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‘Piss off,sergeant.’
Barney cleared his throat. ‘Whilst you two are bantering really badly, I think we have a customer.’
Max and Janie grinned and then turned back to the screen. A lone figure was walking along the path towards the well. He was dressed in a black jacket and wearing a woollen beanie hat. Barney adjusted the position of the drone and zoomed in tighter. The figure stopped, looking all around him, his hands going to his face.
‘Well,hellothere,’ said Max.
Janie looked up and smiled at Max. ‘This is the best bit, isn’t it?’
‘Aye. The moments before the strike. Come on, you corrupt bastard; we’re waiting for you.’
71
THE ACE LOOKEDover each shoulder as he walked along the path towards the well, a spot he’d been to on a number of occasions in the past, being a student of history as he was. On this occasion, he had no interest in the ancient well, and his sole intention was to get the kompromat that Tam Hardie had shown him six years ago. Hardie had always been an evil, ruthless bastard and The Ace had almost danced with delight when he’d died, and then his even more evil son had disappeared without trace. He’d had no idea that fucking Davie and Frankie would start causing the problems they had from jail.
Fortunately, Droopy was a resourceful bastard, and scary though he was, he was glad to have had him on his side even with the small fortune it had cost him. Now hopefully, he could carry on living his life without this shit hanging over him.
He stood on the setts at the front of the well, stamping his feet to try to get some blood to them, and wishing he had more appropriate footwear on. He took a last look over his shoulder, thankful that it was quiet and the freezing cold weather had kept the tourists away. Had it been summer this place would have been crawling with Americans, all cooing and taking photographs of the old well. He looked at the ancient grotesque mask with the water dribbling from the pipe, and gritted his teeth as he stretched out his hand to the bottom of the black metal sign, with its perfunctory explanation of the well, which had been moved to its present location in 1860.
His finger went underneath the raised edge of the sign, where itsat proud from the granite. They caught on something smooth and plastic, and his heart leapt as he pulled it away with a snap as the gaffer tape holding it in place gave way. He stood there, looking at the small SD card, with ‘Ace’ scrawled on it in marker pen. The kompromat that had been hanging over him for the last six years like the sword of Damocles. A smile stretched over his face, and he felt the weight of anxiety and dread suddenly lift from his shoulders.
He was free. Droopy was an evil bastard, but he had morals, and his word was his bond which was why he charged so much money. And with all the Hardie boys now out of the way, he was home free. He chuckled as he turned the card over in his fingers. He’d check it out when he got back to the office, and then, he’d get rid of it forever. The whole story would be as dead as Beata Dabrowski.
He tucked the card into his pocket, turned on his heel and hurried off, looking at his watch. He had an important meeting with the Chief Constable in an hour and he needed to prepare. It’d be too easy now. He was safe.
He picked up his pace, almost feeling like his feet were barely touching the ground as he strode off, enjoying the warming rays of the winter sun.
72
‘BOOM,’ SAID BARNEY,his eyes glued to the screen, as he steered the drone ahead of the figure that was striding along Queens Drive back towards the city centre.
‘Okay, he’s got it. We now need to see if we can get a facial shot,’ said Max.
‘Right, I’ll fly ahead of him and wait, how low can I go?’
‘How low before it becomes audible?’
‘Hundred or so?’
‘What, feet?’
‘No metres, but with a decent zoom we should be able to clock his fizzog.’
‘Okay, do it.’
The picture shifted as the drone swept off and then settled, static and still, above Queens Drive. It zoomed in tight on the approaching figure that walked, head down, at a quick pace, bristling with a sense of purpose.
‘He needs to look up a bit, or we’re just getting the top of his head, and the hat isn’t helping at all, I think it has a small peak on it,’ said Barney, his voice tight with frustration.
‘Go lower,’ said Max, his eyes glued to the screen.
‘He may hear us,’ said Barney, looking up.
‘Doesn’t matter, drones are common enough, just go lower, I want him to hear it.’
‘You’re the boss.’ Barney adjusted the controls again and the picture shifted as the drone lost height.
‘Do a bit of swooping, so you look like a dodgy amateur, but keep active track on him, we just need him to look up once,’ said Max.
