N01 1 <#FLOB:N01\>"We will go to the airport soon. When they N01 2 are not suspicious. I hope we do not get any orders from Moscow in N01 3 that time." Myeloski slid his chair away and lit a N01 4 cigarette. After a few puffs, he said: "You are privileged, N01 5 you know."

N01 6 "Why?"

N01 7 "Because Sverdlovsk is off-limits to N01 8 foreigners."

N01 9 Duncan was surprised. "I didn't know that still went N01 10 on."

N01 11 "Oh yes. It is a closed city. No non-communist has ever N01 12 visited there. You will be the first. You can put that in your N01 13 memoirs, if you live that long."

N01 14 "Why is it closed to foreigners?"

N01 15 "I don't know. I suppose, if that's where the family N01 16 were killed, that it would be a tourist attraction for the wrong N01 17 reasons. It's not something the Government would want to be N01 18 reminded of. Now, or in the past."

N01 19 Eventually, after two nervous hours, and one large, gruesome N01 20 and soggy meal, Myeloski told the commissioner that they would be N01 21 going for a drive to look at the local countryside and would then N01 22 return to the hotel. He explained that he had already booked out, N01 23 but would be returning there for the night by 7 p.m. The N01 24 commissioner, a local policeman, had accepted Myeloski's statement N01 25 as a matter of course. He understood that waiting for fresh orders N01 26 from Moscow was boring. Might as well be out driving than sitting N01 27 in a cold room waiting.

N01 28 Once they had left the police station and driven round the N01 29 corner, Myeloski slammed his foot down on the accelerator and sped N01 30 off towards the airport.

N01 31 That's when they found there were no flights until the next N01 32 day.

N01 33 While Duncan waited in the passenger area, Myeloski went off to N01 34 quiz the air-traffic controller as to the availability of any N01 35 military or other flights to Sverdlovsk.

N01 36 And that's when Duncan saw the Antonov AN-2 land and taxi in to N01 37 park on the far side of the two Migs.

N01 38 The AN-2 first appeared in 1947 and became the workhorse of N01 39 Russian airspace. It fulfilled the same role as the DC3, the N01 40 Dakota. But, unlike the DC3, the AN-2 has only one engine and is a N01 41 biplane. The earlier models were powered by a Shvetsov radial N01 42 engine, although the modern versions have a turboprop unit up N01 43 front. The plane Duncan saw was of an early variety.

N01 44 Although primarily a cargo-plane, the AN-2 could seat up to N01 45 sixteen passengers. With a top cruising speed of 115 miles per hour N01 46 and a ceiling of 14,000 feet, the plane became a legend in the N01 47 Russian outback. It could take off on a grass strip of only 600 N01 48 feet and was as solid as a London double-decker bus, and about as N01 49 comfortable. With a stall speed under 50 miles per hour, the N01 50 aircraft seemed to hover over the end of runways like a helicopter N01 51 before landing.

N01 52 The plane parked at Tobolsk airport was a freighter, and the N01 53 two pilots climbed out through the side-door. They were followed by N01 54 a man in a white coat and a nurse.

N01 55 The pilots opened the freight-doors and climbed back into the N01 56 plane as an ambulance drove out to them. Through the wheels of the N01 57 Mig undercarriage Duncan saw a stretcher being unloaded and put in N01 58 the back of the ambulance. The man in white, obviously a doctor, N01 59 and a nurse climbed into the back of the ambulance, the pilot in N01 60 front with the ambulance crew. The vehicle left the ramp as the N01 61 other pilot closed the freight-doors.

N01 62 Behind him, Myeloski pushed through the crowd and sat down next N01 63 to Duncan.

N01 64 "No flights at all. And no trains, not until tomorrow. N01 65 I think we'll have to take the car."

N01 66 "That'll take forever. Can't Moscow help?"

N01 67 "Not unless we want to get stuck with the KGB. I know N01 68 Yashkin. We have worked together for many years. He will not want N01 69 me to call him."

N01 70 "It's over five hundred kilometres. We wouldn't get N01 71 there till lunch-time tomorrow. That's if we left now."

N01 72 Myeloski puffed up his cheeks and let the breath noisily escape N01 73 from his clenched lips. He stared ahead, at the Mig which was now N01 74 being refuelled.

N01 75 "It's a pity we haven't got one of those," he N01 76 said, indicating the fighter. Behind the jet, a bowser had arrived N01 77 to refuel the AN-2.

N01 78 "No harm in asking, is there?" Duncan stood up. N01 79 After all, we've nothing to lose."

N01 80 "The Mig - I suppose you can fly it also. But it only N01 81 has two seats."

N01 82 "Come on. And bring your police warrant-card with N01 83 you."

N01 84 Duncan set off towards a side-door, carrying his small case. N01 85 Myeloski jumped up and followed him.

N01 86 A guard barred their way to the apron, Duncan stopped and N01 87 indicated Myeloski, who pulled out his warrant-card and showed it N01 88 to the guard.

N01 89 "Police business." Myeloski fell into his role, N01 90 his voice dismissive and gruff. The guard checked his credentials N01 91 and then stepped back, opening the door for them. He was about to N01 92 end his shift and wanted to get home. If he detained them, he would N01 93 only have to wait for a senior officer to turn up. And that could N01 94 take a long time.

N01 95 As they moved on to the apron, Myeloski fell in beside Duncan. N01 96 "We cannot steal a Mig. However important it N01 97 is."

N01 98 "But you can commandeer that one." Duncan N01 99 pointed at the AN-2. Myeloski stopped dead and stared at the old N01 100 biplane. His fear of the skies took hold again. "It's been N01 101 used as an ambulance flight. When they've finished refuelling, just N01 102 order him to fly us to Sverdlovsk. You said you could open doors, N01 103 remember?"

N01 104 Myeloski slowly and painfully came to terms with the situation. N01 105 He knew the Englishman was right. This was their one chance to keep N01 106 up with the kidnappers. He walked forward, towards the plane that N01 107 was being refuelled and up to the pilot. The pilot was of the old N01 108 school, a grizzled war veteran in his sixties who had never flown N01 109 the airlines but knew the Siberian terrain like the back of his N01 110 hand. While Myeloski spoke to him, Duncan kept back, in the N01 111 shadows. He surveyed the Mig, appreciating its powerful and clean N01 112 lines. They had finished refuelling, and the bowser and ground crew N01 113 moved away. The twin jet engines whined as they started to turn and N01 114 then surged into a thunderous roar as the igniters sparked the fuel N01 115 that exploded through the turbines.

N01 116 Duncan put his hands over his ears and turned away, back N01 117 towards Myeloski and the pilot. The policeman was shouting above N01 118 the roar, holding his warrant-card up for the pilot to see. The Mig N01 119 bounced on its brakes as the pilots released the plane, turning it N01 120 away from the ramp. It taxied towards the runway, its canopy still N01 121 open. Myeloski walked towards Duncan.

N01 122 "OK. He will take us. But he wants to wait for his N01 123 co-pilot. They are part of the air ambulance service. I told him N01 124 that you were a pilot and that it was important we go N01 125 now."

N01 126 "What did you threaten him with?"

N01 127 "Prison. What else?"

N01 128 So much for perestroika. Duncan walked with him back to N01 129 the AN-2. The bowser-man had refuelled the plane and was N01 130 disconnecting the fuel-lines.

N01 131 "I need to get a flight-plan. From the tower." N01 132 The pilot spoke to Myeloski, who looked at Duncan for help.

N01 133 "Do it over the radio. Say we have received an N01 134 emergency and need to go now." The pilot watched Duncan as N01 135 he spoke, realizing he was a foreigner.

N01 136 "They will not accept it."

N01 137 "Yes, they will." Duncan moved between the N01 138 pilot and the fuel-truck. He pulled his jacket back, and N01 139 the pilot saw the Coonan Magnum. Its shape was brutal in the dusk N01 140 of the day. Duncan smiled at him. "On the N01 141 radio."

N01 142 Myeloski, now knowing that they were committed to a new course, N01 143 came closer to the pilot. As he spoke, he looked away from the N01 144 refueller, so as not to be heard. "Comrade, we are not N01 145 enemies of the State, or spies. We are here on government business N01 146 that is of a secret nature. We need your plane. If you are not N01 147 going to help us, then my friend will shoot you. Have no doubt of N01 148 that." He saw that the pilot believed him, not by his N01 149 words, but because of the look on Duncan's face. "He is N01 150 also a pilot and will fly this plane if you do not."

N01 151 The refueller came towards them, waving a sheet of paper. N01 152 "I need your signature for the fuel," he N01 153 shouted.

N01 154 Duncan stepped back, his jacket closed. The pilot took the N01 155 sheet from the lineman and read through it, checking the contents, N01 156 taking his time. The Mig on the runway turned on full power as it N01 157 started its take-off run.

N01 158 "We must hurry, comrade. We must get to the patient N01 159 quickly." Myeloski spoke up, taking the pilot by the arm. N01 160 The pilot took the pen offered to him by the refueller and signed N01 161 the sheet. He was then given the top copy, and the refueller N01 162 returned to his bowser. He stopped to look at the Mig, its lights N01 163 blazing, reach the halfway point on the runway.

N01 164 "Wouldn't you rather be flying one of those?" N01 165 he shouted across the engine roar.

N01 166 The Mig swung its nose up, lifted off the ground and seemed N01 167 suspended in time and stillness for a moment. Then the wheels N01 168 tucked up, the nose lifted sharply skyward and the jet roared into N01 169 the air, its ear-shattering blast shaking the ramp and the small N01 170 terminal building. The fighter pilots were giving the spectators a N01 171 show, and the refueller saw some of the waiting passengers by the N01 172 windows applauding the take-off. He grinned and turned to the N01 173 others, but they were gone. He saw the small side-door of the N01 174 aircraft close. He shrugged. Bloody pilots, always in a hurry. Then N01 175 he got into his bowser and drove away.

N01 176 Inside the plane, Duncan slid into the right seat, next to the N01 177 pilot. Myeloski was busy strapping himself into a small N01 178 tubular-steel seat in the fuselage. Both men in the front put on N01 179 their headsets.

N01 180 "Call up the tower; say we're going south, to Tiumen. N01 181 That it is an emergency. Tell them you are refuelled and that you N01 182 are taxiing out whilst waiting for them to get your clearance. N01 183 Start the engines first."

N01 184 "It is most irregular. I always get clearance from the N01 185 tower first."

N01 186 "Not this time. Just do as I've told you."

N01 187 Duncan picked up the map that lay next to the pilot and N01 188 attempted to identify the landmarks. It was a topographical map, N01 189 and he found Tobolsk marked on it. At the same time, he watched the N01 190 pilot go through the start-up procedures. He saw the N01 191 battery-switch, the magnetos and the fuel-cock. In essence, that N01 192 was all he needed to know in case he had to start the plane at some N01 193 future date. The pilot primed the engine, still warm from its N01 194 previous flight, then applied the starter. As the big radial N01 195 spluttered and came alive, he fed in the fuel and then applied the N01 196 throttle. The engine rattled for a few more seconds as fuel was fed N01 197 into each cylinder and finally exploded into life. The pilot pulled N01 198 the throttle back to idle and turned on the radios.

N01 199 In the tower, the controller was surprised to see the AN-2 N01 200 start its engine. He was even more surprised to hear the pilot ask N01 201 for taxi instructions and for a clearance. It was most irregular, N01 202 but he had only been stationed here for a short time and accepted N01 203 that it was an emergency. He cleared the AN-2 to taxi for the N01 204 runway.

N01 205 Myeloski sat quietly in the dark of the fuselage. He had N01 206 tightened when the giant Shetsov radial had burst into life, N01 207 sending a metallic shudder through the cabin. As they started to N01 208 taxi, the fuselage had groaned, its age very apparent. The N01 209 policeman shut his eyes, bowed his head and prayed to his God.

N01 210 The biplane turned on its tailwheel and taxied to the N01 211 runway.

N01 212 "Line up," ordered Duncan when they reached the N01 213 end.

N01 214 N02 1 <#FLOB:N02\>No longer can I bear with the ruined god, betrayed and N02 2 beaten by his own magic. Calling on powers best left unsummoned, he N02 3 took human beings apart - and then he put them back together again. N02 4 For a while it worked (there was redemption); and while it worked N02 5 he and I were one, on the banks of the Vistula. He put us back N02 6 together. But of course you shouldn't be doing any of this kind of N02 7 thing with human beings ... The party is over. He lies there in the N02 8 peeling pyramid of the attic bedroom, on his cot shaped like a N02 9 gutter. A damp pink pillow is twisted in his fists. I'll always be N02 10 here. But he's on his own.

N02 11 7

N02 12 She loves me, she loves me not

N02 13 THE WORLD HAS stopped making sense again, and Odilo forgets N02 14 everything again (which is probably just as well), and the war is N02 15 over now (and it seems pretty clear to me that we lost it), and N02 16 life goes on for a little while. Odilo is innocent. His dreams are N02 17 innocent, purged of menace and sickness. Oh, sure, he quivers on N02 18 slippery poles as tall as the moon is high, and lopes nude down N02 19 tunnels while alarm-clocks sound, etc - but there are no worrying N02 20 resonances. And, as against that, his sleep savours many vulgar N02 21 triumphs with treasure chests and locks of hair and sleeping N02 22 beauties. And toilet bowls. The tutelary spirit of these dreams is N02 23 no longer the man in the white coat and the black boots: it is a N02 24 woman, a woman the size and shape of a galleon's sail, who can N02 25 forgive him everything. My hunch is that this woman is his mother, N02 26 and I'm anxious to know when she's going to show up. Odilo is N02 27 innocent. Odilo is, it turns out, innocent, emotional, popular, and N02 28 stupid.

N02 29 Also potent. He has no power whatever, of course, and does his N02 30 stuff in the Reserve Medical Corps with impeccable ovinity. But N02 31 he's potent. Ask little Herta, who will defeatedly attest to it. N02 32 She can barely walk. National Socialism is nothing more than N02 33 applied biology. Odilo is a doctor: a biological soldier. So this N02 34 two-year orgy we're having must form part of his personal campaign. N02 35 He's on active service; he smells powder; he's going over the top N02 36 for the baby. Yes, they still want one, even though Eva was such a N02 37 disappointment. When Odilo has Herta on the bed, splayed and N02 38 buckled, with her ankles on either side of the headboard, it's as N02 39 if he's trying to kill something rather than create it. But we all N02 40 know by now that violence creates, here on earth. Never before have N02 41 we been so potent, not even in New York when we were combing nurses N02 42 out of our hair. Herta sometimes looks as though she could do with N02 43 the odd impotent interlude. But there aren't any. What made the N02 44 difference, I wonder? After Schloss Hartheim, which seemed to go on N02 45 for ever, the three of us moved out of her parent's house and came N02 46 down here to Munich and its Alpine air. Away from Herta's childhood N02 47 room, away from the angels on the walls that used to watch over N02 48 her. Here, in our apartment, we have a skeleton watching over us, N02 49 made of white wood, and anatomical drawings loud with ginger N02 50 meat.

N02 51 The German girl is a natural girl. She comes just as she is. N02 52 With no makeup and hairy legs. This is okay by Odilo. In fact he N02 53 forbids the use of cosmetics, even soap; and as for her hair and N02 54 down, her crackling armpits, her upper locks and lower wreath - N02 55 Herta, I suspect, could be woollier than any yak and still keep N02 56 Odilo happy. He calls her his Schimpanse: his chimpanzee. N02 57 I have too say that I'm mad about her too. Herta's body gossips N02 58 with youth. Her ears are like cookies, her teeth are like candy. N02 59 Her flesh is as taut as the flesh of an olive. At first she wasn't N02 60 so keen, always complaining of tiredness or soreness or emotional N02 61 unease; but these days, as Odilo says again and again to all his N02 62 friends (and the compliment, I think, is pitched decorously high), N02 63 she bangs like a shithouse door in a gale. Herta is so small that N02 64 it seems natural to be quite strict with her. She is eighteen. And N02 65 getting smaller all the time. One mustn't give in to pessimism, and N02 66 it's pointless to look too far ahead, but in a couple of years she N02 67 won't even be legal.

N02 68 It's very sweet. Now that the wedding nears, Odilo is N02 69 altogether gentler. He has stopped having tantrums. No longer is N02 70 his chimpanzee required to do the housework naked, and on all N02 71 fours. Herta responds with gratitude, and with an apparently N02 72 unbounded tenderness, never seen before ... Erotic rapture, it N02 73 transpires, is in a sense a reptilian condition. The higher mind, N02 74 the soul, the princes of the faculties - they absent themselves. N02 75 And so too, most emphatically, does the reptile brain. Let me think N02 76 about it. When human and reptile brains get together, they want to N02 77 do harm from a position of safety. But when it's just their bodies, N02 78 they seem to want to do good, and close up, with maximum risk to N02 79 the self. I don't know. I'm still there, in their bed, and I like N02 80 it; but the oozy ecstasy belongs to Odilo, that glistening lizard, N02 81 and to Herta, that glistening lizardess, in their world of N02 82 succulent slime, where no words are necessary: you just croak and N02 83 hum ... Their love life is steadily divesting itself of all N02 84 irregularities. For instance, they used to play a kind of game N02 85 (about twice a week, or rather more often if Odilo put his foot N02 86 down), where she must lie still and show no sign of life, N02 87 throughout. Similarly, he used to take a healthy interest in his N02 88 wife's bowel movements, as is meet. But that's all behind him now. N02 89 When she weeps and sulks he dries her tears with kisses, and not N02 90 with a punch in the breasts. And nowadays she hardly cries at all: N02 91 the wedding is only weeks away. Less and less often, though still N02 92 pretty regularly (say most nights), Odilo quits his pact of N02 93 reptiles and, with enthusiasm, seeks his herds of friends: their N02 94 strength in musky numbers, their heat of hide and stall. We shout N02 95 and we drool, with the distorted faces of babies; individually we N02 96 have no power or courage, but together we form a glowing mass. N02 97 Often the night's play begins with us going out and helping Jews. N02 98 Odilo, Herta and I are officially on our honeymoon now but in fact N02 99 we're going nowhere. Except back to Berlin, for the wedding.

N02 100 My position on the Jews has always been without ambiguity. N02 101 I like them. I am, I would say, one of nature's philo-Semites. It's N02 102 their eyes I particularly admire. That glossy, heated look. An N02 103 exoticism that points towards the transcendent - who knows? Anyway, N02 104 why talk about their qualities? I am childless; but the Jews N02 105 are my children and I love them as a parent should, which is to say N02 106 that I don't love them for their qualities (remarkable as these N02 107 seem to me to be, naturally), and only wish them to exist, and to N02 108 flourish, and to have their right to life and love.

N02 109 I remember names and faces, names I heard called at dawn N02 110 gatherings in town squares, or by empty fuel pits and anti-tank N02 111 ditches, or under the light of policemen's bonfires, or in waiting N02 112 zones, in train stations, in green fields at night. And names I saw N02 113 on printed lists, quotas, manifests. Lonka and Mania, and Zonka and N02 114 Netka, Liebish, Feigele, Aizik, Yaacov, Motl, and Matla, and N02 115 Zipora, and Margalit. Back from Auschwitz-Birkenau-Monowitz, from N02 116 Ravensbr<*_>u-umlaut<*/>ck, from Mauthausen, Natzweiler and N02 117 Theresienstadt, from Buchenwald and Belsen and Majdanek, from N02 118 Belzec, from Chelmno, from Treblinka, from Sobibor.

N02 119 The sick smile that Odilo sported throughout his wedding day N02 120 seems, in retrospect, all too appropriate. I kept seeing this leer N02 121 of his, the leer of a wary yokel, reflected in the numerous little N02 122 mirrors set around Herta's marriage crown (traditional: to ward off N02 123 evil spirits, and so on). Yes, his smile was a good commentary on N02 124 the occasion; ditto the painfully explosive backslaps delivered by N02 125 his many new menfriends. How else should a person look, while, in N02 126 the course of a single ceremony, he kisses everything goodbye - N02 127 just blows it all away in a prodigal storm of confetti and rice? N02 128 She gave me the wreath of myrtle, the saffron and cinnamon, the N02 129 bread, the butter, and the rest of it. And I gave her all my power. N02 130 We switched our rings from the fourth finger of the left hand to N02 131 the fourth finger of the right. They said it was an auspicious N02 132 marriage moon: it was rising. But I could see that the moon above N02 133 my head was really on the wane. Hence the unbearable blows to back N02 134 and shoulder. Hence the coprophagic smile. Hence Herta's triumphal N02 135 laughter.

N02 136 She delightedly moves back into her parent's house, and lies N02 137 there, among golden-winged angels. And Odilo? Where are our N02 138 parents, for Christ's sake? Suddenly I'm in a five-floor N02 139 boarding-house, turbid with cabbage and gymshoes, sharing an attic N02 140 with Rolf and Reinhard and R<*_>u-umlaut<*/>diger and Rudolph, and N02 141 living a nightmare, an Alpdruck, of towel-fights and N02 142 text-books and jokes about courtship and corpses. That's right: I'm N02 143 at med school. In the New Germany too, and feeling rather jumpy and N02 144 furtive along with everybody else. Even the streets are like a dorm N02 145 these days, with much peer-group pressure and unpredictably intense N02 146 scrutiny, adolescent, unpleasant, sexual but sexually obscure or N02 147 half-formed, and made up of ridiculous postures which no one is N02 148 allowed to laugh at. Laugh at these ridiculous postures, and N02 149 everybody will want to kill you. How fortunate that I am N02 150 unkillable. Unkillable, but not immortal. What happened to our N02 151 manhood?

N02 152 It could be worse, because we still see Herta every day, at the N02 153 school: she's a tight-skirted secretary in Superintendence. I often N02 154 get ten minutes with her in a corridor, and sit quite near her N02 155 table in the cafeteria, and there's a stairwell where we go and N02 156 kiss - where we breathe into one another. Apart from that it's park N02 157 benches and dark archways. Mickey Mouse sniggers and Greta Garbo N02 158 averts her pained gaze from our mortified writhings on the shallow N02 159 fur of cinema seats. We cling close in the safety of crowds under N02 160 streetlights and torchlights. During certain ten-minute intervals N02 161 in her parent's front room, while they set out the filthy plates N02 162 for dinner, I have achieved much ... Also on our spring and summer N02 163 picnics. Among the delphinium, the snapdragon, the hollyhock and N02 164 the sweet-pea, on a blanket, by a basket, she will grant me a N02 165 nostalgic caress - always followed, on Odilo's part, by hours of N02 166 snivelling entreaty. Where once we ruled, now we serve. His most N02 167 prosperous theme is that the frustration is damaging his health. N02 168 Another thing that usually works is the naming of flowers, in N02 169 English. The woods embolden her. The German girl is a natural girl. N02 170 Odilo is hysterically grateful for any sylvan handful or eyeful or N02 171 mouthful that comes his way. But I'm not. He forgets. I remember. N02 172 This tormented groping. I am excoriated by erotic revanchism. And I N02 173 know something he seems unable to face: it will never happen again. N02 174 The future always comes true. Sadly we gather forget-me-nots. She N02 175 loves me ... Actually we hardly dare look at her now, the tiny N02 176 typist, such power does she wield. Ja say the ghosts of N02 177 painted letters on the trees in the avenues. Nein says N02 178 Herta as she takes my hand and places it, for an angry moment, N02 179 between her thighs. Then, in the late afternoon, to the school: N02 180 zygoma, xanthelasma, volvulus, all drained from him, at least, at N02 181 last, all that ugly shit. But most of his lessons, to my surprise, N02 182 aren't about the human body being a machine: they are about N02 183 hospital administration. Sometimes, late at night, Odilo and I N02 184 sneak out alone on to the roof of the boarding-house, while the N02 185 Germans dream their dreams. N02 186 N03 1 <#FLOB:N03\>Michael Alder had first begun that arrangement about a N03 2 year earlier at the same time as he'd mentioned he had found a N03 3 distant elderly relative. It was about six months since she had N03 4 handled some letters which said the old man needed nursing-home N03 5 care.

N03 6 The half-share secretary had had no idea she was being N03 7 interviewed - John Kenna's police contacts were the kind who N03 8 carried briefcases in place of batons.

N03 9 But there was a final sentence in the telex, a direct quote N03 10 from the anonymous briefcase cop.

N03 11 "Subject Alder has no criminal record. But he has been N03 12 noted twice as a name on the fringe of separate marine insurance N03 13 frauds. No involvement was proved, but he remains potentially N03 14 interesting."

N03 15 Dr James Kennedy had a separate telex page. In some ways, the N03 16 details were more positive, in other ways they were less. Basic N03 17 fact was that he was "Scottish by birth, an undistinguished N03 18 medical graduate of Edinburgh University".

N03 19 His first post had been three years in the casualty department N03 20 of a London hospital. He had left that for an oil company job in N03 21 the Middle East, then had moved on again after eighteen months. N03 22 Next he had been two years with the medical sales section of a N03 23 Swiss pharmaceutical company before he moved on again.

N03 24 Then James Kennedy had vanished from the known medical scene N03 25 for more than five years. When he had surfaced again, it was back N03 26 in Scotland with vague descriptions of "work with medical N03 27 agencies in the Lebanon and Spain".

N03 28 It was less than a year since he had arrived in Port Torquil, N03 29 saying he wanted to put down roots. Younger medical practitioners N03 30 were scarce around the islands, and there had been a general N03 31 welcome when he set up practice in the fishing village. He was N03 32 liked, he was respected, he worked hard.

N03 33 But James Kennedy had disappeared in Port Torquil at N03 34 approximately the same time as Michael Alder had arrived. James N03 35 Kennedy who had a radio hidden in an upstairs bedroom and lied N03 36 about whiskies.

N03 37 There was one thing more.

N03 38 Old John Hill, the distant relative discovered by Michael Alder N03 39 then eventually shipped out to a private nursing home on the N03 40 mainland, "is still listed on National Health Service N03 41 central computer records as being one of Dr James Kennedy's N03 42 patients in Port Torquil".

N03 43 Six months on - that could happen. But also six months on, N03 44 Social Security's central pensions computer still continued to list N03 45 the old man as living in Port Torquil, where his pension was being N03 46 paid to a duly authorized agent and relative, Mr Michael Alder. The N03 47 authorization, on the grounds of John Hill's frailty and ill N03 48 health, had been countersigned by the old man's general N03 49 practitioner - James Kennedy.

N03 50 There were other fragments, scooped together by the industrious N03 51 John Kennan, some without being asked. Harry Gold, boatyard owner, N03 52 had served an eighteen-month term for trading in stolen boats. Even N03 53 the crew of the Dirk hadn't escaped scrutiny. Tom Barratt, the N03 54 beanpole electronics technician, had a medal for bravery that went N03 55 back to the Falklands. The plump, plain Martha Edwards had twice N03 56 been fined, once been jailed as an Animal Rights activist...

N03 57 He swept the telex messages aside. The two that mattered most, N03 58 the two about Alder and Kennedy, posed their own stark, bleak, N03 59 questions. Maybe some of the others mattered too.

N03 60 Maybe that depended on what might be waiting ahead.

N03 61 Half an hour later, Lannair Island was a growing bulk on N03 62 Tern's radar screen. In another twenty minutes, the patrol N03 63 launch had come back to half speed using the outer diesels. What N03 64 had been an air-gobbling roar had become a purr, the tell-tale N03 65 white of her wash had vanished.

N03 66 If Lannair had any fresh visitors, Tern had become a mere N03 67 shadow of an outline in a grey, broken sea under a dark night sky. N03 68 Andy Grey had the radar watch, Gogi MacDonnell had taken over the N03 69 helm, and Sam Pilsudski had emerged like a maritime mole to sniff N03 70 the air and help on deck.

N03 71 "No good, skipper," said Andy Grey for the N03 72 third time in as many minutes. "Ghosting - a lot of N03 73 ghosting. The same we get around Torquil's Shield." He N03 74 glanced uneasily towards Gogi MacDonnell. "Same with the N03 75 compass."

N03 76 "Gogi?" asked Carrick.

N03 77 "Aye, fine skipper," said MacDonnell N03 78 placidly.

N03 79 "Jesus," said Sam Pilsudski piously. "He's N03 80 happy!" The engineer officer stared out at the night, at N03 81 the black rise of island, and at the foaming patches of sea ahead. N03 82 "You happy, Clapper?"

N03 83 "No," said Clapper Bell solemnly, shaking his head.

N03 84 Andy Grey looked round, staring at them, then swore when he saw N03 85 their grins under the soft red night-vision lighting of the N03 86 bridge.

N03 87 "Stop clowning," ordered Carrick with a faint N03 88 irritation. Even in the darkness he could now pick up individual N03 89 outlines of rock along Lannair's shore. "Gogi, bring her N03 90 down - slow ahead both."

N03 91 "Slow ahead both," repeated MacDonnell. He N03 92 eased back on both outer throttles, and immediately Tern N03 93 slowed to a whispering crawl.

N03 94 Carrick was satisfied. They were closing on the high east cliff N03 95 of the island. If Lannair was half a mile long, then the patrol N03 96 launch was less than that distance out. He could even see the black N03 97 beginning of the downward slope to the low rocks of the western N03 98 shore. The west -

N03 99 "Skipper!" Clapper Bell spoke urgently, pointing. N03 100 "On the slope. A light!"

N03 101 Andy Grey opened his mouth to protest at an old joke worn thin. N03 102 Then he saw the way Bell was staring towards the island and changed N03 103 his mind.

N03 104 "Skipper?" This time, Bell made it a question.

N03 105 "Got it," confirmed Carrick. "Mark N03 106 it."

N03 107 While Tern muttered on at the same slow, rolling pace, N03 108 occasional spray pattering along her length, the same brief N03 109 will-o'-the-wisp light danced for a few moments more on Lannair in N03 110 the way a carelessly used torch might shine. Then it had gone. By N03 111 then, Carrick had the bridge glasses ready. The light suddenly N03 112 showed again, more a reflection this time, further along the slope. N03 113 Climbing.

N03 114 It vanished again. This time the light didn't reappear.

N03 115 "We're in business," murmured Sam Pilsudski. He N03 116 hauled one of his thin cheroots out of his top overall pocket, N03 117 stuck it in his mouth, leaving it dangling unlit, and grinned. N03 118 "Front door or back door, Webb?"

N03 119 It had to be back door. With any luck, Tern was still N03 120 invisible in the night, and someone was on Lannair. Carrick knew N03 121 their immediate task was to find out why.

N03 122 A hogback outcrop of islet was visible to starboard. It was big N03 123 enough to give cover, safe enough for Tern to loiter N03 124 behind.

N03 125 Five minutes later, the patrol launch was snug in the shadow of N03 126 the hogback islet, lying maybe two lengths off the foaming sea N03 127 around its base. By then, Andy Grey had his orders, Carrick and N03 128 Clapper Bell were in the scuba compartment changing into their N03 129 black neoprene rubber wet-suits, and the will-o'-the-wisp light N03 130 still hadn't been seen again.

N03 131 Clapper Bell had two breathing sets neatly laid out. As Carrick N03 132 and the big Glasgow-Irishman fastened final zips, pulled on N03 133 harness, and went into a routine check of each other's breathing N03 134 apparatus, Andy Grey joined them from the bridge.

N03 135 "Ready, skipper?" His thin face was slightly N03 136 strained.

N03 137 "Ready," agreed Carrick. "Just remember one N03 138 thing, Andy. If we flush any boat out from Lannair, don't go mad. N03 139 Track it on radar. Nothing more."

N03 140 "Except come back for us," suggested Clapper N03 141 Bell easily.

N03 142 They went out on deck. Together the two black-clad figures in N03 143 turn spat into his face-mask glass then rinsed the mask in the N03 144 pitching sea alongside - still the best way to keep the glass from N03 145 misting underwater - then exchanged a final glance.

N03 146 "Go," said Carrick.

N03 147 Biting on their mouthpieces, pulling down their face masks, N03 148 they splashed down into the water, surfaced again, then immediately N03 149 duck-dived under. The night chill of the sea hit for a moment, then N03 150 receded.

N03 151 The sea was black as ink, two plumes of bubbles were rising N03 152 from the scuba sets, air-regulator valves were clicking in a total, N03 153 disciplined rhythm. They didn't have to go deep. Using his wrist N03 154 compass, checking his depth gauge, conscious of Clapper Bell N03 155 swimming almost within touching distance, Carrick settled into a N03 156 steady, kicking crawl beat with only the occasional snatch of a N03 157 current or eddy to divert his attention until they hit a brief band N03 158 of tall, thick kelp weed. The kelp clawed at their suits and scuba N03 159 gear, but was only a fragile barrier.

N03 160 Then they were through, their feet were touching seabed shingle N03 161 and in another moment they were wading ashore on Lannair.

N03 162 Where they had landed, the ground was a wilderness mix of flat N03 163 slabs of rock and thick banks of small, smooth pebbles. They could N03 164 hear the wind - and with it, maybe something else, something coming N03 165 from the other side of the island. Bell mimed a question, Carrick N03 166 shook his head in reply, and they spent a couple of minutes N03 167 stripping off their aqualung harnesses then leaving the aqualungs, N03 168 their fins and other equipment in the shadow of one slab of N03 169 rock.

N03 170 The faint, distant noise was still there. It was like the low N03 171 moan and whine of a small ship's electrical generator. For another N03 172 moment, they crouched and took their bearings. To their left, the N03 173 slope rose steadily and smoothly to the crest of rock. But ahead, N03 174 beyond the shore rock, there was only a moderate hillock rise N03 175 separating them from whatever was whining on the other side.

N03 176 "Let's do it," said Carrick softly, and started N03 177 to move. Seawater was still coming in small damping trickles from N03 178 his wet-suit as he began to rise.

N03 179 "No," hissed Clapper Bell, grabbing his wrist and N03 180 hauling him back down.

N03 181 A man was walking along the crest of the hillock, relaxed N03 182 enough to be whistling under his breath, in no hurry. He had a N03 183 hand-torch, and when he shone it briefly to be sure of his route N03 184 then there was enough reflected glow from the little pool of light N03 185 to show that he was wearing an old peaked cap and overalls and that N03 186 he had a rifle slung over one shoulder.

N03 187 The torchlight swung again as the man used two slabs of rock N03 188 like stepping stones. Clapper Bell muttered a grunt, nudging N03 189 Carrick. Carrick nodded, watching the man continue to follow a path N03 190 he seemed to know until he vanished over the hillock.

N03 191 "He's one o' the pair from the harbour last N03 192 night," said Bell hoarsely. "Remember N03 193 him?"

N03 194 Tight-lipped, Carrick nodded. He had plenty of reason to N03 195 remember Joe and Petey. The man had been Joe, who had stopped N03 196 enjoying his evening when Carrick had hit him in the middle with N03 197 that swinging spar of quayside wood.

N03 198 It was something else he'd miscalculated, and Clapper Bell had N03 199 made the same mistake at the time. The harbour attack had been N03 200 planned, not the casual whim of two wandering drunks. The two had N03 201 been sent off on a deliberate task, probably told to rough up the N03 202 newly arrived stranger a little so that he was less likely to keep N03 203 sticking his nose in where it wasn't wanted.

N03 204 But now one of them was here. Carrick glanced back to where N03 205 they'd first spotted him coming. That way led down from the top of N03 206 Lannair's east-facing sea-cliff. Any kind of path in that direction N03 207 gave a new significance to the moving light they'd seen from N03 208 Tern. There must be some kind of trip-wire style lookout post N03 209 up there at the top of the cliff.

N03 210 "How about now?" muttered Clapper Bell, still N03 211 crouched low beside him. In his black rubber wet-suit, the N03 212 Glasgow-Irishman looked like a large, damp seal.

N03 213 "This time." An edge of moonlight had broken N03 214 through the clouds, and that helped. "But we stay clear of N03 215 trouble."

N03 216 Clapper Bell grinned, then they got to their feet. Walking N03 217 under the faint, cloud-filtered moonlight, they crossed through N03 218 ankle-length grass and stunted heather and headed in the same N03 219 direction the fisherman with the rifle had taken. Almost N03 220 immediately, they found they were on a faint but traceable path of N03 221 sorts and they could go faster. N03 222 N04 1 <#FLOB:N04\>I backed the loan she raised then, by the way. N04 2 Frightful place, I thought. Hideous little house with horrible N04 3 great cellars. In such a depressing part of London, N04 4 too."

N04 5 "Islington's 'coming up'," Castalia said.

N04 6 "Well, it didn't seem to be, then."

N04 7 "Evelyn Waugh lived ten minutes away from Janet's N04 8 factory in the early 1930s. And so did George Orwell, a bit N04 9 later."

N04 10 "I can see Orwell there. All that 'Down and Out on N04 11 Wigan Pier' business of his. But Waugh - that does surprise N04 12 me."

N04 13 "He was young and poor and not yet embittered. And N04 14 there's some wonderful architecture in that district."

N04 15 "Well, Janet's factory isn't a good example of N04 16 it."

N04 17 Castalia laughed. "I agree with you there."

N04 18 "I suppose she's transformed the cellars. They were N04 19 creepy as hell when I saw them."

N04 20 "I don't know about transformed. I suppose she N04 21 cemented the floors and she's added a lot of iron bars and gates, N04 22 and created two areas for production and packaging."

N04 23 "Oh my God, Castalia, don't you start bombarding N04 24 me with that jargon!"

N04 25 "Not very complicated jargon, really," Castalia N04 26 said. "I must say 'areas' - I can't say 'rooms' for those N04 27 great spaces, divided by a corridor with folding metal N04 28 gates."

N04 29 "Sounds ghastly!" said James.

N04 30 "Yes, perfectly ghastly! There's strip lighting N04 31 everywhere in the building except in her office. And there are a N04 32 lot of very gloomy-looking women in pale-blue overalls, with N04 33 bluebirds over their left breasts." James laughed. Castalia N04 34 said, "The corridor in the cellars is awful. Like something N04 35 in a prison. I thought of Piranesi, though of course it lacks his N04 36 grandeur. And the door from the cellars into the rest of the N04 37 building is made of metal bars. A foreman locked it during the N04 38 lunch hour. Janet's afraid of things being stolen ... though N04 39 what things, heaven knows! When she stays there in the N04 40 evenings, does she lock up the place herself? Or do they have a N04 41 night watchman?"

N04 42 "No, I don't think so. Too extravagant. And I doubt if N04 43 many burglars are keen on 'Blue Bird'. I don't think she goes round N04 44 locking up - though she has keys, of course - to everything, I N04 45 should imagine. She has a great bunch of them in her bag - her N04 46 'handbag' as she still calls it. I once told her she clanked like N04 47 Marley's ghost. She didn't appreciate it. Don't think she knew who N04 48 Marley was. Of course, I suppose she locks up after she's been N04 49 there alone in the evening. You know, I often think 'working late' N04 50 is just an excuse for sitting at the centre of her web, like some N04 51 great spider ... simply gloating."

N04 52 Castalia laughed. Then she said, "You mean, when she N04 53 works late she's all alone in that gloomy house? You'd think she'd N04 54 be frightened."

N04 55 "Oh, not Janet!"

N04 56 "Perhaps she meets a lover."

N04 57 "Janet? You must be joking!"

N04 58 "As a matter of fact, I am." Castalia looked at N04 59 her watch. The time was half-past nine. "Will she still be N04 60 working now?"

N04 61 "Very probably. Why? Do you intend to call?"

N04 62 "Now you're joking. Does she tell you in N04 63 advance when she's going to stay up in London?"

N04 64 "Oh yes, always. A day or two before. Not for my N04 65 sake. Because of making arrangements about the N04 66 children."

N04 67 "A model mother!"

N04 68 "I suppose so." James sighed. "She's N04 69 certainly determined to model the children on herself. No trace of N04 70 decadent Daddy is going to be allowed to surface."

N04 71 "James, you're such a defeatist!" But N04 72 Castalia's tone was buoyant. "Can't influence your N04 73 children. Can't refuse to sign intolerable documents. But listen N04 74 now, James. I've got one favour to ask you. Put off signing that N04 75 thing about the Constable until late next week."

N04 76 James groaned. "Next week," he said. N04 77 "Late next week! What's today? Wednesday. My God, and N04 78 with the weekend looming ahead. Do you realize what pure hell my N04 79 life's going to be? And what a difference can a week N04 80 make?"

N04 81 "Keep Syrupy glued to your side, James, and do it as a N04 82 favour to me. Do it for Castalia. Remember? 'One for Miss N04 83 Castalia,' Nanny used to say when she gave you a spoonful of rice N04 84 pudding."

N04 85 He laughed.

N04 86 "One for Miss Castalia, now James ..."

N04 87 "Oh well. All right. But I can't think what N04 88 -"

N04 89 "One for Miss Castalia!"

N04 90 Yes. All right."

N04 91 "Good night, James darling." She put down the N04 92 receiver. She stood up. Then she raised her arms as if to greet N04 93 sunrise in the square outside. But it was dusk.

N04 94 It was dark by the time she reached the corner of the street in N04 95 Islington. Walking past the fenced wasteland, then along the N04 96 terrace, she was conscious of the quietness. The workshops were all N04 97 closed. The caf<*_>e-acute<*/>'s contract for 'Breakfast all Day' N04 98 had expired. The infrequent street lamps made small pools of N04 99 light.

N04 100 The big metal door to the factory's front yard was shut, and N04 101 the door at the side was, too. However, it was not locked, Castalia N04 102 found when she tried the handle. She glanced up and down the empty N04 103 street, then went inside, shutting the door behind her.

N04 104 The yard was even quieter than the street. Silence dropped over N04 105 her like a cloak. Castalia did not go up to the front door. It was N04 106 closed, and there was no light showing at the front of the N04 107 building. She crossed the yard, in which three lorries and Janet's N04 108 car were parked, and reached the cement path along which the N04 109 products were wheeled to the lorries, and which led to the back N04 110 yard. Here, in otherwise total darkness, shone a single square of N04 111 light. It came from Janet's window. Quietly Castalia advanced until N04 112 she was nearly opposite it. Then she looked up. Janet stood by the N04 113 window, and Castalia stiffened and became absolutely still. But N04 114 Janet could not see her or, though standing by the window, was not N04 115 looking out.

N04 116 Now Janet turned, and began to wander round the room. N04 117 Occasionally - like Greta Garbo in Queen Christina - she N04 118 touched something. She stroked the china bluebird on her desk, and N04 119 ran a hand over the back of a chair. She moved over to the glass N04 120 showcase, opened it, and fingered a jar. Having closed the case N04 121 again, she stepped back, surveying its entire contents with a N04 122 doting look. Then she moved to the desk, and sat down in her chair. N04 123 Back to the window, she bent over some papers.

N04 124 Castalia moved to the steps that led to the passage where N04 125 Janet's office was. She went up them, and carefully grasped the N04 126 handle of the door ahead, then very gently twisted it. It opened. N04 127 Castalia gave a deep sigh. She smiled. She pulled the door shut N04 128 again, went down the steps, and re-crossed the yard. As she skirted N04 129 the square of light from Janet's window, she looked up again: at N04 130 Janet still bowed over her desk, obviously at ease in her little N04 131 blue nest in this dark and deserted building.

N04 132 Castalia went back the way she had come. Outside, she walked N04 133 briskly towards Upper Street and the 19 bus which would take her N04 134 almost the whole way home.

N04 135 It was Sunday afternoon. The square was hushed. Castalia was N04 136 sitting at her desk, taking notes from an article in Italian N04 137 Studies. She started at the ringing of the telephone so close N04 138 beside her.

N04 139 "Hullo."

N04 140 "Castalia, wondered if I'd find you in."

N04 141 "Well, you have, James."

N04 142 "Coast's clear for the moment. Janet's taken the N04 143 children to tea with the Fannings."

N04 144 "Poor old Fannings," Castalia murmured, very N04 145 low.

N04 146 "What?"

N04 147 "Nothing."

N04 148 "Castalia, I had to speak to you. Just to tell you I N04 149 can't hold out any longer. I'll have to sign this damn thing about N04 150 selling the Constable. Janet's driving me mad. On and on she goes N04 151 about that business in London. And about poor old Syrupy. The N04 152 nagging ... the pressure - Castalia, I just can't take it. I'm N04 153 going to have to sign. She's staying over in London next Wednesday N04 154 night. Working late again, you know. And on Thursday she's got an N04 155 appointment at the auction house. She says she's going to take the N04 156 authorization with her. Signed." James gave a feeble N04 157 laugh. "And I think she will. God!" he exclaimed. N04 158 "To think I used to like her dominating me. Now it makes my N04 159 life pure misery."

N04 160 "I remember telling you it might pall. The gods N04 161 are just, and of our pleasant vices make instruments to plague N04 162 us. Shakespeare's always right." Her tone became N04 163 brisk: "Wednesday, you say? And she's taking the document N04 164 with her?"

N04 165 "That's the plan."

N04 166 "Well, James, you'd better sign," Castalia N04 167 said.

N04 168 "Better sign?"

N04 169 "Yes, didn't you just tell me you were going to? Well, N04 170 go ahead."

N04 171 "Aren't you furious with me?" he asked.

N04 172 Castalia laughed. "No, not a bit."

N04 173 James said, "You know, Castalia, there are times when N04 174 you completely baffle me."

N04 175 "Mmm. Well - don't worry. Just sign ... and then forget N04 176 about the whole thing."

N04 177 "Forget about the Constable?"

N04 178 "Yes. And keep cool, James."

N04 179 "So I'm to sign?" There was a hopeless note in N04 180 his voice. Then he said, "You know, I rather hoped you N04 181 might galvanize me. Re-charge me with energy to keep on N04 182 resisting. But now you seem to have given up the struggle, too. I N04 183 never expected -"

N04 184 "Stop worrying, James." Then she said, N04 185 "Trust me."

N04 186 "Trust you?" he said blankly.

N04 187 "Yes. Trust me. Goodbye, James." She N04 188 rang off.

N04 189 It was ten o'clock on Wednesday evening when Castalia again N04 190 took the turning to the Blue Bird factory. All along the terrace N04 191 were dustbins, waiting to be emptied next morning. Some were of N04 192 black plastic, but most were of battered tin. There was a smell of N04 193 rot in the air.

N04 194 Castalia carried a large black shopping bag over her left arm. N04 195 Reaching the factory, she went through the side door - unlocked, as N04 196 before - and made her way to the back yard. Here, everything was as N04 197 it had been on her last visit. The square of light shone again from N04 198 Janet's window. Looking up, Castalia saw that Janet was writing at N04 199 her desk.

N04 200 Castalia went up the steps to the back door, and turned the N04 201 handle. Tonight, she pushed the door open, and stepped into the N04 202 passage. Then she closed the door behind her. Janet, economically, N04 203 had switched off the strip light in the passage, but light came N04 204 from the partly open door of her office.

N04 205 Castalia ran her right hand through her hair. Then she went to N04 206 Janet's door, pushed it wide open, and went in. Janet looked up N04 207 sharply.

N04 208 An initial blankness on Janet's face was succeeded by an N04 209 expression of astonishment. She said, "Castalia! What on N04 210 earth are you doing here? How did you get in?"

N04 211 "Oh, round the back." Then she said, "I N04 212 thought this would be a perfect opportunity for us to have a N04 213 chat."

N04 214 "A chat?" said Janet. "But how did you N04 215 know I'd be here?"

N04 216 James told me."

N04 217 Janet frowned, but then her face cleared. A little smile N04 218 appeared on it, then gradually widened. "Ah, N04 219 Castalia," she said in her plummiest tones, "I N04 220 think I know what you've come about. The Constable - that's it, N04 221 isn't it?" As she said this, her voice deepened as if she N04 222 were playing it like an organ.

N04 223 "Well, partly," Castalia said.

N04 224 "Do sit down, my dear," Janet said.

N04 225 "Would you mind if I didn't? I rather like pacing N04 226 around. That's what I always do at home."

N04 227 "Well, I'd love you to feel at home here - so please N04 228 pace away!" Janet gave a little laugh.

N04 229 Castalia paced over to the showcase. Then she turned to face N04 230 Janet. She rested her right elbow on the case in the attitude of N04 231 the young man in the Nicholas Hilliard miniature.

N04 232 Now Janet, still smiling, gently shook her head. "Ah, N04 233 Castalia," she said. "You wanted to find me alone, N04 234 so that we could talk in peace. About my decision - our N04 235 decision, I mean, of course - to sell the Constable." Janet N04 236 glanced down at an open briefcase - slim and expensive-looking - N04 237 propped against the desk. "I have James's authorization N04 238 here," she said. "Everything's quite above N04 239 board." She shook her head again. N04 240 N05 1 <#FLOB:N05\>6

N05 2 Monday

N05 3 Edward was at his desk, as instructed, by nine o'clock. The N05 4 weekend had been a washout but there was Paris to look forward to. N05 5 He had already booked one dinner, at L'Ambroisie in the Place des N05 6 Vosges where they did the best ravioli in the world, Italy not N05 7 excepted. He spent part of the morning discussing his lecture with N05 8 colleagues. Every time the phone rang he expected it to be Mordaunt N05 9 but, by the time he went out for lunch, the equerry still hadn't N05 10 called.

N05 11 Edward was lunching with Thierry Dinant, a distinguished N05 12 Belgian scholar from the Royal Museum in Brussels. Dinant had N05 13 called Hillier about a week before but, on finding that the N05 14 Director of the Royal Collection was in hospital, had invited N05 15 Edward to Overton's instead.

N05 16 Edward made his way there shortly after one. Dinant's choice N05 17 could not have been more convenient. The Belgian was tall and N05 18 rather stern-looking, with thick glasses. He spoke perfect English. N05 19 He was already seated at the table and greeted Edward warmly.

N05 20 "Monday's not the ideal day for fish, I know. But I can N05 21 never resist the whitebait here. I hope you don't mind."

N05 22 Edward shook his head. "You seem more of a regular here N05 23 than I am - and my office is across the road." He N05 24 smiled.

N05 25 "I have been travelling a lot recently, it's true, and N05 26 to England as much as anywhere. I'll tell you why in a minute - but N05 27 let's order first."

N05 28 Dinant caught the waiter's eye and for a while he was engrossed N05 29 in ordering the food. Edward was half amused and half comforted by N05 30 the seriousness with which he did this. When he had finished, N05 31 Dinant sat back on the banquette seating and looked at Edward.

N05 32 "How bad is Hillier?"

N05 33 "I'm not sure. He's had an operation for two slipped N05 34 discs. It's a tricky business. Some people recover quickly - and N05 35 completely. Some don't. With him it's too early to N05 36 tell."

N05 37 "I'll deal with you, then."

N05 38 "What on earth do you mean?"

N05 39 "I said I would explain why I have been travelling so N05 40 much. For the last three years, besides my duties at the Royal N05 41 Museum in Brussels, I have been head of something known as the N05 42 Rubens Research Project. As you know, Rubens had a vast output and N05 43 a large studio. Towards the end of his life he had gout. These N05 44 facts taken together mean that there are inevitably certain N05 45 pictures attributed to him that are nothing of the kind. It's the N05 46 task of the Rubens Research Project to separate the wheat from the N05 47 chaff."

N05 48 The waiter brought the wine and Dinant tried it.

N05 49 "Over the past months, I've been inspecting so-called N05 50 Rubenses in - oh, Madrid, Milan, Melbourne, Moscow. Pleasant work N05 51 but hard. I've also looked at the pictures in your Royal N05 52 Collection."

N05 53 At this, Edward flashed him a look. That must have been agreed N05 54 with Hillier, for this was the first Edward had heard of it. What N05 55 was coming?

N05 56 Dinant, who had been leaning forward, now sat back as the N05 57 whitebait arrived. He squeezed lemon over them.

N05 58 "You ... or should I say Her Majesty has a picture N05 59 entitled The Three Marys at the Sepulchre. I'm sorry to N05 60 say that my colleagues and I do not think this is by the N05 61 master." He swallowed some whitebait.

N05 62 Edward had guessed what Dinant was going to say moments before N05 63 he said it. He toyed with his foot. How should he respond?

N05 64 Dinant spoke again. "I'm telling you this out of N05 65 courtesy, of course. Our research report will not be published N05 66 until next year. You may like to alert Her Majesty in advance and N05 67 perhaps alter your own attribution in anticipation. I'm sure that N05 68 some newspaper will make play with the idea that a Rubens in the N05 69 Royal Collection is a fake."

N05 70 Dinant showed no emotion as he said all this and he could not N05 71 have guessed what was going on inside Edward's head. All Edward N05 72 said now was, "What is your evidence, Thierry?"

N05 73 Dinant pulled down the corners of his mouth. "The N05 74 picture is not mentioned in the letters. The minor figures, which N05 75 in a real Rubens would have been painted by assistants, do not fit N05 76 with the style of any known assistant, and the provenance is the N05 77 same as one or two other pictures which we believe are N05 78 fake."

N05 79 Edward didn't reply immediately but sipped some wine. Dinant N05 80 was right about one thing: if the papers got hold of this they N05 81 would have a field day. A fake in the Royal Collection! However, N05 82 that wasn't what concerned him most.

N05 83 "Hillier is not going to like it."

N05 84 Dinant lowered his eyes. "I know. But I can't help N05 85 that. They are not his pictures. They couldn't be sold anyway. We N05 86 are not hurting anyone's pocket."

N05 87 "Yes - I see that. That's not what I meant."

N05 88 "What did you mean, then?"

N05 89 "It calls scholarship into question. He is certain the N05 90 Three Marys is a genuine Rubens."

N05 91 "He is? I'm surprised. There must be - what? - two N05 92 thousand pictures in the Royal Collection. He can't be expected to N05 93 know everything intimately."

N05 94 "No ... I agree with that. You're a good scholar, N05 95 Thierry, but there are certain things you don't know."

N05 96 "You mean there's something else about this picture N05 97 that I don't know?"

N05 98 "In a manner of speaking - yes." Edward leaned N05 99 back as the waiter brought their main courses and then fussed N05 100 around, serving spinach, potatoes, hollandaise sauce.

N05 101 "Go on," urged Dinant as soon as the waiter had N05 102 left. "Explain what you mean. What don't I know about this N05 103 picture?"

N05 104 Edward wiped his lips with his napkin. "You don't know N05 105 that a month ago I sent Hillier a memo concerning the Three N05 106 Marys. In that memo I said that I thought the picture was not N05 107 by Rubens. For exactly the same reasons as you. He replied just N05 108 before he went into hospital. He said I was wrong and implied, more N05 109 or less, that I didn't know what I was talking about. Now you say N05 110 the same thing as I do. He's not going to like it one bit. I N05 111 haven't been at the Palace very long and I'm already having a N05 112 run-in with my boss. Your research isn't going to help, either. In N05 113 fact, it's going to make the situation a whole lot N05 114 worse."

N05 115 7

N05 116 Tuesday

N05 117 Psychologically, and to an extent administratively, Buckingham N05 118 Palace is divided into four. There are the royal apartments, at the N05 119 north end of the building, which almost no one except the royal N05 120 family and their personal servants ever sees. There is the N05 121 administrative area on the west side, where Mordaunt and others N05 122 have their offices. There are the great rooms of state: the N05 123 ballrooms, banqueting halls, reception rooms for investitures, and N05 124 so on. These are located in the centre of the palace, on the east N05 125 side, looking out on to the Mall. Finally, there is a very small N05 126 area with a very special function. Edward wasn't aware of this when N05 127 he summoned, by Mordaunt, on the following Tuesday. It was again a N05 128 glorious morning, so he walked over from St James's, arriving, as N05 129 he had been asked, just before noon. He was due at Heathrow at N05 130 five, for his flight to the Louvre conference. There should be N05 131 plenty of time.

N05 132 This time, one of Mordaunt's three secretaries came to meet him N05 133 at the Buckingham Gate entrance. She led the way deep into the N05 134 palace, at ground-floor level. They passed a billiard room - for N05 135 staff - with three tables; several kitchens, a show-repair shop, a N05 136 laundry where green velvet uniforms, with gold piping, hung in N05 137 rows. They walked until they were, Edward judged, right under the N05 138 royal apartments. He was shown up a staircase and into a room with N05 139 an easy chair, and offered coffee. There was one other person in N05 140 the room, a man a couple of years Edward's junior who, to judge N05 141 from his haircut, shoes and general demeanour, was a policeman in N05 142 plain clothes. Had Mordaunt gone back on himself and brought in N05 143 Scotland Yard? Now, perhaps, the mystery would be explained. The N05 144 man nodded at Edward but said nothing. He was reading a N05 145 paperback.

N05 146 Edward sat back in the easy chair and sipped his coffee. He had N05 147 nothing to read as they waited.

N05 148 He was getting used to waiting. There had been no word from N05 149 Mordaunt yesterday after lunch. He had waited until six, growing N05 150 steadily more tetchy. However, on his arrival at St James's Palace N05 151 this morning, The General told him immediately that he was summoned N05 152 to BP. "You look worried, Edward," she added. N05 153 "And you've worn the same tie two days running. Am I N05 154 allowed to know what's going on?"

N05 155 Edward shook his head. "I don't know what's going N05 156 on, General. I'll tell you as soon as I find out anything. If N05 157 I'm allowed to."

N05 158 She sniffed. "You're as bad as the son. He has his N05 159 secrets too."

N05 160 Though Wilma always succeeded in cheering Edward, his sense of N05 161 well-being had soon been lost as he walked from one palace to the N05 162 other. Edward had been slightly miffed by his treatment from the N05 163 equerry. He hated being kept in the dark. But at least things N05 164 should be cleared up now. The whole business had obviously been N05 165 moving behind the scenes. He looked across at the policeman. He N05 166 seemed a bit young to be of senior rank. At the same time, where N05 167 Edward now sat was obviously some sort of anteroom: perhaps N05 168 Mordaunt and the policeman's superior were in the next room, N05 169 discussing the affair.

N05 170 No sooner had he thought this than the inner door opened and N05 171 Mordaunt appeared. "Come in, Andover," he said. N05 172 "Bring your coffee with you."

N05 173 Mordaunt beckoned Edward forward. "Do you know Mr N05 174 Lockwood?"

N05 175 As he stepped into the room, Edward took a large breath and N05 176 tried not to let his jaw hang open. As he shook hands with the N05 177 Prime Minister, he said, "We met once, at the Royal Academy N05 178 dinner."

N05 179 The Prime Minister nodded but said nothing. In the newspapers N05 180 it was often said of William Lockwood that he bore a marked N05 181 resemblance to the late Herbert von Karajan, the German conductor. N05 182 He was small, with wiry, iron-coloured hair, an intense gaze and N05 183 deep creases in his cheeks.

N05 184 Slightly dazed by the sudden turn of events, Edward found N05 185 himself a seat next to a window. He could see now that they were in N05 186 a sort of sitting-room with french windows at the far end, opening N05 187 on to a balcony and, beyond that, a bed of roses. Rather late in N05 188 the day, he took in the fact that, this being Tuesday, the Prime N05 189 Minister must have just finished his weekly audience with the N05 190 Queen. So this was where it took place.

N05 191 Amazingly, the Prime Minister appeared to be waiting for N05 192 Mordaunt, who had slipped back into the anteroom and was speaking N05 193 in subdued tones to the policeman who, Edward now realized, was a N05 194 bodyguard. The equerry came back in, closing the door behind him. N05 195 "I was just checking with Webber, sir," he said to N05 196 Lockwood. "I understand you are due at the New Zealand High N05 197 Commission at one-fifteen. We may need all the time in between but N05 198 we'll try not to make you late."

N05 199 Lockwood moved his gaze from Mordaunt to Edward. He looked N05 200 serious. "Now what is all this? Her Majesty asked me N05 201 to stay on - and so I have. But - "

N05 202 "In fact, sir," interrupted Mordaunt, N05 203 "it will be better if Dr Andover speaks first. It's always N05 204 better from the horse's mouth." The equerry looked across N05 205 at Edward. "Edward, tell the Prime Minister about the N05 206 paintings you have been sent."

N05 207 Edward did as requested. How many times was he going to have to N05 208 tell his story, he thought to himself, without finding out what the N05 209 damn mystery was all about? At least he had a new snippet to add to N05 210 what Mordaunt already knew. "A third picture arrived this N05 211 morning," he ended. "This one is a Poussin sepia N05 212 drawing. It's signed and was stolen - by the Nazis again - in N05 213 Piacenza. N05 214 N05 215 N06 1 <#FLOB:N06\>"Davis!" she called.

N06 2 Davis appeared from the mine. "Joey's right, it's N06 3 hopeless trying to dig like this."

N06 4 "We're going to visit Uncle John."

N06 5 "Are you?" He shot an angry look at Joey.

N06 6 "You don't mind, do you?"

N06 7 "What if I do? What if I say you're not to go, will it N06 8 make any difference?"

N06 9 "Of course," she said confidently. "It N06 10 will make me wonder if I might not be better off staying there, if N06 11 I'm not free to come and go as I please here." She had no N06 12 doubt that Joey would take her even if Davis forbade it. N06 13 "Do you want to come with us?" she asked. Davis N06 14 didn't answer and she took his silence to mean no. She could not N06 15 see his face, the look he gave Joey, the implied threat.

N06 16 Tanner and Bobby stood in the teeming rain, facing each other N06 17 across the mouth of the mine.

N06 18 "For God's sake, Bobby, use your head. It's raining, N06 19 the mine's half full of water and there's no gold in it N06 20 anyway."

N06 21 "That's what you say."

N06 22 "That's what I know." They gazed at each other N06 23 for a moment, then Tanner exhaled in frustration. "Let's N06 24 give it away, Bobby, let's try somewhere else."

N06 25 "No."

N06 26 "Please," he said desperately. "I want to do N06 27 this with your agreement. I want to cut our losses and start N06 28 building a decent life, either here in a new mine, in Melbourne N06 29 with a new job, or with you two in boarding school and me at N06 30 sea." He wiped the rain away from his face. "Those N06 31 are the choices so make up your mind, because whether you want to N06 32 or not we're giving up this useless damn hole in the N06 33 ground." Tanner finished angrily, but the boy had ceased to N06 34 listen long before his last words. "Don't go back into the N06 35 mine, Bobby, it's too dangerous." Tanner softened his tone. N06 36 "Fossick on the surface if you must but it's Sunday, the N06 37 day of rest, a damn miserable one at that and my advice to you is N06 38 to take the rest and think hard about what I've said, for I promise N06 39 you I'll not stay in this place much longer."

N06 40 "What if I won't go with you?"

N06 41 "Commissioner said this claim and everything else was N06 42 mine to control as long as I provided for you and Jilly. What will N06 43 you do if I take it all and move it further up the gully or sell it N06 44 and go back to Melbourne?" The boy said nothing, but walked N06 45 to the edge of the mine and stared at the inky waters in its N06 46 depths. He turned and examined the rest of the claim, reduced to a N06 47 sea of mud by their excavations.

N06 48 "My father saw a nugget as big as his fist." He N06 49 spoke slowly, enunciating each syllable clearly the way a man might N06 50 if he was in pain.

N06 51 "Your father saw someone in his mine, someone who beat N06 52 him to death, and in his last moments of consciousness his mind N06 53 conjured up a vision of that which he most wanted to see." N06 54 Tanner's voice held such bitterness and grief that even the boy N06 55 couldn't argue with him. Instead, Bobby made for the shanty, N06 56 leaving Tanner alone in the mud and the rain.

N06 57 He remained there even after the boy had reached the shanty, N06 58 and it shocked Joey to find him like that, a solitary figure N06 59 unmoving in the pouring rain.

N06 60 "Tanner," he called, and the figure turned slowly to N06 61 face him.

N06 62 "What's wrong?" Amy had recognised the sound of N06 63 concern.

N06 64 "Nothing." Joey gently urged the horse forward.

N06 65 "What brings you out in all this rain?" Tanner N06 66 asked, and there was no warmth in his voice. Joey helped Amy down N06 67 from the horse, and she extended her hands to Tanner, but he didn't N06 68 take them. "Perhaps we should go inside."

N06 69 "Are the children there?" Amy asked.

N06 70 "Yes."

N06 71 "Then I'd rather talk out there for the N06 72 moment." Tanner glanced at Joey, hoping to glean some idea N06 73 of what was going on from his usually expressive face.

N06 74 "It's awful wet," Joey ventured.

N06 75 "Then you go in," Amy said. "It's best N06 76 we talk alone." Joey left and Amy reached again for N06 77 Tanner's hands, and this time he responded. "I wish you'd N06 78 come and see me sometimes." She squeezed his hand. N06 79 "The track to the water holes comes quite near here, you N06 80 must know when Davis isn't there."

N06 81 "And if I didn't you could always get Joey to drop off N06 82 one of those beads Davis made you to let me know the coast is N06 83 clear." She bowed her head and Tanner instantly regretted N06 84 his words. There was an awkward silence, then Amy felt behind her N06 85 neck and undid the chain from which hung the small cross and ring N06 86 that Tanner had given her. She took Tanner's hand and placed them N06 87 in it. She heard his sharp intake of breath and realised that he N06 88 had misinterpreted her gesture. She maintained her grip on his N06 89 hand.

N06 90 "These belong to Catherine, not me." She smiled N06 91 at him. "They meant so much when you gave them to me, a N06 92 reassurance, a promise, and I know they'll mean the same to N06 93 Catherine, perhaps more." She waited for him to respond, N06 94 wishing that she could see his face.

N06 95 "Maybe the ring," he said, "but keep N06 96 the cross."

N06 97 "No, it was your mother's, even Jilly has more right to N06 98 it than I."

N06 99 "I'd sooner you had it."

N06 100 "I can't take it."

N06 101 "Do you want no part of me?" he asked bitterly, N06 102 and her brave smile crumbled.

N06 103 "I never meant to hurt you." Her lips trembled. N06 104 "I wanted, I wanted -" She stopped, unable to N06 105 explain.

N06 106 "What do you want, Amy?"

N06 107 "I want you to be happy, I want us all to be happy. I N06 108 want you to get out of this mine and away from those awful N06 109 children. I want you to be with Catherine and to be happy. I want N06 110 you to be my Uncle John, I want to call you that and if I marry N06 111 Davis I want you to be the one who gives me away." Her N06 112 voice faltered and ceased.

N06 113 In the silence that followed Tanner could only think of one N06 114 thing that she'd said, one phrase, one word - if she married Davis. N06 115 'If', not 'when'. He looked down at her standing before him in the N06 116 icy rain, her hair sodden and matted clinging to her face and neck, N06 117 her saturated dress hanging about her slight frame. Her face was N06 118 raised up to him, but the rain made it impossible for him to tell N06 119 if she was crying. He believed she was. She looked worse than she N06 120 had that first day in London, a child miserably reaching out to the N06 121 closest thing she had to a parent. Other things she'd said began to N06 122 register in his mind. "Those awful children," a N06 123 sign of jealousy perhaps, a kind of sibling rivalry, and her N06 124 blessing for himself and Catherine. His grip tightened over the N06 125 cross and the ring, a lovely gesture and one that he'd misread. It N06 126 finally struck him how much the animosity between himself and Davis N06 127 had hurt her, for if she had objected to Catherine the way he had N06 128 to Davis it would have torn him apart. He put his arm around N06 129 her.

N06 130 "I'd be honoured to stand up with you if you ever get N06 131 married and I couldn't imagine you calling me anything but Uncle N06 132 John." He guided her to the shanty. "How did you N06 133 know about Catherine?"

N06 134 "Joey told me."

N06 135 "Joey," he said thoughtfully.

N06 136 "He said nothing would come of it because you weren't N06 137 the type to push and Catherine was too frightened."

N06 138 "A very perceptive man, our Joey."

N06 139 "Why should she be frightened of you?"

N06 140 "I don't think it's me in particular." They N06 141 paused at the shanty door. "I think she's been alone too N06 142 long, hurt too often, to let anyone close to her." He N06 143 ushered her through the door.

N06 144 "Will the ring and the cross help?"

N06 145 "They might."

N06 146 On the rear wall of the shanty was a fireplace. It had not been N06 147 necessary to use it during the summer months, nor even desirable, N06 148 for it smoked constantly and, although it gave off little heat, it N06 149 would have made the shanty intolerably stuffy. Worst of all it was N06 150 totally, impractical for cooking and no one could use it without N06 151 getting burnt, least of all Amy. Necessity had forced Tanner to N06 152 light the fire and he guided Amy towards it, scolding her mildly N06 153 for coming out in such weather. Joey was already squatting by the N06 154 hearth, attempting to get a billy to boil. He smiled at them.

N06 155 "Might be an idea if Amy stays here for a few days, N06 156 'til we get a bit of dry weather."

N06 157 "No," Amy began apprehensively.

N06 158 "It'll be all right," Joey interrupted.

N06 159 "Davis won't like it." Tanner shared Amy's N06 160 misgivings.

N06 161 "He'll understand," Joey insisted. "Our N06 162 tent's running with water, the blankets are soaked, the food's N06 163 ruined and the fire's out. I need a few days to build some bunks N06 164 and a cook house where we can keep a fire going."

N06 165 Tanner looked at him sceptically. "You think Davis will N06 166 agree to Amy staying up here while you do all that?"

N06 167 "It's not up to him." Joey glanced at Amy.

N06 168 "Would you like to stay?" Tanner asked her. N06 169 "Just 'til things dry out a bit?"

N06 170 "I should go back and talk to him first," she N06 171 said.

N06 172 Tanner shook his head. "You can't keep on traipsing N06 173 about in this rain." Amy moved uneasily, she looked cold N06 174 and miserable, unwilling to leave but afraid to stay. N06 175 "Joey, would you mind going back and getting Davis? If your N06 176 food's ruined and your fire's out he'll appreciate a hot meal, and N06 177 maybe after he's had one he'll see the logic in Amy staying here N06 178 for a while." Joey nodded. "Bring back the blankets N06 179 and Amy's clothes, and we'll see if we can dry them out." N06 180 Joey made to rise. "Have your tea first."

N06 181 Jilly brought the mugs, beaming at Joey as she handed them to N06 182 him.

N06 183 "I've missed you," Joey said. She turned her N06 184 head coyly and snuggled close to Tanner. "Well, I'll be N06 185 damned."

N06 186 "What?" Amy asked.

N06 187 "He's stolen my best girl, whisked her away from under N06 188 me nose." Jilly giggled and Amy guessed that she had N06 189 preferred Tanner to Joey. She smiled genuinely, pleased by the N06 190 change in Jilly and more than willing to forgive her for her past N06 191 transgressions. Bobby was another matter. She frowned as she N06 192 thought of him. They were too close in age for her to accept the N06 193 excuse of youth for his behaviour and too far apart in ethics, N06 194 intellect and maturity for her go have any understanding of it. N06 195 Jilly touched Amy's hand the way one might touch a deaf person to N06 196 get their attention.

N06 197 "Uncle John's going to take me to see Mummy and Daddy's N06 198 grave."

N06 199 Amy didn't know how to respond but the child sounded pleased, N06 200 so she said: "That's nice."

N06 201 "We're going back to Melbourne and I'm going to have a N06 202 proper bed."

N06 203 "That's nice," Amy said again but with less N06 204 conviction, for Tanner's departure was the last thing she N06 205 wanted.

N06 206 Joey and Davis returned sooner than expected, bringing armfuls N06 207 of wet blankets and clothes. Davis dumped his goods down in front N06 208 of the fire.

N06 209 "I've brought what food I could salvage too." N06 210 He smiled at everyone. "It's nice of you to ask us back N06 211 here." Tanner and Joey exchanged glances, but neither said N06 212 anything. "It'll only take us a day or two to fix things N06 213 up." He'd shed his wet coat and was sitting next to Amy, N06 214 using her hands to warm himself. "I wish I could get hold N06 215 of a decent length of canvas, make a roof over the tent and extend N06 216 it out like a verandah so that it covered the camp fire as N06 217 well." He looked round the shanty as if searching for items N06 218 that might be of use to him. N06 219 N07 1 <#FLOB:N07\>"Shirley forgave him. It's an old Islamic N07 2 custom, the relatives can choose their own retribution. She decided N07 3 to go for the money. Very practical."

N07 4 They'd reached the door.

N07 5 "Is this for real, Harry?"

N07 6 He reached into his jacket pocket and took out an airline N07 7 ticket.

N07 8 "Would I tell a lie?"

N07 9 She kissed him gently on the cheek.

N07 10 "Probably."

N07 11 Harry switched off the lights, put his hand on the door lever N07 12 and pulled it open. The headlights were dazzling. Angela shielded N07 13 her eyes. There wasn't one set of lights: there were half a dozen. N07 14 Behind them, in the darkened warehouse, Paul emerged from the N07 15 glass-windowed foreman's office, Betacam on his shoulder, red N07 16 indicator light flashing on and off to show he was still turning N07 17 over.

N07 18 Angela looked at Harry, then at the cars. Two silhouetted N07 19 figures were walking towards them: Roger Carlisle on the left, N07 20 Chief Inspector Norman Calloway on the right.

N07 21 "You bastard!" Angela screamed.

N07 22 27 N07 23 "MANGAN," SAID HARRY. "Where's N07 24 Mangan?"

N07 25 "Across the road in hospitality," said Roger. N07 26 "Waiting for Ben."

N07 27 "How long before he gets here?"

N07 28 Roger checked his watch.

N07 29 "Twenty-five minutes."

N07 30 The deputy Director of News and Current Affairs was sharing a N07 31 drink with Robert Kettle and Tim Green in room B29, a plush dungeon N07 32 along the corridor from the video-tape suite whose wall of heavy N07 33 curtains concealed not a window but a blank concrete wall. He N07 34 looked up and smiled as Roger and Harry came through the door.

N07 35 "You hanging around for the kill, Harry?" he N07 36 asked.

N07 37 "We all are." Harry went across to the drinks N07 38 trolley and poured himself a whisky. "The thing that N07 39 interests me, Tony, is how much they pay you."

N07 40 Mangan smiled.

N07 41 "What, the BBC?"

N07 42 "No, the government."

N07 43 The smile was gone.

N07 44 "What are you talking about?"

N07 45 "The security services, Tony old chap. Those nice boys N07 46 with the OBEs who take people like you out to lunch and invite you N07 47 to do a little something for Queen and country. The State within N07 48 the State."

N07 49 "He's drunk," Mangan told Tim and Robert.

N07 50 "Not yet," said Harry.

N07 51 "Is this true, Tony?" asked Roger.

N07 52 "Is what true?"

N07 53 "That you work for the security services."

N07 54 "Of course not."

N07 55 Harry looked at the clock. Ben was due in fifteen minutes.

N07 56 "Don't be daft, Rog - he works on the need to know N07 57 principal. He hasn't told his brain yet."

N07 58 "Need to know what?" asked Mangan.

N07 59 "That Ben Webb killed Jo O'Brien," said Harry. N07 60 "Any fool could have figured that Terry's trial was a farce N07 61 if they'd bothered to think about it. Only the police didn't bother N07 62 to think, it's not what they're good at. They had a corpse and a N07 63 prime suspect and pressure for a fast conviction. But your friends N07 64 in Whitehall aren't fools. They had their eyes on Latchkey already N07 65 - a left-wing charity with political connections, staffed by N07 66 promiscuous homosexuals - why wouldn't they? Three for the price of N07 67 one. Jo may even have been on their payroll all along. And they had N07 68 their eye on young Ben, too: bright young lad with political N07 69 ambitions, you never know, may get somewhere some day. They knew N07 70 Ben had been making noises to Willie Walpole about the state of N07 71 Latchkey's accounts. So when Jo's found dead after a fight, they N07 72 have another suspect, just as promising as Terry and twice as N07 73 interesting. What's more Ben didn't have an alibi: he played a game N07 74 of squash, had supper with friends and then went home to an empty N07 75 bed, because Angela was off at a concert in Croydon. Or so he N07 76 thought."

N07 77 "You're mad," said Tony. Tim and Robert were N07 78 watching him, gob-smacked.

N07 79 "For most of this week I've wondered if I am. I didn't N07 80 use to believe all this State-within-a-State stuff either. But the N07 81 heavy brigade convinced me."

N07 82 "Keep talking," said Tim.

N07 83 "There isn't a lot more to say. Except that for the N07 84 past eight years Tony's friends have been under the impression that N07 85 Ben Webb was a murderer. And rather than do the decent thing N07 86 they've sat on their little secret, waiting until the day when Ben N07 87 became a power in the land. Which he now is, I suspect with a N07 88 little unnoticed help along the way. He might well have made it N07 89 anyway, if a little less smoothly - he's a bright boy, with a sharp N07 90 eye for the main chance. Personally, I don't happen to think much N07 91 of him as a politician, I think he's a slick opportunist: optimism, N07 92 and honesty happen to be marketable commodities at the moment, so N07 93 that's what Ben sets himself up as. In a different climate he'd be N07 94 just as likely to sell himself as Mr Shrewd or Mr Technocrat or Mr N07 95 Call-A-Spade-A-Spade. But that's something the punters have to suss N07 96 out for themselves. Big stakes. And then poor old Pete Pattichis N07 97 gets it into his head to start digging around, and muggins here N07 98 sets all the fire alarms off ringing people up asking them about N07 99 the Latchkey business. That's when the Heavy Mob came on board. All N07 100 they wanted to know initially was what was in the bag Pete was N07 101 handing me, whether he had the missing diary. But when that screwed N07 102 up, things started to get more drastic. Up to and including driving N07 103 a truck at me on the M6. Failing to rub out Kapowski was a minor N07 104 detail. The big fuck-up was that Ben Webb didn't kill O'Brien in N07 105 the first place. His wife did."

N07 106 He checked his watch again. Less than ten minutes to go.

N07 107 "Did Ben know?" asked Tim.

N07 108 "I suspect not. The first he was meant to know about it N07 109 was after the election, when the men in grey suits would present N07 110 themselves and reveal they knew his little secret. A spook's dream: N07 111 a senior politician with a guilty past shared only by the forces of N07 112 Law and Order, which is how I imagine those dinosaurs see N07 113 themselves."

N07 114 Mangan got up. His face had gone white, whether through fear or N07 115 anger Harry still had no idea.

N07 116 "Your play, Tony," said Roger.

N07 117 But he was already halfway to the door. The others were still N07 118 watching him when the phone in the corner rang. Ben Webb was in N07 119 reception.

N07 120 "You going to tell him?" asked Tim.

N07 121 "Not yet," said Roger. "Let him do the N07 122 show first."

N07 123 Harry and Miranda watched the programme upstairs in the N07 124 Not Proven office. Harry perched on the edge of the N07 125 conference table, Miranda slumped in the chair behind Phyllis' N07 126 desk. They were both too tired and tense to talk much. After the N07 127 opening titles, Tim Green came on the screen, and started into his N07 128 introduction. Harry leaned forward, waiting for the camera to cut N07 129 to Ben, waiting to see his expression.

N07 130 "In a moment," said Tim, "I'll be N07 131 talking to the deputy Leader of the Labour party..."

N07 132 And there was Ben, looking authoritative but unstuffy in a grey N07 133 wool suit. Harry relaxed and lit a cigarette.

N07 134 "Who's going to tell him?" asked Miranda.

N07 135 "I am," said Harry. "Has to be N07 136 me."

N07 137 He stood up and walked across the office and pulled up a chair N07 138 beside her.

N07 139 "Thanks."

N07 140 "For what?" asked Miranda.

N07 141 "For trusting me."

N07 142 "Trusting you? What on earth makes you think I trust N07 143 you, Harry?"

N07 144 Harry sighed.

N07 145 "OK, for staying on the story."

N07 146 "I told you, Harry, I'm doing it for the money. What do N07 147 you do it for?"

N07 148 "Habit, I suspect."

N07 149 She gave him a tired smile.

N07 150 "Are you going to keep doing it?"

N07 151 "I thought we weren't going to try and change each N07 152 other's habits."

N07 153 "I'm not, I'm just curious."

N07 154 "Then the answer is, probably. And you?"

N07 155 "I haven't decided yet."

N07 156 "About us, or about the job?"

N07 157 "You. I don't give a fig about the job."

N07 158 "I don't suppose you'd be tempted by a few days away N07 159 from it all?"

N07 160 "Like where?"

N07 161 "North Cyprus. I still have the tickets."

N07 162 Miranda looked up at the screen. Ben Webb was in Handsworth, N07 163 glad-handing Sikhs.

N07 164 "How about Birmingham?"

N07 165 "You serious?"

N07 166 "Absolutely. I've never been to Birmingham."

N07 167 Ben handled the interview with Tim Green like a pro: confident, N07 168 witty, unflappable. Harry and Miranda waited until it was almost N07 169 over, then took the lift down to reception.

N07 170 "Do you want to be in on this?" asked Harry.

N07 171 Miranda shook her head.

N07 172 "I'm going home, Harry. I'll see you later."

N07 173 Across the foyer Ben's driver was sitting reading the evening N07 174 paper.

N07 175 "How you doing, Harry."

N07 176 "Not great, to be honest."

N07 177 As soon as the interview was over Roger Carlisle collected Ben N07 178 from the studio floor.

N07 179 "Have you time for a drink, Ben?"

N07 180 Ben looked at Sam Dickinson, who had joined them.

N07 181 "Up to you, Ben."

N07 182 "Not tonight, thanks Roger."

N07 183 Ben's detective was there now too, and Roger led the entourage N07 184 out into the circular corridor that rings the inside of the N07 185 building, through the double doors and out into reception.

N07 186 "Hallo, Ben," said Harry.

N07 187 "Harry!" A double-fisted handshake: looking down Harry N07 188 could see how raw and blistered Ben's hands were after two weeks N07 189 pumping flesh. "I didn't know you were in tonight. Were you N07 190 happy with your film?"

N07 191 "Ben, I need to talk to you in private."

N07 192 "What, now? Just the two of us?"

N07 193 Harry looked at Roger. Roger gave him a nod.

N07 194 "Three."

N07 195 "Is this really important?"

N07 196 "Yes," said Roger.

N07 197 Ben shrugged his shoulders.

N07 198 "OK. Where?"

N07 199 Harry didn't want to go back down to the hospitality room, N07 200 which would by now be full of production staff finishing off the N07 201 left-over claret while they waited for their taxis home.

N07 202 "Do you mind fresh air?"

N07 203 "How long are we going to be?"

N07 204 "Not long," said Harry.

N07 205 It was a soft night, a warm damp breeze blowing from the N07 206 south-west. They walked out down the ramp into the car park, away N07 207 from the floodlights that illuminated the front of the building. N07 208 "This place used to be a Chinese Garden, do you know N07 209 that?" asked Ben. "Some Victorian eccentric built N07 210 it for his own amusement. I've met people who grew up here in the N07 211 fifties, the great game for kids was to break in at night and go N07 212 swimming in the lake. They must have demolished it to make way for N07 213 the BBC."

N07 214 Half way down a line of parked cars Ben stopped and leaned back N07 215 against the side of a Range Rover, hands in pockets.

N07 216 "So what's the great secret, boys?"

N07 217 Harry looked around to make sure they were alone.

N07 218 "The police arrested Angela two hours ago for the N07 219 murder of Jo O'Brien."

N07 220 Ben looked straight at Harry.

N07 221 "For what?"

N07 222 "For Jo's murder. It also looks as though she shot N07 223 Willie Walpole."

N07 224 Ben was shaking his head.

N07 225 "This is a joke, isn't it?"

N07 226 A <}_><-|>hundrd<+|>hundred<}/> yards to their left the N07 227 audience from a game show was pouring out into the night, making N07 228 its way towards a line of parked coaches, ready for the long trip N07 229 home to Coventry or Southampton.

N07 230 "I'm afraid not," said Roger.

N07 231 And then Harry told Ben the whole story, as simply and directly N07 232 as he could. The politician stood in silence, running his fingers N07 233 through his hair. In the distance the detective stood at the top of N07 234 the ramp, watching them.

N07 235 "Where is she now?" asked Ben when Harry had N07 236 finished.

N07 237 "Shepherd's Bush Police Station," said N07 238 Roger.

N07 239 "I'm sorry, Ben," Harry said quietly.

N07 240 Ben reached across and put his hand on Harry's shoulder. Harry N07 241 didn't much like the man, but he felt for him now. He also N07 242 suspected that Angela had been right, Ben did love her in his own N07 243 way.

N07 244 "I'm sorry too, Harry."

N07 245 Above and behind them a commissionarie came out through the N07 246 reception doors, eyes straining in the darkness.

N07 247 "Mr Carlisle or Mr Kapowski out there N07 248 anywhere?"

N07 249 "Over here," Roger shouted back.

N07 250 "Chairman's on the phone for you."

N07 251 "Tell him we're in a meeting," Harry joined N07 252 in.

N07 253 "Don't worry, I'll take it," said Roger, and N07 254 started off up the ramp towards the building.

N07 255 Ben was staring at the wall behind Harry's head.

N07 256 "What are you going to do?" Harry asked him.

N07 257 Ben's eyes came back into focus.

N07 258 N07 259 N08 1 <#FLOB:N08\>"Luck's on your side."

N08 2 He inched his palm along the ceiling, which was warm and N08 3 painfully rough, and leaned out a fraction. A scent of flowers N08 4 mixed with the stony smell of sunbaked dust surged into his throat. N08 5 The roof of the building below him shuddered up towards him as N08 6 though it was being inflated, and he saw what he'd missed seeing: N08 7 if that roof was visible to him, the blowlamp would be visible from N08 8 all the higher balconies. "Clown," he said through his N08 9 teeth, and stepped down with his right foot onto the chair.

N08 10 "Stan Laurel," the Birmingham girl answered at N08 11 last, and Jack felt the chair slide from beneath him. He was N08 12 falling. He couldn't hold onto the edge of the ceiling without N08 13 letting go of the blowlamp. The world tilted as though some organ N08 14 of balance had come loose behind his eyes, and his left foot kicked N08 15 the briefcase off the balcony. His backward plunge lasted long N08 16 enough for him to think what he could do to save himself, which was N08 17 nothing. At least his chin was still tucked into his chest, so that N08 18 only his shoulders thumped the dividing wall, scraping on the rough N08 19 stone as he sprawled on his back. "What was that?" N08 20 said the Birmingham girl.

N08 21 Jack's skull had started to ache rhythmically, his back fell as N08 22 though it had been stripped like wallpaper, but he had no time to N08 23 recuperate. He rolled over, and the balcony rolled with him. He N08 24 closed his eyes and made himself lie still while he counted eleven, N08 25 slowing down over the last few numbers, then he swayed to his feet N08 26 and grasped the sliding frame of the right-hand window before N08 27 wobbling into the room.

N08 28 When his knees collided with the end of his bed he bowed N08 29 forwards almost helplessly and began to ransack the suitcase. As N08 30 soon as he found his swimming trunks he lowered himself onto the N08 31 bed, which was further beneath him than he'd thought, and found N08 32 himself toppling backwards. He kicked off his sandals and dragged N08 33 off his trousers and underpants - the easy part - then he attempted N08 34 to thread his legs through the trunks. At the third try he managed N08 35 to locate both leg-holes, but the trunks were the wrong way N08 36 round. He heard Julia saying "See you in a few N08 37 minutes" and tottered to his feet. He hauled the trunks up N08 38 and grabbing the nearest towel, wrapped the blowlamp in it just as N08 39 Julia came it.

N08 40 She halted as she saw him, and he willed her to be letting her N08 41 eyes adjust to the relative dimness of the room, but she was gazing N08 42 at him. "So much for your unpacking," she said. N08 43 "More like a dog after a bone."

N08 44 "Woof," he said, and repeated it so that it didn't N08 45 sound at all like 'Whoomph.'

N08 46 "You're worse than Laura ever was."

N08 47 "I must take after myself."

N08 48 "Never mind, I said I'd do it." Then she stared N08 49 harder at him. "You're back to front."

N08 50 "New fashion."

N08 51 "Don't go out like that, Jack. You'll have Laura N08 52 imagining everyone's looking."

N08 53 "If she even notices," he said, but arguing N08 54 would waste time. He shoved the towel and its contents more firmly N08 55 beneath his armpit and yanked the trunks down past his scrotum, N08 56 then he wriggled until they slid to his ankles. His movements were N08 57 rubbing his shirt over his raw shoulders, and he was afraid there N08 58 might be blood for Julia to notice. He turned around carefully, his N08 59 headache beating like a drum machine, once he was free of the N08 60 trunks, and sat on one of the chairs near the beds, the N08 61 thin-skinned upholstery pricking his buttocks. He was hooking the N08 62 trunks to him with one foot when someone rapped on the door. N08 63 "Is that Laura?" Julia called.

N08 64 "Yes."

N08 65 "Come in then, and stop putting on that funny N08 66 voice."

N08 67 "Hang on, I don't think -" Jack said, reeling N08 68 to his feet and clutching at the towel with one hand while N08 69 attempting to drag his trunks up with the other. They had only N08 70 reached his knees when the Birmingham girl, who proved to be in her N08 71 twenties but who had sounded younger, stepped into the room. N08 72 "Well, excuse me," she said, backing out fast. N08 73 "I was only going to ask if you'd lost this."

N08 74 Julia ran after her and did her best to appear solemn. N08 75 "Sorry about the misunderstanding. Our daughter's called N08 76 Laura too."

N08 77 "Really," the other Laura said as if that made the N08 78 situation even more suspect.

N08 79 "What did you say you were wanting to ask?"

N08 80 The length of the question gave Jack time to stumble to the N08 81 door. "If you'd dropped this," the Birmingham Laura N08 82 said, holding up the briefcase.

N08 83 "I don't think so," Julia said. "I'm N08 84 sure it can't be ours. Though now you mention it, it does look a N08 85 bit -"

N08 86 "It looks like an old briefcase," Jack N08 87 interrupted. "It isn't ours."

N08 88 Their neighbour kept her gaze fixed on his chest as though she N08 89 was determined not to look higher or lower. "Sorry to have N08 90 bothered you, I'm sure," she said, and retreated into the N08 91 next apartment.

N08 92 Julia contained her giggles until Jack shut the door. N08 93 "I should have let you keep your trunks on after N08 94 all."

N08 95 He wished he could stay and share the joke. "I'll see N08 96 you both on the beach."

N08 97 "I should think our Laura's just about ready if you N08 98 want to wait for her. You've got her towel, by the way. Here's N08 99 yours."

N08 100 Jack took it from her and ventured into the sunlight, which N08 101 collided with his head, reviving the ache. "Are you ready, N08 102 Laura Orchard?" he called.

N08 103 "Almost. Why are you calling me that?"

N08 104 "I'll leave your towel next to mine on the N08 105 beach," he told her, and stumbled down the nearest flight N08 106 of steps. At the bottom he glanced both ways before shoving the N08 107 blowlamp down the front of his trunks. They hid it, and he felt N08 108 comfortable enough with it until he tried to walk; then it began to N08 109 nudge his penis with a gentleness which he suspected would soon N08 110 become unbearable. He stuck Laura's towel under his arm and reached N08 111 into his trunks to adjust his penis as he moved towards the lowest N08 112 set of steps, and glanced up in case either Julia or Laura was N08 113 watching him. Neither of them was, but the Birmingham couple were, N08 114 and looking decidedly dubious. "Just dealing with my N08 115 equipment," he mumbled wildly, and fled down the steps.

N08 116 Below the road in front of the hotel a concrete slipway led N08 117 down to the narrow pebbly beach. Most of the bare-breasted young N08 118 women were lying face down on recliners, except for one who was N08 119 bouncing a baby in the waves. Several Greek children were skimming N08 120 stones across the water while their grandmother, a large swarthy N08 121 woman in a bathing suit and cap and with varicose veins so N08 122 pronounced they looked like rubber tubes inserted beneath the skin N08 123 of her legs, plodded through the shallows. Jack spread the towels N08 124 on the slipway and unbuttoned his shirt, wincing at the prospect of N08 125 peeling it off his shoulders. When he removed it, however, he found N08 126 there was no blood on it. He dropped it on his towel and wriggled N08 127 his feet out of his sandals - the blowlamp wouldn't let him stoop - N08 128 then, hoping that the bare young women wouldn't take his posture as N08 129 a response, he waddled down to the sea.

N08 130 He expected it to be warmer than it proved to be. When he trod N08 131 in it he had to restrain himself from jumping back. In a couple of N08 132 seconds it felt more welcoming, and he waded forwards until he was N08 133 knee-deep. Waves tugged gently at his legs, pebbles appeared to N08 134 sway back and forth underwater, and he felt in danger of losing his N08 135 balance. He couldn't loiter in case Julia or Laura saw him. He N08 136 floundered into the leisurely waves, and the water closed around N08 137 his trunks.

N08 138 It felt as though the blowlamp at his groin had extended a cold N08 139 grasp around his hips. The largest wave he'd met so far broke at N08 140 his waist, splashing his chest, and he thought the impact had N08 141 knocked him over. He pulled the blowlamp out of his trunks and held N08 142 it underwater. Now he could stoop, but there was no hiding-place in N08 143 sight. Pebbles dug into the soles of his feet, a swarm of tiny fish N08 144 nipped at his ankles. Though the water seemed capable of floating N08 145 his legs from under him and carrying him helplessly away, he would N08 146 have to go deeper if he wanted to be certain that the waves N08 147 wouldn't return the blowlamp to him.

N08 148 He shouldn't have come into the sea, he thought; he should have N08 149 gone up the hill. Perhaps he still could. Then he heard Laura N08 150 calling "Look at Dad," and he wallowed forwards, N08 151 having glimpsed a large underwater rock that appeared to be almost N08 152 within his reach. It seemed to raise itself and inch towards him, N08 153 but that was an illusion produced by the water, as was its N08 154 closeness to him. The sea was halfway up his chest when he gained N08 155 the rock and fell to his knees on top of it, water filling his N08 156 nostrils and stinging his shoulders. He snorted his nostrils clear N08 157 and shook his throbbing dizzy head and sucked in a lungful of air, N08 158 then he plunged his face into the sea and reached beneath the N08 159 rock.

N08 160 It was lying on sand. Something squirmed away from his fingers N08 161 and burrowed deeper. He dug as deep a trench in the heavy sodden N08 162 sand as he could without raising his head out of the water. His N08 163 vision was blurring, his lungs were beginning to struggle to keep N08 164 the air down; he felt as though the sea which was thundering dully N08 165 in his ears was penetrating his skull. When it seemed that all the N08 166 air in his lungs was about to burst out of him through whatever N08 167 exit it could make he thrust the blowlamp into the trench, nozzle N08 168 fist. The nozzle dug its own hole, and the body was well under the N08 169 rock. He shoved himself away from it and reared up out of the N08 170 water, spitting and blinking and gasping, so desperate for air that N08 171 his impetus threw him backwards. The sea replaced the sky, and a N08 172 wave held him under.

N08 173 It could only happen to Jack Awkward. He'd come all this way N08 174 solely in order to drown himself. He flailed at the water with his N08 175 arms and legs, but he could neither regain his footing nor find the N08 176 surface with his face. Everything around him seemed to be infected N08 177 by his dizziness. Another wave carried him for some distance, and N08 178 he realised he was floating, out of control. Then pebbles scraped N08 179 the knuckles of his right hand and he bruised his toes on a stone, N08 180 and managed to crouch on all fours and shove his face above the N08 181 water. For a few seconds he could only splutter and try to blink N08 182 his salty eyes into focus, then he saw that the wave had carried N08 183 him in the direction of the beach. Laura was swimming towards him. N08 184 "Dad," she called without breaking her stroke, "you N08 185 nearly swam."

N08 186 "If that's what it's like I'm glad it was only N08 187 nearly."

N08 188 When he'd recovered, however, he turned on his back and let the N08 189 water buoy him up. All he needed to do in order to float was relax, N08 190 and he thought he was entitled to relax at last. He counted the N08 191 seconds as another wave returned him to the beach: eleven, twelve, N08 192 thirteen, and pebbles grazed his shoulders. It was lucky that he N08 193 didn't need to swim, he thought, struggling to his feet and N08 194 trudging through the waves.

N08 195 "That was impressive," Julia said, paddling to N08 196 meet him; then her smile faltered. "What have you done to N08 197 yourself?"

N08 198 "Didn't you see me fall on the rock?"

N08 199 "Oh, Jack." She made to touch his shoulders and N08 200 grimaced sympathetically instead. "'Have a shower before N08 201 the salt gets in."

N08 202 N08 203 N09 1 <#FLOB:N09\>2 N09 2 That night, on the last train back to Berlin from Potsdam, I N09 3 sat in a carriage by myself. I ought to have been more careful, N09 4 only I was feeling pleased with myself for having successfully N09 5 concluded the doctor's case: but I was also tired, since this N09 6 business had taken almost the whole day and a substantial part of N09 7 the evening.

N09 8 Not the least part of my time had been taken up in travel. N09 9 Generally this took two or three times as long as it had done N09 10 before the war; and what had once been a half-hour's journey to N09 11 Potsdam now took nearer two. I was closing my eyes for a nap when N09 12 the train started to slow, and then juddered to a halt.

N09 13 Several minutes passed before the carriage-door opened and a N09 14 large and extremely smelly Russian soldier climbed aboard. He N09 15 mumbled a greeting at me, to which I nodded politely. But almost N09 16 immediately I braced myself as, swaying gently on his huge feet, he N09 17 unslung his Mosin Nagant carbine and operated the bolt action. N09 18 Instead of pointing it at me, he turned and fired his weapon out of N09 19 the carriage window, and after a brief pause my lungs started to N09 20 move again as I realized that he had been signalling to the N09 21 driver.

N09 22 The Russian burped, sat down heavily as the train started to N09 23 move again, swept off his lambskin cap with the back of his filthy N09 24 hand and, leaning back, closed his eyes.

N09 25 I pulled a copy of the British-run Telegraf out of my N09 26 coat-pocket. Keeping one eye on the Ivan, I pretended to N09 27 read. Most of the news was about crime: rape and robbery in the N09 28 Eastern Zone were as common as cheap vodka which, as often as not, N09 29 occasioned their commission. Sometimes it seemed as if Germany was N09 30 still in the bloody grip of the Thirty Years' War.

N09 31 I knew just a handful of women who could not describe an N09 32 incident in which they had been raped or molested by a Russian. And N09 33 even if one makes an allowance for the fantasies of a few N09 34 neurotics, there was still a staggering number of sex-related N09 35 crimes. My wife knew several girls who had been attacked only quite N09 36 recently, on the eve of the thirtieth anniversary of the Russian N09 37 Revolution. One of these girls, raped by no less than five Red Army N09 38 soldiers at a police station in Rangsdorff, and infected with N09 39 syphilis as a result, tried to bring criminal charges, but found N09 40 herself subjected to a forcible medical examination and charged N09 41 with prostitution. But there were also some who said that the Ivans N09 42 merely took by force that which German women were only too willing N09 43 to sell to the British and the Americans.

N09 44 Complaints to the Soviet Kommendatura that you had been robbed N09 45 by Red Army soldiers were equally in vain. You were likely to be N09 46 informed that "all the German people have is a gift from N09 47 the people of the Soviet Union." This was sufficient N09 48 sanction for indiscriminate robbery throughout the Zone, and you N09 49 were sometimes lucky if you survived to report the matter. The N09 50 depredations of the Red Army and its many deserters made travel in N09 51 the Zone only slightly less dangerous than a flight on the N09 52 Hindenburg. Travellers on the Berlin-Magdeburg railway had N09 53 been stripped naked and thrown off the train; and the road from N09 54 Berlin to Leipzig was so dangerous that vehicles often drove in N09 55 convoy: the Telegraf had reported a robbery in which four N09 56 boxers, on their way to a fight in Leipzig, had been held up and N09 57 robbed of everything except their lives. Most notorious of all were N09 58 the seventy-five robberies committed by the Blue Limousine Gang, N09 59 which had operated on the Berlin-Michendorf road, and which had N09 60 included among its leaders the vice-president of the N09 61 Soviet-controlled Potsdam police.

N09 62 To people who were thinking of visiting the Eastern Zone, I N09 63 said "don't", and then if they still wanted to go, I said, N09 64 "Don't wear a wristwatch - the Ivans like to steal them; N09 65 don't wear anything but your oldest coat and shoes - the Ivans like N09 66 quality; don't argue or answer back - the Ivans don't mind shooting N09 67 you: if you must talk to them speak loudly of American fascists; N09 68 and don't read any newspaper except their own Taegliche N09 69 Rundschau."

N09 70 This was all good advice and I would have done well to have N09 71 taken it myself, for suddenly the Ivan in my carriage was on his N09 72 feet and standing unsteadily over me.

N09 73 "Vi vihodeetye (are you getting N09 74 off)?" I asked him.

N09 75 He blinked crapulously and then stared malevolently at me and N09 76 my newspaper before snatching it from my hands.

N09 77 He was a hill-tribesman type, a big stupid Chechen with N09 78 almond-shaped black eyes, a gnarled jaw as broad as the steppes and N09 79 a chest like an upturned church-bell: the kind of Ivan we made N09 80 jokes about - how they didn't know what lavatories were and how N09 81 they put their food in the toilet bowls thinking that they were N09 82 refrigerators (some of these stories were even true).

N09 83 "Lzhy (lies)," he snarled, N09 84 brandishing the paper in front of him, his open, drooling mouth N09 85 showing great yellow kerbstones of teeth. Putting his boot on the N09 86 seat beside me, he leaned closer. "Lganyo," he N09 87 repeated in tones lower than the smell of sausage and beer which N09 88 his breath carried to my helplessly flaring nostrils. He seemed to N09 89 sense my disgust and rolled the idea of it around in his grizzled N09 90 head like a boiled sweet. Dropping the Telegraf to the floor N09 91 he held out his horny hand.

N09 92 "Ya hachoo padarok," he N09 93 said, and then slowly in German, "... I want N09 94 present."

N09 95 I grinned at him, nodding like an idiot, and realized that I N09 96 was going to have to kill him or be killed myself. N09 97 "Padarok," I repeated. N09 98 "Padarok."

N09 99 I stood up slowly and, still grinning and nodding, gently N09 100 pulled back the sleeve of my left arm to reveal my bare wrist. The N09 101 Ivan was grinning too by now, thinking he was on to a good thing. I N09 102 shrugged.

N09 103 "Oo menya nyet chasov," I N09 104 said, explaining that I didn't have a watch to give him.

N09 105 "Shto oo vas yest (what have you N09 106 got)?"

N09 107 "Nichto," I said, shaking my head and N09 108 inviting him to search my coat pockets. "Nothing."

N09 109 "Shto oo vas yest?" he said again, N09 110 more loudly this time.

N09 111 It was, I reflected, like me talking to poor Dr Novak, whose N09 112 wife I had been able to confirm was indeed being held by the MVD. N09 113 Trying to discover what he could trade.

N09 114 "Nichto," I repeated.

N09 115 The grin disappeared from the Ivan's face. He spat on the N09 116 carriage floor.

N09 117 "Vroon (liar)," he growled, and N09 118 pushed me on the arm.

N09 119 I shook my head and told him that I wasn't lying.

N09 120 He reached to push me again, only this time he checked his hand N09 121 and took hold of the sleeve with his dirty finger and thumb. N09 122 "Doraga (expensive)," he said, N09 123 appreciatively, feeling the material.

N09 124 I shook my head, but the coat was black cashmere - the sort of N09 125 coat I had no business wearing in the Zone - and it was no use N09 126 arguing: the Ivan was already unbuckling his belt.

N09 127 "Ya hachoo vashi koyt," he N09 128 said, removing his own well-patched greatcoat. Then, stepping to N09 129 the other side of the carriage, he flung open the door and informed N09 130 me that either I could hand over the coat or he would throw me off N09 131 the train.

N09 132 I had no doubt that he would throw me out whether I gave him my N09 133 coat or not. It was my turn to spit.

N09 134 "Nu, nyelzya (nothing N09 135 doing)," I said. "You want this coat? You come and N09 136 get it, you stupid fucking svinya, you ugly, dumb N09 137 kryestyan'in. Come on, take it from me, you drunken N09 138 bastard."

N09 139 The Ivan snarled angrily and picked up his carbine from the N09 140 seat where he had left it. That was his first mistake. Having seen N09 141 him signal to the engine-driver by firing his weapon out of the N09 142 window, I knew that there could not be a live cartridge in the N09 143 breech. It was a deductive process he made only a moment behind me, N09 144 but by the time he was working the bolt action a second time I had N09 145 buried the toe of my boot in his groin.

N09 146 The carbine clattered to the floor as the Ivan doubled over N09 147 painfully, and with one hand reached between his legs: with the N09 148 other he lashed out hard, catching me an agonizing blow on the N09 149 thigh that left my leg feeling as dead as mutton.

N09 150 As he straightened up again I swung with my right, and found my N09 151 fist caught firmly in his big paw. He snatched at my throat and I N09 152 headbutted him full in the face, which made him release my fist as N09 153 he instinctively cupped his turnip-sized nose. I swung again and N09 154 this time he ducked and seized me by the coat lapels. That was his N09 155 second mistake, but for a brief, puzzled half-second I did not N09 156 realize it. Unaccountably he cried out and staggered back from me, N09 157 his hands raised in the air in front of him like a scrubbed-up N09 158 surgeon, his lacerated fingertips pouring with blood. It was only N09 159 then that I remembered the razor-blades I had sewn under my lapels N09 160 many months before, for just this eventuality.

N09 161 My flying tackle carried him crashing to the floor and half a N09 162 torso's length beyond the open door of the fast-moving train. Lying N09 163 on his bucking legs I struggled to prevent the Ivan pulling himself N09 164 back into the carriage. Hands that were sticky with blood clawed at N09 165 my face and then fastened desperately round my neck. His grip N09 166 tightened and I heard the air gurgle from my own throat like the N09 167 sound of an espresso-machine.

N09 168 I punched him hard under the chin, not once but several times, N09 169 and then pressed the heel of my hand against it as I sought to push N09 170 him back into the racing night air. The skin on my forehead N09 171 tightened as I gasped for breath.

N09 172 A terrible roaring filled my ears, as if a grenade had burst N09 173 directly in front of my face, and, for a second his fingers seemed N09 174 to loosen. I lunged at his head and connected with the empty space N09 175 that was now mercifully signalled by an abruptly terminated stump N09 176 of bloody human vertebra. A tree, or perhaps a telegraph pole, had N09 177 neatly decapitated him.

N09 178 My chest a heaving sack of rabbits, I collapsed back into the N09 179 carriage, too exhausted to yield to the wave of nausea that was N09 180 beginning to overtake me. But after only a few seconds more I could N09 181 no longer resist it and summoned forward by the sudden contraction N09 182 of my stomach, I vomited copiously over the dead soldier's body.

N09 183 It was several minutes before I felt strong enough to tip the N09 184 corpse out of the door, with the carbine quickly following. I N09 185 picked the Ivan's malodorous greatcoat off the seat to throw it out N09 186 as well, but the weight of if made me hesitate. Searching the N09 187 pockets I found a Czechoslovakian-made .38 automatic, a handful of N09 188 wristwatches - probably all stolen - and a half-empty bottle of N09 189 Moscowskaya. After deciding to keep the gun and the watches, I N09 190 uncorked the vodka, wiped the neck, and raised the bottle to the N09 191 freezing night-sky.

N09 192 "Alla rasi bo sun (God save N09 193 you)," I said, and swallowed a generous mouthful. Then I N09 194 flung the bottle and the greatcoat off the train and closed the N09 195 door.

N09 196 Back at the railway station snow floated in the air like N09 197 fragments of lint and collected in small ski-slopes in the angle N09 198 between the station wall and the road. It was colder than it had N09 199 been all week and the sky was heavy with the threat of something N09 200 worse. A fog lay on the white streets like cigar smoke drifting N09 201 across a well starched tablecloth. Close by, a streetlight burned N09 202 with no great intensity, but it was still bright enough to light up N09 203 my face for the scrutiny of a British soldier staggering home with N09 204 several bottles of beer in each hand. N09 205 N10 1 <#FLOB:N10\>"Her sister's with the Iroquois. Here would be N10 2 as good as anywhere else."

N10 3 "But ... Henry Murray said the furs are on an island. N10 4 How will she make her way to the mainland? And the Iroquois are N10 5 fighting us. What will they do to her if they learn she's been N10 6 travelling with us? With you?"

N10 7 "Tissee's a resourceful girl. She'll think of some way N10 8 to reach the mainland. Anyway, the longer she takes, the less N10 9 likelihood there'll be of the Iroquois coming after us. That's if N10 10 she decides to tell them she's been travelling with men of the N10 11 Upper Canada Trading Company."

N10 12 "Don't you care what happens to her?" James N10 13 Cameron's impassioned question surprised him as much as it did N10 14 anyone else. "I know I've only been here a short while, but N10 15 from what I've seen Tissee is both loyal and hardworking. Doesn't N10 16 that count for anything?"

N10 17 "Any suggestion that loyalty and service deserves N10 18 reward is a mockery coming from the tongue of a Cameron of Glenelg. N10 19 I'm a Highlander too, Sir James Cameron. There are many of us N10 20 in Canada. When we get together we exchange news of what's N10 21 happening back home. The last I heard of Glenelg, loyalty and N10 22 service were being trampled underfoot by Lowland sheep. Are you N10 23 trying to tell me that 'loyalty' means something when dealing with N10 24 Indians, but can be disregarded when Highlanders are involved? Is N10 25 that what you think? Not that it matters, I don't give a damn N10 26 either way. When we leave the island bound for Detroit, Tissee N10 27 stays behind. Now, let's head for the shore and find these N10 28 furs."

N10 29 The exchange between the two men had been carried on in low N10 30 voices, but it had been heard by most of the men in the two boats N10 31 and Cameron seethed with anger. When they returned to Murrayton he N10 32 intended making Urquhart pay dearly for speaking to him this way in N10 33 front of the other trappers. Scotsman and fine trapper he might be, N10 34 but no one spoke to James Cameron in such a manner.

N10 35 As the large canoes nosed through reeds to run aground on the N10 36 soft mud of the island's shore, the leading men in each canoe N10 37 leaped over the side and hauled the two craft farther on land. As N10 38 other men jumped ashore the craft were pulled well clear of the N10 39 water and hidden amongst the trees at the water's edge.

N10 40 "Where are the pelts?"

N10 41 One of the trappers from Cameron's canoe put the question to N10 42 Dan Urquhart.

N10 43 "They should be about twenty paces in from that N10 44 rock." Urquhart pointed to a long, rounded rock jutting out N10 45 from the island, at right angles from the shoreline. "We'll N10 46 load the canoes then make camp."

N10 47 By now the sun had dragged itself clear of the waters of the N10 48 eastern end of the lake and was beginning its ascent into an almost N10 49 cloudless sky.

N10 50 "Tissee, get a fire going. We'll have something to eat N10 51 ... do you fish?" The question was put to James Cameron.

N10 52 "Of course."

N10 53 "You'll find a couple of lines in my canoe. Take some N10 54 corn for bait and try your luck."

N10 55 James found the lines, each fitted with a number of hooks, and N10 56 he made his way along the wooded shoreline, seeking a spot clear of N10 57 reeds.

N10 58 It was a very large island, probably about seven miles long and N10 59 equally as wide and James had no difficulty finding a suitable N10 60 place from which to fish. He chose a spot about a half-mile from N10 61 the camp. Here there was a large, flat rock which extended out N10 62 beyond the reeds into clearer water.

N10 63 James had been fishing without success for some minutes when N10 64 Tissee came along the edge of the tree-line, gathering dead wood. N10 65 Seeing Cameron, she stopped.

N10 66 "You catch many fish?"

N10 67 "Not one."

N10 68 Tissee laughed. It was a pleasant sound and it effectively N10 69 dulled the edge of her next words.

N10 70 "You do not belong here. You should be with your own N10 71 people, in a place where others do things for you. But I teach you N10 72 catch fish."

N10 73 Dropping the armful of wood to the ground. Tissee scrambled out N10 74 on the rock to join James. It was narrow at the end where he was N10 75 standing, and she had to clasp him about the waist in order to pass N10 76 by.

N10 77 Pulling in the line, she inspected the hooks. Making soft N10 78 sounds of disapproval, Tissee stripped the bait from each hook, N10 79 discarding the large, yellow grains of corn into the water. N10 80 Speedily and efficiently re-baiting the hooks she swung the line, N10 81 pendulum-style back and forth a couple of times, before lobbing it N10 82 with impressive accuracy to land within inches of the rushes. She N10 83 jerked on the line almost immediately and hauled it in. James was N10 84 mortified to see that Tissee had hooked not one, but two N10 85 wildly-flapping, silver-scaled fish.

N10 86 The smile Tissee directed at him contained more delight than N10 87 triumph, and James shook his head in rueful acceptance of her N10 88 superior fishing skill. Tissee dropped the fish to the rock at her N10 89 feet and was unhooking them when she and James heard the sound of N10 90 two shots - they came from the direction of the camp. As Tissee N10 91 straightened up they heard more shots. Sliding past him, Tissee N10 92 jumped from the rock and began running in the direction of the N10 93 camp. James followed.

N10 94 Fortunately for the Scots baronet and the Indian girl, they N10 95 were still in the shadow of the trees when they came within view of N10 96 the lakeside camp. A whole host of Indians were swarming around the N10 97 trappers, wielding axes and knives and discharging guns at N10 98 point-blank range.

N10 99 Cameron identified Urquhart immediately, his red hair and large N10 100 build unmistakable among the trappers who still remained on their N10 101 feet. He stood as solid as a great bear, wielding an empty rifle N10 102 and surrounded by yelping, aggressive Indians. As James watched, N10 103 the big Scotsman beat off three attackers in quick succession, but N10 104 the odds against him were too great.

N10 105 Watching in helpless horror, James saw a bloody axe raised in N10 106 the air and brought crashing down upon the head of Dan Urquhart. N10 107 The giant trapper sank to the ground and as he disappeared in the N10 108 midst of a stabbing and hacking crowd the hullaballoo reached a new N10 109 crescendo.

N10 110 Tissee's hand gripped Cameron's arm. Exhibiting no visible N10 111 signs of emotions at what she too had just witnessed, she said N10 112 simply, "Come."

N10 113 Pulling him after her, Tissee fled back the way they had come, N10 114 keeping to the shadow of the trees. At the rock they had so N10 115 recently deserted, she paused to retrieve the fish she had caught N10 116 before resuming their flight.

N10 117 "Where are we going?" James asked the question N10 118 breathlessly, unused to such strenuous activity.

N10 119 "We hide."

N10 120 "Why have your people attacked us?"

N10 121 "They are not my people. They are Crees. Bad for N10 122 you, bad for me."

N10 123 James thought of the savage scene he had just witnessed and he N10 124 shuddered. "What of the others? Some may still be N10 125 alive."

N10 126 "None of the trappers still alive. My man, the others N10 127 ... all dead."

N10 128 James looked quickly for some sign of anguish on Tissee's face; N10 129 he saw none.

N10 130 "Don't you care about what's just happened to them, N10 131 Tissee? To Urquhart ... your man?

N10 132 Coming to an abrupt halt, Tissee looked up at him defiantly. N10 133 "You think I should tear my hair because my man is dead? N10 134 You want me to make plenty noise and bring Crees to us? Maybe you N10 135 think they say, 'Sorry, Tissee. We not know one trapper your man?' N10 136 No. If I stop to be sad they kill me. Then kill you. We hide, long N10 137 way from here. Then I have time feel sad in here."

N10 138 As Tissee put a hand to her heart, James knew that she had put N10 139 him firmly in his place for asking such a stupid question. He told N10 140 himself that the slaughter he had just witnessed must have induced N10 141 a state of shock in him.

N10 142 Tissee led the way along the shore for about a mile, wading N10 143 knee deep in the water of the lake in order to leave no footprints N10 144 when they reached a stretch of smooth, unmarked sand. Soon after N10 145 this they came to a swift-running stream that emptied itself into N10 146 the lake.

N10 147 Keeping to the centre of the stream, Tissee led the way inland, N10 148 sometimes pushing her way through undergrowth so dense they would N10 149 have made no progress had they left the water. They followed the N10 150 narrowing stream for about a mile before Tissee stooped beneath the N10 151 low-hanging branches of a tree and dropped to her hands and knees. N10 152 Crawling ashore, she led Cameron through the undergrowth until they N10 153 reached a small gap between two bushes.

N10 154 "We stay here."

N10 155 "For how long?"

N10 156 Tissee shrugged. "We sleep now. When we wake, we talk N10 157 about it."

N10 158 "What if the Crees come looking for us? We have no N10 159 guns."

N10 160 "Too much whisky in camp for them to look for us. They N10 161 drink, sleep, maybe look around for while. Then they go. Take furs N10 162 to Nor' West company store."

N10 163 "How do you think they knew where to find the N10 164 furs?"

N10 165 Tissee shook her head. "If they see Murray hide furs N10 166 they would steal and sell. I think maybe Nor' West company man see N10 167 and pay them to wait for us to come for them."

N10 168 James found it difficult to accept her explanation. N10 169 "You mean someone - a white man paid the Crees to wait N10 170 for us to arrive ... and to kill us?"

N10 171 "You think such things not done by white men? That only N10 172 Indians kill people?" Tissee looked at Cameron N10 173 scornfully. "Dan said you know nothing of this land ... N10 174 ."

N10 175 Suddenly Tissee stopped talking and an expression of anguish N10 176 contorted her face. James realised that the memory of Dan N10 177 Urquhart's death had come flooding back to her.

N10 178 "I'm sorry, Tissee ... ."

N10 179 "Sleep. Maybe tonight we go back see what Crees are N10 180 doing."

N10 181 James Cameron was convinced that he would not be able to sleep, N10 182 and the prospect of going back to check on the Crees alarmed him. N10 183 Yet it was with a sense of guilt that he realised that the sight of N10 184 his companions being hacked and clubbed to death had neither N10 185 frightened nor horrified him. There had been almost a thrill N10 186 to it, a sense of great excitement. He was still re-living the N10 187 details of the massacre when he fell asleep.

N10 188 James Cameron awoke with a start, convinced he had heard N10 189 voices. Then he realised that he was listening to the chatter of a N10 190 bird somewhere nearby in the forest. Sitting up, he looked about N10 191 him for Tissee but she was nowhere to be seen.

N10 192 He experienced a moment of panic. What if she had deserted him? N10 193 Worse, what if Tissee had decided to betray him to the Crees, in N10 194 exchange for her own safety? Gradually, common-sense overrode the N10 195 confusion of his sleep-befuddled mind. Tissee could have deserted N10 196 him when they heard the first shots at the edge of the lake, or N10 197 later in the forest. She would hardly have gone to such lengths to N10 198 find a secure hiding-place had she intended handing him over to the N10 199 Crees, and turning him over to them would be no guarantee of her N10 200 own safety.

N10 201 He relaxed. Tissee would not be far away. She had probably gone N10 202 off to find food - berries or something similar. He hoped so. He N10 203 was ravenously hungry.

N10 204 Hunger might be the immediate problem, but James knew that N10 205 finding a way off the island and making his way back to Murrayton N10 206 was the most important issue. He had no experience of surviving in N10 207 such a hostile environment and would need to rely entirely upon N10 208 Tissee's skill and knowledge.

N10 209 Tissee did not return to the hiding-place until another hour N10 210 had elapsed. Her arrival was so silent that she startled him. One N10 211 moment he was alone, the next he looked up to see Tissee standing N10 212 before him. In her hands she carried a rifle, a powder-horn and a N10 213 large leather pouch, attached to which was a rolled blanket.

N10 214 "You've been back to the camp! N10 215 N10 216 N11 1 <#FLOB:N11\>Nothing left. Not a trace. Like poor Tommy."

N11 2 "Tommy was overweight, hot-tempered, impulsive. He N11 3 smoked too much."

N11 4 "So do you."

N11 5 "He was a wheeler-dealer, always on the go."

N11 6 "That's another thing." She let go my hand and N11 7 quickened her pace. "Those deals you did with N11 8 Tommy," she said. Her head was down and her face was turned N11 9 away.

N11 10 "He cut me in out of the kindness of his heart. Because N11 11 he knew things were tough and he wanted to help us."

N11 12 "They weren't straight, were they?"

N11 13 "If they weren't, he never told me. I suppose it N11 14 depends how you define straight."

N11 15 "Don't give me double-talk, Joe. The man's N11 16 dead."

N11 17 "I don't know the answer. I never asked."

N11 18 She stopped in her tracks and turned to me. She was crying but N11 19 her face was stiff with anger. "You've no right to be so N11 20 bloody simple-minded. No right at all. Why did you never N11 21 ask?"

N11 22 "I couldn't afford to," I said.

N11 23 Two policemen were walking up the hill towards us. When they N11 24 came abreast of us they paused and looked at her enquiringly. She N11 25 shook her head at them and went on crying. "You're such a N11 26 loser, Joe. You and the quick buck."

N11 27 I took her hand and squeezed it hard. "It's all right, N11 28 darling. I loved the guy, too. He was my friend as well as N11 29 yours."

N11 30 She took her hand away. "That's not an N11 31 answer."

N11 32 "You're not being fair. You already know the bloody N11 33 answer. It's not easy to make a living as a photographer and I'm N11 34 not David Bailey. What more do you want me to say? That he felt N11 35 sorry for me? Tommy helped me out from time to time because he was N11 36 fond of us, fond of us both. I may not have asked enough questions N11 37 but you chose to pretend it wasn't happening."

N11 38 She walked on, head down, saying nothing.

N11 39 "Remember his wedding present?" I asked.

N11 40 "A dinner service, a Royal Doulton dinner service from N11 41 Harrods. Of course I remember. We've been eating off it ever N11 42 since."

N11 43 "That was the easy part. The real present was the N11 44 little slum property near Paddington. Don't you remember that? A N11 45 twenty-five-year lease he'd picked up for four thousand quid. 'Go N11 46 shares with me in it, Joe,' he said. 'You won't regret it.' Two N11 47 years later we were told the area was being torn down to make room N11 48 for the Westway. When the compulsory purchase order came Tommy took N11 49 us to the Ritz to celebrate. You were there. How can you N11 50 forget?"

N11 51 "You never told me what was going on."

N11 52 "What should I have told you? That he knew the planning N11 53 officer and the guy who did the official valuations? That's N11 54 what we've been eating off ever since."

N11 55 She shook her head. "That was between you and him. I N11 56 never asked about that stuff."

N11 57 "That makes two of us then."

N11 58 We walked to her studio without exchanging another word. When I N11 59 left her all she said was, "We should have had him to N11 60 dinner more often."

N11 61 TOMMY and his deals.

N11 62 The edges of the studio were full of shadows. In the middle was N11 63 a circle of hard light, glaring, like the light in the dusty street N11 64 outside. A skinny youth sat on the edge of the bed, naked except N11 65 for his Y-fronts, knobbly hands hanging loose between his knees. N11 66 The ring of spotlights picked out the blemishes on his skin, the N11 67 curling straggly hairs on his chest, a question-mark scar on his N11 68 shoulder.

N11 69 "A small favour," Tommy had said. "A N11 70 few hours of your time. Plus some of that professional N11 71 know-how."

N11 72 "Jut tell me what you want."

N11 73 "I'm setting this up for a pal, you understand. For N11 74 someone I do business with. It's a one-off job."

N11 75 "The favours you've done for me, how could I N11 76 refuse?"

N11 77 "That's what worries me. It's not your style, Joe. Not N11 78 mine either. But I owe the guy."

N11 79 "Never apologise, never explain. You owe him, I owe N11 80 you."

N11 81 "You're going to be on location in Tunisia next N11 82 month," Tommy said. "I can fix a studio for you N11 83 there, no problem. That way there's no awkward questions from the N11 84 wife. You go in, you take the pictures, you catch the next plane N11 85 out and no one's any the wiser."

N11 86 "Don't worry about it. Anything to help you N11 87 out."

N11 88 "I don't want to take advantage."

N11 89 There were two girls, both young. One was oriental, N11 90 broad-faced, maybe Korean, but with features so delicate as hardly N11 91 to be features at all. Tiny breasts, slim hips, a body smoothed N11 92 down like a pebble in a stream. The other was American, N11 93 blonde-haired, blue-eyed, small-town innocent. The oriental girl N11 94 was precise and matter-of-fact, doing a job she'd been paid for. N11 95 The American was vague, drifting, high on something that seemed to N11 96 transform what was happening into a delicious secret joke.

N11 97 "My name's Helen," she said. "I launch N11 98 ships."

N11 99 She laughed when the youth took off his Y-fronts and she saw N11 100 the disproportionate size of his member. A young laugh, a ripple of N11 101 freshness in the heat and glare. "Gee N11 102 willikins."

N11 103 I moved around the bed photographing tangled limbs, busy N11 104 mouths, slippery private parts. They stopped when I told them to N11 105 stop, combined, recombined, stopped again, as though this were N11 106 nothing more involving than grandmother's footsteps.

N11 107 There was a fridgeful of beer in the corner and they drank N11 108 between takes. The oriental girl wiped her mouth with the back of N11 109 her hand, but delicately, as if this were the proper thing to do, N11 110 something she'd been taught. The American put the glistening can N11 111 between her breasts, shivered and giggled. The heat from the lights N11 112 and the heat from the violent Tunisian sun outside made them sweat N11 113 more than the sexual acrobatics. It produced light effects I didn't N11 114 like and I made them towel themselves down every few minutes.

N11 115 I photographed them in all the possible combinations: in pairs, N11 116 as a trio, alone. Seven sets of pictures in the clinging heat. When N11 117 it was over the girls disappeared, the rest of us sat around N11 118 drinking beer, our T-shirts soaked with sweat. Outside a wind had N11 119 got up and the air was gritty with blown sand. When I got back to N11 120 the hotel, I took a long bath and ate on my own in the pretentious N11 121 restaurant downstairs. I wanted to get home to Judy but a N11 122 sand-storm was blowing the next day and the flights were delayed. I N11 123 told myself it was a favour to a friend, a clinical operation, N11 124 curiously unrousing, not much different from the advertising shots N11 125 I'd been taking on location. A young girl on a beach, jeans and no N11 126 top. The same attention to light and composition and physical N11 127 detail. Pornography by any other name.

N11 128 But secretly, I was afraid. Afraid it would catch up on me, N11 129 afraid I'd set some obscure machinery in motion that would destroy N11 130 my marriage, afraid Judy would find out. I put it down to native N11 131 guilt, something in the genes that had no bearing on the world out N11 132 there. Even so, a veil came down between Judy and myself. We had N11 133 always made a point of not intruding on each other. It was part of N11 134 our intimacy. She had her work, I had mine and we took it on trust N11 135 that neither of us had anything to hide in our separate lives. All N11 136 that changed after Tunis. I became sly for no reason at all. I kept N11 137 things hidden and explained myself unnecessarily. Before Tunis, we N11 138 used to joke about the models. I pretended to be more attracted to N11 139 them than I was, she pretended to be jealous. It was a way of N11 140 flattering each other, of adding an edge to our love-making. Now I N11 141 avoided mentioning them. I fussed over Judy, bought her flowers, N11 142 watched for signs of irritation or discontent, ready to placate, N11 143 smooth over, make good. Only Tommy and I knew about the N11 144 pornographic pictures and neither of us was saying, yet I was N11 145 convinced word would get out.

N11 146 After Tunis, the windfalls from Tommy increased. Not N11 147 immediately or in frequency but in size. After Tunis, too, I N11 148 stopped seeing Tommy as regularly as I had. I resented him for N11 149 having asked me to do the job as much as I disliked myself for N11 150 having done it. A sneaky resentment, based on collusion. N11 151 Understanding the company he kept put the other deals in context. N11 152 But I needed the money.

N11 153 THE sky was darkening steadily and by the time I reached Chalk N11 154 Farm station the rain was bucketing down again. My studio is the N11 155 first floor of a decrepit building in Soho which is bound to be N11 156 torn down in the next burst of urban renewal. The front room is N11 157 spacious and well proportioned, with a high ceiling and long N11 158 windows. Once upon a time it was a pretty Victorian drawing-room, N11 159 now it is jammed with my gear: aluminium boxes full of cameras and N11 160 lenses, arc lights, transformers, coils of cable, movable panels, N11 161 rolls of paper and coloured materials, a big table heaped with odds N11 162 and ends that also doubles as my desk. Across the landing is a N11 163 smaller room I use as a dark room. Once upon a time I had a N11 164 secretary, a witty and depressed woman with a fine line in gallows N11 165 humour, but she got replaced by a word processor. A black joke she N11 166 appreciated. These days I have an assistant when I'm working but N11 167 between jobs I make do with an answering machine. The loneliness of N11 168 the late 20th century: machines may cost less but they're not very N11 169 companionable.

N11 170 There were two messages waiting for me on the answering N11 171 machine: one from my agent, the other from Inspector Rogers of N11 172 Scotland Yard.

N11 173 Inspector Rogers was very polite. We understand you were a N11 174 friend of the deceased. No doubt you've heard there were certain N11 175 irregularities, a suspected break-in. Perhaps we could ask you a N11 176 few questions. Of course, it must be very upsetting for you. A N11 177 matter of routine, you understand. Explore every avenue. No, it N11 178 would be easier, I think, if we came to you. As you say, Mr N11 179 Constantine, no time like the present.

N11 180 I wandered round the studio clearing away the bits and pieces N11 181 that seem to accumulate on my chairs and sofa without any apparent N11 182 help from me. Then I thought, Fuck it, and phoned Helen Donovan.

N11 183 An American voice, young-sounding but tired. Not one I N11 184 recognised but the telephone does funny things. I explained I was N11 185 an old friend of Tommy. I told her about the letter.

N11 186 "He asked me to keep an eye on you."

N11 187 "An eye. That's rich."

N11 188 Tommy and his troublesome women. He worked on his erotic life N11 189 like he worked on his business deals, each one a battle, a new N11 190 challenge, a potential source of glory. No wonder his heart gave N11 191 out.

N11 192 "Are you all right? Do you need anything?"

N11 193 "I feel lousy, if you want to know. How else am I N11 194 supposed to feel? I also feel pissed-off. Like he's left me in the N11 195 lurch."

N11 196 There was reggae music in the background, syncopated N11 197 percussion, a girl's voice singing, "Tonight, tonight is N11 198 the night of all nights."

N11 199 "It's rotten for all of us. He was my oldest N11 200 friend."

N11 201 The music ended. A cheerful voice said, "The next N11 202 request is from Edith Valentine of Bexley Heath."

N11 203 "Don't get me wrong," Helen said. "It's N11 204 just that I don't know what I'm going to do without N11 205 him."

N11 206 She sounded young enough to be my daughter. Tommy should have N11 207 stuck to women nearer his own age. I don't need this, I thought.

N11 208 "I'm terribly sorry. Maybe I can help in some N11 209 way."

N11 210 "Help? Is that what you do when someone N11 211 dies?"

N11 212 "At least I could buy you a drink."

N11 213 "Why not? Tommy talked about you. A drink to our mutual N11 214 friend. It'd be nice to see a sympathetic face."

N11 215 We arrangd to meet at the Museum Tavern at 5.45. N11 216 "I'm tallish, middle-aged, not much hair. N11 217 N12 1 <#FLOB:N12\>He reached the office of the embassy doctor without N12 2 meeting any Abwehr staff and went straight into the N12 3 examination room. The doctor, who had learned to be unsurprised by N12 4 anything the Abwehr did, followed him.

N12 5 "Lock the door," Christian said. "I'm N12 6 dead. Murdered. Now I want you to get me on a plane to N12 7 Berlin."

N12 8 "Sit down." The doctor examined the pupils of N12 9 his eyes and took his pulse. He had already noticed the patches of N12 10 black blood matting Christian's hair. "How were you N12 11 killed?"

N12 12 "Knocked out and strangled. Watch out for broken N12 13 glass." He winced as the doctor searched his scalp. N12 14 "What's that awful stink?"

N12 15 "Disinfectant. You're soaked in it. Whoever killed you N12 16 was very concerned not to contaminate the wound."

N12 17 Christian found that funny. He laughed so much that he reopened N12 18 the cut. Eventually the doctor stitched it up. That evening N12 19 Christian's coffin, packed with sandbags, was flown out of Lisbon. N12 20 Christian was on the same plane, wearing a mask of bandages and N12 21 carrying a passport that said he was Albert Meyer, fruit N12 22 importer.

N12 23 Next day he telephoned Abwehr headquarters. Admiral N12 24 Canaris, its head, was not there but his second-in-command, General N12 25 Oster, was. Christian got through to Oster's secretary and after N12 26 some insistence, bluff, threats, and the casual use of a few N12 27 high-powered codewords, he got to speak to Oster himself. N12 28 "Good morning," he said. "Very sad news N12 29 about Brigadier Christian."

N12 30 "Ah." There was a signal lying on Oster's blotter. It N12 31 had come from Madrid Abwehr and it said that Christian's N12 32 body was being flown home for interment and would be held at N12 33 Tempelhof airport mortuary, pending instructions. Nothing more. N12 34 Oster had tried to telephone Madrid but the lines were down N12 35 somewhere in France: Allied bombing or French sabotage, or maybe N12 36 non-aligned mice. "Sad indeed," he said. N12 37 "You are perhaps a relative?"

N12 38 "Very close. If you meet me beside the coffin in an N12 39 hour perhaps we can discuss it."

N12 40 Christian was waiting at the airport mortuary when Oster N12 41 arrived. Oster took his hat off. "Might we be alone for a N12 42 few minutes?" he asked the attendant. The man left them to N12 43 their grief. "I hope you won't be offended," Oster N12 44 said, "if I ask to see your papers."

N12 45 "I can do better." Christian unwound the N12 46 bandages and gave his unshaven cheeks a vigorous massage. N12 47 "Sorry about the stubble, sir," he said. N12 48 "Sorry about the secrecy, too. I'm afraid I didn't N12 49 completely trust your telephone."

N12 50 Oster knew Christian; indeed he had recommended his promotion N12 51 to brigadier. "I'm glad you're not in this box," he N12 52 said. "I thought I recognised your voice. Now what's going N12 53 on?"

N12 54 "It's all rather squalid," Christian said. N12 55 "But in a nutshell, I believe that my Abwehr N12 56 section has been infiltrated by the SD."

N12 57 The SD was the intelligence and espionage arm of the SS, the N12 58 Nazi security service, which Heinrich Himmler controlled. In theory N12 59 the SS and the SD were responsible only for the internal security N12 60 of the Third Reich; that was why Himmler also had charge of the N12 61 Gestapo. Military intelligence as a totally separate area. That was N12 62 the Abwehr's responsibility. It was the N12 63 Abwehr's job to run spies in foreign countries and to N12 64 collect military intelligence for the German armed forces. But N12 65 Himmler was the most ruthlessly ambitious of Hitler's minister. He N12 66 could never be satisfied with what he had. He wanted the N12 67 Abwehr too. The rivalry between his SD and Admiral N12 68 Canaris's Abwehr was an open secret. It was a small war N12 69 within the big war.

N12 70 Oster took a little stroll around the coffin and ended up where N12 71 he began. "I've always assumed the SD are constantly trying N12 72 to penetrate us," he said. "God knows they hate our N12 73 guts."

N12 74 "Hate is one thing. Attempted murder is N12 75 another," Christian said. "The man the SD put into N12 76 my section was on the verge of destroying my top agent in Britain, N12 77 Eldorado. When he realised I knew what he was doing, he tried to N12 78 kill me. In fact, he thinks he succeeded."

N12 79 "This wouldn't be Adler, would it?" Oster N12 80 asked.

N12 81 "Yes." Christian, forgetting his stitches, scratched N12 82 his head and winced. "How did you know, sir?"

N12 83 "Why didn't you have him arrested?"

N12 84 "I thought of it. Then I thought: No, far better to see N12 85 what he does next. Give the SD plenty of rope and maybe they'll N12 86 hang themselves, and Adler too."

N12 87 "Mmm." Oster, who was an inch or two shorter, stood on N12 88 tiptoe to see the injury. "Nasty ... Well, Adler's beyond N12 89 hanging, I'm afraid. Just after you phoned I had another signal N12 90 from Madrid. Young Adler suffered a heart attack yesterday and N12 91 passed away."

N12 92 "Heart attack?" Christian said. "At N12 93 thirty-one?"

N12 94 "He was rash and impetuous. Perhaps he couldn't wait. N12 95 What's in this box?"

N12 96 "Sandbags. Good Spanish earth, soaked in good Spanish N12 97 blood from the Civil War, I shouldn't be surprised."

N12 98 "I'll have those. They'll do my roses a power of N12 99 good."

N12 100 Christian went to Abwehr headquarters in Oster's car, N12 101 with the curtains closed. On the way they talked about how best to N12 102 fight off the SD.

N12 103 "You know, sir," Christian said, "When N12 104 I think of the sheer volume of intelligence we've been getting out N12 105 of the Eldorado Network, and the shining quality, then I'm appalled N12 106 the SD should try to destroy it. I mean, that's nothing short of N12 107 treachery."

N12 108 "Himmler doesn't think so. Himmler thinks our existence N12 109 is a kind of treachery."

N12 110 "What on earth does the man want?" Christian N12 111 asked. Occasionally a whiff of disinfectant crossed his nostrils, N12 112 and the phrase 'Death in Madrid' passed through his mind like the N12 113 name of some absurd new perfume. "The Party can't run N12 114 everything."

N12 115 "Who says? It does in Russia."

N12 116 "Very badly, by all reports. Anyway, military N12 117 intelligence is no job for a bunch of Party hacks. It needs N12 118 imagination, flair, quick wits."

N12 119 "I wish I could say they were stupid," Oster N12 120 said. "That's the trouble with the SD: They're not at all N12 121 stupid, they're bloody clever and they catch a lot of spies, real N12 122 spies. The SD's got so many people inside the Resistance movements, N12 123 they make them look like Swiss cheese. I've got some hard types N12 124 working for me, but ..." Oster sniffed. "Madrid N12 125 isn't the only Abwehr station the SD has broken N12 126 into," he said. "Brussels, Brest, Oslo, Paris, N12 127 Hamburg. We kick them out, but it never stops."

N12 128 Christian nodded. He didn't care what happened to N12 129 Abwehr Brest. Only a month ago, one of his reports from N12 130 Nutmeg, an Eldorado sub-agent, got mistakenly routed by teleprinter N12 131 to Brest instead of to Berlin. Brest pinched it and claimed it as N12 132 their own work. The SD could have Abwehr Brest, as far as N12 133 Christian was concerned. "I'm sure Admiral Canaris gives as N12 134 good as he gets," he said.

N12 135 Oster seemed to find this simple remark very encouraging. He N12 136 gave a smile of huge enjoyment that energised his face until he N12 137 looked like a middle-aged baby in the middle of a damn good N12 138 breast-feed. "Canaris holds a fistful of aces," he N12 139 said. "He knows what Hitler likes. Hitler likes spies, and N12 140 we've got the best. As long as the Abwehr can tell Hitler N12 141 what's happening on the other side of the hill, the N12 142 Abwehr's safe, believe me."

N12 143 They drove into the basement garage of Abwehr N12 144 headquarters and took the lift to the top floor. Oster had the keys N12 145 to a spacious apartment. "The kitchen's well N12 146 stocked," he said. "Stay inside. And don't shave. I N12 147 like you like that. Terribly tough." He went out and locked N12 148 the door.

N12 149 Christian made himself an omelette and drank a bottle of beer. N12 150 He spent the afternoon on the balcony, enjoying the view and the N12 151 crisp, bright weather. For dinner there was an excellent goulash N12 152 and an apple tart. There was even some Spanish wine; a tangy Rioja. N12 153 Had Oster arranged all this specially for him? Christian liked to N12 154 think so. He went to bed, relaxed and content.

N12 155 Admiral Canaris and General Oster came in as he was having N12 156 breakfast.

N12 157 "My dear Christian!" Canaris said. They shook N12 158 hands. "Madrid sent us a signal saying you were N12 159 dead." He gave Christian a piece of paper. "You N12 160 might like to have it framed. Hang it in the lavatory as a N12 161 conversation piece."

N12 162 Christian tucked the signal into his dressing-gown pocket. N12 163 "From now on, I plan to stay out of lavatories as much as N12 164 possible, sir."

N12 165 "Very wise. Oster says you got brained with a N12 166 bottle."

N12 167 Christian nodded. "Disinfectant."

N12 168 "I know exactly how you feel, only in my case it was N12 169 champagne." Canaris touched a small white scar above his N12 170 left eye. "The work of a jealous husband. The poor man was N12 171 insane with rage, which is just as well because if he had stopped N12 172 to think he would have used a steak knife on me."

N12 173 "You were in a restaurant?" Oster asked.

N12 174 "The Tour d'Argent, in Paris. Why?"

N12 175 "Oh ... I just wondered who paid for the champagne, N12 176 that's all."

N12 177 "Oster is enormously practical," Canaris told N12 178 Christian. "After I've done something he tells me whether N12 179 or not it's possible, the man's invaluable, without Oster I'd be N12 180 helpless." He lifted the coffee pot and found it empty.

N12 181 "Who did pay?" Oster asked.

N12 182 "She did. Famous actress, worth millions. Besides, I N12 183 was unconscious. Splendid fellow," he said as Oster carried N12 184 the coffee pot into the kitchen.

N12 185 Christian was amused by the Admiral's chatter and impressed by N12 186 his suit, which was grey flannel, double-breasted, sleekly N12 187 tailored. Canaris seemed to him enviably polished and elegant, not N12 188 like a sailor at all, too slim, his face too lively, his voice too N12 189 rich and varied. He made Christian feel like a scruff; but a N12 190 favourite scruff. "I've been thinking about that bottle of N12 191 disinfectant," Christian said. "It doesn't seem N12 192 quite right."

N12 193 "You're right, it doesn't. And I'll tell you something N12 194 else ..." Canaris ate a piece of sliced salami. N12 195 "I've been thinking about the lavatory, and that seems all N12 196 wrong."

N12 197 "Too public," Christian said.

N12 198 "Far too public."

N12 199 "Unless, of course, Adler didn't plan it, he just acted N12 200 spontaneously. Impetuously."

N12 201 "That's even worse."

N12 202 "I agree, sir. But I think it's what happened: Adler N12 203 saw his chance and grabbed the nearest weapon. Whereas if he'd used N12 204 his brains and done it properly, he'd have hit me with the marble N12 205 ashtray next to the hand-basins and I wouldn't be here N12 206 now."

N12 207 "Big ashtray?"

N12 208 "Like a soup bowl."

N12 209 "Ah." Canaris touched the scar on his forehead with the N12 210 tip of his little finger. "I didn't really get this from a N12 211 champagne bottle, you know. I just said that to tease Oster. I fell N12 212 down a companionway when I was a midshipman. So the question is N12 213 ..." Oster came in with a fresh pot of coffee. N12 214 "What is the question, Oster?"

N12 215 "Was Adler really working for the SD, and if so why did N12 216 they let him make such a hash of a simple murder, and if not who N12 217 was he working for and why did they kill him, since he obviously N12 218 didn't die of a heart attack?"

N12 219 "No, no, no. That's not the question at all." N12 220 Canaris took a cup of coffee and perched on the arm of a settee. N12 221 "I mean, it might be the second, third or fourth question N12 222 but it's not the first. The first question is why did the SD - N12 223 assuming Adler was working for the SD - want Christian dead? What N12 224 were they hoping to achieve?"

N12 225 Christian opened his mouth to speak and then decided to eat a N12 226 piece of toast instead. He had been going to say that Adler's N12 227 purpose was to discredit the Eldorado Network, which had been his, N12 228 Christian's, creation. But of course, Eldorado wouldn't go out of N12 229 operation just because its creator died. Christian felt a slight N12 230 flush of shame at his own vanity, and hid behind his napkin.

N12 231 "Suppose," Oster said, "just suppose that we've N12 232 been misreading the SD's motives. Perhaps they weren't acting from N12 233 rivalry or professional jealousy, you know. Just knocking us down N12 234 to make them look bigger. Perhaps they're scared of something that N12 235 Eldorado is reporting."

N12 236 Canaris rolled his eyes until they looked at the ceiling. N12 237 N12 238 N13 1 <#FLOB:N13\>The entrance opened directly on to a large, cool N13 2 room, with tables and chairs scattered haphazardly around it and a N13 3 bar at the other end. The place was deserted. Conolly and Douglas N13 4 approached the bar and the Irishman banged his fist on it several N13 5 times. Presently, a door behind the bar opened and a thin-faced, N13 6 elderly man with a drooping grey moustache shuffled through. He N13 7 stood there, rubbing his hands on a dirty apron and gazing at the N13 8 newcomers through watery eyes. The expression on his face was N13 9 sullen.

N13 10 Conolly ordered two glasses of wine and some cheese. Without a N13 11 word, the old man placed two glasses on the bar top and produced a N13 12 bottle of wine, which he placed next to them. He shuffled away to N13 13 bring the cheese, and the two SAS officers wandered over to a table N13 14 by the window. As they sat there, the occasional passer-by stared N13 15 at them with an expression that was equally as sullen as the old N13 16 bartender's.

N13 17 "Cheerful-looking bastards, aren't they?" N13 18 Conolly said. "Anyone would think they didn't want to be N13 19 liberated."

N13 20 "Maybe they didn't," Douglas commented. N13 21 "It doesn't look as though they've had a particularly rough N13 22 time."

N13 23 The old man brought their cheese, together with a few pieces of N13 24 bread, and stared in disgust at the 'liberation' currency which N13 25 Conolly handed to him in payment. He was by no means mollified by N13 26 the Irishman's remark that the newly minted notes could be redeemed N13 27 for real francs when the French monetary system was stabilized once N13 28 more.

N13 29 Conolly, visibly annoyed by the man's attitude, asked him N13 30 point-blank what was he matter. The barman stared at him for a N13 31 moment, then said with a shrug: "Bah! We were all of us N13 32 here behind le Mar<*_>e-acute<*/>chal and the National N13 33 revolution."

N13 34 He referred to Marshal P<*_>e-acute<*/>tain, the hero of Verdun N13 35 in the previous war and the French head of state since the N13 36 armistice of 1940. "We did not want a war," he N13 37 continued. "We did not want de Gaulle and his dreams of a N13 38 new France. We did not want millions of men and thousands of tanks N13 39 to invade our beaches and our fields. Who knows what will happen N13 40 now?"

N13 41 Douglas and Conolly stood up, very slowly. "Liam," N13 42 Douglas said quietly, "You'd better tell him. My French N13 43 isn't up to it."

N13 44 "Ah, what's the use?" Conolly snapped N13 45 "It would be a waste of breast." He picked up the N13 46 wine bottle and headed for the door, followed by Douglas.

N13 47 Outside, Conolly slammed the palm of his hand furiously down on N13 48 the jeep's bonnet.

N13 49 "Steady on, Liam," Douglas warned. N13 50 "Don't get upset just because of that old sod."

N13 51 They got back into the jeep and lit cigarettes. Conolly inhaled N13 52 deeply, then said: "It isn't just the attitude of people N13 53 like that. It's everything. Take London, for example."

N13 54 "I'd rather leave it," Douglas grunted. N13 55 "But I think I know what you mean."

N13 56 On their earlier return from France they had gone to London for N13 57 their de-briefing. Although they had failed in their planned N13 58 mission to kill Rommel, they had good reason to be satisfied with N13 59 their other achievements, which had contributed in no small measure N13 60 to the successful breakout from the Normandy beach-heads. They had N13 61 found, too, the answer to a question which had been in their minds; N13 62 an aerial reconnaissance photograph, taken on the day after the N13 63 invasion, had shown the bridge at Mantes, collapsed into the Seine N13 64 in three places. A large number of tanks stood nose to tail on the N13 65 road to the north of the river.

N13 66 Olivier, it seemed, had carried out his task admirably.

N13 67 Douglas and the others had found London depressing. There had N13 68 been no particular reason, none that any of them could have N13 69 described, unless it was that England's capital was once again N13 70 under siege, the target of the German V-1 flying bombs. Londoners N13 71 had withstood the Blitz of 1940 and 1941 with their N13 72 characteristic courage and humour, but this was something different N13 73 - something utterly impersonal and sinister. Whether London could N13 74 go on 'taking it' was a matter open to serious doubt.

N13 75 Colette had gone off to the headquarters of the Special N13 76 Operations executive for her own de-briefing, after which she had N13 77 travelled to Scotland. The plan had been for Douglas to join her N13 78 there, but it had not worked out. Instead, he and Conolly had been N13 79 ordered to join the staff of Montgomery's 21st Army Group as N13 80 Special Forces' liaison officers, and had spent a month in London, N13 81 attending numerous briefings and delivering lectures - mainly to US N13 82 Rangers - before being packed off to Normandy once more. The rest N13 83 of Douglas's SAS detachment had been dispersed among various N13 84 training establishments, much to their disgust - all except for N13 85 Olds, who had departed for his home in Norfolk with a heavy bandage N13 86 around his thigh and a broad smile on his face.

N13 87 Douglas and Conolly, having completed their series of N13 88 briefings, were now on their way to rejoin Montgomery's HQ, which N13 89 was located in an apple orchard somewhere to the south of Bayeux. N13 90 Both were still feeling rather bilious from the effects of the N13 91 Channel crossing, which had been made on a fast and very bouncy N13 92 naval launch.

N13 93 They finished their cigarettes and drove on, passing through N13 94 the outskirts of the town, and after getting lost several times N13 95 eventually found the HQ, which was carefully concealed and N13 96 camouflaged. They reported directly to Montgomery, who, dressed in N13 97 his customary khaki slacks, grey pullover and black beret, was N13 98 poring over a large map with several of his staff officers.

N13 99 He looked up as the two SAS officers entered his command post. N13 100 They saluted him and he returned their salute, as punctilious as N13 101 ever.

N13 102 "Wait outside for a moment," he said crisply. N13 103 "I will join you."

N13 104 Montgomery emerged in due course, and invited them to join him N13 105 in a stroll through the orchard. The morning was fine. Somewhere in N13 106 the distance, artillery rumbled. The commander of the 21st Army N13 107 Group launched into what he had to say without preamble.

N13 108 "The assault on Caen begins tonight," he told N13 109 them. "It will be preceded by a very heavy bombing attack, N13 110 followed by an artillery bombardment. It is hoped that this N13 111 concentration of firepower will destroy the enemy's will to N13 112 resist."

N13 113 Montgomery looked at Douglas and Conolly in turn, then said: N13 114 "You will remember Major Fitzroy." Both men N13 115 nodded.

N13 116 "I have received reports from French agents that he is N13 117 still alive," Montgomery said. "It appears that he N13 118 was taken to Bayeux for interrogation, then removed to a German N13 119 military hospital in Caen. I want you to go into Caen with the N13 120 infantry assault, locate him and bring him out. The Germans must N13 121 now be allowed to evacuate him. Major Fitzroy has certain knowledge N13 122 that would be very valuable to them, knowledge of matters which N13 123 have far greater military significance even than the recent N13 124 invasion. With hindsight, he should never have been sent to France N13 125 in the first place, but that is another matter."

N13 126 He paused, then went on: "The assault goes in at dawn N13 127 tomorrow. Use whatever methods you think best to carry out this N13 128 mission. You have a completely free hand. I have signed the N13 129 necessary authority for you both. That is all. Good N13 130 luck."

N13 131 He handed them each a piece of paper, then turned and strode N13 132 back to his command post. They looked at what he had given them, N13 133 and Conolly let out a low whistle. The document, instructing all N13 134 ranks of the British and US Armies to give all possible assistance N13 135 to the SAS officers, was not merely signed by Montgomery; it also N13 136 bore the signature of General Dwight D. Eisenhower, the Supreme N13 137 Allied commander.

N13 138 "This is powerful stuff," Conolly said. N13 139 "We could go a long way on this. I didn't know Major N13 140 Fitzroy was such a VIP. Wonder what he's been up to?"

N13 141 "It's not our business to wonder, Liam," N13 142 Douglas said firmly. "It's good to know that Fitzroy made N13 143 it, though, even if he is a prisoner. Come on - we've got a lot of N13 144 planning to do."

N13 145 It was late afternoon when Douglas and Conolly arrived at the N13 146 front line and reported to the headquarters of an armoured brigade N13 147 which was to take part in the initial assault. The brigadier N13 148 inspected their written authority with considerable surprise.

N13 149 "Well," he said, "I'll be happy to have you tag N13 150 along with us, and of course I'll give you all the help I can. Your N13 151 objective is quite close to our line of attack, in fact. I assume N13 152 you've studied a map of the city?"

N13 153 Douglas said that they had. "But I've a feeling it N13 154 might not be of much use after the air force has done with the N13 155 place," he commented. "We might need one of your N13 156 tanks to force a way through the rubble. I know it's a lot to ask, N13 157 but this mission is extremely important."

N13 158 "Obviously," the brigadier said, glancing again at the N13 159 signatures in front of him. He handed the papers back to the SAS N13 160 officers. "Douglas," he said musingly. "Weren't you N13 161 once a tank man yourself?"

N13 162 "That's right, sir," Douglas told him. N13 163 "Twentieth Hussars, in the desert."

N13 164 "Thought I'd come across the name somewhere," N13 165 the brigadier said. "Those were the days. None of this N13 166 bloody bocage to contend with then."

N13 167 They reminisced for a while, then Douglas and Conolly went off N13 168 to get some food, the brigadier giving them a warning to be on the N13 169 lookout for snipers.

N13 170 "Lots of them about. We practically live in our tanks N13 171 because of them. One of our chaps got out to relieve himself in a N13 172 shell-hole this very morning and got shot in the arse. Luckily, the N13 173 bullet only went through the fleshy part. But don't go wandering N13 174 off, whatever you do."

N13 175 Later, after they had eaten, Douglas and Conolly surveyed the N13 176 ground that lay between the tanks' position and Caen through a N13 177 periscope. It was a nightmare vista of death and destruction, for N13 178 terrible battles had been fought over this ten square miles of N13 179 Normandy during the past fortnight. The ground was torn, scarred N13 180 and slashed by shellfire and tank tracks; Panther and Tiger tanks N13 181 lay drunkenly across ditches where the anti-tank guns had caught N13 182 them, their plates already rusting from the effects of the sharp N13 183 summer showers.

N13 184 Clouds of flies buzzed around their open turrets, a grim N13 185 reminder that the remains of the crews were still inside. An N13 186 overpowering stench of death and decay, aggravated by the hot sun, N13 187 lay over everything.

N13 188 The British tank men called this terrible wasteland Epsom N13 189 Downs.

N13 190 The evening drew on, and by ten o'clock dusk was falling. N13 191 Douglas and Conolly had been dozing when the thunder of massed N13 192 aero-engines roused them. They looked to the north, into a N13 193 cloudless, electric blue sky.

N13 194 As far as they could see, a stream of bombers stretched back N13 195 towards England. The aircraft were still above the earth's shadow, N13 196 the evening sun shining golden on the metal of their wings and N13 197 fuselages. Ahead of the main stream came the pathfinders, passing N13 198 over the heads of the watching troops. The leading files turned N13 199 away to the right, back towards the coast. Flares showered down N13 200 over Caen in a golden rain, dropping in spiralling cascades towards N13 201 the doomed city.

N13 202 Flak began to blossom around the main bomber stream until the N13 203 sky was covered with black puffs. The bombers flew on, seemingly N13 204 unconcerned, although in reality they must have been buffeted by N13 205 the thousands of explosions and torn by millions of splinters. Only N13 206 one dropped away, falling slowly into the shadows, livid flames N13 207 flaring from its ruptured fuel tanks. It vanished beyond the N13 208 town.

N13 209 The deep thud of explosions merged into a single, continuous N13 210 thunderclap of sound. Smoke rose slowly into the sky over Caen, N13 211 rising to meet the last of the marker flares as they drifted down. N13 212 Rank after rank of the bombers dropped their loads and wheeled N13 213 away, racing the approaching night as they headed back to their N13 214 English bases.

N13 215 The onslaught lasted forty-five minutes. In that time, little N13 216 more than the blink of an eye when viewed in the context of a war N13 217 that had already dragged on for almost five years, nearly a N13 218 thousand heavy bombers unloaded three thousand tons of bombs N13 219 smashed Caen to rubble from end to end.

N13 220 N14 1 <#FLOB:N14\>"A farmer's wife told me how her husband N14 2 had bought some unlabelled fungicide," she said. N14 3 "It was from a supplier in Bury St Edmunds - I had been N14 4 talking to her about the problems with our cows. The fungicide had N14 5 got into their cattle's water and several died with respiratory N14 6 problems... that was why I was taken to hospital, I N14 7 think."

N14 8 "How's that, Grace?"

N14 9 "I tried to buy some Resolution, that's what it N14 10 was," she explained. "The supplier said I had to N14 11 keep quiet about it as it hadn't got a product licence yet. Then I N14 12 did something really silly. I asked if Shearing had bought any. He N14 13 denied knowing who Shearing was. Then of course said he didn't have N14 14 any Resolution for sale. He'd never had it for sale."

N14 15 "Did he call the police?"

N14 16 "No, I think it must have been Shearing - after I went N14 17 there and accused him of murdering Rose. I think I hit him. I N14 18 completely lost control - God, I wanted to kill him. I remember N14 19 that. I just couldn't calm down. The more I was restrained the N14 20 worse it was. I attacked the police as well."

N14 21 "Good for you!" he said. He wanted to embrace N14 22 her, but was uncertain of the response he'd get. "Why don't N14 23 I go talk to this supplier?"

N14 24 The farm supplier's vast warehouse was stacked to the roof with N14 25 everything from rolls of plastic pipe to half-ton sacks of N14 26 fertilizer, plus every kind of pesticide. There was no shortage of N14 27 customers, and he had to wait to get help. It gave him time to N14 28 check out some of the drums.

N14 29 "Is Charlie around?" he asked when the N14 30 counterhand finally got to him. "I need twenty ten-litre N14 31 drums of Resolution. Walter Shearing said to see N14 32 Charlie."

N14 33 Charlie, who ran the office, said, "It's getting to be N14 34 a serious problem finding a fungicide that stays effective these N14 35 days. I suppose Mr Shearing told you we shouldn't be putting it on N14 36 sale yet."

N14 37 "Yes he did. I have to be careful. No N14 38 problem?"

N14 39 As they headed toward the back of the store, Charlie said, N14 40 "Where is your farm?"

N14 41 Whatever it was that had aroused this man's suspicion, Jak N14 42 wasn't ready for the question and didn't give the right answer; so N14 43 he didn't get to make his illicit purchase.

N14 44 The only move left to them now was to approach Shearing.

N14 45 He was less than pleased to see them.

N14 46 "Get out of here. Get out before I throw you N14 47 out," he ordered, driving them from his farm office. N14 48 "And take that mad woman with you... she's persecuting N14 49 me."

N14 50 "Call the cops," Jak challenged, not knowing N14 51 how he'd handle it if Shearing did just that. "Let's have N14 52 them take a real close look at what unlicensed chemicals you've N14 53 been using."

N14 54 Shearing stepped back and looked at Grace, then quickly looked N14 55 away.

N14 56 "Yes, we were spraying Resolution," he said. N14 57 "It's perfectly safe, I can assure you. The Ministry is N14 58 about to grant its product licence. I know that for a N14 59 fact."

N14 60 "Supposing there's a hitch because they find it's N14 61 causing fatal respiratory problems?"

N14 62 "Fungal growth in cereals becomes resistant to N14 63 pesticides so quickly," he explained, "we need new N14 64 products to stay on top of the problem. Resolution is effective. N14 65 Aggrow Chemicals are three hundred per cent confident of its N14 66 licence coming through."

N14 67 "Nine years ago the Environmental Protection Agency N14 68 stopped American chemical selling it Stateside. That's why they're N14 69 pushing it everyplace else. Take a look at what it's doing to farm N14 70 workers down in Mexico and Chile. Sure it stopped fungal growth , N14 71 end everybody it gets on."

N14 72 A hard set came over Shearing's face. "The Pesticide N14 73 Advisory Committee here is passing it. Their scrutiny is very N14 74 thorough. They wouldn't let it through if it weren't N14 75 safe."

N14 76 "That committee's made up of people with a vested N14 77 interest in the agricultural industry," Grace said N14 78 shimmering with conviction.

N14 79 "Take my advice, Mrs Chance," Shearing said, N14 80 clearly resenting her accusations, "accept Aggrow's N14 81 compensation and let the matter drop."

N14 82 That was his last word on the subject.

N14 83 "I have no intention of letting the matter N14 84 drop," Grace stated. She looked at Jak. He nodded. N14 85 Confirming that. Right then he'd have walked through fire for N14 86 her.

N14 87 "From what I can see, Grace, the way ahead of us won't N14 88 be easy," he warned as they drove back to London.

N14 89 "But we will go on - we must. We can get those details N14 90 now."

N14 91 "Sure we can." He didn't speculate about how N14 92 the opposition might feel about that.

N14 93 In the parking lot under the hotel, he waited a few moments, N14 94 searching around for signs of that familiar car.

N14 95 "Is there something wrong?" Grace N14 96 asked."I figure you'd better know someone's been following N14 97 us, Grace. They may be here."

N14 98 "The police?"

N14 99 He shook his head. "Maybe I'm just getting N14 100 paranoid."

N14 101 "Shall I collect the key?" she offered.

N14 102 Up in his bedroom, she said, "Two men called earlier to N14 103 see you. The woman on the reception desk didn't know who they N14 104 were. If it's not the police, surely that means someone thinks we N14 105 really are on to something."

N14 106 He watched her pace the room, tossing her thick red hair back N14 107 over her shoulder. She was excited, and probably a little scared. N14 108 He was scared, but excited also. He wanted to make love to her more N14 109 than anything right then, but that scared him too.

N14 110 "Who are they?" she said.

N14 111 "Why stick around to find out? We'll hightail it to N14 112 Washington, talk to the lawyer, fight these guys on firmer ground. N14 113 You'll like Rory, he's great."

N14 114 "Washington?" Grace said, apparently flustered. N14 115 "I can't... I haven't... I mean I can't just go and leave N14 116 everything."

N14 117 "What are you leaving, Grace? Rose is dead, Colin's N14 118 gone, the farm's gone - those assholes are closing in on N14 119 us."

N14 120 Tears suddenly welled up in Grace's eyes. Instinctively he put N14 121 his arms around her and held her close and she sobbed against his N14 122 chest. He had wanted to hold her in his arms for a long while. Even N14 123 in these circumstances he took pleasure in the contact.

N14 124 "I can't go. I haven't got my passport or N14 125 anything."

N14 126 "That's taken care of. All we got to do is get out of N14 127 here."

N14 128 He had Grace walk out with their baggage, while he rang the N14 129 front desk for a five o'clock wake-up call to get an eight a.m. N14 130 flight. He hung out the 'do not disturb' sign and slipped away, N14 131 himself. He planned on taking a cab to the airport and telling N14 132 Hertz to collect the car at the hotel.

N14 133 Grace grew increasingly anxious as she waited in her seat on N14 134 the plane, thinking maybe she had misunderstood him over the flight N14 135 details - despite her ticket being a the reservation desk. Was N14 136 this the right thing to do? She didn't want to return to that N14 137 hospital. Anything was better than that. Maybe Jak was getting a N14 138 different flight. But she was almost certain that wasn't what he N14 139 had said. The plane was only a third full, but the passengers N14 140 settled ready for departure. This was one occasion when she hoped N14 141 there'd be some sort of delay. She glanced at the empty set next to N14 142 her as if expecting Jak to miraculously appear, and wondered about N14 143 getting off herself. Then again about what she was doing here N14 144 anyway? How could she simply go to America? It was madness. Perhaps N14 145 she was mad after all. But she knew that staying would mean having N14 146 to return to the psychiatric unit and being given more drugs. If N14 147 Jak had been detained at the check-in desk it would only be a N14 148 matter of time before they came for her. Then she would have to N14 149 suffer the indignity of being led off the plane like a criminal. N14 150 She had to get off herself. Now. Soon it would be too late; cabin N14 151 staff were making their final checks to see if seat belts were N14 152 fastened and luggage was properly stowed. Any minute they would N14 153 close the door and start the safety procedure prior to take off. N14 154 Did that happen before the door was closed? She couldn't remember. N14 155 She tried to get out of her seat as the stewardess came along the N14 156 aisle. In panic she struggled against the seat belt.

N14 157 "Can you remain seated, please, we're about to N14 158 depart."

N14 159 "I have to get off." She saw the door being N14 160 closed. "I can't go."

N14 161 Finally she freed the belt and was up out of her seat. The N14 162 stewardess took fright at her agitation and as she watched her N14 163 hurrying back to speak to the flight attendant, she thought perhaps N14 164 they would call the airport security. The flight attendant picked N14 165 up the phone by the door. This was it. They talked in urgent N14 166 whispers as she approached. The attention of the entire cabin was N14 167 on her now. The situation was getting out of control and she could N14 168 feel her skin prickle with embarrassment.

N14 169 "If you're quick," she heard the flight N14 170 attendant say into the phone, eyeing her uneasily. "We have N14 171 a passenger disembarking." He replaced the phone.

N14 172 "Did you check any baggage, mam?"

N14 173 She didn't manage to answer a s the doors swung open and she N14 174 saw Jak running awkwardly along the approach tunnel under the N14 175 weight of Safeway bags.

N14 176 "Are you getting off, mam?" the flight N14 177 attendant said.

N14 178 Tears streamed down her face as Jak caught hold of her with one N14 179 of his laden arms and steered her along to their seats. She had N14 180 never been more pleased to see anyone.

N14 181 "Boy, that was close," he said to a N14 182 stewardess.

N14 183 The woman smiled tightly and glanced quickly away from N14 184 Grace.

N14 185 13

N14 186 ANTICIPATING EVERY DETAIL ON A deal this far ahead, when any N14 187 error could cost him everything, was part of the excitement of N14 188 business. It got him up at five o'clock each morning. Nothing was N14 189 random or left to chance. Even the Soviet Union getting turned on N14 190 its head he could handle, figuring it would be years before their N14 191 command economy could be turned into a true market economy. But any N14 192 miscalculation could rupture his plan. Such as that Cambridge N14 193 professor who had stumbled upon their wheat seed, Prairie Red.

N14 194 The farmer who had accidentally planted the seed could also N14 195 prove dangerous if he decided the compensation he had received N14 196 wasn't sufficient. Caddy was a long way from concluding his wheat N14 197 deal, and might not come close unless such problems were taken care N14 198 of. He decided to send Shapiro to England to deal with the farmer; N14 199 the scientist, being wholly dependent on project funding, would be N14 200 less of a problem. Unless he somehow got lucky and made the right N14 201 connections.... If he then talked to the wrong people and the N14 202 Russians failed to plant the 300,000 tons of seed they'd agreed to N14 203 buy... The new contract Hirshorn was negotiating with the Seamen's N14 204 Union would be a stone tied to their ankles as they tried to swim N14 205 clear... He didn't know what was prompting these doubts. He glanced N14 206 at his assistant who was getting more coffee, noticing his suit. It N14 207 was immaculate. Clearly Shapiro paid more for his suits than he N14 208 ever had done on his government salary.

N14 209 Coming back to a comfortable armchair in the office, Shapiro N14 210 said, "You know we don't need to give the Seamen a thing, N14 211 Caddy."

N14 212 It was late. He had returned to work after dinner. He often N14 213 did. On those occasions his assistant got a sandwich from the N14 214 machine in the cafeteria.

N14 215 "We'll give them close to what they're asking, Pat. But N14 216 we'll make it look like a real fight. I don't want the union seeing N14 217 what's at stake."

N14 218 Hirshorn owned twenty-eight ocean-going bulk carriers of N14 219 over twenty thousand tons, all of which still flew under the N14 220 American flag. Patriotism was costly, but the flag waasa a matter N14 221 of pride to him. On a given day these ships were hauling Chilean N14 222 wine to California to blend with the local higher priced wines, or N14 223 Californian soya beans to the Far East, or Greek bauxite into N14 224 Houston. N14 225 N15 1 <#FLOB:N15\>Perhaps, I think, as I listen to Serafin telling N15 2 Summerchild about her father and his death, the question is not N15 3 what people see in each other, but what they come to see in N15 4 themselves. After all the years of silence, suddenly you're face to N15 5 face with someone who had to be told about your life, and, as you N15 6 tell it, as your listener listens, as he smiles and nods and N15 7 exclaims upon the similarities and differences in his own life, you N15 8 begin to hear the story yourself, you begin to glimpse your own N15 9 shape and nature.

N15 10 Saturday afternoon is visiting-time, of course. I resort to N15 11 Serafin's solution and borrow my son's tape-recorder. I put it in N15 12 the boot of the car with the tin of tapes. I have some confused N15 13 idea that I will slip out of the ward at some point, leaving Joyce N15 14 and Timmy with Lynn, and pursue my researches undisturbed for half N15 15 an hour in the car park. It occurs to me when we get there that the N15 16 car might be stolen while we are away, and all hope of my N15 17 investigations with it, so I take the biscuit tin with me. This N15 18 means that I have to hold it all the time I'm talking to Lynn, N15 19 because I realize that if I put it down on the dayroom table she N15 20 will think I have brought it for her. As I tell her brightly about N15 21 what Timmy has said and done during the week, and about the amusing N15 22 problems with the hot water, and the heartwarming progress of N15 23 summer through the garden, so far as I have noticed it, I find the N15 24 tin moving bulkily about in the air between us, rattling with each N15 25 move. Her eyes follow it with that dull fixity she sometimes N15 26 devotes to inanimate objects in the room while some animate subject N15 27 is trying to communicate with her. And when my budget of domestic N15 28 news is exhausted and the tin has sunk back on to the arm of my N15 29 chair, I find I'm gazing at it as well. I suppose Lynn is thinking N15 30 about the biscuits inside and their forbidden sweetness (the staff N15 31 are now making great efforts to control her weight problem, even if N15 32 they can't control anything else). I suppose I'm thinking about the N15 33 same. As I sit there, in the depressing cheerfulness of the N15 34 dayroom, with nothing left to say to Lynn, and nothing much of Lynn N15 35 left to say it to, I am suddenly overwhelmed, as Timmy is, by the N15 36 sheer unfairness of things. I might have been forgiven, I N15 37 think, if I'd found someone else - someone I could talk to from N15 38 time to time about some subject apart from Timmy and the boiler and N15 39 the aubrietia by the front gate. Someone who would give signs of N15 40 hearing what I said. Someone who might look at me as I spoke, N15 41 perhaps nod from time to time, even smile - even on occasion N15 42 venture some reply. I should not have occasioned too much N15 43 disapprobation in the department, I think, if I had furnished each N15 44 coming day, each coming week, with some tender friend whom I could N15 45 look forward to seeing without this sick dread, this leaden N15 46 hopelessness. If I had set up a temporary home in some small N15 47 unconsidered corner of my life.

N15 48 But I hadn't done it - hadn't even imagined doing it. It was N15 49 Summerchild who'd hidden those sweet biscuits in the tin. The man N15 50 whose life was complete already. The man with the innocent red hair N15 51 and the tactfully manifested mania to vary his tactfully manifested N15 52 depression. I'd known from the first what was going to happen. From N15 53 the moment I'd set their two faces opposite each other and seen the N15 54 way she gazed and smiled, the way he smiled and half turned. I N15 55 could have written most of my report then. I'd refused to admit it N15 56 to myself, that's all. I hadn't wanted to believe that someone in N15 57 the same, yes, priesthood as myself had behaved with such dull N15 58 dishonour. Walking slowly up the lane in the evening, with his N15 59 violin case in his hand - and all the time he was shutting his N15 60 inmost self away in an old tin at the back of a cupboard in some N15 61 forgotten garret. In this tin, that I am balancing on the N15 62 flaking bentwood arm of the dayroom chair, that Lynn's gaze and N15 63 mine are resting on with such absent intentness.

N15 64 I stand up and say I'll send her mother and Timmy in for a bit. N15 65 Her eyes follow the tin as it moves tantalizingly away towards the N15 66 door, with all the sweetness of the world still shut away inside N15 67 it. "What?" I say, smiling disingenuously, N15 68 "This? this is just an old tin. Just work." She N15 69 turns her face away and looks at the wall. We have achieved some N15 70 communication, after all. I have held the sweetness of the world in N15 71 front of her, then taken it away again, and she has understood.

N15 72 As soon as Joyce and Timmy have gone in I hurry back towards N15 73 the car with my tin of sickly poison. But I'm stopped in the N15 74 corridor by an old woman in her nightgown. She puts her hand on my N15 75 arm and gazes blindly into my eyes, shaking and stinking and saying N15 76 nothing. I back away and she follows me, clinging on to my arm, N15 77 mute and blind and I think lost. I have to edge her towards a ward N15 78 and find some member of the staff to take responsibility for her. N15 79 So that by the time I'm back in the car park I'm hurrying and N15 80 fumbling and I put the tape into the machine with the wrong side N15 81 playing. A most extraordinary sound comes out. A voice - but not a N15 82 man's voice, not a woman's voice. A high unearthly voice. Speaking, N15 83 but not speaking words. Not talking about happiness or its N15 84 childhood or the state of its front steps. Keening. Howling. N15 85 Jumping thirds and octaves.

N15 86 Music. Of course. Horsehair on catgut, speaking with piercing N15 87 and slightly wavering poignancy about everything and nothing. A N15 88 solo violin, to be precise, being played well but not quite well N15 89 enough, struggling with something just a little too difficult. N15 90 There is a lot of scrapy double-stopping which is not quite on N15 91 either note. One of the Bach partitas, I think.

N15 92 So this is the kind of contribution Summerchild is making to N15 93 the debate by - I look at the label - May 13th. This is the N15 94 department's view of the quality of life. The playing gets worse N15 95 and teeters to a stop. There is a hollow knock as the instrument is N15 96 put down on a hard surface, followed by what sounds like a sigh.

N15 97 What view will Serafin take of this submission? Will she accept N15 98 it? Reject it? Redraft it, for piano and woodwind?

N15 99 The sigh is followed by various tiny indistinct sounds. I turn N15 100 up the volume on Timmy's machine and hold it close to my ear. N15 101 Inaudibly, beyond the windscreen, in the car parked in front of N15 102 mine, a woman with a hopeful hairstyle and a disappointed face is N15 103 explaining something infinitely long and painful to a man sitting N15 104 with bowed head. Invisibly, beyond the plastic cover of the N15 105 loudspeaker next to my ear, Summerchild is putting the violin back N15 106 in its case... closing the lid... sitting down... while Serafin N15 107 says nothing.

N15 108 The back door of the car is flung open and Timmy clambers in, N15 109 shouting rudely at his grandmother and indignantly snatching back N15 110 his tape-recorder, which I have put down on the seat beside me with N15 111 obscurely guilty haste. My mother-in-law gets in beside him, N15 112 apologizing to me for his behaviour. I rebuke Timmy. Timmy shouts N15 113 rudely back at me. My mother-in-law apologizes to both of us. N15 114 There is another sound, too, as if someone in the car is sawing N15 115 wood. Sawing once - in/out - then resting. In/out. Rest... N15 116 "What?" says Timmy, suddenly uneasy, as the other N15 117 sounds in the car die away. We all listen. In/out. Rest... There is N15 118 something horribly disturbing about it and I suddenly realize what N15 119 we are listening to. It is the sound of breath being convulsively N15 120 drawn and then at once convulsively released; the sound of a woman N15 121 sobbing. I take the tape-recorder out of Timmy's uneasy hands and N15 122 remove the tape. "Someone at work," I say.

N15 123 By the time evening comes and Timmy is out of the way at last, N15 124 I find myself moving restlessly through the house with the biscuit N15 125 tin in my hands, full of twitching irritations and buzzing N15 126 anxieties. How am I going to be able to write my report by Monday N15 127 morning if I can't listen to the tapes? I am looking madly for N15 128 somewhere to play them in peace. I keep opening cupboards and N15 129 pulling down the suitcases on top of wardrobes, difficult though it N15 130 is to imagine that I shall find a place for myself in a cupboard or N15 131 a suitcase - until at last, under the bed in the spare room, I N15 132 find a battered black leather box with a round bulge at one end, N15 133 and I realize that this is what I was looking for all the time. I N15 134 open it up and there, in its fusty-smelling blue velvet bed, is N15 135 the dulled but still eloquent brass gleam. My trombone. I haven't N15 136 played it since I left the local schools orchestra.

N15 137 I assemble the pieces, and bend my lips into their old N15 138 established pout at the mouthpiece. A little shakily at first, the N15 139 great grunting brass voice speaks out, mine but not mine, me but N15 140 not me, awakening the dead, and strange awkward brass vibrations in N15 141 my lips and fingers and brain. I stop and put the mute on, but N15 142 before I have played a full scale the door has opened a crack and N15 143 Timmy has squeezed through in his pyjamas, gazing unsmilingly at N15 144 this strangely transfigured father. I play 'Silent Night' to him, N15 145 inappropriately enough, gazing at him no less solemnly over my N15 146 unsmiling embouchure, then 'Almighty, Invisible, God Only Wise', N15 147 and 'O Worship the King'. Nothing but hymn-tunes comes to mind, for N15 148 some reason. I play flat, I miss notes altogether, but the dark N15 149 tide of sound rises around us both with increasing strangeness, N15 150 until I suddenly realize that Timmy is crying. He is afraid of if, N15 151 and afraid of me.

N15 152 I'm in a slightly strange state myself, and after I have calmed N15 153 Timmy and coaxed him back to bed I don't know where to put myself. N15 154 I fetch metal polish and start to clean the trombone. At once the N15 155 acreage of dull brass seems to stretch out in front of me for ever N15 156 and I abandon the cleaning and start to put the instrument away. N15 157 But even the fiddle of taking it to pieces is suddenly more than I N15 158 can bear. I leave it in bits on the bed in the spare room and go N15 159 back to the living-room with the box of tapes. But of course my N15 160 mother-in-law is in there already, jumping up guiltily from in N15 161 front of the guiltily whispering television. I apologize - I don't N15 162 know what for. She apologizes - neither of us knows what for. N15 163 I run out of the house.

N15 164 What's going on? How can I be walking about the streets in the N15 165 warm summer twilight like this, full of strange electric unease, as N15 166 if I were seventeen again, poised on the edge of some great abyss? N15 167 I should have taken the car and Timmy's tape-recorder, and found N15 168 myself a quiet car park to work in... I turn left... right... right N15 169 again... Every garden I pass is overflowing with the sweet reek of N15 170 summer. Where are my legs walking me to? The streets fall away N15 171 behind me. I am emerging on to the great common that crowns the N15 172 South London hills here. In the dry warmth of the evening the vast N15 173 tableland of mown grass, criss-crossed by sparkling streams of N15 174 distant car-lights, seems like a kind of urban high veld. N15 175 N15 176 N16 1 <#FLOB:N16\>With Egdin's advice he conquered an unpleasant N16 2 outbreak of a fungus infection which severely affected the N16 3 mechanicals, particularly the lift workings.

N16 4 After Egdin's death (a rare moment of emotional contact with N16 5 the Samalians who seemed genuinely sorry at the necessity of the N16 6 old man's demise, and as unable to cope with his continued N16 7 suffering as Tegna was), Tegna found himself having to deal with N16 8 the inexplicable outbreak off respiratory problems among the N16 9 faceworkers on his own.

N16 10 He felt at first that it was caused by the particularly powdery N16 11 quality of the lode of ore that was being worked, but then he began N16 12 to suspect that it was the flow of air within the mine that was the N16 13 root of the trouble.

N16 14 The mines were like a living being, the air flow being N16 15 controlled by the workforce of gates and pumps biologically N16 16 engineered by the bird-lords, but it was old. As he went about N16 17 his duties on the work floor, busy with the sounds of trundling N16 18 wagons and hacking picks, Tegna found himself coming to the N16 19 conclusion that whole areas might have been forgotten over the N16 20 years and were now being discounted. It was clear to him from N16 21 little things that he observed that the Samalians he had dealings N16 22 with did not feel that they had important or very high-status N16 23 jobs. It seemed possible to him that the present generation of N16 24 overlords might be a little inclined to take the efficiency of the N16 25 mine for granted, particularly Lord Vartha who was rather more N16 26 given to melancholy and self-absorption than positive thought.

N16 27 It took great tact and deference to suggest to the Samalians N16 28 that they might have overlooked the implications of the direction N16 29 the workers were taking with this particular lode, or that N16 30 something might be blocked, but he did succeed in getting his point N16 31 home.

N16 32 The Samalians agreed to his recommendation that the workers be N16 33 given finely woven face masks and even admitted that he might be N16 34 right about the air flow. There were many old passages in the mine N16 35 that were not even used as trackways anymore; it was possible that N16 36 one of these had become blocked. Nowadays the Samalians relied on N16 37 the interconnected sensitivity of the mechanicals to tell them N16 38 about rock falls, but these old tunnels were not webbed into the N16 39 system. Anything might have happened there.

N16 40 Clutching a roll of ancient illuminated documents which seemed N16 41 to be some sort of plans of the mine (and for which Tegna would N16 42 willingly have given every tooth in his head), Lord Vartha ushered N16 43 a small group of workers through the unmarked entrance that led to N16 44 the older parts of the mine.

N16 45 The party consisted of three common workers, big and strong, N16 46 Tegna and two overseers, Olav and Cravel. Cravel was quite elderly N16 47 and knew the mine better than most.

N16 48 Lord Vartha was not happy about this mission, which was evident N16 49 not only from the tone of his voice but also from the droop of his N16 50 shoulders. Cravel, who cared about the mine, was clearly N16 51 exasperated at finding the expedition mastered by this particular N16 52 Samalian.

N16 53 Lord Vartha did not lead. He put Tegna and one of the workers N16 54 at the front and stayed in the middle of the group with Cravel; N16 55 Olav brought up the rear.

N16 56 Tegna suspected that being put at the front was not intended as N16 57 a favour somehow.

N16 58 "Watch how you go now son," said Cravel to the N16 59 fearful yet fascinated Tegna. It's not just the roof that can cave N16 60 in. Watch out for the floor. I never trust these old sump holes - N16 61 not a nice place to end up."

N16 62 How kind to warn him! A pity Cravel couldn't extend his concern N16 63 to sounding out the way himself!

N16 64 "Where do the sump holes end up?" faltered the N16 65 worker placed slightly in front of Tegna, also catching on to their N16 66 allotted role.

N16 67 "Where do you think? - The Dark River, of N16 68 course!" hissed Tegna. They exchanged frightened glances - N16 69 everyone knew about The Dark River that flowed from Samul. If you N16 70 put your toe in it to test the water you didn't get your toe N16 71 back.

N16 72 The passages were dark and filled with a sandy slippage along N16 73 the edges, but if Tegna or the workers were ghoulishly anticipating N16 74 the remains of discarded mechanicals they were out of luck. As he N16 75 held up his lamp Tegna saw that the frugal old-time Samalians had N16 76 even taken out the central raid once it was no longer needed.

N16 77 Talking was kept to a minimum. Cravel, who was fairly sure that N16 78 the air flow was not as it should be, insisted that chances of N16 79 vibration be eliminated wherever possible. When they came to N16 80 branches in the tunnel Lord Vartha checked their exact location on N16 81 the ancient charts that he carried, sometimes finding it with N16 82 difficulty. Tegna tried to take in as much information as he N16 83 possibly could on these occasions, peering out of the gloom as N16 84 inconspicuously as he was able. They relied on the guttering lamps N16 85 to tell them if the airways were free or not. They soldiered N16 86 on.....

N16 87 It all happened at once, as Tegna had most feared it would. One N16 88 minute there was the silent flickering plodding, and the next N16 89 roaring chaos. A shaking and rumbling and screaming, Tegna's throat N16 90 choked with dust in the darkness as pit props and pebbles collapsed N16 91 and scuttered round him and the floor tilted crazily beneath his N16 92 feet.

N16 93 Then it was still - but for the odd small rock breaking free N16 94 and juddering into silence.

N16 95 Tegna was wedged against a pit prop and there was a rock wall N16 96 at his back. He had a terrible conviction that in front of him N16 97 there was nothing very much at all.

N16 98 Moving with great care and surprise that he still seemed to be N16 99 in one piece, Tegna eased his flint and steel from his soft leather N16 100 pouch and set about producing a light.

N16 101 Groans came from below and in front of him. he held up the N16 102 light. He had been right, a great hole welled below him. He was to N16 103 one side of it; over on the other side he could just make out Olav, N16 104 his head shattered by one of the last rebounding rocks. Being at N16 105 the back hadn't been much of an advantage after all.

N16 106 Conscious of the groaning again, Tegna spotted Cravel who N16 107 clung, gasping, to a bit of pit prop that jutted into the void like N16 108 the uvula at the back of some mighty gaping throat. He could see N16 109 that the old miner was too far down the shaft for there to be any N16 110 real hope of rescue, even assuming that the niche that he was N16 111 huddled in himself was secure, and he was pretty sure it wasn't. N16 112 Terrified eye met terrified eye in a flickering moment, and then N16 113 Cravel with a grunt of resignation was gone. Tegna didn't even hear N16 114 him hit the bottom.

N16 115 Gulping back the nausea, Tegna tried to steel himself to cope N16 116 with the practical reality of his immediate situation. He was N16 117 lodged to one side of a great pit, but he made out that it might N16 118 just be possible, with great care, to traverse the edge and get on N16 119 to firmer ground. In his efforts he dislodged the remnant of the N16 120 pit prop that had saved him and he heard it clatter its way down N16 121 from wall to wall. There was a screech as yet another of his N16 122 erstwhile comrades was dislodged from a vain hold on the side and N16 123 crashed down and down and down. How far was it to The Dark N16 124 River?

N16 125 Tegna sat shaking on the brink, then the groan came again. He N16 126 looked gingerly over the edge holding as firmly as he could on to N16 127 the rock wall with one hand as he held up the lamp. It was what he N16 128 least wanted to see, the glinting many faceted eye of the N16 129 Samalian.

N16 130 "Help me Tegna," moaned Lord Vartha. He was N16 131 clinging to the rock face, his plumed robe ripped around him, his N16 132 long foot and leg gleaming with little scales as he scrabbled to N16 133 keep his footing on a tiny disintegrating ledge. One claw gripped N16 134 the wall, the other reached out to Tegna, the silver and jewelled N16 135 finger stalls slashing against the stones in their vain efforts to N16 136 reach him.

N16 137 "Help me!" Did the beak move as he spoke? Tegna N16 138 couldn't tell. Was there a man in there? Tegna didn't find it N16 139 foremost in his mind. This was a fellow living creature and Vartha N16 140 had never done him any deliberate hurt. Things had been as N16 141 circumstance had decreed. Hatred of Samalians seemed abstract at N16 142 that moment. Besides, Lord Vartha, if any one did, would know the N16 143 way back to the safe parts of the mine.

N16 144 Moving with extreme caution he set the lamp down beside him on N16 145 the rock floor and then spread out flat on his stomach. Even if he N16 146 could reach Vartha he did no think he was personally heavy enough N16 147 to bring him up over the edge, but none the less he reached down N16 148 towards the thrashing claw, the rock floor biting achingly into his N16 149 chest as he did so.

N16 150 His hand gripped the metallic roughness of Vartha's; he felt N16 151 the living muscle struggle beneath the silver scaled skin as the N16 152 Samalian writhed to get a firmer hold, writhed and lost the N16 153 battle.

N16 154 With a despairing wail Lord Vartha slid, scrabbled and finally N16 155 plummetted down into darkness, rebounding from wall to wall as he N16 156 did so.

N16 157 Tegna, who found that he had risen to his knees, waited sick N16 158 and shivering for the final silence. He was left clutching a single N16 159 red jewelled fingerstall.

N16 160 He crouched against the rock wall and put his head down between N16 161 his knees. He had tried, he had tried to save him. What was it best N16 162 to do now? Then gradually through the shaking sickness he began to N16 163 realise that he was free. Not out of the mines of course, but free N16 164 in the sense that for the first time in his captive life no-one N16 165 knew where he was.

N16 166 While this condition, of course, included himself, he had a N16 167 fair working hypothesis of where he was. If he could get back over N16 168 that chasm he would have known exactly where he was since he had N16 169 taken care to look over Lord Vartha's shoulder at every junction on N16 170 their route. He held the lamp up over the abyss and did not fancy N16 171 his chances..... then he saw it.

N16 172 The light had caught on the troupe of tiny gold birds along the N16 173 top; lying crushed at the shattered side of the passage and half N16 174 covered in rock dust was the precious roll of the mine charts. N16 175 Tegna's heart stood still.

N16 176 The roll was far from easy to reach but without it he knew he N16 177 faced the unknown. It was heartbreaking to have to retrace his N16 178 earlier climb to safety. He was dripping with sweat by the time he N16 179 got it and the moisture trickled icy with terror down the N16 180 center of his spine as he worked his way back again to the N16 181 solid part of the passage. He sat back and looked through the N16 182 scrolls, trying to judge his exact position. He was sure now that N16 183 there was no turning back - how much further could he go before N16 184 the lamp gave out? Was the tunnel still blocked or had the rockfall N16 185 tackled that particular problem?

N16 186 The air seemed to be flowing freely as it should from the dark N16 187 future of the tunnel - he had to take the risk. Consulting the N16 188 charts he saw that the nearest entrance to him, if it was still N16 189 there, would bring him out near gate Forty Three.

N16 190 He had ideas about gate Forty Three; he had been letting them N16 191 flit around inside his head ever since he had first had a glimpse N16 192 of the charts. He walked as swiftly as he dared through the older N16 193 passages. As he grew nearer the living part of the mine he listened N16 194 out for alarm calls, had anyone registered the rockfall - surely N16 195 it couldn't have gone unheard?

N16 196 N17 1 <#FLOB:N17/>Mike Chinn

N17 2 DAY OF THE DARK MEN

N17 3 Midday found the two men riding down a raised flint road, N17 4 constructed for the local landowner to oversee the fields of maize N17 5 that seemed to stretch on to infinity in all directions. Pale N17 6 houses or workers' huts dotted the waving landscape like N17 7 imperfections - each one brooding dead and empty now that the N17 8 growing season was over for the year. Unshuttered windows stared N17 9 back blindly at the riders like empty sockets.

N17 10 The one dressed all in black finished priming his flintlock N17 11 pistol and slid it back in its saddle holster. He rubbed at his N17 12 dark beard with dusty gloves and pulled a wry face.

N17 13 "There's nothing more depressing than an agricultural N17 14 area in winter, friend Garban," he remarked. "Even N17 15 in South Lativ."

N17 16 "At least the sun's shining," replied Garban N17 17 Quen<*_>e-acute<*/>ed, his gaudy, florid clothing the very opposite N17 18 of the other's. He inclined his orange-haired head at the pale N17 19 yellow sun that strained bravely through the erratic cloud. His N17 20 strange eyes - colourless irises with crimson pupils and orbs - N17 21 squinted even in that thin light.

N17 22 "Small comfort," muttered the first.

N17 23 Garban regarded his companion - hair and eyes as black as his N17 24 clothing - with ill-disguised wariness. It had been nine months N17 25 since he had left his alien-landscaped continent home of N17 26 Vanqu<*_>e-acute<*/>a to na<*_>i-trema<*/>vely voyage to the lands N17 27 of Aysan and the Laneenovitch Empire - out of pure curiosity. Nine N17 28 months of wandering which finally led him to the South Lativic town N17 29 of Authen: ruled by the paederastic Graav Ilyich Vandersaan. There N17 30 he had found Vanqu<*_>e-acute<*/>ans were still a novelty to the N17 31 decadent Aysans. The orange-haired man had been tossed into the N17 32 Graav's gaol, awaiting a home of a more permanent nature: in N17 33 Vandersaan's private collection.

N17 34 In the cell he had met the enigmatic Aundr<*_>e-acute<*/>m N17 35 Dari<*_>e-acute<*/>esan: a man either insane or possessed of an N17 36 awful knowledge. Whichever, they had escaped from the cell - N17 37 killing the Graav Ilyich Vandersaan on the way - and rode north, N17 38 through the winter-seized lands of South Lativ to this dismal N17 39 spot.

N17 40 The Vanqu<*_>e-acute<*/>an frowned. Was it only last night he N17 41 had pinned Vandersaan to his chair with a knife through the mouth? N17 42 A night's travel with Aundr<*_>e-acute<*/>m's joking half-hints N17 43 seemed an eternity.

N17 44 The man in black reined in his horse suddenly and stared N17 45 intently to his left across an endless field of old maize.

N17 46 "Now what's that?" he mumbled to himself.

N17 47 "Where?" The Vanqu<*_>e-acute<*/>an slitted his inhuman N17 48 eyes and looked over the fields.

N17 49 "There," Aundr<*_>e-acute<*/>m pointed a gloved hand. N17 50 "That flashing." He pulled a pair of field glasses N17 51 out of their case on the saddle of his stolen horse.

N17 52 The other saw it then: a rainbow scintillation that was more a N17 53 flickering than a flashing of light. It had the look of marsh gas, N17 54 a will-o'the-wisp - but no natural phenomena could explain the N17 55 unearthly beauty of the sight, nor the bizarre colours that were N17 56 stranger by far than those sometimes found in N17 57 Vanqu<*_>e-acute<*/>a.

N17 58 Aundr<*_>e-acute<*/>m urged his nervous horse down the steep N17 59 flint slope and into the whispering cornstalks. Not to be left N17 60 behind when his curiosity was a dagger in his mind, the N17 61 Vanqu<*_>e-acute<*/>an spurred his own maroon, horned mount down N17 62 off the road and followed the silent, black-clothed man into the N17 63 eternally moving, whispering sea.

N17 64 As he rode deeper, the sounds seemed to form words, invoking N17 65 pictures of the past day in his memory.

N17 66 - Vandersaan's painted and powdered face, sneering: And N17 67 you want work, demon, you say?

N17 68 - A black-bearded face revealed in a flash of magical light: N17 69 Uryell? No, by the Internection- you're a N17 70 Vanqu<*_>e-acute<*/>an!

N17 71 - His own voice, thickly accented: Garban N17 72 Quen<*_>e-acute<*/>ed is the closest the Lativic tongue can get to N17 73 my name. I arrived in Aysan nine months ago: at Marchai, in N17 74 Karlmain.

N17 75 - Phrases from Aundr<*_>e-acute<*/>m: No N17 76 Vanqu<*_>e-acute<*/>an came to Aysan until Maylaert IX's reign ... N17 77 I can normally tell where I am - but the when can be a little N17 78 more difficult ...

N17 79 Garban shook his head, scattering the nightmarish sequence. N17 80 Vanqu<*_>e-acute<*/>ans were a practical race, despite being born N17 81 of a surreal land - even their religions held less mystery than N17 82 most. The unexplained was never welcome.

N17 83 But there was certainly something weird in the air. Garban N17 84 could feel it, as could Aundr<*_>e-acute<*/>m's mare: she whinnied N17 85 and shied constantly - eager to turn and leave the green forest. N17 86 The Vanqu<*_>e-acute<*/>an horse, however, from birth subjected to N17 87 the peculiar world of the second continent, accepted events calmly N17 88 - though his nostrils flared at the scent of something unknown.

N17 89 Aundr<*_>e-acute<*/>m himself was silent - checking his horse's N17 90 wayward lurches with practised tugs on the reins or a quick dig N17 91 with spurs - but never once spoke, not even reassuring whispers. N17 92 Garban had the feeling that the dark man knew what caused the N17 93 coruscating light - or was almost certain - but would not say until N17 94 they had arrived at the scene. The Vanqu<*_>e-acute<*/>an guessed N17 95 that, despite the other's usual cool and sardonic manner, there was N17 96 something happening that Aundr<*_>e-acute<*/>m could have no N17 97 control over - something that made the man in black afraid.

N17 98 For the first time, Garban wished he were free of his strange N17 99 companion - or had never met him. But his curiosity would not let N17 100 him go now - not until an answer to Aundr<*_>e-acute<*/>m N17 101 Dari<*_>e-acute<*/>esan was found.

N17 102 They emerged into an area where the maize was roughly trampled N17 103 and shredded - and the dancing light hung over them blindingly. It N17 104 cast a moving illumination on them, making everything leap and N17 105 dance. Garban could not see clearly with the dazzling borealis N17 106 writing across the sky in soundless agony, not even through N17 107 shielded eyes, for his colourless pupils were less adaptable to N17 108 extremes of light than most. But he heard Aundr<*_>e-acute<*/>m's N17 109 gasp of wonder - and the utter silence all around them was crushing N17 110 in its totality.

N17 111 "That's it!" cried the other suddenly, and N17 112 Garban squinted at the spot he indicated, shading his eyes as well N17 113 as he could. A huge and alien form lay crushed and obviously dead N17 114 amidst the pulped ruins of maize stalks. Oily sap glinted on the N17 115 strange iridescent hide, and papery leaves stuck to it like N17 116 grotesque parodies of feathers - further emphasising the thing's N17 117 odd nature.

N17 118 They urged their horses forward - but even Garban's horned N17 119 mount refused to go any closer to the dead form. Instead they N17 120 dismounted,

N17 121 Aundr<*_>e-acute<*/>m's black rapier and Garban's blood red N17 122 sword drawn. They advanced on the corpse; fearing less the body N17 123 than whatever could have killed so huge and powerful a creature.

N17 124 It was almost the height of Garban, and broad. Its skin seemed N17 125 scaley and, although losing its lustre in death, strongly N17 126 suggestive of the tortured rainbow that writhed over it. It had N17 127 four upper limbs that could not accurately be described as arms, N17 128 and two powerful legs that looked reptilian. Its hammer-shaped head N17 129 seemed to have no mouth; and two blind, faceted eyes flashed like N17 130 huge rubies at either side. The Vanqu<*_>e-acute<*/>an stared at N17 131 the dead creature in morbid fascination: somehow, it felt N17 132 chillingly familiar.

N17 133 "Qromme," said Aundr<*_>e-acute<*/>m somberly.

N17 134 "What?" said Garban, startled by the sudden voice after N17 135 so much quiet.

N17 136 "Qromme: one of the two sorcerers who quarrelled with N17 137 those who became the Seven Wizards of Trolsaus - rulers of that N17 138 tiny island kingdom." The Vanqu<*_>e-acute<*/>an stared at N17 139 the inhuman thing incredulously. "That was a N17 140 sorcerer?" he whispered.

N17 141 "Once he was as human in shape as you or I - but N17 142 gradually his nature moulded his appearance." N17 143 Aundr<*_>e-acute<*/>m walked closer and tapped the scaley thing N17 144 with the tip of his boot. "Q<*_e-acute<*/>saqoch would not N17 145 be unlike him, I imagine. And what of the Seven themselves, I N17 146 wonder? How human are they after all these centuries ...?" N17 147 His voice trailed off into silent speculation. Garban looked at him N17 148 curiously.

N17 149 "Yet if this was equal to the notorious Seven of N17 150 Trolsaus - what could have killed it?"

N17 151 The other rubbed his beard thoughtfully. "They thought N17 152 themselves immortal: Gr<*_>e-acute<*/>na'r, Aryoq, Qromme, N17 153 Sh<*_>e-acute<*/>tt<*_>a-circ<*/>n, Aury<*_>a-circ<*/>n, N17 154 Q<*_>e-acute<*/>saqoch, Tsanienn, Thull<*_>e-trema<*/> and N17 155 J'mt<*_>a-grave<*/>g'r. And so they were, to all practical N17 156 purposes. Not gods, perhaps - but much more than men." His N17 157 fists clenched spasmodically. "Something that holds no N17 158 regard for even the gods did this!"

N17 159 He bent over the thing's neck - or where the neck would have N17 160 been - and he hissed angrily. Garban peered over his shoulder and N17 161 saw the thick, squat neck had been thoroughly crushed. The rest of N17 162 the body also bore signs of terrible mangling.

N17 163 "As I thought: the shells around the Internection have N17 164 been broken," Aundr<*_>e-acute<*/>m was saying. He stood N17 165 up, his peat-black eyes sombre. "It has to be. And Qromme N17 166 and Q<*_>e-acute<*/>saqoch somehow made it happen! The colossal N17 167 idiots!"

N17 168 He turned to glare at Garban, his expression pleading an N17 169 understanding the Vanqu<*_>e-acute<*/>an was unable to give.

N17 170 "They've disturbed whatever lies beyond this cosy nest N17 171 of worlds - and something has come through to be rid of the N17 172 irritation!" He laughed queerly - his voice strained and N17 173 harsh.

N17 174 "Aundr<*_>e-acute<*/>m," asked Garban softly, fearing N17 175 the answer, "what has happened here?"

N17 176 "The Dark Man!" replied the other. His black N17 177 eyes burned into the Vanqu<*_>e-acute<*/>an's with a feverish N17 178 intensity. "Or Fatecaster - he has a million names. But the N17 179 childish meddlings of Qromme and Q<*_>e-acute<*/>saqoch have N17 180 finally brought him to the Internection. The reach of the Dark Gods N17 181 has been lengthened!"

N17 182 Aundr<*_>e-acute<*/>m halted the tirade abruptly, and he took a N17 183 deep, shuddering breath before continuing.

N17 184 "I'm sorry, friend Garban - but if you only appreciate N17 185 what this means! It's the end of something far older than the N17 186 decaying Empire - older even than Vanqu<*_>e-acute<*/>a. The world N17 187 must change now - it has no other choice."

N17 188 "And this Fatecaster - or Dark Man - or whatever his N17 189 name is?"

N17 190 The man in black pointed at the crushed neck and rent N17 191 scales.

N17 192 "That," he said with a certain degree of his old N17 193 sardonicism, "is the work of the hand named Fatecaster. N17 194 Now do you understand my fears?"

N17 195 Garban gazed long at the wounds, and considered the strength N17 196 that must have been needed to tear and crush Qromme's huge body. He N17 197 found himself nodding.

N17 198 "I can understand a little, Aundr<*_>e-acute<*/>m N17 199 Dari<*_>e-acute<*/>esan!"

N17 200 His blood-red sword snaked up at blinding speed and snatched N17 201 Aundr<*_>e-acute<*/>m's ebony rapier from his hand - catching the N17 202 blade between its twin points. Before the other could react to the N17 203 sudden action, Garban held his sword's tips at N17 204 Aundr<*_>e-acute<*/>m's throat, pale face grim and N17 205 uncompromising.

N17 206 "What the hell!" Aundr<*_>e-acute<*/>m managed N17 207 to gasp out.

N17 208 "You have set me to thinking this past day," N17 209 said the Vanqu<*_>e-acute<*/>an. "I couldn't make up my N17 210 mind whether you were mad or not; but things said have pricked my N17 211 interest. And now I want answers."

N17 212 Aundr<*_>e-acute<*/>m did not answer for a while, he just N17 213 stared bemused at the other.

N17 214 "Might I ask what prompted this?" he asked N17 215 finally.

N17 216 "You called me Uryell when you first glimpsed me in N17 217 Vandersaan's cell," began Garban. "I recalled the N17 218 name later - from an ancient legend of how the Kthalniir were N17 219 driven from Aysan by the silver-handed Uryell: a hero with dark N17 220 green eyes and pale red hair. Not unlike my own first appearance in N17 221 the shadows, I'll wager." He stared challengingly at N17 222 Aundr<*_>e-acute<*/>m, but his expression remained unreadable.

N17 223 "Secondly, amongst the smoky haunts in Lativ there's a N17 224 common tale about a man who will come when the Empire ends - a man N17 225 with a sword, yet he can neither kill nor die; with Fate in his N17 226 right hand. He's usually referred to as Fatecaster. The old fools N17 227 who tell the tale for a drink show much the fear as N17 228 yourself." Garban broke off there, and looked again at the N17 229 crushed corpse of the inhuman sorcerer.

N17 230 Aundr<*_>e-acute<*/>m sighed. "Well - what do you want N17 231 answered?"

N17 232 "This Internection you mention so glibly: what is it? N17 233 And from where comes your peculiar knowledge of the past and future N17 234 of the Empire?"

N17 235 His face lit weirdly by the aurora flickering over them, N17 236 Aundr<*_>e-acute<*/>m sighed again, and smiled crookedly.

N17 237 "Other places - dimensions, universes, call them what N17 238 you will - all crowding upon each other; passing through and N17 239 around, circling in an eternal chaos. That's the Internection, my N17 240 friend: dimensions so like this as to be identical; or as different N17 241 as heaven and hell. N17 242 N18 1 <#FLOB:N18\>Kim Newman

N18 2 MOTHER HEN

N18 3 When the client came, Sally was scraping her scruples off the N18 4 door. She had left RHODES CONFIDENTIAL INVESTIGATIONS, but the NO N18 5 DIVORCE WORK footnote was going. She had lived with the Raymond N18 6 Chandler Code of Chivalry for three years. And no thanks to an N18 7 irregular procession of worried spinsters, she had never yet earned N18 8 enough to make her accountant's elaborate tax avoidance schemes N18 9 worth the effort.

N18 10 The spinsters were uniformly faded. They had lost pets, or N18 11 imagined prowlers, or wanted to trace long-ago school N18 12 sweethearts. Recently, Sally had protected a tycoon's eminently N18 13 kidnappable daughter during a weekend party. The girl had vomited N18 14 liebfraumilch-flavoured porridge on her only decent dress, N18 15 and Daddy still hadn't settled the expenses claim.

N18 16 She would have been able to coast through the quarter; but she N18 17 had run her Cortina through a red light and into a parked Porsche. N18 18 The repairs, the insurance, and the fine had vacuum-cleaned both N18 19 her bank accounts. At this stage in her career, Sally would welcome N18 20 a nice, messy, protracted divorce commission.

N18 21 The client, who had come unannounced and without an N18 22 appointment, was a pot-bellied skeleton. He had a well-dressed, N18 23 briefcase-carrying shadow with him.

N18 24 "Ms Rhodes?" asked the client.

N18 25 "It's miss," she said, silently biting off her N18 26 instinctual "and proud of it, creepo!" What she N18 27 said was: "Please go inside and get comfortable. I'll be N18 28 with you in a sec."

N18 29 The two men passed into her office. She brushed some gold dust N18 30 off her skirt, and wrapped the gilt flakes in yesterday's N18 31 Guardian. The sign read ORCE WORK, but she'd fix that later. N18 32 Inside, she basketed the newspaper and sat in the wonky swivel N18 33 chair. The room was tidy through inaction rather than N18 34 inclination.

N18 35 She had recently given up smoking for economic reasons, so she N18 36 picked up a biro with which to gesture. "Gentlemen, how can N18 37 I help?"

N18 38 The opening question had been carefully calculated by the N18 39 Murchison Agency, her former employer, to have the maximum N18 40 tongue-loosening effect on the sort of people who needed confidential N18 41 investigations. That is, people in trouble. The client wasn't N18 42 having any of it. He remained as smooth and confident as anyone who N18 43 looks as if he has been lying dead in a bath for three weeks N18 44 possibly can.

N18 45 "I'm Nigel Karabatsos," he said. "I am N18 46 rich."

N18 47 "Congratulations."

N18 48 "I mention the fact in order to establish a basis for N18 49 our relationship, not out of any undue pride. I am rich through N18 50 inheritance, and can thus claim no honour from my wealth. My N18 51 great-grandfather invented the sticking plaster."

N18 52 "I've always wondered who'd done that."

N18 53 Karabatsos twitched a smile. He cradled his waistcoated stomach N18 54 like a pregnancy. Aside from that swelling, there was scarcely a N18 55 pocket of flesh on him. It took no morbid turn of the imagination N18 56 to see the skull beneath his skin.

N18 57 Sally realised the shadow was looking at her legs, and sat up N18 58 straight. She had already pegged Karabatsos a fruitcake, but knew N18 59 she would have to bear with him. There weren't all that many people N18 60 willing to entrust their affairs to a private detective who looked N18 61 more like Connie Francis than Alan Ladd.

N18 62 "I want you to see something. Mr Derewicz." The N18 63 shadow gave Karabatsos an expensive black case. With fingers like N18 64 refrigerated sausages, Karabatsos opened the case and took out a N18 65 cloth-wrapped bundle which he gave to Sally. "It's a N18 66 statuette. Please examine it."

N18 67 She unwound the faintly scented cloth, and held the cool dark N18 68 marble thing in her bare hands. It was a black bird, with human N18 69 legs, hair and breasts. It had ruby eyes and diamond talons. A N18 70 golden shaft, slightly bent, pierced its torso, wedged immovably in N18 71 the stone.

N18 72 "Very pretty," she said, trying not to sound N18 73 impressed. Actually, she felt an extraordinary desire to possess N18 74 the statuette. As a child, she used to disconcert her parents N18 75 whenever she saw a toy or sweet that took her fancy by shouting N18 76 "I want it!"

N18 77 "Yes," purred Karabatsos. "Of course, it's N18 78 quite priceless. Nobody knows who made it, or when, where and why. N18 79 The subject is classical, but there is something Germanic about the N18 80 execution. Not exactly Gothic, but a chilly touch of the N18 81 monasteries nevertheless..."

N18 82 "What is it? An angel? A harpy? Foghorn Leghorn's N18 83 sister?"

N18 84 "There's a problem there. It first became known to N18 85 history in 1520, when it was listed as one of the treasures of the N18 86 Vatican. It is named as 'Mythwrhn', which sounds slightly Welsh. N18 87 Don't try to pronounce it. The best you'll be able to do is 'Mother N18 88 Hen'."

N18 89 "Mother Hen?"

N18 90 "That's it. Its passage around Europe becomes obscure N18 91 until 1839, when an English adventurer named Fleetwood stole it N18 92 from a minor Russian princeling. He was colourfully flogged to N18 93 death by Cossacks, but the booty was smuggled into this country and N18 94 came into the possession of his family. At about the turn of the N18 95 century, it became a kitsch object much prized by certain N18 96 mystic-minded crackpots. Edwin Arthur Waite swears in a memoir N18 97 that the sight of the Mythwrhn sent him into a three-day fugue. N18 98 W.B. Yeats, the poet, is believed to have written 'Leda and the N18 99 Swan' in an attempt to exorcise the nightmares he suffered after N18 100 examining the statuette..."

N18 101 Sally resented being told who W.B. Yeats was. "There N18 102 are a lot of crazies about," she interjected.

N18 103 "As you say. Roger Fleetwood died recently. He had N18 104 wanted to go into the church like his father, but eventually N18 105 decided instead to become a heroin addict. As Fleetwood's closest N18 106 friend, I am executor of what remains of the estate. The Mythwrhn N18 107 is a special bequest. It is to go to Roger's cousin, Joel N18 108 Silliphant. Maybe you have heard of him. He once had some N18 109 inexplicable success as a popular musician. I would like to see you N18 110 deliver the statuette into his hands."

N18 111 Sally stroked the marble feathers. The hole in the story was N18 112 obvious. "I don't want to talk myself out of a commission, N18 113 but wouldn't it be a lot simper for you to give Silliphant his N18 114 heirloom yourself?"

N18 115 "There are problems," sighed Karabatsos. N18 116 "I am afraid that Silliphant and I are not on civil terms. N18 117 A dispute remains unsettled. The prospect of being in his company N18 118 disgusts and appals me. At our last meeting, he attempted to N18 119 bite off my lower lip..."

N18 120 "He's a scratcher, Miss Rhodes," said Derewicz, N18 121 touching white scars on his cheek. He had a Halifax accent.

N18 122 "Do not be alarmed. Silliphant is not violent at N18 123 random. He simply feels he has cause not to love Mr Derewicz and N18 124 myself. You should be in no danger. Besides, someone in your N18 125 profession must surely expect to run some risks. You are, I trust, N18 126 competent in the arts of dirty fighting?"

N18 127 "Oh yes, in California these hands would have to be N18 128 licensed as deadly weapons. But potential violence costs N18 129 extra."

N18 130 "Would five hundred pounds cover your N18 131 requirements?"

N18 132 "Unless this Silliphant lives in Honolulu."

N18 133 "As a matter of fact, he can be found in Camden. Mr N18 134 Derewicz has all the details."

N18 135 Sally was given a slim white envelope.

N18 136 "There is a cheque inside," said Karabatsos. N18 137 "Will you take the job?"

N18 138 She was going to regret it, but...

N18 139 "I don't see why not. I have a couple of other ongoing N18 140 investigations, but nothing that can't wait. I should be able to N18 141 deal with Mother Hen this evening."

N18 142 "Excellent. Incidentally, I'd advise you against N18 143 telephoning Silliphant to tell him you're coming. That would give N18 144 him time to work up an irrational rage. There will be no need to N18 145 inform me once you have discharged your duties. Good N18 146 day."

N18 147 Karabatsos stood up, steadied his wobbling stomach, and left. N18 148 Before shutting the door behind him, Derewicz said "You N18 149 know you look just like that girl who sang Where the Boys N18 150 Are."

N18 151 Sally gave him her zero degree smile. She shuddered as if her N18 152 grave had been spat on. With an unnerving spasm of strength, she N18 153 snapped the biro in two.

N18 154 She could have sworn, for a moment, that Mother Hen had N18 155 blinked.

N18 156 2

N18 157 Sally knew from experience and The Rockford Files N18 158 that nothing was as simple as the commission she had accepted. She N18 159 was being followed.

N18 160 Although most of her backstreet scuffles had been with prodigal N18 161 pussies, she was not unprepared for the occasional dangerous game N18 162 of midnight hide-and-seek.

N18 163 One of the imaginary plague of peeping toms in Highgate had N18 164 turned out to be real. A borderline psychotic with a greasy quiff N18 165 and a pair of boltcutters had found her watching him watching women N18 166 in a garage toilet. He had dragged her into a petrol-stinking N18 167 workshop, used the shears as a bludgeon, and tried to rape her. She N18 168 had used the tool for a purposed related to that which it was N18 169 intended for and neatly snipped off one of her assailant's nuts. He N18 170 had got a sociology degree in Pentonville, and she had been bound N18 171 over to keep the peace.

N18 172 There was an anonymous car tailing the 134 down the Archway N18 173 road. The bus stopped frequently, but the driver ignored all the N18 174 opportunities to overtake it. Aside from the conductor, Sally N18 175 shared the bus only with a pair of gibbering pensioners. The tail N18 176 had to be on her.

N18 177 The little Astra she sometimes carried for effect was locked up N18 178 in a desk drawer back in Muswell Hill. Anyway, it didn't have a N18 179 firing pin. If it came to physical violence, she thought she could N18 180 hand out a fairly punitive whack with Mother Hen. Holding tightly N18 181 the cloth-wrapped statuette, she got off a couple of stops early N18 182 and dodged into a crowded kebab place.

N18 183 The windows were misted over, but she discerned the blobby N18 184 shape of the car as it drove by. She couldn't name the make but N18 185 knew it was one of the common ones. Red tangles of dead cow turned N18 186 over a weakly infernal light behind the counter. A loiterer with N18 187 gorilla forearms and a 'Feed the World' T-shirt tried N18 188 accidentally to touch her bottom. She deliberately stamped on his N18 189 sandals, and stepped cautiously onto the crud-covered N18 190 pavement.

N18 191 Over the road, a giant chicken with a red and green chef's hat N18 192 clucked out special prices for its barbequed brothers in a N18 193 Tennessee Williams accent.

N18 194 The roar of a civil aircraft drowned the beating of Mother N18 195 Hen's wings. Drops of red fell hundreds of feet to splash in the N18 196 streets.

N18 197 The anonymous address in Camden turned out to be a club, N18 198 Fly-By-Nite's. The pursuit car was cruising around looking for an N18 199 inconspicuous but convenient parking space. Karabatsos's northern N18 200 polack was driving. He had on leather gloves and an SAS balaclava. N18 201 Shit, thought Sally.

N18 202 To get into Fly-by-Nite's, Sally had to squeeze through a N18 203 dingy corridor beside a licensed sex shop, negotiate a rat-eaten N18 204 bead curtain, and descend a creaky spiral staircase. The strains of N18 205 that perennially popular heavy punk standard 'I Wanna Fuck a Pig' N18 206 could be heard over the amp feedback. There was a heady whiff of N18 207 drugs in the air.

N18 208 She found herself in an overpoweringly loud environment, an N18 209 economy-size cavern with wall-to-wall beefcake.The near-naked N18 210 Conan clone on the door pointed to a sign: NO UNACCOMPANIED N18 211 WOMEN. He had SUPER STEVE written on one of his pectorals. He N18 212 mouthed a discreet "Naff off."

N18 213 She stuffed a five pound note into his leather codpiece, not N18 214 expecting any change. With a ball pentel, she wrote on her hand: N18 215 I'M A MAN IN DRAG. Super Steve wasn't satisfied, and put on an N18 216 impressive display of brow-flexing. She smeared her palm clean on N18 217 his oiled shoulder, and shouted "Where's N18 218 Silliphant?"

N18 219 Super Steve changed his attitude as promplty as a foreign N18 220 waiter confronted with a television-advertised credit card. He N18 221 signalled, and an understudy, smartly dressed as Robin the Boy N18 222 Wonder, took his place as he led Sally through the flesh-jammed N18 223 dance floor to a quieter room. Unsurprisingly, no one tried to N18 224 touch her up.

N18 225 "Would you mind waiting here?" asked Super N18 226 Steve in a reassuringly Balham-shaded voice. "I'll fetch N18 227 Joel."

N18 228 "Thank you," she said. "By the way, a N18 229 friend of mine will be coming in soon. N18 230 N19 1 <#FLOB:N19\>Adrian Cole

N19 2 ONLY HUMAN

N19 3 Swarbang burst through the doors and into the stone chamber as N19 4 though all the demons in Hell were hot on his tail. Which was an N19 5 exaggeration, as most of them ignored his passing, as usual. He was N19 6 not a particularly bright or violent demon himself, but he was N19 7 nonetheless an ugly brute, capable of chewing the head off a lesser N19 8 creature of the pantheon if he had to.

N19 9 A company of his fellows was gathered in the chamber, and as N19 10 one, they turned their glaring eyes upon the sweating Swarbang, N19 11 whose scarlet flesh looked as though it had been roasted over a N19 12 slow fire.

N19 13 "It's just as we feared!" he gasped, his long, N19 14 fat tail slapping the flagstones like an irritated dragon's. N19 15 "They've got Snagubal. Trapped him!"

N19 16 The demon conclave - there were a dozen of them - hissed and N19 17 snarled and generally swore crudely and inventively as only demons N19 18 can.

N19 19 Murkrack, largest of them, puffed out his already bloated belly N19 20 and spat dramatically. "This is insufferable! How dare N19 21 they treat one of us, us, Brothers of the Eleventh Grotto, in N19 22 this way. Intolerable!"

N19 23 "It's all very well grumbling and spitting and N19 24 threatening to beat up on the slag imps, Murkrack," snorted N19 25 the towering Grossbile. "But what in Hell are we going to N19 26 do about it?"

N19 27 "Do?" snapped Murkrack. "Do? We'll go out there N19 28 and get him back, that's what!"

N19 29 "Yes, yes," said Grossbile, looming N19 30 impatiently. "We know the penalties for not protecting one N19 31 of our number from sorcery. I'm talking about action. But you N19 32 haven't properly considered our dilemma. How, precisely, are we N19 33 supposed to 'go out there' and rescue the hapless N19 34 Snagubal?"

N19 35 Murkrack screwed his face up into a hideous mask that made even N19 36 the demons shudder. "Uh, well... we... we..."

N19 37 "We can't follow Snagubal," said Grossbile. N19 38 "He was summoned. By a human sorcerer. Drawn out of our N19 39 realm to the human world, no doubt to perform some nauseating task N19 40 to satisfy the whim of the said sorcerer. Unless we are summoned, N19 41 we can't follow."

N19 42 "And I've checked carefully," said Swarbang. N19 43 "The sorcerer who's trapped Snagubal has him in a N19 44 pentacle."

N19 45 "Doesn't the idiot know the code for breaking N19 46 pentacles?" growled Flutterpaddle, a skeletal, N19 47 green-skinned being with the voice of a constipated frog.

N19 48 "Oh, yes," nodded Swarbang. "But this N19 49 is a master mage. Snagubal can't move, only to go on N19 50 errands."

N19 51 "Which are?"

N19 52 "Systematically eating certain other sorcerers. N19 53 Snagubal doesn't mind the odd one or two - who wouldn't? - but N19 54 too many are bad for the digestion."

N19 55 "So," snorted Grossbile, "we can't get Snagubal N19 56 back. Not unless we invoke Under-Devil Zarb, and he'll be so N19 57 annoyed at Snagubal's incompetence that he'll say the sorcerer is N19 58 welcome to him!"

N19 59 "You mean," gulped Swarbang, "that N19 60 we've lost Snagubal for good? But he's my friend."

N19 61 Grossbile thought quietly while his companions made more N19 62 snorting noises. Eventually he hissed for silence. "Ahem! N19 63 There is a possible solution. We must fight fire with fire. Rather N19 64 apt, for demons. We can't break this pentacle and free N19 65 Snagubal. Only a human can do that. Very well. We must elicit the N19 66 aid of a human."

N19 67 "Won't that be seeing a precedent?" grumbled N19 68 Murkrack.

N19 69 "I guess so," Grossbile nodded. "But we N19 70 could draw a pentacle of our own. Humans draw them in their world N19 71 and summon demons. So why shouldn't we draw one and summon a human? N19 72 To serve us."

N19 73 The demons gaped, but gradually began to chuckle, then laugh, N19 74 then roar with mirth, as though they had already accomplished their N19 75 outrageous plan.

N19 76 It took considerably longer than they expected, but they N19 77 finally got their crude pentacle organised. Grossbile had very N19 78 definite ideas on the shape and most of the sigils, but each of the N19 79 demons added his won cabalistic marking. They scoured the N19 80 corridors, holes and burrows of their demonic terrain and assembled N19 81 a weird assortment of bones, mostly human, a slightly damaged N19 82 skull, some hanks of hair, and Swarbang's proud contribution, a N19 83 shrivelled tongue, albeit that of a bovine quadruped.

N19 84 Scattering these unsavoury items about their pentacle, which N19 85 they drew in their own blood, they stood outside it in wavering N19 86 torchlight, waiting to see who would suggest the next move.

N19 87 "Some sort of chant?" said Flutterpaddle.

N19 88 "I can't be sure of the words," said Grossbile. N19 89 "But they should be fairly basic. Let's all hold claws and N19 90 concentrate."

N19 91 They did this with some reluctance, not being by nature N19 92 affectionate creatures, but once Grossbile began his sombre, though N19 93 fairly convincing chant, they focussed their energy in a combined N19 94 groaning designed to invoke their human, though Swarbang did wonder N19 95 if their frightful concatenations would raise the dead.

N19 96 Around and around the pentacle they shuffled, eyes and teeth N19 97 gleaming in the torchlight and the air quivered expectantly.

N19 98 Oliver Firmly was also engaged in a familiar and not dissimilar N19 99 ritual at this very time, though he was an entire dimension away. N19 100 He, too, was singing. At least, his attempts at impersonating N19 101 Pavarotti as he luxuriated in his shower roughly approximated to N19 102 the equivalent of the bizarre chant in the demons' stone chamber. N19 103 It may have been his vocal extemporisation on a theme which somehow N19 104 breached the void, linking him to the utterings of the hideous N19 105 gathering.

N19 106 At any rate, he suddenly found himself standing not in his N19 107 shower, but elsewhere. The soothing hot jet of water had gone. So N19 108 had most of the lighting. Assuming this to be a power failure, he N19 109 turned to the glass door of the cubicle, but it was also gone. Only N19 110 the steam had not completely dissipated, although it had somehow... N19 111 changed. It was more like smoke.

N19 112 In the absence of the hiss of hot water, Firmly noticed the N19 113 chanting, or more precisely, croaking, as if a plague of frogs had N19 114 got loose in the drains. But it couldn't be frogs, it was too N19 115 harmonious. No, he decided, that wasn't the word. It was N19 116 horrible.

N19 117 "I see something!" someone cried, again in N19 118 batrachian tones.

N19 119 The smoke cleared a little. Firmly gaped, fingers clutching N19 120 helplessly at his loofa. H was surrounded by the most horrendous N19 121 collection of... of... what in hell were they? They looked N19 122 like escapees from the set of a Cronenberg movie. Jeeze, the N19 123 realism.

N19 124 "Success!" gurgled another voice. Baleful eyes gleamed. N19 125 Automatically Firmly swung his loofa to cover the tenderest part of N19 126 his anatomy.

N19 127 "What in God's name are you doing in my N19 128 bathroom?"

N19 129 "Mind your language!" hissed tha tallest of the N19 130 freaks, his chins wobbling, his vast belly bouncing up and down in N19 131 the smoke. Somehting appeared to be keeping both him and his N19 132 disgusting pink-skinned companions from waddling too close.

N19 133 "A human," another said.

N19 134 "Look, will you get the hell out of my goddam N19 135 bathroom!" shouted Firmly, feeling more than a little N19 136 ridiculous.

N19 137 "This is not your world, you repulsive monster," N19 138 snapped Grossbile, flexing his claws suggestively. "It's N19 139 ours. And if you want to see your world again, you'd better do N19 140 exactly as you're told. We can easily discard you and summon N19 141 another one, now that we've mastered the technique."

N19 142 Firmly shook his head, baffled. But he was in no position to N19 143 argue. "Look, you guys, will someone tell me what this is N19 144 all about? I have to be in my office in less than an N19 145 hour."

N19 146 Grossbile scratched his chin with an elongated dirk of a N19 147 fingernail. "Role reversal. We demons have conjured us a N19 148 human. That is, you."

N19 149 Firmly nodded slowly. Who were these lunatics?

N19 150 "One of our colleagues, Snagubla, has been summoned to N19 151 your world by a partucularly ambitious sorcerer, name of N19 152 Wenceslodin. Snagubal has become an unwilling slave. He can't get N19 153 back."

N19 154 "It's not fair," whined Swarbang. "He's N19 155 done what the pact called for, enough maiming and mutilating. But N19 156 Wenceslodin won't release him."

N19 157 "You must know this Wenceslodin?" prompted N19 158 Grossbile.

N19 159 Firmly swallowed. "Uh - is he some kind of stage N19 160 magician?"

N19 161 "Magician, yes. So you do know him?"

N19 162 "No, not exactly. Who's he with?"

N19 163 "He is supposed to serve King Urtrabrutes. But he N19 164 intends to rule your world for himself. He is using Snagubal to N19 165 eradicate his rivals."

N19 166 Firmly struggled to keep his composure. They must be fantasy N19 167 wargamers. That was it King who? Was there a convention in town?

N19 168 "The only way we can help Snagubal," Grossbile N19 169 went in, "is by getting a human to break the pentacle that N19 170 is his prison. We will gladly send you back to your world. But when N19 171 you are there, you must free Snagubal."

N19 172 "How do I do that?"

N19 173 "Simply break the pentacle. Only a human can do N19 174 that."

N19 175 Something clicked in Firmly's mind. He'd never been a great fan N19 176 of weird fiction, but he seemed to remember a movie once where some N19 177 ind of demon broke free of its pentacle and ate the sap who'd N19 178 summoned it.

N19 179 "Hold on, pal. If I break this pentacle, what happens N19 180 to me? This Snagubal is going to eat me, right?" He shook N19 181 his head. What am I saying? I'm getting as dumb as these guys! Eat N19 182 me? Am I kidding?

N19 183 Swarbang giggled, unable to control himself. "We hadn't N19 184 thought of that, but he's right."

N19 185 "We'll just have to make sure Snagubal understands he's N19 186 being rescued," said Grossbile. "He's N19 187 reasonably sensible, and should realise. And of course, he's already N19 188 engorged himself on a dozen or so petty sorcerers. I can't believe N19 189 he'll still be hungry, pig that he is."

N19 190 "So all I have to do," said Firmly, "is N19 191 release your pal, and then I'll be able to get on with my N19 192 life?"

N19 193 "Exactly," said Grossible."Under such an N19 194 arrangement there's no need for the usual torture, torment, N19 195 Hellfire and all that stuff."

N19 196 "One question."

N19 197 "Yes?"

N19 198 "Can I have some clothes?"

N19 199 The demons screwed up their faces and Firmly gasped in amusement N19 200 - boy , what they couldn't do with foam latex these days. Really N19 201 gross stuff.

N19 202 "Clothes," muttered Grossbile. "I never N19 203 understood why you humans had to have second skins. We don't N19 204 bother. Mind you, we do generate a lot more body heat, I N19 205 suppose."

N19 206 "We can get him some skins from the flaying N19 207 caverns," someone suggested.

N19 208 "I think he want somthing more sophisticated," N19 209 said Grosssbile. "Look, you'll have to steal something when N19 210 you get back. There'll be plenty of clothes in the Tower of N19 211 Screamlng Skulls."

N19 212 "Excuse me," said Firmly. "Did I hear N19 213 that right? Skulls?"

N19 214 "Wenceslodin's retreat. You can pick up some clothes N19 215 when you get there."

N19 216 "Can't I just go back to my apartment - "

N19 217 "No time, no time! Just break the pentacle, that's all. N19 218 Or do we get ourselves another human?" said N19 219 Grossbile impatiently, waving his horrendous claws. They, at least, N19 220 were all too real.

N19 221 "Okay, okay, let's go for it," groaned Firmly, N19 222 with as much enthusiasm as a cat about to enter a dog pound.

N19 223 This time the transition was even more sudden. Like someone had N19 224 flipped a light switch off. Darkness. Then on again. Poor light, a N19 225 sort of torchlight. Torchlight?

N19 226 Firmly shivered. He really did need clothes. And wherever the N19 227 hell he was, he needed more than a goddam loofa to defend himself. N19 228 But curiously enough, the corridor in which he now found himself N19 229 was lined with shields, undercrossed with swords that gleamed. He N19 230 had no time to wonder how he had been brought here, though he N19 231 assumed he'd been drugged in his shower - that smoke beat the heck N19 232 out of any incense. So now what?

N19 233 He slipped one of the shields from the wall, but it was far too N19 234 heavy. He had better luck with the sword. Even so, it was N19 235 unwieldy.

N19 236 As he crept down the passage, he wondered how much had been N19 237 spent on this place. A fortune. This was real stonework. Daylight N19 238 slatted through a narrow window and he craned his neck to see out. N19 239 And gaped in disbelief. The landscape of bogs, stunted trees and N19 240 drifting fog looked like bayou country. If this was some kind of N19 241 amusement park it was hidden in a part of the city he never heard N19 242 of.But through a break in the sliding fog he caught a glimpse of N19 243 distant horizon. The truth hit him at last.

This may be his N19 244 world, but it sure as heck wasn't his time.

N19 245 N20 1 <#FLOB:N20\>Garry Kilworth

N20 2 ISLAND WITH THE STINK OF GHOSTS

N20 3 The Chinese jetty clans, who ruled the waterfronts along N20 4 Penang's Georgetown harbour, fostered the myth that their hawkers N20 5 had been responsible for its formation. It was said that chicken N20 6 fat, glutinous rice, fishheads, hokkien noodles, prawn shells, N20 7 and other waste matter, had gathered together in a stretch of still N20 8 water between the currents and had formed the foundations of the N20 9 floating island. Sargasso had rooted itself in the rich oils and N20 10 savoury spices, on top of which gathered soil from the mainland. A N20 11 rainforest had grown from its earth.

N20 12 The island was about three miles off the Malaysian coast and N20 13 was held precariously in place by the fronds of seaweed rooted in N20 14 the ocean floor. No one, not even the ancient Wan Hooi, who ran a N20 15 clan curry mee stall on the Larong Salamat, could N20 16 remember the time when the island had not been there. Wan Hooi was N20 17 the oldest hawker on Penang, but it was pointed out that he had N20 18 only been around for a hundred years. The clans had been using the N20 19 harbour as a waste bin for more than a thousand.

N20 20 Whenever there was an onshore breeze, a sickly, perfumed odour N20 21 wafted over from the island. This smell, according to both Malays N20 22 and Chinese, was the stink of ghosts rotting - or to be more N20 23 accurate, the odour of decaying souls. The body, when it N20 24 decomposes, has a foul smell. Therefore, it seemed logical that a N20 25 putrefying soul should have a sweet, cloying scent. The island was N20 26 the burial ground for malefactors and murderers, whose punishment N20 27 after death was for the corrupt soul to remain with the body, and N20 28 rot within it.

N20 29 These beliefs had little to do with religion, but came from a N20 30 deeply-rooted local superstition, such as is found in any region: N20 31 a myth from earlier, darker minds, when reason and evidence were N20 32 less important than fear.

N20 33 Fishermen gave the island a wide berth, and only the old N20 34 gravedigger, Lo Lim Hok, set foot upon the place.

N20 35 Ralph Leeman, an Englishman in his late twenties, was one of N20 36 those who witnessed the event on a hot, sultry June evening, when N20 37 the island broke loose from its natural mooring. Not that there was N20 38 any drama, for there was no sound and little fuss. The island N20 39 simply detached itself from its anchoring reeds and began drifting N20 40 down the Malacca Straits, which runs between Indonesia and N20 41 Malaysia. Possibly heavy rains in Thailand, to the north, had been N20 42 responsible for a strong swell. This had resulted in a momentary N20 43 change in the direction of the main current, the East Monsoon N20 44 Drift, which put pressure on the island. That was Leeman's N20 45 theory.

N20 46 Leeman was on secondment to the Malaysian Harbour Authority N20 47 from the British Coastal Service. Alone in the observation tower, N20 48 he had been studying the erratic behavior of a large motor N20 49 launch, when he was suddenly aware that the island was moving. He N20 50 watched it for a few moments, as it passed a distant marker N20 51 buoy.

N20 52 "Good God! Stinker's on the move."

N20 53 He immediately made a call to his superior.

N20 54 Sumi Pulau, the harbourmaster, arrived at the tower thirty N20 55 minutes later, having fought his way through the Georgetown N20 56 traffic. He studied the island through binoculars and expressed his N20 57 amazement and concern. His English, like that of many educated N20 58 Malays, was extremely good.

N20 59 "Directly in the shipping lane. We'll have to do N20 60 something about it immediately. It'll be dark soon. Got any N20 61 suggestions?"

N20 62 Leeman had already been considering the problem and gave his N20 63 opinion.

N20 64 "We could attach tugboats to it and tow it to the N20 65 mainland - but given the nature of the island - the fact that N20 66 it's a graveyard, I'm not sure the coastal villages would want it N20 67 on their doorstep."

N20 68 Pulau nodded.

N20 69 "Yes, and in any case, I'm not sure tugs would do N20 70 it. Might take something bigger. That's a pretty sizeable piece of N20 71 land out there."

N20 72 "My second thought was that we could blow it out of the N20 73 water with high explosives - but I'm worried about the jetties and N20 74 stilt-houses. And explosion might create a floodwave."

N20 75 "Not to mention the fact that we would have corpses N20 76 washing up on the tourist beaches..."

N20 77 "So," continued Leeman, eager to impress, "I N20 78 suggest we just let it float down the straits. We put a boat in N20 79 front and behind, to warn other craft of the shipping hazard. I've N20 80 been judging its speed, using the marker buoys and by my reckoning N20 81 the island should reach Singapore in thirteen days. Then it can be N20 82 towed into open water and disposed of..."

N20 83 The harbourmaster looked thoughtful.

N20 84 "...and I have a final suggestion," said N20 85 Leeman.

N20 86 "Which is?"

N20 87 "That we put a caretaker on the island, to place and N20 88 maintain lights, for and aft. This man could keep in radio contact N20 89 with the accompanying boats and inform them of any problems. The N20 90 sort of thing I envisage is the island running aground on a N20 91 sandbank - which might solve all our worries - or breaking up in N20 92 a storm. That sort of thing."

N20 93 Pulau scratched his head thoughtfully.

N20 94 "I like it all except the caretaker. I'm not sure it's N20 95 necessary to have someone actually on the island. It would N20 96 have to be you, you know. I wouldn't get any of my men near the N20 97 place. The island with the stink of ghosts - they would N20 98 die of fright."

N20 99 "I realize that. Of course, I would volunteer. It would N20 100 be an additional safety factor."

N20 101 The harbourmaster smiled at Leeman.

N20 102 "You're not afraid of ghosts, I take it?"

N20 103 "Not in the least." Which was not entirely N20 104 true. The thought of spending thirteen nights in a graveyard was N20 105 mildly discomforting, but only that. The physical dangers? Well, N20 106 that part if it might be rewarding.

N20 107 "Right," said Pulau, suddenly becoming decisive, N20 108 "that's how we'll play it. I'll call the Minister. You get N20 109 back to your lodgings and pack what you think you'll need and I'll N20 110 arrange it. Then and provisions?"

N20 111 "And gaslights."

N20 112 "Of course... You really aren't concerned about the N20 113 supernatural side of it?"

N20 114 "No."

N20 115 Leeman looked at the dark mass, moving slowly through the water N20 116 in the distance. Despite his disbelief, it looked eerie and N20 117 forbidding. A fishing canoe, one of those traditional craft with N20 118 modern outboard engines thrusting it obscenely across the water, N20 119 cut away sharply from the island's path.

N20 120 "What did they do - most of them? Those murderers N20 121 buried on the island? It seems a harsh judgement on the N20 122 dead," he murmured.

N20 123 "Drug runners," replied Pulau. "You N20 124 know how we feel about them, here in Malaysia."

N20 125 A shadow crossed Leeman's mind, painfully. He remembered that N20 126 drug trafficking carried a mandatory death sentence in Malaysia, N20 127 for those convicted of the crime. It was, perhaps, one of the N20 128 reasons why he had chosen to do his secondment in this part of the N20 129 world.

N20 130 "I see," he said, quietly.

N20 131 Pulau regarded him with a quizzical expression.

N20 132 "Does it make any difference? To you, I N20 133 mean."

N20 134 Leeman thought about his younger brother, Pete. Of course it N20 135 made a difference. The cycle of thoughts which he continually had N20 136 to fight, to break out of, began whirling in his head Not N20 137 again, he thought. Please. Why are there so many N20 138 reminders? Why can't I be left alone?

N20 139 It made a hell of a difference.

N20 140 "No," he said. "I just wondered, that was N20 141 all."

N20 142 On the way to the boarding house, in Lebuh Campbell, he told N20 143 himself how much he liked it on Penang, in the Far East. He enjoyed N20 144 the expatriate life, with its accompanying indulgence in a N20 145 completely different culture. He was an advocate of an older way of N20 146 life, with values he felt the modern world had wrongly placed N20 147 aside. In the Far East, you could get closer to such values. They N20 148 gave one a sense of historical continuity: a connection with the N20 149 past. He could enjoy it more, if only... if only he could throw off N20 150 the mistakes of the immediate past. But they clung to his mind N20 151 like leeches, sucking it dry... He had said sorry many, many N20 152 times, but there were no ears to hear, no one to listen... He had N20 153 run to the Far East in order to get away form the leeches, but that N20 154 had not been far enough. Here he was, running again, to a small, N20 155 floating island that had detached itself from the world. At first N20 156 he was too busy to allow the sweet fragrance of the island to N20 157 disturb him. He had to place the calor gas lamps, at either end of N20 158 the rain forest, involving a mile walk along the shore. Then there N20 159 was the business of setting up camp (something Pete would have N20 160 enjoyed): erecting the tent, unpacking provisions, starting a fire N20 161 and, finally, using the radio transceiver. He reported to the N20 162 accompanying craft that all was well and he was preparing to bed N20 163 down for the night.

N20 164 Once these duties had been accomplished, he had more time to N20 165 consider his environment.

N20 166 There were the usual jungle noises, that he had often heard on N20 167 Penang. There were cicadas which gave out sounds like factory N20 168 whistles; frogs that bellowed like megaphones; and birds that ran N20 169 up and down scales as if they were taking some from of musical N20 170 training.

N20 171 There were also other sounds: the breeze in the palms and the N20 172 rippling of water through the thick weed on which the island was N20 173 based.

N20 174 Then there was that smell.

N20 175 It was by no means a disagreeable perfume and reminded him of N20 176 incense, but it seemed so dense as to stain the air with its N20 177 presence. Perhaps the cause lay in some unusual plant? Then again, N20 178 it might have come from the thick sargasso which supported the soil N20 179 and rainforest? That explanation seemed much more likely.

N20 180 He took a torch and went to the end of the island, to peer down N20 181 into the shallows. There was no beach. Instead, a soil bank dropped N20 182 sharply into the sea, beneath the surface of which he could see the N20 183 myriad vines of sargassum, knotted together to form a mass of N20 184 spongy weed. It was alive with sea creatures, mostly eels.

N20 185 Leeman backed away, a little disconcerted. He was revolted, not N20 186 by the creatures themselves, but by their numbers. It almost seemed N20 187 as if the island were a live thing, crawling with tentacles. This, N20 188 coupled with the thought that there was a great depth of ocean N20 189 beneath him - a strange sensation until he managed to convince N20 190 himself that the island was only a raft: a craft fashioned by N20 191 nature instead of man-made him tread lightly for a while. Once N20 192 he had got used to the idea that it was in effect nothing more than N20 193 a platform of weed, a natural Kon Tiki, carried along by the N20 194 current, he managed to keep his imagination under control

N20 195 He slept very little that first night, the smell overpowering N20 196 his desire for rest. He rose, once or twice, to watch the lights N20 197 drift by on the mainland, and gained some comfort from those of the N20 198 accompanying craft.

N20 199 When morning came, sweltering but happily blessed with bright N20 200 sunlight, he was able to explore his surroundings without the N20 201 intrusion of irrational fears, of rotting souls. The rainforest, N20 202 half-a-mile wide, was much like any other he had seen on N20 203 Penang. It was dense, its undergrowth and canopy formed of a N20 204 thousand different plants of which he knew few by name. He N20 205 recognised the frangipani trees of course, regarded by the Chinese N20 206 as unlucky, and tamarind, and various types of palm. He knew there N20 207 would be snakes amongst the vines, and large spiders quivering on N20 208 the underside of waxy leaves, but these did not bother him N20 209 overmuch. He had sprayed the area around the tent with paraffin, N20 210 which would keep any wildlife away. Pete would have been terrified N20 211 of them, of course, but then Pete was not with him.

N20 212 He managed to busy himself with small tasks that occupied his N20 213 mind to a degree, but there was no ignoring the smell. N20 214 N20 215 N21 1 <#FLOB:N21\>Julie Akhurst

N21 2 Small pieces of Alice

N21 3 Emilia took off her spectacles and rubbed the thin skin of her N21 4 eyelids and across the bridge of her nose. Then she replaced her N21 5 spectacles, blinked sharply and shook back her hair. She was N21 6 beginning to see the dead animals again.

N21 7 Of course they weren't there when she swallowed down her fear N21 8 and walked up to them. The splayed, broken form of a rabbit was one N21 9 of those small weighted sacks used inexplicably wherever men were N21 10 working on the road; or she was staring at a flapping piece of N21 11 newspaper when she had seen a dying gull beating its wings N21 12 senselessly against a lamppost. She always did ask herself what N21 13 such a proliferation of carelessly squandered wildlife would be N21 14 doing in W2, but it was a question without the conviction that it N21 15 had any right to be asked, used in the face of blind panic like a N21 16 parasol against the mugger's knife.

N21 17 She put her chin down now and walked firmly up to the dead N21 18 collie whose blood-stained fur was twitching in the breeze; and it N21 19 happily resolved itself into an oddly-coloured corner of the shop N21 20 wall, the tattered remnant of a handkerchief. Slowly she let out a N21 21 shuddering sigh, pretending even to herself that nothing had N21 22 unnerved her. She had already walked on, her small, firm footsteps N21 23 ringing up the hard pavement of the Bayswater Road.

N21 24 Last night she had seen Nell in silhouette in her darkened N21 25 office, the huge outline of her stomach standing out against the N21 26 little light that filtered through the window blind. Her head was N21 27 thrown back so that the fall of her hair slid over the desk and N21 28 just touched the ground. She should have been a Madonna with that N21 29 expression on her face. There was a quattrocento serenity in the N21 30 curve of her lip, the downcast eyelid, that would have spoken of a N21 31 secret and holy communion with the child within her if it had been N21 32 found on any bas-relief - or on anybody but Nell. Emilia's stomach N21 33 turned as she followed once more in her mind the shadowy arch that N21 34 began with Nell's hair, rode the swell of her belly and ended in N21 35 Clive, kneeling with reverent silence, his tongue worshipping at N21 36 Nell's generous cunt.

N21 37 When the crack of light from the open door had fallen across N21 38 them, Emilia had stood stony for one long minute on the threshold, N21 39 then clicked the door shut with a customary neatness, before N21 40 gathering her gloves, her coat, from the foyer and making towards N21 41 Bayswater. As she passed that side of the building she couldn't N21 42 help herself glancing up Nell's office, but everything was still in N21 43 darkness.

N21 44 All night the image had returned to her, and now, as she N21 45 glanced down at the immaculate package in her gloved hand, it N21 46 superimposed itself on silver ribbon and paper scored to fold at N21 47 right angles.

N21 48 When she had first heard, on the office grapevine, that Nell N21 49 was pregnant, Emilia's joy had been unbounded. And when Clive had N21 50 asked her, between meetings, "Any gossip, then?" N21 51 she had inclined her head slightly with that preparatory pause and N21 52 told him about it with a proprietary pleasure, made sincere through N21 53 layers and layers of practice over the years of being a personal N21 54 assistant. Clive left his half-drunk coffee on the edge of her N21 55 desk, lifting the office cat out of his path before bouncing off to N21 56 meet with the printer.

N21 57 "There'll be a collection, of course?" She N21 58 nodded slightly.

N21 59 "Here. Take this fiver to start it off."

N21 60 She bent and slid a fresh buff envelope out of her stationery N21 61 drawer, and held it beneath her downturned palms, feeling through N21 62 the thin paper all the new paths, new possibilities that were N21 63 already opening up. Slowly she slid in the five-pound note and N21 64 added one to match it, shining with barely suppressed hope.

N21 65 It had been much too early really, but doing it had made it all N21 66 seem more real. She had gone down to Regent Street and spent a N21 67 fruitless lunch hour sweeping the mother-and-baby departments, N21 68 sorting briskly through possibilities and as briskly discarding N21 69 them. She thought of the usual gifts - of what she might give to a N21 70 friend, or to her several godchildren - and imagined the superior N21 71 half-smile, the amused catch in the voice, if Nell were to unwrap a N21 72 silver rattle, a tiny bracelet, or, God forbid, a Peter Rabbit N21 73 breakfast set.

N21 74 There seemed to be no room in the girl for sentimental N21 75 considerations: the romance of motherhood apparently meant little N21 76 or nothing to her. There were ways of behaving, and Nell fitted no N21 77 known pattern. When Emilia had asked politely about her home N21 78 arrangements, and whether she was getting on well with a nursery, N21 79 there had again been that barely-concealed smile, then the N21 80 emotionless recital of fact, as though she were communicating with N21 81 a moron. Nell didn't feel it necessary to make a 'nest' for her N21 82 child (the inverted commas hovered in the air between them, borne N21 83 up by sarcasm) - she was just going to bed it down in her room in N21 84 an old cot her aunt had passed on. When she herself had been a N21 85 baby, her mother hadn't even found she needed that, but had used a N21 86 drawer...

N21 87 Not for one second did Emilia believe her. It was just another N21 88 example of the inverted oneupmanship that Emilia had despised in N21 89 Nell since the day she had interviewed her in Clive's office one N21 90 lunchtime.

N21 91 They were looking for a secretary to help some of the editors N21 92 deal with their letters, perhaps to do a little proofreading if N21 93 bright enough, and Nell, with her Oxbridge degree and her state N21 94 education seemed useful, if not quite the right face for the job. N21 95 Looking at Nell's endless CV, Emilia had tried to crack the ice: N21 96 "Well, you seem to be quite a bright girl, don't N21 97 you?"

N21 98 She had seen the younger woman's face harden ever so slightly, N21 99 and realized with a certain sudden pleasure that she was feeling N21 100 patronized. But Nell had kept her temper, and "I think we N21 101 may be able to offer you the job," said Emilia, while at N21 102 the same time her stomach was lifting and billowing with nerves. N21 103 There seemed a sort of dark purpose in Nell - if Emilia had been N21 104 fanciful, she might have called it the organized threads of evil - N21 105 that filled Emilia with a sense of brooding chaos. To compensate, N21 106 she had taken a deep breath, gained a little time, leant back in N21 107 Clive's swivel chair and spun on the shiny surface of the desk his N21 108 letter opener that was shaped like a miniature brass sword, so that N21 109 it pointed first at Nell, then at herself, on and on. And while it N21 110 spun, she talked about her years of publishing experience, until N21 111 she could see she had cowed Nell into abandoning the hint of N21 112 righteous rebellion that <}_><-|>her<+|>had<}/> been stirring in N21 113 her eye. Nell was unsure of Emilia's status or power - probably N21 114 thought she was an editor. It wasn't until beginning work the N21 115 following week that Nell discovered Emilia was the managing N21 116 editor's secretary. But by then she was well and truly under her N21 117 thumb.

N21 118 Liberty had yielded an exotic shawl in a soft fabric of twisted N21 119 reds and yellows, edged in silver thread, and Emilia finally N21 120 settled on it as being the sort of thing the office would want her N21 121 to spend their money on. It was a gift that would have them N21 122 imagining a nursing Nell who wore it while she cuddled her baby in N21 123 a high-backed chair. But Emilia found it almost impossible to N21 124 assemble the idea of Nell in maternal mode - although she could N21 125 quite see that those hips would have no problem whatsoever in N21 126 squeezing a little new life into the world.

N21 127 God, by the look of her, the girl was born to be fecund! But it N21 128 had taken her long enough.

N21 129 At first she had worked for Emilia: typing, photocopying, N21 130 rushing to meet the needs of Emilia's periodic panics in the rush N21 131 to keep Clive happy. For much of the week he was absent, and then N21 132 he was back, demanding action and accomplishment. Emilia knew she N21 133 was not really as terribly efficient as she seemed. When he was N21 134 away she fell into a lassitude where she was constantly active and N21 135 achieved next to nothing. As soon as Clive breezed in, she needed N21 136 someone to help her make up lost ground. Nell would eye her N21 137 knowingly, as she flitted purposelessly round her office, leaning N21 138 insolently against the doorframe, her long hair swinging around N21 139 her.

N21 140 "I'll come back later, when you've got something you N21 141 want me to do."

N21 142 The following week, she would lift some huge pile of N21 143 photocopying out of Emilia's arms and do it quickly, without N21 144 complaint, in half the time it would have taken Emilia.

N21 145 Emilia's colleagues - the women with gold braid on their shoes, N21 146 with whom she habitually shopped at lunchtime - watched with envy. N21 147 "You're lucky to have her," they said, but Emilia N21 148 kept her counsel.

N21 149 "You'll lose her yet, though. That one's got N21 150 ambition."

N21 151 It filled her with a quiet desperation that they should miss N21 152 the just-hidden scorn that was directed at her.

N21 153 More and more often, she found herself pausing: in the small, N21 154 steamy bathroom of her Bayswater mansion flat, between drinks at a N21 155 supper party with a few old friends; as the lights went down for N21 156 the first act of some play. The image of Nell, laughing, cloaked in N21 157 her own hair, would skate across her mind and leave her with a N21 158 small bitterness whose after-effects the evening would never quite N21 159 obliterate, although she often forgot the cause. Arriving at work N21 160 began to seem a triumph over some minor ordeal; going home at the N21 161 end of the day was more than pleasure.

N21 162 Emilia found that she was counting on Nell's ambition to remove N21 163 her altogether. Frequently she found her leafing surreptitiously N21 164 through the Guardian jobs pages on a Monday, the paper spread N21 165 haphazardly across her desk, half-hidden by the waterfall of her N21 166 hair and the office cat. Even the cat seemed to love Nell, along N21 167 with the rest of the office. Emilia wished it good riddance. She N21 168 knew that she would never wear black velour to work when by N21 169 six o'clock it was so thoroughly coated in the tiny white-rooted, N21 170 ginger hairs. And the cat had always filled her with a sense of N21 171 discomfort - a thrill of fear that she new had something to do with N21 172 the possibility that at any moment it could drop down dead. She N21 173 ignored the Guardian reading and resolved that anything was N21 174 worth it to have the girl finally gone.

N21 175 One day, shortly after Nell had been moved full time into the N21 176 copy-editing room by a perceptive personnel manager, Emilia came N21 177 out of her office to find Nell sympathizing matily with her N21 178 replacement over some procedural anomaly. The new secretary had N21 179 been smiling up at her, while Nell's hair hung over the desk, N21 180 hemming the two of them in like a cloud. "The most dreadful N21 181 system," Nell had been saying.

N21 182 Emilia watched the two of them together, and there was a turn N21 183 to Nell's head that said how egalitarian, how classless, N21 184 how mature she was. Instantly she was fired with a red and N21 185 boiling rage that stunned her with its violence. Nell looked up, N21 186 caught Emilia's eye and paused in mid-stream, then smiled.

N21 187 "Just which dreadful system?" Emilia had N21 188 demanded, struggling, and failing, she immediately realized, to N21 189 keep the anger out of her voice. "And what gives you N21 190 the right to pontificate on it?" It was the smile that had N21 191 driven her to it.

N21 192 For a second, a slightly wounded expression crossed Nell's N21 193 face, and then the insolence had returned to it, along with the N21 194 smile. In the following days she had become even more distant from N21 195 Emilia, even more outwardly polite, even more ambitious, and Emilia N21 196 struggled not to enjoy the small ways in which she could make the N21 197 other woman's life difficult. N21 198 N22 1 <#FLOB:N22\>BrianHowell

N22 2 The vanishing point

N22 3 Dance could not recall exactly when the feeling of being N22 4 elsewhere descended on him for the first time, except it N22 5 somehow coincided with a series of odd incidents that would not N22 6 normally cause him the slightest tinge of worry. He could not be N22 7 quite sure whether the job he did was finally getting to him N22 8 because of its unremitting routine or because he realized there N22 9 were actually some aspects of it he did with relish but which he N22 10 knew would ultimately lead nowhere.

N22 11 These thoughts occupied him as the lift, that was to take him N22 12 to the mail-order department on the fourth floor above the N22 13 bookshop where he worked, stalled obstinately on the ground floor. N22 14 The lift, it seemed to him, was a metaphor for what he was doing in N22 15 this building, day in, day out - a metal cage going nowhere which N22 16 would one day stall in the sweltering well of the building, only N22 17 finally to spew him out into a limbo, shrivelled, desiccated, used N22 18 up, yet unused. As the lift ascended, he tried to imagine it N22 19 descending. It was a mental game he had started playing recently. N22 20 The only thing to which it was akin in his experience was a N22 21 realization he had once had as a child that it was impossible to N22 22 fantasize everyday scenes in his head - where everything was based N22 23 around vertical lines, as in a film - if he were in a horizontal N22 24 position and still conscious of it. People had to be upright.

N22 25 As he walked into the office, it might as well have been a N22 26 desert, such was the sense of emptiness that suddenly came over N22 27 him. Most of the time it seemed that he could only get through the N22 28 day by dividing it artificially into twenty-minute or half-hour N22 29 sections, with usually a coffee, tea, personal phone call, or trip N22 30 to the toilet to separate the yawning expanses in between. There N22 31 were, admittedly, some interesting aspects to the work, such as N22 32 scanning the daily avalanche of mail from all corners of the N22 33 country and globe. Strangely, the correspondence from the more N22 34 eccentric customers gave him the most pleasure, as they at least N22 35 appreciated his searching for some probably invented title or N22 36 provided them with a list of books on famous deceased cats.

N22 37 The morning frustrated Dance even more than usual, though he N22 38 didn't trust himself to give too much thought to what 'usual' N22 39 exactly was: a telephone order from an irate diplomat, who wanted N22 40 the only existing English translation of de Sade's Justine - a N22 41 trashy American one, Dance almost pointed out, but he didn't want N22 42 to get drawn into a discussion on this topic in the office - before N22 43 the diplomat left for Prague; an author of a famed and much reviled N22 44 tome on blood sports rang to request that his book be sent to his N22 45 grandchild for his eleventh birthday; and another outraged N22 46 customer, from Wimbledon, wrote to reprimand him for having the N22 47 audacity to address her by her first name - Daphne, in this N22 48 case.

N22 49 After running around the art department like a headless chicken N22 50 for a good twenty minutes for an American calling from New York, N22 51 Dance was suddenly taken by the urge to spend his whole lunch hour N22 52 in the peace of the National Gallery, only a blessed five minutes N22 53 away. He was glad he was allowed to take his lunch hour at the N22 54 earliest possible moment, usually twelve o'clock. He had been N22 55 reminded momentarily of the last time he'd felt like going to such N22 56 trouble, when he had looked for a book on Dutch painting of which N22 57 nobody in the department had heard. He had found it and sent it to N22 58 a profusely grateful Miss Groenehaven in Amsterdam, his favourite N22 59 customer. He could no longer remember the title.

N22 60 As ever, Dance strolled through the Italian Renaissance rooms, N22 61 almost oblivious to the fact that he was in the Gallery (only the N22 62 Titians raised a glimmer of interest), until he reached the Early N22 63 Northern rooms where, as ever, he stopped in front of Holbein's N22 64 The Ambassadors. Though the trick that Holbein was N22 65 playing with an object in the foreground of the picture - a skull N22 66 that could only be recognized if the viewer crouched down in the N22 67 extreme lower left-hand corner, which otherwise looked like a N22 68 shapeless blotch in front of the two illustrious Frenchmen - had N22 69 long since lost its original fascination for Dance, he nevertheless N22 70 always stopped to look at it - from the correct angle, on N22 71 principle.

N22 72 Finally, he reached the first of a series of rooms that N22 73 contained for him all that he could wish for to keep him occupied, N22 74 especially as an escape from a sour mood. He started off in the N22 75 smallest room that contained the Dutch genre painters. The warden N22 76 by the doorway smiled briefly in recognition of yet another visit N22 77 by this young gangly man with the pale skin. Dance smiled back, N22 78 then went on to circle the room, stopping for a while at a painting N22 79 that depicted the remains of the municipal arsenal that had N22 80 exploded in Delft in 1654 causing fires and deaths, including that N22 81 of Carel Fabritius, a painter who had experimented with optical N22 82 effects, as in his wide-angle View in Delft in another N22 83 room. As Dance passed into the next room, he became aware of a N22 84 high-pitched squeaking, an almost dog-like sound coming from N22 85 somewhere outside the room he was in, which, if there had existed N22 86 such an expression, he would have referred to as N22 87 d<*_>e-acute<*/>j<*_>a-grave<*/> entendu. He knew he had heard N22 88 this sound before, but had forgotten about it until now. Would he N22 89 forget this time too? Going back into the previous room he realized N22 90 he could hear the sound there as well. Was he getting tinnitus? A N22 91 friend had described the illness. Dance scolded himself for being N22 92 paranoid; he was oversensitive about his eyesight and hearing, N22 93 forever afraid of losing the one or the other.

N22 94 After pondering awhile over the sublime Hendrickje Stoffels, N22 95 Rembrandt's companion and common-law wife till his dying days, N22 96 Dance reached his favourite room that contained Vermeer, de Hooch, N22 97 Metsu, Ter Borch, Fabritius, and many others. Dance was forever N22 98 trying to work out what was going on in these scenarios, so often N22 99 implying illicit liaisons and assignations. Reluctantly, Dance N22 100 looked at his watch, knowing that he would have to dash back. What N22 101 he saw at first filled him with a sense of relief, only to be N22 102 almost immediately supplanted by one of terror. It was only 12.07, N22 103 the exact time he had arrived at the Gallery almost an hour ago. N22 104 Either his watch had stopped the moment he had arrived in the N22 105 Gallery or he had left for lunch an hour early (surely he would N22 106 have been given a few odd looks, going out with his satchel and N22 107 jacket?).

N22 108 He had stopped at a painting he had not seen before. The N22 109 painter was anonymous, but the scene both totally familiar and yet N22 110 intriguing. A young man and woman are seated either side of a table N22 111 covered by an Ottoman carpet on which lies a book of sheet music. N22 112 He is playing a theorbo and she a lute. Standing behind them is the N22 113 music teacher, a gentleman of noble appearance in his early N22 114 fifties. On the table are a flask and three glasses of wine. As the N22 115 man turns the page, an unmistakable look passes between him and the N22 116 woman, to which the teacher is oblivious, so much is he N22 117 concentrating on the woman's playing. The three figures occupy the N22 118 centre of the painting, whilst a tapestry is hung over the back N22 119 wall. A dog sits by the edge of the tapestry next to the door. The N22 120 foreground is dominated by a grid of floor tiles which obviously N22 121 extend beyond the plane of the picture.

N22 122 The way Dance viewed the painting, the closer the tiles came, N22 123 the more distorted they seemed, as if shot through a wide-angle N22 124 lens. This effect was heightened by the two bays of windows to the N22 125 left of the room, whose receding lines contributed to the N22 126 claustrophobia of the painting's background. Almost unconsciously, N22 127 Dance fell into his usual habit of positioning himself as near to N22 128 the artist's original position as possible. He had read that in N22 129 certain cases, where the artist had used a camera obscura N22 130 - a dark room with a peep-hole and lens - it was possible to N22 131 calculate the exact position of the artist's eye. The image, it N22 132 seemed, would be thrown through the hole, inverted, onto the back N22 133 wall of the dark room, where the artist would trace over it. Dance N22 134 decided to return to the Gallery at the next possible opportunity, N22 135 but it couldn't be tonight as he'd arranged to play tennis with N22 136 Matthew.

N22 137 Back at work, after a few disapproving looks from his N22 138 colleagues at his tardiness (mercifully, Banks, the supervisor, was N22 139 out of the office, so he couldn't know how late Dance had been), N22 140 Dance remembered his watch. He barely took in the fact that it said N22 141 1.13. How could it be? Was his watch having its own lunch break N22 142 nowadays, resuming work only when its master decided to? He must N22 143 have had a temporary lapse. He'd imagined it was 12.07 when it was N22 144 1.07. It was true he was prone to temporary lapses of perception or N22 145 interpretation, but this had never been a serious problem, more a N22 146 source of amusement for his friends. He laughed inwardly when he N22 147 remembered how a few days earlier, whilst crossing the zebra to go N22 148 into Sloane Square Underground station, he had prematurely drawn N22 149 out his travel pass and waved it at the car waiting for him to go N22 150 across. Fortunately, the driver had either not noticed this bizarre N22 151 action or was too dumbfounded to react.

N22 152 Dance's mind was soon ambushed by the usual spate of N22 153 after-lunch telephone queries. The first was indeed a shock. It was N22 154 Kim. Where had he been? Hadn't they arranged to meet at lunchtime? N22 155 It was true. Dance had completely forgotten. He made a series of N22 156 feeble excuses, only for her to hang up on him. The explanation N22 157 would just have to wait until later tonight.

N22 158 Dance's resulting bad mood was only relieved when Miss N22 159 Groenehaven rang from Amsterdam. After the niceties were over he N22 160 told her about his most recent discovery in the Gallery. He knew N22 161 Miss Groenehaven liked to be kept informed about any recent N22 162 developments, as she came regularly to London. Dance knew nothing N22 163 about her, except that she specialised in translating from English N22 164 into Dutch, mainly art books, and that her father had recently N22 165 died. She must be about thirty-five, he guessed from her voice, a N22 166 deep voice that had a husky flavour to it so pleasurable that Dance N22 167 invariably found himself not concentrating on what order he was N22 168 writing down for her, so that he always had to ask her to repeat N22 169 it. Dance harboured the desire one day to meet Miss Groenehaven, N22 170 but could not as yet think of a way of indicating this without N22 171 embarrassment. It was true he could not know for sure what she was N22 172 like as a person, whether she was attractive in the flesh, but he N22 173 was forever fascinated by the possibility that a certain N22 174 compatibility between people who found each other attractive could N22 175 be intuited, even across a distance such as this. To Dance it was a N22 176 question of alignment, the formation of a regular pattern through a N22 177 seemingly arbitrary agglomeration of components.

N22 178 Miraculously, at mention of this new enigmatic picture in the N22 179 Gallery, Miss Groenehaven informed Dance that she was coming to N22 180 London for the weekend on Friday, in two days' time, and would make N22 181 a point of searching it out. Would she like him to set the books N22 182 aside so that she could call in and pick them up? Dance felt his N22 183 heart leap when she acquiesced to his offer.

N22 184 Now he had no need to make a clumsy invitation to her on the N22 185 phone to go to the Gallery with him. N22 186 N23 1 <#FLOB:N23\>Clive's Dog

N23 2 I ate my sandwiches. Fat Clive practised his throw in the shade N23 3 of the stacks. I didn't watch but listened to the light tappings of N23 4 the darts, the bounce of the board as he pulled them out three to a N23 5 fist. I worked my teeth into ham and cress, mustard which fired the N23 6 passages of the nose and made my eyes water. Clive swore as a dart N23 7 hit the wire. If you pushed him he called himself a N23 8 semi-professional. I knew from one of the drivers that over the N23 9 weekend he'd won a hundred quid and a picnic hamper.

N23 10 Fat Clive and I worked through the summer in the scaffolding N23 11 yard behind the dogs' home. We took turns with the forklift when N23 12 the long lorries from the sites backed through the gates. We freed N23 13 rusted clips with a hammer blow and stacked the poles and cradles, N23 14 the powdered lifts. A pole of the right length rang with a musical N23 15 tone when you dropped its end onto the concrete. The dogs next door N23 16 would be quiet for a while and then for no reason the noise would N23 17 start with croons and whinings and build to a panicked howl. If you N23 18 climbed the stacks in the angle of the yard you could see them in N23 19 the wire runs outside their kennels - mostly small or medium sized N23 20 dogs, ordinary and a bit measly-looking, like the people who get N23 21 into those sorts of situations. Sometimes there'd be smoke from the N23 22 tall stack of the crematorium and a smell like burnt dinner in the N23 23 air.

N23 24 When Clive finished playing he removed the flights of the darts N23 25 and folded them carefully into a special wallet. Without them the N23 26 silver bodies looked helpless on his fat palm. He put them away in N23 27 their case and then unscrewed the top of his thermos to let out the N23 28 steam of stewed tea.

N23 29 "Any wins lately?" I asked.

N23 30 He looked away from me into a corner of the stacks. The dogs N23 31 were yapping and creating. "Nothing N23 32 outstanding."

N23 33 He didn't like to talk about the game. Maybe he thought it was N23 34 unlucky or that it took the edge off his relish for it. And he was N23 35 a private kind of person despite occupying all that space.

N23 36 "Anything lined up?" I persisted against the N23 37 background of dog.

N23 38 "Coupla friendlies," he admitted.

N23 39 I separated a half of my last sandwich and offered it to him. A N23 40 piece of cress fell from the edge onto his knee. He flicked it away N23 41 with his thumb and shook his head.

N23 42 "Still on the diet?"

N23 43 "Trying to lose a few stone," he said.

N23 44 "Thought you blokes needed it for N23 45 stability."

N23 46 He put his head to one side, thinking about this. "Only N23 47 up to a point. After that it starts taking over ...

N23 48 "Talking back to you," I suggested.

N23 49 He stared over to the shadows in the stacks. "Yeah, N23 50 that's it: it's like you've got somebody in there with N23 51 you."

N23 52 The dogs had calmed down but now they started clamouring again. N23 53 Clive bent over his tea, his hands clasped around the plastic mug, N23 54 hiding it with those pork-sausage fingers.

N23 55 Clive rented a low ground-floor room with an iron-framed bed in N23 56 one corner and a sink and cooker in the other. He rolled his own N23 57 and used fast-food containers as ashtrays so that there was always N23 58 a faint smell of take-away. French windows stopped with wadded N23 59 newspaper and insulating tape opened on rare days of the years onto N23 60 a sunken yard and the dustbins of the neighbours. There was the N23 61 slope of a defunct rockery and then a grey-green froth of garden N23 62 stretching at eye level to the chain-link fence of the railway. The N23 63 garden was terminally untended, its plantations of thistle and N23 64 ragwort rooted in packed earth with glass and broken crockery. Tom N23 65 cats spat and fought among the dry stalks. Clive's place was a few N23 66 streets from mine and I'd stop off with a couple of cans now and N23 67 again. One night he started to talk about the past and told me that N23 68 he'd killed someone.

N23 69 "Who?" I asked.

N23 70 He pulled a face as if that wasn't a fair question. N23 71 "Just some bloke. I didn't want to but he had to N23 72 go." Then he looked placid an thoughtful. He sat in the N23 73 easy-chair and stared at his bare feet on the imitation sheepskin N23 74 rug.

N23 75 "Wasn't he missed?"

N23 76 "No one would miss that bastard."

N23 77 "What about his family?"

N23 78 "Especially not them."

N23 79 I sipped from my lager and looked towards the french windows. I N23 80 suppose I felt lumbered, as if he'd given me something useless and N23 81 too big for the bin. What can you do with information like that?

N23 82 "I thought it was all over but I've been thinking about N23 83 it lately," Clive said. "You could say I'm carrying N23 84 it around with me." He smiled to show me it was his little N23 85 joke and then rolled up the front of his T-shirt to expose his N23 86 belly.

N23 87 "Look," he said.

N23 88 I played the innocent. "What's that?"

N23 89 "Look," he ordered.

N23 90 I thought about pregnancy and then tried not to. Clive's belly N23 91 sagged over the waistband of his trousers almost into his lap, N23 92 distorted by its own weight as if it held a dense liquid. The flesh N23 93 was taut and had a slight shine to it, a sheen. The compressed N23 94 navel was like a closed eye.

N23 95 I didn't mention the murder again. I thought it was a private N23 96 matter, personal to him. A couple of times he seemed on the verge N23 97 of saying more but then his face would set and he'd change the N23 98 subject. He moved wearily among the stacks, grunting and wheezing, N23 99 sweating more than was natural. He was exhausted by the end of the N23 100 long days and I could see that the flab was taking its toll.

N23 101 In the stickiest part of the summer, he acquired a dog - a N23 102 black labrador cross but already old and dragging a hind-leg N23 103 through rheumatism or some accident. It was greying at the muzzle N23 104 and along the back and the angles of its rear-end were as sharp as N23 105 a blade. The disk of a cataract gave its left eye a milky stare, a N23 106 ghost look. Clive led it limping into the yard on a length of N23 107 plastic clothes-line.

N23 108 "Won it in a game yesterday," he said.

N23 109 "That was the prize?"

N23 110 "A side-bet. Won a colour TV as well. A N23 111 portable."

N23 112 He led the dog to the shade of the stacks and squatted down to N23 113 stroke the side of its head. The dog leaned into the fat of his N23 114 palm. The yapping started up in the kennels beyond the chain-link, N23 115 and it pushed up its nose to sample the panic on the air. The N23 116 milk-eye swivelled with the other but gazed into itself, the sight N23 117 striking back from the blank of the cataract.

N23 118 "It's old," I told him.

N23 119 "So?"

N23 120 "They get things wrong with them at that age. They get N23 121 all kinds of diseases."

N23 122 "The thing's better off alive than dead," Clive N23 123 said.

N23 124 He went into the offices and cadged a plastic washing-up bowl. N23 125 He filled it at the tap and the dog lapped the water as if it was N23 126 parched to the bone. In the hot afternoon it dozed on a strip of N23 127 matting in the shade of the sheds, lying with its blind eye N23 128 covered. The good eye watched over Clive as he worked or practised. N23 129 The big lorries backed in from the sites and the drivers fed the N23 130 dog scraps of their lunches through the afternoon.

N23 131 In Clive's room the dog lay on the imitation sheepskin and N23 132 farted without a sound into the close air. He made another roll-up N23 133 of strong Dutch tobacco and told me it had internal problems. His N23 134 game was going well and he was talking about turning fully pro but N23 135 first he needed to lose that couple of stone. The dog had already N23 136 laid an inch of unstable fat over its bones.

N23 137 He called for me once of twice on his way to matches. The dog N23 138 flopped full-length onto the carpet as if the half-mile walk had N23 139 exhausted it. Clive told me he needed moral support, said he was N23 140 too much the dark horse, always the fat-bastard outsider, that he'd N23 141 never attracted a loyal crowd.

N23 142 "People don't appreciate the effort I make," he N23 143 complained. "They think it's the flab that does the N23 144 throwing; they don't know the hours I put in, refining my N23 145 technique."

N23 146 The pub was in the shadow of the new cold-store. A big local N23 147 presence was cheering for the other guy who looked an agile fifteen N23 148 stone and wore a red cowboy shirt with fringes. Sandwiches and N23 149 bite-sized sausage-rolls circulated on N23 150 tin-<}_><-|>tays<+|>trays<}/> with doilies and there was a N23 151 half-hundred in the pot with something over that in side-bets. I N23 152 took charge of the dog and squeezed near the bar for an N23 153 unrestricted view over the cold-snacks counter. The animal was N23 154 nervous and twitchy, because of the occasion or because it sensed N23 155 the proximity of all that frozen meat. Clive leaned what seemed too N23 156 far forward and the darts were slivers of silver between his finger N23 157 and thumb. He waited for silence with his chin lifted. His face N23 158 shone with concentration. The clatter and noise dropped for a N23 159 second and he threw with hardly a movement as if the dart had N23 160 strained for the board and he'd just needed to open his hand.

N23 161 He did well in a few more tournaments and was in line for the N23 162 big money. He had his greasy hair trimmed and styled and a small N23 163 symbol of crossed darts below a skull tattooed onto his left N23 164 shoulder. It was the heyday of the dog and he led it to work on a N23 165 short chain leash attached to a studded collar. Its limp had almost N23 166 disappeared and now it began to develop territorial ambitions, N23 167 lifting up its leg to squirt at corners. When the wailing and N23 168 yapping started from the lost dogs it answered with throaty barks N23 169 which hung on the air.

N23 170 I paid them a call one night. The french windows were open onto N23 171 the bins and greenery and I saw the dog's greying arse among a N23 172 clump of thistles. There was a snapping and commotion as it went N23 173 for a scent. Clive was shaving in the mirror above the sink, N23 174 angling the razor carefully in his big finger. His spotted back N23 175 looked already straighter, the weight more concentrated in the N23 176 shoulders. When he turned around I saw that he was loosing that N23 177 look of stalled pregnancy. He pulled one of his fancy new shirts N23 178 from the back of a chair.

N23 179 "Dog's happy," I said.

N23 180 He looked proud. He buttoned the shirt, smiling back at himself N23 181 in the mirror. "Yeah: thing'll be baying the moon N23 182 next."

N23 183 I had some money saved by then. I thought about quitting the N23 184 job and going abroad. I was one of the aimless and rootless. Clive N23 185 won a tournament sponsored by the local paper and the dog died. I N23 186 think in that order. He phoned me early one night and said come N23 187 around and bring the van. The dog was ill and in pain and he N23 188 thought it might have swallowed rat-poison or broken glass.

N23 189 When I arrived it was stretched out on the rug and breathing N23 190 shallowly and quietly as if it was asleep. The gas fire was on and N23 191 the room felt too hot and smelt of dog and take-away. When I went N23 192 close I saw that its blind eye was open and staring backwards as if N23 193 it was looking for something coming up from behind. Suddenly it N23 194 pushed its legs out stiffly and hollowed its back, crooning to N23 195 itself.

N23 196 Clive was sitting on the bed still in his work clothes, half N23 197 rolling cigarettes and then forgetting about them, letting the N23 198 strands of tobacco spill onto his lap. I looked up the numbers of a N23 199 couple of vets and rang around. I could feel him looking at me and N23 200 when I turned he asked, "Do you think there's an after-life N23 201 for animals?"

N23 202 N24 1 <#FLOB:N24\>THE FIFE ADVENTURERS

N24 2 Helen Cook tells the story of the 'Gentilmen adventuraris' and N24 3 their followers who were sent to Lewis by James VI to bring law and N24 4 order to this 'most barbourous Isle'.

N24 5 THE 'sturt and strife' the lawlessness of the Highlands and N24 6 Islands - had long been a matter of great concern to James VI, as N24 7 indeed it had been also to the earlier Stuart kings. A number of N24 8 circumstances focused James VI's attention on Lewis in particular. N24 9 It was at this time owned by a branch of the powerful Clan Macleod, N24 10 and in the last years of the old Chief Ruari or Rory Macleod, who N24 11 died c. 1595, Lewis was torn by ferocious family feuding over who N24 12 was to succeed him on his death. There were a number of claimants, N24 13 for the old man had been married three times, and had fathered a N24 14 brood of illegitimate sons besides the legitimate offspring from N24 15 his lawful marriages.

N24 16 In the last decades of the 16th century Lewis had acquired the N24 17 reputation of possessing great undeveloped agricultural and fishing N24 18 wealth. The rich herring fishing could have been developed by N24 19 Scottish and Dutch fishermen and so brought the impecunious James N24 20 VI some highly desirable revenue, but the Lewismen guarded their N24 21 waters too jealously.

N24 22 To pave the way for bringing law and order to the Highlands and N24 23 Islands, an Act of December 1597 decreed that all those who owned N24 24 land and fisheries in the latter must present their title to such N24 25 possessions in person before the Lords of the Exchequer in N24 26 Edinburgh not later than May 1598. The owners were also ordered to N24 27 provide security for their future good behaviour. Failure to comply N24 28 with the Act would result in lands and fisheries being confiscated N24 29 by the Crown.

N24 30 Torquil Dubh (Black Torquil) the late Chief of the Macleods of N24 31 Lewis, and son of and successor to old Ruari Macleod - had been in N24 32 his day declared a rebel, and the title deeds to Lewis had been N24 33 carried off by Torquil Conanach, Torquil Dubh's murderer and rival N24 34 for the Chieftainship of Lewis. They had been entrusted to the N24 35 safekeeping of the powerful Mackenize of Kintail, and were not N24 36 available to be presented in Edinburgh. Because of this, the Crown N24 37 wasted no time in taking possession of Lewis.

N24 38 Events moved quickly after the island became Crown Land, and N24 39 the 28th June 1598 saw a contract signed and sealed between James N24 40 VI and a group of 'gentilmen aventuraris' which included Patrick, N24 41 Commendator of Lindores in North Fife, James Learmonth of Balcomie N24 42 Castle near Crail, Sir James Anstruther the Younger of that Ilk, N24 43 James Spens of Wormiston, Sir William Stewart, Commendator of N24 44 Pittenweem, Sir James Sandilands of Slamanno, Captain William N24 45 Murray, John Forret of Fingask, Sir, George Home of Wedderburn, N24 46 David Home, younger of Wedderburn, and the King's cousin, Ludovic, N24 47 Duke of Lennox and Darnley. They quickly earned the nickname the N24 48 'Fife Adventurers', most of them having a connection with Fife.

N24 49 The group was authorised by James VI "to plant policy N24 50 and civilisation in the hitherto most barbourous Isle of Lewis, N24 51 with Rona-Lewis, and Trotternish, and to develop the N24 52 extraordinarily rich resources of the same for the public good, and N24 53 the King's profit". The Lowland settlers of Lewis were to N24 54 do this "at their own costs and charges", but N24 55 undoubtedly they had high hopes of making a handsome personal N24 56 profit.

N24 57 As part of the contract they were to build four parish kirks in N24 58 Lewis and Rona, two in Trotternish, and establish burghs of barony. N24 59 James VI was to receive from the new settlers a yearly rent in the N24 60 form of bere barley - the first payment being made with the crop of N24 61 1600.

N24 62 In November 1598, the Fife Adventurers set sail from Leith. On N24 63 board with the 'gentilmen aventuraris' were tradesmen, between 500 N24 64 and 600 mercenary soldiers, Robert Durie, and Anstruther minister N24 65 and a few other interested parties. The whole expedition was under N24 66 the command of the Duke of Lennox, who was appointed Lieutenant of N24 67 Lewis.

N24 68 James VI endeavoured to ensure a safe voyage and landing for N24 69 the settlers by ordering that all the Isles' birlins - boats with N24 70 12 to 18 oars - and the even larger single-sailed galleys of the N24 71 Western Isles, should be destroyed by those in authority in the N24 72 area.

N24 73 The settlers landed in a sullen and hostile Lewis ruled by N24 74 Murdoch and Neil Macleod, bastard sons of old Ruari Macleod. The N24 75 island had been left "spoyled ... voyd and bare" by N24 76 recent inter-clan fighting. As to be expected, the Adventurers N24 77 encountered resistance and there was some fighting, but Stornoway N24 78 Castle fell to the settlers in December 1598. Murdoch Macleod flew N24 79 Lewis to fight another day, but Neil, a hardy and indefatigable N24 80 fighter, stayed on to harass the settlers at every opportunity.

N24 81 During the first winter the Fifers found not only the islanders N24 82 hostile, but also Lewis itself. The cold dampness rusted steel N24 83 weapons and armour in a matter of three weeks. The winter of N24 84 1598-99 was a daunting and traumatic experience for the Lowland N24 85 settlers as there had been no time to construct permanent buildings N24 86 to provide proper shelter. Dysentery broke out, and supplies of N24 87 food and necessities became dangerously low as the Lewismen N24 88 practised a policy of non-co-operation with the settlers.

N24 89 Learmonth of Balcomie sailed from Lewis to bring back supplies N24 90 to see the Adventurers through the winter. His mission was never N24 91 completed for his ship was attacked and captured by Murdoch N24 92 Macleod. Learmonth, and the few others of his company left alive, N24 93 were taken prisoner and held for ransom in the Summer Isles. The N24 94 worldly and sophisticated Laird of Balcomie Castle never saw Fife N24 95 again, for after he was freed from his incarceration on the Summer N24 96 Isles he died weakened and ill in Orkney.

N24 97 When news of Learmonth's capture reached Lewis, Colonel N24 98 Stewart, and Spens of Wormiston set out to complete Learmonth's N24 99 mission. In their absence Neil Macleod attacked the settlers with N24 100 fire and sword. Twenty of them were killed, valuable property was N24 101 burned, and domestic animals stolen. The raid left the settlers in N24 102 dire straits, and James VI furious.

N24 103 In July 1599, Lennox and the Marquie of Huntly were appointed N24 104 by the King as Lieutenants and Justices in the Highlands and N24 105 Islands. James VI authorised them to "prosequite with fyre, N24 106 sword, and all kind of hostilitie" all those who opposed N24 107 the Fife Adventurers in Lewis, for he was determined that they N24 108 would "plant policy and civilization" on the N24 109 island.

N24 110 Bitter dissension between Murdoch and Neil Macleod led to a N24 111 most unlikely entente between Neil and the Adventurers, who wanted N24 112 revenge on Murdoch for the death of Learmonth. They told Neil that N24 113 if he delivered his brother into their hands, they would obtain a N24 114 free pardon for him, and give him a grant of land in Lewis.

N24 115 Murdoch Macleod and 12 of his men fell into Neil's hands and N24 116 the 12 were beheaded, the heads being conveyed in a sack to N24 117 Edinburgh to be displayed above the city's gates. As for Murdoch, N24 118 he was imprisoned in Balcomie Castle, and tried in St Andrews. He N24 119 was found guilty of the crimes of which he was accused, and was N24 120 hanged, drawn, and quartered, and his head spiked on Edinburgh's N24 121 Netherbow, all as directed by James VI. It was a grisly warning to N24 122 all who opposed the settlement plan.

N24 123 Neil Macleod received a free pardon from James VI, and returned N24 124 to continue his somewhat uneasy and fragile co-operation with the N24 125 settlers.

N24 126 By now, too, the Fife Adventurers were well aware that the N24 127 powerful and subtle Mackenzie of Kintail with his friends in high N24 128 places was not and never had been their friend.

N24 129 The year 1600 saw the confirmation by parliament of the legal N24 130 rights of the 'Fife Adventurers' in Lewisand their other lands. N24 131 James VI smiled on the settling of Lewis, and empowered the company N24 132 of settlers amongst other things to build harbours and havens, and N24 133 to keep harbour 'petty dues'. However, the settlers had to render N24 134 to the king all the 'great customs' on all other imports and N24 135 exports, including fish.

N24 136 A busy time lay ahead for the settlers for at the beginning of N24 137 October 1600, in St Andrews, they further confirmed and pledged N24 138 themselves to plan and build a town in Lewis. After completion, the N24 139 remaining land was to be equally divided among themselves.

N24 140 James VI also suggested that the settlers should open inns, so N24 141 that travellers visiting could find suitable lodgings, for 16th N24 142 century Lewismen had the reputation of presenting an unwelcoming N24 143 face to strangers. The Fifers were also empowered to build an N24 144 increased number of churches, and a school.

N24 145 At this time, friendly relations still existed between Neil N24 146 Macleod and the settlers, but disaster struck when Macleod N24 147 quarrelled bitterly with Spens of Wormiston. This quarrel was to N24 148 seal the fate of the Lowland colony. At the beginning of December N24 149 1601, under the cover of darkness, a party of settlers led by Spens N24 150 of Wormiston set out to capture the militant and troublesome Neil N24 151 Macleod, who had begun to harry the settlement once more. Neil N24 152 turned the tables on his would-be captors, ambushed the settlers N24 153 led by Spens, and killed almost 60 of them.

N24 154 Mackenzie of Kintail, watching events from the mainland, now N24 155 released Tormod Macleod, the brother of Torquil Dubh, former chief N24 156 of the Macleods of Lewis, and sent him to Lewis. As Kintail N24 157 expected, Neil and the Lewismen rallied round the brother of their N24 158 old Chief, and Lewis led by Tormod Macleod rose in revolt against N24 159 the Fife Adventurers.

N24 160 Events moved quickly. Tormod and his supporters attacked and N24 161 burned the settlement, the 'prettie toun' of stone and timber N24 162 beside the old Castle of Stornoway, and the settlers' fort. The N24 163 latter resisted stubbornly and many were killed, those left being N24 164 forced to surrender unconditionally. Tormod agreed to free the N24 165 settlers if they made over to him all their rights in Lewis, and N24 166 obtained for him and his followers a free royal pardon. However, N24 167 the settlers were to leave Spens of Wormiston and his son-in-law N24 168 Thomas Monypenny of Kinkell, by St Andrews, in Lewis as hostages, N24 169 until Tormod's conditions were carried out. In time they were, and N24 170 Tormod, an honourable and generous man within the context of his N24 171 times, was left in possession of Lewis, as chief of the Macleods, N24 172 with Neil Macleod as his right-hand man.

N24 173 So ended the first attempt by the Fife Adventurers to plant N24 174 policy and civilisation in Lewis.

N24 175 Undoubtedly the attempt to settle had been a loss-making N24 176 enterprise for the settlers, but the bringing of the King's law to N24 177 the Western Isles and the settling of Lewis with its N24 178 "incredible fertility of corns and plenty of N24 179 fishes", had become almost an obsession with James VI, and N24 180 still fired his imagination. In June 1602, he had asked Parliament N24 181 for money to send an army to conquer Lewis, a request which was N24 182 refused.

N24 183 However, March 1603 saw the company of 'gentilmen aventuraris' N24 184 in spite of financial difficulties, decreeing that each should by N24 185 July 1604, provide 30 well-armed soldiers, and supplies, and that N24 186 the company of settlers should again sail to Lewis, and stay there N24 187 for one year under the penalty of pounds1,000. Each settler was to N24 188 build himself a substantial dwelling of stone capable of defence. N24 189 The King, however, agreed that their pact would be null and void N24 190 "if the King by his own forces possessed them not in Lewis N24 191 by midsummer next ..." The settlers were to pay James VI N24 192 rent in silver and fishes for Lewis.

N24 193 In the event it wasn't until August 1605, that the settlers N24 194 sailed once more for Lewis which was still ruled by the young Chief N24 195 Tormod Macleod. The Union of the Crowns in 1603, and the departure N24 196 of James VI for London, had acted like a punctuation mark in the N24 197 whole affair.

N24 198 The settlers in 1605 were accompanied, besides their own N24 199 soldiers, by a large military force of men raised by the King from N24 200 the North and West. James VI was determined that would be settled N24 201 by Lowlanders, and the Macleods of Lewis, "an infamous byke N24 202 of lawless limmers" and others like them, were to be rooted N24 203 out.

N24 204 N25 1 <#FLOB:N25\>BRUCE'S SECRET WEAPON

N25 2 Archie McKerracher

N25 3 BANNOCKBURN is acknowledged as one of the most remarkable N25 4 victories in the history of warfare. It is still almost N25 5 unbelievable how Robert the Bruce's army of common folk, N25 6 outnumbered three to one, took on the greatest war machine in N25 7 medieval Europe and destroyed it so completely.

N25 8 But there are many puzzling aspects to the traditional story of N25 9 Bannockburn. Firstly, Bruce's small army of around 6000 was N25 10 composed mainly of foot soldiers. There were highly trained and N25 11 highly disciplined at a time when infantry was usually poorly led N25 12 and disorganised, and took a secondary role in battles. In fact, N25 13 the Scottish troops were of a calibre never found again in any N25 14 battle between Scots and English. The four battalions of spearmen, N25 15 each formed into a 1000-strong schiltrom, moved and fought as N25 16 one. Each man would place his left arm upon the shoulder of the man N25 17 in front until the schiltrom formed a homogenous mass through which N25 18 no armoured cavalry charge could penetrate.

N25 19 The small troop of light cavalry commanded by Keith carried out N25 20 their orders to the letter, no more, no less. They cleverly N25 21 anticipated the tactics of the Welsh archers who tried to pour N25 22 arrows on the Scots' flank, as they had done at the Battle of N25 23 Falkirk 16 years before, and quickly put them to flight. It as N25 24 though someone had fought on the English side at Falkirk was now N25 25 directing the Scots' strategy at Bannockburn.

N25 26 It is curious that the Scottish soldiers were so well equipped. N25 27 Each man possessed several items: a leather headpiece and steel N25 28 helmet; a thick padded leather coat; a pair of protective and N25 29 flexible steel gloves for holding the shaft of his iron-tipped, N25 30 12-foot spear; and knives, axes, and swords as personal weapons. N25 31 Where did all this equipment come from and how was it paid for? N25 32 Swords, weapons, and spear shafts were usually imported from the N25 33 Continent and cost a great deal of money. Even at Culloden in 1746 N25 34 many of the Highlanders were armed only with scythe blades attached N25 35 to poles.

N25 36 Scotland in 1314 was a land wracked by 20 years of war. Its N25 37 economy and its agriculture were laid waste. Many of the wealthy N25 38 lowland nobility were fighting on the English side. How then did N25 39 the Scottish army receive such extensive and expensive equipment N25 40 when the English fleet controlled both the Irish and North Seas, N25 41 and how was the equipment paid for when our treasury was empty? N25 42 How, too, did Bruce devise the brilliant tactics of this set-piece N25 43 battle when nothing in his previous record suggests he was N25 44 anything more than a competent guerilla<&|sic!> commander?

N25 45 It will be remembered that by mid-day on 24th June 1314, the N25 46 6000 Scots were utterly exhausted after fighting non-stop for N25 47 eight hours in the summer heat. However, very few English had been N25 48 killed by that time and only a small percentage of their N25 49 20,000strong army had actually come into contact with the Scots. N25 50 The steady pressure of the massed schiltroms simply pushed back the N25 51 English armoured knights before they could move, penning the rest N25 52 of their army behind them between the tidal Pelstream and Bannock N25 53 Burns. Then came the renowned appearance of the Scots camp N25 54 followers which caused the English ranks first to waver and then to N25 55 break in panic.

N25 56 It was really fear that destroyed Edward's army, but fear of N25 57 what? Contrary to tradition, the so-called camp followers did not N25 58 tie towels and blankets to poles and come running down Gillies N25 59 Hill, and neither were they simply servants and cooks. The name of N25 60 the hill and the story itself are 18th century inventions. N25 61 Barbour's Bruce says they were yeomen with spears plus some N25 62 lesser people who were stationed in the valley between Gillies Hill N25 63 and Coxethill, through which the M9 motorway now runs. This then N25 64 was part of the wooded New Park and so these 1000 men, mainly from N25 65 Argyll, would not be visible until they reached the escarpment at N25 66 St Ninians leading down to the carse. Further, they were not N25 67 running, but marching in military order behind captains, and the N25 68 move was not impromptu, but apparently anticipated by the Scots. N25 69 Yet these newcomers alone would not have inspired such fear for N25 70 their numbers and quality would have been identifiable at such N25 71 short range.

N25 72 I suggest that what broke Edward's army was the sight of the N25 73 men who led them, perhaps no more than 50 or 60 in number; men who N25 74 wore their hair close-cropped and their beards long; who wore N25 75 chain mail, and over it a white smock emblazoned with a splayed red N25 76 cross, the famous cross patte. They marched beneath their N25 77 black and white banner called The Beauseant, and were instantly N25 78 recognisable to the front rank of the English as Poor Knights of N25 79 the Temple of Solomon, or Knights Templar, the Warrior Monks. They N25 80 were renowned as the most battle-hardened, highly-trained and N25 81 ferocious fighters in the realms of chivalry, yet strangely, their N25 82 Christian Order had recently been condemned to Hell by the Pope and N25 83 excommunicated in every country in Christendom - except N25 84 Scotland.

N25 85 The Order of Poor Knights of Christ and the Temple of Solomon N25 86 was founded in Jerusalem in 1118 by nine Crusaders. Its specific N25 87 purpose was to keep the highways safe for pilgrims in the Holy N25 88 Land, and in recognition of this worthy cause the King of N25 89 Jerusalem, Baudouin I, gave them a wing of the royal palace. This N25 90 was reputedly built on the foundations of Solomon's Temple and from N25 91 this the new Order took its name. The Order of Solomon's Temple N25 92 grew in size and the sons of European nobility flocked to join. New N25 93 knights took an oath of poverty, chastity, and obedience and were N25 94 highly trained in all aspects of warfare. They were forbidden to N25 95 shave and wore white surcoats with the distinctive spayed red N25 96 cross. They were obliged to fight to the death and never retreat. N25 97 They combined religious mysticism with a reputation as ferocious N25 98 fighters and became famed as the Warrior Monks, or Knights N25 99 Templar.

N25 100 Pope Innocent II in 1139 issued a Bull stating the Templars N25 101 were responsible only to the Pope, and not subject to secular or N25 102 church authority in any country. Gifts of land and money were N25 103 showered upon the Order which soon developed into an international N25 104 empire headed by a Grand Master. Money could be deposited with a N25 105 Templar bank in Jerusalem and withdrawn in London on presentation N25 106 of a chit and secret gestures. In fact, the Order is credited with N25 107 inventing the cheque. The Templars had their own fleet which N25 108 initially transported pilgrims and, later, all manner of goods. N25 109 They also had their own armourers, architects, stonemasons, N25 110 hospitals, surveyors etc.

N25 111 In Scotland the Templars held vast lands, more <}_><-|> N25 112 that<+|>than<}/> 500 properties in country and towns. David I had N25 113 invited the Order to his kingdom in 1128 and kept a number of N25 114 knights around his person, "retaining beside him the most N25 115 noble brethren of the distinguished military order of The Temple of N25 116 Jerusalem, he made them by day and night the custodians of his N25 117 morals", according to a contemporary writer. They were N25 118 also, no doubt, the custodians of his person.

N25 119 All parts of Scotland, except the West Highlands, contributed N25 120 heritable property to the Order. The principal preceptory and N25 121 Scottish headquarters was at Balantrodoch, now Temple, in N25 122 Midlothian. The other preceptories included Temple Liston, or Kirk N25 123 Liston, near Edinburgh Airport; Temple in north-west Glasgow; N25 124 Temple Denny near Falkirk; Thankerton in Lanarkshire; and N25 125 Maryculter in Aberdeenshire. The latter name derives form the N25 126 Chapel of St Mary, founded by the Templars in 1187 after William N25 127 the Lion granted them 8500 acres there. Templars' Park at N25 128 Maryculter is now the name of a Boy Scout camping and training N25 129 ground.

N25 130 Brian de Jay, Master of the Templars in Scotland in 1298, N25 131 brought north the large body of Welsh archers who fought in Edward N25 132 I's army against William Wallace. The Welsh troops stayed first at N25 133 Balantrodoch, the principal Templar base, before marching on to N25 134 join the English army at the Battle of Falkirk in July 1298. During N25 135 the battle it was Templars who directed the devasting arrow power N25 136 that broke the Scottish spear schiltroms, and it was Templar N25 137 Knights who led the final cavalry charge that destroyed Wallace's N25 138 army. Templars in the British Isles came under the jurisdiction of N25 139 the Master of the London Temple.

N25 140 In 1291 the Holy Land finally fell to the Saracens with the N25 141 capture of the fortress of Acre. The Templars defended the castle N25 142 to the death after placing the women and children on the last N25 143 galleys. The headquarters of the Order then moved to Cyprus, but N25 144 with the loss of the Holy Land the Templars were obliged to find N25 145 another reason for their existence. The Order was now unbelievably N25 146 wealthy, dealing in commerce on a grand scale and lending vast sums N25 147 of money to governments and kings. The headquarters in Britain were N25 148 at The Temple in London where their typical circular church still N25 149 survives. Here were kept the English crown jewels, pawned to the N25 150 Templars in 1260 by Henry III to raise funds for his frequent N25 151 warring expeditions.

N25 152 However, as time went on the Templars became arrogant and N25 153 dissolute and "to drink like a Templar" became a N25 154 catchphrase. Strange rumours began to surround the Order. It was N25 155 said the Knights repudiated the crucifixion, spat upon the Cross N25 156 and held all manner of obscene rituals. They had certainly absorbed N25 157 both Judaic and Islamic beliefs, and esoteric knowledge, through N25 158 their long connection with the Middle East and had adopted much N25 159 that was alien to orthodox Christianity.

N25 160 Their downfall came in 1306 when Philippe IV of France took N25 161 refuge form a mob in the Paris Temple and was stunned by the wealth N25 162 he saw. He was also aggrieved at being refused admittance to the N25 163 Order and alarmed that the Templars intended forming an independent N25 164 kingdom in southern France. In October 1307, he ordered the arrest N25 165 of all Templars in France. Many were hideously tortured, although N25 166 the Preceptor of France is said to have fled along with 18 of the N25 167 Order's galleys and much of the Paris Temple's wealth. Pope Clement N25 168 V was persuaded to excommunicate all Templars for heresy and N25 169 ordered their arrest in every kingdom in Christendom.

N25 170 In 1312 the Order was officially dissolved by the Pope, and in N25 171 March, 1314, Jacques de Molay, Grand Master of the Order of Poor N25 172 Knights of Christ and the Temple, was roasted to death over a slow N25 173 fire on the Ile de Seine in Paris. The order was finished.

N25 174 In January 1309, Edward II of England ordered Sir John de N25 175 Segrave, his appointed Guardian of Scotland, to arrest all Templars N25 176 still at large in the country and report them to the Inquisitor's N25 177 Deputy. This latter official was Bishop William Lamberton of St N25 178 Andrews who had been released form Winchester Castle the year N25 179 before, after taking a new oath of allegiance to Edward II, and had N25 180 gone directly from there to Rome to visit the Pope.

N25 181 Back home, the wily Lamberton paid lip service to the Pope's N25 182 edicts and the English king's instructions, but remained totally N25 183 committed to the cause of the excommunicated Robert the Bruce and N25 184 Scottish independence. It is not difficult to imagine the bargain N25 185 Lamberton made with the two important Templars he interrogated at N25 186 Holyrood in December 1309. Far from questioning them on heresy, it N25 187 is more than likely he made them an offer: "Supply us with N25 188 arms, money and expertise and we will give the Templars sanctuary N25 189 in the only land where the Pope's writ does not run." N25 190 Because of conditions in Scotland the papal Bulls were never N25 191 proclaimed here and legally the Templars were never dissolved.

N25 192 From that time on the fortunes of Robert the Bruce took a N25 193 dramatic turn for the better. War material began arriving in N25 194 Scotland from Ireland in considerable quantity. This so alarmed the N25 195 English authorities that Edward II issued an edict in 1310 to his N25 196 officials in Ireland "prohibiting under the highest N25 197 penalties all the exportation of provisions, horses, armour, and N25 198 other supplies from ports where any vessel touches... to the N25 199 insurgent Scots which he hears is carried on by merchants in N25 200 Ireland".

N25 201 N26 1 <#FLOB:N26\>WHAT WILL TOMORROW BRING?

N26 2 War-time France was no place for a young couple to make plans N26 3 for the future - not when the rest of the world was living for the N26 4 moment!

N26 5 IT was just another Monday. A dull, winter's day when black N26 6 clouds scudded across a grey sky.

N26 7 I was sipping coffee and browsing through the morning paper N26 8 when the doorbell rang. Humming to myself, I went into the hall and N26 9 opened the door.

N26 10 A tall man stood on the step. He had thick, grey hair, a tanned N26 11 face and incredible blue eyes beneath well-etched brows.

N26 12 My face froze and the floor beneath my feet suddenly seemed N26 13 frighteningly uneven.

N26 14 Grasping the door frame for support, my eyes searched the face N26 15 that had danced beneath the surface of my consciousness for years; N26 16 the face I had never, ever thought I would see again.

N26 17 "Hello, Genevieve," he said, and the voice was N26 18 exactly as I remembered it; silken, rich as dark chocolate.

N26 19 Genevieve, he called me resurrecting a past that had lived on N26 20 in my heart, bringing alive again the girl I used to be. No-one N26 21 had called me that for years and years. I had been Jenny for so N26 22 very long!

N26 23 And yet... well, I had never forgotten Genevieve, my other N26 24 self, that other life and that magical time long ago, any more than N26 25 I had ceased to wonder what might have been.

N26 26 "Raul?" I whispered in disbelief. "Raul?"

N26 27 He nodded, his hands reaching for mine, grasping them tightly N26 28 to his chest, bridging the years and erasing the pain of N26 29 separation.

N26 30 And then came the tears.

N26 31 <*_>four-stars<*/>

N26 32 JUANS les PINS, 1944.

N26 33 It began and ended in November - a few short days of quiet N26 34 contentment and blissful happiness.

N26 35 It was a time of stolen hours, of Raul's arms holding me N26 36 tightly, and of his blue, blue eyes looking lovingly into mine.

N26 37 It was hard to believe there was a war on.

N26 38 The house that had been lent to us was small and shabbily N26 39 elegant. It was a pink stucco confection with an ornate iron N26 40 balustrade. Inside, it had been thoughtfully furnished with early N26 41 French pieces.

N26 42 We found the key, as directed, under a plantpot on the N26 43 terrace.

N26 44 I remember my happiness... and my sadness, too. And as if N26 45 sensing both, Raul turned to me and said gently, "It wasn't N26 46 meant to be like this, Genevieve."

N26 47 "I know." I laid my head on his chest.

N26 48 "Are you sure?" His hand cupped my chin, his N26 49 eyes searched my face anxiously.

N26 50 "How long have we got?" I asked by way of N26 51 reply.

N26 52 "Four days," he said, drawing me to him. Yet it N26 53 all sped by so quickly in a welter of laughter and teasing and N26 54 love...

N26 55 On that last night together, Raul turned to me to say sadly, N26 56 "When all this madness is over, we'll come back here, N26 57 Genevieve. We'll buy this house, get married. Our children will N26 58 play free in the gardens."

N26 59 I couldn't for the life of me reply.

N26 60 Instead I thrust back the tears and my searching had found N26 61 his.

N26 62 It was just a dream, that's all. Who knew what tomorrow would N26 63 bring? So many people were lost to us, my own parents included, in N26 64 circumstances I cannot to this day bear to think about.

N26 65 I was 17 in years and 70 in experience. All I had left to hold N26 66 on to and love was Raul... and there were times when he was forced N26 67 to leave me for days on end. Days and nights when I could scarcely N26 68 eat or sleep for fear of what was happening.

N26 69 He never said where he went, what he did, and I never asked. It N26 70 wasn't safe to know. That was the world we lived in.

N26 71 I had vowed not to sleep that night. I wanted to hold every N26 72 precious second, store it to memory. But weariness eventually won N26 73 and sleep claimed me.

N26 74 It must have been a sixth sense that woke me. Raul was standing N26 75 by the bed, looking down at me.

N26 76 The moon that lit the room shone full on his face. his eyes N26 77 held a message for me. Unfathomable, in the language I couldn't N26 78 understand.

N26 79 "What is it?" I sat upright in bed. N26 80 "What's the matter?"

N26 81 "It's all right." He leaned over and kissed my N26 82 cheek. "Go back to sleep."

N26 83 "You're... you're leaving," I said dully.

N26 84 "Please, Genevieve." He closed his eyes. N26 85 "Don't ask questions. Just listen. Don't go home again. N26 86 Stay here and wait. Someone will come for you. A friend. Go with N26 87 him. He'll take you to a safe house. Do exactly as he says. I want N26 88 you to promise."

N26 89 "Oh, Raul," I buried my face in my hands.

N26 90 He held me close and whispered sadly, "I love you, N26 91 Genevieve - always remember that."

N26 92 "Don't leave me!" I clung to him, weeping. N26 93 "Don't leave me!"

N26 94 "You'll be safe." He stroked my hair. N26 95 "And I'll find you again. I promise."

N26 96 And then he was gone.

N26 97 Alone and afraid, I waited. I don't know how much time passed N26 98 before I became aware of a noise on the kitchen. I crept N26 99 downstaris, heart hammering, then stopped short in the kitchen N26 100 doorway, the breath leaving my body.

N26 101 A strange man sat at the kitchen table, drinking coffee N26 102 substitute. At my entrance, he grimaced and, indicating the cup N26 103 commented, "Filthy stuff!"

N26 104 "Who..." I swallowed and pulled my wrap tighter... who N26 105 are you?"

N26 106 "Don't be alarmed, Miss Derain. I'm a friend," N26 107 he replied evasively.

N26 108 "Where's... where's Raul?" The question burst N26 109 out of me.

N26 110 His eyes shifted as he said, "I'm afraid I can't answer N26 111 that question either. But I would like you to get dressed, please. N26 112 Dark clothes and strong walking shoes. I have to go out for a while N26 113 but I'll be back soon. Just be ready... in case."

N26 114 "In case of what?" My voice rose.

N26 115 "Just be ready." He smiled and was gone.

N26 116 Shivering with fear, I dressed and then sat and waited. It N26 117 seemed an age before he returned. I sat bolt upright, my heart N26 118 crying, Oh, Raul, where are you? What's happening?

N26 119 The first streaks of dawn were piercing the darkness when he N26 120 returned. His face was pale as he said abruptly, "You're N26 121 ready - good. Come on, we have to get out of here."

N26 122 "I don't understand!" I cried. "You're N26 123 going too fast for me! Where's Raul? What's happening? I won't N26 124 leave until you tell me."

N26 125 He seemed to hesitate and then with urgency said, "Last N26 126 night a munitions train on the way to Antibes was sabotaged by the N26 127 partisans. It all went dreadfully wrong. There have been... N26 128 reprisals."

N26 129 I had always known, deep in my heart, the reasons for Raul's N26 130 absences, for the men who came in the still of the night and spoke N26 131 in furtive whispers before creeping away again. There were N26 132 questions I had never dared ask, answers that lay unspoken between N26 133 us.

N26 134 But now it as all staring me in the face and I could no longer N26 135 play a game of make-believe.

N26 136 Slow tears fell from my eyes and rolled down my face.

N26 137 "All hell's broken loose," the stranger was N26 138 saying. "I had hoped we could hide out here and leave after N26 139 curfew under the cover of darkness, but now..."

N26 140 His voice tailed away and then he urged, "Come on, we N26 141 have to get out of here! It's not safe any more."

N26 142 "Who are you?" My eyes met his and he shrugged N26 143 and replied, "I don't suppose it matters now. You might as N26 144 well know because it won't make any difference if we're caught. I'm N26 145 Major Charles Anderson."

N26 146 "You're English!" I stared at him. "But N26 147 - but your French is faultless!"

N26 148 He smiled ruefully and said, "That's why I'm N26 149 here."

N26 150 <*_>four-stars<*/>

N26 151 To my last breath, I will remember the faces of those good N26 152 people who risked their lives to help us on our way.

N26 153 The kindness, the courage, the sheer unselfishness we N26 154 encountered lives on in my heart. Because if war brings out the N26 155 worst in people, then it also brings out the best.

N26 156 I didn't think we'd survive. There were times when I didn't N26 157 even want to survive. Fear is a terrible companion.

N26 158 I vividly recall our last 'guide,' the one who took us over the N26 159 mountains into Spain. He was just a boy, 14 perhaps, 15 at the N26 160 most.

N26 161 I can still see his face and often wonder what became of him. I N26 162 like to think he lived on, married, had children and a wife who N26 163 loved him dearly.

N26 164 Three months later, Charles and I landed in England.

N26 165 IT began slowly, a step-by-step process. Friendship and N26 166 need blossomed into something stronger. Charles was a good man, a N26 167 true friend to me. We had shared that terrible journey to safety, N26 168 the weeks of hiding. I knew then that he had grown to love me. But N26 169 he never spoke of his feelings.

N26 170 He waited until after the war and then spent a long futile year N26 171 desperately trying to find out what had happened to Raul.

N26 172 But Europe was in chaos, a sea of human flotsam on the move. He N26 173 found no trace and in the end, I begged him to stop.

N26 174 "I'm sorry, Jenny." He took my hands in his and N26 175 I smiled and said, "You tried, Charles, and I thank you for N26 176 that."

N26 177 His eyes swept over my face and then, taking a deep breath, he N26 178 asked gently, "Will you marry me, Jenny?"

N26 179 I looked into his dear face and for a brief moment I remembered N26 180 those few short nights I'd shared with Raul, when passion and N26 181 happiness were mine.

N26 182 But it was time to stop living in the past. Raul was lost and N26 183 gone forever. Through Charles, I had learned just to be glad to be N26 184 alive.

N26 185 Married to him, my mind would be calm again, my heart at N26 186 peace.

N26 187 And if my love for him wasn't the same love I had experience N26 188 for Raul, then it was love for all that.

N26 189 "Yes,'" I breathed, going to him. "Oh, N26 190 yes!"

N26 191 So we were married and we were happy together.

N26 192 We shared 42 years and then Charles became ill. After that, we N26 193 drew even closer together, savouring the brief time left to us.

N26 194 "No regrets?" he once asked me, very near the N26 195 end.

N26 196 "How could I regret loving you?" I replied N26 197 emotionally. "You've been everything to me!"

N26 198 It was the first and only time in our lives together I was ever N26 199 to see him cry.

N26 200 I was lost without him, totally bereft.

N26 201 Charles had been a gentle man, yet a brave one.

N26 202 Now I had lost him. And my heart was truly broken.

N26 203 <*_>four-stars<*/>

N26 204 Exeter, 1991

N26 205 "I told you." I faced my son calmly. N26 206 "He's an old friend, from way back. I'd like you to meet N26 207 him, for my sake."

N26 208 I could almost smell his disapproval and, as if reading my N26 209 mind, he thrust his fingers through his hair and said brusquely, N26 210 "This - this stranger comes here, completely out of the N26 211 blue and the next thing you're telling me is that you're going to N26 212 France with him! I can't believe it, Mum."

N26 213 "It's only for a weekend, dear," I explained N26 214 gently.

N26 215 "Have you thought what people will say?" he N26 216 demanded.

N26 217 "To be perfectly frank, I don't care what people N26 218 say." I stiffened and met his stare. "It's my life. N26 219 I have no intentions of living it to suit other people. I want to N26 220 live for myself."

N26 221 "Swanning off with this French fellow? Is that what you N26 222 call living for yourself?" He was aghast.

N26 223 "I tell you I can't believe it. It's - it's not right. N26 224 It looks as though you've, well, that you've forgotten N26 225 Dad."

N26 226 "Don't you dare bring your father into this!" N26 227 Tears pricked my eyes. "I don't owe you any kind of N26 228 explanation even if you think I do, but I will say this.

N26 229 "I was a good and loyal wife to your father. I was everything N26 230 he wanted me to be and... and I loved him.

N26 231 "We were so happy together. I don't think you can even begin to N26 232 imagine how lonely I am without him - I miss him so."

N26 233 N27 1 <#FLOB:N27\>Amphetamine induces a euphoric state which can affect N27 2 mental concentration."

N27 3 "I know. My background is police work. We know about N27 4 drug abuse. You just prescribed the thing for him? Didn't you N27 5 read his record? He's receiving mission medication from Major Dyson N27 6 at the hospital. All the pilots are."

N27 7 Rosen shook her head. "It's not on his record. He has N27 8 no medical record at Mondrum. They're here on a temporary posting, N27 9 aren't they? Their main records won't have been N27 10 transferred."

N27 11 "But - didn't you think to check the N27 12 hospital?"

N27 13 "Of course I checked!" Rosen pushed herself N27 14 upright again. She slapped the top of the computer monitor on her N27 15 desk, "What do you think this thing is for? We're on-line N27 16 to personnel and to the hospital. There are no medical records N27 17 transferred to Mondrum, and no medical records being kept on the N27 18 pilots at Arlington Hospital!"

N27 19 Eileen shook her head. "But Dyson can't prescribe N27 20 mission medication without keeping a record. It's in the N27 21 regulations!"

N27 22 "Of course he'll be keeping a record! He'll have a N27 23 record card. Do you think he'd go through the hassle of opening a N27 24 computer file, cross-referencing it, instituting a full medical N27 25 record repository address at personnel - just for people on a N27 26 temporary posting? He's a busy man! Can't you grasp that? If he was N27 27 doing mission medication for those people - people like Talley - N27 28 he'd know he could trust them not to abuse the stuff. I mean, N27 29 they're top pilots, aren't they? You can trust them to N27 30 exercise self-control."

N27 31 You could trust them. N27 32 Eileen stared at Rosen, and Rosen stared back. You could trust N27 33 them. Talley lied to Rosen in order to obtain drugs. But you could N27 34 trust him. Eileen had watched Talley leave the briefing room in N27 35 order to dispose the surplus tablets Dyson sent over. She'd watched N27 36 him do it every single mission. Not once had she checked on N27 37 how he disposed of them. Because you could trust him. A top-rated N27 38 and highly motivated pilot like Major Clyde Lincoln Talley N27 39 just didn't do that kind of thing.

N27 40 Slowly, Eileen dispelled the image of Talley leaving the N27 41 briefing room, drugs in his hand - ready to disappear into his N27 42 pocket, or his locker. So he kept it from her, from his fellow N27 43 pilots and his CO, probably from his wife, certainly from medical N27 44 officers Dyson and Rosen? Someone sliding into drug abuse develops N27 45 a repertoire of little tricks and stories and subterfuges. He even N27 46 fools himself. Until a visible physical and behavioural decline N27 47 sets in, an addict keeps his secret.

N27 48 "A record," Eileen said. "Do you have a N27 49 prescribing record?"

N27 50 "Yes." Rosen picked up her keys and stooped to unlock N27 51 one of the drawers in her desk. "I started a record card. N27 52 I've given him two prescriptions so far - just over a week ago, N27 53 and yesterday."

N27 54 "Yesterday?" Eileen could see Talley in her driving N27 55 mirror again. She gave him a ride from Special Team, let him out on N27 56 Enoly Gay - and he crossed towards the medical centre.

N27 57 "Yesterday. He was here at midday surgery." N27 58 Rosen produced the record card and held it out towards Eileen. N27 59 "See? Two prescriptions for quinalbarbitone sodium and two N27 60 for dexamphetamine sulphate."

N27 61 Eileen took the card. She could read Talley's name, she could N27 62 just about recognise the descriptions of the drugs. Every doctor in N27 63 the world writes with the same vaguely undulating line. N27 64 "I'd better keep this. I don't see any way around N27 65 confronting Talley. Before I do anything, though, I think I'd N27 66 better talk with Dyson. Do you know if he's likely to be N27 67 home?"

N27 68 "I doubt it. He and his wife are culture lovers. They N27 69 go off base for the evening almost every weekend. I believe there's N27 70 a Mahler symphony somewhere in Manchester tonight. Mahler's long, N27 71 and Manchester's quite a way from here. They probably won't be back N27 72 until the early hours."

N27 73 Eileen nodded. Culture freaks. Dyson had time for the finer N27 74 things in life, but he sent tablets over for the pilots at Special N27 75 Team without ever checking their state of health. Once again, N27 76 because you knew you could trust people like Talley. She put the N27 77 card in the breast pocket of her blouse and buttoned it closed. N27 78 "Guess I'll wait until tomorrow. It's only fair to warn him N27 79 first. At least there's no danger they'll be flying any more N27 80 missions."

N27 81 "That's what Roy said this afternoon. He's sure the N27 82 arrest means the operation is over. Is it rue, by the way, that N27 83 they're looking for a Russian stealth aircraft?"

N27 84 "What?" A sieve. Special Team was as watertight as the N27 85 Titanic. "Did Sellert tell you that?"

N27 86 "No. It's the rumour going the rounds."

N27 87 "Is it?" Well it wasn't her worry any more. N27 88 Lutwidge had kicked her off the team, and thank God for that at N27 89 last. "Talking of Sellert, didn't he tell you that Talley N27 90 was a pilot?"

N27 91 "I never mentioned Talley to him. It's known as medical N27 92 confidentiality."

N27 93 "Sure. Well, keep this confidential. Until I've N27 94 talked with Dyson, that is. We don't know yet what kind of a mess N27 95 Talley is in, nor if there's going to be a criminal charge. Unless N27 96 there's a charge, we can't go branding him as a drug abuser. Think N27 97 what that would do to his career."

N27 98 Rosen nodded. "Talking of - consequences. What about N27 99 me? And Major Dyson?"

N27 100 And me, Eileen thought. And me.

N27 101 Eileen went home. She fixed herself a TV dinner and tried to N27 102 put her brain into neutral. It didn't work, the new mess with N27 103 Talley kept frothing up into the focus of her attention. The only N27 104 consolation was the way she'd be sharing the blame with a trio of N27 105 people whose responsibilities put them way ahead of her in the N27 106 queue for trouble - Rosen, Dyson, and above all Lutwidge. He'd N27 107 hate her for this, too.

N27 108 At nine thirty she tried Dyson's home number. No answer. So she N27 109 checked with the gate. Dyson and his wife had left at seven forty-five, N27 110 Dyson in a tuxedo and his wife all dressed up with earrings N27 111 and necklace. They left in a hurry, not only to judge from the way N27 112 the car zoomed up to the barrier and then revved away into England, N27 113 but because Dyson still had his name badge pinned to his tux. He N27 114 must have been called back to the hospital for some kind of N27 115 problem, and that would have made him late setting about. Most N27 116 Saturdays the Dysons left earlier in the evening.

N27 117 So Eileen sat around, isolated in the company of new knowledge N27 118 she didn't want but couldn't yet share. It was the uncertainty of N27 119 having to decide where to jump, and then having to wait to see if N27 120 you'd landed safely - like the business with Bellman. She couldn't N27 121 cope with the emotional upset of this kind of thing. Should have N27 122 taken mom and dad's advice and gone into the housewife and mother N27 123 profession in downtown Detroit.

N27 124 At ten thirty she called the gate. Dyson wasn't back, of N27 125 course. Slowly she decided to do something just the same. If she N27 126 went along to the officers' club, she was sure to get into N27 127 conversation with someone for a while. With a little luck she might N27 128 even run into one of the people from Special Team who were still N27 129 speaking to her - Thorndike, maybe - and get a chance to ask some N27 130 more about Talley. She wondered about changing out of her field N27 131 security dress and maybe putting on civilian clothes, but then N27 132 decided what the hell, and pulled on her boots instead. All kinds N27 133 of uniforms turned up at the club. She went out to her car at a N27 134 quarter of eleven.

N27 135 It was chilly, with drizzle. The wipers calmly swept the way N27 136 clear for her as she cruised towards the center of the base. She N27 137 went down Sabre, along a piece of Nagasaki, and turned into the N27 138 north end of Enola Gay. The new thing with Talley wasn't like N27 139 Bellman. She got to Bellman when she realised he lied, and she N27 140 found that out because the entire business lay outside her own N27 141 field of expertise. Unlike the flying specialists, she hadn't known N27 142 where it wasn't supposed to be necessary to ask questions and check N27 143 answers. Sometimes a little ignorance - and no fixation on ghostly N27 144 stealth aircraft - goes a long way. Bellman had in fact been out N27 145 of position behind Romulus. Well then, the simplest hypothesis was N27 146 that Romulus had seen Bellman. Bellman fired a missile at N27 147 something, Romulus disappeared, and Pinkett had seen a fireball N27 148 ahead of where the radar showed Bellman to be. Again, the simplest N27 149 hypothesis was that Bellman hit Romulus. With Talley it was N27 150 entirely different, because her military policework past told her N27 151 exactly what to look for, but her awareness of <*_>e-acute<*/>lite N27 152 status fooled her into paying no attention...

N27 153 What was Talley shooting at?

N27 154 The Sierra rolled to a halt all by itself. She'd taken her foot N27 155 off the gas. She reacted in time to avoid stalling the motor. She N27 156 sat there in the middle of Mondrum's main street, well south of N27 157 Yokohama and right in the heart of the deserted shopping zone.

N27 158 Bellman did the sabotage. No doubt of that - the Kirtland N27 159 evidence had nailed him in a box. It made sense that he spooked N27 160 Romulus by sneaking up on the aircraft's tail. And he fired a N27 161 missile at something - conceivably a real Red Wraith, if a Russian N27 162 stealth had in fact been there. He couldn't hide it, because he N27 163 came back with one missile missing and had reported firing at a N27 164 target minutes after Romulus went down. Same with Talley, except in N27 165 Talley's case it was shells. Talley shot at something.

N27 166 The radar plot had cleared to show Pinkett rolling out at the N27 167 top of his turn, and Talley veering sharply away after what that N27 168 chalk board diagram indicated as a gun attack. No evidence of a N27 169 kill, or any kind of a hit. But it was right then that Pinkett was N27 170 looking down towards Talley's position - and saw a flash as N27 171 something exploded. Talley must have seen it, too. Why didn't N27 172 he report it?

N27 173 If Pinkett saw Romulus go, then Talley was shooting at a target N27 174 right at that instant. What target?

N27 175 If a Red Wraith - or Bellman - shot down Romulus, what did N27 176 Pinkett see explode at the same instant Talley was firing shells at N27 177 something? If he saw a Red Wraith explode as Talley hit it, N27 178 why didn't Talley report the kill?

N27 179 Headlights flared in her mirrors. A car surged past and blew N27 180 its horn. In the illumination of streetlights and shop fronts, she N27 181 could see the driver wave a fist at her as the car entered the N27 182 first curve of the dog's leg. The vehicle left shadow-gleam tire N27 183 tracks on the wet road surface, a fading trail like the one that N27 184 took Bellman through the snow on his way to Special Team, like N27 185 dying tracer pointing at something no longer there...

N27 186 Talley himself had said a dive by Romulus would be a plausible N27 187 evasive manoeuvre: if that was the case, he couldn't say otherwise N27 188 without arousing suspicion. Thorndike had said it was exactly what N27 189 she would do, if a missile didn't get her first. Thorndike was an N27 190 Aggressor squadron instructor, an air combat specialist. If Beamish N27 191 had been good enough to put his aircraft into a dive, Romulus could N27 192 have gotten exactly as far as where Talley ran into something...

N27 193 And then disintegrated in time not to appear on the radar N27 194 plot.

N27 195 Eileen shifted the car into gear. She looked behind to check N27 196 the street was clear, then she wrenched the Sierra around in a N27 197 tight turn and headed back the way she'd come. It was late, just on N27 198 ten of eleven. But it was time to talk with Talley.

N27 199 33

N27 200 March 4th, 2250-2305

N27 201 This time the bait was a Badger, a Tupolev Tu-16. It rode the N27 202 night on long, swept-back wings. All of its lights were burning N27 203 to make sure it looked friendly. It was a Badger-D, a maritime N27 204 reconnaissance variant, with a bulbous radome under its nose. N27 205 N28 1 <#FLOB:N28\>Happy Endings

N28 2 Patsy's mother had never talked about her time in the French N28 3 Resistance - it was too long ago, she said, and best forgotten. N28 4 But it was Patsy's job to uncover what others wanted to hide...

N28 5 SHE stood in the churchyard looking at the headstone. It still N28 6 looked new despite the fact that it had been there five years. it N28 7 didn't seem real. Real gravestones had patches of lichen and you N28 8 could only just read the words. But this one showed a rather bland N28 9 face to the world and the words were as legible as when it came N28 10 from the mason's yard. It said, quite simply - "Jessica N28 11 Mansell - 1917-1975 - much loved mother of Patricia." N28 12 She was Patricia. At the mason's yard they had shown her a list of N28 13 additional lines that she could choose. They ranged from N28 14 "Requiescat in Pace" to "Safe in Jesus' N28 15 arms". And she'd hated herself for mentally querying where N28 16 the apostrophe should go on Jesus'. She refused them all. Not just N28 17 because they were so trite but because they were meaningless. If N28 18 you're what they call a photojournalist you've seen enough dead N28 19 bodies to now that it takes more than a few words on a gravestone N28 20 to sum up what that life had been.

N28 21 As she walked away she was sad that even those words - N28 22 "much loved mother" - were not entirely true. She N28 23 had been fond of her mother but she hadn't loved her. Not because N28 24 of any defect in her mother but because her mother didn't want to N28 25 be loved. It was as if she feared being loved, wrapping a cloak of N28 26 scorn for sentiment and outward affection around herself as if it N28 27 might protect her from those payments that love required.

N28 28 She was a good woman, her mother, efficient organiser, seldom N28 29 critical and always ready with good advice and solutions to N28 30 problems. But she had no close friend. Plenty of acquaintances but N28 31 that was as far as it went. Dependent on nobody right to the end of N28 32 her life. She could remember journalists phoning or calling at the N28 33 house wanting to do pieces about her mother's time in Special N28 34 Operations Executive during the war, heroine of the Resistance and N28 35 all that. Her mother had sent them packing, one and all, on their N28 36 way. She said it was all too long ago and was best forgotten. But N28 37 now it was her turn. She'd been commissioned to write up the story N28 38 of what had happened to her mother's Resistance group.

N28 39 She wondered sometimes if her mother's attitude to life was N28 40 caused by what Jessica had told her on her fifteenth birthday. The N28 41 present of the camera that Patsy had wanted so desperately and then N28 42 the talk, sitting together at the kitchen table, her mother N28 43 obviously disturbed.

N28 44 She worked in the darkroom that night until 2 am on the prints N28 45 she had done to go with her long interview with a well-known N28 46 woman novelist.

N28 47 She had phoned her researcher as soon as she got back from her N28 48 agent and she was tempted to phone him again, but after midnight N28 49 was not a popular time for business calls. She hadn't been able to N28 50 give him much to work on, her mother's name and date of birth and a N28 51 vague memory that her mother had said that the network was code-named N28 52 'Monarch'. Then, thinking about it triggered something in her N28 53 memory. She walked into her own bedroom and checked through the N28 54 drawers in the mahogany chest and found the chocolate box.

N28 55 Sitting on the side of the bed she opened it carefully and took N28 56 out the contents. There was an officially phrased letter in French N28 57 from the French Embassy informing her mother that she had been N28 58 nominated for the award of a Croix de Guerre. Could she please N28 59 confirm that she would accept the award? There was a copy of the N28 60 polite reply from her mother, declining. There were four picture N28 61 postcards of the same place, a restaurant with a bridge in the N28 62 background. The first card had a brief message in French in an N28 63 awkward sort of script. It said, simply, "Je N28 64 t'aime ju'squa bout de ma vie." The postmark was N28 65 Perigord and the date stamp was July, 1952. The illustration was an N28 66 old-fashioned sepia photograph. The other cards were of the same N28 67 place but with no message and no postmark. There was one card that N28 68 looked more modern and was in colour. The address on the first card N28 69 was a flat that she and her mother had lived in at one time in N28 70 Chiswick.

N28 71 As she undressed for bed she realised that that talk in the N28 72 kitchen with her mother all those years ago was going to be a N28 73 problem.

N28 74 When she got up the next morning there was a message on the N28 75 answering-machine from her researcher for her to ring him.

N28 76 WHEN she called him he had got three addresses for her, a man N28 77 and a woman in England and a woman in France. When she asked him N28 78 how he had traced them so quickly he had laughed and told her not N28 79 to press the point.

N28 80 The first house was in one of the few surviving Chelsea N28 81 squares. She walked up the six stone steps and pressed the bell N28 82 beside the impressive oak door and waited. A few moments later the N28 83 door was opened by a young woman. "Can I help N28 84 you?"

N28 85 "I'd like to speak to Mary Parsons if it's N28 86 convenient."

N28 87 The young woman frowned. "There's no Mary Parsons lives N28 88 here, you must have the wrong address."

N28 89 As Patsy tried to speak she saw a figure behind the young N28 90 woman. It was a much older woman who said, "Did you say N28 91 Mary Parsons?"

N28 92 "Yes."

N28 93 The older woman said, "It's all right Julie. I'll deal N28 94 with it."

N28 95 As the young woman walked away Patsy realised that she was a N28 96 maid.

N28 97 "I think you must be looking for me. I'm Mary N28 98 Renshaw." She smiled. "But long, long ago I was N28 99 Mary Parsons. How can I help you?"

N28 100 "My name's Patricia Mansell and I'm writing a book N28 101 about one of the SOE networks. I was given your name as somebody N28 102 who could help me."

N28 103 "Good heavens. Surely people are tired of reading about N28 104 the Second World War."

N28 105 Patsy smiled. "My publishers don't seem to think N28 106 so."

N28 107 "Are you a specialist on these things?"

N28 108 I'm a journalist but my mother was in SOE during the N28 109 war."

N28 110 "Really. What was her name?"

N28 111 "Jessica Mansell."

N28 112 The woman's hand went to her mouth. "Not N28 113 Jessie." She paused. "You must come in and have a N28 114 cup of tea while we chat."

N28 115 She was led through a tiled hall into a small room and when N28 116 they were seated, and the maid had brought them tea, Mary Renshaw N28 117 said, "And how is Jessica these days?"

N28 118 "She died just over five years ago. She had a fall and N28 119 it led to pneumonia."

N28 120 "I'm so sorry. We met quite by accident about ten years N28 121 ago at the Special Forces Club. It was some sort of reunion for SOE N28 122 people who'd served in France. She was such a treasure, and so N28 123 deceptive. So quiet and unassuming but time and again she took N28 124 risks to make sure some operation was successful." She N28 125 smiled. "Very feminine but as bold as any of the N28 126 men." She paused. "So what can I do to help N28 127 you?"

N28 128 Patsy laughed softly and shrugged her shoulders. "Tell N28 129 me how you got into SOE and what you had to do."

N28 130 "I had an interview at the St Ermin's Hotel. They knew N28 131 that I was brought up in France. They said they wanted people for N28 132 the Resistance in France. Was I willing to go? I said yes and then N28 133 they sent me for training."

N28 134 "What sort of training?"

N28 135 "They sent me to Beaulieu, a big estate in Hampshire. I N28 136 learned about explosive, weapons, how to use a radio, map-reading, N28 137 how to do surveillance. I did a parachute course at N28 138 Ringway, which is Manchester airport now. I had lectures on the N28 139 German Intelligence Services. All sorts of things."

N28 140 "How long did it take?"

N28 141 "Almost six months."

N28 142 "Was Mama with you at Beaulieu?"

N28 143 "Yes. We joined the same day."

N28 144 "Then what?"

N28 145 "We were told that we'd be parachuted into the Dordogne N28 146 to join the Monarch network. We were dropped about a month later N28 147 with false names and false papers."

N28 148 "Were you scared?"

N28 149 She laughed. "Not so much scared as N28 150 annoyed."

N28 151 "Why annoyed?"

N28 152 "Because it seemed bad enough to be dropped into enemy N28 153 occupied territory without having to go on and make a nuisance of N28 154 ourselves with the Germans" She laughed. "And we N28 155 both resented the fact that the aircrew would go back to bacon and N28 156 eggs and a warm bed with us stuck in some cold, wet field in the N28 157 middle of the night."

N28 158 "What was the network's job?"

N28 159 "Well, I was a radio operator so I didn't take part in N28 160 actual operations. But they had two main tasks - sabotage and N28 161 training the resistance fighters."

N28 162 "What did my mother do?"

N28 163 "She was a sabotage expert showing people how to use N28 164 plastic explosives to wreck locomotives, blow up trains and N28 165 buildings and bridges. They were blowing up a bridge when the N28 166 Germans surrounded us."

N28 167 "What did the Germans do?"

N28 168 "I don't know about the others, we were all split up. I N28 169 was in prison in Paris. I was interrogated and I was liberated when N28 170 de Gaulle took Paris." She smiled. "More N28 171 interrogation and then I was sent back to London and demobilised N28 172 with a small gratuity."

N28 173 "Did you meet any of the others after the N28 174 war?"

N28 175 "Just your mother and Percy Spencer. Tom Willis the CO N28 176 went missing believed killed. Of course most of the network were N28 177 French."

N28 178 "What sort of man was Percy Spencer?"

N28 179 She smiled. "He's still around. Lives in Sussex. I'll N28 180 give you his address and you can meet him and form your own N28 181 opinion. Very military, didn't think much of the French but loved N28 182 France."

N28 183 "And Tom Willis, what was he like?"

N28 184 Patsy held her breath as Mary Renshaw hesitated before N28 185 replying. "If I say he was very English it would be stupid N28 186 because he was a Scot. Cool and calm, never panicked."

N28 187 "I was given the name of Anne-Marie Simon. Do you N28 188 remember her?"

N28 189 "Yes. Very pretty. She was a courier. She married one N28 190 of the Frenchmen after the war."

N28 191 "I was told she lives in Paris."

N28 192 "ACTUALLY I've no idea but she was originally from the N28 193 network's area in the Dordogne. She came from Perigueux. Nice girl. N28 194 Tougher than she looks." She laughed. "I talk as if N28 195 we are all still young girls. She must be a grandmother by N28 196 now."

N28 197 "What did you do after the war?"

N28 198 "I was hoping you wouldn't ask me that."

N28 199 "Why?"

N28 200 "I made a bit of a mess of things. I tried to settle N28 201 down but I couldn't I suppose I ought to be ashamed to say it but I N28 202 missed the excitement. I married but it didn't work out. I got a N28 203 job on a cruise boat to see the world. I taught parachuting. I N28 204 taught riding. Horse-riding. Then mercifully I met my N28 205 husband." She smiled and shrugged. "And thanks to N28 206 him I lived happily ever after."

N28 207 "Could I take a few photographs of you while the N28 208 light's still so good."

N28 209 "Yes. If you want."

N28 210 When the photographs were taken Patsy had a thought. N28 211 "Do you have any photographs of you when you were in N28 212 SOE?"

N28 213 "I've got one of a bunch of us at Beaulieu."

N28 214 "May I see it?"

N28 215 "Of course."

N28 216 When she came back with the postcard-size photograph Patsy N28 217 felt a pang as she saw her mother, smiling and pretty in her FANY N28 218 uniform. She and Mary Parsons looked about eighteen but they must N28 219 have been in their early twenties.

N28 220 "Could I borrow it?"

N28 221 "You can keep it, I've got another."

N28 222 As they walked together to the door Mary Parsons put her hand N28 223 on Patsy's arm and said quietly, "She was a good women your N28 224 mother. N28 225 N29 1 <#FLOB:N29\>"Just one of the ifs, one of the marker N29 2 buoys.... If I had children I would teach them, 'Beware of N29 3 unswerving loyalty.'"

N29 4 "Swerving loyalty doesn't seem to have been an N29 5 unqualified success otherwise you wouldn't be going back to England N29 6 to see if you did the right thing...."

N29 7 It doesn't look as though I will be going back," N29 8 Hanson pulled in his line. One of the hooks had gone. He began to N29 9 thread another with nylon.

N29 10 "Has it occurred to you that Perfidious Albion N29 11 might be conspiring against you? Why don't you pay a visit to the N29 12 British Embassy where 'there's some corner of a foreign field that N29 13 is for ever England'?"

N29 14 The stranger disappeared but the moon remained captured in the N29 15 black orb. Hanson fed his line back into the water. It tugged N29 16 immediately. He hauled it in and a fish leaped and slithered in the N29 17 glow of the brazier. He gazed at it for a moment, tomorrow's lunch. N29 18 Then he removed the hook from its mouth and dropped it into the N29 19 water.

N29 20 Lena said: "Where are you going?"

N29 21 She stood at the front door of the apartment like a wife seeing N29 22 her husband off to work, familiar dressing-gown over her sensible N29 23 night-dress.

N29 24 "You don't usually ask."

N29 25 "You're leaving earlier than usual."

N29 26 "I'm going to the British Embassy. Catch them before N29 27 they've put their protocol on."

N29 28 "About your visit to England?"

N29 29 "Someone's trying to stop me. Why not the N29 30 British?"

N29 31 "Why would they do that?"

N29 32 "Because anyone who servers their allegiance to the N29 33 Queen is a traitor whether they've escaped with State secrets or a N29 34 packet of Kleenex. Because although I'm a Soviet citizen I'm a N29 35 mongrel, Slavic-British, and can't be classified. Because I could N29 36 cause a modicum of trouble by not turning up for my return flight N29 37 to Moscow. But most importantly because I just don't N29 38 matter."

N29 39 "You matter," Lena said.

N29 40 "Ah, but to whom?"

N29 41 "To yourself. In the end that's all that N29 42 counts."

N29 43 He kissed her and let himself out of the apartment. On the N29 44 floor below the tortoise-head of Frolov, the historian, emerged. N29 45 " N29 46 So early, Comrade Hanson?"

N29 47 "A business appointment."

N29 48 "Lucky to have business these hard days. What is there N29 49 left to buy and sell?" Frolov, having finally acquitted N29 50 Hanson of espionage, assumed he was a black marketeer.

N29 51 "How's the Revolution going?"

N29 52 "I write the truth.... But these days it is difficult N29 53 to reach conclusions - they change every day."

N29 54 Frolov's head withdrew into his apartment. Hanson ran down the N29 55 last flight of stairs, navigated two cats, opened the double-doors N29 56 and, observed by a single eye peering from between heavy N29 57 curtains, made his way to his car.

N29 58 The British Embassy stood on a coveted site across the river N29 59 from the Kremlin. It had been built by a sugar baron in the N29 60 nineteenth century for his mistress and was baronial in a cosy sort N29 61 of way. Here successions of diplomats had pussy-footed with the N29 62 Kremlin leaders across the water, stoically endured predictable N29 63 snubs, and eaten strawberries on the Queen's birthday with hostile N29 64 emissaries including almost everyone except the Russians who, N29 65 isolated from the forums of international debate, were most N29 66 friendly. A militiaman at the gate demanded identification papers N29 67 and regarded him speculatively as he perused them.

N29 68 "They're expecting me," Hanson told him. N29 69 "I telephoned yesterday - I need permission to do some N29 70 filming here."

N29 71 The militiaman made a call and, with a jerk of his head, let N29 72 him go.

N29 73 A receptionist, retired army NCO by the look of him, said a Mr N29 74 Jarvis was expecting him and, tightening his lips, withdrew from N29 75 his contaminating presence.

N29 76 Jarvis, young with clipped woolly hair and big, eavesdropping N29 77 ears, led Hanson to a small office proportionate to his lowly rank. N29 78 He sat behind a modest desk and said: "So we're making a N29 79 movie, are we."

N29 80 "Why don't you relax," Hanson said, settling N29 81 himself on the other side of the desk. "I haven't come here N29 82 to subvert you."

N29 83 "You'd have a hard job." He pulled uneasily at N29 84 his lower lip that had been cracked by the cold.

N29 85 "I'm sure I would."

N29 86 "So let's get to the point, shall we," his N29 87 voice searching for an authoritative pitch. "What do you N29 88 want to film and why?"

N29 89 "The white ballroom?"

N29 90 "Impossible," Jarvis said with satisfaction.

N29 91 "The landing where a young officer once blew out his N29 92 brains because his girlfriend had found another lover?"

N29 93 "Out of the question." Jarvis glanced at a N29 94 photograph of a girl who looked like an aristocratic milkmaid as N29 95 though he half expected a nod and a wink.

N29 96 "Exterior shots?"

N29 97 "A possibility. But, really, you must let me know what N29 98 this film is all about. HE is adamant that the Embassy mustn't be N29 99 compromised."

N29 100 "I should have thought HE had more important things on N29 101 his mind - there is a civil war raging in Azerbaijan."

N29 102 "I don't think the ambassador's priorities need concern N29 103 us," Jarvis said. He picked up a small puzzle and began to N29 104 coax silver balls into cups hollowed in black plastic. N29 105 "What sort of a thriller? A whodunnit?"

N29 106 "Sort of. We are only interested in the embassy because N29 107 of its juxtaposition with the Kremlin. An ironic commentary on N29 108 international hostilities."

N29 109 "Who's we?"

N29 110 "Members of the foreign community in N29 111 Moscow."

N29 112 "Which members would those be?"

N29 113 "You know perfectly well which members."

N29 114 "Ah, those members...." Jarvis, gaining N29 115 assurance, tuttutted at an errant silver ball.

N29 116 "So will that be all right, exterior shots I N29 117 mean?"

N29 118 "We'll consider your application." He smiled, N29 119 drawing the girl in the photograph into the decision-making, and N29 120 his ears moved infinitesimally. "Now if you'll excuse N29 121 me...."

N29 122 "There is one more thing."

N29 123 "Really?" Jarvis consulted a schedule on his desk. N29 124 "I don't think -"

N29 125 "I want to see Gordon. And don't say Gordon who. I want N29 126 to see Alistair Gordon, Flash as I believe he's known."

N29 127 "Mister Gordon is in Chancery."

N29 128 "I don't care whether he's in the potting N29 129 shed," Hanson said, "I want to see him."

N29 130 "I'm afraid that's impossible."

N29 131 "Why don't you pick up the phone and ask N29 132 Flash?"

N29 133 "As you rightly pointed out there are more important N29 134 things to hand." He stood up. "I'll see you N29 135 out."

N29 136 "I'm staying put."

N29 137 Jarvis pulled at his lip, blood oozed from the crack. He licked N29 138 it. "I can have you thrown out."

N29 139 "A scene? I don't think HE would like that. Violence N29 140 and originality are a diplomat's cardinal crimes."

N29 141 Jarvis sat down. "Why do you want to see Fl - Mr N29 142 Gordon?"

N29 143 "Why don't you just pick up that phone?"

N29 144 Jarvis glanced at the girl in the photograph. She must have N29 145 nodded because he picked up the phone. "Alistair? Brian N29 146 Jarvis here. There's a chap called Hanson in my office who wants to N29 147 see you. No HANSON... yes, that Hanson... no, I don't know what he N29 148 wants... you will?" He replaced the receiver. "Mr N29 149 Gordon is coming to see you," he said incredulously.

N29 150 He can't afford not to, Hanson thought. Gordon was a Second N29 151 Secretary whose brief included surveillance of defectors in case N29 152 any intelligence came their way. It almost never did but Gordon N29 153 couldn't take any risks. Supposing I had wind of another Philby?

N29 154 The door opened and Gordon came in. He reminded Hanson of a N29 155 Swedish tennis-player whose Wimbledon hopes had been impaired by N29 156 a predilection for intrigue. He was blond and boyish and his N29 157 pin-striped suit was decently crumpled.

N29 158 He said to Jarvis: "Could you leave us together for a N29 159 few minutes, Brian. See you at the Don-Under tonight?" N29 160 reminding Hanson that the beery club under the Australian Embassy N29 161 was one of the many outposts of the West where he and his ilk were N29 162 not welcome.

N29 163 "Right you are, Alistair." Jarvis took a last N29 164 glance at the photograph of the girl and exited gratefully.

N29 165 "Hallo, Bob," Gordon said with a familiarity N29 166 scarcely merited by their one previous meeting. "What can I N29 167 do for you?" He sat in Jarvis's chair.

N29 168 "I want to know why you've put the block on my return N29 169 to England."

N29 170 "Do you now. To tell you the truth, Bob, I had no idea N29 171 you wanted to go back. I thought you were more than happy in the N29 172 country of your adoption."

N29 173 "Spare me the bullshit, Alistair. You knew as soon N29 174 as my application came before the consul."

N29 175 "Did I? Perhaps. It probably didn't seem all that N29 176 important at the time."

N29 177 "The KGB have put a block on it, too."

N29 178 "Then why bother to come to me, old son?"

N29 179 "If I'm right one of my people -"

N29 180 "Your people?"

N29 181 "Those you choose to call the Twilight N29 182 Brigade?"

N29 183 "Really? I hadn't heard that. But where the cap fits, N29 184 eh?"

N29 185 "One of my people who was, possibly still is, an N29 186 officer in the KGB has been in touch with his superiors and they N29 187 have instructed OVIR not to give me an exit visa."

N29 188 "You chose to be a Russian, old son."

N29 189 "Now why would he do that?"

N29 190 "Search me." Gordon put his feet on the desk N29 191 and leaned back audaciously in the chair. "Nothing N29 192 sinister, I shouldn't think. You only came across with N29 193 ideals."

N29 194 "Sorry about those," Hanson said.

N29 195 "So what do you want me to do? We haven't put a block N29 196 on you, as you put it. No need. Our friends are doing that for N29 197 us."

N29 198 "But if they did give me an exit visa you would - N29 199 "

N29 200 "Put a block on it? That eventuality hasn't arisen. N29 201 Probably never will. You see in cases like this we work together, a N29 202 sort of old boys' network, if you follow me." He toyed with N29 203 the tip of his tie, silver crown on navy blue, Vincent's, N29 204 Oxford.

N29 205 "So if one gives permission the other follows N29 206 suit?"

N29 207 "Something like that." Gordon transferred his N29 208 attentions from his tie to his carefully dishevelled hair.

N29 209 "So if you gave me the okay they might do the N29 210 same?"

N29 211 "They might," Gordon conceded. "But why N29 212 should we give you the okay? I can see no good reason, can N29 213 you?"

N29 214 "Humanitarian grounds?"

N29 215 "Spare me your aged mother. She disowned you a quarter N29 216 of a bloody century ago."

N29 217 "How about a poor old sod who just wants to see England N29 218 once more before he falls off the perch?"

N29 219 "You're not that old," said Gordon. N29 220 "Anyway, what have you got to offer?"

N29 221 "Offer? How can I have anything to offer? I came here N29 222 with nothing and I've got even less now."

N29 223 "You say you may have a KGB officer in your midst. His N29 224 name would be marginally interesting."

N29 225 "Then why don't you ask your friends."

N29 226 "They are," Gordon said, "remarkably N29 227 reticent about certain matters."

N29 228 "I thought the espionage game was over."

N29 229 "That's what our friends would like you to think. What N29 230 would happen to the unemployment figures if they disbanded the N29 231 KGB?"

N29 232 "How can the identity of some has-been KGB officer N29 233 among the defectors possibly interest you?"

N29 234 "Always a few ends to be tied up," Gordon said. N29 235 "It's not that important, of course, but we do like to know N29 236 who stole the family silver."

N29 237 "Someone who was more important than he appeared to N29 238 be?"

N29 239 "Put out a few feelers, old son. And don't forget the N29 240 female of the species. Cambridge, weren't you?"

N29 241 "I don't betray people," Hanson said.

N29 242 "No question of betrayal." Gordon crossed his N29 243 legs which were in disrespectful proximity to the milkmaid. N29 244 "What's past is past. And I don't mean only Brits - N29 245 Americans, Europeans... any nationality. Why, incidentally, do you N29 246 think any of them would want to stop you going back?"

N29 247 "Because they think I'm betraying them?"

N29 248 "You seem to be obsessed with betrayal."

N29 249 "Telling the truth about their lives N29 250 here...."

N29 251 "But isn't this the fount of your beliefs? Isn't this N29 252 your rationale, your raison d'<*_>e-circ<*/>tre>foreign/>? N29 253 I thought you all fairly wallowed in N29 254 equality."

N29 255 "You wouldn't understand," Hanson said. N29 256 "Oh I understand all right. Lack of initiative, lack of N29 257 identity.... Join the Party and we'll bury your character defects N29 258 in dogma. Why not be a star? A defector? A spy even. Fulfilment, N29 259 meaning... until your mentors cross the street when you try and N29 260 shake them by the hand."

N29 261 "I hope for your sake," Hanson said, N29 262 "that this room is isn't bugged."

N29 263