Chapter 6Vauxhall, LondonSpooks’ Castle, as it is affectionately known, lies on
the south bank of the Thames, close to Vauxhall Bridge. Behind its
electronic gates and sliding shutters lies the heartbeat of the nation’s
external security – MI6. According to its discreet mission statement, the
organisation’s primary aim is “to obtain and provide information
relating to the activities or intentions of persons outside the British
Islands”. Ironic, perhaps, is the juxtaposition of another body, also
committed to ensuring the nation’s freedoms – the Ramblers’
Association, housed in number eighty-nine, Albert Embankment, right next
door.
Michael Gordon turned his attention from the police
launch passing on the Thames below the window to the papers piled high in
his in-tray. A cold ha
