A Spy by Nature - Charles Cumming [87]
‘Before we get to that, there’s something I’d like to say.’
‘Sure. What is it?’
Fortner moves away from the window, pacing towards the kitchen door and then back to the drawn curtains. At times he is talking from behind my back. The anxiety he was showing when I first arrived has receded completely.
‘There’s a pattern of behaviour here, Alec. Do you see it?’
Katharine is nodding confidently, as if she already knows what he’s going to say.
‘What pattern? Does this have something to do with what you were saying about ideas to help me?’
Don’t rush them.
‘You remember that conversation we had a while back about your interviews with MI6? Do you remember that?’
He’s behind me now. Only Katharine can see the distinct characteristics of his face.
‘Of course, yes.’
‘Well it was my view then, and it still is, that if the British government could afford to throw away someone of your potential then it’s either in much better shape than anyone thinks, or it’s just plain dumb. Now…’
He moves back towards the bay window, turning to face me.
‘Abnex appear to be doing the same thing. I get a sense that both of these organizations are overawed by you. You may think of that as an overstatement, but let me explain.’ He touches his tie, loosening it still further. ‘It seems to us that Abnex don’t really know how to get the best out of you. It’s almost as if they can’t deal with an employee who shows a little flair or versatility. Now I’m not blind, Alec. We both know that you can step out of line occasionally. But only - and this is crucial - only ever in the interests of the company.’
‘I’m just sick of being underestimated,’ I tell him, skirting around the compliment. ‘I’m sick of being ignored and treated as a second-class citizen. I’m sick of knockbacks and failure.’
‘You haven’t failed,’ says Katharine, interjecting. ‘Not at all. You’re just in a very unfortunate situation.’
As she says this, Fortner walks back behind his armchair with the deliberation of an actor hitting a mark. Katharine says:
‘Alec, this isn’t the first time that you’ve been upset, is it?’
‘About Abnex? No, it isn’t.’
‘And your financial situation hasn’t improved since you started there?’
I glance over at Fortner and there is a look of rock-like concentration on his face. His eyes are fixed on mine. To all intents and purposes the rest of the room has become invisible to me: it’s just the three of us, closing in on something unimaginable.
‘No. Why?’
But Katharine does not answer. There is no knowing why she asked that question, other than to remind me that I am being badly paid. A little subconscious hook.
‘You want another drink?’
I almost jump when Fortner says this, and he smiles warmly, taking my glass from the table. From my position low down on the sofa, he looks suddenly vast and strong.
‘Sure, that would be great. You having something?’
‘Yeah, I’m gonna open a bottle of wine.’
‘That’d be nice, honey,’ says Katharine, very mellow. It’s as if they have both gone into a trance.
With Fortner out of the room, Katharine asks:
‘Do you still believe that Abnex is unprincipled in some of its activities?’
‘When did I say I believed that?’
‘So you don’t?’
There’s no noise at all coming from the kitchen. Fortner is listening.
‘No, as a matter of fact I still do. Yes.’
‘How do you feel about that? About unprincipled behaviour?’
‘What, generally?’
‘Yes.’
‘Kathy, it completely depends…’
‘Of course…’
A cork pops next door.
‘On the circumstances.’
‘Right.’
‘But I do think that a lot of the stuff that we’re getting involved in now will be detrimental to the company, not necessarily in the short term, but in ten to fifteen years’ time. That’s why I have a problem with it. It’s not the dishonesty which annoys me, so much as the stupidity of it.’
‘What are they paying you, exactly?’ Fortner asks, coming back into the sitting-room with a bottle of good red wine and three upside-down glasses threaded through the fingers of his right hand.
‘Twelve.’
‘What’s that, around eighteen thousand dollars a year?