Deathlist (42 page)

‘How did you know Lakes and Keppel were going to ambush us here?’

‘We’ve been tracking Lakes’s phone ever since we found out she was trying to lead you into a trap. As soon as the signal from her phone went static, we knew she must have set the ambush at precisely this point. Then it was simply a case of moving our chaps into position.’ He glanced at the bodies slumped by the treeline and grinned smugly. ‘We got here just in time, by the looks of it.’

Bald thought back to the farmhouse and the phone call, and clenched his jaw. ‘Yeah, I’m beginning to think timing’s not your strong point.’

Hawkridge tutted. ‘Oh, no hard feelings, old fruit. It worked out for the best.’

‘That’s why you delayed us,’ Porter replied, suddenly understanding. ‘Because you needed time to get your team together in case Lakes tried it on. But you didn’t want to warn us that we might be blundering into a fucking ambush.’

Hawkridge said nothing but merely shrugged. Porter shook his head, his mind reeling. Another fucking lie. The Firm was overflowing with them. Lies on top of lies. He couldn’t wait to get away from the bastards.

He gave his back to Hawkridge. Nodded to Bald. ‘Come on, mate. Let’s get out of here. The stink’s getting unbearable.’

‘I’ll see you chaps bright and early on Monday morning, then,’ Hawkridge announced.

Porter stopped in his tracks. Turned slowly back to Hawkridge. The pounding between his ears returned. Mixing with the sound of the blood rushing in his ears, and the ringing echoes of the firefight. ‘The fuck are you talking about? You just said that we don’t work for you. We’re heading back to Hereford, mate.’

‘Actually,’ Hawkridge adjusted his glasses, ‘you’re not.’

Bald and Porter looked at one another.

Looked back to Hawkridge.

‘What’s that supposed to mean?’ said Bald.

Hawkridge smiled. ‘Templar will obviously be liquidated after this. Which means your contracts are null and void. You’re being transferred back to the MoD. You’ll report to me.’ He fixed his smile at Bald.

‘You can’t do that,’ said Porter.

‘Oh, but we can.’ Hawkridge furrowed his smooth brow. ‘You should be grateful, really. We’re going to set up a new unit. Section 20. I’m going to be running the show, and I’ll need a couple of good operators to get things done. You two have done well on this mission. I’m sure you’ll prove yourself worthy of your new positions.’

Porter and Bald said nothing. They just stared at Hawkridge in disbelief. The agent stood there for a moment, basking in his new glory. Then he checked his watch and cleared his throat. ‘I really must be off now. See you gents on Monday.’

Porter turned away. So did Bald.

‘Oh, and one more thing,’ Hawkridge called out.

Porter stopped and half-turned. Hawkridge had ditched the smile. His face was deadly serious as he looked towards Bald.

‘I’ll be expecting those tapes on my desk first thing, old fruit.’

‘Tapes?’ Bald feigned innocence. ‘Don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about, pal.’

Hawkridge chuckled. ‘Don’t play games with me, John. I know you recorded the meeting.’ He took a step closer. Smiled thinly. ‘Remember, both of you. No matter how clever you think you are, we’ll always be one step ahead of you.’

THE END