The Vengeance Man by Macrae John

Author:Macrae, John [Macrae, John]
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: Endeavour Press Ltd.
Published: 2012-07-11T18:30:00+00:00

CHAPTER 26

THE ARMS OF VENUS, Warminster

Fortunately my hangover was not tested that morning.

Mallalieu didn't send for me early. That meant I spent an irritating morning sorting out a series of leaks that could only have come from some loud-mouth in the Bull Pen. Apparently Harry Plummer had called by and told Mallalieu and Andy Hawkesville that he had received reports from both the Box and the Branch indicating trouble. The SB reported that a reporter from one of the national dailies was investigating Jonno Briggs and his new employers; there were even hints that Briggs had been not merely indiscreet, but positively stupid in shooting his mouth off. I discussed the matter with Mallalieu later and decided, with a certain grim satisfaction, that we had had better do something fast before the company featured as the latest bogeymen in some press exposé.

When I went in to see Mallalieu after lunch, he was his usual urbane self. Looking at that polished charm, it was difficult to reconcile it with the man ordering a killing the previous night. I thought wryly that maybe Mafia trigger men feel the same way about the Don. Pushing such thoughts away, I went in hard about the deterioration in the Bull Pen. To my surprise, he waved it away, agreeing almost out of hand.

"Don't worry about that. I'll fix that with Andy. It's all going to be taken care of." He steepled his fingers and glanced down at a number on his note pad. "How soon can you go down to Warminster?"

"Warminster?" I thought furiously but made little sense. "Tomorrow, I suppose."

"Good." He tore the top sheet off the pad. "Call this chap and make the arrangements. He's expecting a Captain Brian Willis of the Parachute Regiment to go on the range with him sometime this week."

I was bewildered. "Who is Brian Willis?"

"You are," he beamed back. "You're a captain in the Parachute Regiment - TA - and you're going to help out the Infantry Trials and Development wing at Warminster for a practise shoot." I must have looked sceptical. "Don't worry. He's in the Army List if anyone asks or looks. You're part of the pool of Reservist Special Duty Officers." He winked. "I think that you're the third man to have been Brian Willis in one form or another."

"What do I do?"

Mallalieu got up and walked to the security container in the corner, and took out a large black brief case and a brown envelope. He slit the envelope open with his thumb and glanced inside, then spilled some documents onto a side table prodding them with an almond-shaped finger nail. "ID card, Parachute Regiment Association membership card, travel warrant for Westbury, Services' Rail card, bank card, Access card for car hire," he rattled off. "OK, sign here."

I ticked them of the check sheet and scribbled a signature. "Who makes this stuff for you?" My own face stared up from the MOD ID card. "It looks good."

Mallalieu laughed. "It should do. It's genuine." He took the briefcase and swung it heavily onto the table.

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