Soft Target (Major Crimes Unit Book 2) (7 page)

“
Yes,
”
Bradley said. 
“
You definitely know
your stuff.
”

“
Thank
you.
”
  For
some reason, Sarah couldn
’
t
be a bitch to Bradley.  He was like a scolded puppy.  Plus, he
’
d stood up for her
in the other room, and she owed him for that.

“I’ll take you back up top,”
Howard told her.  “Mandy
will be waiting to take you where you want to go.”

“I’ve always wanted to go to Disney World,”
said Sarah.  “I
hear they have a giant golf ball you can ride around in.”

“
Domestic flights only, I
’
m afraid,
”
Howard said.

“
Come on, then.  The sooner I get out of this place, the sooner I can
get the government stink off me.
” 

There was a sudden electronic chirping. 
Everyone looked to Palu, who plucked a small tablet from his trouser pocket. 
With his free hand, he motioned for Howard and Sarah to get going.  Sarah was
more than happy to oblige; her claustrophobia was starting to return.  She was
just about to leave when she noticed Palu’s face had become horror-stricken. 

Howard tried to pull Sarah away, but she
shrugged him off and remained standing by the glass conference table.

Palu muttered weakly into the phone. 
“
When, sir?  I
understand, sir.  We had no intel concerning that.  I
…
yes, I agree, sir.  I
’
ll await your
instructions.
”
 
He hung up. 

“
What is it?
”
Howard asked. 
“
Who
was on the call?
”

Palu shook his head and looked
like he was about to throw up. 
“
There
’
s been another attack,
”
he said. 
“
Another suicide bombing.
”

Howard kicked a nearby chair. 
“
Damn it!  Where?
”

Palu closed his eyes and
looked sick. 
“
Three more villages
—
Studley, Dartmouth, Aborfield
—
all
hit within ten minutes of each other.  Downing Street are still getting all the
information they can; they
’
ll forward it to us.
”

Sarah bent forward, leaning on
the table.  Three villages all at once?  The country was under attack.

Bradley looked close to
tears. 
“
It doesn
’
t make any sense, hitting tiny villages in lieu of bigger targets. 
What
’
s the significance?
”

Sarah knew immediately. 
“
It means nobody is safe.  It means that you don
’
t have to live in London or Manchester or Birmingham anymore to be
the target of a terrorist attack.  You can live in the smallest village and
still get blown up.  It
’
s smart, if you think about it.  Terrorists want to cause terror. 
What better way than to make the entire country afraid of being attacked?  No
place is safe anymore and the public are going to know it.  The whole of the
United Kingdom is about to become terrified.
”

“
Shit,
”
Bradley said.

“
Yeah,
”
Sarah agreed. 
“
Shit
is the right word because it just hit the fan.
”

P
alu turned on the
television and a breaking news report came on.  A BBC journalist stood rigidly
before a scene of devastation.

The quaint fishing village of
Dartmouth was aflame.  Its picturesque harbour had become ground zero of a
devastating attack.  Bodies cluttered the marina, floating face down in the
water.  Further out, a blackened ferry sank into the River Dart
’
s estuary, yachts and pleasure cruisers went down beside it.  Dogs
howled from the wooden jetties, while shell shocked survivors wept in the
street.  An ash-covered child wandered around, with no parent or guardian to
watch her.  The little girl repeatedly cried out for her mummy.

The reporter wiped a tear from
his eye and cleared his throat before speaking. 
“
T-Today,
as I report to you, I am truly lost for words.  After the events of this past
Sunday, Britain was a nation already in mourning.  Yet, today, the tragedy
worsens, as yet another mass killing has occurred.  Worse still, the village of
Dartmouth behind me was not the only target.  The villages of Studley and
Arborfield have also been hit by what appears to be a co-ordinated terrorist
attack.  Whether or not today
’
s atrocities are linked to Sunday
’
s
incident in the village of Knutsford is, as yet, unclear, but the death toll
and devastation Britain has witnessed in the last forty-eight hours is the
worst in its entire history.  The Prime Minister is due to give a speech within
the hour, but right now the question on everybody
’
s
mind is: who is behind this?  I
’
m Jack Millis, reporting to you from the village of Dartmouth,
Devon.
”

Sarah felt winded.  If
anything, Britain had recently started to put the fear of terrorism behind it. 
Bungled attempts at carrying bombs aboard planes in shoes and other useless attempts
had reduced the modern-day terrorist to a cartoonish villain foiled at every
turn.  They had become fodder for South Park and Private Eye newspaper
—
a joke, not a threat.

Someone had screwed up.  Sarah
clenched her fists as she thought about the three men in the room.  This was
their job.  They were supposed to stop things like this from happening. 
“
Did you people know anything about this?  Was there anything you
could have done?  Did you let this happen?
”

Palu answered the question in
a firm, authoritative voice. 
“
No, we did not.  If there was anything we could have done, we would
have.
”

Sarah shook her head and tried
to understand. 
“
You tell me that your job is to catch terrorists, so how the hell
did this happen?  Why didn
’
t you know about this?
”

 Bradley still had tears in
his eyes. 
“
Captain, I promise you that we do all we can.
”

“
Shut up!
”
Sarah shouted. 
“
People are dead because none of you caught this.  Why did you people
even bring me here?  You
’
re too late.  The damage is done.
”

Palu strode towards Sarah. 
For a moment it looked like he might strike her, but instead he looked her
square in the eye. 
“
If you think we
’
re all a bunch of idiots, Captain, then help us.  Help us find who
’
s responsible.
”

“
No,
”
Sarah said.  She couldn
’
t help these people. 
They were undermanned and ignorant.  And she was
…
broken,
and of no use to anyone.  They called her Captain, but the truth was that she
was nothing anymore.  The thought of diving back into that dangerous world,
filled with murderous men and their cold, callous actions was enough to make
her feel faint.  Her father has warned her not to get involved in such serious
business, and when she
’
d defied him, she
’
d paid for it dearly.  She wasn
’
t
stupid enough to do it a second time.  She turned towards the door.    

“
Sarah!
”
Palu shouted.
“
Before you leave, let me show you something.
”

Sarah turned around. 
“
What?  You people don
’
t even want me here. 
I heard you talking about me in the other room.
”

Palu stared her right in the
eyes.  There was sadness there, but something much darker bubbling beneath. 
“
I just got the stats on the attacks,
”
he said. 
“
You should see them before you make any decisions.
”
  He pointed the remote at the television.  
“
I may have wanted you gone,
”
Palu said,
“
but right now we need all the help we can get.  You have knowledge
of Shab Bakhier that we can use.  Can you really walk away, knowing that you
could help us?
”

Sarah stared at the figures on
the screen.

UK TERRORIST ATTACKS, MAY
2014

Clitheroe: 40 fatalities (6 children),
86 injured

Aborfield: 36 fatalities (2
children), 47 injured

Dartmouth: 94 fatalities (19
children), 119 injured

Studley: 12 fatalities (2
children), 4 injured

—
Total deceased: 182 (29 children)

“
Okay,
”
she said. 
“
I
’
m in.
”

E
verybody took a seat at
the conference table.  Dr Bennett had been recalled from the infirmary and didn
’
t look happy about it.  According to Palu, the American woman was an
expert in bio-terrorism and profiling, as well as medicine.

Bradley had been asked to collect his things
and leave.  As his duty had expired, they could no longer share classified
information with him.  That didn
’
t
sit well with Sarah.  She knew that resigning from active service was a
long-winded affair, and had no doubt been in the works for weeks before she
’
d arrived, but
without the option of replacing Bradley, it seemed wasteful to let him go. 
Palu had said he needed all the help he could get.

Palu
’
s
tablet hadn
’
t stopped beeping since they
’
d
looked at the statistics on screen.  Every message the man received made him
tenser, until he had started to resemble a coiled spring.  Sarah almost felt
sorry for him.  He may have been in charge of MCU, but it was clear that he was
a mutt with many masters.

“
Prime Minister Breslow has just given a speech from Downing Street,
”
Palu informed them. 
“
She
’
s halted the exit-strategy for Afghanistan, and is even reinforcing
the number of troops in the region.  She
’
s
keen to display Britain
’
s strength.  A request for aid has been made to President Conrad.
”

Howard huffed. 
“
The yanks won
’
t go for it.  The American people are tired of war.  Conrad will
leave us hanging, I guarantee it.
  Loyalty is a one-way
street with the Americans.  They think helping out in World War II earned them
enough brownie points to last a century.
”

“
That
’
s a little unfair,
”
Bradley said, entering from the back of the room with
his things. 
“
The Americans have aided us countless times.
”

“
Really?
”
said Howard. 
“
So where are they
now?  MCU was supposed to be a joint enterprise, but it
’
s
been over a year since they made any contribution to our cause.
”

“They gave you me,
”
Dr Bennett said, aggrieved. 
“
That
’
s hardly nothing.
”

He rolled his eyes. 
“
You were a token gesture.  The US
closed their own MCU facilities and their funding has dropped through the
floor.”

Bennett folded her arms.  When
she spoke this time, her tone was angry and her accent stronger. 
“
Do not refer to me as a
token
.  I
’
m
the most qualified person in this whole damned facility.  Believe me, I
’
d sooner be back home if y
’
all have no further
need of my services.
”

“
You are highly valued,
”
Palu said. 
“
Now more than ever.
”

Dr Bennett nodded at the
Director, apparently satisfied.

“What’s the deal here?”
Sarah butted in.  “I mean, why is this
place so abandoned?  Why is there only a skeleton crew inside a place that must
have cost millions?  There was only a single guy guarding the entrance, for
Christ
’
s sake.”

“
They
’
re closing us down, Captain,
”
Palu
said.  Not this minute, not this month, but the writing is on the wall.  After
9/11 the CIA, FBI, Police, Interpol, MI5 & 6, Scotland Yard, and the Army
…
they were all given huge additional funding and free-reign.  It was
messy, to say the least.  The MCU was supposed to bring things together, to
stop the in-fighting and bring cohesion to the US and UK counter-intelligence
operations.
”

Sarah
’
s
eyes narrowed. 
“
So, what happened?
”

“
The economy happened.  The other agencies resented our funding and
held back their Intel, repeatedly refusing to co-operate.  The MCU has become
benign and costly.  In the last six years we have been scaled back by
nine-tenths and have been stripped of most of our authority.  Most of our
Intel, we get from our contacts within the other agencies.  We live off their
scraps, where the initial plan was for MCU to be at the centre of everything. 
Regardless, we still do everything we can to help protect this country.
”

“So why the hell are you letting Bradley go?”
Sarah asked,
nodding to the kid.

“
I
made the decision to leave, Captain,
”
Bradley said, lingering by the exit.

Sarah didn
’
t
care. 
“
Having
a member of an already undermanned team quitting is bullshit.”

“
It
’
s already done,
”
said Palu.

“
Then undo it.  You want my help, then Bradley stays.  The more able
bodies you have, the better.  Wouldn
’
t you agree?
”

“Fine,” muttered Palu.  “Bradley, your
resignation is hereby denied.  You are to return to work immediately until such
time that the current crisis is resolved.  Sarah, you too are operating on a
limited mandate.  We will discuss your role here in greater depth once we deal
with the current situation.
”

“
Whoop-de-do.
”

Bradley took a seat back at the table, looking
nervous but committed.

Howard rolled his head on his
shoulders and let out a sigh. 
“
So,
”
he said,
“
what do we have?
”

“
Not much,
”
Palu said. 
“
The Army has bomb
specialists going through each location as we speak.  It looks like more
suicide vests from early witness reports.  The Upper Ferry was the target in
Dartmouth; a local pub in Studley; and in Arborfield a supermarket was hit.  I
’
m getting statements for all three attacks and CCTV footage from the
pub in Studley.
”

Sarah frowned. 
“
You did all that from your phone?
”

Palu nodded. 
“
It
’
s a mobile satlink with a proprietary operating system.  We
’
ve been scaled back, but I can still access the Government
’
s internal systems.  Anything the police or other UK agencies have,
I can get.  We even have limited access to the FBI and CIA.  Our biggest asset,
however, is our liaison Downing Street.
”

Sarah was actually impressed. 
Most of what she
’
d seen of the MCU had been pretty pitiful, but it was quickly
gaining her respect. 
“
Do we have any files on Jeffrey Blanchfield?
”
she
asked. 
“
We need to know if he had any connections to known terrorist groups.
”

“
Maybe he was part of Al-Qaeda
’
s
over-60 cell,
”
Dr Bennett quipped.

“
Maybe,
”
said Sarah, acting as if she hadn
’
t noticed the American woman
’
s
sarcasm and giving back some of her own by mocking her Georgian accent. 
“
There
’
s a fine chance this here attack was connected to today
’
s commotion.  If it is, then old Jeffrey has a done rubbed shoulders
with some mighty bad people.
”

Dr Bennett scowled.

“
I agree,
”
said Bradley, oblivious to the cold war going on
between the two women. 
“
We need to know if there
’
s a link between
Sunday
’
s attack and today
’
s.  I
’
ll get on it right now.
” 
He pulled a
wafer-thin laptop out of his satchel and immediately began typing away on it.

“
Get me the CCTV footage for the pub in Studley as well,
”
Palu said. 
“
Apparently there
’
s clear footage of the suicide bomber.
”

Something on Howard beeped.
“
There
’
s been another video,
”
he said, looking at
his phone. 
“
Released on the Internet, this time.  It already has a million hits
on ClipShare
.
”

“
They must be angry that we kept their first video secret,
”
Dr Bennett said. 
“
They want to make sure they get credit this time.
”

Sarah sighed. 
“
Now they can claim the Government kept the cause of Sunday
’
s attack secret.  It
’
s a good way to sow even more discord.
”

“
Put the video on the big screen, Howard,
”
Palu
instructed. 
“
It
’
s the only thing we have to work with for the moment.
”

This time, the three men in
the video were not wearing headscarves.  They wore red bandanas over their
mouths instead.  Each was also wearing matching army fatigues. Sarah couldn
’
t be sure, but the uniforms looked like British Army, issued in the
eighties perhaps.  Her father had worn something similar during the Falkland
’
s conflict. 

In the background of the video
was a single desk holding a dusty old lamp.  There was nothing else to see
except brick wall and an unidentified light source overhead.  It swung and
tilted slightly as if a ceiling bulb were swinging to-and-fro.

The man at the front of the
shot began his speech, his voice gravely and thick beneath his bandana.  His
eyes were a deep brown and soulless. 
“
People of the UK,
today begins your reckoning.  Your villages burn like the ones set aflame by
your own government.  The time for you to taste your own medicine has come. 
Your trinkets and idols will be taken from you, death and misery left in their
place.  You will suffer, as innocent people around the world have suffered
under your country
’
s amoral boot heel for centuries.  We are watching your soldiers,
your agents, and your murderers-for-hire all around the world.  Every time they
take a life, we will take more, that is our pledge.  The four villages set
ablaze are payback for a decade of murder in Afghanistan.  You kill, we kill. 
Remove your soldiers and the killing will stop.  Have your Prime Minister
renounce Britain
’
s imperialistic past and it
’
s greed-soaked
present, and we will disband.  Until that time, we are humanity
’
s army, fighting for the future. 
Shab Bekheir
will show you
the way
. 
Sometimes death is the only way to ensure life.
”

There was silence in the room
for several minutes while they all let things sink in.

Palu
’
s phone beeping broke the silence. 
“
The Prime Minister has just responded to the most recent tape,
”
he told them. 
“
She promises the terrorist
’
s actions will not go
unanswered and that Great Britain does not bend to threats.
”
  He shook his head wearily. 
“
The media are in uproar, warning against a
war on UK soil.  They
’
ve caught
wind of the first tape being suppressed and are citing the Government
’
s incompetence as the reason three more
attacks were allowed to happen.
”

“
There
’
s going to be panic,
”
Bradley said in a strained voice.