make one phone call and have you removed as Commander of Lark Hill. Your own soldiers would frog-march you out of here. You’ve seen my papers; for as long as I’m here, I outrank you. Commander.”
He glared at me, at a loss for anything to say. He knew I wasn’t exaggerating. The documents the Armourer provided were unimpeachable. The soldiers were watching the Commander out of the corners of their eyes. He must have noticed, because he nodded stiffly to me, stepped back, and indicated the exit behind him. The door swung open, and the soldiers fell back on two sides to form an honour guard for me to walk through.
I made a point of not noticing or caring, turned back to the Bentley, and activated the car’s security system. The Bentley made a series of loud and ostentatiously dangerous noises, then settled down again. Like a predator pretending it was asleep.
“I’ll have someone park your car out of the way,” said the Commander.
“No you won’t,” I said. “No one touches this car but me. She can look after herself. And don’t let anyone get too close. I haven’t fed her recently.”
The soldiers looked at the Bentley, and then looked quickly away again. Because they could all feel the car looking back at them, in a thoughtful sort of way. The Commander shook his head disgustedly. He was clearly old-school military, with no time for anyone outside the recognised chain of command. Which left him vulnerable to people like me, who operate outside the system and don’t give a damn. Fortunately, he thought I was just another security expert, and I was determined to keep it that way for as long as possible. People in authority tend to clam up once they know they’re in the presence of a Drood.
The Commander led the way through the open door. I looked hopefully at the honour guard of soldiers, in case they felt moved to salute me, but none of them did. Beyond the door lay just the kind of high-tech establishment I’d been expecting. Brightly lit corridors, gleaming white walls, all very calm and peaceful, with surveillance cameras everywhere. I had no doubt there would be more-sophisticated systems operating as well, hidden away from the naked eye.
People hurried back and forth, nodding to the Commander and shooting suspicious glances at me, all of them doing their best to look as though they were on their way somewhere important, to do something vital, and possibly even urgent. I wasn’t fooled. I knew that look. It was the same expression I used to put on when I went striding purposefully through Drood Hall as a teenager, pretending to be frightfully busy so the family wouldn’t find me some real work to do. Interestingly, none of the people I passed were soldiers. No military uniforms, just cheap suits and the occasional white lab coat. Scientists and technicians, the lot of them. The Big Ear might be a military installation, but its work was still strictly scientific in nature. Despite all the airs and graces the Commander gave himself.
Give the man his due; he went out of his way to give me the grand tour. I was taken in and out of endless offices and workrooms, where people sat in long rows, staring fixedly at computer screens or listening to headphones, occasionally bursting into flurries of sudden movement as they entered new information into the system. Dozens of men and women, watching the world and making long notes as to what it was up to. Studying video feeds, listening in on conversations, reading endless streams of e-mails. Doing their best to put it all together and make useful connections. Sorting out the dangerous wheat from the babble of chaff.
No one spoke to anyone else. They were doing important work, and they took it all very seriously. I indicated to the Commander how impressed I was, and he nodded curtly.
“We run a tight ship here, Mister Graves. Everyone knows their job and gets on with it.”
“And this centre’s job is to listen to everyone?” I said. “Every communication, public and private? No exceptions?”
If a note of disapproval had entered into my voice, the Commander chose not to hear it. “Of course,” he said flatly. “Security threats can come from anywhere. We need to know everything.”
“What about people’s right to privacy?”
“Their right to be protected must come first.”
“Your new device must make that a lot easier,” I said.
“It does. We’ve been covering the same ground for years,