The Badge & the Pen Thrillers

by Roger A Price

  ‘And if there are replacements en route to Preston, we need to secure their safety before we act against Boldo,’ Harry added.

  Vinnie glanced at the chief, who was nodding.

  ‘Oh and there’s another duty of care issue,’ Sue said.

  All four of them were now staring at Sue. Vinnie couldn’t image what else could have arisen.

  ‘The reason Babik wanted to meet me away from the mill to hand over the women, was that one of the street walkers on Fletcher Road told him that someone had been sniffing around and asking questions of them.’

  Harry, Darlington and Cath all turned to face Vinnie now, who said, ‘Sorry, not me. I had a scout around looking for Sue, but didn’t talk to any of the working women.’

  ‘It wasn’t a cop, I can tell you that,’ Sue said, and then added as heads turned back to face her, ‘Babik said it was a female who identified herself as a reporter, but I’ve no idea of her name.’

  Vinnie groaned inside, as he and Harry looked at each other. Sue carried on. ‘But whoever she is, she’s in danger if Babik gets hold of her. With Boldo in town, he’ll do anything to protect the mill, and I mean anything.’

  Chapter Fifty-Seven

  Fletcher Road was quiet and it was only when he drove down it for a second time that two of the local girls appeared. The second was the one he was searching for. He pulled over and dropped the passenger window. She walked over, swaying her hips, but only recognised him as she leant in. He told her to jump in, and she did.

  ‘Got me dosh, darling?’ she started.

  ‘I have,’ said Babik, fished his wallet out of his pocket and took out 10 £50 notes, which barely altered the thickness of the wad. He saw her eyes widen on seeing this.

  ‘I’d do a lot of things to help you empty that wallet,’ she said.

  ‘Let’s stick to business, my business.’

  She then told him of the reporter’s approach and he made her recount the words used. ‘She actually asked about “The Mill”?’ he said.

  ‘Yeah, she knew there was a posh gaff round here, but not where. None of us girls know where, or even if it’s true. But judging by some of the motors that don’t stop, I reckon it is. Don’t suppose you have any vacancies?’

  ‘Sorry love, we don’t, but I’ll bear you in mind,’ Babik lied.

  The woman then finished her tale and asked if there was any chance of a bonus. Babik could feel his temper starting to rise at the woman’s cheek, but swallowed it. He asked what she had in mind.

  ‘Well hun, I was on me phone when she pulled up so got a photo of her and of her motor as she pulled away.’

  Babik couldn’t believe his luck. He paid the woman an extra £100 and noted the vehicle’s details; he’d get Sue onto that, when he saw her later. As for the woman driving, the shot wasn’t clear. It had been taken through the windscreen, so there was a lot of ambient light reflected from the glass. But there was enough detail to make out the main features. Babik was sure he’d recognise her again — for a while, at least. He mused what to do as he drove back to the hotel, and knew he couldn’t take any chances. If the mill was compromised, then his deal with Boldo would go down the drain. He’d have to find this reporter quickly and get rid of her as quietly as possible. But there had been something familiar about her picture. Something recent, but not like someone he’d met. More vague. Perhaps he’d seen her photo in one of the local newspapers? He’d start researching online, after he’d had some sleep. Maybe she just looked similar to someone he’d seen, he couldn’t be sure. She was a looker though. Maybe that was all it was.

  Ten minutes later he parked in the hotel car park and was surprised that the spaces were nearly all taken. He checked his watch and it was after one. Hopefully, Boldo wouldn’t still be in the bar waiting for him; he was looking forward to a nightcap on his own before retiring. He considered giving Sue a call to make sure the two women had settled OK, but decided against it. She’d have rung him if there’d been any problems.

  *

  ‘I know she’s safe, I checked when I arrived back at the hotel,’ Vinnie said.

  ‘You see her?’ Harry asked.

  ‘I was hoping to, but she’d left a note for me at the reception saying she’d see me at breakfast.’

  ‘That’s a relief,’ Harry said.

  ‘Can we trust her?’ Cath asked.

  ‘Totally.’ Darlington answered for Harry, adding, ‘We’ve used her before to assist, no problems. There will be a story at the end of it, but only when we say.’

  Vinnie knew he’d have to warn Christine, but keeping her at a safe distance might be trickier than Darlington or Harry knew. He’d have to think about that.

  ‘What about the replacement women?’ Cath asked, as she finished a call on her mobile.

  ‘I’ll have to try and elicit the information from Babik when I see him later,’ Sue said.

  ‘Given that we can’t strike until we know they are safe, you’ll have to stick to Babik and Boldo like the proverbial,’ Darlington said.

  Vinnie thought he could see a glimmer of frustration on Sue’s face; she’d know that.

  ‘But what about the contract killer?’ Harry asked.

  Pointing at her phone, Cath said, special ops don’t have anyone available, but they reckon if we check the national register in the morning there should be one who’s done this type of work before available somewhere in the country.’

  ‘If they are indeed available?’ Harry said.

  Cath nodded.

  ‘And not a million miles away,’ Harry continued.

  Cath nodded again.

  ‘Bearing in mind they will be arriving cold with no prior knowledge of the job.’

  Cath nodded once more.

  ‘And if I don’t have someone available when I next speak to Babik in a few hours, it may be too late. He may just use someone else,’ Sue added.

  ‘Exactly,’ Harry said. Almost triumphantly, Vinnie thought. Then he realised why.

  ‘I know where this is going,’ Vinnie said.

  Then Harry explained to the group that Vinnie some years ago had been a fully-trained level one undercover officer. He was ideal.

  ‘What do you think, Sue?’ Cath asked.

  ‘How much press exposure have you had recently?’ was Sue’s first question.

  ‘None, Harry does all the press conferences,’ Vinnie answered.

  ‘And you’re not a Lancashire officer?’

  ‘GMP — we’ve only recently moved into a satellite office here in Preston, since all the homicide units in the region came together,’ Vinnie answered.

  ‘Well, it’s still risky, but I’m game if you are,’ Sue said.

  ‘You’ll need a gun as part of your legend, which will reduce the deployment risks,’ Harry commented. Vinnie could see Darlington nodding, so knew it was a done deal. ‘OK, I’m in,’ he said.

  ‘Excellent,’ Harry said, adding; ‘now we just need a plan.’

  Chapter Fifty-Eight

  After breakfast, Boldo said that he wanted to go back to the mill as the new girls would be arriving later.

  ‘That’s quick, how come?’ Babik asked.

  ‘I have a network, one where women are identified but not moved, or taken, until needed. It reduces the risks. Whether they are idiots who think they are awaiting passage to a better life or just some local that my network has identified as suitable, it matters not,’ he replied.

  ‘But how have you managed to move them so quickly?’

  ‘You ask a lot of questions, my friend. It is as well that I know you.’

  ‘Sorry, I’m just super impressed,’ Babik said.

  Boldo smiled at him and then pulled his shirt sleeves up as he leaned back into his chair and carried on. Grandstanding, Babik thought.

  ‘I had two at Calais so had them moved through the Channel Tunnel straight away, they are en route. What about the others?’

  Babik glanced at Boldo’s tattoo as he told him about Sue, and although Boldo init
ially looked annoyed, he eased his countenance when Babik explained how she had warned him in the nick of time when the other premises had been raided.

  ‘How did she know?’ Boldo asked, as he pulled his sleeves back down.

  ‘She has connections inside the police,’ Babik said.

  ‘In that case, I would definitely like to meet her,’ Boldo said. Babik wasn’t entirely sure why he suddenly seemed even keener. He was just glad, as it eased things. Then he said, ‘And she has a suitable person in mind to remove the used women.’

  ‘Excellent,’ Boldo said, as he rose to his feet. It was obviously time to go.

  Babik knew that Boldo was a secretive man and probably didn’t like to give too much away about his background. Though, if that was the case, Babik wondered why he hadn’t had that old tattoo removed. Maybe he couldn’t, without causing some massive cultural insult. Babik was going to ask, but decided to let it drop as he followed Boldo out of the hotel restaurant. He would ring Sue as soon as he was on his own and hope that she was good on her promises ensuring an easy exchange of the women.

  He led the way out of the hotel, towards the car park, just as a black hackney cab pulled up. A lone female in her thirties alighted. Attractive, brunette and wearing a business suit with a very short skirt. She could be a high-flying exec, but Babik reckoned not. The six-inch stilettos gave it away. She was clearly high class and somebody would be handing over a large amount of cash to her shortly, he was sure of that. She wouldn’t look out of place in the mill, either.

  He was about to make that comment to Boldo, but could see he wasn’t paying the woman any attention. Then he remembered seeing the other woman outside the Premier Inn; déjà vu.

  Then it struck him. He now realised why the photo of the reporter was familiar.

  ‘The car’s this way. I’ll drop you at the mill; it’ll be making jeans today, so we’ll use the fire escape to access upstairs. Gill will look after you.’

  ‘Where are you going?’ Boldo asked.

  ‘Just got an errand to run,’ he said, as they reached the car.

  As soon as Boldo was in, Babik texted Sue quickly. Ring u in a bit, hope you got your man sorted, may have another job for him, CB x.

  *

  ‘Game on,’ Sue said, as she put her phone back down on the table in Darlington’s office. She’d heard it go off whilst freshening up in the chief’s private bathroom. None of them had got much sleep in the Chesterfield chairs; the backs were too damn low. But at least they had thrashed out a plan.

  She read the text from Babik and then told the others quickly, before replying: Ready with no probs re our guests and my man is on his way over. Extra job should be no worries x. Then she read her response to the others.

  ‘“Another job,” that’s a worry,’ Vinnie said.

  ‘We’ll find out soon enough.’ Sue said.

  Darlington had been at his desk throughout this conversation, and looked up straight at Vinnie. ‘Yes sir?’ Vinnie said.

  ‘I’ve just finished writing up all the authorities, to authorise you to act as an undercover officer and to carry a firearm. You can draw that from the armoury at the firearms training unit across at the training school. It’ll raise less suspicion there. In fact, you’ll need to stay away from Preston nick until this is over,’ Darlington said.

  ‘Any nick,’ Cath added.

  Vinnie knew this. Darlington then asked Cath if she would act as silver commander and he would act as gold. Vinnie knew that this meant that Darlington would oversee strategy, including any need for urgent changes to it, notwithstanding all they had all thrashed out over the last few hours. He knew situations such as this could become very fluid and unpredictable. Cath obviously agreed to be silver, as she would have the armed back-up resources available at a moment’s notice.

  ‘And will you act as bronze commander on the ground, Harry, and liaise with Preston in case we need extra resources or urgent intelligence checks,’ Darlington told him.

  Harry said he would work from his office at Preston, where he could better co-ordinate his side of things. Cath said she would work from the chief’s office, which also made sense.

  Roles and responsibilities sorted, it was time for a tea and toast before they all got moving.

  A surprised staff officer to the chief entered Darlington’s office and the chief constable took her to one side to explain things, before asking her to clear his diary for the day.

  ‘What about your eleven o’clock video conference call with the home secretary?’ she asked.

  ‘Damn, forgot about that, just tell her I’ve got the runs and you can deputise for me.’

  ‘Sir?’

  ‘You know more about the community cohesion report than I do, you’ll be perfect.’

  The staff officer made some comment about re-reading it and hurried out of the office. Vinnie didn’t envy her the task and was glad he was only a detective inspector.

  Then Sue’s operational phone buzzed again, but this time she announced that it was an incoming call from Babik. The room fell silent as she answered.

  After a few ‘yeses’ interspaced with silences, Sue looked directly at Vinnie. ‘Sure,’ she said, adding, ‘I’ll bring him to meet your first, just tell me where.’ A further silence, and then the call was over.

  ‘He says Boldo wants to meet me, but Babik wants to meet you first,’ Sue said, looking at Vinnie.

  ‘Excellent,’ said Darlington.

  ‘I’ll warm up the arrest teams,’ said Cath.

  ‘Any mention of the extra job?’ Vinnie asked.

  ‘No, and I didn’t want to push him over the phone, we’ll find out when we see him,’ Sue said.

  ‘Remember, we need to know where the women are before we move,’ Darlington said.

  Everyone acknowledged him.

  ‘Any idea where Boldo is now?’ Harry asked.

  ‘Apparently, Babik’s dropped him off, but didn’t say where.’

  ‘Any mention of the new girls?’ Harry asked.

  ‘No, but the mill is obviously where they are destined for.’

  ‘This is getting better, but we need Boldo’s location,’ Darlington said.

  ‘I’ll get an OP on the mill, but as you’re the only one who has been there, you’ll have to describe it to me,’ Harry said.

  Sue quickly did and added that as it was during the day Harry needed to get a position with a view of the fire escape at the rear. She then turned to Vinnie, ‘You ready?’

  ‘As I ever will be,’ Vinnie said, before checking his watch. It was ten o’clock already. ‘Come on, let’s go,’ he finished.

  Chapter Fifty-Nine

  Vinnie handed over a copy of the chief’s authority to arm to a startled firearms PC at the force training school’s firearms department. He seemed reluctant. Vinnie knew they never usually issued firearms for live operations from here. He just said it was for covert operational reasons, and the officer shrugged his shoulders before disappearing into the back. He reappeared at the reception desk with a Glock 19 handgun and two 15-round clips of 9 mm ammunition. He then reached under the desk for a shoulder holster, but Vinnie told him he wouldn’t need one. Having checked the weaponry over and signed for it, Vinnie asked to be shown to the training range.

  ‘Why, you forgotten how to use one since your last requalification shoot?’ the PC asked.

  ‘Just show me,’ Vinnie said, ignoring the sarcasm.

  Vinnie put on a pair of ear defenders and then fired two rounds.

  ‘Still goes bang, doesn’t it?’ the PC added.

  Vinnie said nothing but put the weapon in an inside pocket, minus the magazine which he put with the spare in an outside pocket.

  ‘Oh, one last thing,’ Vinnie said.

  ‘Yes,’ the PC answered.

  ‘Mention my visit here to anyone and the chief constable says you’ll be walking the streets of the east Lancashire hills for the rest of your service.’ Vinnie then turned and left without waiting for a reply.<
br />
  Sue drove her car and as they left the compound she asked him why he had fired a couple of rounds.

  ‘Proves it’s been used,’ Vinnie answered.

  ‘Nice one,’ she replied.

  ‘Now, where are we meeting Babik?’

  ‘I got a text whilst you were on the range; he wants to see me at Brockholes.’

  ‘Does he know I’m coming?’

  ‘Not yet.’

  ‘Where is Brockholes?’

  Sue then explained that it used to be a major quarry site on the eastern fringes of Preston, near the M6 motorway junctions, but was now a wetland attraction with the world’s first floating village visitor centre. A great spot for a meet. A good job they’d turned down Darlington’s offer to have a surveillance team behind them; as good as they undoubtedly were, it would be a nightmare to cover such a place. Or at least, cover it closely.

  Thirty minutes later they pulled up at the Brockholes site, which had one road in and the same road out, Vinnie noted. The car parking areas were vast and mostly empty at this time of the day. Sue had started to drive around its outer edge when Vinnie noticed a blue saloon car, parked up about as far away from the main entrance as possible. He was about to point it out when he saw its headlights flash. Sue drove over. She parked up several car spaces away from it and told Vinnie to stay in the car. He wound down the passenger window so he could hear should Babik get out. He doubted that would happen, but kept his right hand inside his jacket where he could feel the reassuring lump of his Glock.

  He watched as Sue slowly walked over to the car. It was side-on to them and Vinnie couldn’t see inside it clearly, due to the daylight reflecting from the vehicle’s glass. He could see someone at the wheel, but that was all.

  Sue opened the passenger door and got in. Vinnie glimpsed a swarthy-looking man in the driver’s seat, probably in his forties, but it was hard to be sure. She was in there for about five minutes, but it seemed a lot more. But when Sue did get back out, so did the driver. He then waited at the front of his car, where Vinnie managed to get a better look at him as Sue returned. In his forties, dark hair, rugged complexion, looked a handful.