The Alex King Series, A BATEMAN [good books for high schoolers .TXT] 📗

He took a pen out of his pocket, and a notepad. He glanced at King, then started to sketch out the floor-plan. “Don’t say anything,” he said. “I need to concentrate.”

King remained silent. He watched the post office, saw the woman pulling in a sign and closing the door behind her. It was the same woman that he had pathetically flirted with when he enquired earlier. He had been right not to go back in with Grant. A blind pulled down on the window. King figured there would be things to do, protocols to maintain. He imagined the woman cashing up the register, reconciliating the credit card terminal. He had no idea how to do all of that, but he’d seen it done and knew it was one of many behind-the-scenes tasks that businesses had to perform each day.

Grant had sketched out a detailed record of what he had seen inside the post office. King thought his own sketch had looked like a six-year-old’s in comparison. He thought nothing more of it. Grant’s was accurate and professional, and he would be working off his own plan.

“Standard PIR, or Passive Infrared,” said Grant.

“I know what it stands for,” King commented flatly.

“Well, I can re-route that, and I can get the alarm sorted, as long as the delay isn’t stupidly quick.”

“Good. But I’m sensing a but...”

“How are you going to get the computer logged onto the server and overcome any password protection?”

“You let me worry about that.”

“Fine,” said Grant curtly. “And you don’t need to get into the saferoom?”

“Just the server.”

“The server is in the office behind the counter. I saw it when she stepped out around the counter to show me the safe room,” Grant nodded. “We should be okay then.” He looked at his watch, glanced at the sky. There were still a couple hours of light left.

“Should be okay?”

Grant shrugged. “It will have a silent alarm for sure. I’m hoping it will be part of the master unit.”

“Right…”

“I still don’t see how you will get into that server.”

King nodded. “I’ll see to that,” he said. “The silent alarm worries me. I should have thought about it. This is a bit rushed.”

“You don’t have much time, do you,” Grant commented.

“I think I’ve already run out, pushed what little leeway I had.”

“Nothing like having all you care about at stake, is there?”

King nodded. The man had been recruited the day he had left prison. His estranged wife had moved on but was in an abusive relationship and wanted out. His son had seen more than any child should have. Grant had been bullied and conned into one last job, his family dangled in front of him like a carrot. Before he could draw breath, he was working with an IRA splinter cell and then whisked up by MI6. If anybody knew what it was to be used and keep false hope, it was Simon Grant. And yet still, the man had made a break for it, managed to get word to his family and steal the money from both the criminal who had conned him and the IRA who had hunted him.

“How did it happen?”

King could feel his heart race. Because I should have been there! Because I let emotion get in the way! Instead, he said, “It was after a mission. Mopping up the details. Caroline, my fiancé, had been lucky to survive. I checked she was okay, but I went after one of the terrorists. When I got back, she was gone…”

“You haven’t learned a thing,” Grant said.

“What?”

“In France, all those years ago. If you hadn’t blindly chased Forsyth out of the house and into the dunes, then you wouldn’t have lost both me and the money…”

“Piss off!” King snapped. But he knew deep down it had been true. “I found you all those years ago, let you go free because you and your wife and child had such a shit time,” he said coldly.

Grant held up his hand. “I know,” he said. “And I thank you from the bottom of my heart. But you should know, a sense of justice or even revenge, only serves one purpose and it is never worthwhile. Tell me; did chasing this person, whatever they did, or whatever you did to them when you caught up with them, make losing Caroline an acceptable cost?”

“Of course not!”

“Then make sure you never find yourself in this situation again,” Grant paused. “Don’t be blinded. Look at the whole picture. Vengeance solves no purpose if it gets in the way of the ones you love. Look at what lengths you would go to for Caroline. Look at what this person has made you do, how easy it was for them to own you. Love is the strongest emotion, but it can so easily be used against you by those who would do you harm.”

King frowned. He said nothing as he started the engine and slammed the car into gear. He took off quickly and performed a U-turn in the road.

Grant fumbled with his seat belt. “Where are we going?”

King didn’t answer. He was well and truly irked. But what hurt the most, was knowing that Simon Grant was right. He knew that he was running out of time, and he was not going to waste any more of it on fool’s errands.

44

 

South Africa

 

Rashid wrapped his fingers around the chunky butt of the Sig Sauer P225 9mm pistol. He had already checked that the magazine was full, and the first round had been chambered. Safety off, finger resting on the frame, hammer cocked. He preferred to cock the hammer – the weapon’s double-action trigger pull was off-putting and never made for the most accurate first shot.

The plan had been hastily cobbled together. Marnie was an analyst and