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  ‘Did you see Ahmed, do you think?’

  ‘Difficult to say. We all had ski masks on. And we were all pretty much the same height and build.’

  Kamran nodded thoughtfully. ‘And when they took the hood off, how many of you were sitting there?’

  ‘Nine,’ said Talpur.

  ‘Including yourself?’

  Talpur nodded. ‘Eight plus me. Nine.’

  Kamran sipped his coffee again. ‘You’re absolutely sure, Kash? Think carefully.’

  ‘I remember counting them. There was no way of telling them apart because they were all wearing masks, but yes, there were eight.’

  ‘Eight plus you? So nine in total?’

  ‘Yes. Nine.’

  Kamran smiled over the top of his mug. ‘Don’t you see it, Kash? Don’t you see what happened?’

  ‘What?’ asked Talpur. ‘What’s going on?’

  ‘There were nine of you tied to the chairs and wearing masks. Shahid took one of the nine and killed him. That left eight. But there were nine incidents. Nine hostages taken. Nine jihadists on the coach.’

  ‘I’m sorry, sir,’ said Talpur. ‘You’ve lost me.’

  ‘One of them was working with Shahid,’ said Kamran. ‘It was all a set-up. They faked the explosion, put the hood back over your head, then the dead jihadist came back to life. That dead jihadist was the man who called himself Zach Ahmed. Which is why I’m sure he’s gone for good.’

  ‘But why?’ asked Talpur. ‘They didn’t get what they wanted. The prisoners weren’t released. The whole thing was a waste of time.’

  ‘Maybe not,’ said Kamran, adding more sugar to his coffee. ‘Maybe Shahid got exactly what he wanted.’

  SCOTLAND YARD, VICTORIA EMBANKMENT

  Kamran had only just got back to his office when his mobile phone rang. He looked at the screen. The caller was withholding his number. He wondered if someone was trying to sell him something he didn’t want or need. He considered letting it go through to voicemail but then he had a prickling sensation at the back of his neck and pressed the green button to take the call.

  ‘Superintendent Kamran, how are you this glorious day?’

  Kamran recognised the voice immediately. Shahid. ‘You’re the last person I expected to call,’ he said. He considered attempting to trace the call but decided immediately that he would be wasting his time.

  ‘Did you get my parcel?’

  ‘Parcel?’

  ‘A padded envelope. With a thumbdrive inside. Addressed to you and marked private and confidential.’

  ‘I don’t see it on my desk,’ said Kamran. ‘Give me a minute.’ He got up and went over to his door. ‘Amy, is there a parcel for me, private and confidential?’

  His secretary rummaged through his in-basket and pulled out a small padded envelope. She hurried over to him and he took it. He opened it as he went back to his desk. ‘I’ve got it,’ he said. He tipped the envelope up and a small grey thumbdrive dropped onto his desk.

  ‘You’ll be interested to hear what’s on the drive,’ said Shahid. ‘It’s a confession, of sorts.’

  ‘Yours?’

  Shahid chuckled. ‘No, Superintendent. You’ll never be getting that from me. It’s the confession of Imad El-Sayed. He runs a bureau de change on the Edgware Road, near Marble Arch. El-Sayed confesses to funding Al-Qaeda and ISIS. He sends funds raised here to wherever in the world the money is needed. He pays for British jihadists to go to Syria to fight for ISIS. He funded the bombs on the London Tube in 2005.’

  ‘And how did you get this confession?’

  ‘Does it matter?’

  ‘Of course it matters,’ said Kamran. ‘This was a recording made during the siege, wasn’t it?’

  ‘You’ll know that as soon as you listen to it,’ said Shahid.

  ‘Zach Ahmed, or whatever his name is, was wearing a wire?’

  ‘And I recorded the calls at my end,’ said Shahid. ‘El-Sayed is an evil man. Responsible for a lot of deaths. A true terrorist.’

  ‘But you’re not, are you? It was never about terrorism, was it? What you and Zach did? Those nine people. The fake vests. This was all about bringing El-Sayed to justice.’

  ‘Someone had to, Mo. He never seemed to be on your radar. You need to share that recording with the Americans. I’m happy for you to take the credit but if you don’t I’ll send a thumbdrive to the US Embassy. I have to say I was surprised not to see you on TV after it was all over.’

  ‘I was busy, obviously.’

  ‘But that chief superintendent – what was his name?’

  ‘Gillard.’

  ‘Yes, Chief Superintendent Gillard. From the number of interviews he gave, you’d have thought it was all his operation from start to finish.’

  ‘He was Gold Commander.’

  ‘I think you earned some credit, though, don’t you? Anyway, the thumbdrive should go some way to addressing that.’

  ‘You’re not trying to buy me off, are you, Shahid?’

  ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘I mean that this doesn’t change anything. I’ll have to hunt you down. You and Zach broke the law. You put innocent lives at risk and you’ll be punished for that.’

  ‘No one died, Mo. No one got hurt. And the men I used, they weren’t innocents.’

  ‘One was,’ said Kamran. ‘The man you used on the bus at Tavistock Square. He was an undercover cop. One of ours. A good man.’

  ‘So I gather, but I didn’t know that. His cover was good. We thought he was a drug dealer. And he was part of a gang abusing young girls.’

  ‘No. He was an undercover cop penetrating the gang.’

  ‘As I said, I know that now. But by all means give him my apologies. It was a long time in the planning, but mistakes happen. And it was for the greater good, you have to admit that. El-Sayed deserves what’s coming to him. So let’s just say that all’s well that ends well, shall we? And look for me all you want, Mo. Where I’m hiding, you’ll never find me. And don’t even bother tracing this call. I’m using Skype through half a dozen proxy servers.’

  The line went dead.

  TOWER HAMLETS

  ‘Did he get it?’ asked Daniel, as his brother closed the laptop and stood up. Daniel was sprawled on a sofa, watching a football match on a big-screen TV above the fireplace.

  ‘He got it,’ said Adam, dropping onto the sofa next to him.

  ‘And you don’t think we should leave the country?’

  ‘This is our home, did you forget? Where do you want to go? Pakistan? Fuck me, bruv, the food’s crap and it’s too bloody hot most of the year.’

  Daniel laughed. ‘But Tower Hamlets? You really want to stay here?’

  ‘Bruv, there are more than one and a quarter million Pakistanis in the UK, twenty per cent of them live in London and Khan is one of the most common surnames. We can hide in plain sight. No one knows what I look like anyway, and you’re completely different now.’

  ‘I won’t miss that bloody beard, that’s for sure,’ said Daniel, rubbing his chin. ‘What now?’

  ‘We restart our lives. You start working in the movies again. I go back to being a doctor.’

  ‘And how do we explain what we’ve been doing for the last two years?’

  ‘Travelling the world, bruv. Finding ourselves.’ He grinned. ‘Probably best not to say that we took a sabbatical to get revenge on the bastard who killed our sister.’ The smile vanished as quickly as it had flashed across his face. ‘It took longer than I thought it would, but it was worth it. That bastard was responsible for the death of Sarah and everyone else who died on that day. I don’t know why the cops didn’t work it out for themselves. But they know now.’ He sighed. ‘We’ve got time, bruv. There’s no rush. Five million quid minus expenses will last us years.’

  ‘I hope Mo doesn’t drop the ball. El-Sayed needs to go down for what he did.’

  ‘It’ll happen, don’t worry,’ said Adam. ‘And once they start looking, the Yanks will want their pound of fle
sh. El-Sayed will spend the rest of his life locked inside a metal box. Don’t worry.’

  ‘We should have just killed him.’

  ‘No, this way is better. Plus we got his money. We can do a lot of good with that.’

  ‘Do you think Sarah knows what we did for her?’

  Adam smiled. ‘If there’s a heaven, she knows.’

  KING’S CROSS (7 July 2005, 8.40 a.m.)

  Sarah Khan looked at her watch. ‘You’ve plenty of time,’ said Adam. ‘Your interview isn’t until ten.’ They were standing on the main concourse at King’s Cross station, close to the entrance to the Underground.

  ‘Do you want us to come with you?’ asked Daniel.

  She smiled. ‘I’m fine.’

  ‘It’s no big deal.’

  She laughed. ‘My big brothers, always looking after me.’

  ‘Someone has to,’ said Adam.

  ‘Mum and Dad would have been so proud of you both,’ she said.

  ‘And they’d have been proud of you, too,’ said Adam. ‘Smart, pretty, a first in law from Oxford, going to work for the CPS.’

  ‘If you’re planning an arranged marriage for me, I’ll kill you, you know that.’

  ‘No guy is getting near you, not without getting past us,’ said Daniel.

  Sarah giggled. ‘You guys are terrible,’ she said. ‘Anyway, it’s only a first interview.’

  ‘They’d be crazy not to hire you,’ said Daniel.

  She looked at her watch again. ‘I should go.’

  Both men hugged her tightly.

  ‘Be careful,’ said Daniel.

  Sarah frowned. ‘What do you mean?’

  Daniel forced a smile. ‘I don’t know. I just …’ He shrugged. ‘Go on, off you go. And don’t come back without a job offer.’

  The two brothers stood and watched as Sarah walked to the escalators. She raised her right hand and waved without looking back as she disappeared from sight.

  ‘Don’t go,’ whispered Daniel.

  Adam turned to him. ‘Why did you say that?’

  ‘I don’t know. I just had a bad feeling.’

  ‘She’s a big girl now. She can take care of herself.’

  ‘She’s our little sister. And since Mum and Dad died, she’s our responsibility.’

  ‘She got a first at Oxford,’ said Adam. ‘You got a two:two in special effects from Bolton.’

  ‘Fuck you, bruv.’

  ‘Fuck you too,’ said Adam, ruffling his hair.

  ‘We can’t all be doctors,’ said Daniel. ‘I’ve got to run. We’re on location.’

  ‘Yeah? What’s the movie?’

  ‘A low-budget sci-fi thing they’re filming up at Pinewood. I’ve got to make three heads explode on a budget of two grand.’

  ‘I bet Spielberg never had these problems.’

  ‘Everyone has to start somewhere.’

  Adam put an arm around his younger brother’s shoulders. ‘I was joking, bruv. You’ll make it big one day. This family’s destined for greatness, I can feel it.’ He took a last look at the entrance to the Underground, then headed outside with his brother.

  PICCADILLY LINE (7 July 2005, 8.50 a.m.)

  Sarah sat down in the last free seat in the carriage and took a deep breath. As the train pulled away from the platform she looked over at the young Asian man standing by the door with a backpack slung over one shoulder. He was staring at her with deep-set eyes. The train picked up speed. Now the man was staring at a woman with a young daughter. The child was three or four years old, holding a small Paddington Bear. She smiled at Sarah and Sarah smiled back.

  The man straightened his back and raised his right hand. He was holding something in his hand, something metallic. He took a deep breath, threw back his head and screamed at the top of his voice, ‘Allahu Akbar!’

  There was a blinding flash and then everything went dark.

  The 12th Spider Shepherd thriller

  In what could be his highest-profile mission ever, Dan ‘Spider’ Shepherd is called in to prevent the assassination of a head of state on British soil.

  As an MI5 agent, Spider is used to going undercover, but when he’s asked to assume the identity of the contract killer hired to take out President Vladimir Putin, he knows he’ll become a wanted man.

  And things are about to get more complicated: Spider is told that his MI5 controller and close friend Charlotte Button has been running an off-the-books assassination operation, taking vengeance on the men who killed her husband. Spider owes his life to Button – but this discovery will stretch his loyalty to the limit …

  ‘Let Spider draw you into his web, you won’t regret it’

  Sun

  Buy now at www.hodder.co.uk

  @StephenLeather

  stephenleatherofficial

  Visit Stephen Leather’s website

  Table of Contents

  Also by Stephen Leather

  About the Author

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Contents

  Brixton (10 a.m.)

  Wandsworth (10.20 a.m.)

  Brixton (10.25 a.m.)

  Fulham (10.45 a.m.)

  Brixton (10.47 a.m.)

  Scotland Yard, Victoria Embankment (10.50 a.m.)

  Kensington (11.10 a.m.)

  Lambeth Central Communications Command Centre (11.15 a.m.)

  Marble Arch (11.40 a.m.)

  Lambeth Central Communications Command Centre (11.45 a.m.)

  Marylebone High Street (11.52 a.m.)

  Marylebone (11.55 a.m.)

  Wellington Barracks (12.02 p.m.)

  Lambeth Central Communications Command Centre (12.05 p.m.)

  Marylebone (12.08 p.m.)

  Lambeth Central Communications Command Centre (12.10 p.m.)

  Tavistock Square (12.13 p.m.)

  Lambeth Central Communications Command Centre (12.15 p.m.)

  Wandsworth (12.16 p.m.)

  Lambeth Central Communications Command Centre (12.18 p.m.)

  Fulham (12.20 p.m.)

  Lambeth Central Communications Command Centre (12.25 p.m.)

  Brixton (12.28 p.m.)

  Lambeth Central Communications Command Centre (12.30 p.m.)

  Marble Arch (12.33 p.m.)

  Lambeth Central Communications Command Centre (12.34 p.m.)

  Camberwell (12.35 p.m.)

  Lambeth Central Communications Command Centre (12.40 p.m.)

  Southwark (12.50 p.m.)

  Lambeth Central Communications Command Centre (12.51 p.m.)

  Fulham (12.52 p.m.)

  Marble Arch (12.53 p.m.)

  Camberwell (12.54 p.m.)

  Lambeth Central Communications Command Centre (12.56 p.m.)

  Marble Arch (1.05 p.m.)

  Lambeth Central Communications Command Centre (1.30 p.m.)

  Tavistock Square (1.35 p.m.)

  Lambeth Central Communications Command Centre (2.00 p.m.)

  Kensington (2.02 p.m.)

  Brixton (2.05 p.m.)

  Lambeth Central Communications Command Centre (2.10 p.m.)

  Tavistock Square (2.15 p.m.)

  Marble Arch (2.20 p.m.)

  Lambeth Central Communications Command Centre (2.30 p.m.)

  Wandsworth (2.45 p.m.)

  Lambeth Central Communications Command Centre (3 p.m.)

  Tavistock Square (3.02 p.m.)

  Lambeth Central Communications Command Centre (3.04 p.m.)

  Marble Arch (3.07 p.m.)

  Lambeth Central Communications Command Centre (3.10 p.m.)

  Wandsworth (3.15 p.m.)

  Lambeth Central Communications Command Centre (3.20 p.m.)

  Marble Arch (3.35 p.m.)

  Lambeth Central Communications Command Centre (3.40 p.m.)

  Marble Arch (3.45 p.m.)

  Lambeth Central Communications Command Centre (3.50 p.m.)

  Marble Arch (3.51 p.m.)

  Lambeth Central Communications Command Centre (3.52 p.m.)

  Wandsworth (3.53 p.
m.)

  Lambeth Central Communications Command Centre (3.54 p.m.)

  Wandsworth (3.55 p.m.)

  Lambeth Central Communications Command Centre (3.56 p.m.)

  Marylebone (4.06 p.m.)

  Lambeth Central Communications Command Centre (4.10 p.m.)

  Biggin Hill Airport (4.20 p.m.)

  Lambeth Central Communications Command Centre (4.30 p.m.)

  Tavistock Square (4.33 p.m.)

  Lambeth Central Communications Command Centre (4.40 p.m.)

  Biggin Hill Airport (4.43 p.m.)

  Tavistock Square (4.44 p.m.)

  Euston (4.45 p.m.)

  Brixton (5.00 p.m.)

  Lambeth Central Communications Command Centre (5.05 p.m.)

  Wandsworth (5.10 p.m.)

  Lambeth Central Communications Command Centre (5.12 p.m.)

  Biggin Hill Airport (5.20 p.m.)

  Lambeth Central Communications Command Centre (5.23 p.m.)

  Fulham (5.25 p.m.)

  Lambeth Central Communications Command Centre (5.27 p.m.)

  Marylebone (5.32 p.m.)

  Lambeth Central Communications Command Centre (5.34 p.m.)

  Kensington (5.35 p.m.)

  Lambeth Central Communications Command Centre (5.45 p.m.)

  Marble Arch (5.50 p.m.)

  Lambeth Central Communications Command Centre (5.55 p.m.)

  Marylebone (6.02 p.m.)

  Marble Arch (6.05 p.m.)

  Tavistock Square (6.15 p.m.)

  South London (ten hours earlier)

  Camberwell (6.30 p.m.)

  South London (ten hours earlier)

  Southwark (6.45 p.m.)

  Lambeth Central Communications Command Centre (6.47 p.m.)

  Near Bromley (6.54 p.m.)

  Lambeth Central Communications Command Centre (7.07 p.m.)

  Biggin Hill Airport (7.09 p.m.)

  Lambeth Central Communications Command Centre (7.10 p.m.)

  Biggin Hill Airport (7.12 p.m.)

  Lambeth Central Communications Command Centre (7.13 p.m.)

  Biggin Hill Airport (7.14 p.m.)

  Lambeth Central Communications Command Centre (7.16 p.m.)

  Biggin Hill Airport (7.18 p.m.)

  Raf Biggin Hill (7.22 p.m.)

  Lambeth Central Communications Command Centre (7.25 p.m.)

  Biggin Hill Airport (7.26 p.m.)

  Lambeth Central Communications Command Centre (7.27 p.m.)

  Biggin Hill Airport (7.30 p.m.)

  Lambeth Central Communications Command Centre (7.32 p.m.)

  Biggin Hill Airport (7.40 p.m.)