Page 11 of End Game
‘I won’t be the only person retiring at the end of the year.’
CHAPTER 3
21 May 2012 – 67 days to go
BOOTHWATSON PLACED TWO FILESon the desk in front of him, checked his watch and waited. Miles was always a few minutes late for any appointment, almost as if he needed to make a point. Booth Watson didn’t care, as he charged by the hour.
At fourteen minutes past, his client marched into the room without knocking. He took the seat on the other side of the partners’ desk, as if it was his by right, and said, ‘You asked to see me, BW.’
Nogood morning, nohow are you, justyou asked to see me.
‘Yes,’ responded Booth Watson. ‘Two matters have arisen since we last met that I felt you ought to be informed about immediately. One concerns the police, while the other is a private matter. Which would you prefer to start with?’
‘The police,’ said Faulkner as he lit a cigar, despite there being no sign of an ashtray.
Booth Watson opened the second of his two files. ‘I’ve had a call from the Met, who asked me to set up an interview with you to discuss your involvement in, and I quote,’ he glanced back down at the file, ‘“the unauthorized sale of tickets for the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games,” from which they claim you’ve made a profit of over a million pounds.’
‘I haven’t made anywhere near that amount,’ snapped Faulkner, unable to hide his irritation.
‘I don’t think it’s the sum that will matter in this case,’ suggested Booth Watson, ‘but the fact that—’
‘Whatever the sum,’ interrupted Miles, ‘they don’t have a shred of evidence to show I was involved in any way.’
‘Possibly not,’ responded Booth Watson. ‘But I think you’ll find one of your touts may have turned Queen’s evidence in exchange for a shorter sentence.’
Faulkner blew out a large circle of smoke. ‘Then find him and pay him off. Because I can tell you one thing, BW, I have no intention of going back to prison.’
‘And I feel confident, Miles,’ said Booth Watson, almost purring, ‘that as long as I represent you, you need have no fear of that.’
‘So, what’s the private matter?’ asked Miles, moving on.
Booth Watson sighed. ‘Mr Bernie Longe has been in touch.’
‘Him again?’ snapped Miles. ‘A two-bit East End hoodlum who isn’t worth the time of day, so you needn’t waste any more energy on him.’
‘He continues to insist that he had a prior claim to the purchase of the Newham Arms in Stratford, having had a contract in place with Mr Wilson, the former landlord, long before you ever approached him. He is aware of the two million you’ve already made and says he’d be willing to split the difference.’
‘The only thing I’d split,’ said Miles, ‘is him in half. Don’tforget, he’s been threatening me for the past seven years – if he had a leg to stand on, you’d have already heard from his lawyer. We needn’t concern ourselves with the likes of him.’ Miles let out another large grey circle of smoke.
Booth Watson coughed. ‘He then went on to ask me if I would represent him in his attempt to bring the case to court.’ This time, Miles didn’t interrupt. ‘I explained to Mr Longe that would not be possible, as I am retained by you at all times. He offered to double my retainer, which, of course, I rejected out of hand, and that was the end of the conversation.’
‘You won’t be hearing from him again,’ said Miles. ‘He’s all mouth, and I can assure you, he has no real money.’
Booth Watson decided this wasn’t the time to remind his client that Mr Longe had twice in the past been charged with a gangland murder and had yet to see the inside of a prison cell. However, that wouldn’t stop him from raising the subject of his retainer in the not-too-distant future.
•••
Sun Anqi and Sergei Petrov were both considered to be the leaders in their chosen field: torture, maiming and elimination were carried out with impunity according to their masters’ wishes. Officially, they were both officers in their countries’ militias. Unofficially, they were state terrorists holding the rank of captain, although generals feared a visit from them. This was the reason why they’d both been chosen for the most important assignment of their careers: to ensure the 2012 Olympics ended in failure for the host nation, using whatever means they considered appropriate. Both already had clear ideas of what the word appropriate meant.
Natural rivals, they had disliked each other from the moment they had first met. Petrov’s background was with the KGB and the GRU. Sun Anqi’s was as a political assassin. He was clever, careful and always had a backup plan. She was ruthless, unpredictable and always quick to act. He thought she was a loose cannon. She thought he was weak.
They had been charged by their respective ambassadors and heads of state to work together, and work together they would. But each wanted to stand on the podium alone. Not unlike any Olympic rivals, their chief purpose was to cross the line in first place.
Petrov was responsible for covering everything that would take place up to and including the opening ceremony.
Once the Games had been officially opened by Her Majesty the Queen, Petrov would remain in charge during the Games and Sun Anqi would not walk on to the stage until the closing ceremony when Boris Johnson handed the Olympic flag over to the Mayor of Rio de Janeiro. A ceremony she intended would never take place.
The two operatives agreed to meet regularly while stationed in London, but never at the same time or in the same place. They would discuss their progress, but rarely told the other the whole story. Petrov liked to speak in codes and riddles. Sun Anqi didn’t like to speak at all.
