Deception by Adrian Magson Page B

he’s solid enough. It’s only a signature, you know, on the form. Bureaucrats need signatures like bees need pollen; it’s how they survive.’
    â€˜It won’t happen. Last time I signed on the dotted line for Five, they tried to kill me, remember?’
    â€˜Fair point. I can see that would be a problem.’ Ballatyne seemed to be enjoying himself. ‘OK, forget the bloody signature. I’ll sign it for you.’
    â€˜Fine.’
    â€˜So what’s the real problem?’
    â€˜Cullum. He feels  . . . odd. Could he have known Paulton?’
    There was a brief silence while Ballatyne chewed that over. Eventually he said, ‘You asked before why Six is on this rather than Five. The answer is Paulton. Thames House was seen as too close to be objective, even after what he did. They could well screw it up by going after him mob-handed, just to put the books straight. That was enough to give us primacy even though this is not our normal area of operations.’ He gave a quizzical look. ‘You sure you’re not letting Paulton become an obsession, Harry?’
    â€˜Probably. I get that way with people who try to have me terminated.’
    â€˜I’ll bear that in mind.’ He chewed his lip and added, ‘We’ve got professionals you can talk to about that, you know. Just a thought. And remember one thing: we rarely get the resolution we crave.’
    â€˜Thanks. Have you finished?’
    Ballatyne tilted his head. ‘Sorry  . . . getting philosophical in my old age. Back to Cullum. You’re wondering if he’ll get in the way?’
    â€˜I wouldn’t want to rely on him in a snow storm.’
    â€˜In that case, you won’t have to. I’ll handle the control end of things myself.’
    Harry was relieved. It confirmed what he’d been thinking. Cullum was just filling in and not to be relied on long term. He hadn’t been looking for a holding hand, but someone who wasn’t full of old baggage was far preferable as a contact, especially if all hell broke loose and he needed a quick response. Nothing in Cullum’s attitude had given him that reassurance.
    â€˜One thing more.’ Ballatyne wasn’t looking at him now, but staring out over the river towards the London Eye. ‘Your mate Ferris.’
    â€˜What about him?’
    â€˜All the information you need is on that data stick. Any more, you ask me and, within reason, I’ll make sure you get it. I know Wonder Boy’s reputation for letting his electronic fingers do the walking; it’s what got him into the last spot of bother. But you’d better make sure he knows that snooping on the peccadilloes of our illustrious members of parliament will be like nothing if he even considers intruding on my bailiwick. Got me?’
    â€˜I’ll tell him.’
    Ballatyne turned and looked at him, the light flashing off his glasses and lending his eyes an oddly sinister tone. ‘I’m deadly serious, Harry. If he goes ferreting about anywhere he shouldn’t, if I pick up a hint that he’s been hacking into SIS files, truly nasty things will happen.’
    With that, he stood up and walked away, trailing his security team behind him.

TEN
    â€˜ S ounds like someone didn’t want Pike talking,’ said Rik. ‘It was quick work, though, nailing him like that.’
    â€˜Too quick,’ Harry agreed. Pike was no anti-surveillance expert; he was a squaddie and would have left a trail a mile wide. Even so, getting someone on to him so quickly would have taken resources and expertise.
    They were sitting over takeaway coffees in Rik’s flat near Paddington. Harry had brought him up to speed on events so far, and was going over what had happened to Pike, and what it implied.
    â€˜It would have taken some organizing,’ Harry surmised, ‘and the timing had to be spot on. Hitting someone on the move takes practice