The Phoenix Series Box Set 2

by Ted Tayler

  “It’s not as if we weren’t aware of these figures, Zeus,” said Apollo. “We’ve fought to keep them at bay for eight years.”

  “We’ve eliminated just a fraction of their number,” said Phoenix. “It’s true several of the worst criminals have learned crime doesn’t pay, but the authorities have as good as conceded defeat to the gangs. We are too few, to do more than irritate them now and again. Apollo’s right; this is old ground. What do you think has changed?”

  “Street gangs are putting their differences aside,” Zeus explained, “to form a national super gang. We’ve read Athena’s report on the actions you carried out in London recently, Phoenix. You hid the identity of our hand in the death of a vicious gang leader by manufacturing evidence that pointed to a rival. Clever though it was, it’s a device that will soon be outdated and unbelievable. This emerging trend towards a super gang would see control of the lucrative drug trade pass into the hands of a vast network.”

  “Where is the centre of this threat based? Who’s leading the setting up of this network?” asked Apollo.

  “It doesn’t work that way, Apollo,” Zeus continued. “There have always been loose connections between the major cities of London, Birmingham, and Manchester. In those cities, the growing network is gradually absorbing local units into their number. Either by force of argument or violence. The day will come, if this threat remains unchecked, when only a few hundred gangs exist, rather than the seven thousand I quoted earlier.”

  “Creating the nationwide network would then be relatively simple,” said Phoenix. “We have received reports at Larcombe of a shift in the way the less parochial gangs are operating. Many are actively doing business together, despite their traditional, or ethnic differences. It makes sound economic sense. Violence attracts attention from the police; many of their numbers end up behind bars, even if only for a short period. What they want to do now is make money. It makes much more sense for them to work together.”

  “Why were these loose connections, you referred to established in the first place?” asked Aphrodite.

  “A lot of drugs and firearms find their way to the Midlands first,” Zeus answered, “so the gangs there formed alliances as they trafficked the goods around the country.”

  “The street-level gangs will still do the legwork, and take most of the risk,” Phoenix added, “but the aim would be to keep adding pieces to the jigsaw. As the elements are locked together, they could create a country-wide power base of frightening proportions.”

  “As Phoenix remarked, many of the main ethnic gangs have linked up with gangs of British criminals, to enable them to work more efficiently,” said Zeus. “The National Crime Intelligence Service reports that gangs share the risks of smuggling drugs across multiple borders. Each stage in the operation is handled by whichever gang has the greatest experience. This creates challenges for the police because the chain doesn’t collapse if an individual gang is identified and arrested; the gap in the network is immediately filled by the next gang in the pecking order.”

  “This network stretches beyond our borders then?” asked Heracles.

  “Russian gangs are the most powerful across Europe,” said Zeus, “they specialise in financial crime, and money-laundering. The next biggest threats within Europe, and on our shores, come from the newer EU member states. We only have to recall the deadly battle at Eton Wick that saw us lose several valuable agents. The Bulgarians have a strong presence here, and the Albanians are only months away from joining the party.”

  “What’s their speciality?” asked Hera.

  “The trafficking of drugs and people, and taking over the vice industry wherever they infiltrate,” replied her husband.

  “Nasty,” said Hera, with a shudder.

  “That’s something to look forward to,” said Athena. “However, I believe we need to concentrate on the brains behind this network. Earlier this month, we discussed this at Larcombe Manor. The methods gangs are using to distribute drugs are increasingly sophisticated. That takes a good deal of organising. The heads of these gangs are highly intelligent. If we can play any role in the fight against the completion of the jigsaw Phoenix alluded to, then it’s these men that must be our target.”

  There was a unanimous agreement with Athena’s suggestion in the room. Zeus paused for a moment, before continuing: -

  “We must make that our priority, Athena. I agree with the logic. There’s just one problem we must be prepared to face. If we stick our heads above the barricades, we risk being shot at. These gang bosses are intelligent. It won’t be long before they realise someone is targeting their number. They are also prepared to use violence to ensure their business operations continue unchecked. The hunter will become the hunted.”

  The room was silent for a time.

  “I think that was long enough to produce a viable alternative,” said Phoenix. “It was a straight choice of ‘fight or flight’. We have elected to fight.”

  Athena felt that everyone around the table had been holding their breath. After Phoenix had spoken, it seemed as if everyone breathed out at the same time. The die was cast.

  “This will be a major topic in our direct actions for the foreseeable future,” said Zeus. “Let’s finish today’s agenda with the brief descriptions of our new Olympians. I hope you will agree, I’ve chosen well. Then it’s over to you, Athena. We will await your final approval.”

  Zeus displayed a series of photographs on a screen at the end of the long table. As the lights dimmed, the Olympians turned to view their potential colleagues.

  “This is Ludovic Tremayne, 46 years old. He is a director on the boards of several companies involved in oil and gas exploration. Prior to that, he completed eighteen years’ service with the British Army. He was attached to various campaigns in Eastern Europe and the Middle East. While with 22SAS in Iraq, he was awarded the Conspicuous Gallantry Cross. He married Rosalind Wilson, 44, in 1990. They live in Cradoc, near Brecon, and have two children. To match his status as a war hero his code name would be ACHILLES.”

  “What a handsome man,” said Aphrodite, “does he have the funds we seek?”

  “He is from a noble family,” said Zeus. “While he may not bring as much money to this table as others among us, he has invaluable hands-on knowledge of counter-terrorism techniques.

  Our second candidate is Jean-Paul St. Clair, 56 years old. He was born in Paris, but his family moved to the UK in the early Sixties. He studied at the Royal College of Art and is a renowned industrial designer and inventor. He sold his group of plastics companies in 2009, for a shade under three billion pounds. His wife Simone was born in 1979; she is a former glamour model. They have a flat in Paris, a ski chalet in Chamonix, and a country house near Redbrook, Monmouth. They have no children.”

  “What code name might we assign to him?” asked Heracles. “I’ve met him, he’s a tough businessman, despite the impression he gives of being merely an ‘ideas man’. Full of Gallic charm; but as hard as flint, when he needs to be.”

  “Sounds as if he’s just our man,” said Phoenix.

  “DAEDALUS,” said Zeus, in response to Heracles’s enquiry “he continues the flavour of the people I have been hunting; we need to inject more youth, and diversity into the upper echelons of the organisation. They must still support everything we stand for, but new blood will keep us from becoming stale. None of us is getting any younger.”

  “Excuse me, but some of us don’t consider ourselves to be old,” said Athena, with a smile, “but I agree with you. Both names you’ve proposed so far, bring particular talents which would offer much to Olympus.”

  “We have two men and two ladies on our list,” Zeus continued. “This is Piya Adani, she will be forty in October. Her family arrived from Kenya in the early Seventies. She was born in Leeds and educated at the Grammar School. At Leeds University, she completed a Business Management degree, studying part-time, while helping her father in his business. From humble beginnings, selling Indian food f
rom a market stall, her father expanded his range of products, and over the next twenty-five years, the business continued to thrive. When her father died suddenly, in 2003, Piya took control. Under her stewardship, the company has doubled in size. Several conglomerates were keen to add her business to their portfolio. Piya stoutly rejected their offers over an eighteen-month period; then in October, last year she sold the business for seven hundred and fifty million pounds.”

  “Do we know what changed her mind?” asked Phoenix.

  “The people she sold to didn’t make the highest bid. Yet they agreed to every stipulation Piya made regarding the future security of her workforce. They guaranteed the continued integrity of the product and maintaining her father’s company ethos. She wanted to protect everything they had built. Once she was happy the legacy was secured, she felt it was time to move on; to have fun. Ever since she left school at eighteen, she has worked tirelessly, foregoing holidays and social life. She’s single; but ‘lives in hope’, to quote from her Facebook page.”

  “What can she bring to the table, apart from her obvious wealth?” asked Apollo.

  “How convinced are we that she shares our ideals?” added Dionysus.

  “Piya brings youth and vitality; as a British-born Asian, she would provide a balance that at present we may not possess. As for her ideology; Athena and her team will test those to the limit. Her record in the local community, over the past decade, suggests she won’t be found wanting. She would become AMBROSIA.

  Finally, we have Dawn Prentice; born in Cambridge in 1976. As the only child of a West Indian immigrant couple in an English university city, she was drawn to other outsiders and rebels. Bob Marley was her idol. She studied Politics at Reading University. Her gap year took her to the Far East where she fell in with a crowd of fellow ex-students who introduced her to drugs. Dawn dropped out and only returned to the UK when she was deported from Australia. Her first stay at a rehab clinic was in 2001. She finally got herself clean by 2005. She had lost seven years of a meaningful working life to addiction. Dawn has worked for a charity that helps recovering addicts for eight and a half years. Her parents won a massive Euro millions jackpot in 2010, but died a year ago, in a freak paragliding accident, while on a third ‘around the world’ tour. Dawn is keen to use her parent’s windfall in areas that help combat the spread and use of drugs. Her code name would be AURORA.”

  “Is she married; does she have children?” asked Hera.

  “Neither, she has no family living in Britain,” replied Zeus. “As for relationships, there were only a few, since her first year at Reading. She lives alone, in Notting Hill. Those are the preliminary details for our four candidates. Over to you, Athena.”

  “When is the next meeting, Zeus?” Athena asked.

  “The first week in July,” he replied, “if you can complete your checks as soon as possible, I can invite them to attend our meeting in Manchester.”

  “Ah, closer to home,” said Aphrodite. “I can take the train.”

  Heracles seemed to be disappointed but held his tongue.

  “We’ll bring this meeting to a close,” said Zeus, “many thanks for coming here today. We still have much to achieve. My final words though are for Phoenix and Athena. Best wishes for your wedding; I’m sure you’ll be very happy together. The Olympus Project is fortunate to have you among its number.”

  Athena and Phoenix thanked Zeus, and everyone said their farewells. As they waited for their driver to bring the car around to the front of the LEO building, Athena pulled Phoenix to one side.

  “Just watch them, Phoenix,” she whispered, “they are leaving in groups. Zeus and his wife Hera led the way. The other four side-by-side, only a few steps behind. What a difference to our first meeting.”

  “The eight of us overall formed a cohesive unit today. We covered a lot of ground, and there was a healthy exchange of views. If the four candidates survive the vetting process; the dynamic will change, yet again. We must take care they are absorbed into the Olympus family. We can’t risk developing an old and a new faction. Look where that led to before.”

  Minutes later they were en route to Bath, and home.

  “When Zeus said, he was aiming for ‘fresh blood’, he wasn’t kidding, was he?” said Phoenix.

  “Change is continuous, Phoenix,” said Athena, “the only constant is evil.”

  CHAPTER 11

  Friday, 4th April 2014

  When Phoenix and Athena arrived for the nine o’clock meeting, they discovered Giles and Artemis had been active in the ice-house. They had promised to deliver a name for the person responsible for the deaths of Candy Jacobs, and Daphne Richards within the week. The smiles on their faces gave the game away.

  Athena opted to stick to her agenda. She opened proceedings with a brief summation of events at yesterday’s Olympus meeting. She sensed Phoenix growing impatient. The Two Stooges too, looked as if they had been tipped off something important was to be announced. Athena was keen for her authority to be recognised; these meetings could descend into a ‘free-for-all’ if discipline wasn’t maintained.

  Athena invited Minos and Alastor for their input. They seemed reticent, for the first time in living memory. Often, she had to persuade them to cut things short, to avoid meetings running through until lunchtime. Those few snatched hours with Hope were precious; particularly when she was so tiny and vulnerable. Athena didn’t want Maria Elena to become more of a mother figure to her daughter than her.

  Athena’s attention had drifted away for a few seconds. She realised Phoenix had asked if she was alright.

  “I’m fine, Phoenix; if you have nothing to offer today gentlemen, we should move on to news from the surveillance section?”

  “We have found our man, Athena,” said Giles. “In the past three days, we have uncovered a terrifying trail of death, across several countries. He is Arjun Krishnan, fifty-eight years old, a self-styled GP based in Solihull, in the West Midlands. He arrived in this country three years ago, from Baltimore, Maryland. Krishnan had portrayed himself there as a psychiatrist for over a decade. The trail leads back to his native Mumbai when he began a new career treating patients with no medical training. Krishnan had lost his job in the filmmaking industry due to complaints of sexual harassment.”

  “The fake doctor set up a makeshift medical practice in Dharavi,” said Artemis. “Which is a slum where half a million people exist, crammed into five hundred acres. When Krishnan fled to the US, he faced numerous charges of practising medicine without a license; fears grew that he was much more dangerous than anyone suspected. The authorities now believe the fake doctor was responsible for the deaths of up to thirty people. They died because of an overdose of prescription medicine. Hundreds of people visited Krishnan every day; the queue outside his shack filled with sick men and women to whom he would always supply pills sourced from the internet. It operated like a sweet shop. He shovelled pills into a bag, and they handed over a few coins.”

  “When the authorities started asking too many questions, he fled to the States,” said Giles, “he had family in Baltimore; an elderly aunt and uncle. They took him in. Krishnan told them he had re-trained as a psychiatrist after he had quit the film industry. They helped him financially, enabling him to set up a practice in the city. He repaid them by overprescribing them with antibiotics. They died six months apart in 2008. After his uncle died, Krishnan persuaded his aunt to alter her will. When she died, he inherited everything. Concerns were raised in the neighbourhood. At the practice, he continued to dish out opiates and psychoactive drugs which provided a far more lucrative income than in his home country. Krishnan grew very rich, very fast. By 2010, there were over a dozen deaths of patients linked to controlled substances prescribed by the fake physician. Baltimore PD received complaints from relatives that they believed Krishnan had given their loved ones’ drugs without a legitimate purpose. The police were wary of overreacting. Many of Krishnan’s patients were addicts, and tens of thousands of their fe
llow Americans abuse prescription drugs daily, anyway. Before they could act, Krishnan moved again.”

  “When the police raided the practice’s offices,” said Artemis, “they found them empty. He had sold the house, liquidated his assets, and flown to London. A few months later he turned up in Solihull. We heard of two deaths he was responsible for from Minos; but there are other incidents too, over the past three years. This guy is another Harold Shipman. He branched out from general practice and rented accommodation for a beauty clinic after six months. The money amassed in the States allowed him to set up a slick-looking cosmetic surgery business, with state-of-the-art equipment.”

  “How could he get away with it for so long?” asked Athena.

  “In general practice, he chose victims well. Often, they were widowed, and lived alone,” said Giles. “Residents were unconcerned when one of their elderly neighbours passed away suddenly. Despite not suffering from any known illness. Krishnan was accepted by the local community, where patients described him as a hardworking doctor; if a little abrupt and arrogant at times. His behaviour never raised suspicions from other healthcare professionals working in the area. At the beauty parlour, he pandered to his female clients’ vanity. Even if treatments didn’t prove fatal, they were unlikely to admit they had undergone treatments that left them in pain. Undertakers confirmed to our agents, that Krishnan’s patients died at a higher rate than other GPs; but he always reassured them there was no cause to be concerned. He maintained the aura of a caring, family doctor, despite our evidence to the contrary. Krishnan enjoys exercising control over life and death; in the decade and a half he’s been operating illegally, he’s become addicted to killing. We could be talking anything between fifty and one hundred victims.”