State Of Emergency: (Tom Buckingham Thriller 3) by Andy McNab Read Free Book Online

what?’
    ‘Randall.’
    ‘Just indignant that it was one of his own men. But he wasn’t as freaked out as I’d expected. It was as if in his mind he’d already left Invicta behind.’
    Phoebe frowned. ‘It was the weirdest thing, but when the vote came through, he actually looked frightened.’
    ‘What happened after you left the hotel?’
    They heard someone coming up the stairs. He put a finger against her lips until the footsteps had passed.
    ‘We went to his flat.’ She swallowed hard. ‘He said he needed to be away from all those people. I think it had only just hit him, what it’s going to mean – after all those years of playing the outsider.’
    ‘What did you talk about?’
    She shrugged. ‘We hardly said anything. He kept checking his phone as if he was waiting for a message. Then he was on a call for quite a while in the next room.’
    ‘Who to?’
    She gave him a blank look.
    ‘You don’t know?’
    ‘People in the Party, piling in to congratulate him.’
    All her answers were vague. If fatigue had got the better of her, it would start to be a problem.
    ‘And after that?’
    ‘Why the interrogation? Just back off a bit, will you?’ She looked away, her face reddening. She fumbled in her bag, pulled out a packet of cigarettes and lit one, even though it was strictly verboten – a small gesture of defiance.
    ‘There are some things you don’t have to do for your country, you know.’
    She gave him a withering look, but he knew he had touched a nerve. She briefly gathered herself. ‘You forget I’ve been trained for this.’
    It was true: she was a professional spook – unlike him. But it was one thing to be a mole inside Invicta, and another altogether to have to stand beside Rolt in the full media glare as he transformed himself into a politician, who thought he needed a woman at his side. Was she being groomed for a bigger role in his personal life?
    Her expression softened. ‘I’m sorry, I know I haven’t had to kill anyone or – anything, but it’s been very difficult.’
    He gave her a brotherly hug, and felt the fragility of her body against his as she lingered for a moment. ‘Well, with a bit of luck you’ll be out of it any day now.’
    ‘Woolf hasn’t said anything to me.’ Her tone changed again. ‘Anyway, never mind me. You must be feeling terrible, after what you went through.’
    ‘Well, it’s what I ’m trained for, remember?’
    She smiled, despite herself. But he hadn’t finished. ‘So, you stayed?’
    She nodded. ‘When I woke up he was gone. It must have been about seven.’
    Tom folded his arms and perched on the edge of the desk. ‘He was here when I arrived, about half past. And he’d already had a meeting.’
    ‘That’s early. Who with?’
    He described the encounter in detail, including the cigarette burn, the farewell hug and the absurdly opulent gift with its mysterious note.
    Phoebe blinked.
    ‘Mean anything to you?’
    She shook her head.
    ‘Well, go through all the databases. See if an Oleg comes up. Go right back into his past.’
    ‘Maybe that’s all he was, some past business associate.’ She sat down and pulled off her boots. The melted snow had formed two small puddles around them. ‘You know how Russian oligarchs love to cosy up to the establishment, get passports for their families, their kids into Eton and so on. And now he’s one of the in-crowd …’
    ‘This one’s probably not Russian – the gift suggests he’s a Tartar from the Crimea.’
    ‘Whatever.’ She ground the remains of her cigarette into the side of a waste bin. When Tom had first encountered her she was the most dogged operator, with a ready answer for every question, desperate to make her mark. What a difference a few months had made.
    ‘How come he’s not shown up on our radar before? Woolf will want to be all over this when we tell him.’
    Her face was now a mixture of exhaustion and dread. He would recommend to Woolf that he pull her out ASAP,