Shaw nodded. He asked, “What do the authorities say, sir?”
Irritably Latymer banged down the ruler, shifted in his chair. “My dear boy, they’re just not impressed! I’ve been in constant touch with half the Cabinet and all the Chiefs of Staff ever since I got in, which was damned early this morning. I’ve had a bellyful. They’re such a suspicious lot of bastards.”
“You mean they just don’t believe it?”
Latymer said wearily, “No, they don’t — because they know Donovan’s official record. In the days when Donovan was last active, the Chiefs of Staff were at sea, or in the field, or flying over Berlin. All honour to them for that—but they don’t know anything about our job. The Minister, for all I know, was down a ruddy coal mine. I wish to God he still was. You see, black’s black and white’s white to them — they’re incapable of looking at things our way, Shaw. They don’t know Donovan at all and all they can hoist in is that he was a branded traitor under sentence of death. So bang goes our source — in their view. To say nothing of the fact that Karstad was Donovan’s contact, and Karstad’s name stinks — and he’s basically on the other side anyhow. I pointed out my own theory to them, which is that Karstad could conceivably be putting the human race before any single country for once — before himself even.”
Shaw shook his head doubtfully. “Unlikely, sir!”
“Unlikely? Of course it’s unlikely!” Latymer snorted. “He may be doing the old double agent act again. And I know he’s a killer and a pretty unsavoury one at that — we know his special method of killing, what? All the same, Shaw, so far as we know, whatever his motive, we have got to give him credit for tipping us off about — something.”
“Yes, that’s true. And Donovan seemed to be trusting him. But they still wouldn’t listen?”
“They would not. You see, there’s also the little matter of the Russians saying Lubin’s still safely tucked up in bed near Voronezh. Russia’s the power most directly concerned, you’d think, and they don’t believe a word of it, and I think they’re quite genuine about believing Lubin to be bed-bound in his farmhouse. I believe they honestly think the West may be up to something — that it’s all some trick of the bloated capitalists, part of a move, they may think, to justify the West in, say, circumventing the MAPIACCIND Agreement, throwing-off the adaptors on our own stocks ostensibly as a defensive measure, but really to pave the way for a reprisal-free attack by Wall Street and the City of London… that’s the way the Eastern mind works! As for me. I’ve been practically told to my face that I’m trying to stir up international differences. Then there’s my man, the one who tipped me off about the troop movements in Asia.” Shaw knew better than to ask Latymer for a name. “He’s first-rate, utterly dependable. But he’s also a murderer and a big-time racketeer, mixed up in all kinds of swindles from prostitution to bank robbery. He’s quite a name, went down for a long stretch in Switzerland just after the war. The Minister knew of him all right! Try putting a man like that across to the blasted Minister,” Latymer said bitterly, “or any of the Cabinet. I’ve tried, Shaw, I’ve tried, but everything’s against us.”
“Don’t they react to the mobilization reports, sir?”
Latymer snapped. “Not noticeably. They’re just irritated because I’m fool enough to listen to two traitors and a thug. According to the C.I.G.S., the troop movements, if they’ve taken place at all, are just part of the routine training programme. They say the Chinese regularly carry out parachute training in Fukien province, for instance.” Latymer sighed. “Trouble is, they do! So once again I was stymied. And the Minister said that nothing whatever had been heard from Geneva to indicate that the inspecting teams had found anything unusual up to now.”
Shaw bit his lip, frowned. He asked, “In your opinion, sir, what is the threat exactly? All-out war?”
Latymer shook his head. “Somehow I don’t think it’s that. I don’t think anybody’s really likely to risk actual war in a straightforward sense with every other atomic power up against them, and they’d be risking the operation of REDCAP against them too, don’t forget. These Asians are a subtle lot, and there are other ways, no doubt. Personally, I’ve a feeling some one means to destroy REDCAP — or grab it and use it to blackmail the rest of the world. But that’s going to be for you to find out — I’m giving you the assignment. It’s a big one. But first, tell me this: you haven’t followed your usual form, Shaw.” Latymer picked up the ruler again, held it pointed like a gun at Shaw’s head. “You haven’t tried to resign. Why?”
“Because I’m already pretty deep in, and because John Donovan was my friend.” Shaw found that his hands were shaking a little, and he folded his arms to hide it. “Because he died to pass on that scrap of information. I’ll not forget the way he looked when they—”
“Pipe down, Shaw!”
Latymer’s heavy hand came down hard on his desk. He had been watching Shaw closely and now he almost snarled, “Snap out of that. There’s no damn room for sentiment in this game, and you know it. A man has died on this side, and a few more on the other. Well? I dare say more will die before this job’s over. The people who die — they’re dead!” He made a sweeping gesture with a powerful arm. “That’s all. Forget ’em. They’re numbers, not names, they’re not even people—to us. That’s the way it has to be. Good God, d’you think I like sending people out of this room on missions which may finish ’em off — d’you think I don’t care about Donovan? We’ve got to submerge our feelings, Shaw, grow hard if you like. If we don’t, we’re done for. We’ll never stay sane, you or I or the others.” He stubbed a finger towards Shaw in emphasis. “Understand? Don’t ever get emotionally involved, that’s what I’m getting at.” He sat back, blew out his pink cheeks. “Damned if I thought I’d ever have to go back to Lesson Number One with a man of your experience.”
Shaw didn’t answer, but Latymer saw the unspoken, if unwilling, acceptance in his eyes. Shaw was a good man, a first-rate and very dependable agent, and he knew basically that he had to accept things like that. But Shaw would never grow hard, would always have that thin skin and that compassion which made the job weigh so much more heavily on him than it did on other agents in the game; and there came the times when a man like Shaw had to be cracked down on, when something inside the man had to be brought out, cruelly if necessary, so that he could be forced to see himself plainly…
Latymer relaxed, lit a fresh cigarette. He asked calmly, “Want to know what you’re going to do?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Find Lubin. And find some good, hard proof that I haven’t been talking tripe — and that’s going to be the most difficult part. If you can achieve just that, I’ll personally guarantee that the threat, whatever it is, won’t be allowed to materialize.” He added in a hard voice, “Even then, it’ll mean the end of MAPIACCIND just the same — unless Lubin’s found before too much comes out and makes everyone start questioning the wisdom and value of MAPIACCIND. That’s what we’ve got to prevent, and it’ll be up to you, Shaw, to stop it getting that far.”