espers, the ones he'd met, and of course in the Head of E-Branch himself. The big Scotsman might not be as parapsychologically endowed as a true esper, but still there was that special something about him; in those eyes, mainly - those hypnotic eyes - and the way they studied a man ...Jake suddenly realized that they'd been studying him, reading him much as he had been reading the other. Perhaps reading him more, or more cleverly. And breakfast was over now.'So when's it tae be?' McGilchrist stood up, stretched and yawned. 'God, but ye got me up early, Ben Trask! Ah wiz barely in bed ... then up again, when yere chopper landed in mah back yard. Ah wiz expectin' yere man, aye, but no at that hour.''I'm sorry about that/ Trask said, 'but we never know how long we'll be in any one place. And in fact we could be moving on at any time. I'm just waiting on some information from London, and then we'll be out of here/He got to his feet, Jake and Liz, too, and she said, 'Can I come in on this? Jake's my partner, after all/'He might yet be your partner/ Trask answered immediately. 'We won't know that until we know.'And Jake, as fidgety as ever, burst out, 'Then for Christ's sake let's get on with it! For whatever it is, it seems my future's hanging on it.''Yere future?' said Grahame McGilchrist, as Trask led them towards his tent. 'Ah, no. Ye'd be better off askin' the precog about that. And ye'll find that even he isnae that sure. But as for the past: well, that's different. What's been has been, and it cannae be changed. But even if it's been well and truly buried - buried in or by the mind, that is - we can usually dig it up again, aye. And as for me: Ah'm one hell o' an archaeologist/' He turned his attention to Trask.'So then, but this is a verra different E-Branch to the one Ah used tae know. They pilots, talkin' over there: Australians, aye? And a couple more fiddlin' wi' those vehicles there? Seems ye're recruitin' far afield these days, Benjamin.''No, not really/ Trask answered. 'Not even if it was just our espers you were talking about. See, in E-Branch we've never much cared about colours, creeds or nationalities. In that respect you could even say that we've always recruited far afield. For example: David Chung is of Chinese stock, you are Scottish, and poor Darcy Clarke's forebears were French. As for Zek Foener. Zek ...' Trask's voice faltered and his face clouded over.'Aye, Ah ken, and Ah'm sorry/ McGilchrist took his arm. They had arrived at Trask's tent. Freeing himself from the Scotsman's grip, his well-meant but inopportune commiseration, Trask turned his face away, occupied himself in fastening back the entrance flap to let in the predawn light. And in a while:'Currently the team consists of a small nucleus of agents, mainly from London HQ/ he went on on. 'But the back-up squads are Australian military, and likewise all their gear. It's not likely that anyone would know that, because the tac signs have been removed from the vehicles and choppers, and of course the men themselves aren't wearing their standard uniforms. But the discipline is the same. And you're quite right, Grahame, there have been several changes in E-Branch. For one, we're no longer the shoestring outfit that we used to be. Financially we're pretty stable now; when you can pay your own way, it gives you that much more clout.
'Five years ago, through our dealings with Gustav Turchin, the Russian Premier, we got ourselves accepted and well-established. We could afford to come out of hiding - emerge, as it were, from the esoteric closet - but never too far. For let's face it, an organization like E-Branch can't remain secret if everyone knows about it.
'As for these Australians: obviously they're all subject to their own version of the Official Secrets Act, and they've all been hand-picked for their loyalty, their unswerving devotion to duty and their country. Isn't that just exactly how it should be? Who better to do ... well, what I'm calling on them to do, than loyal subjects of the country under threat?''Under threat?' Suddenly McGilchrist's tone was sharp as he took his seat at Trask's small table.Trask nodded gravely. 'Perhaps the entire world/ he said. 'Except