Tom suppressed a grin. ‘I wouldn’t use the word expert, Jean. I’ve wrestled and boxed pretty much all my life and I’ve been doing Muay Thai and ju-jitsu for about ten years. I can probably hold my own,’ he said modestly. The truth was that, had Tom led a more settled life, he could have achieved a great deal of competitive success in any one of his disciplines.

‘How are your languages? I understand they speak English most of the time, having been here many years. But any ability you have could only help.’

‘I’m okay in Serbo-Croat and can manage in most of the region’s dialects,’ said Tom. ’They’re pretty similar.’

Peter De-Glanville piped up at last. ‘How much more information will you need on the big picture?’ he asked.

‘I prefer to not to know too much,’ Tom replied. ‘It makes it easier to be natural once I meet them. Who are your priorities here?’

De-Glanville paused for a moment. ‘Ideally we want the lot of them, but with the amount of applications coming in from the solicitor, we want to take him down as a priority. It makes a better headline and will save us a lot of time and money. The Brankos would be a bonus; I have to say, some of the intelligence reports filtering through make it clear that the brothers are very nasty. Some of their clients have been sadistically beaten, particularly by Luka: it seems he enjoys inflicting pain. The victims are all too scared to come forward and go on record, given the reputation of the Branko family. It seems they have inherited their father’s violent tendencies.’

‘Any info on guns by the gang?’ asked Tom.

‘Not that we know about, although their father is heavily linked with firearms from his paramilitary days. My understanding is that they intimidate physically. The punters they engage with aren’t villains, they’re just desperate to stay in the UK,’ Jean said.

Wilkinson nodded. ‘I think we have enough background. We need to get a cover officer assigned and develop Tom’s undercover legend, make sure it’s all back-stopped. It’s not bad already, but it needs some tweaking so it can hold water. Can the informant do an introduction into the Branko’s gang for Tom?’

De-Glanville nodded. ‘I’m told he’s as reliable as any snout can be. The martial arts may be a good inner. Luka fancies himself as a bit of a cage fighter and he loves a tear-up. If Tom gives him a good bout, he’ll be easily impressed and that might get him onside. We can arrange a meet with you guys and the informant and then come up with a plan. Jean will forward you by secure email a detailed briefing pack with all the photos and everything else you need.’

‘Right,’ said Neil, ‘that’s enough to be moving on with.’

*