motions. The Yes Man sat back and put his hands on his knees. ‘Your task is very simple: to take control of Dark Winter.’ As it was the mission statement, he repeated it to make sure everything was clear.
‘However –’ I might have guessed this was coming: there was always a ‘however’. He jabbed the air with his index finger. ‘– if you are confronted by a person or persons preventing you taking control of Dark Winter, you will react as the situation dictates to ensure the safety of the public and yourselves.’
It was the standard gobbledygook. Expedited killings couldn’t happen legally unless either the home or foreign secretary, I could never remember which, gave the OK, and if this went wrong, the Yes Man would need to cover his arse by saying that he’d never ordered the killing of the ASU on the UK mainland.
‘The first thing you’ll do is contact our source. Yvette will give you the meet details later.’ He exchanged glances with the Golf Club. ‘Once our friend sorts himself out.’
Suzy sat back and crossed her legs. ‘So no one else is involved?’
‘No one.’
‘Bit like using a nut to crack a sledgehammer, isn’t it?’
The Golf Club got up as the Yes Man gathered together his papers. Her jacket rustled as she leant forward and pushed her arms into the sleeves. ‘This operation is somewhat more complicated than most. The service has a difficult balance to achieve,’ she said.
It was the first time I’d heard her raise her voice.
‘We have got to get out there and find Dark Winter, but also keep the details of its existence and planned use from the public – which unfortunately includes the government and other agencies, plus some in the service itself. It’s the only way we can protect the public and at the same time achieve our goal. However, we have only a small window of opportunity to eradicate this problem before circumstances may make it prudent to inform the relevant agencies in the very near future.’
It sounded like something out of
I could see what was happening here. The Firm was covering its arse in case information about the attack leaked out, or we were compromised. If the service was accused of acting unilaterally or suppressing information from the Prime Minister, the Yes Man could turn round and say: ‘Of course we informed government – doesn’t everyone read the intelligence reports, doesn’t everyone know what Dark Winter is?’ The relationship between government and the Firm hadn’t been brilliant after the latest Gulf War. I bet the Yes Man was loving keeping this from them. Suzy was even more excited. I realized now for sure that she just lived for this shit.
The Yes Man shoved the last of his files into his briefcase. Yvette followed suit and continued her bit as she ratcheted the cuff round her wrist up tight. ‘At fifteen hundred there will be a brief to address your concerns about the contents of the bottles. His name is Simon and he will come here. He is not aware of any aspect of the operation and will think he is giving a general tutorial to the FCO.’ She looked up with a smile, making eye-contact with us both as the Yes Man cuffed himself to his briefcase. ‘I’ll be back at eighteen hundred, hopefully with details of the source meet and communications, and two Packet Oscars.’
The Yes Man got to his feet. It had never been his custom to ask if anyone had any questions: as far as he was concerned, once he’d finished speaking his audience knew everything they needed to know.
They both made for the door. Suzy was just ahead of them with the mugs before she veered off towards the kitchen.
The Yes Man leant down for a moment as he came level with me, so close I could feel his breath condense in my ear. ‘Make whatever arrangements you need to for that child before the three o’clock briefing. After that, you’re mine.’
As the front door closed, Suzy reappeared, all smiles. ‘Well, this is freaky here-we-go-again shit, isn’t it? Though I’m not sure the boss is as pleased to see you as I am . . .’ She reached into her back pocket and pulled out a blister pack of gum, then jumped backwards into the Yes Man’s sofa, her feet up on the arm. ‘OK, what do you make of all this, then?’
‘I’m keeping an open mind.’
‘Thanks. No need to go overboard.’
She studied me while shoving two chunks of gum into her mouth. ‘Well, at least you won’t die of passive smoking. I’ve given up.’
‘Thank fuck for that.’ I headed for the front door. As I turned the handle, I called back to her: ‘Listen, we’ve got an hour before the Simon thing. I’m going to get some washing and shaving kit. See you in a bit.’
‘OK . . .’ She didn’t sound convinced.
17
When I got back to the car and hit the cell keys the meter was just about to run out. I’d come out expecting to get a fond farewell from Sundance and Trainers, but they weren’t anywhere to be seen. With their job done for the day they’d probably slunk back into their holes.
How the fuck was I going to get out of this? I didn’t know yet. What I did know was that I’d better get my act together and prepare for the job, just in case I really did land up belonging to the Yes Man. It was an unsparing world. George was right – but, then, he usually was.
I got a crackly ‘Hello?’ Carmen must have been stuck down a well for him to have permission to answer. ‘Jimmy, it’s me, Nick. Listen, I—’
‘Here, best I pass you over to Carmen.’ The sound of the TV in their front room filled the earpiece and world order was restored.
‘Hello?’ It was her martyred voice.
‘Sorry, Carmen, I don’t know if I’ll get back tonight.’
‘Oh, really? What does that mean?’
‘You’ll need to take her to Chelsea. It’s important she doesn’t miss any of the sessions. Look, I’m trying to get back and take her myself. I want to see her.’ I could hear the sharp intake of breath as she prepared to give me a speech, but got in before she had the chance. ‘Listen, Carmen, let’s cut the bullshit, I haven’t enough time. It’s only a few more years before she’s old enough to look after herself, and then we’ll never have to talk to each other again. The only reason I put up with your constant moaning is Kelly. So just talk normally, will you? Are you going to take her or not?’
She huffed and puffed. ‘But we don’t know how to get to this psychiatrist. Jimmy won’t be able to manage the Underground.’ She just couldn’t stop herself.
I tried to keep my voice level. ‘Carmen, don’t take the Underground. I’ll tell you what, book a taxi tonight – a pile of those minicab cards comes through your door every day. I’ll pay. There, it’s all done.’
‘But what time does she have to be there? We can’t just go on a wink and a nod. Taxis need a time to come and collect, you know. We just—’
‘I’ll give you all that stuff in a minute. Is Kelly there? Can I speak to her?’
Her tone changed again. She was rather pleased with herself. ‘She’s very angry with you at the moment, I can tell you. We can’t get a word out of her. Whatever you said to her certainly made her very upset. But never mind, we’ll get by.’
‘Carmen, why can’t you just cut the crap? Are you going to take her tomorrow or not?’
‘I’ll take her.’ She had to force it out.
‘That’s good. Thank you very much. Oh, and I nearly forgot. I’m expecting a package in the post. It’ll be arriving tomorrow or Monday. Can you just hold it for me until I can pick it up?’
