something we can use,’ Sheenan said. ‘Something that will give us an advantage when they do contact you. Something in his lifestyle maybe?’
‘His lifestyle – Christ. He likes having sex with young children – does that help?’ Sean asked sarcastically, the cracks in his armour immediately picked up on by Chopra. Years of seeing undercover officers struggling under the strain of being away from friends and family, sometimes for months at a time, surrounded by and befriending people they will ultimately betray told him when the officer deployed had reached their limit – even if they didn’t know it themselves. He could ill afford another high-profile case of an undercover officer going rouge and switching to the other side.
‘I think maybe you’ve had enough,’ Chopra told him.
‘No,’ Sean snapped, looking around the pub in case he’d turned any heads. ‘We give up now we may never get another chance to get close to The Sanctum.’
‘The Sanctum?’ Sheenan asked. ‘What the fuck is The Sanctum? I’ve not heard that name before.’
‘It was mentioned in the pre-operational reports,’ Chopra told him, ‘but just rumours – nothing solid.’
‘The name they use for the inner circle,’ Sean explained. ‘The ones we’re really after – the ones doing the abusing and distributing. Conway’s the kingpin.’
‘And they’re going to let you into this Sanctum?’ Sheenan asked.
‘I think so, yes.’
‘You think so?’ Chopra questioned, increasingly keen to find a reason to pull Sean out.
‘It’ll happen,’ Sean insisted.
‘Let’s give it another week,’ Sheenan suggested, looking at Chopra, the man with whom the ultimate decision to carry on or quit rested – his concerns for Sean the deciding factor.
‘Alright,’ Chopra eventually agreed, ‘but I want a daily phone call from you, Sean and your agreement to see the psychiatrist as soon as your deployment is over.’
‘I don’t need to see the Head Doctor,’ he argued, memories of the psychiatrists of his childhood spinning in his mind. ‘There’s nothing wrong with me.’
‘It’s standard procedure after a long and difficult deployment – you know that.’
‘Yeah, but a shrink messing with my head?’
‘Just do what everyone else does, Sean and humour me,’ Chopra told him. ‘Answer their questions and smile politely so I can finish the paperwork and keep you on our register – alright?’
‘Whatever,’ Sean agreed, already thinking of his excuses to miss any appointments with the psychiatrist.
‘Good,’ Chopra told him. ‘Now back to the question – is there anything in his lifestyle we can use?’
Sean sat silently for a while, recalling everything he’d seen and heard about Conway, looking for something they could use he wouldn’t suspect – something Conway would have no reason to be suspicious of. ‘He likes nice cars,’ Sean suddenly told them, causing Chopra to look at Sheenan.
‘He drives a Jaguar,’ Sheenan told him. ‘It’s an old one, but a nice one.’ Sean nodded his agreement.
‘He seems to keep it clean – I mean spotless,’ Sean chipped in.
‘That’s not much to work with,’ Chopra dismissed.
‘Yeah it is,’ Sean disagreed. ‘It’s not just the car itself – it’s the status he believes it gives him, the status he believes he’s owed.’
‘Go on,’ Chopra encouraged.
‘When they eventually take me to a meeting, the arrest team won’t be able to track me – they’ll search me again and if I’m wearing any sort of tracker they’ll find it.’
‘So?’ Chopra asked.
‘So you’ll have to track my car.’
‘But you don’t have a car on this deployment. Justin Cramer doesn’t have a car,’ Chopra reminded him.
‘Then you’ll have to get me one – a nice one. One Conway won’t mind being seen in.’
‘If,’ Chopra continued, ‘and it’s still a big if – if Conway takes you to a meet he’ll use his car, surely?’
‘Not if we disable
‘His lifestyle – Christ. He likes having sex with young children – does that help?’ Sean asked sarcastically, the cracks in his armour immediately picked up on by Chopra. Years of seeing undercover officers struggling under the strain of being away from friends and family, sometimes for months at a time, surrounded by and befriending people they will ultimately betray told him when the officer deployed had reached their limit – even if they didn’t know it themselves. He could ill afford another high-profile case of an undercover officer going rouge and switching to the other side.
‘I think maybe you’ve had enough,’ Chopra told him.
‘No,’ Sean snapped, looking around the pub in case he’d turned any heads. ‘We give up now we may never get another chance to get close to The Sanctum.’
‘The Sanctum?’ Sheenan asked. ‘What the fuck is The Sanctum? I’ve not heard that name before.’
‘It was mentioned in the pre-operational reports,’ Chopra told him, ‘but just rumours – nothing solid.’
‘The name they use for the inner circle,’ Sean explained. ‘The ones we’re really after – the ones doing the abusing and distributing. Conway’s the kingpin.’
‘And they’re going to let you into this Sanctum?’ Sheenan asked.
‘I think so, yes.’
‘You think so?’ Chopra questioned, increasingly keen to find a reason to pull Sean out.
‘It’ll happen,’ Sean insisted.
‘Let’s give it another week,’ Sheenan suggested, looking at Chopra, the man with whom the ultimate decision to carry on or quit rested – his concerns for Sean the deciding factor.
‘Alright,’ Chopra eventually agreed, ‘but I want a daily phone call from you, Sean and your agreement to see the psychiatrist as soon as your deployment is over.’
‘I don’t need to see the Head Doctor,’ he argued, memories of the psychiatrists of his childhood spinning in his mind. ‘There’s nothing wrong with me.’
‘It’s standard procedure after a long and difficult deployment – you know that.’
‘Yeah, but a shrink messing with my head?’
‘Just do what everyone else does, Sean and humour me,’ Chopra told him. ‘Answer their questions and smile politely so I can finish the paperwork and keep you on our register – alright?’
‘Whatever,’ Sean agreed, already thinking of his excuses to miss any appointments with the psychiatrist.
‘Good,’ Chopra told him. ‘Now back to the question – is there anything in his lifestyle we can use?’
Sean sat silently for a while, recalling everything he’d seen and heard about Conway, looking for something they could use he wouldn’t suspect – something Conway would have no reason to be suspicious of. ‘He likes nice cars,’ Sean suddenly told them, causing Chopra to look at Sheenan.
‘He drives a Jaguar,’ Sheenan told him. ‘It’s an old one, but a nice one.’ Sean nodded his agreement.
‘He seems to keep it clean – I mean spotless,’ Sean chipped in.
‘That’s not much to work with,’ Chopra dismissed.
‘Yeah it is,’ Sean disagreed. ‘It’s not just the car itself – it’s the status he believes it gives him, the status he believes he’s owed.’
‘Go on,’ Chopra encouraged.
‘When they eventually take me to a meeting, the arrest team won’t be able to track me – they’ll search me again and if I’m wearing any sort of tracker they’ll find it.’
‘So?’ Chopra asked.
‘So you’ll have to track my car.’
‘But you don’t have a car on this deployment. Justin Cramer doesn’t have a car,’ Chopra reminded him.
‘Then you’ll have to get me one – a nice one. One Conway won’t mind being seen in.’
‘If,’ Chopra continued, ‘and it’s still a big if – if Conway takes you to a meet he’ll use his car, surely?’
‘Not if we disable
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