Kaden chewed his lip. “Then we tie it to someone killed in Afghanistan and keep it vague.”
“What would her family say to the claim that she had an affair and an illegitimate son? It’s not kind to tell those sorts of lies.”
“We can ask that they’re not revealed. But Alistair would still investigate. It has to sound feasible.”
Joe shook his head. “She has to stay unidentified. I only knew the name she was called in Afghanistan. There would be no way of tracing her then. But we need a name for my dead father. And not someone too important.”
Kaden turned his back on the house and googled. “A district police chief and nine of his officers were ambushed and killed in a remote province of Afghanistan when you’d have been a young boy. There are only names given for the important people. Your father could have been one of those policemen. Still a risk. There’ll be an official list somewhere. But not one necessarily accessible.” He deleted his search history.
“What about Azizullah for my father. Mary for my mother.”
“It should work. You’d have been too young to remember dates, which gives nothing specific for Alistair to check. It’s broad enough.”
Joe looked at him, and brushed his fingers against Kaden’s hand. “And the job?”
Kaden exhaled. “I haven’t said yes. He won’t tell me who it is until I agree. And we’d need to sign the Official Secrets Act to ensure we don’t tell anyone.”
“But you’re thinking about it?”
Kaden didn’t answer straight away.
“Are you?” Joe whispered.
“Yes,” he admitted. “Alistair wouldn’t be taking this risk asking me if it wasn’t important.” But it had more to do with the threat to Joe if he said no, and a little about the benefit to Joe if he said yes.
Joe nodded once. “I can be your photographer. How hard can it be to pretend? I’ll research.”
“I don’t want you at risk too.”
“I don’t want you to do it unless I’m with you. It might be easier for me to put the device in place.”
Kaden knew he should be keeping Joe away from this but he’d feel better if he was there. He let out a quiet breath, his mind still racing. “They’ll have to loan us a camera so you can practise.”
“Fine,” Joe said. “Whatever we do, we don’t get pulled in deeper than we choose.”
Kaden gave a faint, humourless smile. “I think that ship might’ve already sailed.” He hoped its name wasn’t the Titanic.
Back in the house, they found Alistair in the kitchen.
“You want more details about me,” Joe said. “I’ll give them but you must promise to tell no one.”
Not that either of them trusted Alistair to keep quiet, but Kaden wanted to know Alistair had their backs.
By the time Joe had finished speaking, Alistair looked convinced, or maybe he was putting an act on to convince them. Kaden thought it all sounded feasible. The attack had actually happened and even if the police officers’ names were traceable, it would still take time. But more importantly, they were saying yes to doing this and that was all Alistair really cared about.
“We’ll do it,” Kaden said. “Both of us. Joe will need a camera and time to learn how to use it. So who is it?”
“Sign this first. Both of you.”
Kaden didn’t bother reading it. Joe did. They both signed.
Alistair reached into his pocket and placed a folded photograph on the table between them.
Kaden hesitated, then picked it up. His stomach dropped.
“Oh,” he said.
Joe looked over his shoulder. Kaden wondered if he knew who this was.
