Angel watched the fluorescent clock on the bench front show midnight and shortly afterwards heard St Mary’s Church clock strike twelve. The moon was shining quite brightly. There were no clouds, so it was about as dark as it was going to get. Some time passed in silence, then suddenly there was a voice through the RT.
‘Romeo Lima Two to Traveller One.’
There was something urgent about the way the man spoke. Angel felt his heart bounce. ‘Yes, Romeo Lima Two?’
‘A big car has just passed us, sir. Very slowly.’
Angel’s pulse beat loudly in his ears.
‘I think it’s black,’ Romeo Lima Two continued. ‘Moving slowly … like a hearse … as if it’s surveying the area. It’s turning left.’
Angel breathed out a cool sigh.
‘Just the driver in it?’
‘Couldn’t see, sir. It’s got the lines of a big Mercedes. It’s coming your way.’
The vehicle suddenly glided alongside the observation van and stopped. The near side was only eight feet away.
Angel heard Gawber gasp excitedly as he gripped the handle of the video camera tightly and traversed the full length of the Mercedes.
Angel could feel and hear the vibration of the car engine. It cut off his view of the flat. All he could see were black windows and black bodywork.
The car hovered for a few seconds.
He sniffed and peered harder through the binoculars. ‘It’s a big, expensive piece of transport for one bank clerk,’ he whispered.
He sat glued to the binoculars trying to catch sight of the driver.
After a few seconds the car rolled silently away down Rotherham Road.
Angel eased back from the binoculars and rubbed his chin.
‘Did you get the index number?’
‘Yes, sir. I’ll ring it through.’
‘Do it now.’
‘I hope we’ve not frightened him off,’ Gawber said, reaching out for his mobile.
‘Naw,’ Angel said, wiping his face with his handkerchief. ‘He’ll be back. He’s very nervous. Very careful.’
He reached out for the microphone. ‘Romeo Lima One and Two. I’m pretty sure that this is the customer we’re expecting. Keep your heads down. He’ll be back soon and might come checking round all parked cars. Be very careful.’
Two minutes later, Gawber turned away from his mobile phone and said, ‘The car is registered to a Doctor Shannon in Cambridge.’
Angel nodded. ‘It’ll be twinned. I don’t like this, Ron. This isn’t Spencer. It bears all the signs of a heavy gang.’ He felt a tingle through his chest. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up.
Five minutes later, the big black car arrived back on Rotherham Road. The car taxied up to Mansion Hill flats like a jumbo jet fitted with a silencer. It stopped gently only feet away.
Angel felt his heart pounding again.
Gawber reached out for the video camera and pulled the trigger.
All four doors opened and a man got out of each door. The two nearest men were giants. They looked like the offspring of a steam train and a pipe-works. They were armed with short, light pieces carried at thigh height. They looked like old Sten guns. The other two were merely tall and wiry and carried something in their right hands. They were all dressed in dark coloured T-shirts, jeans and black jockey caps with the neb facing backwards. They made straight across the road to the side door of the flats.
The car glided silently away.
Angel’s breathing was heavy. He knew that plan A was down the pan, and anybody with half a brain could pull the chain. This was a far bigger operation than he had expected. He reached out for the mike. ‘Traveller One to Romeo Lima One.’
‘Romeo Lima One here, sir.’
‘Go quickly to the station, to Traffic, and get a magnetic tracer. Make sure it has a new battery and bring it back to me, smartly.’
‘On our way, sir.’
Gawber said: ‘The four men have found the back door and they’ve gone inside, sir.’
Angel peered through the binoculars. The street was quiet and deserted.
He grabbed the microphone again. ‘Traveller One to Romeo Lima Two.’
‘Romeo Lima Two here, sir.’
‘Run around the area, once only, and see if you can see where the Mercedes has toddled off to. It won’t be far away. Don’t go down the same street twice. You understand? The driver might just be sauntering round while the others are taking the flat to pieces and awaiting a signal from them, or it may be just parked up somewhere handy. But be careful. Don’t let them realize what you are doing. Drive away noisily if you think they suspect.’
‘Right, sir.’
He returned to the binoculars. Nothing moved. In the moonlight, he could just make out the lids of the wheelie bins and the glass panel in the door. There was a long, long silence. Five minutes. Ten minutes. He listened for the slightest sound. Nothing moved. There was zilch. Zero. Just the thumping of his pulse. It was so quiet, still and in moonlight … as if it was the final day on earth.
Then the RT crackled. ‘Romeo Lima Two here, sir. Can’t see the car anywhere, sir. Been all round.’
‘All right. Get back in position.’
‘Right, sir.’
Angel returned to the window and peered upwards. ‘I wonder how they’re getting along up there?’
‘They must have been in the flat about twelve minutes,’ Gawber added.
Angel brushed a sweaty hand through his hair. That was a long time in this business. It was much longer than he expected them to be. They must have felt pretty confident to have taken so long. He leaned forward to the microphone. ‘Traveller One to Romeo Lima One. How much longer are you going to be?’
‘On our way, sir.’
‘Yeah, but what’s your ETA?’
‘About two minutes, sir.’
‘Make it one. Come in quietly. I’ll meet you on foot on Chapel Street … at the first ginnel. Has that thing got a fresh battery?’
‘Fitted while we waited, sir.’
‘See you in a minute.’
‘Right, sir.’
Gawber stared towards Angel. He couldn’t believe it. ‘You’re not going out, sir, on your own?’ he breathed.
Angel stood up. ‘The Merc’s not back yet. I’m hoping I’ve time.’
‘You can’t go out, sir. You’ll be seen!’
‘Only if anybody’s looking,’ he said and he opened the door and slipped out on the pavement.
‘But, sir,’ Gawber protested.
He could have saved his breath.
It was bright. There was a lot of moon and no sign of a cloud.
Angel knew that there was no possible chance of not being seen walking down the street if anybody had been watching, so he walked boldly along to the corner of Rotherham Road. It was only a few yards onto Chapel Street, and only a few more to where Romeo Lima One had been hiding. Seconds later, the car arrived. Seeing him, it slowed. The front nearside window was down. He held out his hand and was handed a metal disc about the diameter of a truncheon and as thick as a bullet. ‘Thanks, lad.’
‘Good luck, sir.’
He pushed it into his pocket and retraced his steps boldly to the observation van. There was still no sign of any members of the gang or of the Mercedes. He sighed with relief as he stepped noiselessly into the van and closed the door.
There was a crackle from the RT. ‘The Merc’s back, sir. It’s coming your way.’
‘Right. Ta,’ Angel replied.
Almost immediately, the big black car pulled across the window of the observation van.
Angel silently slid the door of the van open, and made his way along the pavement and onto the road, crouching down at the rear of the observation van.
At the same time, four men dashed out of the flats across the road to the Mercedes; all four doors were opened, a man entered through each door, and then they closed them almost as one, like an army drill.
That was Angel’s cue. He knew he had less than a second. He darted from behind the observation van, crouched down and placed the magnetic tracking device under the nearside wheel arch of the Mercedes, and at the same time received a face full of exhaust fumes. He fell backwards onto his rear as the Mercedes sped away along Rotherham Road.