Page 44 of End Game
‘He has asked me to contact the Russian Embassy on his behalf,’ the translator went on. ‘Might I use your phone?’
‘Of course.’
‘Well?’ Ross said to Jackie, as they closed the cell door behind them.
‘I don’t believe a word of it,’ Jackie replied.
But within half an hour, an undersecretary from the Russian embassy was on his way to the Olympic Stadium to rescue his fellow countryman, and there was little they could do about it.
•••
‘How long were the lights out for?’ asked the Assistant Commissioner, once William had brought him up to speed.
‘Forty-eight seconds, sir,’ replied William.
‘How many people know the reason why?’ was the Hawk’s next question.
‘Only General Norton, Professor Meredith and my inner team.’
‘Then let’s keep it that way,’ said the Hawk. ‘You arrested one of them?’
‘We did.’ William sighed. ‘It’s done us little good, though – he doesn’t speak a word of English, seems to know nothing, and is claiming to have been forced at gunpoint to sabotage the generator. An undersecretary from the embassy has interviewed him, and he’ll probably make bail. Unfortunately,we only caught the engineer, and not the one Ross saw recently with Miles Faulkner at the Oval, who regrettably escaped.’
‘The fact that one of their agents has been caught isn’t going to stop them,’ said the Hawk. ‘So, we’ll have to try and anticipate what their next move might be.’
‘Not that easy, sir,’ said William, ‘while my team is occupied night and day with security at over thirty different venues across the country.’
‘Once again, take advantage of Ross’s particular skills,’ said the Hawk. ‘Make sure he doesn’t let Faulkner out of his sight, as he could still turn out to be the weak link in the chain.’
‘Agreed,’ responded William. ‘And something else I thought it best to mention – President Putin postponed his address to the nation this morning.’
There was a moment’s pause, before the Hawk said, ‘I don’t care for the word postponed.’
•••
Artemisia rose early that morning, though not as early as her father. She was exhausted but exhilarated after watching the opening ceremony, which had been an amazing experience, but she was also excited to start her new job as a cub reporter with theDaily Mail. She wasn’t planning on mentioning the word ‘cub’ when anyone asked her what she did.
After a breakfast of steaming black coffee and a couple of slices of burnt toast, she left for the Olympic Park before Robert had finished shaving. On arrival at the stadium, she went straight to the press centre, presented her credentials, filled in a long form and had her photograph taken. She was then given a pass with the letterCprinted in one corner,along with a press kit. She quickly discovered there wasn’t a categoryD. The press office knew a cub reporter when they saw one.
Artemisia sat down at a table in the corner of the room and studied the small print: categoryCdid not allow her to attend any finals or evening sessions of the track and field events being held in the main stadium. The athletes’ village was strictly off limits, and if she wanted a meal, theCcafé was self-service with no menu. She was beginning to think her chances of getting an exclusive didn’t look too promising.
Then again, Artemisia was good at thinking two steps ahead, and her godfather, Ross, had given her an idea for the third.
She turned her attention to the official British Olympic handbook that listed all the competitors and their disciplines. She turned to the women’s section.
As Ross had suggested, she checked each page carefully while searching for a likely candidate. She had almost given up by the time she reached page sixty-one, but then her finger suddenly stopped, and she took a closer look at the image of an épée fencer called Annie Charnock. Annie was twenty-six, one year older than Artemisia and, at five foot nine, one inch taller. But the grainy photograph made Artemisia feel she was in with a chance, even though she knew nothing about fencing.
She read on. Annie had been the All-England Schools’ Champion before going on to represent her country at the Commonwealth Games. At the Olympic trials earlier in the year, Annie had reached the final and booked herself a place on the Olympic squad.
Artemisia next turned to the events timetable to discover that Annie would be up against the German épée champion,Helga Braun. On paper, it looked like a David and Goliath contest, but on this occasion, it didn’t seem as if David would fell her opponent with a single blow. Artemisia wanted every Brit to win, but in this case …
The bout, Artemisia could see from the timetable, would take place in the Exhibition Centre at twelve thirty that day, in just a couple of hours’ time. As it was the opening round, even a categoryCreporter was entitled to sit in the press box.
Artemisia left the press centre and made her way across to the nearest bus stop, surprised by just how many visitors were strolling around the park simply enjoying the Olympic experience.
On arrival at ExCel, she presented her pass to the ticket collector, who pointed her in the direction of a half-empty press box, where she had a perfect view of the bouts taking place on the floor below.
She had to wait for over an hour before Annie Charnock made her appearance but, after only a glance, she realized they could pass as sisters.
