Chapters (124)
- Cover
- About the Author
- Acclaim for Frank Gardner’s Luke Carlton thrillers
- Also by Frank Gardner
- Dedication
- Epigraph
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
- 10
- 11
- 12
- 13
- 14
- 15
- 16
- 17
- 18
- 19
- 20
- 21
- 22
- 23
- 24
- 25
- 26
- 27
- 28
- 29
- 30
- 31
- 32
- 33
- 34
- 35
- 36
- 37
- 38
- 39
- 40
- 41
- 42
- 43
- 44
- 45
- 46
- 47
- 48
- 49
- 50
- 51
- 52
- 53
- 54
- 55
- 56
- 57
- 58
- 59
- 60
- 61
- 62
- 63
- 64
- 65
- 66
- 67
- 68
- 69
- 70
- 71
- 72
- 73
- 74
- 75
- 76
- 77
- 78
- 79
- 80
- 81
- 82
- 83
- 84
- 85
- 86
- 87
- 88
- 89
- 90
- 91
- 92
- 93
- 94
- 95
- 96
- 97
- 98
- 99
- 100
- 101
- 102
- 103
- 104
- 105
- 106
- 107
- 108
- 109
- 110
- 111
- 112
- 113
- 114
- 115
- Epilogue
- Acknowledgements
- THIS IS JUST THE BEGINNING
She was ready for this. Angela Scott did not go into meetings unprepared. But still she swallowed slightly before she replied. ‘We’ve red-teamed it, C. We’ve looked at what they might have to gain from taking us down a wrong path.’
‘And?’
‘And our assessment is that, on balance, they have more to gain from working with us than against us on this one. Agent X is a threat to both our nations’ populations. Biological pathogens don’t stop at borders.’ She waited for him to say something, but he kept regarding her in silence so she pressed on: ‘Look, I’m not saying Moscow doesn’t have secrets they want to keep from us on the bio front. Of course they do. Washington slapped sanctions on some of those biological research units in 2020. And let’s not forget there is something of a grey area between state and non-state activities in this sphere. So, I suppose I’m saying yes, it’s a genuine offer, but with caveats.’
Sir Adam nodded, still deep in thought. He frowned as he spoke. ‘I get that. So let me ask you a delicate question.’
She caught herself biting her lip. This sounded like something she hadn’t prepared herself for.
‘I hope you can reassure me, Angela, that this access you say Luke is being offered into WaffenKrieg90 has not been extracted under some kind of duress. Because I don’t need to remind you that the Service cannot afford another scandal like Libya.’
She hesitated for just a second. Luke hadn’t mentioned anything about that, but then again she hadn’t asked him, and Angela knew she should have double-checked. Maybe she had simply been too busy trying to help head off Britain’s first full-scale biological attack in modern history.
‘No. I think we’re clean, C. Luke would have mentioned if that were the case, I’m sure of it.’
The Chief walked over to her. For a moment she thought he was about to lay a hand on her shoulder, a gesture she had always resented as deeply patronizing. But he stood at a respectable distance, facing her as he gave her the green light to go ahead.
‘Good. Well, that’s settled, then. Speak to Thames and get everyone working on Luke’s legend and keep me closely informed. Good work, Angela. Now, if you’ll excuse me …’