Page 29 of End Game

Ross took his time taking them through what he’d witnessed when he joined the mass of protesting cyclists on their slow journey from Tower Bridge to Westminster.

‘It’s not difficult to work out what their chosen route will be next Friday,’ suggested William, ‘which just happens to be the evening of the opening ceremony.’

‘When they could hold up as many as half the spectators on their way to the stadium,’ said Paul, ‘who won’t arrive in time to see the Queen take her place in the Royal Box.’

‘You’re halfway there,’ said Ross.

‘So what’s the other half?’ asked Rebecca.

‘The Queen won’t even make it to the Royal Box.’

‘Hold on,’ said Jackie. ‘What are we talking about here – an inconvenient hold-up or a royal assassination attempt?’

Rebecca was shaking her head. ‘That would never happen. The cyclists may be a nuisance, but they’re not terrorists.’

‘Let’s hope you’re right,’ said Ross, ‘but while Faulkner’s involved, I’m assuming the worst and only hope I’m proved wrong.’

‘Has MI5 been fully briefed?’ asked Jackie.

William nodded. ‘As has GCHQ. They understand our fears, but reminded us how sketchy our evidence is at the moment. They’re keeping a close eye on developments, but if anything were to go wrong during the Games, it would be our responsibility. At present,’ he added, ‘we are not anxious about Her Majesty’s safety. What does concern us is the possible disruption to the opening ceremony – and why any disruption would be welcomed by the Russians. We have no idea what else they might be planning on the back of it, but if we have to deal with the unexpected on the night, we need to know what they have planned next, so we’re not on the back foot.’

After a moment’s silence, Jackie said, ‘But the Queen is always accompanied by a group of highly trained outriders, who make sure everyone moves aside so the royal party can carry on without ever having to stop.’

‘Perhaps a well organized bunch of determined cyclists won’t be moving aside,’ suggested Ross.

‘There are five routes Her Majesty can take on her journey from the palace to the stadium,’ said Paul, looking down at the map spread out on the centre of the table.

‘That all end up in the same tunnel,’ added William, which stopped any more interruptions.

‘The cyclists would not only slow the traffic down,’ continued Ross, ‘but if they can reach the tunnel before the Queen, they could then abandon their bikes and leave them in the middle of the road. It would take us hours to remove them, while HM would be stuck waving in the back of her car and not sitting in the front of the Royal Box.’

‘While we,’ added William, ‘become fully occupied and they – and by they, I mean the Russians – move on to the second part of their plan, whatever that might be.’

‘Turning the opening ceremony into the closing ceremony would be my bet,’ said Paul.

No one laughed.

‘Then we’ll just have to ban any protests planned on the day of the opening ceremony,’ said William.

‘You will recall, sir,’ said Rebecca, ‘that the Law Lords ruled cyclists are not protesters, but a public procession.’

‘Then we’ll have to arrest every one of them before they become a public procession.’

‘I don’t think you have the authority to do that, sir,’ said Jackie.

‘Then I’ll serve them with a Section Twelve notice,’ said William, becoming more irritated.

‘But Section Twelve is only used in case of riots,’ Rebecca reminded him.

‘Or serious disruption to the life of the community,’ William countered.

‘If we start arresting innocent members of the public,’ Paul said firmly, ‘they’ll certainly take us to court, and win.’

‘Which, I would suggest,’ said William, ‘is preferable to having a half-empty stadium with the Queen stuck in an underpass – or worse.’

No further objection was voiced before they moved on to the next item on the agenda: the upcoming arrival of the Olympic torch in London.

21 July 2012 – 6 days to go