Urban Assassin by Jim Eldridge Page B

team.’
    ‘Good,’ said Nelson. ‘Let’s see who they’ve got.’
    Delta Unit sat in the briefing room. As before, Gerald was at the laptop with the PowerPoint display. This time there were two silent men, both with bulges in their jackets under their armpits, guarding the door.
    ‘We did intensive background checks on every official member of every party who will be attending the treaty conference,’ announced Gerald. ‘Six of the bodyguards have been flagged as “possibles”.’
    ‘What made their names pop up?’ asked Mitch.
    Gerald shook his head. ‘I’m afraid that’s classified information,’ he said. ‘We’ve had to work veryclosely with foreign security on these enquiries. One thing I can tell you for sure: all of them have been associated in some way with Deacon.
    ‘A file has been prepared for each of you containing the photographs you are about to see on screen,’ he told them. ‘As none of these men have had anything proven against them, it is critical that you ensure these names and pictures are not leaked. We cannot afford an international incident.’
    ‘No problem.’ Nelson nodded. ‘We’re used to keeping secrets, just the same as you are.’
    Gerald nodded, then pressed a key on his laptop and a picture of a short-haired, clean-shaven man in a white shirt with dark tie appeared on the screen. He looked like a respectable banker.
    ‘Walter Kornick,’ announced Gerald. ‘Former US marine, now working for US Government Security. He’s here as part of the team protecting the American representative at the conference.’
    Kornick’s face vanished and was replaced by that of a black man, dressed in the same style as Kornick.‘Edgar Weathers. Like Kornick, he’s a former US marine working for US Government Security. He’s also here to protect the American representative.’
    ‘Let me guess, Weathers and Kornick were in the same branch of the marines together?’ asked Tug.
    Gerald nodded.
    ‘Brothers in arms,’ murmured Benny.
    The picture of Weathers disappeared and an image of a dark-haired man in a military uniform came up on the screen. ‘Carlos Dominguez, security with the Argentine delegation,’ Gerald told them.
    Next up was an unsmiling tough-looking blond man. ‘Horst Weissman,’ said Gerald. ‘Part of the German Ambassador’s security team.’
    The picture of Weissman now disappeared and in its place they saw a Chinese man wearing the uniform of the Chinese army. ‘Pin Chao Lat,’ Gerald told them. ‘Very well regarded by the Chinese. Excellent military record. Here as one of the bodyguards to the Chinese delegation.’ He turned back to the screen. ‘And now for our final suspect.’
    He clicked for the next picture. As the face appeared on the screen, Mitch let out an involuntary whistle. ‘It’s Koman,’ he said.
    Gerald looked at Mitch. ‘You know him?’ he asked.
    ‘We all know him,’ said Nelson. ‘Mehmet Koman. We were on an operation recently in Turkey. Koman was our link with Turkish security.’
    ‘He’s also a damn good operative,’ said Benny. ‘You sure he’s working with Deacon on this assassination?’
    ‘We did extensive cross-checks working with the Intelligence services of the other countries who are coming to the summit,’ Gerald told him. ‘Finance, politics, personal tragedies, every last little piece of info. Then we did more cross-checks and carried on digging. These are the ones who fit the profile best.’
    ‘But we don’t know for sure,’ said Mitch.
    ‘They’re the most likely suspects, Mitch,’ said Nelson. ‘And, remember, we all felt the samedoubts about Deacon when this started.’
    ‘True,’ agreed Mitch.
    ‘OK, so what’s the score with these guys?’ Nelson asked Gerald. ‘Do we take care of them, or what?’
    Gerald shook his head. ‘I’m afraid there are political issues to be taken into consideration. We’ve alerted our counterparts in their own Intelligence services about our concerns. I’ve