Dark Secrets

by Doug Pountain

  She turned to look in the mirror and the reflection she saw was that as described by David, a tall, intelligent and very pretty woman, maybe not yet completely assured of the new direction in life that fate had thrown her, but at least well on the way. She looked at David and asked him.

  “Do you love me”?

  “In what context do you ask me that question? Is it as a person that you have had sex with several times including in full view of others which gave you so much confidence, or as a friend that would give and do everything for you, because if that is the case then I love you very much? True friends will always give everything without asking and would die for each other and ask for nothing in return, I would put my life on the line for you at any time”.

  “Let me also tell you this, your body is your own, you say when, you say where and you say with who. What you are experiencing now is the result of years of being told you are not good enough, and it is only you who can come to terms with that, so as Hughie Green used to say many years ago on “Opportunity Knocks” it’s make your fucking mind up time”.

  David threw his towel on the floor in anger and walked away and left Joyce to ponder, all he had said, but it didn’t take her long. She used the pent up hate inside that she felt for her husband and his sister to put the strength and fire back into her stomach.

  “Fuck him, fuck the world and all its losers, I am not going to be one of those any longer, let’s get changed and go for a run I need to get rid of this fucking stupid tart within me and leave her in the park and return as myself”.

  David turned and looked at her. “Well fucking whoopy doo for you”.

  This really was a true statement of intent and one that David had been hoping and waiting for. Even though he had only known her such a short time, he realised that deep within this somewhat slightly fragile young woman there was a soldier within, a killer instinct that was now coming to the surface for all to see. They got changed and headed for the park, and they ran not one, but four circuits of the park until they were both completely shot.

  “I need to go in here for a moment”. Said Joyce. And she popped into the public toilets and reappeared a few minutes later.

  “David, I need to tell you that I have taken off my bra and pants and put them in the bin, they were the final items that I brought with me from my old life in Leicester, everything else is now gone, this is now the real me “Joyce Perkins”. Now let’s finish our run, but not too fast or I will stretch my tits with no bra on”.

  David looked at her and burst into laughter at this remark, and as they ran they past the couple from across the other block, and the man turned and said to them.

  “Don’t forget, anytime you would like a repeat performance let us know”. And Joyce smiled at him before she replied.

  “Better still we could come round and watch you at close quarters as you suggested if you like”.

  The man looked at his wife and then back at Joyce before saying. “We would love that, it would be great fun, you have our number so give us a call”. And they ran on.

  “Well David, what do you think of that”?

  “You really are going for it, but I have to admit, it does sound a great idea to me”. And they ran back to the apartment, showered and changed and packed their bags before making their way to Graham and Carol’s. The underground was as usual very busy at that time of the morning with all the commuters heading all over the city to work, and so they had to stand on the underground, Joyce leaned slightly forward and whispered in David’s ear.

  “Little do these city gents know that I am still not wearing any knickers under my skirt, if they did I bet they would get very excited, what do you think”?

  “Never mind about them, the thought is making me a little stiff down below”. He replied. And they looked at each other and smiled.

  Eventually they arrived at the apartment in docklands and Joyce started where she had left off yesterday. No mention was made of the doubt in herself that she had felt that morning, and she also excelled in all the tasks she was given during the day.

  “Well I think you are as ready as you can be, I am sorry about the change in plans but the op was moved up at the request of the bank, apparently a very large amount of money passed through yesterday, but from an unknown source. But the good thing is that they think they may have identified the possible trader, and fortunately for us she operates from the next station to where you will be sitting, let’s have coffee and we will discuss it in much more detail”. Said Graham.

  Joyce looked around at this sumptuous apartment and then at her friends and she thought about David and his very splendid apartment in Chiswick, and for the first time she fully understood the importance of this work, this was not just a job with a wage. Because of the type of work she was actually going to be involved with she realised that it could even make a difference to other people’s lives, maybe even the country. Up until now she hadn’t considered the implications of a crime and what devastating consequences it could have on the future lives of other innocent people and even the economy of a country, but she was also aware that there could be a danger to herself, but now she was now fully prepared to accept that risk. This young woman was now alive for the first time in years and it was beginning to show and it was also becoming visible to others.

  “Tell me more about what happened with the money”. Asked Joyce.

  “Well I have been doing my own checks, and in my opinion it is not as straight forward as it looks. I was playing about last night and I think the theory about it being used to bring about a change of Government here is all bollocks. All of the other money that passed through the bank went into an account in Lucerne in Switzerland, and so that will never be heard of again. Trying to get information out of a Swiss Banker is like speaking to God, it’s just not going to happen. But fortunately I have some friends who have given me some information on a man who works at the Swiss Embassy, and it would appear he has been a very naughty boy”.

  This statement by Graham brought a large smile to David’s face as he turned and looked at Graham. “Oh I love it when we have some dirt on a person, it makes it so much more fun, so tell me more”.

  “Well in the last month he has received in his bank account £100,000 in one deposit and it certainly wasn’t a bonus. That money also passed through our bank before it went straight into his personal account, but we are still not certain of the source of the funds, but not only that, and you will like this David, he has been at it with the Ambassadors Wife, and not only that, I have the pictures to prove it. I am certain that’s not allowed even in Switzerland, plus his own wife wouldn’t be very happy either. Her Father also has some very strange friends, and so as a special treat for him I am going to steal some of his lolly”.

  Joyce sat there listening to them totally intrigued by what was being said. “How are you going to do that”? She asked.

  “Here let me show you”.

  Graham opened his laptop and Joyce watched as his fingers moved like lightening around the keyboard, and within seconds he was in the man’s bank account in this country.

  “Look how much money he has, it’s over £200,000, and that last deposit certainly wasn’t his first either, and I also bet he has another account in his own country. I think he has far too much and so let’s make a withdrawal shall we, lets borrow £100,000 I think that should get his attention. There you go Joyce, that’s you first year’s wages”. Said Graham.

  “But I don’t have my own bank account yet”. She said,

  Which was a source of great amusement for them all. Graham walked over to the window and pondered his next move very carefully.

  “I am going to give him a call and set up a meeting with him. David, I want you and Joyce to go and talk to him, take some photos of him and the Ambassadors Wife at an hotel together, that should help loosen his tongue a little and also the removal of his money should prompt him to contact someone. I am also going to monitor his mobile and so we should get some
answers within the very near future”. And Graham picked up his phone and dialled the man’s number and it was answered a few seconds later by a rather abrupt person.

  “Yes, who is it”? The man asked.

  “I am sorry to bother you, is that Herr Simon Blosch”? Asked Graham.

  “Yes, who is that”? The man replied.

  “You don’t know me, but I could be your new best friend”. Said Graham.

  The man was by now getting slightly annoyed. “If you do not tell me what you want then this conversation is ended”.

  “That would be such a shame if that were so, as I have some very nice pictures of you and the Ambassadors Wife”. Said Graham.

  There was a distinct change in the man’s tone of voice as this information finally sank in. “I don’t know what you are talking about, are you trying to blackmail me”?

  “No, not at all Herr Blosch, I would just like some information”.

  “I will not give you anything”. Replied Blosch,

  “Alright, that’s not a problem, I will just send a copy of the photo’s to your wife and the Ambassador, I am very certain they would enjoy looking at them very much, goodbye”.

  “No, no, I may have been a little hasty, what is it that you want”?

  “Someone will meet you in one hour outside the main doors of the O2 Arena”. Said Graham.

  “I can’t possibly get there in one hour, I need more time”. Said Blosch.

  “I am afraid that this is not a negotiation, I said one hour”. And Graham put the phone down.

  “Right Joyce, this is it, just do exactly as David tells you”.

  David turned to her, “Have you ever been to the O2 before”?

  “No, I haven’t”.

  “Ok, just opposite the main entrance there is a Costa Coffee Shop, and I want you to stand outside and watch me just in case Blosch decides to bring some friends along with him. If he does bring someone then make your way straight back to the car park where Graham will be waiting in the car. Graham can you get me a couple of the pictures please”.

  He went to the cabinet in one corner of the lounge and returned with a picture showing the couple kissing with the man’s hand up the Ambassadors Wife’s skirt and also another showing them going into an hotel room.

  “That should do nicely”. Said David.

  They finished their coffee and made their way to the lift and down to Grahams black Range Rover. It was just starting to rain as they made the short drive to the O2 Arena, and Graham parked near to the cable car station that crosses the river.

  “Right Joyce, give me a minute and then make your way to the coffee shop, don’t forget your umbrella”.

  David left the car and walked the long way round to allow him to arrive at the meeting with Herr Blosch from the direction of the tube station, and then a short time later Joyce also got out of the car.

  “Just go round the corner, don’t follow David”. Graham told her.

  She turned the corner and exactly as she had been instructed she stood outside the Coffee Shop. She could see in front of the Arena that a very well dressed man was pacing up and down and then in the distance she recognised David walking towards him.

  David stopped for a moment looking all around just observing all that was happening before he finally approached the man from the Embassy. They stood there talking for a few minutes before David took the pictures from his coat pocket and showed Herr Blosch. Their meeting lasted no more than about five minutes before the man walked away towards the tube station and David again took the long way round to make sure that he was not being followed, but all was well. Joyce also returned to the car and they made the short return journey back to docklands where they had a debrief of the situation.

  “He is shitting himself”, he is more afraid of his Father in Law than losing his job. I gave him the account number that we are interested in, but he made no mention of his own money so I assume he has not checked his account yet, and so that should scare him a little when he does, now he won’t know who he can trust. I told him I want the information by tonight, he tried to play for time, but I told him there was no way and that I would contact him at 8pm”.

  “You did well Joyce”. Said Graham.

  “I didn’t do anything”. She replied.

  “You did exactly what was required and that’s what’s important, I could see you counting your steps and observing all that was going on”.

  “I was looking for something or someone that stood out or looked a little different or out of place, I was doing exactly what you taught me”.

  “As I said, you did well”. Replied Graham.

  As the group was sat talking Joyce said. “I have just realised, I don’t even know the name of the bank I am going to work in”.

  Carol told her it was called “Brothers Bank”. They have been a private bank for over 200 years and they handle some very special clients including a certain type of government account, which means that certain people can access money anywhere in the world without it showing up in the books. You have to remember that with the U.S. and Russia carving up the world between them, and if we didn’t play with some of the bad boys in the world we would have no one to trade with, especially arm’s dealers. This country has in the past also sponsored some of the biggest dictators in the world, and the truth is we still do”.

  “Our country is no different to any others, if it’s in our interest then we will deal with anyone. The job you are going on tomorrow is truthfully a bit of an adlib, no one seems to know what’s behind it, but we are being paid to find out who’s money it really is and where it’s come from, but with the amounts we think are involved you can guarantee that it’s not legal. To be fair the banks Chairman is also putting his life on the line, if someone found out what he has done they would have him killed, and so we need to take our time, but we also need to upset the apple cart a little to flush out whoever is really moving this money about”.

  “So do you believe that the man from the Embassy is involved”? Asked Joyce.

  “No, not with what we are doing, but as I said his Father in Law is into something pretty big, so I will ask a friend of mine to find out exactly what”. Replied Graham.

  The rest of the day past very quickly and the girls did a few more practice deals while Graham and David sat deep in thought regarding exactly what was going on. It was now 8pm and David contacted the man from the Embassy.

  “Well, have you got the information I wanted”? He asked.

  “Yes I have, but I want no further part in this, when I give you the name of the account holder that is it”.

  “You don’t tell me when you think it is over, I will tell you when it is over, and if I want you to find out something else then you will, or would you rather speak to your Wife’s Father, I am sure he would be more than interested in your affairs, so tell me what you know?

  The stuttering in the man’s voice proved to David just how very afraid he really was.

  “Alright, the account is in the name of Borya Aslanov, he lives in St Petersburg”.

  “Who is he and what does he do”? Asked David.

  “I have given you enough already”. Replied Blosch,

  “I asked you what he does”. Said David in a threatening tone of voice”.

  “Alright, Alright. We think he is in the Russian Mafia, he is one of the bosses”.

  “Alright that will do me for now, but if I need more information I will contact you again”. Said David.

  “You promised you would give me the pictures”. Said Blosch.

  “Let’s just say that what you have given me is a down payment”. And David swiftly ended the call.

  “Well I must admit that of all the things I was thinking, the thought that it was Russian money never crossed my mind, how much has been transferred so far”?

  “At the moment they have moved two lots of one billion dollars”. Replied Graham, and the mention of this amount took Joyce’s breath away.

  “We need t
o be very careful, but that is still a lot of money even for them. I am going to contact the Security Services, I have a funny feeling that we are not being told everything here, and I think someone is trying to keep us in the dark”.

  Graham picked up his phone and spoke to someone and it was very obvious that it was a very heated exchange.

  “I don’t give a fuck if it’s the middle of the night, I want a meeting now”.

  There was now a very dark mood taking hold of the group and a distinct lack of communication before Graham said to the other person on the phone.

  “Right my team will be waiting for you here in one hour”. And he put the phone down.

  “What’s wrong”? Asked Carol as Graham sat down.

  “I have a funny feeling that we are being used, there’s more going on here than we are being told, and so we may have to cancel the op for tomorrow. Those bastards are not going to use me to do their dirty work for them unless I know about it in advance”.

  With Graham now deep in thought he decided to make a coffee for everyone to ease the tension and they sat discussing what could actually be occurring here before David said.

  “I think they already know where that money is from, but by letting us do their dirty work for them it keeps them squeaky clean if something goes wrong, which is what they obviously expect to happen”.

  “That’s exactly what I think too, but let’s play it cool, let’s see exactly what they have got to say when they get here”. Said Graham.

  CHAPTER 5

  It was nearly two hours later before the apartment intercom rang and Carol authorised the lift to come up. As the doors opened there were three people who stepped out, one of them was the man Graham knew from the security services, the other was the Chairman of the Bank and the other person was unknown to him and said nothing.

  “Who is this Gentleman may I ask”? Said Graham.

  “He is here just to observe” Came the reply from the man that Graham knew.