of the tiny stairwell third in line, stood up fully, and wiped a small amount of the debris and dirt from his hands. He wore black coveralls and carried a backpack. Behind him, the men with the acetylene tank and the men with guns and heavy packs and cases struggled out of the passage and into the light, and then Hines crawled out on his hands and knees and slowly stood erect.
As more men made it out of the stairwell and into the room, Fox looked over the two cops in the employ of David Mars. He said, “Have you heard anything about someone being taken in at the front gate?”
The men looked at each other. The short one said, “Not a word.”
Fox said, “That must mean the Americans have him sequestered to interrogate him. Where would they take him?”
“The Americans have the entire third floor to themselves. If I was gonna take someone for a chat without the rest of the castle knowin’ about it, I’d take him up to three.”
Fox nodded, then turned to the mercenary team leader. “Okay. Take twelve men to the banquet hall to meet up with the other two sleepers there. I’ll take two of your men along with Jon, and these two sleepers. We’ll go to the third floor and recover the general. The rest will set up the explosives down here.”
All the new arrivals to the basement took off their coveralls, revealing their dark business attire. Their short-barreled weapons were checked one last time in the dim light, and cases were opened. Three men began pulling out several explosives and detonation cord, and with head lamps on they began positioning them around the dungeon level of the castle, while the others headed for the stairs.
CHAPTER 62
Suzanne Brewer looked at her watch. It was nine p.m. and the banquet was in full swing downstairs. Up here in the makeshift interrogation room she’d spent the last fifteen minutes explaining to Feodor Zakharov that he had no rights, that he would have no contact with the British here, and if the Americans wanted to, they would shove him in a suitcase and take him out of the Five Eyes conference and deliver him to an Agency black site without anyone knowing they had him in custody.
Zakharov seemed positively relaxed about his predicament. He noticed her looking at her watch and said, “Can I bother you for the time? Seems someone nicked my watch.”
To this Brewer said, “It’s time to tell me why you are here.”
“My plan has failed. I see that. I am able to face the facts. There is no sense trying to hide from the long arm of the United States of America. I decided it was best I turn myself in. Throw myself at your mercy.”
Brewer just replied with, “Horseshit.”
* * *
• • •
Thirteen men in suits and ties walked up the wide corridor, not in formation, but grouped closely together. They approached the great hall; the three sets of doors were closed and the murmur of voices and the clanking of plates could be heard over music playing.
There were a pair of UK security men in front of each set of doors. The farthest pair from the approaching Russians watched them coming and immediately reached into pockets, removing red elastic sweat bands. These they both quickly slipped around their right biceps, indicating to the other Russians that they were the sleepers infiltrated into the security services and should therefore not be engaged as hostiles.
When the other two pairs of men pushed off the wall and approached the group to check their badges, the two men with the red bands on their arms pulled silenced pistols from their hiding places inside their coats.
The four security men standing right in front of them never stood a chance. The approaching group of Russians all stepped to one side of the corridor so as not to be downrange of the gunfire, and then the two Russians in back fired their suppressed weapons into the four men, dropping them dead before any of them knew they were in any danger.
The bodies were left where they fell, and the music and crowd noise from the great hall masked the muffled gunshots.
Now the Russians divided into three units, approached the three doors off the main corridor to the great hall, and waited. One of the sleepers looked at his watch and determined the time was right, and then he and his colleague entered the room, leaving the rest