Stephen Leather - Tango One

"Killing them doesn't do anything for us," said Donovan.

"It'd make me feel better," said Jordan.

"Yeah, well, that's something you're going to have to deal with, Ricky.

You don't take someone's life just to make yourself feel good. You do it because it serves a purpose, and I don't think that killing these three is going to make a blind bit of difference to our lives. Letting them live might, though."

Macfadyen and Jordan frowned. They exchanged a look, and Jordan shrugged.

"What are you talking about?" he asked.

"You're not making any sense."

Donovan nodded at Fullerton.

"Jamie here didn't grass up the Turkish deal. Why not, Jamie?"

Fullerton shook his head.

"I don't know."

"Yes, you do."

"I was confused. That's all. I wasn't sure."

"You wanted the deal to succeed, didn't you? You didn't want Hathaway to know about it because you wanted it to go ahead."

Fullerton nodded.

"Because of the money?"

Fullerton shook his head.

"It wasn't just the money. I don't know what it was."

"I do. For the kick. You wanted to see if you could do it. And you did, Jamie. You played the game and you won. We won. We made them look stupid and we made millions. How did that feel?"

"Yeah, it felt good. When that plane landed, it was like, better than a coke rush. And when the SAS piled in I was so freaked. I thought I'd lost everything. I thought Hathaway would hang me out to dry."

Fullerton stopped talking. He looked guiltily across at Warren and Louise, and fell silent.

"See what I mean?" Donovan said to Macfadyen and Jordan.

"You should use him. He's got a taste for it." Donovan grinned at Fullerton.

"What about it, Jamie? They stitched you up, why not show them what you can do on the other side of the fence? You're a natural."

Fullerton nodded slowly.

"Work with you, you mean?"

"Nah, I'm retiring, Jamie. For a few years at least. I've got things to do." He jerked a thumb at Macfadyen and Jordan.

"But Charlie and Ricky could do with your help. With me out of the game they'll need someone to hold their hands."

Donovan walked over to Warren. Warren stared up at him defiantly.

"And you, Bunny, what the hell were you thinking of? You know how cops hate blacks. Always have and always will. All that crap about institutional racism is just that. It's not the institution that's racist, it's the people. And you're not going to change the people with seminars and handbooks and codes of practice."

Warren shrugged.

"They were using you, that's all," said Donovan.

"They said I could make a difference. And I wanted to."

"A difference to what? To the drugs business? You think that putting me away would have stopped drugs getting into the country? All the cops and Customs do is regulate the price, Bunny. Supply and demand.

They increase the percentage of interceptions and the price goes up, that's all. The price goes up, we make more money, and the addicts on the street go out and rob a few more cars and houses to pay the extra."

Warren looked down, unwilling to meet Donovan's stare.

"Fuck it, Bunny, being an undercover cop isn't going to get drugs off the street. You want to do that, go be a social worker and make people's lives better so that they don't want drugs. Go be a businessman and create jobs so that people have got a reason to get up in the mornings. But don't kid yourself that playing cops and robbers is going to make a blind bit of difference to the drugs trade. It's here to stay, and everyone from the Government down knows that. The cops and Cussies know that. Do you have any idea how many of them are on the take, Bunny? From me personally? Hasn't the way Hathaway behaved shown you how corrupt the whole business is, their side and mine?"

Warren looked up defiantly.

"What is it you want me to say, Den? That I've been fucked over? Well, I have. I can see that."

"I want to know what you're going to do about it, Bunny."

"That's an impossible question to answer. I'm dead on the streets now.

PM'll be after my blood."

Donovan nodded.

"Maybe he doesn't know. No reason for Hathaway to have told him."

"Too many people know. Everyone in this room, for a start. It's not gonna stay a secret. I lied to him, man. Bigtime. He's never gonna forgive that."

Donovan shrugged.

"You might be surprised what people will forgive, Bunny. Besides, PM got his gear at a rock bottom price. It's pushed him a lot higher up the food chain and he's gonna need you to keep him on the straight and narrow."

Warren shook his head.

"Nah, not PM. I've made him look stupid and he ain't gonna stand for that. He's gonna want to show that he's on top of it. I'm gonna have to go."

"Go where?"

"Fuck you, man. I ain't telling you anything." He shook his head.

"I'll tell you one thing for free, though." He nodded with his chin at Fullerton.

"I ain't like him. I don't get no buzz from what I did. Drugs kill people. Kill people, kill communities, kill whole fucking countries.

And it ain't no good just saying if it wasn't you it'd be someone else.

It's got to stop somewhere. It might as well be you."

"So you've got what you wanted, Bunny. As of today, I'm out of it. But you know what? It won't make a shred of difference."

"You're really quitting?" asked Macfadyen.

"I've got all the money I need, Charlie," said Donovan.

"Even with what Hathaway took. It's all offshore, I'll get it well laundered and put into something legit. I've been telling my boy I sell cement. Might even do that." He grinned.

"Swap one powder for another."

"And what about me, Den?" asked Tina.

Donovan folded his arms.

"What about you, Louise? Are you going to apologise, say sorry for lying to me? You weren't the first woman to lie to me and I don't expect you'll be the last, but it would be nice to hear an apology."

"I'm sorry, Den."

"Yeah, I've been hearing that a lot lately."

"There's nothing I can say, is there?"

Donovan shook his head, his lips forming a tight line.

Tina crossed her legs and arms and stared at the floor.

"I saw the look on your face this morning. When you opened the door and I was there. You were relieved, weren't you?" said Donovan quietly.

"You thought I'd been pulled, and when you saw I hadn't been you were pleased."

Tina nodded but still didn't look up.

"And last night, when I was leaving, you tried to stop me going."

Tina nodded again.

"I wanted to tell you. I did, Den. But I couldn't."

"Because you're a cop?"

Tina sighed.

"Yes."

"Being a cop didn't stop you sending me that text message, did it?"

Macfadyen frowned.

"What text message?"

"It doesn't matter, Charlie."

"I didn't think you'd got it," said Tina.

"I got it," said Donovan.

"I didn't want you to go to prison," said Tina.

"I didn't want Robbie to be without his dad, I didn't want…"

"What?" asked Donovan.

Tina wiped her eyes with the back of her hand.

"Nothing."

Donovan stepped forward and put a hand on her shoulder. She rubbed the side of her head against his hand like a dog wanting its ear tickled.

"They used you, Tina. They treated you like a whore. they were worse than pimps because they pretended you were doing it for some greater good."

"I know," she said softly.

"Get yourself sorted out, Louise. You shouldn't let anyone use you like that. Least of all someone whose only aim was to sell you out."

She wiped her eyes again.

"I will."

"Then give me a call."

Tina looked up in surprise.

"What?"

Donovan mimed putting a phone to his ear.

"Phone me. Robbie'd like to see you."

Tina smiled gratefully.