Slough House

Joe Country / C09

Chapter 9

Book 6 Part Two 6303 words POV: Louisa Guy, River Cartwright, Emma Flyte

Summary

Lucas Harper, a teenager who tried to sell his silence over something he saw, breaks into his family’s old holiday cottage in Wales and hides there after the handover went wrong: the man at the crossroads knew his name, a car tried to run him down, and a woman pulled him from the ditch and dropped the man with a blow to the head. He spends the day in the dark. On the B4298, River Cartwright, Shirley Dander and J.K. Coe are stuck in snow four miles short of Louisa; River phones Lamb, who says Louisa has not called. In a barn, Frank Harkness berates Anton, Lars and the concussed Cyril for losing the boy, hands out two handguns and sends them to three addresses. Louisa, hiding in the cottage with Lucas, is joined by Emma Flyte, who worked out the address from Min Harper’s file and warns that the men hunting Lucas can do the same. Lech Wicinski, alone at Slough House, is knocked down in the backyard by a man with a blade. Emma, Louisa and Lucas flee over a wall into a churchyard, where Emma fights off a pursuer. River’s group sleep in the car and are woken by a snow plough.

Beats

  • C09S01 · Lucas Harper — Lucas Harper breaks the key safe off the wall of his family’s holiday cottage and lets himself in, having spent the night hiding after the handover at the crossroads went wrong. He goes back over the stranger who knew his name, the car that tried to run him down, and the woman who pulled him from the ditch and hit the man. When a shape appears at the window and the bell rings, a hand clamps over his mouth.
  • C09S02 · River Cartwright — River Cartwright sits in Ho’s car on the B4298 with Shirley Dander and J.K. Coe as the snow worsens and Coe twice loses traction. They pull into a layby, and River phones Jackson Lamb, who mocks him, will not say whether Louisa has called, and warns that the Park does not have their interests at heart. River stands in the cold, reminding himself the trip was his decision and that Louisa may already have paid for it.
  • C09S03 · Anton — Anton stands in the barn while Frank Harkness blames him, Lars and the concussed Cyril for losing the boy in the dark. Frank tears a page from a notebook and sends Lars to Paul’s Pantry and Anton to the family’s holiday cottage, keeping Caerwyss Hall for himself. He hands out two Sig Sauers from a holdall, orders the barn burned afterwards, and leaves. Anton and Lars, in German, work out how to share the one car.
  • C09S04 · Louisa Guy — Louisa Guy takes her hand from Lucas’s mouth and lets Emma Flyte in; Emma came by train because Louisa never phoned. Emma notes the unlit room, Louisa’s damaged arm and the scratches on Lucas’s cheek, and explains she found the cottage through Min Harper’s personnel file. Lucas admits the man at the crossroads knew his name, and they begin putting coats on. A fist ploughs through the door’s diamond-shaped window before they can leave.
  • C09S05 · Lech Wicinski — Lech Wicinski sits alone at Slough House under a blanket found in a cupboard, too cold and too unwilling to make small talk to move to a hotel. Lamb looks in on his way out, offers no advice about the boiler, and leaves by the back door. Wicinski cannot reach Sara, dozes through the evening, then decides to cross the road for food. In the backyard a fist hits his face, and falling he sees light on a blade.
  • C09S06 · Emma Flyte — Emma Flyte reaches the door as a hand comes through the glass, fixes the chain, and is hauled against the woodwork by her coat, which she slips out of as she falls. She shouts Louisa and Lucas to the back door and follows them into the garden, climbing a seven-foot brick wall after Louisa’s white ski-jacket. A man comes out of the cottage with a gun. Emma drops, lands face down, and looks up among gravestones.
  • C09S07 · River Cartwright — River Cartwright waits outside the layby while Shirley Dander inspects the lorry ahead and Coe finds only a cardboard box in the boot. The three rearrange themselves in the car under packing foam and torn cardboard; Shirley eventually climbs in beside River and discovers the gun Lamb gave him. Coe stays awake with River’s pulse against his shoulder, summoning the sound of a piano, and a snow plough wakes them hours later.
  • C09S08 · Emma Flyte — Emma Flyte is hauled to her feet among the gravestones by Louisa Guy, who takes Lucas towards the churchyard gate. Emma sends them on and drops behind a headstone as a man in black gloves comes over the wall. She trips him with the headstone, stamps on him, and remembers a brick striking her riot shield in Tottenham. He reaches for his gun; she runs after Louisa and Lucas.

People

  • Lucas Harper — Teenager hiding in his family’s holiday cottage; the boy the pursuers are hunting.
  • River Cartwright — Slow horse driving to Wales with Shirley and Coe; phones Lamb from the layby.
  • Shirley Dander — Slow horse in the car; complains about the snow and had an earlier turn at the wheel.
  • JK Coe — Slow horse in the car; warns they cannot go much further and later drives.
  • Jackson Lamb — Runs Slough House; speaks to River by phone from London and gives him a gun.
  • Frank Harkness — Leads the men hunting Lucas; berates them, issues handguns and takes Caerwyss Hall himself.
  • Anton Moser — One of Frank’s operatives; knocked down by Louisa, sent to the holiday cottage.
  • Lars Becker — Team medic among Frank’s men; sent to check Paul’s Pantry.
  • Cyril Dupont — Operative hit with a wrench, suffering concussion, left behind in the barn.
  • Louisa Guy — Slow horse who pulled Lucas from the road; hiding with him, left arm injured.
  • Emma Flyte — Former cop now at Slough House; arrives at the cottage looking for Louisa’s phone.
  • Lech Wicinski — Slow horse alone at Slough House; attacked in the backyard.
  • Min Harper — Louisa’s late husband; his personnel file gave Emma the cottage address.
  • Devon Welles — Service colleague who pulled Min Harper’s personnel file for Emma.
  • Roderick Ho — Named for the car the three are driving and its glove box.

Places

  • Slough House — MI5’s dumping ground in London; Wicinski is alone there.

Lines worth keeping

“Cats don’t care, the tooth fairy takes backhanders from dentists, and the Park does not have your best interests at heart.” — Jackson Lamb, Lamb, on the phone, telling River why the Park was not alerted.

“Either she was dead before you set off, or she just went dark. So there’s only a fifty percent chance things are any different now.” — Jackson Lamb, Lamb’s answer when River asks whether Louisa has been in touch.

“You’re in Wales, for god’s sake. Unless they’ve weaponised sheep, you’re already outgunning everyone you’ll meet.” — Frank Harkness, Frank refusing Anton’s request for spare magazines.

“I used to be a cop, remember?” — Emma Flyte, Emma explaining how she traced the cottage to Louisa.

“He knew my name. The guy at the crossroads.” — Lucas Harper, Lucas telling Louisa and Emma that the blackmail drop went wrong.

“They’re not looking for three of us. We’ll check into a hotel, a B&B, whatever, and make a plan.” — Emma Flyte, Emma proposing they leave the cottage, moments before the window breaks.

Threads

  • Plants: What Lucas saw, and is being paid to keep quiet about, has still not been described.; Frank orders the barn torched once the job is done.; Frank takes Caerwyss Hall himself as the third possible hiding place.; Two Sig Sauers and no spare magazines are now in Anton’s and Lars’s hands.; Louisa ditched her phone and Lucas’s Fitbit so they could not be tracked.; Wicinski’s attacker in the backyard carries a blade and pulls the door shut behind him.
  • Payoffs: The woman who pulled Lucas from the ditch is identified as Louisa Guy.; Emma’s warning that anyone could find the cottage address is paid off when a fist comes through the door window.
  • Continuity: Louisa’s left arm is injured from being wrenched back; Lucas has scratches on his cheek.; Louisa’s car tyres were slashed; the car is left where it is.; Three men attacked them: Anton, Lars and the driver, Cyril.; Louisa and Lucas spent the night in a wood after the fight.; River’s group are four miles short, with one bar of phone signal.; Shirley drove Ho’s car earlier; Ho asks after it.; Both Wicinski’s and River’s clothing are inadequate for the weather.

Characters

Places