forty-mile-an-hour zone. And believe me, prison is a young man’s game. I’ve got no intention of getting locked up at my time of life.’
The Führer sounded confident, but James knew it was a lie. Before the war with the Vengeful Bastards and the arrest of half his men, the Führer kept his weapons dealing at arm’s length. Standing in a room with guns on the table, speaking to two men holding bags of cash was the kind of business he would have passed on to a subordinate. But gang wars aren’t cheap and the Führer had to take risks.
‘So we’re all happy?’ Rhino asked, as he slid an ammunition clip across the tabletop. ‘Target box is set up if he wants to try shooting. The kid picked this place ‘cos there’s no neighbours within half a mile.’
Liam reached eagerly for the clip, but his father disapproved of his son’s posturing with the weapon. The old man spoke brusquely in Mandarin and Kerry translated.
‘Mr Xu says that the weapons are excellent. He wishes to conclude business quickly and return to London. He trusts that the rest of the stock will be up to standard, and asks you to begin inspecting the money quickly to ensure that you’re fully satisfied.’
Rhino leant towards one of the Louis Vuitton bags and unzipped it, but the Führer swatted him back.
‘It’s on trust,’ the Führer said.
‘Of course,’ Liam smiled.
While working with the Führer, James had learnt that the level of trust between criminals became greater the higher up you went. The chances of street dealers ripping one another off in a small drug deal were high. But a half-million-pound weapons deal between the Führer and the Chinese crime syndicate for which the Xus worked went through on mutual trust, because the consequences of any dispute would be devastating for both sides.
‘Here’s a key, and a map showing the lock-up where the rest is being stored,’ the Führer explained, as he handed Liam a padded envelope. ‘Will you be wanting your luggage back?’
Mr Xu smiled as the Führer shook his hand.
‘They’re excellent fakes, a lucrative business of ours,’ Kerry translated. ‘Mr Xu says that your wife might like them, and that they’re indistinguishable from the real thing.’
‘Most kind,’ the Führer smiled, as Kerry helped Mr Xu back to his feet.
James’ heart accelerated as he saw the Xus heading for the top of the stairs. Everything was going to plan, but he was still edgy. The police had fitted the Surf Club with hidden cameras and microphones. They’d have the whole deal on tape, and the Fuhrer’s boast that he’d been dealing in guns for more than thirty years couldn’t have been more perfect.
But now came the dodgy part. The police didn’t want anyone to have a chance to destroy evidence or grab a weapon. They planned an overwhelming assault, moving in quickly with armed officers, arresting everyone in the meeting and grabbing the cash and the envelope with the location of the weapons.
None of the officers hiding outside knew that James was working undercover, so he could expect rough treatment. And with guns and ammunition lying around, the situation could turn into a shoot-out if the cops slipped up.
3. BLENDER
Kerry helped Mr Xu downstairs, with Liam and the Führer walking behind. The first sign of police was the clank of two aluminium ladders hitting the side of the building. Clad from head to toe in black, and sporting Kevlar helmets and sub machine guns, the firearms officers jumped on to the first-floor balcony and wrenched at wooden shutters covering the windows.
In theory, two shutters had been loosened in preparation for the raid, but it didn’t work out. As the officers battled with sheets of chipboard screwed to the window frames, Rhino snatched an MP7 from the table top and slammed in a twenty-round clip.
At the same moment, another pair of officers hit the swinging front doors on the ground floor.
A shout went through a megaphone outside. ‘This is the
The Führer sounded confident, but James knew it was a lie. Before the war with the Vengeful Bastards and the arrest of half his men, the Führer kept his weapons dealing at arm’s length. Standing in a room with guns on the table, speaking to two men holding bags of cash was the kind of business he would have passed on to a subordinate. But gang wars aren’t cheap and the Führer had to take risks.
‘So we’re all happy?’ Rhino asked, as he slid an ammunition clip across the tabletop. ‘Target box is set up if he wants to try shooting. The kid picked this place ‘cos there’s no neighbours within half a mile.’
Liam reached eagerly for the clip, but his father disapproved of his son’s posturing with the weapon. The old man spoke brusquely in Mandarin and Kerry translated.
‘Mr Xu says that the weapons are excellent. He wishes to conclude business quickly and return to London. He trusts that the rest of the stock will be up to standard, and asks you to begin inspecting the money quickly to ensure that you’re fully satisfied.’
Rhino leant towards one of the Louis Vuitton bags and unzipped it, but the Führer swatted him back.
‘It’s on trust,’ the Führer said.
‘Of course,’ Liam smiled.
While working with the Führer, James had learnt that the level of trust between criminals became greater the higher up you went. The chances of street dealers ripping one another off in a small drug deal were high. But a half-million-pound weapons deal between the Führer and the Chinese crime syndicate for which the Xus worked went through on mutual trust, because the consequences of any dispute would be devastating for both sides.
‘Here’s a key, and a map showing the lock-up where the rest is being stored,’ the Führer explained, as he handed Liam a padded envelope. ‘Will you be wanting your luggage back?’
Mr Xu smiled as the Führer shook his hand.
‘They’re excellent fakes, a lucrative business of ours,’ Kerry translated. ‘Mr Xu says that your wife might like them, and that they’re indistinguishable from the real thing.’
‘Most kind,’ the Führer smiled, as Kerry helped Mr Xu back to his feet.
James’ heart accelerated as he saw the Xus heading for the top of the stairs. Everything was going to plan, but he was still edgy. The police had fitted the Surf Club with hidden cameras and microphones. They’d have the whole deal on tape, and the Fuhrer’s boast that he’d been dealing in guns for more than thirty years couldn’t have been more perfect.
But now came the dodgy part. The police didn’t want anyone to have a chance to destroy evidence or grab a weapon. They planned an overwhelming assault, moving in quickly with armed officers, arresting everyone in the meeting and grabbing the cash and the envelope with the location of the weapons.
None of the officers hiding outside knew that James was working undercover, so he could expect rough treatment. And with guns and ammunition lying around, the situation could turn into a shoot-out if the cops slipped up.
3. BLENDER
Kerry helped Mr Xu downstairs, with Liam and the Führer walking behind. The first sign of police was the clank of two aluminium ladders hitting the side of the building. Clad from head to toe in black, and sporting Kevlar helmets and sub machine guns, the firearms officers jumped on to the first-floor balcony and wrenched at wooden shutters covering the windows.
In theory, two shutters had been loosened in preparation for the raid, but it didn’t work out. As the officers battled with sheets of chipboard screwed to the window frames, Rhino snatched an MP7 from the table top and slammed in a twenty-round clip.
At the same moment, another pair of officers hit the swinging front doors on the ground floor.
A shout went through a megaphone outside. ‘This is the
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