Stephen Leather - False Friends

Kettering stiffened and he stared at Shepherd with unblinking blue eyes. ‘What makes you say that, Garry?’ he said quietly.

‘Yeah, come on, that’s a bit personal, innit?’ said Sharpe.

Shepherd ignored his partner. He knew he was pushing it, but Button wanted to know what Kettering and Thompson were up to and the best way of getting that information was from the horse’s mouth. ‘We met you through Ian, and Ian’s as BNP as they come, isn’t he? Kill the blacks, gas the Jews and burn the Pakis. England for whites only and all that. So when he first said that you and Paul wanted a meet, we naturally assumed. .’

‘That we were going out to shoot niggers and Pakis?’

Shepherd shrugged again. ‘You can see why,’ he said. ‘But then we saw you with Conteh at the boxing and we didn’t know what to think.’

‘Leave me out of this,’ said Sharpe. ‘I couldn’t care less what you’re doing with the guns, so long as your money’s good.’ He flashed Shepherd a warning look but Shepherd pretended not to notice.

‘Let me get this straight,’ said Kettering. ‘You don’t think I should have said hello to John Conteh, one of the biggest characters in the world of boxing, because he’s black?’

‘No, I’m not saying that,’ said Shepherd. ‘But Ian said you were, you know, in the EDL and all that.’

‘Yeah, I’m a patriot, Garry. We all should be. Family, friends and country, that’s really all that matters in life. But being a patriot isn’t about colour. It’s about country. You heard Conteh speak that night; he’s as Liverpool as they come and as British as you and me. I’ve plenty of black friends, Garry. And I’ve been with my share of black birds.’

Thompson smirked. ‘I can vouch for that.’

Sean and Roger nodded. ‘He is a sucker for that old black magic,’ said Roger.

‘So none of that racist nonsense, okay?’ said Kettering. ‘I know Ian’s full of it and that’s why we don’t hang out with him too much. He’s a good guy and that and we have a laugh but he’s not one of us and never will be.’

‘Message received and understood,’ said Shepherd.

‘Now don’t get me wrong,’ said Kettering. ‘The ones that are flooding into this country, they’re the ones that should be sent packing. I get as annoyed as anyone at these families from the arse end of nowhere who are given mansions to stay in and benefits and LCD TVs and all the trimmings. Them I would put up against a wall and shoot. But it’s not them that’s the problem. It’s the bastards that are ruining our country that are the ones to blame.’ He drained his glass and Shepherd refilled it for him.

‘Who are you talking about?’ asked Shepherd. ‘The politicians?’

‘You know who I mean, Garry,’ continued Kettering. ‘They want to control us all, they want us to be passive consumers, obedient taxpayers, working our whole lives to pay for their bloated lifestyles.’

‘What the hell are you talking about?’ asked Sharpe. ‘You’ve lost me.’

‘You don’t see it, do you? You really don’t see what’s happening to this country? To the whole of Europe? Do you think this recession was an accident?’ Kettering shook his head. ‘It’s all part of the great plan,’ he said. ‘They want to take our savings, our pensions, our assets, because then we have no choice other than to work for them.’ Sean and Roger nodded in agreement.

‘Them?’

‘The faceless bureaucrats who run our lives. The unelected elite. The men and women who control the money and make us dance to their tune. It’s slavery, that’s what it is.’

‘An international conspiracy? Is that what you’re saying?’ asked Sharpe, leaning forward.

‘The biggest conspiracy that the world has ever known,’ said Kettering. ‘With the aim of producing a one-world government with a single currency ruled by a very small elite while everyone else spends their whole lives being controlled and told what to do.’ He waved his glass around. ‘It’s happening already. That’s what the EU is all about. The EU and the United Nations. They’re just steps on the way to a world government. And the bastards that are running this country, Labour and Conservative alike, are helping them, working towards the destruction of Western civilisation. By mass immigration. By destroying the trade unions. By weakening the state education system to produce a population with IQs lower than that in most Third World countries. By ruining the healthcare system. By destroying our faith in the Church.’

Kettering’s eyes were wide and flecks of saliva sprayed from his mouth as he spoke.

‘They want the population compliant, like cattle. And they’ve pretty much done it. They push us and prod us and control every second of our lives, from the cradle to the grave. Someone has to bring the people to their senses, to tell them that they have to stand up and fight before it’s too late.’

‘Is that what the guns are for?’ said Shepherd quietly.

Kettering didn’t appear to have heard him. ‘We have to show the world what’s really going on. We have to open people’s eyes. Look at Nine-Eleven. No one gave the Muslims a second thought before the Twin Towers were attacked. They were getting on with their lives, not making a fuss. Bin Laden could see how that would be the end of his religion. If people don’t fight for something they don’t value it and they don’t complain when it gets taken away from them. So he ignited a fire that has continued to burn. And when Bush and Blair invaded Afghanistan and Iraq they fanned the flames. Now look just how strong and united the Muslims are. The world is scared of them. Look at how our own government bends over backwards to accommodate them. Well, it’s time for the British people to stand up and inspire that same fear. It’s time that the world respected us again.’

‘But how does killing civilians achieve that?’

‘By making them think about their lives. By showing them how weak and defenceless they have become. That’s what Anders Breivik achieved in Norway. And that’s going to be repeated across Europe until the people rise up and defend their countries.’

‘Steady, Simon,’ said Thompson.

Kettering looked at Thompson as if seeing him for the first time. ‘We’re among friends,’ he said.

‘We don’t know that,’ said Thompson. ‘Not for sure.’ He looked over at Shepherd and raised his glass. ‘No offence. I mean, we’ve known Sean and Roger for donkey’s, but you two are the new kids on the block.’

‘None taken,’ said Shepherd. He smiled across at Kettering. ‘The Norwegian’s the one that killed all those kids, right? Please don’t tell me you’re planning to kill kids.’

‘It was a socialist camp,’ said Kettering. ‘He knew what he was doing. He knew that by killing the way he did he’d get his whole country talking. The whole world.’ He drank more champagne. ‘Are you going to pull out of our deal? Is that what you’re thinking?’

‘Once the guns leave my hands it’s not my problem,’ said Shepherd. ‘They can’t be traced to me. I doubt that you’d tell the cops where you got them from and even if you did it’d be your word against mine.’ He shrugged. ‘Money’s money, that’s what I always say.’

Kettering nodded, then leaned over and clinked his glass against Shepherd’s.

‘Doesn’t it worry you, what’s happening to our country?’ asked Thompson.

‘I don’t give it much thought,’ said Shepherd. ‘I don’t pay tax, I come and go as I please and I do pretty much as I like. I leave my money offshore, so even if the cops were to get on to me I could move overseas and they’d never get me. I’m bulletproof, mate.’

‘At the moment. But what will you do when they get rid of money and everyone is chipped?’ said Thompson.