ASIM agreed to meet. Tallis got the impression that the next stage of the plan was about to be implemented. Why else would he be invited to London for a debrief? Any grand hopes of going to Thames House, MI5’s headquarters, however, were quickly dashed. Asim suggested a row of shops round the corner from Richmond tube station, the venue a back room above a shop selling slug pellets and gardening paraphernalia.
To Tallis’s surprise, there were two others in the room, a bloke roughly the same age as himself, tall and lean with dark blue eyes that appeared almost brown, and a petite-framed woman with short bleached-blonde hair and full lips painted the colour of damsons. Neither looked as if they wanted to be there. In fact, the atmosphere in the room was several degrees north-west of genial. What a contrast to the welcome he’d received from Charlie Lavender. Tallis groaned inside, an image of her smile flashing through his mind.
Asim introduced the team, as he referred to them, as Sean and Roz. Tallis was introduced as David. He suspected nobody was operating under real names. Made him ponder on what Asim was really called.
It was straight down to business. Tallis gave an account of his surveillance, most specifically a recce report on Kennedy, details of the vehicles he owned, the area in which he lived, where he worked, entry and escape routes to both known establishments. He also mentioned Kennedy’s personal history, associates and contacts, including Napier. Asim said nothing, simply listened, Sphinx-like.
‘Something else you should know,’ Tallis said. ‘I had a visit from West Midlands organised crime section. They know of my interest in Kennedy.’
Sean raised his eyes heavenwards. Roz clicked her tongue. ‘You’ve shown out,’ she said, voice ladled with contempt.
‘No, I haven’t. They showed out. I stayed undercover.’ Tallis turned his gaze on Asim. ‘That’s right, isn’t it?’
Asim didn’t answer. ‘The plan goes ahead.’
‘But I’m compromised.’
‘Not necessarily.’
‘Asim, this isn’t going to work,’ Sean broke in. ‘He’s way out of his depth,’ he added, inclining his head in Tallis’s direction. Tallis felt himself flush, not with indignation but with embarrassment. Now that the tables were turned, he suddenly realised the position he’d put Charlie Lavender in. Wasn’t very nice.
Asim flicked a smile. ‘Think I’ll be the judge of that.’
‘Sean’s right,’ Roz said, eyes darting, red lips pulled back to reveal the two front teeth in her upper jaw overlapped.
‘What’s your plan?’ Asim said, ignoring both operatives, addressing Tallis the way an indulgent uncle spoke to a favourite nephew even though Tallis believed he and Asim were roughly the same age.
Tallis cleared his throat, addressed Asim only, told him about the weak spot, how he’d mapped out the school run, how they could strike.
Roz was off again. ‘For Chrissakes, this isn’t downtown Chicago.’
‘Think you’ll find your intel’s out of date,’ Tallis said with a provocative smile. ‘Come to think of it, when was the last time you two set foot in the Midlands?’
‘What, leafy bloody Solihull? Fuck you.’ Sean’s blue eyes smouldered to brown.
Tosser, Tallis thought, saying nothing.
‘Fine,’ Asim said, his voice cold and commanding. ‘Roz, Sean, you can leave.’
Sean’s mouth went slack. ‘What?’
Roz half smiled, clearly unsure whether she’d heard correctly. ‘You’re not serious.’
‘I think you’ve made your positions clear,’ Asim said, a dangerous timbre in his voice. ‘Prejudice in one form or another has been responsible for many of the world’s evils. I’m not prepared to sacrifice another life on its altar.’
‘Hey, Asim,’ Sean said, breaking into a shaky laugh. ‘No need for this. We just don’t want David here to get hurt, that’s all.’ He offered a smile to Tallis, who viewed him with the same disdain as if Sean had shaken him down for money. Sean looked at Roz, who dropped her gaze and shrugged.
‘Good.’ Asim nodded, a calculating smile on his lips. ‘Then you’d better listen to what the man says.’
And they did.
They were poring over an ordnance survey map of the area for a third time. The plan was simple: Sean and Roz were to stage an abduction of Mrs Kennedy and her child, and Tallis was going to play the hero and come to their rescue. Everyone knew that what was intended carried a high risk of injury, or worse. Although concern for Kennedy’s wife and child was paramount, they also had to take into account other road-users. For this reason, the interception had to take place early in the morning, early in the journey, before the rural landscape became urban.
They’d already established the route, possible escape paths, timing, vehicle and ID of the driver, a twenty-eight-year-old West Indian known as Desmond ‘Dread’ Williams.
‘He’ll be armed,’ Tallis told them.
‘Naughty, naughty,’ Sean said. Now that he’d been told exactly how it was all going down, he’d started to put forward sensible suggestions. He also had a nice sense of humour. About Roz, Tallis felt less certain, probably because she said little, let alone found Sean’s asides amusing.
Tallis pointed out that Dread favoured the Ingram Mac 10, a popular weapon with Yardies and black gangs. From the shade of the willow tree, he’d watched Dread swagger and show his latest toy to Pisshead. ‘What about us?’ Tallis said, regarding Asim.
‘Sean and Roz will be armed. For authenticity’s sake, you won’t.’
‘Fabulous,’ Tallis said, unsmiling.
‘Sorry, but that’s the way it has to be. You start waving a firearm about and you’ll look like part of the plot.’
‘Can’t I have a piece in my glove compartment?’
‘Only piece you’ll be needing is a hands-free phone.’
Tallis wasn’t persuaded but he knew better than to argue with Asim, especially in front of the others.
Sean turned to Roz. ‘Better take a look and familiarise ourselves with the terrain soon as.’
‘When are we going in exactly?’ Tallis asked. ‘I don’t recommend Mondays unless you fancy getting stuck behind a refuse collection lorry.’
A date was arranged for five days’ time.
It was decided that Roz would act as trigger. A lay-by close to Shakenbrook gave a clear and unobstructed view of the entrance. From there, Roz, riding a motorbike, could confirm the Lexus was being driven with the target occupants inside, and give Dread’s direction of travel. Less than a kilometre down the road, Tallis would already be in position at a junction from which he’d pull in behind the Lexus.
‘Think he’ll notice?’ Sean said.
Depends how stoned he is, Tallis thought. That was the other thing about Dread. He liked his ganja. Had also been known to smoke the odd rock of crack. ‘No special reason for him to be suspicious. Even if he is, there are no lights to jump, no roundabouts to drive round twice, no places for a U turn.’ Tallis was actually a bit more concerned about his battered old car. Wouldn’t look cool for it to break down in the middle of the operation. He made a mental note to run a maintenance check.
As if Roz had read his mind, she asked what he’d be driving. He told her.
‘How far are you going to get in one of those?’
‘The plan is for you to allow me to escape. What would you prefer, a bright red Ferrari? Might as well paint I’m coming to get you on the bonnet.’
Roz bit her lip and glared.
‘He’s right,’ Sean said, glancing grudgingly at Tallis.
‘Comes down to authenticity.’ Tallis grinned before turning back to Roz. ‘I’m sure you could play dead, or something. Give me a head start.’
She flicked a cold, disdainful smile. ‘I’ll be too busy sorting out Mr Dread.’ Carrying out the hard part was what she meant, Tallis thought, considering what kind of a woman she was, a ball-breaker, or vulnerable as hell. Again, he remembered Lavender, her charm, her quiet confidence. Oh, fuck, he thought, shaking the image of her out of his head. He asked what they intended to do with Dread. Everyone looked at Asim.
‘We’re going to put him on a plane back to Jamaica,’ Asim said. ‘Police want to question him about a murder in Kingston.’
They returned to the map. Sean tracked Tallis’s intended route. ‘You’ll be the eyeball,’ he said.
And the cavalry, unless it went tits up, in which case he’d be the fall guy, Tallis thought.
‘I’ll be waiting here at the choke point,’ Sean said, indicating a spot on the map. ‘Roz, you cut through using the bridle path. I’ll pull out in front—’
‘What are you going to be driving, a Sherman tank?’ Tallis interrupted.
‘A specially reinforced Land Rover,’ Asim chipped in, ‘not unlike our Mr Kennedy’s preferred mode of transport.’
‘Roz pulls her piece,’ Sean continued. ‘I move in. Between us we disable Mr Dread…’
‘And in the meantime, I rescue the woman and child, reverse like fuck up the road and become the hero of the hour.’
Simple.