Chapter 10

Hannibal turned to see Tate grinning.

"You left a man outside? Maybe you aren't as dumb as I thought, Harry."

"You've had it, Smith, he'll bring back an army."

"Yeah? And how much of your gold will you have left once they all take their shares?"

Harry looked a little nervous about that, but said defiantly, "Enough and at least I don't go back to jail."

"Hannibal, what do we do now?" Face asked. Hannibal looked around. They could call the police of course, or they could go to the local police station with the gold and the prisoners. But that much gold could make men act crazy. He would hate to end up in the middle of a bloodbath. They needed to get the gold somewhere safe. Where was the one place in London even an army of villains would never dare attack?

Hannibal grinned.

"Time to go, everyone." He came down off the top deck of the bus. Jenny and Chris who had just been lowered down from their perch in the rafters stepped onto the floor, looking nervously at the prisoners.

"Where exactly are we going?" Chris asked as Hannibal appeared on the boarding platform at the back of the bus, pushing away the crates that had blocked it off.

"Scotland Yard of course." Hannibal said.

"What?" Face said. Murdock grinned in delight.

"Can you think of anywhere the gold will be safer?" Hannibal asked.

"Can you think of anywhere we'll be in more trouble?" Face shot back. "Hannibal…" He shook his head a little dubiously. "I know you have a flair for drama, but this…"

"We have enough cars I suppose," BA said, seeing Hannibal was set on the idea.

"Maybe not," Face said. "The ones left outside had their tires slashed."

"I wasn't thinking of using the cars." Hannibal said. "Don't want us all split up like that."

"Then what…?" Face asked, but Murdock was already grinning. "Oh no, you have to be kidding, tell me you're kidding." Hannibal pulled the conductor's cord and sounded the bell.

"All aboard." He called.

Hannibal stood at the front of the upper deck of the bus, a smile on his face. They had cleared a path to the door. The gold was on the lower deck, along with the guns they'd taken from the prisoners. Tate and his men were tied to the seats on the open upper desk, Face and Murdock covering them. Hannibal stamped twice on the floor over where BA was seated in the driver's cab. The big engine roared into life and they drove outside

They waited a few moments for Chris to secure the warehouse doors then set out into the night.

"Hannibal, I want it on record that I consider this plan to be officially nuts."

"Face, have you no sense of the dramatic?"

"I think you got my share." Face groused.

"You've had it, Smith." Tate apparently agreed with Face, though he was rather happier about it. "You try to make it though to the Yard and half the sorts in London will be down on you before you get anywhere near."

"They have to find us first." Hannibal said.

"Yeah, it's not like we're conspicuous or anything," Face muttered.

"We won’t be once we're in central London," Hannibal said. "Just like a taxi in New York, Face, you taught me that one."

"Does that mean you'll blame me if this doesn't work?" Face asked.

Hannibal grinned. "Keep these clowns covered," he said and went down stairs to the lower deck. He went to the front and, blatantly ignoring the "Do not speak to driver while vehicle is in motion" sign, he said, "I need to make a phone call, BA. The line was dead back at the warehouse, they must have cut it. Stop as soon as you see a phone box." BA nodded.

Hannibal turned back to their clients. They looked nervous. Jenny, deprived of any means of making tea and with no wounds to patch up, was fidgeting.

"Will we make it through, Colonel?" Chris asked.

"We'll make it," Hannibal said. "I wouldn't have brought you two along if I didn’t think so."

"Phone box, Hannibal." BA said. He pulled over to the side of the road. Hannibal got out.

On the top deck Murdock was looking over the railing.

"What's he doing?" Face asked.

"Making a phone call." Murdock said.

"Better be calling to make funeral arrangements." Tate said, smirking.

A few minutes later Hannibal came back aboard and the bus moved off again. Face and Murdock looked questioningly at Hannibal, but he just grinned and gave nothing away. They glanced at each other; they didn't even need to say it anymore. The look from both of them said the same thing.

Jazz.

Hannibal sat down on the seat in front of Tate, turned to look at him.

"I hear you used to box, Harry," he said, conversationally, lighting a cigar.

"Yeah," Harry said, looking at him suspiciously.

"Done a little myself, long time back, in the army. You were a heavyweight I suppose? Were you any good?" Hannibal's casual tone disarmed Tate a little. It seemed as if the colonel was just making small talk to fill in the time.

"Yeah, heavyweight. And I was bloody good. The Bethnal Green Bulldog they called me."

"So when you hit that security guard he really didn't stand a chance did he?" Hannibal asked. The effect was instant. Tate's eyes were suddenly haunted. He put his head down.

"I never meant…" he said very quietly. Hannibal almost felt sorry for him then, imagined him having many long sleepless nights in his prison cell over the last ten years. Then Tate looked up, his face suddenly hard again.

"It was Vern," he said. "Vern hit 'im. It weren't me. It was Vern."

Hannibal shook his head. "You know Harry for a minute there I almost gave you the benefit of the doubt."

"It was Vern." Tate said again.

"Tell it to the judge, pal."

They picked up their first tail as they drove through Sidcup. Murdock was sure it was one of the cars that had arrived at the warehouse, the one that had escaped.

"We gonna try and lose him?" Face asked.

"In this?" Murdock said. "We've got a better chance if we pray that he gets snatched up to heaven by the archangel Gabriel."

Hannibal checked his watch.

"Should we try and shoot out his tires?" Face called to Hannibal.

Hannibal shook his head. "That will bring too much attention. Besides, it's not worth it, he's just one man, and he'll already have made his phone call. The damage is done."

"So we're just going to let him follow us into the ambush?" Face asked. Jimmy was sniggering in a way that made the lieutenant really want to go over there and wipe the smile off his face.

"Speaking of which…" Murdock said. "Here we go…" A car had just come barrelling out of a side street and pulled between them and their tail. Face ran forward, to see two more cars had done the same ahead and were now driving in front of them.

"Don't shoot," Hannibal said, calmly. "I just thought I would arrange an escort." Face stared at him. Hannibal stamped on the floor again and BA brought the bus to a halt. The three new cars stopped too, along with their tail. Murdock saw the man in the trailing car start to get out. Then the doors of the car in front of him opened and three men in combat fatigues and green berets piled out. The driver of the trailing car leapt back into his vehicle and backed up, smoke pouring off his tires. He made a wild U-turn and sped away up the road.

Murdock turned to look at the colonel.

"You did it again, Hannibal."

"You couldn’t have told us?" Face said.

"I didn't want to spoil the surprise." Hannibal said.

In a moment the bus moved off. They heard the pounding of several booted feet on the stairs and twelve uniformed and very large men joined them on the top deck.

"Evening, Colonel," the one wearing corporal's stripes said.

"Corporal," Hannibal said, "glad you could join us, brought a few extra friends with you I see."

Tate and his men were gawping in shock at the new arrivals.

"Oh, Harry." Hannibal said, "I'm so rude, I haven't introduced you. These are some friends we met a few days ago, they're Royal Marine Commandos. I thought I'd invite them to join us on our little bus trip."

Tate put his head down on his arms. Jimmy's smile had been well and truly wiped off.

"Good thing we were still on leave," the corporal said, "Okay, Colonel, what do you need?"

"Just arrange the lads around the front and back of the bus, nice and conspicuously." Hannibal said. "There's a couple of spare shotguns you can use."

The corporal saluted and turned back to his squad, "You 'eard the man, what you waiting for? Christmas? Move your arses." Hannibal grinned hugely. As the corporal walked past Murdock he said, "Wotcha, Murdock, how's your love life?" The Captain smiled in return, shaking his head ruefully.

"You did it again, Hannibal." He repeated.

They drove on through the night, the Marines stood around the rail of the bus looking highly conspicuous just as Hannibal wanted. And the plan worked. At various places along their route cars would suddenly appear and try to follow or block them and just as suddenly they would peel off and speed away.

The traffic got heavier as they got closer into central London, even though it was almost midnight. There were, as Hannibal had hoped, plenty more red buses on the road now. As they drove through the East End Hannibal decided to go check on how things were going downstairs, make sure Chris and Jenny were okay.

He descended the stairs and began to walk forward to where Chris and Jenny were talking to BA, giving him directions. Suddenly Hannibal stopped and looked back.

"Er, guys," he said, "who's this?" Chris and Jenny looked back to see Hannibal standing beside a very short elderly lady sitting on one of the seats near the back of the bus.

"Oh my goodness," Jenny said. "She must have got on when we were stopped in traffic."

"Doesn't anybody want my fare?" The old lady asked, holding up a handful of coins.

"Look, um… ma'am," Hannibal said, "you can't be on this bus."

"Why not?" She demanded sharply.

"Er…" Hannibal hesitated. "It's a long story, but we're not actually in service."

"Doesn't say that on the front, young man, it says Brixton. That’s where I'm going." She settled into her seat clutching her handbag in front of her. Hannibal looked helplessly at Jenny, who came over.

"Try and persuade her to get off," Hannibal said. Though since the fact that he was carrying a three and a half foot shotgun didn't seem to be persuading her that she was on the wrong bus he doubted Jenny would be able to do so. Jenny nodded, trying to keep a grin off her face. "How much longer till we get there?"

"Maybe a half hour?" Jenny said, "Depending on traffic." Hannibal went to guard the open platform at the back against the invasion of either hostiles or more little old ladies trying to get home to Brixton.

After about twenty minutes he brought one of the marines down to take his place and went back up to the top deck. He stood at the front and smiled triumphantly as the bus finally pulled up to the side of the road. A rotating sign told him they had reached their destination. "New Scotland Yard."

He decided it was time for a cigar.

"Yes, I know it's nearly 2am, but I want the Commissioner called now!"

Detective Superintendent Jamieson put down the phone and looked at the uniformed Inspector in front of him.

"Where's the gold now?"

"We've put it in a cell, sir. The custody sergeant is processing Tate and his men. They're all shouting for their lawyers."

"The bus?"

"In the impound yard sir, you want soco to check it?"

"Of course. I want full forensic checks on it. Where are Mr and Mrs Stewart?"

"They're in the canteen, sir."

"The canteen?"

"Yes, sir, along with those Royal Marines. Oh and, super, can you authorise a car to take a Mrs Ivy Pritchard home to Brixton?"

"What? No don't tell me, just do it. Anything else?"

"Er, those shotguns they had, they're registered to a Lord Harcole."

"Good god!"

"Isn't he a friend of the Commissioner, sir?"

"Yes he is." He took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes. He was very sure he wasn't going to be seeing his bed tonight. He put his glasses back on. "Right, I want to speak to those Americans. Do we know who the hell they are yet? I want them fingerprinted."

"Ah, well, that’s what I was going to tell you…"

Jamieson just knew it was going to be bad news.

"We put them in an interview room, but they're, well, gone, sir."

Chapter 11