Capital Falling | Book 4 | Sever Winkless, Lance (most popular ebook readers TXT) 📖

to retrieve the safe from Orion Securities,” Winters begins, not being entirely truthful. “With regards to the mission, I found him very capable, even though his hand was forced by Colonel Reed to carry out the mission. As you know, Sir. My guess is that he will take part in the tests and want to get back to his family as soon as possible, Sir.”

“Didn’t you spend some time with him after the mission was over and he returned to Heathrow Airport?” Rees presses.

“Yes, Sir. After we escaped Heathrow just before the blast hit, me and the Special Forces men found ourselves in a cottage with him in Devon to regroup. I spent a couple of nights at the cottage with the SF guys before we left to report back for duty. All of us were in a bit of shock after the events in London and needed some R and R. Captain Richards spent most of the first night and the next day recovering and then we left the next morning.”

“Didn’t you have dealings with Richards through Colonel Reed beforehand?”

“No, Sir. Colonel Reed’s arrangement with him and Orion Securities was unknown to me, Sir. The two men dealt with each other directly, without my knowledge,” Winters tells Rees. This statement is all but true; Winters knew of Orion Securities. He had heard Colonel Reed mention Andy Richards and had heard him talking to him on the phone on occasion, but what those discussions were about, Winters didn’t know at the time.

“I see… Did you talk to him much at the cottage?” Major Rees continues, like a dog with a bone.

“Only small talk, Sir, nothing of significance,” Winters lies. The two men had had some quite in-depth conversations after the barbeque and over a few beers on the second night. Richards had told Winters of his thoughts to try and ensure the safety of his family. One of those thoughts was to leave the country, possibly to try to get to America. Those discussions were between the two men, however, and not for sharing.

“Do you think Captain Richards will be a willing subject?”

“To a point, Sir. It depends on what you plan to subject him to,” Winters tells Rees, wondering what the Major actually has planned for Richards.

“Good, I’m sure Captain Richards will have no objections to the tests we will be carrying out.”

Winters is suddenly very dubious about what is planned at the hospital and wonders how far the military doctor’s remit goes concerning Richards. Winters has a nose for smelling deceit and there is a definite aroma rising in the helicopters hold.

Thankfully, Major Rees’s interrogation ends there, and Winters sits back in his seat to ponder their conversation. His eyes begin to wander around the hold with a newfound suspicion. Three of the other seats in the six-berth hold are occupied by what Winters had assumed were Major Rees’s medical team, but now he looks at the men differently. Winters decides that at least two of the men could be from a team of a different nature entirely, possibly a Special Forces team even. He also begins to eye the single empty seat in the hold, which suddenly seems to have Andy Richards’ name written all over it.

Winters peers out of the hold window as he questions the whole trip and why he is on this helicopter. Is he just here as a familiar face to put the military’s target, Captain Richards at ease so that they can seize him, or are they are just going to carry out some routine tests? Winters tries to tell himself he is overthinking it and is turning it into a conspiracy, but unfortunately, he knows the military far too well to fully convince himself of that.

The helicopter closes in on a tall slender chimney standing next to a large building that is itself surrounded by other buildings. Winters guesses that the chimney is the outlet for Derriford Hospital’s incinerator and pinpoints their destination. He is correct, and the pilot takes them down towards the chimney and Winters soon makes out the exact destination of the helicopter, a helipad, mounted a short distance away from the main building.

Touching down with ease, the pilot kills the engines, and his co-pilot quickly jumps out of the front of the helicopter to open the door for the Major. Winters waits until all the other passengers have retrieved their luggage and exited the cabin before he moves from his seat. Following the other men off the helipad, Winters idly wonders where the actual air ambulance will land if it comes in with a medical emergency.

Winters’ idle thoughts are quickly overridden by his brain trying to work out how he is going to play this out. He understood he was on the mission with Major Rees to assist the Major while he carries out his tests on Andy, tests Andy has agreed to. He wouldn’t be helping him medically; as far as he is concerned; he is here to iron out any nonmedical issues they run into, that is his speciality after all. But what if the Major’s remit does go further than standard and innocent tests, what does he do then? What if Major Rees decides he needs to perform more sinister and invasive tests on an uncooperative patient, or worse, decides that the patient needs to be relocated for the tests to be carried out? After all, Winters knows full well that Andy would not agree to be relocated, certainly not without his family. Andy may agree to extra tests, even invasive ones, but leaving his family, no, that would turn nasty.

Winters follows the ‘medical’ team in through a side entrance and into the hospital, where they are met by a middle-aged woman, presumably a doctor due to the fact she is wearing a white medical coat. The smell that can only be replicated by other hospitals wafts into Winters's nostrils at which point he makes a decision. He will do all that he can