Blackest of Lies Read Online Free

of our own Government who were, shall we say, less than enamoured with Lord Kitchener. They’re not beyond the odd, seriously dirty trick.  I can’t say any more than that at the moment but that’s the reason we had men down at Broome to protect him.”
    Kell slipped his gloves off and toyed absent-mindedly with them for a moment.  “And now we’re in the eye of the storm.”
    Thompson nodded.  “The PM wants us to keep this under wraps until we can work up something that will stop it turning into a world-class disaster – God knows what, though.  You can imagine his reaction when I told him.  This is the worst thing that could have happened to us.” 
    “Worst time, too,” said Fitzgerald, moodily.
    “Indeed – the Branch is stretched wafer thin right now rounding up strays from the Uprising so most of my people are not even on the mainland.”  He cleared his throat and spoke more authoritatively.  “The bottom line is that damage limitation is the order of the day.  We can take any action – any – to soften the blow on the country and the war effort.  'All resources, all solutions, without restriction' are ours to command – the PM’s very words.  And that, as far as it goes, is the current state of this bag of nails we have on our hands.”
    “And now we’re going down to the scene of the crime, as it were.  What’s the plan?” asked Hubert.
    “Well, clearly, I have to conduct an investigation into what went wrong and you can all testify that everything is above board.”
    Hubert watched the thunderstorm approach.  A few bumps on the road delayed Kell’s retort but, when it came, it was icy cold.  "I’m only going to say this once, Commissioner – we are both responsible for the internal security of this country.  If you think I’m going to restrict myself to ‘testifying’, as you quaintly express it, you’re deluding yourself.  There will be no decisions taken without my complete agreement and if you cannot accept this right from the outset, we can turn this car around, go back to the PM and sort the matter out.” 
    Hubert watched the exchange with interest.  He had learned early on that there was no love lost between MI5 and Special Branch.  Military Intelligence did all the spadework to build a case against an enemy agent but it had no ultimate power of arrest.  They were required by law to hand their prey over to Special Branch for the legal process to take its course.  MI5 had to stay in the shadows while Special Branch got all the glory – it was an old story but it still made Hubert smile to see it in action.
    Thompson said nothing but his face told volumes.  Taking the awkward silence as agreement, Kell continued, “But one thing’s absolutely certain: no-one must ever even think that this might have been the work of the IRB – ever – or we’re just building another problem for the country to solve after the war.  How we’re going to do that is the rub.  We need time.  Time to work out some sort of plan – a cover story of a heart attack or something like that brought on by overwork.  He was in his late sixties, after all.  Anything that could reasonably take him out of public view without delay."
    Fitzgerald blinked several times and plucked at some imaginary threads on his uniform.  "You’re talking about Lord Kitchener as though he were a stone in your shoe, Kell,” he barked across Thompson, irritated by other's dispassionate manner.  "He was a great soldier and a great man , too.  None of us were fit to bull his boots.  Don’t you dare forget that.  We have lost our best leader at a desperate time because of the incompetence of those who were meant to protect him."  He looked, with some significance, at Thompson.
    Kell remained unruffled.  "I meant nothing of the sort, Colonel, nor can you lay any blame at my door, since it was Special Branch – not MI5 – that was in charge of his safety. It looks as though the IRB have succeeded