Slough House

Slow Horses / C10

Chapter 10

Book 1 Part Two 3022 words POV: River Cartwright, Hassan Ahmed, Curly

Summary

Lamb climbs past Jed Moody’s body to his office, rehangs the corkboard, and takes a Heckler & Koch from a shoebox in his desk, stowing it in his overcoat; downstairs he holds out his hand for Moody’s pistol and River gives it up. Louisa Guy has a car, so Lamb sends her and Min Harper after him and takes River with him to Roupell Street, saying they are going to rescue Hassan Ahmed and all be heroes. In the cellar Hassan cycles through memories of the uncle in his mother’s photograph, Mahmud Gul, a high-ranking Pakistan army officer who never visited because he disapproved of her marriage, and convinces himself the kidnappers want ransom from that rich uncle rather than his head; thumps and raised voices overhead let him hope a SWAT team or the uncle’s people have arrived. In the car River works out that the envelope Moody took held Lamb’s flight fund — fifteen hundred pounds, a passport and a key to a box in a French bank — and revises his opinion of Lamb as a real joe. Hassan is dragged upstairs and understands he will die in the kitchen, not the cellar. The four jemmy into a boarded house near Waterloo; River clears the upstairs rooms and finds the kitchen, where a body lies in a pool of gore and a head sits on the table. He is sick in the gutter. Driving away across the river, one killer defends the killing to his shaken companion.

Beats

  • C10S01 · River Cartwright — Lamb arms himself from a shoebox, pockets River’s pistol too, and orders the crew to Roupell Street to rescue Hassan Ahmed, with River riding beside him.
  • C10S02 · Hassan — Hassan recalls his uncle Mahmud Gul, decides the kidnappers want the rich uncle’s ransom rather than his head, and takes hope from a thump and shouts overhead.
  • C10S03 · River Cartwright — In the car River identifies the envelope as Lamb’s flight fund, learns its contents, and reclassifies Lamb as a real joe who practises misdirection.
  • C10S04 · Hassan — Hassan is hauled up the stairs expecting rescue, and learns the execution will happen in the kitchen, not the cellar.
  • C10S05 · River Cartwright — The four jemmy into the Waterloo house; River clears the upstairs, then finds a decapitated body in the kitchen and vomits in the gutter.
  • C10S06 · Curly — Driving away across the river, the killer overrides his companion’s qualms: the dead man is just as dead, and they left his head on the table.

People

  • Jackson Lamb — Arms himself, takes charge, names the rescue as the plan
  • River Cartwright — Rides with Lamb; works out the flight fund; finds the body
  • Louisa Guy — Has the second car; drives the others to Roupell Street
  • Min Harper — Sent with Louisa to follow Lamb’s car
  • Jed Moody — His body still lies on the Slough House landing
  • Hassan Ahmed — Captive in the cellar; hopes for rescue; dragged to the kitchen
  • Mahmud Gul — Hassan’s mother’s brother; senior Pakistan army officer
  • Alan Black — One of the three kidnappers; named by Hassan
  • Curly — One of the three kidnappers; drives away after the killing
  • Larry — One of the three kidnappers; questions the killing
  • David Cartwright — River’s grandfather, source of the flight-fund phrase

Places

  • Slough House — Lamb’s office and the shoebox; Moody’s body on the landing
  • Roupell Street — South of the river; Lamb’s stated destination
  • The cellar — Hassan’s cell; a bottle of water and a banana

Lines worth keeping

“And we all get to be heroes.” — Jackson Lamb, Lamb’s description of the night’s work ahead, offered as a treat.

“Fuck you Switzerland. A bank in a two-donkey French town, four hours’ drive from Paris.” — Jackson Lamb, The flight fund’s real shape: modest, unglamorous, practical.

“Point it anywhere near me and I’ll take it off you.” — Jackson Lamb, Handing River a loaded pistol on a public street.

Threads

  • Plants: Lamb’s Heckler & Koch, kept in a shoebox in his desk; Lamb’s flight fund: fifteen hundred pounds, a passport, a key to a French bank box; Hassan’s uncle Mahmud Gul, a high-ranking officer in the Pakistan military; Thumps and raised voices overhead in the cellar
  • Payoffs: The envelope Moody took from Lamb’s office is identified as the flight fund; Hassan’s imagined rescue arrives only as men dragging him upstairs; The head on the kitchen table pays off Hassan’s fear of decapitation
  • Continuity: Lamb leaves the shoebox on the desk and the Anglepoise burning; River carries Moody’s .22 until Lamb takes it from him; Lamb reckons the achievers are five minutes away, seven at most; The front door is opened with a jemmy from the boot

Characters

Places

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