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Back Double Agent Save as PDF
Chapters (40)
  1. Cover
  2. Half Title
  3. Also by Tom Bradby
  4. Title
  5. Copyright
  6. Dedication
  7. Prologue
  8. 1
  9. 2
  10. 3
  11. 4
  12. 5
  13. 6
  14. 7
  15. 8
  16. 9
  17. 10
  18. 11
  19. 12
  20. 13
  21. 14
  22. 15
  23. 16
  24. 17
  25. 18
  26. 19
  27. 20
  28. 21
  29. 22
  30. 23
  31. 24
  32. 25
  33. 26
  34. 27
  35. 28
  36. 29
  37. 30
  38. Epilogue
  39. Preview: Yesterday’s Spy
  40. Acknowledgements

Kate was hardly able to grasp what had happened. How long ago had she left the meeting? Half an hour? Forty minutes, at most. Who could possibly have picked up the phone to the media? The foreign secretary? No, surely not: this seemed destined to end her career within minutes. Her permanent secretary? But what could conceivably be his motive? ‘Who in the hell . . .’ Her voice trailed off.

‘Ian.’

‘What?’

‘Of course. Every which way he wins. He tips off the PM. He tips off the press. Then he tells the PM’s people the leak came from the foreign secretary’s office. She is screwed, Sir Alan is embarrassed, the PM is grateful.’

Kate shook her head. ‘Even he isn’t that brazen.’

‘Of course he bloody is! Can you think of anyone else with the sheer brass neck to do something like this within an hour of your meeting?’

Kate didn’t have time to give this a lot of thought. Her phone rang. It turned out to be the Downing Street switchboard. ‘Mrs Henderson, I have the prime minister for you.’ Kate waited, her heart thumping.

‘Good afternoon, Mrs Henderson,’ he said. ‘May I politely ask what the fucking hell is going on down there in Vauxhall?’

‘Prime Minister—’

‘I’m not going to trouble your chief. I’m aware his wife is dying and I’ve known him long enough to be sure this isn’t his doing. With my next call, I intend to unceremoniously fire the foreign secretary for gross incompetence, not to say disgraceful disloyalty. So I’m going to need someone to offer me an explanation. And I have a hunch that person is you.’

‘Prime Minister—’

‘Get your pretty little backside in here right now. I’m in my office at the Commons. I’ll expect you within ten minutes.’ He ended the phone call. If you could slam down a mobile phone, it had sounded as though he had certainly done so. ‘Who was that?’ Julie asked.

‘The PM.’

‘Holy shit.’

Kate sat down. She closed her eyes, tried to gather herself. ‘I have to go,’ she said. Julie didn’t dispute it. ‘I have to go,’ she repeated.

‘I know!’

Kate got up, pulled on her coat, slung her bag over her shoulder and walked through the outer office. Suzy was nowhere to be seen, but Maddy stood in front of the TV screen, transfixed. It was tuned to Sky News and the strap at the bottom read: ‘Foreign Secretary Fired Over Fake Sex Video’. News moved so fast these days.

26

26

KATE WAS GRATEFUL for the fresh air and decided to walk up to the House of Commons. Streaks of morning sunlight cut through the bank of dark cloud and gave the Mother of Parliaments a golden hue. She crossed Lambeth Bridge, slipped across Victoria Gardens and went through security like any other visitor before making her way to Central Lobby.