Read Online The Locker by Adrian Magson - Free Book Online Page B

available information as it came in, including the reports which Ruth and Vaslik were about to make.
    â€œWe’ve lost two contract security guards and two more have gone missing at an oil installation attacked by extremists in Nigeria.” The speaker was Richard Aston, a lanky, skeletal figure in a pinstripe suit and regimental tie. He was Cruxys’s Operations Commander. A former Parachute Regiment colonel and one of the co-founders of the company, he was responsible for research, staffing and day-to -day assignments related to the company’s clients. He possessed a mind like a steel trap and hated inaction. Now, it seemed, he might have wished for a surfeit of the latter.
    â€œThere’s been a lot of internet chatter about bombing threats,” he continued. “Most of it from groups thought to be on shoestring budgets and with little serious capability beyond lurid threats. But we shouldn’t ignore it. Something or someone has stirred them up and it could be linked to Boko Haram. If they’re involved, it’s not good news.”
    It certainly wasn’t. Boko Haram, as Ruth knew from official briefings and news reports, was an extremist organisation intent on building an Islamic state in northern Nigeria. They had long been suspected of having strong links with other groups in the area, such as Ansaru in Nigeria, al-Shabaab in Somalia, and even with al Qaeda. If a smaller, previously little-known organisation was suddenly in a position to carry out such attacks, it didn’t bode well for the region; other like-minded cells might be fired up and join in.
    â€œAre we exposed?” Strictly speaking it was nothing to do with her, but Aston seemed inclined to want to talk about it.
    â€œPotentially, yes. Everybody is focussed on known al Qaeda affiliates, but there are many more out there with similar intentions. Initially, it’s more work for us, but there comes a point where the big corporations will cut their losses and pull out.”
    â€œInitial reactions?” He looked at them in turn. “I know you’ve only come together for this assignment, but first thoughts will do for now.”
    â€œIt looks real enough,” said Ruth. “Nancy Hardman’s distraught but hanging on. The husband sounds like a selfish do-gooder , off doing his righteous thing and leaving her to bring up the daughter. But until we know more about him, and until we hear what the kidnappers want, we can’t judge.”
    â€œQuite right—we can’t.”
    The voice came from the doorway. They all turned. The new arrival was a slim, almost ascetic looking figure in an immaculate grey suit and white shirt. Martyn Claas was a new board member. He had joined Cruxys from his base in Amsterdam, bringing with him the power and global financial reach of a conglomerate with its headquarters in the US. He had made it clear from the start that he intended to have a hands-on involvement with the company’s operations and his aim was unambiguous: to make Cruxys Solutions a world leader in the security and risk assessment field, and to increase profitability.
    Aston retained a neutral expression. He didn’t ask Claas to elaborate, but nodded towards a vacant chair and said, “You all know of each other? Good.” He glanced at Ruth and Vaslik. “Where were we?”
    Vaslik took up the baton. “I think the nanny’s part of it. Or dead.” He nodded at one of the whiteboards, where Tiggi Sgornik’s name had been added to the rapidly growing information on the Hardman family. There were no photos yet but they would come once Ruth downloaded the files from her computer.
    â€œMay I ask why?” Claas again.
    Vaslik spread his hands on the table surface. “She’s the perfect insider. Her belongings have gone from the house, we believe the kidnapper or kidnappers knew how to get in from the back without being seen, and the Hardman woman’s