The Hunt

75

For a second, the four of them eyed each other in stunned silence. Right now, right at this pivotal moment, that was the last thing they had been expecting.

It was Jaeger who spoke first. ‘You believe him?’ he demanded of Narov. ‘You believe what he said?’

‘You think that was another bit of theatre? That fear: no one fakes that.’

‘Then he’s in the underground shelter. The one the workers built. That’s where Kammler’s taken them. Got to be.’

Jaeger took a few seconds to explain to Raff and Alonzo what Hing had told them. ‘Doesn’t change shit,’ Raff growled. ‘We still have to take down Kammler’s laboratory.’

‘He’s right,’ Alonzo added. ‘Only one way to do this.’

Jaeger held up a hand for silence. ‘Just one second.’ An idea was crystallising in his mind, one as crazed as it was beautiful. ‘Kammler’s taken himself, my wife and Miles into his bunker. That means that any reason we had not to blow the tungsten bomb has just evaporated. He’s not disabled the device – I’d bet my life on it. Trust me, guys, it’s still there and it’s still live.’

He scanned the faces for a second. Raff and Alonzo looked stunned by his suggestion; Narov transfixed by it.

She reached out and grabbed his arm with a grip like iron. ‘Then what are you waiting for? Blow it. Finish it.’

Jaeger reached into his daysack and pulled out his Thuraya. He glanced at Alonzo and Raff. ‘Guys, I’m making the call. You good?’ They were a team of equals, and he wanted this to be unanimous.

‘I got no way to call it,’ Alonzo objected. ‘I never met this Falk guy. I’ll go with what you say.’

Raff eyed Jaeger, doubt creasing his brow. ‘You know Falk. You know if you can trust him. Plus it’s your wife that may be in that lab, if he’s full of shit.’

Jaeger could sense Raff’s reluctance. He desperately needed his support. Raff was his best friend, godfather to Luke, and he and Ruth had been close. ‘Raff, I’m taking the shot.’

‘Fuck it.’ Raff shrugged. ‘We try to rush that open ground, we’re dead anyway. Blow it.’

Jaeger bent over the Thuraya and typed in a single word in caps: GUNNERSIDE.

In 1942, a team of British and Norwegian commandos had been sent in to occupied Norway on a mission to sabotage Hitler’s nuclear programme. Against impossible odds, they had succeeded. That operation had been code-named Gunnerside.

During his teens, Jaeger had read every book he could get his hands on about those World War II commando missions. It had been the catalyst that had spurred him to undertake Royal Marines selection. He’d never forgotten the Gunnerside story, and it had seemed like the perfect code word to trigger the tungsten device.

As he prepared to press the send button to get the message winging its way to Daniel Brooks, he hoped to hell it wouldn’t spell the death of those he loved. He paused for a second, his thumb hovering over the button.

Fail to prepare, prepare to fail.

He turned to Narov. ‘As soon as the charge blows, we need to hit Kammler’s bunker. Hing is our guide.’

He grabbed Hing’s hand and clamped it onto Narov’s shoulder. ‘Show her the shelter. Understand?’

Hing nodded. ‘I show. I show.’

That decided, Jaeger pressed send.