Free Remote Control by Andy McNab Page A

drive-thru Burger King with its own parking.
    It’s all very well abandoning a vehicle in the middle of hundreds of others in a car park during shopping hours, but at night it might be the only car left there; it‘s going to stick out, and will be checked over by police patrols. What I was after was an area that was really busy, day and night. Multi-storey car parks were out, because nine times out of ten they have video cameras to stop muggings and car theft. Many multi-storey car parks have a camera that takes a picture of the number plate and driver as you drive in. At any major junction and along most major thoroughfares, there are traffic video cameras. If my car had been pinged outside Kev’s house, the first thing they’d do was study the traffic videos and carpark photography.
    ‘Shall we get a burger and some shakes?’ I suggested. ‘Do you like milk shakes? I tell you what, I’ll park up and maybe we’ll even go shopping.’
    Again it would be no good driving into the Burger King car park, stepping out and then walking a few hundred metres to the shopping mall – that isn’t normal behaviour. It might register in people’s minds and be triggered off at a later date, so I wanted to make the two of us look as natural as possible.
    ‘Strawberry or vanilla – which one do you want?’
    No reply.
    ‘Chocolate? Go on, I’m going to have a chocolate.’
    Nothing.
    I parked up. The place was pretty full. I cupped my hand under her chin and gently turned her face so that she was looking at my big smile. ‘Milk shake?’
    There was a faint movement of her head, or maybe it was a nod of appreciation. Not much, but at least it was a reaction.
    I carried on with the bullshit. ‘You just sit here, then. I’ll get out, I’ll lock the car and go and get the milk shakes. And then, I tell you what, we’ll go into the shopping mall. How about that?’
    She looked away.
    I carried on as if she’d given me a positive response. I got out of the car and locked her in. I still had the pistol tucked into my waistband, concealed by Kev’s jacket.
    I went into the Burger King, got two different-flavoured milk shakes, and came straight back to the car.
    ‘Here we go, then, chocolate or vanilla?’
    She kept her hands by her sides. ‘I’ll tell you what, I’ll have the vanilla; I know you like chocolate.’
    I put the shake in her lap. It was too cold for her legs and, as soon as she lifted it up, I said, ‘Come on, then, let’s go to the shops. You can bring that with you.’
    I got her out, closed the door and locked up. I did nothing about our fingerprints; no matter how hard I tried I’d never get rid of them all, so what was the point? I opened the boot, pulled out the bag with the bits and pieces I’d bought at Shannon, and threw in the bin liner full of bloodstained clothing.
    It looked like rain. We walked towards the shopping mall and I kept on talking to her because the situation felt so awkward. What else do you do, walking along with a kid who doesn’t belong to you and doesn’t want to be with you?
    I tried to hold her hand, but she refused. I couldn’t make an issue of it with people around, so I gripped the shoulder of the jacket again.
    There was everything in the shopping centre, from a computer discount warehouse to an army surplus store, all housed in long, one-storey, purpose-built units that were like islands in a sea of car park.
    We went into a clothes store and I bought myself some jeans and another shirt. I’d change as soon as I’d had a shower and got Aida’s blood off my back and legs.
    At an ATM I drew out $300, the maximum allowed on my credit card.
    We came back out to the car park, but didn’t return to the car. I kept a firm grip on her as we walked towards the hotel across the road.

6
    As we got nearer I could see that the Best Western was in fact separated from the main drag by a row of single-storey office buildings. Our view was of the rear of the hotel.
    Looking each