‘That’s what this is all about, Rebecca.’ Fairchild approached the table and drew out a chair. ‘Stopping Karen Hope before it gets to a point where she can’t be stopped.’
Silva turned to Weiss. ‘I thought that’s what you were trying to prevent me doing? Stopping Karen Hope.’
‘Well—’
‘I think,’ Fairchild said, ‘it’s about time we came clean.’
Silva snorted. ‘Right. As if I’d believe anything you said after all that’s happened.’
‘Let’s start at the beginning.’ Weiss was at the end of the table. He sat down and laid both hands flat before clasping them together. ‘Karen Hope is not what people think she is. Not the saviour come to lead us out of the wilderness. Not a Kennedy-type figure. Not even a moderately competent politician. But she is power hungry, corrupt, and will stop at nothing to achieve her ambition of becoming president.’
‘I know that.’ Silva gestured towards Fairchild. ‘Matthew briefed me on the whole thing. Hope killed my mother in an attempt to cover up her brother’s dealings with Jawad al Haddad.’
‘Yes.’ Weiss’s hands went flat on the table again. He leaned forward. ‘Although it will never become public, your mother was something of a hero. We knew of Hope’s relationship with the Saudis, of course, but we only discovered the true extent of it through your mother’s research.’
‘We?’
‘The security services.’
‘You were keeping tabs on her?’
‘We keep tabs on a lot of people, Rebecca, and every now and then all the watching and listening and hacking pays off. That was the case with your mother. We intercepted some of her file uploads and discovered the information about Hope. We followed up various leads and checked the veracity of your mother’s work. We came to the shocking conclusion it was not only true, but there was even more dirt buried.’
‘And that is?’
‘You don’t need to know.’ Weiss shook his head. ‘Suffice it to say it confirmed our plan of action had to be put into place immediately. We needed to prevent Hope from becoming president – not, I’m afraid, because of a moral imperative, rather because of the risk of massive global destabilisation if the information came out at a later date. Imagine the scandal. There’d be an impeachment, her removal from office, a totally unsuitable vice-president stepping into the job, questions about America’s role in the world. If, on the other hand, she wasn’t exposed, think of the leverage the Saudis and Haddad in particular would have over her. Policy in the Middle East would be in hock to them for the next four to eight years.’ Weiss paused and took a breath. ‘However, getting rid of Hope was easier said than done. We could allow your mother to continue her work and cross our fingers that when the story came out it would result in Hope having to withdraw her candidacy. There were several risks though. One, would your mother be able to get the story out in time? Two, would she be believed? Three, the revelations would do untold damage to the UK’s relationship with the Saudis. Our defence contracts are worth billions and support thousands of jobs. And think about the other ways the Gulf states invest in this country. They own football teams, property, huge chunks of well-known companies. In short, we are dependent on the whole region for our financial security and stability. There had to be another way to stop Hope; the question was, how?’
‘Yes, how,’ Fairchild said. He smiled across the table at Silva. ‘Were it to be discovered the British government had interfered in the democratic process of another country there’d be UN sanctions, a trade war, perhaps even, in the worst case, military conflict.’
‘Although,’ Weiss said, ‘I was hearing snippets of information from my colleagues in various agencies Stateside that they were looking for a way out of the situation themselves. They saw the danger of Hope becoming president too. However, they didn’t have the information we did, and even if they had it’s debatable whether there’d have been anybody brave enough to release the material.’ Weiss bowed his head for a moment. ‘And then something happened, something both serendipitous and tragic, and I realised the argument for more extreme measures had swung heavily in our favour.’
‘My mother’s murder,’ Silva said.
‘Yes,’ Weiss said. ‘Once that happened and we joined the dots the time for diplomatic pressure and subterfuge were over. Hope had proved herself to be beyond the pale. She’d sanctioned a terrorist attack, which left many people dead, to further her ambitions. In ordinary circumstances we’d have been seeking extradition and a trial. However, these are far from ordinary circumstances. I was summoned to a meeting with my boss, Thomas Gillan – the head of MI5 – and he agreed with my analysis. The problem was that when he went to Downing Street and made subtle hints that for the sake of British national security Hope had to be stopped, the prime minister wouldn’t hear of it. Risk the special relationship? Act against our closest ally? Inconceivable! After the meeting the cabinet secretary and the national security adviser spoke privately with Gillan, expressing their dismay at the prime minister’s stance. I’m afraid our politicians lack bravery and are more inclined to think short term and of their own political futures than for the good of the country. Despite the prime minister’s attitude, there was an understanding between Gillan and the two civil servants. Gillan came back to me and authorised an operation to stop Hope whatever it took. I explored several options, options that didn’t involve the death of Hope, but in the end I concluded there was only one with minimal risk and maximal chance of success. The secrecy involved was such that myself, Gillan and Matthew are the only people who know the whole truth. You can imagine the consequences if this ever got out.’
‘Simeon knew my area of expertise,’ Fairchild said. ‘He came to me seeking a third party, a rogue
