The weather in London was quite different to Malaysia. Cold, gray, and very wet. Not a pleasant welcome ‘home’ for Ryker. He probably wouldn’t stay long.
Winter was waiting for him in Covent Garden, a huge golf umbrella keeping him dry in the rain.
‘Enough room for me under there?’ Ryker asked.
Winter looked him up and down as though it was a hard question to answer.
‘Not really,’ he said, but Ryker shuffled closer to him anyway and Winter moved the canopy across a little to mostly cover them both.
‘So?’ Ryker asked.
‘I presume you’re going straight for the meat. Karaman?’
‘Why not.’
‘Official cause of death is heart attack, although his lungs were filled with water so drowning is listed as a secondary cause.’
‘But natural causes.’
‘He was a fifty-eight-year-old man who’d enjoyed an exuberant lifestyle. Apparently, he was at high risk. His own very expensive private doctors had told him so. High cholesterol, high blood pressure, et cetera, et cetera. All you did was speed up the process a bit.’
Ryker didn’t like the way Winter said that. As though his intervention had been unnecessary. As if it had not really made much difference.
Except it had to Ryker. And it would have done to Angel too.
‘I am actually impressed,’ Winter said. ‘That you managed to achieve it so cleanly. Although I’m not going to ask how.’
‘I’m not sure I’d tell you.’
‘But I will always be second-guessing whenever I’m eating or drinking near you in the future.’
Which suggested he did know how Ryker had done it really – the method of delivery, at least. But Ryker didn’t bother to say anything more about it.
‘The main thing is, there’s not even a whisper of outside involvement,’ Winter said. ‘Which means there are no brewing problems or high alerts as we await retaliation.’
‘Good to hear.’
‘You know what else is good?’
‘The weather?’
‘I got a new job.’
‘Yeah?’
‘Official title is Head of Ethics.’
Ryker stifled a laugh, although apparently not quite well enough and Winter looked a little offended.
‘You should be happy for me. It means I get to be in prime position to make sure SIS is cleaned from the inside out and we never have the likes of Podence playing us for fools again.’
‘Ha, yeah. Good luck with that. Spies always be spying.’
‘I get it, you’re a cynic. You’ve been burned by SIS and the like more times than me.’
He looked at Ryker’s hand – the scars from the recent burns still plainly evident – and his cheeks reddened. ‘You know what I mean.’
‘I do. And I’m pleased for you. It’s a good career move. And I’m also pleased it’s you in that position. I think you’ll make a difference.’
‘I’m genuinely flattered. And from your standpoint… Head of Ethics… might underplay my role just a little.’
‘In what way?’
‘In the way that I’m only one step below the Chief of the Secret Intelligence Services now.’
Ryker whistled. That actually was a seriously senior role for his old friend.
‘To think you were just some snot-nosed coffee maker and file sorter when I first met you,’ Ryker said.
‘Ha! I was a highly qualified intelligence analyst in my early thirties by that point actually, but it’s interesting that’s how you remember it. And I’m only two years younger than you, don’t forget.’
Ryker shrugged.
‘Back to my point though, I even have the Head of Clandestine operations reporting to me. To make sure everything’s… above board.’
Ryker nodded. He thought he knew what Winter meant by that. Although the man was kind enough to spell it out a moment later.
‘Which means I have a very close eye on all field operations. And also a say in how those operations are handled.’
‘Are you offering me a job?’
‘No. Because I know you wouldn’t take it.’
‘But you’ll be in touch when you need my help.’
‘I will be.’
‘And is SIS officially looking into the Syndicate under your watch?’
Winter didn’t answer straight away. Likely composing how he’d frame the bad news for Ryker.
‘There’s no official recognition of the Syndicate as an entity,’ Winter said. ‘And maybe it never really existed in that form anyway. But it is recognized that Ismail Karaman was at the top of a group of rich, powerful individuals who—’
‘You believe he was at the top?’
‘From all the intel I’ve seen, it really does look that way.’
‘So we cut off the head of the snake.’
‘You could say that.’
‘But what about everyone else who was playing to his tune?’
‘I already explained my new role to you. I’ll get the rot out of SIS. And I’ll make sure anyone on the outside who was in cahoots with Karaman is identified and brought down, one way or another.’
‘And I definitely want to know about that.’
‘And I definitely want to know about whatever you find next. Because I’m not stupid enough to think that you’re about to go and sit on a beach for the next few months.’
They both went silent. Ryker watched the thick raindrops bouncing on the ground as pedestrians scurried about trying to find shelter.
‘Remember what we talked about last time we were together?’ Ryker asked.
‘My ex-wife?’ Winter asked with a chuckle.
‘Yeah. And we agreed that, when we got the job done, we’d go out. Just you and me. Beer, maybe some food. A bit of release for us both.’
‘I think the deal was that you had to get the job done without you crossing the line.’
‘Your line. And didn’t I?’
Winter thought about the answer for a bit too long.
‘Yeah. For once you probably did.’
‘Then let’s go. Oh, and you’re paying, hotshot.’
Ryker winked and moved off before Winter could protest.
* * *
Ryker’s hangover the next day stank almost as much as the weather.
They’d had a good night. Had drunk way too much. Had chatted like two old friends, which they kind of were after so many years working so closely, even if that had been the first time the two of them had done anything close to socializing together.
Why now? Ryker wondered as he traveled northward to the Midlands, a single stop to make there before he carried on to… somewhere.
He didn’t find an answer to the question. Perhaps it didn’t matter. One way or another, Peter Winter remained a constant in Ryker’s life. And given his new role at SIS, and Ryker’s ever-present appetite for righting wrongs, it looked like that would likely continue.
He found a parking spot several houses away and walked along the wet tarmac on a street of terraces to the home he was looking for. He opened the creaky gate, headed to the front door, and knocked. He heard the footsteps from beyond. Hefty footsteps. An adult rather than a child. A man opened the door. Ryker hadn’t met him before but felt he knew a lot about him anyway, and something about the arrogance and coldness in his eyes only confirmed what he already thought about this person.
‘Hi, I’m a friend of Angel’s,’ Ryker said, holding his hand out to the man who looked at it like it was dirt. Ryker left his hand there and eventually, the man did reach out to take it.
Ryker grabbed his hand and crushed it in his and pulled the man close.
‘You piece of shit. You didn’t even have the decency to turn up to the funeral.’
The man murmured and squirmed and tried to take back his hand, but Ryker only held on even more tightly.
‘I’ll break every bone if you don’t stand still and listen to what I have to say.’
The man moaned pathetically and nodded.
‘She was a good person,’ Ryker said. ‘She was let down by everyone around her.’
‘She… was a dangerous alcoholic!’
‘She was insane with guilt and regret. And she was framed. I’m sure you know all that by now because it was in the papers, on the news. And you got the invite to the funeral, didn’t you?’
He muttered incoherently, his body trembling from the pain in his hand. Ryker felt a pop. He didn’t care.
‘Did you enjoy seeing her spiral?’
No answer now.
‘All she ever wanted was to be loved. To be able to love her daughter, but all you ever wanted was your new life with your new woman. Who you’d probably been screwing even before Angel was set up. You must have thought all your dreams had come true the day she was put behind bars thousands of miles away.’
‘P… Please!’
‘Now this is what you’re going to do. Call your daughter down.’
‘M… My—’
‘I’m not going to hurt her. You have my word.’
When the weasel said nothing, Ryker added, ‘Do it now,’ and he finally let go of the hand.
The guy looked on the verge of tears.
‘Sweetie!’ he shouted out, his voice cracking. ‘Please come down.’
The young girl appeared at the top of the stairs and hesitantly made her way down.
‘This man is…’
‘A friend of your mom’s. Your real mom.’
She stood by her dad, shielding herself behind him. Her protector.
Ryker crouched down so he was at her level.
‘You didn’t know her very well,’ Ryker said. ‘But I did. And I know she loved you more than anything in the world.’
She looked from Ryker and up to her dad as though seeking his opinion on what Ryker had said.
‘I don’t know what your dad’s told you about her, but Angel… That was what people called her. Did you know that?’
She shook her head.
‘She was a hero. But she was treated really badly. You know she had to go to prison?’
The girl nodded.
‘But she was tricked. She only went to prison because some bad people made up some really bad lies about her. And people who should have helped her didn’t.’
The girl looked completely lost with what he was saying.
‘You’ve seen the news, haven’t you?’ he asked her.
She looked at her dad again and so did Ryker. Actually, Ryker sent him a death glare.
‘Your dad’ll show you when I’ve gone. But it’s been in the news all around the world. Your mom is a true hero. She helped save many, many lives. You know James Bond?’
Another nod.
‘Well, Angel was like him, but even more kick-ass. Believe me, she could take on anyone. But… She got killed.’
He hung his head, trying to erase from his mind the memory of the moment. Angel’s body enveloped in flames. The shock, pain, despair on her face knowing it was over. Willing for death. Leaving him with no choice but to pull the trigger.
‘I was there right before she died. She gave me this.’
He held out the locket, which dangled from his hand. For the first time in the conversation, the girl’s face brightened. She took the locket off him and opened it up and looked at her dad, smiling.
‘It’s me,’ she said.
‘Your mom carried that everywhere with her,’ Ryker said. ‘It was the most important thing she had. You were the most important part of her life.’
Ryker stood straight, locking eyes with her dad one last time.
‘You’re gonna tell her the truth about Angel. Everything she needs to know. And if you don’t, I’m turning up on your doorstep again. Got it?’
The guy didn’t respond before Ryker turned and headed back for his car.
His next destination…?
He’d figure that out soon enough.