Next in Line (William Warwick, #5)(39)

‘How many did you spot, Mr Hogan?’ said a voice behind him.

Ross turned to see a man he remembered arresting for burglary when he was a young Constable.

‘A dozen, possibly more,’ admitted Ross. ‘I was glad to see you weren’t among them, Ron.’

‘I’m not a souvenir hunter, Inspector. In any case, the only thing worth stealing was the statue of Queen Victoria, and to pull that off I would have had to cause a diversion.’ Ross wanted to laugh. ‘Mind you, Mr Hogan, if I’d known you were going to be in the room, I wouldn’t have bothered.’

Ross allowed himself a smile before stepping forward and opening the car door to allow HRH to join Victoria in the back seat.

‘Give my best wishes to the commander,’ said Ron as Ross closed the door and joined the driver in the front.

? ? ?

While the team were changing into their Russian aircrew uniforms – a nice touch, thought William – Inspector Roach continued to brief them. Time wasn’t on their side.

‘Right, chaps,’ said Roach, revealing his military background. ‘Try not to forget we’re up against three ruthless terrorists whose job description doesn’t include taking prisoners. However, we have a secret weapon,’ he said, before introducing them to Detective Sergeant Jackie Roycroft. ‘While DS Roycroft will be handing out magazines, and serving coffee, we’ll be on the flight deck, ready to go into action the moment she gives us the heads-up.’

‘Won’t they be suspicious when we go on board and they don’t recognize any of us?’ asked Jackie.

‘Unlikely,’ said Roach. ‘The plane’s not registered in Khalifah’s name and it was chartered by a third party. In any case, when they see Tiny, they’ll think he couldn’t snuff out a candle, but they’ll soon learn how he became the police lightweight boxing champion, as well as why Sergeant Pascoe’s nickname is “One Blow”.’

‘So, once Jackie says the word “seatbelts”,’ said Pascoe, ‘that’s our sign to move in. It should be all over in a matter of seconds.’

‘I hope so,’ said Tiny, ‘because it’s my night for giving the kids a bath.’

Everyone laughed except William and Jackie, who weren’t accustomed to SO19’s humour before an operation.

‘Right, chaps,’ said Roach, after he’d double-checked the Russian uniforms, ‘let’s get moving.’

William watched from inside the building as Roach led his little gang across the runway towards the waiting jet. None of them could have missed a pair of eyes that was peering out of one of the cabin windows following their every move.

Roach and his two companions climbed the short flight of steps that led up to the plane, and disappeared onto the flight deck without glancing in the direction of the passengers.

Jackie followed close behind. On entering the plane she placed her handbag on the little fold-down table at the front of the cabin. She turned her back on the passengers, opened her bag, took out her lipstick and checked her make-up in a compact mirror. Her eyes settled on a man dressed in a long white thawb with a gold cord around his keffiyeh, who was reading the Financial Times. No one could have looked less like a terrorist. She adjusted her mirror slightly and focused on the two younger men seated behind him. One of them was resting his right hand on a gun, while the other didn’t take his eyes off her. She put the lipstick back in her compact and took out a small can of hairspray, before once again checking in her mirror. She still couldn’t be completely sure it was Khalifah who appeared so relaxed as he turned a page of his FT.

Jackie slipped the hairspray into a jacket pocket and turned around, to find the second bodyguard was still staring at her. She took a risk and gave him a smile, which to her surprise he returned. She kept to the plan and began to straighten the magazines in the rack, the agreed signal that One Blow should join her in the cabin. She was surprised to spot three copies of the out-of-date Newsweek with Mansour Khalifah’s photograph on the cover. Vanity had got the better of him. One Blow strolled past her, and she waited a few seconds before following him down the aisle.

‘Good morning, sir,’ said One Blow as he came to a halt by Khalifah’s side. The first bodyguard didn’t take his eyes off him, while the other was still looking at Jackie, although Khalifah barely gave either of them a glance.

‘Flight control have given us permission to take off, sir,’ said One Blow, ‘if that’s convenient for you?’

Khalifah lowered his newspaper and managed a nod.

‘Thank you, sir,’ said One Blow.

Jackie stepped forward and said, ‘Gentlemen, would you please fasten your seatbelts,’ just as Tiny appeared carrying a bottle of champagne on a silver tray.

Two of them reached for their seatbelts, giving One Blow the split-second he needed to take out Khalifah with a single sharp blow to the neck, while Jackie sprayed the first bodyguard in the eyes with her hairspray and then delivered a blow he couldn’t have expected. But the second guard had spotted the champagne and, long before Tiny had the chance to raise the bottle above his head, he’d leapt up and grabbed Jackie’s arm, twisting it sharply behind her back while thrusting the barrel of his gun firmly against the side of her head.

Tiny immediately realized his mistake.

‘One false move,’ said Khalifah’s bodyguard, ‘and I’ll blow her brains out.’