Gray Redemption (Tom Gray #3) by Alan McDermott Page A

loop
by her superiors.  She might also be looking to settle an old score with
Farrar, but whatever her motive, they were reading from the same page.
    “I’m going to need some help
over there,” he said.  “We don’t know if it’s just one man or a whole team
waiting for the Huang Zhen to arrive.  The only thing that we’re
certain of is that someone will be waiting to kill those passengers.”
    “Then you’ll need to establish
that as your priority.  You’ll be looking for someone who’s just entered
the country and is booked into accommodation until the seventh of May. 
Cross reference flights from Malaysia with hotel reservations and run any
matches through the system.”
    Ellis brought up a new screen
and searched for information on their people in South Africa.  She was
rewarded with the bio for Dennis Owen, whose cover was that of a senior advisor
in the UK Trade & Investment department. 
    “I’ll let him know you’re
coming,” She said.  “Draw up a list of anything you’re going to need and
choose your legend.  Farrar may be watching the airport departure lists
and I don’t want to have to explain what you’re doing over there.”
    Harvey nodded and went to his
station to book his flight.  He chose one the following evening to give
himself time to try to discover just who was waiting for Baines and Smart in
Durban.  He was too pumped up to sleep and knew an all-nighter was on the
cards, so he set the search running and grabbed his jacket before heading out
of the building.  He was back twenty minutes later with a large coffee,
two sandwiches and a selection of chocolate bars, once again thankful that
there was no-one waiting for him at home.
    The list of passengers was ready
and waiting for him and he immediately filtered out those who were in transit
as well as all South African nationals.  It was entirely possible that
whoever he was looking for could be a resident but he had to focus on the leads
he had.  If Farrar was using a contractor, it was highly likely that they
would be British.
    The filtered list contained just
over seventy promising matches and Harvey began the process of comparing them —
one by one — with names held on their system.
     
    *
* *
     
    Tom Gray stared at the ceiling
of the container and for the umpteenth time he wondered what he was going to do
to James Farrar once he got his hands on him.  Vick was having yet another
nap, while Baines was busy cheating at a game of patience and Smart was once
again engrossed in the new Kindle he’d purchased in Kuala Lumpur.
    “What are you reading
now?”  Sonny asked.
    “ The Bones Of The Earth by Scott Bury.  It’s a historical fantasy.”
    “Sounds good.”
    “I’d say it was closer to
exceptional,” Smart said, and returned to his book.
    Vick woke and stretched, doing
her best to stifle a yawn in case she breathed in too much of the fetid
air.  She got up to get the circulation moving in her legs before sitting
back down and rummaging in the bag for some food.
    “What time is it?”  She
asked.
    “Three in the morning,” Sonny
told her.  “That means about a hundred and thirty something hours until we
get to Durban, so go easy on the food.”
    Vick soon realised what he
meant.  They had brought along enough tins and drinks to last them well
beyond the two week journey, but boredom had seen her snacking constantly and there
was barely enough left for the next couple of days.  Despite this she
broke open a tin of peach slices and tucked in with a fork.
    Her actions hadn’t gone
unnoticed by one of her fellow passengers.  A young Chinese man stood and
walked over to her, gesturing at the food and pointing towards his own
chest.  Vick instinctively cradled the food close to her chest while
turning her back on him.  This did nothing to dissuade the man and he
began to raise his voice, gesturing towards the bag.
    “What’s he saying?” Grant asked
Sonny.
    “How the hell should I know?”
    “I