The British Evasion (True Fiction Series Book 3) Read online

  The British Evasion

  Ben Goetz

  Copyright © Ben Goetz 2015

  http://bengoetzauthor.wordpress.com/

  All rights reserved.

  PUBLISHED BY:

  Nine Bob Note Publishing

  No part of this publication may be copied, reproduced in any format, by any means, electronic or otherwise, without prior consent from the copyright owner and publisher of this book.

  This is a work of fiction. All characters, names, places and events are the product of the author's imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to any persons, living or dead, or any locales is entirely coincidental.

  Cover Design: Vickncharlie

  Concept: The Racquet Lounge

  Edited By: Peter Osgood

  Contents

  Chapter 1. Heathrow Airport

  Chapter 2. Missing

  Chapter 3. Lockerbie

  Chapter 4. Call Home

  Chapter 5. Exodus 21:24

  Chapter 6. Persian Rugs

  Chapter 7. Two For The Show

  Chapter 8. Back To The Smoke

  Chapter 9. In From The Cold

  Chapter 10. Pakistan

  Chapter 11. Snatch

  Chapter 12. Sore Point

  Chapter 13. Big Box

  Chapter 14. Back To The Grind

  Chapter 15. Helsinki

  Chapter 16. Briefing

  Chapter 17. Time To Get Serious

  Chapter 18. Meet The Gang

  Chapter 19. Time To Think

  Chapter 20. The Plot Sickens

  Chapter 21. Women and Children First

  Chapter 22. Night shift

  Chapter 23. North London

  Chapter 24. Stakeout

  Chapter 25. Coming Home

  Chapter 26. Hit Hard

  Chapter 27. Banged Up

  Chapter 28. Take Care

  Chapter 29. Get Me Out

  Chapter 30. Who Are You?

  Chapter 31. It’s Over

  Chapter 32. Monkey

  Chapter 33. Morning News

  Chapter 34. All Roads

  Chapter 35. Update

  Chapter 36. Unsichtbar

  Chapter 37. Time To Go

  Chapter 38. Face The Music

  Chapter 39. Burned

  Chapter 40. Innocent

  Chapter 41. Deal Or No Deal?

  Chapter 42. Crossfire Hurricane

  Chapter 43. Frankfurt

  Chapter 44. On The Road Again

  Chapter 45. Can You See Me Now?

  Chapter 46. Jackanory

  Chapter 47. Happy New Year

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  ENJOY THIS BOOK? YOU CAN MAKE A HUGE DIFFERENCE

  ALSO BY BEN GOETZ

  Chapter 1. Heathrow Airport

  “Can I come with you uncle John?” Six-year-old Susie Burns asked her dad’s brother.

  They were walking together holding hands on their way to the gate so that John could board his flight to New York.

  “No honey, you have to stay here and look after your dad and be here when Santa arrives. Otherwise, he won't have anyone to give your presents to, and there's not long to go now before he’s here.”

  John Burns had been in London all week to see his brother Jack and his family; they had not seen each other in over a year. Jack had been working for the past three years as a linguistics specialist for the CIA in England. Apart from English he was excellent at German and French, and he could get by in Russian. Jack had always been a strong mimic and even as a child he could pick up accents, so he studied languages at college. Becoming an agent was something he had dreamed of as a kid; so he finished his master's degree and joined the CIA. He had worked hard out in the field and now ran the London European Linguistics department.

  John ran the family carpet business that their dad had started back in their hometown of Boston. He was three years older than Jack and had lived alone since the death of his wife, Mary, from breast cancer. She had contracted the disease eighteen months after their wedding and died a year later. They did not get the chance to have any kids, but John had formed a close bond with Susie. He spoiled her every chance that he got. Jack always maintained that John would have been a better father than he was. John stayed single after Mary's death and concentrated on running the business instead. He was flying to New York to spend Christmas with Mary's parents and his own mom. He had spent the holidays with them every year since his wife's death.

  “Last call for Pan Am flight 103 to New York JFK.” Came over the PA.

  “That's me, pick up the pace Susie I don't want to miss my flight,” John said to her because he knew that she loved to run ahead whenever they went anywhere.

  Susie took off running and John shouted for her to stop as she got close to the gate.

  “I won, I won,” she said, waving her hands in the air like she had just won a race.

  The brothers caught her up and John joined the queue while Susie and her dad stood with him as he waited to board.

  John handed his boarding pass to the flight attendant and turned and gave his brother a warm hug. He then picked Susie up and hugged her and gave her a big kiss on her forehead.

  “I love you Susie, I'll see you in the summer when you all come to see grandma and me.”

  “Love you uncle John.” Her accent was almost all British. She had lost her east coast twang about a year after starting at a British school. Many of the other American parents living in London sent their kids to American schools. Jack and his wife Bev wanted their daughter to mix with the British kids, and they loved her cute little accent.

  She hugged John one more time and then handed him a small silver bear. It was part of an animal bracelet he had bought her the last time he was there.

  “I want you to have this uncle John, to keep you company on the flight and bring you good luck.”

  “I can't take that it's part of your bracelet, it should stay with the other animals and keep them company.”

  “I want you to keep him safe for me until we come and stay with you in the summer,” Susie said.

  “OK, I'll keep it safe in my wallet until the next time I see you.”

  “Thank you, uncle John.”

  He put the bear in his wallet and gave Susie another kiss and started walking down the tunnel to the plane. As he got to the door he turned back and waved and then got on the plane.

  “Can we wave at him, dad?”

  “Yeah, let's go and look out of the window.”

  They stood by the window where they could see the plane and waited for it to finish boarding. Susie waved as it pulled away and taxied to the runway for takeoff.

  They left the boarding area and started walking back to their car to go home.

  As they walked toward the main terminal a man wearing a turban came around the corner fast and ran into Jack. He fell sideways and almost knocked Susie over.

  “Hey watch where you're going buddy, I gotta child here!” Jack shouted as the man went past them and continued to hurry toward the boarding gate they had just left.

  The man turned his head.

  “Sorry sir, I apologize, but I'm late for my flight,” he said, in a heavy Indian accent.

  He disappeared around the corner to where the gate was.

  “Are you OK honey?” Jack asked Susie.

  “I'm OK dad, what kind of hat was that funny man wearing?”

  “That's not a hat baby, it's a turban, that man is most likely a Sikh, it's a religion from India.”

  “He's sick, is that why he has a bandage hat on?” She asked.

  “Not sick, a Sikh.” Jack laughed.

  “Can I
be a Sikh when I grow up?”

  “You can be anything you want baby. Let's go and get the car and drive home to see momma, she said she's going to cook us burgers for dinner.”

  They both walked off toward the exit. As they got into the main terminal Susie asked her dad for some candy.

  “Dad, can I have some candy for the drive home, please? I'm hungry.”

  “OK but not too much, I don't want momma telling me off when you don't eat your dinner.”

  They went to the kiosk and Jack bought Susie her favorite British candy, a Curly Wurly.

  Jack paid for the candy and they carried on walking back to their car. Susie spotted the Sikh man that had bumped into them minutes before.

  “Dad, there's the sick man.”

  The man was walking toward them.

  “Sir, sir. Sorry to disturb you but can I speak to you?”

  The man was half jogging and came over and stopped in front of them. They could see that he was panting and sweating from running earlier on.

  “What's wrong?” Jack asked him.

  “I want to apologize for bumping into you earlier, I could have hurt your lovely daughter. I just wanted to say that I'm sorry.”

  Jack could smell alcohol on the man's breath as he spoke.

  “That's OK, no harm done. Why didn't you get on your flight?”

  “It was already gone when I got there. I'm starting a new job in New York this week and I needed to get on that plane and that's why I was rushing.”

  “You were on the Pan Am flight?”

  “Yes.”

  “My brother is on that flight. I'm sorry you missed it but if you'll excuse us we have to get home.”

  “Yes sir, thank you, and again, I'm sorry.”

  They carried on walking to their car.

  “What a funny man dad.”

  “Yeah, but he was a nice man, he made a mistake and he was good enough to come and apologize. Let's get home.”

  They walked off and picked their car up and drove home.

  Chapter 2. Missing

  Jack and his family lived in a comfortable four bedroom house in Thames Ditton, Surrey. It was a great and safe place to bring up their young daughter. The area was green and pretty and situated close to the river Thames. They enjoyed many great weekends at local places such as Hampton Court or cruising down the river. The only bad thing was his daily commute and the slow moving drive down the A3 into town every day.

  They got home late because of the rush hour traffic. It was almost eight pm by the time they arrived.

  As they walked in the front door Bev came out of the kitchen to meet them in the hallway.

  “Where have you guys been? I'll put the burgers on now you’re here.”

  “Traffic was terrible, I don't know what's going on tonight,” Jack said.

  “OK little miss, you can stay up a bit later tonight so that your food gets time to digest. Go upstairs now and get changed into your Pj's before dinner.” Bev said.

  “Do I have to?”

  “Yes, go on upstairs. I'll have your food ready when you come back down.”

  Susie ran upstairs to get changed.

  “Was John OK? He seemed like he wanted to stay for Christmas.” Bev said.

  “Yeah, he's fine. Mary's parents love to see him and they get on well with ma, so he had to go back.”

  “Did you see the presents he left for Susie? He went big this year.” She whispered so Susie would not hear.

  “I know, but he loves her so much, it's a shame he never got the chance to have any kids of his own. I'm just going to wash up before we eat.”

  He walked off upstairs to the bathroom and Bev went back into the kitchen to start cooking their dinner.

  “Here she comes. Go and sit at the table baby and we'll all eat dinner together.” Bev said as Susie bounced into the kitchen.

  “OK mum.”

  “Mum!” Bev said laughing at her little girl's English accent.

  The TV was on in the kitchen with the sound muted, but Bev noticed a news report about a plane crash.

  She looked at it for twenty seconds in silence and called out to Jack upstairs.

  “Hey baby, come down here.”

  “What's up?” He shouted down the stairs at her.

  “Come here now.”

  Jack ran down the stairs and into the kitchen.

  “What's up?”

  “Look.”

  Bev pointed at the TV. Jack grabbed the remote and changed the channel, but the news was on every one of them. He switched the TV off and ran into the front room and closed the door behind him and switched on the TV.

  “There's been a major air crash this evening near the Scottish border. A Pan American Jumbo jet carrying nearly two hundred and fifty people has crashed near the town of Lockerbie in Dumfries. The flight number PA103 was on route from London Heathrow to John F. Kennedy airport New York. Local reports say the plane crashed near a petrol station and there was a huge ball of fire...”

  Jack stood for a few seconds in shock, he knew that was his brother's flight. Maybe they had got it wrong? He grabbed the phone and called his office, but all the lines were busy. He called the Embassy and two other agents he worked with but had no luck with them either. He turned off the TV and went back into the kitchen.

  “Can't I watch the TV, dad?” Susie asked him.

  “Not right now baby, eat your burger.”

  All the color had drained out of Bev's face, but she tried to act normal in front of their daughter so she did not alarm her.

  “Jack no, tell me.”

  “Honey, I don't know. I called the office and the Embassy but all the lines are busy.”

  “What about Martin? He'll know something.”

  “Yeah, I'll call him from the front room.”

  “Come and eat with us dad,” Susie said.

  “Not right now darling, dad has to talk to uncle Martin about something. Eat your dinner and I'll be back in a minute.”

  He went back into the front room and closed the door and dialed his friend Martin Johnson.

  Martin worked for MI5 and had been Jack's liaison with them since he moved to London. They had become good friends outside of work and their families spent a lot of time together on the weekends.

  The phone was ringing on the other end.

  “Johnson.”

  “Marty, it's Jack.”

  “Did you see the news?”

  “Yeah, I need to know what's going on, I can't get through to anyone on my end. Martin, John was on that plane.”

  “Oh no. Are you sure he got on it?”

  “Yeah, I walked to the gate with him.”

  “Look, I don't know anything yet, give me ten minutes and I'll call you back.”

  “OK, but please Marty, I need to know.”

  “Don't worry old man, I'll find out.”

  Jack put the phone down and went back into the kitchen.

  He sat at the table for ten minutes while Susie ate her dinner. He and Bev didn’t say anything to each other.

  “OK little miss, it's time for bed, you have school in the morning and it's late. Give momma a kiss and I'll take you up.” Jack said to Susie.

  “Can't I stay up late like mom said, until uncle John gets home and I can call him?”

  Jack and Bev looked at each other.

  “Uncle John won't be home until you're at school tomorrow, he's got a long flight. Get off to bed and we'll talk about it tomorrow.”

  “Aw, I want to stay up.”

  “Come on Susie, let's go,” Jack said as he ushered her up to her room.

  He put her into bed and read her a page of her favorite story, The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. She was asleep before he got to the second page. He tucked her in and turned off the main light and left her with her small night-light on. Susie sometimes woke up in the dark and got scared and the light seemed to help her.

  Jack went back down to Bev. She was sitting in the kitchen watching the news, crying into
a Kleenex.

  “What did Martin say? Please tell me John wasn't on that flight.”

  “It was his plane babe, I watched him get on it.”

  He hugged Bev and she burst into tears. The phone rang and Jack kissed Bev on the top of her head and went over and picked it up.

  “Marty?”

  “Yeah, it's bad Jack, really bad.”

  “What happened?”

  “We don't know all the details yet, but the plane broke up in the sky and the debris is spread out over a large area.”

  “No one got out of that,” Jack replied.

  “No, and there's a huge crater in the town where it hit and casualties on the ground. I'm sorry.”

  Jack pulled the phone away from his ear and wiped his right palm down his face and took a deep breath. He then put the phone back to his ear.

  “I want to go up there, can you arrange something? It might be tough to get near the place.”

  “I'll see what I can do. Everyone is on red alert and are going into the office. Let me speak to my governor and I'll see if I can get you on one of our helicopters or planes going up there. Give me five minutes.”

  “OK, thanks.”

  Jack turned back to Bev.

  “No one made it babe.”

  She hugged him again and they stood there for five minutes in silence just holding each other.

  The phone rang. It was Martin again.

  “Can you get me up there?”

  “Yes, I'll come and pick you up in half an hour. We have a Helicopter going up there and I persuaded them to let us both get on. I told them that you would be a good person to have up there, there's a large number of American casualties. I didn't mention John.”

  “Best not to. I'll get a bag packed and see you in thirty. Thanks Marty, I owe you one.”

  “No worries, bring the warmest clothes you've got because it's freezing up there, see you in a bit.”

  Martin arrived almost exactly thirty minutes later, on time as always. They drove to the airport and got on the Sea King Helicopter that was taking them up to Scotland. Jack knew he was lucky to get a ride, and it was only because of Martin that he was on the flight. There were thirty people on board made up of MI5 and high-ranking police officials.

  Chapter 3. Lockerbie

  The devastation in Lockerbie and the surrounding Dumfriesshire area was huge. Two hundred forty-three passengers and sixteen crew from the plane were dead. There was also reports of several locals on the ground dying as well.