‘No it doesn’t but I thought we should arrive after dark, so no inquisitive types can see us.’
‘Ok, fair enough but it’s going to put the overtime bill up of course. I have to watch my budget you know. I’ve confirmed all the details with our friends in Grosvenor Square, Special Branch, the Ministry, et cetera et cetera.
‘Very good. Are you coming out to the airport?’ asked Gerry.
‘Actually I will. It’s got me out of a social engagement I’ve been looking to avoid. So… any problems at your end?’
Gerry wondered whether she should bring up the business of her meeting with Ali Hamsin being terminated, and the startling revelation that he had no idea that she was coming to see him, but she decided that discretion was her best option. ‘No. Everything’s fine here, but I’m in the bath at the moment.’
‘Oh… well I won’t keep you. Call me when you have a departure and arrival time fixed.’
Gerry wallowed amongst the bubbles for a while, then wrapped a towel around herself, walked back into the bedroom and came to an abrupt halt. Ryan Carson and Vince Parker were sitting in the armchairs beside the window. Carson was holding a gun which was pointing towards her and Parker was holding a Taser.
‘Do you suppose she’s got any dangerous weapons concealed under that towel?’ he announced with an evil grin.
‘Oh grow up, Carson,’ said Parker. ‘Sorry Gerry, we’re going to ask you to get dressed and come with us, and obviously we’re not going to let you out of our sight for a moment.’
Gerry stared at them for a while, trying to think of some way in which she might escape the situation. She was not overly concerned with modesty but nevertheless she turned away from them as she lowered the towel to her waist, put on her bra and a blouse and then hoisted her knickers up underneath her towel before putting on her jeans. Then she turned round and asked ‘What the hell is this all about?’
‘Why don’t you sit down and put your shoes on?’ Vince suggested.
She sat on the bed and pulled on socks and her trainers. Then she heard the mechanical twang of the Taser and she collapsed on to the floor. As she lay immobilised Carson thrust a syringe into her buttock and pressed down the plunger with his thumb. His grinning face was the last thing she saw as her mind faded.
Gerry woke up with a throbbing headache. She opened her eyes and saw the metal roof of a utility van. She moaned and clutched the side of her head. She remembered being hit by the Taser and then the sharp stab in her backside. She took some deep breaths hoping the pain in her skull would ease off.
‘See Mark, she’s awake already,’ said Carson. Gerry felt a foot nudging her in the ribs. ‘Come on Tate, time to wake up.’
Gerry closed her eyes and opened them slowly. The pain in her head changed from an intense throbbing to a dull ache. She looked around and saw she was strapped inside a covert surveillance van with her arms cuffed behind the seat back. Ryan Carson was sitting next to the communications console. In the other seat sat a powerful man with a Mexican style moustache. He held a Taser which he pointed at Gerry.
‘This is Mark Stafford,’ said Carson, ‘he’ll zap you if you make any sudden moves.’
‘Where are we going?’ she mumbled. She tried to shake off her drug induced torpor. ‘Ryan! What the hell are you playing at?’ she demanded. ‘I thought we were meant to be on the same side?’
‘Well we’re not sure whose side you’re on, Gerry; we think perhaps you’ve gone over to the dark side.’
‘It’s that bastard Bruckner who’s the dark side. I want to speak to my boss Cornwall.’
‘Sorry, you’re not in any position to make demands,’ said Carson. We’re going to ship you home, where I think they’ll be waiting to arrest you. Now we’re gonna take you to the airport.
‘What about my things?’ she asked.
‘Don’t worry; Dan Hall’s already packing up your stuff, then he’ll pay your hotel bill and return your car to the hire company.’
Dan Hall? So much for her trusting him. ‘This is ridiculous, why don’t I speak to General Bruckner. I’m sure…’
‘Why don’t you just be a good girl and shut the fuck up?’ said Stafford with a slight wave of the Taser.
She was driven to an anonymous house in a rundown neighbourhood and ushered inside at gunpoint. Carson showed her into a room sparsely furnished with a bed and an armchair, and a small table with a stack of tatty magazines on top of it. He took off the handcuffs.
‘There’s water and granola bars in the fridge. Bathroom’s through there,’ he said indicating a doorway. She looked in and saw that the small window was bricked up.
‘See that mirror?’ He pointed, and she looked at the large wall mirror with a serving hatch beside it. ‘We’ll be watching you through that. If we think you’re spending too long in the bathroom, we’ll come and see what you’re up to. We’ll pass you water and food through that hatch if you want it.’
Gerry walked to the hatch and opened it. There was a small ring-stained shelf and another door on the other side of the wall.
‘You said we were going to the airport,’ Gerry said.
‘True enough, but your flight’s not due to leave until this evening.’
Gerry woke up slumped in a corner of the SUV. She had no recollection of climbing into it. She remembered spending a few boring hours reading through the pile of magazines that ranged from the Economist and Newsweek through various women’s periodicals, magazines covering fly fishing, golf and baseball and the National Enquirer. She had been provided with a water bottle and when she had grown hungry she asked her captors for a chicken salad. Instead she had been given a spicy pepperoni pizza and told that was all she was going to get. After she had eaten some of it she felt really thirsty and asked for more water. She remembered sitting in the chair, feeling very drowsy and deciding to climb on to the bed and thinking it would take a huge effort to move and then no more until she had come round to find herself in the vehicle.
She had no idea how long she had been unconscious, but the sun was setting behind the buildings. She knew she should be thinking about the possibilities of escape, but instead she considered how unsuitable she had become for the role of an intelligence agent on foreign soil. She had taken no proper precautions to secure her safety; she should have alarmed the door, kept a weapon handy at all times, even when she was taking a bath. If she had been as careless years ago as she had been in the last few days she would have been dead by now. She remembered the last time she had been taken by surprise in a hotel room. Dan Hall had been around to save her. Perhaps he would live up to his recent promise, hold up the vehicle and set her free. The car drew to a sudden stop and she looked outside. Not Dan Hall; just a security guard raising a striped pole set in the gap of a chain link fence topped with a coil of razor wire. He waved the vehicle through and Gerry slumped back in the seat. She guessed that she had been given dose of rohypnol or something similar to keep her placid after the sleeping drug had worn off.
The car pulled up beside a set of aircraft steps. The door opened and hands reached out and pulled her towards the stairway. She looked up and saw an airliner painted entirely in white. Along the fuselage she could see the faint outlines of letters of its previous owners, but she could not make out the logo. She saw someone carrying her suitcase up to the aircraft side and a voice encouraging her to follow. She stumbled on the lowest step and banged her shin, but someone hauled her upright and she trod wearily up to the doorway.