transmitted was as follows: “Target is not a suspect. Incorrect ID. Stand down. Repeat, stand down.”’
‘I didn’t receive that message,’ Snow protested.
McNair shook his head.
‘Neither did I,’ Pope said. ‘Could I hear the recording, please?’
‘I don’t know what purpose that would serve. The message is the message.’
‘Your radio, perhaps?’ Bloom suggested. ‘You were underground. Perhaps you didn’t receive it.’
‘No,’ Snow said. ‘They work underground.’
‘I didn’t hear a thing,’ McNair reiterated.
Morley took over. ‘You understand our problem, Captain Pope?’
‘Permission to speak frankly, ma’am?’
‘Always.’
‘I do not understand the problem. What happened is regrettable, but it has nothing to do with Sergeant Snow, Sergeant McNair or Group Fifteen.’
She smiled indulgently, but Pope could see that she was irritated by his candour. ‘Who do you think is responsible, Captain?’
‘The police. There should have been a firearms team outside the flat to stop and question everyone who left. Instead, they used surveillance officers with no experience in stopping and questioning suspects. They mistook Rubió for Omar, and then they let Rubió board the bus and go into Liverpool Street station. All of those mistakes were made before we were involved.’
‘That may be true, Control. But the police say they called your agents off.’
‘I don’t believe them, ma’am.’
‘They say that Sergeant Snow determined to kill the suspect the moment he entered the platform.’
‘That’s not true!’ Snow objected loudly.
The room was abruptly quiet, and the tension rose. Pope looked up at them, holding their gazes. He wanted them to see that he was confident.
It was the home secretary who spoke first. ‘What happened to Mr Rubió is bitterly unfortunate, and it has brought some misgivings that I have had for some time to the surface.’
Pope realised that the focus of the meeting had now shifted very squarely away from Snow and onto him.
‘Go on, Home Secretary.’
‘I am uncomfortable that we have had, for many years, a group of soldiers operating sub judice around the world. Those agents are granted wide leeway to act autonomously and have often gone beyond the terms of the operation as presented and approved by Oversight. Frankly, I’m uncomfortable with the idea of a state- sanctioned death squad in the first place. This isn’t Chile, Captain. I’m not Pinochet, making people disappear.’
Pope let her words settle and then spoke calmly. ‘The world is a more complicated place than it was ten years ago. We face a multitude of threats. Asymmetrical warfare can’t be defended with conventional methods. An army can’t stop one man with a suicide vest. I know I don’t need to go through the list of jihadists who have been removed as threats to the public in the last twelve months.’
‘Removed,’ Morley said. ‘A splendidly neutral euphemism, Captain .’
‘Use whatever word you prefer, Home Secretary. I try to be thoughtful. I find civilians often have weak stomachs.’
He regretted the slight almost as soon as it had left his lips.
‘Thank you, Captain, but I think we can call a spade a spade, don’t you?’
‘Yes, ma’am.’
‘And no, you do not need to remind us. We are aware of the work that your agents have undertaken. And we do not underestimate the need for similar action in the future.’
‘Then I don’t understand what this is all about.’
‘The fact is this, Captain. The Group, as it is presently constructed, is an anachronism. A dinosaur from another time. It’s something that Fleming would write about, or le Carré. The unfortunate death of Mr Rubió might be the reminder we need to bring it to an end.’
Chapter Eight
M onarch Catering was a large and well-respected company responsible for a series of contracts throughout London and the South East. Established ten years earlier, it had since that time enjoyed fast
‘I didn’t receive that message,’ Snow protested.
McNair shook his head.
‘Neither did I,’ Pope said. ‘Could I hear the recording, please?’
‘I don’t know what purpose that would serve. The message is the message.’
‘Your radio, perhaps?’ Bloom suggested. ‘You were underground. Perhaps you didn’t receive it.’
‘No,’ Snow said. ‘They work underground.’
‘I didn’t hear a thing,’ McNair reiterated.
Morley took over. ‘You understand our problem, Captain Pope?’
‘Permission to speak frankly, ma’am?’
‘Always.’
‘I do not understand the problem. What happened is regrettable, but it has nothing to do with Sergeant Snow, Sergeant McNair or Group Fifteen.’
She smiled indulgently, but Pope could see that she was irritated by his candour. ‘Who do you think is responsible, Captain?’
‘The police. There should have been a firearms team outside the flat to stop and question everyone who left. Instead, they used surveillance officers with no experience in stopping and questioning suspects. They mistook Rubió for Omar, and then they let Rubió board the bus and go into Liverpool Street station. All of those mistakes were made before we were involved.’
‘That may be true, Control. But the police say they called your agents off.’
‘I don’t believe them, ma’am.’
‘They say that Sergeant Snow determined to kill the suspect the moment he entered the platform.’
‘That’s not true!’ Snow objected loudly.
The room was abruptly quiet, and the tension rose. Pope looked up at them, holding their gazes. He wanted them to see that he was confident.
It was the home secretary who spoke first. ‘What happened to Mr Rubió is bitterly unfortunate, and it has brought some misgivings that I have had for some time to the surface.’
Pope realised that the focus of the meeting had now shifted very squarely away from Snow and onto him.
‘Go on, Home Secretary.’
‘I am uncomfortable that we have had, for many years, a group of soldiers operating sub judice around the world. Those agents are granted wide leeway to act autonomously and have often gone beyond the terms of the operation as presented and approved by Oversight. Frankly, I’m uncomfortable with the idea of a state- sanctioned death squad in the first place. This isn’t Chile, Captain. I’m not Pinochet, making people disappear.’
Pope let her words settle and then spoke calmly. ‘The world is a more complicated place than it was ten years ago. We face a multitude of threats. Asymmetrical warfare can’t be defended with conventional methods. An army can’t stop one man with a suicide vest. I know I don’t need to go through the list of jihadists who have been removed as threats to the public in the last twelve months.’
‘Removed,’ Morley said. ‘A splendidly neutral euphemism, Captain .’
‘Use whatever word you prefer, Home Secretary. I try to be thoughtful. I find civilians often have weak stomachs.’
He regretted the slight almost as soon as it had left his lips.
‘Thank you, Captain, but I think we can call a spade a spade, don’t you?’
‘Yes, ma’am.’
‘And no, you do not need to remind us. We are aware of the work that your agents have undertaken. And we do not underestimate the need for similar action in the future.’
‘Then I don’t understand what this is all about.’
‘The fact is this, Captain. The Group, as it is presently constructed, is an anachronism. A dinosaur from another time. It’s something that Fleming would write about, or le Carré. The unfortunate death of Mr Rubió might be the reminder we need to bring it to an end.’
Chapter Eight
M onarch Catering was a large and well-respected company responsible for a series of contracts throughout London and the South East. Established ten years earlier, it had since that time enjoyed fast
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