Charles smiled at them all as he picked up his papers. ‘Throughout my career I’ve complained about bureaucratic inefficiency and now I’m arguing against efficiency savings. Throughout my career I’ve argued that reductions in anticipated increases shouldn’t be called cuts but now I’m doing just that, telling ministers that if they want to cut more they’ll have to say which existing requirements they don’t want us to meet. All of which should constitute further evidence – as if we needed it – that God has a sense of humour.’

‘Dangerous game,’ said Gareth. ‘They might conclude they don’t need any of it and then they wouldn’t miss what they never see.’ He looked at the director of intelligence and analysis. ‘Which is why we’ve got to keep it all coming, don’t you think, Ian?’

‘And to think we joined SIS to spy,’ said Charles. ‘Another of God’s jokes.’

‘Sonia rang again,’ said Jenny when he returned to his office. ‘She wants to speak a.s.a.p.’

He closed his office door and rang while still on his feet. Sonia spoke with quiet urgency. ‘Gareth’s arranging another Timber Wolf meeting. Timber Wolf got in touch to say he needed to meet soon, that he’d got something special. His words. Gareth got back to him saying he was under pressure at the moment but would respond as soon as he could fix a date.’

‘How do you know this?’

‘They left messages on each other’s mobiles.’

‘But how do you know? We’re not intercepting—’

Sonia sighed. ‘You know I was to ask Cheltenham for a read-out of Timber Wolf’s call history? Well, I asked for an update and these are the two latest calls. First thing this morning when you and I were in that awful cafe of yours, so well after you’d told him not to meet.’

‘But how do you know what was said? A call history doesn’t give you that. Unless you’ve got a warrant, which you haven’t.’

‘We don’t need one to listen to Timber Wolf. He’s a foreigner living abroad.’

‘But you need a reason. He has to be logged as a target on security or intelligence grounds or whatever.’ He worried that he might sound like some of the senior officers of his youth who had seemed to exist in order to stop things happening. ‘I mean, I’m not trying to—’

‘Economic well-being, protection and furtherance of. It’s in the Intelligence Services Act. Timber Wolf has access to information of great economic importance to this country. Therefore he’s a legitimate intelligence target.’

‘But who authorised it? You can’t just do it off your own bat.’

‘My director. Ian’s authorising it retrospectively.’

‘You mean he doesn’t yet know about it.’