“Good.”
* * *
Rob and Laura were on an early flight to Amsterdam the following morning to visit Logistics Arranged’s head office. Burak had provided the introductions, explaining that the COO, Lars Bakker, and the junior auditor coordinated the non-legitimate elements of the company’s operations. To do so, they had established a wide network of willing helpers who were well paid to undertake extra-curricular activities during company time and using company and client assets. Burak had introduced them using aliases and that they worked directly for him to support businesses in whatever way Burak required.
Closeted in the COO’s office, the four quickly concluded that an unknown party had enrolled drivers, and possibly others, to smuggle items across Europe and Britain. The paperwork that the junior auditor had prepared was detailed and left no room for any other conclusion. Laura had left the talking to Rob, who concluded by asking for copies of the auditor’s papers, the names of the drivers, and those of the operations coordinators giving those drivers their assignments.
“Mr. Demir has provided us with means to check these people out,” Rob explained. “We won’t create any operational issues or bad publicity during the investigations, so don’t worry. We are used to addressing these matters quietly. Clearly, if something untoward is going on, we will call you to discuss the best way of dealing with it.”
As they stood to leave, Rob added, “Oh, may I also have a copy of all the service and repair records for the vehicles identified as well.”
“By all means,” the auditor replied.
* * *
The intention had been that Rob would spend all the next day wading through the paperwork by himself while Laura worked on her other assignment. However, late that morning, Rob called her from his office at Millbank Tower, where Zouches was based. “Laura, hi. Sorry to disturb you. Do you have a few minutes?”
“Yes, of course.”
“Great. Just wondering if you fancy picking me up in one of your pool cars and taking a trip down Southampton way?”
I always fancy picking you up and anything to spend time with you Laura thought absently before replying, again, raising an eyebrow, an action that Rob was trying to picture as he thought about her face as they spoke. “Er, yes, I can, but why?”
“Well, it’s a long shot, but there is one sequence of suspect journeys that stands out, each on consecutive days. The pick-up and drop-off points coincide with the final group not far from where you found the chemicals you told me about. What’s more, each subject vehicle required repairs due to internal metal corrosion!”
After a long silence, Rob enquired, “Laura? You still there?”
“Oh, yes! Sorry, Rob. I’ve just got this horrible sinking feeling that once again we’ve stumbled across something unpleasant that Burak’s network is involved with. I will let Steven know and meet you in front of your building in fifteen minutes.”
“Sounds perfect. With a small detour, I know a good place for lunch on the way.”
Laura laughed. “Oh Rob, you’re wonderful.”
17
Nearly three and a half hours later, Laura turned into the large, cluttered yard of a service and repair business for commercial vehicles. Rob led the way, Laura following, as though a faithful assistant. At the service desk, Rob introduced himself as though from Logistics Arranged and presented the paperwork and invoice relating to the repair he was interested in.
“Could we speak to the person who did the repair work, please?” he asked. “And if you still have the piece of metal that was replaced I would like to take a look and, if necessary, take it away with me.”
The man, wearing blue overalls that covered a bulging, flabby belly and barrel chest was more than amenable. Logistics Arranged was a major customer and he knew ad hoc audit inspections occurred. He guided them around to the back yard where he pointed to the far corner. “You’ll find the sheet of metal over there. It’s pretty obvious and set to the side ’cause we dunno if we can sell it like the rest. I’ll go get the engineer.”
One quick glance at the piece of metal was sufficient for Laura. “We’ve got to take this with us. That corrosion looks horrendous.”
As they spoke, the engineer announced himself with a friendly “Hi. You’re interested in the section of metal I removed. Never seen anything like it,” he started as Laura and Rob turned. As they did, they saw another man hurrying across the yard and he did not look anywhere nearly as friendly.
“What do you want?!” the latest arrival asked aggressively.
“We’re from Logistics Arranged, just checking on a repair job,” Rob started.
“Well, that’s tough. You had no appointment, so you can leave the way you came.”
Rob thought for a few seconds. He was faced with a thick set man who had a clear height advantage and was evidently strong from his manual labour of working with vans and lorries. This guy’s trying to cover something up and we need this piece of metal. If we leave, we’ll never see that sheet again!
Trying another approach, Rob said, “Apologies for any misunderstanding. I’ll make sure an appointment is made in future. But surely, since we are here…”
“I said leave. By that, I mean bugger off and don’t come back – ever!”
“Okay, we will go, taking what belongs to us – which includes that piece of metal. We…”
“You ain’t listening!” the man snarled, balling his large hand into a fist.
“Don’t threaten me!” Rob replied, tone hardening while fixing the man with a cold stare and not taking a step back as the man had expected.
However, to avoid losing face, the man stepped forward, crowding Rob and waving both fists in front of Rob’s face. Rob batted them away, revealing his own strength while saying, “Don’t do this.”
The man ignored him and swung a powerful roundhouse at Rob’s face. Rob ducked easily and sent a straight, powerful punch into the man’s belly, without effect before stepping back for space. The man growled, “A pinprick! If you’ve got no better, you’d better run or you’re dead meat!” He then picked-up a metal bar.
“Right, Mr. Pen-pusher.” The man swung at Rob and, ready for Rob to duck, changed the trajectory of his swing. The bar glanced off Rob’s back, sending him sprawling.
Angry, Rob leaped up, feeling blood trickling down his spine from the blow. As the man swung the bar once again, Rob moved in close, blocking the man’s arm. He ducked beneath the man’s arm and moved to one side, landing a punch to the man’s cheek. This is serious! The man is rock!
Advancing with each encounter Rob’s opponent was clearly enjoying himself and was becoming complacent. Rob allowed himself to be hammered twice more before positioning himself to deliver a two quick kicks in succession. The first to the face, where the sharp leather heal of his brogue cut a deep gouge across the man’s right cheek, and a second to the man’s groin. The man’s eyes bulged as he screamed obscenities, immobilised with pain.
Rob quickly stepped forward and delivered a well placed punch to the man’s chest throat. The metal bar clanked as it dropped from the man’s grasp. His knees buckled and, despite an immense effort, he fell to the floor.
While Rob was engaged in his fight, the other two men crowded Laura, who stepped backwards before coming up short against the perimeter wall. “On the ground, now!” she commanded, withdrawing her handgun. The men turned a ghostly white and immediately complied. Seeing that Rob had by then gained the upper hand, Laura pulled out her phone and called the police for support. As she gave her identification and mentioned MI5 the two men under her scrutiny turned even more pale. Why would the homeland intelligence service be interested in them?!
Once the police had arrived Laura required the men to be arrested for accessory to terrorism to control information flow. She then bagged the piece of metal and supported Rob slowly back to their car. He was in so much pain it made Laura’s stomach churn. As he sat in the front passenger seat she went to the back of the car and found the well-stocked, service standard medical kit. Tenderly, she nursed Rob’s injuries, insisting that he remove his shirt so she could tend to his back. Finally they called Gurning to brief him.
