The Untouchable by Gerald Seymour Read Free Book Online Page A

sweated.
    'Sierra Quebec Golf, in its present form, is dismantled, and you - if you'll forgive my bluntness -
    are supernumerary.'
    'It's been more than thirty years of my life.' He shouldn't have said that, didn't want to sound self-pitying. He'd known he'd be called in, but had hoped it would be later and that the drink would have been further through his system.
    'That's a shame, and you have to believe it's sincerely m e a n t . . . But facts have to be faced.'
    'I'm familiar with the facts. We were unlucky, that's all.' He heard his own voice and thought it petulant.
    He'd never been easy with the new man, the outsider, the blow-in from the intelligence community. Never been able to talk to him the way he had with his bosses when they were promoted from inside, closed shop.
    'For heaven's sake, Brian, be adult. It's not a time for sulking. Millions of pounds have been spent. We were laughed out of court . . . Packer is the nearest thing we have in this country to a superleague organized-crime player. You had every resource you wanted, everything you asked for.'
    'A witch hunt, is that what this is, and I'm the bloody broomstick?' He hadn't combed what hair he had. His head was throbbing, along with his anger.
    The new man wore a perfect suit, a perfect shirt and a perfect tie with some bloody image on it that the SIO
    couldn't quite focus on, something from the spook days he supposed. And the CIO was Cambridge and connected, and had the ear of the elite.
    'You can either be transferred to VAT investigations for the last few months or, if you think it more appropriate, take early retirement. Pension won't be affected, goes without saying.'
    'That's remarkably generous of you.' Sarcasm never came naturally to him. His wife, who'd been with him as long as he'd been in the Church, said that when he tried sarcasm he demeaned himself. It was ignored.
    'Looking at you, Brian - I don't get any pleasure from saying this - gives me the impression you slept in a hedgerow last night. Senior men getting drunk with juniors is seldom wise.'
    'I took the team out. Bloody hell, don't you understand? It's what we always do when a case goes down. These men, these women, they'd put their lives into this, everything else secondary, and me. We went for a drink or three, so what?'
    'Not a habit I sympathize with. I would have thought an assessment of the disaster, and it was a disaster, would have been better prepared while minds were clear, not through a hangover . ..'
    The SIO laughed, a hoarse snigger.

    Glacial eyes gleamed at him. 'Why is that so funny?
    Enlighten me, please.'
    'Cann did that. Cann stayed behind. He was at the computer all night. Why? "To see what we did wrong." We didn't do anything wrong. It was the system, the process . . . '
    The CIO had the palms of his hands together, fingers outstretched, a bishop in prayer. 'Always somebody else's fault. I hear you, Brian. Keep saying it often enough and you might gain some comfort from it. Anyway, I'm afraid that's the end of the line.
    Sorry, there cannot be sentiment, not when a man as prominent as Packer walks free. So, what's it to be?'
    There wasn't going to be a party. There might be a carriage clock sent on in the post, and there might be a seedy secretive gathering in a pub and the handing over of a sherry decanter bought with a whip-round.
    He said quietly, 'I'd like the rest of the day to clear my things up, and say a few goodbyes.'
    'Sensible choice. The pension people will be in touch.'
    He flared. He was on his way out, headed for the rubbish heap. 'God, look, I wanted to put him down, I wanted it as much as anyone.'
    'But you didn't, did you, put him down? That's the difficulty, Brian. Good luck.' The CIO smiled.
    'Goodbye. Let's hope others manage where I failed.'
    'Yes, with the right people I'm sure we will.'
    The SIO was on his way to the door.
    The voice behind him was sham matter-of-fact. 'Oh, the one in the team who resisted your leadership demand to get