The Phoenix Series Box Set 2 Read online

  It was hard to accept that the death of one or two people practically anywhere in the country on any given day of the week didn’t warrant too much media attention. Once it started to get near double figures and beyond in an incident, that’s when the public really sat up and took notice. On those days, life didn’t get treated so cheaply.

  Zara continued to prepare for Friday and her leaving do; she contacted her closest colleagues and arranged a venue. It might have seemed callous to her friends if the men and women she talked with had been members of the public, but police personnel dealt with the emotions of loss and horrific incidents such as that being experienced a few miles up the road far too often.

  Sometimes a few drinks with a friend leaving to have a baby did the trick. Maybe an old hand retiring after many years’ service merited a trip to the pub. A few glasses to get over all the stresses and strains of the job was often the best tonic.

  As the working day drew to a close, she walked to her car and drove home to Bath. She spotted that Phil’s car still remained on site. The bosses would be there for a while dealing with the fallout. Zara wondered whether Olympus might have an answer to a problem such as this. Would they be dealing with it already? She elected not to ask Rusty tonight; he was at Larcombe and unavailable for a few days. He was giving her space.

  Zara rang her parents as soon as she got home. She arranged to stay with them in Durham for a short break. She decided to travel up to see them late on Saturday afternoon. There would be no point tackling that five-hour drive until her head cleared from the wine she no doubt was going to have on Friday evening. She wanted to use that space and time in Durham, with her loving family around her, to put her police career behind her and to find out if she was ready to commit to an exciting if somewhat uncertain future with Rusty.

  CHAPTER 5

  Wednesday, July 10th, 2013

  Morning meetings at the Olympus Project HQ at Larcombe Manor altered little from the time that Erebus had been in charge. Athena and Phoenix were now at the head of the table with Annabelle Grace Fox firmly in control.

  The three senior Larcombe residents, Alastor, Minos and Thanatos occupied the seats on the window side of the long table. They generally arrived earlier than the other attendees. The fact that they lived in quarters within the old manor house gave them a head start, but it was more than that; Athena knew these three well. They enjoyed being in the appropriate position when Giles Burke and Henry Case turned up from the ice house loaded with data gathered over the past twenty-four hours. Their aim was to continue to confirm their superior standing in the organisation, justified or otherwise. Phoenix watched this charade each morning with an amused expression on his face.

  Athena understood what Phoenix was up to; she knew what game The Three Stooges were playing too. It was the five attendees of the meeting themselves who were non-plussed. When Phoenix wasn’t scowling or deadpan, it unnerved them; it didn’t seem natural.

  “Good morning, gentlemen,” said Athena. “Can I have your reports, please?”

  Minos, the former High Court judge opened the morning’s business.

  “The European Court of Human Rights has ruled that whole-life tariffs breach a prisoner's human rights. Such sentences have to be reviewed, eventually; because the judges have declared that not to have any possibility of parole was inhuman or degrading. Of course, our government has criticised the ruling; the verdict cannot be appealed, but they have six months to consider their response.”

  “Surely this wasn’t what the authors of the human rights conventions envisaged?” asked Phoenix. “This is another asinine intrusion by Strasbourg on our ability to make the punishment fit the crime.”

  “On top of their sticking their noses in over the deportation of Abu Qatada and giving the vote to prisoners it does cause you to wonder who’s running the country,” said Alastor.

  “I think we have the answer to that,” muttered Henry Case, “and they don’t live over on this side of the Channel.”

  “If my sums are correct, the best part of fifty people might profit from this ruling,” Giles commented.

  “That is our understanding at this point, Giles,” said Minos. “One can only imagine the public outcry when the names of those who might see the light of day outside a prison cell become general knowledge. Sutcliffe, Bamber, Brady and even Rosemary West might, at least, get parole hearings.”

  “Anything else on the legal front, Minos?” asked Athena.

  “Not today,” he replied and sat back in his chair.

  Thanatos spoke next.

  “I’m sure we were horrified by the events of yesterday morning in Clevedon. What we might imagine being a ‘big city’ crime carried out in a small seaside town less than forty miles from our own doorstep is shocking. What data have we gathered so far on who may have been responsible?” He directed that question towards Henry Case and Giles Burke.

  “Very little that one might call ‘concrete’ information, I’m afraid,” said Giles.

  Henry Case continued. “We are re-doubling our efforts to secure the relevant CCTV footage. All our attention in the ice-house is being focussed on this matter for now. Giles has access, for instance, to the number plate recognition programs used by our police services. We tracked no discernible suspicious mobile phone activity in the Clevedon district yesterday. Communication was kept to an absolute minimum.”

  “This was well planned and professionally executed,” said Giles. “If we have an Eastern European criminal organisation operating within the UK, they will have surfaced earlier. Somewhere in our data banks, we shall find the tiny threads of detail that will lead us to their door.”

  Phoenix glanced at the two intelligence officers. He hadn’t thought about it previously. It might appear odd to an outsider that Olympus relied on a Burke and a ‘Head Case’ to run their intelligence section but these blokes were good. He was confident they would find clues the police didn’t. He longed for the day when he led a group of agents to takes these killers out. That day couldn’t come soon enough; he’d spent far too long sitting around on his hands waiting to get into action.

  As he half-listened to Alastor inquiring whether anyone knew what had happened to the ram-raid gang active in the same area over the past year, his mind switched to Zara Wheeler. Phoenix knew she was as sharp as a tack. Her brain added to the mix over in the ice-house would be very interesting indeed.

  How would the boys take to having a female in their midst, he wondered? There was always something to consider when you held a position of responsibility. He hankered for the good old days when all he needed to think of was how to get rid of the next person on his little list.

  Phoenix concentrated once more on Henry Case’s response to Alastor’s question.

  “Regular forays took place from somewhere in the Home Counties by a group of thieves, who used crude methods to obtain cash and goods over a lengthy period. We didn’t pay them too much attention as they didn’t commit crimes we consider being within the Olympus remit. There’s nothing to suggest this latest attack has any connection whatever. This new outfit might even emanate from a totally different part of the country for all we know at this stage.”

  Phoenix now became fully engaged. He thought for a few seconds.

  “Except for one similarity, Henry; the top of the range motors they both used to get from A to B as quickly as possible. I appreciate that there are loads of Beemer’s on the roads these days, but coincidences bother me. Giles, can you have a look at the CCTV and ANPR data for the times this ram-raid gang carried out their raids and just satisfy my curiosity?”

  “Certainly. Phoenix,” said Giles.

  Athena decided the intelligence section needed to be back at work sooner rather than later, so she suggested they returned to the ice-house to follow up on suggestions the morning session came up with.

  When the five senior staff were alone, she broached the matter of the first meeting in London with the top people in the organisation. This h
ad been scheduled for Friday, July 19th. It would be her first meeting as Larcombe’s head. Plus the first opportunity for Phoenix to be present.

  “Do you know what’s on the agenda?” asked Thanatos.

  “It will be a meet and greet, mostly,” said Athena. “Erebus never received a written agenda; nothing is ever committed to paper. He received a phone call roughly two weeks beforehand inviting him to attend. He then got another message up to twenty-four hours before his trip to London relaying only a few keywords. Secrecy is paramount. I have been advised of the time and place, the dress code and that on this occasion I may be accompanied by my ‘plus one’.”

  Phoenix raised an eyebrow.

  Athena smiled. “Sorry if you’re miffed at being described as my plus one, Phoenix but everyone here knows of our situation. Also, Erebus informed our superiors we were a couple and now shared the responsibility for Olympus matters here.”

  “No, Athena, it’s not that, when you mentioned a dress code. I hoped to wear the Rory Gallagher t-shirt and blue jeans you bought me for our Glastonbury weekend.”

  “Ah, you might need to keep those for another occasion. You will be suited and booted and I shall be wearing one of my best dresses.”

  Phoenix groaned.

  “Let’s move on,” said Athena. “Rusty is missing from this morning’s meeting. We’ve sent him on a fact-finding mission this week and next. There are two reasons for this. His partner leaves her present job on Friday. She is then taking a week’s vacation; during that break, she will decide whether to throw her lot in with Olympus here at Larcombe. If she does, then she and Rusty will live in their own quarters in the stable block and she can start work in the ice-house. Her focus will be to develop our cyber-intelligence strengths together with Giles Burke. This mission is partly to take his mind off that situation, and to give us a closer insight into the exploitation by landlords of migrants in areas such as Slough and Ealing.”

  “How much do we know about this woman?” asked Minos.

  “How much does she know of Olympus, more to the point?” bridled Thanatos.

  “Rusty trusts her,” said Phoenix, “that’s good enough for me. I’d prefer to concentrate on what Rusty is investigating out there in the big, bad world.”

  Athena allowed a few moments to pass before she continued.

  “It is estimated that they have three thousand people living illegally in the borough of Slough alone. Our thermal imaging cameras have flown over that borough and several neighbouring council boroughs in the South East to confirm that the incidence of suspected illegal dwellings is fast becoming a significant problem. Outbuildings often don’t need planning permission as long as they meet size restrictions and are not used for sleeping accommodation. Snap inspections are forbidden. Councils must give twenty-four hours’ notice before inspections, meaning there’s ample time for landlords to remove evidence. If one is inadvertently caught, then the fines are only a fraction of the monies they can make from the rents they are charging. Any law-abiding residents who get fed up with such over-development in their area and seek to move away, soon discover that their house value has been adversely affected because of the problem. Odds are that the only prospective buyer of their property will be a landlord eager to convert their home into another multi-occupancy money-making machine.”

  “If this is rife in the South East, then that suggests there are many individuals involved. How can direct action by Olympus be deployed to make a difference?” asked Alastor.

  “The government position appears optimistic, even in the face of the apparently hopeless situation. Local authorities want more controls placed on landlords. The response from government is that the councils have enough enforcement powers to cope with matters. Our opinion is that as councils face further stringent cutbacks, then very little constructive action will occur as things stand. Rusty will report back with what he discovers at the end of next week and we will make a decision on whether Olympus can remove a handful of the main players.”

  “Happy days,” said Phoenix quietly.

  After a few minor issues concerning the movement of agents around the country to carry out investigative sorties, Athena brought the meeting to a close.

  “It’s too quiet, Athena,” said Phoenix when they were alone.

  “Not in Clevedon sweetheart,” replied Athena, “that development concerns me. When you consider the sum of money they might have stolen using different tactics it begs the question doesn’t it? The violence was unnecessary.”

  “I see what you’re driving at,” mused Phoenix. “I was getting too snarled up with the ram-raid gang and how they fitted into this if indeed they did. Maybe the cash wasn’t the main thrust of these attacks? Surely they don’t think they can hold a major bank to ransom? How would they send their demands? I suppose uploading a video to YouTube might be the modern method. More modern than sending a letter through the post made up of letters and numbers cut from newspapers and magazines.”

  Athena gave Phoenix an old-fashioned look. Why was he always so flippant; especially on such a serious matter.

  Athena sighed and added, “My biggest worry is that if extortion is indeed their aim then an attack on two banks in Somerset won’t be a powerful enough message to elicit a national response; even though it resulted in the deaths of six people. There will be more strikes and the next one is only days away. A murderous raid that could take place anywhere in the country and on any target. We cannot assume that financial institutions alone are at risk. No matter how good our intelligence section is, we are as blind as a bat; along with every police authority in the UK.”

  Phoenix stood up and walked to the window. He looked out over the lawns and spent several minutes thinking.

  “I wonder what Erebus would have done?” he asked.

  “That’s the first time we’ve resorted to that thought since the dear old gentleman left,” said Athena, joining Phoenix by the window. She considered the photograph of Erebus with his wife Elizabeth that she had placed on the table. The picture showed them while they honeymooned in Ibiza.

  “He would have demanded to know more than the police. Giles would have searched high and low for the tiniest of clues to the identities of these gangsters. He might have asked Henry Case to send a team out to lift a few known Eastern European criminals off the street so he could interrogate them…”

  “That’s it,” exclaimed Phoenix. “Let’s assume for the sake of argument that the activities of the ram-raid gang have been derailed for now, where did they get those cars from that they used in the first place? Did they grab them themselves or did they have another supply source perhaps stealing to order? From what I’ve read, they drove a wide range of cars and vans, with each one being the right tool for the job. I think it more than feasible that they used outside help to get what they needed, don’t you? If so, and they aren’t doing the trips to the West Country with three cars at a time, then what have their friendly car thieves been doing these past weeks? They’re not the sort to go straight and apply for a re-training course or find a proper job. So I’m wondering whether this new outfit has diverted the ram-raid gang’s delivery of vehicles to be used for their own purposes?”

  “It’s a long shot, Phoenix,” said Athena, “but I agree it’s worth pursuing. Let’s ask Henry to search out a list of likely lads involved in this sector of the car trade. At first, we ought to concentrate on the London region, don’t you think? We can’t be positive that this gang is operating from the capital, but on balance, it’s the most logical home for our Eastern Europeans. That might seem facile, but if they have been in the UK for a decade, we would have heard rumours of their activities before now. They’re too well-organised and too ruthless to be new to the game. They must be relative newcomers and managed to stay under our radar so far. My hunch is that we are searching for Bulgarians or Romanians. Those are countries whose people have been arriving in larger numbers every year since 2007 when they joined the European Union.”


  “I agree,” said Phoenix. “They fit the vague descriptions of the thugs from Clevedon. Both in their appearance and the language.”

  Athena tapped the photo frame gently, “Thank you Erebus; we’ve missed you.”

  CHAPTER 6

  Monday, July 15th, 2013

  Athena’s prediction that the next strike by the Eastern European mafia was only days away proved right.

  As she sat eating breakfast alone, while Phoenix slept in, her phone vibrated on the table in front of her. It was the message she was expecting. The keywords that each Olympus leader would receive before Friday’s meeting.

  ‘Knightsbridge’. ‘Churchyard regular’.

  So the venue on this occasion was to be in Curzon Street, just a few minutes from her parents’ London home, thought Athena. A few moments later Operation Yewtree popped into her head and the jigsaw was complete. She decided to let Phoenix sleep. Plenty of time to fill him in on the details before Friday.

  Athena finished her breakfast while considering what to do with him. She knew that he found this new phase in his life too quiet for a man who needed action to make him feel alive. It was a dilemma with which she was unfamiliar; she had to decide whether to send her beloved partner on a mission from which he may not return. How could she do that? Athena wanted him by her side now and in the future. The door opened and a tousle-headed wretch slouched into the room.

  “Ah, you’ve surfaced at last,” she said.

  “Is there any coffee left in that pot?”

  Athena sighed; there must be a worthwhile task she could find the poor mite. Although, he would probably scare her half to death with the risks he’d take to complete a dangerous mission for the Olympus cause before he finally became useful to her as joint leader.