‘What exactly do you mean by that?’ asked Hargrove.
‘He didn’t attend any party meetings of any of the groups, didn’t go to any demonstrations, disappeared from the electoral roll, isn’t registered with a GP, doesn’t pay tax, doesn’t, so far as we can see, have a bank account. But he does appear to be involved in several right-wing and anti-Islamic websites.’
Button took back the photograph from Shepherd and handed Hargrove a printed screenshot of a website. ‘The Truth About The Muslim Menace’.
‘The nightmare scenario is that we have a group of British citizens who are set to emulate Breivik,’ said Button. ‘We’ve had our psych people run profiles of Kettering and Thompson but we don’t have enough information to decide whether or not they are capable of mounting a suicide attack. But we’re told that they are the type who would go on a killing spree if they thought they had a reasonable chance of getting away with it.’ She sighed. ‘You can imagine the havoc a group with automatic weapons could cause in the city centre. The Bullring alone gets a hundred thousand visitors on an average day. It could all be over in a couple of minutes and the death toll would be horrendous. Hundreds, certainly. That’s before we even start talking about grenades.’
At the mention of grenades Hargrove turned to look at Shepherd, and Shepherd winced inwardly. Hargrove had realised that the intelligence on grenades could only have come from Shepherd.
‘And with it being Birmingham, many of the victims would be Asian and Muslim,’ continued Button. ‘We’ve always considered that the high percentage of Muslims in the community meant that the West Midlands are less likely to suffer a terrorist attack. But the nature of these terrorists changes everything.’
‘We don’t know that they are terrorists,’ said Hargrove. ‘They’re saying that they want the guns for self-protection.’
‘Well, they would say that, wouldn’t they?’ said Button. ‘They’re unlikely to go shopping for weapons on the basis that they’re going on a killing spree.’ She took back the website screenshot and slid it into the file. ‘Birmingham is the UK’s second biggest city and if it is in the firing line there are plenty of targets, from the Council House in Victoria Square to tower blocks, department stores, stations, hotels. And, as the city is slap bang in the middle of the country, there are plenty of escape routes. They could go on a killing spree and be on a motorway at seventy miles an hour before the police even get to the scene.’
She shuffled her papers and smiled at Hargrove. ‘I realise that this puts you in something of an awkward position, Sam.’
‘That’s putting it mildly,’ said Hargrove quietly. ‘You’re going to take Operation Excalibur off West Midlands Police and they’re going to blame me.’
‘Actually, that’s not what I was going to suggest,’ said Button. ‘Your agent is in place and Dan here is on attachment to COG so if anything we’d be looking for the operation to be brought under the Met’s jurisdiction. But I don’t think that’s necessary either. Basically we’d like you to continue running your undercover operation but to share any intelligence with us. I’d be happy to do that through Dan, but if you’d rather be the point of contact that would be perfectly acceptable.’
‘And would West Midlands Police be privy to the fact that we’re sharing their intel?’ asked Hargrove.
‘Best not,’ said Button. ‘And frankly whether or not they knew that MI5 had a watching brief is immaterial to the way that they would handle the case.’
Hargrove leaned forward. ‘That’s not strictly speaking true, though, is it? They’re treating it as if it were a straightforward criminal investigation but you believe there are terrorist implications.’
‘If West Midlands Police get a conviction for buying automatic weapons then Kettering, Thompson and the rest will go down for ten years. I think we’d regard that as a successful outcome. We’ll just be monitoring to check that the investigation proceeds smoothly.’
‘And if I’m asked directly whether or not I’m passing intel on to the Security Services? What do I say?’
‘I really don’t see that happening,’ said Button. ‘But that would be one very good reason for using Dan as the conduit.’
‘Plausible deniability,’ said Hargrove.
‘Exactly.’
‘And I’m assuming Ray Fenby doesn’t get told?’
‘I don’t see any reason why he needs to know,’ said Button. ‘But there is one thing that perhaps we’d like to handle a little differently. West Midlands Police are treating this very much as a local crime issue. We would be very interested to see if there’s any overseas connection. In particular, anything connecting Kettering and Thompson and the other members of this Knights Templar group — the German, the Frenchman, the Dutchman and the rest. We’re running an investigation at this end following phone and email traffic, but if we can get Kettering or Thompson to reveal anything, that would be a bonus.’
‘I’ll talk to Ray,’ said Hargrove. ‘But that’s a tough one. Kettering and Thompson aren’t stupid so he won’t be able to push it.’
‘Understood,’ said Button. ‘But if you could perhaps ask him to keep his ears open for any Continental connection it’d be much appreciated.’
Hargrove nodded but he looked uncomfortable.
‘And again, it’s important that Fenby isn’t aware of our interest. I’d rather that stayed between the three of us.’
Shepherd looked over at Hargrove and saw from the look on his face that the same thought had occurred to the chief superintendent. ‘Does that include Inspector Sharpe?’ said Hargrove.
‘I think we have to keep our involvement on a need-to-know basis,’ said Button. ‘And the fewer people that know, the better. The last thing we need is canteen talk leading to a blown operation.’
Hargrove raised his eyebrows. ‘I can’t see him opening his heart to the Birmingham cops over a cup of coffee,’ he said.
Button put up her hands. ‘Of course not,’ she said. ‘But I wouldn’t want the Birmingham police to get all territorial and move in precipitously. So I’d rather that Razor wasn’t aware of the new arrangement.’
‘Understood,’ said Hargrove, though Shepherd could tell that the chief superintendent wasn’t happy.
‘Now, regarding any European involvement, the fact that Spider’s going to be suggesting that the arms are being brought in from Serbia might help,’ said Button. ‘Once we’ve planted the idea of weapons from Europe, we could perhaps suggest a test firing over there. Then if they are in contact with other groups it’s not too much of a stretch for them to think of involving them.’
‘I worry that we might start overcomplicating matters,’ said Hargrove.
‘It would be something of a coup if we could nail terrorists across Europe, especially if they have links with Breivik. Obviously Ray, Dan and Jimmy are the men on the ground and of course they have to play it by ear. It’s just something to think about.’ She closed the file and pushed back her chair. ‘Well, thank you so much for coming in.’ She stood up. So did Hargrove and Shepherd.
Hargrove shook her hand. ‘Probably best if Dan is the conduit, as you suggest,’ he said.
Button nodded enthusiastically. ‘I think that’ll be best,’ she said. ‘Do you mind if he stays here for a while? I’ve some admin business that I need to run by him.’
‘Not a problem,’ said Hargrove. He picked up his briefcase.
‘I’ll get someone to show you out,’ said Button. She took him to the door and handed the chief superintendent over to a young man in a blue blazer. As they headed for the lifts, Button went back into the meeting room and smiled apologetically at Shepherd. ‘For an undercover agent you’re not very good at hiding your emotions,’ she said. ‘I can see from the look on your face that you’re not happy about what just happened.’
‘I can’t believe you did that,’ said Shepherd. ‘It made me look like I’d gone running to you, telling tales out of school.’