CASH & CREDIT 27

The news from the Midlands was not good. Marks had been arrested, as had Tony, the local controller. Before he could be stopped, James too had walked into the trap, and had taken with him Piers Tremain, a major catch for the authorities. As well as these leading figures, there was the possibility of the associated capture a thousand operatives, as well as a nearly a hundred Accommodation Bureaux Managers and their Local controllers, then there were four more Area Controllers - all were now in severe danger. However, none of this was a complete surprise to him. He had always known this day would come, the thing he could not tell was who would fall. He did not personally know any of these people, though he knew them by name.

He was not even sorry for them, only slightly sad to see the beautiful system he had set up begin to decay, as all things must.