'The thing is, Merrick, I don't think you're the type. You make friends too easily; you like people too much; you don't want to cross the line and live your life outside society because society's made of people and you'd have to shut yourself away, cut yourself off. Values are different out there: let a man show friendship for you and you've got to deny him, mistrust him, suspect him, and nine times out of ten you'll be wrong but it's the tenth time that'll save you from a dirty death in a cheap hotel because you'd opened the door to a man you thought was a friend. Out there you'll be alone and you'll have no one you can trust, not even the people who are running you, not even me: because if you make the wrong kind of mistake at the wrong time in the wrong place and look like fouling up the mission and exposing the network then they'll throw you to the dogs. And so will I.'

His hand had moved twice to his pocket while I'd been talking, and twice had stopped; but his breathing was painful now and he swung away and perked the thing out and squeezed it, his back to me.

It was almost silent, the improved model designed exclusively for people of discretion who prefer not to embarrass their friends.

'Excuse me,' he said.

On my way out I told him: 'Think it well over. There's just enough time. We've got a rendezvous in the morning, eight o'clock at Clive Steps. I hope you won't turn up.'

They looked like this when there'd been a military coup d'etat and they'd been hustled out of the cells and stood against a wall, the only concession a handkerchief across their eyes if they wanted one. This was how I remembered him on Clive Steps, standing perfectly still and perfectly straight in his neat dark coat, the first light seeping from a leaky sky and striking across his glasses.

How long had he been here? His face was white with cold, with nerves. Long enough to make sure I didn't turn up a minute early and go away again in the hope of getting rid of him by saying look, first he bungled the code-intro and then he missed the rendezvous so I'm not taking him out there, he's inefficient.

'Well it's your funeral,' I said.

We didn't talk much along the Mall except when I asked him what his Polish was like.

'I took the advanced exams before I was posted there'

I suppose he wanted me to throw him a biscuit for that.

We walked quickly because of the cold and I took him into Piccadilly to use up some of the time. The mist clung to our coats. Just after Hamilton Place a bus went by, pulling away from the kerb, and I nipped on to it, giving him room to follow.

'Are we late?'

'Not really.'

The conductor was still on the upper deck when we got off, and I took him north and went left along Curzon Street, crossing into the Park. I heard the taxi slowing from behind us before we'd reached Marble Arch; the door came open and I got in first so that he'd have to use the tip-up seat and face the rear, which was what Egerton had wanted.

'You realise,' he said to Merrick in slow modulated tones, 'that you are first and foremost a second secretary at the Embassy, just as you were before. This is very important' He had dark glasses on, which was why he wanted Merrick to face him the whole time. 'We've no concessions on the part of the Embassy enabling you to behave as anyone other than a member of Her Majesty's foreign service, careful in conduct and unimpeachable in character. Let me put it this way: we would rather go short of the information you'll be seeking than risk upsetting the Ambassador by exposing yourself to criticism on his part or to suspicion on the part of the local authorities.'

The taxi was keeping in the slow lane, rounding towards Lancaster Gate. Egerton's hands were folded on his lap, the ointment leaving dark patches on his gloves, and Merrick watched him steadily, a little disturbed at not being able to see his eyes.

'You should also bear it well in mind that there must be no exchange of confidence between yourself and the people you'll be dealing with. Confidence will be entirely on their side. Nor must you lead them to feel that the United Kingdom is in any way prepared to assist them in whatever projects they have in mind, morally, physically, officially or unofficially. You must not even let them infer that such is the case, from anything you say; and if you think that despite your caution they have so inferred, then you must negate it.' He studied Merrick in silence for a bit. 'Is that perfectly understood?'

'Yes, sir.'

We went down towards the Serpentine and got snarled up twice in a pack of traffic while I listened to Egerton briefing him: paramount importance of security, limited and circumspect use of protected communications, attitude if apprehended, so forth.

'Their methods of interrogation, as you know, are less charitable than in the West. You must therefore avoid any risk of their taking you into custody, as far as is possible. You will have Mr Longstreet in support, of course, but don't allow your benefit of his greater experience to minimise, in your mind, the real hazards you'll be exposed to.'

Merrick was quite good, sitting to attention on the tip-up and never looking away from the dark glasses even when the taxi gave a lurch. He'd heard all this from the instructors and Egerton knew that but he wanted to tell the boy himself, frighten him with the soft-gloved phrases that would bring his imagination into play instead of blunting it with over-explicitness. The slightly magnified blue eyes held steady as he listened.

Northwards from Hyde Park Corner we found a clear run and got up speed for fifty yards before a double-decker blocked us off again. Baronet — with the Tip that Filters Everything but the Flavour.

'No after effects?' Egerton was asking.

'No, sir.'

I spoke for the first time. 'What was it, exactly?'

Merrick looked at me and then quickly away. 'I slipped on the snow, and a tram nearly got me.'

'Warsaw?’

'Yes.'

'You weren't; I said, 'pushed or anything?'

'Oh no. I slipped.'

Egerton didn't turn his head. 'Why did you ask him that?'

'I don't know how deep he's got into things out there. He could have found out a bit too much,'

Merrick said. prissily: 'Those people are my friends.'

'Don't trust them. Don't walk too near the kerb. And the next time you keep a rendezvous with me make sure you're clean, is that a lot to ask?'

Gratuitous of course, telling him in front of his director, but I was suddenly fed up with his harping on people being his friends. One fine day he'd trust a friend too many and next time they'd make sure his head went right under the wheel.

Egerton asked: 'When did this happen?'

'This morning. We had to jump on a bus.'

Merrick was leaning forward. 'You mean we were being followed?'

'Just watch it, in Warsaw.',

Egerton said: 'You're quite certain, Longstreet?'

'Am I what?' He folded his gloved hands, accepting the rebuke. I said, 'The F.O.'s lousy with tags, always has been, they hang about like tarts.'

'Yes. Never mind, Merrick, you're only just out of training, after all.'

The bus in front got moving again and at Marble Arch we dropped him off, Egerton just saying he'd be kept informed. The poor little tick started looking behind him as soon as he'd got out.

'You mustn't expect too much, at this stage.'

'I don't expect anything. Now that you've seen him d'you still want me to take him out there?'

'They didn't have time to give him more than a token training, as I'm sure you — '

'It's not only that. He's the worst agent material I've ever set eyes on: idealistic, unstable and a bag of nerves. I suppose you know he's got asthma, do you?'