Intervention: Eavesdroppers

James Hanford

Description

Rob Krane returns with his unusual partner 'in crime' to thwart ascandal aimed at the heart of the world's financial system, and intervene in afierce power struggle in Bulgaria...Rob Krane and his associates planned on investigating partof his unusual partner, Burak Demir's international criminal network in exoticBulgaria - what they didn't plan on was rescuing the renowned Williamson familyfrom their sinking yacht and the attention that generates. Discovering a linkbetween Demir's businesses, Varna's Chief of Police and Mrs Williamson, Kraneinvestigates further into the shady dealings behind Mrs Williamson's smile.He uncovers that Mr Williamson, a highly regarded IT designer,is being extorted by his wife to provide designs for technology cabinets thatare then adapted for criminal purposes. Yet the latest drawings were damagedduring the rescue. All seems to be in hand - until the daughter disappears,only to be spotted days later handing over a large envelope to some men. Cornered by Krane, she admits she was forced into passing over the designsbecause her sister had been kidnapped in Britain. Now the designs are out, awoman is being held and relations between Varna's questionable Chief of Policeand Bulgarian intelligence could be likened to a powder keg. Just another dayat the office...With a pace as slick as an international jewel thief, Intervention: Eavesdroppers explodesinto action and never lets up on the excitement. The book packs in elements ofterrorism, organised crime, suspense and data fraud and is as intriguing as thefirst in the series. It will appeal to all readers, especially those interestedin the crime genre and those that have read the previous book. The series'premise of how crime can overlap or be used as a cover by terrorism continuesto refresh the genre and brings a new angle to Intervention. The third book will be out later this year.

Sujets

• Thriller

Informations

• Publié par: Troubador Publishing Ltd
• Date de parution: 18 janvier 2019
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781789019148
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

Also by James Hanford
Intervention: The King Pin
This first book in the Intervention series charts how Rob Krane comes into an unlikely and tense partnership with billionaire master criminal Burak Demir—the start of a turbulent relationship that seeks to break a criminal network with ties to international terrorism.


Intervention: Murky Depths
The third book in the Intervention series finds Rob Krane chasing leads across Europe that link counterfeit currency and weapons smuggling to forthcoming anti-capitalism demonstrations. Rob and his new friends and colleagues at MI5 need to track down those weapons and prevent them from being used.



Copyright © 2019 James Hanford

The moral right of the author has been asserted.

Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of research or private study, or criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, this publication may only be reproduced, stored or transmitted, in any form or by any means, with the prior permission in writing of the publishers, or in the case of reprographic reproduction in accordance with the terms of licences issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency. Enquiries concerning reproduction outside those terms should be sent to the publishers.

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses,organisations, places, and events are either the product ofthe author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is unintended and entirely coincidental.

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ISBN 9781789019148

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Matador® is an imprint of Troubador Publishing Ltd


With immense gratitude to all those who have encouraged me to continue writing this series and who have blessed me with wonderful feedback about my first book, Intervention: The King Pin.

In particular, I want to thank my wife, family, mother and brother for their unwavering support and confidence in my writing and for allowing me the time to complete this book Intervention: Eavesdroppers.
Contents
Also by James Hanford

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About the author
1
Tom Williamson emerged from his office looking stressed and haggard, as had been usual over the past few months. He carried a briefcase and a bundle of rolled-up papers under one arm, all of which he plonked on the floor beside his team’s assistant as he removed his long, white lab technician’s coat.
“I’ll see you in a couple of weeks,” he self-consciously declared to nobody in particular. His team were all watching him. For a confirmed workaholic who had never taken more than five days holiday in one go before, this was a momentous occasion. He was leaving far later than intended. It had taken forty-five minutes, sitting in his office, to summon the courage and willpower to walk out as though everything were normal, when it was blatantly evident it had not been for months – the powers that be had essentially ordered him to take this time out. Little did they know how conveniently timed it was!
“Have a good one,” commented a bright-eyed lady dressed in a white lab coat as she emerged from a smaller, adjacent office. “Surely, you’re not taking work with you?” she asked, knowing that he always took work away with him. However, along with the entire team, she was concerned that in recent months he had not been his usual self – they all agreed a holiday and true break was what he needed.
“Particularly on a sailing holiday, Tom.” Then, taking on a more serious and questioning tone, “Anyway, I didn’t think we had any pressing deadlines? Anything I can do to help?” She stepped towards the papers as though to have a look.
Hurriedly, Tom snatched up the papers before she could look at them. Sounding somewhat dejected, and looking a little sheepish, he smiled weakly, “That’s kind, but sadly no. Needs must and all that. This has to be me, a review of some old stuff to answer a few questions – you know the drill.” With that and a flurry of cheery waves, Tom scurried out amid a chorus of well wishes from his colleagues.
A few minutes later, Tom emerged from the Yaw Tech Solutions office situated on the spacious, Asian side of Istanbul. The modern building, with its glazed cladding that reflected the clouds racing across the sky, suitably portrayed the cutting-edge image of a niche technology company specialising in the design of telecommunications equipment. With a bleep, he unlocked his car and drove out of the secure compound.
Fiddling with the radio, Tom was oblivious to the yellow taxi that pulled out from the nearby taxi queue into the busy, late afternoon traffic. Tom’s mind was far from work and further from his supposed holiday. His once full head of brown hair had, recently, become heavily streaked with grey, which, given that he was only forty-six, he was not at all happy about.
Despite the cool spring weather, Tom was sweating as he navigated towards the European side of the city. He soon adopted the local custom of hooting and gesticulating wildly to express his frustration with the reckless driving of other motorists. An exhausting hour’s drive later, he turned into a marina and parked, just as the same yellow taxi cruised slowly passed. The passenger watched Tom intently while speaking rapidly on a mobile phone.
Having got out, Tom ambled across the car park towards the multitude of boats. “Hello there,” he called as he approached a sleek sailing yacht called the Great Presence , his footsteps clattering on the metal jetty. He shook his head sadly, recalling the egocentric way in which his wife had decided upon the name. He had loved her once, but now he just did not know. That he had not divorced her was a testament to something, but what he wasn’t sure – there were certainly plenty of reasons why he should hate her.
“Thought you’d never make it,” came a voice from behind him. Tom spun around, startled. “Oh, sorry, darling, did I give you a shock?” said an elegant, athletic, slim, blonde lady in her early forties with a slight American accent, as a faint smile played across her lips. She was dressed in stylish, yet functional sailing clothes of various shades of blue, with matching soft-soled sailing shoes.
“Yes, you bloody well did – as you well know!” retorted Tom angrily, the mounting stress of the past few weeks immediately spilling over. “Now you need to start being civil and pull your lousy weight; otherwise, we’ll never get out of this mess!”
The makings of yet another full-blown argument were swept away when a far younger version of the lady emerged on deck, also fully kitted out in quality sailing gear. “Dad! I was worried!” Moments later, the couple were entreated to get on board so they could get going. Once on board, the young woman begged, “And Mum, Dad, please no bickering. This is supposed to be a holiday and I really won’t be able to cope in this confined space if you are constantly arguing. We used to love our sailing holidays. Please let that be part of our lives again.”
A short while later, the Great Presence headed off along the Bosphorus, passing the grand palaces and hotels that line its northern bank.
* * *
“What on earth am I doing?” wondered Rob Krane three days later as he gazed out over a cold, grey stormy sea. He was standing at the window of his office-cum-business-centre on the upper deck of his luxury motor yacht, the Liberation . Fully crewed with a team of former officers and soldiers from the Special Boat Services of the British Armed Forces, this was the vessel’s maiden voyage. They had left Istanbul the previous day in overcast and blustery conditions. However, that had deteriorated after just a few hours, dampening Rob’s typical enthusiasm and excitement for travel.
Now, in late afternoon, the dark grey clouds skimmed across the sky and the wind whipped the waters of the Black Sea into high, white-topped foaming waves. As each wave slammed against the boat’s hull with an echoing boom, it sent shudders throughout the superstructure. Rob steadied himself by placing his hands firmly at the base of the window to brace against the onslaught of yet another wave. Long ago, he had accepted that it would be pointless to try to work or even do anything but stare out to sea.
Rob knew that he was where he should be, where he wanted to be and that he was doing what was right. But the situation and circumstances were still very surreal, and the storm was not helping his perspective. He was still adapting to his new life as a paper billionaire and owner of the private equity company, Zouches, that managed his growing portfolio of diverse businesses and assets. This was why he was heading off to Bulgaria – there was business to be conducted there, but not any old business.
Burak Demir, the former billionaire criminal mastermind who was now in custody in Britain, had informed Rob and the authorities that some of his Bulgarian operations were thriving far beyond even the most optimistic of expectations. Previously, Burak would not have blinked twice at this, but that had changed. Firstly, his broad business empire had effectively transferred to Rob, and secondly, because Burak had two far more personal reasons to help the authorities dismantle his far-reaching empire.
Much of Burak’s wealth, and all of his legitimate assets, had transferred to