Richard Wiseman - To Kill Or Be Killed

“Maisie my sweet!” Jack embraced her and visibly glowed. “You paying us a visit or signed up for a two week duty rota.”

“I wish it was the latter. Alas I’m too old.”

“I’m sorry. Maisie Dewhurst this is David McKie, our latest recruit.”

David held her small hand in his and smiled shyly.

“A handsome one too Jack now you make me wish I was doing the duty rota this week.”

“Maisie’s father was on the original DIC team for Churchill, David. Maisie was active from the nineteen sixties until nineteen eighty-six and now runs one of our Midlands stations. I tell you David I wish she was on the active duty rota; you couldn’t get a better tutor. Maisie’s probably forgotten more about this work than I know now. Anyway I’m forgetting my manners, let’s get a table.”

Jack led them to a table with four club chairs. David brought their drinks on a tray.

“You getting bored at home Maze?”

“No. I do my historical research and read my history books.” She answered smiling.

David smiled too. “Now there’s a coincidence. I did my degree in history.”

“Where did you do your degree?” In spite of her age her eyes were sharp with intelligence and curiosity.

“Strathclyde University.” David replied.

“I did mine in London.”

“What led you into History?” David asked.

“It was growing up in London during and after the blitz, all those open houses. Sometimes the whole inside of a house was visible, like a doll’s house. I’d stand and look at the opened up life, as it were, and wonder who the people who had lived there were, what they were like and where they had come from. It continued in school. I still keep up to date and you David what led you to History?”

“It was my father really. He was in the army. He told me about the history of his regiment, the Black Watch and I wanted to know about them, not the grand battles. Like you, it was the lives of the people in the regiment that fascinated me.”

“You see. That same curiosity and desire to know about people also led you to DIC. David I’ll leave you with Maisie. Give it ten minutes and go up to your office on the fourteenth floor. I’ll introduce you to your partner on this week’s fortnight’s active rota, Jack Beaumont. ”

“Are you okay Jack you seem excited.” Maisie asked suddenly.

David didn’t know him well, but Jack Fulton seemed quite calm to him.

“You’re amazing Maze. Yes. We had a message in from Michael Dewey in the Highlands. It seems a submarine surfaced and dropped off four men. We’ve got some pictures through, if a bit fuzzy, one of them is a sketch. We’ve got DIC Scotland watching CCTV at stations, marinas and all transport centres. It could be nothing, but my nose tells me otherwise.”

“Have you checked submarine movements?”

“We’re just waiting for the decryption department to get into secret service, Special Forces and MOD systems. They never know that we get in and it’s a trick to get in and out without being noticed. Hudson in decryption thinks it’ll be another two hours before we’re in.”

With that Jack limped away.

Maisie sipped at her tea. There was a pause.

“You want to know what it’s going to be like?”

David smiled. “Yes.”

“It’s fascinating for a certain type of person. You have to be a people watcher. You have to be rather sedentary too. Action seekers will find it rather boring, mundane. I love it. I see so much. I can pick a piece of information here, one there and another and a story unfolds. I deduce, weigh the evidence and before I know it I’ve a corrupt policeman on the hook or a dodgy land deal uncovered. It’s painstaking work.”

“I like the idea of watching. I was on customs before this. I didn’t want to be a manager. I wanted to be on the front line looking at people, reading them. I’m sure I’ll like it.”

“You seem a little poignant?”

Again David smiled. “Yes I’m missing my son and my wife is pregnant with our second. Being here for two weeks is going to be hard.”

Maisie leaned forward, patting his hand in a motherly way. “It will pass soon, then every day at home for three months. Think of that.”

David smiled once again.

“You have a good broad and friendly smile David.” She sipped at the last of her tea, draining her cup. “Anyway the two weeks will pass soon and quite uneventfully.”

“I rather hope so. I mean the hand gun and the unarmed combat training is fun and exciting, but I’m not sure I’m the all action hero.”

“It’s so rare for anything to happen. There are big events from time to time. I’ve been involved in one or two myself.”

David raised an eyebrow, Maisie smiled.

“I’ll tell you one day, though obviously having signed the act it’ll be secret.” She winked.

“Ay.” A pause. “Do you have children?” David asked.

“Yes I have a daughter. She lives in Birmingham. That’s why I live in the Midlands. I moved to be near her. Mind you part of my watch is the chemical works around that part of the country.”

“Chemical works. That’s quite a responsibility. Well I would have thought so given the demographics of the Midlands.”

“Yes. Mind you it’s not only me watching that area; there are two of us there, given the spread of the works. It’s on a DIC border line, which is the M6. Where do you live?”

“Dover.”

“Oh a very historic town and quite a vital watch what with the port and Folkestone nearby. I take it you’ve done the war time tunnels?”

“Many times, I had hoped to see Churchill’s ghost, but no luck. Your father knew Churchill I take it, being in the original DIC.”

“Yes my father was the first head of DIC, hand picked for the job. Churchill didn’t trust the Secret Service, with their aristocratic roots and stock. Later on Burgess and McLean showed him to have been right about that, with hindsight. Dad was head of Inland Revenue, a customs man like you. He had adventures too, especially early on.”

David, on an impulse looked at his watch.

“Dear god, I’m seriously late! I’d better go. I lost track there.” He stood and leaned over. “You had me quite entranced.”

“I’m flattered. If your duty travels bring you to the Birmingham have your partner and self stop over, so much friendlier than a hotel.”

“Won’t your husband mind?”

“Well spotted on the ring, too easy, but I’m a widow.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Not your fault. In fact it’s the IRA who has to be sorry. He was army bomb disposal.”

“I see. My father was a peacekeeper in Northern Ireland with his regiment. Can I e-mail you to chat; it’s nice to have a kindred spirit in work.”

“Of course, I’d like that. We all use the network to keep in touch. They don’t discourage the use of internal encrypted e-mails for friendship, as long as you’re not profligate. We’re one big family here. That’s why I visit.”

“I’ll be in touch.”

With that David dashed away. Maisie cast a glance around and caught another known and friendly eye. She wandered over and shared a light, warm embrace with a severe looking woman of about forty. They fell to talking animatedly.

The morning wore on in the Euston building, information streaming in at thousands of gigabytes a second and every last byte being scanned, stored and sifted.

When David got to the Duty Team Office Jack Fulton and a muscular looking Afro- Caribbean man with grey hair, rimless spectacles and a grey moustache were engrossed by the images on a large LCD computer screen.

“Are you looking for the four illegal entrants from Scotland?”

“David! Jack Beaumont, David McKie.”

“Wow a big man and a Scot too.”