Three Faces of West (2013) (37 page)

John, still on the bridge still had a good view from his hiding place behind one of the structural pillars,

“I see workers outside the warehouse where the poison is being manufactured. There definitely seems to be an increase in activity, it looks like they are getting ready to move….wait…..the trollies, they are gathering a number of them outside. Harvey, it looks like they are already filled with poison, they could be getting ready to move.”

“But where?”

John was as much in the dark as anyone, “I’ve no idea. It’s possible they could be distributed around the city or concentrated in one place. Who knows.”

In the deep shadows of River View, Jack, now satisfied that everything was OK tried to make his way toward the exit. There was a sense of hesitancy about his actions; could he be sure this tower block was completely clear? He did not have to wait to find out,

“Alpha 1, are you still in River View?” Said one of the other operatives,

“Yes.”

“Alpha 1, there’s activity in your area; multiple contacts have been spotted entering the front of the building.”

“Do we know who they are?” Asked Jack, there was a pause,

“…We think its Victor Bruenstein.”

Now Jack perked up suddenly, perhaps this was he chance to get him,

“Can you locate the contacts in the building?” He asked,

“Negative, but the lifts have been activated and there are visible contacts in the foyer. Recommend you avoid these Alpha 1.”

Looking around the dark car park, he saw a large green door off to the side. It bore a sign next to it,

“A stairwell!!” He said to himself as he made his way over to it. Carefully opening the door there were no figures immediately upwards as he entered the shaft and begun his ascent up each flight of concrete stairs. It seemed to take forever, but his movement was hampered by cautious progress, slowing up every few yards as he passed the exit door to each floor,

“Control can you give me any more info?” He whispered as he moved higher. If Bruenstein was here he had no idea where to find him,

“Alpha 1, there are multiple heat sources in that structure, it’s impossible to determine who is who, but I’m reading 3 signatures on the top floor, level 20.” Replied the operative as West proceeded to follow.

Climbing about four storeys, he paused in on the staircase, his hands gripping the metal handrail. Hearing a noise from above, Jack looking up to see a figure approaching his location fast and there was nowhere to hide. Having no choice, he raised his gun and walked slowly forward as the two men approached each other. They met on opposite sides of a particular flight between the 13
th
and 14
th
floors, the guard on the top and thankfully not paying much attention as West looked upwards to him on the bottom. Instantly Jack fired, three times, in rapid succession, the bullets hammering into the guard’s torso, blasting out of the back. Slumped against the wall, the guard, slid down toward the floor, a streak of dark red blood on the recently painted walls followed him down indicating the exit wounds. He was dead. Jack carefully walked up the stairs, removing he ammunition clip from the barrel smoking gun, quickly replacing it with a fresh one full of live rounds. Satisfied he was dead by giving him the once over, he continued upwards.

Finally after many flights and one long empty stairwell, Jack reached door marked for the 20
th
floor. It was shut tightly but it was a designated fire escape so he knew it couldn’t be locked. Pausing briefly Jack listened intently for any signs of movement beyond the door. He wasn’t totally satisfied but he had to probe onwards; gripping the handle, he turned it slowly, loosening the latch until the door became loose. He opened it slowly, his silenced gun rose as he stuck his head out into what seemed to be a corridor outside upper level apartments. The corridor was lit but the electricity supply was poor at best, by now Jack was used to dimly lit locations, he had been in enough of them in the past. Still working cautiously, he moved forward, the charcoal coloured doors and carpet contrasting against the cream painted walls perfectly muffled the sounds of his footsteps as he made his way forward with his gun,

“If someone can’t hear me, then I won’t be able to hear them.” He thought to himself in an alert state. Another green door lay at the end of the corridor; clearly it was further stairwell as he made his way toward it. The signage confirmed where it led,

“Penthouse Level.” He said. If Bruenstein was in the building, that had to be his location.

It wasn’t very high, only a couple of flights at most which brought Jack out into another corridor, more lavish than the previous ones. He didn’t have time to scout, instantly he heard voices, around three of them coming from a penthouse flat at the front. Silently he raised his gun and moved into the darkness as the voices became a little louder and clearer. He headed through a large door into a dark and spacious, but not yet furnished area. Looking more like a large concrete tomb than a future penthouse apartment, the basic shell with its large window spanning one wall provided the perfect viewing point amongst the construction works.

Still in the shadows, Jack silently placed himself behind one pillar. Wide enough for him to remain hidden, he looked on toward the window toward a figure standing solitary and looking out. The tall, dark haired man with a large light brown leather jacket stood there motionless, totally unaware of the situation unfolding in the docklands and of Jack hidden about 12 feet away,

“Bruenstein!” He thought to himself, recognising the man instantly. Looking on with contempt, after all it was he who had caught Jack and beaten him up in the old underground tunnels before John turned up. His next move was clear, however as luck would have it, two others turned up entering the space through a side door. Shifting back slightly and trying his absolute best to minimise his breathing as there was very little ambient noise to cover it up, he looked on while shrouded in darkness. He watched as the two quickly approached Bruenstein to speak,

“We’re ready to go.” Said one of them,

“Tell them to load the vans. Tell them to leave as soon as it is done.”

Jack thought on, “Leave? For where? Where are the targets? And where is Maxwell Grey?”

“Where shall I tell the vans to deploy?” Asked the other guard loudly, making no attempt to cover it up,

“As planned, we deploy outside to where the bombs are in four waves, three poison trollies in each one. First to Trafalgar Square, the second placed around Whitehall, make sure you leave one near Downing Street. The third wave deployed outside the Houses of Parliament and the final wave around Piccadilly Circus.”

Alarmed Jack listened on as Bruenstein continued, “Are the explosives already in place in these areas?”

“Yes, they’ve been deployed.”

“Are they scheduled to go off in time?”

“They’re set to go off in half an hour. The carts should be in place beside them by then.”

“Good, tell the guys to start getting them out on the road. C’mon we only have an hour.”

Given his orders, one of the guards turned to walk away and Jack knew he needed to do something. Leaving Bruenstein with the second henchman he watched as the other left the penthouse. Taking his chance, he withdrew slightly trying his best to stay within the shadows, exiting out into the corridor. Suddenly he heard footsteps, rapidly getting closer with each soft thud on the carpet. Diving around a corner was his only hope, as he hugged the wall as the footsteps came ever closer. Clearly they were coming from behind closing the gap; Jack watched in the darkness as he could see soft, diffuse shadows fluctuating on the opposite wall in front of him. Fixated, Jack steeled himself as the figure rapidly passed him unnoticed, tasked with carrying the message to deploy. He had to be stopped. Jack rapidly moved out, crouching slightly and checking with a flinching glance backward he moved up to the guard. Raising his arm, his pistol now turned upward like a club, he pulled it down with full force, striking the guard a heavy blow to the head. The guard instantly fell and Jack grabbed him quickly; he was unconscious as he looked around to make sure he had not been seen. Gripping his armpits, he dragged the knocked out terrorist into a nearby cleaning cupboard, laying him out of sight and safe for the time being. Locking the door behind him, Jack was satisfied he had just bought a little time for himself.

Now he wanted to get Bruenstein, his belligerence was all too obvious, he knew he absolutely had to be taken out, but the info he had just discovered was too important. Secretly he whispered into his earpiece,

“Control this is Alpha 1. I’m on the upper floors of River View, Bruenstein is here. Harvey, he is planning to detonate the poison carts all over London.”

“How is he going to detonate them?” Asked Harvey,

“Using bombs, probably like the one John found. He’s had the devices planted across the city earlier, from what I understand we’ve only got 30 minutes before they go off.”

“Do we know where the bombs are?”

“Yes, Trafalgar Square, Whitehall and Downing Street, Buckingham Palace, Piccadilly Circus and the Houses of Parliament.”

Harvey knew the course of action to take, “I’ll authorise those areas to be sealed off. We’ll make sure to have police and army bomb disposal squads dispatched urgent priority.”

“What shall I do about Bruenstein?” Asked Jack,

“Standby Alpha 1.” Harvey replied,

“Standby? What the hell does ‘standby’ mean?…. I’m going back in there.”

He made his way back into the penthouse area, silent and moving toward his last position, ever aware that the slightest noise could alert to his presence. Bruenstein was still at the window, standing like a giant silhouetted against the glow of the urban night. The other guard, still by his side at this time. Jack approached the column where he was before, creeping into the shadows as something caught the corner of his right eye. He looked to see the second guard move off quickly; had he seen him at the side? Jack froze, half in the shadows, as the guard took the same exit as his colleague before. It was OK, Jack had not been spotted. Silently relieved, he positioned himself behind the column where has was last time in a more comfortable fashion; from here he had a good and uninterrupted view of Victor Bruenstein.

His back turned, he was busy overlooking the AFP complex in the docklands to monitor progress; it was the one chance Jack West had been waiting for. From out of the shadows, his silencer peered out into the half-light; the Walther it attached to loaded and ready to fire. Jack, looked straight down the barrel, aiming for the back of his head,

“Now I’ve got you.” He thought. His gun aimed steady, the target in his sights and Bruenstein standing at the window, it was now or never. With no authorisation to kill from Thames House, in the darkness of the shadows, Jack closed one eye to get a straight aim and began to press his finger on the trigger.

Chapter 25:

Still positioned on the bridge, John looked on at the activity ahead, unaware of the full extent of the plan. By now everything that was happening and the lack of action was starting to get to him,

“Control, I’m still on the bridge. What do you want me to do?” He asked rather impatiently,

“Alpha 2 that bomb you’re holding. It’s just one of many.” Said Harvey,

“One of many?”

“We’ve received information that there is a credible bomb threat across the city. The one you procured was just a single device.”

“Bloody hell!” John whispered.

The activity in Thames House rose considerably. The bomb threat had been credibly compromised, and now the time was as big an enemy as Bruenstein and his terrorist organisation. Everyone had a job to do, rushing about in panic, trying to get a hold on the increasingly deteriorating situation,

“The police have been notified, bomb squads on route to the locations.” Said one operative,

“Will they get there in time?” Harvey asked himself,

“You had better hope so.” Replied the home secretary, overhearing the comment. Privately Harvey hoped so too. If the notoriously heavy traffic could not be beaten and the police could not seal off, evacuate the areas and diffuse those bombs in time, the damage alone would be catastrophic. He had the APF compound sealed, and men on the ground but the locations of the other bombs were now in the hands of others. He prayed that they would be successful,

“Harvey you want to take a look at this!” Another operative called out alarmingly,

“What?”

“There’s activity all over the internet!”

For Harvey, for everyone, this was just another headache, “Dammit!”

The computer screens told the story for themselves, “The word’s out.” Said an operative, “Someone must of have seen the police cordons in the surrounding areas. Rumours are beginning to spread around the social media.”

Harvey took a pensive attitude, “And if the public thinks something’s wrong, pretty soon the terrorists are going to know something actually is.”

Everyone agreed as another lady approached with a message, “It’s all over the internet. People are gathering in the streets.”

“We know!” Snapped Harvey,

“That’s not all.”

“What do you mean, that’s not all?!”

“Reports of local television crews close to the police cordon.”

This was the last thing Harvey wanted to hear, “Oh that’s just great!! Aazim can we patch into the television news feeds?”

“Yep, give me a second….there.”

They looked up at a television screen on the wall. Instantly it showed a news anchor reporting on activity going on at APF,

“And next tonight before we head off to the sport, some breaking news reaching us in the last few minutes. We’re hearing reports of police activity in the docklands area tonight. Eyewitnesses say that a significant amount of police has sealed off adjacent streets surrounding the APF Industries site. We hope to get a report on the ground soon, more on this as we get it.”

Broadcasting to a wide audience, everyone at Thames House looked on at the public unfolding of the stealthy operation,