A Few Words for the Dead Read Online Free Page A

to be forgotten. One of the men sat in the back climbed out and stepped to one side so that Shining could climb in. He did do, annoyed to see the man close the door on him and walk off towards the Section 37 office, ignoring a stare from Oman completely. So much for not having his office invaded.
    ‘Should I have warned your chap that the office isn’t empty?’ Shining asked, wondering who was designated to reply.
    ‘I’m sure your sister will be happy to help,’ replied the man sat next to him on the back seat. Shining was only too aware that the man was scoring points. They knew who was in the office. Fine, bully for them. It hardly mattered. He looked at the man, ex-military most likely, eyes constantly scanning the world outside the car as if expecting an attack.
    ‘I don’t suppose anyone is cleared to tell me where it is we’re going?’ Shining asked.
    ‘No,’ the man replied, watching a young mother push her child across a pedestrian crossing. Shining couldn’t tell if his gaze was appreciative or whether he suspected the woman represented a threat. Perhaps the man had been in the security business so long he could no longer tell either.
    They drove north towards the A10 and an escape from London, Shining no longer bothering to maintain the pretence of civility as a pregnant silence filled the car with the breathless atmosphere of a gym locker room. Instead, he took a few moments to analyse his companions and decide what had brought the car to his door.
    The men reeked of special forces. UKSF had a bearing, a solidity that never waned, even when not involved in anything more intimidating than the act of filling out suits. Whatever meeting he was on his way to was therefore both secret and outside the normal channels of any specific department. These men were on loan. They probably knew nothing more than that they were to collect him and deliver him to his destination, wherever it may be. Outside London, that much was obvious, and equally worrying. This wasn’t to be a simple debrief by one of the other section heads; if that were the case he’d have been called to the meeting not ferried in ignorance. This was the sort of treatment reserved for the enemy.
    Petty animosity aside, he couldn’t imagine what he’d done to earn himself that status. If anything, Section 37’s last operation should have seen their reputation in the ascendance. Naturally, a good many of the details would be hidden away in obscure files, known by few, believed by fewer. Those facts aside, their involvement in the recent trade talks between the UK and South Korea had saved lives and unearthed an MI6 traitor of long standing. Shining could fully imagine Six were somewhat irritated by the fact – nobody liked it when outsiders discovered these things. If there was a bad apple, better you found them yourself, hopefully in a manner that might suggest you had always had your eye on them – but that wasn’t due cause for victimising Shining. Right now, the last thing Six would want to talk about was Mark Fratfield.
    They had left someone behind to poke around his office. Why had they done that? What were they after? What files would the man be trying to lay his hands on at this very minute? Had April already killed him? Shining couldn’t help a brief smile at the thought.

FOUR
    The moment the security officer entered the Section 37 office, April had him tagged as a problem. The only thing she was uncertain about was how best to solve it.
    ‘Can I help you?’ she asked. She smiled at him in precisely the sort of way that a mad old woman might.
    April Shining had gone a long way in her various careers. She had done so thanks to a number of different skills, not least of which was knowing when to seem unimportant, annoying or mad.
    ‘April Shining?’ the officer asked, fixing her with a stare that suggested he was considering how easily she’d fit in a bin bag.
    ‘That’s me,’ April replied. ‘He lets me stay here when my