“Have you been taking anything else Anthony? I mean I could understand it if you had, but.................” Drayson nosily enquired.
“That's really none of your business” Foster snapped.
“OK, OK Anthony. It's just that, well, I've got a proposal for you, something that could change your life but I need to know; actually forget it. I think I may have made a mistake coming here tonight, I apologise, forget I even came here, look after yourself mate” Drayson bluffed as he began to stand up to leave, something which he had no intention of doing.
“Wait a minute! I've been taking a bit of cocaine, only a little bit though. Why do you want to know and what do you mean something that can change my life?” Foster said, urging him to stay.
Drayson sat down again, trying to prevent the smug feeling he had from affecting the serious expression that he had on his face. He looked around before telling Foster that he had to know exactly what he had been taking and whether it affected his health because if it did, he may have had to reconsider his position. Foster replied that he had only taken cocaine and marijuana and that neither affected his health but they did help him think more clearly, although lately he had only been drinking because of finances.
After only a few months of being retired, Foster had spent most of the sixty thousand pound lump sum he had received, and the monthly pension that he had could only buy so many narcotics. Foster stopped talking about his personal life and asked Drayson again how he was going to change his life and why he wanted to know about his drug use, after all, he was no longer answerable as a police officer.
“OK Anthony, it's like this, I've got a job for you! However if you want it, you've got to get off the alcohol and as for the cocaine, well, I'm not sure, mmmmm, maybe it could help you, I don't know!? I suppose I can live with the cocaine for the moment but everything else has to stop. Can I trust you Anthony?” Drayson said in a serious tone. In reality he didn't give a damn about the cocaine as it would possibly help keep a leash on him, however the alcohol was a problem, it would make him slow, make him sloppy.
“Sure, sure, what's the job, what's the job? Am I going to be reinstated? I would do anything to be a copper again! Hang on, wait a minute! There's no way the Chief would ever allow me back in the Job or to be used for police work, so what's it all about?” Foster asked with suspicion.
“All in good time Anthony, all in good time. I know it sounds far-fetched but the Chief feels absolutely terrible about what happened to you and wants to make amends without anyone knowing the details! He also acknowledges that there really is no one else capable of pulling this job off. However if you have better things to do, then I'll understand!”
Foster desperately and repeatedly assured Drayson that he was very interested, his depressed mental state combined with the alcohol meant that he was unable to think with logic and question what was being said to him on a deeper level.
“OK Anthony, I can see that the Chief was right about you being the right man! In that case I want you to meet me at twelve am, in three days on the 26th, at the car park of West Ording forest. You'll get briefed then! This is strictly between us, and I mean strictly! This is an amazing opportunity for you Anthony, but if you can't handle it like a professional, I'll have to hand it to someone who is more capable. I need you to understand that!” Drayson said, expertly manipulating and influencing him.
Foster acknowledged that he fully understood and that he knew the secluded car park well. He also agreed to get off the alcohol and cocaine right away. Drayson responded with a wink, finished his pint and stood up to leave.
“Oh and by the way Anthony; have a bloody wash and shave, you look like crap, Constable!” Drayson ordered him. The use of Foster's former title of Constable made his face light up with happiness.
Drayson left Foster who was now rushing to gather up his things together. As he walked out of the pub, not one person looked around at him, it was clear that his entrance had been more interesting than his departure which was a positive, as it affirmed that no one had heard, or was interested in, what he had been saying to Foster. He smiled to himself, maybe things were brightening up after all; he had found that torch he needed!
Week One, Day One.
Chapter Fourteen
Anaura stood in the doorway of his new office in Shoreton District Police Station, nursing a cup of black coffee. The nineteen sixties style station was tucked away just a minutes’ walk from Shoreton High Street, and with its discreet car park and lack of people coming and going, it was perfect location for the Op Spear headquarters. The added bonus for Anaura was that it close to his home in Bramberly, a village 6 miles out of the City. After taking a sip of his coffee, he looked at his Storm watch, it was six twenty in the morning, and as usual he was the first in and would inevitably be the last out, although he promised himself that after this job, he would be getting home on time for the remainder of his career. He continued to sip the black coffee, savouring its rich taste and waiting for the caffeine to help alleviate the tired and fuzzy head he was suffering from. Maybe it was time to reconsider his early starts too he thought to himself.
It was the first day in the office and most of his stuff was yet to be moved in, which meant that there was not a huge amount to do so he sat down to begin reading a paper he had brought with him. Within three minutes of opening the first page, he heard the main office door open. Instead of jumping up to greet whoever had arrived, he chose to finish the page he was on as he knew he wouldn't get another chance once everyone started arriving.
All of a sudden his concentration was abruptly interrupted by the loud sound of an industrial hoover being switched on. Anaura leapt up, worrying that he had left the office door open and whether there was any restricted intelligence up on the walls yet that the cleaner would see. He popped his head out of his office and said morning to the cleaner, who just smiled back and then continued with his work as if there was nothing unusual. Surprised at the cleaner's lack of explanation for being in a secure office, Anaura asked him how he had gained access to the office to which the cleaner replied that he had done it the same way he had for the past two years; he pushed the door open.
“Oh yeah, of course, sorry I'm being stupid” Anaura said, realising that the cleaner had obviously not been informed. However, what it did mean though, was that the Op Spear office security measures were about as useful as a chocolate fire-guard!
After the cleaner had finished up his work and left, Anaura walked out of the office and closed the door. He went to use his pass on the card reader but paused and decided to give it a push without it; the door opened. On his arrival at the office Anaura had placed his pass up to the door, the same way he had done at other stations around the Force and hadn't checked to see if the door was open first, and why would he have, it was meant to have been a secure unit, he had therefore been unaware that it had not been working. Anaura stormed over to his office and picked up the phone, quickly dialling Steiner's mobile number. Steiner had barely answered before he was met by an onslaught of expletives and ranting from an angry Anaura who remarked that if a bloody cleaner could get into the office, then anyone could. Struggling to deal with the sudden onslaught that boomed out of his phone, Steiner calmed him down and reminded him that they were only just moving into the office and that the locks were going to be activated that day. Anaura continued moaning that the locks should have been in place prior to their arrival and not during it. Knowing that Anaura had a keen eye for detail to the point of obsession at times, Steiner apologised and assured him that he would have it sorted without a delay despite feeling that his reaction was a bit over the top.
As Anaura finished the call with Steiner and hung up, PCs Stephen Taggart and Mark Crane from the Intelligence Unit walked in and properly introduced themselves to him. Anaura shook their hands and told them that he had seen them around the station which pleased the officers as they had said hello to him on a number of occasions and did not know whether he would remember
them. This was typical of him, and a lot of coppers, he somehow managed to know everybody without knowing anyone!? This was the result of seeing people in corridors and in refreshment rooms and exchanging pleasantries without ever stopping to talk to them properly or asking their names. It was a police thing! They were all part of the same huge family, and like huge families, distant cousins twice removed only seemed to know each other by face.
Anaura instructed Taggart and Crane to find themselves a desk to move their stuff into. Like EasyJet, he didn't like the idea of specifying or dictating where people sat, they were after all adults and who were going to be on the same team so it didn't matter where they sat. As the two officers made themselves at home, Anaura went off to the kitchen to make a coffee for them and another himself. On his return he saw that the office had become a hive of activity as a number of the other officers fought over the best desk places; the furthest away from his watchful eye. Anaura had barely crossed the threshold when they all looked up and saw the hot drinks in his hands. 'Shit', he thought to himself, he was going to have to make a lot of drinks unless he played arrogant and just walked into his office without saying a word.
“Ah fantastic Peter, you're making the drinks for everyone” Richards said with a smug look on his face, knowing full well that he had just stitched Anaura up with tea making duties.
“Bloody hell Ian!” Anaura huffed back at him, as the rest of the room looked on at him, hoping that he would save them the job of making their own morning drinks.
“Right! Where's the bloody tea trays then?” Anaura asked with playful frustration.
“In the kitchen and under the sink sir. I used to work here!” PC Sarah Williams, a twenty two year old, short and curvy brunette from the Intelligence Unit said in a sheepish voice.
Anaura glared at her, which made the young female officer shrink in her seat before he gave her one of his trademark smiles, letting her know he was just teasing her. Usher, who had arrived a few minutes beforehand, began laughing at his probationer-like tea making duties. In the Job every probationer, or a new recruit to a unit, would be tasked with making tea for everyone in the team before each briefing; and it had definitely been a while since he had been on taking making duties for the whole team.
“I'm glad you find it funny Naomi! Because you're going to bloody help me! Get a pen and paper and start taking orders!” Anaura remarked with satisfaction.
Usher stooped her shoulders and said “Ahhh man” at the same time as pulling an immature expression before setting off around the room to take orders from everyone.
“Oh and Ian; you’d better go to shop around the corner and buy a supply of tea bags, coffee and milk, I don't think there's enough left for this round. It's the least you can do for stitching me up. Go on chop, chop!” Anaura said, exacting his revenge on Richards for dropping him in it.
With everyone holding a hot drink in their hand. Anaura stood up in the centre of the room and re-introduced himself in a less formal way than at the briefing day before. The team that ranged from twelve surveillance officers in two teams being led by PS Adrian King and Simon Chalmers, to four detectives and four intelligence officers who could utilise specialist surveillance equipment, were now all present in the office awaiting Anaura's informal brief and the official start of Op Spear.
Anaura began explaining to the team that although the operation was of extremely high importance and required a high level of professionalism to be demonstrated, under no circumstances were any of them to refuse having fun as well. The last part of his sentence had clearly been unexpected and brought big smiles to all the faces in the room. He continued on, reminding them all that this was potentially a once in a life time type job and that they may never be involved in such a big case again, it was therefore imperative that they enjoyed it by working hard and playing hard. If there had been any officers left who still weren't sold on Anaura, they were now. He finished up by informing them all that they would be starting the next day at a slow and measured pace as an operation like this one, had to be taken slowly and measured to begin with. It was a day to settle themselves into the office and read up on all the available information to hand.
“Let’s do it!” Anaura said, clapping his hands twice with enthusiasm as he walked off towards his office before he grabbed Richards in a headlock and dragged him along with him, rubbing his knuckles over his head in an immature manner.
“Ahhh! You bastard Peter, I've just done my hair!” Richards exclaimed as he and Anaura sat down at their joint desks that faced one another inside the supervisor’s office. Anaura replied with a wink before they were soon joined by the two surveillance Sergeants, King and Chalmers who had come in to start planning for the first week of the operation whilst outside the office the newly introduced members of the team were enjoying getting properly acquainted with each other and working through the intelligence systems. Anaura and the three Sergeants discussed with each other at length what the best angle of attack to start from was. Although the end decisions rested with Anaura, he knew that the three men were highly experienced and their input was extremely important. With hours and hours of planning ahead, he would need their help.
After a total of 20 hours of planning spread over three days, they had finally finished and took a well deserved break. The tactical phase would begin the following Monday, three days later. Although there had already been a huge amount of planning carried out prior to the official briefing, the actual process of putting feet on the ground required a little bit more on top due to the number of the subjects and choosing who was the most appropriate watch first.
With the first phase of the Surveillance operation agreed on, Anaura and Richards would tap the intelligence guys for information they had on any relationships the Gang had past or present to see if the two of them along with Valera and Usher could arrest to start placing a strangle hold on their grass roots dealing activities. Strangle the roots, kill the fruit!
Anaura knew only too well that this was not going to be an easy task. For the detectives it would take a lot of cool thinking and actions to make sure that the Gang didn't become too suspicious when their dealers began getting nabbed one after the other. Therefore they would have to tread carefully and take their time whenever they chose or moved in on a mid-level dealer and questioned them about whether they had links to Bradford et al. All easier said than done! Outside of that, it was their job to compile all of the evidence and build a solid case; not all glamour and Hollywood! It was a different story for the two SOCU surveillance teams who would track down their target and then play an exciting game of cat and mouse with them using a wide range of vehicle and foot tactics to follow them covertly; hardly boring work. It was the same for the intelligence officers who would split their time between researching intelligence on the Force's computers and setting up and staffing up Observation Posts whenever the Surveillance teams could establish where a meeting was taking place. It all made the detectives work sound boring in addition to being difficult.
After a lot deliberation it was decided, their first target would be Paul Cooper. The following Monday the Surveillance teams would start 'life-styling' him. Life styling was a Surveillance term tactic that was employed to monitor a subjects daily movements to learn their routine in order to follow them effectively and learn where they frequented. It was specialist work that would firmly place them on the front foot if it was successful.
During their discussions, Chalmers and Richards had suggested that they watch the big shot, Ryan Bradford first. However Anaura disagreed, citing that although going after the snake's head first could be a very high reward quick time game, if it went wrong they would be left with nothing, the job would be literally dead in the water. It was a sensible plan as Bradford was one of the worst type of criminals, one who could sense that a surveillance team were on him. He had proven this on more than one occasion when they had followed him in the past, when all of a sudden and out of nowhere, he would do something unexpected, t
o allow him to see if anyone in the area reacted or paid too much attention to his actions. On one such occasion when he was driving on the motorway, he abruptly pulled off the road to head into the City, only to change course and head back onto the dual carriageway, hoping that he would see Surveillance cars struggling to catch up with him. However the Surveillance officers were a group of highly specialist professionals who wouldn't have been caught out by such a ploy. One thing was for sure though, and that was that Bradford was a very tricky customer.
Bradford may have been like a Fox, but the other three were quite the opposite. They could have been followed every day of the week and not been aware of it and apart from shooting a few paranoid glances around now and then, they weren't as switched on as Bradford to think of ingenious counter surveillance moves.
With the Surveillance Sergeants taking care of their own teams briefings, Anaura requested that Intel officers and Vice detectives join him in the briefing room that adjoined the main office. Inside the room Anaura explained what the first week would look like, and that it would start from the following Monday. He informed PC's Crane and Taggart that they would be working with Surveillance as their Intel support while PC's Williams and Streeting would be assisting the four detectives with their workload.
Anaura turned to his three detectives and told them that they were going to start sifting through all of the available drug related intelligence before establishing a low level dealer to nick and pump for information. The plan was relatively simple but would be highly effective if it was successful. Once they had identified a subject with enough dirt on them, the detectives would carry out a mini investigation to ascertain whether there was enough evidence to perform a drugs raid, or warrant, at the dealers home address utilising the specialist skills of the City's Special Support Team who were a unit of officers trained in riot policing and unarmed raids. If the raid was successful and drugs were found, which was likely, the drug dealer would be facing a prison sentence which could be potentially shortened if, say, they were to assist officers with a larger and ongoing investigation; like Op Spear for instance. Leverage in this game was everything!
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