Stephen Leather - Hard Landing

CONTENTS

Praise for Stephen Leather

Stephen Leather should be nestling in your bookshelves alongside Frederick Forsyth and Jack Higgins Daily Mail

Exciting stuff with plenty of heart-palpitating action gingered up by mystery and intrigue... Leather is an intelligent thriller writer Daily Mail on The Tunnel Rats

As high-tech and as world-class as the thriller genre gets Express on Sunday on The Bombmaker

A whirlwind of action, suspense and vivid excitement Irish Times on The Birthday Girl

Atmospheric suspense Daily Mirror on The Eyewitness

Stephen Leathers novel manages to put a contemporary spin on a timeless tale of revenge and retribution... Leathers experience as a journalist brings a sturdy, gritty element to a tale of horror... which makes The Eyewitness a compelling read Evening Herald, Dublin

Stephen Leather

HODDER & STOUGHTON

Copyright 2004 by Stephen Leather

The right of Stephen Leather to be identified as the Author of the Work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

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All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

All characters in this publication are fictious and any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

A CIP catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library

Epub ISBN 978 1 84456 857 4
Book ISBN 0 340 73411 6

Hodder and Stoughton Ltd
A division of Hodder Headline
338 Euston Road
London NW1 3BH

www.hodder.co.uk

Pay Off

The Fireman

Hungry Ghost

The Chinaman

The Vets

The Long Shot

The Birthday Girl

The Double Tap

The Solitary Man

The Tunnel Rats

The Bombmaker

The Stretch

Tango One

The Eyewitness

Hard Landing

Soft Target

Cold Kill

Hot Blood

Dead Men

Live Fire

Rough Justice

Fair Game (July 2011)

Nightfall

Midnight

To find out about these and future titles, visit www.stephenleather.com.

For Barbara

Acknowledgements

I am indebted to Ian West and John Newman who helped me to understand what its like to work in the prison system and I am grateful for their help and advice. Any errors of fact are mine, not theirs.

Alistair Cumming was invaluable for guidance on police matters and Sam Jenner gave me his expert advice on matters military.

I was lucky enough to have Denis ODonoghue on hand to cast his professional eye over the manuscript and to have Hazel Ormes editing skills on the case.

It was a pleasure to work with Carolyn Mays at Hodder and Stoughton again and Hard Landing is a better book for her creative input and unwavering support.

Stephen Leather was a journalist for more than ten years on newspapers such as The Times, the Daily Mail and the South China Morning Post in Hong Kong. Before that, he was employed as a biochemist for ICI, shovelled limestone in a quarry, worked as a baker, a petrol pump attendant, a barman, and worked for the Inland Revenue. He began writing full-time in 1992. His bestsellers have been translated into more than ten languages. He has also written for television shows such as Londons Burning, The Knock and the BBCs Murder in Mind series.

Trish Elliott ran her hand across her stomach for the hundredth time since shed left the doctors surgery. It didnt feel as if there was a new life growing inside her it was far too early for any movement or kicks, for the baby to make its presence felt. But Trish had known straight away this time, after years of trying, she was pregnant. The third pregnancy test had confirmed what her body had been telling her.

She hadnt said anything to her husband and shed left it another month before seeing her doctor, but now there was no doubt. Pregnant. She whispered the word to herself as she parked the car at the side of the road, relishing the sound of it. Im pregnant, she said softly. I am having a baby. She wanted to run down the street and tell everybody, shout it to the sky, phone every friend and relative she had. But she also enjoyed having such a delicious secret. She knew. The doctor knew. And that was all. For a while, at least, the baby belonged solely to her.

She switched off the engine and shuffled across to sit in the passenger seat. Her husband loved to drive. It wasnt a macho thing, or that he didnt trust her at the wheel, it was just that he enjoyed it so much that she was happy to let him do it. Trish thought that she was probably the better driver. She took more care, followed the Highway Code religiously, checked her mirrors constantly, and was always happy to let other motorists get ahead of her. Jonathon well, Jonathon drove like a man, there was no getting away from it. She sat in the passenger seat and waited for him to leave the office.

That was something else that would change, she thought, with a smile. Jonathon had promised that when they had a family hed get a desk job. No more late nights, no more weeks away from home, no more putting his life on the line. Hed take a regular job, with regular hours, and hed be there for her when she needed him. Someone else could take the risks and have the glory. Hed be a husband and father. A family man. Hed promised, and she would keep him to it.

She saw her husband walking along the pavement towards the car and waved. Jonathon got in and kissed her cheek. Trish slipped her hand round his neck and pressed her lips to his, kissing him deeply. He kissed her back, with passion, and slid his hand down to cup her breast. That was nice, he said, as she released him.

You deserve it, she said.

For what? He started the engine and revved the accelerator, as he always did, boy-racer style.

For being such a good husband. She stroked his thigh. She wasnt going to tell him yet, not until the time was absolutely right. The food was in the boot, all the ingredients for his favourite meal, and a bottle of wine. Shed only have a sip to celebrate and that would be the last alcohol shed touch until the baby was born. She wasnt going to do anything that might remotely jeopardise the health of her child. Their child. The child theyd been waiting for for almost three years. Their doctor had insisted there was no medical reason for her inability to conceive. She was fine. Jonathon was fine. There was no need yet for intervention, they just had to keep trying. They were young, fit and healthy. Jonathons job meant he was under a lot of stress, but other than that all they needed was lots of sex and a bit of luck. Theyd had lots of sex, all right, thought Trish, with a smile. It had always been great, from the very beginning.

What are you smiling at? asked Jonathon, putting the car in gear and driving away from the kerb. He pushed his way into the traffic without indicating, and waved a careless thanks to a BMW that had had to brake sharply to let him in.

Nothing, she said. She wanted to tell him there and then, but she wanted it to be perfect. She wanted it to be a moment theyd both remember for ever.