‘Too remote.’ she said. ‘I don’t think he’d target this building.’
Sam interrupted. ‘But that’s the point Jay. If he’s targeted me as some sort of play mate, the proverbial cat, to his mouse, if you like, then he’ll go to wherever he thinks I’ll be.’
Sam picked up a laser pointer from the desk and pointed to the towers on the corners, each of which supported a tall chimney.
‘Sniper spots.’ He announced. ‘There are loads of places here where an ambush could be set. He wouldn’t have a chance.’
Virani was now gently nodding her head in agreement, not even realising she was doing so. She looked at Sam and said. ‘Okay, this could work. Give me thirty minutes to get a team out there. In the meantime, make the call, obviously not on your personal mobile, to your friend at the comms company. Tell them to phone you back, this time on your mobile, claiming they know where he is. Then leave the rest to the tactical team. It’ll be over within the hour. I’m going to need to borrow your car, though.’ Sam was about to protest when Virani turned to the room.
‘Okay people. I think we’re on the home straight. We’ve all got a lot of work to do, so let’s get to it.’
She turned to Sam and held out her hand ‘Keys.’
Sam managed to splutter a ‘B… b… but Jay, come on. My car?’
‘He won’t believe you’re there if he can’t see your car.’
Sam sighed and reluctantly handed over the keys.
Chapter Forty-One
Come on Sam, Battersea Power Station? It’s a building site. What would that prove? That I could blow up a construction zone? I’m disappointed Sam. You know I like some collateral damage. A little bit of payback. Oh well. I’ll see you there, I guess.
Raynor put his bike into gear and set off on his way to the power station.
Virani was in the control room at Thames House, Sam sat beside her. They were once again watching the tactical team position themselves in various parts of Battersea Power Station. Snipers were posted on the platforms that supported the corner towers. Other troops, at ground level, took up positions suitable to ensnare the target.
The unit comprised of three, four-man teams. Each member having their own role to play. The idea was to lure Raynor into the main building by positioning Sam’s car in front of it. One of the Team members had driven it to the power station, left the driver door open and ran inside the building, leaving footprints in the dust created by the renovation work. The idea of this was for Raynor to think Sam was already inside.
As Raynor made his way inside, the plan was to block his retreat-path by having two armed guards, positioned out of view at the front of the building, follow him and cover the exit. Meanwhile, inside the building, he would be flanked on both sides as he searched for Sam.
The net would slowly close-in until there was no chance of escape. If, for any reason, Raynor managed to escape the Power Station the sharp-shooters on the roof would take him out. Lethal force had been approved, but the goal was to bring him in unharmed.
The plan was a good one. Public safety was paramount. The power station was the perfect location.
Grant Bray entered the room.
‘How are we doing Jayshree?’ he asked.
‘Teams are in position, Grant. We just need our guest of honour to show, and then the party starts. It’ll be over before you know it.’
‘I hope so Jay. I really do. The PM’s having kittens. He can’t believe it’s one of ours out there. He was hoping it would be a Johnny Foreigner.’ He paused, looking slightly embarrassed. ‘No offence.’ He said, rather awkwardly.
‘None taken.’ Virani replied, looking a little bemused before adding, ‘I’m British.’
Bray was looking even more flustered.
‘Yes, of course. How foolish of me.’
His discomfort was interrupted when a voice was heard on the equipment that was patched into the microphones of the tactical team. The unit commander was requesting confirmation that the teams were in place and ready for action.
One by one the team members confirmed their ready status and the equipment went silent again.
The silence was broken by Virani asking Sam,
‘Have we got a recent location for Raynor?’
‘Afraid not, Jay.’ Sam replied. ‘Not sure what he’s doing, but he’s sending Dave frantic. Dave’s team can’t seem to get a good lock. I think if he uses his phone for any amount of time, or phones me, they can back-trace the call, other than that, he’s invisible.’
‘Not what I was hoping for, Sam. So we have no idea if he’s…’ She was interrupted by another transmission from the tactical team.
‘Vehicle approaching. Motorcycle. Black. Stopped at the gates.’
Virani looked at Sam, then Bray, and smiled.
‘Here we go.’ She said.
Raynor pulled up at the gates and switched off the ignition. He removed his crash helmet and rested it on the fuel tank. He watched the power station. Taking in small details. He could see Sam’s car parked outside, the driver’s door was left open.
His analytical mind instantly started making assessments. Vantage points, lines of sight, bottlenecks and ambush points.
He got off the bike and pushed it behind a tall solid fence, out of view from the power station.
Slowly making his way to the gate, Raynor looked for cover. There was none. He now had a twenty or thirty metre walk down the entry road to the site. Each side of the road had a two-metre high solid aluminium fence. He was a sitting duck. He wondered why Sam had left his car where he had, as another metal fence blocked entrance to the building and lined the route to the power station entrance beneath the towers on the north-side. He concluded that the access road would probably have too much of an irregular surface for the low roadster to avoid being damaged.
‘Overwatch-One to Command. Target in-sight, entering grounds, I have a clear shot.’
‘Command. Copy that. Track target. Await instruction.’
‘Copy.’
Raynor felt like a fish in a barrel. Anyone slightly proficient with a sniper rifle could take him out with a single shot. He quickly covered the short distance and ducked left as soon as the road opened into the building site. He saw a stacked pile of bricks and made his way to it, keeping as much in cover as was possible. He had the sensation of being watched, but that was normal in situations like this.
Scanning the environment around him, Raynor looked for his next point of cover. The landscape was rough, piles of rubble and debris strewn about the site. Weeds grew from mounds of earth moved to make way for the construction vehicles. Shipping containers were seemingly left in random places throughout the site. It was towards one such container that Raynor now headed, stooped down, making himself as small a target as was possible.
‘Overwatch-One to Command. Target has entered site and turned left, left, left. Taking cover, no clear shot.’
A pause, no more than fifteen seconds of inactivity. ‘Overwatch-one to Command. Target is moving. Approaching large, red shipping container. Visual Lost. Overwatch-Two, do you have a visual?’
‘Overwatch-Two, negative on visual. Repeat. Negative on visual. Golf-Oscar One, do you have visual.’
The outer perimeter team, Golf-Oscar, had taken tactical positions just inside the fences outlining the building site.
‘Golf-Oscar One to Command. Target in sight. Awaiting further instructions.’
‘Command to Golf-Oscar One. Maintain a safe distance. Do not engage until Golf-Oscar Two is available for backup.’
‘Copy, Command.’
Fifty metres behind Raynor’s position, the ground appeared to move as Golf-Oscar One arose from his position. Camouflaged head to toe, he blended into his surroundings like a chameleon. He made a slow, low approach from the mound of rubble he was using for cover and stealthily made his way toward Raynor. When he assessed his distance to be around twenty metres he once again blended into his surroundings.