by Ian Jones
‘Can we deal with him?’ John nodded at the pilot who was staring out.
‘Have to I guess, what’s his story?’
‘He’s done this before. He was supposed to drop me at some BRP depot near a place called Galveston, I never heard of it, but it’s unmanned. The idea is that in the end I manage to get a security patrol to let me out. But I would be hundreds of miles away from Gray Rock, a long way out the picture, for however long it takes.
‘Galveston? It’s down near Houston.’
Patrick had a long look at the pilot, eyes narrowed, evaluating.
‘I don’t think he’s involved really Patrick. I think he’s a lackey who gets a little extra for the odd trip here and there, his main job is flying VIPs to the plant,’ John told him.
Patrick nodded, thinking fast. He looked lost.
‘Jesus, where does all this come from,’ he asked shaking his head.
‘No idea. I never asked, you sound a bit local. You Texan Patrick?’
‘Nope. Tennessee. Still southern, but a whole lot smaller.’ He half smiled. ‘Less everything. Less assholes, that’s for sure. Especially with the friends you seem to be making.’
John looked at Patrick affectionately. He had known the man a few years now, there was a lot of mutual respect. He had to be in his mid-fifties at least, and while he was the most ordered and disciplined man John had ever met he had a tough streak, a desire to do the right thing.
‘So what do you want to do now John?’
‘Well, I need to get back to Gray Rock. Cane said something about it going down tonight, some place called Brown’s.’
‘Brown’s? What’s that; a bar?’
‘Could be, there’s a restaurant called that in London. I don’t know, but I would say for sure it’s in Gray Rock, or at least very close by. I need to speak to Gilbey, hopefully he’ll have an idea. I can’t get anything more out of Cane, with luck he’ll open up to you.’
Patrick waved over an agent and spoke to him, and the man moved quickly around and led the pilot out of the chopper.
John looked at his watch.
‘Tonight?’ Patrick asked.
‘Yeah. According to Cane, and he was in no state to start lying.’
Patrick thought again, weighing everything up. He made a decision.
‘Ok. Right, well we need to contain this guy,’ he nodded at the pilot. ‘So here’s what we do. We’ll get the pilot to fly me, you and an agent back to Gray Rock right now. I’ll get a team up close by, to be in place and ready for this evening. The agent can babysit this guy if necessary, while me and you find Gilbey and go and sit out at this Brown’s place once we know where it is. What’s the worst that can happen, maybe we even have a beer while we’re sitting on our hands. But once we know what’s going down we mobilise the team and clean everything up.’
He looked at John, who shook his head.
‘No Patrick, we can’t do it. You know we can’t. No way you can be anywhere near this Brown’s place wherever it is. The whole reason we did this in the first place was to keep the FBI out the way. No, I have to do this. Well me and Gilbey, and trust me, there’s nobody you would want with me more than him.’
Patrick considered, worry etched through every pore. He turned away, watching the agents as they searched the pilot. In the end, he agreed.
‘Ok. You are right, as much as I hate to say it. I got more crap piled on my head right now than anyone ever, but that’s how it goes sometimes I guess. Alright, you fly back but with one of my guys, I will be sending Adams, he is solid, we can depend on him. Not that I’m expecting a lot of problems from Elvis there. So I will be with the team, and we are going to be real close from about seven this evening, waiting for your call. So check in with me often, ok?’
‘Yep, got it. And I am sorry Patrick.’
‘What the hell are you sorry about? I asked you to do this in the first place! Hell, the best I hoped for is Collis would see it was you and want to rub your nose in it, I thought if he got carried away he might let something slip, at least we could find out where to start looking, maybe. Listen we got so much shit eleven years ago down here it was past crazy. And it got worse. Finally, it calms down and we seem to be ok then next thing we know it all gets dragged up again. It caught us out, the FBI has changed, image is everything. But when the press started all over again we didn’t know who was behind it and we looked believe me. Boy, we looked. But we could not find out who was pulling the strings. I never expected anything, I was just real glad it was you doing the asking. You seem to have stirred up a hornet’s nest alright, but seems to me we should have known more about the situation in Gray Rock anyway.’
‘I think Collis was right. It’s a distraction. Something big is going down, or about to, and the press will go crazy for this story. Anything else will be off the front page.’
‘Well yeah, but what?’
‘No idea. Barlow for Governor?’
‘He wouldn’t get that. I don’t think so anyways.’
John looked at Patrick. The man was in an impossible position. BRP, and therefore Barlow had to be practically untouchable in the eyes of the US administration. And here Patrick was, fighting on the front line.
He sighed.
‘Come on, let’s go.’
Patrick pulled the rear door open for John and then waved at one of the agents who jogged across, and listened intently to instructions then climbed into the helicopter.
Agent Adams was a big man, young but with a hairline receding fast. He got in the co-pilot’s seat and made his feelings clear, although as John climbed in the back he felt it was more for his benefit.
‘Fly this helicopter, and don’t give me a single reason to believe you are considering any action which might cause me to start getting nervous. Understand?’
The pilot nodded meekly, and went through the start-up procedure.
Checks done, he pressed a button, and there was a loud whine, followed by the slow spin of the rotors, then a rumble getting louder, until the blades rapidly settled into their idle speed. Patrick was standing watching; Adams gave him the thumbs up and strapped himself in. John sat back and watched out the window as they rose steadily into the air. He waved at Patrick, hoping he would see the man again, but the way the day was panning out he really had no idea. He dug out his phone; he needed to speak to Gilbey, they needed to be ready.
Chapter Nineteen
Barlow lifted a bony hand above his head then slammed it down hard on the table. He sat very still, ramrod straight, his big nose quivering, dark spots of red high on his cheeks, bulging eyes fixing on Abel and Hunter alternately.
They were in the ‘office’ sitting at the long table, Hunter in the small chair on the other side.
Nobody said a word.
Barlow breathed in deeply, in, out, in, out and then spoke very slowly.
‘So, just tell me. Humour me. Repeat it. Put it in simple terms. Treat me like I’m a goddamned child. Maybe, and I sure hope so, I am misunderstanding. So much has gone wrong in the past few days I’m becoming confused. It’s all becoming a blur of mistakes and ineptitude. So, please. Exactly what the fuck has gone wrong now?’
Abel shrugged and laid his hands on the table looking at Hunter. This wasn’t his problem, not even his territory, he had only just found out himself.
Hunter coughed and then uncomfortably offered an explanation.
‘Right, well, like I said, I got a call. Gilbey was at the plant. Nosing around. In the security office.’
‘Who called?’ Barlow snapped.
‘Does it matter? One of the guys, saw him and watched where he went.’
‘And you fucked it up, again.’
Hunter looked down at his shoes and shook his head. He deserved respect. Barlow should remember who he was. Most people were terrified of him. He could kill the old bastard just like that. And nobody would blame him. But he was so fucking well paid. He counted to ten in his head.
‘I sent two men, ok? Two of
our men.’ He spoke slowly and clearly, as if Barlow really was a young child or a confused old man.
But Barlow just sat glaring back at him.
‘And? Well?’
‘I can only tell you what I been told, all I know is Gilbey bested them. That’s all I got, I wasn’t there and I don’t know where the fuck they are now. All I got is what I heard, and that don’t make a whole lot of sense.’
‘Yeah, this is where I get kind of hazy. You are telling me you sent two men, your guys by the way, not ours, yours. Two men, young, fit, trained, or so you say, and don’t forget armed, to deal with a man in his seventies. And they lose.’
‘There was a second man who came to his rescue is what I’m told. I’ve already been through this.’
‘Yes you have. And who was this second man? Smith? Are you trying to tell me John Smith is back here in my town, when just this morning you said he wouldn’t come back?’
‘We, well I, don’t know it was Smith. My guy didn’t really see that much, he couldn’t let anyone know he was watching and he had to clear out. But he saw it go down. As you are aware the security office is not overlooked, and their truck was in the way. But there was a second man.’
‘Which is likely to have been Smith.’
‘I’m telling you, I don’t know.’
Hunter looked defiantly back at Barlow, who flared his nostrils and changed tack.
‘And what was your guy doing? The one who was so blameless he called you? Where the fuck was he while it all went down? And would one of you care to tell me how it is that Gilbey was allowed anywhere near the plant, let alone in the security office?’
‘Listen, my guy works in maintenance, and was on a job. He couldn’t stick around. But, it appears Gilbey knows Rob Goodborough.’
‘Who in the hell is that?’
‘Goodborough is head of security,’ Abel told him, waiting for the explosion.
It never came. Barlow sat there opened mouthed, staring at Abel in disbelief.
‘So, you failed to mention that we employ a friend of this incredible pain the ass Gilbey, who has been sticking pins in us for the past ten years, as head of security?’ Barlow asked incredulously. Hunter sat back, out of the firing line. Now it was Abel’s turn.
But Abel was older and wiser, and had been with Barlow a long time. He knew the rules. Deflect everything, if possible onto someone else and if not then back onto the man himself.
‘If you recall, when we started recruiting for senior positions you stated that security was vital. In fact you suggested Rob Goodborough. Not by name, but reputation, he has worked for BRP twenty years. I found him and signed him up. You seemed happy, at the time. And of course, back then, I had never even heard of Gilbey, and knew nothing about Goodborough either really, other than your recommendation.’
Barlow pursed his lips.
‘Whatever. Dress this shit up how you like. The fact is, you have left us wide open. This Goodborough should have been out on the street once you knew he was friends with Gilbey.
Deflect, deflect, deflect.
‘Well, I didn’t know. This just came up today, Mr Hunter only advised me about this when he called me about the situation at the plant.’
Barlow snapped back to fixing on Hunter, who immediately started backpedalling.
‘I was not aware. All I know is Goodborough is in the National Guard. He would have met Gilbey through being at the base I imagine. But there are thousands of men at Blunt. It never came up until today.’
Barlow sighed, long and deep, then stood up, uncoiling from his chair. Despite his age he stood over six foot four, even taller than Gilbey, but nowhere near as solid. Barlow was thin as a rake. His skinny frame just added to his height. He walked across the room to stand looking out the window. He had to duck slightly to see out.
Abel and Hunter looked at each other; distrust and dislike now. Both men knew they were at the mercy of the other.
‘I thought you understood,’ Barlow spoke quietly, still looking out the window. ‘At last, after all the work, all the dollars I spent, everything we have done, we have an opportunity to break free. We get this deal, and we can sit back and enjoy what we’ve done. Nobody will be able to fuck with us ever again. It’s three days away to getting signed, not even that long really if you factor everything in, and afterward we can just do whatever we want. This town will have a long line of the great and the good waiting to live here. Good, honest white families, and we can grow and grow and be what we set out to do. I thought you knew that. Maybe I wasn’t clear.’
‘Yes, of course I know,’ Abel responded quickly, before Hunter could say anything.
Barlow turned and walked back behind the table and dropped into his chair.
‘How did this go so wrong? We discussed it. We knew what had to be done. Thomas told us John Smith was coming here, and would be speaking to Collis. I said, we said, this cannot happen. We do not want any outside interference, and we absolutely do not need the FBI on our doorstep. That’s what we said, is my memory correct?’
‘Yes you are,’ Abel replied earnestly. ‘But we knew nothing about this man.’
‘That’s true. But I did ask for information. We knew he was involved with Collis’s original arrest.’
‘Yes, Thomas told us that. He told us this Smith is close to the FBI, even though he’s a Brit. And I asked for more information, but then Thomas went to ground. I never heard anything.’
‘I don’t want to start saying I told you so, but I wanted to just take this guy out. Hell, I would have done it as soon as he stepped off the plane in El Paso, or maybe in the car on the way across, one way or another he wouldn’t have made it anywhere near here,’ Hunter growled at Barlow, wounded after all the attacks.
‘And I told you, it was a bad idea. This man works for the FBI, in some manner we don’t appreciate or understand. If he was killed anywhere in Texas the FBI would have been breathing down our necks. He told them he would be coming to Gray Rock, which is why Thomas made the call. I don’t know why he wanted to come and stay here, there’s a lot of places way closer to Howarth but he did. And I knew this could be a problem, and I made it clear that getting anywhere near Collis wasn’t to happen.’
Barlow tapped his long fingers on the table and looked around.
‘And we didn’t deal with it. First Carter, Christ knows what he was thinking. Then you Hunter, with your men. Shit, three men! And then the mess with the girl, and now what happened at the plant with Gilbey and another two men out the picture, and I really think this other man was Smith. We know what he can do.’
‘I don’t know what happened. I haven’t heard anything from the guys that went up there,’ Hunter said.
‘You know what Mr Hunter? I would have thought you would go yourself. Get your hands dirty, make sure things get done properly. After all, nothing else has been, it’s just been one fuck up after another.’
‘You know how I work. I don’t go into the open. I stay behind the lines,’ Hunter replied.
Barlow stared at him witheringly and rubbed his face.
‘And where the hell is Cane?’
‘No idea,’ Abel replied, happily putting someone else in the firing line. ‘I know he was at the plant earlier, but no idea where he’s got to. I’ve called him, but his cell is off.’
‘Right! So where does this leave us? ‘
Abel produced his notepad, and pen, and sat waiting expectantly.
‘Mr Hunter, let’s assume that tonight is going ahead. I can’t even bring myself to think this deal won’t happen, and tonight is our final opportunity to oil the wheels. You are way down on people, what’s your plan?’ Barlow’s tone was clear; however you reply to this, it better be good.
Hunter knew he was beaten.
‘I will be going myself, I got four guys lined up. That will be enough, but I am gonna need a gate man.’
Abel made a note.
‘Well that’s easy enough, that’s ok,’ Barlow replied. ‘Consider that
taken care of.’
Hunter nodded.
‘In that case, I say no problem. It’s only going to be the two guests tonight, right? Me and four guys will be plenty, plus I guess I can get the van driver to get his hands dirty, he’s done it before. That should be plenty.’ He spoke clearly, making sure there was no trace of doubt in his voice. ‘Good. Right, so we are going to get this done. It is barriers up now gentlemen. Mr Hunter, you must step up, make sure nothing else goes wrong. Mr Abel, how are the other preparations for this evening?’
‘All in place, Tiffany has everyone she needs.’
‘Right, and the arrangements for our guests?’
‘They are being collected from Dallas in an hour or so. It’s all in place.’
‘Good. In that case, we will get this done, what else do we need to consider?’
‘I agree that this has gotten very untidy. But we have plenty on our side. Smith, or Gilbey for that matter know nothing of any substance about any part of our operations. They don’t know about our plans. They don’t have anything. So let’s just stay clear, ok? Our mistakes so far appear to be down to us trying to deal directly, so we don’t do it. We stay in the background, out of the way,’ Abel said.
‘Hmmm, well, there is something in what you say. But I would rather know where they are, especially Smith,’ Barlow replied.
‘He’s not staying in the town,’ Hunter told him.
‘He’s staying somewhere, and close by.’
‘Well, I can spread the net, ask further away.’
‘Yes, do that, but be subtle. Abel is right, direct action, or trying; well I agree, that seems to have caused all our problems. It sure pains me to admit that, but that’s how it is.’
Barlow went quiet, thinking. He rubbed the side of his nose, a sign that Abel recognised. He was calming down.