Cold Black by Alex Shaw

Author:Alex Shaw [Shaw, Alex]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781468910933
Google: wq6CT8d-lQUC
Amazon: B014LCWVWW
Goodreads: 22874790
Publisher: Booktango
Published: 2012-07-15T16:00:00+00:00

Minhal Holiday Inn, Riyadh

The phone rang in Snow’s room waking him from a restless sleep. It had been a choice between a loud air conditioner or the hot desert air. He eventually chose the air. He reached over and grabbed the room phone, his voice croaky.

“Hello?”

“Aidan, it’s Raymond Kennington here.” The mission leader always gave his full name on the telephone.

“Hello.” Snow looked at his watch it was six, he hadn’t overslept.

“Aidan, someone from the embassy is coming here at seven. There is to be an emergency security briefing.”

Snow sat bold upright. “What?”

“A man from the embassy is coming to brief us. You will also need to have your things packed and be ready to leave the hotel.”

“Right.”

“Seven, sharp. Sorry got to phone everyone.” He hung up.

Snow switched on the TV and flicked through the channels, skimming two Arabic programmes, not understanding a word before finding CNN. He watched for a minute or so before changing to BBC World. The usual stories about Iraq, but nothing new. The ‘man’ from the embassy Kennington mentioned would be the intelligence officer. As a former diplomat Kennington would know the protocol too. Snow reached for his mobile and speed dialled the UK. It would be thee a.m. there. No. He disconnected before Patchem’s line rang and instead dialled the night desk at GCHQ. He was asked for his officer identity code before being put through to the duty officer.

“Has anything been reported overnight in either Saudi Arabia or the Iraqi border that would affect Riyadh?” He leaned against the window frame and peered through the wooden fretwork, at the dusty car park opposite the hotel.

“Let me check for any flash traffic.” A voice replied.

There was a pause as the night officer speed read the incoming traffic for the shift he was halfway through, traffic taken mostly from the US managed Echelon network. The officer knew better than to ask why the information was needed or where the agent was calling from.

“A suspected car bomb in Southern Iraq…not near the border…wait... Yes…British National found dead on the outskirts of Riyadh. Franklin Glaister. a construction contractor for the Al Kabir Group.”

An alarm sounded in Snow’s head. The same company that Fox ‘worked for’, owned by Prince Fouad - the man that Fox had been assigned to watch, the same Prince who’s life had been threatened. “I need you to connect me to a number.”

“Go ahead.”

Snow relayed Fox’s cell number from memory. The call would be routed through the UK so it was untraceable and thus in no way incriminate Fox. Snow waited and dared not breath as the line first connected then an automated voice told him that the mobile phone he was ‘trying to reach’ was switched off.

Snow blinked, ended the call, walked into the bathroom and stepped under the shower. He ran through the situation in his head. The dead man worked for Prince Fouad, so did Fox. Fox’s phone was switched off. Protocol was for it to always be left on and by his side.

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