The Edward Dantès Story continues. Ed to his friends, has dug himself out of the financial quagmire where honest shop keeping had got him when the UK economy fell off a cliff at the end of the eighties. He had pulled himself out from under the wheels of the bus Chancellor Nigel Lawson had driven through the High Streets of Britain. The way out for Ed was a life changing decision and he entered the murky world of international crime almost by accident. The banks and the creditors squeezed him out of his home, and with a young family he was in trouble. His financial salvation came from a different source of Revenue, quite literally revenue; VAT on gold sales. It didn't last, as Her Majesty's Customs & Excise soon moved the goalposts. The new associations and friendships however did. Ed had proofed his mettle and was inside the organisation. Nobody ever referred to it as that, it was just a collection of individuals with different skill sets, who complemented each other. These individuals had little concern for the rules as decreed by any parliament. They had their own rules, made their own luck and tried to stay under the radar. Gibraltar was Ed's first stop after HMC&E, or un-affectionately referred to as the Church by the gang, took gold off the table. Ed and the guys still fancied the gold business could produce something meaningful. The Costa del Sol was the centre of the known universe for the supply of cannabis resin to the UK. The players lived there, met there and partied there. It was a convenient place to meet the Moroccan growers and the sun nearly always shone. The girls and the golf weren't bad either. Ed was never in the drug business, nor were any of his immediate associates, or so they would tell you. Perhaps they even believed it. What they were in was the money job. Law enforcement had started to follow the money in the war on drugs. The average Scouser in a shell suit couldn't walk through Liverpool airport anymore, heading for his easy jet to Malaga, with two hundred grand in his golf bag. It was too risky and inevitably led to questions and confiscation. Carrying cash by someone trading in gold was explainable, Gibraltar had a thriving gold and currency business. Ed stayed away from Marbella and the Scousers. Instead he fell in love with Gibraltar and set about establishing a gold business there. Occasionally a bag of money would be collected by a friend of Bernie's, which Ed had been given in London by another friend of Bernie's. Africa was the next stop as Ed's foreign travels increased. It was a natural progression to follow any supply line to the source for a good business man. What Ed didn't expect to find there was himself, in the dead of night in the middle of a war torn country fighting for his life, quite literally. West Africa was riddled by armed conflict in the early nineties; Ed found himself there at the height of it and very lucky to be on one of the last flights out. Leaving behind friends he'd made in what should have been a beautiful country, except for man's greed and corruption. The trouble was, he knew he would have done business with them if he could. How he had changed.
About the Author: Big Foot, the pseudonym and long-time nickname of the author. The author, born May 1963, has had a colourful and interesting life. And fortunate to have lived in and travelled through many places in the last twenty-five years. Having spent barely a handful of days in the last eight years in the UK. Those places include Sierra Leone, Senegal, Cape Town, Moscow, Mauritania, Monaco, Lugano, Puerto Banus, Miami, Paris, Brussels, Gibraltar, Edinburgh, Majorca, Sydney, Wellington, Auckland, Villars-sur-Ollon, Tokyo, Shanghai and in no particular order. Most of these were not flying visits, but actual periods of habitation. The short stays are too numerous to mention and include India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, South America and most of Eastern Europe. When Big Foot writes, he writes with first-hand knowledge of a place, its people and the culture. The life of BigFoot has been an interesting and colourful one; having been through numerous phases, meeting success and failure and treating those two imposters the same. Forming part of the Chinese Delegation at the Global Climate Summit in Cancun 2010 and being asked to be the Executive Director of the Beijing Emissions Trading association was a career highlight. There are many interesting tales, too numerous to mention here. These and other weird and strange events shaping the course of his life throughout the last thirty years. Lonergan has experienced success and failure in extreme measures and has seen how fickle the financial world can be. Therefore, the author has some knowledge and first-hand experience of his subject matter. Big Foot has completed several other fiction works and has several more in progress. He believes he can create a good number of modern fictional thrillers, from the extraordinary life he has seen and lived. Big Foot currently lives in Dubai on the famous Palm Jumeirah, where he spends his days scribbling; looking for inspiration and cause. And trying to remain almost sane in this ever changing and multifaceted world. The story's come easily and there are many more to follow. Having walked a fine line for many years, the writer understands there are always at least two sides to a tale. Each will have merit and fault, perhaps not in equal measure; Big Foot is only the storyteller and never the judge. Interested agents are most welcome. martin@bigfootwriter.com