The Murder Bag, Chapter 1

‘We do not have visual confirmation,’ the surveillance officer said. ‘We do not have positive ID, Delta 1.’

And then Swire. ‘That’s not him,’ she repeated. ‘Stop talking, Wolfe.’ A note of steel now. ‘You had one task. It is concluded. No further action necessary. We ’re standing down all units. Negative. Cancel. Thank you everyone.’

The crowd slowed outside the station as it merged with the flow of commuters coming over from King’s Cross. I figured that I had one minute to stop him before he disappeared inside the station. Once on a mainline train or down on the tube or on the concourse of the station itself, the man with the red backpack would simply touch his hands together and the world would blow apart.