of precision. The exact locations must be important for some reason. I very much doubt we have all the information we require, but it is a start. Look at the original pocketbook that was recovered from Marble Arch, and the scrap of paper—I should have seen it before. They are not written by the same hand.’
Ambrose examined the items and nodded. ‘I think I know what you’re getting at,’ he said. ‘You think that the last coordinate was written by the same person who wrote the other four on that scrap of paper.’
‘It will need closer scrutiny, but yes, I believe so.’
‘So, the anarchists who carried out the last three attacks were not only targeting specific areas, but were also noting instructions for others in their order. Am I right?’
‘That is my train of thought, yes,’ I said. ‘They carry out atrocities in groups of three, with the fourth coordinate always being their pre-arranged exit point. The group also notes a point of significance in the pocketbook for the next group of anarchists.’
‘So, by taking the book,’ began Ambrose, ‘we have perhaps foiled their next step altogether?’
‘I hope so, but we cannot rely on it. What if the targets are all predetermined, and only added to the notebook once the group has surveyed it and gathered intelligence? If that were the case, they may still go ahead with their next attack because they may well believe that we have not cracked their code, and are thus ignorant of their plans. Assuming that’s the case, we have only two questions left to ask: When are they planning to strike, and is this new coordinate the starting point for new attacks, or the escape route?’
* * *
Despite my chiding, Ambrose had refused to leave with me for the East End until we had taken tea. ‘I’m positively famished, my dear chap,’ he had said, before slipping one of the junior stewards a shilling and sending him off to fetch us some cold cuts. We had missed afternoon tea, but the staff at the club were always willing to make special arrangements for members, even rogues like Ambrose Hanlocke.
We found ourselves a corner of the deserted dining room to talk, and Ambrose soon raised the matter of my recent misfortune at the hands of the three cutpurses he had rescued me from. What he was really interested in, however, was my reaction to Archie McGrath’s treatment, and I knew that there was no point in hiding the truth, as Ambrose had been there to witness my fear and hatred of opium first hand.
‘It’s nothing to be ashamed of, old chap,’ he said, seeing the colour rush from my cheeks. ‘I know that you had a bad time of it in the army, and God knows I doubt I’d have held out half as long as you. But you do have to take it easy; I think Sir Toby has put you back on active duty a bit too soon.’
I bristled at the term ‘active duty’ quite vigorously, for I did not feel like a soldier, not yet. Though I was gladly serving my country, it was on a voluntary basis, or so I told myself.
‘You’d have me go home and pretend that none of this was happening?’ I asked.
‘Not at all—you’ve already shown you have an aptitude for all this adventuring business,’ Ambrose replied. ‘It’s just that… well… I’ve been at this game a long time. You see things—do things—that aren’t everyone’s cup of tea, if you take my meaning. Maybe those thugs you encountered were a way of telling you to slow down a little, you know? Neither of us are spring chickens, and if you’ve lost your edge, even a little bit… you don’t want to be knee-deep in the mire and find yourself wanting.’
‘I’ve seen plenty of action, and maybe I’m not as sharp as I once was, but I’m certainly wiser. You know the worst thing about my captivity? Knowing that whatever was going on outside, I wasn’t a part of it; there was nothing I could do to help my regiment, or my country… Now I’m here, and I have a mission of real importance, I don’t intend to turn
Ambrose examined the items and nodded. ‘I think I know what you’re getting at,’ he said. ‘You think that the last coordinate was written by the same person who wrote the other four on that scrap of paper.’
‘It will need closer scrutiny, but yes, I believe so.’
‘So, the anarchists who carried out the last three attacks were not only targeting specific areas, but were also noting instructions for others in their order. Am I right?’
‘That is my train of thought, yes,’ I said. ‘They carry out atrocities in groups of three, with the fourth coordinate always being their pre-arranged exit point. The group also notes a point of significance in the pocketbook for the next group of anarchists.’
‘So, by taking the book,’ began Ambrose, ‘we have perhaps foiled their next step altogether?’
‘I hope so, but we cannot rely on it. What if the targets are all predetermined, and only added to the notebook once the group has surveyed it and gathered intelligence? If that were the case, they may still go ahead with their next attack because they may well believe that we have not cracked their code, and are thus ignorant of their plans. Assuming that’s the case, we have only two questions left to ask: When are they planning to strike, and is this new coordinate the starting point for new attacks, or the escape route?’
* * *
Despite my chiding, Ambrose had refused to leave with me for the East End until we had taken tea. ‘I’m positively famished, my dear chap,’ he had said, before slipping one of the junior stewards a shilling and sending him off to fetch us some cold cuts. We had missed afternoon tea, but the staff at the club were always willing to make special arrangements for members, even rogues like Ambrose Hanlocke.
We found ourselves a corner of the deserted dining room to talk, and Ambrose soon raised the matter of my recent misfortune at the hands of the three cutpurses he had rescued me from. What he was really interested in, however, was my reaction to Archie McGrath’s treatment, and I knew that there was no point in hiding the truth, as Ambrose had been there to witness my fear and hatred of opium first hand.
‘It’s nothing to be ashamed of, old chap,’ he said, seeing the colour rush from my cheeks. ‘I know that you had a bad time of it in the army, and God knows I doubt I’d have held out half as long as you. But you do have to take it easy; I think Sir Toby has put you back on active duty a bit too soon.’
I bristled at the term ‘active duty’ quite vigorously, for I did not feel like a soldier, not yet. Though I was gladly serving my country, it was on a voluntary basis, or so I told myself.
‘You’d have me go home and pretend that none of this was happening?’ I asked.
‘Not at all—you’ve already shown you have an aptitude for all this adventuring business,’ Ambrose replied. ‘It’s just that… well… I’ve been at this game a long time. You see things—do things—that aren’t everyone’s cup of tea, if you take my meaning. Maybe those thugs you encountered were a way of telling you to slow down a little, you know? Neither of us are spring chickens, and if you’ve lost your edge, even a little bit… you don’t want to be knee-deep in the mire and find yourself wanting.’
‘I’ve seen plenty of action, and maybe I’m not as sharp as I once was, but I’m certainly wiser. You know the worst thing about my captivity? Knowing that whatever was going on outside, I wasn’t a part of it; there was nothing I could do to help my regiment, or my country… Now I’m here, and I have a mission of real importance, I don’t intend to turn
Similar Books
