Huntress Read online

  “Ghost lines?”

  “Yeah, basically train companies run certain trains just to keep the lines open. So many train lines were closed in the sixties and seventies that train companies and enthusiasts wanted to fight back. To confuse government, they ran trains on those lines, to pretend they were in use. But the trains would never be used. They’d go to the most ridiculous places at the worst times, they’d go only once a day, and they’d have no return journey. Anything to discourage people from actually using them. They still run today but mainly to move stock around. They pass through miles of track that’s not known about, go through stations that have been abandoned for decades. I recognise these station names. Wedgwood, Brigg, Peartree. You don’t forget names like that.”

  “So, these train times might be real,” Claudia mused as she looked at the data again. “I’d discarded it as rubbish data because of the strange times and locations that don’t seem to exist. But if these trains do run then it would be a fantastic way to move people or items around the country.”

  “Oh my god.” Amy slammed her hand over her mouth. She stared into nothing as a memory seemed to hit her.

  “What is it?”

  “Cara warned me. One day, she told me that she’d read a report about really poor maintenance on trains. She asked me if I ever took trains, and I said sometimes. She told me to avoid trains at all costs, that they were all death traps. Disasters waiting to happen.” Amy blew out a breath. “She was warning me.”

  Claudia’s pulse started to race. “Did she say anything else?”

  Amy shook her head. “Nothing specific. Just that.”

  “I think this is it,” Claudia said.

  “But, wait, if these are just train times of ghost lines... then no one would be on them,” Amy said. “That’s the whole point in them, they never get used.”

  Claudia brought up a map. “The trains may not get used, but they go into mainline stations. They pass through major cities. Just think of the damage that can be caused by filling a train with explosives.”

  Amy paled. “That’s... horrible. Why would someone do that?”

  “Someone with a point to prove, someone who wants to be heard.” Claudia leaned back in her chair. It felt right. Out of all the data on the USB, the ghost lines seemed the most likely target. But she still had the question of which train, at which time.

  “Why would MI5 help with something like that?” Amy asked. “Like, isn’t it their job to keep people safe? Not help to blow them up? And how does a mole get into MI5 anyway? Isn’t there a test or something? I went to America years ago, and I had to tick a box to say that I’m not a communist. Don’t you have to fill in a form to say you’re not a terrorist? Not that anyone would be stupid enough to say they are a terrorist. But, surely there are some safeguards?”

  Amy’s waffling had focused Claudia’s mind on the right question. And the answer was becoming blatantly clear. She couldn’t believe she hadn’t seen it before.

  “I know who it is,” she whispered. She stared blankly at the screen, everything coming together in her mind and rendering her still.

  “Then we need to call it in, tell... whoever it is you tell.”

  Claudia shook her head. She looked at Amy. “This person, they are high up. They control a lot of the data. If they think we are on to them, they’ll wipe everything. They must have put some kind of failsafe in place to protect them. We have to catch them in the act.”

  “How do we do that?”

  “I have no idea; I need to think.” Claudia jumped to her feet. She started to pace in front of the window. It was Miranda, had to be. Miranda had spent every day of her working life, for the last ten years, explaining how flawed the MI5 systems were. An attack would shake the service to its core. Procedures would have to be overhauled.

  She’d seen enough people decline into extreme beliefs to know that it could happen to anyone who was passionate about something. Miranda was passionate about MI5 having more power. Not only was Miranda the most likely candidate, she was also in the position to provide a fake dossier. Her department oversaw profiling and information retrieval. If she said someone was part of a terrorist organisation, then no one questioned it.

  “Do you trust your old boss?” Amy asked.

  Claudia stopped pacing and looked at her. “Yes, I trust him. Why?”

  “Arrest me. Arrest us.” Amy waved between herself and Kerry. “I mean, let me get dressed first. But then arrest us. Set them up.”

  “No, Amy, I can’t put you in that kind of danger. Who knows what her plan is? I can’t—”

  “You can,” Amy insisted. “We haven’t been missing for that long. You rock up at spy school HQ with both of us. Everyone is like, whoa, she caught them, awesome. Then the mole is bound to make some kind of a move, but you and your boss will be watching their every move.”

  “What about Spiky?” Claudia asked.

  Amy scrunched up her face as she thought. “He didn’t see me clobber him.”

  “True.” Claudia smiled at the memory. “He presumably doesn’t know we’re onto them, and he doesn’t know that you immobilised him. Which means I can report that one of the terrorists, who you were working with, threatened me with a gun and a kindly passer-by assisted me.”

  “Dog walker.” Amy nodded her head. “It’s always a dog walker. Dead body found? Dog walker found it. Someone being attacked? Dog walker saw it. Missing person? Dog walker was the last person to see them.”

  “Okay, a kindly dog walker,” Claudia agreed. “But I’m still not happy with the idea of putting you in harm’s way.”

  “I trust you,” Amy told her. “Besides, I went on this whole journey to prevent a terrorist attack from happening. I’ve not done that yet, but I can if we do this.”

  Claudia took a step forward and knelt in front of Amy. She put her hand on her knee and looked into her eyes. “Are you absolutely sure about this? I don’t have jurisdiction at MI5. I can’t guarantee your safety.”

  “I trust you,” Amy repeated.

  Claudia looked at her for a moment. She nodded and stood up. “We better talk to Kerry about this. Considering you just offered to have her arrested without her knowledge.”

  Amy shrugged and looked over her shoulder to Kerry and Mark. “What are best friends for?”

  Claudia paced the hotel room’s small bathroom. She held the burner phone Mark had brought with him to her lips as she considered the plan from all angles. She wasn’t happy about it, but it was the best way to catch Miranda in the act. Maybe the only way.

  She dialled the number she knew from memory, held the phone to her ear, and waited.

  “Andrew Barr?”

  “It’s me,” she said softly.

  “Claudia? What the hell? You disappear off the face of the earth, your associate poses as one of my officers and kidnaps a suspect? My team are dispatched to Edinburgh on your information. What is going on?” Andrew was livid. She could picture him now, pacing his tiny office and gesturing wildly.

  “Amy Hewitt and Kerry Wyatt are both with me. I have the data, and I know what the plan is. But there is a mole in your office.” There was no point in sugar-coating it.

  “A-a mole?” Andrew hesitated. The anger seemed to start to wane. “But... that’s impossible. You know how closely everyone is vetted here.”

  “I do. I also know that those who design the systems, or frequently complain about them, are the ones most likely to be able to break them.”

  Andrew was silent for a few moments. Claudia gave him time. Allowed the enormity of the situation to sink in. He needed to be calm and collected. No one could suspect that he had any doubts.

  “Andrew,” she continued, “we need to act now, and we need to not give any indication that we know about the mole. We can’t give them the opportunity to cover their tracks. There’s a window of opportunity here, and we need to grab it.”

  “You have a plan, by the sounds of it?”

  “I do. It’s... unconventio
nal.”

  “Sounds just like you.” Andrew chuckled.

  “I’ll need your help.”

  “You have it. Always.”

  38

  End Game

  Claudia watched as Amy and Kerry were handcuffed and led into the cells. She swallowed at the sight and hoped she was doing the right thing. Trusting the famously incompetent security service wasn’t something that came naturally to her.

  “Well done, McAllister.”

  She turned to see Miranda Haynes. “Thank you. It was a little harder than I’d anticipated, but I got them in the end.”

  “I’m still awaiting the final briefing report,” Miranda mentioned. “I heard you were attacked? In the woods?”

  That information had been included in the brief round-up of information given to the team. Though it was suspicious that it would be the first thing Miranda would bring up.

  “Yes, a man, I didn’t get a good look at him,” Claudia lied. “It all happened quite fast, and I was shocked when a passer-by hit him over the head.”

  “Dog walker?” Miranda guessed. “They are always in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

  “Exactly.”

  “You were missing for a while?” Miranda fished.

  “Have you tried getting a signal in the middle of Scotland?” Claudia joked.

  “Did you speak with them much? Get any intel on their organisation?”

  Claudia shook her head. “No, it was quickly apparent that they had a story and they were sticking to it. I thought I’d leave the interrogation to you lot.”

  Claudia wondered how Miranda had managed to remain under the radar all this time. Her barrage of questioning was eliminating any doubts Claudia might have had.

  “You have the USB stick?” Miranda asked.

  “It was destroyed.”

  “Destroyed?”

  “Yes, destroyed. Nothing left of it. As I began to close in on them, they took the decision to destroy it. Presumably to cover their tracks so they can maintain this ridiculous story of their innocence.” Claudia turned to walk away. “I suppose that was something they were briefed on. As I say, they adamantly stuck to their story.”

  “They are professionals, highly trained,” Miranda reminded her. It was all Claudia could do not to chuckle. Seeing Amy refer to a dummies guide in order to put a tent up and only managing to put down ‘poo’ on a Scrabble board didn’t exactly scream terrorist genius.

  “So, when you say destroyed?” Miranda quizzed.

  “Completely destroyed, nothing but cinders left.”

  “I see.” Miranda pressed the button for the lift, and they both waited.

  “Will you be questioning them?” Claudia asked, hoping she sounded casual.

  “Yes, I’ll leave it for tomorrow. Separate them and give them time to stew, see if that makes them a little more open to questioning.”

  More like give you more time to forge whatever documents you need, Claudia thought.

  “Good idea.” The lift doors opened, and they stepped in. Claudia pressed the button for the top floor. Miranda looked at her curiously. “Need to speak to Andrew,” Claudia explained. She rolled her eyes. “I just want to get paid and get out of here.”

  “Not been encouraged to come back?” Miranda asked.

  Claudia laughed. “No, definitely not. After the last few days, I’ll be glad to get back to my own office.”

  Claudia paced Andrew’s office. The trap was set and now they were just watching and waiting for someone to fall into it. It was the early hours of Monday morning, but the office was as busy as always. The MI5 offices were in the centre of the building. With no access to natural light and officers working shifts, it was always a hive of activity.

  But this time the office was buzzing with tension. Or maybe Claudia just felt that way because she was stressed and sleep-deprived. She itched to go down to the cells and check on Amy and Kerry, but Andrew had only allowed her to remain in the building under the proviso that she keep a low profile.

  “This had better work,” Claudia said, not for the first time.

  “It will. If you’re right and she is the mole, then everything is set up nicely. We just need to wait.” Andrew sat at his desk with his fingers steepled as he waited for news.

  “And you’re sure of the officers you have working on this?” Claudia pressed.

  “Absolutely. None of them have ever had contact with her. They have all performed undercover counterterrorism work before, two of them from within the service. When she makes her move, we’ll know.”

  Claudia sat on the sofa and put her head in her hands. She hated the idea of Amy and Kerry in the cells, separated from one another.

  “Which one is it?” Andrew asked.

  Claudia looked up at him. “I’m sorry?”

  Andrew drew a finger in the air in her direction. “You don’t get like this. You like one of them. Is it Amy?”

  Claudia blinked. “What... I don’t know what you mean. Don’t be ridiculous, I’m just—”

  “If you were worried about the mole, then you would be angry. You’re not, you’re nervous. That indicates to me that you are concerned about something going wrong. And I’m willing to bet it’s related to our two new additions to the cells. You only spent around fifteen minutes with Kerry, but Amy... well, I’m still waiting for the full story there.”

  “You’ll be waiting a long time.” Claudia chuckled. She didn’t work for Andrew; she didn’t have to provide him with a blow-by-blow report of what happened.

  “I see.” Andrew grinned knowingly.

  Claudia smiled in return. “You spend too much time around the profilers.”

  “And you just basically told me that I’m right.” Andrew looked smug. He leaned back in his chair. “Amy, then?”

  “It’s nothing,” Claudia assured him. “She’s very sweet and innocent, and I feel guilty for putting her in this situation.”

  “What happened after you arrested Kerry? I didn’t quite get the whole story between the services and your attacker in the woods.”

  Claudia raised an eyebrow.

  Andrew put his hands up. “Off the record, just two friends talking.”

  She flopped back on the sofa and looked at the ceiling. She’d have to tell someone, keeping it bottled up was driving her insane.

  “She boarded a narrowboat, which pulled away and started to sail along the canal. So, I boarded a narrowboat as well. We were travelling at something ridiculous like four and a half miles an hour, it would have been quicker to walk. Hell, it was quicker to walk. We were overtaken by dog walkers!” She laughed at the memory.

  “I have a wonderful mental image of this,” Andrew admitted.

  “I’m able to see the humour with hindsight. I was infuriated at the time. And then Amy came out onto the rear of the boat with a cup of tea in her hands and started chatting to me. Unbelievable.”

  Andrew laughed. “This gets better and better.”

  “They waited for another boat to get in the way, and then Amy ran into some woods. It took forever to get our boat to the path so I could follow her. Gave her an enormous head start. But somehow she got turned around in the woods and ended up behind me.”

  Andrew sat forward with interest. “Wait, she was running away from you but ended up behind you?”

  Claudia looked up at Andrew’s smiling face. “Yes, I wasn’t kidding when I told you she bumbled her way around the country. But thank God she was behind me.”

  The smile vanished from Andrew’s face. “Yes. She was very brave.”

  “Very stupid more like it,” Claudia added. “Attacking an armed man. She could have been killed.”

  “Sounds like she didn’t care much at the time.”

  “No, she is quite foolhardy: act first and think later.” Claudia smiled.

  “Quite the opposite to you,” Andrew pointed out. “Maybe that’s what you need in life?”

  Claudia shook her head. “She’s a child, Andrew.”


  Andrew opened his desk drawer and pulled out a folder. He put his glasses on and opened the folder. He ran his finger along the first piece of paper. “No,” he said, “no, not a child, she’s twenty-five.”

  Claudia rolled her eyes. “Practically a child.”

  “You’re not exactly ancient,” Andrew argued. “You speak to me when you get to this ripe old age.”

  “There’s just over ten years between us,” Claudia pointed out. “That’s a lifetime.” She shook her head; the conversation had diverted somewhere she wasn’t comfortable. “Besides, I like her. Respect her. I can worry about her without it being anything else.”

  Andrew held up his hands. “Okay, if you say so.” He looked at her with a smirk.

  “Don’t give me that look,” she warned him.

  “It’s my face.” He shrugged.

  Before she had time to reply, his phone rang. Claudia got to her feet, unable to sit when it looked like things might be happening.

  Andrew answered the call and listened to the other person in silence for a few moments. Claudia started to pace, unable to hear the other end of the conversation and getting little from Andrew’s poker face.

  “I see,” he eventually said.

  Claudia let out a frustrated sigh.

  “I see. Thank you for letting me know.”

  “Know what?” Claudia whispered, unable to stay quiet much longer.

  Andrew put the phone down. “It worked. The telecoms team managed to successfully listen to Miranda’s calls. She just contacted an external source. She told him that the necessary data was missing and a new asset needed to be deployed. She also said that she would arrange for the two decoys to be removed.”

  “Removed?” Claudia placed her palms on Andrew’s desk and stared at him. Any joy at Miranda implicating herself in the plot was eradicated by the thought of Amy and Kerry being hurt.

  “I have authority to go and make the arrest.” Andrew stood up and gestured towards the door. “Shall we?”

  Claudia spun around and stalked towards the door. She opened it and quickly walked across the open plan office. Miranda just stood there, chatting with one of the secretaries. Claudia had to admit that she had courage. Standing in the middle of the secret service, discussing BBC dramas, all the while planning a terrorist attack. If it weren’t so horrendous, Claudia would have been impressed.