Nina glanced at a wall clock. It was now after six. ‘We’ve got less than six hours before Prime Minister’s Questions start. That’s not much time.’
‘I know. Which means our first priority is to recover the evidence.’ He regarded the broken laptop, then frowned.
‘Something wrong?’ said Eddie.
‘Brice — well, someone, certainly — put watchers on me. If I’m under observation physically, then I guarantee I am electronically as well. If the file’s retrievable at all, I know someone in my section who’ll be able to do it. But if I ring him up, Brice will know about it very quickly.’
‘We’ve got some spare phones you could use to call him.’
‘I need more than that, I need cover…’ He thought for a moment — then smiled. ‘Got it. I’ll make some calls. Quite a few calls.’ He logged back on to the computer.
‘What are you going to do?’ asked Nina.
‘I’m the head of the section — which means I can hold surprise drills at any time. I think today would be a good choice.’ He selected a name from a contacts list and dialled their number on his mobile phone. ‘Wendy, good morning. It’s Peter Alderley. Yes, I’m fine, thanks — but I need everything you have on, ah… the secessionist threat in eastern DR Congo ready for a situation briefing at ten thirty this morning. Yes, I know, but it’s urgent. Half past ten. Thanks.’ He hung up.
‘Hiding the needle in the haystack, I see,’ said the redhead as he found the next number.
‘Information overload’s always a good way to beat the system,’ he replied. ‘Chase, if I can have one of those spare phones, that’d be very useful.’
He made around twenty similar calls, the last to someone called Roy. ‘Roy Boxley,’ he explained after hanging up. ‘He’s the chap I mentioned. Young, smart, eager to please, quite the tech-head — I just hope he’ll be excited rather than suspicious about being given a secret assignment by his boss.’ He entered the number into the prepaid phone. ‘Right, since — hopefully! — Roy isn’t being actively monitored by anyone, and this phone isn’t on any watch lists, the call won’t be flagged for attention…’
He waited for it to be answered. ‘Roy, it’s Peter Alderley again. Okay, listen. Don’t worry about the DR Congo briefing, I’ve got something more important for you to do. I’m going to send some people around to your flat with a laptop. It’s damaged, but there’s a file on it they need to recover urgently. Just wait there until they arrive, then do what they ask.’ A pause as the other man asked a question. ‘I told you, don’t worry about the briefing. The laptop is your top priority. I don’t know exactly what time they’ll arrive, but be ready.’
He returned the phone to Eddie, who removed the battery and SIM card, then dropped its body on the floor and stamped on it. Alderley gave him an annoyed look. ‘You know, just taking out the battery would have been enough.’
‘Yeah, but that was more fun,’ Eddie replied with a grin.
‘How are we going to get to this Roy’s place?’ asked Nina. ‘If you’re being followed, you can’t drive us there.’
‘I’ve thought about that,’ Alderley replied. ‘I’ve got a tow rope in the garage—’
‘You’d need it a lot with a Capri, I suppose,’ cut in the Yorkshireman.
‘Har har. Har. But there’s a railway cutting behind the house. If you tie the rope around a tree, you should be able to climb down. Go left for about four hundred yards, and there’s a way up to a bridge.’
‘Sounds like you’ve already checked it out,’ said Nina.
Alderley chuckled. ‘Hey, I’m a spy. I always know all the possible escape routes!’ He stood, becoming more serious. ‘When I set off for work, that should keep the watchers occupied enough for you to go out the back way without being seen. I’ll give you Roy’s address. If you go across the bridge, you should be able to get a taxi. Actually, I’ll lend you my and Poppy’s Oyster cards as well, in case you need to use a bus or the Tube.’
‘Can’t we just use cash?’ Eddie asked.
‘Cash?’ Alderley said, smiling. ‘That’s so last decade.’
‘Like my hair. Thanks, then. I’ll give you the number of our other phone in case you need to call us. By the way, don’t suppose you’ve got any spare nine-mil rounds, do you?’
‘Let me check my kitchen drawers to see if they’re in there with the batteries and assorted screws,’ the MI6 officer said sarcastically. ‘No, I don’t. And I’d prefer you not to start any gun battles on the streets of London!’
‘So would we,’ Nina said firmly. She waited for everything to be exchanged. ‘Okay. Thank you, Peter. Let’s go.’
34
‘Nice place,’ said Eddie of the West Kensington apartment building to which a taxi had delivered them. ‘Wonder how this Roy can afford it on a spook’s pay?’
‘Maybe he really is as good as Peter says,’ Nina replied, surveying the street. It was now after seven in the morning and people were up and about, but none seemed interested in them. ‘Let’s see, number twenty-four…’
She pushed the intercom button. A short wait, then a man’s voice came from the speaker. ‘Yah?’
‘Roy Boxley?’ she said. ‘You were told to expect us.’
‘Oh, yah, yah. Come on up.’ They were buzzed in.
There was a lift, but they took the stairs, not wanting to be sealed in an enclosed space. Their destination was on the fourth floor. Eddie knocked on the door, which was quickly answered.
Roy Boxley did not match their mental image of an MI6 techie. He was in his mid-twenties, tall and broad with the hefty build of a rugby player. Tight ginger curls topped a big, ruddy-cheeked face with an expression of affable curiosity. ‘Mr Alderley sent you, yah?’ he said in a languid, upper-crust voice.
‘That’s right,’ said Nina.
‘Great, great. Come in.’ He stepped back to let them enter. The apartment was compact but clearly expensive, bright and minimalist with lots of polished marble surfaces. The huge flat-screen television dominating one wall confirmed it as the home of a young and well-off bachelor. Considering what Eddie had said about SIS pay, Nina imagined Roy had received no small financial help from his family. ‘Can I get you anything? Tea, coffee?’
‘No, that’s fine, thanks.’ He gave her an odd look. ‘Something wrong?’
Roy tapped his large chin thoughtfully, then pointed at her. ‘Nina Wilde! You’re Nina Wilde, aren’t you? I knew I recognised you.’
‘That’s me,’ she said warily. If the security alert about her and Eddie had gone to all MI6’s employees…
‘Love your show!’ he said enthusiastically, holding out his hand. ‘Fascinating stuff, Atlantis and all that. Are you doing another series?’
‘We’ve just filmed another one,’ she said as his huge fleshy palm enveloped hers.
‘Great, great! And I’ve got the Blu-rays of your films too.’ He pointed proudly at a black shelf unit filled with discs of mostly action movies, including the full James Bond oeuvre. ‘How close are they to what actually happened?’
‘Not even remotely.’
‘Oh, shame.’ Roy greeted Eddie, then peered at the computer Nina was holding. ‘That’s the laptop you want me to recover something from, yah?’
She put it down. The young man’s eyebrows rose when he saw the bullet hole. ‘Yes. There’s a video file that… well, let’s just say it’s a matter of national security. It should be the newest thing on there chronologically.’
‘And Mr Alderley thinks I’m the man to retrieve it for you? Well, I’m flattered — although I really am,’ he added with false modesty. ‘But why bring it to my flat? I could have done it at SIS, and probably much faster.’