My new cover, Rebecca Sloan, was a shopaholic and my wardrobe was full of expensive designer gear. It was like an addiction to me and I had to stay in character. All of my money was wasted on clothes that I didn't need and couldn't afford and I hoped this cover story would persuade Brian to recruit me once he found out about it.
I laid out a pair of bed shorts and a vest top, ready to slob out in front of the tv after my bath.
I was soon enveloped in hot silky water, soaking away the stresses of the day. I took my wine with me and half an hour later, I was back in the living area, dried and dressed and eating pizza.
I flicked the TV on to relieve the boredom and I watched the news. The headlines were all about how bad the country was doing after Brexit with scare mongering and doom and gloom all around. It then moved on to talk about the decommissioning of a nuclear power station to make room for greener energy.
Wilson, the new Prime Minister, had been true to his word so far. He had said he wanted more environmentally friendly energy production for the UK and he'd also said he would crack down on the drug trade.
He appeared to be doing both from what I could see.
My thoughts turned back to Tony again as I finished my dinner and emptied the last of the wine. I wondered what he was doing in Birmingham and what could be so important that he'd contact me for help.
If I knew then what he was working on, I might not have slept so well.
****
I wasn't seeing Tony until the evening so I spent the morning on my iPad doing some research. I had nothing better to do, so spending time on my assignment seemed to be the most productive thing I could do.
I read the files on Brian and the files on the two drug gang - TheLees and The Mancs. Both gangs were selling everything from weed to heroine and the city was flooded with the stuff. The Lees had gotten their name from the family who started the drug trade. They were two brothers who had been in and out of prison all of their lives but now they seemed untouchable. Their network of criminals was doing the dirty work for them and they kept the illegal stuff at arms length.
Brian worked directly for them and controlled the area of Manchester that I was in. Other members of the gang were on a similar level to Brian, but Brian was the man who could get hold of weapons. This made him my target.
Whoever his contact was, that was who I really needed to get hold of. The sub-machine guns were only a recent thing and we were still waiting for the ballistics reports to come in so we could see what type of weapon was being used. That would then give us a clue as to its origin.
Four innocent people had been gunned down in the last two weeks as well as half a dozen of The Mancs. Wilson had jumped on it fast and had contacted Ethan to formulate a rapid response. Arran, the dark web expert had played his part, as had Tristan. Lexa had then given me the mission briefing and I was deployed without delay. Time was of the essence before more innocent people were killed.
If I had to make a guess about the weapons being used, I would have said they were probably Uzis or Scorpions. Both were readily available on the black market and the dark web. They were similar designs and easy to conceal under a coat which made them ideal for inner city drive-bys.
I knew how they worked and I'd been trained on both weapons along with many others. They'd been used in many conflicts over the years and there were thousands of them unaccounted for. Until I could get in with Brian and his gang of criminals there wasn't much more I could do.
After lunch, I got out a small clam-shell rucksack and laid out my clothes and equipment I'd need for the weekend. It was as though I was packing for a holiday and I always liked to make sure I accounted for every eventuality.
I sorted out a short white slinky dress and matching shoes for my dinner with Tony. I then added the sexy lingerie and my makeup and toiletries that I'd need when I got to his hotel. I also added a change of underwear for the following day and zipped it all into the main compartment.
Next, I concentrated on the journey. It was going to be an hour and a half on the train so I packed my iPad and a couple of chargers. I also packed some snacks and water along with my head phones and placed them in the outside pocket for easy access.
Lastly, I packed a small black Molle pouch which contained my urban everyday-carry equipment. It contained items I might need such as a torch, a Leatherman multi-tool, a pen, some tape, a sewing kit and other useful items. I carried it in my bag at all times in case of an emergency and it had proven highly useful.
I had decided to leave the Makarov pistol behind. I wasn't really starting my assignment until Monday and I didn't think I'd be needing it for having dinner with Tony. I wrapped it in a plastic bag and hid it in the cistern of the toilet.
I then had a quick wash and decided to get dressed into my travelling clothes. I was dressing for comfort rather than to look sexy. I stood in front of the mirror admiring my naked body and realising that all my hard work had paid off. I hadn't been lying when I told Brian and Simon that I ran twenty miles a week and did yoga and weight training. I loved the female form and especially my own. I was toned and fit with just enough body fat to keep me looking womanly.
I reached into my bedside drawer and took out a small steel but-plug. If I was going to be sitting on a train for over an hour, I wanted something to make me feel slutty. I licked the end of the plug and gently pushed out with my pelvic floor muscles so that my anus could suck in the sex toy. I then bent over to see the pink jewel shining back at me in the shape of a heart between my perfect ass cheeks. I don't know why I liked but-plugs so much but they certainly made me horny.
Next, I slipped on a pair of cotton black panties with pink lace trim and a matching bra. That was followed by skin-tight denim jeans and a tight-fitting vest top.
I walked back out to the living area and pulled my knee-high boots on, followed by a black down-jacket similar to the one's mountaineers wore. My newly acquired flick-knife was sitting on the counter top and I picked it up and stuffed it down the top of my boot. I slung my rucksack over one shoulder, picked up my phone and I was ready to go.
After a quick check through the spy-hole in the front door, I pulled the wedges out of the door frame and opened up. The smell of fried food from my neighbours flat filled the corridor and the sound of a woman shouting at her kids echoed off the concrete walls. I placed the paper-tell back in the door frame and locked up.
My counter measures were like second nature to me by now and I walked up two flights of stairs to get the elevator from the fourteenth floor. It was all overkill, but it was now so entrenched in me and after last nights incident I wasn't taking any chances.
The lobby was empty when I got out of the lift, but there were still some blood stains on the floor from the altercation. No doubt the assholes were abusing medical staff as they lay in bed awaiting treatment.
The clouds had cleared, but that had left the skies open for a hard frost during the night. What few trees there were in the courtyard were covered in white icing and the cold burnt my lungs as I breathed in.
I dodged the litter and the dog shit and walked to the bus stop where Lexa had dropped me off. The Cedars estate was just as much of a cesspit during the day as it was at night and no amount of sunlight was going to change that.
Even on a sunny clear day the place was grey and miserable due to the crumbling concrete construction of the tower blocks. There were a few people hanging about in loose groups but none of them paid me any attention. At least I was more appropriately dressed than I had been the night before.
After a short bus ride to Piccadilly station and a bit of counter surveillance, I boarded the train and got comfortable. Just as the train pulled off, I got a ping on my phone and my iPad which were synced together.
It was an encrypted message from Lexa.
I was hoping for a relaxing journey watching a film, but that wasn't going to happen. I opened the message and started to read. It was all business from my girlfriend. No 'how are you' or 'I love you', just straight to it.
Becca
,
Please read attached ballistics report from latest shooting.
Lexa.
I opened the attachment and started to scan through it. I didn't understand all the complex terminology, but I did understand the caliber of the weapon. The bullets removed from the victims were four-point-six-millimetre hollow-points. According to the report, there was only one sub-machine gun in existence which chambered a bullet of that size.
The Heckler and Koch MP7 personal defence weapon.
"Holy shit," I murmured out loud as I realised the gravity of the situation.
The MP7 wasn't much bigger than a pistol and had a pull-out rear stock and a fold down fore-grip. In its folded position it wasn't much longer than a bottle of wine and it weighed less than two kilos.
My theory about the weapons being some Cold War relics, like an Uzi, couldn't have been more wrong. This was a modern weapon and was used by law enforcement and the military all over the world. I continued to read the report which told me the weapon had a fire rate of over nine-hundred rounds per minute and had been designed to cut through body-armour at ranges up to two-hundred metres.
I swallowed hard at the thought of it. I'd been saved by body-armour on my last mission and the thought of going up against such awesome firepower was frightening to say the least.
It wasn't a weapon I'd been trained to use, but from the specifications I'd been sent, it looked pretty similar to the MP5. The MP7 was still considered quite exotic and there weren't that many places you could get one from. That meant that the source may be easier to track down.
I fished about in my bag and took my headphones out. After fitting them, I opened YouTube on my iPad and searched for a review of the weapon in question. Within seconds, I was watching some American guy giving his opinion on why the weapon was so 'awesome' and why it was mainly used by special forces operatives and the secret police.
