blocked it—'
'—Or he has simply forgotten it/ McGilchrist finished it for him. 'Ye're no a nutcase, if that's what's bothering ye.' 'You don't know him yet/ said Liz, and Jake scowled. McGilchrist grinned at Liz across the table and said, 'Will one o' ye kind gentleman no introduce me tae this beautiful wee thing? Oh, Ah ken Ah'm a mite late — a mite too old, maybe? — but still Ah'd like tae be in wi' a chance!'
'Too late?' Liz blushed at his words. But McGilchrist simply looked at Jake, smiled, and went on eating…
Jake had been studying the Scotsman, and despite his apprehension he discovered that he liked him. McGilchrist seemed as open as a book. The hypnotist was tall, yes, but with his huge chest
and massive girth looked almost stocky. Jake could well picture him tossing a caber, and for that matter he could probably toss big men around as well. Except, Jake reckoned, that wouldn't be in his nature. He was the salt of Scottish soil, the hard flint of wooded mountains, however far removed; but there was a kindness — an understanding of Nature, human nature especially — in those dark eyes of his, however deeply they might probe.
It was frequently the same with men of rare ability. Even in Jake's few days with E-Branch he had been aware of it in Ben Trask's espers, the ones he'd met, and of course in the Head of E-Branch himself. The big Scotsman might not be as parapsychologically endowed as a true esper, but still there was that special something about him; in those eyes, mainly — those hypnotic eyes — and the way they studied a man…
Jake suddenly realized that they'd been studying him, reading him much as he had been reading the other. Perhaps reading him more, or more cleverly. And breakfast was over now.
'So when's it tae be?' McGilchrist stood up, stretched and yawned. 'God, but ye got me up early, Ben Trask! Ah wiz barely in bed… then up again, when yere chopper landed in mah back yard. Ah wiz expectin' yere man, aye, but no at that hour.'
'I'm sorry about that/ Trask said, 'but we never know how long we'll be in any one place. And in fact we could be moving on at any time. I'm just waiting on some information from London, and then we'll be out of here/
He got to his feet, Jake and Liz, too, and she said, 'Can I come in on this? Jake's my partner, after all/
'He might yet be your partner/ Trask answered immediately. 'We won't know that until we know.'
And Jake, as fidgety as ever, burst out, 'Then for Christ's sake let's get on with it! For whatever it is, it seems my future's hanging on it.'
'Yere future?' said Grahame McGilchrist, as Trask led them towards his tent. 'Ah, no. Ye'd be better off askin' the precog about that. And ye'll find that even he isnae that sure. But as for the past: well, that's different. What's been has been, and it cannae be changed. But even if it's been well and truly buried — buried in or by the mind, that is — we can usually dig it up again, aye. And as for me: Ah'm one hell o' an archaeologist/' He turned his attention to Trask.
'So then, but this is a verra different E-Branch to the one Ah used tae know. They pilots, talkin' over there: Australians, aye? And a couple more fiddlin' wi' those vehicles there? Seems ye're recruitin' far afield these days, Benjamin.'
'No, not really/ Trask answered. 'Not even if it was just our espers you were talking about. See, in E-Branch we've never much cared about colours, creeds or nationalities. In that respect you could even say that we've always recruited far afield. For example: David Chung is of Chinese stock, you are Scottish, and poor Darcy Clarke's forebears were French. As for Zek Foener. Zek…' Trask's voice faltered and his face clouded over.
'Aye, Ah ken, and Ah'm sorry/ McGilchrist took his arm. They had arrived at Trask's tent. Freeing himself from the Scotsman's grip, his well-meant but inopportune commiseration, Trask turned his face away, occupied himself in fastening back the entrance flap to let in the predawn light. And in a while:
'Currently the team consists of a small nucleus of agents, mainly from London HQ/ he went on on. 'But the back-up squads are Australian military, and likewise all their gear. It's not likely that anyone would know that, because the tac signs have been removed from the vehicles and choppers, and of course the men themselves aren't wearing their standard uniforms. But the discipline is the same. And you're quite right, Grahame, there have been several changes in E-Branch. For one, we're no longer the shoestring outfit that we used to be. Financially we're pretty stable now; when you can pay your own way, it gives you that much more clout.
'Five years ago, through our dealings with Gustav Turchin, the Russian Premier, we got ourselves accepted and well-established. We could afford to come out of hiding — emerge, as
it were, from the esoteric closet — but never too far. For let's face it, an organization like E-Branch can't remain secret if everyone knows about it.
'As for these Australians: obviously they're all subject to their own version of the Official Secrets Act, and they've all been hand-picked for their loyalty, their unswerving devotion to duty and their country. Isn't that just exactly how it should be? Who better to do… well, what I'm calling on them to do, than loyal subjects of the country under threat?'
'Under threat?' Suddenly McGilchrist's tone was sharp as he took his seat at Trask's small table.
Trask nodded gravely. 'Perhaps the entire world/ he said. 'Except the world doesn't know it yet, and it mustn't/
'A secret invasion?' McGilchrist looked from face to face, trying to fathom their expressions. 'As bad as a' that, is it? Then ye can only be talkin' about one thing. Oh, Ah dinnae need tae ken it a', but is it… Them?' An ex- member of the Branch, he'd had access to the files on their long-term war against the Wamphyri; indeed those files had long been required reading for all Branch operatives and senior affiliates.
'Grahame, you weren't part of the Sunside/Starside thing/ Trask told him, 'and from past experience I know how dangerous it could be to put you in the picture now. So please let it be. But yes, it is… Them. And now perhaps you'll forgive me for getting you out of bed in the middle of the night? As for Jake Cutter here, he could be very important to us — but very important — in the work we've still to do/
The big Scot had heard enough and was suitably impressed. 'Then we'd best be at it/ he said. 'But tell me, just what am Ah supposed tae be lookin' for? Can ye no offer a wee clue?'
Trask looked torn two ways. He glanced first at Jake, then turned back to McGilchrist. 'I can, but that would mean telling Jake, too/
'What's that? But doesnae he have a right to know?' McGilchrist frowned. And Jake said:
'Huh! My point exactly.'
'But/ Trask countered, 'if he does have such a right, why doesn't he already know? If he's been denied access, it must be for a reason. In which case, what right have I to give him access now?'
McGilchrist shook his head, frowned again. 'Well, doubtless ye ken well enough what ye're on about, but Ah'm as much in the dark as Jake here! Can ye no gi' me a startin' point?'
'Oh, yes,' Trask answered. 'That I can do. Just a week ago Jake was in jail in Italy, Turin, when—' 'Undercover?' the hypnotist cut in.
'Er, no/ said Trask, and the big Scot sat back and scratched at his beard musingly. 'Anyway/ Trask went on, 'Jake escaped from the prison, barely. But it's the way he escaped that interests us. And it's where he escaped to..
'Eh?' said McGilchrist. 'Escaped to…?' 'To Harry's Room, Grahame/ Trask told him. 'You'll remember Harry's Room, at E-Branch HQ?'
'Ah!' The other stopped scratching on the instant, stared hard at Trask, and harder still at Jake. 'He escaped there, ye say?'
'Arrived there/ said Trask. 'But the question is, was he brought there, or did he come of his own volition… or was he sent? And if the latter, by whom was he sent?' And again:
'AW.' said McGilchrist. 'Verra well, then that'll be our startin' point: the prison, the escape/ He unbuttoned a tartan shirt pocket, took out a small vial and uncorked it, gave it to Jake and said, 'Sit down here and swally that/
Jake sat, looked at the colourless liquid in the vial suspiciously. 'Do what?' he said.
'It's only a wee drug/ McGilchrist was completely matter-of-fact about it. 'We've had truth drugs a long time now, stuff ye had tae inject. But we've come a ways since then. This isnae a truth drug, but it does open the mind… it lets ye see more clearly intae yere own past. Aye, and it lets ye talk about it! Oh, and one other thing: it enhances mah power over ye/
'Your power over me?' Jake didn't like the sound of that, especially since he'd already poured the draught
