Stephen Leather - False Friends

Shepherd opened the rear door and got in. ‘Harvey, when are you going to get yourself a decent motor?’ he asked, clapping the driver on the back.

‘This, it’s a classic, innit?’ said Malik. It was cold in the car and both men were bundled up, Chaudhry in his duffel coat and Malik in his green parka jacket.

Shepherd pulled on the handle to close the door and it threatened to come away in his hand. ‘It’s a piece of shit,’ he said.

‘So how about your bosses pay for a new motor, then?’ said Chaudhry. ‘There was a reward for Bin Laden, wasn’t there? Twenty-five million bucks. How about sending some of that our way, John?’

John Whitehill was Shepherd’s cover name. It was the only name they would ever know him by. ‘I’ll ask, but the Yanks are taking the credit,’ he said.

‘Yeah, but they know the information came from us, right?’ said Malik, twisting round in his seat.

‘What do you think, Harvey? You think we’ve been shouting your names from the rooftops?’

‘No, of course not,’ said Malik, his cheeks reddening. ‘But Obama knows, right?’

‘Of course Obama doesn’t bloody well know,’ said Shepherd. He ran a hand through his hair, trying not to lose his temper. He forced himself to smile. ‘If the President knew then at least a dozen other people would know, and Washington leaks like a bloody sieve. All the politicians are hand in glove with the media so it wouldn’t take long for the info to go public and then the two of you would be well fucked. I presume you don’t want your names splashed across the New York Times .’

‘But someone knows, right?’ said Malik. ‘We get the credit, right?’

‘We know, Harvey. That’s what matters.’

‘And who is “we”, exactly?’ pressed Malik.

Shepherd’s eyes narrowed. ‘Are you okay?’ he asked quietly.

‘I’m fine,’ said Malik. ‘I just want some reassurance here that someone else isn’t taking credit for what we did. We found Bin Laden. We found the man the whole world was looking for. And we told you and then the Americans went in and killed him. And nowhere do I hear that it was anything other than an American operation.’

‘Which is what we want. That sort of disinformation keeps you safe. What do you want, Harvey? You want to go and shake hands with Obama in the White House and have him tell you how proud he is?’

‘What I want, John, is a piece of the twenty-five-million reward that the Americans promised.’

‘That was up to twenty-five million,’ said Shepherd. ‘If they do pay it then it’ll be split among everyone involved.’

‘Including the Seals?’ asked Malik.

‘Maybe. I don’t know.’

‘You know the Yanks paid thirty million dollars to one informant who gave up Hussein’s kids,’ said Chaudhry. ‘Uday and Qusay. Remember? The Yanks went in and blew them away too. And like I said, they handed over thirty million dollars to one man.’

‘How do you know that?’ asked Shepherd.

‘Google,’ said Raj. ‘It ain’t rocket science.’

‘So do we get a piece of the reward, or not?’ asked Malik.

‘I’ll put out some feelers, Harvey.’

‘Yeah, well, make sure you do. I just worry that what me and Raj did is going to get lost in all that Yank back-slapping.’

‘What you did won’t be forgotten, you have my word.’

‘That and a quid’ll get me on a bus,’ said Malik, his voice loaded with sarcasm.

‘You’re not saying you’re doing it for the money, are you?’

‘Fuck you, John!’ spat Malik. ‘Fuck you and fuck MI5. We put our lives on the line, Raj and me. We spent three months in Pakistan and if we’d put a foot wrong they’d have killed us without blinking an eye. But we went into the lion’s den and we walked out and now it’s like we don’t fucking exist.’ He grunted and pounded his fists against the dashboard.

‘Bloody hell, Harvey. Steady, mate, or you’ll set off the airbag,’ said Shepherd.

Malik grunted again but then began to chuckle. He shook his head as he laughed.

‘You okay, brother?’ asked Chaudhry anxiously.

Malik nodded. ‘Aye, brother, I’m fine.’ He looked over his shoulder. ‘I’m fine. It’s been a bit stressful, you know?’

Shepherd patted him on the shoulder. ‘Mate, more than anyone I know what you guys went through and as far as I’m concerned the sun shines out of your arses.’

Chaudhry gestured at the service centre. ‘Can we go and get something to eat? I’m starving.’

‘Not with me,’ said Shepherd. ‘Can’t take the risk.’

‘No one knows us this far out of London,’ said Malik.

‘That’s why we’re here,’ said Shepherd. ‘We need to keep our heads down for the next few days. Everyone’s going to be ultra-sensitive so I don’t want anyone spotting us together in a coffee shop or on the Heath.’

‘So we have to drive out here whenever we want to meet?’ asked Malik.

‘Here or somewhere just as safe,’ said Shepherd. ‘Just for the next week or so until it dies down. Look, it’s Sod’s Law: the time you think you’re safest is the time when you bump into someone who recognises you. So we’ll stay right where we are and you can go and have a coffee when I’ve gone.’

‘Why don’t you get us a safe house?’ asked Malik. ‘You people always use safe houses, don’t you?’

‘Horses for courses,’ said Shepherd. ‘But if you were seen going into a strange address then you’d be screwed. This way is best. Not much can go wrong in a service station car park.’ He tapped the side of his head. ‘Touch wood.’

‘You know what? I’d really like to see inside the MI5 building,’ said Chaudhry. ‘What’s it called again? The one by the Thames?’

‘That’s MI6’s HQ,’ said Shepherd. ‘Vauxhall Bridge. MI5 is at Thames House, in Millbank. It’s not as impressive. Why would you want to look round it?’

Chaudhry shrugged. ‘Dunno. Just be interested to see what the place is like, that’s all.’

‘It’s easily arranged,’ said Shepherd. ‘But best to wait until this is over.’

‘And what happens then?’ asked Malik. ‘When we’re done with this?’

‘What do you mean?’

Malik looked at Chaudhry, then back at Shepherd. ‘What happens to us? We get the reward, right? Do we get new identities? Witness protection?’

‘Have you two been discussing this?’ asked Shepherd.

‘We were wondering what you’d got planned,’ said Chaudhry.

‘What do you want to happen, Raj?’

‘Other than the reward, you mean?’ Chaudhry smiled. ‘I’m joking. I just want this to be over, John. I want be a doctor; I want to help people.’

‘You should think about joining MI5,’ said Shepherd. ‘Or the police. Once this is over you could write your own ticket.’

‘Be a professional liar? Because that’s what I’ve been doing for the last twelve months. I’m sick of it. Sick of the lies, sick of playing a part. I want my life back.’ He grinned. ‘And the reward, of course.’

‘You’ll get your life back, I can promise you that,’ said Shepherd. ‘But that’s why we have to keep you both deep undercover at the moment. Once the operation’s over we pull you out, you move on and do whatever you want to do. But no one must ever know.’

‘That’s for sure,’ said Malik. ‘If anyone at the mosque knew about us they’d hack off our heads with a blunt knife.’

‘That’s not going to happen, Harvey,’ said Shepherd. ‘And most of the guys at your mosque would be as appalled as anyone about what’s being planned.’

‘Yeah, but they’d see us as traitors for spying on our own.’

Shepherd didn’t like the way the conversation was going. It was vital that the two men concentrated on what they were doing and not on what the possible repercussions were. The more they considered the downside, the more likely it was that they would become nervous and make mistakes. ‘Guys, you’re doing a great job and we’re on the home stretch. What you’re doing is going to save a lot of people.’