‘It was his choice,’ said Gannon. ‘And the way I understand it, it was more omission than lying. He just didn’t tell you what he was doing.’
‘He spun me some line about needing time off to move house. That was a direct lie.’
‘And if he had asked your permission to come to Dubai to help rescue Mitchell, what would your reaction have been?’
‘This isn’t about who said what to whom,’ said Button. ‘You’ve no right to be out here, and neither has Spider. What happened to Geordie Mitchell is a nightmare, but that doesn’t give you the right to go charging in like International Rescue.’
‘If we don’t do something, he’ll die,’ said Gannon, flatly.
‘What about the Regiment?’ said Button.
‘If they knew where he was, they’d go in,’ said Gannon, ‘but we’ve no intel. And no prospect of getting it by conventional means.’
‘What you’re planning is madness, you know that?’
‘We’ve tried everything else.’
‘What have you tried?’
‘How much has Spider told you?’
Button flashed him a tight smile. ‘There you go again, playing games. What does it matter how much he did or didn’t tell me? I’m not some pretty little secretary you can treat on a need-to-know basis.’
‘I don’t want to bore you with details you already have.’
‘No, you were planning damage limitation. Find out what I know already and do your level best not to tell me anything else. That’s not how this is going to work, Major Gannon.’ She held up her right index finger and thumb less than an inch apart. ‘I’m this close to making a phone call that will bring your world crashing down around you.’
Gannon nodded slowly but didn’t say anything. He knew she held all the cards and it was up to her how she played them. He had the feeling that anything he said then would annoy her.
‘I’ve another axe to grind with you,’ said Button.
‘I’ve no doubt,’ said Gannon, drily.
‘I gather you were responsible for introducing Spider to Richard Yokely.’
Gannon nodded.
‘What the hell were you thinking?’ said Button. ‘You know what Yokely does.’
‘He’s sort of CIA,’ said the Major.
Button sneered at him with contempt. ‘You really do think I’ve got my head up my backside, don’t you? “Sort of CIA” is like saying that Stalin had a temper. You know he was with the Intelligence and Security Command?’
Gannon nodded. ‘Yes. AKA the Tactical Concept Activity.’
‘That’s right, they do love to play with words, don’t they?’
‘The guys on the Activity tried to get it renamed the Strategic Operations Brigade so that they could call themselves SOBs.’
‘I heard that,’ said Button. ‘I also heard that Yokely left the Activity to join Grey Fox. You do know what Grey Fox is, don’t you?’
The Major sighed. ‘A presidential assassination squad,’ he said quietly.
‘Finally I’m getting something approaching candour from you,’ said Button. She sat back and folded her arms. ‘Yes. Yokely worked for a black unit tasked with assassination. Now he’s moved on from Grey Fox to a place that’s so off the radar I don’t think it even has a name. Please don’t insult my intelligence by telling me that he’s “sort of CIA”. Richard Yokely is a very dangerous man.’
‘He wanted to meet Spider after what happened down the Tube when he shot the suicide-bomber.’
‘Yokely wants Spider to work for him – you know that?’
‘I guessed as much,’ said Gannon. ‘But Yokely told me he wanted an introduction, that’s all.’
‘And you were happy enough to give one, were you?’
‘I’ve known Yokely for almost ten years. And Spider’s big enough to take care of himself. I’m not in the business of nannying anyone, Charlotte.’
Button’s eyes narrowed. ‘I hope you’re not suggesting I’m nannying him because that is most definitely not what is happening here,’ she said. ‘Richard Yokely is a devious bastard. You know he took Spider to Baghdad on a rendition flight?’
‘We needed to question someone there.’
‘Yokely was perfectly capable of handling the interrogation himself. Why do you think he wanted Spider with him?’
The Major said nothing.
‘You know what I think? I think Yokely wanted Spider with him because he knew I’d find out and that when I did I’d sack Spider, so he’d be looking for a job. He set Spider up.’
‘I don’t see it that way,’ said the Major. ‘We asked Yokely for help and he came through.’
‘Yokely only helps people if there’s a payback,’ said Button. ‘I’m just looking after the best interests of one of my people. One of my team.’
‘Same here,’ said Gannon.
‘Do you have any idea how many laws you’ve broken so far?’ said Button. ‘Have you given any thought to what will happen if you’re caught?’
‘We won’t be caught,’ said Gannon. ‘But if we were, we’d take whatever they throw at us.’
‘Your career counts for nothing? Because if this ever gets out, you’re history. No more Increment, no more Regiment. You wouldn’t be able to get a job watching over a building site.’
‘My career counts for nothing if my men can’t depend on me,’ said Gannon, ‘and that’s a two-way street. If it was me in that basement wearing an orange jumpsuit, I’d expect my men to come and get me. There’s a loyalty in the Regiment that goes beyond Queen and country, Charlotte, and you wouldn’t understand it.’
‘Screw you, Gannon,’ said Button, bitterly. ‘I demonstrate my loyalty by never lying to my people and by watching their backs. That’s why I’m here, to protect Spider. To make sure you don’t burn him.’
‘I’m not going to burn him,’ said Gannon. ‘We’re here to do a job. And if it all turns to shit I’ll walk away from my career without a second thought. And if you want to pull the plug on what we’re doing, then go ahead. I’m sure you know who to call.’
‘Damn right I know who to call,’ she said. ‘I might not have your famous satellite phone by my side, but the Home Secretary takes my calls and I still have a lot of friends at Five.’
‘Don’t threaten me, Charlotte. You do what you have to do. But if you make that call, Geordie’s blood will be on your hands.’
Button glared at Gannon. ‘Don’t even think about laying some sort of guilt trip on me,’ she said. ‘I’m not the one holding him hostage.’
‘No, but we’re his only hope of getting out alive. The government isn’t doing anything, his company has done all it can. If we don’t do something, Geordie will die. And that’s not going to happen on my watch.’
Button sipped her tea and grimaced.
‘Not good?’ asked Gannon.
‘I’m not here for the tea,’ she said, putting her cup on the table. ‘This scheme you and Spider have cooked up, do you think you stand a chance of pulling it off?’
‘It’s been planned before, but never tried,’ said Gannon. ‘A couple of years back, a group of ex-SAS and Delta Force guys were chasing a twenty-five-million-dollar reward for al-Zarqawi. The Americans wanted him badly so they’d put the reward out. But no one knew where he was. He was as well hidden as Bin Laden. That was when one of the SAS guys came up with the idea of using a GPS-enabled chip as a tracking device, implanting it in someone and using them as bait. They already had a guy lined up to be chipped. He was to get ten million because of the risks.’
‘That’s apocryphal,’ said Button. ‘An urban myth.’
‘Spider knows one of the guys,’ said Gannon.
‘I’m sure a group of idiots was wandering around talking about it, but I can tell you that the technology isn’t there yet. It’s in development, and I’ve no doubt that it’ll come, but right now there isn’t anything small enough to be implantable.’
‘I bow to your superior knowledge,’ said Gannon. ‘I’m sure if it was available MI5 would be using it.’
‘We can tag vehicles and equipment with GPS trackers,’ said Button, ‘but it’s the battery size that precludes subcutaneous transmitters. They’re small and they’re getting smaller year by year, but there’s still a way to go.’