‘The Putin? The Russian president?’
‘The very same. But Putin regularly shuffles his protection teams to keep them on their toes and when Popov found himself demoted, Grechko moved in and made him an offer he couldn’t refuse.’
‘What’s with the scar?’
‘It happened during his military service, apparently,’ said Button. ‘Make no mistake, Spider, his nose is going to be well out of joint when he hears that you’ll be overseeing Grechko’s security. He’s bound to see it as a slap in the face, so watch him.’
‘Understood,’ said Shepherd. ‘What’s he being told?’
‘The truth, pretty much. That Grechko has asked the government for help and that you’re being assigned to oversee Grechko’s security while he’s in the UK.’
‘And who am I?’
‘The legend we’ve put together has you as Tony Ryan, part of the Met’s SO1 Specialist Protection Unit. You’ve heard of them?’
‘Sure,’ said Shepherd. ‘They look after the PM and former PMs and anyone considered to be under threat from terrorists in the UK and overseas. They look after foreign dignitaries, too. And the likes of Salman Rushdie.’
‘Got it in one,’ said Button. ‘Grechko has been told by the PM’s office to expect you. We’re keeping Five’s involvement out of it. I’ll be liaising with Grechko but I’ll be doing it as Charlotte Button of the Home Office.’
‘And I’ll be a career cop?’
‘We think that’s best,’ said Button. She nodded at the table. ‘There’s a file there with the complete legend but it’s pretty straightforward, a few years on the beat, ten years with SO19 as a firearms officer and five years with SO1.’
‘Did I guard Tony Blair?’
‘Did you want to?’
Shepherd laughed. ‘That’s one man I definitely wouldn’t take a bullet for. What’s the position over weapons?’
‘Grechko’s men aren’t permitted to carry guns on British soil. We suspect that they do, and the word from the PM’s office is that if you do see them with arms, turn a blind eye.’
‘And what’s my position?’
‘As an SO1 officer you’re authorised to carry a concealed weapon, and the Russians will know that. That’s how it’ll be sold to Popov and the rest of the team, they need you there because you’re licensed to bear arms. I’ll talk to the armourer and get the paperwork done today. Someone can bring it out to you tomorrow. Any preferences?’
‘A regular Glock’ll be fine.’
‘Holster?’
‘Shoulder, nothing fancy. It’s not as if I’ll be entering any quick-draw contests.’
Below the photograph of the head of security were photographs of eight men, most of them shaven headed and all of them with hard faces, set like stone as they stared at the camera.
‘These are the core of Grechko’s personal security team,’ said Button. ‘Alexei Dudko, Boris Volkov, Grigory Sokolov, Ivan Koshechkin, Vlad Molchanov, Konstantin Serov, Leo Tarasov and Mikhail Ulyashin.’ She tapped the final photograph. ‘Ulyashin is the one hit by the sniper. He’s out of hospital and will be returning to the team later this week.’
‘Two teams of four working twelve-hour shifts? That’s tight.’
‘I think they were on three-man teams plus a driver,’ said Button. There were three more photographs at the side of the board. ‘These are the drivers. Roman Khorkov, Yulian Chayka and Nikolay Eristov. They’re all former Russian police drivers, they joined with Popov.’ Along the bottom of the whiteboard were another six photographs. ‘Since the sniping attack, Grechko has increased his security staff, hiring these six men. Well, five men and a woman as it happens.’
‘All Russian?’
‘Three of the new intake are Ukrainian,’ said Button. ‘Max Barsky, Thomas Lisko and the one woman on the team, Alina Podolski. I’ve got CVs of all the members of the team in the file.’
‘And what’s my brief, Charlie?’
‘Your brief is to make sure that nothing happens to Peter Grechko while he’s in the UK,’ said Button. ‘You do that by sticking close to him whenever he’s in a vulnerable situation, and by doing whatever you deem necessary to beef up his security.’
‘And presumably you’re working on tracking down the sniper?’
‘The Met’s on that case,’ said Button. ‘It’s being treated as a police matter.’
‘Good luck with that,’ said Shepherd. He walked over to the table, sat down and picked up the file. ‘What do you think?’ he asked. ‘Who do you think took a pot shot at Grechko?’
‘There are actually two questions there,’ said Button, joining him at the table. ‘The man who pulled the trigger was almost certainly paid to do it, so we’re looking for a professional. And the way the world works, he could be from anywhere. Just because Grechko’s a Russian, it doesn’t mean the sniper is. He could be home grown, he could be American – hell, he could be Chinese.’ She picked up her cup and sipped her tea. ‘The bigger question is who paid for the hit. And the answer to that probably does lie in Russia.’
‘A business dispute?’
Button shook her head. ‘Grechko says not. He thinks the government’s behind it.’
‘The Russian government?’
‘That’s what he thinks. And there have been a number of high-profile Russians murdered in the UK over the last few years. Some make the papers, and some don’t. Alexander Perepilichniy collapsed outside his home in Weybridge. He was only forty-four and toxicology reports were inconclusive, but it looks like he was poisoned. He was linked to an investigation into corrupt tax officials in Russia. We had another Russian businessman narrowly escape death when he was gunned down in broad daylight in Canary Wharf. Guy called Gorbuntsov. Shot six times by a man we think is a Romanian hitman. Gorbuntsov is convinced that Kremlin insiders ordered the hit. And of course we’re all too familiar with Alexander Litvinenko, the former KGB officer who died in a London hospital not long after being poisoned with radioactive material.’
‘Polonium 210,’ said Shepherd.
‘Exactly. And almost certainly administered by a KGB officer who then fled to Moscow. Litvinenko publicly accused Putin of being responsible for his death. And there’s plenty of evidence to suggest that the Russian government has been the prime mover in a lot more Russian deaths in the UK.’
‘Killing their own citizens? Nice.’
‘They’re not the only country doing that, unfortunately. The Iraqis did it during Saddam’s era, the Libyans have been doing it for years, ditto the Chinese.’
Shepherd smiled thinly. ‘And let’s not forget our dear cousins across the pond. The Americans lead the world in assassinations at the moment.’
‘Well, to be fair, pretty much all the American killings take place on enemy territory,’ said Button. ‘And they tend to use the military, which at least gives it some degree of legality. What’s been happening with the Russians is far more sinister. Another oligarch, Boris Berezovsky, was found dead in his bathroom in Ascot and we still don’t know exactly what killed him. But we do know he was one of Putin’s fiercest critics and he was supposed to be a key witness at Litvinenko’s inquest. He had a full complement of bodyguards but they still got to him.’