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The bleeping drew James back to the console he was using. The target was moving. He reached over to the keyboard and stabbed at a few buttons.
"Target is moving," he reported into the mouthpiece of the headset, "leaving via service levels, tag is giving full signal."
The sound of an engine starting filled the vehicle and it pulled away from the kerb. The four other occupants of the rear compartment seemed to shift uncomfortably as they adjusted their armoured jackets and did a final check on their weapons. This was going to be a careful mission. No mistakes.
James keyed in a few more commands to the terminal. He didn't need to but he pulled up the locations of the other units. They were exactly where he expected them to be.
The van took a violent swerve to the left and James brought up their current map position. As he checked and double-checked the map locations he frowned, his brow tightening and jaw setting hard.
"What the hell is going on?" he barked into the microphone.
The reply didn't seem to please him in any way.
"What do you mean they've gone off the route? This is not what we decided. Get me a visual on the vehicle. NOW, damn it!"
On the screen in front of him a window popped up; filling the centre of it was not Dietrich's limousine. The unmarked van that was there seemed well below the standards of someone of Dietrich's solvency and social level. Well, if the target had found out and was trying to fool them in some way this wasn't going to work.
"All units, all units. Plan has changed." James was actually feeling a little alive at this.
"Units delta three and four proceed to King Street and follow target vehicle. Bring in the aerial units to watch but keep at least three blocks away. Beta unit, here is the plan..."
* * *
The unmarked van sped through the streets, not a bad feat considering the usual traffic in this area. The driver had gone several more blocks before noticing the two unmarked vehicles. It was obvious they were being followed. There was a junction up ahead, obviously where the trap would be sprung.
The driver, reacting a great deal quicker than you would have given them credit for, pulled the van into a turn and dragged it down a narrow alleyway two buildings before the crossing. There was a scrape of metal on stone as the van travelled down one of the walls.
It then dawned on them that perhaps that was the wrong thing to do. Anchoring on the brakes they managed to stop before the open truck back. The van behind them didn't seem to want to stop, however. There was a crash as it rammed into the back of them, pushing them up the slope into the truck. The driver dropped the van into reverse to push back but the van behind them seemed to have way too much power for a vehicle of its size.
The unmarked van was pushed right into the back of the larger vehicle, the engine stalling as it cleared the ramp. The back closed upon the two machines inside and the truck pulled away.
* * *
James looked to the vehicle they had just apprehended. Sure they had damaged some of the equipment but the boss had said this was a priority pick-up. The target was 'required' for the next stage of the move.
Turning to the men at the rear he gave a nod and they climbed out the back door. Squeezing down the sides they made their way to the other vehicle.
James made his way to the front of his command vehicle to watch the opening of the target's van. He was greatly disappointed; no one in the back of that van was their target. Why had they tracked these people?
Someone was going to hang for this.
Paul Taylor, 06/02/01
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