Meltdown bs-4 Read online

  Phil's Vectra was parked close to the hotel. He followed his target up into reception and through the glass double doors at the front. Directly across the street was a parking bay where three taxis stood waiting for fares. If Carrot-top took the first, Phil would have no option but to jump into the one behind and do the old 'follow that car' routine.

  That wouldn't be good. The roads were relatively quiet at this time of night, and even if Carrot-top didn't clock that he was being followed, his cab driver probably would. If he mentioned it to his passenger, then Phil's game would almost certainly be up.

  But Carrot-top ignored the taxis and turned left, pulling a key fob from his pocket as he strode away. It was a good sign; his car was most likely very close by, unless he just enjoyed walking around with a bunch of keys in his hand.

  He was obviously still too angry to even consider the possibility that someone might be following him. Phil smiled as his target took the first left, Gore Street, which was where the nearest parking meters were located. And exactly where Phil's Vectra was parked.

  As Phil made the turn, he saw the lights flash on a red Mini as his target pointed the key fob at the vehicle. It was a little further along the street, right outside the pub on the corner. And, even better news, it was facing the same way as Phil's Vectra. That made life a lot easier.

  Phil got into his vehicle, started the engine and waited until the Mini pulled away. He made a note of the number plate, which he would later check to find a name and address. Not that the driver was necessarily the owner, but it would be a start towards finding who was behind the wheel. The Mini turned right and Phil pulled out to follow. Now it was down to two simple factors: Phil's considerable driving skills coupled with an equally considerable slice of good luck.

  Phil's luck stayed good as the Mini took a right at traffic lights and then continued across Piccadilly and away from the city centre.

  Fortunately Carrot-top was no boy racer. Phil followed him easily, but at a greater distance than usual, until he got held at traffic lights. He waited calmly for the lights to change back in his favour – there was no point in getting worked up about it.

  Edging the Vectra just over the speed limit, he soon had the target in sight again. It was three vehicles ahead of him and Phil saw that it was indicating right.

  He followed the Mini into a residential area; maybe Carrot-top was almost home.

  The Mini entered a quiet side street and turned left past a small block of flats. Phil took a gamble and pulled the Vectra to a standstill before the turn. If his target was about to park up, he would automatically notice any approaching vehicle as he got out.

  Phil switched off the engine and waited for five minutes. If he'd cocked up, there was a potentially long and fruitless search ahead of him. He started the Vectra again and made the turn. His luck really was in: the Mini was parked less than a hundred metres down on the right and there was no sign of its driver.

  Phil parked a further fifty metres down the street and then waited a few minutes before getting out and taking an aerosol can from his ready bag. Walking back to the Mini, he held the spray can in his left hand, stretched out his arm and quickly sprayed a line of invisible IR paint all the way from the boot, over the roof and down the vehicle's bonnet.

  Phil kept walking, remaining third party aware. He continued round the block before arriving back at his car.

  As he got in and started the engine, Phil thought of Lee and Danny out clubbing. He smiled to himself. 'Part-timers,' he muttered.

  20

  One visit to the dance floor was enough for Storm to establish that whatever skills Danny had, they didn't extend to dancing. He was awful – embarrassing. It was lucky that the floor was so crowded and only those unfortunate enough to be very close got a look at his technique.

  As one song ended and another began, Storm smiled and indicated that she'd had enough. Danny followed her back towards the VIP area. A second beer was waiting; he was already feeling a bit lightheaded but he was enjoying himself.

  They found their seats and Danny took a small sip of the Beck's. He still didn't like it much, but the club was hot and he was thirsty. He thought about ordering a soft drink – the last thing he wanted was to get pulled for drink driving.

  'So tell me a bit more about you and your granddad,' said Storm, edging closer to Danny so that she could be heard. 'You've certainly impressed the twins.'

  Danny grinned. 'Why d'you wanna know?'

  'Just interested. Making conversation. You don't have to be secretive with me, you know, Danny'

  Danny grinned again, hoping that he wasn't looking stupid, but he couldn't stop himself. For so long his entire existence had revolved around one secret after another, and here he was now with this beautiful girl he hardly knew smiling into his eyes, telling him he didn't have to be secretive. If he told her just half of what he'd been through, she'd never believe it. All that had happened, from the moment he'd decided to track down his missing grandfather… But that wasn't why he was here. His job was to get information.

  'Not much to tell, really. What about you? D'you think you'll go on working for the twins or maybe move on?'

  Storm's face fell, and for a moment Danny thought he'd screwed up big time. But she was looking over his shoulder.

  'Oh, no!'

  'What?' Danny turned and looked back. It was Albie. He was standing outside the VIP area, glaring in their direction. He stood perfectly still, just staring at them. A stare that said everything.

  Storm quickly grabbed her handbag. 'We're leaving.'

  'Why? What can he do? They're not gonna let him in here. And anyway, if he starts any trouble, I can handle it.'

  'You don't understand. I know what he's like. He doesn't want to fight you, he wants to kill you.'

  Danny laughed, thinking back to his training in Hereford. 'Well, he can try.'

  Storm was already standing with her bag over her shoulder. 'We'll go out through the back door. Come on, this isn't the time to play the hero – let's just get out of here.'

  'What about your coat?'

  'Leave it. Come on!' She moved quickly away and Danny got up and followed. As they went through the door, he looked back, but there was no longer any sign of Albie in the mass of bodies filling the club.

  The door opened onto a narrow alleyway full of rubbish skips and strewn with discarded fast food containers. The rain had stopped but the alley was dotted with puddles.

  They turned right towards the lights of the main drag. Storm's heels clipped noisily on the concrete as she hurried down the alley; she was scared, very scared.

  Danny was checking behind them as he followed. Suddenly he crashed into Storm, who had stopped without warning.

  Albie had gone out through the main doors and was now screaming in fury as he ran down the alley towards them. 'Not good enough for you, eh, slag!' he shouted, coming to a stop in front of them. He pushed his face into Storm's as she tried to back away.

  'I want to go home, Albie! Let me past,' she pleaded.

  Albie glared into Storm's frightened eyes and made a grab for her, but Danny moved in between them. 'Leave her!'

  Albie didn't even acknowledge him. He was in another world – a world where chemicals were attacking his brain; destroying it.

  Danny grabbed him around the neck, but Albie spun round and got his own hands around Danny's neck, squeezing with incredible strength as he slammed his victim back against the wall. He started to bang Danny's head against the brickwork.

  Storm tried to drag him away. 'Albie! You'll kill him!'

  Albie stopped, but only to turn and push Storm to the ground. She tried to crawl away, but Albie kicked her viciously in the side, making her scream in fear and agony.

  'Slag!'

  The moment of respite gave Danny the opportunity to leap at the drug-crazed Albie. As Storm crawled into a gap between two rubbish skips to find some protection, Danny clung to Albie's back and jammed his fingers into his eyes. Albie yelled in
rage and jerked from side to side, trying to throw Danny off. He brought both hands back to grab Danny's head, and with M-driven strength, pulled him over his shoulders and down into a puddle.

  Think you're hard! Think you're hard!'

  Danny was struggling to think at all – his whole body had been jarred by the fall and his head was spinning – but he glimpsed the flash of steel and saw that Albie had pulled a knife from the waistband of his trousers. The blade glinted in the darkness as Albie raised his hand and moved forward, ready to strike.

  Danny couldn't move – it was too late; he realized that he had underestimated Albie's strength. It was a bad mistake.

  Then he heard Albie howl in pain. It was Lee. He had crashed into Albie's back and sent him sprawling on the ground. The young thug was groaning as he lay with his face in a filthy puddle.

  Lee grabbed Danny and hauled him to his feet. 'Get her out!' he breathed. 'Now! You've still got a job to do!'

  Danny nodded and watched Lee run back up the alley. He couldn't afford to let Storm see him talking to Lee. He shook his head to clear it, glanced at the still groaning Albie and then went across and pulled Storm from her hiding place.

  'Come on! Before he gets up! Bin the shoes, let's go!'

  They ran, Storm leaving her expensive shoes behind; she didn't care. They came out onto the main street; it was a different world of bright lights and vehicles thundering by. They turned right, towards the front of the club and Danny's car.

  Latecomers were still queuing to get in. They watched the muddy pair dodging the traffic as they ran across the road.

  But Albie wasn't far behind. Blood was flowing from deep lacerations on his forehead where he had crashed down on the concrete. He reached the front of the club, panting, breathless; his head jerked from side to side and his eyes peered into the darkness.

  And then he spotted Danny and Storm. They had nearly reached Danny's Mazda.

  'Oi, Watts!' The yell was blood-curdling, seeming to come from some dark place deep within. 'You're gonna die!'

  He started across the wide pavement towards the kerb, but Lee moved to intercept him.

  He grabbed Albie firmly by the shoulder. 'Hang on, mate. We'll let them go, shall we? While you and me have a quick word.'

  Lee had failed to clock the knife in Albie's hand. And he didn't know that the wild-eyed thug was being driven by a superhuman, Meltdown-driven fury. His attacker moved at an incredible speed, swinging round at a pace that even Lee was not quite quick enough to counter. Lee didn't see the blade, but he felt it spear into his guts as Albie's clenched fist punched it home.

  'You black bastard!'

  All the breath was driven from Lee's body and he doubled up in pain. Albie pulled his hand back and Lee glimpsed the knife and his own blood. As he collapsed to the ground, he felt nothing but anger at himself. How could he have let it happen? He was a professional. He should have- He heard someone scream. Then darkness engulfed him, and there was nothing. From across the street, Danny and Storm heard the scream as they reached the car.

  Danny was trying to peer through the stream of traffic and the huddle of shouting, yelling figures on the far side of the street. 'What's happening?' he shouted.

  Storm wasn't interested. 'Come on – please! Just get us out of here.'

  'But there's-'

  'Leave it! Let's go. Please!'

  Danny hesitated, holding the car door open. He couldn't see what was happening but he feared that Lee was in trouble. He wanted to go back to help his mate, but what could he do? If Lee was down, help would come. If Danny went back now, it might well endanger the mission.

  Storm was becoming frantic. 'Danny, please! Before the police get here!'

  The traffic had slowed; drivers were rubbernecking the scene playing out on the pavement.

  Danny got in the car, started the engine and pulled away. And he didn't look back. On the pavement, two bouncers edged nervously towards Albie as he moved the knife from side to side. His eyes flicked from one dark-suited man to the other, following the path of the blade.

  Dimly he heard a woman's voice screaming into a phone. 'Yes, police! And an ambulance! He's not moving! I think he's dead!'

  Dead. Albie heard the word and something in his befuddled brain told him he had to get away while there was still a chance.

  He lunged forward with the knife and the two bouncers leaped back, briefly off balance. Before they could recover, Albie turned and ran.

  'Stop him!' yelled someone, and for a moment the bouncers started to give chase. But then they stopped. Their job was to protect the people in the club; they weren't paid to go chasing through the streets after lunatics with knives. The police could do that.

  21

  Danny was sitting in darkness at the end of his bed, staring vacantly at the closed curtains. He hadn't slept; he hadn't even tried. He couldn't. He was still dressed in the crumpled, damp clothes he had worn for his night out.

  He got up and pulled back the curtains. Daylight flooded in, making his head pound. He flinched and squeezed his eyes shut.

  The door opened and Fergus came in. He was talking on his mobile. 'No, don't bring anyone else in; Phil can manage while we're away. He'll have to… Yeah, bye,'

  He ended the call and looked at Danny. 'It's bad.'

  Danny went cold and felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. 'He's dead?'

  'No. He lost a lot of blood. Whoever made the emergency call sent the ambulance to the wrong club. It doesn't look good right now.'

  Danny slumped down on the armchair. 'My partner, the bloke I'm meant to look out for, got knifed looking out for me. And I just ran away.'

  'No, Danny. You did the right thing. Staying would have compromised the whole mission, and Lee knew the risks. These things happen on ops; sometimes they go wrong. When they do, you deal with it and move on.'

  But Danny couldn't move on, even though his grandfather's words were meant to console him. Nothing Fergus said would make him feel any better or get over the fact that his mate was close to death. And it was down to him. Lee's words kept coming back to haunt him. He'd said that some day his life might depend on Danny.

  Danny had known it was true, but he couldn't have imagined that he would be put to the test that very night.

  Fergus sat on his bed facing Danny, knowing from experience that the best way to fight emotion was to blank it out by concentrating on work. 'Lee did good when he got to hospital; gave them his false identity and ACA, and then Phil got a call.'

  'Can we see him?'

  Fergus stood up and went to the window. 'No. Dudley's people just got him out of the hospital. They'll look after him. And he's out of it now, anyway. Sedated.'

  He turned back to Danny. 'Tell me about Storm again. You're sure she didn't give you any clues about the DMP?'

  'She was in too much of a state. I couldn't ask any more questions. She just kept telling me not to say anything to the twins about us going out together. They get jealous when anyone else shows an interest.'

  Fergus shook his head. 'This girl's got quite a fan club. The twins, Albie, you.'

  'I was working, Granddad!' said Danny angrily. 'Carrying out orders. Your orders!'

  Fergus could see the strain on his grandson's face. 'All right,' he said gently. 'I just meant that for someone who apparently knows nothing, she seems to have a pretty big effect on everyone who is in the know. Let's hope Albie hasn't said anything to the twins. I don't want them any more spooked than they already are.'

  He checked his watch. 'I need to get down to the coach yard; the twins are expecting me there. Have you packed?'

  'Not yet.'

  'Get a shower and sort yourself out and follow me down. And don't mention any of this to the twins.'

  'But what about Albie? I'm gonna-'

  'No!' Fergus pointed at his grandson and made sure he was staring directly into his eyes so that there was absolutely no doubt about what he had to say. 'You're not gonna do anything. Don't let your a
nger get in the way, Danny. Stay professional. When the time's right, I'll deal with that little shit. Not you. Get it?'

  Danny stared back without answering.

  'Danny, do you get it?'

  Danny looked at the floor, then nodded.

  'Good.' Fergus picked up the small suitcase he had already packed for the trip to Barcelona and went to the door. 'I'll see you at the yard.'

  Danny stared at the floor for a long time. He thought of Storm. He thought of Lee. But mostly he thought of Albie, thinking and thinking until the anger burned like a fire in his chest. Albie hadn't shown up. He was meant to be on the Barcelona trip but no one had seen him. He hadn't called in and he wasn't answering calls to his mobile.

  The twins were in the office with Fergus, and Will looked worried. Teddy did too, although more than anything he seemed relieved that Fergus was on hand to deal with any problems.

  Fergus was doing nothing to discourage Teddy's increasing dependence on him. It could only help. Will remained more guarded, but Fergus was subtly encouraging that too: it was causing a growing rift between two brothers who had previously been so solid. Almost like one person.

  Now they were most definitely two and the arguments were becoming more frequent.

  Teddy glared at his brother. 'It was your job to keep an eye on Albie. He's probably out of his head on M somewhere. You were meant to make sure he didn't steal any more.'

  Will glared back; he wasn't backing down as he usually did. 'We don't know that he has stolen anything. Maybe he got drunk last night, or met a girl.'

  'Huh!' said Teddy. 'What girl would even look at him?'

  'I don't know! I just know that there's no point in speculating. He might turn up soon.'

  Teddy looked at Fergus. 'We should have got rid of him long ago.'

  'Oh really,' said Will quickly. 'And what should we have done exactly?' He turned to Fergus too. 'Kill him?'

  Fergus shrugged casually, as if that was an option he would certainly have considered. But he wasn't going to take sides; they were playing into his hands. As their tempers rose, he remained cool. 'Why didn't you get rid of him?' he said to Teddy.