Slough House

Slow Horses / C05

Chapter 5

Book 1 Part One 2423 words POV: River Cartwright

Summary

During an early lunch in the pub opposite Slough House, River Cartwright plugs Hobden’s memory stick into his laptop and finds that every file he opens contains nothing but pi, to a million decimal places. Sid Baker finds him there; they trade what they know about Hobden, the columnist turned British Patriotic Party member whose career died when the membership list leaked, and Sid explains how she swapped his stick for a dummy at his morning cafe and later swapped it back, insisting she never looked at the files. River confirms all fifteen files are identical and that either Hobden keeps dummy backups or someone has played him. Back at Slough House, Ho’s office is crowded again: a second film has appeared, another loop, twelve minutes and a bit long, showing the same boy without his hood, his face plain. The horses speculate about his identity, squaddie or diplomat’s son or a turned Muslim, until Lamb says flatly that he is Pakistani and that the kidnappers are not Al Qaeda but home-grown racists staging the threat so beheading can be answered with beheading. He orders hard-copy updates by three o’clock and asks where Moody is; nobody answers.

Beats

  • C05S01 · River Cartwright — River finds every one of Hobden’s files contains only pi, hears Sid’s account of the swap, and returns to the office suspecting someone is being played.
  • C05S02 · River Cartwright — A second film shows the boy’s face; Lamb calls him Pakistani and the kidnappers home-grown racists, reframing the threat, and Moody is found to be missing.

People

  • River Cartwright — Opens the memory stick in the pub; pushes the ‘random kid’ theory
  • Sid Baker — Explains the cafe switch; claims she never read the files
  • Jackson Lamb — Declares the boy Pakistani and the kidnappers home-grown racists
  • Roderick Ho — Identifies both films as loops and explains the proxy chain
  • Louisa Guy — Calls River in to see the second film
  • Min Harper — Present at the second viewing
  • Struan Loy — Speculates about the boy’s identity and family
  • Kay White — Present at the second viewing
  • Catherine Standish — Notices the axe in the background, then walks out
  • Robert Hobden — The boy on the screen, now shown without his hood
  • Hassan Ahmed — The boy on the screen, now shown unh hooded
  • Jed Moody — Absent; Lamb asks where he is and gets no answer
  • David Cartwright — Quoted by River on questions nobody thinks to ask

Places

  • Slough House — Ho’s office, where the second film is watched
  • Max’s cafe — Recalled by Sid as the site of the memory-stick switch
  • Regent’s Park — Discussed as the destination of Sid’s copied laptop

Lines worth keeping

“It’s on the table now. Don’t you get it? They cut heads off, so can we.” — Lamb, His reading of the video as a licence for domestic reprisals.

“Unless he’s some random kid who happened to be the right colour.” — River Cartwright, The first suggestion that the victim was chosen for his race, not his affiliation.

“Pub stands for public. Clue’s in the name.” — Sid Baker, Punctures River’s claim that he went there for privacy.

Threads

  • Plants: The axe visible behind the boy; Ho’s point that transmission breaks in a loop could help trace the network; Lamb’s theory that the kidnappers are domestic racists; Moody’s unexplained absence
  • Payoffs: The gloves are explained: they hid the boy’s colour; Hobden’s files prove to be dummies, all pi; Sid’s account confirms the copy Regent’s Park received
  • Continuity: Second film runs about 12 minutes 12 seconds; the first was a 30-something-minute loop; Fifteen files on the stick; River opened seven; Hard-copy updates due by 3 p.m.; The boy is shown without his hood in the second film; River orders but does not eat a bacon baguette

Characters

Places

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