The Rain-Soaked Bride (9 page)

‘There are powers and forces out there that are potent and dangerous. I hesitate to call them demons or anything so loaded with religious significance because I’m not sure that’s relevant. Just because ancient cultures defined them in such terms doesn’t mean we should. They couldn’t help but convey the divine on something powerful, it was in their nature. You know my attitude, magic is simply science we don’t understand yet. These forces are no different. For centuries, mankind has believed in the presence of “higher beings”, they certainly exist. Some are little more than forces of nature, like so many of the powers that Cassandra described, forces that enact the wishes of someone casting a curse. These seem rigid in their thinking, single-minded, narrow-visioned, they force their nature onto our world.’

‘“Agents of death”, she called them.’

‘Exactly. They are animalistic, impossible to reason with, though dealing with them is controlled by strict rules which can be an advantage.’

‘As long as you know the rules.’

‘Precisely, which, hopefully, will be where Cassandra proves useful.

‘Then there are the others,’ Shining continued, ‘forces that are more sentient, forces that negotiate, forces that have desires of their own.’

‘And these are the sort of forces you would use in a summoning?’

‘Sometimes, though in my experience they are best avoided altogether. Think of them as enemy agents, sometimes a deal with them can seem advantageous but you always know that there will be a long-term cost. And that cost may be more than you can bear to pay.’

‘Sounds like you’re talking from experience.’

Shining gave a rather sad smile. ‘In this business, we’ve all made deals that stick in our craw. Though if I had negotiated with one of the higher powers, and I’m not saying I have, I couldn’t tell you. That’s one of the rules.’

Toby sighed. ‘Just when I think I’m beginning to get a handle on this weird world of yours I lose my grip.’

‘Of course,’ Shining laughed. ‘And don’t think it gets better with age, I’m surprised by the world every day. That’s life. Ultimately, though,’ he continued, ‘it’s all familiar enough. Deals and danger, destructive power that might be more than you can handle, decisions and doubt. That’s a life in espionage. It’s only the terminology that’s different.’

Toby thought about that for a moment then something else occurred to him.

‘Is the London Eye really a portal to other dimensions?’

‘Of course not, but I didn’t think she’d believe me if I told her what it really was.’

b) Section 37, Wood Green, London

Back at the office, Shining inserted the memory stick that Fratfield had given him into his computer.

‘Let’s look at who we’re dealing with,’ he said, opening the various files.

At which point, the door crashed open and April Shining, August’s sister, came in. She was the sort of person that couldn’t help but change a room by entering it, like a poison gas or an explosive device.

‘Hello my darlings,’ she said, crash-landing on one of the sofas as if shot by a nearby sniper. ‘I trust you missed me terribly?’

‘Have you been somewhere?’ Toby asked, heading through to the kitchen to put the kettle on.

‘You must have noticed your lives had been dreary for the last seven days?’ she asked, unburdening herself of a selection of woollen garments and flinging them around the place. By the time she had finished the office looked like a market stall in Camden. ‘I’ve been to Switzerland with the President of Lithuania.’

‘Of course you have,’ said Shining. ‘When is war to be expected?’

‘You’re so awful,’ his sister complained. ‘It is a constant wonder to me that I love you. It was just a girl’s weekend, you know, skiing and shopping.’

‘Since when could you ski?’ Shining asked.

‘I can do lots of physical things I don’t discuss with you, brother dearest,’ she replied offering him a coquettish look from behind a sofa cushion.

‘Given the things you do tell me, I dread to think.’

‘Oh!’ She clapped her hands. ‘Is that Clive?’ She was looking at the computer screen where Shining had just opened Clive King’s dossier. ‘That brings back memories. The banks of the Avon will forever be marked by our young love.’

‘Like industrial pollution,’ Shining muttered. ‘Is there anyone in the Cabinet you don’t claim to have had dalliances with?’

‘I’m not one to kiss and tell,’ she replied, moving over to stand behind him.

‘Of course not, darling sister.’

‘So what’s the current beef, old thing? Had time to look into that business with the gremlins at Westfield?’

‘Having your credit card refused at Debenhams is not proof of occult activity.’

‘It was Anne Summers, actually.’

‘Then we can only assume it was divine intervention.’

Toby came in with a cafetière and three cups.

‘Come and be nice to me, darling,’ said April, patting the sofa next to her. ‘The old man’s being beastly.’

‘Work calls, I’m afraid,’ Toby replied, trying to restrain a look of fear.

‘Work, pish and tish, you’re just mooning about the girl upstairs again.’

‘Why does everyone …’ Toby sighed and tried to swallow his exasperation. ‘I am not mooning over anyone.’

‘Nonsense,’ April replied with a devilish grin, looking to her brother. ‘He loves her, August darling, isn’t it delightful? Her knight in shining armour!’

‘I was there too, you know,’ Shining replied.

‘A mere chauffeur. Toby did all the hard work, like the brilliant man he is. You’re so lucky to have him. As is she. I fair melt just looking at him. I swear I approached orgasm the minute he walked into the room. Mark my words, she won’t be able to resist, he’ll be wallowing in her knickers before the year is out.’

‘I have no intention of “wallowing” in Tamar’s knickers!’ Toby shouted, embarrassed.

‘This is good,’ said Tamar, walking in. ‘They would be too small for you, I think.’

April burst into hysterics and hid behind her cushion. Toby sat at his desk and considered the viability of suicide by stapler.

‘The water is off again,’ said Tamar. ‘I have call landlord but he pretend he not understand. He is liar. My English is good. Why you not let me talk to him face-to-face, I do not know.’

‘Because you’d probably end up killing him,’ said Shining, ‘and that would cause all sorts of complications.’

‘I’ll call him,’ said Toby, reaching for his phone, glad of something constructive to do.

‘See?’ said April. ‘What a gentleman. Always happy to assist with a woman’s plumbing.’

‘April!’ Shining glared at her. ‘Do leave the poor boy alone.’

‘Jesus,’ sighed Toby, wandering out of the office, his mobile to his ear, ‘it’s like having a pair of dysfunctional parents fighting over me.’

‘Mummy knows best!’ April laughed.

‘You say too far,’ said Tamar, sneering at her. ‘You make him embarrassed.’

‘So cheer him up, then,’ said April with a smile. ‘I’m sure you know how.’

Tamar clicked her tongue in irritation and walked out after Toby.

Shining shook his head. ‘April, I love you but you are a pain.’

‘Nonsense, if I didn’t bring the subject up he’d just keep ignoring it. He may be embarrassed but at least she knows how he thinks about her.’ She winked. ‘There is some method in this old girl’s madness, you know.’

‘No doubt.’ Shining returned to looking at his computer screen, deciding to change the subject. ‘Lufford Hall, know it?’

‘Lord, yes, dusty old pile of bricks in Warwickshire, they use it for conferences and what have you. I once spent a draughty weekend there avoiding the attentions of the Chief Whip’s whip. Why?’

Shining explained about the talks with the delegates from South Korea.

‘How frightful!’ said April. ‘Sir James was a lovely old stick, he backed me when I had that fuss with the Chechens.’

Shining had no idea what ‘fuss’ she was referring to; his sister’s career in politics and espionage was a complex rug he had never quite been able to unravel.

‘And his poor PA, she seemed a lovely girl. Leonard Holley was a pest but still, I wouldn’t wish a car on top of him. I don’t understand, though – if someone’s got an axe to grind with the Koreans, why are they having a pop at our lot?’

‘I imagine they think we’re more likely to be scared off from the talks. Of course, given the current financial mess it would take a lot more than this to have the government pull out. We need the money too badly.’

‘How tiresome it is to be poor.’

‘If, as seems likely, the mobile phones were the trigger, the attackers probably also wanted to avoid GCHQ flagging anything up.’

‘Because they’ll be all over the South Koreans like a rash.’

‘Standard practice these days, I’m afraid. The Korean delegates will be wired for sound.’

‘Never let it be said we don’t know how to extend the trusting hand of friendship.’

‘Oh, GCHQ worries about its budget too much to let an opportunity like this pass it by, they’ll be crossing their fingers that they’ve got a productive source of intel for years to come via key-logging.’

‘I hope nobody’s planted anything on my laptop.’

‘So do I. They’d see things no mortal man should be expected to witness.’

She clipped him on his arm. ‘So they actually called you in?’

‘Sir Robin was on the verge of tears.’

‘Wonderful! About time they treated you with a bit of respect.’

‘I wouldn’t quite go that far. We’re very much the silent partner in the operation. Most of the security is going to be down to Box.’ He clicked open another dossier. ‘They’ve put Mark Rowlands on it.’ ‘Box’ was a colloquial term for the Security Service and the dossier showed its seal watermarked across it. ‘He seems a decent chap, though I’ve never worked with him.’

‘Too young for me, too,’ April said, scanning the man’s file. ‘I was long gone by the time this lad was a gleam in his talent spotter’s eye. Where did they find him?’

‘Police background, Serious Organised Crime Thingie, or whatever they’re calling it this year.’

‘He looks nice,’ said April. ‘Sexy eyes.’

‘If it were down to you, the entire intelligence service would be nothing but a parade of calendar models.’

‘Nonsense, I’d hate to put you out of your job. Who else?’

‘We’ll meet Rowlands’ team tomorrow at Lufford. I haven’t been briefed on them. Fratfield is on hand from SIS.’

‘Him I do know, though he was after my time. My dear pal George says the nicest things about him. Apparently, he recruited him out of some ghastly polytechnic in the north.’

‘You consider anywhere that isn’t Oxford or Cambridge a “polytechnic”, you terrible snob. They don’t have them any more, you know.’

‘Quite right too. Ghastly places.’

Shining sighed and shook his head. ‘He seems a good man. Obviously there’s Clive King running the show. Add to him a chap with the quite awful name of Lemuel Spang.’

‘Please tell me you’re joking.’

‘Afraid not, his parents must have been even more psychotic than ours. He’s there from the Bank of England so he’ll be minding our pounds, shillings and pence.’

She looked at his photo. ‘He looks like an advert for a particularly cheap brand of electric razor,’ she said. ‘I bet he wears a lot of pinstripe and drives an Audi.’

‘Not that you’re in the least bit judgemental.’

‘He’s called Spang, he deserves whatever I care to throw at him.’

‘The Diplomats have sent Ranesh Varma. I hear good things about him.’ Shining opened another file. ‘He’s sharp, a good egg.’

‘You’re so bloody English. “Good egg”, honestly … You’ll be talking about cricket with him next.’

‘He’s from Pakistan, we’ll only end up in a fight.’

‘Bless you, you’re pretending to know things about sport, how sweet. If he’s a diplomat he’ll probably just smile at you.’

‘I imagine he has a team of his own, too. HMDS don’t like to skimp.’

‘Well,’ said April, sitting back down, ‘one of them had better be a woman, it’s a terribly sexist bunch of buggers otherwise.’ She picked up her coffee and took a sip. ‘I know!’ she said. ‘Give me a couple of tics.’ She ferreted for her phone in her handbag. ‘Vince owes me a favour after I helped him practise his bloody foxtrot.’

‘I have no idea what you’re talking about,’ said Shining. ‘As usual.’

She waved at him and wandered off into the kitchen with a trill of hearty hellos into the phone.

Shining quietly clicked through a few more files, bringing up the plans for Lufford Hall and vaguely familiarising himself with its layout. By the time she came back in, he was reading up on the South Korean delegates.

‘All sorted,’ she announced with a happy sigh. ‘I shall be coming with you.’

Shining stared at her. ‘Don’t be so ridiculous.’

‘I am not being ridiculous, I think you forget what a terribly important person I am within Whitehall.’

‘You’re a menace. An old ghost who persists in rattling around its corridors.’

‘Dangsin-ui eongdeong-i wilo.’

‘Are you having a stroke?’

‘I’m speaking Korean, another distinct advantage I have over you.’

‘Since when did you learn Korean?’

‘Since I dated a restaurant owner in Brighton, hunting for the perfect gejang. I shall be there as an attachment to Her Majesty’s Diplomatic Service. And you’re bloody lucky to have me.’

Shining sighed and stared at his coffee in misery. ‘Now I have to contend with two threats to international relations, wonderful.’

c) Section 37, Wood Green, London

Toby was doing his level best not to scream down the phone at their landlord.

‘I don’t care what the problem is,’ he said for what must have been the fifth time. ‘You’re breaking the law and need to get the water back on.’

There was another round of complaints from the landlord, involving his brother’s forthcoming gastric bypass operation and the currently poor exchange rate for Australian dollars. Toby had no idea how either was relevant.

‘Look, it’s perfectly simple, either the water is back on by this evening or we’ll be taking legal action.’ He cut the call.

Turning round he noticed Tamar had followed him out into the stairwell. ‘Oh,’ he said, feeling immediately awkward, ‘hello. Should be back on in a bit.’