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  No one was.

  “Good. We have diplomatic problems to discuss as well as intelligence and security issues, but I would like to start with the intelligence aspects of what’s happened.

  “You will all know that Dr Roger Lloyd, aka Professor Jack Barclay of nuclear fusion fame, moved to CERN last week as a Swiss citizen. Very few people indeed knew of this, and I had anticipated that his transfer would go un-noticed, especially as we had been able to identify and remove the informant in this very office who had hitherto been passing information to the Russians.

  “Lloyd’s move should therefore have gone without them having any knowledge of it whatsoever. And yet, someone who seems to have known every detail managed to forewarn them, and to do so in such good time as to enable them to plan and execute an operation which almost succeeded in taking the life of both Lloyd and his Section 11 escort. I am sorry to say that our man may yet not survive.

  “However, when I say ‘them’, I mean the FSB agent Dmitri Makienko, who had already made one unsuccessful attempt on the life of Dr Lloyd by blackmailing Alan Jarvis, ex-Head of Section 11, and who had then personally been responsible for Jarvis’s murder. Information was obviously being passed directly to Makienko, rather than via Moscow, since Makienko went straight to Switzerland from here when he was once again expelled, obviously having been briefed that Lloyd was at CERN and that Lloyd and Barclay were one in the same person. He also went straight to where Lloyd was spending a weekend skiing, and very nearly succeeded in yet another assassination attempt.

  “Our information is, incidentally, that the Russians themselves have absolutely no idea what happened to Makienko when he left London, only that he never arrived in Moscow as expected. Among other things, this is what leads us to believe that our new agent was dealing directly with him, rather than through his controller in the Lubyanka building.

  “You know the details of how Section 11 mounted a very rapid reaction, and ultimately very successful, rescue attempt, which would not have been possible without the active agreement and participation of the Swiss Government. I am extremely grateful to all of you who had any part to play in the diplomatic manoeuvres which allowed this operation to be mounted. UK forces attempting to rescue a Swiss citizen in Switzerland is not an everyday occurrence.

  “What this all means, Gentlemen, is that the clerk in the Cabinet Office was not the only mole passing information to the Russians. As a matter of the utmost urgency, we must identify the other agent operating within our midst.”

  They all nodded gravely.

  “It could even be you, Sir Robin, or almost any one of us who has had any knowledge of this affair” said Sir William Forsyth from the Foreign Office. “Where on earth do we start?”

  “With your agreement, gentlemen, I suggest we start by asking Bill Clayton to head an enquiry and to report to us, with the utmost urgency and in the greatest secrecy. He will need to work closely with MI5 and MI6 and with the police, and I propose to detach to his office a small team drawn from those organisations.”

  There was a general murmur of agreement and a vigorous nodding of wise heads.

  “Is that all right with you Bill?” asked Algar. “Will you take that on for us, since you know more of the background than anyone else here present?”

  “Of course,” agreed Clayton. “I was wondering what to do today!”

  “Will you base yourself in Clerkenwell, or would you rather move to some other location?”

  “Clerkenwell. I know and can trust the people there, and we have first class secure communications as well as an excellent physical security system already in place. That’s not to say that one of my people may not be the spy we are looking for, in the same way that it could be any one of us here today, but we shall discover whoever it is, rest assured.”

  “Any first thoughts, Bill?”

  “Not really, although I have been concerned for some time that we might be harbouring a viper to our breast somewhere. Indeed, my deputy, Commander Marsden and I have already discussed the likelihood, but took it no further when you told us that one of your clerks was selling information. What is now obvious is that sensitive information has been passed to Makienko since your man was removed from the scene. My first task will be to assess what information was passed to him after your clerk left, and who had access to it in the first place to be able to pass it on. We shall then need to discover how this was done, and whether more than one individual has been involved. No doubt I shall need to ask for discrete phone taps and intercepts, and perhaps a monitoring of e-mail and other internet traffic, all of which no doubt GCHQ will be able to organise. A representative from Cheltenham to work alongside me would be a valuable addition to my enquiry team, if you could arrange that Sir Robin.”

  “Of course. I cannot emphasise how urgent and important this. We obviously have a top level foreign spy working at the highest levels of Government, and whoever it is must be rooted out with all speed. Bill, if there is nothing else for the time being, you can get back to your HQ and make a start if you wish. The rest of us will be discussing diplomatic issues, and the question of future protection for Dr Lloyd if that is deemed necessary. Is there anything you wish to add before you leave?”

  “Two things, since you ask. My own view is that, if Lloyd’s value to this country remains as it was, then protection should continue to be provided. We know that Makienko is dead, but the Russians may not know this, since they do not yet know that he left London for Zurich instead of Moscow. For our part, we do not know if he was able to pass on any valuable information to his FSB Headquarters before he died, or whether the agent we shall now be trying to identify has done so, or will do so. I gather that you have arranged special protection for Lloyd to be provided by the Swiss – a unit of their special forces while he is at the Air Base and the police when he returns home and to work – and I recommend that this arrangement remains in force until we know more. Secondly, it has been suggested that the injuries to Lloyd and my man Miller were caused by stray bullets from a hunting party in the area who may also have been responsible for Makienko’s death. This seems to me to be an excellent cover story, which will need to be passed to the Russian authorities if his body is ever recovered.”

  “Thank you for that, Bill. As you may know, I have been in touch with the Commandant at the Swiss Air base, so he is fully briefed. I gather the cover story was his idea, so he is obviously on the ball and to be trusted.”

  “One further thing, if I may, Sir Robin. If I am to concentrate full time on this,” said Bill Clayton, “even with people from MI5 and MI6 working alongside, then Commander Marsden will have to more or less take over running Section 11 for a time, so we shall need extra support at the top. If you agree, I would especially like Major Peter Northcot to join the enquiry as part of the MI5 team. He is well known and well respected in the intelligence field, and recently left the Army after two very successful tours in Hong Kong. His father, who has just retired from MI6, was a legendary and fearless agent who served abroad until the very end of his career. I have no hesitation in recommending him, especially as he has just completed the MI5 training course. He will be a valuable member of the enquiry, and will also be able to help out Nick from time to time when necessary.”

  “I agree entirely,” said Sir Robin, while others nodded their approval. “You are certainly going to need some help, and if this is the man you want and recommend, then I have no hesitation in endorsing your choice. Good luck with your search.”

  “I shall need it. This isn’t what we normally do in Section 11.”

  Bill Clayton left the Cabinet Office meeting with a good deal of extra and urgent work to do. He was looking forward to seeing Nick Marsden back in the office, but wondered where Barbara was. It would not be easy for Marsden dealing with this if she did not soon turn up, and Clayton was not altogether looking forward to discussing her absence with Nick.

  He used the phone in the car to ring the office.

  Gla
dys answered.

  “Any sign of Barbara yet?” he asked.

  “Not a word,” said Gladys. “It’s me or nothing at the moment.”

  “Is Nick Marsden there yet?”

  “No. Last I heard, he was sound asleep.”

  “At home?”

  “No. On the back seat of your Jag, according to Archie.”

  “Did Archie say when they might get there?”

  “Ten minutes ago, he thought about an hour,” replied Gladys, entering into the spirit of the thing. “Knowing Archie, they’ll be here in about half an hour.”

  “Good. I’ll be back by then.”

  “The Yard has been on,” announced Gladys. “They have a team ready to go in to Barbara’s place when you say so.”

  “I want Nick to go with them. He’s got a key.”

  “We only have to say the word, whenever we’re ready.”

  This was going quite well, thought Gladys. She lit a fag, probably her last for some time she thought, and poured another coffee before making a fresh pot for the boss.

  Nigel Mynott turned up, the IT man from the Coms Centre downstairs.

  “Nothing works,” she announced when he asked what was wrong.

  Gladys didn’t have a clue what he was doing, switching things on and off and fiddling with his mouse. Eventually he got out a screw-driver, and undid the case of the computer in her office.

  “There!” he said, sitting back. “I knew it all along. The hard drive has been removed.”

  “We’ll need a spare, then,”

  He looked at her as if she had just landed from Mars.

  “It’s not that easy, love,” he announced. “The hard drive contains almost all the information ever put on the computer, and I mean all of it. A new hard disk will make the thing work again, but you won’t be able to access anything, not even your own name. Someone has buggered this thing, and meant to.”

  “What about the ones in the other two offices; the boss and his deputy?”

  “My next job,” Mynott said. “I’ll check them right away.”

  He was in Head of Section’s office when Bill Clayton returned.

  “Your computer looks all right, Mr Clayton,” said Nigel Mynott. “But someone’s taken the hard disk from your PA’s, next door, so nothing works, and there are no files or folders or any other sort of information left on it.”

  “We should have a back-up,” announced Clayton, “in the safe.”

  “Good. But I’ll need to fit a new drive first.”

  “Don’t do anything else just yet, if you don’t mind,” commanded Clayton, thinking fast. “We may need to check the thing for finger prints first. Whoever did this was not authorised to tamper with it.”

  “Understood,” said Mynott. “Just give me a shout when you’re ready, and I’ll sort it all out for you.”

  “Your section is going to have quite a lot of work to do shortly, in a hurry. Have a word with Brian Drake, if you would, and get him standing by for a briefing, and you and the rest of his team ready for some top priority work.”

  As Mynott left, Gladys appeared with a steaming mug of fresh coffee.

  “Probably not up to Barbara’s standard,” she said. “I gather she made a good brew.”

  “This is exactly what I need Gladys. Thanks. Keep away from your computer, by the way …”

  “What’s left of it,” she interrupted.

  “OK, so keep away from what’s left of it then. We may need to check it for finger prints as it’s been disabled by someone.

  “Now, Gladys,” he continued, “we are going to be very busy, so there’s a lot I would like you to do. I’ve got to mount a major spy hunt, so I shall want a small Ops Room of my own, fully equipped. Perhaps we can partition off part of the one downstairs. It’s not often fully manned. If not, find me another room somewhere, perhaps the briefing room, but big enough to house up to nine people, and complete with all the normal computer and other secure communications kit. While I’m doing that inquiry, Commander Marsden will have to more or less take charge of Section 11, and a Major Peter Northcot will be moving in as part of my enquiry team but also to help out up here. Warn the security people that he will be coming on board, and tell them that there will be half a dozen or so others working here helping me with my enquiry. Most of them will already have high level security clearances, but they will need passes and so on. Any problems let me know.”

  “Do you want me to do all this even if Barbara turns up?”

  “Yes I do,” replied Clayton. “From now on and until further notice, you work for me.”

  “Good – thank you,” said Gladys, thinking the coffee couldn’t have been that bad.

  “I’d rather you didn’t smoke, though,” added ‘S’.

  Not all good, after all, but she nodded just the same. Time she gave up, anyway.

  She was just leaving Clayton’s office, when Nick Marsden appeared. He looked awful.

  “Barbara not in yet then?” he asked.

  “Not yet. Gladys is helping out until she turns up.”

  “Can’t think where the girl can be,” he said, puzzled and worried.

  “Come in Nick, and sit down for a minute. It’s good to see you, even if you do look dreadful. How are you feeling?”

  “Physically and mentally, just about all in,” he replied.

  “You need a cup of good coffee,” said Gladys, and disappeared to get one.

  Nick slumped into a chair.

  “I gather there’s a bit of a flap on,” he said.

  “Not half,” replied Bill Clayton. “For a start, Barbara seems to have disappeared, as you know, but the hard drive of her computer next door has also been stripped out. IT is on to it, but I shall want Special Branch in to go over it for finger prints before they do anything. We need to know who did it. And I shall also want the office gone over with a tooth-comb to see what else is missing – mobile phones, files, anything like that.”

  “Can’t turn my back for five minutes, can I?” Nick half joked.

  “There’s more. You’re effectively in charge from now on. I shall be heading a major mole hunt, although hopefully not for too long. I shall be in the building, though, so you can get at me. But from now on, Gladys is working for us, and one of her girls will stand in as well until Barbara turns up.”

  “We’re all going to be a bit busy, then.”

  “Just a bit, Nick. I’m sorry to land you with this, when I can see you need a proper rest, but there’s no option. I shall be getting Major Peter Northcot in to help out – you know him, I think.”

  “Very good bloke. It will be great to have him around.”

  “I’m afraid there are two things I must ask you to do straight away. First of all, get over to Barbara’s place to let the police in, and give the place a thorough going over if there is no trace there of her or her mother or Donald. Look for passports, mobile phones, missing cash, any signs that they left in a hurry or if they had time to organise themselves. You know what to look for, and the police wont. There’s a team from the Yard, forensics, scene-of-crime officers and all that, waiting to get over there when you give the word. As soon as you can get away, do so, and come back here. Leave the police to question neighbours and so on if they think they need to, but I shall need your view as to why she has not turned up as soon as possible. After that, give her office a quick going over as well when you get back. Special Branch will be looking for finger prints and so on to see if we can get a clue as to who might have stripped down her computer in view of where it is and what might be – or was – on it. After that, we shall need to talk. I particularly want you to help me plan my little exercise.”

  “OK, I’ll get on with it as quickly as I can. If there’s two minutes spare during the day, though, I’d like to ring Selly Oak to find out how Dusty is getting on.”

  “We must certainly do that, but I think Roger Lloyd is in good hands and doing well, which is something. At least we don’t have to keep an eye on him anymo
re. The Swiss are doing that.”

  “See you later, then,” said a weary Nick Marsden.

  Clayton slumped into his chair, a worried man.

  ***

  Marsden headed straight off to Barbara’s place in Battersea, having arranged to meet the police team there. A quick look round the outside seemed to confirm that there had been no forced entry, which was something.

  He let himself in, fearful of what he might find.

  He quickly went into every room in the small detached house, but found no sign of anything having been disturbed, and to his enormous relief, no bodies either. At least his worse fears had been allayed.

  By then, the police search team had arrived.

  “I know this house well, and I know where everything should be,” he told the Superintendent in charge. “I shall go through every room, being careful not to disturb anything, and perhaps one of your chaps could come round with me. Let me have a pair of vinyl gloves, will you please. I shall collect a few things of my own, but if I spot anything odd, I can point it out to him, and leave the rest to you. There doesn’t appear to be any sign of a forced entry, and apart from the normal residents here, a woman and her mother, I think I’m the only other one with a key. Her six-year-old son didn’t have one so far as I know. There should have been three people here who have disappeared from the face of the earth without any warning or notice, so far as I can tell, so we are looking for clues as to why they may have gone and where they may have gone to. I’m sure you’re more used to this than I am, so shout if I can help while I’m here. Is that OK?”

  “That’s fine, Commander,” the Superintendent agreed. “I’ll leave one of my chaps here with you, …” he beckoned to an enthusiastic looking young man in plain clothes “… while the rest of us look around outside.”

  “There should be a car in the garage, but that seems to be missing,” said Marsden. “Perhaps they used it to go away in, or it’s been nicked if they left under duress.”

  “Leave it to us.”

  “I shall be leaving everything to you, I guess. I shan’t be staying here a minute longer than I need.”