Dead Lions / C10

Chapter 10

Book 2 Part Two 3901 words POV: Roderick Ho, James Webb, Shirley Dander, Louisa Guy, Catherine Standish

Summary

Roddy Ho is preparing to wreck Shana Bellman’s relationship with a fabricated email thread when Catherine Standish interrupts him with work. Spider Webb, meanwhile, surveys his flat and his prospects, gloats over River Cartwright’s shabbier life, and rehearses the next morning’s triumph: recruiting Arkady Pashkin at the Needle, a venue he secured in three days and a security job he outsourced to Slough House to keep it off the Park’s books. Shirley, resentful at being kept in the dark, listens at Ho’s door and is caught by Lamb. Louisa walks Pashkin back across the park, refuses a nightcap, and finds Marcus Longridge waiting at the corner; he has taken her spray and cuffs and tells her she would have been hurt or killed. Lamb and Catherine discuss Shirley, a possible mole, and whether the Pashkin summit and Alexander Popov are connected, and Lamb says he is waiting for River’s call. Louisa and Marcus argue on the tube, where he warns her that he is working security tomorrow. Ho’s searches on Catherine’s names finally bring him up out of his chair.

Beats

C10S01 · Roderick Ho — Roddy Ho spent the evening assembling an elaborate online scheme to break up Shana Bellman and her boyfriend so that he could console her afterwards. He was still refining it when Catherine Standish came into his office and told him she needed something done.
C10S02 · James Webb — Spider Webb toured his flat and his prospects, measuring them against River Cartwright’s one-bedroom flat in the East End. He rehearsed his coming triumph, recruiting Arkady Pashkin at the Needle, a suite he had secured in three days and a security operation he had outsourced to Slough House so it would not register on the Park’s books. He dismissed Min Harper’s death as the price of drunkenness and went to bed hoping nothing would spoil his run.
C10S03 · Shirley — Shirley watched Catherine Standish shut herself into Ho’s office, then put her ear to the door in the hope of hearing what was going on. Before she could make anything out, a creak behind her made her turn. Jackson Lamb stood on the landing above, watching her.
C10S04 · Louisa Guy — Louisa walked Pashkin back across the park with a lighter bag, her spray and cuffs gone, and refused his offer of a nightcap at his hotel. She took a taxi and got out round the corner, where Marcus Longridge was waiting; he had followed her and taken her equipment. He told her she would have got herself seriously damaged or killed, and pointed her towards the tube.
C10S05 · Roderick Ho — Ho dropped the Shana scheme and loaded Catherine’s list of names onto his computer. Resentment at being ordered about gave way to absorption as the work turned into a game he meant to win.
C10S06 · Catherine Standish — Catherine and Lamb discussed Shirley’s eavesdropping, the chances of a Park mole, and Catherine’s suspicion that the Pashkin summit and Alexander Popov were connected. Lamb refused to warn the Park and said he was waiting for River to call from the MoD place with whatever clue had been laid for him. Catherine left him sitting motionless in the dark.
C10S07 · Roderick Ho — Ho ran Catherine’s names through public records, an NCIS backdoor and a GCHQ account he had kept administrator access to since his analyst days. He set the searches running and drifted into daydreams about Shana while the machine worked.
C10S08 · Louisa Guy — Marcus and Louisa argued on the tube about whether Pashkin had ordered Min Harper’s death and about Spider Webb’s honesty. Marcus told her he would be working security at the summit and that his job was to neutralise any threat to the principal. Louisa got off at her stop, and he appeared to fall asleep as the train pulled away.
C10S09 · Roderick Ho — Ho woke at his desk, straightened his neck and turned to the finished search results. He stopped scrolling twice, then ran a further search and swore aloud at what it showed. This time he did not stay in his chair.

People

Roderick Ho — slow horse and self-styled cyber specialist, diverted from his scheme against Shana
Catherine Standish — Slough House’s administrator, who sets Ho to work on her list of names
James Webb — Park officer, known as Spider, gloating over his Pashkin operation
Shirley Dander — slow horse, left out of the loop and caught eavesdropping
Louisa Guy — pulled off her attempt on Pashkin and sent home
Arkady Pashkin — walked back to his hotel and refused
Marcus Longridge — slow horse and former ops officer, shadowing Louisa
Jackson Lamb — Slough House’s head, waiting up for River’s call

Places

Slough House — the Service’s dumping ground, where Ho, Catherine and Lamb spend the night

Lines worth keeping

“Beat that, River Cartwright.” — James Webb, gloating in his flat

“I could have let you give it your best shot. But it would have been a good way to get seriously damaged.” — Marcus Longridge, outside Louisa’s taxi

“If the two are connected, then something’ll happen in Upshott. Soon.” — Catherine Standish, pressing Lamb to act

“We’ll be back up to strength in no time.” — Jackson Lamb, dismissing Catherine’s fears

Threads

Plants: Lamb is waiting for River’s call from the MoD place and expects whoever laid the trail to have left a clue there.; Marcus will be working security at the Pashkin summit and warns Louisa he will neutralise any threat to the principal.; Lamb has background suggesting the woman who ran Min Harper over may not have been an accident; Louisa has not been told.; Ho’s searches on Catherine’s names produce something that visibly shakes him.
Payoffs: Catherine’s hand-written trawl through the Upshott names is handed to Ho, whose databases do the job faster.
Continuity: The Pashkin summit is set for the following morning at the Needle.; Ho has kept administrator access to a GCHQ network since his time as a junior Park analyst.; Catherine has effectively blackmailed Ho into helping her.; Marcus has taken Louisa’s pepper spray and plastic handcuffs.; Webb secured the Needle suite through a trading consultancy brokering an arms deal, and routed security through Slough House.

Characters

Places

Slough House