by Smith, Anna
They stopped at the billboard at the entrance and scanned down the list of companies.
‘There it is. J B Solutions,’ Matt said. ‘Game on.’
‘So, Matt,’ Rosie said, ‘when we get there, don’t forget to get out and open the doors for us. You’re the chauffeur. Don’t look in anyone’s direction.’
‘Don’t worry, pal. I’m all over this.’
The estate was mostly made up of small businesses and units – printing works, tyre suppliers, computing and office supply companies, plus a couple of larger places that looked like warehouses for some of the bigger department stores. Delivery lorries and vans passed them as Matt drove around the maze of roads until they saw the sign. J B Solutions sat at the corner of the estate, next to a haulage company with a few massive trucks in its car park. There was nothing beyond the two buildings but open fields and woodland.
‘It looks closed up,’ Matt said as he got nearer the buildings. ‘Look. Gates are padlocked.’
Rosie rolled down the window and sucked in a mouthful of air. Her stomach tightened as they got near the high perimeter fence, which was topped off with razor wire. Two cars – a blue Mercedes and a black Range Rover – were in the car park close to the main door, and she spotted at least two CCTV cameras. She was about to ask Adrian to ring the number he’d been given on the email when the main door opened and two burly men came out and strode towards them.
‘Christ! I hope I don’t have to fight them big bastards,’ Matt said. ‘Remember. I’m just the driver. Any rough stuff and I’m out of here.’ He winked at Rosie.
‘If there’s any rough stuff in a place that sells guns, it’ll be a short fight.’ Rosie replied as the men opened the padlocked gate and one of them slipped outside.
‘Ready, guys?’ Rosie reached inside her blouse and switched on the hidden tape recorder then eased the switch on the hidden camera on the button of her jacket.
‘Will I get out?’ Matt said as the man approached.
‘No. Sit tight. Open your window.’
Matt eased down the window as the man drew near.
‘Hello.’ Rosie leaned across, smiling up at him. ‘Mr Kovac for Mr Dunn. He has an appointment.’ She gestured to the back seat. ‘I’m his assistant when he’s in the UK. Mr Dunn is expecting us.’
Rosie’s English accent was perfect. The big man eyed all three of them and for a second said nothing. Rosie could feel her heartbeat. The big man took out a walkie-talkie.
‘Boss, a Mr Kovac and er . . . some bird, I mean woman.’ He spoke in a broad Cockney accent.
The device crackled, then a voice came back.
‘Bring them in, Dave.’
He took a step back and beckoned them towards the gate.
‘You should be on the stage,’ Matt quipped to Rosie as they drove through the tall steel gates.
‘Shut up. I’m concentrating,’ Rosie said in her English accent, her face straight. ‘You ready, Adrian?’
‘Of course,’ he murmured.
Matt got out and went around to open Rosie’s door, then the back door for Adrian. Rosie’s stomach jolted as the men pushed the gate closed and padlocked it. They walked behind them to the main entrance, where one of the men pushed a button and the big security door opened.
Inside, the hallway was dimly lit with grey bare walls and no proper reception area. The men led them down a corridor to a black door at the end and knocked on it softly.
‘Come in.’
Rosie glanced at Adrian, who was staring straight ahead. She took a deep breath and cleared her throat.
As they came through the doorway a tall man in a dark pinstripe suit who was seated behind his desk stood up and gave them a practised, painted smile, showing off his bleached teeth. He ran a hand over his mop of lush, greying hair. He looked somewhere between a slick City trader and a dodgy car dealer. Rosie immediately clocked the fresh grazes on his knuckles, and a chill ran through her. They’d come to the right place, and she wished she could turn on her heels and go. She blinked away an image of him punching the face of the defenceless young hooker.
‘How’s it going, folks? Thanks for coming.’
He stepped from behind his desk. Controlled, charming, flashing the teeth again. A wolf that could tear you to pieces. Rosie swallowed, holding her nerve.
‘Mr Dunn.’ She stretched out her hand. ‘Melissa Parker . . . I believe Mr Kovac told you that I’m his assistant when he travels in the UK.’
‘Yes, he did. Pleased to meet you, Melissa.’
‘And this is Mr Kovac.’ Rosie gestured a hand towards Adrian.
‘How you doing, Mr Kovac? Thanks for getting in touch, and for coming all the way over from Sarajevo.’ He glanced at Rosie. ‘Actually, I would have made the trip over to Sarajevo, no problem. I’ve always been interested to see how things have panned out since all that terrible carry-on during the war.’
Adrian nodded. ‘Is much better now, Mr Dunn. Is a very beautiful city these days. Many people from all over Europe now visit.’ He paused. ‘But I had some business already in the London, so it suit me better to come here.’
‘Excellent,’ Dunn said, turning to Rosie. ‘And I’m curious as to why you have an assistant here. It’s not as if you need a translator. Your English seems very good.’
‘Not perfect. But is improving.’ Adrian glanced at Rosie. ‘Melissa works in my company in Sarajevo. As I told you in the email, it is growing all the time. Is a new world now in Bosnia, and many, many opportunities. Melissa is involved in – how you say? – in the public relations.’
Rosie smiled.
‘I’m kind of a personal assistant, but I’m also involved in creating a good image for the company,’ she enthused, beginning to believe it herself. ‘The security and bodyguards industry is also growing, especially in the Balkan region and beyond. So I’m helping to promote it.’
‘So, you based in Sarajevo?’ Dunn asked.
‘A lot of the time, yes.’ Rosie winged it. She had expected to be questioned closely. So far, so good. ‘But if there is a new client to see for business, I usually accompany Mr Kovac.’
‘Good.’ Dunn gestured them towards two chairs. ‘Take a seat. Please. And we can get down to business.’ He went back behind his desk and sat down, pushing back on the leather office chair.
Rosie and Adrian watched as Dunn looked at the back of his raw knuckles. He flexed his hand as though he’d seen them looking at it, and grinned.
‘I do a bit of boxing training at the gym,’ he said, patting his firm stomach. ‘Keeps me in shape. But I got a bit carried away punching the heavy bag the other day.’
Rosie said nothing.
‘So.’ He turned to Adrian. ‘Talking business, Mr Kovac. What are we looking at here, in terms of hardware?’ He paused. ‘I’ll show you some of what we’ve got in a few minutes. But what exactly are you looking for?’
Adrian took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, clasping his hands together, looking at the blank wall above Dunn.
‘Well, I am thinking. We will be requiring say, thirty to forty handguns. Probably Glock, as they are very reliable. I also like the Smith & Wesson, so maybe we would look at six or seven of them. Are you able to do that? And ammunition, of course. And silencers – for all of them.’
Dunn looked serious as he took notes on a pad on his desk.
‘Sure. That wouldn’t be a problem. If you wanted as many as forty Glocks, then we may have to wait a couple of weeks. But Smith & Wessons we have plenty of, so no problem there.’
‘Good. And rifles. I think ten. With range and eyesights. I like to use in the field . . . Can you get them? . . . Give me a price?’
Dunn nodded, licking his lips.
‘No problem.’
‘And how is delivery? You can deliver them to us in Sarajevo? Things are very different now with border controls, but of course, if you have all the licence and papers for exporting, then is no problem.’
Dunn’s lips tightened a little.
‘Delivery is good. You can trust me on that.’ He leaned forward. ‘I don’t know how much you know about J B Solutions, but we’ve been around a long time. We’ve sold weapons all over the shop. Europe, Africa. You leave all the delivery and papers up to me. If we make a deal, then we decide where and when, and that’s all you have to worry about. I’ll get the stuff to you.’ He paused, looking from Rosie to Adrian. ‘But I’ll be very frank with you. It’s upfront money, Mr Kovac. You need to pay 75 per cent up front when you place the order. That’s the deal.’
Adrian’s face showed nothing and there was a stony silence.
‘Is a lot of money. When we don’t see the guns till they come to Sarajevo. A lot of money.’
‘That’s how we do business here.’ He sighed. ‘There are some countries – and I’ll tell you this in confidence – there are some places we’ve made deals with and sent the arms and didn’t get the full amount of money – nothing like it. We took a hit. We’ve taken a hit in Africa, for example, with another small firm I operate. We lost our licence in that debacle, and it was basically because they fucked up . . .’ He turned to Rosie . . . ‘if you’ll pardon my French. And these African countries . . . you can’t trust any of them because they’re all bloody corrupt. They assured us they were organizing stuff at their end, but the money never materialized. We don’t risk that any more. We can’t deal with that. So that’s how it is now. But don’t worry, we will deliver. We are the experts.’
Adrian nodded.
‘Okay. I think that sound good to me. Is possible, maybe we can do business.’
‘Great.’ Dunn stood up. ‘We can sort the details later if we come to a deal. I’m sure I can offer you better rates than anyone else. Come on, I’ll show you some of the stock we have.’
He led them along a corridor and into a side room, then through to another corridor with a steel door at the end. It opened into warehouse piled high with metal boxes marked ‘Ammo’, and gun and rifle boxes. He turned to them, again with the killer smile.
‘This is our warehouse. As you can see, we have to keep it all top secret. Actually, that’s why we don’t advertise or anything any more. Our success is through word of mouth. I take it that’s how you heard about us.’
Adrian made a non-committal face. Dunn eyed him approvingly.
‘That’s good. It’s important to keep things tight. We get all sorts of shit from the powers that be trying to put guys like me out of business. Sometimes we have to bend the rules a bit. But you don’t look like a man who worries about that kind of stuff.’
Adrian half smiled.
‘I am from Sarajevo. When you live through the Bosnian War, you are used to bending the rules.’
‘That’s what I like to hear. I hope we can do business together. What’s your first name?’
‘Danko,’ Adrian replied.
‘Thomas. But people know me as Tam. Self-made. Built myself up from the streets of Glasgow when things were hard, I’ll tell you. Guys like me in Glasgow at that time could have flourished anywhere – Sarajevo, Belfast, Africa. If you’re prepared to take risks, you win. But you have to know who you’re dealing with. It’s all about trust. I hope we can trust each other, because if we can then a lot of things could open up for us in your neck of the woods. For both us.’ he winked. ‘If you get my drift.’
Adrian nodded.
Rosie watched as Dunn took Adrian across to a long bench, where there were already four metal boxes, the lids loose on top of them. Dunn removed the lid from one and pulled out a gleaming handgun, then another, smaller one. He handed them to Adrian, who weighed them and worked at the trigger and safety catch, loaded the clip as quick as lightning. Rosie tried not to look surprised. He said nothing, just nodded approvingly at Dunn. Then he went to another box, and then another, then to the rifles. He examined some of them closely, glancing at Dunn, who was scrutinizing him. The only thing Rosie knew about guns was the business end of them, having had one or two pressed to her head. She stood back as Adrian went through his cache, examining bullets, ammunition and silencers.
‘You have some good material here. I think we can do business. We can talk again soon about financial arrangements once you work out a price.’
‘Good man.’ Dunn shook Adrian’s hand vigorously. ‘Look, are you in town for the night? If you fancy dinner I’d be delighted to take both of you to a great little place where you get the best steaks this side of London.’
Adrian glanced at Rosie, who blinked what she hoped was a yes. There wasn’t much option. Dinner with this scumbucket was the last thing on her agenda – they already had great material, as long as the secret camera and recording devices had worked – but you never knew what he’d blab about once he had a few drinks.
‘That seems perfect . . . Tam.’ Adrian said.
Chapter Twenty-Five
They were already two bottles of red wine down by the time they’d finished their main course, and Dunn ordered another. Rosie nursed her half-full glass, careful not to drink much, terrified she’d lapse into her normal voice. But she was impressed at how Adrian had matched Dunn drink for drink, including the large whisky they’d had before dinner, and still looked sober. Dunn was flushed and talking continuously, becoming more and more animated as the night wore on. The fact that he kept nipping out to the toilet confirmed Rosie’s suspicion that he was coked out of his nut. Everything was going perfectly, as long as Dunn didn’t flip. Rosie would be glad when this night was over. It was just a question of getting through the next hour.
‘So you have a lot of connections in the Balkan region? You must have a good reputation in the security industry,’ Dunn asked.
‘Yes,’ Adrian nodded. ‘My staff are well trained. Most of them are former comrades and fought together in the war. They know what they are doing. Our reputation, it is growing – that is for sure.’
‘Clients expect quality,’ Rosie chimed in. ‘Sef is a respected company, and it constantly delivers. Put it this way, we’ve never lost a client we were protecting.’ Rosie flashed Adrian a knowing smile. ‘And with some of the clients we’ve protected, that is a surprise.’
‘I’m sure you see all kinds of people,’ Dunn agreed.
‘Well, the ethos of the company is that we will protect whoever asks to be protected. We don’t judge people for what they do as a business, if you know what I mean.’ Rosie hoped to draw him out.
‘You can’t survive as a security and bodyguard firm any other way.’ Dunn spread his hands and shrugged. ‘If, let’s say, your client was shifting thirty kilos of coke or heroin across Europe in lorries and they needed protecting, then, of course, you’d have to make a judgement call. If you said no to that, then you’re in the wrong business.’ He paused, eyeing one of them then the other. ‘That’s just my opinion.’
‘As Melissa says, we don’t make judgements.’ Adrian was deadpan.
‘That’s good. Believe me, you’ll become a bigger player by treating everything as business. Nothing is ever personal. Everything is done for one reason – to make money and to keep the firm alive. That’s my philosophy.’ He sniffed and touched his nose. ‘And let me tell you one thing . . . there isn’t anyone out there who won’t take a bung. And I know that for a fact. Everyone will take a backhander.’ He lowered his voice. ‘Listen. Between us, I have people in my pocket, on my payroll, that go all the way to Whitehall – the MoD. They’re greedy bastards, mind you. But they’ll turn a blind eye, do any fucking thing, as long as you stick the money in their offshore accounts.’
Rosie shook her head in mock disbelief, glancing at Adrian.
‘It’s incredible, isn’t it?’ she said. ‘You know what they say – the people in power are bigger gangsters than anyone. The MPs, the civil servants. It’s one rule for them and another for the rest of us.’
‘I agree.’ Adrian gave a measured nod. ‘If we’d waited for the politicians to make life better for us then we would all have starved to death in Bosnia during and after the war.
We have had to go out and fight for our living.’
‘Exactly,’ Dunn agreed. ‘In fact, I’ll let you into a secret, now that I know we’re on the same wavelength. J B Solutions is operating and making more money now than ever – and we’ve not been short of problems.’
Rosie and Adrian nodded and said nothing.
‘We had some hassle with the Home Office after our sister company sold a container-load of weaponry to Nigeria. Some big bastard dictator over there wanted them to shore up his regime in the civil war. Me? I don’t judge, as I told you. A deal is a deal. But we didn’t have the proper paperwork at the time . . . well . . . put it this way . . . I didn’t put all the facts down on the paperwork we had. I took a chance and shipped it. But it got rumbled and that was it. Big problem with the licence after that, and we were nearly out of business. You have to laugh at the government really. They don’t give a fuck what regimes they bankroll quietly, who they sell arms to, and who is killing who with the guns they sold to these dodgy tyrants. They just don’t want us to get a slice of the action.’
‘So what did you do?’ Rosie asked. ‘I mean, how did you survive?’
Dunn grinned.
‘By paying the fuckers to turn a blind eye.’
‘You mean the Customs and Borders people?’
‘Yeah. Them too. But also we have someone inside the MoD, some mid-ranking civil servant who does the paperwork. He’s in our pocket – took a bit of organizing and plenty of dosh, but he’s in, because he couldn’t resist the money.’
‘And you can ship arms without any problems?’
‘Well, as you saw today, they’re all boxed up, so when we sell a lot, they go in a lorry from our haulage firm next door – you may have noticed it when you came in.’ He grinned. ‘They’re not delivering to supermarkets, I can tell you that. So, the guns and hardware go in among a whole load of other things we ship abroad. Mostly car components, steel, metal and rods for the construction trade – that kind of thing. It’s all very well camouflaged, so that unless they take the whole container apart, nobody knows a thing. They accept what is on the paperwork. When we have a shipment going out, I make a call to my man, and off it goes. Simple as that. I know it sounds unbelievable, but that’s how it happens. That’s how the world goes round, not by hard graft. Fuck that for a living. There’s money in everything except hard work. It’s dog eat dog.’