When one person from your past returns bent on revenge it usually spells trouble, when several come together to collaborate as a single unit, it is time to get very worried.
As part of a complex revenge plot, certain figures from the Commander's past has set him a series of challenges, the reward for completing them successfully is he gets to save Tracy's life.
Into this emerges another figure from the past but is he all he seems and can he be truly trusted?
Concluding the 'District Line quadrology, this episode in the series sees quite a few forgotten characters from the past re-emerge.
Also for the first time we get a glimpse into the Commander's past and the first hints of the circumstances surrounding the 1969 'Lewisham Diamond Heist' and its consequences which forms the core of the next novel 'Lewisham'.
Excerpt:
"We will be landing at London Heathrow in just under an hour" the pilot announced over the PA system of the British Airways Boeing 747 as it approached the south coast of England "The time in London is now 6.14 am on Sunday morning."
Sir Richard Crowthorne took a moment to look at his watch as he sat back in the First Class section of the plane where he had been unable to sleep for pretty much the entire flight from Australia where, in his capacity as Department head of the Security Intelligence Agency better know as MI5, he had been attending a rather dull conference.
"Thank God I upgraded to First Class" he commented to himself as he rose from his seat, the only one of his fellow passengers awake despite the golden sunrise beginning to shine in through the small porthole style side windows of the cabin.
"You open yet laddie?" Sir Richard asked the member of Cabin Crew behind the First Class bar as he approached it and sat on one of the fixed bar stools.
"Seeing as it's you Sir" the Cabin Crew member gleefully announced "I am sure I can do something for you. What will it be?"
"What's the best whisky you have?" Sir Richard enquired.
"Try this" the Cabin Crew member suggested as he poured a drink and passed it to him.
"Ah" Sir Richard responded with satisfaction as he took a sip of the drink "I knew there was a reason I upgraded to First Class."
Forty five minutes later and the aircraft was on final approach into Heathrow and as it landed, Sir Richard offered a silent word of thanks to whatever gods he believed in as the plane throttled back and proceeded to taxi off the runway and towards the terminal.
"Welcome to London Heathrow" the Captain announced as the plane came to a halt at the terminal gate "Thank you for flying with us and we hope to see you again soon."
"Not if my head of Finance has anything to say about it you won't" Sir Richard commented wryly as he rose from his seat, retrieved his jacket and briefcase from the overhead locker and headed for the exit.
As Sir Richard alighted from the aircraft and entered the Terminal building, he casually observed his fellow passengers who had also travelled on the flight as they gathered in the arrivals lounge.
His casual looking around suddenly turned into a double take however when someone caught his attention, a gentleman in a neatly pressed grey suit who had alighted from
Business Class and was in amongst the passengers over on the far side of the arrivals area.
"Can't be..." Sir Richard commented to himself as he strained to get a closer look at the man he had identified in the crowd, however he soon disappeared into the crowds as the passengers from three different flights merged into one.
To confirm his suspicion, Sir Richard stopped and looked around where his eyes alighted upon the CCTV cameras guarding the immediate area. Sensing an opportunity to confirm or deny his suspicions, Sir Richard took a detour and headed for the Customs & Immigration offices.
"Morning" Sir Richard announced as he reached the Customs Division inquiry desk where he proffered his identification to the Duty Officer "Can I have a word with your boss?"
-----
"Remind me love" Divisional Commander Tracy Caverner of the National Security Service asked her husband the Commander as he once again managed to burn the toast he was cooking for breakfast "Why exactly are we getting up at six on a Sunday morning to go into work in a City that normally on a day like this doesn't bother to get up until at least ten?"
"Blame the Prime Minister" the Commander responded regretfully as he tossed the two blackened slices of bread into the bin and looked on somewhat surprised that they actually managed to go in the bin rather than bounce off the edge and shatter onto the floor which is what he usually did.
"The new one or the old one?" Tracy asked as she joined her husband and put her arms around him.
"The new one" the Commander confirmed "He is trying to show he is the new broom with a, and I quote 'clutch' of initiatives, positive policies and a fully integrated positive regeneration of security methodology, whatever the hell that is."
"Huh?" Tracy responded.
"That was pretty much my reaction on Friday night when he decided to launch this cobblers on an unsuspecting Security and Policing Committee meeting" the Commander confirmed "I do believe he has gone a bit gaa gaa!"
The telephone rang in the hall which caused the Commander to abandon the second attempt at cooking toast and pass the bread over to Tracy "That's probably him now with some new daft idea" he commented wryly as he headed out to the hallway and answered the telephone.
"Good morning Prime Minister" the Commander announced.
"Blimey" Sir Richard remarked from the duty office of the Customs & Excise Division at Heathrow Airport "I've been promoted."
"Its a long story" the Commander admitted "I'll fill you in when you get back."
"It may have to wait old friend" Sir Richard responded with some hesitation "Something or should I say someone interesting has just appeared."
"You have me intrigued" the Commander remarked "Where are you?"
"Heathrow Airport" Sir Richard confirmed "We need to talk, not on the telephone though."
"Well" the Commander looked upwards as he recalled his schedule as the Security Service Regional Administrator General for London and the South East which was meant to fill his day "I have this little matter to deal with this morning, meet me at about eleven o'clock up at the Yard."
"It's a date" Sir Richard "If I can find my way out of this place that is" he admitted ruefully.
-----
A dull thump echoed around the lower passageways of Bank Underground Station in the heart of the City of London which caused the duty Station Supervisor to make his way from the ticket hall down the passageways towards the Waterloo & City Line platforms from where the dieing echoes of the noise were filtering.
"Here we go" he commented as he saw a cloud of white smoke coming towards him, up the stairwell from the platforms which prompted him to reach for his radio "Control, Code Zero One on the Waterloo & City Line, commence immediate evacuation."
Within moments the large 'Emergency, Do Not Enter' signs at each entrance to the Station complex were activated and an automated siren and announcement commenced throughout the complex advising passengers to evacuate immediately.
The Commander's intercom on his desk buzzed which caused him to reluctantly put down the file he was working through and reach across to press the answer button.
"This had better be good" the Commander responded begrudgingly.
"Code one alert at Bank Underground Station" the duty dispatch officer announced from the Control Room of the Security Service at New Scotland Yard.
"I am on my way" the Commander responded by which time he was already up out of his seat, grabbing his uniform tunic and heading for the door.