Meltdown Read Free Page A

decisions were
made, Fergus wouldn't make them alone.
    'Why us?' said Danny.
    'Firstly, because of your grandfather's vast
experience in combating drugs traffickers. FARC in
Colombia, the IRA drug runners in Northern
Ireland. He's been inside those organizations; he
knows how they operate. That knowledge will be
invaluable.'
    Danny shrugged; it wasn't enough to have
brought Dudley all the way from his comfortable
office in London.
    'And then there are the people we're targeting,'
Dudley added quickly. 'They're vain and arrogant.
They enjoy the champagne lifestyle and they like to
mix with the famous or even the infamous. They
will undoubtedly be drawn to high-profile
characters like yourselves once their own problems
begin.'
    'High profile?' asked Danny. 'Us?'
    'Oh, you will be,' said Dudley, reaching into an
inside pocket of his overcoat. He pulled out a folded
sheet of paper, opened it and placed it on the table
for Danny to read. It was a mock-up of a newspaper
headline.
    TRAITOR REVEALED
AS SECRET HERO
    'That's one of my own,' said Dudley, shrugging
modestly. The hot coffee had had a reviving effect.
'But I'm sure my experts will come up with even
more tantalizing headlines, as well as the stories to
go with them.'
    Danny looked over at his grandfather. 'I don't
get it.'
    'Let him explain,' answered Fergus quietly.
    Dudley swiftly outlined his plan. 'Your grandfather
has a history. I want to use that history to
draw in our targets.'
    'But why? Why not use one of your own men?'
    'Because there isn't time, Danny. The Meltdown
crisis is spiralling out of control. There's no time to
create a believable legend for some non-existent
hero. Your grandfather's story is all there on the
record, in black and white.'
    Danny listened as Dudley explained that he was
already preparing a carefully orchestrated press
campaign. A deliberately leaked MI5 report would
reveal that Fergus had played a massive part in
halting a worldwide teenage suicide bombing
campaign, after being secretly recruited for
Operation Black Star.
    He would be acclaimed as a national hero and, as
a result, the government would have no option but
to publicly 'pardon' him for his previous crimes
against the country. Fergus had long been accused
of being a traitor, of selling out to the FARC drug
barons in Colombia when he was meant to be working
towards their destruction. They all knew it was
a false accusation, but it would remain on the
record.
    'But he's innocent,' said Danny quickly. 'You
know that. We proved it before the Black Star
operation.'
    Dudley nodded indulgently. 'Of course I know it.
But we want our targets to think exactly the
opposite. We want them to think that he's guilty;
that he's corrupt, perfectly willing to enter into a
shady deal if the money is right. That's what will
make him attractive to them.'
    'But why should—?'
    'Let me finish, please?' said Dudley, holding
up his hands. 'We'll make it absolutely clear that
while we're grateful for everything your grandfather
has done, he can never again be employed
by any government organization. That's important.'
    He sat back, looking pleased with his plan. He
raised his eyebrows, inviting Danny's questions.
    'These targets you keep talking about, who are
they?'
    The elderly man shook his head. 'I'm afraid that
information must remain classified until I know
that you're in.'
    Danny pushed away his chair and stood up. 'I've
had enough of all this classified shit.' He glared at
his grandfather. 'And operational secrets.' He
started to walk towards the door.
    'Wait, Danny!' said Fergus. As Danny stopped by
the door, Fergus fixed his eyes on Dudley. 'The
targets? Who are they?'
    Dudley sighed. 'They're young brothers – twins
by the name of Headingham.'
    'So, if you've got a name, why don't you just go in
and bust them?'
    'Because it's not the right way, I'm certain of that
now. There are no new clues to the location of the
DMP – we had a task force go into a warehouse we
suspected was