A Spy by Nature - Charles Cumming [139]
‘Alec, I won’t. I promise.’
‘Because no one knows. There’s just me and three other men, that’s all.’
She doesn’t bother reassuring me again of her intent to keep her word. She has promised it once and that, in her view, is enough.
‘About two years ago I was approached by someone to be recruited for MI6.’
‘What’s that, like MI5?’
‘MI5 is domestic. Six is foreign intelligence. Its proper name is SIS. The Secret Intelligence Service.’
Kate nods.
‘I did a lot of interviews and exams. The whole process took about three months. At the end of it they told me I had failed to get in. The man who approached me was called Michael Hawkes. He knew my father when they were students.’
‘Did I ever meet him?’ she asks, a question which strikes me as odd.
‘No. At least I don’t think so. Why?’
‘Go on,’ she says.
‘He was taking up a seat on the board of directors at a British oil company called Abnex.’
‘Never heard of it.’
‘No. It’s small.’
Kate sips her tea.
‘He told me that Abnex were having a problem with industrial espionage, people trying to extract information from employees of the firm to benefit rival organizations. In particular there were two known CIA agents working out of an American oil company called Andromeda using marketing consultancy as a cover. Because we share so much intelligence with the Americans, and they know our personnel, MI5 couldn’t use any of their own people. So Michael asked me if I would pose as a target for them, if I would present myself as somebody who would be willing to hand over sensitive documents in exchange for money.’
‘Jesus.’
‘I know.’ I attempt a smile. ‘Who would have thought it?’
‘And you did it?’ she asks, deadpan. ‘You went ahead with this?’
‘I was flattered. I was at a loose end. Yes, I went ahead with it.’
She pushes out her lower lip and I feel a need to say:
‘What young man of twenty-five wouldn’t go ahead with it?’
Kate responds to this with a twitch of her mouth which suggests that she can think of several who wouldn’t: steady, able fellows with a puritan streak.
‘So that’s how I got the job in the oil business. It was put together by Michael Hawkes.’
‘I see,’ she says.
‘And by David Caccia, the chairman of Abnex who’s ex-Foreign Office, working alongside another man, someone they both know at MI5.’
Some dying trace of professional responsibility prevents me from mentioning Lithiby by name.
‘Amazing,’ she says under her breath.
‘What is?’ I ask.
‘I heard that you’d got that job on merit. Because of your languages.’
‘Who told you that?’
She hesitates.
‘I saw Saul at a party a year ago and that’s what he said.’
Saul never told me anything about seeing Kate at a party.
‘That’s what people are supposed to think. That’s what Saul thinks. He doesn’t know about any of this. Neither does Mum. I haven’t been able to tell anybody. That’s why I made you promise not to discuss it with anyone. I know it’s a lot to ask, but…’
She says my name softly, to herself, a whispered consternation.
‘I’ve had to maintain complete secrecy. It’s driven me crazy. Can you imagine not being able to tell your friends or your family…’
‘Absolutely,’ she says, interrupting me. ‘I can understand that.’
We look at one another briefly, the first vaguely intimate moment to pass between us. Her skin is so close now, the vivid green of her eyes, but the instant passes very quickly. Kate seems to check it: she will not smile at me, nor show any real warmth beyond a certain businesslike efficiency.
‘But how did they set all this up?’ she asks, pushing hair out of her face. ‘I don’t get it. Michael Hawkes and these other people you work for. How did they set you up with the Americans?’
‘They leaked my SIS recruitment report to the CIA, having taken out any reference to Michael Hawkes and doctored the psychological profile to make it look like I’d be more susceptible to treason.’
‘How?’
‘Gave me low self-esteem, delusions