Chapter Twenty;
Fletcher
"Here she comes." Millie said into the radio, sliding further down into her seat as the bus rumbled past, followed barely a minute later by CID's blue Vauxhall with Stevie at the wheel. "You'll see him in a second sarge."
Stuart glanced up at the bus as it turned at the end of the road, pulling up against the curb. Stevie's car drove past it, continuing past Stuart and Neil then up a side street. Stuart and Neil watched from a distance as the bus door opened and a large man in a dark blue coat got out, talking into his phone. Following him was a white couple then a small group of Japanese tourists, smiling out at the river before them. The man in the dark coat put the phone down for a second and motioned for the tourists to follow a wooden walkway that skirted the river down to a small lookout. From there you could see Tower Bridge, clearly the tourist attraction Brecht was using to encourage the change in route. Neil frowned at the last two figures off the bus – Will and another large man, he guessed the bus driver. Will looked around, chatting to the driver, as the driver motioned them all to the walkway. Brecht, meanwhile, seemed to be wandering in the opposite direction.
Neil looked at Will. "Stay with him." Just as he said that, Will tapped the driver on the shoulder and motioned back to the bus, pretending he'd forgotten something. The driver smiled and waved him back and Will took off as the driver and the others headed down the wooden walkway. "Good man." Neil glanced at the tourists as the walkway dropped below the road, out of sight. "Now we wait."
*
"Oh yes, I love it when they're predictable." Ben watched Brecht, chatting away on his phone without a care, walk into the shipping yard. Not long after him came Will, following a decent distance. He paused at the gate, motioning to Ben and Millie. The PCs hopped out of their car as Will continued on into the yard, his eyes trained on Brecht. Ben grinned. "Looks like I'll be back in the cafeteria eating chips before four."
"Don't count your chickens…" Millie started, walking slowly to the gate. She looked up at the docks, unable to see Max from here, then to the CID car further down the road. Stuart had just stepped out of the car, watching them with his arms crossed. "Anyway, this is just one of them. We have to get Bolt too, remember?"
Ben grinned and started across the entrance, checking first to ensure Brecht was out of sight before he darted across. "This newfound pessimism Mills? I don't like it!" He dashed off before she could do or say anything, just frowning at him as she stood behind the gates, waiting for Will to emerge with the first half of their arrests.
*
"I've got a visual on Bolt's boat Guv." Max's voice came over the radio and Neil looked up at Stuart as Stevie joined the men.
Neil looked to Stuart. "Head down there and help Max." Stuart nodded and started to leave when the tourists emerged from the wooden walkway. Neil frowned at them, noticing something was wrong. "Stevie, go be a friendly local."
Stevie nodded and walked off as Stuart started to the docks. Neil watched them both from the car. Stevie smiled at the couple leading the group. "Hi guys, you're from the tour bus right? Here with Mr. Kowalski?"
"Are you from the bus company?" The American man growled.
"Yeah, I am." Stevie smiled, playing along. "I just came to make sure you we…"
The man cut her off. "Well good, I'll complain to you then. What kind of tour bus company dumps on us a whole bunch of Japanese tourists? Where's Kowalski? Even that Jacobs bloke ran off as soon as we got to the lookout."
Stevie frowned. "What Ja…" then she realized who they meant and grabbed her radio. "Will, have you got Brecht?"
*
Will had been tailing Brecht past a few crates, the man walking purposely through the containers, when Stevie's voice came through. "Will, have you got Brecht?"
"Yeah. He's on his phone, talking far too loudly for his own good." He whispered back into the radio.
"And you're sure it's Brecht?"
Will frowned. "Of course I'm sure, I can see his face. He keeps looking behind him." Will ducked down behind a container and frowned at the radio. "What's this about?"
"Nothing. Don't worry about it." Stevie went off for a minute and he heard over the radio Stuart mention Max was fine alone and he was headed back to the tour bus. Will frowned at the radio again then stood, glancing back at the spot Brecht had just been. But he was gone.
Will panicked. "Stevie, I've lost him."
Stevie's voice came over the radio again. "We've got the exit covered, keep looking. He can't have gone far." She paused. "The DI and Stuart have the tourists, they're taking them back to the bus. I'll be at the gates shortly if you need any h…"
Then Will saw him, his collar pulled high against the wind off the river, still chatting into his phone. He spoke over Stevie. "False alarm, I've got him."
"Great, do you want me to send in uniform t…"
Stevie's voice was cut off by a new voice on the radio. It was Max. Bolt's vessel had started toward the docks. "No, he's not going anywhere. Send uniform to help Max, I've got him covered." Will crouched down watching Brecht, his back still turned to Will, chatting away inanely, not noticing the TDC by the crates. Stevie radioed back her confirmation uniform had gone, asking him if he were certain he didn't need her help. "I'm fine. He's still talking over by this crate by the river. I'm not sure but I thought I heard him mention waiting for someone."
"Who could he be waiting for? Water Police were sure they saw Bolt on the boat." Stevie's voice came through.
"I don't know. Someone else. Who says there isn't someone else involved in this?" Will stood as the heavyset man started wandering away. "Alright, he's on the move again."
"Stop waiting and bring him in." Stevie growled. "Or I'll join you and do it myself."
"Fine, fine." Will pocketed the radio and jogged out into the open. "Mr. Brecht?"
Brecht stopped, hanging up the phone and pocketing it, before turning to face Will as the TDC caught up to him, reaching for his jacket collar to restrain him. But he grabbed the coat more out of shock than anything else. It wasn't Brecht.
The man in the coat, Will realized with surprise, was the tour bus' driver. The driver just smiled. "Lost someone Mr. O'Malley?"
Will grabbed his radio. "Guv?" Will's shoulders slumped as he removed his eyes from the beaming driver. "I've lost Brecht."