Hunter Hunted, Jack Gatland [good story books to read .txt] 📗

was an incident in the Unit late last night. They attacked one of our own. We believe the assailant entered through the gate, just outside, and we hoped that you may have a camera or something that we could check? Or perhaps someone was outside and saw anyone coming or going?’

‘A lot of people come and go from that place,’ the barman started drying a freshly washed glass as he thought. ‘We have side tables down Temple Lane, but we don’t have any CCTV as such. Just covering the door.’ He shrugged apologetically. ‘I could ask the staff who were in last night, see if any of them saw anything?’

‘Please,’ Anjli replied, passing a card over. ‘This is my number. If you think of anything, call me immediately.’

‘There was one thing,’ the barman said as he pocketed the card. ‘What time was this?’

‘Some time around ten pm,’ Billy replied. The barman thought for a moment and then nodded.

‘We had a car parked outside,’ he said, pointing through the wall towards the approximate location of Tudor Street. ‘Not outside us, but to the left, outside next door’s office. It’s a single yellow so you’re allowed to in the evening, but it just felt odd. He was sitting there for a good half hour, maybe more. I came out around ten thirty for a smoke and it’d gone.’

‘Did you see the man inside the car?’ Billy asked. The barman shrugged.

‘Not really. I think he was white, dark hair? I know that’s pretty much most people. Sorry.’

‘What type of car was it?’ Anjli continued the questioning. The barman considered this.

‘I don’t know cars well,’ he admitted, ‘but it was grey and it had these four interlocking rings on the front grill. Is that Audi? Or Saab?’

‘You saw a grey Audi parked outside for half an hour around ten pm?’ Anjli was writing this into her notepad. ‘Thanks, you’ve been incredibly helpful.’

The barman smiled, happy to be of service as Anjli and Billy walked back out of the wine bar. Exiting out into the street, Anjli paused, looking to her partner.

‘What?’ he asked.

‘Just going through everything in my head,’ Anjli replied. ‘The guard said he considered nothing off about the man who passed last night, as he thought it was Declan.’ She looked back to the junction of Tudor Street and Bouverie Street. ‘And apparently, a grey Audi waited just there before Monroe was attacked. Declan drives a grey Audi. We need to see where it was last night.’

‘You can’t seriously believe that Walsh did this!’ Billy exclaimed. Anjli shook her head.

‘I don’t, but I’m thinking that someone wants people to,’ she admitted. ‘Your source said that Baker is after Declan, and us by default. The same day you get this, we have a late night attack on Monroe, and circumstantial evidence is racking up against Declan. Something’s off. There are too many things in play. I’m not sure who we can even trust right now.’

‘We need a codeword,’ Billy suggested. ‘You know, so that when someone says ‘this reminds me of Belgrade’, we know what they really mean.’

‘I’ve never been to Belgrade,’ Anjli muttered as she started back towards the arched entrance to Temple Inn. ‘What in God’s name are you talking about?’

Billy smiled. ‘Like in the movies. Spy codes. So when I say ‘this reminds me of Belgrade—’

‘I’ve not been to Belgrade.’

‘You don’t need to, I mean that when I say the code word, you know I’m really saying ‘I’m gonna kill the man on the left and jump through a window.’

‘Why in God’s name would you do either of those?’

‘I don’t mean those exact actions,’ Billy grinned. ‘I’m going to work us out some.’

Anjli sighed. ‘Can you do it after we’ve solved the attack on our boss?’ she asked sweetly. ‘You know, as that’s the important bit here?’

Anjli knew she was right. Someone was trying to cause doubt on Declan. But then a memory came back to her.

‘How did you get here so fast? There’s no way you made it here from Hurley in half an hour.’

‘I was in the apartment in Tottenham. I give the keys back soon, so needed to check it out. Dozed off there.’

Had Declan really been in Tottenham? What would his tracker say? And how could she believe he would do such a thing, when there were far more obvious targets out there?

Shaking her head to dispel the thoughts, Anjli followed Billy back into Temple Inn.

It was almost five when Declan returned to the ACCU ward, seeing Doctor Marcos alone beside Monroe’s bed.

‘Any change?’ he asked as he entered the room. Doctor Marcos looked up.

‘A little,’ she said. ‘He’s responding to stimulus, which is good. But we still don’t know how bad things are in there until he wakes. And it impacted one of his teeth, so he’ll need to see a dental surgeon. Probably at half-past two.’

‘Why then?’ Declan was confused at this. Doctor Marcos gave a small smile.

‘It’s their favourite time,’ she said. ‘Two thirty.’

Tooth hurty.

Declan almost groaned, but saw that with the faint attempt of a joke over, Doctor Marcos’ face had returned to the grim concern that it had been when he arrived.

‘He’ll be fine,’ Declan stood at the end of the bed now. ‘He’s Glaswegian. This is a holiday.’

‘If he’d just been attacked, I might feel the same way about the tough old bugger,’ Doctor Marcos replied. ‘But considering what he’s gone through over the last couple of days…’

Declan sat on a second chair, a small, rickety one, and stared at the bed and his boss. ‘They’re bringing in a DCI to look into this,’ he said. ‘I spoke to the Chief Superintendent earlier.’

‘They should just leave it to us,’ Doctor Marcos muttered. ‘We’d work it out way faster than any clown they called in. Any idea who it’ll be?’

‘No idea,’ Declan shook his head. ‘Only DCIs I know are Bullman from yesterday, Farrow in Tottenham and Ford, although she’s not police anymore.’

‘I’ve already reached out to Bullman,’ Doctor