‘Of course he’s stressed. He’s stressed because he knows we’re following him and the cops have a habit of shooting innocent people.’ He smiled at the commander. ‘No offence,’ he said.
‘We’re not going to get another chance like this,’ said the commander. ‘Once they’re inside we can’t use the snipers so that means we’ll have to go in, and then it’s going to get very messy.’
Shepherd ignored the policeman and stared intently at Button. ‘Charlie, this is a rehearsal.’
‘Are you sure, Spider? Are you absolutely sure?’
Shepherd pointed at the screen. ‘Raj and I have a prearranged signal. If there’s a problem he’ll pull down his hood. Or he’ll bite his nails. If there was a problem that’s what he’d do. He’s not doing either. Harvey’s hood is up too.’
As they watched, Chaudhry turned and walked through the doors leading into the station.
‘What if he’s forgotten? What if in the heat of the moment he hasn’t remembered?’
‘He was looking at the camera,’ said Shepherd. ‘He was giving us a clear view of his face so that we can see it’s him.’
‘There’s a lot riding on this, Spider,’ said Button. ‘You have to be sure.’
Shepherd swallowed, his mind whirling. He wasn’t sure. There was no way that he could be. But if he admitted that to Button she’d give the order and the CO19 marksmen would start shooting.
‘We have a window of about two seconds,’ said the commander.
‘Spider?’ asked Button.
‘It’s okay,’ he said.
Button nodded and looked at the commander. ‘Stand your men down,’ she said. ‘We won’t be shooting anyone today.’
The commander scowled at Button as if he thought she’d made the wrong decision, but he relayed the order to his team.
Button looked back at Shepherd and he could see the apprehension in her eyes. He knew exactly what she was thinking. If he was wrong both their lives were about to change for ever. And a lot of people were going to die.
Chaudhry and Malik walked together towards the Eurostar departure area. A train had just arrived and passengers were pouring out of the arrivals hall.
‘What’s going to happen?’ asked Malik.
‘I don’t know,’ said Chaudhry.
‘Are we going to France? Are we doing something on the Eurostar?’
‘We can’t, we don’t have our passports.’
‘So why are we here?’
‘I don’t know, Harvey. Now just shut up, will you?’ Malik flinched as if he’d been struck and Chaudhry felt suddenly guilty. ‘I’m sorry,’ whispered Chaudhry. ‘I don’t know what’s going on. But it’s not about bombs, I’m sure about that.’
‘So what, then?’
‘Wait and we’ll find out.’
A fearful look flashed across Malik’s face. ‘Raj, what if it’s radioactive? What if there’s plutonium or something in the packs? It could be killing us now without us knowing.’
‘No one is going to kill us, Harvey. Remember what The Sheik said to us? We are Islamic warriors. Mujahideen. We are to fight and fight again, remember? We were never meant to be shahid. Only the stupid and ignorant kill themselves. That’s not us.’
‘So why won’t they tell us what’s happening? Have a look at the phone, will you? Check it’s working.’
Chaudhry took the phone Harith had given him out of his pocket. He showed the screen to Malik. ‘See? When they call, it’ll ring.’
‘Yeah? And maybe the phone is the trigger. Maybe when it rings the packs will explode or spew anthrax into the air.’
‘Harvey, will you look at the bloody phone? It’s a phone, full stop. It’s not connected to anything. It’s not a detonator. Okay?’
Malik shuddered. ‘I can’t take this much longer, brother. It’s doing my head in, innit?’
Chaudhry wasn’t listening to his friend. He was scanning the area, his eyes narrowed. ‘It’s a rehearsal,’ he said quietly.
‘What?’
‘A dry run.’ He gestured with his chin. ‘Take a look around, Harvey.’
Malik looked to his left. He saw two young Asians standing by a coffee shop. They both had backpacks similar to the ones that he and Chaudhry were carrying. Then he looked over at the entrance to the tube station just as two more Asians walked out. He saw they also had backpacks. Timberland backpacks. ‘Are they with us?’ asked Malik. ‘I don’t recognise them.’
‘You don’t recognise them because they’re not from our mosque,’ said Chaudhry. ‘Khalid has been recruiting from all over London. Maybe the country.’
The two Asians who had come out of the tube station were deep in conversation. One of them was holding a mobile phone.
‘I don’t understand, brother. What are you saying?’
‘Nothing’s going to happen today. If it was going to happen it would have happened already.’
‘You mean it’s a test, right?’
‘I think so,’ said Chaudhry. ‘They wanted to check that we’d do as we’re told.’
As two more Asians walked from the direction of the Pancras Road taxi rank, Chaudhry’s mobile rang and he jumped. The caller had withheld his number. Chaudhry took the call.
‘Well done, brother,’ said Khalid. ‘You can make your own way home now. Someone will call to collect the backpacks and the phone. Allahu akbar.’ Khalid ended the call.
Chaudhry took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. ‘We go home,’ he said to Malik.
‘It’s over?’
‘If anything it’s just beginning,’ said Chaudhry
‘They’re walking towards the exit,’ said Button. ‘Did you see that? He took a call on his mobile and now they’re heading towards the Midland Road taxi rank.’
‘Some of them are walking towards the tube,’ said the commander. ‘Maybe it’s the tube they’re after.’