Moving Targets_An Action-Packed Spider Shepherd SAS Novel Read online

  ‘You still might,’ Guy said with an answering smile. ‘Thanks for your help, but now I suggest you get out of here quick before the big bosses arrive and start asking embarrassing questions. I must stay here to sort out this mess, but you can have your own debrief and inquest. It will save you several days of your time, being questioned by an examining magistrate, and I can assure you that they won’t like it if they find out that their faces have been saved by the English again. So let me know the outcomes of your debrief, but now go!’

  They changed back into their street clothes, packing their operational gear into the ubiquitous sports bags, then moved quickly through the chaotic scenes outside the Incident Management Centre, where there were dozens of ambulances, police vehicles and fire tenders, all with wailing sirens. TV crews and reporters were arguing, pushing and shoving as they tried to get closer to the action, and riot police were beating back the crowds of curious onlookers behind barriers that were too flimsy to contain them.

  Unnoticed among the chaos, the SAS men quietly commandeered a police van to take them back to Le Bourget. Once they reached the General Aviation Terminal there, Shepherd got the whole team together in a conference room. Using the encrypted satellite phones, they again set up a direct line to Jock’s hospital room back in the UK, where he had been watching the drama unfold via a CCTV link. They began trying to make sense of what had just happened in the Louvre.

  ‘The French government first tried to impose a total news blackout on the incident,’ Jock said. ‘Talk about locking the stable door after the horse has bolted. That didn’t last very long and they’ve now been pushed into admitting that there was an attempted terrorist attack at the Louvre, but they’re claiming that it was thwarted, thanks to the vigilance of the GIGN and the Gendarmerie. They’ve said that the terrorists have all been killed or arrested but there has been no acknowledgement of any other casualties or any damage to the Louvre and its exhibits. So even by government standards, it’s a pretty misleading statement.’

  Geordie chuckled. ‘Well, they don’t want inconvenient facts getting in the way of the French tourist trade, now do they?’

  Shepherd was still mulling over the incident, replaying every detail in his mind. ‘I think the bad guys must have had some sort of comms set-up, possibly receive only,’ he said. ‘Because just before the boss bloke started firing, he put his hand up to his ear as if he was listening to somebody. Why would he suddenly start firing for no apparent reason, unless someone had given him the order to do so?’

  ‘It might have been intended to serve notice on other countries that these new kids on the terrorist block are to be taken very seriously, so don’t try to spin out negotiations. Pay up and pay up quick and we might go away. I think both of these situations were set up as ransom demands. If you wanted to extort money in Europe, where would you go and have a fair chance of success? I think Greece and France would be pretty near the top of the list. Don’t forget the lessons we learned years ago: terrorists and criminals need money just to exist. In Germany, for instance, the Red Army Faction was bankrolled by the East Germans - the DDR - but they still robbed banks to support their reign of terror. It’s exactly the same for any terrorist group, they must have cash, because without it, they’re toast.’

  ‘Granted all that,’ Shepherd said, ‘but if so, why start killing the hostages? No one is going to pay a ransom if the hostages are already dead.’

  ‘I’ve also found a backlog of emails,’ Jock said. ‘They were cached under UTS - Ultra Top Secret - so obviously not intended for our eyes, but they show that a few weeks before the Acropolis incident, a news agency in Athens received a call saying there would be a terrorist incident in Greece, nothing specific, but leaving a code word. So far, so normal. The agency informed the Greek government and luckily for us, they also informed their head office in London, who in turn notified Anti-terrorist Command in Scotland Yard so the UK could keep an eye on any developments. A few days later they received a second call, complete with the same code word, saying that they were serious and that there would be a deadly attack within 48 hours. Before the end of the deadline there was a shooting on a ferry between Piraeus and one of the Greek islands in which a couple of gunmen shot and killed a number of Greek citizens before throwing themselves into the sea. The killers’ bodies were not recovered so there was no positive ID. Fortunately for the Greek authorities they were able to blame the killings on their domestic terrorist organisation, November 17, and that’s how things stood until the atrocity at the Acropolis, but to me, all the indications are that the Greeks coughed up a ransom payment and were still left with a pile of bodies. Shades of Danegeld.’

  ‘Dane-which?’ Geordie said.

  ‘Danegeld - what the Anglo Saxon kings paid the Vikings to go away. The Vikings took the money and then attacked anyway.’

  ‘And if the ransom had already been paid when the firing started,’ Jimbo said, ‘then it’s a win-win for the terrorists: take the cash and then kill them anyway.’ He paused. ‘But hang on, if that’s what had happened in Athens, the French government would know, and they wouldn’t pay a ransom knowing what the consequences were going to be anyway.’

  ‘Call me cynical if you like,’ Shepherd said, ‘but if the Greek government had paid a ransom, in defiance of every anti-terrorist agreement between EU and Nato countries, they’d be keeping pretty quiet about it, wouldn’t they? So maybe the French had no idea what had gone down in Athens and thought that by paying a ransom, they were actually making sure it didn’t happen in Paris.’

  ‘Maybe,’ Jock said, ‘or maybe, the terrorists who carried out the attacks had already been paid … by al-Qaeda. By all accounts they aren’t short of funds so maybe they’ve started using hired guns to carry out some of their attacks. That would tie in with intercepts picked up by GCHQ. Just prior to everything kicking off, Cheltenham picked up a load of chatter emanating from Switzerland, much of it regarding the transfer of funds into and out of the country. When they looked back through their records, they found that just before the Athens thing kicked off, the same thing happened there. So it looks like some Swiss banker has been playing dirty.’

  ‘Well, if you can persuade Northwood, Hereford and Cheltenham to support us,’ Shepherd said, ‘it sounds like the next stop should be Switzerland, but there’s no point in going unless they provide us with enough intelligence and back-up to achieve something when we get there.’

  Such was the concern about the incidents in Whitehall that the SAS team got the go ahead to proceed to Switzerland within two hours and GCHQ gave them the name of a bank in Zurich, the Bank of Commerz and Privat, which they suspected was being used in the transfers. That gave them a real chance of identifying a suspect by mounting a surveillance operation, because although it was much easier to deal on the edge of illegality with Swiss banks than any other banks in Europe, to comply with Swiss law, the initial transfer paperwork always had to be done in person. However, because of Swiss government sensitivities, the SAS men’s surveillance operation would need to be carried out covertly. If the operation was compromised, the Swiss would not hesitate to arrest and imprison anyone they suspected of illegal activity on their sovereign territory.

  The pilots went off to file a flight plan to Zürich, only to return within a few minutes to report that their request had been delayed by the Swiss because it was a military flight. Depending on what part of the country they came from, Swiss people spoke German, French and Italian, and many of them also spoke the language of international finance – English. But when it came down to it, the only language that really counted there was cold, hard cash. Neutrality had proved very lucrative for the Swiss in two world wars and they were fanatical about avoiding even the appearance that they were favouring any foreign country over the rest. So they were never keen to allow foreign military aircraft access to their airports. The Wingco had therefore contacted the British Embassy in Switzerland to expedite their flight plan and had been told that the resid
ent Military Attaché was working on the problem and expected to have it resolved within a few hours.

  In the meantime, after downloading a map of downtown Zurich on to his laptop, Shepherd outlined a plan to the others, including Rupert, Chas and Dave, and Aimee. ‘This is going to be a straightforward surveillance operation, a total shot in the dark. We have nothing else to go on but Jock says there has been a lot of internet activity, so it is worth a try. However the only ones who know anything about surveillance are me and my two oppos here. So we are going to have to improvise. The hardest part of any surveillance operation is the pick-up - the starting point of the operation. This is when the subjects are at their highest state of alertness, because they know they are vulnerable at that stage and that is when they would expect any surveillance to begin. If they have any outside help, it’s where those resources would be deployed. However, we have some resources of our own - yourselves - and the most important of them is you Aimee. You don’t look like a cop or a soldier, so you will be able to stay in one place, even at the pick-up, either alone or with a bloke, whereas a man would stand out like a sore thumb. We also have a start point, the Bank of Commerz and Privat. We can pinpoint it on the map and, given five minutes on arrival, we can stake it out using you guys to keep watch while we - the followers - keep out of sight until there is any activity. So Aimee and the rest of you will be the watchers and Jimbo, Geordie and I will do the follow. Keep rotating your positions and use the street furniture if any, such as telephone boxes, street benches, bus stops and cafes. The more natural your activities, the longer you will be able to stay in situ, but come up with a good cover story just in case you get into conversation. Keep it as near to the truth as you can and only lie if you must. Change your appearance slightly over time, take your jacket off or put it on - and if it’s a reversible one, so much the better - and even a pair of sunglasses or a hat can make a subtle but significant change to your appearance. Most importantly, act naturally, don’t dramatise and don’t over-act. Once you have identified any possible subject, hand him or her over to us and we will do the rest. We’ll use the traditional surveillance method, the A, B, C system, but we will only be able to follow the subject if he walks or uses public transport. If he uses a car we have no chance. And since we have no comms, we will have to use discreet hand signals. We will have an emergency RV: in front of the main Bahnhof. As soon as the pick-up is complete and we’ve taken over, the watchers - you - should make your way there and wait for us. If during the follow any of us get burned - spotted by the subject - we will make our way to the same RV. At the end of the operation we will all meet there and make our way back to General Aviation at the airport, where we will link up with the aircraft and crew. So, all good?’

  He was faced with a row of nodding heads.

  ‘Right, from the moment we leave here, we don’t talk to each other, walk or stand next to each other, or even look at each other, except with the most casual of glances. Remember, the scale of this operation is limited and just because we are there ready to do surveillance, does not mean that there will be anyone for us to carry out surveillance on. We are probably looking for a subject or subjects of Chinese or Asian appearance and that is all I can tell you. Finally, and most importantly, do not take risks; there will always be another opportunity.’

  As the meeting was breaking up, the Wingco stuck his head into the room, gave a thumbs up and said ‘The flight plan’s been approved. We’re on our way.’

  After the short flight from Paris, they landed at Zurich Airport, where they were directed to a parking slot in General Aviation, taxiing in among scores of private jets belonging to seriously rich individuals and, no doubt, a few African dictators. The plane was immediately placed under a police guard and the passengers and crew were directed to a private room in the General Aviation terminal, where they were met by a red-faced British military attaché, an army colonel, and his deputy, a Senior NCO from the Intelligence Corps.

  ‘I have been told to liaise with the person in charge and offer every support I can, so which of you is in charge?’

  Rupert looked expectantly at Shepherd, but Shepherd ignored him, remaining silent and expressionless. Eventually Rupert muttered, ‘Well, I suppose that’s me technically.’

  The attaché gave him a baffled look. ‘What do you mean technically? Either you’re in charge or you’re not.’

  Shepherd stepped in. ‘We’re grateful for your offer of support, Colonel, but what we would like you to do is to go back to your office, sit by the phone and tune in to the local news channel. If we call for help, we’d like you to keep us out of jail. There’s no need for you to know the details of what we’re going to be involved in - need to know and all that - but suffice to say that we are here and we are going to attempt a little operation in downtown Zurich that may be a bit risky.’

  As the Colonel began to stutter a protest, Shepherd held up his hand. ‘We have the highest possible authority for this operation, so if you don’t want to spend the rest of your career in the Outer Hebrides, it would probably be wisest to fully co-operate with us. Thank you.’

  The attaché’s facial colour moved another couple of shades towards the purple end of the spectrum but he swallowed whatever he was about to say and then stormed out, venting his anger by barking at his deputy for being slow to follow his lead.

  The watchers and the followers boarded separate trains and made their way to Zurich where they spent a couple of hours doing a ground recce in the area around the bank, before meeting again at the RV in front of the Bahnhof. They found a fast food restaurant a few streets away, where they discussed their positions for the stake-out around the bank. When everyone was satisfied that the plan they had was workable, they were about to leave to start the surveillance operation, when Geordie sounded a note of caution. ‘I don’t like it, Spider, I can’t put my finger on it but something doesn’t feel quite right.’

  ‘I know what you mean,’ said Shepherd. ‘I’ve had the same feeling all day but I can’t pin it down. It just feels off, doesn’t it? But we’ve learned to trust our instincts over the years and sometimes it has saved lives, so everyone needs to be one hundred per cent alert. You know what we’re looking for, but if you’re not happy for the least reason at any time, just ditch the operation and make your way to the RV.’

  The team spent the rest of that day adjusting their positions around the entrance to the bank and refining their visual signalling techniques. They were able to discontinue the operation when the bank finally closed and locked its doors for the night and, after a short debrief, during which Jock relayed a report from GCHQ that there had again been suspicious internet chatter centring on the Bank of Commerz and Privat, the team split up. They spent the night in various modest guesthouses around the city before taking up their positions again the following morning, shortly before the bank opened, ready for another full day’s work.

  As soon as they hit the streets they were aware that something was different. In particular, there were a few Asian men wandering around the area near the bank, where the day before there had been none. They were dressed as tourists with the obligatory guidebooks in their hands and cameras around their necks, but they did not act like typical tourists, In any event, the quiet street lined with Swiss banks was not part of the usual tourist itinerary. The surveillance team immediately slipped into what was now becoming a familiar routine, with Aimee sipping a coffee in a café facing the bank, while Chas, Dave and Rupert strolled in and out of the shops, consulted the timetables in bus shelters or sat on benches reading newspapers or consulting their phones.

  About an hour after the bank opened its doors, Aimee noticed a powerfully-built Asian in a pinstriped business suit slip into the bank. She immediately gave a discreet, hand-signal to Shepherd who was in visual contact with her and he and the other two followers went on to maximum alert. Three quarters of an hour later, the same figure slipped out of the bank and began to walk away from them towards the end of the s
treet. Against all Shepherd’s instructions, Rupert could not contain himself. He got up from the bench where he had been sitting and with his gaze focused on the subject, began to move closer to him. He was immediately leapt upon by a man who, unseen by Rupert, had been tracking the subject and carrying out counter-surveillance. The man was bigger than the target, well-muscled with a wicked scar across one cheek. It was clear that Rupert was no match for him and as his attacker drew a knife, Shepherd, Geordie and Jimbo were forced to break cover and intervene to save him from a wounding, or worse.

  Jimbo grabbed the man’s knife arm and forced it back against the joint until there was a cracking noise and, with a howl of pain from the man, the knife clattered to the pavement. Shepherd followed up with two savage punches, splintering the man’s nose with the heel of his left hand and then following up with a straight right that crushed his Adam’s apple. The assailant crumpled to the ground but the fight had drawn another four of the subject’s protection team out of cover and within a few seconds a vicious street brawl was going on in the middle of the staid banking street.

  The SAS men were still trying desperately to extricate Rupert when they heard the approaching sirens of a police car. The three of them kicked, punched and gouged the attackers to drive them back and then bodily lifting Rupert up and sprinted away with him. The battered attackers did not pursue them.

  The team made their way quickly to the RV in front of the Bahnhof. Except for a few grazes and abrasions, everyone was unharmed, but Aimee was nowhere to be found. No one had seen her since the beginning of the fight.

  ‘We’d have had that bastard if it hadn’t been for this fucking idiot here,’ Jimbo said, directing such a baleful glare at Rupert that he flushed and dropped his gaze. ‘If you had just sat still, we’d have been all over the subject like flies. Instead you go and jump up and alert the minders, and we end up in a fucking punch-up with nothing to show for our efforts.’