The Trinity Six

Chapter 56

‘Des’, the veteran of Tanya Acocella’s Berlin surveillance operation against POLARBEAR, had been watching Holly Levette’s apartment — at Tanya’s request — for almost six hours. As luck would have it, he was parked no more than fifty metres from Alexander Grek’s blue C–Class Mercedes, which had pulled up on the corner of Tite Street and Royal Hospital Road a little after half-past four. About twenty minutes later, a Slav in his late twenties had opened the passenger door of the Mercedes and stepped inside. Des had noticed that the Slav had followed Holly down Tite Street, so he was keeping a close eye on the vehicle as the sun set over Chelsea. The two men seemed unusually preoccupied by activities in the third-floor window of Miss Levette’s apartment.

Des had started his shift before midday, so he had also noticed Dr Samuel Gaddis getting out of a taxi at about four o’clock. Recognizing his old mark from Berlin, he had immediately telephoned Tanya.

‘Strange thing just happened,’ he said. ‘You remember POLARBEAR?’

‘I remember POLARBEAR.’

‘Well, he just walked into Tite Street. I thought you said you had him under lock and key in a safe house?’

Tanya, who was in the middle of a four-hour meeting with Sir John Brennan at Vauxhall Cross, had sworn silently into the telephone and reassured Des that she would ‘cut off Sam’s balls’ when she saw him.

‘That might hurt,’ he replied. An hour later, he rang back with an update.

‘POLARBEAR’s been in there for a long time. Curtains are closed now, radio on, doubtless he’s making sweet love to sweet Holly Levette.’

‘Holly’s there as well?’

‘Yeah. Showed up about quarter of an hour ago.’

Des wondered if Tanya had developed feelings for the redoubtable POLARBEAR. Did he detect an undertow of jealousy in her voice? ‘One other thing…’ he said.

‘Tell me.’

‘Holly was being followed down Tite Street. Foot surveil-lance. Caucasian male, late twenties, winner of the Dolph Lundgren lookalike contest. We’ve also got a Mercedes parked across the street with a view of Holly’s sitting room. Dolph and another man sitting inside.’

‘FSB?’ said Tanya.

‘FSB,’ said Des. ‘I ran the numberplate. Vehicle is registered to the Russian Embassy.’