How to Betray Your Country by James Wolff (spicy books to read .TXT) 📕

seeking to subdue and domesticate the very act for which they had fired him. August would have to be careful. Lawrence had clearly given this some thought. Or perhaps he simply viewed everything in terms of how he would describe it in his next application for promotion. August didn’t know which was more likely. He also didn’t know what he was supposed to make of the flattery. It was so excessive and inappropriate – he had, after all, lied to his managers, misused official resources, put an agent at risk and threatened Britain’s intelligence relationship with Egypt – that he wondered how he could be expected to take it seriously.

“It’s a real shame that you’re on the outside,” Lawrence was saying. “We all feel that. No one is happy about the way things turned out.”

The house shifted nervously around them. August watched dust drift along bright diagonals of sunlight like crowds on a bridge. He was in no hurry. Somewhere upstairs a tree rattled against a window.

“I suppose what I’m getting at,” said Lawrence, “is that we might be able to find a role for you going forward.” He smiled. “What do you think? Would you like to come back?”

It was the last thing August had expected to hear. It made absolutely no sense. Why would they want him back? They had only just got rid of him, and he had no doubt that if they had found enough evidence during the investigation he’d be in prison right now. The only thing of value he could tell them was —

The answer landed with a thud that knocked the air out of his lungs. He struggled to keep his sense of shock under control. They must have found out about 34c, the cemetery, the Iranian scientist: there was no other possibility. They knew what was going on. They knew what was going on and they wanted to stop it. He would do the same in their position – far better to recruit the person already involved in a conspiracy than remove them and insert someone new, with all the risks that carried. It didn’t matter how awkward that person might be or how complicated the situation. Dealing with awkward people in complicated situations was what spies were there for.

“As an agent rather than an officer, of course,” Lawrence added. “Unfortunately, how shall I put it, that particular bridge has burned down in spectacular style, in a blaze of technicolour glory.”

“You’ve found another way across the river,” said August.

“Pardon?”

“A rope swing, perhaps, rather than a bridge.”

“That’s a good analogy. I know which one sounds more fun, don’t you? Listen, agents are the heroes, you know this better than anyone – they are the ones at the coalface, the ones who collect the intelligence. All we do as handlers is fill out the paperwork and take the credit for their good work. I doubt there’s a single handler who didn’t wish they were an agent instead. You’ll have a blast. Look, you’re smiling – you know I’m right.”

“I’ll admit you’ve taken me by surprise, Lawrence.”

“Call me Larry.”

“You want me to be your agent?”

“You’re too good to let go.”

August laughed. He wanted to find a bar and mark the end of his Istanbul adventure with a drink. And this was definitely the end – there was no way he could continue to pretend to be 34c, not now that Lawrence and his colleagues knew what he was doing, and the last thing he wanted was to stay involved but take his orders from them, and the prospect of turning his back on the whole thing and staying in Istanbul with only Beatrice and her wretched job to occupy his time was intolerable. He’d be on a flight back to London by the end of the week.

“It’s a generous offer, Lawrence,” he said. “Given everything that’s happened. And I want you to know that I don’t bear any grudges. But I’m not going to be your agent.”

“You haven’t heard the offer yet.”

August laughed again. It was the funniest thing he’d heard for a long time, the idea that Lawrence would run him as an agent. “Look, I’ll tell you whatever you want to know,” he said finally, and then he started laughing again. He wiped away the tears. “I’m sorry,” he said. “Honestly, I’ll answer your questions. I can guess what this is about, and despite what you might think the last thing I want is for them to succeed in what they’re planning.”

“They? So it’s not a solo operation then?”

“What?”

“You see, you’ve still got the instincts of a spy. We can’t let that go to waste, August. You’ve ended up in the most incredible position, with access to this … conspiracy, there’s no other word for it, and —”

“Come on, ask me your questions. I want to go and have a drink.”

“Of course I want to hear what you already know. But even more valuable than that would be for you to stay in place and help us find a way to disrupt what’s happening. And I’m prepared to make you a very generous offer, August. I’ll cover your rent, your flights home, your medical insurance. And five hundred dollars a month on top of that. You could have a very comfortable life here, considering that you’re getting a salary from Beatrice as well. And I’ll protect you, in case you find yourself in a spot of bother. There’s a formidable woman called Elif from the local Service who’s breathing down our necks a bit, always wanting to know what we’re up to, but I fancy I can get her under control. We can discuss all that later. You said you wanted a drink – why don’t you let me treat you to dinner? There’s a fancy rooftop bar called 360 Istanbul that everyone’s been telling me —”

It hurt, it physically hurt, August found, laughing that hard. Like a rusted old car rolling down a hill, there was friction and spark and clatter, and