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When Mordred reached Thames House, he went straight to reception as per instructions. Colin Bale, a large bald man with an unambiguous sense of his own importance, signed him in and directed him to briefing room five, where Brian Penford usually dwelt. When he got there, Phyllis and Annabel were already seated, facing each other in silence, while Ruby Parker sat at the front and between them, like a teacher at a reconciliation meeting between two pupils at loggerheads. Was that what this was? Could Phyllis and Annabel have had a professional falling out of some kind? Why would that have to involve him?
“Thank you for coming so quickly,” Ruby Parker said. “I hope I didn’t interrupt your session with Ashbaugh, but this is urgent. Close the door and sit down.”
He did as instructed. Phyllis and Annabel seemed to relax now that the meeting looked to be under way. Obviously, they knew as little as he did, only they’d had longer to dwell on it.
“I won’t beat about the bush,” Ruby Parker said. “Tariq’s uncovered evidence that some of our internal signals are being intercepted from within this building.”
“Someone in MI7’s spying on us?” Phyllis said. Incredulity turned to horror as one possible implication sank in. “You – surely don’t think it’s any of us three?”
“It’s not any individual,” she replied. “It’s one of the other departments: Blue, Grey or Black. Black probably monitors us all the time anyway, that’s the received wisdom. Which leaves Blue or Grey – or both.”
“How did Tariq find out?” Mordred asked. “If it isn’t too technical a question?”
“It is,” Ruby Parker said. “Something to do with information tagging, an interceptor so light it ought to be undetectable, etcetera. It’s irrelevant as far as we’re concerned. Tariq knows what he’s talking about, and if he’s concerned, so should we be.”
“What can we do about it?” Annabel said.
Ruby Parker put her fingertips together. “I’ve recalled Alec, Edna and Ian from Belgium. Until we get more information, it’s a job for Tariq and his team. But we need to be prepared. Ordinarily, I might not be concerned – departments in this building do attempt to spy on each other from time to time, mainly when difficult investigations overlap and trust wears thin – but this is different. John, I’m afraid I’m going to have to ask you to continue from this point. I’m sure you know what I mean.”
“Phyllis already knows,” he replied. “I didn’t tell Annabel because I forgot about it in the gruelling quest for Sarah Riceland.”
“Tell me what?” Annabel asked.
“John’s been flagged up as vulnerable to radicalisation,” Ruby Parker said.
Annabel didn’t flinch. “By who?”
“Someone in Grey,” Mordred replied.
“So now we know who’s spying on us,” Annabel said. “The question is, how are we going to retaliate?”
“The way MI7 works,” Ruby Parker said, “they know more about us than we ever can about them. So we’re at a definite disadvantage.”
“Do they know that we know they’re spying on us?” Mordred asked.
“If not, we need to start feeding them false information,” Phyllis said.
“Specifically about John,” Annabel chimed in. “They only need three or four of their accusations to fall flat for the whole investigation to come crashing down.”
“The thought had occurred to me,” Ruby Parker said. “But making it look plausible could be well nigh impossible. Why should we suddenly start opening up online about John’s supposed ideological and political indiscretions? They’d see us coming a mile off, then they’d adjust accordingly. No, it’s much more important to find out what they’re looking for. Establish their probing patterns sufficiently to draw conclusions. That requires time. Meanwhile, I think it’s important to review what we’re all doing.”
“Sarah Riceland,” Phyllis said.
“You think she’s some sort of Grey plant?” Annabel asked. “Designed to lure John?”
“Her credentials check out,” Mordred objected. “I think she’s bona fide.”
“Credentials can be manufactured,” Phyllis countered. “You ought to know that.”
“The whole Durand episode could have been manufactured,” Ruby Parker said. “We need to be very careful with regards to this ‘Sarah Riceland’. If, and when, she contacts you again, John, I want you to make it a condition of your meeting her that you’re not alone. If she declines, we need to find out where she is, then we do some proper shadowing. This time, she won’t know we’re there, and we’ll tail her in shifts until we get some kind of result. I want to know who she really is and what, if anything, she’s actually got. John, this morning, you got Reprographics to mock you up some photos of Holland and Durand. I’ve got copies. They’re good, but they wouldn’t survive a close-up examination. Since she retrieved the ones she showed you, we’ve no way of knowing whether they’re similarly manufactured. She may have taken them away solely to stop you finding out.”
“Durand himself could be a pawn of Grey,” Annabel said.
“That would strongly implicate Simpson, Musgrave and De Groot, the law firm that came to release him,” Mordred said. “In which case, we may need to start spying on them, see where it takes us.”
“Sounds like a very good pretext for a burglary,” Annabel said.
“That might be difficult,” Ruby Parker said. “They’re on the thirtieth floor of One Canada Square.”
Annabel shrugged. “The higher they climb.”
“Maybe we should go back even further,” Phyllis said. “It was Ranulph Farquarson who pointed us in Durand’s direction. Coincidentally, or otherwise, the ex-head of Grey. Could he be in on it?”
“I see your reasoning,” Ruby Parker said, “but I don’t think so. He wasn’t inclined to dirty tricks when he was in office; it’d be odd if he’d suddenly developed a taste for them now he’s retired. Besides, there were other ways your attention could have been drawn to Durand. No, I think Farquarson’s appearance was mere chance.”
“In that case, our coming across Durand himself was probably chance as well,” Phyllis said.
“He certainly gave me a run for my money,” Mordred said. “I didn’t get the impression he wanted to be caught. And if he had, I’m pretty sure we’d have held on to him a lot longer. Instead of: not at all.”
“So the first real manifestation of Grey in all this occurs via Simpson, Musgrave and De Groot,” Annabel said. “They’re the ones we need to attack now. The more so because they won’t be expecting it. How soon till Alec gets back? We’re going to need the extra bodies, especially Edna. I’ve a role for her.”
“This is your burglary proposal again?” Ruby Parker asked. “I need to see a proper plan before I approve it. Not necessarily on paper.”
“I’ve already got a basic idea,” Annabel replied. “I’ll get back to you in a few days. I’ll need to do some research so, if it’s okay, I’d like you to ask Ian to tail Planchart.”
“Do you still think that’s worthwhile?” Phyllis asked. “I’m pretty sure Planchart’s hiding something, but will following him around uncover it?”
“I think it’d be premature to assume otherwise,” Annabel said.
“Riceland and Planchart looked horrified by each other,” Mordred said. “Maybe they’re both acting for Grey somehow, and they didn’t expect to meet. An unexpected encounter could be awkward in front of someone you’re both trying to deceive. Especially if you haven’t compared notes beforehand.”
“You just said you thought she was bona fide,” Phyllis said.
“I’m open to counter suggestions,” Mordred replied. “Including my own.”
“Everything’s speculation right now,” Ruby Parker said. “We don’t know anything at all yet. Phyllis, you continue in charge of the Holland case, but I’m taking charge of the possible incursion by Grey. Obviously, it may ultimately turn out that your investigation comes entirely within my field, but we tend to see eye to eye as a rule, so I don’t expect there’ll be occasions where I have to use my power of veto in order to make executive decisions. Bear in mind, however, I’m not ruling it out.”
“Understood,” Phyllis replied.
