would be better for the country if it came more
under our control,” explained Sir Thomas.
“You mean your control.”
“Indeed.”
“Well, good luck,” said John. “Because if The Grey Man gets to hear of this, you are
a dead man. I heard about a team
five years ago who tried the same thing, ex-KGB, ex-CIA, the works, they had
turned someone in The Firm to their point of view. They had the latest gadgets, latest intelligence
and were very well funded, a dream team. Do you know what happened?”
Sir Thomas did not reply.
“No,” said John. “No one
knows. They disappeared, to a man, every
one of them, no trace. It was as if they
had never been on this earth at all. In
Russia two months later the head of the Mafia and two of his closest
lieutenants were killed, all three had their heads blown clean off. That could be us for just having this
conversation.”
“Yes, yes, but I have some news which changes everything. The Grey Man is going blind but does not know
it. Any day now his sight will switch
off. All I need you to do then is kill
him for me.”
“Interesting,” said John. “And what about his two friends?”
“Oh, I think they need to go at the same time, don’t you?”
The two men walked in silence for some time then John said,
“What will you pay me?”
“Yes, I thought we would get to that quite quickly and knowing you,
I felt I needed to be very clear, a sort of carrot and stick arrangement. First let’s examine the stick. Last year after paying your overheads,
houses, staff, bribes etc, you cleared personally two hundred and eighty one
million pounds and secreted it into a number of bank accounts across
Switzerland and the Caribbean. I can
give you the account numbers and passwords if you like.”
John Sea froze and the blood drained from his face. It was not exactly the figure but far too
close for comfort.
“I can take this and the rest of your fortune and put them into the Crown’s
bank. Thank you very much, that would
make a very nice slush fund,” continued Sir Thomas. “I can also wrap up every sordid deal you
have and if you stay in the UK, pass all the information to the police
recommending you went to prison for a minimum of twenty five years, then ensure
I choose which prison and which little friends are there for you to play with. You are still an attractive man and I am sure
they would find you very interesting. If
you decided to run I will have you hunted down, you will be horribly tortured until
you break and then I will have you killed.”
All this was said with his quiet cultured voice and a smile.
John Sea broke out in a cold sweat. “And the carrot?”
“Ah,” said Sir Thomas. “This
is much better. Your operation in
Manchester is very impressive and causes little waves with the police. I can give you full intelligence on London,
everything you need on the dark side of life, every gang leader, every
extortionist, every pimp and pave the way for you to expand here. I am sure you will agree this is a much
bigger prize, add in a little service every now and
again for The Firm and you get a free ‘ Get
out of Prison ’ card. What do you say?”
There was a short pause. “I
would be delighted,” said John Sea and the two men shook hands.
Sir Thomas waved his other hand and one of the black suited bodyguards
sprung forward with a suitcase which he handed to John Sea.
“Inside the case is everything you need. Full details on where the Surgeon and The
Assassin are living. They are quite
predictable at the moment. The Surgeon
is putting down roots and looks to have left our world behind completely, he
should be an easy target. The Assassin
is dabbling with some freelance work but has a son and a shop which anchors him
and makes him vulnerable. I would
suggest minimum surveillance on both as these are seasoned operators so be
under our control,” explained Sir Thomas.
“You mean your control.”
“Indeed.”
“Well, good luck,” said John. “Because if The Grey Man gets to hear of this, you are
a dead man. I heard about a team
five years ago who tried the same thing, ex-KGB, ex-CIA, the works, they had
turned someone in The Firm to their point of view. They had the latest gadgets, latest intelligence
and were very well funded, a dream team. Do you know what happened?”
Sir Thomas did not reply.
“No,” said John. “No one
knows. They disappeared, to a man, every
one of them, no trace. It was as if they
had never been on this earth at all. In
Russia two months later the head of the Mafia and two of his closest
lieutenants were killed, all three had their heads blown clean off. That could be us for just having this
conversation.”
“Yes, yes, but I have some news which changes everything. The Grey Man is going blind but does not know
it. Any day now his sight will switch
off. All I need you to do then is kill
him for me.”
“Interesting,” said John. “And what about his two friends?”
“Oh, I think they need to go at the same time, don’t you?”
The two men walked in silence for some time then John said,
“What will you pay me?”
“Yes, I thought we would get to that quite quickly and knowing you,
I felt I needed to be very clear, a sort of carrot and stick arrangement. First let’s examine the stick. Last year after paying your overheads,
houses, staff, bribes etc, you cleared personally two hundred and eighty one
million pounds and secreted it into a number of bank accounts across
Switzerland and the Caribbean. I can
give you the account numbers and passwords if you like.”
John Sea froze and the blood drained from his face. It was not exactly the figure but far too
close for comfort.
“I can take this and the rest of your fortune and put them into the Crown’s
bank. Thank you very much, that would
make a very nice slush fund,” continued Sir Thomas. “I can also wrap up every sordid deal you
have and if you stay in the UK, pass all the information to the police
recommending you went to prison for a minimum of twenty five years, then ensure
I choose which prison and which little friends are there for you to play with. You are still an attractive man and I am sure
they would find you very interesting. If
you decided to run I will have you hunted down, you will be horribly tortured until
you break and then I will have you killed.”
All this was said with his quiet cultured voice and a smile.
John Sea broke out in a cold sweat. “And the carrot?”
“Ah,” said Sir Thomas. “This
is much better. Your operation in
Manchester is very impressive and causes little waves with the police. I can give you full intelligence on London,
everything you need on the dark side of life, every gang leader, every
extortionist, every pimp and pave the way for you to expand here. I am sure you will agree this is a much
bigger prize, add in a little service every now and
again for The Firm and you get a free ‘ Get
out of Prison ’ card. What do you say?”
There was a short pause. “I
would be delighted,” said John Sea and the two men shook hands.
Sir Thomas waved his other hand and one of the black suited bodyguards
sprung forward with a suitcase which he handed to John Sea.
“Inside the case is everything you need. Full details on where the Surgeon and The
Assassin are living. They are quite
predictable at the moment. The Surgeon
is putting down roots and looks to have left our world behind completely, he
should be an easy target. The Assassin
is dabbling with some freelance work but has a son and a shop which anchors him
and makes him vulnerable. I would
suggest minimum surveillance on both as these are seasoned operators so be
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