Slingshot: A Spycatcher Novel by Matthew Dunn Read Free Book Online

knows. Vauxhall Cross”—MI6 HQ—“wants us to report in tomorrow. I suspect we’re going to be put before the Inquisition. Seen it happen to other Qs before. Our bollocks will be squeezed until we’re without a job and a hair’s breadth away from prison.”
    “But you’ve done nothing wrong!”
    “On paper, I did nothing right.”
    Will looked at Alistair. “We can’t let that happen. We owe these men, plus they performed impeccably.”
    Alistair frowned. “And what would you have me do?”
    “We’re light by two men on the paramilitary front. Make them part of the section. If you do that, you’ll save them from the bureaucrats.”
    Alistair looked affronted. “Selection to the unit is rigorous . . .”
    “It is. And Mark and Adam passed the test in Gdansk.”
    Alistair darted a look at the Q men. “Gentlemen, would you be kind enough to leave the room for a moment?”
    “Let them stay. After what they’ve been through, I believe we can talk openly in front of them.” Will nodded at Mark. “My name’s Will. There are real sensitivities around what I do, but don’t take it as a slight against you that we can’t go into what they are.”
    Mark shrugged. “Fine by us.”
    Alistair moved up to Will and whispered, “What would Roger and Laith think?”
    Roger Koenig and Laith Dia. The two CIA SOG paramilitary officers who were permanently seconded to the Spartan Section.
    “They’ll want to know they’re working alongside professionals of equal caliber. Once they’ve ascertained that’s the case, their respect for you will grow exponentially. They’ll have seen that you’ve put your powerful wings around two men just like them, and that will make you stand out from the pencil pushers.”
    “I don’t need faux flattery.”
    “I know. But you need a team.”
    Alistair seemed unsure. “If I requisition them, I’ll upset quite a few people.”
    “Since when do you care about pissing off senior management? In any case, if you requisition them for the section, nobody can do anything about it.”
    Alistair nodded slowly, deep in thought. “It would, I concede, complete the team.” He turned toward the Q men and studied them for a moment before speaking in a commanding voice. “Gentlemen, in days gone by, condemned men were sometimes given a choice between the rope or a lifetime of serving on the very worst battlefronts. I’m giving you a similar choice.”
    Mark smiled. “Nobody’s going to put me in a rope.”
    Adam nodded. “My sentiments, exactly. But what is this section?”
    Alistair wagged a finger. “You’ll need to sign some nondisclosure documents before I get into that.” He glanced at Will. “Then, things will become clearer.”
    Will looked at Mark and Adam. “Once you’ve signed the papers, you’ll be outside of all other chains of command. Trust Alistair, trust me, trust everyone else in the section, but no one else.” He guided Alistair away from the Q men and asked quietly, “Patrick?”
    The CIA cohead of the section.
    Alistair frowned. “What about him?”
    “He needs to be here, together with Roger and Laith. When are they flying over?”
    “For what?”
    Will felt exasperated. “You know what the AW operative told us. We can’t allow that piece of paper to remain in the wrong hands. The mission is clear . . .”
    “It’s not! We don’t know anything about the paper.”
    “We know its value. What happened in Gdansk proved that.”
    Alistair spoke with deliberation. “You can’t expect me to deploy the section on something so intangible. And I’m certainly not going to do so just to allow you to make up for the fiasco in Poland.”
    Will snapped furiously, “It’s got nothing to do with that. The Russians deployed a whole SVR team to retrieve the paper.”
    “Then let them find it.”
    “What happens if they can’t? There’s only one of them left.”
    “They’ll send him more bodies.” Alistair shook his head. “You can’t expect Patrick