Okay, Jessie Silverhand,” Redman said as they arrived at the gates to the mansion they’d just fled. “Tell me this. What does this Gideon person gain by pretending to be a commercial plumber?”
The young man – probably early twenties, if Redman had to guess – rubbed his hands nervously in the passenger seat, as they waited for the gate to open. “It’s not happening,” he said. “They’ll keep us in here. You’re going to have to smash through.”
“Smash through?” Redman said, horrified at the thought. “You better have some brilliant mechanics in the Zircon Clan.”
“Absolutely, and we’ll make sure you don’t pay a cent.”
“Fine,” Redman said with a grunt, reversing his car to smash through the gate.
Jessie coughed slightly. “As for your question, Gideon doesn’t just pretend to be a drain cleaner. We’ve got intelligence that suggests he’ll disguise himself as someone offering commercial data cabling as well. And not just that – he’s been known to go into buildings as a glazier and even a conveyancer. Gideon does offer a legitimate – and might I even say good – service, but he has other intentions when entering those homes and offices.”
Redman took a deep breath, then accelerated hard. Seconds later, the vehicle smashed through the gate with a hard crash that caused Redman to lurch forward in his seat. Hoping it hadn’t done too much damage to the car, he drove it out onto the street.
“So this guy goes and offers phone and data cabling, or maybe a professional phone line installation near Melbourne. Then what?”
“I can’t tell you that,” said Jessie. “It’s above my clearance level. The boss will be able to give you more information. My mission today was to spy on Gideon and save anybody who might fall into his clutches. As soon as I heard your car, I came running.”
Redman glanced into the rear-view mirror, noticing something odd. He squinted, quickly realising what exactly it was he could see.
“Uh, Jessie. What is that?”
Jessie turned around, looking out the back window. He paled almost immediately. “That is a very good reason to drive faster.”