distance.'
'I'm staying here until the last man and woman has left the building,' Howard said quietly.
Newman was surprised and his previous opinion of Howard as a pompous woodentop changed. He nodded, slipped outside ahead of a fresh file of staff coming down the staircase. On the doorstep, standing to one side, he froze.
A maroon-coloured Espace station wagon was parked alongside the building. Newman went down the steps, stood close and ran back inside the hall as the fresh batch of people walked rapidly off round the Crescent. They were assembling out of sight round the corner in Marylebone Road as planned.
'George,' Newman said as the guard showed the list to Howard. 'There's one of those large Espaces parked just outside.'
'Ruddy 'ell,' George blazed, 'I'd have seen the blighter if I hadn't had that loony from Berlin on the blower.'
'Which is precisely why he was on the phone.'
Time to leave,' Howard announced, gesturing towards the list. 'All present and correct. Present out of danger, that is. Fancy a quick stroll, Bob?'
'That will do me. ..'
They followed George out of the building, down the steps, turning left along the curve. All three men gave the Espace a quick glance then strode briskly towards where the staff were waiting. It was very quiet in the Crescent and no one else was about. Thank God, Newman thought.
'There was no one inside that vehicle,' he informed Howard.
'Let's hope we don't make fools of ourselves.'
'You've overlooked one point,' Newman commented. 'All the lines were jammed up with calls - phoney calls is my guess. If this is what I think it is we're up against a genius of a planner.'
'I'll call the Bomb Squad from one of the offices along Marylebone Road,' Howard decided. 'It's probably all a false alarm.'
'That doesn't link up with the avalanche of calls - including the crazy one to George,' Newman reminded him. 'I'll stay here.'
They had rounded the corner and Newman stayed behind a wall in a position where he could watch the building. He saw a silver Renault parked just beyond the far side of the Crescent. That was the moment when the world blew up.
Newman had put on sun-glasses he used for driving when the sun was low in the sky. There was a blinding flash. An ear-splitting roar. A cloud of dust dense as a fog. A brief nerve-wracking silence, succeeded by a sound like a major avalanche crashing down a mountain. No shock wave, which puzzled Newman.
The dust cloud thinned. He stared, hypnotized. The Espace had vanished. The section of Park Crescent which had been SIS headquarters was a black hole. Masonry rumbled as it slid down on to the pavement, out across the street. What staggered Newman was the clean-cut destruction of the target. On either side of where the building had stood as a section of the Crescent the walls stood scarred but erect. It was as though a vertical rectangular wedge of a giant cake had been sliced away. The sinister rumble of more debris slithering down over rubble continued, grew quieter, ceased. RIP, SIS headquarters.
Newman glanced across the Crescent. The silver Renault had disappeared. Howard came running up to him.
'What the hell was that? I called the Bomb Squad
'Hope they brought their sandwiches. No work left for them.'
'Oh, dear God!'
Howard stood like a man transfixed as he gazed at the ruin.
Automatically, he used both hands to adjust the knot of his tie, a mannerism Newman had noticed before when Howard was under pressure. With an effort he pulled
himself together, looked back at the small groups of people standing on the pavement.
'It's cold,' Newman said. 'Some of them are shivering. Send them home. Tell them to stay there pending fresh orders.'
'Best thing to do.'
Like a zombie Howard walked back slowly and began talking to his staff. Newman stood very still, thinking about the silver Renault. Odd - the way it had been parked at that observation point and had then dis appeared. By his side Monica was recovering from her shocked
'I'm staying here until the last man and woman has left the building,' Howard said quietly.
Newman was surprised and his previous opinion of Howard as a pompous woodentop changed. He nodded, slipped outside ahead of a fresh file of staff coming down the staircase. On the doorstep, standing to one side, he froze.
A maroon-coloured Espace station wagon was parked alongside the building. Newman went down the steps, stood close and ran back inside the hall as the fresh batch of people walked rapidly off round the Crescent. They were assembling out of sight round the corner in Marylebone Road as planned.
'George,' Newman said as the guard showed the list to Howard. 'There's one of those large Espaces parked just outside.'
'Ruddy 'ell,' George blazed, 'I'd have seen the blighter if I hadn't had that loony from Berlin on the blower.'
'Which is precisely why he was on the phone.'
Time to leave,' Howard announced, gesturing towards the list. 'All present and correct. Present out of danger, that is. Fancy a quick stroll, Bob?'
'That will do me. ..'
They followed George out of the building, down the steps, turning left along the curve. All three men gave the Espace a quick glance then strode briskly towards where the staff were waiting. It was very quiet in the Crescent and no one else was about. Thank God, Newman thought.
'There was no one inside that vehicle,' he informed Howard.
'Let's hope we don't make fools of ourselves.'
'You've overlooked one point,' Newman commented. 'All the lines were jammed up with calls - phoney calls is my guess. If this is what I think it is we're up against a genius of a planner.'
'I'll call the Bomb Squad from one of the offices along Marylebone Road,' Howard decided. 'It's probably all a false alarm.'
'That doesn't link up with the avalanche of calls - including the crazy one to George,' Newman reminded him. 'I'll stay here.'
They had rounded the corner and Newman stayed behind a wall in a position where he could watch the building. He saw a silver Renault parked just beyond the far side of the Crescent. That was the moment when the world blew up.
Newman had put on sun-glasses he used for driving when the sun was low in the sky. There was a blinding flash. An ear-splitting roar. A cloud of dust dense as a fog. A brief nerve-wracking silence, succeeded by a sound like a major avalanche crashing down a mountain. No shock wave, which puzzled Newman.
The dust cloud thinned. He stared, hypnotized. The Espace had vanished. The section of Park Crescent which had been SIS headquarters was a black hole. Masonry rumbled as it slid down on to the pavement, out across the street. What staggered Newman was the clean-cut destruction of the target. On either side of where the building had stood as a section of the Crescent the walls stood scarred but erect. It was as though a vertical rectangular wedge of a giant cake had been sliced away. The sinister rumble of more debris slithering down over rubble continued, grew quieter, ceased. RIP, SIS headquarters.
Newman glanced across the Crescent. The silver Renault had disappeared. Howard came running up to him.
'What the hell was that? I called the Bomb Squad
'Hope they brought their sandwiches. No work left for them.'
'Oh, dear God!'
Howard stood like a man transfixed as he gazed at the ruin.
Automatically, he used both hands to adjust the knot of his tie, a mannerism Newman had noticed before when Howard was under pressure. With an effort he pulled
himself together, looked back at the small groups of people standing on the pavement.
'It's cold,' Newman said. 'Some of them are shivering. Send them home. Tell them to stay there pending fresh orders.'
'Best thing to do.'
Like a zombie Howard walked back slowly and began talking to his staff. Newman stood very still, thinking about the silver Renault. Odd - the way it had been parked at that observation point and had then dis appeared. By his side Monica was recovering from her shocked
Similar Books
Shelter for Adeline
Susan Stoker
The Raw Shark Texts
Steven Hall
Protective Custody
Wynter Daniels
The Billionaire Boyfriend Trap
Kendra Little
Hurricane House
Sandy Semerad
Diamonds and Toads: A Modern Fairy Tale
K.E. Saxon
Men in Space
Tom McCarthy
Sincerely, Willis Wayde
John P. Marquand
Sarasota Dreams
Debby Mayne
Soul Mates Bind
Sandra Ross