14. Damage Control

Stephens was seething. He forged his battle rage, let it cool and whetted it to a fine killing edge. He’d like to kill that idiot from the War Office, but tearing him a new one and ejecting him permanently from 020 would have to do.

He came in, looking flushed and defiant. “You wanted me, colonel?”

“No, frankly, I don’t. You have ruined a month of expert work, do you understand? It’s the agents we break, not the information they have locked up in their heads! You deliberately subverted Captain Short’s work and went behind my back.”

“For all your talk of breaking the spies you have here, Colonel Stephens, you take a very light hand with them!” The color rose in his cheeks. He was quite sincere and meant only the best, and Stephens didn’t give a single tinker’s damn.

“Let me direct you to my record, sir,” he ground out. “Or do they not have those in the War Office? Allow me to remind you that I and my associates have broken every single spy sent to England, and executed some as we saw fit. This is a factory, sir, one that makes double agents. And you have jammed the works.”

“Colonel, I can’t argue with your results, but I can object to the delay. Time is hardly on our side! You push your idea of soldiering chivalry too far. This isn’t the Great War. You talk very dramatically of breaking men and how long it takes, but you won’t allow anyone to shorten the process with so much as a single slap! For a soldier you find violence against the enemy very taboo!”

Stephens drew a breath.

“Violence is taboo, sir, for not only does it produce answers to please, but it lowers the standard of information. A prisoner will lie to avoid further punishment and everything he says thereafter will be based on a false premise. We do not have the luxury of so much spare time that we can slow the process by striking prisoners. I was under the impression you were a professional interrogator and not a child having a tantrum. Dismissed.”

“But —“

“Are you perhaps suffering from deafness? Dismissed. You have put me in the position of having to repair the damage you have done rather than attending to my tasks, and the prospect of toadying to a fascist spy is not one that puts me in an easy and tolerant mood towards you! Now get out, or I’ll have you removed from 020 by force.”

He left, to Stephens’ disappointment. Ejecting him by force would have soothed his temper at having his good work on this extraordinary prisoner wasted. Now his morning would be taken up in conference with Captain Short rather than any number of things that urgently needed to be done.

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