‘Collateral damage,’ he said.
Harry Palmer wasn’t free at short notice, so Holm had arranged to meet for lunch the following day.
‘Next door to yours?’ Palmer said, referencing the Pizza Express across the street from Thames House.
‘No, too close to home,’ Holm said. ‘Do you know the place we used to go years ago? Twelve thirty.’
‘Curiouser and curiouser,’ Palmer said before confirming he’d be there and hanging up.
The place they used to go years ago was the Pear Tree Cafe in Battersea Park. Holm liked it for a clandestine meet because there were numerous entrances to the park and, once inside, dozens of paths to follow.
Holm and Javed found a rare parking spot close by and entered the park at twelve. They approached the cafe in a circuitous manner and Holm had Javed stand off and keep watch while he went in and awaited Palmer’s arrival. An expanse of glass curved round one side of the cafe and Holm sat at a table near the entrance. At twelve twenty-five Palmer slipped into a seat opposite Holm, appearing to materialise out of thin air, but likely coming in through the kitchens.
‘Very good,’ Holm said. ‘You got me.’
‘What is this, Stephen?’ Palmer winked. ‘Are we playing at lovers or co-conspirators?’
Holm grimaced. ‘Not the former, please.’
‘I thought you’d gone over to the other side.’ Palmer gestured through the window. ‘He’s a good-looking lad, I’ll give you that.’
‘You spotted him?’
‘He’s down at the lake pretending to feed the ducks.’ Palmer raised a hand and made a little pecking motion with his thumb and fingers. ‘Only, what sort of twenty-something male would be doing that? Plus he hasn’t got any bread.’
They ordered food, Palmer going for soup and a roll, which allowed him to make a joke about giving some to Javed for the birds.
‘Enough,’ Holm said. ‘This isn’t funny, Harry.’
‘It’s deadly serious if you’re relying on that kid.’ Palmer couldn’t help another smile but the expression quickly turned solemn. ‘Is this about your little project to round up Nazi fanboys? I heard about it on the grapevine.’
‘No.’ Holm lowered his voice. ‘This is about Taher.’
‘For Christ’s sake, Stephen, are you asking to be sacked?’
‘I’m on to him, but I need your help. One more push and I’ve got him.’
‘Really?’ A look of surprise crossed Palmer’s face. ‘Are you sure you’re not delusional?’
‘No. What’s more, Taher is somehow linked to the Hope family. The Hope family, as in Karen Hope.’
‘Now I know you’re delusional.’ Palmer frowned and the surprise turned to concern. ‘You need to back off before the Spider gets a tug on one of her threads. If she discovers what you’re up to she’ll come for you. The resulting mess won’t be pretty.’
‘I’m not backing off and I’m quite sane, thank you.’ Holm lowered his voice. ‘There’s some dodgy arms dealing going on between Allied American Armaments and the Saudis, the net result of which is Taher getting his hands on a bunch of weapons. What’s strange is there’s nothing on the system about Brandon Hope or the company. Nothing, do you hear?’
‘Nothing. I see.’ Palmer nodded. Holm had his attention. ‘You want to know if I’ve heard something?’
‘Hope is involved in a charity that works in North Africa. If there’s anything going on in the region you’d be aware of it, right?’
‘One would hope – sorry – so.’ Palmer tapped the table. ‘But no, there’s not been a whisper.’
‘This could be big, Harry. I think Brandon is shipping the arms across the Med in a boat he owns. The weapons are going to Taher who is then distributing them to the jihadis: AQIM, al-Shabaab, ISIS, whatever. I can’t believe your people on the ground haven’t got even an inkling.’
‘Well, quite. Very worrying.’ Palmer scratched his chin. ‘You have proof of Brandon’s involvement?’
‘Not directly. It’s just me and the lad at the moment, so we’re struggling to keep on top of it all.’ Holm turned his head. Javed was down by the lake. ‘But if I can land Taher I’ll be back in favour, and if you help me you’ll be in line for some credit too. A lot of credit.’
‘We’ll need to proceed carefully, Stephen. You know how things are.’
‘Are you talking about Karen Hope and her presidential ambitions?’
‘There is that, of course, but I was thinking of the Saudi link too. We don’t want to embarrass our allies.’ Palmer glanced at the window. ‘Who knows about this?’
‘Only me and Farakh. Huxtable doesn’t have a clue.’
‘Are you sure?’
‘Yes. I’ve been keeping a lid on the information. Too many times I’ve been close to Taher and he’s disappeared in a puff of smoke.’
‘Are you suggesting…?’ Palmer let the sentence hang.
‘You know I am. Hell, we’ve talked often enough about it before. You even admitted yourself you were worried.’
‘Yes, but the Spider?’
‘Not Huxtable, but the people around her. Somebody with high-level access. Perhaps even in one of the foreign agencies we share information with. I’ve long suspected the Americans haven’t being playing by the rules.’
‘The CIA?’
‘Yes. It makes sense now we know Allied Armaments and the Hopes are linked to Taher. The Agency could be running interference to safeguard their national interests.’
Palmer narrowed his eyes, his brow creasing. ‘That’s extremely concerning.’
Holm nodded. Although Palmer was obviously troubled, Holm felt a weight lifting from his own shoulders. The SIS officer was more used to dealing with this sort of thing than Holm was. He’d know what to do.
‘OK.’ Palmer steepled his hands. ‘So we need to keep this to ourselves. I understand.’
‘It’s the only way to be sure Taher isn’t forewarned.’
‘Right.’ Palmer looked both excited and nervous. ‘We can do this. First you give me the full details, second we formulate a plan of attack. I’m glad you came to me, Stephen. If we work together on this then Taher is history.’
An hour later and they were done. Palmer slipped away while Holm went across to where Javed was sitting at an outside table nursing an
