Hostage (Bodyguard #1)(26)

The President closed the file and replied with complete conviction. ‘He’s the one.’





Hazim sat alone in the study of the large rented house. The residence had come partly furnished and he tapped his fingers impatiently on the mahogany desk as he watched the clock on the wall, its second hand ticking by. It was two minutes to seven.

His mobile phone rang and Hazim snatched it up from the desk. ‘Hello?’

‘Hazim, it’s your mother,’ said the voice at the other end of the line. ‘Are you still coming over for dinner?’

Sighing, Hazim rubbed his eyes in exhaustion. ‘Sorry, Mother, I have to work late. Perhaps tomorrow.’

He clicked on the internet auction site on his computer and began browsing the ‘Sporting Goods’ section.

‘Again?’ she protested. ‘This new job of yours might pay well, but they’re overworking you.’

‘I have to make a good impression.’

He glanced up at the clock. It was one minute to seven. Ten seconds to go.

‘But I’m worried for your health. It’s no good working all hours. You need to rest too –’

‘I recently had a holiday,’ interrupted Hazim, his mouse hovering over the bike category. The minute hand flicked to 19:00.

‘Yes, and the family are desperate to know how your trip went. Your sister and brother are missing you. Please come over. Your father will be most disappointed if you don’t …’

As his mother ranted on, Hazim selected the category filters: Men’s, Mountain Bikes, Used, 20-inch frame, red colour. Five postings were listed. The last of the bikes was in a terrible state, its frame dented and chipped, the front wheel bent, a pedal missing: starting price $200. No sane person would bid for such an item. Nonetheless, Hazim clicked on the link and the image of the bike popped up with a basic description. The auction was set for a day – twenty-three hours and fifty-eight minutes were remaining. But Hazim had no interest in placing a bid.

‘Are you still listening to me?’

‘Yes, Mother.’

‘So, can you pick up your sister next week?’

‘Of course,’ he replied, groaning as if being put upon by the request, but at the corners of his mouth flickered the faintest of smiles.

Using a specialized download helper, Hazim extracted the image of the bike from the browser to his desktop. Then he dropped the file into an application called Scrub. The program opened up automatically and the bike appeared in a fresh window. The image immediately began to disintegrate.

‘Hazim, promise to join us for dinner tomorrow,’ pleaded his mother. ‘It’s the weekend.’

‘Promise,’ he replied, and put the phone down.

The decrypting program had finished its work. The mangled bike was replaced by two lines of text that had been digitally embedded within the image:



KINGFISHER LANDING 1030, STAFFORD, 3 DAYS.

BEGIN SURVEILLANCE OF EAGLE’S NEST.





‘What’s going on?’ asked Connor as he hurried down the corridor and caught up with Amir and Marc. He’d been in his room packing to go home for the summer holidays when his mobile had pinged with a message from Colonel Black:

   Alpha team. Briefing room. ASAP.



‘Maybe he wants to wish us a happy holiday,’ suggested Amir.

‘If only,’ replied Marc. ‘I reckon it’s far more serious than that.’

Jason and Ling joined them and they entered the briefing room. Charley was already there, deep in discussion with the colonel. A nervous anticipation gripped Connor when he caught sight of Charley’s stunned expression. Whatever the colonel had to say, the news had evidently taken her by surprise.

Hurriedly they found their seats. Colonel Black finished talking with Charley and turned to them. His face wore a rare smile.

‘Alpha team’s leave is postponed,’ he announced, not even bothering to soften the blow.

A groan of disappointment escaped Amir’s lips.

The colonel disregarded this and continued, ‘Buddyguard has received a top-priority assignment. And a member of this team has been selected.’

‘Who?’ asked Ling, perching on the edge of her seat in excitement.

The colonel’s steel-grey eyes fell on Connor.

‘Me?’ said Connor, almost breathless. As the realization sank in, he was unsure whether to be thrilled or terrified at the prospect of his first assignment.

‘Yeah, why Connor? He’s the newbie,’ argued Jason, puffing up his chest. ‘Next to Charley, I’m the most experienced. It should be me.’

‘I admire your eagerness, Jason,’ replied Colonel Black tactfully. ‘But, as with every assignment, it’s not simply about an operation being available; it’s about the buddyguard fitting the operation. This assignment is by order of the President of the United States. He chose Connor personally.’

Connor was speechless. Surely he’d misunderstood. ‘He chose me specifically. Why?’

‘That information wasn’t disclosed,’ replied the colonel. ‘It’ll be up to President Mendez to reveal his reasons, if he so wishes.’

‘It’s probably because of your martial arts credentials,’ Charley suggested.

‘Well, it certainly can’t be for anything else!’ mumbled Jason.