Assassination Continuum is the second story in the The Harry Fingle collection, a trilogy that makes Watergate look like a children's tea party.
In Playing Harry–the first story in the trilogy– Harry Fingle’s framed for a crime he didn’t commit. His brother and sister-in-law are murdered, and he’s fired for no reason. He discovers these unjust and tragic events are all part of a massive conspiracy where unscrupulous, multi-national corporations stoop to murder to preserve their world ranking and the CIA and MI6 are shown to have blood on their hands.
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Snow, ten centimetres deep, covered the top of the black coffin. At 7:00 a.m., just after dawn, a tall man–dressed in a black overcoat and wearing a scarf, gloves, and a black Astrakhan hat–stepped out of a government Mercedes and walked briskly up the snow-covered path to where four undertakers stood by a recently dug, unusually deep, empty grave. The head undertaker greeted the man. ‘We’re ready, sir,’ he said in Russian. The tall man nodded, and watched on as the four men prepared to lower the wooden box down into the cold, black hole. The light snow that had been falling all morning turned into heavy flakes, and settled on the men’s dark clothing in seconds. They brushed the snow from their faces and took hold of the straps that supported the coffin, lifted it up, and lowered it into the grave. Once it had reached the bottom, they released the straps and let them drop with a solid plop onto the top of the coffin. Each picked up a spade and shovelled earth, as fast as they could, from the nearby mound into the hole. It took them five minutes to make the grave undistinguishable from the snow-clad surroundings. The head undertaker dropped his spade. An icy blast blew snow into his face. He ignored it, reached into his pocket, and pulled out a small slip of paper. He handed it to the tall man. ‘Please sign, sir,’ the undertaker said.
The man obliged, handed the paper back, turned up the collar of his coat, covered half his face with his scarf, and left. ‘It’s done,’ he said into his phone as he walked away to his waiting car.
***
A few deaths
Chapter One
Blood splattered all over the wall. Large blobs and spots of the stuff spread over an area about two-by-three metres. Uneven, red streaks dribbled down the shiny, tiled surface. It was a shocking, ghastly sight, and Harry Fingle felt all colour drain from his face. He gagged and put a hand up to his mouth. He hadn’t heard the gunshot, or seen the victim crumple to the floor with his head blown apart. He’d just seen the blood, and heard a woman shriek and start to wail.
Oh my God, he thought, and jumped to his feet and turned towards the throng of people from Istanbul’s Grand Bazaar who’d gathered around. He caught sight of a tall, thin man–wearing a black, casual jacket–pushing his way through the crowd, racing off down one of many passages, and disappearing into the distance. Harry turned back to face the terrified expression of the café owner and his wife as they gathered around the table where the man had been shot. He watched as the owner tried to help and comfort the woman who cradled the poor man in her lap. Her face and clothes were soaked in his blood and gore. Gruesome segments of his brain clung to her. She wept loudly and continuously.
He’s dead. No doubt about that, Harry thought as he glanced at the remains of the man’s shattered head and the grisly mess. He felt sick; he looked away and came face-to-face with four policemen, who pushed him aside, brushed past, and rushed towards the murder scene.
One of the policemen shouted out instructions in Turkish, and the other occupants of the café sat down at their tables, all with serious expressions. Harry guessed the policeman had told them to stay where they were and not leave. He did the same. Nobody knew where to look. Everybody glanced down and away from the incident. Harry noticed the expressions of shock and horror on all the faces. A busy, popular café–where tourists and Istanbul’s residents would stop for a rest, refreshments, and a break from the bustle and constant barter of the city’s famous Grand Bazaar–had been turned into a morgue-like room, full of people so shocked and traumatised that they looked as though they’d seen a ghost walk over their graves.
