Spider Shepherd 11 - White Lies Read online

  Charlotte Button showed Willoughby-Brown and Bashir into the meeting room. It was one of the smaller rooms, windowless with a framed oil painting of the River Thames on one wall and a long beech table with six chrome and leather chairs around it. She sat down first, taking a seat at the head of the table. ‘Thank you both for coming in,’ she said.

  ‘No problem,’ said Willoughby-Brown, though he was well aware that Button had given him no choice in the matter. He took the seat at the far end of the table and Bashir sat down next to him.

  Button had brought a cup of tea with her but she pointedly didn’t offer them a beverage.

  ‘Any news from Pakistan?’ Button asked Willoughby-Brown.

  The MI6 man shook his head. ‘The military have gone very quiet.’

  Button nodded. She smiled over at Bashir. ‘So, Taz, what can you tell me about Salma Jawanda?’

  The look of surprise on Bashir’s face was priceless, thought Button, but she kept a straight face.

  ‘I’m sorry?’ Bashir looked across at Willoughby-Brown, who looked equally perplexed by the question.

  ‘Salma. Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten about her already.’

  Bashir frowned. ‘I don’t understand the question.’

  ‘It’s simple enough. How is Salma?’

  ‘She’s fine, I suppose.’ He looked over at Willoughby-Brown. ‘Salma is a friend of mine.’

  Button laughed. ‘Come on now, Taz. She’s more than a friend. A girlfriend at the very least.’

  Bashir looked helplessly at Willoughby-Brown.

  ‘Charlotte, seriously, what’s going on here?’ asked Willoughby-Brown.

  Button ignored the question and kept her gaze focused on Bashir, who seemed to be having trouble swallowing. ‘How did you meet her, Taz?’

  ‘A restaurant,’ said Bashir. ‘She was eating alone and so was I and we got talking. She’s from a good family, she went to the top university in Pakistan. The University of the Punjab. In Lahore.’

  ‘And what does she do for a living?’

  ‘She works in public relations.’

  ‘And she is your lover, correct?’

  Bashir sat back and put his hands down on the table. ‘I really don’t see that’s any business of yours.’

  Button looked over at Willoughby-Brown. He was frowning now. ‘You were having a relationship with a local?’ he said. ‘Why didn’t you tell me?’

  ‘She’s a friend. I went out with her a few times. What’s the problem with that?’

  ‘She’s a very pretty girl, isn’t she? Stunning?’

  ‘I suppose so. Yes.’

  Button looked at Willoughby-Brown again. ‘She is very, very pretty,’ said Button. She opened the file and slid a head-and-shoulders photograph across the table. He picked it up, looked at it, and then put it down. ‘I knew nothing about this,’ he said.

  ‘Clearly,’ said Button. ‘You didn’t wonder why a girl as pretty as Salma would fall into your bed at the earliest opportunity?’ she asked Bashir. ‘Especially seeing as how she’s from a good family.’

  Bashir stared at the photograph. There were beads of sweat on his upper lip.

  ‘A good Muslim family, too. It didn’t seem strange that she had sex with you so quickly?’

  Bashir opened his mouth, then closed it again. He shook his head. ‘I don’t know what you want me to say.’

  ‘Was it because you have a British passport, do you think? She saw you as a way of getting into the UK?’

  ‘Of course not. She’s happy in Pakistan. She loves her country.’

  ‘I’m sure she does. So what do you think she sees in you, then, if not a passport?’

  Bashir swallowed again but didn’t speak.

  ‘Did she introduce you to her family?’

  ‘I haven’t been going out with her for long.’

  ‘What about her friends? Did she introduce you to her friends?’

  He shook his head. Button took another photograph from the file and slid it over to Bashir. ‘What about this gentleman?’ It was another head-and-shoulders shot that looked as if it had been blown up from a passport application. It was an Arab man in his forties with a close-cropped beard and deep-set, hooded eyes. ‘His name is Saeed al-Haznawi. Did you ever meet him?’

  Willoughby-Brown reached for the photograph. ‘Who is he?’

  ‘I already said. Saeed al-Haznawi. He’s a Saudi. With links to Lashkar-e-Jhangvi. Have you heard of them?’

  Bashir swallowed nervously. ‘They’re a sectarian militant group.’ He looked up at Button. ‘Salma knows him?’

  ‘They seem to be quite close,’ said Button. ‘She has been phoning him a lot lately. Especially before the SSG went in to rescue Raj.’

  Bashir put his head in his hands. ‘I don’t believe this,’ he said.

  ‘I think you do,’ said Button. ‘I think you know how stupid you’ve been.’

  ‘I thought she loved me. She said she loved me.’

  ‘Taz, you fell for the oldest trick in the book,’ said Button. ‘All you can do now is to try and make things right.’

  Bashir groaned and ran his hands through his hair. He looked at Willoughby-Brown. ‘I’m finished, aren’t I?’

  ‘Career-wise? Yes, I rather think you are.’

  Bashir cursed and folded his arms as he stared at the ceiling. ‘She told them that the SSG were going in?’

  Button nodded. ‘Yes.’

  ‘So all those men who died. That was down to me?’

  ‘There’s no point in torturing yourself, old son,’ said Willoughby-Brown. ‘What matters now is that we try to put this right.’

  Bashir took a deep breath and then exhaled slowly. ‘What do you want me to do?’ he asked Button.

  ‘I need you to tell Salma that we know where Shepherd is and that a rescue mission is being planned.’

  ‘Do you?’

  ‘No, but that’s not the point. The point is that if Salma thinks that we do, she’ll tell al-Haznawi. She’ll either phone him or meet with him. We’ll be listening in to her phone and we’ll have them both tailed. Once Al-Haznawi is told of the rescue, he’ll have to warn Al-Farouq. So all we have to do then is track Al-Haznawi to Al-Farouq.’

  ‘What will you do to Salma?’

  Button frowned. ‘Do to her? What do you mean?’

  ‘The bitch lied to me. And because of her, all those soldiers are dead.’

  ‘You don’t need to concern yourself with that,’ said Button. ‘And you need to lose the anger. She’ll pick up on it. She has to think you’re still madly in love with her. You’re ringing for a chat, and in between telling her how much you miss her, you let slip that we know where Spider is and the Pakistanis are about to launch a rescue. Can you do that, Taz?’

  Bashir nodded. ‘Sure.’

  ‘Take a few minutes to compose yourself. You have to be all sweetness and light, she mustn’t suspect that you’re on to her.’

  Bashir nodded and took another deep breath. ‘I can do it,’ he said.

  ‘Charlotte, can I have a word?’ asked Willoughby-Brown. ‘In private?’

  Button smiled at Bashir. ‘Taz, why don’t you pop down to the canteen and get yourself a coffee.’

  Bashir nodded and left the office. Willoughby-Brown waited until the door had closed before turning on Button. ‘I’m far from bloody happy with this, Charlotte,’ he said.

  ‘I’m not best pleased myself,’ said Button.

  ‘I’m talking about the way that you’ve handled this,’ said Willoughby-Brown prissily. ‘You practically ambushed me here.’

  ‘Things have been moving very quickly,’ said Button. ‘I haven’t really had time for the niceties.’

  ‘You could have at least told me what you’d found out about Taz and this Salma woman.’

  ‘I could have done, yes. But then perhaps you should have kept a closer eye on him in the first place.’

  ‘That’s not fair,’ said Willoughby-Brown. ‘I wasn’t out in Islamabad.’
r />   ‘Exactly,’ said Button. ‘Maybe you should have been. You sent out an inexperienced officer to one of the most dangerous countries in the world. It’s as if you put a target on his chest.’

  ‘That’s an exaggeration and you know it.’

  ‘He’s a kid, Jeremy. He probably felt out of his depth and when a pretty girl came on to him, he just acted without thinking.’

  ‘I can’t believe you’ve made this about me,’ said Willoughby-Brown. ‘I’m not the one who fucked up.’

  ‘Taz was your man,’ said Button. ‘He fell into a honey trap and revealed operational details. And as a direct result of the information he gave to Salma, a lot of good men died and one of my best men is going through God only knows what hell. So don’t you start mouthing off about an ambush. I needed Taz here without him knowing what was going on and the best way of doing that was to have you bring him in. In a perfect world I would have had time to brief you first, but I didn’t and frankly I’m not going to apologise for that. This all started when you decided to run an MI6 operation on British soil without referring to MI5, then to compound that you sent out an inexperienced officer to Pakistan who then blew a rescue mission. Everything I’m doing right now is geared to clearing up the mess that you’re ultimately responsible for. Anyway, you’ve done your bit by delivering Taz to me. You can go now.’

  ‘What?’

  ‘Go. Just go, Jeremy.’

  ‘Are you serious?’

  ‘Absolutely.’ She folded her arms and glared at him.

  Willoughby-Brown opened his mouth to protest but could see from the look in her eyes that there was nothing he could say that was going to change her mind, so he got up and walked out of the room, cursing under his breath.

  ‘Good riddance,’ Button muttered. She sipped her tea and gave him enough time to get into the lift, then she headed down the corridor to the operations room where Amar Singh was already sitting in front of the monitors, sipping a coffee. ‘Everything OK?’ she asked. Most of the wall opposite the monitors was taken up with a large map of Pakistan and Afghanistan.

  ‘We’re getting there,’ he said.

  ‘What about the feed from the drone?’

  ‘Eric’s on the case,’ said Singh.

  Button sat down and fitted a headset that was plugged into a digital console. ‘Which button is for Yokely?’ she asked.

  ‘On the left,’ said Singh. ‘I spoke to him a few minutes ago.’

  She pressed the button and immediately heard a static buzz over the headset. ‘Richard, we’ll be ready to go in a few minutes. Are you prepared?’

  ‘We’ve got eyes on Saeed al-Haznawi and the girl,’ said Yokely cheerfully. ‘And the Sentinel is over Islamabad as we speak. Eric here is arranging the feed for your man Amar.’

  ‘That’s great, Richard. Just please don’t lose them.’

  ‘I’ll do my best,’ said Yokely.

  ‘And the SEALs are ready?’

  ‘They’re on the plane now.’

  ‘This is going to be very tight.’

  Yokely chuckled. ‘Operations don’t get much tighter,’ he said.

  ‘Tell me we’re doing the right thing, Richard.’

  ‘You’re not having second thoughts, are you?’ asked the American.

  ‘Not second thoughts. More like first-night nerves.’

  ‘We can still pull the plug. We haven’t crossed any lines yet.’

  Button sighed. Part of her did indeed want to pull the plug. If it went wrong and they moved Shepherd again, they might not find him a second time. Worse, they might kill him.

  ‘Charlotte?’

  ‘Still here, Richard. No, we need to do something now. They’ll be torturing Spider, Raj too. Every hour we delay is going to be hell for them. I know it’s a risk, but it’s a risk worth taking.’

  ‘The SEALs are the best of the best,’ he said. ‘If anyone can get your guys out of there, it’s the SEALs.’

  ‘I know that,’ she said.

  ‘All they need is a location, and we’ll get that by following Al-Haznawi. Either he’ll phone Al-Farouq, in which case the NSA will have his location. Or he’ll go there in person, in which case the Sentinel will follow him. It’s a good plan, Charlotte.’

  ‘I know that, Richard. But it’s good to hear you say so.’

  ‘God bless, Charlotte.’

  ‘And you, Richard. God bless.’

  Al-Farouq poured tea for Raj, and then topped up his own beaker and Shepherd’s. Raj was eating his way through a handful of grapes. Shepherd’s mind was racing as he continued to chew on a naan dipped in yogurt. He wasn’t sure when he’d be fed again so he was forcing as much food into his system as he could.

  ‘This is the man who came to rescue you, Manraj,’ said Al-Farouq. ‘You are sure you do not know him?’

  Raj avoided Shepherd’s gaze and stared at the floor as he shook his head.

  ‘You have not met before?’

  Raj shook his head again.

  Al-Farouq looked over at Shepherd. ‘And what about you? Have you met Manraj before?’

  ‘I was just attached to the SSG as an adviser,’ said Shepherd.

  ‘Why you?’ asked Al-Farouq. ‘Why would the SSG need a soldier from England? Was it because they felt it would be advantageous for Manraj to see a friendly face?’

  ‘He doesn’t know me. I don’t know him. The idea was that after we rescued him, I would be responsible for his welfare until we could fly him out of the country.’

  ‘And what did they tell you his name was?’

  ‘I told you. Rafiq. Rafiq Mahar.’

  ‘From London?’

  ‘From Bradford.’

  ‘And they showed you a photograph, did they? So you would recognise him.’

  Shepherd nodded. He reached for another piece of naan bread and dipped it into the yogurt. He could feel that Al-Farouq was toying with him, but he still wasn’t sure where the conversation was heading.

  ‘And these people who sent you all this way to take care of Manraj, did they tell you that he was responsible for the killing of Osama Bin Laden? That it was Manraj who betrayed the Sheikh?’

  Raj looked up as if he had been stung and Al-Farouq smiled in triumph. ‘Yes, Manraj. I know who you are, and I know what you did. And soon you will pay the price.’

  Bashir took a deep breath, exhaled, and then forced a smile. ‘You’re going to have to relax, Taz,’ said Button. ‘She’ll pick up on any signs of nervousness. It has to sound like every other chat you’ve ever had.’

  Bashir nodded. ‘I can do it,’ he said.

  ‘I know you can,’ said Button. ‘It might be easier if you turn your back on me. Pretend that I’m not here. And keep it light. She’s your girlfriend, you miss her, you want to be with her.’

  ‘Play the lovesick puppy, you mean?’

  Button smiled. She thought it best not to say that she had already heard him on the phone to his beloved Salma. ‘The sweeter the better,’ she said.

  They were in the meeting room, just the two of them. Amar Singh was in an operations room down the corridor from where he was monitoring the call and liaising with Richard Yokely in Kabul.

  Bashir nodded and stared at his iPhone. He scrolled through the address book.

  ‘You use Skype, don’t you?’ said Button.

  Bashir frowned, wondering how she knew that. He nodded. ‘It’s cheaper.’

  ‘So make sure you use Skype this time. Are you ready?’

  Bashir took another deep breath. ‘OK,’ he said. He turned his back on her and called Salma’s number.

  ‘Hello, honey,’ she said. ‘Are you OK?’

  ‘I’m fine, baby. What are you doing?’

  ‘Working,’ she said. ‘Boring stuff. I’ve got to get a press release out about some new mobile phone and I’m running out of ways of describing it. It’s a phone. That’s it.’

  ‘Sorry, baby. How’s the weather there?’

  She laughed. ‘It’s Pakistan, honey. It’s hot. W
hat about you?’

  ‘I’m in the office. Just been debriefed.’

  ‘Are you OK? You’re not in trouble?’

  Bashir forced a laugh. ‘They’re blaming the Pakistani military,’ he said. ‘But the good news is that I’ll be back in Islamabad soon.’

  ‘Really? Honey, that’s great.’

  ‘They’re talking about sending me back as soon as Wednesday.’

  ‘Honey, that’s wonderful. That’s amazing, I’m so pleased. What’s happened?’

  ‘It’s all very hush-hush, baby. But it looks as if they’ve found out where they’re holding Shepherd. Remember? That SAS guy who got taken when the SSG raided the fort.’

  ‘Really? That’s great news. Where is he?’

  ‘That’s classified, baby. But the army is getting ready to rescue him and this time they’re not going to make any mistakes. They want me in Islamabad so that I can be there when he’s released.’

  ‘Honey, I’m so happy. When will you know when your flight is? I’ll come and meet you at the airport.’

  ‘I think they’ll tell me later today, baby. Tomorrow at the latest.’

  ‘That’s great. I’m so, so pleased. Call me as soon as you know, honey. Anyway, I’ve got to go, I’m on a really tight deadline with this press release.’

  ‘I will do, baby. See you soon. Kiss kiss.’

  Bashir ended the call and turned to look at Button. ‘How was that?’ he asked.

  Button held out her hand and Bashir gave her the iPhone. ‘That was perfect,’ she said.

  ‘What happens now?’ he asked.

  ‘You should go and see your parents. Spend some time with your family.’

  ‘I meant about my job. What’s going to happen?’

  Button looked pained. ‘I don’t think you’ll have a job for much longer, Taz. Willoughby-Brown will make sure of that. He’ll want to put some distance between the two of you.’

  ‘You mean he’ll make me the fall guy for this?’

  ‘Taz, you revealed details of an ongoing operation to an enemy of the state. You’ll be lucky not to end up in prison.’