overnighter, is it? There's no way Carpenter's going to let me get up close and personal until there's a degree of trust, and that could take weeks. Months.'
'It depends on you,' said Hargrove. 'I doubt that he's ever going to tell you how he's getting his orders to the outside, but you might pick up clues from watching him. That's all we need. Once we know how he's doing it we shut down his lines of communication and let the judicial process take its course.'
'Okay,' Shepherd said. 'I'm in.' He smiled. 'I've just realised that even if I said I didn't want to do it, I don't have much choice, do I? You could just leave me here.'
'You know me better than that,' said Hargrove. 'You always get to choose, Spider. It has to be that way. And the moment you think it's too risky, you bail out. He's already been responsible for the death of one undercover agent so he'd have no qualms about getting rid of another.'
'Who would my contact be?'
'We'll talk to the governor. He'll be the only one who knows who you are.'
Shepherd leaned forward over the table. 'You mean I'm in here alone at the moment? No back-up, no nothing?'
'We don't know who the rotten apple is. Any sort of back-up risks blowing your cover. This way, if you turn down the assignment we pull you out and nothing's lost.'
'What if the governor doesn't co-operate?'
'He won't have a choice,' said the superintendent. 'Besides, it's in his own best interests to find out who's helping Carpenter.'
'And he'll be the only one who'll know what I'm doing?'
'Has to be that way,' said Hargrove. 'We've no idea who Carpenter's using. Chances are it's a prison officer, but it could be anyone in the prison administration. They're not especially well paid, these days. The fewer people who know the better.'
'Until it goes pear-shaped,' said Shepherd. 'What do I do? Rattle my tin mug against the bars and demand to see the governor?'
'Haven't you noticed it's all plastic in here?'
Shepherd smiled grimly. 'You know what I mean. Prisoners don't just get to see the governor. There's six hundred-odd men in here and they've all got grievances. They'd all be in to see the top man, given the chance, but there are procedures in place to stop them. If the shit hits the fan, I won't have time to start filling out forms in triplicate.'
Hargrove reached into his top pocket and took out a white business card, with a handwritten telephone number and a north London address on the back. 'This is a dedicated line and there'll be someone at the end of it twenty-four hours a day. Register the number as your uncle Richard's. He's your mother's brother. If you need to be pulled out, call it and we'll do the rest.'
'And if I can't get to a phone?' Shepherd memorised the number and handed back the card.
'What do you want, Spider? A mobile?'
'I'm just saying, there are only so many hours a day when we're allowed to use the phones and more often than not there's a queue. I can't just push to the front and say, 'Sorry, guys, I'm an undercover cop and I've got to call my handler,' can I?'
'It's not like you to be so jumpy.'
'Yeah, well, this is the first time I've been undercover in the midst of six hundred Category A criminals. And the cover I've got wasn't set up for the sort of scrutiny I'm going to get here.'
'It's perfect. Career villain, ex-army, parents deceased.'
'But that's as far as it goes. I'm banged up with a guy most of the day. We've got to talk. That's all there is to do. And the way things stand at the moment, I've bugger-all to talk about.'
'So be the strong, silent type. Play the hard man. That fits with your cover. Look, Spider, if this is too much for you just say so and you can leave with me now.'
Shepherd flashed the superintendent a sarcastic smile. 'I've already said I'll do it,' he said. 'It's just that I was in the end phase of the Verity operation, home and dry. I was all geared up for drinks with the lads and a pat on the back, and now I'm having to get used to an open-ended operation with a whole new target. It's going to take me a while to get back into the zone, that's all.' He sat back in his chair and put his hands flat on the table. 'Sue's going to be as pissed as hell.'
'She's a copper's wife, she'll understand.'
Hargrove looked in his briefcase and took out half a dozen sheets of paper. He slid them across the table to Shepherd. 'This is a summary of the intelligence we have on Carpenter. I've taken out all the dross.'
Shepherd scanned them and handed them back. He closed his eyes, took a slow breath and forced himself to relax. One by one he pictured the papers in his mind. Ever since he was a child he'd had virtually total recall of anything he read or saw. And he could remember conversations almost word for word. It wasn't a trick or a skill he'd acquired, it was a knack that he'd been born with. It meant he'd had to do the minimum of work at school and university - and it had saved his life several times as an undercover policeman.
'Got it?' asked Hargrove.
'Yes.'
Hargrove took an envelope from his briefcase. He opened it and placed half a dozen black-and-white photographs on the table in front of Shepherd. 'These are Carpenter's associates, the main ones.' He pushed two pictures towards Shepherd. 'These guys are on remand but they're in different prisons. The other four are on the outside.'
'They're all being watched?'
'Best we can, but they're pros.'
'Think they're doing his dirty work?'
'Pretty sure. But thinking and proving are two different things.'
Shepherd turned the photographs over. On the back he read typewritten summaries of their criminal careers.
'So, are we okay about this?' asked the superintendent.
Shepherd passed back the photographs. 'I guess so. What about the money side?'
'The money side?' repeated Hargrove, frowning.
'I'm in here twenty-four hours a day. By my reckoning that's fifteen hours a day overtime. More at weekends.'
'Since when have you been in the job for money, Spider?'
'Have you tried the food in here?' asked Shepherd. 'Have you tried sleeping on an inch-thick mattress with a pillow that's not much thicker? And a cellmate who farts in his sleep.'
'I get the point,' said the superintendent.
'So the money won't be a problem?'
'How about a compromise? Eight hours a day overtime, then take the rest as days off when this is over. It'll give you a chance to spend some time with your family.'
'Deal,' said Shepherd. He sighed and stretched out his legs. 'You might have warned me,' he said.
'There was no time,' said Hargrove.
Shepherd wondered if that was true. Or if Hargrove had wanted him inside before putting the mission to him. It was a lot harder to say no once he was in the system.
'What's happening with Verity?'
'He's in Belmarsh, and that's where he'll stay. Owen's singing like a bird so we'll let the Sussex cops run with him.'
'Any sense that they know I was a cop?'
Hargrove shook his head. 'Owen reckons you lost your nerve. Verity's going to be after your blood, but we've got him under wraps.'
'He'll know I'm here, though. And chances are he'll have mates inside.'
'We'll be watching your back, Spider. Anyone who's associated with you will be kept well away.'
'It was a bloody mess, the whole thing.'
'There was nothing else you could do,' said the superintendent.
The bald officer appeared at the window again. He stood watching Shepherd, his arms folded across his
