Sir Hugh Grenville swallowed a large dose of scotch. ‘Jones, this has been an unmitigated disaster! Have you managed to contact the Source?’
‘Yes, sir.’
‘And?’
‘As you are aware, the Royston child was not taken. But from what has been gathered during the aftermath of the failed incursion, it seems that this would have been a pointless intimidation strategy, since, according to Perrin, it is now clear that the data is not in the possession of his ex-partner, the child’s mother. More significant, however, is the revelation that the mother’s new partner of several months is, in fact, a police detective working undercover as a senior investigating officer with the National Crime Agency.’
‘Good God! What? Can this wretched situation get any worse?’
‘Sir Hugh, I assure you that the situation is not as bad as one might imagine. Given the involvement of this NCA officer, Samuel Barnes, we can rest assured that if any incriminating information had come into the hands of the Agency, action would already have been taken. As it stands, none of our facilities have reported any problems. I think we can safely assume that, as Mr Perrin has suggested, the data is lost. Which means that the only threat would be from details known only to Robert Perrin himself.’
‘And what of Perrin?’
‘Given his knowledge of our enterprises and his involvement in the Xmas incursion it would probably be advisable if our unnamed god met with another unfortunate turn of fate.’
‘We cannot risk any further compromise, Jones.’
‘No, Sir Hugh. Absolutely.’