Youâre not a human being to themâyou and almost everyone else in this country, youâre nothing but farm animals to be used or butchered. And Iâm not much better.â
Chi was almost levitating to try and relieve the pressure on his testicles. Robert glanced down at his own hand and then, with something akin to guilt, released his grip. Chi let out a rather embarrassing, babyish gasp of relief and settled back on the bench, cupping his hands over his crotch, partly for comfort, but mostly in fear that the old man might change his mind and take hold again.
âLetâs walk,â Robert said.
âIâm not sure I can,â Chi groaned.
âStop being such a big girlâs blouse and stand up, you pillock.â
âThatâs quite sexist.â
âYeah, like I could give a damn. Come on, we need to get moving.â
They headed out onto the street, with Chi walking rather stiffly, struggling to keep up with the old manâs long strides. There was a sullen silence for the first few minutes, each of them lost in their thoughts, unwilling to be the first to speak.
âHow are the balls?â Robert asked eventually.
âTheyâre bloody sore! Where are we going?â
âBack to Harrietâs. Youâre not done there.â
âShe wonât let me anywhere near Sharonââ
âWeâre going to get this finished and weâre going to do it now,â Robert snarled, his tone allowing no argument, his face creased with anxiety. âEverything you said is true. Back in Northern Ireland, I was exposed. The operation was a liability; it could have brought down the whole peace process. I was going to prison anyway, so I took the blame for all of it and they looked after me when I went inside. But I still did five years and prison is no joke for someone with my background. Afterward, Iâd proved my loyalty, so they quietly took me back, restored my security clearance, and farmed me out to GCHQ.
âListen to me now and listen good, because there are lives at stake and Iâm not having you cocking this up. Sharonâs story about the Scalps, these black ops guys, is realâor at least enough of it to matter is. For the last few months, sheâs been hitting a lot of dead ends, but sheâs smart and sheâs persistent. Eventually, sheâs going to make the right connection somewhere and, with what sheâs got, sheâs going to uncover an operation that needs to stay secret. A lot of very powerful people are involved in this and they wonât take chances.
âIf she comes too close to the operation, sheâs going to die. Iâm telling you this as someone whoâs been in this business a long time. Sheâll have a sudden heart attack, or hit her head and drown in her bath, or crash her car, or commit suicide. Whatever form of death is considered the most appropriate at the time.â
Robert stopped and seized Chiâs shoulder, staring into his face. The old manâs eyes were wide, his lips pulled tight against his teeth.
âAnd if the Scalps think Sharon has been talking to Harriet, then Harriet will have to die, too. Thatâs a simple fact. Theyâll make that decision the way you decide whether youâre going to keep an old pair of shoes or throw them away. Theyâll kill her .â
Now Robertâs agitated manner made sense, Chi realized. He was terrified for his daughter. They were about a ten-minute walk from her flat on Shoreditch High Street and could have caught a cab, but Robert seemed to need to walk off the shuddery energy that was coursing through him. He was shaking his head and as he continued talking.
âSharon wonât back downâshe wouldnât even if I warned her,â he sighed, walking at a pace that nearly had Chi jogging, trying to ignore the bouncing ache in his testicles. The old spyâs voice was just loud enough for Chi to hear him
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