Joe let out a breath. “So we’re actually doing this?”
Kaden nodded. “Looks like we are.”
“This is the device.” Alistair put a small plastic box with a lift up lid on the table.
Kaden opened it. “It’s tiny.”
The small thin grey rectangle was no bigger than a camera memory stick.
“Once you peel it off the pad, it becomes sound activated. It has a long battery life.” He handed his phone to Kaden. “This is a picture of Blake’s home office. He’ll likely sit behind that desk. He likes to feel superior. The front panel of the desk doesn’t touch the floor. You could probably put this under the front rim.”
“Okay.” Kaden slipped it into his pocket.
Kaden washed up and as he dried his hands on a tea towel, he noticed the slight tremor in his fingers. The tiny device in his pocket felt heavier than it should, as if it carried far more than circuitry. He glanced at Joe.It does. It carries our future.
“A burner phone too.” Alistair handed one to Kaden. “Any chatter or text about this job, use that phone.”
“Right,” Joe said eventually. “We should go. We won’t take our things with us now. We’ll come back and get them, okay?”
“That’s fine.” Alistair pushed his plate away and stood. “I’ll leave you to it. I’ll be in touch later with a few more details.”
“Such as?” Kaden asked.
Alistair paused at the doorway. “Such as what Blake looks for in people.”
“And what’s that?”
Alistair’s smile returned, thinner this time. “Honesty,” he said. “Or at least… a convincing version of it. He’s from working class roots. He admires those who’ve worked their way up.”
The door closed behind him.
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
Then Joe leaned back in his chair. “I don’t like this.”
Kaden picked up the camera, turning it over in his hands, then powered it on. The screen flickered to life. “How do I look at the pictures on it?”
Joe took it from his hands and showed him. When Kaden saw the images of the exhibition in the Tate, he sighed. But then would he expect the UK’s intelligence agency to be anything but thorough?
The camera’s cool,” Joe said.
“Four thousand pounds worth of cool.”
“Wow. I better not drop it.”
Kaden chuckled. “Try not to.”
A short time later, they were stepping out into the street and heading for the Tube. They’d have to catch a bus too because Muswell Hill didn’t have an underground station. Kaden zipped up his jacket, his mind splitting in two directions, one focused on having to pull this off without fucking up, the other on what would happen if hedidfuck up. He replayed the image of Blake’s office. Desk. Gap underneath. Quick placement. No hesitation.Right.And if Blake had them sitting in armchairs around a coffee table? Coughing fit. Request water. Fall to knees. Put device in place under the coffee table.
“Didn’t you ought to call Malik and check it’s convenient?” Joe asked.
“Yes.” A few moments later, he stuffed his phone back in his pocket. “We’re fine.”
“Alistair seemed different, don’t you think?”
“He’s got what he wants. He’s all business now. I feel pissed off I didn’t see this other side of him.”
“He’s just doing his job.”
