Slough House

Slow Horses / C06

Chapter 6

Book 1 Part One 6900 words POV: Diana Taverner, River Cartwright, Hassan Ahmed, Larry, Catherine Standish

Summary

Diana Taverner sits on a bench outside the Globe, in a twelve-yard CCTV blind spot kept private by a fake bird-shit transfer, smoking after the day’s third meeting of Limitations, formerly Steering & Oversight. She has briefed the committee on Hassan Ahmed, the Leeds business student snatched in Headingley by a group calling itself the Voice of Albion: no contact, no demand, a Swedish proxy shielding their site, and Leeds traffic cameras offline for six hours. Leonard Bradley chairs and Roger Barrowby picks at her; a note brought by Tom reveals the snatch was not random. Barrowby catches her at the lift and warns her about swimming with sharks. On the bench she confronts Jed Moody, who admits he planted a bug in Jackson Lamb’s office and did his own sweeping; she hands him an incoming-only phone, orders him to destroy the bug, and remarks that Lamb survived capture and torture. At Slough House River Cartwright insists Robert Hobden is behind the kidnapping; Sid Baker argues otherwise, he refuses to explain the pi-encoded files, and she walks out. In the cellar Hassan drifts out of his body and rehearses a comedy routine nobody will hear. In the captors’ kitchen Larry and Moe talk Curly out of webcasting Hassan; Curly, listening at the door, then makes a quiet call on a phone he should not have. Catherine Standish watches Lamb at his desk and leaves without delivering her report.

Beats

  • C06S01 · Diana Taverner — Briefing Limitations on Hassan Ahmed’s abduction, Taverner is handed a note by Tom mid-meeting and tells the committee the snatch was not random after all.
  • C06S02 · Diana Taverner — Barrowby warns her she is swimming with sharks; on the bench she forces Moody to admit he bugged Lamb’s office, then buys him as an off-books asset and orders the bug dumped.
  • C06S03 · River Cartwright — River tells Sid he is certain Hobden is behind the kidnapping; she argues him down, he refuses to explain the pi-encoded files, and she leaves the room.
  • C06S04 · Hassan — Hooded in the cellar, Hassan loses his grip on time and body, tries out a stand-up routine about his hood, and stops expecting rescue.
  • C06S05 · Larry — The three captors argue over webcasting Hassan; once Curly leaves the kitchen, Larry and Moe call him stupid, and Curly, listening at the door, makes a secret phone call.
  • C06S06 · Catherine Standish — Watching Lamb at his desk, Catherine recalls first meeting him through Charles Partner and backs away without delivering her report, certain Slough House cannot save the boy.

People

  • Diana Taverner — Second Desk; briefs the committee, then recruits Moody off the books
  • Roger Barrowby — Committee member; needles Taverner, then warns her to be careful
  • Ingrid Tearney — Service head; in Washington, leaving Taverner to front the briefing
  • Jed Moody — Ex-Dog in Slough House; bugged Lamb’s office, now Taverner’s bought asset
  • Jackson Lamb — Discussed only; his office was bugged and his field record invoked
  • River Cartwright — Convinced Hobden is behind the kidnapping; withholds the pi files
  • Sid Baker — Argues against River’s Hobden theory, then walks out
  • Robert Hobden — Named only as the suspect River is fixed on
  • Hassan Ahmed — Hooded captive; drifts out of himself, rehearses a routine
  • Larry — Tallest captor; vetoes the webcam, mocks Curly
  • Alan Black — Middle captor; says a live feed would help trace them
  • Curly — Called the stupid one; proposes the webcam, then phones secretly
  • Catherine Standish — Watches Lamb, recognises his anger, withholds her report

Places

  • Slough House — River and Sid’s office above the jammed Aldersgate traffic
  • The cellar — Where Hassan is held hooded in his own filth

Lines worth keeping

“Don’t for a moment imagine we’re having a conversation. When I ask for information, you give it.” — Diana Taverner, Sets the terms on which she will use Moody, before buying him.

“He’s a burn-out. A fat, lazy bastard.” — Jed Moody, His verdict on Lamb — the man he has just been caught bugging.

“Swimming with sharks, that kind of thing.” — Roger Barrowby, His parting warning as she goes to meet Moody on the bench.

Threads

  • Plants: Moody holds an incoming-only phone and is now Taverner’s off-books asset; Taverner orders Moody to dump the bug in Lamb’s office; Tom’s note: the snatch was not random, though its content is withheld; Curly makes a quiet call on a phone he should not have; Taverner promises Limitations hourly updates and a package by tomorrow
  • Payoffs: Moody’s approach to Nick Duffy is answered: Taverner turns him; Taverner’s ‘murmurs’ are revealed as an asset already in place; The six-hour gap in Leeds traffic monitoring is raised as possible inside help
  • Continuity: Hassan Ahmed born Birmingham 1990; youngest of four; second-year Business Studies at Leeds; Snatched in Headingley, not Leeds city centre; traffic system off air six hours from just before midnight; Voice of Albion’s proxy is in Sweden; homepage misspells it ‘Natoinal purity’; Limitations was formerly Steering & Oversight; Bradley chairs; Tearney is in Washington; Catherine’s report is still undelivered at the chapter’s end

Characters

Places

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