“Lindgren’s family,” he said. “We need medical assistance, but the emergency services are all attending other scenes. Are you able to contact the Administrator directly? It should be possible to arrange assistance from one of the bases. We’re on the pierhead at Georgetown.”

“I can try. We’re reestablishing a connection now. I can do that,” she said. “The pierhead, okay. Are you able to stay on the line?”

“Not right now.”

The connection was breaking anyway. Kane hung up. He could see Anne through the window, looking toward the sea.

34

Taylor passed on the good news to the Crisis ManagementCentre, who received it with a combination of relief and circumspection. In the aftermath of her briefing, the war room reached a crescendo of activity. Instructions were dispatched to the other command rooms and up the hierarchy of government itself. There was discussion regarding the channels via which the fate of Nikolai Pravik could be communicated to Moscow and onward to the Yantar. Then Taylor sensed a slight pause in proceedings as all the new information percolated through; a moment of sanity, perhaps. She felt she’d done her bit, and that she wasn’t particularly welcome anymore.

“Let’s get some air,” Mackenzie said.

They went back through the subterranean corridors, up to the equivalent maze on the ground floor. Finally, they reached a small door with one guard who nodded at the chief and released them into a courtyard. Taylor took a breath of air, looked gratefully up at the sky. There was a view of green landscape ahead that must have been St. James’s Park. It was behind locked gates, protected by two armed police with submachine guns. In her disorientation Taylor briefly wondered why the park needed such heavy security, then realized it was herself who was on the secure side. They were at the back of Downing Street.

Mackenzie walked her slowly toward the exit. Signal returned to her phone and she saw eight missed calls from Markus Fischer. She thrust it back into her coat pocket.

“Daniel Kudus,” she said. “He’s been assisting me. He’s in headquarters now.”

“He’s okay. Don’t worry.”

“HQ know?”

“HQ have been fully informed. Daniel Kudus is safe and well.”

“Thank you.”

“Quite a few days you’ve had.”

“Yes.”

“How do you feel?”

“In all honesty? A little shaky.”

“I’m sure.”

The air was thick with peace: a day slowly softening toward its end without a war beginning. In the distance, tourists peered through the gate’s ironwork. The chief slowed to a stop a few meters before it.

“Well, you know now. Ptolemy. It’s not going to become any less critical. You’ve seen the future.”

“It’s dramatic.”

“Potentially very dramatic.” Mackenzie nodded. “Needs someone with a cool head.”

It took Taylor a second to realize what he was saying. “I can see that.”