The door opened and Lomax appeared. Sean eyed him carefully. ‘What’s this about a new itinerary for Cetus?’
Lomax gave DD a look and turned to Sean. ‘Just a little side job that London asked me to do. It doesn’t change anything.’
It was clear that Lomax didn’t want to talk about it and Sean thought he wouldn’t get any more information out of him just now. ‘I’m going to take a look round.’
‘Don’t be long’ Lomax replied in a clipped voice.
Something about the tone made Sean turn round. Lomax gripped the door knob with white knuckles.
‘What’s the matter?’
Lomax waved Sean away. ‘Just some bruises from the raid on AMA. I’m too old for this game,’ Lomax replied.
Right then Sean knew there was a problem. Lomax would never complain about his injuries and especially about being too old. Not the Lomax he had come to know. ‘Let’s take a look.’
Lomax gritted his teeth and held up both hands.
‘Not necessary. I’m OK. You go and take a look around.’
Sean stopped, unsure whether to go.
‘Go on’ urged Lomax. ‘You need to check the area out — you should go.’
‘Are you hurt?’ asked Sean.
‘Not so as you would notice’ was the terse reply.
‘Will you let me get the doc?’
Lomax shook his head. ‘I’ve seen him already. Just bugger off and check the environment.’
‘OK, I’m going. Listen, if I ring you, you need to get everyone out fast.’
As Sean pulled away he noticed a parked car that had not been there before. In the driver’s seat was a man reading a newspaper. Sean continued to drive sedately along the street, checking in the mirror every few seconds. After a minute he saw a tail join him from a side street, keeping a good fifty metres behind.
Sean turned left at the next side street and wound through the estate of large detached houses, coming out south of the safe house. He pulled into the side of the road and took out his mobile. The car behind overtook at a leisurely speed and disappeared around the next corner.
Sean left the motor running and keyed in the number. Lomax answered immediately. ‘You’ll have to pull out’ said Sean. ‘Pronto.’
Lomax coughed and replied with curt ‘OK’. Immediately Sean thought something wasn’t quite right. The cough was not part of any recognition code he knew.
The second Lomax put the phone down Lomax would begin to organise an immediate withdrawal. This would include hitting the destruct button on DD’s computers and heading straight for their car. But Sean was afraid it might already be too late.
Time to give the opposition a distraction. Sean floored the accelerator and shot off down the road. The reaction was almost comical. Out of the corner of his eye he saw a car frantically trying to turn into his road. Then he saw the headlights of a second car coming towards him — a novel way of following, thought Sean as he aimed for the front bumper. The car chickened out at the last moment, mounting the pavement and colliding with a lamp post. Sean’s car scraped along the pedestrian iron railings to a cacophony of sounds.
Back in the safe house Lomax slumped over his desk, still clutching the phone.
Sean abandoned the car, thanking his lucky stars that it was night. Although the roads were well lit with street lights, there were plenty of shadows he could use for concealment.
A cop car screeched around the corner. Sean drew back into the darkness between two houses. Luckily this was a quiet estate. Sean watched as the car shot past and waited another minute before moving on. Moving at a rapid walk, he was just about to cross the road when he heard the clatter of a helicopter.
They were pulling out all the stops, he thought with a sinking feeling. It would be a miracle if they all managed to evade capture. He peered around the corner of the house. The lockup stood amongst a row of garages in a cul-de-sac. And blocking off the road was a cop car, blue lights flashing.
Sean halted in the shadows. It was now or never. He dashed across the road in full view of the cops.
The reaction was predictable. Instead of getting out immediately and chasing on foot, they used the car to head him off. That created time, and time created distance. At last the car braked violently with a screech of tyres. One of them left the car to chase him, and the other stayed to report on the radio.
Sean weaved in and out of the streets, sometimes turning, sometimes cutting back. If it wasn’t for the sharp pains in his side, he could have enjoyed the run. He was about to dash across another street when he heard the helicopter again.
A brilliant spot light weaved its way towards him. Sean glanced around quickly. There was no immediate cover. He eyed a four by four in a nearby drive. He might have time to start the ignition and lead them a merry chase. But the chances of escape that way were slim. What to do?
At that moment, the householder who owned the four by four appeared on the drive, shielding his eyes from the strong light. Immediately the spot light moved to pick him out and the helicopter side-slipped until it was vertically overhead. A voice boomed out over the loudspeaker system.
‘Stand right where you are. Stand still.’
Sean turned and kept the house between himself and the helicopter. By doubling back and then choosing another approach he came to the back of the garages. He looked around carefully. All attention was on the unfortunate householder on the other side of the lockup. Sean moved slowly and deliberately towards the garage, reaching for the key to the door.
‘Hey!’
Sean kept on, resisting the urged to turn around.
‘Hey, what’s going on?’
It was just another nosey neighbour. Sean raised his hand in the air and shook it vaguely, continuing towards the garage as if to say he didn’t know or care. In a second the key was in the lock and the door opened upwards. Sean peered around towards the back of the garage. Everything appeared to be in place. He entered, closing the door behind him before switching on the overhead light. The bike was at the back, covered by an old piece of carpet.
Sean examined the telltale he left earlier. The oil stain, half on the carpet, half on the floor, matched exactly. The carpet had not been moved.
Sean opened a cupboard set against the far wall and withdrew a rucksack. It was heavy and bulky, filled with emergency items.
He hefted the rucksack and then pulled away the carpet to reveal a Honda Off Road CRF 450R. The chrome glinted in the light. He marvelled at Lomax’s taste — Sean had only asked Lomax for a fast bike. He went back to the cupboard to withdraw a flak jacket. The outer was covered in a thin layer of black Gortex. Another layer of reinforced carbon fibre was incorporated into the inner lining. Sean strapped it on before pulling on the rucksack. He hoped he wouldn’t catch any bullets lower than the flak jacket — it would blow up the petrol tank around him.
He switched off the light and slowly opened the garage door to its full height. Swinging his leg over the broad black leather seat, he mentally rehearsed the next steps. Hefting the machine from side to side, he checked that nothing was loose.
Breathing in sharply, he kicked on the starter. Night beckoned through the garage doors.
Chapter 28
‘This is a police SWAT team. Put your hands in the air and come out through the front door, one at a time.’
DD and Natasha glanced at each other. Between them they held Lomax, struggling to keep him upright.
‘What shall we do?’ Natasha looked to DD for an answer.
‘We need to get him into the car’ said DD, panting with the exertion. ‘God knows how long he’ll last.’