Contents (84)
- ONE
- TWO
- THREE
- FOUR
- FIVE
- SIX
- SEVEN
- EIGHT
- NINE
- TEN
- ELEVEN
- TWELVE
- THIRTEEN
- FOURTEEN
- FIFTEEN
- SIXTEEN
- SEVENTEEN
- EIGHTEEN
- NINETEEN
- TWENTY
- TWENTY-ONE
- TWENTY-TWO
- TWENTY-THREE
- TWENTY-FOUR
- TWENTY-FIVE
- TWENTY-SIX
- TWENTY-SEVEN
- TWENTY-EIGHT
- TWENTY-NINE
- THIRTY
- THIRTY-ONE
- THIRTY-TWO
- THIRTY-THREE
- THIRTY-FOUR
- THIRTY-FIVE
- THIRTY-SIX
- THIRTY-SEVEN
- THIRTY-EIGHT
- THIRTY-NINE
- FORTY
- FORTY-ONE
- FORTY-TWO
- FORTY-THREE
- FORTY-FOUR
- FORTY-FIVE
- FORTY-SIX
- FORTY-SEVEN
- FORTY-EIGHT
- FORTY-NINE
- FIFTY
- FIFTY-ONE
- FIFTY-TWO
- FIFTY-THREE
- FIFTY-FOUR
- FIFTY-FIVE
- FIFTY-SIX
- FIFTY-SEVEN
- FIFTY-EIGHT
- FIFTY-NINE
- SIXTY
- SIXTY-ONE
- SIXTY-TWO
- SIXTY-THREE
- SIXTY-FOUR
- SIXTY-FIVE
- SIXTY-SIX
- SIXTY-SEVEN
- SIXTY-EIGHT
- SIXTY-NINE
- SEVENTY
- SEVENTY-ONE
- SEVENTY-TWO
- SEVENTY-THREE
- SEVENTY-FOUR
- SEVENTY-FIVE
- SEVENTY-SIX
- SEVENTY-SEVEN
- SEVENTY-EIGHT
- SEVENTY-NINE
- EIGHTY
- EIGHTY-ONE
- EIGHTY-TWO
- EIGHTY-THREE
- Acknowledgements
‘What way?’
‘What do you think? We couldn’t just back out apologetically. Once the shooting started, all bets were off.’
‘Who fired first?’
‘We did. Gallo.’
‘Gallo. There’s a surprise. But look, he’s your team. He’s drilled by you. Would he have fired without any threat?’
‘No. Absolutely not. They must have gone for their weapons. My target did and that was a moment later at most.’
‘Then I’m not getting it.’
‘What?’
‘The guilt, Joe. You raided a drugs factory and the criminals inside tried to kill you and your man. You killed them first. That’s the job, surely?’
‘No. No, that’s not the job,’ Dempsey explained. ‘I do what I do for a reason. I do it because almost no one else can. I stop threats. Real threats, things that matter on a global scale. I don’t kill petty criminals.’
‘Isn’t that a bit of a bullshit distinction?’
‘How is it?’
‘Take someone whose son or daughter has moved to New York. To college or to work or whatever. They come from a sheltered life; suddenly they’re beneath the big lights. Temptation everywhere. They fall into drugs. Pretty soon they’re on heroin. A year later, dead. To that parent, Joe, do you think the slime that got them hooked matters less than some Russian defector? Than some Iranian terrorist? Is that what you think?’
Dempsey said nothing.
‘You think you’re the only one who suffers for their work?’ Cooke continued. ‘Then let me tell you something. It’s a shit life, being a priest. Shit. I had to give up all the things I loved best. Women. Getting drunk. Even having a bit of a scrap now and again. I don’t get to do any of that. Probably a bit long in the tooth for the first and the last anyway, but still, the closest I get to fun is smoking a joint, and even that stuff’s too strong now.
‘And what’s it all for, eh? For a God who seems to do everything he can, at every opportunity, to make me doubt that he even exists. I gave up all the things I loved and married myself to this concept – this Church – which most of the time I’m not even sure I agree with. So yeah, it’s a shit life. But it’s also the life I chose, isn’t it? I mean, love it or hate it – and I usually fucking hate it – the Catholic Church is the team I’m on.
‘And you’ve done the same thing, Joe. You’ve chosen a life that’s every bit as shit as mine. And like me, you made that choice because of what you believe is right. Because that’s what you always do. At least in all the time I’ve known you. You do the right thing. That’s good enough for me. And it should be good enough for you, too.’
Dempsey said nothing.
‘And one more thing, Joe. If some piece of shit in a drugs den starts firing bullets at you and your team, I reckon you can safely say that they deserve whatever they get back. So stop with this shit.’