It rained, but the man in the black jacket didn’t care. He was used to the rain. Inured to it. It made his job easier – fewer people to notice him in the shadows.

The sound of a distant diesel engine brought him fully alert. It didn’t show in his demeanour, but he was listening, watching, thinking. Ready to run if he had to – he always had his escape routes planned well in advance. Ready to fight if needed, ready to be taken if it all went wrong.

A gear change as the engine loses out to the hill. The wall opposite lightening as it is swept by the harsh headlight beams. And there – the car, decelerating as it approaches the tryst.

Three years of work had led to this. Three years, a broken marriage and a broken reputation. And yet it had started so well.

He waited, ready.

—

Sorry, I’ve been reading le Carré