The Watchman Read Online Free Page A

it? As I said, the risks are minimal. The other side has nothing to gain by putting our people in harm’s way. This is a straightforward opening negotiation where each side stands to gain in the long run and nobody loses.’
    â€˜I’m glad you see it that way,’ Vale countered. ‘Sending officers or assets into regions such as this is never without risk. And you’re talking about an area known to be under the influence of terrorist groups including al-Qaeda. Risk is only minimal if you never leave the office.’
    A sharp intake of breath from a Ministry of Defence representative along the table was the only indication that Vale’s comment was seen as a personal dig. Moresby had served time as a field officer, but it had been brief and, by most standards, uneventful. As Vale was well aware, the younger man’s meteoric rise through the ranks had been seen by some as too far, too fast, with no real hands-on experience of the kind that had tested many others.
    â€˜I think that’s pushing it, Tom,’ Wilby murmured, and Vale sensed him shrinking away as if not wanting to be associated with any dissent.
    â€˜Really?’ Vale looked at him. ‘Are you saying A-Q
aren’t
involved in the region? If so, where have they gone?’
    â€˜Easy, Tom,’ Cousins murmured softly on his other side, as Wilby flushed and stared down at his folder. ‘Nobody’s saying you haven’t got reason to be concerned. But it’s being covered, don’t you think?’
    Nobody spoke, although Vale saw Scheider give a faint lift of his eyebrows. The CIA man’s weathered face showed little emotion, and he was rumoured to have been a world-class poker player in college, funding his education and his later years prior to recruitment by the intelligence agency.
    â€˜Quite right, Bill. Thank you,’ Moresby said smoothly. ‘I’m sure the personnel involved are more than adequate to the task.’ He looked around the table, adding, ‘At least, I hope so.’
    â€˜You hope?’ Ruth Dresden, who seemed blithely unaware of any undercurrent in the room and more concerned with statements of fact, stopped making a note and looked up sharply.
    Moresby’s eyes rested on Vale with a faint smile. ‘Well, the officer concerned was recruited by one of us. By Tom Vale, in fact. Weren’t you also her mentor, Tom?’
    Vale hesitated. ‘I recruited and mentored several officers. Which one are you talking about?’ He had seen no mention of the names involved so far.
    Bill Cousins slipped his folder sideways and flipped it open so that Vale could read it. A name leapt off the page.
    Angela Pryce.
    Vale felt the blood drain from his face. Every mentor in SIS had a favourite, and Angela Pryce had been his. Highly intelligent and steady under pressure, she was incisive and wore a toughened veneer around her that occasionally dropped to reveal a genuinely likeable personality. They had got on well, and he’d envisaged her heading for greater things. But this assignment was too soon. Angela had completed the full training programme required for active field officers, and had accumulated a number of missions in tandem with other more experienced staff. But none had been as intensive or demanding – or simply as dangerous – as laid out in Moresby’s plan.
    In spite of that, he doubted Angela would approve of his interference on her behalf.
    â€˜Of course,’ Moresby murmured silkily, thrusting his point home, ‘if you believe Pryce is not up to it, then you should say so now. We can always find an alternative.’
    Vale shook his head, hardly able to believe what he was hearing. Suggesting Angela Pryce wasn’t capable would put a serious dent in her career. He couldn’t do that to her. But allowing her – or any other officer he could think of – on this kind of assignment without objection would be madness. Moresby