Blackout - By Tom Barber Page 0,43

way they came before anyone had any idea what had happened. Stealth over aggression, shadows over bullets. The helicopter picked them up at the RV point three hours after they dropped them off, and the entire team left unhurt with the three hostages, the mission a success.’

He paused.

Leaning against some of the damaged glass, Archer glanced across the room at Jackson, who was standing motionless, listening.

He looked tense.

‘Naturally, I figured my boss would be thrilled,' Cobb continued. 'It was a real coup. I was a young man, still twenty six, so naturally I was elated. The first big operation I'd run and it was a knockout. It couldn't have gone better. But then he called me into his office with Agent Jackson at four a.m. that morning, just after the operation had ended, before we’d even had a chance to leave and get some much needed rest. Obviously, with the nature of our work, we were both trained and familiar with discretion. Like everyone else, I’d signed the Official Secrets Act and Jackson the Espionage Act earlier in our careers. But we were each handed specially drawn-up agreements and ordered to sign them immediately. If we ever said a word to anyone about this operation, the ramifications would be incredibly severe. Even now, I'm breaking the terms of that document I signed by mentioning what happened. If the wrong person heard this, I could go to prison.’

‘Why the silence, sir?’ Archer said. ‘I thought hostage rescues normally got leaked to the press? Good PR and all.’

Cobb looked at him.

‘You're right. They are. Normally someone at Downing Street can’t wait to tell the journalists. Such operations are real triumphs, something to lift the public, to reinforce their faith in our armed forces and government, showing our superiority over the enemy etc etc. But the document I signed was the most uncompromising I’d ever seen. To my knowledge, everyone involved in Blackout signed one. So I moved on, and it’s been fifteen years since I last thought about it.’

Silence.

‘So why were they so keen to keep you quiet?’ Chalky asked, by the door.

Cobb looked over at Jackson.

‘Most of our operations were classified Top Secret,' Cobb said, his eyes boring a hole into the CIA agent, who looked at the ground. 'But something didn't seem right here. And I’m guessing they didn’t tell me the full story. I should have known something was wrong when none of the military guys would touch it. This kind of thing is normally right up their alley.’

‘But wait a minute,’ Archer said, across the room. ‘I thought NATO was working with the Albanians and the KLA. Why the hell would they take some of our own guys captive? We were on the same side.’

In his chair, his narrative complete, Cobb turned to Jackson.

‘I don’t know. Perhaps you would like to share? Why would they take three of our fellow countrymen hostage?’

The American paused and looked at him.

A long and somewhat awkward silence followed.

'Speak, Ryan,' Cobb said, his voice harder. 'No more secrets. It’s too late for that. It's time we started sharing some history. Why would they take three of our guys?'

Jackson looked up at him ruefully.

‘Because they were mass murderers,’ he said.

*

Before Jackson could explain further, Nikki rushed over to Cobb's office and after knocking, quickly entered the room. She couldn’t have entered at a worse time, but she had to talk to Cobb right away. None of the men paid attention to her. They all seemed to be looking at the American CIA newcomer.

‘Sir, I found one of the names on the list you gave me.’

‘Who?’

‘A Corporal Simon Fletcher, formerly British Army. He’s under care at a hospice twenty five minutes from here.’

‘Got the address?’

‘Yes, sir.’

‘So let’s go.’

Cobb rose from his desk and moved outside into the operations area, followed by the five other men, all of them turning left and headed for the lower level. Downstairs they found Deakins and another officer at the front desk, guarding the front entrance, MP5s in their hands. Archer saw that Clark's body had been removed, but he could still see faint blood stains on the floor and wall behind him.

‘Is there a problem, sir?’ Deakins asked.

‘We need to head out for an hour or so,’ Cobb said. ‘First Team is coming with me. Hold the fort till I get back. You're in command.’

‘Yes, sir.’

Cobb nodded and the six men walked to the doors. He peered outside, then turned and looked back at the five men behind him.

‘We’ll