The Prime Minister was already running late.
He’d been speaking on the telephone to the American President, the call running over into the time when he should have been round the table with all the representatives of the Arctic Powers.
His adviser called a lift for him, then asked, ‘Shall I come down with you, sir?’
‘No, it’s fine, Luxton. This hotel is safer than Downing Street.’
‘I could call a UN soldier?’
‘Really. Don’t worry. I’ll be OK.’
The Prime Minister entered the lift and pressed the button to take him directly to the ground floor. The doors slid shut and he could feel the floor of the lift dropping. He’d be downstairs in seconds.
Then the lift stopped dead. The Prime Minister pressed the ground-floor button again.
Nothing.
Knowing he was vulnerable, he pressed the alarm button without hesitating.
Still nothing.
Then, to his horror, a large panel in the roof of the lift opened. The most powerful man in Britain was helpless. He could do nothing. He was unarmed and had no means of calling for help. He could only watch as a lone figure dropped to stand next to him.
‘Hello, sir,’ Hatty said soothingly, seeing how anxious the Prime Minister looked. ‘I’m sorry to frighten you. This was really the only way.’
‘I wasn’t frightened,’ the Prime Minister snapped.
Hatty felt like contradicting him, but knew she had to get down to business. ‘I need to report to you, sir. Julia wanted us to – in person – when we had information that might help you.’
The Prime Minister nodded and straightened his tie, which didn’t need straightening.
‘Yes?’ he said, clearly still in shock.
‘We’ve been keeping an eye on three people,’ she started.
‘Three? I thought it was two.’
‘It’s three now, sir. The first is Esenin, the Russian. We’ve been into his room and found some papers. Images of a nuclear warhead and charts of the waters around Tromsø.’
‘The Russians!’ The Prime Minister shook his head gravely. ‘Go on,’ he said.
‘We also saw him scanning the fjord earlier, from the Bruvegen Bridge up there.’
‘And what do you think that means?’
‘The warhead looks like one from the 1960s,’ Hatty said. ‘It’s one that went missing – the Americans lost it in Greenland.’
‘Lost it? I find that hard to believe.’
‘Yes, sir. It’s well documented.’ Hatty hesitated. ‘We think it’s possible that he – or someone – is bringing it here to use.’
‘But it’s not here yet?’
‘No.’
‘Well, I can help with that. I can arrange for satellites to monitor the waterways around here. He’ll struggle to get it in. Who are your other suspects?’
‘Frank Hawk,’ Hatty said, pleased the Prime Minister seemed to be relaxing and taking her seriously.
‘Frank?’ the PM asked. ‘What about him? Are you working with him?’
‘No. He’s a suspect.’
‘What?’ The Prime Minister looked cross. ‘He’s not a key player here. Just an adviser to the Americans. I was just talking to the President about him. In fact, Frank has even told me he’s met you kids. He likes you.’
‘We like him too, sir,’ Hatty said. ‘But we’ve had some information about him and his interests. About his position against global warming. Something doesn’t feel quite right. We’ve been into his rooms and …’
‘His rooms? No. Why? What did you find?’
‘Nothing, sir. We were nearly caught, but we, well, we hid …’
The Prime Minister shook his head. ‘Please. That’s too much detail. Just forget Frank. He’s a good man. He’s on our side – I really believe that.’
‘Sir,’ Hatty spoke. ‘We know you’re uneasy about working with children, but we also know what we’re doing.’
‘I know you do,’ the Prime Minister said, ‘but it will never stop me feeling uneasy. You’re children. It’s not right. Not legal. But if you are the only way we can stop the worst things happening, then I know we must. I’ve got two SAS units half an hour from here in the mountains if we should need them. But I can’t use them unless it’s absolutely necessary. It would cause an international scandal.’
‘You can rely on us, sir.’
‘I have no choice,’ the Prime Minister confessed. ‘But I really do think you’re wrong about Frank. Forget him. Tell me, who’s your third suspect?’
‘An Inuit girl from Canada.’
‘A girl? How old?’
‘Fourteen maybe?’
‘What? A fourteen-year-old Canadian girl? This just gets more absurd. Maybe I should speak to Julia about this. I’m becoming less happy about what you and your friends are doing.’
‘It’s a small matter at the moment, sir,’ Hatty went on. ‘She was around when the attack happened this morning. She was filming it. And now the footage is all over YouTube. We suspect she is an activist of some sort. Someone to keep an eye on.’
‘Right,’ the Prime Minister said, glancing at his watch. ‘Look, I’m not happy about any of this, Frank especially. But I have to be at my next meeting. I’m already dreadfully late. Tell me, what are your plans right now?’
‘To track all three,’ Hatty said. ‘Focusing on Esenin and Hawk. We have bugs in some of their clothes and in their rooms, so we’re managing to listen in to some of their conversations.’
‘OK.’ The Prime Minister paused. ‘If it were me, I’d focus on the Russian. They have a history of making trouble. They’ve already tried underhand things to get their hands on the oil and gas up there. By all means, keep an eye on the Americans, but I’m convinced Hawk is clean.’
‘We’ll keep you informed,’ Hatty replied. She knew now wasn’t the time to try and convince the Prime Minister that Hawk was a potential suspect. There were more urgent matters at hand. ‘Er … sir?’
‘Yes?’
‘Please … would you mind giving me a leg-up?’