“Do we go armed?”
“No. DIC diplomatic and armed status has been suspended indefinitely.”
Tony and Jaz left in a hurry. Jack noted the smell of casserole and promised himself he’d keep an eye on it. He leant against the kitchen side. He was worried. ‘Unstoppable’ that’s what the Lympstone Commando base trainers had said about David McKie.
In the car Ellie frowned at Tony who pulled his pistol and holster from a Tesco bag. He checked it and armed it. They sped away with Ellie half jokingly calling Tony a ‘thrill seeker’ and a ‘renegade’.
Chapter 107
Nigel Sternway’s House
Hampstead
London
7-30 p.m.
April 19th
David finally made up his mind. He checked his pistol and stepped out of the car. The lights were on downstairs and they made red glow around the edges of the deep red velvet curtains in Sternway’s living room. Della was upstairs with the two children, reading them stories.
The DIC operative in the bushes had been told to report if David made a move, but he was slumped unconscious, hidden by the thick foliage of Sternway’s neighbour’s bushy border. At the back of the house a figure scaled the drain pipe heading for the small open window of an upstairs toilet.
At the front David rang the bell.
Sternway rose from his comfortable chair in the lounge, put the paper down and padded to the front door in his slippers.
“Yes?” McKie wasn’t familiar to him.
David pulled out his Sig and pointed it at Sternway.
“In!” McKie barked.
Sternway did as he was told backing down the hall, leaving the front door open. David pushed him into the lounge and into a chair.
“Who are you?” Sternway demanded.
“David McKie DIC.”
Sternway smiled thinly.
David assumed that the listener in the garden was ready and waiting, he wanted a confession and some answers from Sternway. He also wanted to know who had been behind all of the deaths.
“Oh you’re McKie. DIC diplomatic and arms bearing rights are suspended so you’re breaking the law. Or are you going to kill me?”
“You’re responsible, through your twisted plotting, for the deaths of innocent people. I want to know why you brought those killers into the country.”
“Killers come and go. I believe you’re a killer yourself now, or doesn’t killing people like Wheeler count. Just because you have a badge and he doesn’t that makes you the good guy does it? I have a government remit, that’s my badge. Men like Wheeler, Stanton and you are all the same. Hired killers, government trained, whichever side of the trenches you’re on and you kill on orders or as part of the process of doing your job. There are no black and white hats for people to wear McKie. All the hats are shades of grey. You became a government paid killer just like Stanton when you shot Wheeler.”
“You can’t compare us. I don’t kill for no reason and unlike you and the people who work for you I protect the innocent and wouldn’t kill on orders if I thought it was wrong. You’re to blame for all this admit it.”
“I don’t know what you mean old boy as far as I…”Sternway’s face was suddenly a mask of horror.
Behind David entering the room were his children, his wife behind them, pale and frightened and to his ultimate horror Trevor Stanton holding two weapons. One, MI6 snub nose revolver was pointed at his wife and children and the silenced Browning was pointed at Sternway. McKie spun around and pointed his pistol at Stanton.
Stanton shoved Della and the children towards Sternway, but he pushed them to his left away from him, instinctively protecting them by separating them from him in Stanton’s eyes.
Stanton suddenly pointed the revolver at McKie and kept the Browning pointed at Sternway.
“Hello McKie we must stop meeting like this.”
“Drop it Stanton. Don’t shoot him.”
“Come on McKie you want him dead as much as me. I heard what he said. The man’s a slug, an evil slug. The cold blooded bastard had me tortured.” He turned to Sternway. "Joe might still be alive, but he’s crippled and he talked. Brook’s dead. You picked the wrong man to play your game with Sternway.”
“I don’t know what you mean.”
The shot slammed into the wall by Della’s head, the movement of the Browning from Sternway to Della and back was swift. David held fire when he saw that no-one was shot. He held himself calmly.
“He planned all this to get to DIC and destroy it. Sternway has an orange coloured cell phone and Robinson, the home secretary, is on the other end of it. That’s the man you want. If you don’t believe me Sternway’s got two lime green Bic cell phones, one of them was for me. If you search here or his car you’ll find them and they’ll link him to me, check the satellite based locations for the calls made if you don’t believe me. He’s going to die and there’s nothing you can do. He’s a monster and he deserves to die. He told me they’d accounted for Robert Cole. DIC were getting too close, he said, a nuisance. You know he has to die for what he’s done.”
“Don’t listen to him McKie.” Sternway’s voice wasn’t pleading, he kept his authority. “You’re paid to stop men like him. He’s going to kill all of us, including my wife and children. Kill him. Kill him now.”
Stanton turned the gun pointed at McKie towards Della and the children.
“Move towards the door you three.” Stanton’s voice held a note of finality.
“Nigel.” Della was terrified and the children were whimpering.
“Do as he says it’ll be alright.” Sternway was calm.
Della made her way towards the door and Stanton repositioned himself pointing his weapon at McKie as he moved and backing into a space between them. Della and the children stood by the door. Sternway was across the room from them and McKie stood in a corner. Stanton pointed the Browning at Sternway and the revolver at Della and the children.
“Kill him McKie it’s your bloody job.” Sternway barked the order.
“Sternway if you confess I let your family walk out that door and only kill you. McKie isn’t going to shoot first.” Stanton’s voice was cold and factual.
“Confess to what?” Sternway held his party line.
“I’m going to count to three and then I’m going to kill your son Sternway unless you confess to McKie what you’ve been doing, why you hired me and why all those people died.”
“I can’t tell…”
“Please Nigel… the children…”
“One…”
Ellie and Tony were standing in the hall silent. Tony had his gun drawn. Della and the children were too intent on the scene to see them, but McKie glanced at Della’s pleading face and saw Ellie poised behind her. His face didn’t betray their position.
“Please Nigel.. for once put the family first…”
“I can’t do that Della…”
“Two…”
“Don’t do it Stanton I’ll fire I swear I will. Put the gun down and we’ll talk you can be a witness there might be immunity…” McKie’s finger tightened on the trigger.
“Three…”
Stanton fired both weapons. McKie fired. Ellie dived into the room shielding the children and Tony pushed in and fired his weapon at Stanton.
Ellie screamed as her body passed between Stanton and the children.
Sternway cried out and spun around facing the wall as if punched.
Stanton hit in the hand by McKie’s shot dropped the revolver then suddenly crumpled with a blood stain appearing on the right side of his chest from Tony’s shot.
Della grabbed the children and rushed them from the room. Tony dropped to Ellie’s side on the floor.
“Ellie!”
Ellie sat up cradling her arm. Tony saw blood and whipped off his belt and made a tourniquet. In his peripheral vision he saw Sternway turn back from the wall and take a step. He raised his Sig.
“You stay where you are!”
“My wife and children.” Sternway muttered. Blood showed on his right shoulder and he put his hand to it and looked at the blood.