Secret Asset Read Online Free PDF Page B

all, Philby or Blunt, exploding all over the tabloids’ front pages didn’t bear thinking about. And if MI5 were seen to have pooh-poohed the whole thing, it would ruin the reputation of the Service.
    â€œSo we need to conduct an investigation into this. And I want you to do it.”
    â€œMe?” said Liz, unable to contain her surprise. She’d already concluded he would want her involved, but to run the inquiry? She had no false modesty about her work, but she still would have expected a more senior officer to handle such a case. But then perhaps it wasn’t quite as important as Wetherby was making out.
    â€œYes, you.”
    â€œBut, Charles,” said Liz, a little nervously, “I’ve no experience in Counter-Espionage and very little of Northern Ireland.”
    Wetherby shook his head. “I’ve discussed this with DG. For the moment it is to be left in our hands. We certainly don’t want a Northern Ireland expert on this. I need a good investigator, someone with your flair, who is not well known in Northern Ireland, but has
some
knowledge of the place. You had a brief posting there—a few months, wasn’t it?” Liz nodded. “Not long enough to get sucked in,” said Wetherby.
    Liz suddenly felt rather flattered.
    â€œIf we don’t know MI5 was the target, what about the other services?”
    â€œI’ve talked with Geoffrey Fane,” he said, referring to his counterpart at MI6. “We both agreed that it was most likely that the target service was MI5. Fane has talked to C and they are not at all anxious to have an internal investigation at present. After all, we took over Northern Ireland from MI6 in the eighties; according to Keaney, the mole joined sometime in the early nineties. It would be MI5 they’d be aiming at. So Fane has agreed we begin by focusing here. He wants to second someone to the investigation, just to keep him informed”—he looked expressionlessly at Liz, who knew that though Wetherby respected Fane’s professional skills, he did not entirely trust him—“but it will be someone junior. You’re in charge.
    â€œNow, you’ll need a cover story for any interviews you conduct once you have a list of…” He paused momentarily, searching for the word he wanted, then said, “candidates. If you’re making new enquiries about certain individuals, we have to have a good reason or it will soon get out and the mole will be alerted. I’ve agreed with DG that the cover story will be this: the Parliamentary Security and Intelligence Committee is concerned that the security vetting of members of the intelligence services is not reviewed frequently enough. They think it should be done more often. So DG has agreed, on an experimental basis, to redo the vetting of a random sample, to see if it produces anything useful. That’s what you will say if anyone asks why you are making enquiries about colleagues. You should use the corner conference room for any private meetings—I’ve reserved it for your use only. Otherwise, use your normal desk. As far as your colleagues are concerned, you are still in Counter-Terrorism. I think that’s enough for now; we can sort out any other details later. Do you have any questions?”
    â€œJust one. I’d like to talk to Maguire’s controller.”
    Wetherby gave a sad smile. “Not possible, I’m afraid,” he said. “It was Ricky Perrins.”
    â€œOh no.” Perrins had been killed in a car accident three weeks earlier—it was one of the first things Liz learned on her return to work. It was especially heartbreaking, as Perrins had two small children, and a young wife expecting a third.
    â€œObviously you should look at his report. You might want to talk to Maguire—but I don’t think you’ll get much more out of him. I gather that having said his piece to Ricky he didn’t want any more