Ratcatcher - By Tim Stevens Page 0,74
gun and he sat at the table, practising his aim. ‘It sounds like –’
‘Yes, I know what it sounds like.’ Purkiss mopped sandwich crumbs from the table with his finger, caught Elle watching him.
Kendrick said: ‘Craziest idea I’ve ever heard.’
‘No. I’ve come up with crazier.’
There really weren’t any other options. If they simply didn’t turn up at the venue, Abby would be killed. If they turned up but Purkiss didn’t hand himself over, she’d be killed. If he gave himself up as Fallon was asking, he’d probably be killed. But if he wasn’t, if they kept him alive even an hour, then Abby, back in action again, might be able to work her magic.
Purkiss asked Elle, ‘Do you have anything to wrap it in? Cling film, a small zippable sandwich bag?’
She emerged from the kitchen with a roll of plastic wrap. He tore off a small rectangle and put it in his pocket.
He’d explained his plan to them. ‘Abby was tracking my phone via a website which she had password-protected access to, so you two wouldn’t be able to use it. If they swap her for me, she’ll be able to track me and find out where they’ve taken me, assuming they don’t kill me immediately.’
‘But they’ll anticipate that and get rid of your phone as soon as they’ve got you,’ said Elle.
‘The tracking’s done through the phone’s SIM card,’ he said. ‘If I take that with me and manage to install it in another phone, she’ll be able to track that phone.’
‘So how will you get the card in a new handset?’
‘Smuggling the card in with me is the easy bit.’ He pointed at his open mouth. ‘Getting it into a handset’s going to be tricky.’
He had no idea if a SIM card would be damaged by stomach acids, but assumed it might be, so he asked for the plastic wrap. He’d have to remove it from his phone and swallow it at the last minute, since he needed to keep his phone on standby in case Fallon rang again.
Two a.m. The safe house was in the Old Town. The rendezvous point, Kiek in de Kök, was ten minutes’ drive away. Even though they planned to get there early, there was still an agony of time to kill.
Kendrick did a rapid strip and reassembly of the rifle again. He said, ‘Can’t stand this. I’m going for a walk.’ He stood and pulled on his jacket.
Elle raised her eyebrows, looked at Purkiss. Purkiss said, ‘He’s always like this before a job. Best we let him walk off some steam or he’ll be unbearable to be around.’ To Kendrick he said, ‘Go easy.’ His eyes flashed a warning. Kendrick nodded distractedly and banged out of the flat.
‘A bit worked up,’ said Elle.
‘He’ll be fine.’
Purkiss hoped he would be, that he didn’t overdo it. Since leaving the Army Kendrick had developed a tendency to enhance his natural edginess with amphetamines at times when added alertness was needed. When he’d first discovered this, Purkiss had been alarmed, but Kendrick wasn’t to be told, and the extra stamina he derived from the stimulants did, Purkiss had to admit, seem to give him an advantage.
Purkiss and Elle sat in silence for several minutes, listening to the distant nighttime sounds, the flat’s creaks and echoes.
‘She’s a close friend.’ Her glance was questioning even though the words came out as a statement.
‘Abby. Yes. Salt of the earth.’
He’d known Abby three years, encountering her first on a web forum where he was seeking technical advice, back in the early days of his work with Vale when he was still doing his own searches and becoming frustratingly aware that his skills as a computer geek weren’t up to par. After she proved helpful with more than one of his enquiries, he suggested they meet to discuss possible employment options. He discovered that she worked freelance for the Metropolitan Police, among other organisations. Eventually she came to take on jobs exclusively for him. The rates he paid made this worthwhile. Despite their close association he knew very little about her. She’d mentioned parents back in Lancashire, but that was about all.
‘And Kendrick. There’s a rapport there. The kind we develop with other Service colleagues, if we’re lucky.’
‘Yes.’ She'd sounded wistful. He was about to say that Abby and Kendrick were the closest thing he had to friends, but the suddenness of the realisation brought him up short.
To change the subject he said, ‘Teague being the traitor. That’s got to be