Page 3 of End Game
‘Not necessarily,’ said the Hawk. ‘If London is selected as the host city, the first thing I’ll do is return to London and bring my old team back together again.’
William considered this. ‘We would have seven years to prepare.’
‘And it still wouldn’t be long enough.’
‘What makes you so sure the whole team will want to come back? After all, Paul has recently been promoted to second in command of the organized crime squad.’
‘They will have to learn to live without him,’ said the Hawk, ‘as I would offer Detective Inspector Adaja the chance to be Silver Commander, putting him in charge of day-to-day operations at the Olympic Stadium.’
‘And Rebecca?’
‘Detective Sergeant Pankhurst would be my first choice for Bronze, keeping a close eye on the two hundred and fifty thousand spectators who will be visiting the Olympic Park every day.’
‘She might not want to leave the drug squad,’ suggested William, ‘where I hear she’s being tipped for further promotion.’
‘She won’t be given a lot of choice,’ said the Hawk.
‘And Jackie – will she be given a choice?’
‘Detective Sergeant Roycroft has already intimated that, should London win, she’d be happy to leave the arts and antiques squad and join us for the Olympics.’
‘Us?’ said William.
‘Of course. I’ll be appointing you as Gold Commander in charge of the national Olympic security operation,’ said the Hawk. ‘And if the Games are a success, I will finally retire in glory and you will have taken the next step to becoming Commissioner.’
‘I don’t believe you’ll ever retire,’ replied William. ‘You’ve been putting it off for years.’
‘But I can’t for much longer,’ said the Hawk.
‘And if the Games aren’t a success?’ asked William, unable to resist a smile.
‘You, Constable Warwick, will be back on the beat, while I’ll tell everyone I’d always considered Commander Sinclair to be the obvious choice as our next Commissioner. However, if you make a success of the Olympics, you can rely on my support,’ said the Hawk with a grin.
‘That’s a bigifwhile so many imponderables remain in the balance,’ suggested William, ‘not least what’s about to take place on stage in a few moments’ time.’
The Hawk nodded. ‘I think Madrid will be the next city to be eliminated.’
‘Let’s hope so,’ said William, ‘because if it’s Paris, I’m told they’ll vote for Madrid in the final round, as the last thing they want is for London to host the Games.’
The door opened once again, and Rogge walked back uponto the stage. He looked down at the remaining delegates, but didn’t open the envelope until he had complete silence.
Rogge took his time extracting the card and putting his glasses back on, before he announced, ‘The city of Madrid will not be participating in the final round.’
The outburst that followed made it almost impossible for William to hear the Hawk say, ‘Now the odds are down to fifty-fifty.’
•••
‘The result of the third and final round will be announced in a few minutes’ time,’ said Huw Edwards, staring down from the television screen at several million expectant faces. ‘As Madrid had thirty-one votes,’ he continued, ‘which the experts are suggesting have already been pledged to the French, I think one can only assume we’re not the favourites.’
‘So how much would you be willing to take now?’ Miles asked the landlord, after he’d ordered another pint for himself, but not for Booth Watson, whose glass was still half full. Miles had told him firmly he couldn’t order his usual double gin and tonic.
‘One hundred and fifty thousand,’ said the publican, no longer sounding quite so confident.
‘I’ll give you one hundred thousand right now,’ said Miles, ‘but that’s my final offer.’
The landlord stared back up at the screen to see television crews, journalists and photographers now surrounding the French delegation, while one solitary hack remained loyal to the British.
A camera zoomed in on a member of the French team, who was placing a bottle of champagne on the table in front of him, while another produced two glasses.
