Page 109 of Traitors Gate

• • •

‘Where are you?’ demanded Dacre.

‘Twiddling my thumbs in somewhere called the Middle Tower,’ replied the royal correspondent. ‘They won’t let us into the Jewel House until Mr Thomas arrives. Any idea when that might be?’

‘He’s just called to say he’s never known the traffic so bad. Every light seems to turn red just as he approaches it. He hopes to be with you in about five or six minutes at most.’

‘I get the distinct feeling they’re trying to prevent us from getting anywhere near the Jewel House,’ said the royal correspondent.

‘I’m glad to hear it,’ said the editor.

• • •

‘Where are you?’ barked the Hawk.

‘I’m driving down Constitution Hill towards Buckingham Palace,’ said Ross. ‘Do you think Her Majesty has any idea what we’re doing in her name?’

‘Tell your driver to go over Westminster Bridge,’ said the Hawk, ignoring the comment, ‘and head for the Tower along the south side of the river, otherwise you’ll end up behind Mr Thomas, in which case he’s certain to get there before you.’

• • •

‘I’ve just passed the two griffins that herald the boundary to the City of London,’ said Thomas, ‘and inexplicably, the traffic is flowing a lot more smoothly, so I should reach the main entrance to the Tower in about five minutes.’

‘Where will you park?’ asked Dacre. ‘It’s nothing but double-yellow lines in the Square Mile.’

‘Where I always park,’ said Thomas without explanation.

• • •

‘I’m now south of the river heading along Tooley Street towards Tower Bridge,’ said Ross. ‘I should be outside the East Gate in about eight minutes. That’s assuming I’m not held up.’

‘You’ll find the East Gate is already open, but you can only risk driving as far as the moat, which is about a hundred yards further on. If five police motorcycles and a police car were seen driving into the Tower, the press wouldn’t have to put two and two together to realize everything they’ve been told by Booth Watson was true. So, when you reach the East Gate, dump your escort and walk across the middle drawbridge where you’ll find a contact waiting for you on the other side. You can hand them the crown.’

‘I assume it’s William?’ said Ross.

‘No, he’s already in the Jewel House with the Governor. It will be—’

‘Thomas has just driven past Mansion House,’ interrupted a voice, ‘but he’ll still need to find a parking spot.’

‘That should give me another couple of minutes,’ said Ross as his little convoy swung left past Southwark Cathedral and headed for Tower Bridge.

‘Don’t count on it,’ said the Hawk.

Ross became distracted by a foghorn blasting three times and looked to his right to see a huge yacht relentlessly heading towards the bridge. He turned back and stared out of the front window and couldn’t miss a line of flashing red lights with the traffic ahead of them grinding to a halt.

‘Go for it!’ shouted Ross but the driver didn’t need any encouragement to weave his way in and out of the traffic, ignore the red lights and accelerate onto the bridge as it slowly began to rise. Ross snapped on his seatbelt, clung onto the crown and began to pray to a god he didn’t believe in.

The three leading outriders shot over the narrow gap as the driver of the squad car slammed his foot to the floor. When he reached the gap, he took off and, for a few seconds, hovered in mid-air before crashing down on the other side of the bridge, like an aeroplane making a bad landing.

The two follow-up bikes swerved and skidded to a halt as they reached the ever-widening gap, leaving them with no choice but to watch the yacht pass serenely below them.

‘Where are you?’ demanded the Hawk as what was left of the escort party continued on its way down the other side of the bridge.

‘About two minutes from the East Gate,’ said Ross, having decided this wasn’t the time to tell the commander that another five seconds and the crown would have ended up on the bottom of the Thames.

• • •

The editor stared down at the provisional headline.

---