The most extraordinary thing about these two pasty-faced boffins, who looked more like elderly sales assistants in a dignified men’s outfitters of a nearly bygone age, was that everything they produced could be relied upon to work. Of the hundreds of weird devices they came up with, few were ever offered by them for service; but, with very rare exceptions indeed, one had the greatest of confidence that, if they did offer something, it would work.

The device I held in my hands now wasn’t actually their invention. In fact, they invented very little. Their brilliance lay in their ability to find and adapt inventions of others to the needs of the British field operative of the 1980s. This particular device was a laser microphone which could pick up a conversation with the most perfect clarity and fidelity of tone from a range of up to five miles. It did this by picking up the vibrations that the words made on any solid object nearby, and translating the vibrations back into speech. Glass was ideal for this, and no piece of glass could have been more ideal than the Triplex toughened-zone windscreen behind which they now sat.

‘You’re late. Jesus, you had me worried.’

‘I’m sorry – the traffic was bad getting out of London.’

‘The traffic’s always bad in London. You got stuck in it last time – why couldn’t you have left earlier?’

I recognized the man’s voice. I had heard it before. I racked my brains to think where, but I couldn’t remember; but I had definitely heard that voice.

‘I couldn’t. It would have looked suspicious.’

‘You were hours late last time. I’ve driven a hundred miles to make your journey shorter for you this time, and you’re still late.’

‘I’m sorry; I’m not good at this sort of thing.’

‘Maybe I should send some of these to your wife – would it help your punctuality?’

There was the sound of stiff paper; they both looked down at something the contact held.

‘You told me the negatives had been destroyed.’

‘Did I? I must have lied.’

‘I’ll be on time in the future.’

‘I’m glad to hear it, but I’m hoping there won’t be too many more times.’

‘Good. I don’t think my nerves can take it much longer.’

‘You’re sure you weren’t followed here?’

‘Of course not. I’ve told you, the Authority has no security worth speaking of.’