Page 79 - double revenge 3.

LONDON UNDERGROUND

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TUESDAY JANUARY 27 1998

It had been thirty years since George Mcluskey had tailed anybody but this was something he could
not delegate, they would have had to be briefed and no one must know anything about his
assignment.

His task was further complicated by the fact that not only were others tracking his target at the
same time but also they would recognise him instantly. Nevertheless, he was satisfied the
alterations he had made to his appearance would prevent his recognition and since he knew where
his target was headed, he would be able to stay ahead rather than follow, so would be less
conspicuous.

His target was the dark haired middle-aged librarian at Richmond library. The FBI file showed the
woman was a post box and courier for Russia. They had managed to intercept one of her directives,
which showed her method of contact. Her contacts code name was “pi” and reference to “pi” had
to be contained in any communication to prove it was genuine.

He had made several previous reconnoitres, changing his appearance every time. Those shadowing
the woman would be taking wide-angle lens photographs to see if anyone was regularly in her
vicinity.

His first reconnoitre was to follow her to the rail station. A few days later, he waited on the station
platform to see which train she boarded. Over a period of two weeks, he had followed her, a stage
at a time, until he knew precisely how she made her way to her Sudbury Hill flat. Now he needed to
make contact with her and his best opportunity would be at Turnham Green station when she
changed trains.

George was already waiting on the platform when she alighted from the Richmond train and
followed her closely as she boarded her connection. The train was packed, as it always was during
rush hour and as usual, the woman straphanged by the door for the five-minute journey to Acton
Town.

George positioned himself right behind her and as the train pulled away, he leant forward and
quietly instructed her, ‘Svetlana, do not turn around.’ Her body stiffened, it had been a long time
since anyone used her real name. She did as instructed and kept facing the door. George pushed a
large brown envelope into her free hand.

‘Keep this out of sight, you are being watched.’

He made his way back through the carriage and watched her alight at Acton Town. She must have
hidden the envelope in her shoulder bag, which was a good sign. Ten grand was a much higher than
usual first contact bait and if she spooked and disappeared, George let the question hang in the air,
but what the hell, it was the President’s money.

As much as she wanted to turn and see who had just contacted her, the warning that she was being
watched and the fact that he had called her by her real name instead of what she was now known
as, Eileen, frightened her. Her connection to Sudbury Hill arrived almost instantly but the final
fifteen minutes of her journey home seemed an eternity.