Chapter 9

It was 9:30 PM. June and John had gotten the call from Charles Spire during the afternoon, saying that he had a job for them. After donning their 'junkie-chic' undercover gear, they were driving the same old clapped out Ford Fiesta. June had told Paul that a "nick on her car was a nick from his ass" if anyone touched her Alfa while she was working undercover.

They were waiting underneath Basal Bridge for five minutes before an older man, in his mid-40's, walked up.

"Are you Leap?"

"Yeah man," June said, "Are you tha contact?"

"Yeah. Who's your friend?" Spire asked.

"This is John, right, he's my mate. He's gonna help me. He watch my back, I handle his front, you know what I mean?"

John said, "Alright?"

Spire gave him the once over, and instantly disliked this short-arse ginger git.

"You need to pick yourself better mates, Leap. Anyway, here's your case full of gear. Take it to the Bear and Banister tonight and unload it. Give the money to the barman at the end of the evening and he'll give you your cuts. Understand?"

"Right, man."

"And watch your back. The filth got my last boy. I'd hate to see you two disappeared, if you know what I mean."

"Cheers man, when will we see you again?"

"Next time a suitcase lands in my lap. Now piss off."

Spire turned and walked away.

* * *

Back at the van, they opened the suitcase. It was chock full of ecstasy. They substituted the pills with placebos and June told John how to proceed.

"Take these to the pub and sell them. No one will come back on you, if they do, offer to buy them a pint and give them another one free. I'll be listening and if you get any trouble I'll come in and help. Area's covering Spire right now, tracing his whereabouts."

John got into the Fiesta and drove off. Paul followed in the van, and June took her own car.

On the drive to the Bear and Banister, John started sweating profusely. He normally was a bit nervous before an op, but this time it was even worse. He slept with June last night, and she wanted to push it under the carpet, like it never happened. He wasn't sure if he could deal with that. He wanted her, badly, and wasn't used to being refused. He wouldn't give up.

Focus.

'I hate catering to these junkies,' he thought to himself. 'I'm going to ask all of their names to get them on tape, so I know who to keep tabs on, once I'm off of this operation. Maybe it will give me a few leads of my own to follow up later on.' John smiled to himself. Getting an inside track on the local junkies, which he would then turn into his future snouts, grasses and people to nick, was about the only benefit he could discern from sitting in a smoke-filled pub flogging fake E's to idiots. He supposed it was all part of the investigation, to keep a cover, but he didn't like it. He wished June was there to keep him company. He may not be able to get close to her, as he wanted, but at least she was good company.

Entering in the pub with the suitcase was easy enough. They had a doorman, common for Saturday nights. He went to the bar and bought himself a pint of Coke. The barman said to him, after handing over his change, "At last orders, go in the men's toilets and I'll meet you in there. If you don't sell it all, what's left over comes out of your cut, got it?"

'That's the beauty of being a dealer. Great pay scheme and fantastic benefits,' John thought bitterly to himself. Even though he was doing police work, it felt wrong to him, like he was betraying everything he stood for. He hated it. The fact he was selling fakes gave him no comfort. The idiots who bought off of him, would probably find someone else to buy off of, once they discovered that his were fakes. Undercover work was never his strong suit, anyway. He liked to be the one leading the investigation, not working for someone else's' investigation, which was why he was glad when he was promoted to Sergeant prior to coming to Sun Hill. Once you change rank, people still think of you under your old rank, and it's hard to gain respect from your old colleagues.

At the end of the evening he managed to flog most of the contents of his case. No one, as far as he could tell, was actually taking the fake E's in the pub. He assumed they were holding on to them for whatever club they ended up in afterwards. The bell for last orders rang, and a few more people approached him for a sale. He managed to put off most people that approached him by his condescending attitude and obvious disdain for his 'customers'. He packed up the contents of his case and went into the men's toilets, locking himself in a cubicle.

The manager came into the toilets. He tapped on the cubicle door. "Red, are you in there?"

By now John had had enough of this. The insult was just too much to bear at this point and he lost it. The door to the cubicle flew open and John lunged at the guy, knocking him to the floor. He grabbed him by the scruff of the neck and pinned him to the wall.

"Don't ever call me Red. Do you understand?"

"Steady on, mate! I didn't mean anything by it. Don't hit me!"

Just then the door to the gent's flew open and June came in.

"Sorry I'm late, luvva, I got caught up." June looked at the man. "What's he done, then?"

"Nothing. Nevermind." John glared viciously at the manager and looked at June.

June went over to John and gave him a big sloppy kiss. "Who are you?" She eyed the manager.

"I'm the manager of this pub, Tony Woods. Who the bloody hell are you?"

"Name's Leap. Him and I are t'gether." She jabbed a finger in John's direction. "I know what his game is, is this where we cash in our chips and get our prize for the evening man?"

"Yeah, let's get on with it then."

June took the suitcase from John and handed it to Woods.

"How did we do?" she asked, as Woods rooted through it.

"You only sold half. You didn't make any profit for yourself tonight. Next time, Leap, you should flog. Your man there is too scary, puts the punters off."

"Yeah, right, well, I'll try not to be so busy next time. C'mon luv."

June took John by the hand and they walked out.

* * *

Back in the van June poured John a hot cup of coffee from the kettle.

"You did well John. You didn't make a profit, which was good, and you didn't flog too many fake E's, which mean that probably no one is looking to settle a score with you. Well done. Only thing, don't have a crack at people unnecessarily. I know, he was a right git but he's not worth it."

"It just winds me up, acting like a bloody dealer. Even though they're fakes, I still feel like I'm supporting their habits. And when that pillock started with me I lost it."

"I know, John, which is why I came in. You're very lucky he wasn't armed. Most of Escoverda's men are usually armed."

"Good work Paul, John, we got a result. Let's call it a night. Next move will be when we hear from Area that Spire's got a suitcase. Our target will switch then to Spire's supplier, who will be one of Escoverda's bosses, if not Escoverda himself. Any questions?"

"Yeah, what happens when Spire phones again?" John asked.

"Leap died tonight, from an overdose and you won't be working for him. That's what you say the next time he calls."

"Keep the mobiles on. Paul, very soon we'll be getting a visit from SO19, to provide backup for John when he goes in to take down Escoverda. SO6 will be issuing the warrant and will pick up the case from there. They will be the ones who will extradite him back to the US to face further charges, including murder."

"Good job everyone, goodnight. John, let's go."

June and John left the van, which drove off. They got back into her car and pulled out.

"You can go home tonight, John. It's highly unlikely Spire will make a move tonight or tomorrow. Do you want to meet up tomorrow afternoon and have a brainstorming session?"

"Sure, come over mine."

"Alright then. Around 2:00?"

"Yeah, that's fine."

June didn't have to drive very far to John's flat. She pulled in the driveway and stopped.

"Good work tonight, John. See you tomorrow."

John leaned over to give her a kiss but she put a hand on his shoulder. "No, John. No."

"Why not?" John agreed that they probably shouldn't sleep together while the case was going on, but he couldn't understand why she didn't want to be affectionate, especially seeing as she kissed him right in front of that worm Woods.

"What happened last night has truly affected me. All day long I've been plagued with guilt, thoughts of Thomas, memories. He was the last man I slept with, and he was also the first. I broke all of my rules last night, John. I've got a lot going on right now, and I don't need to be further confused. Go on. Go on home."

John was truly crestfallen. He couldn't believe her! Running hot and cold like a leaky faucet! He was so confused, and needed time alone.

"June, can we give tomorrow a miss?"

"Sure John. See you Monday back at the nick."

"Ok, June. Goodnight."

"Goodnight, John."