Besides, Rasnokov’s thugs were apparently dead, and whichever angle you examined that from, it was clear who’d achieved payback. And there was, too, that chink of light Vassily had let show, his hint that this vicious tit for tat had been wished on him from on high. A glimpse of weakness on his side matched by a show of strength on her own. That was the kind of balance she wanted to maintain.
So let that go, and all she had to worry about was her other battle front: the one patrolled by Peter Judd. Who thought he had her under his thumb, and who needed showing that he too would end up squashed like popcorn if he persisted in such a delusion.
The door to the club opened for her before she was up the steps, the members’ register waiting for her to sign. And no need to ask if Mr Judd had arrived, for there was his name two lines above, each letter fully formed, in a way that perhaps spoke of self-assurance and ego, but to her seemed schoolboyish. In the bar, ma’am, she was told. The bar was up one flight. She did five minutes’ battle prep in the cloakroom, then went to find him. Her plan: to come out fighting.
He was by the window, apparently absorbed in his phone, but looked up as she entered. ‘Diana.’ He rose, offered an embrace, and seemed amused when she sidestepped. From his phone’s screen Desmond Flint stared out, as if he were trapped there. She wondered if he yet appreciated that that was precisely the case.
‘And that’s why you wanted me to back off the Yellow Vests, isn’t it?’ she said, sitting. ‘It’s not that you didn’t want trouble, you just wanted it happening on your own terms. Which included having Desmond Flint on hand to calm it all down.’ She shook her head. ‘I have to confess, I didn’t see him as your stalking horse. He’s so … unprepossessing. Don’t you think?’
‘Now now. If it was a beauty contest, half the Cabinet would have lost their deposits.’
‘I wasn’t referring to his looks.’
A waiter hovered. Taverner asked for mineral water. Judd, whose balloon-sized glass just barely contained his gin, looked disappointed.
Taverner said, ‘I do hope you haven’t made a misstep. One thing that comes across quite strongly is that it’s his people, his core support, creating havoc in the streets.’
‘Denying that would be a problem. Owning it is not.’ This was Peter Judd in magisterial mode, dispensing hard-earned wisdom to his lessers. It needed a toga, really. ‘For every Radio 4-listening, liberal-voting vegetarian decrying the behaviour of the mob, there are two people in a public house thinking, that’s the way to do it. Desmond understands that.’
‘But if there’s one thing we should have learned by now, it’s that once you’ve incited the mob, you can’t turn it off again. And there’s never been a mob that didn’t end up eating itself.’
‘You have a lively imagination, Diana. You should write a novel. Or pay someone to write one for you.’ He took a sip of his G&T. ‘That’s how it’s usually done, I gather.’
The waiter arrived with her water, saving her the trouble of responding. When they were alone, Judd continued:
‘Besides, it would be a mistake to underestimate our Flinty. He may not know a fish knife from a soup spoon, but he speaks a language these people understand.’
‘You make him sound like Tarzan of the apes.’
‘I have no plans to parade him in a loincloth. But the analogy isn’t unfair.’ He leaned back. ‘Of course, had the crowd not heeded his words, I’d have had to resort to plan B.’
‘Which was?’
‘Throw him to the fucking wolves.’
‘But instead you’re grooming him for higher things. I’ve no doubt you’d enjoy being the power behind the throne, Peter, but you’ll be a long time waiting. It’s not like the last election didn’t return a decisive result.’
Judd swirled his glass. ‘Politics is a long game. And while it’s true the PM enjoys a commanding majority, he’s also a walking non-disclosure agreement who wouldn’t be the first irresistible force to find himself in close proximity to an immovable object. Best to prepare for that eventuality, wouldn’t you say?’
‘Sounds like the green-eyed monster speaking. But as long as we’re on the subject, you should know I’m seeing him this afternoon. The PM.’
‘Which you do at least once a week.’
She nodded.
‘So you wouldn’t be mentioning it if you didn’t have something up your sleeve. Please. I’m not one of those insufferable aesthetes who think women of a certain age shouldn’t bare their arms in public. Do share.’
Diana said, ‘I plan to tell him everything.’
‘I see.’
‘Do you? I mean everything, Peter. Full disclosure.’
‘I said I see. And loath as I am to borrow a line, I do hope you’re not about to make a misstep. You’ve been known to question my sense of loyalty, but next to the PM, I’m Greyfriars Bobby. If there’s any chance you’ll make him look bad, he’ll dump you overboard without a backward glance.’
‘I know. But I also know that he’s as keen on hogging glory as he is on avoiding blame. And as you so eloquently pointed out the other evening, there’s glory to be had here.’ She picked up her glass. ‘Kazan is an unspun story. It might be making ripples on the Dark Web, but there’s been nothing official from the Kremlin, because the Kremlin doesn’t want the world knowing it let its guard down, and nothing official from us, because officially it didn’t happen. But unofficially I can make it the PM’s triumph.’
‘“Prime Minister orders state-sanctioned murder”,’ Judd mused. ‘That would probably be his all-time second-favourite headline, Diana. Right after “Get off my fucking laptop”.’
‘I’m not talking about headlines, I’m talking about legends. It’s no secret the PM sees himself as Churchill reborn. It’s just that he’s had difficulty persuading anyone else. But this is his chance to look like a wartime hero, even if only in Whitehall’s back corridors. If it’s known among COBRA staff that he gave the nod on Kazan, well. Nothing he’d like more than to be thought a warrior leader by a roomful of generals. Who currently, you won’t be shocked to hear, regard him as a cross between a game show host and a cartoon yeti.’
Judd nodded, as if appreciating a chess move. ‘It’s risky, though. Could backfire. You’re sure that’s how you want to play it?’
‘A full admission that I dabbled in alternative sources of backing for an operation which ultimately plays to his credit. Yes, I think it’ll work. He’s been known to display a certain impatience with tradition himself.’
‘If by that you mean he’s been known to wipe his arse on the constitution, I’d have to agree.’
‘So our arrangement has ended. I know you’d planned it as a long-term thing, and I’m not ungrateful for the assistance. But you won’t be using me as a way of steering the Service, Peter. Not now, not ever again.’
Another nod. ‘There’s nothing I like more than seeing you in control, Diana. Gives me quite the rush of blood.’ He raised his glass, but instead of a toast said, ‘I have to correct you on one small matter, though. You used the words “full admission”. That’s not quite accurate.’
Taverner said, ‘What does that mean?’
‘I’m simply pointing out that you can’t give the PM all the facts about our arrangement because you’re not yet in possession of them. And once you are, well.’ He smiled, or at any rate revealed his teeth. ‘Once you are, I expect the PM is the last person you’ll be making full admissions to.’
He replaced his glass on the table.
‘I’ll order you a proper drink now, shall I? I think you’re about to need it.’