by Terry Morgan
CHAPTER 74
"You sure you don't know anything more about this guy, Guido?"
When Scott Evora phoned, Jonathan had just arrived home and was still sat in his car on the driveway. "Why? Does he bother you?" Jonathan asked, remembering the agreement with Jim was to say nothing yet.
"Yeh, we can't place him. From his accent and name he's obviously Italian but the name's cropped up a few times, not just with Silvester Mendes."
Jonathan thought about it for a moment and the silence must have been telling.
"Is Guido his real name?" Evora probed.
"Could be."
"Does Jim know him?"
"No."
"But your mole does, that right?"
"Yes."
"And where's the mole?"
"Burrowing in a hole."
"Jesus, Jon. Can't you help?"
"No. Why does Guido bother you, Scott? Come on, you tell me something."
"He sounds to us like a kingpin. Would I be right?"
"Yes, probably, with others."
"Fuck, come on Jon. Spill."
"Look, Scott, Jim's running this show with no resources. We're all volunteers. All four of us. How many staff does the FBI have? Help us a bit more and perhaps we'd help you."
"Yeh, Jim said the same thing, but how?"
"Jim asked for technical help, did he not?"
"Yes, but what and how?"
"The listening device you fixed me up with was a good idea so we bought one ourselves. It was useful. It's already given us some evidence. It would be very useful if you could take things a stage further and hack and then track financial movements in a complex public finance system that's not based in the USA. Can you do that?"
"Jesus. Can you imagine the fall out if we did that and got found out?"
"You see what I mean, Scott? Is the FBI that weak? Another thing - Jim also asked you to help push international aid fraud up the political agenda, didn't he? So if you think you might need international arrest warrants at some time, which will be the only way to start to bring down the organisation we are slowly uncovering, then why not discuss your concerns - without breaking any confidentialities of course - with the UK and European governments? Prepare the ground so to speak. Be ready when the time comes."
"I'll ask again."
"And what happened to Silvester Mendes, Scott? You thought he might phone me after his phone call with Guido that you listened in to."
"Yeh, I know. He's gone quiet. We thought Guido would turn up to see him at his hotel - that was the gist of one call we picked up but couldn't trace - but he didn't. After he call It looked like Mendes came down to look for someone in the lobby but he, too, was disappointed. Guido didn't show. Meanwhile, Mendes is still sitting in London, spending money from what we can tell. We lost him one night but caught up with him next morning back at the Intercontinental. A woman turned up, they were talking business, but all we really got was the woman's name - Tony."
Jonathan flinched, his heart missed a beat and his imagination went into overdrive. Jan had mentioned someone called Tony - a phone call in the middle of his first meeting with Guido in Delft. "Oh Christ!"
"What's up, Jon?"
"Guido knows someone called Tony."
"Fuck me. So did Guido send a deputy? A woman? Who the hell is she?"
"No idea, Scott, and that's no bullshit. It's just a name we picked up once. But......you still got the recording of me and Silvester?"
"Sure. Oh fuck! You think you said too much? Silvester might have mentioned you to this woman Tony?"
Still sitting in the car on his own driveway, Jonathan felt heat spreading up from his neck.
"How do I know? I mentioned a few genuine deals including.....Oh God!.....including the Sierra Leone one that Guido's so mad about losing. Will the FBI offer any protection if Guido turns up at my office?"