In another area a small gas stove and a kettle had been set up; next to these was a pile of provisions — tinned food, mainly, but also teabags, powdered milk, bars of chocolate and bottles of water. There were a couple of white, unmarked pill bottles containing ephedrine tablets — not unlike speed, regular issue in the Regiment and crucial if they found themselves getting tired during a watch.
Everything they needed while they watched and waited.
There were two beds in the room. 'That's yours,' Will told Latifa, pointing at one. Next to it was an armchair — old and threadbare, but the most comfortable one they could find. Latifa hobbled over to the chair and collapsed into it.
Will turned to Drew. 'Go and lock the front door,' he said. 'Surveillance starts now.'
Drew nodded and left the room.
'What is that?' Latifa asked. She was pointing at the black box.
Will walked to it and flicked a switch. 'An alarm,' he said. 'The house is surrounded by motion sensors. It's impossible to approach from any side without triggering them. The moment Ah — .' He paused. 'The moment your brother approaches, we'll know about it.'
'Unless he lands on the roof,' Kennedy drawled. 'But we're thinking we'll probably notice a Black Hawk hovering above us.'
Latifa looked contemptuously at him; he rolled his eyes, grabbed a UMP and took up position at one of the binoculars. Drew walked back in. 'All set,' he said.
Will turned to Latifa. 'We don't leave this room,' he told her. 'Not unless you need to use the toilet. When that happens, all three of us accompany you across the hallway to the bathroom. One of us comes in with you, the others wait outside.'
Latifa looked at him aghast. 'I refuse to—'
'I'm sorry, Latifa. We don't like it any more than you do, but there's no argument. There's a second alarm box outside the bathroom, so he won't catch us by surprise while you're — ' His voice trailed off and he looked over to the second bed. 'One of us will sleep while the other two keep watch. If the buzzer sounds, you'll be held at gunpoint by one of us. We don't want to hurt you, and we don't intend to, but if your brother sees you in that kind of danger it will make him hesitate. The other two will cover the windows and the door. Speaking of which—'Will pulled a length of string from around his neck on which hung a key. He went to the door, closed it firmly, then locked it from the inside.
'Make yourself comfortable, Latifa,' he said. 'We could be here for some time.'
'I would be more comfortable,' she said, 'if you were to remove these handcuffs.'
Will shook his head. 'I'm sorry,' he replied. 'I can't do that. I'll remove them at mealtimes, but after that they go back on.' Latifa turned her head away and he could see that she was holding back tears. 'It's not for much longer, Latifa,' he said, quietly. 'Your brother will be here soon.'
He looked out of the window to the dense forest beyond. It was stupid, but he couldn't get the image out of his head of Ahmed staring back at him. There were bigger things at stake here, Will knew that;but right then he had the unerring sensation that it was him against Ahmed. Man on man. A battle of wits, as well as strength.
Will breathed deeply, then turned back to Latifa.
'Your brother will be here very soon,' he said.
FOURTEEN
Faisal Ahmed was pleased it was cold. It meant he could wear a woollen hat — and so disguise his features to an extent — without attracting attention.
What would have attracted more attention, of course, was the contents of his rucksack. An MP5 with a laser-sight attachment, NV goggles and telescope, a small pouch of explosives and various other bits of kit that he had carefully packed before leaving his safe house, no doubt never to return. He had used a couple of notes from his wallet full of cash to buy a ticket and now he was sitting by the window as the train sped towards King's Cross. His rucksack was on the shelf above him, along with the suitcases and laptop bags of the other passengers on this crowded service. Next to him, a fat man drank noisily from a beer can, despite the fact it was only noon. As the train slowed down into a station, he stood up and pulled his bag from the shelf where it had been nestled next to Ahmed's.
His rucksack looked precarious for a moment, as if it might fall. Ahmed sprang up, knocking the fat man out of the way.
'What the fuck?' the fat man spat.
Ahmed steadied the rucksack, then turned to look at him. The man seemed furious, red-faced. He pushed his great bulk against Ahmed's body, clearly spoiling for a fight. But Ahmed did not want a fight. Not here. He bowed his head. 'I apologise,' he said, meekly. 'That was extremely rude of me.'
The fat man huffed at him, but the wind had been taken out of his sails by Ahmed's swift apology. He grabbed his bag and waddled to the door.
At King's Cross Ahmed made sure he was always in the middle of the crowd as he made his way to the underground and bought himself a ticket to Waterloo. Once there, he consulted the timetables. Of course, he would not be taking a train to the station nearest the house; he would get within a certain radius and walk the rest. Nor would he take a direct route. It needed to be circuitous, to give him a better chance of shaking off any surveillance.
He worked out his route and memorised it instantly. It was good. It would get him there at eight o'clock that evening. That meant he would be approaching under cover of night. It would take three or four hours to get there; then he would be able to work out a strategy.
Keeping his head facing down towards the ground so that he avoided the glare of any CCTV, he bought himself a ticket. The first train was already waiting on the platform, so he found the emptiest carriage, took a seat and waited for it to move away.
The day passed slowly.
Latifa did not speak a word and the SAS men were similarly silent. The television was on in the corner, but the sound was turned down and none of them were really paying attention to the flicker of images. The three soldiers wore their gas masks, but Latifa had refused hers and nothing they could say could persuade her otherwise. Will had taken first watch with Drew, while Kennedy slept. At lunchtime the men had eaten tins of stew heated on the stove; Latifa refused it, choosing to accept only a few sips of water. At about three o'clock, she asked to use the toilet. Will nodded, woke Drew who was by now sleeping on the bed, and the three of them — UMPs at the ready — escorted her to the bathroom. Kennedy and Drew stood guard in the hallway, while Will took her inside. He kept his back to her while she did what she needed to do. When he heard the flushing of the chain he turned around. Clearly humiliated by the circumstances, she would not meet his eye.
At 19.00 hours it was his turn to get some rest. Drew and Kennedy switched on the NV binoculars and kept watch over the encroaching gloom. As he lay on the bed, Will's mind was turning over; but he was dog tired and he soon fell asleep.
Kennedy woke him at midnight. He sat up immediately and it took a moment for him to remember where he was. Latifa was still awake, still sitting in the chair, her arms fastened tightly behind her back.
'You should try and sleep,' he told her.
'Sleep?' she asked him, one eyebrow raised. 'How could I possibly go to sleep?'
Will shrugged, grabbed a bar of chocolate, then took up his position. He had another eight hours of surveillance ahead of him and he had to keep on the ball.
The luminous dial of Faisal Ahmed's hand-held compass glowed dimly in the darkness. On the train he had memorised his Ordnance Survey map of the region so there was no need for him to consult it by torchlight. By his reckoning, the house would be approximately 200 metres south of here. He moved stealthily through the forest and, sure enough, a minute later he saw a bright yellow light shining through the trees.