The team walked into the commissioner’s anteroom, where Beverley was at her desk. ‘Giles is ready for you. Do go straight in.’ The commissioner’s conference room had a very businesslike air to it.
‘Good evening,’ said Giles Meynell, standing up as Kate entered the room. ‘Please be seated. John and Jeremy, would you let Rafi, Kate and Aidan sit at the table and pull up two chairs behind them? Thank you. It’s a bit of a squeeze, but I reckon we can manage. Time for some introductions: Prime Minister, Secretary of State for Defence, Air Chief Marshal Sir Nigel Hawser, head of our armed services, and Ewan Thorn, head of MI5 – it is my pleasure to introduce: Detective Chief Inspector John Dowsing of Special Branch, Detective Inspector Kate Adams of our Economic Crime Unit, Jeremy Welby of MI5, Aidan Gilchrist of Maine Leadbetter – a derivatives expert – and Rafi Khan.
After a short pause, Giles continued. This time his gaze was fixed on Kate. ‘We have had a fruitful discussion, but before we go any further the Prime Minister and his Defence Secretary would like to ask you some questions.’
‘Thank you, Commissioner,’ said the PM in a measured voice. ‘Three hours ago I had envisaged spending the evening dealing with mundane matters. Suffice it to say, Giles’s revelations have come as a serious shock – the intricacy and scope of the terrorists’ threat to our energy supplies, our financial system and our country’s economic welfare is every bit as grave as anything we have faced since the Second World War,’ he looked at Giles reassuringly. ‘I’m not going to shoot the messenger. Indeed, I understand that you’ve been working day and night since Monday. To have come this far with your investigations in such a short time deserves my considerable gratitude.’
The PM paused and looked around the room. ‘Unfortunately, all you have accomplished will come to nothing unless our next steps are the right ones. As has most eloquently been pointed out to me, we have to be proactive – not reactive – in the face of these heinous threats.’ He looked at his Defence Secretary, then continued. ‘There are a number of questions to which we would appreciate candid answers. First of all, why do you believe that COBRA is not the right way forward at this point in time?’
Kate looked across at the PM. ‘I wish it were, sir,’ she said slightly shakily. She paused and regained her composure. ‘MI5’s and our worry is that the terrorists have sleepers in place who could tip them off, and prompt them to switch to a contingency plan. At this point in time we’ve a lead on all except one of the expected terrorist targets. We know that we’re up against well-trained and battle-hardened mercenaries. If they were to be tipped off, such is the transportability of their missile launchers that they might simply switch to a plan “B”. To answer your question, whilst the chances are small, the downside hazard is too large.’
‘Where precisely is the threat of an internal tip-off?’ asked the