The Nursery

by Asia Mackay

  And we were the ones tasked with and trusted to save us all.

  It was good to remember that when my instructions to behave were being ignored by a two-year-old pelting me with breadsticks.

  Robin leaned over to Jake and me. ‘So when it all ends happily with us saving the Security Services, will you two finally sign off on me getting my own unit?’

  Jake and I looked at each other. ‘We need to talk about it,’ said Jake.

  Hattie had been running Whistle for over a year now but had stated he would defer to mine and Jake’s judgement about whether Robin was ready. Jake had reservations but I knew we needed to let Robin go. We had to remember that, just like us, he’d been through the Farm. Spent months being tested, prodded, pushed to the limit to wean out who was worthy of being a Rat. Eight’s elite training facility was situated in a remote part of West Scotland. ‘The Farm’ nickname was down to our on-site sleeping quarters in neat rows being tiny cage-like rooms, that lined the enormous warehouse and made us feel like battery hens. Graduating from the Farm into a trainee Rat position was always meant to be a short-term placement, and I knew the best end to his education would be not to have us to rely on.

  Harry Dugdale strode into the room. He had been promoted since we worked together last. A feat I’m sure would’ve put a spring in his step if he wasn’t now having to battle the biggest threat the Security Services had ever faced.

  Somehow, I wasn’t surprised by the fact I recognised the agent he was with. Somehow, I got up as he approached the table and calmly put out my hand.

  He shook it.

  And held it just a moment too long.

  ‘Hello, Lex.’

  ‘Hello, Frederick.’

  We stood there staring at each other.

  Hot Dad.

  Just brilliant.

  Hattie looked over at us and frowned.

  ‘You two know each other? Your records don’t mention your paths ever crossing before.’

  ‘They haven’t at work.’ I tilted my head.

  Dugdale cleared his throat. ‘We have a little confession to make. When I discovered Frederick lived not that far from Lex, I saw an opportunity. We need a safe exchange point. Frederick is likely to be under surveillance from Tenebris. So I encouraged him to switch his daughter to the same nursery as yours, Lex.’

  Frederick looked at me. ‘Sorry. I was about to introduce myself properly to you last night but you . . .’ he smiled, ‘well, you made a very fast exit.’

  Dugdale looked between us. ‘Due to Tenebris’s sophisticated online capabilities we cannot risk any online correspondence. Everything has to be done in person, or at a push by coded text message. Due to this nursery link you can have legitimate daily meetings on the school run.’

  It was a clever move from Duggers. And at least with it just being information exchanges there should be no undue risk to Gigi or Florence. Frederick and I could be seen together without it leading to a flurry of suspicions from whoever had him under surveillance. Thankfully I’d had nearly two and a half years now to practise my ‘harmless mum’ cover story.

  ‘You were lucky to get a place at Yvonne’s. It’s meant to be the best nursery school in the area.’

  Frederick frowned. ‘Actually, the place I had her down for, Little Lambs, is the best.’

  ‘Really? You didn’t think behind the perky schoolma’am façade Miss Sophie was one art attack away from a full-blown mental breakdown?’

  Frederick shook his head. ‘Her medical records flagged nothing troubling.’

  ‘That’s because she’s held it together so far – but no one that enthusiastic about the alphabet is on the right side of normal.’ I remembered her manic grin as she enunciated each letter with unbridled joy. ‘What did you think of the other schools?’

  ‘Well, I ruled out the Forest School because if I wanted her to be outside all day playing with mud I’d just stick her in the garden.’

  ‘What about Miss Mary’s?’ I asked.

  ‘Miss Mary was a bitch—’

  ‘Who didn’t believe in playtime,’ I finished for him.

  ‘Bright Bambinos?’ he asked.

  ‘One of the teachers didn’t pass the security checks.’

  ‘Are you talking about the one with the drug-dealing boyfriend?’

  ‘No, the one using a fake name with an arrest warrant outstanding for fraud. What about Snowdrops?’

  Frederick laughed. ‘Don’t be ridiculous. Ofsted rated it Poor. Pretty sure they use the kids to garden to save on bills. It’s a kiddie sweatshop.’

  ‘So why did you choose Yvonne’s Young Ones then?’

  ‘It’s Montessori.’ He shrugged. ‘I still don’t understand what that means.’

  ‘Yeah . . . well, me neither. But it’s meant to be good.’

  ‘It’d better be for the amount I’m paying for Florence to finger-paint.’

  ‘I’m so glad we’ve all learned so much about West London nurseries, but can we finally get back to the bloody mission?’ drawled Jake.

  ‘Amen to that,’ said Cameron. There was another crack as she popped her gum. Hattie winced a little. It was comforting to know even the unflappable Hattie found her grating.

  Hattie nodded at Dugdale and Frederick as they sat down. ‘Take us through everything.’

  Frederick started. ‘After four different operations blew apart and agents and informants were killed, my boss Thatcher knew there had to be a Snake within Six. We’d all heard rumours of some sort of dark web recruitment site and he was sure this was what the Snake was linked to. Thatcher came to me with his concerns and we devised a plan to draw them out. We emptied my bank account, killed my credit rating, drafted letters from the bank saying they were going to foreclose on our house. I started asking around Six if anyone knew of any private work going, implied I was going to make a break for it. Within two months I was contacted by Tenebris.’ He shook his head. ‘It was far worse than we could possibly have imagined.’

  ‘How did they make contact?’ asked Geraint.

  ‘They took control of my laptop. Opened a new email and started writing. Said they knew I was in financial trouble and they had a way out. Gave me a weblink and a login and password. There was an introduction video that explained the Tenebris Network and how it worked, and then I was invited to create a profile, listing what security clearances I had as well as what other access. I was assured only potential Employers would see it.’

  ‘Were you able to see the other Employees?’ That was the key data we needed.

  ‘I couldn’t navigate the site in full. Under my login I was only ever able to flick through the Employers who’d posted ads. Thatcher and I approached a top-level hacker off the books and with his help we were able to get into a few of the Employee profiles – that’s how we found out about King666 and got to see his bidding history. Clearly, though, we didn’t take enough precautions. Within twenty-four hours my login was frozen, the hacker was missing and Thatcher was dead.’

  ‘I’m sorry about Thatcher,’ said Hattie softly. ‘He was one of the good ones.’

  ‘What happened?’ asked Jake.

  ‘Shot in the head on his way home from work.’ Frederick’s jaw clenched. ‘The day before he died I was sent abroad on an assignment. Last contact I had from him was a text before I left saying he was testing a theory and would be in touch once he had something concrete.’

  I was betting Frederick was former military. His boss had just been murdered, he was on the radar of a ruthless corporation and he was holding it together with not a hair out of place. He had to have some kind of combat experience to be able to process everything that had happened in the last few days and remain professionally detached enough to continue.

  Dugdale nodded his head at Frederick. ‘The two of us have attended far too many funerals these last few months. I don’t want to have to hold hands with another crying widow and tell her how sorry I am and what a good man her husband was. I want my black tie to go back to la
nguishing at the back of my wardrobe. We need to shut these bastards down.’

  ‘Are there any leads on Thatcher’s shooter? An ID could lead us to Tenebris.’ We needed some kind of real-world lead on how to get to a group of people who seemed to operate only remotely.

  ‘No leads. No CCTV. Nothing,’ said Duggers. ‘Considering it’s a multi-million-pound business, they can afford a professional hit squad. Probably even their own army of Ghosts.’

  It made sense they would have muscle-for-hire under their employ who didn’t officially exist. Ghosts had no higher purpose other than to hurt, maim and kill for money. They didn’t care who or why. They just cared about getting paid. They were people who didn’t officially exist. They lived off the grid, making sure they had no verifiable identity. They did what they were told and then they’d disappear, and they were never told anything more than what to do and who to do it to. They never knew who they were working for. They were low-level, low-skilled and totally expendable help.

  ‘Are you not worried they’ll come for you?’ I had some concerns about doing the school run with someone who had an army of heavily armed Ghosts after him.

  Frederick shook his head. ‘Whatever got Thatcher killed was what he found out when I was away. Tenebris must know that he never managed to get the info to me or they would’ve put a hit out on me too. They clearly didn’t want to kill me as a precaution as the death of two agents from the same division within a week would raise more attention than they could handle.’

  ‘And you have no idea what Thatcher had found?’

  ‘None. His computer was wiped clean. His mobile is missing. There are no clues as to what he discovered. I approached Dugdale as he was the only other person within Six I knew I could completely trust with this.’

  ‘And we have a further problem,’ said Duggers. ‘Tomorrow afternoon China’s Minister of Commerce, Siew-Yong Peng, and a high-level Chinese delegation will be arriving into London. Peng is the President’s closest ally. She’s also the highest-ranking woman to ever hold office in China.’

  I remembered reading about Peng. She had started out as a junior clerk in the People’s Congress and worked her way up, shouting down her more vocal critics and being the subject of scathing editorials every step of the way. Peng was undoubtedly impressive and a hopeful step forward for a country that had previously seemed to regard women as second-class citizens incapable of high office.

  ‘She’s over here representing the President and warming up UK-China relations with a potential new trade deal. From the twenty-four hours of access we had to the Tenebris Network, we learned that an Employer, most likely the powerful right-wing fringe group, the Chinese People’s Alliance, was advertising for information on Peng’s UK itinerary. It’s clear to us from the intel we have that they’re planning to have Peng assassinated during her stay here.’

  ‘Because it’s easier to get to her abroad than on home turf when she has full security,’ I surmised.

  Duggers nodded. ‘Exactly. As soon as the Employer posted this request for information on Peng they were immediately matched with King666. He’s still active and a major threat. If Peng dies here, on our watch, due to a security leak from one of our people, we’re facing a major diplomatic disaster that would start by destroying the tentative exchange deal we have in place.’

  China was currently arranging for the transfer back to the UK of the forty-six British Security Services operatives they had never officially acknowledged having, just as we had never officially acknowledged sending them. In exchange, we were opening up several lucrative trade contracts to China. Looking complicit in the death of one of their most high-level ministers would place us on China’s shit list for the foreseeable future and the forty-six would either be left not officially existing in a high-security, impossible-to-find Chinese prison, or would be executed.

  Dugdale looked round at us all. ‘We have to face the possibility that there could be more than one Snake within the Security Services right now. We won’t know for sure until we tear Tenebris apart. Right now the only Snake we need to focus on finding is King666. He’s the only one that is a current active threat.’

  Hattie cut in. ‘This Snake will be selling information on all our security protocols and the best opportunities for Peng’s assassination. To do this they must have up-to-date intel on the delegation’s movements, maybe even have a source inside the delegation. Peng will be having numerous meetings that aren’t on her official schedule as she tries to broker other deals off the books. Our intel suggests the Chinese People’s Alliance have hired a Coyote. A lone gun. The Snake will be in direct contact with the Coyote – giving them the intel they need to make the hit.’

  Geraint looked up. ‘Tenebris know the authorities are circling so they’ve no doubt specified an IRL directive for any information transfer.’

  ‘In Real Life,’ Pixie said in response to Hattie’s frown.

  ‘Right. Exactly,’ said Hattie. ‘If they’re having to communicate in person, if we find the Snake they’ll lead us to the Coyote.’

  ‘Dugdale and I have narrowed down the Snake’s identity to three analysts at Six.’ Frederick handed a USB stick to Geraint. ‘The Snake will be hoarding hidden cash – we estimate they would’ve earned a tidy five to eight million for the information they’ve sold so far. These analysts all had access to the intel that tanked the last few missions and they all have links to China from previous postings, meaning there’s a chance they could have someone inside the delegation.’

  ‘Why don’t we just kill them all? Wouldn’t that be the safest way?’ asked Cameron.

  All heads round the table swivelled to her.

  ‘Cameron,’ I sighed, ‘these people are our colleagues. Two out of three of them are completely innocent.’

  She rolled her eyes. ‘We’re talking about the greater good. Your Security Services being compromised. All our Security Services being compromised. If this was happening back home they’d all be dead by now. And we’d be on to the next mission.’

  ‘We aren’t as trigger-happy as you Americans. We also prioritise getting information out of them first.’

  Hattie stared at Cameron. ‘The Committee has authorised that when it comes to our own people only the Snake gets popped, and that’s only once we have confirmed proof of their guilt, and after we’ve interrogated them for all usable intel on Tenebris. If you’re “assisting” us, Cameron, you’d better abide by our rules.’

  Cameron gave Hattie a small salute. She took out her gum and stuck it under the table. ‘What?’ she said to Hattie’s grimace. But she unpeeled the gum and dropped it in an abandoned mug of coffee on the table.

  Geraint plugged in the USB stick, clicked a few buttons and up on the whiteboard flashed a photo of a portly man in his fifties with greying hair and round glasses.

  Frederick motioned towards the photo. ‘This is Ronald Bowcott. He’s been at Six for the last fifteen years. Generally considered a steady pair of hands. No major grievances in his record, no commendations either. Next is Suzannah Sheldon.’

  Her photo flashed up next to Ronald’s. It was a surveillance photo from outside a house. She was wearing a trouser suit and speaking into her mobile. Blonde hair pulled back into a high ponytail.

  ‘Suzannah has been working alongside Ronald for the last five years – since she joined Six. Generally considered a bit of a know-it-all. Can rub colleagues up the wrong way.

  ‘Finally we have Neil Hicks.’ A photo of a well-built man in full military uniform joined Ronald and Suzannah on the whiteboard. ‘Hicks was in the army for twelve years before making the move to Six two years ago. He’s a quiet man, keeps to himself, but has been impressing superiors with his natural aptitude for the job.’

  Hattie motioned towards the line-up of photos. ‘Code names. Lex, can you do the honours?’

  I stared at the photos.

  Ronald Bowcott. Man with a tummy and glasses. Looked a bit of a buffoon. It seemed strikingly obvious to me.r />
  ‘OK, Ronald is Daddy Pig.’

  Suzannah Sheldon. A know-it-all and a bit annoying. ‘Suzannah can be Peppa Pig.’

  Neil Hicks. Quiet man. ‘Well, as we’re on a theme now, Neil is George Pig.’

  ‘How exactly is naming the targets after a family of pigs not going to draw attention to yourselves?’ Jake asked

  I ignored him and turned to Frederick.

  ‘What do you think of Daddy Pig?’

  ‘He gets a hard time. He’s just trying to do what’s best for his family and he’s mocked and maligned for his weight, for his lack of DIY ability. I think it’s impressive he remains so upbeat when he’s got a tiresome daughter, a near mute son and a wife who likes to flaunt her superiority over him. It’s just not—’

  ‘Peppa Pig is an incredibly popular children’s cartoon,’ I cut Frederick off mid-flow. ‘Every parent has been forced to watch at least one episode, if not five hundred. No one with kids would think anything of hearing their names mentioned.’

  ‘She’s right.’ Dugdale nodded, himself a father of two.

  Hattie motioned to the board. ‘Daddy Pig, Peppa and George. One of these three little piggies has been getting our people killed. We need to know everything about them.’ He looked round at us all. ‘We’re looking for large amounts of extra unaccounted for income and covert meetings or communications with the Coyote. We need to run through their lives and analyse every online and in-person interaction. We find out which one is the Snake and we stop the Coyote.

  ‘Peng arrives into London tomorrow and she’s here for six days. This is our one chance to end the Tenebris Network. Once Peng is assassinated or leaves the country, the trail for both the Snake and the Coyote will go cold. With no active mission they both disappear back into hibernation. Right now, they’re the only lead we have to Tenebris. And we need that website offline. By any means necessary.’

  I sensed the Committee had authorised multiple bloodshed. This was a website that had the power to completely shut down Platform Eight and severely incapacitate Five and Six. And that was before you added into the mix a dead high-level Chinese minister on our turf.