Siege

Sixty-four

21.26

IN THE INCIDENT room, events had taken a sudden and unexpected turn. Officers inside the inner cordon had heard the explosion at the rear of the Stanhope, its exact location obscured by the high wall bordering the courtyard, but the officer who’d called it in said he could see a thin plume of smoke rising up.

Arley glanced at her watch. Her fifteen-minute deadline for calling the kidnappers was up, and she was going to have to make contact again. But she needed more time.

Tina needed more time.

One of the secure phones started ringing and Will Verran, the young police technician, who seemed to be looking younger as the night progressed, picked up. ‘It’s Major Standard for you, ma’am.’

She took the receiver, conscious of the sound of her heart beating in her chest. ‘Major Standard.’

‘Hello, Arley,’ said the major, sounding so calm it made her almost physically sick with jealousy. ‘Our spotters tell me there’s been an explosion at the back of the Stanhope on the ground floor. My understanding is its some kind of ordnance, possibly a booby-trap of some kind. Have you had any explanation for it from the terrorists?’

‘Not yet, sir. But it only happened a few minutes ago, and we’re going to keep trying them. It seems it might be some kind of one-off incident.’

‘Perhaps,’ said Standard, his tone noncommittal. ‘And you’ve got nothing new on Prior’s location?’

‘Nothing yet, but as I mentioned earlier, the lead terrorist calling himself Wolf has promised we can speak to him. As soon as we do, I’ll let you know immediately.’

‘Good. We’re ready to go in at short notice now.’

‘It may be worth waiting until we can speak to Prior.’

‘Keep trying to talk to him, but if you’re still having no joy in fifteen minutes, let me know. We may have to reassess.’

She handed the phone back to Will and left the incident room without a word, knowing that her actions were beginning to look odd, but no longer caring.

She’d got barely ten feet from the building when she dialled Howard’s number.

‘I said fifteen minutes,’ snapped the kidnapper, picking up on the first ring. ‘Not twenty.’

‘I was on the phone to the man in charge of the SAS operation,’ she whispered into the phone. ‘It was a long conversation.’

‘And you have the details of their assault, yes?’

‘I do.’

‘When will it be happening?’

‘Not yet. At the moment they’re waiting until we can find a location inside the building for Prior.’

‘That seems reasonable. Tell me the plan for the assault.’

‘Not until I get visual proof that my family are still alive. Right now. Otherwise I give you nothing.’

‘You’re not in a position to make threats,’ he hissed into the phone.

‘It’s not a threat. I just need to see my family.’

‘I’m not with your family, so it won’t be possible.’

‘Then speak to whoever is and sort something out fast, because otherwise I’m not going to go through with this.’

‘I hope this isn’t some sort of trick to determine their whereabouts. Because if it is—’

‘It isn’t, I promise. I just need to see that they’re still alive. And to prove it, I want to hear my daughter say the name of her former primary school.’

‘Impossible. You’ll do as you’re told.’

‘No,’ she said firmly, remembering Tina’s advice to establish some kind of control. ‘I won’t. Not unless I hear from them.’

There was a pause at the other end of the phone. ‘I’ll see what I can do,’ the man said at last, and the line went dead.

Arley took a deep breath, turning round, and almost jumped out of her skin. John Cheney was standing right behind her, and immediately she wondered what he’d heard of her conversation.

But it seemed he hadn’t heard much. ‘Is everything OK, Arley?’ he asked her, using her Christian name for the first time that night.

She stared at him for a long moment, trying to pull herself together, wondering whether she should tell him everything. He’d always had a solid, reliable air about him – the result of his size, and an expressiveness in his eyes that suggested a real sensitivity. She almost said something, then remembered that the sensitivity and reliability hadn’t stopped him cheating on her. It was just too risky to let another person in on her dark secret.

‘Everything’s fine, thanks, John.’

‘You seem to be going in and out a few times.’

‘I’ve got a personal issue I’ve been having to deal with.’

He thrust his hands in his trouser pockets, shivering against the cold. ‘It’s not like you to let the personal get in the way of business, Arley. Is it anything I can help with?’

She shook her head, suddenly wanting this conversation to end. ‘No, but thanks for your concern. Give me a moment and I’ll be back in.’

Cheney nodded. ‘Of course,’ he said, giving her an appraising look that lasted a second too long, before starting back towards the incident room.

She watched him go, paranoid thoughts flying crazily through her mind. How much had he heard? Was he going to say something to Commissioner Phillips about her ability as a boss?

And most prevalent of all: how long have I got left to save my children?