Kate waited for Julie as agreed at Pret A Manger on the other side of security at Heathrow. She had booked her own ticket for the next flight to Helsinki as soon as she’d arrived, having checked that there was another seat available for Julie. Her heart still thumped hard after the adrenalin rush of beating the surveillance team. The coffee did little to calm its rhythm. She’d resorted to a double dose of zopiclone the night before and the four hours’ sleep it had afforded her barely touched the sides of her fatigue. She still felt like death, and for a few brief moments she considered calling off the trip to St Petersburg – then immediately thought better of it.

Julie arrived, flustered, with a copy of The Times tucked under her arm. ‘Sorry, it took me ages to shake off the Security Service guys.’

‘I think they’ve changed their teams.’

‘Makes sense. Suzy must have advised them to. That girl is an absolute snake.’

‘She’s needy and insecure, which is not a great combination. You sure you lost them all?’

‘Yes. You?’

Kate nodded. ‘There was a couple I only spotted at the very end, but I’ve been watching carefully. They’ve not reappeared. Did you book your ticket okay?’

‘Yes, the flight’s nearly empty by the looks of it. You want another coffee?’

Kate shook her head and Julie returned with a double espresso. She flipped over The Times so that it was headline up. It referred to the split in the NATO alliance between the boldness of the Germans and French and the caution of the British prime minister. ‘I accept we both have our doubts about the wisdom of this trip, but you’re right. We don’t have a choice.’ Julie gestured at the headline. ‘I’ve been thinking about the sacrifices all our forefathers made in the last war. And for this, a world in which our leader is an immoral traitor in league with our enemy? We’re growing uncomfortably accustomed to things being fucked up, but we shouldn’t.’

Kate shrugged. What else was there to say?

‘Are you sure you don’t want me to come all the way with you?’

‘I’ll need some back-up here.’

Julie nodded and left it there. It was true enough and they both knew it.

Julie finished her coffee and they made their way towards Passport Control and security. They glanced at each other as they approached the border checks, but they passed through without incident and breathed a sigh of relief. By the time MI5 realized its mistake and caught up with them, they would, with any luck, be well on their way to the Russian border.