Slough House

London Rules / C13

Chapter 13

Book 5 Part Two 4428 words POV: Diana Taverner, River Cartwright, Emma Flyte

Summary

Noon comes to London in a jangle of bells, with armed police on the streets and barriers around Westminster Abbey as crowds gather for the Abbotsfield memorial service. At Regent’s Park, Diana Taverner roams the hub, takes a sit-rep from Josie, notes that Kim Park is being held downstairs without charge, and lists the tasks waiting once the day is over: Flyte, Welles and Slough House. River Cartwright works the crowd near the Abbey, meets Louisa Guy at Storey’s Gate, and recalls the meeting in Ho’s office that morning, when Catherine Standish told everyone to go home and he admitted he had been planning to quit. In the Dogs’ kennel, Emma Flyte and Devon Welles watch the coverage; Welles argues that any crowd is a target, quotes the snake eating its tail, and Flyte goes white as she realises the attack will be at Abbotsfield. Jackson Lamb meets Molly Doran near the Park, trades information about Catherine Standish and Charles Partner, and learns she has the original of Ho’s document and a paper trail. In the van, An tells Shin to give the order and the cell drives down towards Abbotsfield. Louisa’s call to Shirley Dander finds her already there, with Coe.

Beats

  • C13S01 · Narrator — London meets noon with bells, steeples and clocktowers striking out of step, while armed police stand on the streets and metal barriers line the Abbey’s environs. Crowds gather behind them to honour the Abbotsfield dead, and the narration sets the day’s terms: that hate crime pollutes only the souls of those who commit it, and that those who mourn stand unstained. Twelve o’clock comes and goes, and the afternoon begins.
  • C13S02 · Diana Taverner — Diana Taverner roams the hub and takes a sit-rep from Josie: the Royals are due at the Abbey in fifty minutes, the PM in forty, and a disturbance on Great Smith Street is already over. She corrects the girl’s coding, asks whether Mr Whelan is being kept informed, and tells her to tread carefully, storing a mental note. Kim Park is downstairs, abducted rather than arrested and still being questioned, and Taverner lists the tasks waiting afterwards: Flyte, Welles and Slough House.
  • C13S03 · River Cartwright — River Cartwright threads through the crowd near the Abbey, showing his Service card at barriers and telephoning Louisa Guy, who is at Storey’s Gate. While he waits he remembers the meeting in Ho’s office that morning, when Catherine Standish told everyone to go home, Lamb mocked the idea of the slow horses helping, and he and Louisa admitted they would not. They patrol separately, meet for coffee, and Louisa says she still thinks it strange they have not seen Shirley Dander.
  • C13S04 · Emma Flyte — Emma Flyte and Devon Welles watch muted coverage in the Dogs’ kennel, confined there by Taverner. Welles argues the cell need only open fire on any crowd to count a result; Flyte answers that this is not seizing the media. A barrier falls on screen and both tense, but police are only helping people up. Welles quotes the snake eating its tail, and Flyte, understanding why the crowd is there, goes white.
  • C13S05 · Jackson Lamb — Jackson Lamb waits at a junction near Regent’s Park and meets Molly Doran, who trades questions about Catherine Standish for information. He tells her Standish was Charles Partner’s cutout and refuses to discuss Partner’s suicide; Doran then confirms she has found the original of the document Ho stole, and a paper trail. In the kennel, Flyte abruptly tells Welles they have got it wrong: the attack will be at Abbotsfield, not Westminster. She runs for the hub.
  • C13S06 · An — An tells Shin it is time he gave the order. Danny’s body lies on top of Joon’s in the back of the van, and Shin, after a drink of water, says they go now, then repeats it louder when An demands. Chris starts the van and pulls away from the verge, leaving Abbotsfield waiting down the hill for their second coming. Louisa’s call reaches Shirley Dander, who says she is at Abbotsfield.

People

  • Claude Whelan — First Desk, back at his desk at Regent’s Park, where he can feign control.
  • Diana Taverner — Second Desk; she works the hub and plans the reckoning afterwards.
  • Josie — young woman on the hub in a Breton-hooped T-shirt who reads Taverner the sit-rep.
  • Dennis Gimball — the dead MP; the crowds outside the Abbey are chanting about him.
  • Kim Park — Roderick Ho’s girlfriend, held downstairs at the Park and questioned again.
  • Emma Flyte — Head Dog, confined to the kennel, who realises the target is Abbotsfield.
  • Devon Welles — Flyte’s bagman, off roster, confined with her and thinking aloud about the cell’s tactics.
  • River Cartwright — slow horse patrolling the Abbey crowd, waiting for Louisa.
  • Louisa Guy — slow horse at Storey’s Gate who telephones Shirley Dander.
  • Catherine Standish — slow horse who told the others to go home and that the day is not their watch.
  • Jackson Lamb — Slough House’s head, meeting Molly Doran near the Park.
  • Shirley Dander — slow horse who has gone to Abbotsfield with Coe.
  • JK Coe — slow horse named as having been in Slough with River; he is with Shirley at Abbotsfield.
  • Roderick Ho — whose office the slow horses use as a common room, and whose car River leaves behind.
  • Molly Doran — archivist in a cherry-red wheelchair who trades information with Lamb.
  • Charles Partner — former First Desk, dead; Standish was his Girl Friday and his cutout.
  • An — cell member who tells Shin to give the order.
  • Shin — cell commander who gives the order to go.
  • Chris — cell driver.
  • Danny — cell member whose body lies in the back of the van.
  • Joon — dead cell member beneath Danny’s body in the van.

Places

  • Westminster Abbey — the Abbey, where the memorial service is held and the crowds and barriers are.
  • Regent’s Park — MI5 headquarters, with the hub and Whelan’s office.
  • Slough House — where the slow horses met that morning in Ho’s office.
  • Abbotsfield — the village the cell drives towards for a second attack.

Lines worth keeping

“They don’t need to get close” — Devon Welles, Welles on what the cell needs to achieve to count a result.

“A snake eating its tail. This wouldn’t be happening if they hadn’t shot up Abbotsfield. They’ve ordered their own victim turnout.” — Devon Welles, Welles on why the Abbey crowds have turned out.

“She’s a joe” — Jackson Lamb, Lamb’s answer when Molly Doran asks why he chose Catherine Standish.

“We’ve got it wrong. Everybody’s got it wrong.” — Emma Flyte, Flyte, in the kennel, after Welles quotes the snake eating its tail.

“It’s the memorial service all right. That’s where they’ll attack. But not at Westminster. They’re back at Abbotsfield.” — Emma Flyte, Flyte correcting the assumption about the target.

“I’m at Abbotsfield” — Shirley Dander, Shirley’s answer to Louisa’s question about where she is.

Threads

  • Plants: Flyte’s realisation that the second attack will be at Abbotsfield, not Westminster.; Molly Doran has found the original of the document Ho stole, and says there is a paper trail.; Taverner intends to deal with Flyte, Welles and Slough House once the day is over.; Taverner takes a mental note of Josie and of her access to Whelan’s office.; The cell drives for Abbotsfield four hours after Danny’s death.; Louisa cannot find Shirley, who is already at Abbotsfield with Coe.
  • Payoffs: The snake eating its own tail, the phrase Taverner reported earlier, is explained: the campaign returns to the site of the first attack.; Kim Park supplies identikit drawings of the cell, which Taverner doubts will resemble them.
  • Continuity: The Royals are due at the Abbey in fifty minutes and the PM in forty; the service starts at one.; Kestrels one to five are on Westminster Bridge, Millbank and Whitehall.; Kim is legally abducted rather than arrested, so detention limits do not apply.; Flyte and Welles are confined to the kennel for the duration.; River leaves Ho’s car keys on his desk and travels by tube.; The van holds Danny’s body on top of Joon’s.; Lamb has told Molly Doran that Standish was Partner’s cutout, and refused to discuss Partner’s suicide.

Characters

Places