The Berlin Assignment Read Online Free PDF

Madeleine had children the same age as Jerry and they began to compare the challenges of parenting.
    Hanbury had never been a match for aggressive young bulls like Adamanski. Even his delicate appearance – Zella once told him he looked
artistic
– undermined his role as deputy to Heywood. Whenever Heywood was away and Hanbury was in charge, he usually arrived at work with his stomach in a knot. Jerry Adamanski, but others too – Roger Chung, Deepak Ekbote and even the women like Madeleine MacQuary-Ellington or Louise Tetrault – they wouldn’t cooperate. Hanbury knew that in a sudden crisis, when alarms go off at the highest levels, his colleagues would abandon him. They simply wouldn’t pass him the needed information, hoping maybe to take his place should the high priest want a personal briefing. When an emergency struck the high priest demanded proof that within twenty, maybe thirty minutes it would be in hand. It left Heywood’s deputy at everyone’s mercy. He often looked ignorant, even indecisive. One time the decibel level went way up.
Balls, Hanbury! Show the world we’ve got balls!
Hanbury blamed Heywood for being shouted at. Upon leaving for an international junket, he never announced to the priory staff that in his absence his deputy would issue the orders.
    Duplicity from Heywood, humiliation dished out by the likes of Adamanski, five years of belittlement. All that remained, Hanbury thought, quietly steeling himself, was to survive this final lunch.
    The drinks were served and the curries ordered. Heywood struck an empty glass with a spoon. Rearranging a few long strands of hair from the back of his head across the front, and sending a meaningful look towards his deputy, he began. “Not often,” he intoned, “does the Service make a staffing decision that is, well…yes…
benign
. Today we are celebrating a remarkable development, one that’s opportune for everyone. We have a perfect match. Tony, our congratulations on Berlin. You’ve done well, you deserve it and you’ll do well.”
    For several members, trained to unearth the possible meanings of language in international treaties, Heywood’s words became instantly memorable as a brilliant example of Service doublespeak. Should the reference to
celebrating
be read as a backhanded reference to Hanbury’s imminent departure, something everyone was glad to see? Adamanski, the lines around his mouth tightening, looked about and met the eyes of Deepak Ekbote who promptly signalled he was reading it the same way. Ekbote had a masterful ability to sum up complicated thoughts in a single word. He once confided to Adamanski that he found Hanbury’s deputy stewardship
spongy
.
    Heywood looked towards the guest of honour for a sign that his words were appreciated, but his deputy sat trance-like, hands on the table, fingertips touching, eyes cast down. Heywood thought he must be reflecting on their wonderful years together and the nightmarish bureaucratic battles they fought. It was enough to turn him mushy. In florid detail he recalled the Priory’s accomplishments. There was the day they learned the Soviets had made adjustments to their Siberian radar systems, thus opening up the possibility of air strikes deep into the Yukon. Tony, he said, did the calculation of the longitudinal andlatitudinal extent of the area under threat. The Canadian Ambassador in Moscow, Heywood remembered, drew on this analysis to make an informal protest. In fact, if the Cold War hadn’t ended, Heywood opined, one could safely say the radar issue would have elevated into a documented violation of the Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty – SALT II.
    As Heywood droned on, his deputy made his own, silent evaluation of the five years in the Priory. Some things, he thought, he had handled well. The Soviet radar episode was a highlight. But more could have been accomplished. The problem had been Heywood, who on