I finished late that afternoon, well after most had left the building, avoiding the Friday night rush to get home. Changing out of my suit, I slid into a pair of black combat trousers, black shirt and jacket. Shoulder holster held my SIG Sauer. I carried a second weapon in a small case. The second weapon was non-lethal. Checking the time, I had plenty to get across London to the address I needed.
Travelling via the Underground, I exited at Finsbury Park and found the street where the target lived. There was a long row of shops with apartments above them. The door I needed was easy to pick, heading upstairs, checking the place was empty, ensuring the power was off, before I took position, making sure I could cover the door leading into the living room. I knew the target lived alone and always returned without company after Friday prayers.
Hearing the door open downstairs, I had the non-lethal weapon in hand and waited for him to appear. He tried flicking on the light. “Fuck,” he muttered.
“Sit down, Faisal,” I said.
“What? Who’s that?”
“Sit down, Faisal. If you don’t sit down, I’ll make your life very unpleasant incredibly quickly.”
I’d been sitting in the dark long enough I could see him. He felt for the couch nearby and eventually sat down. I could see him peering at me in the darkness. “That you, Mo?”
“I’ll level with you, Faisal. My name isn’t Mo. But that’s isn’t important. What is important is that, in the next few minutes, you’re no longer going to be a threat and all your plans will lie in ruins within a couple of days.”
He laughed. “What are you talking about, Mo?”
“Faisal, you’re all idiots. You think using messenger services can’t be hacked? You think deleting content protects you? You think we haven’t been watching you and listening in? Trust me, I have all the evidence I need. You’re just the first, Faisal. Your entire cell will find itself eliminated over the next couple of days.”
“Wait, wait, wait, none of that shit was…”
“Faisal, I know you’ve been buying the supplies. I’ve seen your plans. As I said, you’re all idiots. You seriously think someone wouldn’t notice? We’ve been watching you for months. All I needed to do was come in, see and hear it for myself, and I’ve been given the green light.” I lifted the weapon and aimed at his chest. “The only good thing for you is that you’re just a kid. An idiot kid drawn into something beyond your understanding. Thank your lucky stars I’m not just putting a pair of bullets into you.”
Pulling the trigger, the tranquilizer dart entered his body. It was a concoction that would knock him out within seconds, then slow his heart down so much, anyone who checked his heartbeat would think he was dead. From the dart entering his body to him passing out took barely five seconds. It was potent shit.
Placing down the evidence we’d gathered over recent months, all I needed to do was call Jennifer. Cleaners would come to clear out the apartment, and Faisal would end up in the hands of the authorities. He was a nobody in the grand scheme of things, the only reason he wasn’t dead. But he was still guilty of being part of the plot and blow himself up. I called Jennifer.
“It’s done.”
“Cleaners are five minutes away. Authorities have been notified. Make yourself scarce.”
Grabbing his phone before stepping out of the apartment, I took one look around to assess my surroundings. No-one was watching, so I strolled towards Finsbury Park station. I wouldn’t hear from the cleaners. They’d scrub the apartment clean and, far as I was concerned, Faisal had never existed. He was a single man, no family. The sort of young man that the recruiters favoured. Worked in our favour that his disappearance would barely result in a small column on page fifteen of a national newspaper.
I could have killed him. Many would have suggested it would have been in cold blood had I done so. He was willing to commit mass murder, so would me killing him in return have made me better or worse? Even with all the training, that was one question I always asked myself. I knew the final piece in the puzzle, the one responsible for everything, he was always going to die. Putting a bullet in him would almost feel righteous. But foot soldiers like Faisal, idiots who knew better but were only guilty of planning, not doing? I didn’t feel any sympathy if they ended buried in some dank, dark cell for a few decades.
Returning home, I poured myself a glass of whiskey before doing anything else. The night had gone as planned. I was content, though was left wondering if putting a bullet in him wouldn’t have been the better course of action.
My phone buzzed, picking it up and answering, “Hello.”
“Want me to come around?”
“You’re at the front door, aren’t you?”
“Yes.”
I headed downstairs and let her in, feeling her soft lips on my cheek, before we headed upstairs. Sitting on the couch, I removed my shoulder holster and weapon, grabbing a second glass for her, sitting side by side on the couch. I flicked on my stereo for a little background music.
“So…”
“If I said I sit wondering if I shouldn’t have just shot him…”
“You would sound like a trained operative who has completed the first part of his assignment successfully. You figured out what they were up to and have made the first step towards stopping it.” She took my hand and squeezed it. “He was going to blow himself up and kill god knows how many people at the same time, Nate. You are putting a stop to that.”