Real Tigers / C03
Chapter 3
Summary
Louisa Guy lets herself into Catherine Standish’s flat in St. John’s Wood with the spare keys Catherine keeps taped in a matchbox under her desk. The flat is immaculate but has not been lived in since at least the previous morning: clean crockery cooling in the dishwasher, no breakfast things, a stone-cold kettle, no purse, phone or travel pass. Louisa refuses to believe Catherine has started drinking again and reports her findings to Lamb. Across London, River Cartwright is running against a deadline set by a man who stopped him on a bridge: with a photograph of a bound Catherine as the incentive, he has a little over an hour to reach Regent’s Park and do what he is told. At the Park, Dame Ingrid Tearney chairs a resources meeting in which she blocks Diana Taverner’s plea for an admin assistant, using Taverner’s own efficiency at rehousing Confidential Storage records as the reason. Afterwards she walks Taverner down a corridor and warns her that the new Home Secretary, Peter Judd, means to put a politically appointed layer above Second Desk, and Taverner reads the offer of an alliance. Her pager then interrupts: River Cartwright has walked in. Locked in a room, Catherine weighs which colleague she would trust with her life and settles on River.
Beats
- C03S01 · Louisa Guy — Louisa Guy took Catherine’s spare keys from the matchbox taped under her desk and took a cab to the flat in St. John’s Wood. The place was tidy but cold — a full dishwasher, a cold kettle and dry towels told her Catherine had not been there since at least the previous morning, and her purse, phone and travel pass were gone. She rejected the idea that Catherine had fallen off the wagon and rang Lamb to tell him so.
- C03S02 · River Cartwright — River Cartwright ran for the underground, having already been told what the man on the bridge wanted. He measured himself against fictional spies — Bond would have jumped a bus, Bourne would have run the rooftops — then shook his head at the parked Boris bikes and went down into the station.
- C03S03 · Ingrid Tearney — Dame Ingrid Tearney chaired a resources meeting at Regent’s Park where four of the five Second Desks were furniture and the real contest was with Diana Taverner. Tearney announced a freeze on Desk-support recruitment, then used Taverner’s efficiency at rehousing Confidential Storage records to deny her a deputy. Taverner declined the offer of a medical stress package and retreated.
- C03S04 · River Cartwright — Stalled on a tube train, River counted down the minutes to his deadline and pictured Catherine cuffed on a bed with a gag in her mouth. He worked out that his Service ID would be worse than useless where he was going, and gave more than a moment’s thought to finding a gun.
- C03S05 · Catherine Standish — Locked in a room, Catherine Standish considered which colleague she would trust with her life and found no easy answer. She set Charles Partner, who took her back after she dried out and may or may not have arranged for her to find his body, against Jackson Lamb, who had carried her into exile with him. She settled on River Cartwright, who would keep it together and do his best.
- C03S06 · River Cartwright — River came up out of the station and ran through the heat towards Regent’s Park with the clock under fifty minutes. The panic of chasing a destination that kept receding put him back in the King’s Cross exercise he had ruined, the reason he was a slow horse. He smoothed his hair and walked up to the Park’s front door.
- C03S07 · Diana Taverner — Tearney kept Taverner behind and walked her along a corridor, needling her about Peter Judd’s plans and warning that the Home Secretary wanted a political post inserted above Second Desk. Taverner gave nothing away and understood that she was being recruited to an alliance against Judd. Her pager then buzzed: Security had River Cartwright at the front desk, and she told them to sign him in and said she would be on the stairs.
People
- Louisa Guy — searches Catherine’s flat and reports to Lamb
- River Cartwright — runs the bridge man’s errand against a countdown
- Ingrid Tearney — First Desk, chairs the resources meeting and corners Taverner
- Diana Taverner — Second Desk (Ops), denied an assistant, then paged about River
- Catherine Standish — held captive, reflecting on the colleagues she trusts
Places
- Regent’s Park — Service headquarters, scene of the resources meeting
Lines worth keeping
““There’ll be no recruitment at Desk-support level for the remainder of the financial year. In fact, come the Autumn Statement, we might well find ourselves having to shed those appointed within the last two years—I know, I know, and I’m sorry.”” — Ingrid Tearney, announcing the recruitment freeze
““Ingrid, I’m spending half my time chasing up office supplies.”” — Diana Taverner, pleading for an assistant
““You’ve been performing these tasks so efficiently, it might almost seem foolish to assign a deputy you can foist them off onto.”” — Ingrid Tearney, turning efficiency into a punishment
“River, though. He’d keep it together. Whatever they asked of him, he’d do his best.” — Catherine Standish, choosing the colleague she trusts
Threads
- Plants: Catherine has vanished without taking her purse, phone or travel pass; River is being blackmailed into retrieving something from Regent’s Park before a deadline; Tearney has moved sensitive records into an off-site Confidential Storage facility; Peter Judd intends to install a politically appointed level above Second Desk; Tearney and Taverner edge towards an alliance against Judd
- Continuity: Catherine keeps spare door keys in a matchbox taped under her desk; Catherine is a recovering alcoholic and Lamb keeps drink in the office; River ruined a King’s Cross training exercise, which is why he is at Slough House; River’s deadline began at seventy-nine minutes; Tearney’s blonde wig signals serious intent