Slough House

Real Tigers / C12

Chapter 12

Book 3 Part Two 5814 words POV: Catherine Standish, Marcus Longridge, Jackson Lamb, River Cartwright, Shirley Dander, Nick Duffy, Ben Traynor, Douglas

Summary

Catherine Standish, alone with the empty wine bottle, understands that she poured the Pinot down the sink rather than drink it, and refills the bottle with water as a weapon against Bailey. Lamb kicks in the padlocked attic door, finds her unharmed, eats her sandwich and flapjack, and tells her Donovan wants the Grey Books; on their way out, Roderick Ho drives a bus through the farmhouse door. Below ground, Traynor identifies the black-clad intruders as Monteith’s Black Arrow crew, tells Louisa that Standish will be released at nine unharmed, and leaves to back up Donovan. Douglas is sent up the ladder to raise the alarm, and River and Louisa follow Traynor down the corridor. In the long warehouse room, Donovan sorts folders by catalogue number while Traynor barricades the doors, and Donovan refuses to leave until he finds what they came for; Traynor settles down to wait with his gun, thinking of Alison Dunn. Douglas surfaces onto the wasteground, is tackled, and is dragged into a van by a man in a balaclava who calls himself Duffy and claims to be from Regent’s Park. Having learned that the hatch cannot be worked from outside, Duffy shoots him and pushes the body under a bench: one down, four to go. Marcus and Shirley, having followed a Black Arrow van, approach on foot.

Beats

  • C12S01 · Catherine Standish — Catherine Standish sat with the empty wine bottle and found, to her surprise, that she admired it, having poured its contents down the sink rather than drunk them. She refilled the bottle with water and screwed the cap on tight, planning to use it on Bailey the next time he came through the door.
  • C12S02 · Marcus Longridge — Stuck in traffic, Marcus and Shirley argued over what her discovery meant, and Shirley noted a redacted report Alison Dunn had filed after returning from the UN posting. Marcus then spotted a Black Arrow van ahead and said they had better catch up with Louisa and Cartwright.
  • C12S03 · Jackson Lamb — Lamb wedged his foot in the door, forced his way in, and put the man down with a punch to the midriff, a slap to both ears and a knee to the face, going easier than he might in case he had the wrong house. He found a gun in the man’s waistband, pocketed the magazine, and started up the stairs.
  • C12S04 · River Cartwright — River needled Traynor about conspiracy theories while Douglas sat wretched on the floor and Louisa withdrew into her silent space. Then Traynor’s attention fixed on the monitors, where black-clad masked figures were swarming down a corridor that had been empty, and Louisa asked who they were.
  • C12S05 · Shirley — Marcus parked near the industrial estate where the Black Arrow van had turned off and fetched a gun and a baseball cap from the boot, while Shirley searched her clothes and the glove compartment for drugs and found none. She pulled on her jacket and the two of them set off round the corner.
  • C12S06 · Nick Duffy — Duffy watched the Black Arrow van arrive and a dozen men spill out into cover, satisfied that numbers were all that mattered. He pulled on a black silk balaclava so that no descriptions would be available afterwards, checked his guns and ammunition, and went down to take charge.
  • C12S07 · Jackson Lamb — Lamb kicked in the padlocked attic door and found Catherine standing unharmed with empty hands, then ate from her tray while she asked what he had done to Bailey and he told her Donovan wanted the Grey Books. As they left the room, Roderick Ho drove a bus through the front door.
  • C12S08 · River Cartwright — Traynor identified the intruders as Black Arrow and, after making Douglas say where they were, announced that he was going to back up his commanding officer. He told Louisa that Standish would be released at nine unharmed, then left; Douglas was sent up the ladder to raise the alarm, and River and Louisa followed Traynor.
  • C12S09 · Ben Traynor — In the long warehouse room, Donovan pulled folders from the shelves, checked the top sheet and dropped them, working out the catalogue numbers that would locate what he wanted. Traynor barricaded the doors with his belt and a filing cabinet, and when Donovan refused to leave without the file, Traynor settled in to wait with his gun.
  • C12S10 · Douglas — Douglas came up through the hatch and was flattened by a Black Arrow man, then hauled upright and dragged into a black van by a balaclava-wearing newcomer. The man introduced himself as Duffy of Regent’s Park and questioned him about the hatchway, then shot him and pushed his body under the bench.

People

  • Catherine Standish — Held in the attic; has poured the wine away and arms herself with the water-filled bottle.
  • Jackson Lamb — Reaches Standish, eats her food, and questions what Donovan really wants.
  • Roderick Ho — Off-page until the end, when he drives a bus through the farmhouse door.
  • Craig Dunn — The young guard left in charge; knocked unconscious by Lamb and later to be woken for questioning.
  • River Cartwright — Held at gunpoint in the facility, then follows Traynor down the corridor with Louisa.
  • Louisa Guy — Presses Traynor about Standish’s release and goes after him with River.
  • Ben Traynor — Leaves to back up Donovan and barricades the warehouse doors; carries a photograph of Alison Dunn.
  • Sean Donovan — Searches the shelves by catalogue number and refuses to leave without the file.
  • Nick Duffy — Takes charge of the Black Arrow assault, masquerades as Park personnel and murders Douglas.
  • Marcus Longridge — Follows the Black Arrow van with Shirley and approaches the site on foot, armed with one gun.
  • Shirley Dander — Argues with Marcus, fights off cravings, and goes in with him.
  • Alison Dunn — Dead; Traynor’s fiancée, whose redacted report and photograph drive him.
  • Ingrid Tearney — Off-page; her order that all of them be killed is recalled by Duffy.
  • Sylvester Monteith — Dead; Black Arrow’s boss, whose crew Duffy says is now in play.

Places

  • The farmhouse — Standish’s prison; Lamb clears it and Ho later drives a bus through its front door.
  • The archive — Underground records complex, its corridors and warehouse room mapped by lettered corridors on the monitors.

Lines worth keeping

“Thought this was a kidnapping, not an awayday.” — Jackson Lamb, surveying Catherine’s attic room

“Thanks for coming to get me, Jackson.” — Catherine Standish, thanking Lamb at the farmhouse

“I’m from Regent’s Park, name’s Duffy. You can call me Nick.” — Nick Duffy, introducing himself to Douglas

“She’s a spook. You’d be mad to trust her.” — Sean Donovan, justifying his trust in Taverner

Threads

  • Plants: Donovan’s catalogue method — V for Virgil, Tearney’s initials, a date, a four-figure reference — and his refusal to leave without the file.; The redacted report Alison Dunn filed after returning from the UN posting, and the question of what it said.; Taverner approached Donovan while he was drinking himself to death, and wants to destroy Tearney.; Traynor’s photograph of Alison Dunn and his promise that Standish will be released at nine.; Duffy’s ‘one down, four to go’ and his care to leave no descriptions of himself.; Ho’s twenty-minute deadline from Lamb, still running.
  • Payoffs: Catherine’s struggle with the bottle ends with the wine poured away and the bottle turned into a weapon.; Lamb reaches Standish, resolving the farmhouse rescue set up in the previous chapter.; Douglas’s claim that the hatch cannot be worked from outside is confirmed to Duffy, sealing the facility.
  • Continuity: Douglas is dead, shot in the back of a Black Arrow van.; Donovan’s party numbers four, and the hatchway cannot be opened from the outside.; Standish was promised release at nine, unharmed.; Duffy is operating under a false Park identity and a balaclava, and intends to leave Black Arrow holding the bodies.; The Black Arrow squad is roughly a dozen to fifteen strong, some ex-forces and possibly armed.

Characters

Places

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