Gray Resurrection Read Free Page A

I’m working
for.”
     “You are working for Her Majesty’s
government.”
    “I gathered that, but which branch,”
Grant asked, exasperated.
    “That’s need to know.”
    “Yes, and I need to fucking know.”
    “No you don’t,” Farrar said. “All you
have to do is follow instructions.  Now, there are rumblings of terror
cells operating in Europe and we want you to go and do what you do best.”
    “You’re not listening, Farrar.  I
want some answers before I do anything for you.”
    Farrar sighed and angled himself to get
a better view of Grant.  “It wouldn’t do you any good to know who my
bosses are.  We’re so black, even the prime minister doesn’t know the full
extent of what we do, and you won’t find us in the Yellow Pages.  All you
need to know is that we are the cutting edge of anti-terrorism and we have a
proactive agenda.  We like to stop attacks while they are in the planning
stage, and do it in such a way that they don’t know that we know, if you know
what I mean.”
    Grant’s expression barely changed,
waiting for Farrar to elaborate.
    “We take down cells at the earliest
possible stage, causing accidents so that the men at the top don’t know we’re
on to them.  Their people die in car crashes, in street robberies, all
manner of different ways, but crucially they are explainable accidents. 
However, you can only have so many of your people die in a crash before it
becomes suspicious, and so we need to think of more ingenious ways. 
That’s where you come in.
    “Your little stunt last year was well
thought out, and we need that kind of lateral thinking to enable us to ramp up
the body count.  We’re taking down our fair share of terrorists, don’t get
me wrong, but there are just too many others willing to replace them.”
    “Then go for the main men, not the foot
soldiers,” Grant said, despite his reticence to engage in conversation with the
man, his training and planning skills kicking in before he had a chance to stop
himself.
    “You see, that’s what I mean.  You
hear the problem and immediately have the solution."
    “Don’t try and blow smoke up my arse, it
won’t work.  Besides, I’m out of that whole business now.  You’ll
have to find someone else.”
    “This isn’t up for discussion,
Sam.  You either do as we ask, or things get very uncomfortable for
you.” 
    “What are you going to do?” Grant
laughed.  “Come and visit me every day?  I’m a free man.”
    “I was thinking more of having the lease
on your company offices cancelled, or maybe retracting your Barangay clearance
to operate a business.  That puts your staff out of work and your business
goes down the pan.  I can also stop all withdrawals from your bank
account, leaving you without a pot to piss in.”
    Farrar nodded toward Alma, who was just
finishing up with the hose.  “Do you really think your dolly bird will
hang around when she finds out you can’t support her anymore?”
    He enjoyed the pained look on Grant’s
face at the thought of losing his bed warmer, a look that swiftly turned to
anger.
    “I’ll do one job, but with conditions,”
Grant said, more than a touch of hostility in his voice.  Farrar started
to object but Grant cut him off.  “I want some of my old team with me.
Sonny Baines, Len Smart and Tristram Barker-Fink all helped come up with the
plan last year, and I want their help again.”
    “Impossible.  The fewer people
involved the better.”
    “It’s not negotiable, Farrar.  As
you’ve already said, they don’t need to know who they’re working for; they just
need to follow instructions.  I’m sure you’ll have front companies that
can employ them at proper contractor rates, so make it happen.”
    Farrar wasn’t accustomed to having
people dictate terms to him, and was determined to make that clear.  “It’s
out of the question.  We have no idea where these people are.  It
could take weeks to track them down.”
    “That’s