“What’s so important about the laptop?” Harry said. “Aren’t the Russians more interested in the dust?”
“The laptop, Harry… now.” Alain raised the gun and aimed it at the Englishman’s heart.
Four…
The people cheered and whistled as the world-famous bell rung four and all around them the fireworks display crackled and buzzed, but Leo knew that if he couldn’t get the canister out of the pyro holder they were cheering their own agonizing deaths.
“Damn thing’s welded in!” he said.
Five…
“You have to hurry up! We’re running out of road, niknak,” Zoey said.
“Could do with that puukko knife right about now,” Leo said, frowning.
“That particular knife is sort of busy right about now,” Zoey said.
“Then I have to belt it out with brute force.”
Six…
“A man’s answer to everything.”
“Any better ideas?”
Seven…
Zoey looked up to the striking clock tower and back to Leo. “No… but what if it breaks apart when you kick it?”
Eight…
“Then we’re all dead, but we’re all dead in about four seconds anyway so I don’t see the risk. Just make sure you catch it.”
Nine…
“Well, duh…”
Ten…
Leo kicked the canister out of the pyro holder and it flew right past Zoey’s clasped hands and sailed out into the night.
Eleven…
“What did I say about catching it?”
“Sorry.”
Twelve…
The timer triggered the firing mechanism but there was nothing inside the pyro holder to launch. They looked down and saw far below as Maja Eklund caught it in her hands and give them the thumbs up.
“She’s got it!” Zoey said.
Leo took a second to get his breath back, and it was then he noticed the top of the Shard was ablaze. The flickering white and orange light was unmistakably a fire even from this distance in the night, and if he strained his eyes he was even able to see the plumes of black smoke billowing up from the upper storeys.
Zoey peered down at Maja and patted Leo on the arm. “Let’s get outta here.”
“Good idea. I hope Harry’s all right.”
“Only one way to find out, Scooter — but what about Karhu?”
“He can stay in the Thames with all the other turds for all I care,” Leo said. “And yes, by the way.”
“Huh?”
“To the date thing.”
“Ah…” She smiled and linked her arm through his. “Great.”
“You like Chinese food?”
“Whatever makes your heart beat faster, Chief.”
Harry shielded his eyes from the driving rain as he scanned the Frenchman’s face for any sign he might lose consciousness because of the blood loss, but he looked like he was holding on. Behind him fireworks lit the night purple, red and orange and the sound of people cheering wildly drifted up from the ground.
“I’m not giving you the laptop, Alain.” Harry was sure Baupin could have no knowledge of the gun he had taken from Szabo’s case, and he moved his hand up slowly to his side.
Baupin shook his head sadly. “Too bad, then you must die.”
Baupin raised his gun but Harry was faster, opening fire with the compact pistol. An enormous spider web fracture instantly appeared on the reinforced glass window behind the Frenchman. Baupin looked shocked for a moment, as if he hadn’t really expected the Englishman to shoot at him, but then dived for the cover of one of the girders with surprising speed and fired back a lethal volley of bullets.
Lucia and Niko scrambled out of the line of fire and Harry crashed into the floor. He rolled out of sight until he was behind the cover provided by the top of the stairs. Baupin’s bullets followed Harry as he rolled in the rain and then danced up onto the reinforced glass walls, smashing holes in them and sending shards of glass into the howling gale.
Harry shielded his eyes as he checked the magazine. Three rounds left. Not good, but better than nothing and he knew he had to make them count. He fired a shot back and the bullet ricocheted off the ground a few inches in front of Baupin’s boots. The Frenchman jumped back but Harry fired again.
This time the bullet struck Baupin in the upper arm, shattering the bone and forcing him to drop the weapon. It landed with a smack on the floor just as the Frenchman was grunting in pain and gripping at the wound with his other hand. He moved to pick it back up, and Harry fired his last shot and struck Baupin in the chest.
A look of confused terror and regret crossed the stricken man’s face as he stumbled back and toppled over the edge of the viewing platform, screaming as he went. Niko and Lucia peered over the edge and watched him as he spun around in the wind on the short journey toward the pavement three hundred meters below, and then they pulled themselves back before the wind claimed two more lives.
As Niko picked up the laptop case and collected the guns, Harry walked over to Lucia and steered her away from the jagged hole and toward the center of the platform. “It’s over,” he said. “We’d know by now if the dust had deployed.”
She looked at him with confused relief in her eyes. “Really?”
“Really,” he said, glancing at his watch. “And if we’re quick we can catch the end of the fireworks.”
“And what about Paradise?” she said.
“Paradise?”
“In the Prado you told me when all this hell was over you would take me to Paradise?”
“Ah…” he said.
FORTY-THREE
Paradise was a new international fusion restaurant on the fortieth floor of the Heron Tower in the City of London. It was early in the evening, and yet most of the tables were full thanks partly to the Shard being closed for repairs. According to the newspapers, less than twenty-four hours ago the top floors had suffered a large electrical fire and many of the restaurants in the skyscraper would be closed for weeks.
Better news was that Aleksi Karhu had been identified as the killer of Pablo, Mariana Vidal and the two Spanish police officers, and the European Arrest Warrant for Harry and Lucia had been rescinded. That, at least, was something — as was the safe delivery of the Ministry’s laptop to MI5.
Harry pulled out a chair for Lucia and went to do the same for Zoey but she was already sitting down and looking at the menu. Looking southwest, the winter sun was on the horizon now, hovering just above the Waterloo skyline.
“So you brought me to Paradise after all,” Lucia said, and smiled.
Harry saw the smile, and for a moment he saw the face of the woman he had known so many years ago, when they were both so much younger. Despite her terrible start in life, she was a kind person, but tonight’s smile was a sad reflection of the recent tragedy she had endured with the death of her boyfriend Pablo.
“Cool place,” Zoey said.
“Everyone hungry?” Harriet said.
Harry turned to his twin sister and smiled. “I think we’re all hungry after the day we’ve just had… and you might have to pay for this by the way.”
“Me — why?”
“Oh, nothing serious,” Harry said.
“None of us exist anymore,” said Zoey, rummaging in her bag. “I got a few dead presidents here who can help out some but after that I’m down and out.” She dropped a wad of crumpled American bills on the table and belched loudly.
A rotund man at the next table threw his napkin down in horror and turned in his chair. “How dare you do that in front of my wife?”