Contents ( 84)
- 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-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
- EIGHTY
- EIGHTY-ONE
- EIGHTY-TWO
- EIGHTY-THREE
- Acknowledgements
He didn’t stop to point him out. His pursuer was too close to risk the delay. And he knew no one in this crowd would do anything, anyway. The result of confusion and the deep-seated reluctance to get involved in trouble.
But help was not the point. The point was attention. To ensure that whatever now happened, it could not be written off as an accident. It was, Michael had figured, his best chance – perhaps his only chance – of persuading the man in black to back off.
‘HELP!’ he shouted again. ‘HELP ME! SOMEONE!’
*
A moment more and Frank Hart would have had him.
The entire set up had been almost perfect. Devlin had reached the platform in a panic, and in a few seconds he was exactly where Hart had wanted him to be; at the head of the crowd, just inches from the platform’s edge.
In response, Hart had moved himself into position. Close. So close. Three, maybe four bodies away. Enough that one strong push might have been sufficient.
But ‘might’ was unacceptable. Romeo had made that much clear. They had to be certain of the man’s death, which meant two things: Hart had to be sure that Devlin would fall; and Devlin had to fall just as the train arrived.
The second factor had forced Hart to wait for the train’s arrival. It had added only a moment or two, but in that short time Devlin had clearly realised that something was wrong.
When Hart first saw Devlin step back he didn’t think anything of it. But as Devlin squeezed further into the crowd, he knew the lawyer had sensed the danger. Hart started to make his way after him, and it must have been that movement that had caught Devlin’s attention.
‘HELP!’
The shout made Hart stop in his tracks. Just for a moment, but long enough to see those commuters closest to Devlin turn in response. In that instant, he understood what the lawyer was trying to do.
Clever mother—
A heartbeat later and he was moving again. Pushing forcefully through the crowd, to keep up with Devlin. Though what he would do then, he didn’t know. What Devlin had done had already undermined their plan.
‘The lawyer made me. He knows what’s going down.’
Hart barked the words into his wrist mic as he followed Devlin towards the far end of the platform. Where, in just a few moments, the front of the train would stop.
‘Keep on him.’ It was Romeo’s voice, beamed directly into Hart’s earpiece. ‘We can’t fail this time.’
‘We’ve already failed,’ Hart replied. ‘He’s shouting his damn head off, drawing attention to himself. This can’t look like an accident now. We need to abort.’
‘We’re aborting nothing!’ Romeo’s voice betrayed a hint of panic. ‘That fucker is not to leave this station alive, understood?’
‘Are you serious? With a platform full of witnesses?’
‘Just do it. I’ll deal with any fallout.’
Hart hesitated. They were coming to the end of the platform, Devlin only slightly ahead of him.