Eduardo hurried to check the slumped body with his back propped up by the chair. He wasn’t dead but blood was pouring from wounds in his chest and stomach. He tried to speak but blood spattered from his mouth and the words were quiet and incoherent.
Sam moved close enough so her face was right in front of him. She was smiling.
Eduardo found the smile disturbing. “Shall I finish him?” he enquired, not expecting for one moment Sam to agree.
“That’s my pleasure,” Sam responded quickly.
“Bitch,” Connor managed to weakly spit out.
Sam hit him across the face with the gun handle, breaking his nose.
“We need to get out of here.” Eduardo’s voice was insistent. He made a mental note never to cross Sam.
Sam looked disappointed. “Pity,” she said turning back to Connor. “I would have liked to stay and play some more.” She raised the gun and cushion one last time. She placed the cushion covering the lower part of Connor’s face but left his eyes uncovered. “You always did talk crap,” she said, forcing the gun barrel towards his mouth but pointing upwards towards his brain. When satisfied she had the best position possible she smiled at Connor and pulled the trigger.
The Chief was at home pacing his front room waiting for some news. The whole world seemed to be going bloody mad. He was in danger of catching the disease. He had asked Eduardo to remove Connor, one of his best men and there were all too few good men he could call upon. He didn’t understand what was going on in London but he knew there was a massive manhunt underway and Connor was the target. The bloody fool was running amok and everything he touched was a disaster, although he had at least removed the Murphy boy. Better to have him silenced rather than fall into the hands of the Brits. He was getting old and careless. Everyone eventually reached their sell by date. And he couldn’t afford to upset Eduardo. But it still left a bad taste in the mouth. Connor had done good work in the past.
Right now the Chief had problems closer to home. He glanced anxiously at his watch. Almost four which meant he would receive the call any minute. He‘d needed confirmation of what he was told a few hours earlier. It was too important not to be certain. He didn’t rush to the phone when it rang. He didn’t want to reveal the tension he was feeling to those listening in.
“Hello,” he answered.
“It’s Billy here. I’m afraid I have to cancel this evening’s drink. Sorry but the little ones are sick.”
“No problem Billy. We’ll do it some other time soon. Give my best to the family. Hope they get better soon.”
“Thanks. I’ll call you soon. Bye”
He replaced the receiver. So Billy had to cancel the drink. They hadn’t actually planned to have a drink but the message meant his worst fears had been confirmed. Fuck it was bad enough losing the drugs but now he knew they had a tout and not just any tout. Someone who knew virtually everything about every operation going back twenty years. The whole organization would have to take evasive action and bloody quickly. Some people were going to have to head south, at least for the time being. And Eduardo is worried about Connor. This could be far more serious.
In an ideal world he would simply have the bastard eliminated but that wouldn’t be easy. He was a big prize and they would be doing everything in their power to keep him hidden away. His own informant had been part of the initial interview but once Special Branch was involved he was quickly out of the picture. He didn’t know what his prisoner had to trade but knew who he was and had understood well enough it was something very big. That was when he had passed on the information via Billy. The Chief rubbed his eyes. He was tired. Tired of one fucking problem after another. He would call a meeting immediately. Then it hit him. Christ! He even knows about Jones.
The Chief stroked the stubble on his chin deep in thought. If Eduardo was questioning what was going on in London then so would others be. And now one of his key men had been arrested and was looking to turn informant. There would be those younger opportunists who might try to stir trouble, seeking to erode his power and authority. If he didn’t seem in control of events then he would be having difficult questions to answer. The only thing he’d ever been afraid of was losing his power. It had taken a long time to acquire and he knew it could disappear very quickly. The future was looking very unsettled. He would do what he’d always done. He would squash any dissent before it could gather momentum. Cut it off at the roots.
He was going to start by having a word with Murphy. Make sure there wasn’t a problem. He was a good man but if he was thinking about revenge for his son then he could cause trouble. He was a man you wouldn’t want to meet on a dark night if he had it in for you. His specialty was giving a good beating. The Chief could take care of himself but he didn’t fancy chancing his arm against Murphy. Of course, he hoped it would never come to that. The Chief would deny having any involvement in his son’s death. He’d blame the bloody renegades he’d joined. Swear to find the bastards and make them pay.
