Dark Forces by Stephen Leather Read Free Book Online

could have done with a coffee.
    ‘There’s no reason we couldn’t have done this in Thames House,’ said Willoughby-Brown.
    ‘I’m undercover. I can’t risk being spotted walking into MI5’s HQ.’
    ‘You’re being over-cautious,’ said Willoughby-Brown, flicking ash into the pot of what seemed to be a plastic plant. ‘What are the odds that anyone connected to a South London crime family would be passing Thames House at the exact moment you decided to pay us a visit?’
    ‘It doesn’t matter what the odds are. I’m not prepared to take the risk. And it’s my call.’
    Willoughby-Brown raised his hands in surrender. ‘Daniel, whatever it takes to keep you happy is fine by me. So, how are we fixed with the O’Neills?’
    ‘All good. So far as they know, I’m a stone-cold killer who’s happy to be on their payroll. Give it a few days and I’ll mention the money thing, see if I can get them to bring me into their laundering. At that point I’m going to need some cash.’
    ‘How much?’
    ‘It’ll have to be a lot or they won’t take me seriously.’
    ‘How much is a lot?’
    ‘Half a mill would get their attention.’
    Willoughby-Brown grimaced. ‘That’s a big wedge, Daniel.’
    ‘You don’t need money-laundering for a few grand. If you want me to blow the whole organisation apart, we need to be able to follow the money.’
    ‘You can understand my reluctance to give London’s biggest gangster firm half a million pounds of Her Majesty’s money. What if they rip you off?’
    ‘They’re convinced I’m a professional assassin. I’m the last person they’re going to be thinking about ripping off. Any less than that and they’re not going to introduce me to their money men. But with half a mill I can demand a sit-down. Then we can put names to faces so that when we take them down we can get their assets, too.’
    ‘And it has to be cash?’
    Shepherd sighed in exasperation. ‘I can hardly give them a cheque, can I? The whole point is that I want to get cash into the system.’
    ‘Yes, I know that,’ said Willoughby-Brown, archly. ‘But I’m sure you understand my reservations.’
    ‘You don’t make an omelette without breaking eggs,’ said Shepherd.
    ‘This isn’t about a dozen eggs, though, is it? This is the whole hen-house.’
    ‘If Five is serious in wanting to destroy the O’Neills as a criminal force, they have to put in the effort. So far we have enough on tape to put half a dozen of them behind bars but not Tommy and Marty, not yet. And even if we do move against them with what we have, we don’t know where most of the money is. There’s the house in Bromley but that’s in Tommy’s wife’s name. The cars are leased, the businesses in shell companies. They never use credit or debit cards.’
    ‘We can get Tommy and Marty on conspiracy to murder,’ said Willoughby-Brown.
    ‘Not without me standing in the witness box, and that’s not going to happen,’ said Shepherd. ‘You know how it works. I gather evidence but I’m never in court.’
    ‘We could put you behind a screen. Work up a disguise for you. It’s been done before.’
    ‘Not with me it hasn’t.’
    ‘Okay, I take your point. We need to bait the trap and a few crumbs of cheese won’t do it. I’ll get the money sorted. Pounds, I suppose?’
    ‘Some pounds, some euros. The Hammer works Europe-wide.’
    ‘Seriously? You call yourself the Hammer?’
    ‘It makes what I do more memorable.’
    ‘I suppose you know best,’ said Willoughby-Brown. ‘The money might take a day or two – we’ll need the numbers registered.’
    ‘No consecutive ones,’ said Shepherd.
    Willoughby-Brown flashed him a tight smile. ‘I’m not exactly a virgin at this, Daniel. Please give me some credit. What about when you give them the money? Can you be wired up?’
    ‘Not if Tommy and Marty are anywhere nearby,’ Shepherd said. ‘They use the latest counter-eavesdropping technology. And Tommy’s hardly ever here,