Page 90 of End Game
‘Sergeant Davidson, sir. Bournemouth airport.’
‘How can I help, Sergeant?’
‘I’ve arrested the pilot of the light aircraft that was heading for the stadium, but I’m not quite sure what offence to charge him with.’
‘Shoot him, for all I care,’ said William, as another phone began to ring.
‘The man has a genuine grievance, sir,’ said the sergeant. ‘He hasn’t been allowed to see his two teenage daughters for the past four years.’
‘Then lock him up for the night, but don’t feed him.’
‘I just wondered, sir, how I would feel if I hadn’t been allowed to see my two sons for the past four years.’
William sighed. ‘I apologize, Sergeant. My mind was elsewhere.’ He was still staring at the empty boxes where theRussian and Chinese ambassadors were meant to be sitting and had allowed himself to become preoccupied. ‘Don’t charge him, but don’t release him until the stadium has been cleared this evening.’
‘Understood, sir. I’m sorry to have bothered you.’
William felt even more guilty.
Boom!
William’s heart missed a beat when he looked up at the screens to see a cannon go off, and moments later a pathetic figure crawled out of the barrel and fell onto the stage in a heap. The audience screamed with delight when Eric Idle lifted himself slowly off the ground, grabbed a microphone and began to sing ‘Always Look on the Bright Side of Life’, accompanied by a choir of eighty thousand out-of-tune voices.
William was humming along with the rest of the crowd when the door of the Gold Suite burst open to reveal two burly security guards firmly holding onto the last person on earth he’d expected to see.
‘He demanded to see you personally, sir,’ said the senior officer. ‘Claimed it was a matter of life or death.’
The two men faced each other like ancient warriors on a battlefield.
‘What doyouwant?’ demanded William.
‘To save the lives of countless innocent people,’ said Faulkner, with an urgency that didn’t suggest levity.
William stared at him for a moment, unable to believe what he was hearing. Was this yet another distraction, meant to take his eye off the real danger about to take place in the stadium?
His immediate reaction was to ask the two officers to throw him out of the stadium, which would have given him a greatdeal of pleasure. But William had to accept that he might later regret it.
He dismissed the two officers with a nod and waited for them to leave the room before he said, ‘Since when have you given a damn about the lives of innocent people? And whatever you have to say, why should I believe a word of it?’
‘Because I was responsible for having Bolt’s and Farah’s urine samples spiked,’ said Faulkner, ‘with the aim of getting them disqualified.’
Such a blatant admission took William by surprise. He found it hard to believe that a career-hardened criminal could suddenly be wanting to cooperate with him of all people. But there was something about his demeanour and the tone of his voice that caused William to continue to listen as he pressed the radio button that connected him to his inner team.
‘I also know why two of the Grand Tier boxes are empty,’ said Faulkner. ‘But more importantly, I know what was in the shoebox you never got your hands on.’
William carried on listening, and couldn’t help wondering if this was nothing more than a ploy to keep him fully occupied while others carried out Faulkner’s bidding. He made no attempt to interrupt the witness while he was still confessing.
‘But even I can’t stomach what they have planned for the climax of tonight’s closing ceremony,’ admitted Faulkner.
William looked more carefully at a man he thought he knew. Could it be possible that at this late stage in his criminal career, Faulkner was feeling guilty about a crime not yet committed?
‘If you move quickly, Commander,’ said Faulkner, with anurgency William had not experienced before, ‘you might still have enough time to prevent the worst from happening.’
‘The worst?’ William repeated, unable to hide the suspicion in his voice.
‘There could be a terrorist out there among the Chinese athletes,’ said Faulkner. ‘She’s wearing two tracksuits and a pair of Olympic shoes that aren’t exactly regulation.’
‘What’s her purpose?’ demanded William, now almost convinced Faulkner was telling the truth.
