"Meltdown" - читать интересную книгу автора (McNab Andy)

3

Dudley slowly stirred a steaming mug of thick black coffee. He looked tired; the flight from the UK and the long drive had taken their toll. He sipped at the coffee and felt the surge of caffeine.

Having given Danny the broad details of the growing Meltdown crisis and told him about his proposed special task force, Dudley had suddenly seemed very tired. He'd unbuttoned the overcoat he always wore and asked for a coffee.

While Fergus made the brew, Dudley glanced at Danny, who was turning over in his mind everything that had been said. Whatever decisions were made, Fergus wouldn't make them alone.

'Why us?' said Danny.

'Firstly, because of your grandfather's vast experience in combating drugs traffickers. FARC in Colombia, the IRA drug runners in Northern Ireland. He's been inside those organizations; he knows how they operate. That knowledge will be invaluable.'

Danny shrugged; it wasn't enough to have brought Dudley all the way from his comfortable office in London.

'And then there are the people we're targeting,' Dudley added quickly. 'They're vain and arrogant. They enjoy the champagne lifestyle and they like to mix with the famous or even the infamous. They will undoubtedly be drawn to high-profile characters like yourselves once their own problems begin.'

'High profile?' asked Danny. 'Us?'

'Oh, you will be,' said Dudley, reaching into an inside pocket of his overcoat. He pulled out a folded sheet of paper, opened it and placed it on the table for Danny to read. It was a mock-up of a newspaper headline.

TRAITOR REVEALED AS SECRET HERO

'That's one of my own,' said Dudley, shrugging modestly. The hot coffee had had a reviving effect. 'But I'm sure my experts will come up with even more tantalizing headlines, as well as the stories to go with them.'

Danny looked over at his grandfather. 'I don't get it.'

'Let him explain,' answered Fergus quietly.

Dudley swiftly outlined his plan. 'Your grandfather has a history. I want to use that history to draw in our targets.'

'But why? Why not use one of your own men?'

'Because there isn't time, Danny. The Meltdown crisis is spiralling out of control. There's no time to create a believable legend for some non-existent hero. Your grandfather's story is all there on the record, in black and white.'

Danny listened as Dudley explained that he was already preparing a carefully orchestrated press campaign. A deliberately leaked MI5 report would reveal that Fergus had played a massive part in halting a worldwide teenage suicide bombing campaign, after being secretly recruited for Operation Black Star.

He would be acclaimed as a national hero and, as a result, the government would have no option but to publicly 'pardon' him for his previous crimes against the country. Fergus had long been accused of being a traitor, of selling out to the FARC drug barons in Colombia when he was meant to be working towards their destruction. They all knew it was a false accusation, but it would remain on the record.

'But he's innocent,' said Danny quickly. 'You know that. We proved it before the Black Star operation.'

Dudley nodded indulgently. 'Of course I know it. But we want our targets to think exactly the opposite. We want them to think that he's guilty; that he's corrupt, perfectly willing to enter into a shady deal if the money is right. That's what will make him attractive to them.'

'But why should-?'

'Let me finish, please?' said Dudley, holding up his hands. 'We'll make it absolutely clear that while we're grateful for everything your grandfather has done, he can never again be employed by any government organization. That's important.'

He sat back, looking pleased with his plan. He raised his eyebrows, inviting Danny's questions.

'These targets you keep talking about, who are they?'

The elderly man shook his head. 'I'm afraid that information must remain classified until I know that you're in.'

Danny pushed away his chair and stood up. 'I've had enough of all this classified shit.' He glared at his grandfather. 'And operational secrets.' He started to walk towards the door.

'Wait, Danny!' said Fergus. As Danny stopped by the door, Fergus fixed his eyes on Dudley. 'The targets? Who are they?'

Dudley sighed. 'They're young brothers – twins by the name of Headingham.'

'So, if you've got a name, why don't you just go in and bust them?'

'Because it's not the right way, I'm certain of that now. There are no new clues to the location of the DMP – we had a task force go into a warehouse we suspected was manufacturing drugs, but it was absolutely empty; we don't understand where and how they're making Meltdown. And the distribution network is also a complete mystery. I'm absolutely sure there's at least one much bigger fish somewhere in Europe who we need to identify and net. I'm convinced that the only way to get everything we want is by infiltrating the twins' setup. But it must be done quickly.'

Danny was still by the door. He leaned back against the wall. 'We?' He nodded towards his grandfather but continued speaking to Dudley. 'I can see why you want him, but where do I fit in?'

Fergus answered the question before Dudley could reply. 'We're a team, Danny. I'm not going anywhere without you.'

'We'll mention in the newspaper reports that you also played an important part in Operation Black Star,' said Dudley quickly. 'You could be very useful.'

Danny laughed cynically. 'Useful? What you really mean is, if you want my granddad, you have to take me too. Yeah, that's really useful. And there's something else you haven't mentioned, isn't there?'

Dudley knew what was coming but he waited for Danny to continue.

'What about Deveraux? Is she part of this?'

Dudley sighed. 'You know, I really am truly sorry about your friend, Miss-'

'Yeah, right,' snapped Danny. He didn't want to discuss Elena with Dudley. After all, he had played his part in her death, even if he hadn't pulled the trigger. 'Deveraux… is she part of it?'

'Not at all. Miss Deveraux is no longer with the Security Service.'

'So where is she?'

'I think she was expecting to take over my job. When that didn't happen, she returned to the Secret Intelligence Service, concentrating on overseas operations rather than our problems at home. I'm told she's doing extremely well. This is my initiative, and if you take the job, you'll be working directly under my control. When it's over, if you want to, you can walk away, your names finally and completely cleared. You'll be free to do whatever you want and go wherever you want to go. No more looking over your shoulder to see who might be following.'

Fergus put down the coffee mug he had been nursing and looked at Dudley. 'Danny and me need to have a few words alone.' He nodded towards the coffee pot that was still bubbling on the stove. 'Help yourself.' It was cold outside the cabin and the shadows were already beginning to lengthen. They walked towards the lake and Fergus said nothing until they were well out of earshot of the cabin.

'It gives us a chance, Danny. To get this done and then make a new start.'

'Because we're a team?' said Danny sarcastically, echoing the words his grandfather had used in the cabin. 'Well, that's what I thought until you let me and Elena down in New York. If you'd told us you knew that Deveraux had killed Elena's dad, then Elena would never have been there. We'd have got out, and Elena would still be alive.'

'All right!' said Fergus angrily. 'I did what I thought was right at the time! Op sec! That's the way it works. And if you can't get that into your head, then you might as well get a job stacking shelves in a supermarket.'

Danny was ready to fight back as his own anger boiled over. 'Yeah, well maybe that'd be better than being stuck here with you! I'm only here because of you! Doing nothing. Walking up and down this poxy lake until I know every rock and every tree!'

He picked up a stone and hurled it as hard as he could, far out into the lake. They saw the splash as it landed and the ripples that went spilling out in every direction.

'So this is a way out of here,' Fergus suggested mildly. 'Let's do it.'

Danny kept his eyes on the water as he spoke again, more quietly now. 'Why should we trust Dudley, after everything that's happened before?'

'Because he's here. Once they found out where we were, they could have taken us, Danny; sent a full team to eliminate us. Dudley's here because he needs us.'

'He needs you,' said Danny, turning to look at his grandfather. 'I'm not important.'

'You are to me.' Fergus looked closely at his grandson. 'We have to move on, Danny. It's no good living in the past. Like Dudley said, we do this job and then get out.'

'And what about Deveraux? Do you really believe she's out of the picture?'

Fergus nodded. 'I don't think even Dudley would ever consider putting us back together with Deveraux.'

When they went back into the cabin, Dudley was still sitting exactly where they'd left him, staring morosely into an empty coffee mug.

They sat at the table and Fergus got straight down to business. 'So after all this "hero" stuff in the newspapers, what then?'

Dudley nodded and then smiled. 'We reveal, in a follow-up story, that you are setting up your own independent security consultancy. That will most certainly attract the twins' interest when phase two of the operation begins.'

Before they went into the details of the operation, Fergus wanted to get a couple more things straight. 'I choose the rest of the team.'

It was nothing less than Dudley had expected. 'Agreed.'

'And Danny's not ready. He's never worked in a team. He needs a build-up.'

Dudley stood up and brushed down his overcoat. 'We have little time; the Meltdown crisis is like a ticking time bomb. Ten days maximum, but I need you on the ground as soon as possible.'

Fergus looked at his grandson, and when he spoke, there was a hint of pride in his voice. 'Danny's a quick learner.'