these days, it would be so much easier to have Major Dee deal with matters …’
Simeon ran nervous fingers through his greying stubble. ‘Will you pay me for information?’
John and Chloe both laughed. ‘We think you’re making enough already,’ John said.
‘We’re looking at the big picture here,’ Chloe said. ‘You’re leaking information so that Sasha Thompson can rip off Major Dee. If you can tell us exactly where it’s going to take place, the cops can set up surveillance and tape the whole show.’
Simeon shrugged. ‘You don’t need me for that if you’re listening to my phone calls already.’
‘It’s a one-shot deal,’ Chloe explained. ‘We want to know every detail; not just what goes between you and Sasha over the telephone. If we get it right we’ll have strong evidence of Major Dee, Sasha Thompson and all of their little helpers handling drugs and guns.’
‘And what happens to me?’ Simeon said. ‘They’d kill me, in prison or out. I’d need full immunity and a free ride out of the country.’
‘You’re not getting immunity,’ John said. ‘But we’ll turn a blind eye long enough for you to move your assets out of the country and ship out to Jamaica, or wherever else you think you’ll be safe. I know that’s not perfect, but it’s better than an appointment with Major Dee’s cordless drill.’
Simeon sucked air between his teeth. ‘It could be difficult …’ he said. ‘Very tough to get Sasha and the Major together at one time. They’re both cautious men.’
‘The Mad Dogs are a small crew,’ Chloe said. ‘Sasha coordinates all of the big robberies personally.’
Simeon steepled his fingers and nodded. ‘There is one way, but …’
‘But what?’ John asked.
‘Major Dee rarely handles major deals himself. But he’s desperate to stop the Mad Dogs stealing from him. If the Major was tipped off about being robbed by the Mad Dogs, he’d be in on the ambush for sure.’
John whistled. ‘So you tip Sasha off about a drug deal, you also find a way to tip Major Dee off about being robbed, and the cops will be on hand to film the entire show.’
‘It’s quite a plan, Simeon,’ Chloe said. ‘Maybe you could balance a ball on the end of your nose at the same time.’
‘I’m fifty-three years old,’ Simeon replied. ‘I don’t want to go to prison and I don’t want Major Dee to kill me. I’m not stupid. People at your level only approach people like me when the game is already rigged. I’ll work with you, but I have a solicitor in London. I want paperwork drawn up guaranteeing me safe passage out of the country, signed by whoever my solicitor wants it signed by to make it legal.’
‘Sounds fair,’ Chloe said. ‘But what’s our timescale for you setting this up? Are we talking weeks, months, or what?’
‘Major Dee has two or three large shipments of cocaine coming out of Jamaica every week,’ Simeon explained. ‘But Sasha needs time to plan carefully and I suppose the police would need time to set up surveillance too?’
‘Absolutely,’ Chloe nodded.
‘Then perhaps ten days. There’s regular shipment that comes in by container. I’ve never mentioned it to Sasha because it’s one of Major Dee’s mainstays.’
Chloe looked baffled, but John understood.
‘You earn plenty out of Major Dee,’ John clarified. ‘You only want Sasha to skim off some cream, not to destroy the whole Slasher Boys organisation.’
‘Precisely,’ Simeon nodded. ‘I have a friend who can give me exact information on the delivery of cocaine by this afternoon. I can tell Sasha about the delivery immediately, but letting Major Dee know that he is likely to be robbed is more complex. I’ll have to put some thought into exactly how we achieve that.’
‘Obviously we can help you out,’ Chloe said. ‘But now you’re working for us you’ll have to stay in touch and we’ll need to know where you are at all times.’
Simeon stood up and reached casually across the desk to shake hands. ‘If you’re fair with me you’ll have no problem,’ he said.
40. SPOILED
James hadn’t seen Junior since their hug on Tuesday night. He called up during a rare appearance at school and James agreed to meet him by the gates as he left. It was a bright afternoon and the boys pouring out of the tatty school building were all in shirt sleeves.
‘I called yesterday to see if you were OK, but your phone was off or something,’ James said.
‘It’s my mum,’ Junior explained. ‘Woke me up at seven yesterday morning and