The Sacred Vault_ A Novel - Andy McDermott [87]
‘You don’t have any useful contacts in India?’
‘Only Saheli, and she’s out of the country. There’s this guy from Interpol I met recently, Kit, but I don’t know if he’d be up for helping with something like this - he seemed a bit by-the-book. What about you? You went there in the SAS, didn’t you?’
‘Yes, but that was almost thirty years ago. And I was acting as an adviser to the National Security Guard for the Queen’s state visit, not being a tourist.’
‘Then unless we can get someone local on our side, we’ll have to wing it.’
‘Never really ideal in a hostage situation.’
‘Yeah, I know.’ Eddie closed the book. ‘Mac . . . I really appreciate you doing this for me.’
The Scot smiled. ‘What are friends for? Besides, I know you’d do the same for me. Although,’ his eyes twinkled, ‘I can’t imagine what I might possibly be doing that would need that kind of help. You and Nina do have a knack for getting into extreme situations.’
‘Tell me about it,’ Eddie said ruefully. ‘I’ve been shot at more in the past four years than in the bloody Regiment! But,’ he went on, resolute, ‘I’m going to get Nina out of this situation.’
‘We both are,’ said Mac firmly. He held out his hand; Eddie grasped it. ‘Fight to the end.’
‘Fight to the end,’ Eddie repeated. They exchanged a look of comradeship, and more, then released their grip as the airliner’s seat belt lights came on. The plane was descending.
‘See you on the ground.’ Mac headed to his seat. The two men were sitting separately for a very simple reason: security. Eddie suspected that news of his theft of the Talonor Codex would have spread beyond New York. Waiting for him - and anyone accompanying him - when the plane landed could well be the Indian police.
Or, worse, Khoil’s people.
Either way, he would know soon enough.
He found out before even reaching the terminal.
The airliner stopped just short of its gate at Indira Gandhi International, where the captain announced that due to a security issue, passengers should remain seated until given the all-clear. Mac looked back at Eddie in concern, getting a resigned nod in return. The plane then advanced to the jetway. A trio of armed police officers boarded, their leader speaking to one of the stewardesses before they marched down the aisle. ‘Edward Chase?’ the officer in charge asked.
Eddie smiled politely. ‘My mates call me Eddie.’
‘Come with us, please.’
He concealed his worry beneath a mock-casual shrug as he stood and was handcuffed before being led from the aircraft. Never mind finding a location to make the exchange; there might not even be an exchange.
He had to convince his interrogators of his reasons for stealing the Codex. If he could persuade them that letting him carry out the exchange would not only save Nina’s life but could also both recover the Codex and lead to the arrest of the man who had ordered its theft, maybe he had a chance of release . . .
That chance vanished as he was brought through a keypad-locked door into the terminal’s security area. Waiting outside one of the rooms was a man he had seen on Khoil’s plane - the one with the filed teeth.
The leading officer glanced round to make sure nobody was watching, then accepted a wad of banknotes that was quickly spirited into a pocket. ‘Oi, what’s this?’ Eddie said loudly, knowing full well what it was: Khoil had cops on his payroll. If he made enough of a scene, he might attract attention from someone honest - but the corridor was lined with interrogation rooms, not busy offices. Noisy protests would be expected, and ignored.
‘Take him with Mr Singh,’ said the officer, nodding towards a side passage that led to an exit. The two other cops grabbed Eddie’s arms as Singh gave him another unpleasantly pointed smile.
‘Get the fuck off me!’ Eddie shouted. He tried to break away, but with his wrists cuffed his actions were limited - and the two cops were prepared for trouble, one driving a fierce jab into his kidneys. They started to hustle him down the passage—
‘Stop!’ someone shouted, voice commanding. ‘What’s going on here?’