“Yeah, right. Maybe you should give her some pointers. After your morning’s adventure.”
“Maybe I should. It’s not like I did so badly.”
“You could show her the ropes.”
“Yes.”
“Steer her right.”
“Yes.”
“Spank her when she’s naughty.” Louisa said.
“Yes. No!”
“Min? Shut up now, okay?”
He shut up.
There was still the same promise of spring outside, but the atmosphere inside the office had unaccountably reverted to winter.
“It’s a good job I’ve got you then, isn’t it?” Lamb said. “What with your inability to refuse me anything.”
A crooked yellow smile accompanied this, in case Taverner had forgotten what good friends they were.
“Jackson—”
“I need a workable cover, Diana. I could put one together myself, but it’d take a week or two, and I need it now.”
“So you want to run an op and you want to do it in a hurry? Does any part of that sound like a good idea?”
“I also need an operating fund. Couple of K at least. And I might need to borrow a pair of shoulders. I’m under strength at the House, what with your boy Spider’s recruitment drive.”
“Webb?”
“I prefer Spider. Every time I see him, I want to swat him with a newspaper.” He gave her a sly glance. “You know about his poaching, right?”
“Webb doesn’t rearrange his desk without my permission. Of course I know.” There was a sudden clatter as the duck launched itself out of the canal and headed downwater. “And there’s no way you’re using anyone from the Park. We’ve got Roger Barrowby counting teaspoons. Trust me, he’ll notice if a warm body goes missing.”
Lamb said nothing. The wheel had turned. Any moment now, Taverner would notice she’d gone from saying the door was shut to negotiating about how far it would open.
“Oh Christ,” she muttered.
There you go.
Silently, he offered his cigarettes again, and this time she took one. When she leant in to be lit he caught a wave of her perfume. Then his lighter flared and it was gone.
Taverner leaned back, past caring about any marks the bench might leave. She closed her eyes to inhale. “Tearney doesn’t like undercover,” she said. He had the feeling she was continuing a conversation she’d had in her head many times. “Given the chance, she’d scrap Ops and double the size of GCHQ. Distance intel-gathering. Just the way Health and Safety likes it.”
“There’d be fewer joes in body bags,” Lamb said.
“There’d be fewer joes full stop. And don’t pretend to defend her. She’d parade your generation before a truth and reconciliation committee. Apologising for every black-ribbon adventure you ever set up, then hugging your oppo for the cameras.”
“Cameras,” Lamb repeated. Then said, “God, you’re not even joking, are you?”
“Know what her latest memo said? That those in line for Third Desk grade should sign up for an in-house PR course. Make sure they’re fully prepared for a ‘customer-facing’ role.”
“ ‘Customer-facing’?”
“ ‘Customer-facing’.”
Lamb shook his head. “I know some people. We could have her whacked.”
She touched his knee briefly. “You’re kind. Let’s make that Plan B.”
After that they sat in silence while she finished her cigarette. Then she ground it beneath her heel and said, “Okay. Enough fun and games. Unless you’re ready to tell me you’re kidding about this?” But a quick glance told her she wasn’t getting off that easy. She checked her watch. “Lay it out.”
Lamb told her what he had in mind.
When he’d finished, she said, “The Cotswolds?”
“I said an op. I didn’t say al Qa’eda.”
“You’re going to do this anyway. Why bother even telling me about it?”
Lamb looked at her solemnly. “I know you think I’m a loose cannon. But even I’m not stupid enough to run an op on home ground without clearing it with the Park.”
“I meant really.”
“Because you’ll find out about it anyway.”
“Damn right I will. You worked out which one of your newbies is reporting back to me yet?”
His expression betrayed nothing.
She said, “This better not turn into a circus.”
“A circus? This guy planted one of ours. If we let that happen without, what would you call it, due diligence? We let that happen without checking out who, what and why, then we’re not only not doing our job, we’re letting down our people.”
“Bow wasn’t our people any more.”
“It doesn’t work that way, and you know it.”
She sighed. “Yes, I know it. Didn’t know you did speeches, though.” She thought a moment. “Okay. We can probably rustle up a pre-used ID without ringing bells. It won’t be watertight, but it’s not as if you’re sending anyone into Indian country. And if you fill out a 22-F, I’ll pass it through Resources. We’ll lay it off as some kind of archive expense. I mean, face it, you’re exploring ancient history. If that’s not an archive matter, I don’t know what is.”
Lamb said, “You can nick it from petty cash for all I care. No skin off my arse.”
To verify this assertion, he gave the area in question a scratch.
“Jesus wept,” said Diana Taverner. Then said, “I do this, we’re free and clear, right?”
“Sure.”
“You’d better not be pissing about on company time, Jackson.”
