Page 73 of End Game
Sinclair summed up with the words:given the unusual circumstances, Assistant Commissioner Hawksby should take over the responsibility of Gold Commander with immediate effect, with Inspector Adaja as his second in command, until after the closing ceremony, while being aware just how far the perpetrators of this crime might still be willing to go to achieve their final purpose, whatever that purpose might be.
He closed the file and asked his secretary to summon the team immediately, having decided exactly what course of action he would take.
A few minutes later there was a knock on the door, and ‘come’ was followed by Commander Warwick, Ross, Paul and Rebecca entering the room and taking their places around the Assistant Commissioner’s table.
‘You will have all read Commander Sinclair’s report,’ said the Hawk, ‘and no doubt formed your own opinions,’ he continued, looking directly at William.
‘Let’s consider the obvious to start with,’ said William. ‘Jackie’s death clearly wasn’t an accident, and it certainly wasn’t suicide.’
No one suggested otherwise.
‘We also know,’ he continued, looking down at a copy of Sinclair’s report, ‘that an Asian lady was seen standing behind Jackie only moments before she was pushed onto the track in front of the incoming train, giving her no hope of survival. In fact, the woman in question then disappeared, leaving everyone else on the platform in a state of shock.’
‘That’s all in Sinclair’s report,’ interrupted the Hawk, ‘along with the fact that at the time you had Petrov under surveillance, and once again failed to apprehend him and take possession of the box before he handed it over to Faulkner. And to make matters worse—’
‘You don’t have to remind me,’ said Paul.
‘When Paul finally did get his hands on the box,’ said the Hawk, ignoring the comment, ‘it was empty. A fact that Sinclair highlighted in capital letters, just in case I missed it, so I’m bound to ask if there’s any good news – preferably something Sinclair doesn’t know about?’
‘Yes,’ said William. ‘Something I picked up at breakfast this morning.’
All eyes were now on William.
‘Anyone who reads theDaily Mailwill know that my daughter was at Gatwick airport yesterday when Natasha Korova was abducted and forcibly taken back to Moscow. However, what they don’t know is that while Arte was on the Gatwick Express on her way to the airport, she saw an Asian woman in a wheelchair with her carer. She wouldn’t have given it a second thought if she hadn’t seen the same woman when she returned to Victoria station later thatafternoon, walking quickly towards the ticket barrier, no wheelchair, no carer.’
The rest of the team remained silent.
‘However, Arte did manage to get a photo of her before she disappeared underground.’
William handed around a photo of a woman; although she had her back to the photographer, you couldn’t miss the tattoo of a scorpion on her neck.
‘Like father, like daughter,’ commented the Hawk.
‘And it gets better,’ said William. ‘When I showed Artemisia a photograph of Sergei Petrov, she immediately identified him as the “carer” she’d seen on the train with the woman in the wheelchair.’
‘So now we know who accompanied Natasha Korova back to Moscow,’ said the Hawk.
‘But what we don’t know,’ said William, ‘is if he’s staying put, or whether he’s likely to return to the UK under another name.’
Ross was the first to offer an opinion. ‘He’ll have been on the first flight back.’
‘On balance,’ said the Hawk, ‘I think it might be wise not to burden Commander Sinclair with all this information until after the closing ceremony, in the hope it will give us enough time to redeem the situation.’
‘And if we don’t?’ asked Rebecca.
‘You’ll all end up in the Tower with Sinclair as Governor of the Keys.’
‘That’s incentive enough,’ said William.
‘With that in mind,’ said the Hawk, ‘it’s my intention to accept Sinclair’s recommendation that I should take on overall command of Public Order and Operational Support for the remainder of the Games. However, Commander Warwickwill still be Gold Commander on the ground, with Chief Inspector Adaja his second in command. Sergeant Pankhurst will be made up to Inspector and continue with her present duties. Sergeant Hogan,’ he paused, before giving Ross a half-smile, ‘will be promoted to Inspector and will work undercover in the hope of apprehending the criminal responsible for Jackie’s death and bringing her to justice. His promotion will not be gazetted.’
The Assistant Commissioner paused and looked slowly around the table, before he said, ‘This is undoubtedly the best way we can serve our fallen colleague. We will now stand for a minute’s silence in memory of our dear friend and then do what Jackie would have expected of us: get on with the job.’
They all stood together in silence, heads bowed. Rebecca tried desperately to hold back the tears, and she might have succeeded if she hadn’t turned to see that the Assistant Commissioner was weeping.
BOOK THREE
CHAPTER 24
