He remembered nothing of the drive back, at 02:00 he woke up, he was hungry and thirsty, downstairs he ate cold chicken, drunk a pint of milk and looked for biscuits. He was soon back in bed, not waking again until lunchtime, Sally had been up for a couple of hours. She came upstairs when she heard the shower running. “How do you feel?” “Tired still, but I have a report to write, will you help me?” Downstairs, the mess he left had been cleared away, he ate cereal and orange juice followed by toast. “How did you manage to stay awake all that time?” “Adrenalin, as soon as it was over, I felt knackered.” Upstairs, Dave started on the report, he detailed everything from the first contact through to the lorries leaving the warehouse, the leaks in the police force were explained. Details of how the weapons were stolen and his suggestions for tightening up the procedures were all put down, how each person was linked, the way he suspected the money was laundered through the nightclubs, bars and bookmakers. He explained how the raid was prepared and carried out. Dave missed nothing, he left gaps where he wanted to insert pictures, he wouldn’t put them in until Sally had completed the report, some images would upset her. It took him almost two hours to write it out longhand, he called Sally to read through it and type it up. He made coffee as she made a start, he returned with two mugs and biscuits, she had never known anyone eat them like he did. As a page was completed, it was printed off, he read through it, altering words and adding more information he had missed earlier. Sally went over the report, making the changes, Dave read it again, this time making minor alterations. It was finally finished just after 18:00, Sally left him to make a start on dinner, he checked his phone for the first time that day, there were several emails, one was from Jane Goodley, it had the estimated street value of the drugs, somewhere between £40m and £50m. he added that into the report. Next he put in images from his phone. When he had finished, the report was fifteen pages long. He printed out a copy for himself and locked it in his case. He sent an email to the Brigadier and Jane Goodley with a copy, his copy to Jane asked that it be forwarded to the Home Secretary.
That evening after dinner, he sat on the sofa with Sally’s head in his lap, he was stroking her hair and face. “Dave, is it all over now, no more chasing around?” “I hope so, as usual, there are a few loose ends to be tied up, but that should be done this week.” He picked up his phone, “I’ll sort out one right now,” he called the person who had started all this off, “Marius, it’s Dave Stretton, I’ve solved your problem, there won’t be any more trouble coming from Liverpool. It has cost me a lot, not only in money, but in personal injuries. I think you and your friends owe me, have a word with them, I can come over see to you when you have spoken to them. Call me back soon.” Sally called him a cheeky bugger, “we’re being paid for this, you creamed off £30k from the money recovered and now you are chasing the gangsters in Birmingham for more. There is still loads left over from the last time.”
Sally left for work at 08:45, Dave was in the spare bedroom, his laptop was on, connected to it was the phone he had taken from Paul Farrell, the egg timer was spinning round on the screen, it would stop and then start again. Eventually he was in. He trawled through emails, looking for any that might be interesting, mostly they were business, a few from his girlfriend saying she was waiting for him to come home, others made no sense to Dave, these were the ones that were probably the most important. He moved on to text messages, and WhatsApp, most were routine, some Dave thought referred to shipments, he found one that related to him, it was from ‘Billy’, he assumed that was William Townsend. ‘Snooper, tapped and pinged, non-swimmer, Pat broken leg.’ The time was 23:30 on the date Dave was shot. He took a screenshot, transferred it onto the laptop and printed it out, two hours later was another message, ‘Pat A&E Birkenhead.’ He did the same, then printed it.
Moving on to the other phone, he made a coffee while the software was running. Billy Townsend, sent very few emails, most of his communicating was done on WhatsApp, from what he could see, he was the organiser, or at least, he was relaying orders. He was telling people where to be, who to meet and what to do. The farm was mentioned many times. Dave thought, from what he could work out, there was another senior person at the farm who organised the deliveries, took care of the money and supervised the work being done there. ‘Scotch Ronnie’, was one of the contacts, Dave could tell it wasn’t a foot soldier by the way they messaged each other. He phoned Jane Goodley, “I’m glad you called, it saved me calling you, there is a meeting tomorrow, you will be attending, no excuses, it’s with the Home Secretary, the Defence Secretary, their two permanent secretaries, the Chief of Defence Staff and myself. There is to be an almighty bollocking, the Home Secretary is going apeshit. The Prime Minister may be there as well. The Chief Constable has been complaining to anyone who will listen. The newspapers are full of the story, fortunately they are running with the gang warfare theme. They know the job was carried out by a professional team, they are speculating which other gang may have carried out the attack. Drugs are reported to have been stolen, there is no mention of the arms. The papers are saying Paul Farrell was an innocent businessman caught up in all this.” Dave asked if she had read his report, “it’s very comprehensive, I have forwarded it to the Home Secretary.” She asked why he had called, “do you have the names of those who were left tied up at the farm?” He could here her rustling through papers, “Yes, I have it,” “is anyone called Ronnie, Ron or Ronald?” “Yes, Ronald Jeffries, age forty five, born Glasgow.” “That’s the one, it was him who was in charge at the farm. What about this meeting, when and where?” “09:30, one of the briefing rooms in Downing Street.” “Shit, that’s early, I will have to come down tonight, what about Sally, is she invited, if there are any questions about background information, she is the best one to answer.” “I’ll let you know later.”
Dave opened up the report, he added in the information he had gained, printed out ten copies, then put each one in an A4 envelope. He booked a room at Flemings Hotel for that night, messaged Sally asking if she wanted to go to London this afternoon. She replied immediately, ‘yes please’. Dave looked out his suit, laid out his clothes on the bed ready for when Sally was home, there was a train at 15:50, he booked a taxi for 15:20, it was only a ten minute run to the station, it should give them plenty time. Sally came through the door at 15:00, “do I have time for a shower?” “No. the taxi will be here in twenty minutes.” Upstairs she quickly stripped and changed, the suitcase was on the bed, “you might need a business suit for tomorrow, put casual clothes in as well.” She was packed and downstairs by 15:15. Dave carried the suitcase and the suit carrier. “I’ve booked first class tickets. There should be a trolley service on the train.” The taxi was on time, they crossed over the bridge at the station onto the London side. When they were sitting on the train, Sally asked what this was all about. Dave explained what he had been told regarding the meeting, who was attending and where it was. “I’m not sure if you will be allowed.” “I’m not sure I want to be there.” As the train passed through Wellingborough, Jane Goodley rang, “Sally can attend, are you staying at Flemings, I need to arrange a car for you in the morning?” He said they were, Dave asked her if she had looked in the filing cabinet yet, she said it had been too busy to do anything. “Make time, go now and look at the back of the second drawer down, you might be surprised.”
At the hotel, they were greeted as they arrived. Dave was recognised by the porters, as they checked in, he booked a table for the restaurant, he also booked two more rooms for Friday and Saturday night. Sally looked at him, “A thankyou for Michael and Olivia.” In the room, Sally closed the curtains and stripped off, Dave could here the bath running. “Why are you still dressed? Time to get in the bath.” Dinner was booked for 20:00, they were in the bar having drinks when he felt a hand on his arm, Jane Goodley was standing beside him, she was smiling as she said hello to them both. “I’ve changed your table reservation to three, I hope you don’t mind, we have some things to discuss.” Sally looked at her, she was very smartly dressed, if she hadn’t known men didn’t interest her, she thought Dave might have been in her sights. He walked towards the restaurant with a woman on each arm. Janes arm was through his. Sitting down, he asked where the frostiness and dislike for him had gone, “I sat and read your report, then I read it again. You’re not the person I thought you were, apart from your dislike of authority, you really are a very good worker, your brain works differently when it comes to investigations. I watched you on Saturday morning, despite not having any sleep for God knows how long, you were still sharp.” It’s what has kept me alive, the only people I trust are myself and Sally.” “Ah, Sally, you held that gun like you knew what you were doing, would you have pulled the trigger if you had to?” “If someone had made a move for Dave, I wouldn’t have thought twice, whether I would have hit anyone, I’m not sure.” “Who else was there, you didn’t magic up food and coffee and who drove the lorries?” “I had two other drivers, I used people who have no connection to me, but who I can trust to drive the lorries. They were paid well and will say nothing. They had no idea what was inside. They were kept well away from the farm. The food was supplied by friends who I trust.” “You did all this in a week, from the surveillance through to the execution, sorry execution is probably not the best word.” “Yes, my team are professionals, they know what they are doing. The police will find nothing, no one spoke in front of the ones who were captured.” The starters had been cleared and the main course served. There was no talk about work until the coffee was served. Between the main course and cheese, Dave asked what her partner Alison thought of the job she was doing, “we don’t discuss it, she knows not to ask, but can tell when I have had a stressful day. I try to switch off when I leave the office, but that isn’t always possible.” Sally asked what she did, she replied saying she worked in the city. When the coffees arrived, Dave asked for another pot to be brought. “Did you look in the filing cabinet?” “Yes, thank you, another £150k to go with the £2m found in his house. Everything you put in the report is true, I don’t know why the Home Secretary is so angry?” “I suspect the Chief Constable has bent his ear over the last forty eight hours. I will put him straight tomorrow.” “That is one of the reasons I’m here tonight, to plead with you to remain calm.” “I can’t do that and you know I won’t be quiet if I think he’s wrong,” “Please try to be diplomatic, if you have to say anything.” Dave said nothing. She asked Sally how she coped with him. “There is another side to him, very few people see, he is a very tender and loving person. He will go to the ends of the earth for someone he loves, or something he believes in. I love him, perhaps that makes living with him such fun.” They finished the night with kisses all round, Dave and Sally waited in the hotel doorway until she was in a taxi. They went back into the lounge and ordered coffee. “What did you make of that?” Sally thought for a moment before answering. “She was acting very oddly, if I didn’t know better, I would have thought she was making a play for you. This wasn’t about the meeting tomorrow, if it had been, she would have started with that rather than leaving it until the end. She is going to offer you something, depending on how it goes tomorrow. If she does, listen to her, don’t dismiss anything before we have discussed it. Look to the future, you can’t be playing the action hero for ever. Finishing their coffee, they headed up to bed, Dave wanted to sleep, Sally had other ideas.
At 07:00 the phone was ringing, it was the alarm call. Dave was up first, he made coffee before taking a shower. Sally had to be almost pulled out of bed. They were among the first down for breakfast, they ate quickly, Sally still had to put on her makeup and business clothes. At 08:50, they were in the lobby waiting. The car arrived at 09:00, fifteen minutes later they were at the rear entrance to Downing Street. Dave remembered it from the last time. There were visitor passes waiting for them, Jane Goodley was there, as was the Chief of the Defence Staff, Admiral Gordon Sheldon. “We’ve met before?” “Yes sir, A different room, last year, it was the Home Secretary affair.” “I remember, you were a bit uppity, better try to keep it calmer this time.” He turned and chatted to Sally. Dave and Jane talked about nothing, he asked if she had enjoyed last night, she nodded, he could see she was nervous, was it him, or the meeting. The door opened and four more people came in. Henry Wiggins the Home Secretary, Sir George Makin the Defence Secretary and their two private secretaries. There were name plates on the table in front of each person. It was Henry Wiggins who spoke, “ladies and gentlemen, if we could be seated, I want to get this started and over with as quickly as possible.” As they sat down, Dave walked over to the table where the coffee was, he poured himself a cup, he asked if anyone else wanted one, he was ignored, he slowly walked to his seat at the table. He sat opposite Sally, the furthest down the table, next to her was Jane Goodley, Dave had the Admiral beside him. The private secretaries were next, one on each side. The two chairs at the top were occupied by the two politicians. Henry Wiggins looked at Dave as he slowly walked to his seat. “Where do I know you from?” “We met last year, just after you had been appointed. We had a discussion about Chinese Spies.” You’re the one that had the former Home Secretary sacked.” “If I may correct you,” Jane’s head dropped, she knew what was coming, “I didn’t have him sacked, I discovered the images of him sticking his knob in another man, letting it be photographed and then blackmailed, all while professing to be a happily married family man. I think, he may have brought it on himself.” Dave was now sitting, the Home Secretary realised, his meeting might not go as smoothly as he planned. Looking at Jane Goodley, he started. “Why in God’s name did you think it was a good idea to let this man at the end of the table go around shooting innocent businessmen and executing other people. We have a police force to enforce the law, we can’t have an ex-sergeant deciding who lives and who dies.” The door opened and the Prime Minister walked in, he motioned for the meeting to carry on. “I want to know who sanctioned this escapade, someone will have to answer for this debacle.” Dave interrupted, “May I be allowed to speak.” “No, you sit there and listen to me.” Dave carried on. “If I may say sir, with all due respect, you are talking utter bollocks. I don’t know where you got your information from, but you are way off the mark. Innocent businessman, that’s a laugh, he is a thief, a drug dealer, a would be arms dealer, who arranged for me to be murdered. Fortunately, he failed. I suspect that all the shite you are talking has come from the Chief Constable, he is about as much use as a chocolate tea pot.” The Admiral’s head was also down. The Home Secretary said for Dave to shut up. “Before I do, can I ask if you have read the report sent to you by the head of MI5, you would have received it yesterday afternoon?” “I saw it, but I haven’t needed to read it. I have all the facts.” “Sir, I don’t think so, you should have read it.” He put his briefcase on the desk and took out the pile of envelopes from inside. Standing up and walking round, he put one in front of each person, he smiled as he gave the Prime Minister a copy. He said for Sally not to look at hers, she guessed there must be images he didn’t want her to see. “Please read through it, there is a different view of what took place.” He poured himself another coffee. Occasionally there were gasps as pictures were looked at. Dave waited until they had finished reading. “Not in the report is information I obtained late yesterday, £2m in cash was recovered from the home of Peter Farrell in a raid on Saturday. I know we all keep a bit of cash at home, but £2m.” The home secretary spoke now, “I think on reading this report, further investigations will be needed. Since Mr. Stretton appears to have more knowledge than anyone else and a deeper insight into the goings on, perhaps he would like to tell us what to do next.” Dave stood up, he preferred to talk on his feet. “I suspect things will get worse in Liverpool in the next few weeks, there is now a void in the city. Other gangs will be vying for the territory held by Peter Farrell. There is corruption within the police force, if one gang is being supplied with information, then you can bet others are paying for the same. It may only be a few rogue officers, but that is for others to find out. The problem you have is, one police force usually investigates another. That never works, you have to find a better way. Prosecute the rotten apples, don’t let them retire with a pension. The army needs to improve the way it transports weapons around the country, they have fallen into a routine, I’m sure there will be changes quickly. Ministers need to listen to both sides, not take the official view. Look from all angles. I am prepared to advise, I will help where I can, I am not someone who will sit down and write policy. My skills along with Miss Fellowes are in investigation, and as you have seen, we are a good team, probably the best you have. The people I can call on are also the best there is. I can’t solve your problems for you, but if asked I may be able to point you in the right direction.” As he sat down, Sally looked across at him and smiled. The Home Secretary spoke again saying a further discussion would need to take place before any statements were issued to the press by anyone regarding the latest developments. He said the meeting was now over. Dave and Sally rose with the others to leave. “The two of you, would you please sit down and remain behind.” The manner in which the Prime Minister spoke gave Dave no indication of how his tirade had been received. When the room was empty, he smiled. “You certainly put him in his place, he will check both sides of a story next time before he starts giving out warnings. The report is very good, all this took place inside a week?” “Eight days actually, from when the surveillance started until the weapons and drugs were recovered. I couldn’t have done it without Miss Fellowes.” “How can you do this in eight days, when it would take weeks for our people to do it?” “I don’t play by the rules, because I am outside the system, I don’t need to get approval before I do anything. As long as the funding is in place, anything can be done. I have experts who I trust, they are expensive, but they are efficient. By using me, there is deniability, if the job had gone wrong, no blame would be laid at the government or police door.” He asked how much the job had cost, “probably around £100k, not much more, plus two weeks payments for Miss Fellowes and myself. Maximum outlay by the government £120k.” “That’s not much for what you have achieved,” “I had to fight to get that, no one would commit, it ended up being jointly funded by the MOD and Home Office.” “Thank you for the information, I have another meeting, if you ever have any problems in the future, come directly to me.” They shook hands as the Prime Minister left. “Let’s get out of here, head back to the hotel.” A staff car was waiting for them, in the hotel, Dave ordered sandwiches and coffees. “Did you like the way I took apart the Home Secretary?” “Dave, you can’t talk to those in charge like that. Did you see Jane and the Admiral, they daren’t look up while you were talking?” “I wasn’t letting him talk to us the way he started, after all the work we put in. he was parroting what he had been told by the Chief Constable.” He took his phone out to check for messages, it had been on silent. Jane Goodley must have phoned on her way back to her office. There was no message from her, she would call back if it was important. The Brigadier had phoned and then sent a message, the Chief wanted to see Dave as soon as he was free. “We have to go to the MOD this afternoon, or would you rather go shopping and I will see him on my own?” “No, we will go together.” He messaged back saying they would be there around 14:30. Inside the MOD, they headed for the Brigadier’s office. “I understand you had a confrontation with the Home Secretary this morning,” “news travels fast.” He picked up the phone on his desk, “the Chief’s visitors are here.” After the call he said they were to be escorted upstairs. The Brigadier stayed only long enough to introduce Dave and Sally to the secretaries. They sat on a leather Chesterfield sofa. They heard a ‘buzz’ on one of the desks, “you may go through now, room one.” Dave could sense the hesitation from Sally, “It’s OK, there won’t be a problem.” The Chief looked up and nodded towards two chairs on the opposite side of his desk. A tray of coffee was brought in and left on the desk. When the door was closed, the Chief looked up from whatever he had been reading, Dave saw it was the report. “I should be angry and kicking your arse up and down Whitehall for the way you spoke to the Home Secretary this morning, instead, I laughed all the way back here. I’ve never seen anyone put a politician in his place the way you did.” He was now standing and pouring out the coffees. “I glanced at his face for a second, he didn’t know what had hit him.” “Sir, I only stated facts, I tell it like it is. I’m not used to pussyfooting about.” “That’s the second time I’ve seen you do that, do you rehearse it beforehand?” “No, sir, it just comes out. I often have to stop myself from going too far.” Sally was smiling, she had been worried Dave might have had any further work cancelled.
“I’ve read this report now several times, it is very thorough, and well presented.” “I have Miss Fellowes to thank for that, she takes the thoughts I have written down and turns them into something that makes sense.” Like the Prime Minister, he asked about his ability to move so quickly. “I know you have used ex-forces personnel on the job, it is too clinical to be anyone else. I have only one question, did you suffer any casualties?” “No sir, the only injuries were to me, when I was set up at the beginning of the job. Two whacks on the head and a shot just below the shoulder, fortunately I had a Kevlar vest on. They chucked me in the docks afterwards.” “If you were a serving soldier, you would probably have been awarded a medal, but as an ex-sergeant all I can offer is my handshake and thanks. And you Miss, you too have done an excellent job.” They left the building, happier than when they had arrived. Walking back to the hotel, they were hand in hand. With their luggage collected, they headed for the station. It was first class again, in the morning, Dave would work out all the expenses, deduct it from the money he still had, the remainder he would drop off on Friday when they returned with Micheal and Olivia.
© 10210ken 2025
