“You know where he is. Joyce told you, didn’t he?”
“Iraq. Chisholm confirmed it. But I don’t know where.”
“There’s an enormous oilfield at Rumaila. The biggest in the country and they think the third largest in the world. The Iraqis say there could be eighteen billion barrels. It’s worth a ridiculous amount. The oil ministry auctioned the contract off six months ago, and they had Exxon and Mobil bidding on the one hand and a consortium of BP and the Chinese on the other. The Americans won, which didn’t make the government particularly happy, as you can imagine. The treasury revenue on this is enormous. And frankly, we could do with the money.”
“What does this have to do with Duffy?”
“I’m getting to that. It goes without saying the area isn’t safe. The Americans lost three executives when they went down to spec it out. The insurgents didn’t take too kindly to them and had them shot. So the companies invested in better security. Our friends, Manage Risk, tendered and won the contract. They’ve been supplying ex-Spec Op guys, SAS, SEALs and Rangers, and they’ve kept a lid on things for the most part.” He stabbed a finger on the map. “Rumaila. Twenty miles from the Kuwaiti border, just south of Basra. Sunni territory. It was discovered in 1953 by the Basra Petroleum Company, but then it was confiscated by the Iraqi government . The Sunnis have always maintained a claim to it.”
“This is very interesting, Pope, but I don’t have time for history. Just tell me where Duffy is and what you want me to do.”
He ignored her and continued. “The locals have been protesting ever since the Americans won the contract. They’ve picketed the offices, targeted the officials and vandalised the drill sites. It came to a head last week. There was a big protest, several thousand locals, and it started to turn ugly. They tried to break into the compound. There were a few Iraqi soldiers there, but mostly it was men from Manage Risk. They opened fire on the crowd with machine guns. Two hundred injured, sixteen dead. It’s been a very big deal down there. The locals tried to get the men prosecuted, but the charges were all thrown out.”
“I read about it. Unreliable evidence.”
“And it was. The judge said it was built on testimony given in exchange for immunity. The reason you should be interested in this is because Bryan Duffy was one of the five defendants. He was Manage Risk’s top man on the ground that day. The evidence suggests he gave the order to fire.”
“He’s still there?”
Pope nodded. “Working between Basra and the oil field. One of the other defendants is having a crisis of conscience. His name is Mackenzie West. He’s a man of faith and he can’t square what happened with there being no punishment. We’ve heard through channels that he’s ready to give evidence against the other four. Manage Risk knows that. They’ve trumped up a bogus medical reason why he needs to be taken out of circulation. We need you to go and get him out.”
“What’s it got to do with us?”
“If the case against Manage Risk is successful, it will make it very hard for the Americans to hold on to the oilfield. There’s already been a backlash, and if this can be made to stick, it’ll get much, much worse. BP has been told by the Iraqis that there’s a good chance that the contract will be torn up and the field put out to tender again. The government is anxious that should happen. All this intel is coming from MI6. Everyone wins: you get Duffy, the Iraqis get justice, BP gets the oilfield, the treasury gets billions in fresh taxes.”
“Very neat. He’s protected?”
“By the best they’ve got.”
“How many?”
“There’s three hundred in Basra. Good men, not chumps.”
“So it wouldn’t be easy?”
“No. Certainly not.”
“And I don’t have a choice?”
“ No, of course you do. You could go in your self and take Duffy out.”
“But I’ll get no
“Iraq. Chisholm confirmed it. But I don’t know where.”
“There’s an enormous oilfield at Rumaila. The biggest in the country and they think the third largest in the world. The Iraqis say there could be eighteen billion barrels. It’s worth a ridiculous amount. The oil ministry auctioned the contract off six months ago, and they had Exxon and Mobil bidding on the one hand and a consortium of BP and the Chinese on the other. The Americans won, which didn’t make the government particularly happy, as you can imagine. The treasury revenue on this is enormous. And frankly, we could do with the money.”
“What does this have to do with Duffy?”
“I’m getting to that. It goes without saying the area isn’t safe. The Americans lost three executives when they went down to spec it out. The insurgents didn’t take too kindly to them and had them shot. So the companies invested in better security. Our friends, Manage Risk, tendered and won the contract. They’ve been supplying ex-Spec Op guys, SAS, SEALs and Rangers, and they’ve kept a lid on things for the most part.” He stabbed a finger on the map. “Rumaila. Twenty miles from the Kuwaiti border, just south of Basra. Sunni territory. It was discovered in 1953 by the Basra Petroleum Company, but then it was confiscated by the Iraqi government . The Sunnis have always maintained a claim to it.”
“This is very interesting, Pope, but I don’t have time for history. Just tell me where Duffy is and what you want me to do.”
He ignored her and continued. “The locals have been protesting ever since the Americans won the contract. They’ve picketed the offices, targeted the officials and vandalised the drill sites. It came to a head last week. There was a big protest, several thousand locals, and it started to turn ugly. They tried to break into the compound. There were a few Iraqi soldiers there, but mostly it was men from Manage Risk. They opened fire on the crowd with machine guns. Two hundred injured, sixteen dead. It’s been a very big deal down there. The locals tried to get the men prosecuted, but the charges were all thrown out.”
“I read about it. Unreliable evidence.”
“And it was. The judge said it was built on testimony given in exchange for immunity. The reason you should be interested in this is because Bryan Duffy was one of the five defendants. He was Manage Risk’s top man on the ground that day. The evidence suggests he gave the order to fire.”
“He’s still there?”
Pope nodded. “Working between Basra and the oil field. One of the other defendants is having a crisis of conscience. His name is Mackenzie West. He’s a man of faith and he can’t square what happened with there being no punishment. We’ve heard through channels that he’s ready to give evidence against the other four. Manage Risk knows that. They’ve trumped up a bogus medical reason why he needs to be taken out of circulation. We need you to go and get him out.”
“What’s it got to do with us?”
“If the case against Manage Risk is successful, it will make it very hard for the Americans to hold on to the oilfield. There’s already been a backlash, and if this can be made to stick, it’ll get much, much worse. BP has been told by the Iraqis that there’s a good chance that the contract will be torn up and the field put out to tender again. The government is anxious that should happen. All this intel is coming from MI6. Everyone wins: you get Duffy, the Iraqis get justice, BP gets the oilfield, the treasury gets billions in fresh taxes.”
“Very neat. He’s protected?”
“By the best they’ve got.”
“How many?”
“There’s three hundred in Basra. Good men, not chumps.”
“So it wouldn’t be easy?”
“No. Certainly not.”
“And I don’t have a choice?”
“ No, of course you do. You could go in your self and take Duffy out.”
“But I’ll get no
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