§150

Normal service, as the BBC always termed it, was resumed on January 2. Another Friday.

Troy had been in his office less than an hour when Eddie put through a call from Vienna.

“Freddie?”

“I’m here, Gus.”

“I have a few words from our friend. ‘Absolutely not. Straight as a die, and queer as a coot.’ Does that answer your question?”

It did. It lent a certain purity to what he knew. A singularity to his purpose.

Eddie, clearly, had listened in.

He stood before Troy now.

“You can’t do it.”

“Do what?”

“You can’t just kill an MI5 section head.”