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Dead Edge: the gripping political thriller for fans of Lee Child
JACK FORD is a novelist and is the author of six gritty British crime novels published under a pseudonym. Having studied global political Islam and American politics Jack went on to take a Master of Science degree in counter-terrorism, and will further those studies next year by tackling a PHD focusing on radicalisation and extremism. Jack lives in a quiet part of England and has three children along with lots of dogs and horses.
Copyright
An imprint of HarperCollins Publishers Ltd
1 London Bridge Street
London SE1 9GF
First published in Great Britain by HQ in 2018
Copyright © Jack Ford 2018
Jack Ford asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins.
Ebook Edition © August 2018 ISBN: 9780008204563
In loving memory of my Mum and
Dad – always and forever.
‘And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free’ (John 8.32)
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY MOTTO
‘It is estimated that between 26.4 million and 36 million people abuse opioids worldwide, with an estimated 2.5 million people in the United States abusing prescription opioids’
– US CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION
THE ENDGAME – The Endgame is the last stage of chess when only a few pieces are remaining. Not having the skills to turn the resulting endgame into a checkmate can cost you many wins, turning many otherwise easily won positions into draws or… even losses.
Contents
Cover
About the Author
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
Epigraph
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Chapter 50
Chapter 51
Chapter 52
Chapter 53
Chapter 54
Chapter 55
Chapter 56
Chapter 57
Chapter 58
Chapter 59
Chapter 60
Chapter 61
Chapter 62
Chapter 63
Chapter 64
Chapter 65
Chapter 66
Chapter 67
Chapter 68
Chapter 69
Chapter 70
Chapter 71
Chapter 72
Chapter 73
Chapter 74
Chapter 75
Chapter 76
Chapter 77
Chapter 78
Chapter 79
Chapter 80
Chapter 81
Chapter 82
Chapter 83
Chapter 84
Chapter 85
Chapter 86
Chapter 87
Chapter 88
Chapter 89
Chapter 90
Chapter 91
Chapter 92
Chapter 93
Chapter 94
Chapter 95
Chapter 96
Chapter 97
Chapter 98
Chapter 99
Chapter 100
Chapter 101
Chapter 102
Chapter 103
Chapter 104
Chapter 105
Chapter 106
Chapter 107
Chapter 108
Chapter 109
Chapter 110
Chapter 111
Chapter 112
Chapter 113
Chapter 114
Chapter 115
About the Publisher
MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE
USA
12.45 pm
TODAY
1
CHESS MOVE d4 Nf6
Heartburn, or whatever the hell it was, had a way of creeping up at the most inconvenient of times – at least that’s what Huck Barrington Jnr. liked to tell himself the burning sensation and fluctuating pain was.
Letting his symptoms occupy such a bromidic term was certainly easier to digest than acknowledging the pre-cursor warning signs of the heart attack his cardiologist liked to tell him – on a depressingly regular basis – was waiting round some proverbial corner for him. And, if scaring the hell out him wasn’t enough, his physician sanctimoniously backed it up by talking figures, like some smart-ass Wall Street statistician. Figures of the millions of Americans killed each year by ventricular fibrillation. The number one killer in the US. Jeez, the guy made it sound like a sniper was on the loose.
Aggravated, Huck sighed. Rubbed his chest.
Knew it only served as a purely psychological curative, and decided to convince himself for the third time in the same amount of minutes that it was just acid reflux, caused by the extra portion of eggs over easy and red sliced onion he’d had at the grill bar in the entrance of the airport. Despite being a married man – twelve long years married – Huck had to accept the pretty waitress with the honey blond hair, size eight waist, and showgirl bust had featured in his decision to stay to feed his unsatisfied hunger.
He burped.
Loudly.
Loud enough for the grey haired lady next to him in the check-in line to sniff the air and turn her head away in disgust.
Not apologising, Huck caught the eye of a girl who was stood a few feet away by the escalator, under the large American flag hanging down from the ceiling. She was staring at him. What the hell her problem was he didn’t know. Well he’d go on ahead and stare right back. Ended up being the first to turn away.
With a dampened ego – never something Huck Barrington Jnr. took lightly – he chanced another side glance. Damn her, she was still staring. Can’t have been more than fourteen. Wore an oversized thick blue jacket along with thick blue jeans. Small. Olive skinned. Plaits too tight. Skin blemish free, unburdened by the curse of adolescent acne which had plagued his own teenage years.
He sighed again. Turned away. Glanced around. And thanked God – though being an atheist he knew it was a very loose term – that he was catching a flight to Pittsburgh. The place was a sea. A heaving mass of overweight bodies dressed in white satin and frayed tassels as tourists descended on Memphis for the Elvis revival weekend. A deluge of stick-on sideburns walking through check in.
‘It doesn’t look like it, Mr Barrington. I’m sorry.’
Huck flushed red. ‘You can’t just cancel a flight and then tell me there isn’t another one… There must be.’
‘There is, sir, but like I say, the next one is full. The only available seat isn’t until twenty-three, twenty.’
Huck cleared his throat. Raised his voice and spoke to the immaculately groomed airline service agent with as much disdain as he could muster. ‘Perhaps I’m not making myself clear. So let me spell it out to you, ma’am. I don’t care how you do it, but you need to get me onto the next Goddamn flight!’
Security stepped in. Big. Tall. Eyes dog mean.
‘Is there a problem?’
Huck answered with the disdain still swirling in his mouth. ‘Actually, yes there is. I want to get on my flight and get the hell out of here. That’s not a crime is it?’
‘Sir, there’s no need to be aggressive.’
Agitated, Huck felt the prickle. The sweat. Seeping down and through his shirt.
Rubbed his chest again. Kneading. Caressing with the yellowed tips of his fingers. And over the security guy’s off-white shirt shoulder, he gazed at the girl. Still staring. The look in her eyes making her seem older. Judging him, when her fledgling life gave her no room to judge.
Christ, it was getting hotter and he could hardly breathe. He scratched hurriedly at his collar as if hands held and throttled, and he pulled at and undid his top shirt button.
‘Look, I just need to get my flight.’
‘Sir, are you okay?’
‘I’m fine.’
Huck didn’t hear the agent’s reply, as he felt the heat wrap round him like a snake constricting his prey. His panic rose as fast as his heart raced and the sweat rolled down. It was finally happening. This was it. This was the end. This was what his cardiologist had warned him would happen.
And as Huck waited for his heart to stop, to give up right there in the middle of the white-washed airport, his terror-filled eyes watched the girl undo her button. Undo her jacket. Mirroring his actions…
Then it suddenly hit him. Relief engulfing him as hard as terror had just done. Goddamn his doctor for fuelling his fears, because right then he understood what was happening. What his trouble actually was… He was just hot… She was hot. Quickly he looked around at the short sleeves and open collars. Everyone was just Goddamn hot. They were in Memphis, for God’s sake.
Huck exhaled. Wiped the dripping sweat off his face. Laughed into his hands.
Loud.
‘Something amusing you, sir?’
He’d forgotten about the security with the mean dog eyes. ‘Far from it. I’m just hot, that’s all. Hot!’
‘Sir, have you been drinking?’
Ignoring the guard’s question, Huck’s stare flickered back to the girl. Decided to try a smile. Hell, she was only a kid after all.
He watched her continue to unfasten the buttons on her ugly, thick, blue jacket. Eyes dilated. Never blinked. Watched her mouth something to him. And Huck thought it was the darnedest of things; he was sure she just mouthed the word, Sorry. He shook his head. Waved abashed and said, ‘It’s fine. Are you okay?’
The girl reached inside her shirt. Then with only the slightest of pauses, pressed.
The wave of the bomb mercilessly struck and tore. Showering and scattering flesh like an unlicensed slaughterhouse. Smoke swelled and filled the airport as dozens of body parts lay unrecognisable in their shredded, dismembered, mutilated form. And by the blasted-out water fountain, the severed head of the 14-year-old bomber lay next to that of Huck Barrington Jnr.
WASHINGTON, D.C.
USA
2.45 pm
2
c4 g6
The bomb went off at the same time.
Time difference two hours.
It struck with indifference. The youngest victim, a 6-month-old boy.
JEFFERSON COUNTY
COLORADO, USA
3
Nc3 Bg7
Jefferson County, Colorado. Taking the name of the great third President. A place where vast plains collide with the Rocky Mountains. A place of harsh, white-painted winters where summers are reminiscent of Steinbeck novels. A place where thunderstorms catch travelers off guard along the miles of trail ridge roads, curving and snaking along the skyward spans of landscapes with pine trees sweet smelling like candy stores. Jefferson County. A place where the detention center is conveniently situated by the combined court. The court where Thomas J Cooper found himself sitting in with a judge who was swathed with hell and grit-like determination to have his name chalked on a jail cell by the end of the day.
‘You don’t just get to ignore a court order, Mr Cooper, no matter what the reasons. It’s clear you have no respect for any kind of authority, which frankly surprises me having read all about your distinguished career in the military… Mr Cooper, are you even listening to me?’
Cooper nodded. Said nothing. Thought it was best. Ninety milligrams of OxyContin and a hundred of Sertraline mixed with Valium had a way of making him not sound his best.
Cooper’s lawyer stood up and cleared his throat. ‘Your honor, I object to the insinuation that my client has no respect for authority. As the court knows he suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder as well as survivor guilt, in relation to the accident.’
Looking like he’d just sucked a slice of lime without the gin, the judge shook his head. ‘I take it, counsel, you’re referring to the accident which happened seven, eight years ago?’
‘Yes, your honor, but… ’
‘Eight years ago, Mr Edwards. We’re talking almost eight years.’
‘What the hell has eight years got to do with it?’ Cooper said.
The judge frowned. Tilted his head as if his hearing was playing tricks on him. ‘Excuse me? Did you say something, Mr Cooper?’
‘You’re too damn right I did.’
So Cooper’s old friend and attorney, Earl Edwards, the only person he knew in the county who was still willing to represent him, barked his orders. ‘Coop…! Shut the hell up. I’ll handle this.’
And Cooper did what he always did: whatever the hell he wanted. He stood up and then, like a game of Simon says, so did the court’s bailiff, twitching and hovering his fingers over the gun in his holster, that he never got to use but practiced fast-drawing in the mirror every night. But it wasn’t him Cooper was looking at. It was Earl. His deep-lined face, reminding Cooper of the sand ridges along the North Carolina shores, stared into his.
Cooper watched the perspiration on Earl’s forehead as he felt his own trickle of drug cold sweat trail down his neck.
‘Please, Coop. I got this.’
‘Is there a problem, counsel?’ the judge asked.
Earl got there before Cooper did. Diving in like a peregrine falcon.
‘No problem, your honor. No problem at all. I just need a minute to speak to my client.’
Earl dropped his voice. Real low. The kind of low saved for the movie theater.
‘Coop, please. You’re making this worse, if it can get any worse. Trust me, man, I’m in your corner, but you got to calm down and let me do my job.’
‘I’m not stopping you doing your job, Earl.’
‘Then sit the hell down! You know as well as I do you’ve messed up too many times. They’re not interested anymore. Not about the accident, not about what happened to Ellie.’
Earl’s words came right at Cooper. Shooting him down like a small-caliber pistol. And it was only after he felt the soft expensive silk between his fingers that he realized he was grabbing hold of Earl’s suit.
‘Don’t you say her name! You hear me, Earl? Don’t you say it!’
‘Mr Edwards…! Mr Cooper! Can I remind you we’re in court of law and not in some high school locker room! Any more behavior like that and you’ll both find yourself in the cells tonight.’
Earl shot Cooper a stare.
Pushed him off.
Made sure he sat back down in the chair.
‘Sorry, your honor. It’s just important the court understands…’
‘Mr Edwards, I hope you’re not going to start lecturing the court.’
‘No…No, it’s just my client has been in Africa for the past few weeks and…
The judge brought the gavel down hard, prompting Cooper to think of the end of a record breaking bid at Christie’s auction house. ‘Sit down, counsellor, you can save the speech till after lunch.’
‘But…’
With his waxy pallor further bleached by the rows of fluorescent lights which’d just been flicked on, and his Southern state voice sounding like each word was being played by an over tightened instrument from Manny’s music store, Judge Saunders said, ‘Mr Edwards, I advise you to listen to me, not least because my highly acidic stomach will not sit quietly through a long speech telling me how remorseful your client is for not turning up for his court-ordered psychological sessions, nor how contrite he is about the fact he’s only done three hours of the fifty-two hours’ community service he was sentenced to on June 9th. Whilst I’m sure your reasons will certainly try to appease the state of Colorado, at this moment in time, counsel, they certainly won’t appease me. I therefore think it’s wise to take a recess. However, let me warn you and Mr Cooper here: even when the irregularities of the body are once again in a state of contented realignment, I have to say that after hearing from the treating doctor on Mr Cooper’s psychological and drug rehabilitation progress report earlier, I already feel inclined to revoke his formal probation.’
‘Your honor, I…’
‘Mr Edwards, cut it right there and save the surprised look for the junior judges; we’ve all been to law school… You and your client were warned this might happen when the court changed Mr Cooper’s probation from summary to formal. And I’m sure I don’t have to remind you that to get your client to attend court today, the sheriff’s office had to pick him up from whatever hole he was hiding in. So it seems clear to me with no progression being made, even with the gift horse of prohibition, that a jail term, with sentencing in a couple of weeks, might be the only way to proceed. So if I were you, Mr Edwards, I’d think very carefully about what you’re going to say to the court this afternoon when we return at two thirty.’
4
e4 d6
The call came as no surprise, nor what was said, nor how it was said. Rounded. Meticulous pronunciation intentionally concealing the foreign accent. ‘We had a deal.’
‘Not that deal. You know that was never on the table. It’s impossible. I told you that before. I would never and could never agree to it. You know that.’
‘What I know is you have to make this happen. However you do that is entirely up to you,’ the caller said.
‘I won’t be put in this position.’
‘You won’t? Are you sure about that?’
‘Abso-goddamn-lutely.’
There was a pause before the caller said. ‘Then we carry on until you’re persuaded otherwise. Though I am surprised. I would’ve thought the message of bombs and countless dead would be enough to make you realize there’s only one way out of this… The toll of the dead is in your hands.’
‘Goddamn you! I gave you all I could.’
The caller laughed mockingly. ‘No, we gave you all we could. You got what you wanted and now we want something in return.’
‘You had it already. There is no more. And you know nothing was ever one sided. What we had was a fair deal. We both know that and we both got what we needed… Look, even if I wanted to do this, what you’re asking is an impossibility. I can’t do it on my own. There are two people needed to make such an action happen. It isn’t just me. It’s not like before.’
‘Then you find a way for the other person to see it your way. I don’t think you want a war. I think you have enough of those already… But if it does come to that, it’ll be like nothing you’ve seen before. Hell will be unleashed.’
‘And you don’t think there’d be a war, a massive fall-out if I did what you were asking? You do know who he is and what he stands for?’
The contempt from the caller was palpable. ‘What you say he stands for.’
‘What I know he stands for. What you’re asking doesn’t make sense! It’s not in either of our best interests, because we’ll end up coming after you… It can only end one way. Jesus Christ, you gotta see that this will cause a resurgence and reignite everything we’ve fought against for the past few years… I can’t do it. The answer’s no.’
The caller’s tone was light but heavy with threat. ‘I pride myself on my English but it seems you’re not understanding me clearly. This is not a negotiation. We shall cast terror into the hearts of those who disbelieve. Their habitation is the fire and you will suffer in this life and go to hell in the next.’
‘Listen to me and listen carefully…’
The caller interrupted. ‘No, it’s you who’ll listen… Eventually you’ll realize you need to sacrifice a pawn to continue with the game you started.’
‘But it isn’t a pawn, is it? We’re not talking about a pawn.’
‘That depends on how you look at it. And in case you think that this is just an empty threat, we have another reminder for you. Hopefully this one will help to persuade you to come to the right decision.’
‘You bastard. You don’t have to do this.’
‘Look at it this way. At least you’ve got a warning this time… Next Wednesday, the government building. Eighteen forty-five hours. Chatham, Illinois… Do what you think’s right.’
5
Nf3 O-O
‘What the hell did you think you were doing in there?’
Earl Edwards slammed Cooper hard against the cool tiles of the court house restroom, reminding Cooper of the fact Earl had been the high school wrestling champion.
‘Earl, listen…’
He slammed again. Only this time harder. High school state champion three years running.
‘Don’t. I don’t want to hear any crap coming out of your mouth, Coop. But I do want to know why only one of us was trying back there? It’s always the same with you, Coop. Destroy everything you got going for you. If it’s jail you want to go to, carry on doing what you’re doing.’
A bald guy on the wrong side of two hundred pounds walked in. Looked at them. Walked right out.
‘What do you want me to do, Earl?’
