Anna took a deep breath and swallowed, and didn't care it was clearly visible for McAllister also. It wouldn't hurt to make the man think she was being nervous. That might work as a camouflage and give her more time to think her replies to the man. She had no personal experience of interrogation techniques, other than dodging unpleasant questions from nosy parents, but she knew that it would be of utmost importance she wouldn't be caught lying. And if the man was an old interrogator, as she had interpreted her chief's last instructions, he would probably be able to see if she tried to lie. She would have to keep things simple, and to stay alert. It was clear that the man would not let her out easy. Especially if he had some grudge against mr Cowley.
"So, agent Ashton... by the way, why are you called an agent, despite the fact you only are an instructor?"
Phew. "It's a matter of keeping the organisation simpler, director. Agents at the field, and us experts are considered to be on the same level in CI5 hierarchy. The initial duties and responsibilities are then more precisely specified in our contracts, but inside the CI5, I do have the same rights and the same basic responsibilities as the field agents." Thanks, Bodie. You guessed he'd try to belittle my position. McAllister grunted but Anna felt relief for that chance to get her brain on track against the man.
"You only act as a physique- and shooting-instructor. Why did Mr Cowley decide to take you with him to the meeting?"
Anna didn't flinch. "The meeting wasn't classified above my status, director. The two agents who were meant to accompany the Controller, had to cancel due to a sudden high priority assignment, as the Controller certainly has told you. And the Controller wanted me to have a good lesson on security measures." Thank you for your hint, Sir...
"Why you and not someone else?" McAllister's eyes had narrowed.
"As the Controller can confirm, I did suggest first that he would take one of the field agents with him, but none were available at such short notice. Also, as I have been reminded, it is my duty to stay on top and up-to-date on security issues. I am a trainer and instructor for CI5 and I need practical knowledge and experience to pass on to the people I am supposed to train. The Controller probably thought it to be a perfect lesson for me, as he had been assured that not an ant would be able to walk in the house without MI6 knowing it."
Touché, lass! Ralston was pure crimson and it took an effort from the Controller to keep from smiling. And Anna's eyes were totally innocent.
"You've been reminded by whom?" McAllister was irritated.
"By the chief trainer, agent Macklin. He's very meticulous and particular about the quality of training performed in this organization." Ralston's sneer was visible but he didn't dare to open his mouth.
"And why has the chief trainer decided that you do not teach your combat skills?"
Anna's eyes were cold. "Because of the damage to the muscles in my back, and to my lung, caused by Smythe's bullets. It has taken time to get over it." The Controller paid attention to the choice of words.
"Out of whose initiative you took a gun with you?"
Anna bit her lip. "My own, director McAllister. I wasn't actually disobeying orders either."
Again McAllister's eyes narrowed. "Were you not ordered to leave the gun away?"
Anna bit her lip again. "I usually do not carry a gun outside the range anyway, director, as the Controller knows. And I suppose it's usually a standard procedure to expressly order the agents to arm themselves, not to stay disarmed, so the Controller probably couldn't even imagine I would decide to take a weapon with me even if he didn't say anything of the matter. My sole concern at that point was my superior's safety, and compared to that, the possible effects of my actions on the relationships between the agencies felt like triviality and I didn't pay attention to that."
Well that one was a God's truth, lass. Despite his worry, the Controller was also interested to see how Anna would tackle this hard part.
"Didn't you trust the ability of MI6 personnel to protect your superior?"
Anna's glance was again cold. "Just as much as I nowadays trust the MI5 personnel, director. And my trust seemed to be founded."
That was a slap, and a stinging one at that. Steady, steady, lass...
"I only asked the Controller about general policy towards weapons when we were already approaching the first check-point. I was prepared to come clean and hand over my gun at the gate, if the agent making the personal search had appeared to be doing his job properly. But he didn't, and I decided to stay quiet and only report him while leaving. Security-men who are given orders to perform personal searches to everyone passing them, as I was told by the very man, are not supposed to obey if being told off by their objects. Even if the said object is in the company of one of their protegées. At least that feels like common sense to me, even though I'm only a trainer and a woman."
Mr Cowley coughed, both highly amused and worried.
"How did you bring the gun in through the gate?"
Anna blinked a couple of times as if the question was something astonishingly stupid. "Of course I stripped. ... Err, I mean, stripped the pistol."
Mr Cowley needed to have a bit more water to subdue his cough.
"But if your men have not been able to figure out the how at this point, I must say they lack imagination. As a hint they may be told that I brought on me a pistol, plus a shoulder holster and also three full magazines. Figuring out the how is certainly an interesting training session and lesson for them. This said purely as an instructor, of course."
McAllister was crimson. "I don't think you can afford to be insolent, agent."
Anna gave the man a calm, questioning look. "Insolent, director? I'm very sorry, I must have missed something here. I never meant to be insolent. It's just my way of teaching, to encourage the trainees to search for the answers to their practical problems by themselves. It's a lot more efficient that way. A hands-on approach, and that often helps."
The Controller was intensely focusing on a fly-mark on a wall.
"Have you been instructed by your superior what to say, agent?" McAllister was now pale with anger. "Looks like arrogance and insolence are generally accepted in this organisation."
Anna frowned. "I received only one instruction from the Controller, which was the one you heard, director. To not lie, and to be straightforward in my replies, and that instruction I have followed." She didn't care to hide the edge in her voice. "And as for arrogance or insolence, I can not help the fact that neither you and mr Ralston, nor your security-men at the hotel, have taken my competence seriously simply because I'm a woman. If pointing out that lapse is considered insolence, I can only be sorry. The only one in Swindon, in addition to my superior, more interested in what I had above my shoulders than below them, was the Soviet captain Komarov."
The Scot seriously wished Anna would keep her temper in check. But what she said, well, there was truth nobody could deny. Not even the venomous two men in front of them.
The blonde woman took a deep breath. "And if you think that the Controller approved to my actions, that is a faulty assumption. He only became aware of the gun in the hotel when he saw it on me, and using no uncertain terms made his disapproval perfectly clear. Since that moment I have been fully aware that I'll be facing disciplinary actions just like any other agent. As the essential issues are already talked over, I suppose that the only one left is simply: what actions."
Anna tried to swallow her frustration and annoyance, which had finally overcome her worry. She was through with these idiots and would take any punishment simply to get the hell out of this room.
Before McAllister got his mouth open, the Controller stood up and walked closer. "One thing, agent Ashton. What made you pay attention to the ventilation?"
She blinked. "Didn't I mention it there, Sir? It was my yawns. My lung-capacity is not as it used to be, maybe that's why I felt the lack of oxygen already before the lunch. At the lunch-break, I admired the house and saw all those multiple chimneys and wondered how much it must have cost to renovate the building and arrange heating, ventilation and such with all those big open holes straight to the roof, and the issue somehow stayed in the back of my head. I think I told you the rest of the story already at the hotel, Sir."
The Controller nodded. "Director McAllister may not have heard it so do please continue."
Anna momentarily lifted her eyebrows but obeyed. "After the last tea-break, I for some reason started to wonder about the thickness of the basement ceiling which was newly built, and realised there had to be some bigger empty space, maybe large enough to hold a band of men, and that thought made me a little nervous. To reassure myself the ventilation was secured, as I naturally supposed it to be," Ralston visibly cringed at her withering sideglance, "I thought to see the guards at the roof, but didn't find them. Yet the captain whom I met in the lobby, said the guards had been there during the tea-break when he had tried to go up, yet nobody had been seen coming down from the roof. I requested the blueprints from the caretaker, and as also the captain confirmed, they showed there was a network of tunnels coming down from the roof, wide enough for a man to enter, and also entrances to the channels from certain places in the building and naturally also vice versa. When the receptionist told the telephone-line died, the situation felt clear for both me and captain Komarov, and we hurried down to the basement. Nothing more complicated than that, Sir."
Even McAllister had to reluctantly admit that there was nothing to criticize and he had not detected a single lie. Damned good, that woman... That moron Ralston... he should never have trusted the idiot. Unbelievable mess that envious prick had managed to create... He should have known better than to leave the matter to Ralston. The old fox and that bitch had ripped him, them both, apart, without even getting sweat.
The Controller watched Anna, still standing in her straight yet relaxed stance, of which Bodie would probably have been proud, looking very smart and yes, looking sure of herself in her dark trainer's wear, waiting as if she had all the time in the world and could stay on her feet for hours. Both MI6 men were staring at her with visibly mixed feelings, but she totally ignored them. "I am certain there are no more relevant or meaningful questions to my agent, right, director McAllister?" Also the Controller was bored with the whole situation, the men were already ridiculed enough.
"Ah... right, Controller." Director's frustration was easy to sense.
The Controller nodded. "Good. Agent Ashton, you can go now. Leave Betty information on your whereabouts for this evening." Looking out of the window the Controller noticed two familiar jackets approach the main entrance. He should have guessed Bodie and Doyle would not leave their friend without backup. "It's enough if she has the information before she leaves, I will be busy for the rest of the day. Also, tell Betty I want Macklin here in 20 minutes. New arrangements considering training need to be discussed as soon as possible. And also you will hear in the evening what we have decided about the consequences. Och, and also ask Betty to be ready to come take notes for a memo in a few minutes. You're dismissed."
Now Anna's eyes were alarmed and she swallowed. "Understood, Sir. Thank you." New arrangements considering training...
Anna was pale when she took her leave, and both McAllister and Ralston looked satisfied.
But colour was also drawn from their faces when the old man's eyes turned at them. "As for you... "
The door shut.
END OF CHAPTER 8