At least the weather’s held, thinks Ben as he pulls up in a spot by the kerb just down from the pub where he had agreed to meet his boss.
Ben locks the car and heads into the pub. It had been agreed that Ben shouldn’t come into the MI6 offices in London for fear of being spotted and followed back home, and so when he has to report to Erik Steward, his boss, they arrange to meet in this somewhat out of the way and random rural village. The place is called Bassingham and it has a great little pub called the Five Bells which is on all sorts of ‘best of’ lists. It’s an hour’s drive away from their new home in the Lincolnshire Wolds and Ben sees it as something of a treat because it allows him to dip back into his old life. The place is lovely too: all ivy-covered outside, and wooden beams inside all interwoven with hops and objets d’art like stuffed animals, old books and firearms.
Ben takes a seat at their pre-booked table and waits for Steward who arrives a short time later.
A young waitress comes over and out of habit Ben and Steward order tapas to share and soda water to drink.
‘You weren’t followed?’ asks Ben. Although he knows that Steward would have made sure, he still worries.
‘It’s safe,’ he says. ‘How are you getting along?’
‘Okay. Mia isn’t very happy in the new house. But it’s probably just a period of adjustment,’ Ben says. ‘She was happier once we allowed her contact with Michael.’
‘We have him under full surveillance,’ Erik Steward says.
‘What have you learned?’ Ben says.
‘The woman Neva hasn’t tried to make contact with him. And Ray Martin gave him full security clearance again,’ Steward explains. ‘We have Martin’s office tapped, thanks to Leon.’
‘Tchaikovsky is now working for you?’
Steward nods. ‘He was happy to help.’
‘Is there anything I can do?’ Ben asks.
‘For the moment you need to lay low, but if Michael leads us to Neva, we may well get access to the Network’s committee and bring them down in one swoop. If that happens, maybe you and your wife will be able to return to your old home. If it doesn’t, however, then you might have to accept this as your new normal.’
‘I can do some research and paperwork for you at least,’ Ben points out.
‘Of course,’ says Steward. ‘But, back to your brother-in-law. Ray is convinced he’s now deactivated and the Network can no longer coerce him to act for them. The conditioning he experienced as a child was pretty intense though.’
‘You believe he’s still a danger?’ Ben asks.
‘We can’t know for sure. With regards to Mia…’
‘Mia is off limits, Erik. You know that,’ Ben says.
‘Naturally. But you haven’t seen anything unusual in her behaviour that might be cause for concern?’ Steward says.
‘No. And as I said, she’s not part of this discussion.’
Steward takes a sip from his soda water.
‘The thing is, we need to talk about her. Is she coming apart, Ben? I have to know,’ Steward says.
‘Of course not. She’s upset though. And scared. She’s been pulled away from everything she knows. How can you expect her not to be? She doesn’t understand the extent of what was done to her and Michael and honestly, I don’t want her to. Why shatter her illusions even further?’
Steward nods.
‘She’ll be fine eventually,’ Ben continues. ‘It’s a big change for us all.’
‘I don’t doubt that,’ Steward says.
‘But less for me than Mia. I, at least, still have contact with my old life and job. Mia can’t even tell her friends where we are, or ever see them again.’
Ben stops talking as the waitress arrives and deposits a two-tiered tapas stand onto the table. It’s a house sharing platter with various starters and a favourite of the two men when they meet up.
‘Thank you,’ says Steward to the young girl.
When she’s gone, they help themselves to a portion of food from the top tier: chicken liver pâté with ciabatta. They appear to anyone who cares to look at them, like any two friends meeting for lunch.
‘What else have you learned from your spying on Archive?’ Ben asks.
Steward laughs. ‘Office gossip… Bethany Cane is sleeping with the pathologist, Elliot Baker. They have a new girl on the team. She was on the radar for MI6 a few years ago, but for some reason she wasn’t recruited. Perhaps because Ray had already called dibs on her. Anyway, Elsa Stevenson is her name. She’s got a lot of potential as an agent, though they aren’t giving her much responsibility.’
‘Is she fitting in?’ Ben asks as if he already knows the answer. Steward gives him a sideways glance.
‘Not sure, Michael isn’t that warm with her and neither is Beth. The latter I understand, as Beth’s nose could be put out of joint with her sudden appearance. Michael’s problem I just don’t know.’
‘Is Michael still in a safe house?’
‘Yes. And Beth is on permanent security detail for fear that the Network will try to take her again. All in all, Archive is currently quite compromised. It’s a wonder Ray can keep working with two of his agents at such risk,’ Steward explains.
Ben scoops out chicken and chorizo from one of the dishes. He adds it to his plate, then takes a mouthful. He chews, staring ahead as though he’s considering Steward’s words.
‘That’s interesting. Especially as they are letting Michael work on, and not just insisting he goes to ground for a while,’ Ben says.
‘What do you deduce from that?’ Steward asks.
‘Ray isn’t stupid. Michael is still walking around with a target on his back. But maybe that’s the point. He hopes to draw out his enemies,’ Ben says.
‘You think Ray is capable of using Michael like that?’ Steward says.
‘He’s a spy. What do you think?’
Steward looks down at the plate of food in front of him, he takes a mouthful of bread, chews and swallows. Then he sips at the soda water again while he considers Ben’s words.
‘I think you’re right,’ says Steward. ‘The only thing I’m not sure of is whether Michael knows?’
‘You’re recording their conversations, so haven’t they discussed it?’ Ben asks.
Steward shakes his head. ‘That doesn’t mean he’s not a part of the ruse. Ray may suspect we are monitoring them. Or fear someone else is.’
‘Who else could?’ Ben says.
Steward doesn’t answer. Ben stops eating and looks at him.
‘You think there’s a mole?’ Ben asks.
‘There’s been rumours for a while. Someone very trusted. My intel is usually reliable. But who knows? Misinformation is the weapon of our enemies.’
‘But if there is… then Michael isn’t safe. And Mia isn’t either,’ Ben says.
‘We’re keeping her safe,’ Steward says. ‘Even now there’s eyes on her.’
Ben looks at Steward again. ‘What eyes? The more people who know where we are, the more in danger Mia and Freya are.’
‘Don’t worry. We have only the best on it and as always only on a need-to-know basis.’
Ben finishes his food. Steward’s revelation makes him feel uncomfortable and he is itching to be on his way home. After all, it was MI5 who had relocated them. Steward wasn’t supposed to know where that was, and Ben, despite keeping in touch with his boss, hasn’t revealed their location. He finds himself questioning Steward for the first time since he started working for him ten years ago. How has Steward found them? And if he knows where they are, does anyone else? With the Network’s reach, could anyone really be trusted?