Contents (83)
- ONE
- TWO
- THREE
- FOUR
- FIVE
- SIX
- SEVEN
- EIGHT
- NINE
- TEN
- ELEVEN
- TWELVE
- THIRTEEN
- FOURTEEN
- FIFTEEN
- SIXTEEN
- SEVENTEEN
- EIGHTEEN
- NINETEEN
- TWENTY
- TWENTY-ONE
- TWENTY-TWO
- TWENTY-THREE
- TWENTY-FOUR
- TWENTY-FIVE
- TWENTY-SIX
- TWENTY-SEVEN
- TWENTY-EIGHT
- TWENTY-NINE
- THIRTY
- THIRTY-ONE
- THIRTY-TWO
- THIRTY-THREE
- THIRTY-FOUR
- THIRTY-FIVE
- THIRTY-SIX
- THIRTY-SEVEN
- THIRTY-EIGHT
- THIRTY-NINE
- FORTY
- FORTY-ONE
- FORTY-TWO
- FORTY-THREE
- FORTY-THREE
- FORTY-FOUR
- FORTY-FIVE
- FORTY-SIX
- FORTY-SEVEN
- FORTY-EIGHT
- FORTY-NINE
- FIFTY
- FIFTY-ONE
- FIFTY-TWO
- FIFTY-THREE
- FIFTY-FOUR
- FIFTY-FIVE
- FIFTY-SIX
- FIFTY-SEVEN
- FIFTY-EIGHT
- FIFTY-NINE
- SIXTY
- SIXTY-ONE
- SIXTY-TWO
- SIXTY-THREE
- SIXTY-FOUR
- SIXTY-FIVE
- SIXTY-SIX
- SIXTY-SEVEN
- SIXTY-EIGHT
- SIXTY-NINE
- SEVENTY
- SEVENTY-ONE
- SEVENTY-TWO
- SEVENTY-THREE
- SEVENTY-FOUR
- SEVENTY-FIVE
- SEVENTY-SIX
- SEVENTY-SEVEN
- SEVENTY-EIGHT
- SEVENTY-NINE
- Acknowledgements
- OUT NOW IN PAPERBACK
‘IN THE VAN. LOCKED UP BEFORE THE SHOOTING STARTED.’
Hale took a moment to weigh the odds. Right now they were pinned down, but they heavily outmanned Burrell’s men. Probably outgunned them, too. Plus it had taken five shots at a target as big as King? With only two hitting?
Means they can’t shoot for shit, Hale thought, his calm returning. Unlike my boys.
The decision was made.
‘OK. WHAT WE . . . SHIT!!’
Hale felt a ricochet pass him, less than an inch from his cheek. He could feel the heat of its movement.
‘YOU OK?’
‘I’M FINE. BUT WE NEED TO END THIS. NOW!’
‘AGREED!’
The officer signalled down the line. Hale watched the same signal pass from man to man. If he had not given the order he would have no idea what the hand movements meant. To the SO19 officers, they were as meaningful as a spoken sentence.
The first officer held his hand level with his head. Three fingers this time. He turned first to Hale. Then to his right. He lowered a finger.
Two.
Here we go again.
One.
Oh shit.
‘GO GO GO GO!’
The team stood up as one. Twelve firearms specialists and Hale.
It seemed longer, but it had been maybe half a minute since Hale had left the building. In that time Burrell’s men had kept up a consistent rate of fire. It had kept the SO19 team pinned down, which was the aim. But it had also prevented Burrell’s people from moving away. Movement meant pausing fire, and pausing fire against trained gunmen was a fatal mistake. This left Burrell’s team where they had started; on the pavement just outside of the building directly across the street. A spot that did not enjoy the same coverage of a line of parked cars.
It was there that they stood as Hale and the SO19 team rose to their feet and opened fire as one. And so it was there that they fell.
Two went down immediately. A single bullet each. Precisely placed in the centre of their foreheads. One came from the officer next to Hale. The other from the left-hand giant.
Burrell’s third man was taken just seconds later. Two bullets to the back as he ran, his bravado destroyed by the instant death of his friends.
Which left just Burrell himself.
In the moment he had had to think, Hale had wondered if Burrell had stayed for the fight, or if he had done what any sensible boss would and ran. Hale’s gut preferred option one. Burrell was aggressive and arrogant. And Hale had offended him.
He won’t let that go, Hale knew.
And he was right.
When the first two men went down, Burrell broke cover. Perhaps it was knowledge of what was upstairs: enough cocaine to imprison Burrell until his pension, inevitable now as his back-up team dropped like flies. Or perhaps he was just insane. Whatever it was, Burrell did not try to flee. Instead he came forward at a sprint, heading straight for Hale.