Local time – 9:20pm, Sunday 17th June, 2011.
Rawalpindi, Pakistan.
By the time Alex’s frazzled nerves calmed even slightly, Henry had managed to drive the nuclear missile transporter, followed by a convoy of Pakistani army trucks, nearly ten kilometres from the army museum. They were snaking around the dark windy streets of the industrial part of Rawalpindi, which was mostly uninhabited late on a Sunday night. A screen of dark green bushes made the road seem even more secluded. Henry drove as fast as the cumbersome vehicle would allow, and Alex couldn’t help noticing he was heading very purposefully in a westerly direction.
‘We need to call someone now. We need to tell them we’ve got it.’
Alex waited for Henry to agree. He kept his eyes on the road, and didn’t make any sign that he had heard her. She reached into her satchel and pulled out her iPhone. When she pressed the button on the top to turn it on, the black screen remained black. She pressed it again and then swore.
‘My phone’s died. Can I have yours?’ She held her open hand towards Henry, but he still ignored her, his eyes even more intently staring at the road ahead of them.
‘Henry, can I please have your phone?’ This time her tone told him to ignore her at his peril. He finally responded.
‘Who are you going to call?’
‘Gerome, my boss. When he understands what’s going on, he’ll know who to contact. He’ll find someone we can trust.’ Henry started shaking his head.
‘I don’t think we should call anyone yet.’
‘Why? What’s the point of putting it off?’ Alex felt her stomach squeeze. She couldn’t ignore the feeling that Henry was acting strangely. He seemed desperate not to look at her, even though they sat so close together that she lent her whole body against him. It occurred to her that the intimacy of their position masked the gulf between their plans.
‘Henry, what’s wrong? Why shouldn’t I call Gerome?’ Again Alex felt a wave of apprehension as Henry’s face flushed. The silence between them, while she waited for an answer, made her absolutely sure that he was readying himself to tell her something that was going to make her mad.
‘While you were out of the truck, I turned Phil’s phone on and he had a message. I knew he was getting instructions on it, so I thought I’d check if there was anything new. And there was.’
‘Instructions? What the fuck are you talking about? Who from?’ Alex wriggled over, pushing against the door so she didn’t have to touch any part of Henry. She felt like he was going to contaminate her. She suddenly remembered something Henry had said when he introduced the team. He had said there were five of them. I thought he meant Bernie, but maybe he didn’t?
‘Phil was supposed to be running the operation. But he took his orders from someone else. There’s another member of the team here in Pakistan, and someone else back in the States. I don’t know who he is, but I know he’s putting up the money. And he’s looking after us.’
‘What money? Are you being paid?’
‘Of course I am. The $10,000 you left at the hotel, where do you think that came from? I’m not doing this for free, any more than you are!’ Henry’s sudden anger caught Alex by surprise.
‘What do you mean? Of course I’m doing it for free. I thought we were doing this to stop the Bilderbergers starting world war three!’
‘Don’t be so naive Alex. You chose to do this for your career. Your big scoop.’
‘That’s bullshit! This little adventure you’ve taken me on, it’s likely ruined my career! I’ve almost been killed! I was almost tortured! I’m scared out of my wits! But I’ve been carrying on because I thought we were doing this to save people’s lives. Why the fuck didn’t you tell me you’d been hired?’
‘It’s not important. I’m still doing the right thing. So what if I’m being paid.’
‘Of course it matters! Because now I realise you’re more worried about your pay cheque than you are about the consequences of having this weapon. You’re taking instructions from someone and you don’t even know who they are.’ The indignation Alex felt made her want to retch.
‘I do know who our back up is, and how he’s going to get us out of here. Did you think I’d get into this without an exist strategy? Things went wrong, I grant you, but I know what we’re doing.’
‘Things went wrong. Is that what you call Phil and Josh getting shot? You don’t give a shit, do you.’
Henry didn’t answer. He had sped up since they started their argument, and she felt completely trapped next to him. She looked past him to Ahmed, and realised he was watching them argue. He looked shocked. She picked up the radio to speak to him. But just as she got it to her mouth and pressed on the button, Henry slapped her wrist hard enough to make her drop it.
‘Ouch.’ She cried in paid. ‘What the fuck is wrong with you? I want to speak to Ahmed!’
‘You’re not speaking to that little terrorist. Just shut up.’
Alex felt ready to snap. Just as she opened her mouth to start a rant directly into Henry’s ear, she heard a phone bleep. Henry hurriedly pulled a mobile out of his pocket, and Alex recognised it as Phil’s. Henry seemed completely preoccupied in opening the text message. As he glanced between the road and the small lit up display, Alex got a quick look at the screen. At first she thought she was looking at a phone number. But then she realised that the two sets of numbers were coordinates. Whoever it was, this fifth member of the team that Henry was communicating with, had just sent through the location where they should be taking the weapon. And that’s exactly where Henry was headed.