The bell rang softly as Hubert walked through the front door of Christy's, shook the rain off his coat, and looked over towards the counter, nodding at Christy and motioning for a cup of tea as he walked over towards the table where Chief Inspector Casey Renei was already sitting. She barely gave him a nod as he sat down and put a small device on the table and pressed a button on it. The white-noise generator in the device helps prevent eavesdroppers from listening in. He stares at her silently for several moments as his tea arrives, and he takes a few sips before speaking. His voice barely registers above a whisper, but with crystal clearness. Precisely what you want in this sort of business.
"You already know why I'm here, so let's cut straight to the chase. We know something is going on with the new project in O-3, but we need to know what the Crown wants, how much, and what the badger blokes are offering."
He discreetly slips a small case across the table in front of her. The diamonds were inside in a hidden compartment. Much harder to trace than credits.
"There's half. The rest comes after the information pans out and we get the contract."
He looks out the window once more, takes another sip of his tea, and then stands up, leaving a few credits on the table for his drink.
"I have to go now. I'll be on Waterloo Station, awaiting your transmission."
He noticed the man in the corner glancing at him when he first entered the door, but a second peek as he is beginning to leave the building confirms the suspicion that was already building in Hubert's mind.
A Bowex mole.
His thoughts begin to race as he travels across Scotland Yard and into the busy streets of New London.
Had Renei sold him out? It seemed unlikely she was simply unaware of his presence in the room. Perhaps she was dealing on both sides of the table...he got his meeting, and the Bowex chap got to have a fix on him.
Suspicions were confirmed again when Hubert made a sudden stop and turned around, finding the same man from Christy's maybe 10 meters behind amongst the crowd, trying awkwardly to look like he hadn't been following.
Damn...this'll have to be taken care of soon.
Hubert makes his way down the road more quickly now, no longer needing to keep the pretense that he is unaware of the tail on him. The tail notices as well, and picks up his pace. It wouldn't be long, now.
There's a small, indiscriminate looking warehouse not far up ahead. Hubert practically sprints for it, running past several workers running forklifts and unloading containers off a newly arrived shuttle craft on the outside landing pad. He enters the warehouse door, turns a corner, and runs down an aisle of stacked containers. He ducks behind a small gap in the rows, and waits.
The tail comes a few moments later, this time with a drawn hold-out pistol. Hubert decides to make his move, anyway.
He lunges at the man and grabs at his arm, quickly producing a small knife concealed up his sleeve, and stabs at the mans throat. The gamble pays off, and a shot rings out as the agent fires a hasty shot past Hubert's head, while Hubert's knife finds its mark and plunges into the man's carotid artery. A horrible gurgle bubbles up from the man's chest and he struggles for air, clutching at Hubert as he falls to the ground with blood pouring from a gaping wound. He manages to get two more shots off as he writhes on the ground. One of the shots clips the side of Hubert's leg, causing him to curse and fall to the ground. Only a graze, but it still hurt like hell. Moments later, the man lies unmoving as the blood begins pooling.
Hubert limps up and searches over the man's body, but doesn't find any useful intel. Naturally, he wouldn't expect a corporate agent to be carrying anything incriminating, but one can't be too certain. He finds an empty container amongst the stacks and puts the man's body inside. Hubert knew someone would come along eventually to clean up the mess, and the evidence as well. No report filed, no questions asked. He already knew this before he ran into the warehouse, but it seemed his would-be attacker was too intent on killing him to notice the shipping labels on all the cargo containers.
They all read Gateway Shipping, Inc.
Hubert limps over to the shuttle on the landing pad, and departs for Waterloo.
