“I thought we agreed you’d talk to me. What do you think they’re gonna do with that petrol?”
“Sorry,” he said, sounding sulky like a child.
I sighed. I couldn’t force Mickey to keep his word. I could threaten to take away the leniency I’d offered, I could scare him with what the gang might do to other people, or I could cajole him with thanks and talk of how we appreciated his help, but at the end of the day, it was Mickey’s choice. I’d laid our cards on the table, but it was up to him whether to side with them or us. Right now, he was trying to balance what we wanted from him with the gang’s demands, and he was just getting caught in the middle.
I wanted to tell him to get out of there entirely, to leave their influence and reclaim his regular life from before he ever got involved with them. To focus on his schoolwork, his friends, and enjoying the summer without any of this mess. But I knew Mickey wouldn’t listen if I tried that, he was already too invested in the gang, and we did need an inside source. Our advances in this case had been significantly aided by what Mickey would tell us, and I didn’t want to lose that. Still, it didn’t mean I wasn’t conflicted about it or unaware of the risks.
“Keep us updated,” I said, accepting that Mickey wasn’t going to tell me anymore for today. “And thanks for the information, lad.”
He awkwardly said goodbye before hanging up, and I sighed.
“No good?” Stephen asked, returning from a trip to the loo.
“No, it was helpful. He told me what the pick up was and where, but he did know about it already, and he didn’t tip us off. Not a surprise to you, I’m sure, but I was hoping for better from him.”
“At least he gave us as much as he did,” Stephen said with a sympathetic expression. “What’re we looking at? Is it drugs?”
“Nope, petrol. From a garage called,” I checked my notes, “Michaelsons’, apparently.”
“Petrol, hell. What’re they gonna do with that, then?”
“Nothing we want them to be doing, that’s for sure,” I said before explaining in full what Mickey had told me.
“What do you want to do about it?” Stephen asked, his eyes on my face as he waited for an answer. “Are we staking the place out or…?”
“Aye, I think we need to,” I decided after a pause. “Maybe it’s a ruse, maybe it’s not, but we don’t want them getting their hands on any more fuel. Who knows what they’ll do with it?”
We needed to move carefully, though. Mickey had been cautious to tell me for fear of the gang knowing where the information was leaking from, and he was right. We had to be careful, making sure that the teens didn’t see us watching the place, or else there would be consequences for Mickey.
Seventeen
I knew Stephen’s dislike for staying after work hours, so I was fully prepared to do the stakeout at the garage on my own or with another officer. I could’ve handed it off to a couple of rookies, it was true, but I wanted to be there in the flesh and witness what happened first hand. I knew that otherwise, I’d be sat at home by my radio, waiting for a report on what had happened.
“Nah, I’ll be there,” Stephen said, surprising me. “I’ll work it out with Annie, and it’ll be manageable. I’ve not had a late night in a while, and she’s got a quieter week.”
“You sure?” I asked. At his nod, I gave him a slap on the shoulder. “Good, then. No-one I’d rather have by my side.”
Stephen grinned at me. “That’s alright then, ‘cus I don’t think you’ve got many other volunteers.”
“Hush, everyone loves me,” I tossed back, and he laughed.
For now, it was still the afternoon, and we had some preparations to do. Since the garage was apparently to be robbed, I would’ve been tempted to call up and let them know what was happening and that we’d be sitting outside the garage to keep an eye on things. But one of the lads from the gang worked there, and it was paramount that the information didn’t get leaked and for Mickey to get hurt because of it. So, we’d have to make sure that either the gang or the garage’s employees did not detect us.
“Did Mickey know a specific time? ‘Tonight’ is kind of broad,” Stephen pointed out.
“No, he didn’t know details. He overheard the conversation, apparently.”
“Darren, have you considered that he’s setting you up here,” he said slowly, clearly knowing what my reaction was going to be. “You wondered whether the website was a decoy, but have you considered that this information might be?”
“Aye, of course, I have.” I sighed. “But we’ve got to check, haven’t we?”
“And if it’s not a fake and the teens turn up to take the petrol? Do we burst in and break Mickey’s cover?”
I paused because it was a question I was unsure about. On the one hand, I definitely didn’t want any petrol getting into the gang’s hands, but if we pounced on another bunch of lackeys as we had with the patches, we’d end up worse than we were now. Mickey might be in danger, and we’d still have no evidence against the group itself.
“I think we only jump on them if Jules turns up, or Alistair, even. If it’s not them, we’ll leave it.”
“But the petrol? Are we really gonna let them-?” Stephen protested.
“I think we need to go and talk to Adams about that. My idea is, we let them take the fuel, but we put trackers on some of the cans if we can. That way, we find their headquarters, and we link Jules and Alistair to the fuel theft. Right?”
“How’re we going to get them on the cans, though? They’ll bring their own, won’t they?”
“Not necessarily.
