Geraint continued, ‘Let’s use our friend Black as an example. The international drug cartel he had infiltrated posted an ad on the Tenebris Network saying they wanted to know if there were any ongoing investigations into them. The Employees who replied to the ad would’ve included details on their position, security level clearance and their fee for finding out. The drug cartel would go through the Employee bids and swipe right on the one they wanted. Click. A match is made. The Employee supplies the info. The Employer gives them cash. All done through Tenebris and completely untraceable. I’ve spent some time on it and both the app and website appear to be impenetrable. They must have exceptional people on staff.’ Geraint bowed his head. Admitting defeat was new for him.

‘Black was working on a joint operation with Six. How do we know the Snake isn’t a Rat? We’re relying on the new protocols to presume we’re all clean?’ asked Jake. Since Sandy’s betrayal, additional security protocols had been actioned. They added extra man-hours to all our admin as everything needed cross-unit approval, but we figured it was worth it if it meant limiting the chances of another unit leader going on a traitorous rampage.

‘The drug cartel was matched with King666,’ said Hattie. ‘That username has, to date, bid on four different jobs – all to do with intel related to Six. All four of those operations ended in failure for Six with dead agents and dead informants. It’s why we’re convinced that the Snake is a Pigeon.’

In Eight we called those from Five and Six ‘Pigeons’, as they were dotted all a round London and, in our opinion, would shit over everything. Whenever our paths crossed they seemed to add complications rather than solutions.

Pixie frowned. ‘How did you get the information on King666 if the website is so unhackable?’

‘A few days ago Tenebris approached a Six agent asking if he wanted to sign up as an Employee. He accepted but brought it to his superior. Tenebris gave him a working login for their website. Six was then able to use it to hack into the hidden doors and download information. It was twenty-four hours until Tenebris discovered the breach and disabled the agent’s username. The information Six gained from the hack is how we were able to get to Black in time. It is, however, now back to being completely impenetrable. And Tenebris now know that we’re onto them.’

I thought about everything Hattie was saying. ‘So it’s a headhunting service for traitors. A recruitment agency for the international criminal underworld.’