Laszlo wherever he went, and Tom didn’t want it anywhere near the woman he loved.

The red ‘Occupied’ sign was still illuminated, but Tom ignored it and banged on the door. There was no response from inside. He banged again, harder, then took a pace back and booted the door just below the lock. He heard a shout and the head steward, anger written across his face, surged up to him. How dare someone try to damage his train? ‘What on earth do you think you’re doing? Can’t you see it’s occupied? Stop it now, or I’m going to have to call the police. I’ll have you arrested and removed from the train.’

Tom ignored him, shrugged off his restraining hand and booted the door once more. There was a splintering sound and, after another vicious kick, it was dangling uselessly from its frame. There was an obstacle behind it, but Tom forced his way through the gap.

The toilet bowl was splattered with blood. On the floor next to it lay the body, stripped to its underwear. Tom didn’t have to check the man’s pulse to know that he was dead. The colour of the flesh around the neck wound had already told him that. As he stared at the body, his mind racing, Tom heard a gasp.

‘Derek!’ The head steward was peering round the door, staring wide-eyed.

‘You know him?’ Tom had to repeat the question before the man could stammer out a reply.

‘He’s one of our attendants.’ His knees gave way beneath him.

Tom caught him before he fell and manoeuvred him into the
cubicle. ‘There’s nothing you can do for him now. Just get a grip on yourself. Calm down. Come on, deep breaths . . .’

The head steward was trying to do as he was told. But Tom knew it wasn’t only shock that had got to him. It was fear.

‘Deep breaths, don’t look down, just look at me. That’s it. No one’s going to hurt you.’

Tom flashed his MoD ID card. The head steward barely registered it. Shaking with fright, he was unable to tear his eyes away from the dead man. Tom took his arm and turned him around, so that he was facing the small wall mirror above the sink. ‘Don’t look down. Come on, just watch me.’

Tom peered over the head steward’s shoulder, trying to make eye contact. The steward’s eyeballs were rotating faster than the display on a one-armed bandit. It was if he was being tasered.

‘Listen . . .’ Tom checked the man’s name badge. ‘Listen, Colin. The man who murdered Derek . . . Did you see the TV news last night? You know those explosions in Hampstead? It wasn’t a gas leak. It was an attempt to arrest the man who’s just killed your mate. He’s a wanted war criminal. He’s killed over six hundred civilians – innocent people. And, trust me, he won’t hesitate to do it again. I need your help. Are you going to help me, Colin?’

‘Should . . . should we stop the train?’

‘No. He’s smart. If you do that, he’ll know he’s been spotted. Then we’ll have a real drama on our hands. All I need you to do for the moment is to stand outside this toilet and keep the passengers away from here, OK? Just tell them it’s out of order and they’ll have to use the one in the next coach – and keep this quiet. All of our lives depend on that. I need your help, mate, do you understand?’

The head steward nodded again.

‘Say it,’ Tom said, waiting until he got an answer before releasing the man’s arms.

‘I understand,’ the head steward said at last.

‘Good. I’ll be back soon.’

Tom looked round as someone outside tried to push the door
open. Delphine had followed him down the carriage and was now staring, horror-struck, at the body. She opened her mouth to scream but Tom grabbed her, covered her lips with his hand, and brought her into the toilet as well. He hugged her to him. ‘Sssh . . . It’s all right, Delphine, it’s all right.’ He stroked her hair. ‘Everything’s OK . . . I’m here . . .’ He waited a moment for her sobbing to subside, then carefully released her and wiped away her tears. He steered her away, with her back to the scene she had just witnessed. ‘I have to call this in.’

He glanced up and down the carriage, took out his iPhone and speed-dialled.

Gavin answered on the first ring. The caller ID might be in the Lines but Tom still wasn’t. ‘Mate, the boss is about ten metres away from me at the moment, and it’s only a matter of time before he asks me where the fuck you are. So, with or without Delphine – and don’t get me wrong, I hope it’s with – I need you back here soon as.’

‘I’m afraid there may be a bit of a delay.’ Tom turned to check on Delphine and Colin. He stopped talking long enough for Gavin to hear what he’d been dreading.