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Back A Shadow Intelligence Save as PDF
Chapters (58)
  1. Cover
  2. Also by Oliver Harris
  3. ONE
  4. TWO
  5. THREE
  6. FOUR
  7. FIVE
  8. SIX
  9. SEVEN
  10. EIGHT
  11. NINE
  12. TEN
  13. ELEVEN
  14. TWELVE
  15. THIRTEEN
  16. FOURTEEN
  17. FIFTEEN
  18. SIXTEEN
  19. SEVENTEEN
  20. EIGHTEEN
  21. NINETEEN
  22. TWENTY
  23. TWENTY-ONE
  24. TWENTY-TWO
  25. TWENTY-THREE
  26. TWENTY-FOUR
  27. TWENTY-FIVE
  28. TWENTY-SIX
  29. TWENTY-SEVEN
  30. TWENTY-EIGHT
  31. TWENTY-NINE
  32. THIRTY
  33. THIRTY-ONE
  34. THIRTY-TWO
  35. THIRTY-THREE
  36. THIRTY-FOUR
  37. THIRTY-FIVE
  38. THIRTY-SIX
  39. THIRTY-SEVEN
  40. THIRTY-EIGHT
  41. THIRTY-NINE
  42. FORTY
  43. FORTY-ONE
  44. FORTY-TWO
  45. FORTY-THREE
  46. FORTY-FOUR
  47. FORTY-FIVE
  48. FORTY-SIX
  49. FORTY-SEVEN
  50. FORTY-EIGHT
  51. FORTY-NINE
  52. FIFTY
  53. FIFTY-ONE
  54. FIFTY-TWO
  55. FIFTY-THREE
  56. FIFTY-FOUR
  57. FIFTY-FIVE
  58. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

‘They’ve got no idea.’

We climbed out of the vehicle. The Kazakhs behind us had their weapons ready. They stepped closer, six paramilitaries, then they lifted their weapons and ran. The Russians took up position behind the doors of the Mitsubishi. I stepped aside. Then they were past us.

‘Maybe they do,’ Cherenkov said. The crowd parted as the Kazakhs swarmed the ambulance. They took up positions around it then, at a hand signal, three men smashed the windows. I heard two shots, then two more. Then a second’s silence before the crowd began to scream.

Everyone ran. We were pushed back a block by terrified individuals and roaring Kazakh soldiers. Other troops arrived and I glimpsed British faces in the chaos: Suzanna Ford, her SAS detail. She locked eyes with Cherenkov. The leather-jacketed officer beside her had a gun, low but intent, focused on the Russian intelligence officer.

Ford was reading the situation, reading me. She beckoned me closer. I took a step.

‘Good work.’ She nodded in the direction of the ambulance. When I failed to react, she said, ‘We collected her body. I’m sorry, Elliot. If it’s any consolation, we’re holding Callum Walker. Going to need a full debrief from you, but you’ll be protected.’

Cherenkov caught my look of scepticism.

‘The invitation’s still open, Elliot. Moscow for Christmas. You’d be treated well.’

‘Maybe next time,’ I said.

He stepped back, eyeing Ford and her gunman.

‘I mean it,’ he said. ‘Keep my card.’ Then he disappeared into the crowd.

Ford winked. ‘Welcome back, Elliot,’ she said. ‘We’ll get a brew on the plane.’ She turned to the SAS team and began coordinating our own evacuation. They studied a handheld device with a map on it. I walked back towards the ambulance, against the flow of the crowd, curious to see the seventeen-year-old martyr, then lost interest and walked into the square instead. The ground was littered with placards. I passed on through, keeping an eye out for Aliya, then I was on the other side and still walking.

FIFTY-FIVE

No one tailed me through Astana’s freezing back streets. I cut north, flagged down a car, ended up at the train station. I bought a third-class ticket to Beyneu, near the border with Uzbekistan, picked up a loaf of bread, some biscuits, two bottles of local vodka. I bought some more gloves and a hat.