“Those poor bastards in the van must be hating life about now,” Sonny said with a chuckle. “Eating cold food and pissing in a bucket.”
Chris shrugged and stabbed his food with his disposable fork. He looked over at Hannah and she yawned. “Let’s make shifts for the evening surveillance, so all of us can get some sleep,” he said. “One on and two off.”
Hannah and Sonny both nodded, and soon one person was pulling surveillance watch while the other two slept.
The next morning, they microwaved their breakfasts and ate together. Chris took a drink of orange juice. “Today,” he said, “one or two of us can go out and look for Xander while one or two stay here on surveillance in case he shows here near UKP.”
“We don’t need two people on surveillance here,” Hannah said.
“Yeah, I don’t want to sit around here on my ass all day,” Sonny said.
“I can stay here, if you like,” Chris offered.
Hannah tilted her head and met his eyes. “Are you sure?”
“Yeah,” Chris said. “We don’t all need to be here. If I were Xander, I’d wait ’til the police get bored and leave before hitting UKP. If they don’t leave, he’ll probably call in some false alarms to make them leave — send them to the other side of London. If I see the police move out of the target area, I’ll let you know. Or if I spot Xander or big trouble, I’ll give a call, too.”
“We’ll do the same,” Hannah said.
Chris shifted his weight from one side of his chair to the other, feeling uncomfortable. He had something on his mind and while he didn’t want to bring it up, he had to. “Without the assistance of the police and the local Agency officers, there’s a strong possibility we’ll find ourselves in over our heads on this mission. What’s our E & E going to be?”
“We can make our way through the city to the nearest taxi or hot-wire a car, and after we’re sure we’ve lost any tails, rendezvous in the Gulfstream at Luton Airport,” Sonny said. “The plane is still there, right?”
Hannah nodded. “It’s still there, waiting for us.”
“If I’m with one or both of you,” Chris said, “I’ll be happy to E & E with you through the city, but if I end up alone for whatever reason, I’ll be safest escaping through the water before trying to make it back to the plane.”
“The water?” Sonny asked.
“The River Thames,” Chris said.
Sonny shrugged and started to gather his things. “Whatever floats your boat.”
When Hannah and Sonny were both properly geared up, they headed out into the city to search for clues as to Xander’s whereabouts.
Chris settled into his surveillance routine. He used binoculars to take a closer look and kept a notebook to record anything unusual, mostly vehicles and people, and a video time stamp, including as much detail as possible. As he watched, he got a feel for the flow of the area. At 0845, people on foot, riding bicycles, and driving cars seemed in a hurry to get to work. All pretty standard, but he watched for anyone or anything that didn’t seem to fit the flow of the financial district.
One businessman stood out from the others on Duke of York Street. Although he wore a dark, conservative business suit similar to those around him, his pace was slower than the other businessmen, and instead of a tired, bored look on his face, he took in his surroundings like a tourist. In Chris’s notebook, he nicknamed the man Business Tourist. The man walked along St. James Square, passing UKP before turning left on Charles II Street.
Later, the flow of traffic slowed, and the number of people on the streets thinned out significantly. In the afternoon, they became busy again as people went out for lunch and then calmed down again. Tourists, dressed in casual clothes and snapping photos, came and went at a leisurely pace. Chris compared morning and afternoon video, noting which vehicles and people stayed and which didn’t.
Near 1700 hours, pedestrians, bicycles, and cars clogged up the streets with their movement. Hannah and Sonny returned, and over dinner they each reported their findings for the day. Neither of them had seen any sign of Xander or his goons. Likewise, Chris briefed them on his day. The trio also watched BBC News together, so they knew what was going on in the world around them.
The next morning, Hannah and Sonny were out beating the streets again as Chris stayed behind on surveillance, and then Business Tourist appeared again. He had his hand in his pocket today, but it wasn’t just resting there. It was moving. Business Tourist could be concealing a piece of paper and a golf pencil, so he could write notes in his pocket, a tactic Chris had learned in training but hadn’t put to use. Or the movement in his pocket could be some kind of remote signaling device. Or it could be a nervous tic, fumbling with his keys. Once again, Business Tourist passed in front of UKP.
Chris’s gut told him the man was up to no good. Was he working for Xander? He could call Hannah and Sonny to tail him, but by the time they arrived, Business Tourist would be gone. Chris had to find out more, but he couldn’t do that sitting in the office. The surveillance video on his monitor was being recorded, and that would have to do until he returned.
Chris quickly put on a tie and grabbed a suit jacket. He bolted downstairs, struggling to put the jacket on. Each step caused his shoulder and ankle discomfort. When he reached the bottom, he proceeded out of the building at a businessman’s pace, ignoring the pain.
Blend with your surroundings. I am a businessman.
As he walked, he took a deep breath to calm himself. Breathe. He took another. He wanted to call Hannah and tell her what he was doing, but he didn’t want to risk drawing Business Tourist’s attention.
Business Tourist wasn’t in front of UKP anymore, and Chris had to restrain himself from cursing out loud. But then the man appeared, strolling northwest on Charles II Street. Chris followed, on the opposite side of the street, keeping at least two people between himself and his target. The bustling crowds that worked to Business Tourist’s advantage for blending in and moving also worked to Chris’s advantage. Even so, tailing a moving subject on the street would be more challenging than sitting in an office observing the area round UKP. Now, not only did Chris have to keep up with his target, he also had to avoid being detected by him.
At the corner, Business Tourist looked both ways before crossing. It was possible he was just an average citizen trying to be safe, but if he was trained in countersurveillance, he’d use the technique to discreetly check for a tail. The subject crossed the street — if Chris crossed the street at that moment, he would mark himself as possible surveillance. However, the man had traversed over to the same side of the street as Chris.
So far, so good.
Even though Chris’s thought process was calm, his heart raced and his skin became warm.
After passing Regent Street, more people were dressed casually, mixing with those in business attire. Business Tourist stopped at a bus stop and stood in line for a red double-decker bus. Chris’s pulse kicked into hyper drive. It would be too much of a coincidence for him to stand in the same line, and walking past would give his subject a close-up view of him. But crossing the street, away from the target, would be marked movement.
Chris chose the lesser of the tactical evils and walked past Business Tourist, managing to keep one person between them. Now Business Tourist was behind him. He would be able to see Chris, but Chris couldn’t see him. Chris faced straight ahead, but his eyes frantically searched the environment for something that would allow him to avoid the appearance of loitering, but not so far away as to lose the opportunity to resume tailing the man.
The Royal Opera Arcade appeared to his right, and Chris turned and entered. Both sides of the walkway were lined with upscale shops, and he spotted people around a sandwich shop so he joined them. Feigning indecision about what to order, he let others pass in front of him, managing to keep one person between himself and Charles II Street at all times. Chris waited for the man or a red bus to pass.