“Who is he?” an American commander on the video link asked.

“He’s been living undercover as Thomas Lindgren,” Taylor said, “married to Anne Lindgren.”

“General Anne Lindgren?” the commander said.

“His face matches archived records for an SVR officer named Nikolai Pravik. I believe the discovery of his true identity connects to the death of a British intelligence officer on the island and possibly the disappearance of two children. It’s been known for some time that Russia has a source there, code-named Gemstone, instrumental in the supply of space-related intelligence to China. Previous attempts to identify him have been complicated by the sensitivity of the joint US-UK arrangements.”

“Can you confirm this?” Mackenzie asked Skinner.

“I’ll be briefing in due course,” Skinner said.

“Due course is now. I need to know exactly what happened, why a hostile agent has been allowed to continue operating in the heart of our defense program. I want to know what you knew and when, and how extensive you believe the damage to be. A full report, today.”

Skinner looked sick. He gave a nod and left the command room silently. In his absence Taylor’s credibility seemed to grow.

“What is the current situation on the ground there?” the commander asked. “Where is Pravik?”

“It’s not clear. I have one officer in place who may be able to do something, but it seems he’s come under the suspicion of both US and UK security. I need them to be instructed to support him. He’s in a position to bring about a peaceful outcome. But not on his own.”

Taylor felt the emptiness of the words in her mouth. What could Kane do? Where was he?

“Does your officer know about Pravik?” Mackenzie asked.

“Possibly. I can’t say for sure. It’s difficult establishing contact.”

“How would this rendezvous work?” the minister for defense wanted to know. “If the ship is on its way to pick him up.”

“That’s not clear either.”

There were rumblings of discontent. A few individuals turned back to their monitors.

“I think we can advise caution with regards to the ship,” the chief of defense staff said. “Keep shadowing. Hold fire.”

“Hold fire only until we’ve ascertained more details,” the minister said. “It’s in our waters, well within striking distance, and we’re authorized to neutralize it if we see fit.”

33

Anne drove as if possessed. For the second time that day Kane thought he might die in a car accident. They hurtled toward Georgetown. The only other vehicles they saw were racing toward Devil’s Ashpit or carrying civilians to the airbase. Green Mountain sat wreathed in smoke, birds circling out in frantic clusters.