Target Locked

Copyright © 2023 by Jack Gatland / Tony Lee All rights reserved. This book or parts thereof may not be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems without written permission from the author, unless for the use of brief quotations in a book review. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, places of learning, events or locales is entirely coincidental. * * * Published by Hooded Man Media. Cover design by L1graphics First Edition: January 2023 PRAISE FOR JACK GATLAND ‘This is one of those books that will keep you up past your bedtime, as each chapter lures you into reading just one more.’ ‘This book was excellent! A great plot which kept you guessing until the end.’ ‘Couldn’t put it down, fast paced with twists and turns.’ ‘The story was captivating, good plot, twists you never saw and really likeable characters. Can't wait for the next one!’ ‘I got sucked into this book from the very first page, thoroughly enjoyed it, can't wait for the next one.’ ‘Totally addictive. Thoroughly recommend.’ ‘Moves at a fast pace and carries you along with it.’ ‘Just couldn't put this book down, from the first page to the last one it kept you wondering what would happen next.’ There’s a new Detective Inspector in town… Before Tom Marlowe, there was DI Declan Walsh! An EXCLUSIVE PREQUEL, completely free to anyone who joins the Jack Gatland VIP Reader’s Club! Join Here! Also by Jack Gatland DI DECLAN WALSH BOOKS LETTER FROM THE DEAD MURDER OF ANGELS HUNTER HUNTED WHISPER FOR THE REAPER TO HUNT A MAGPIE A RITUAL FOR THE DYING KILLING THE MUSIC A DINNER TO DIE FOR BEHIND THE WIRE HEAVY IS THE CROWN STALKING THE RIPPER A QUIVER OF SORROWS MURDER BY MISTLETOE BENEATH THE BODIES ELLIE RECKLESS BOOKS PAINT THE DEAD STEAL THE GOLD HUNT THE PREY TOM MARLOWE BOOKS SLEEPING SOLDIERS TARGET LOCKED COVERT ACTION DAMIAN LUCAS BOOKS THE LIONHEART CURSE STANDALONE BOOKS THE BOARDROOM AS TONY LEE The Playing Card War 01: KNAVE OF SPADES Standalone DODGE & TWIST * * * For Mum, who inspired me to write. For Tracy, who inspires me to write. * * * CONTENTS Prologue 1. En-Crypt-ed 2. House Visitor 3. Brokering A Deal 4. Business Classed 5. Friends Reunited 6. Party Flavours 7. Ballroom Blitz 8. Honeymoon Sweet 9. Abductees 10. Cloaked Room 11. Parking Metered 12. Delivery Man 13. Hostile Takeover 14. Home Truths 15. Enemy Of My Frenemy 16. Comic Characters 17. Lightly Salted 18. Midnight Meetings 19. Bedtime Stories 20. Breakfast Serving 21. Family Lies 22. Civil On Rest 23. Partied Dress 24. Temptation 25. Cut The Feed 26. Suite Shop Epilogue Acknowledgements About the Author T-Minus Twenty T-Minus Fifteen PROLOGUE The moment the car followed him off the motorway, Marlowe knew he was screwed. He’d been watching it for a while now: a nondescript, grey Audi, registration number showing it to be new, but not that new, while expensive, but not that expensive. It had followed him for the last hour along the M4 towards London. It was what Marlowe would call a corporate car, a fleet car, something bought in bulk, and given out to the staff. A definite salesperson’s car. An assassin’s car. He wasn’t completely sure of this, but the fact of the matter was that Marlowe had been driving for at least an hour down the motorway, and that bloody vehicle had been three cars behind him at all times. And that was the problem with amateurs; if you were trying not to be seen, the one thing you shouldn’t do was attempt this in such a uniform manner. Cars overtook and were overtaken on a motorway. For a car to slot in exactly three cars behind you, and adjust their driving to keep to this every time one of the intermediate cars changed … was a red flag. To do this in such an obviously unobtrusive car? It wasn’t good. And it made you more noticeable than you might expect, especially to someone trained in this, even when the night was miserable, dark, and in the early hours of the morning. Marlowe had been checking his phone, looking for a turnoff he could use to prove his hypothesis. If he pulled off the motorway and the car carried on, it was simply a mistake on his part, a little paranoia mixed with late-night adrenaline, he’d see the car was probably driven by someone with the cruise control on, and Marlowe would simply go round the turnoff’s roundabout and come back onto the motorway behind them, carrying on with his journey. But, if he turned off, and the pursuer did the same, he had to do more to prove things, as there was still every chance this was also the Audi’s turn off. There was a service station coming up after junction three, and Marlowe had waited until the last moment, veering left into the Heston Services with a screech of resisting tyres, knowing this would likely cause enough damage to the tread to force him to fork out for brand new tyres down the line. Which, for a Jaguar, was a pain in the arse, but worth it, if this saved his life. His car was a burgundy 2015 Jaguar XJ, Marlowe’s pride and joy, and a vehicle he’d won in a poker game a few years earlier. He hadn’t been cheating either, which made it all the sweeter when his opponent, an East-European arms dealer, convinced Marlowe was sleeping with his wife, had demanded he be checked for hidden cards, arguing he’d been cheated, only to be proven wrong. He was also wrong on the wife front, too, as Marlowe hadn’t ever met her, let alone screwed her. MI5 agents weren’t all bloody James