Everyone shook hands, Dave apologised for yesterday. “I ran out of energy yesterday, it was knowing it was over which drained me, I didn’t have to think about it anymore. Sally has seen me like it before, but it was the first time for Miss Goodley, it hit me after I left your office Sir Rupert. That is where I would like to start. One of the problems I have is remaining neutral, for example if the Prime Minister asks me what I think about something, up until now, I would have said what I thought. Now I understand I cannot give opinions or my thoughts, it may be taken as a civil servant giving political advice. So much of my investigation work is done on thoughts and guesswork, if I can only deal in facts then I cannot do the job. That’s pretty much where I am at the moment. Maybe I have read the rules wrongly or I’m creating an obstacle which isn’t there. I want to know what I can and cannot say.”
Sir Rupert looked at Dave. “The position you have is very senior, politicians will look to you for advice and guidance. Although they are the leaders, it would be impossible for them to know everything going on in their department, that is why you are called into meetings. They want to use your expertise to help resolve an issue. What you cannot do is to give help or advice which may give a political advantage over an opponent or other political party. That is what he has special advisors for. If there were no politicians, the country would still function, the civil service would still operate. Politicians decide policy, it is our job to make sure it works. They will ask for reports and advice, it is our job to give it in an unbiased form. The investigation you have been involved in is a highly politicised one, I’m sure Miss Goodley will confirm this is the exception rather than the rule.”
“Up until now, some investigations weren’t pursued due to the nature of the case, possibly due to political sensitivity, but David has changed that. Unfortunately, most of the cases David and Miss Fellowes will be involved in, will be political or sensitive, the more normal cases will be dealt with junior staff. So, to correct you Sir Rupert, it will be mainly high profile investigations.”
Dave said he felt during the last investigation he was being asked too much regarding the direction of the case.“ I was being asked what sanctions should we be imposing, the direction the case should be taking, I don’t know whether I was going beyond my position.”
It was Jane who spoke again. “You were in charge of the investigation, you ran it better than anyone could have, you were asked what you would do, because there was no one better to ask. You and Sally are unique, I have never seen anyone else who are as relentless and ruthless as the pair of you. I know you bend the rules, but the end justifies the means, no one other than Sally knew as much about the case as you did. That’s why you were asked what to do next.”
Sally interrupted, “you saw yesterday the results of David’s relentlessness, he was out on his feet the minute he realised it was over. I won’t let it happen again, it’s not good for him and it’s not good for MI5. He needs a team he can trust, people he can rely on, they have to be the best you have, what would have happened if he had been ill half way through, everything would have ground to a halt until he returned to work, that is no good.”
“If you have nothing more to say, I would like to talk to Miss Goodley, thank you for expressing your views and opinions, Miss Goodley may contact you later.”
There had been no coffee in the room, both of them were desperate for a drink, in the bar, he said to Sally he might have talked himself out of a job. “It doesn’t matter, you can dig out the Uber signs in the morning.” Lunch was in the bar, Sally thought Dave had ordered too much, however he kept on eating. Back upstairs she gave him back his phone, he switched it on, it kept pinging with missed calls and messages. Sally asked him if he wanted her to go through them and let him know if there was anything important. Many were short messages asking him to return the call, several were from the Prime Minister, more from the Home Secretary, his voice was short and abrupt, Sally said there had been a couple from Cyrus Grantly. She said he sounded friendly. His first call was to the Prime Minister, he apologised saying he had slept after he listened to the press conference, Richard Carlton thanked him for what he had done, he asked for him and Sally to come and see him as soon as they could. The next one was the Home Secretary, he wanted to know why he wasn’t at work, Dave didn’t like his tone of voice. “Sir, there is a great temptation to tell you to fuck off, but since you are my boss, I have resisted, I have been in bed, catching up with my sleep.” Dave hung up.
Sally was laughing. “You can’t say that to him.”
“I didn’t swear at him, I just said I was tempted.” He was about to call Cyrus Grantly when a text message came through on both their phones.
“Do you want to go, she wants us there at 16:00?”
“Yes, we’ll get it over and done with, what if I arrange to speak to the PM at 18:00 we can go there afterwards.” He phoned Cyrus, from the ring tone he was in England. “Cyrus, it’s Dave, you have been trying to reach me.” Sally was listening. “No, I have other places I need to be, 20:00 at the hotel, I hope you will be alone and a little more talkative than last time.” Sally looked at him. “He wants to meet us both for a chat. We are going to be busy for the rest of the day.”
They went directly to Jane Goodley’s office, it was exactly 16:00 when he knocked on the door, the door was locked once they were in. They waited while coffees were poured out for them. “David, I didn’t realise until yesterday how much you put into an investigation. You were out on your feet, I’m amazed you are up and about today. Did you tell the Home Secretary to fuck off earlier, he said you did?”
“I said I was tempted to, but as he was my boss I said I wouldn’t.”
“Sir Rupert doesn’t know what to make of you, he can’t fault your work, he likes the way you talk to politicians, but is concerned the way the PM has used you, he will be speaking to Richard Carlton to remind him civil servants are non-political. He says we need people like you and Sally. Subject to your approval, Giles will be with you permanently, on the days you are working from home, he will look after the office here. Over the coming months, a team will be built up, these people will be available immediately when a major investigation is being undertaken. You and Sally will vet them, they will be the best we have, people who can work with minimum supervision. What does the PM want with you?”
“I don’t know, we are seeing him next, Cyrus Grantly is meeting us at the hotel tonight at 20:00, again I have no idea what he wants.”
At 18:00 they were shown into the private office of Richard Carlton, there was only one other person present who Dave recognised, but couldn’t place. “Thank you both for coming, I hope you have recovered, I had heard you were exhausted yesterday afternoon and had to return to the hotel. I want to thank you both for the way you conducted the investigation, I don’t think we would be where we are today without the work you did. David, there is a position open in my office as a special advisor, to keep me up to date on National security issues. The way you came up with a way forward impressed many people here. Some of your plain speaking is not appreciated, but I can live with that. There would be a much better package than you are on currently, if you are interested, and I hope you are, then a formal proposal will be drawn up.”
“Is this a political appointment, outside the Civil Service?”
“Yes, you would have to resign from the position you currently hold.”
“Sir, thank you for the offer, and I’m flattered by it, but the answer will be no. I don’t need to consider it or be told the possible terms of the offer. There are several reasons, the main one is I don’t want to work in London full time, there has been no mention of a position for Sally. We come as a team, working for a political party is not secure employment, if you were to lose an election, then the staff you employ would soon be culled. Finally, I think my skills are better used in the position I have been appointed to. I will not be moving in the foreseeable future. You know I will always be available to give you any assistance required within the scope of my job. I like working with you, but I see no benefit to working for you.”
The Prime Minister expressed sorrow that the offer wouldn’t be considered. The meeting was over, as they passed through security on the way out, Dave left the Downing Street pass he had been issued just a couple of weeks before. Outside, Dave asked Sally to check the recording she had made, she played back sections and said it was OK. “Do the same again when we meet Cyrus. They changed before meeting Cyrus, Sally wondered what he wanted, Dave had said they would find out soon. He put a jacket on over his Glock, they sat in the lounge with a drink, Dave could see those coming and going. The porters had been alerted to watch out for anyone watching them. Cyrus was wearing a suit when Dave saw him, he was accompanied by a much larger agent, who sat at a table away from Dave and Sally. There were handshakes as the three greeted each other. “Cyrus, I’ve come prepared, why is there only one with you, where is the other one?”
“He is my protection, just in case.” Standing up, Dave asked him what he wanted to drink, he replied saying water would be fine, a porter followed him to the bar. “There is no one else, the doorman says the two walked up the street.” He put the water in front of Cyrus. “David, it’s finished, we’ve moved on, I know you were at the Oval on Sunday, you must have done a lot of research beforehand, in some ways it’s why I’m here. You upset a lot of people, we know where you got the files from, we can’t find out how you did it. Every login is being checked to see how you are doing it.”
“By the time you find out, there will be another way in.”
“David, I have an offer to make to you, it includes Sally. Although you upset people, they were amazed how you managed to trace it all back to us, they thought everything had been covered up. There is a job in Langley for you both, you would be doing what you do now, but with more resources and a better package. I have the details in my briefcase, can I open it and take out the paper?”
Dave unbuttoned his jacket, “do it very carefully, Sally will stand behind you as you open it.” There were no surprises, he took out two sheets of paper, he handed one to each of them. “How do I know this isn’t a way to lure me to the US where I’ll suddenly vanish?”
“As I said earlier, we have moved on, read the outline of the offer. There would be a $500k award for signing, this would allow you to buy a decent house near Langley. $5k per week and your own dedicated team, after two years, if you want it, full US citizenship. The offer is for both of you, I’m here to find out if you are interested.”
“I think Sally and I need time to talk this over, it’s not something we had thought about.” Sally said they would let him know in a couple of days. “I will be back in Langley by then, phone me, if you are interested, there will be further meetings where more details will be given. I’ll leave you to have a think, you have my number.”
There was silence for a while after he left, Sally switched off the recording and checked it was OK. “That’s some offer we have been made, shall we talk about it over dinner?” Dave suggested they eat at the nearby Indian restaurant, he went up to the room to leave the Glock before they left. Sally asked why the offer was made. “I think there might be two reasons, one, they want to use our ability to investigate cases over there and two, it would stop us investigating them for the UK Government. We might be able to use it to squeeze a little more money from Sir Rupert.”
“I want us to go home tomorrow, regardless of what happens, we will check out in the morning, have a car pick us up and leave the suitcases in your car at MI5, we can then leave directly for home.” Sally did some of the packing when they were back in the hotel, an alarm call was booked for 07:00.
Dave and Sally sat in Jane Goodley’s office, the recording of the conversation in Downing Street was played first. “I thought he would offer you a job, I’m pleased you turned him down, what happened with Cyrus Grantly?”
“He offered us a job as well, let Sally play it now, we have it in writing as well.” Jane didn’t say anything, one of the copies given to them the previous evening was passed to Jane. “Sally will email you a copy of the recordings, it’s up to you what you do with them, I know what I would do.”
Giles was waiting for instructions. “Highlight the emails I might be interested in, give me a resume of the others, the same with any calls. I’m here all day, then working from home for the rest of the week. By next week, I want the office running properly, any paper records left over from the last investigation, shred them once you have checked we have digital copies.”
Sally poured coffees for the three of them, she thought he looked happier than he had been for some weeks. “When you have done that, I have an ongoing job for you, it will take months to complete, it can be done when you have spare time. Create a list of all MPs and Members of the House of Lords, start at the most important. Check the CIA and FBI files on them, if there is one, download it, store them in a secure location, we will slowly create our own database, currently it is rubbish. It has to be done for two reasons, the main one being state security, the second one is to give us an insight into what makes them tick. No one is to know, Miss Goodley won’t ask, refer any enquiries to me. Once we have done Parliament, we will start on the Civil Service.” Sally went off to go shopping, she said she would return a 17:00.
Dave was called into a meeting with Jane, the door was locked behind him. “I understand Sally has left the building,” Dave said she had gone shopping and wouldn’t return until 17:00. “Sir Rupert will be here after lunch, we have another meeting with him. I want to ask you some operational questions, will you give me honest answers?”
“Have I ever lied to you?”
“No, but you withhold facts. What will Giles be doing when you are working from home?”
“He will field general enquiries, passing any on to me he cannot deal with, I also have given him a research task to carry out, it will keep him going for at least the next twelve months.” Jane waited for more of an explanation, “if I don’t tell you, then you can honestly deny any knowledge. It will be a benefit to the service when it is completed.” She shook her head. “I’m going home today, I won’t be back until next Wednesday, I will be working from home, can you organise for me to have access to the cases which have stalled, I will start digging. Sally will be down next Friday, I will be back to giving a talk if you want me to.”
“You sound like you are back to normal, are you?”
“Pretty much so, I’m still tired, but looking forward to getting into a routine until the next crisis, I have things clear in my head now, I didn’t tell you earlier, as we left last night, I handed back my Downing Street pass, I still have one for the MOD and several false ID’s, but I will be hanging on to them.”
Giles had set up the secure file when he returned, he gave Dave the location and login details. “From tomorrow, I will be working on cases where there has been no progress for some time, I will make sure you have a copy so we can discuss where I want to go with them. If people ask you what I am working on, say nothing, the only people who should know is me, you and Sally, only give Miss Goodley limited information, say nothing if it is a sensitive case, refer them to me.”
The meeting with Sir Rupert began at 15:00, he had transcripts of both the meetings, there were also copies in front of Jane Goodley. “Thank you for bringing both these meeting to our attention, I understand you will not be moving to work for the PM, what about the offer from the CIA?”
“Before I answer that question, I would like to raise what I think is a fair point and should be considered as a matter of some urgency. When we discussed the position I now hold, I said I had ideas which might not be standard policy, I want to talk about something I think is very unfair.” Jane wondered where the conversation was going. “The heads of all government departments are roughly on the same salary, theoretically, you could drop me in at the head of many departments and within a couple of weeks I would have a good grasp of what is required. When it comes to MI5, MI6 or the Met Police, it takes years to have the right person in place, each of these heads are experts at their job, you can’t parachute someone in. However, the salary doesn’t reflect that, the salary I have been awarded is far too low for the responsibility and commitment expected. When it is compared to the American offer, it is derisory. There needs to be a serious rethink regarding the salaries of senior management. I know in the short term nothing will change, Miss Goodley and I are here because we are dedicated and have a sense of duty, we understand what is expected. Speaking for myself, I could earn a lot more away from here and not have people threatening to kill me. People need to be rewarded properly, if you want to attract the best, then you have to offer a better package than you do at present. I’m sorry if you think I should be grateful for what I am being paid, I’m grateful for the opportunity to help protect our Country, and be part of MI5, but shocked at how poorly I am regarded in the salary department.
My rant is over, with regard to your question, I won’t be accepting the offer.” Dave waited for a minute before speaking again, “if you were going to ask me about me swearing at the Home Secretary, I said to him I only thought about telling him to fuck off, if you don’t need me for anything else, may I return to work?” Jane waived him out her office, she looked furious. Giles asked him what he was smiling about, “I’ve just done some plain speaking, I expect a major bollocking shortly.”
Half an hour later the phone rang, “Howard says you are wanted by Miss Goodley, Sir Rupert has just left.”
Dave took a coffee with him, he didn’t think there would be one for him, he closed the door once he was in. “David, why do you do it, you go out of your way to be outspoken, one of these days you really will go too far. I thought it might have been today, but for some reason Sir Rupert likes you, you can’t say the things you did.”
“Of course, I can and I will, nothing I said wasn’t true, it may not have been in Civil Service speak, just plain facts, that’s what I deal in.”
“You do it on purpose, you goad people, you were doing it this afternoon, you’ve met your match in Sir Rupert, you won’t intimidate him.”
“That’s not my intention, I had something to say, I said it, there are times when the truth hurts, I only pointed out the pay is shit. I could ponce about in the education department and earn the same money.”
Jane smiled at him, “you couldn’t ponce about anywhere. Now get out my office and stop being an awkward employee.”
Sally was sitting in the office when he got back. “Giles says you have been in for a bollocking, what have you done this time?”
“I told Sir Rupert the pay is shit,” Giles laughed.
Sally looked at Dave, “you can’t say that.”
“I did, I think I got away with it, another half hour and we can go. I’m not back until next Wednesday.” Sally went to see Jane while Dave finished off, with the door closed, she thanked her for the help she gave getting Dave back to the hotel.
Driving back up the motorway to Loughborough, Sally said he should stop antagonising people. “I can’t ever see me doing that, everyone would think I had gone soft.” Sally smiled and laughed, she was looking forward to being in their own bed, next to the man she loved.
Case Closed
© 10210ken 2026
