Cell

'He gives a good impression that he hasn't a clue. What did you think?' he asked as he manoeuvred into heavy traffic.

'Totally clueless.'

***

Rush hour. The traffic was dense. At times they were crawling, at others stationary for minutes, then there was movement. At Hyde Park Corner it became gridlock. It was dark now and cars' headlights glared everywhere. They were stationary.

'London is packed solid with people,' Paula commented.

'What did you say?'

'That London is packed solid with people. Ah, we're moving again.'

They were halfway round the Duke of Wellington's statue and then stopped once more. A car was drawn up alongside Paula. She glanced at the driver alone behind the wheel, a brown-faced man, youngish with short hair. He caught her glance, leaned out of his window and tapped on hers with his left hand. She lowered her window, her Browning already in her hand. As the traffic started moving his right hand appeared. The Glock pistol it held was aimed point blank at Tweed. She fired once. Her bullet hit his right hand. Blood appeared, he dropped the Glock.

'Move!' Paula shouted.

Traffic behind the gunman's car was honking as it stayed where it was. Tweed swung his wheel, saw a gap, raced down Grosvenor Place. Paula looked back. The gunman's car was still stationary. The honking of cars behind him rose to a crescendo, then faded as Tweed continued driving fast.

'He was going to kill you,' Paula gasped.

'Saw it all out of the corner of my eye. You were so very quick. A significant event. Someone with a mobile must have been watching Warner's house, reported we were leaving.'

'Or someone inside the house. He looked Egyptian.'

21

Everyone was assembled in the first-floor office when Tweed and Paula walked in. Newman was seated in an armchair while Pete Nield perched on one of the arms. Harry Butler sat cross-legged on the floor while Marler leaned against a wall. Beaurain relaxed in the other armchair, waved to Paula who walked over to her desk, puzzled as to why the team was all present. Tweed seemed to read her mind as, after hanging up his raincoat, he sat behind his desk, his expression grim as he leaned forward.

'You were all asked to be here so we can see where we are. The key element is we now know the enemy is al-Qa'eda. We have three confirmations of this dangerous development. Marler's top informant, Carla, told him this. In Milan, Jasper Buller's link with the ex-carabinieri officer told him the same thing. In Verona, Philip, a man I know to be totally reliable, now masquerading as Petacci, told Jules the same thing. Three entirely different sources.' He slapped his hand hard on the desk. 'I now feel there is no doubt any more. The powerful cell which was located in Milan is now on our doorstep. Why? Obviously to launch a September 11 attack on London…'

'Hadn't you better tell them about the attempt to kill you?' suggested Paula.

'Thanks to you they didn't succeed…' He briefly explained the incident at Hyde Park Corner. Newman reacted instantly.

'From now on you don't go anywhere without an armed guard.'

'We'll see about that…'

'No!' Newman was fierce. 'We won't see. That's how we'll proceed. ..'

'If you'll just let me continue. Al-Qa'eda is the menace, a formidable one. So what don't we know? Just about damn-all.' The hand slapped the desk again. 'We don't know the target in London, we don't know where the cell is located, we don't know who the mastermind is. ..'

'What about Carpford?' Nield interjected.

'If I may continue. At Carpford there isn't, so far as I know, sufficient space to hide between twenty and thirty brainwashed killers

…'

'We could check that out,' Newman interjected. 'Today I bumped into a friend of mine who runs Airsight. An outfit with light aircraft equipped with high-power cameras. Used by estate agents to get an aerial view of an area with rich properties. He's also used confidentially by the MoD…'

'Then get him to fly over Carpford tomorrow and take a lot of shots. Weather forecast is very good.'

'No can do tomorrow. He was on his way to Eurostar for a two-day trip to Paris…'

'Then book him for the day after he gets back, for Heaven's sake. From now on I want calculated action!' Tweed stared round, making sure he had everyone's close attention. 'Now, the other night I stayed up imagining I was the mastermind. How would I do the job? What would I aim for? Maximum casualties – scores? No. Hundreds or thousands of dead bodies. A spectacular. But don't anyone mention St Paul's or Canary Wharf. Do that and I'll throw the book at them…'

'Smoke and mirrors, as the Americans say,' Beaurain spoke for the first time. 'Decoys, as I said. To divert our attention from the real target.'

'So we don't know anything,' Paula remarked.

'Actually we do.' Tweed's mood became relaxed. 'There are some strange relationships we've discovered. Martin and Billy Hogarth, up at Carpford, are brothers, who apparently hate each other. They are cousins of Drew Franklin, a man we really know nothing about. Then there is Eva Brand, niece of Drew Franklin. A ring is beginning to form. Eva is also a companion of Peregrine Palfry. Furthermore we find she knows Victor Warner well enough to be welcome in his house. The ring widens…'

'May I tell you something?' Monica suggested quietly.

'By all means.' Tweed smiled. 'Go ahead.'

'The dossier I've drawn up on her confirms what she told us when she appeared here out of the blue. Educated at Roedean, went on to Oxford, studied languages – French, Spanish and Arabic. While there her mother was killed in a car crash on the M25. You see, this is new data. Left Oxford and then there is a strange two-year gap. Talked to her closest girlfriend and she had no idea where Eva was during those two years. Reappeared in London, joined Medfords, which we know from what she said…'

'What about her father?'

'The second info gap. Nobody seems to know who he was, what he did. A girlfriend at Medfords told me she never talked about him. I ran out of contacts.'

'A mystery lady,' Tweed commented. 'Missing for two years and no trace of a father. What about money?'

'I was coming to that. When her mother died she left Eva half a million pounds. The mother came from a rich family.'

'Hence her liking for good restaurants…'

He stopped speaking as the phone rang. Monica answered, gave the phone to Tweed.

'It's Eva Brand on the phone…'

'Tweed here. I'm looking forward to our dinner together tomorrow night.'

'That's why I'm phoning,' the soft voice replied. 'Could I ask for a great favour? Could we dine tonight at seven? I do hope I'm not being a nuisance. Something cropped up for tomorrow – a friend from abroad.'

'That would be quite convenient. But instead of the Ivy I'd like you to join me at Santini's. Do you know it? It has a terrace extending out over the Thames.'

'Super! I haven't been there for ages. I could meet you there. Same time suit you?'

'Seven at Santini's. Take care…'

He told the others of the change in his arrangements. His expression hardened. 'While I'm having dinner with Eva you will all be very active. We need positive information about the main players in this drama. I no longer mind if the people you'll be tracking know they're being followed. It will put pressure on them. Under pressure people crack – or make a mistake. Newman, you wait outside the Daily Nation offices. Your target is Drew Franklin. You said he works late. Take one of those advanced non-flash cameras, photograph anyone he meets.'

'He could recognize me.'

'So much the better. Pressure. Marler, go down to Whitehall. Follow Peregrine Palfry. Same instructions as I gave Newman. Harry, you track Pecksniff. First phone him, ask him which estate agent handled the property transactions at Carpford. Then go and park near his office until he emerges. The same instructions I've already given. Pete, you go and park near Buller's place in Pimlico. Marler can give you the address.'