get into a denied area, do something unpleasant, and get out. They have the mythical 007 ‘license to kill,’ as a matter of fact. I like to think of them as James Bond Meets My Beautiful Launderette. They give us certain capabilities that we would not have, even under our own rather expansive rules. You don’t know about the Increment because, strictly speaking, there is no such organization.”
“And you would be willing to lend these versatile individuals to the United States government?”
“No. But we might be willing to lend them to you, Harry.”
LONDON
Adrian proposed that Harry stay over and have dinner. He wanted to talk some more, you could see that in his eyes. Harry suggested that Susan join them for a festive meal at a Russian restaurant, where they could drink shots of vodka and remember the old days in Moscow. But Adrian said no, they should go out just the two of them, and he proposed that they dine at Mirabelle’s, the grand dame of French restaurants in the West End. He sounded wary at the mention of Susan, and Harry wondered why.
They drank a lot of whiskey before the meal, and Adrian eventually blurted it out.
“Susan and I have separated,” he said.
“I’m sorry,” said Harry. He didn’t know if that was the right thing to say, but it was what he felt.
“Don’t be. It was going to happen eventually. Would have happened earlier, if Susan hadn’t thought she could make it all work. But I finally busted the connection.”
“How? I mean, Susan always knew that you had other women. She talked to Andrea about it. I always suspected she had a lover or two of her own along the way. That’s why you two were such a fun couple.”
“She told the truth about her affairs. I lied. That’s the difference. The lies got bigger. I have another child, by another woman. Bet you didn’t know that. Susan didn’t either. And that’s not even the woman I’m with now. Life is complicated, Harry.”
“Does the service know?”
“Of course. You think I’m daft? They know everything. That’s the problem, isn’t it, Harry? Other than inside the firm, it’s all a big fucking lie. And finally that’s all that’s left, is the lie.”
“You’re drunk,” said Harry.
“Maybe so, maybe so. But I’m right, too. The problem with our business is that we’re supposed to lie. We’re required to, for fuck’s sake. When someone asks what we do, we tell a lie. Every time we get on a plane, we have a different passport. We stay at one hotel under one identity and another when we’re using a different identity, and we just hope the desk clerk doesn’t remember a face. We get people to do bad things, the very worst things, and we say to ourselves, ‘higher calling,’ or ‘can’t be helped.’ That’s if we still have a tinge of guilt left. But pretty soon that goes away. I wouldn’t know how to talk to a woman if I was using my true name, Harry. I couldn’t get a hard-on.”
“Go back to Susan. She knows who you are.”
But Adrian wasn’t listening. He was going to explain to Harry, his one and only friend, what he wouldn’t say to anyone else, even in the House of Lies that was his service. He took another deep drink of his whiskey and lowered his voice to a whisper.
“It’s not that simple. I’m corrupt, old boy. I needed money to support my ‘lifestyle,’ if you will. So I took money. First time was in the Middle East, as a matter of fact, after we left Moscow. I went to meet a Syrian agent in Cyprus, to give him his cash. It was two hundred and fifty thousand pounds. He was a greedy fucker, too, we paid him a lot, and I had always wondered why.
“So, so, so…” He took another gulp of whiskey. “The case had just been handed off to me, and I didn’t know much about him, you see. When I got to the safe house, he motioned for me to turn off the sound system, with little hand signals, pantomime, you know? He knew the drill. So when the sound was off, I opened up the briefcase to show him the cash, and he said, ‘Take your cut.’ Just like that. His previous case officer had been skimming, and he just assumed I would too. So I asked what the deal was with my predecessor, and he said twenty percent. And I thought,