The Jennifer Morgue - Charles Stross [72]
She looks at Angleton. “What do you want me to do?” She grips the neck of her violin case tensely.
Barnes sniggers quietly, then pulls out a chair. Angleton doesn’t deign to notice. Instead, he reaches across the table and switches on the projector.
“You’re going on vacation. Officially you’re on leave, flagged as a home visit to your elderly mother. That’s because we can’t rule out the possibility of an internal security leak,” he adds.
Mo whistles tunelessly between her teeth. “Like that, is it?”
“Oh yes.” A thin blade appears silently between Alan’s fingers, as if it congealed out of thin air. He begins to probe a cuticle on his other hand. “It’s very like that indeed. And we want you to look into it on your way to the main performance.”
“You’ll be on board tomorrow’s flight from Charles de Gaulle to Saint Martin. Your cover identity is Mrs. Angela Hudson, the wife of a tire-and-exhaust magnate from Dorking.” Angleton slides a document wallet across the table towards Mo, who handles it as if it’s about to explode. “This is a weak cover. It’s been cleared with Customs and Immigration at both ends but it won’t hold up to scrutiny. On the other hand you won’t have to use it for more than about forty-eight hours. After this briefing, take yourself down to Wardrobe Department and they’ll set you up with suitable clothing and support equipment for Mrs. Hudson. You may take—” he points at the violin case “—your instrument, and any other equipment you deem necessary. You’ll be staying at a hotel in Grand Case. You should be aware that our local station chief, Jack Griffin, or someone working for him, has been compromised. We want to keep you out of Billington’s sights for as long as possible, so bypassing Griffin’s organization is top of your playlist. If you can identify the source of the leak and deal with it, I’d be grateful. Once you’ve settled in, Alan will be your backup. You’ll be operating without a field controller; if you need a shoulder to cry on you come straight to me.”
He turns to face Barnes. “Alan. Pick two of your best bricks. Make sure they’re happy working with booties, I don’t want any interservice cock-ups. You’ll be flying out pronto and will rendezvous with HMS York, which is currently on APT(N). She’s hosting a troop from M squadron SBS under Lieutenant Hewitt, who has signed Section Three and is cleared for level two liaison. The booties are available if you need additional muscle. Your job is to provide backup for Professor O’Brien, who is point on this mission. In case you were worried about BLUE HADES, Professor O’Brien speaks the language and is qualified to liaise. She’s also completed her certification in combat epistemology and can operate as your staff philosopher, should circumstances require it. I have complete faith in her abilities to complete the mission and bring Bob back.”
Angleton pauses for a moment. Then he adds: “In a real emergency—if HADES cooks off—you’ve got a hot line of credit with HMS Vanguard, although if you have to use a big white one I’m supposed to go to the board and get them to clear it with the Prime Minister first. So let’s not go there, shall we?”
Mo looks back and forth between the two spooks. “Would you mind not speaking in slang? I know about Alan’s men, but what’s a ‘big white one’?”
Barnes looks slightly distracted. “It’s just a necessary backup precaution—I’ll explain later,” he assures her. “For now, the main thing is, you’ll be operating independently but you’ll have backup, starting with my lads and working up through the Royal Navy’s North Atlantic Patrol, right to the top if you need it. Unfortunately we’re dealing with a really powerful semiotic geas field—Billington’s set things up so that we have to play by his rules—and that limits our moves. It would be a really bad mistake for you to come in-frame too soon.” He raises an eyebrow at Angleton. “Are we definitely moving into the endgame?”
Angleton shrugs. “It’s beginning to look that way.” He nods at Mo. “We’d prefer not to have to do it this way, but our hands are unfortunately tied.