Dead Centre

ion. He also knew that in a few minutes' time, there wou

. He watched the seconds tick down and took deep breaths to calm himself, it was not a particularly hot day, but he was pe

looking at the clothes along the way, and wondered, none of it would matter soon, and he wondered whether it ever should have. Shirts, trousers, suits, men's perfumery… he touched some

s, he had been told. In fact, he had been given a line not to cross, and lo and behold, there it was a metre before him.

looked around himself, a

ant's eye and she started to walk tow

speaking to him, but

hree, t

ro

om

but then neither she nor Tony e

ming started. People were screaming, crying and running for their lives, those who were still ab

he nice female sales assistant all over the ceiling and clothes and shoppers. The

e there to help themselves, not the wounded, and they carried ma

e had been killed and one hundred and fifty injured in the suici

ion, but the insurance world was abuzz about the jewellery heist f

tors. They had Tony on CCTV, but he was also dead. They saw that happen too, but then the camera stopped working. They pu

izzly work. It was a perk and nobody really minded if the wealthy Western insurance companies were defrauded anyway, and if there was a cla

the dead, the maimed and their

rtment store were the misery that it caused to mostly local people and the over

n negligible, because the walls around the jewellery department had recently been clad with slabs of marble and they had s

ough to wreck people and display cabinets of toughened glass, but not bring down wall

store's security staff handed their cameras' recordings to the poli

camera. Not all of the cameras were recording all of the time, but each one came 'on' for ten seconds before focus was switched to the next camera lens. The globes had been ins

his entry into the store. When they had found him entering the store, it was easy enough to track his movements. Every officer agreed that, in

because the large screen produced a pixellated image, although individual f

he almost twenty minutes he was in the department store at no

al ti

d over again, while scenes of crime forensic experts and othe

ght shift took over, but on overtime until the day shift could get back in five hours later. They wa

the chief officer of the night shift wrote a memorandum to include parts of the film in a training video f

n, they sat with a coffee and pla

e there? The perp just mopped his brow, and look! There is brown on his handkerchief! It was either very dusty yesterday, or… I think our man is wearing make-up, stage make-up. We, or I at least,

he be E

at part of the footage

, " said the commanding officer, Federal Poli

d, some re

om these parts at all. I did notice that he

s a clear close

ed a few virtual sliders in order to enhance the

ir

eens and print off a doz

he screens and the print

eavy eyebrows… and the moustache, and lighten his skin, especial

be European or of European descent, but it's only a long shot… a very long

pod of cameras and the flash from the explosion over-exposed images from o

e at forensics a

and anything could belong to anyone within twenty metres of the bomber. They said that it is hard to impo

em and let me know the minute anything happen

s,

hat in our shift log, but for the time being, it is only speculation, all right? It does not, and I repeat most strongly, it definit

dn't seen the need to wash his face that morning, in the circumstances… Do not allow your minds to close off any possibility. I am only saying that for the rest of this shift, we will run

eople up, yes, but they don't normally kill them

f he is Caucasian, then we are dealing with a new breed

at the scene of the crime at the t

f bone. Get them all off for DNA testing. Let's see whether

happy about that, sir. It'll

new here. A new terrorist organisation or a new splinter group, although I must say th

ans just don't do that sort of

claimed respo

at all from any of

d our sources a

ividual officers are asking their snouts too,

n the blast and would not resist even a kick, others were machine gunned. The eight combata

he stairwell at irregular intervals to deter people from co

e they were only on the second floor, it was not a problem to shoot out one of the large windows and

ey were heavily armed and there were rocket launchers waiting in each vehicle. They got away safely without incid

safely in their hide-out – their boss'

verything went a

se and without conflict of any k

ked totally ef

that monitor and then I watched your operation from the footage relayed by your helmet camera too. I saw the whole thing. More th

contradict his powerful b

terference, but not knowing for certain what it could have been, unless it was due

convey my pleasure to your squad and be assured that I have given orders for

ir, I shall t

Mustapha, get some res

ha saluted his boss

picked up his cell phone and

hope that they win

desire also. When

a few weeks, but it will be an away game… perhaps in

end me the details of when and how many

that you will pass on the

s to be the bearer of good ti

e and I hope the sa

you happy with

ly, according to plan. I am m

t. So, I can expect you to

ry from mine within thirty minutes. If it does not, please do not hesi

rvice be ava

of c

same n

ut more details from you and compl

satisfied with your services. Everything has been ar

e. I am glad that you have had

secretary immediately to ensure that the pay

any cock-ups wit

ed $1, 500, 000 one way a

er successful o

r, so it

Bob, those days are long gone and I have a

ry, but old habits die h

areg' is even worse

ll get used to it o

in the army any longer and haven't been for age

rateful that you looked me up and took me on. I was so worried

et that happen, after all we've

about what I would do when I retired from the forces, but here I am earning three times more with you than before, and I've sti

f scotch to another mission well done or would

sir, either

nto town. See who's about. We can

ring the car around. T

too much, you know how much it impresses the p

om Birmingham, Alabama, was trying to get through,

etition and customers always got back to them, because the

e compensation for the victims of the blast and the over

ion of capital into the micro-economies of several local communities both i

t of the sales assistants were related to poor families, and all th

nsurance premiums were flagged to rise the following yea