‘I’ll get straight on to it.’
There was a momentary lull. Rafi leant back in his chair. What else could he be doing on the property front? What seemed like moments later, but was in fact half an hour, he was woken by Kate, standing over him and calling his name.
Rafi looked up into her hazel eyes. A sight to lift the spirits, he thought to himself.
‘I thought a short power nap would do you good. Here’s a cup of coffee. You’ll need it… The first two members of your economics team should be here in five minutes,’ said Kate.
Jeremy and John arrived within moments of each other. They had two very angry individuals with them, and took Bob Tieson and Alex Lynton straight up to the fourth floor interview room.
‘I think that you had better placate your two friends,’ said John as he walked into the office. ‘Even though we told them otherwise, they still think they’ve been arrested. Bob definitely didn’t want to come. I had to threaten him with handcuffs. I told him he could speak to his lawyer, if he wanted, when he got here.’
Jeremy came off his mobile phone. ‘Saara is making excellent progress down the M1 and Matthew has landed at Heathrow where his reception committee is waiting for him on the tarmac. They should both be here within the hour, hopefully sooner. We caught up with Donald on the A303. His helicopter is en route to the rugby pitch at the Honourable Artillery Company, just around the corner.’
‘You better go and greet your two irritable friends. Jeremy no doubt has arranged for fresh coffee and cream cakes as a peace offering… And Aidan is on his way – says he’s finished his filing!’ said Kate.
Alex and Bob were sitting in silence awaiting their fate.
Rafi walked in with Kate and Aidan following close behind him. He realised that he probably looked like someone who had been dragged through a hedge backwards and sensed that they feared the worst – being implicated as one of his friends. Rafi sat down opposite the two irate individuals, who eyed him suspiciously. Kate sat to his left and Aidan to his right.
Kate started the conversation. ‘We will shortly be joined by Donald Hollingsworth, Matthew Wilson and a fifth person who is winging her way down the M1 as we speak. You know Rafi and Aidan Gilchrist? Good. No doubt you want to know why we’ve hauled you in here.’
Kate smiled. ‘You are not in any trouble. Rafi is innocent. He was setup and has been helping us unravel a terrorist plot. It’s probably simplest if I get him to explain what is going on and how you can help us.’
Rafi observed the two of them: Alex Lynton, the economist, sat uneasily, whilst Bob Tieson looked as if the father of all black clouds was hovering over his head. Rafi guessed he still had a lot of work to do on the IPO he was launching in a few days’ time and didn’t appreciate being dragged away from his office, even at this hour of the evening.
‘If it makes you feel any better,’ said Rafi in a calm and collected tone, ‘In ten minutes’ time a home office minister, the Defence Secretary, and the heads of MI5 and the armed forces are meeting with the commissioner two floors up. Like you, they have been asked in for a briefing, and like you, have dropped whatever they were doing… We have uncovered a terrorist plot to attack a number of key energy and nuclear facilities in the UK. They are also planning to trigger havoc in the financial markets, where they have built up massive derivative positions. To cut a long story short, we believe the terrorist attacks will knock market sentiment so severely that the stock market will fall dramatically. And when the terrorists close their derivative positions, this will make the markets and the financial system crash.’ Rafi paused and then went on. ‘Put simply, we have to stop the markets gaining any major downward momentum.’
The silence was interrupted by Bob. ‘What do you want us to do? The impossible? Or should we man the printing presses, print money out of thin air and then wave our magic wands?’
‘Not quite,’ Rafi replied. ‘What we need is a plan that can be put in place to calm the markets.’
‘Boy, that would be pulling a rabbit and a half out of a hat,’ said Alex.
Aidan cut in. ‘Rafi has a plan, which we believe you and your colleagues can make a reality. We believe there is the possibility to create listed Government property vehicles – REITs – and use share issues to mop up the liabilities that the Government may face, and to finance gilts buy-backs.’
At that moment a flustered Donald Hollingsworth appeared through the door. Rafi got up and walked over to greet him.
‘My God, Rafi, you look terrible!’
‘Yes, thank you Donald. Sorry to have ruined your weekend away. Let me introduce you to the other members of the team who beat you here. In the next fifteen minutes you’ll be joined by Matthew Wilson – who I believe you know – and by a Dr Saara Khan, who you won’t. Aidan will brief you.’
Aidan stood up. ‘In straightforward terms, gentlemen, your mission, should you wish to accept it, is to come up with a credible strategy that the Bank of England and Treasury can adopt to avert a financial meltdown. I will bring you up to speed with the minutiae as soon as the others arrive. In a moment Detective Constable Emma Jessop will join us and help us turn this room into our office. And, I understand some coffee is on its way.’
Rafi could sense that they were hooked – their body language had visibly relaxed and there was determination in their eyes.
‘If you’ll excuse us, Kate and I have a number of things to attend to. Thank you for helping,’ said Rafi. ‘And so far as the attacks are concerned, there is a team upstairs planning how the SAS can neutralise them.’
There was a quiet knock on the office door. Standing outside was Rafi’s sister. On catching a glimpse of him, Saara broke into a run. ‘I’ve been so worried.’
‘Thanks sis. Me too! Meet Kate, with whom I’m working.’
‘You’re not under arrest?’
‘No,’ replied Kate, ‘your brother is working with us – he’s a godsend.’
Rafi looked at his little sister. She smiled a smile that he would not forget in a long time – its intensity was wonderful. ‘I’m sorry to drag you away from home, but we need someone with a clear, logical mind who can act as an independent thinker amongst a team of financial experts.’
‘But finance is a blank in my book.’
‘Yes, but you know how to structure a hypothesis and set up tests to prove or disprove it. Come and get a cup of coffee and let me introduce you to the team,’ said Rafi.
They entered the interview room; it was buzzing and exuded a sense of teamwork and urgency. The conversation paused and Rafi introduced his sister to Aidan’s team. ‘Saara is here to be your devil’s advocate. Forgive her if she asks any naive questions on the finance front; I promise you she’ll be worth her weight in gold by the time you’ve finished. Aidan here will explain what’s going on.’
Bob enquired, ‘What are the chances of nipping back to the office to collect some papers and download some files?’
‘No problem,’ said Kate. ‘We’ll assign you Constable Peter Ashby to act as your chauffeur. Is the gravity of the position understood? No one outside this building other than MI5 and the SAS have a clue what’s going on. Absolutely no talking to anyone! Got that?’
‘Of course,’ replied Bob.
‘When Bob gets back could I borrow Constable Ashby?’ asked Alex.
‘Me too,’ said Matthew.
‘Emma will make the arrangements for you.’
‘Aidan, whilst the others are out could you bring Donald and Saara up to speed, please?’ asked Rafi.
‘Will do.’
Rafi left to rejoin Kate. He re-entered the office that had become his home.
She looked across at him. ‘You look bloody awful,’ she said with a soft smile.