Page 23 of Nobody's Hero

‘Leave it with me,’ Bernice said.

‘They know who you really are then?’

‘Everyone who needs to does. It’s sort of a given that we keep an eye on each other. It’s what allies do. Stops us falling out. And you can’t come here as an official CIA asset, not if you want to get anything done. The cultural attaché role gives everyone the cover they need to let me get on with the job.’

‘Which is?’ Koenig asked.

‘Liaise with the British security services, mainly. Bit of other stuff I won’t go into. Plus, as cultural attaché, I do get invited to some cool shit. I was in Stratford-upon-Avon last night. Guest of honour at the Royal Shakespeare Company’sAll’s Well.’

‘I prefer movies.’

‘I know,’ Bernice said. ‘I believe you had quite the collection of Super 8s.’

‘I still do, I think,’ Koenig replied, unsurprised at the depth of Bernice’s knowledge. ‘A friend of mine put them in storage for me. Who knows, maybe I’ll get to go home and watch them one day.’

‘I gather there was some trouble stateside before you left,’ she said, changing the subject. ‘Had a run-in with some naughty cops.’

‘That’s putting it mildly,’ Draper snorted. ‘He killed one, blinded one and disfigured one.’

‘So I heard. The one you blinded is in an irreversible coma, I’m told. They’ll be turning off the machine soon.’

‘I didn’t know that,’ Koenig said. He thought about it, then decided he didn’t care. They were going to take him to a man who skinned people alive. It was a pity he hadn’t killed them all.

‘And the East Coast Sweeney, long on rumour, short on facts, now officially exists. I understand the FBI are putting a task force together this week. Seems like you did some good yesterday.’

Koenig looked out of the window, stared into the cold fog of a London dawn. ‘I just wanted to be left alone,’ he said.

Chapter 20

The new US embassy at Nine Elms opened in 2017. It was in Battersea, south-west London. It looked like a sugar cube, easily one of the least attractive buildings in the city. And it was surrounded by a moat. Amoat. When did America get so scared that they were resorting to medieval defensive systems? What was next? Trebuchets on the roof? A portcullis over the entrance? Murder holes? What was wrong with a bunch of marines and an ‘open to interpretation’ rules-of-engagement policy? The embassy looked like a joke on the people of London. Revenge for Piers Morgan.

Bernice took them to a secure briefing room. It was boxy with high ceilings. Windows you could look out of but not see into. Probably covered with anti-eavesdropping film. No pictures on the walls, no knickknacks on the bookcase. This was a room for working, not entertaining. Coffee, pastries and fresh fruit were on the conference table. Koenig took a Danish and filled an embassy-branded mug with piping hot coffee. Draper did the same.

‘We’ll sweep the room before we start,’ Bernice said.

‘Is that necessary?’ Koenig asked.

‘It’s protocol when the agenda includes items above a certain security classification. It won’t take long.’

A suited man entered the room. He had short hair and didn’t speak. He removed a wand from a metal case and started running it over any obvious places a bug could have been hidden. Behind the wall monitor. The lights, the electrical sockets. Underneath the conference table. Bugs had gotten smaller and smaller since Koenig’s SOG days. He thought they were probably undetectable to the human eye by now. He took his Danish to the window. The briefing room overlooked the Thames. It was sluggish and murky brown. It looked like the chocolate river in Willy Wonka’s factory.

‘Looks like an open sewer, doesn’t it?’ Bernice said, joining him at the window. ‘It was called the Great Stink until a cholera outbreak forced the Brits to build a new sewage system. It’s now the cleanest river that flows through a major city.’

‘It’s brown.’

‘It has a muddy bed and it’s tidal. It’salwaysbrown.’ She blew on her coffee. ‘I understand your sister lives in London?’

‘Zoe, yes.’

‘You making the time to see her?’

‘Afterwards maybe,’ Koenig said. ‘This is my priority right now.’

‘All clear, ma’am,’ the man sweeping the room said.

‘Thank you, Kevin,’ Bernice said.

They took a seat at the conference table. After they had refilled their drinks, Bernice said, ‘Before we start, I have something for you, Mr Koenig.’