D.E.M.: Quid Pro Quo

By Lee Ness

Rachel, Cam, Deborah and Dave are on the run. They are being hunted by person or persons unknown but they do know they are in grave danger.
When they are eventually tracked down, they are offered a stark choice. Execution or a mission. Their freedom in return for a task.
Quid Pro Quo
There really is no choice for the team, but when their individual histories start to rise from the darkness, the danger is beyond what any of them could have imagined.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lee Ness
• Release date: Feb 5, 2017
• ISBN: 9781370452132

Lee Ness

Lee Ness writes both fiction and non-fiction books and non-fiction articles. His first book The Sports Motivation Master Plan passes on the experience of many years coaching athletes in multiple sports. His second book, Growth: Using the Mindset Model for Sporting Success, is a mini-book aimed at parents, coaches and athletes but is now included in the 3rd Edition of the Masterplan. Lee's articles appear in Athletics Weekly, on speedendurance.com and on stack.com. Lee is Chairman at City of Salisbury Athletics and Running Club. He has written two historical novels set in Ancient Greece and three espionage thrillers.

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D.E.M. - QUID PRO QUO

Lee Ness

Copyright ©2015 by Lee Ness

Published by Lee Ness

All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without prior permission in writing of the author, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

All characters in this publication are fictitious and any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

Author’s Website

leeness.co.uk

Other books by this Author

FICTION

HOPLITE - PART 1: LYSANDER (Olympian Book 1)

HOPLITE - PART 2: THE GENERAL (Olympian Book 1)

HOPLITE - PART 3: TRAINING (Olympian Book 1)

NON FICTION

THE SPORTS MOTIVATION MASTER PLAN

GROWTH: USING THE MINDSET MODEL FOR SPORTING SUCCESS

I would like to thank the individuals who helped me with the technical elements of this book. As some of it is sensitive, I won’t name you, but you know who you are.

This book contains some coarse language, sexual references and action/adventure violence. Reader discretion is advised.

Preface

Rachel sat on a couch wrapped in a blanket. She wasn’t sure where it had come from. They were in a large hotel room.

Where are we? Rachel asked, then looked from Cam to Debs to Dave.

We’re safe, Cam said. For now, anyway. He looked at Dave.

How are you feeling? said Debs and handed her a cup of tea.

Rachel looked at Debs. Like this is where we started, you and I, she said.

Debs looked confused for a moment. Ah yes, when you fell over in your flat. I made you a cup of tea. Yes, you do seem to attract trauma.

I seem to remember you caused that one. I’m not convinced you didn’t cause this one as well, Rachel said.

Well, it’s nice to see you’ve got your faculties back at least, Debs said.

I think it’ll take years of therapy to get over this episode.

Ah, don’t worry. It soon passes.

I’ll help you take your mind off it, Cam said through a grin.

Now? Seriously? Rachel snapped. Cam’s grin froze on his face and Rachel felt for him. Maybe later, she added and winked. So who are those dead people? she asked.

Can you remember when you asked me about the version control and I said it was sorted? Dave said. He waited for Rachel’s nod and then continued. Well, that was sorted by another team, a slightly more aggressive one. We all have our strengths, theirs is violence and aggression. That’s who came after you and are now lying in another field.

But how did they know? Rachel asked.

Lloyd-Patmore. The shifty bastard was playing both sides of the fence, Debs said. Once he put you in touch with the Israelis he called his contact and put them onto you as well. He was trying to curry favour after his screw up.

But how did you know? Rachel asked.

We were still monitoring Lloyd-Patmore in case he turned turtle on us, Dave said. We got your number from there. That’s how you got tracked by us and them. Good move to ditch the phones.

So how did you find me again? Rachel said.

Same way, Debs said. When you contacted Lloyd-Patmore again he got more irate with his other contact. That’s when I sent you the second text.

That was you? I thought that was Ben, the Israeli.

Charming, said Debs. I thought you’d realise. I didn’t want to put too much on it in case the message was intercepted.

I thought it was you that I was being warned about, Rachel said.

Great. That’s trust for you.

Hang on, Dave said earlier he was thinking of sending you after me,

Good point. I wouldn’t have hurt you though.

So how did you find Cam?

Ah. Er, that’s my fault, Cam said. I’m afraid I panicked and phoned up. It was a gamble, but a good one.

Hang on, so we’re being tracked by our own government?

I know. That’s not the best position to be in is it? said Dave. We’ll be safe here for a little while, but we can’t stay long. Just long enough for you to clean yourself up and change clothes.

Rachel looked down at the clothes she wore. She saw blood on her sleeve and started to claw at it in panic, but then saw the cut on her wrist from when she cut through her bonds and stopped. When she looked up the other were watching her.

It’s okay, Rachel said. I’m not going mental. I think I’ll go and get that shower.

Rachel’s phone rang and made them all jump. It was the burner-phone. She still had it. They all stared at it as it vibrated on the table.

Debs snatched it up and put the loudspeaker on.

Hello all, said a cultured voice. Ben. They’re coming for you. I think you ought to move, right now.

CHAPTER 1

ESCAPE

Rachel froze. Cam’s eyes went wide with shock and fear. Dave frowned at the phone. Only Debs moved.

Come on, she shouted. We need to move.

She rushed across to the room door and put her eye to the spy hole. She was just about to turn away when a movement in the corridor caught her eye. She waited and saw two shadows move into view and then two men pass in front of the door. They stopped and two more were in the distorted view on the periphery of the left hand side.

She spun away from the door and gestured to the others to keep quiet and then hustled them toward the door to the adjoined room. She closed the door to the bathroom, opened the window and then rushed out of the room, closed the adjoining door behind her.

Quick, to the door, but wait, she hissed out in a whisper.

Debs put her eye to the spyhole and waited until the men were inside, then opened the door to the corridor carefully. As soon as she checked the area was clear, she gestured the others through and down the corridor.

Run, she hissed.

Rachel and Cam led the way down the corridor and round the corner at the end. Debs followed, and pushed Dave ahead of her.

Debs glanced back before she turned and saw the first of the men as they emerged from their room. He looked her way. She expected a shout but it didn’t come. Instead there was a moment’s delay and then she heard the sound of running behind her. No panic. Good discipline, she thought. Professionals.

Debs sprinted to catch the others as they burst through the door to the stairs and started down them. Cam and Rachel took them two at a time. Dave was slower but still moved as fast as he could. They grabbed the bannister at each half-landing and pulled themselves round the corner.

The basement garage, Debs called to Cam and Rachel. Here. She threw Cam a set of car keys.

They could hear the door burst open above them and Debs looked up to see a head look over the railings. The sound of the men running down the steps filled the stairwell.

Cam, black BMW. Get in and bring it to the door. Rachel and Dave, get in the back. I’ll hold them, Debs said. Her voice sounded calmer than she felt. Her heart raced and she could feel the prickle of fear at the back of her neck. She wasn’t afraid for herself, she’d been in these situations before, but never with friends. She was usually on her own. She was the operational member of the team and now the rest of them relied on her for their immediate safety. It was an unusual feeling.

As she ran down the steps, she pulled the handgun from her waistband, then a silencer from her pocket. She had the silencer in her left hand ready to fit to the gun, but as she rounded the corner, she dropped it and it clattered down the stairs and landed on the half-landing below.

Shit, she hissed through clenched teeth.

Cam scooped it up as he passed and threw it back to her. Debs caught it deftly and screwed it onto the gun as she descended the last flight of stairs. Cam and Rachel crashed through the door and Debs pushed Dave through after them. She stopped and turned, then fired two shots up the stairs to slow their pursuers. The ploy worked but not as well as she’d hoped. The footsteps slowed but didn’t stop. Professionals, she thought again. Debs braced herself against the wall at the side of the door and aimed.

She waited for the first man to come around the corner. She didn’t know who they were or if they were trying to kill her, but the fact that they were still coming, after she’d shot at them, didn’t bode well. She had no qualms about killing them.

The first thing round the corner wasn’t a body, it was a handgun with a fat silencer. She recognised what was about to happen a moment before the gun started spitting death and she dropped to the floor. The gunman was unsighted and sprayed the wall with bullets. She counted seven. The shots seemed to go on for a long time. Debs raised her pistol again, but another gun appeared over the top of the bannister and started to shoot. These were a bit closer and she rolled away and through the door then fetched up against the wall as bullets thudded against the other side.

She heard Cam gun the engine of the BMW, a deep throaty roar from the five litre engine boomed off the walls of the underground garage and risked a glance back. She’d parked the car so that it was at the junction of the driveways so Cam could drive straight forward without any manoeuvring. It was farther away than she’d like, but on balance, the ability to drive straight out had a higher advantage, she’d thought. She was about to find out. The sound of the car would start the chase again. Debs swung back round into the doorway. As soon as the first pursuer appeared, Debs shot him and he fell to the stairs. She loosed off the rest of the magazine as the others threw themselves backward. She turned away and grabbed the door as she fired the last few shots and then slammed the door shut. A few shots followed her as she ran into the garage just as the BMW screeched to a halt.

Cam had opened the door and Debs wrenched at it and threw herself into the passenger seat. She registered a grim look on Dave’s face in the back seat and a look of terror in Rachel’s. Debs flicked her eyes to the door as it crashed open again.

Get down, she shouted as bullets thudded against the heavy car. Go Cam, go!

Cam had slammed his foot on the accelerator and for a terrible second the wheels screamed as they fought for traction, then the big 5 Series leapt forward and Cam wrenched the wheel around to the right to make the tight turn. Debs wound down the window and watched as four men fanned out of the doorway, checked for a rearguard and then started to run after them. Two followed after the car and two angled away to cut them off at the exit. She was about to fire at them and then realised she was empty. Amateur, she berated herself.

Debs switched magazines and then ducked her head as bullets hit the rear window of the car, the glass spider-webbed.

Drive straight through the barrier and try to keep your head down. Don’t stop.

Cam gripped the wheel, his hands were white and the veins in his arms bulged. Debs reached across him and opened his window. The men that had angled to intercept them would be on the other side. She leaned across Cam and rested her elbow on the middle arm rest. Cam wrenched the wheel to the left to make the turn to the exit and the men came into view. Bullets thudded against the side of the car and Cam jerked the wheel reflexively and the car scraped the wall on the passenger side with a wail of protest. Cam recovered, oversteered but then straightened the car again. Debs fired wildly out of his window as the car straightened and leapt forward again. The incoming bullets stopped momentarily as the two men ducked behind a car, but then started again as soon as the car passed,

Cam smashed the car through the wooden barrier and slammed on the brakes as a car on the street passed in front of them. Bullets pinged off their roof and drilled into the rear of the car. Cam floored the accelerator again and the car shot out into traffic then snaked down the road as the tyres screamed in protest.

CHAPTER 2

SAFE HOUSE

The men appeared in the exit but had lowered their guns and now held them discreetly in their laps covered by their other hand.

Debs took a deep breath. It felt like the first since this drama had started. She laid a hand on Cam’s arm.

Slow down now Cam. Relax. We’ve lost them. Don’t get us pulled by the Police.

Cam breathed in sharply through his nostrils and then visibly relaxed his grip off the steering wheel. The car slowed and settled into the traffic flow.

Is anyone hurt? Debs said.

She looked at Rachel, who gave a small shake of her head.

I’m fine, Dave said. Are you two alright?

I’m alright, Debs answered. How about you Cam?

Cam gave a slight nod, his eyes looked straight ahead. A thousand yard stare, thought Debs. He’s in shock.

Pull over, Debs commanded.

Cam didn’t react.

Pull over, now, Debs said in a louder voice.

Cam didn’t look at her and just swerved the car to the side. There was a blast of horns from the cars around them. Debs jumped out of the car and ran round to the drivers side. She gave the angry motorists behind them the finger.

Move over, she said to Cam.

Cam slid over to the passenger side and Debs jumped in to his seat. She racked the seat forward and was about to set off when Cam flung the passenger door open.

Wait, what..? Debs began.

Cam hung his head out of the car and vomited.

We need to move, growled Dave.

Give him a minute, Debs replied.

Cam finished retching and then straightened up and shut the car door. Debs gunned the engine and pulled back into the traffic.

Cam hung his head. Sorry about that, he said. You must think I’m a real pussy.

Don’t worry about it, big boy. It happens to more people than you can imagine. It’s the adrenaline. It’s not an indicator of fear or a lack of bravery or anything else.

Cam nodded but the colour had drained from his face. Debs reached across and patted his leg.

You all did well there, said Debs.

We could have been killed, said Rachel.

We could have been, but we weren’t. Don’t dwell on it, answered Debs.

How can I not dwell on it? We’ve just been attacked and shot at.

By thinking about something more constructive. Like how did they find us and where do we go now. Dave?

For now, we go to a safe house. Head south. We’ll go to the New Forest, Dave said.

Debs flicked the indicator and changed lanes, then took the next exit ramp out of the city. So, how did they find us so quickly?

It had to be the phone, said Dave. We should have thought of that. We need to get rid of it now.

I already took the battery and SIM out, said Debs.

You knew?

No, actually. I never thought of it. It’s just habit. First rule of tradecraft.

I thought the first rule of tradecraft was to always check no-one is in before you break in? said Rachel. Or was it to always wear Kevlar threaded stockings?

You’re learning, replied Debs. Welcome back to the game.

So we know where and we know how, but why and who? said Rachel.

It had to be the same team that went after Rachel, said Debs. She turned off onto the motorway and left the city behind.

It can’t be, said Dave. Our teams are small and compact. To my knowledge, the other team is a team of four and you killed two of them. There were five people there.

There must be another team then, Rachel added.

There may be, but it isn’t the same. All organisations have structures and protocols. We’re no different just because we operate in darkness. That team wasn’t part of our organisation.

What makes you think they were British? said Cam. They all looked at him. We’re assuming they’re British because they were white and got to us quickly. But did anyone hear them speak? They could be Russian, or American, or Eastern European.

But why would they be? It’s the British we’ve crossed. I know we’re British as well, but it doesn’t seem that way right now, and they didn’t look Israeli, said Debs.

You’re right, Dave said to Debs. But Cam’s got a point. We’re making a lot of assumptions. We have to start at the beginning. If it isn’t another one of our teams coming after us because we’ve gone rogue, then who could it be? It can’t have been the Israelis because why would Ben have warned us? We haven’t crossed anyone else in this mission. It only leaves the Brits. What do you think, Cam? You’re our outside the box thinker.

What about the Yanks? They wouldn’t be too happy with us sabotaging Israel’s defensive capability, Cam said.

Maybe, but they couldn’t have got to us that quickly, said Debs.

You’re assuming that the timeline for the Yanks would be from the killing of the other team to now, Rachel interjected. What if they started their run much earlier. We’re assuming Lloyd-Patmore only told the Israelis and the Brits. What if he told someone else? What if this team isn’t actually ahead of the game, they were slightly behind chasing me and Cam and have only just come to the fore now because the other team is out of the picture.

I don’t buy it. Why would Lloyd-Patmore contact the Yanks? Debs said.

To give himself protection and save his own skin? Dave said.

Well, that certainly fits the profile, but even then, the Yanks would have had to put a team together very quickly. No, I still don’t buy it. It has to be the Brits, said Debs.

Or a British team contracted by the Israelis, Cam said.

That doesn’t explain why Ben warned us. We’d have been dead now if he hadn’t called, said Debs.

Everyone went silent while they considered this.

Dave broke the moment. Okay, he said. Let’s assume it is the Brits. We need to work out who it is and who’s running them.

Are you sure it’s not the other team? Rachel asked. It would make the most sense.

I’m sure. I know enough about the other teams to know that it isn’t part of our organisation.

Then other than assuming they were Brits, we know nothing, other than they’re trying to kill us, Debs said.

You saved our lives, Debs. Thank you, Rachel said.

Aw shucks, it was nothing, Debs said with a faux American accent.

No it wasn’t, Cam said. We had Rachel back and we were all in the room, safe, as far as we were concerned. I never gave a thought to anything else. You, on the other hand, had made sure we had two rooms in case we needed a sharp getaway, you knew the layout of the hotel and had parked the car ready to escape. It wasn’t even the car we came in.

It’s the f… Debs began.

…first rule of tradecraft, they all chimed in.

Good, you’re learning, Debs laughed.

We’re almost here, turn off onto that road, Dave said.

That’s not a road, it’s a dirt track, Debs said.

The track was wide and smooth and led off through the forest.

I should have brought a Land Rover. I feel out of place here in this, Debs said.

They reached a junction in the dirt road. Five roads led off in various directions.

Are you sure we’re in the right place, Dave? Rachel asked. I can’t see any houses or signs.

That’s why we’re in exactly the right place, Dave replied. Second exit.

Debs followed the exit through a gap in the trees and it snaked away. The track became rougher and they were jolted around on the BMW’s sport suspension. They rounded a corner and in front of them was a gate. Beyond it they could see a gravel driveway that led to a redbrick house.

We’re here, Dave said. He got out and punched a key code into a pad next to the gate and the gate swung open.

Debs pulled up in front of the house and they all got out and straightened out. Rachel crossed to Debs and hugged her.

Thank you, Rachel said.

My pleasure, Debs replied. Does this mean I’m in with a chance? Debs smiled at her.

No, laughed Rachel.

Tch. Save a girls life and she still won’t sleep with you, Debs mocked.

Sorry, Debs, I’m taken, Rachel said and linked arms with Cam. If I decide I want to experiment, you’ll be the first to know.

Dave unlocked the house and they crowded in. Dave, Rachel and Cam flopped onto the sofas and sighed. Debs had wandered off.

Come and sit down, Debs. I’ll fix you a drink, it’s the least I can do, Rachel called.

I have work to do, Debs called back. I’ll take you up on that when I’ve done.

Does she ever stop? Cam asked to no-one in particular.

Let’s hope not, Dave said.

CHAPTER 3

DISCOVERY

Where did you find all this stuff? Rachel asked. She was stood with Debs as they looked down at the CCTV surveillance screens. The first screen was quartered into a view of each aspect of the house. The second screen had various views, of the road to the house and of various points around the surrounding land.

Every safe house has the same basic set up. The cameras have to be switched on and activated. Sometimes, they’re hidden when the house isn’t in use. There are other things as well including more warning alarms and a nice box of guns and ammunition in the safe.

Did we need more guns?

You can never have enough guns. Guns are sexy.

I’ll take your word for it.

Look, here’s my regular pistol, a Glock 26. It’s designed for a concealed carry so it easy to stuff in a pocket or the back of my belt. It’s good, but look how short the grip is, even for my hands and it only carries ten rounds. It’s a ‘get out of jail’ weapon. It’s not enough for these monkeys that are coming after us.

She pulled a scaled up version of the pistol from a holster at her hip. This little beauty is a Glock 18.

It’s not that little, Rachel said.

No, you’re right. The beauty with this is that I can select it to fully automatic and spray bullets like Arnold with an Uzi. It’s got a nineteen round magazine, but here, Debs pulled a long black rectangle from the inside pocket of her Barbour International Motorcycle Jacket, "I’ve got a back up mag of thirty-three rounds. That should keep