Bel was an accurate judge of space and time; it was one of her most useful qualities. Of course, it was something you could learn or practice, but she required nothing other than her instincts. She could pack a suitcase, small bag, car boot, or anything really with an unfathomable amount of objects. It was like a game of Tetris. Shapes, spaces, and at times stubborn brute force would see her succeed. When it came to time, she possessed an uncanny knack of running a scenario through her mind in fast-forward and translating that scene to normal time. She calculated that if everything went to plan and the trains ran on time, she would be in Esther’s vicinity within fifteen minutes.
It seemed like such an agonisingly long time to reach her destination, and if she were to run between trains the time would be halved, but running and drawing attention to herself was not a viable option. If Control spotted her running they could track her easily. In fact, if she were to remain wearing the same outfit, she’d be apprehended in no time. She paused to look around. Two doors down from a specialty cupcake cart was a vendor selling London souvenirs. The locals knew the goods were cheap crap made in China, but she made a beeline for the little stall, selecting a cap and a flimsy black zip-up hooded jacket emblazoned with the Union Jack and the words, In London, I Am the King.
With only the stall holder as her audience, she quickly transferred everything from her jacket pockets to her jeans and took it off. Her holster and weapon were in full view. The man’s eyes bulged from his head like those of a character in a cartoon.
“Oh, don’t worry. It’s not real.” She sounded relatively convincing, even to herself. She pulled on the black jacket. “I’m an extra on Scott and Bailey. Have you seen that cop show?” He looked relieved but clueless. “You should watch it. It’s great.” Scott and Bailey was filmed miles away in Manchester. It was the best she could manage under the circumstances.
She pulled on the cap and resumed her journey to reach Esther. It was a long shot. Esther was probably on the move, but this was Bel’s only chance. Sitting and waiting for something to happen wasn’t a viable plan. Conrad Rush finding Esther first wasn’t viable either. Bel had one chance and she was taking it.
She walked briskly toward the westbound platform. When a group of people rushed by her, she tagged onto the end of their pack, inconspicuously gaining ground. As the train arrived, she leapt on it and stood by the door. She needed an escape route.
If Control located her, the odds of reaching Esther were slim. Her knowledge of the underground network was not superior to others in Hotstream, and once Control agents were tracking her on camera, it was unlikely they’d lose her. Although they’d lost Esther once already that morning. She prayed Esther stayed lost until she found her.
The next station was Waterloo and it was always busy. It was imperative she leave the Jubilee line as soon as possible. The Jubilee line was the only one that serviced the Southwark station. It left her exposed to remain on Jubilee one moment longer than necessary.
Waterloo station was extensive, and although CCTV cameras more than adequately surveyed every nook and cranny, the masses of commuters using the station relieved some of her tension.
Bel swiftly made her way to catch a northbound train on the Northern line. Heading directly into the city, the Northern line was busier than Jubilee and was a good place to blend in. As she took up position in the doorway of the carriage, she looked at her phone. She’d had another seven missed calls, but nothing from Esther. She had no service now, so there was no use trying Esther.
Bel appraised her plan. It required little consideration until she reached her destination. If Esther was there, she had to talk to her. As if on cue, the pointer finger on her right hand, her trigger finger, twitched. If Esther wouldn’t talk to her she knew what she was trained to do. She shook her head. Who was she kidding? She looked at her watch. She’d set the stopwatch running the moment she’d entered the stairwell at HQ. It now said five minutes and thirty-six seconds. Training or no training, within ten minutes, she might be faced with the real possibility of aiming a loaded gun at her lover. The pressure was immense. The situation was impossible. Although Bel was slowly soaking layers of clothing with sweat, the thought sent a ripple of cold shiver through her.
The train stopped at Embankment, Charing Cross, and Leicester Square. She looked again at her watch. Nearly nine minutes had passed, and as the train slowed, easing into Tottenham Court Road station, she prepared to disembark.
The platform at Tottenham Court Road was busy. She stared out of the glazed upper half of the door, first in line to leave the Northern line and change to the Central line. It hadn’t occurred to her until now, but people stood dangerously close to the edge of the platform as the train approached. She stared into the faces of people staring back. It was hardly surprising that, although she looked, she never really saw anyone.
That was until she saw Abby Wandsworth.
Agent Abigail Wandsworth was a senior trainer in the Hotstream team and had mentored Bel in her first four weeks. The look of surprise followed immediately by horror on Abby’s face was probably a mirror image of her own. She watched as Abby called it in. Bel couldn’t read lips, nor could she hear a word she was saying, but as Abby advanced down the platform, never taking her eyes off Bel, she knew she was informing Control of Bel’s exact location.
Any agents in the nearby vicinity would be called to apprehend her.
Shit!
Bel quickly searched her section of the train. No one paid her particular interest, and she had to assume that so far Abby was the only agent nearby.
She turned back and saw Abby weave her way through the crowd, gaining ground as the train prepared to stop completely. Bel scanned her memory for an escape route.
She had deliberately placed herself in a middle carriage, and it was just as well she did. When the train stopped, she leapt through the barely open doors and crashed through a mass of people pushing to get on the train. Bel scampered for the stairs that ascended from the middle of the platform. Seeing a train pull up on the other side, heading south on the Northern line, she rushed to jump through the doors. The whistle blew just as she saw Abby launch herself from mid-platform onto the same train, only three carriages away.
The doors began to close. Bel had no idea what to do. Abby was on the same train. She was at risk of being arrested before she had a chance to reach Esther. Suddenly, it occurred to her that they might use her to find Esther. She needed time alone with Esther before the cavalry arrived. She had no control over other agents and knew a shoot-to-kill order would be in place for a suspected suicide bomber whether Bel was there trying to talk her down or not.
Through the smallest of gaps, Bel jumped back through the doors and onto the platform. She tripped over a small Superman suitcase on wheels and scrambled to her knees just as the train pulled away. Abby Wandsworth stared helplessly as her fist pounded the glass door.
Bel had to get out of the underground.
She dashed for the exit stairs and took them two at a time. Only aboveground could she give herself the best possible chance of reaching Esther. Aboveground she couldn’t be hunted by Control via the CCTV, and aboveground she had more options to hide.
Hiding in the open was what Bel did best.