by Asia Mackay
Frederick downed his and I poured him another.
‘I used the Clean Team once,’ he said.
‘Really? I didn’t think they let you get that down and dirty at Six.’
Frederick smiled. The whisky was doing its job. A bit of colour was returning to his cheeks.
‘My brother and his family were staying. We all got NoroVirus. Pretty much every imaginable surface of our kitchen and living room was sprayed with puke.’ He shook his head. ‘The smell just wouldn’t go.’
‘So you called in a favour.’
‘Well, there have to be some perks to the job, right? It was amazing. They got stains out of the wooden floor that had been ingrained in there since we bought the house four years earlier.’
‘You got any other tips?’
‘Yes.’ He took another gulp of whisky. ‘Get one of those battlefield-grade, military-issue iPad covers. Perfect for when on tour in Afghanistan or at home with two kids under three.’
Jake and Hattie came back into the canteen.
‘Seven in total. Three still alive. I’ve run them all through the system. No IDs, no facial recognition. As expected they’re all Ghosts,’ said Hattie.
‘I’ve had a brief chat with them.’ Jake’s eyes flashed. ‘All they know is they were hired for a break-in and their objective was to steal all our hardware – laptops, USB sticks, hard drives, anything they could find.’
It made sense. Tenebris had a sophisticated IT team who would undoubtedly have little trouble hacking any of the hardware the Ghosts brought them.
‘They’re pretty pissed about the site being occupied and it not being the easy job that was advertised. I said they should take it up with HR. Although they should be pretty embarrassed that the seven of them got defeated by one Rat with a doll, a handful of glitter and some fucking crisps.’ Jake looked at me and laughed. ‘I’m impressed, Tyler.’ He went to the back of the canteen and got another couple of glasses.
‘How did they get in?’ I asked Hattie.
‘Through one of the service tunnels. They used some sophisticated device to hack the system and a faked security card. These goons would’ve had to get the information from a Snake. To manage to get in, even with some clever technology, they would have to be familiar with our protocols.’
Jake took the whisky bottle and filled up all the glasses.
‘The fact Tenebris would risk an operation like this tells us that we’re close. It’s a good sign. An even better one is the fact they got away with nothing.’ Hattie downed his drink. ‘We’re a covert branch – people aren’t meant to know where we live. Enemies aren’t meant to be able to come knocking. The Snake is not just threatening upcoming missions. They’re threatening Platform Eight’s very existence. And anyone wanting to do this country harm will be circling, knowing we’re vulnerable. What we need to do next—’
I cut Hattie off. ‘Ten minutes.’ They all looked at me. ‘I would’ve heard them coming in from the office and I was in the canteen for about ten minutes before I bumped into the first one. They could’ve . . .’ I put a finger to my mouth.
‘Goddammit,’ sighed Hattie, ‘we need to shut down the whole network and do a thorough sweep. It will take a day. If not two. I’ll call Demon. Get them onto the Unions.’
Hattie motioned to Frederick and me. ‘You two get out of here. We’ll finish up.’
We both downed our drinks and left the room.
Standing in the corridor, talking to a couple of men in black overalls, was Mrs Moulage. She was wearing a fur coat and Mary-Jane shoes. She click-clacked up to me with a smile.
‘I hear you’ve prepared some Ghosts for me.’ Her face was perfectly made-up. ‘The boys don’t need me.’ She motioned to the two men behind her. ‘But I couldn’t resist a look around my old stomping ground.’
‘Has much changed?’
‘Everything and nothing,’ she said simply. ‘Get yourself home, my girl. You’ve had a busy night.’ She cupped my chin and then click-clacked down the corridor. The men in overalls followed.
*
Frederick and I were both silent in the Uber all the way back to Chiswick. It pulled up outside my house first. I opened the car door and turned to Frederick. ‘Thank you for getting there so fast. It might have ended differently without your help.’
‘I doubt that. Looked like you had it pretty well covered.’ He shook his head. ‘I don’t know how you do it.’ We stared at each other for a long moment. And then another.
‘Hello, miss? Miss?’ The driver turned round to look at me. ‘You getting out, miss? Two-minute drop-off rule. Going to affect your star rating if you make me wait.’
‘Well, that really would be a shitty end to a bad evening.’ I smiled at Frederick as I got out and closed the door behind me. I could still see Frederick looking at me as the car drove away.
*
A Sky News alert flashed up on my phone as I opened our front door.
TUBE STRIKE TOMORROW. LONDON WILL GRIND TO A HALT. UNIONS IN EMERGENCY TALKS.
In case Tenebris hadn’t done enough to hurt our country, they had now inconvenienced all of London with their invasion of Platform Eight. I winced as I dropped my keys on the hallway table. I should really have gone straight to the Kensington Wing to get stitched up but I was exhausted. And after an evening of close calls I’d just wanted to get home, stare at Gigi and be grateful for still getting back to her. I walked into her room and checked on her. She was fast asleep. I got into her bed and lay beside her, stroking her hair.
My mind was whirring with everything that was going on. What the hell had tonight been about? This mission was always going to be tough, but being attacked on our home turf?
I stared at Gigi’s soft round cheeks and her long eyelashes, and listened to the sound of her deep breathing. I tried to think only of her and not work. My little biter. Was this new habit something else I should be feeling guilty about? Was she lashing out as I wasn’t around enough?
Could I be a better mother if I wasn’t a Rat?
Would I be menu-planning for the week, checking her developmental chart, ticking off milestones, pushing her forward to the next one? Slicing and dicing for homemade casseroles? Was I doing enough to make Gigi the best she could possibly be? Did I see her enough? Did I do enough with her? Was she watching too much television?
Could I be a better Rat if I wasn’t a mother?
Would I be taking those extra weekend training courses? Brushing up on my special skills. Slicing and dicing in a different way. Was I doing enough? Or just doing enough to get by? Was I pushing myself like I used to? Or just waiting to clock out and get home to my family?
Questioning myself never ended.
I shook it off.
Tonight could’ve ended badly but it didn’t. I was here, pretty much intact, ready to fight another day. And Gigi was here. She was safe. She was happy. I was doing this.
I gently rolled out of Gigi’s bed and left her bedroom. I got carefully into my bed and popped a couple of high-strength paracetamol. I was glad Will wasn’t here. Faking being normal would’ve been more effort than I could manage right now. I’d go straight to the Kensington Wing as soon as I’d dropped Gigi at nursery.
Tenebris were spooked. We were close. The invasion proved that. Tomorrow could be a big step forward in shutting them down.
I thought of Frederick. The way he had looked at me as I’d left. I wondered what he was feeling. If the shock had worn off yet. If he was going to be getting any sleep tonight. I picked up my phone and clicked on my text messages to Frederick. Dots. He was typing something to me. I waited. The dots went. Another beat and they came back. I stared at my phone. I was back to being thirteen. Waiting for the postman to arrive. The dots disappeared and didn’t come back. Whatever he wanted to say he couldn’t find the words.
Or it was an iPhone fuck-up and I’d spent ten minutes transfixed by a software error.
I couldn’t work out which was more tragic.
&n
bsp; What was wrong with me?
I was a mother of one having indecent thoughts about a work colleague. This was tried, tested and clichéd ground. I was hoping, as a trained assassin, if I was going to have issues in my marriage it would be something a little more original. It would turn out Will was actually a secret agent for a foreign intelligence but turned by his intense love for me he’d confess all and allow me to bring him in, leading to a happy, genuine marriage and a massive promotion for me. Or that I was forced to forget my wedding vows to seduce someone incredibly attractive, not because he was incredibly attractive but because the safety of the UK’s population decreed it for reasons I hadn’t quite determined – maybe some kind of nuclear threat. It wouldn’t count as cheating as it was for work. For saving my country.
But feeling like this, about a colleague, a school-run dad – it was all so depressingly normal.
Frederick was in my head when he shouldn’t be. He knew what I did, he knew what I was – and it didn’t stop the way he looked at me. It didn’t stop him wanting me. That’s what it all came down to. I’d known Frederick only days and it was already a more honest relationship than the one I had with my husband.
I knew I couldn’t ever tell Will about exactly what my job entailed.
Because above all was the fear that if he found out the truth he would leave me. And I would realise he never really loved me, because he never really knew me.
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: HotHornyMums WAITING HERE!
MISSION: #80521
UNIT: WHISTLE
DATE: Friday 4th October
ALERT: 2 DAYS UNTIL PENG’S DEPARTURE
Chapter Nineteen
‘PRINCESS.’
‘Darling, there aren’t any princesses in Roald Dahl.’
‘Be PRINCESS.’
Today was the Roald Dahl celebration at Gigi’s nursery and we were having creative differences in our opinion of what she should wear. I looked at my daughter, standing in a bright pink glitter-covered tiara and an extravagantly sequined princess dress, her arms folded and mouth clamped in a firm frown.
Part of my training as a Rat was understanding when a subject was never going to crumble. There was no defeating this two-year-old. At least not without offering up a whole lot of bribery and I didn’t think filling her up on Haribo before nursery was something Ms Yvonne would commend me for. Besides, my Matilda costume offering of a blue dress and three books was lame and we both knew it.
‘Fine. Wear that.’ I admitted defeat. My side was starting to ache. I reached down to touch it and felt blood. ‘Mama’s just going to finish getting ready. You can watch Peppa until I’m back.’
‘Hurrah, Peppa!’ Gigi plonked herself down on the sofa as I switched on the TV.
‘I’ll just be upstairs.’ Gigi didn’t even look at me, her eyes already transfixed on the bright screen.
I got to our bathroom and pulled off my top. I looked at the bandage. Red blood was streaking through it. Dammit, my quick fix last night hadn’t held. I gingerly took off the bandage and rummaged around the bathroom cupboard looking for another. I found one and pulled it out.
‘Mummy bleeding.’ Gigi was in the doorway. She frowned. ‘Mummy hurt.’
‘Oh no, sweetheart. Mummy’s fine. Just a little ouchie.’ I quickly wrapped the bandage round me and pulled my top back on. ‘Why aren’t you watching Peppa?’
‘It finished.’
Of course it did. What the hell was the point of episodes that lasted less than five minutes?
*
‘One Ghost got away.’
Hattie was waiting for me as the lift doors opened into the Platform and a flurry of activity. Numerous technicians were in every corridor.
‘The meeting room has been cleared. It’s safe to talk in there.’ He led me through.
My detour to the Kensington Wing to get stitched up and max-up on painkillers had taken longer than expected. Geraint, Pixie and Robin were already there.
I took my seat at the dining table as Hattie moved to his position in front of the whiteboard.
‘We checked the CCTV from the tunnels and one of the Ghosts made a run for it when Lex got them all firing at each other. He slipped out the side tunnel door they came in. We have a pretty good visual of him.’
Geraint projected a close-up of the Ghost’s face onto the whiteboard. He had short dark hair and thick eyebrows.
‘We need to find him,’ said Hattie. ‘We’ve done a full inventory and nothing seems to be missing but we need to be sure. He could’ve managed to download intel off a laptop and take it with him.’
Pixie cut in. ‘I’m searching all the different databases to try and get an ID. I’ve put an alert out for him – at airports, train stations and even ferry ports. He’ll be going underground. He’s got to be at least semi-professional and know what he needs to do to stay off the grid.’
I had an idea.
‘G-Force, log on to one of the analysts’ Facebook’s accounts and upload a photo of him. I will add the text to go with it.’
Geraint logged in and passed me the laptop.
I created a post and typed:
WARNING PARENTS – CHILD KIDNAPPER
Everyone be vigilant – this man has been caught trying to abduct children from playgrounds. He’s been spotted in three different schools in three different areas (W12, N3, SW12). He could be trying every school he comes across. If you see him DO NOT APPROACH. Call the police with ref 88842. They will come immediately.
‘Now post it onto every school Facebook group you can find. Get some Bronze Wolves onto this too. We need it to go viral.’
‘OK,’ said Geraint. ‘Doing it now.’
‘Cameron has emailed in an update on the Ghosts in interrogation.’ Hattie looked down at his mobile. ‘As expected, no useful intel. Their orders were to take all the laptops and electronic equipment they could find. They had a pay-as-you-go number to call once they left here to arrange collection of the items and payment.’
Hattie looked at Robin. ‘Is there anything on the Dictaphone audio files that explains why they’d risk breaking in?’
‘I’ve listened to the files multiple times. All that’s on there is a meeting with the Chinese Ambassador. They discuss nothing outside a potential trade deal with France.’ Robin flicked the screen on his iPad. ‘There was a warning that they shouldn’t make public the fact the UK were going to award them a new aircraft contract. A talk of Lord Wycombe’s shoot and dinner that they’re both going to in a couple of days’ time. Some other chit chat with the Ambassador about how his children are. Plans for Peng to go to the theatre as a guest of another business associate of the Ambassador.’
‘Maybe they weren’t after what’s already been recorded,’ I said, ‘but wanted to make sure we couldn’t listen in on a meeting Peng is going to have today?’
Robin shrugged. ‘It’s possible, but all that’s on the schedule for today are more business meetings in the City or back at the Embassy.’
Hattie had been listening intently. ‘What I don’t understand is how they would’ve known we had bugged the Dictaphone?’
I thought about it.
‘Y. The Embassy informant. They must’ve got to him. He’s the one who told me about how we needed a bug on it.’
‘Is there any way of getting in touch with Y?’ asked Hattie.
‘Frederick.’ I pulled out my phone. Really want to go to that Chinese you recommended. Can you get a booking for me?
He pinged back immediately. No. It’s closed down permanently. Have you not seen the news?
‘G-Force, pull up Sky News. Looking for a story to do with the Chinese Embassy.’ Geraint scanned through the Sky News headlines.
‘Nothing about the Embassy mentioned. There is . . . hang on . . .’ He flashed a photo up onto to the whiteboard. A Chinese man with thin eyebrows and a mole on his left cheek.
‘That’s
him. That’s Y.’
Geraint read from his laptop, ‘Yesterday morning the body of Peter Yan was discovered in the Brixton area. Yan had been shot in the head in an apparent mugging gone wrong. Police are investigating. Peter Yan worked as a waiter at the Phoenix Palace restaurant in Mayfair.’
Hattie frowned. ‘Shot in the head. Just like with Frederick’s boss Thatcher. It’s almost certainly Tenebris.’
‘The Chinese won’t even admit he worked at the Embassy.’ Robin rolled his eyes. ‘They could’ve come up with a better cover story than Chinese restaurant waiter.’
‘Eliminating him shows they’re getting desperate,’ said Hattie. ‘We’ve made them nervous enough that they couldn’t risk leaving him alive. We have two days until Peng flies out of here and the Snake goes back underground.’
The Chinese hacker in Watford that Cameron and Robin had interrogated the night before had turned out to be a woman and a big fan of Peng. It became clear that even if she had been working for Tenebris she would’ve turned on them instantly to keep her hero safe. The hacker line of enquiry was officially dead – Cameron and Jake had now ruled out every suspect on the list. We were now pinning everything on unmasking the Snake.
Hattie picked up his iPad. ‘Where are we at with tracing George’s movements out in Switzerland?’
The Switzerland link was still our best lead. If George was hiding the trip from Kate it was not too much of a jump to think he was out there depositing money in an untraceable bank account.
‘I’ve got the hotel receipt for where he stayed,’ said Pixie, her eyes not moving from her laptop. ‘I’ve been combing through Zurich CCTV records to try and track his movements. So far we’ve got him in the vicinity of the Lienhardt and Co. bank. Facial recognition confirmed him on the street corner. We’re making a start on hacking the bank’s records. He flew back to London that evening. He received one call on his mobile from a Swiss hotel number the next morning. Whatever was said on that call obviously was of great importance as he left work early that day. Cited a family emergency. Although he did not make it home and he made no calls to Kate.’