Black List by Will Jordan Page A

his voice as crisp and precise as his tailor-made suit.
    ‘Yes, sir.’ Yorke cleared his throat, trying to hide his embarrassment. ‘Approximately ten minutes ago we picked up an alert that a disavowed Agency ID had just gone active. We’ve traced the source to an internet cafe in central London.’
    ‘And what are we doing about it?’
    ‘British security service is vectoring in ground units, plus local police are sealing off the area.’
    ‘Police?’ Cain fixed him with a sharp look. ‘You mean, beat cops who talk to each other on unencrypted radios? Who just about anyone with a fifty dollar police scanner could overhear?’
    Yorke could practically feel himself wilting under the man’s intense gaze. Only now did he see the folly of his actions. ‘I’m… Sir, I…’
    ‘You’re relieved of duty,’ Cain said, dismissing him with a single, disdainful look. This done, he raised his voice, addressing the room. ‘Everyone listen up. As of now, I’m in charge of this operation. Now, is there anyone in this room who knows what they’re doing?’
    Reluctantly Santiago raised his hand. ‘Me, sir. I think I’ve got something.’
    Cain was by his side within moments, leaving a stunned Yorke to contemplate what might well have been the end of his career. ‘Talk to me, son.’
    ‘Just hacked into the cafe’s payment system, sir. According to this, the last guy to log in paid for his session by credit card, right before the alert was triggered. Wasn’t hard to trace him once we had his card details.’ Opening a new window, Santiago brought up a copy of the man’s driving license. ‘Name’s Alex Yates. Used to be a freelance system tester, then he was convicted of computer hacking a few years back. He’s been quiet ever since, according to Scotland Yard.’ He coughed, suddenly very conscious that one of the most powerful men in the Agency was leaning over his workstation. ‘Of course, there’s no guarantee this is our guy. Could just be a coincidence.’
    Cain glanced at him, his eyes daunting in their intensity. ‘If I believed in coincidences, I wouldn’t be in this job. Until we know otherwise, we consider young Mr Yates there a high value target. Circulate his details to all workstations and have them get to work. I want to know everything there is to know about him. Politics, education, employment, travel history, the works.’
    ‘On it, sir,’ Santiago replied.
    Cain nodded, apparently satisfied with his performance for now. ‘Find his cell phone number and put a trace on it. And see if you can tie in with any security cameras in the area. London’s the most heavily monitored city in Europe, so let’s use it. I want this locked down.’
    ‘Yes, sir.’ Santiago resisted the urge to reach up and wipe the sweat from his brow. His head was already spinning at the stream of orders he’d just been issued.
    Cain was about to turn away, then thought better of it. ‘Oh, one more thing. Make sure the Brits send in armed response units. Believe me, they’ll need them.’
    Santiago said nothing to this, though his gaze lingered on the deputy director a moment longer before he turned around to resume his work.
*
    No sooner had his rotund friend departed, leaving Alex alone, than the phone in his hand suddenly started vibrating. Someone was calling, and they were in no mood for waiting around.
    Pausing a moment to question the wisdom of taking a call from a phone handed to him in such a clandestine fashion, Alex hit the receive call button.
    ‘Who is—?’
    ‘Don’t talk, just listen.’ The voice that spoke was female, strong and commanding, with a hint of an accent that he couldn’t identify. But such questions no longer mattered. All of those details paled into insignificance after what came next.
    ‘You’ve been compromised,’ she went on. ‘Armed response teams are on their way to arrest you. If you want to live to see tomorrow morning, get out of that cafe right now.’

Chapter