Chapter 4
Thursday, March 1st 16:00,
MI6 Headquarters, London.
Ramsey studied several schedules spread across his desk and pressed the intercom buzzer. The assistant outside came through on the line. ‘Have Burton sent in straight away please, Amy. Thanks.’
The different schedules detailed aspects of the British Royal visit to Oman. Ramsey studied them again and made his decision. The heavy, steel plated door opened in front of him, and revealed S.U.C.O. Commander Hal Burton. He was also the security advisor for Operation Safeguard. ‘Take a seat, Hal. Good weekend?’
‘Not bad sir and you?’ Burton smiled briefly and adjusted his faded dark grey shirt.
‘Fine Burton.’ The acting Chief of the Service sat back in a brown leather chair. He glanced at Burton and noted that he looked distracted. For some months, Ramsey had felt the urge to talk to him about small errors that had crept into his work. There was a rumour going around that family problems were beginning to take their toll on Burton. He knew of other staff that had tried to raise the subject, but had not made any progress.
‘I’ve been looking over the schedules you’ve prepared for the British Royal visit to Oman, this is good work Hal. I’ve picked out schedule B for use, it has the least security risks and will work well for Olsen and Deane to offer additional support. What do you think?’ After a few seconds and no response, Ramsey looked up. ‘Burton? Are you listening to me?’
Burton took his hand away from his face. ‘Sorry sir, I was miles away.’ He sat up in the chair and looked at the paperwork on the desk. ‘Schedule C sir?’
‘No, schedule B Hal. What’s got into you this morning? If it’s something at home, maybe I-’
Burton immediately looked irritated and interrupted his superior. ‘Schedule B then. I seem to recall my security advisors preferring that option. Do you want me to circulate it?’
‘Yes, send it to all members of the Royal security team, OMA1 and Olsen. That should cover everyone.’
‘I’ll get on that straight away sir.’ Burton lifted his heavy frame out of the chair and took the schedule from his superior’s hand. ‘Is that everything, sir?’
Ramsey wasn’t sure whether to tackle the subject of Burton’s family again. In the nine years they’d known each other, the two MI6 veterans had never really gotten along but Ramsey didn’t want to leave a potential problem unaddressed. ‘Look Hal, tell me to mind my own business here but I should inform you that your work has suffered in recent months. Both Richard Elliott and I demand the best from our agents. You can talk to us. If there is anything we can do, we’ll help. I hope you know that. Or even personnel, maybe they could put you onto someone.’
Burton refrained himself from telling his boss to mind his own business, despite a strong urge. Discussing personal problems or anything out of the remit of service work was not something he ever did. ‘Thanks, I appreciate the offer sir. It’s personal though, that’s exactly how I like it, you know?’
‘I understand that, Burton. However, it doesn’t remain personal when your work begins to suffer. Even more so with the work you do here. Sensitivity and a high level of quality are required at all times.’ Ramsey paused for a moment and tried to choose his words carefully. ‘Perhaps I could make an appointment with one of our career counsellors. Now I know that-’
Burton laughed out loud but felt insulted that his abilities were being questioned. ‘No thanks, sir. I have problems just like the next man but I don’t need to talk to a counsellor!’
‘They offer a friendly ear Hal, and you could talk to them about whatever is troubling you. At the very least think about-’
‘I’m in control, sir. I know exactly what’s going on at all times. Yeah sure, I have some problems and yeah they are personal but I’m not going to discuss them with anyone. Ok?’
Ramsey pressed a little further. ‘Have you discussed them with Kate?’
Just the mention of his wife’s name caused Burton to get up and open the door. His light green eyes gave a slight glare as he clutched hold of the schedule paperwork. ‘I’ll circulate these straight away.’
Ramsey watched him leave, unable to think of any way Burton could be reached for help.
Olsen shut the file and drummed his fingers on the table. His fiery temper threatened to rise to the surface, but he forced himself to stay in control. There could be no denying it. Deane had been with his father in Oman and could have saved him from death. In the moments that had passed, many questions and actions had passed through his mind. He thought about ringing his mother but with her persistent health problems, felt it wrong to trouble her and drag up the past. This was all to do with Deane, it would have been his decision. What possible reason could he have to lie to me for the last 13 years? The question lingered around him as he tried to come up with possible answers.
‘Sam, did you hear me?’
Olsen looked up and snapped out of his deep thinking as he laid eyes on his close friend, Dan Carter, who was the same age as him and a senior agent on team S.U.C.O. ‘Sorry Dan, I was far away.’
Carter thought about making small talk but where Olsen was concerned, he always spoke his mind and looked out for his friend. ‘Tell me to mind my own business but you look like you’ve just been told you’ve won the lottery but lost your ticket. What’s wrong?’
Olsen passed the folder to his colleague and spoke in an angry tone. ‘Page twelve Dan, read the last paragraph of Deane’s statement.’
Carter looked at the text on the page. The operation name gave him some clue. It was as personal as it could be. He scanned over the words and let out a sigh. ‘But you told me that your father died alone in Oman?’
Olsen took the folder and returned it to the administrator at the desk. ‘Exactly. I guess I was wrong.’
Carter took the revelation on board and for several seconds didn’t know what to say. ‘What are you going to do? How did you get access to that folder, anyway?’
Olsen signed the declaration slip and turned around to leave. ‘I’ve been assigned to the British Royal visit in Oman to work with Deane.’
Carter managed a wry smile. ‘Nothing like confronting your fears. Are you sure you’re up to this?’
Olsen wasn’t in the mood for a long discussion and was desperate to get to the gym and take his anger out on the punch bag. He walked with pace across the large reception floor to the lifts. ‘I’ll manage. I’ll catch up with you later, Dan.’ He pressed the button for the lift and stepped inside when the doors opened. He turned back to look at Carter. ‘One more thing. After this operation, I’ve been assigned to S.U.C.O. as the team leader. Keep it to yourself.’
Carter watched the doors close and gave a shake of the head to himself as he thought of the current acting leader of S.U.C.O. ‘Alex Jordan is not going to be happy.’
Akira did not resist and felt two men grab his arms as he was led into a building. The group of men that had forced them off the road had accepted his offer but only if they had a designated driver and were blindfolded. The Kiprich brothers had resisted which had frustrated Akira, and all three of them had been knocked unconscious.
‘There!’ A man shouted.
Akira was forced to sit down on a chair and the blindfold was removed. His eyes took some time to adjust as he looked around. He saw a darkened room with damp on the walls, a stack of boxes near the window.
‘Leave us.’ A tall man with broad shoulders stood by the window and turned to face Akira. He was dressed in military fatigues and had a deep scar on his face that ran from his right ear down to his chin. ‘You’re probably wondering who we are.’ He folded his arms. ‘I’m certain I can guess why you are here.’
Akira looked to face his adversary. ‘I doubt that.’
‘You’re here for the visit of Prince David. That can be the only reason why you’re here.’ He gestured to the door. ‘Those men you were with, the Kiprich brothers, I have contacts that have dealt with them before.’ He knelt down, so he was on
the same eye level. ‘But you are an unknown to me. What is your name?’ He waited for a response but when none came he smiled faintly. ‘You may call me Abdullah. By now you must have realised you are not the only one with plans to attack the visit of a British Prince. I have no intention of allowing any third parties to interfere.’ Abdullah drew a blade and held it close to Akira’s face. ‘I’ll ask again. Are you here for the Prince?’
Akira only wanted to resume his work. There was much to do to make sure Thomas Deane died in Oman. ‘Yes.’
‘To kill him?’
‘Yes.’
‘Then you will work with us. There will be only one attack. You can see that I haven’t bound your hands. I want us to work together. Consider this my gesture of trust.’
Akira shook his head to disagree. ‘I have no intention of working with you or any other group of mercenaries.’
Abdullah laughed out loud. ‘Mercenaries? We are the Brotherhood and we look to free Oman from the reaches of the West. We may only be a small unit but for too long we have given up our heritage and our history. My men will follow you if I tell them too.’
Akira admired his goal but had no interest in any external influences. ‘Where are my colleagues?’
‘They are safe, for now. Tell me something, how well do you know this area? I’ve never seen you here before.’
‘I’ve been here many times. I guarantee I know this area better than you.’
Abdullah did not look convinced. ‘Better than someone that has lived in Oman all his life?’
‘I know there is a local who works for MI6, the British Security Services.’ Akira saw the look of surprise on his captors face and decided to barter with his knowledge. ‘He will be a crucial part of MI6’s security arrangements and I know everything about him. Release me and we can talk about a compromise.’
‘How do I know you’re not working with MI6 yourself?’
‘Don’t insult me.’ Akira snarled.
Abdullah paced around the room and thought about the proposal. He reached inside his military jacket and held something small in his hand. ‘Tell me something, who is this woman?’
Akira stared for a moment and then realised he was looking at his own locket. A locket that was always around his neck and one he never took off. Immediately he checked but realised they must have searched him when he was unconscious.
The locket was Akira’s prized possession, one of the few he still had. It showed himself and Madeline in happier times. Part of him believed it was how he could still communicate with Madeline in times of need.
A cold sweat spread throughout his body as he slowly rose to his feet. The thought of losing the locket and his last connection with Madeline made him feel physically sick. ‘Give me the locket.’
Abdullah smiled and held out the silver locket in his hand. ‘You’re in no position to barter.’
Akira’s eyes narrowed and he struggled to control his rage. For anyone to touch his locket was an outrage let alone use it to bribe him. He held out his hand. ‘Return it…now.’
Abdullah had never seen Akira before and had initially thought he was of no importance, but he was starting to question that assumption. He decided to see how far he could push him. ‘You’ll have to take it from me.’
Burton returned to his office and dropped the Royal visit schedule on top of a pile of papers. He loosened his tie and sat back in his chair as he thought about his conversation with Ramsey over his performance and personal problems. As much as Burton wanted to deny it, his work had been affected by problems at home. How am I going to get out of this mess? The S.U.C.O. Commander jumped slightly as his phone came to life and began to ring. He moved several empty drinks bottles out of the way and found the receiver. ‘Yeah, Burton.’
‘You’re not going to believe what happened to me this morning.’
Burton’s glazed eyes came to life at the sound of his wife, Kate. ‘What is it? What happened?’
‘I was at the shops with Oscar, I got to the checkout and none of my credit cards worked! None of them! It was so embarrassing Hal, you’ve no idea. I only had enough on me to pay for a few things and had to take most of it back. It’s never happened before, it was just awful.’ There was silence on the line for a moment. ‘You’re not hiding anything from me are you?’
Burton rubbed one side of his forehead as a headache began to form. ‘Uh…well Kate, I probably should have told you about this before but we’ve been having a few financial problems of late.’ Before Kate could answer Burton continued. ‘I didn’t tell you about it before as I didn’t want to worry you with all the details. All you need to know is that I’m on top of it and I’ll get it sorted.’
‘Just how are you going to do that? You had trouble ironing your shirt this morning. Oh god…’
‘Easy hon, easy, you’re just going to have to trust me, ok? I’ll think of something. We’ll be back on track in no time.’
‘We have a baby, Hal. For god’s sake, Oscar is only fifteen-months-old, what sort of a home life is that for our child? Do you understand what I’m saying?’
‘I know, you don’t think I’m aware of that Kate? Look…when I get home I’ll tell you everything I promise. I have a solution to it all, you just have to trust me ok? I’ve got to go, I’ll leave as early as I can and we’ll work this out. Yeah, ok, I’ll see you then. Bye.’ Burton chucked the phone back in the direction of the handset and released a groan. He knew all too well the situation had just become a hundred times worse. The headache had already started to feel worse as he rubbed his temples. Burton rose from his chair and walked out of his office towards the drink dispensers at the end of the corridor. Fumbling in his pockets for change, the forty-nine-year-old wondered when the powers at be would finally introduce free alcoholic drinks to ease the stresses of the job. ‘Not bloody likely, that’s for sure.’ He mumbled to no one in particular.
‘Bad day?’
Burton turned around to find a drinking buddy behind him. ‘You could say that. Problem is, it’s only going to get worse.’ He looked at the can of lemonade that appeared at the bottom of the drinks machine. ‘Still, I’m sure this will make all my troubles go away. What do you think?’
‘Is this about those money problems? You mentioned something a fortnight ago in the pub. You were going to tell Kate about it.’
‘Yeah, well, what I can say? Kate only found out just now when all her credit cards didn’t work at the shops. I’m going to have to face the music on that one when I get home. I’m not going to tell her everything though, she’d probably leave me.’
‘It can’t be that bad, surely?’
‘Uh…ok, brace yourself. As a starter for ten, I have six months of mortgage arrears. My bank accounts are practically empty, I’m behind on the repayments for the car and to top it all off I owe just over a hundred grand to a casino.’ He noticed his friend’s shocked face and managed a small smile.
‘You’re kidding me, right? Jesus…how the hell did you manage that?’
‘I don’t know. When I started falling behind on the mortgage and other payments I went to the casino to try my hand, you know? Then, with a bit of luck I got back on level terms.’
‘But you know you’re not supposed to gamble! What do you think Kate will do when she finds out?’
‘Hey! Listen, I do not have a gambling problem! I can start and stop whenever I want and that’s a fact. I’ll get this sorted.’
‘Seems to me that you created this whole problem. Why don’t you do something useful and talk to Ramsey about getting an advance in pay? After all the years of service you’ve put in, he might just help you out. What have you got to lose?’
Burton sighed at the prospect. ‘Other than my professional pride, you mean?’
‘Surely your so-called pride isn’t worth more than your family? I have to go. Think about it?’ He slapped his friend on the shoulder and walked towards the nearest lift.
Burton watched him leave, none too happy with the advic
e from his friend. He looked at his drink started to walk back to his office. With each step he began to realise that asking for an advance in pay could be the only immediate solution to his problems.