Vestige of Evil

PROLOGUE

I was standing in the marble, entrance hall of the Bureau’ Headquarters, surrounded by a pool of water as I was shaking my raincoat out, thoroughly irritated with everything. I only had an hour’s sleep when Alex phoned and told me to report to the office immediately. I haven’t shaved and am wearing an ugly black ski jacket with black jeans; I do not look my best! I glimpsed at my watch noticing it was only 2.30 am, grumbling I turned around looking for Alex. He was nowhere to be seen, watching the activity going on around me; I realized something was very wrong; this place is never such a beehive this time of the morning.

A harassed looking Tania, rushed past me with a couple of files grasped in her arms, head bent, concentrating on the slippery floor. She didn’t even notice me as she climbed into the lift. I took the next available lift and started looking for Alex as soon as the doors opened.

Looking into various offices, I observed a kind of frenzied activity going on all around the place. I tried stopping some people to ask the whereabouts of Alex, but they only looked up and mutely shaking their heads negatively, before hastening on. Secrets couldn’t be kept for long in this building. The grape vine was excellent.

I wandered down the dimly lit corridors really getting fed up now. Alex had stressed the urgency of the matter and that meant dropping everything you’re doing. It’s a red alert! And now he’s nowhere to be found!

‘If I don’t find Alex very soon, he can shove off,’ I decided loudly in the empty corridor.

With long strides I turned the corner, and saw him standing at the top of the stairs talking to Lennard. Alex is a tall thin man, walking with a stoop, as some tall men do. He is in his late forties with thinning light hair and the sallow complexion of a man who do not get enough fresh air. He has a calm manner and is soft spoken, and never ruffled, even with disaster all round him. With his round eyeglasses and light eyes, he looks like a professor. He is the only person that can diffuse a heated situation involving me, and to achieve that, takes a strong spirited man.

They turned to look at me and there must have been a grim expression on my face, because Alex called out, ‘I’ll be with you in a minute, Phil.’

Anger boiling in me, my hands thrust deep into my trouser pockets; I waited for them to finish.

Coming down from the landing, he said, ‘Let’s go to Lennard’s office,’ with a furtive glance at me.

With a firm tread I ascended the stairs, ignoring both of them, shoving open Lennard’s office door.

‘Do you know what time it is? And do you know how long I’ve been fumbling my fingers waiting to hear what the emergency is?’ I asked angrily, standing in front of Lennard’s desk.

Lennard took his seat behind the desk pushing papers and pens around, not looking at me.

He is uncomfortable. How extraordinary. This is not the Lennard I know. He probably wants me to do something that’s a stinker.

Watching Lennard, I picked up distress signals, it must be extreme pressure. The signs are obscured but I’m good at picking up bad vibes. I am trained to observe and evaluate any person or situation, my life sometimes depends on it. Nevertheless his discomfort does not diffuse my anger.

Lennard King, my Boss, nothing extra-ordinary about him, he’s of average build and height with light brown hair. He is a man one could pass in the street without noticing, an effect he’d been careful to cultivate through the years in the field and is now a habit.

‘Won’t you sit, Phil?’ very quietly from Lennard, his penetrating steel-grey eyes watchful and wary behind his thin gold framed glasses. An ordinary man you will assume, except when you meet his eyes. Lennard’s face in repose is that of a kindly man with exceptional intelligence. He’s a in his early forties and still well trimmed and fit.

‘No. Are you going to tell me what’s bugging everybody, or are you going to push those papers around the rest of the night? I’ll leave you to it then, I’m just wasting my time here,’ I said turning around reaching for the door handle, when Lennard spoke:

‘Calm down Phil,’ he says with a stern voice, ‘I’m sorry for the delay, but a critical situation has developed that can threaten our whole existence. There were some instructions I had to relay before attending to anything else. Come back and close the door, then we can talk.’

Filling his pipe with care, Lennard gave a few puffs before putting it down in the ashtray. He took a deep breath before looking me straight in the eyes.

I’ve seen him controlling the atmosphere in a room full of people with a silent penetrating stare.

‘As you know, we’ve been back from Europe for six weeks now. During that time Lucius made a remarkable recovery which astonished the world.’

‘It is still unbelievable that he could have survived that head wound. I moved into the chair in front of Lennard’s desk. He was declared DOA by the doctors at the hospital.’

I turned my head towards Alex, but he was sitting quietly in an armchair smoking his cigarettes, watching the spiral of smoke drifting lazily towards the ceiling.

‘He survived, and recovered to such an extent that he’s got full control of Europe again, and what is worse, he’s more of a hero to the people now than ever before. An extremely rude awakening awaits them,’ Lennard replied.

‘It is out of our hands now.’

‘Only for a short while if I have anything to do with it, trust me. As you know, we discovered that Percy, our Minister, is Lucius’ man. How far they already influenced the Prime Minister is anybody’s guess. Percy is a traitor and was bugging our offices for information handing it over Lucius. He also copied documents from the Cabinet he thought Lucius would need. It’s treason.’

‘Yes, but he doesn’t know that we’re aware of it,’ I said.

‘We have acquired reliable intelligence that Lucius is on the verge of obtaining control over all Britain’s Intelligence and Security services, including the Bureau.’

‘It’s not possible,’ I said disgusted.

‘As he is the leader of the EU now, anything is possible. At present he is very powerful. He’s already got a foot in the door of the other security agencies in the rest of Europe, only Britain’s must still be invaded.’

‘Will the Government allow it?’

‘He attained tremendous powers, and the pressure on Britain to comply will be enormous.’

‘Are you sure about this?’ Lennard glared at me with only one eyebrow lifted. I always wanted to achieve that one-eyebrow lifting thing, it’s freaky, but it still alludes me.

Ignoring my question he went on: ‘I have an appointment with the Prime Minister this morning. I am concerned that Percy will somehow be informed about the drift of the meeting and will inform Lucius. Therefore I will try to get the PM to accept our meeting as confidential before commencing.’

‘Yes, otherwise, knowing Lucius, he will try and block our efforts to enlighten every one of his plans.’

‘Lucius’ main concern is to wipe us out and make us inoperative—blocking is putting it mildly.’

‘I presume with us being operative, his chances for ruling Britain is being made difficult.’

‘His tentacles are already reaching out towards us. I will try to convince the Prime Minister of the grave consequences, but I am not certain if he is not already sympathetic to Lucius. The problem is time. I don’t have enough time to find out where the Prime Minister stands. If I’m wrong, the carpet will be pulled from underneath us. I’ll feel my way during our conversation but I know I’m walking a tight rope.’

‘What if the room is bugged?’

‘I’m going to take Andrew and Peter with me, and ask the Prime Minister if we can sweep his office before starting.’

‘He will be insulted!’

‘I know. I will be as diplomatic as possible, but it can’t be helped.’

‘I hope you will succeed. If not, what then?’

‘That’s why I called you. You must make urgent preparations for all of us in these offices. We must disperse and go underground. If the worst happens, you’ll be ready with Plan B. We must establish a different Headquarters, and the existing stations must be allocated to different spots. Our existing communication network must be safeguarded. Everything must be in place, and fully operational in the event that we have to move fast.’

‘Any ideas for an alternative Headquarters?’

‘I’ll leave it to you.’

‘I will put out my feelers but we’ll have to neutralize Percy as well.’

‘We don’t have time for that now, you’ll have to move quickly, Phil. It’s vital.’

‘Right, I’ll start immediately. You try your best with the Prime Minister, Lennard, and good luck.’ I picked up my raincoat and left them their heavy burden.

Reaching my office and closing the door behind me, I went to the window looking out into the darkness with the rain still pouring down. It’s the same for us, for our country, in reality for the world. Dark and gloomy. All because of the machinations of one brilliant powerful megalomaniac. I turned away from the window facing the big world map that filled the expanse of the opposite wall. Subconsciously I started weighing places against each other. The pro’s and con’s. Taking into consideration, the hold Lucius already has over some countries.

Suddenly with certainty, I turned around and went through the door looking for Tania, Lennard’s trusted assistant. I found her in her office adjacent to Lennard’s. Her head bent over files and papers. Personal assistant and secretary to Lennard, she has a deep affection for the widowed Lennard and are always looking after his wellbeing. She is trustworthy and her loyalty to Lennard and the Bureau is beyond reproach. Her phenomenal memory and knack for riveting out secrets and finding facts—impossible to others—earned her, her colleagues’ respect. Lennard trusted her implicitly.

‘Hello Tania, I’m sorry to disturb you, but this is urgent.’

She looked up smiling at Phil, her clear blue eyes twinkling. A tall attractive woman in her early forties, looking good for her age, with light blond hair and an excellent figure.

‘When is it not urgent?’ she said to him.

Phil is athletically built and in his late thirties, six-foot tall with broad shoulders, the clothes he’s wearing now not complementing his well-exercised body and unbelievable strength. His dark hair was hanging untidily over his high and broad forehead, his stormy, piercing blue eyes under dark eyebrows that surveyed his surroundings with careful assessment, missing nothing. He’s got an arresting face, too handsome for the type of work he’s doing, but it was offset by hardness when he wasn’t smiling.

He’s got quietness about him, an air of restraint, but has a reputation for being hard and difficult, a forceful personality, single and beautifully suntanned thanks to his recent holiday. He has a generous mouth, although on occasion, he can be very ruthless, deep lines run from his nose to his mouth that changes immediately when he smiles, it is devastating and completely disarming to any female, the unexpected charm exuding from his rather hard countenance. He is always controlled and disciplined.

He is a true Englishman, residing in a terrace house in London and although he’s not there much, it’s still a safe haven. It’s very convenient and comfortably decorated all in good taste. In the garage a big, powerful sports car. He’s highly intelligent, discerning and extremely dangerous, actually lethal. He is a Senior Executive and only the extreme missions are delegated to him, but that’s what he likes, he hates being stationed for long in one place. He is highly trained in his profession: finest sniper, unarmed combat, all weaponry, surveillance, languages, physiological training, interrogation techniques, strategy, unconventional warfare, and politics. He is a helicopters pilot as well as a supersonic fighter jet pilot and has advance motor driving skills. All the necessary tools he needs to stay alive and achieve great success in his profession.

‘Do you know what’s going on, and what Lennard discussed with me earlier on?’

‘Yes I know, it’s been going on like this for the past 12 hours.’

‘Lennard asked me to make arrangements for alternative Headquarters and Area offices, as well as the safeguarding of all the networks.’

She nodded her head, watching me, not saying anything.

‘I think Lucius is busy infiltrating these offices, I do not trust any of our usual communications. I will appreciate it if you can go to your flat and start phoning from there. Don’t give any information that is not essential over the phone but I think your phone at home should still be safe. He may have bugged the office lines already.’

‘I’ll do that. Who should I phone and what must I tell them?’

‘First of all, phone Alain du Plessis at his villa in Villa-Franché-sur-Mer, ask him if we can see him tomorrow. I’ll phone you from the airport upon my arrival. Phone all the Area Chiefs and tell them to meet me in Nice, very urgently. We’ll meet at the same hotel where we all normally gather. Make reservations for all of us there. Don’t make it simultaneously, but I know you’ll know what to do. This time of year the hotel will not be full.’

‘Will do.’

‘Do you know if Lucas and John Wilson are in the building, I want them with me?’

‘I’ll find out for you.’

‘Thanks.’

While Tania busied herself finding them, I looked out the window, contemplating what still needs to be done.

‘They’ll be here shortly, Phil.’

‘Thanks. When you reach your flat, please make our air reservations; we’ll pick up the tickets at the counter at Heathrow. Another thing . . . don’t leave any messages for Lennard, tell him in person when you know it’s safe? Has the office been swept?’ I asked a little belatedly.

‘Oh yes! Lennard is strict on security since you all came back. He’d already taken every precaution. I’m going to take a chance and book your flight from here, because my office was swept and cleared half-an-hour ago—I’ll do the rest of the phoning from the flat.’

‘That’s good,’ I wonder if it is a wise decision.

‘I’ve booked you on the first flight out but unfortunately there’s no direct flight now. You will fly to Zürich and get a connecting flight to Nice. I think it will be safer that way. Anyone watching the airport will think you’re leaving for Switzerland.’

There was a knock on the door and Lucas and John entered, ‘Nice seeing you, Phil, what’s up?’

‘We are leaving immediately; do you have packed cases here?’

‘Yes, and our passports.’

‘Tania, we will need extra money. I don’t know how long we’ll be gone for.’

She stood up, locked her office door, and went through the connecting door into Lennard’s office and directly going to his door leading into the corridor, locking it as well. She walked towards the floor-to-ceiling bookshelves, pulled out a thick volume book and pushed a hidden button behind it, a whole section swung out to reveal a big wall safe. Whilst busy opening the safe I updated Lucas and John.

Tania started placing bundled money of different dominations and currencies on the table. She took three attaché cases from a cupboard and placed the money inside; she also placed different passports and papers in each case.

‘I’ve put two different identity covers and passports in each,’ she said, handing the cases to us.

‘I just want to use the bathroom to shave and tidy myself up, and then we can leave. Lucas will you arrange for three cars to take us to the airport, you’ll ride with me, John, you’ll be in the leading car with an agent, and the two other agents will follow us in the back-up car. The agents can return the cars. I’ll be down in the garage in 15 minutes.’

‘You’re expecting trouble?’ Lucas asked.

‘They’ve got surveillance on the Bureau, so yes, I’ll expect trouble.’

‘I’ll leave for my flat now.’ Tania said as she took her bag and a small note book from her table.

‘I’ll contact you from Zürich, thanks.’

In less than 15 minutes I got downstairs only to find them ready and waiting for me.

‘I’ll drive.’ I said to Lucas, putting my hold-all and attaché case in the trunk of the car.

Moving swiftly behind the wheel, fastening my seat belt, I followed the leading car towards the exit ramp and turned onto the road, the two agents behind us followed suit. I dimmed the headlights and switched on the wipers; a barrage of water was coming down from the heavens. There was no traffic on the road as I made my way towards the main road leading to Heathrow. It was dark and visibility was poor.

CHAPTER 1

Loose Ends

The rear window of the leading car shattered, and glass flew everywhere. The next shot hit our roof with a tinny bang and I accelerated out of habit. I heard a massive explosion behind us, it was the car driven by the two agents, covering us. A shot must have hit their engine, because there where the car should have been was only a huge ball of fire rising into the night sky. Lucas grabbed the car phone and rapidly issued instructions to the front car. I crouched low in my seat looking through the wheel over the dashboard, trying to weave across the road, hopefully throwing the snipers aim off. I was driving as fast as the front car, trying to weave into the opposite direction as them, like a DNA string. I first heard the bullet then felt objects slicing into my left cheek, the cold air followed and as I looked into the rear-view mirror I saw the rear window gone. I knew I had glass embedded into my cheek, not because of the wetness but because of the stinging pain I felt. Lucas was also crouching low in his seat, futilely trying to see where the bullets were coming from. The sniper must be on high-ground and to the back of us. I heard two more loud thuds shot into the body of the car. With screeching wheels the leading car turned into a side street, I followed suit and nearly slammed into them as they were trying to get their vehicle under control, spinning wildly on the wet surface of the road. As their car came to a stop it was facing us, headlights blinding us but they quickly corrected their direction and we both accelerated to get out of danger. Our headlights threw an ominous light through the darkness and heavy rain kept on pouring down, the wipers trying to cope to no avail. Neon lights flashing past in colored stripes.

‘Their surveillance must be centered on the Bureau office to be able to pick us up so near the building, I wonder if Lennard know.’

‘They must be well hidden not to be noticed by anyone of us. There are quite a few Executives coming and going out of the Bureau and we are trained to pick up any discrepancies in our surroundings, but it seems that no one picked up anything as yet.’ Lucas said.

‘These days the opposition can be stationed quite a distance from their target, but with a strong telescope and good listening devices planted strategically it’s easy to survey anyone. It’s a disturbing thought to think that with a good sniper we’re easy targets. Look at this cartridge shot from the sniper’s rifle, it’s a 7.62 and it’s a 51mm, its maximum effective range is 800m. The opposition used these bullets previously to try and eradicate us.’ I