Page 49 of End Game
‘The wordexclusive, just in case you didn’t know,’ said the editor, ‘means no other paper has it, notno other paper wants it. Do I make myself clear?’ His outstretched arm moved slowly across the desk, his eyes never leaving her for a moment, as he dropped the article and photographs into his wastepaper basket.
Artemisia was about to burst into tears, when the editor’s secretary touched her elbow and quickly led her out of the room.
Once the door had mercifully closed, the secretary tried to console Arte with the words, ‘Be thankful he wasn’t in a foul mood, or he might have told you what he really thought.’
CHAPTER 16
Sunday, 29 July – day 3 of the Games
ONCEARTEMISIA HAD BOARDEDthe tube bound for the Olympic Park, she would remove the pass and tuck it in a pocket, because while she was on the train, she needed to look like a spectator, not a competitor: that would come later.
One more glance in the mirror before she joined the lions in the arena.
‘You certainly look the part,’ said Robert, ‘but will you fool an alert security guard?’
‘I think I just might,’ said Artemisia, without taking her eyes off the mirror.
Artemisia took one final look in the mirror before she kissed Robert goodbye and left their flat to begin her new life as Annie Charnock. She was now even more determined to get an exclusive that would make the front page, not to mention the ultimate test for any journalist: every other newspaper would have to follow up her story the following day.
On the tube journey to the Olympic Park, she continued to read her book on épée fencing, in case anyone should ask her a question. The épée was the heaviest of the three weapons used in competition, the other two being the foil and the sabre. While the bout was taking place, you had to remain within a restricted area; if you stepped out, you automatically lost the bout. If you were the first to make five direct hits, you won the bout; three bouts and you won the match.
She’d reached the lunge by the time the train pulled into Stratford station. She jumped off the tube and quickly made her way to the Olympic Park and, with the help of her map, went in search of the athletes’ village. It was hard to miss, with its high protective wire fence surrounding the entire enclave, beyond which a large crowd of fans was hanging around hoping to catch a glimpse of their heroes and even get a selfie.
Artemisia slowly circled the eight-foot-high fence to discover there was only one way in. She stood a few yards back from the entrance and watched carefully as several competitors strolled in and out, but only after their passes had been checked. She got close enough to learn that Jim was the name of the NCO on duty. When a couple of the more recognizable faces appeared, he didn’t even bother to check their passes.
Artemisia waited patiently and chose her moment carefully. She didn’t make her move until she spotted a group of young women from the British team heading for the compound, who were clearly friends. Once she’d established they weren’t fencers, Artemisia quickly joined them, and when she showed her pass said, ‘Thank you, Jim.’
The NCO smiled and said, ‘Good luck, Annie.’
She was in.
•••
Ross was sitting in his taxi at the corner of Cadogan Square, waiting for Miles Faulkner to appear. All other priorities had been dropped now, and he would remain constantly on Faulkner’s tail. The events of the last few days had proved beyond question that the Russians were attempting to sabotage the Games and Faulkner was working alongside them. Beth had been right to be suspicious from the outset.
William had already briefed Ross about the letter Beth had received from the Russian Embassy, and they both agreed that the Van Gogh must be the hold they had over Faulkner. Only an unobtainable masterpiece could make a man like Faulkner become involved in something that could end up with a life sentence for treason. Nothing would give Ross greater pleasure than to be the arresting officer.
Ross watched carefully when the familiar Rolls-Royce drew up outside Faulkner’s home with Collins behind the wheel. Faulkner appeared a few minutes later, climbed into the back of the car, and no sooner had the door closed than Collins drove off.
But when the Rolls reached the end of the road, Collins didn’t turn left as usual, but right. The sudden break in Faulkner’s routine took Ross by surprise, but only for a moment. Suddenly, he was wide awake, giving clear orders to his fleet of taxis, none of them driven by cabbies. Ross kept his distance while his team followed their target south out of London, not stopping until they reached Biggin Hill private airfield in Middlesex.
Ross focused his binoculars on the runway just as Faulkner climbed aboard his Learjet only moments before it took off.
Ross was puzzled by the fact that the only passenger didn’t seem to have any luggage, so he assumed it had to be a round trip – but to where? An airport official informed him,after he checked his warrant card, that the private jet was bound for Finland – information Ross passed on to William, who immediately briefed Professor Meredith at GCHQ, who in turn spoke to his man in Helsinki.
•••
The third secretary at the British Embassy set off for Vantaa airport long before Faulkner’s plane would seek permission to land. From a corner table in the rooftop restaurant, he watched as the jet landed and taxied to its allocated apron. The man then abandoned his fourth coffee.
Once the third secretary had seen the plane take back off, he returned to his desk at the British Embassy and reported to the professor the unlikely sequence of events he’d just witnessed. ‘Once the plane’s engines had been turned off,’ he said, ‘a Volvo with local plates drove onto the runway and headed towards the aircraft. The driver stepped out of the car carrying what looked like a shoebox. He then climbed the aircraft steps, at which point the passenger door opened and a pair of arms appeared. The driver handed over the package, which disappeared inside, and moments later the passenger door was closed.’
Professor Meredith didn’t stop making notes.
‘Once the plane had been refuelled, the engines were turned back on before it began to taxi back towards the runway. The aircraft took off forty minutes after it had landed.’
Professor Meredith called William the moment he’d put the phone down and reported verbatim what his man in Helsinki had told him, before adding, ‘And now you’ll have to make a decision I don’t envy.’
‘Namely?’ said William.
