by Sam Fintz
Once he was done with all that he went inside, poured himself a whisky and headed back out for a rare cigarette. He wasn’t meant to smoke anymore, but then he wasn’t meant to take bribes either, so who cares? Besides which, he was the Chief Constable of Greater Manchester, so he could do what he wanted!
Chapter 38
Mike Chalmers called Aiden and arranged for them to meet at Harrington Aeronautical for lunch and a pre-briefing. After that he called Andries Smit. Andries was his go-to guy that did his dirty work for him. Andries hailed from near Bloemfontein in South Africa and he was the stock of staunch Afrikaners with a strong affiliation to the AWB, a far-right South African political organisation whose emblem is one leg short of a swastika. As they were perpetually ready to take up arms against the current government in South Africa, they had brought Andries up to be tough and to fight to win, always. Mike had met him on a trip to Cape Town when he needed someone to convince an engineering company to sell to Harrington Aeronautical. He had managed to get Andries a British passport through marriage to some cheap whore that he knew. To keep him sweet he was kept on retainer as a “general handyman”. Andries also got paid extra for each job. All this gave him a much cushier lifestyle than he had in South Africa, so he was always willing to go the extra mile. Andries was incredibly handsome in an Aryan kind of way. That worked to his advantage and helped him catch people off-guard. He liked to dress in khaki trousers and a shirt that was almost the same shade. All that was short was a Nazi armband. He was also incredibly strong for his skinny 5-foot 8 frame and he was accustomed to getting what he wanted. Or rather what his clients wanted. Compliance was his favourite outcome and he had a 100% success rate.
“Andries, Mike here. How are you, you crooked bastard?” Mike asked.
“Mike! How are you buddy?” Andries replied in a broad South African accent. “You are a fine one to talk about crooked. You’re the king of crooked!” he joked. “What you got for me, man? All I am doing is listening to my bloody woman nagging so this will be a good excuse for me to get away from it.”
“Just the usual admin and tying up loose ends. I don’t ask much of you really even though you ask a lot of me!” Mike said to him.
“You always know what to say! Send me the details when you have them, and I will be happy to help. Oh, and the good news, my fee is still the same!” Andries said to Mike.
“You cheeky cunt!” Mike laughed. “I will be in touch soon. Cheers mate!” Mike said and hung up before Andries could say another word.
“Cheers Mike,” Andries said to the dead line.
Mike liked that he had Andries in his pocket. He was quick, efficient and could be really frightening. Everything that you could ask of such a reprobate! He had given Andries a lot of work over the years cleaning up the various Harrington messes. He was sure this one was going to be a doddle. He just needed to get the information together and then let Andries do the rest. He opened his laptop and transferred the £25k to Andries’s untraceable offshore bank account. The other half of the money plus any incidental expenses, would go in as soon as the job was done. Mike used the secret offshore account that Malcolm Harrington gave him for just such occasions. He had carte blanche on the account and there was a lot of money in there. Mike also transferred his “fixer fee” to his own off-shore account. He always did this even though he was on a real wedge at Harrington Aeronautical. Just his way of ensuring he could retire in the luxury that he was accustomed to.
Mike called Eva, his wife to see if she felt like going out. Since such invitations were rare, she jumped at the chance. He rang down for a car to take him to collect her and headed out of his office. He had thought it was a good idea to treat Eva. She never complained, and he was going to be busy over the next few weeks or so with Aiden’s latest fuck up. He would buy her a nice shiny something tomorrow and that would keep her happy for a while. He might even put out tonight as well since she was still sexy after all, thanks to many pounds spent on beauty treatments and clothes. She also hadn’t ruined her figure with kids! He knew she also had a little bit on the side, but he was just a young garden landscaper that looked after their garden. He had no money and was not a match for Mike. He was just a little bit of amusement to keep the boredom away when Mike was ‘working late’. It would never go anywhere. Eva liked her lifestyle too much to make that mistake.
When he got to his large house on a small country estate in Cheshire, Eva was ready for him. She looked amazing considering she hadn’t had long to get ready. Eva was a petite woman, just Mike’s type and she wore a sleek red dress that accentuated her thighs and her breasts. She wore the pearl and diamond necklace he had bought her on a trip to the Far East recently and her feet were adorned in simple black Prada shoes. She hopped in the back of the Jaguar with him and they were soon on their way to Chez Mouton. He had heard that it was the latest place to go and Aiden had been seen there recently so it had to be pretty good. He had got his assistant Charlotte to call them before he left the office. When they got there the place was packed but when Michel Petrie, the manager and old friend of Mike’s saw Mike and Eva, he took them straight through to a private booth, leaving the other diners waiting for tables standing with their mouths hanging open. The owners of Chez Mouton knew that these tactics just made the place more desirable.
They sat down, and Michel told them that he would personally be looking after them and that he would ensure it would be memorable as usual. Mike and Eva sat back and prepared to be indulged as Michel opened the champagne and started pouring Eva a glass. He snapped his fingers and Scott the waiter that was assigned to them came over to him.
“Bring Mr Chalmers a double Johnnie Walker Gold, straight up in the crystal glass. Tres rapide,” he said, even though Scott didn’t speak a word of French. But he understood the tone meant he needed to be quick.
Chapter 39
The next day at around noon, Aiden arrived at Harrington Aeronautical after a particularly hard work out with his personal trainer. He was dressed in dark blue chinos and a white Armani shirt. Mike was glad that Aiden had chosen an understated outfit for this occasion. It was rare that he did understated. As his father was still showing off his newest plane to the Arab market, he headed straight over to Mike’s office.
“Hey Aiden, so glad you are on time. Let’s go and eat,” said Mike and the two went to the executive dining room where the staff had laid on lunch. They were having grilled salmon and vegetables and as they sat they were poured a glass of Chardonnay from the Harrington vineyard in Italy.
“So, Aiden, this is how it’s going to work,” Mike started straight in. “When we get there, you will be reminded you are under caution. They are going to give us what they have so far. It’s not a lot I have to say and don’t worry about the evidence. I have already got people on it. Also, I will need your help with getting rid of one of the copies of the dashcam footage. Do you still see that council estate girl your father hates?”
“She isn’t council estate exactly, thanks to me, but yes I do still see her from time to time. Why do you ask?” Aiden asked him suspiciously.
“I may need you to get her to set up this investigator guy, so we can get into his office. First, I will need to find out what his office security is like. Judging by what I have seen of him online, it will be easy to crack. I will let you know. You will need someone to help get her in and out. I am just pre-empting. I will set it up with you when I know more. He is the only other person that has the footage besides the cops and the copy we will be getting. The original source had his dashcam ‘nicked’ along with the SD card and the guy at the MTA who arranged it all suffered a little hard drive failure. It’s amazing what you can buy these days. So, let’s see, yeah?” Mike said to Aiden, who was listening intently for once. It had been easy for Mike to arrange the ‘disappearance’ of the dashcam and the hard drive ‘failure’. It cost him a fair bit, but he had managed to get it done really quickly.
“I have just the guy to help. You know
Jason Packham?” Aiden asked.
“Yes, I know him. Nice lad. There are rumours he is a bit bent. Hope he’s not influencing you!” Mike laughed. “Ok we can use him too. Don’t worry they won’t need to do any heavy work. I have a guy that does that.”
“Yeah that little racist you normally use. Oh, and no, Jason isn’t influencing me. Quite the opposite. He is a good friend and he isn’t bent. Just a normal lad.” Aiden hoped his face didn’t give him away. It wasn’t exactly the truth, but it was none of Mike’s fucking business.
“Ok then. Now let’s eat. Oh, and one more thing. I will answer the questions. The only words that need to come out of your gob are “No Comment”. Do you understand? It’s imperative you give them nothing more than they have. You know how those bastards twist stuff.” Aiden was about to say ‘No comment’, but he thought better of it.
Mike and Aiden ate and chatted about random stuff. They discussed Chez Mouton, and both agreed it was a great place. They had coffee with a liqueur and a cigar on the balcony and went downstairs to the waiting Bentley that Mike had arranged earlier.
When they arrived at the Police Headquarters, they were shown up to the briefing room that was next to Chief Constable Smythe’s office. Smythe and D.I. Wilkes were in there waiting for them.
After the recorder was started, the usual pleasantries were exchanged, and Aiden was cautioned as expected. The interview got underway in earnest. Mike knew it wasn’t going to be a long one, but he was already anxious to get the details of the witnesses and the recording so that Andries Smit could get to work.
Chapter 40
D.I. Wilkes started the interview reading a summary of the case and the allegation that Aiden had caused death by dangerous driving. He had given each of them a file containing copies of what he was presenting as well as a compact disc which contained the dashcam footage. He moved onto the next few pages which contained photos of the scene as well as the Ferrari and the Mercedes.
Aiden and Mike sat stony faced as they looked at the photos in front of them. Aiden had to suppress the urge to offer his views on the damage to his beloved car but thought that Mike would have had a coronary if he did.
Next Wilkes presented the witness testimony. He knew that Mike would form his own opinion of these three creatures, so he didn’t offer up much information. Besides, he didn’t want to dwell on what they all knew was not really very much at all.
Finally, he plugged in the USB stick and ran the dashcam footage. He slowed it down at the actual point of impact and also on Aiden emerging from the wreckage. When this didn’t elicit a reaction from Aiden and Mike he moved on to asking a few questions. Aiden was trying not to look too casual, but all he wanted to do was laugh. He was yawning a lot and he kept checking his watch. This was obviously riling Wilkes.
“Mr Harrington, I notice you keep checking your watch. Is there somewhere you need to be?” Wilkes asked, trying to sound calm.
“No comment,” Aiden answered, yawning again and checking his watch. He was going to laugh but decided against it. He knew it would annoy Mike and he needed him on his side. Wilkes just glared at him and carried on.
“Mr Harrington, do you see from that footage that you were to blame?” Wilkes asked him.
“No comment,” was the answer.
“Mr Harrington, do you admit you were well in excess of the 30 mile an hour speed limit and that you went through a red light?”
“No comment,” was the answer again.
“Mr Harrington are you aware, and do you feel anything that a man has died, and two people were injured, one critically, due to your own irresponsible attitude to life?”
Mike cut in and warned Wilkes that he was going too far. Nothing was proved yet and the charge wasn’t for the injuries. Wilkes took a deep breath. He looked at Max who hadn’t said a word so far and continued.
“Mr Harrington, according to the breathalyser and the drug test performed at the roadside by Sergeant Steve Jones, you were under the influence of alcohol and drugs. Do you admit to this allegation and do you have anything to add?” Wilkes asked Aiden.
“No comment,” once again. This was really getting to Wilkes. He could see he wasn’t going to get anything out of Aiden.
Max butted in finally and said to them: “I think we can see we are not going to get anything further from Mr Harrington, so I will call an end to this interview. The time is 4.10pm and I am stopping the recording.”
Mike put the folders and the disc in his briefcase. After shaking hands with Wilkes and Max, he and Aiden left the building. It was only when they were in the car that they spoke.
“I told you it was going to go that way. You did well Aiden. All this shit they gave us today, forget it. I will take care of it. When I have the details of the investigator and what you need to do I will let you know. Under no circumstances are you to go near this investigator. He knows who you are, and it could jeopardise your case.”
“Sure thing Mike, just let me know,” Aiden told Mike.
Once they got back to the office, Aiden thanked him and headed off to his apartment in the city centre. After being amongst the unwashed he needed a shower and a bit of recreational downtime. It was hard being him, he thought to himself as he sped along the M56 back into Manchester.
As he was getting near the site where he had the crash, he called Jason who answered in two rings.
“Hey Jase. What’s up?” he asked Jason.
“Not much. I just had that meeting I ditched the other day. All went well. We have another big client in the bag now thanks to that weasel Matt Hines. If it wasn’t for him I would be lost around here. Where are you now Aiden?” Jason asked.
“On my way to the apartment. You nearly finished? I can swing by and get you,” Aiden told Jason.
“Almost done. Why don’t I come to the apartment when I am finished, and you can tell me all the gory details of your interview?” Jason asked.
“Ok fine. I was going to shower but since you will be coming by I can run a bath and we can have a soak and a chat.”
“Hmm…sounds good to me! See you soon. Don’t start anything without me!” Jason said jovially.
“I won’t. See you soon. Don’t be long!” Aiden said and hung up.
By the time Aiden got to the apartment, stripped off his clothes, grabbed a bottle of Bollinger and two glasses and started running a bath, Jason was standing butt naked in front of him.
“Wow, that didn’t take you long!” Aiden and Jason laughed. Aiden poured two flutes of champagne and the two of them got into the large bath that was full of bubbles by now. Aiden sat back, and Jason lay opposite him in the bath.
“Someone called you bent today Jason,” Aiden said laughing. “But don’t worry, I defended your honour!”
The two laughed and Aiden told him the story of the day. He didn’t tell him yet about the job he may need to do. He would save that for later. By the time Aiden was done, Jason was lying with his back to Aiden’s chest. Just the kind of recreation Aiden had been hoping for after the day he had just endured. A perfect way to end a boring and tedious day.
Chapter 41
Mike Chalmers had been taking care of company business since Aiden left. It was going to be a late night, so he ordered a steak to be sent to his office along with a bottle of Malbec. Once he had finished eating he turned his attention to the folder he had been given by the police.
The information about the witnesses was his first task. He opened up his MacBook and called up the voters roll information he had illegally got access to. He would use this information as well as what the Police had provided. It wasn’t long until he found the first one. He got the details of the other two just as easily.
He printed off all the details and then got the details of Ben Cohen from his browser. He printed those as well and then compiled an email to Andries Smit. All the emails he sent to Andries were encrypted and sent from an email address and server that couldn’t be traced directly to him or Harrington Aeronautical. Bec
ause Malcolm Harrington dealt with a lot of high-powered individuals, some in countries that the UK didn’t openly do business with, this high level of secrecy was essential. It also suited Mike as he didn’t really fancy doing time for anyone.
He emphasised to Andries not to do anything to Ben Cohen other than to check out what his security was like at his office. Andries sometimes liked to interpret instructions to suit his mood. He told him that the witnesses were just to be observed for now to get an idea of their habits. He would tell him if or when they needed to be silenced. He didn’t want to act straight away, he needed the trial date first, so he could plan. Andries wanted a distraction, so this would do for now. He wasn’t planning on hurting anyone unless they were difficult or didn’t comply. He knew that Andries would be fine with both.
With the email sent to Andries he then called Malcolm Harrington who was somewhere in the Middle East. He told Malcolm the details of what had happened so far and told him that he was working on the defence. Malcolm knew this meant that he was taking care of any obstacles that might be in their way. Malcolm told him that he would be back in a few days. He was making great progress selling his new plane ahead of its official launch in the new year. Malcolm had pretty much cornered the market with his latest jet. It was positioned to take on both Airbus and Boeing. It was also shaking up the whole airline industry, not to mention the kudos he was getting from the UK government for his completely British-manufactured plane.
When he got off the phone with Malcolm he finished up. He called down for a car and headed home. His assistant had left earlier so he was alone. He contemplated calling Charlotte and making a pit stop on the way home, but he was tired after all the bullshit he had just dealt with. He headed home and opted for a Jacuzzi and a shower before bed.
