Going Rogue, page 31
part #2 of Tom Novak Series
With a sinking feeling Tom located the man’s smartphone from his pocket. Seeing it was locked he quickly took the man’s thumb and pressed it to the reader on the front of the device. It unlocked, showing a background photo of him with a couple of young kids, smiling broadly. Tom brought up the contact list and swiping to B was unsurprised to see: ‘Brogan, Mike’.
Tom sighed, stood upright, and walked out of the bathroom dialling the number.
‘Leo, tell me you haven’t lost him,’ Mike Brogan’s voice rang out.
‘Hey, Mike. How’s it going?’
‘Tom?’ Mike said, incredulous. ‘Please tell me you haven’t done anything to Leo?’
‘He’s just having a nap, Mike. Why the subterfuge? You could just have called me, you know,’ Tom said.
‘We needed to be sure you hadn’t been followed back from Europe. We need to speak, urgently. Go and wake Leo up and get through security. There’s a private jet waiting. I just need to talk to you for a few minutes.’
*
Ten minutes later, with a brooding and taciturn Leo in tow, Tom sat in a comfortable leather seat opposite Mike Brogan. They had rapidly progressed through security and out to the private Lear jet sat on the tarmac outside the terminal.
‘Took me by surprise, man. I never knew you had made me,’ Leo had drawled in a deep south accent.
Mike was amused by the fact that Tom had taken Leo out so easily. ‘I did warn you, Leo, this dude is hard to follow,’ he had chuckled.
‘So why am I here, Mike?’ Tom asked after the greetings and formalities had been dealt with.
‘Something has come up. That USB drive and computer you liberated from Zelenko has joined a few intelligence dots we have been wrestling over for some time. It has uncovered a situation that requires an urgent intervention, the full details of which I can’t go into right now. Suffice to say that we need your help. We need someone with your skills, but more importantly your heritage.’
Tom sighed. ‘Mike, much as I want to help you, and I know how much I owe you, but you know I have a day job that I just can’t run away from, right?’
Mike didn’t answer, but instead handed him a tablet computer with an email open on the screen. Tom took the tablet, already suspecting what the email contained. He took it in, noting the familiar crest and email address. As soon as he read the brief missive, he realised that the serious expression on Mike’s face was genuine.
From: Delaney, Jennifer. Commissioner
To: Bell, Peter, Director Federal Bureau of Investigation
Dear Peter,
I hope this email finds you well.
Following our earlier conference call, I can confirm the following, all of which is conditional on the full agreement and acceptance of terms by DS Novak.
It is duly authorised that Detective Sergeant Tom Novak is to be seconded for an initial period of three months to the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Washington, DC on an exchange programme to further co-operation and joint working practices in the field of covert law enforcement.
Duly signed, Jennifer Delaney, Commissioner of Police for the Metropolis.
New Scotland Yard, Victoria Embankment, London, SW1A 2JL.
The brevity of the email spoke volumes, and clearly a great deal of bureaucracy sat behind the simple words. This was unheard of. Tom closed his eyes, aware that he was—once again and without even a short break—about to enter the lion’s den. It took him no more than a second to make his decision.
‘So what do you need from me?’
‘I take it that’s a yes?’ Mike asked with a smile.
‘I owe you everything, Mike.’ Tom’s face was serious. ‘What do you need?’
‘We need you to go back to Sarajevo.’
To Be Continued
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Acknowledgements
As always, writing a book is down to the author. It can be a slog, it can be torturous and leave you with self-doubt and lots of head scratching, but you get there in the end. It really is the most exciting way to spend your time. We all need help along the way however, so I have some people who I want to thank.
To my wife, Clare for your continued love, encouragement and pride and occasionally pulling me back from a plot black hole.
To my kids, Alec, Richard and Ollie for being proud of and encouraging their old dad to keep writing.
I am part of a big, raucous family all of whom have been my biggest, most vociferous fans and who have bullied and cajoled their friends and colleagues into buying Going Dark and will, no doubt, be doing the same for this book. My eternal gratitude goes to my sisters, Judith and Helen and all my nieces and nephews, all of whom are Tom Novak’s biggest champions. The same thanks go to my terrific in-laws, the Illingworth clan who are all now loud and proud Novak fans.
To Pete and Si at Burning Chair for your continued support and sage advice, we have a lot of laughs, which I’m not sure is the relationship that all authors have with their publishers.
Thanks to Paula Beaton at Word Nerd Copy for her proofreading attention to detail; and also to my amazing beta readers, who as always were vital in polishing the book into the finished draft which you hold in your hands. So a big thanks to Jacqueline Beard, Alison Belding, Ian Bridge, Robert Browning, Karen Campbell, Susan Merrell, Joyce and David Oxley, Nicola Parry, Andreas Rausch, Johanet Sloan, and Kirsti Wenn.
A big shout out to all the cops throughout the country who are slogging themselves out there day and night with the sole intention of keeping us all safe. Be nice to them folks, they do it for you.
And, of course, to you, the reader, for shelling out your hard-earned cash to read my stories. The fact that there are loads of you out there not only reading my books, but telling your friends and family about them makes an old copper very happy.
Neil
About the Author
Neil Lancaster served over thirty years in law enforcement in the both military and Metropolitan Police, working in a number of detective roles investigating serious and organised crime. During his career he chased murderers, human traffickers, fraudsters and drug dealers.
Neil now lives in the Scottish Highlands where he spends his time writing crime fiction, influenced by his experiences.
You can follow him at www.neillancastercrime.co.uk
Or on Twitter - @NeilLancaster66
About Burning Chair
Burning Chair is an independent publishing company based in the UK, but covering readers and authors around the globe. We are passionate about both writing and reading books and, at our core, we just want to get great books out to the world.
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Other Books by Burning Chair Publishing
Going Dark (Tom Novak Book 1), by Neil Lancaster
Haven Wakes, by Fi Phillips
Beyond, by Georgia Springate
Burning: An Anthology of Thriller Shorts, edited by Simon Finnie and Peter Oxley
The Infernal Aether Series, by Peter Oxley
The Infernal Aether
A Christmas Aether
The Demon Inside
Beyond the Aether
The Old Lady of the Skies: 1: Plague
The Wedding Speech Manual: The Complete Guide to Preparing, Writing and Performing Your Wedding Speech, by Peter Oxley
www.burningchairpublishing.com
Neil Lancaster, Going Rogue
