‘He’s a General,’ River said automatically. ‘In the Directorate for Inter-Services Intelligence. The Pakistani secret service.’
That earned him a look. ‘I bet you used to play Top Trumps with grandad. With spooks instead of racing cars.’
Ho’s laptop was cradled in front of him like an ice-cream seller’s tray. ‘Gul’s Joint Intelligence Department,’ he read. ‘Equivalent to our Second Desk.’
River was racking his memory for more details. Nothing came to mind that wasn’t painted with a broad brush. ‘He’s a bit of a hardliner.’
‘Aren’t they all?’
Ho said, ‘Back at the turn of the war, it was thought there were elements inside Inter-Services who were alerting Taliban militants to missile strikes. Gul was one of the likely suspects. Nobody was ever charged, but a Park analyst wrote him up as likely to go either way.’
‘On the other hand, he’s always supported the government in public,’ River said. ‘And he’s usually mentioned when the next Director’s being discussed.’ Which used up all he knew about Gul. ‘What’s he got to do with this?’ But before Lamb could answer, he said, ‘No. Wait. Don’t tell me.’
‘Oh great,’ Catherine said. ‘Twenty questions.’
Louisa gave her a glance. That comment didn’t sound like Catherine. But then, she didn’t much look like Catherine. Her nose was red-tipped in the chill, sure, and her cheekbones were tinted the same, but the spark in her eyes was out of the ordinary. Perhaps she was enjoying this adventure. Then Catherine’s eyes met hers, and Louisa quickly looked away.
Lamb finished his sandwich, and belched appreciatively. ‘That was bloody excellent,’ he said. ‘Five stars.’
‘Where’s open this time of morning?’ Louisa asked.
He waved vaguely in the direction of Old Street. ‘Twenty-four-hour place. It wasn’t far out of the way. Didn’t think you’d mind waiting.’
‘I hate to interrupt,’ River said. ‘Hassan Ahmed. He’s one of Gul’s?’
‘He’s not an agent.’
‘Sure?’
Lamb let his breath out slowly.
‘Okay, so—oh, Christ.’ The truth hit River with a thrill. ‘He’s
‘His sister’s son.’
‘We’ve—
‘She thinks she’s boxing clever. “Think of it as bringing communities together”,’ Lamb quoted. ‘Her words. “When we rescue Hassan, we make a friend.”’
Min Harper asked, ‘Are they close?’
Ho was still scrolling through Regent’s Park’s file on Gul. ‘Hassan’s mother and father met in Karachi, but he was already living here. She came back to England as his bride. She’s not been back since, and there’s no record of Gul visiting.’
Min said, ‘But he’s a spook. You can’t rule it out.’
Lamb said, ‘Either way, we can assume he’d object to the kid having his head chopped off on camera.’ He unwrapped his second sandwich. A smell of warm sausage wafted round.
Trying to ignore it, River said, ‘So that was the plan? To romance Mahmud Gul by rescuing his nephew from a bunch of fanatics?’
‘
Louisa said, ‘So he’s in our debt. And so, when he gets to be the next Director of Inter-Services Intelligence, more likely to fall our way.’
‘Brilliant,’ River said. ‘But what happens when we don’t rescue Hassan? Did that factor into her thinking at all?’
‘Apparently not,’ Lamb said. ‘And the way it’s looking now, in twenty-four hours or so, the British secret service assassinates the nephew of a more-or-less friendly power’s secret service Second Desk.’
‘Only if they stick to their timetable,’ Catherine said. ‘And why should they? As far as they know, they’re blown.’
‘So they kill the kid,’ Min said. ‘Jesus. Wars have been started for less.’
Lamb said, ‘Which is why Lady Di’s going to any lengths necessary to screw the blame on us. If Hassan dies, that’s one thing. If Hassan dies, and it gets public that Five was responsible, it goes beyond being a black mark on her CV.’ A small piece of meat fell, leaving a mayonnaise smear on his trouser leg. ‘Damn. I hate it when that happens.’ He stared angrily at the yellow streak for a moment, which wasn’t noticeably larger than any other stain on that leg, then looked back up. ‘Taverner won’t be joining us at Slough House. She’ll be looking at the inside of a cell. Unless she’s black-bagged first.’
‘Black-bag a Second Desk? How likely is that?’
Jackson Lamb said, ‘There’s probably a precedent. Why not ask grandad? Meanwhile, nobody’s looking for Hassan. Taverner’s known from the start where he is, and it’s not been in her interests that anyone else does, so the cops have been working without Service input. And until Black infiltrated them, the Voice of Albion weren’t making waves on anyone’s radar.’
Ho said, ‘You don’t make wa—’
‘Shut up.’
‘If they’re such amateurs, what are their chances?’ Catherine asked. ‘Maybe they’ll trip over their own …’
‘Dicks?’
Louisa said, ‘She has a point.’
‘Not really. Being a bunch of bottom feeders has played to their advantage. Nobody noticed them before, so nobody knows where they came from now.’
‘But Alan Black found them.’
