Black Ops: The 12th Spider Shepherd Thriller (Dan Shepherd series) by Stephen Leather

Author:Stephen Leather
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
Published: 2015-07-02T05:00:00+00:00

Shepherd spent an hour on the sofa watching Sky Sports but as the sky outside darkened he figured he could do with some exercise. He changed into sweat pants and an old T-shirt and went for a run around Battersea Park. The street lights had come on and other than a few dog walkers the park was quiet. He did a couple of slow laps and then a series of sprints, and by the time he’d finished his shirt was soaked and he was panting like a sick dog. He spent a few minutes stretching before doing a series of press-ups and sit-ups and then heading back to his flat. After showering and changing into clean clothes, he dropped down on to the sofa and flicked through the TV again but realised there was nothing he wanted to watch. One of the downsides to working undercover was that it involved spending long periods with absolutely nothing to do. He had to avoid friends and family and his usual haunts, because being recognised by the wrong person at the wrong time could spell the end of months of work.

He sat up and ran his hands through his hair. He needed to be around people, he realised. He needed the buzz of conversation, he needed to be able to see and hear other people and not just on a television screen. He picked up his coat and headed out, walking through the streets towards the river. Ahead of him he saw a pub called the Lighthouse and he decided to go in. He took off his coat and sat at the bar. He ordered a Jameson and soda with ice and nibbled at peanuts while he waited for it to arrive.

He heard a girl to his left curse and turned to look at her. She was in her late twenties or early thirties, pretty with dark skin and near-black eyes that suggested Asian heritage. She had short curly black hair and was wearing a brown leather bomber jacket over tight Versace jeans; a Louis Vuitton bag was slung over her shoulder. She was glaring at an iPhone and as Shepherd watched she cursed again and banged it face down on the bar. The barman placed Shepherd’s drink in front of him and asked the girl what she wanted.

‘A new bloody phone,’ she said. She sighed and then flashed him a smile. ‘A Kir royal, please.’ The barman went off to make her drink and she sighed again. ‘Bloody phone,’ she muttered.

Shepherd couldn’t place her accent, but there was a hint of American in there somewhere. ‘Problem?’

‘I’m supposed to meet a client here but he hasn’t shown up and my phone has packed up. I don’t think it’s the battery, I charged it up this morning.’ She tilted her head and smiled. ‘I don’t suppose you’d let me make a call on yours, would you? It’s local. I’ll reimburse you.’

Shepherd laughed and took out his phone. ‘Have it on me,’ he said, handing it to her.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.