Free Bertie and the Kinky Politician by Mike A Vickers Page B

appears to be lucky enough not to have to work since her estate provides sufficient income for her to live in reasonable comfort. It seems her father was a capable man who invested wisely in several sound South American companies. Enquiries concerning her former connections abroad have revealed nothing unusual and it appears she has never fallen foul of the authorities either here or in Brazil.’ He glanced at a note granting a certificate of importation for an endangered species of macaw but decided not to bother the PM with such trivial detail. ‘Their relationship appears reasonably intimate – he stays overnight on most weekends. Nothing unusual or scandalous there, I’m sure. Miss Gordon appears to be of good character but we’ll take a peek anyway. In short, I think you’ve picked a good one. Unlike his predecessors, I would say young James woefully lacks the ability to conceal any indiscretions.’ Chaplain’s avuncular condescension made the Prime Minister smile grimly.
    â€˜And as you well know, my dear Hugo, therein lies both our salvation and our problem.’

Chapter Five
    Hugo Chaplain felt a smug pride in the achievements of the last two weeks. He returned to his scruffy office in the MoD building immediately after the short conversation at Downing Street and sat in solitude, surrounded by a comforting blanket of clutter. He liked being tucked away. Out of sight. It suited him, and while his sniggering fellow executives poured scorn on his modest empire, to all intent and purposes he ran the country.
    Very few officials were actually aware of his true role or that of the tiny agency he so ably ran. The Joint Services Operations, Non-Military comprised merely a half dozen or so personnel, but its importance to the survival of the Government was entirely out of proportion to its scanty resources.
    Bluntly, JSON was the covert operations wing of No. 10, specialising in clandestine political manipulation and control. It was a black organisation embedded deep within the Ministry of Defence, shrouded by a screen of absolute secrecy.
    Established by necessity, JSON massaged statistics, collected interesting snippets of information, was well versed in the subtle mechanics of blackmail, exerted pressure on those troublesome to Downing Street, cleared up the detritus of ministerial blunderings and, when required, used every method, legal or otherwise, to ensure No. 10 rose above the embarrassment of its mistakes. Hugo offered an absolutely vital service to an accident-prone executive, ensured nothing unpleasantly noxious came to the attention of the press and public. JSON possessed intimate details of every minister, employed its knowledge to ensure their compliant behaviour, held those of lesser importance in an iron grip of fear and was a personal and very private do all, hear all, see all and report all service for the Prime Minister.
    Since its formation neither the media, the police, nor the Cabinet had any idea of its existence, and Chaplain was utterly determined to keep it that way. The very uppermost echelon of MI5 knew and occasionally seconded one or two of their more astute political officers to JSON, but then as MI5 never, absolutely never, told Parliament anything of importance anyway, it was unlikely JSON’s secrecy would be compromised from that direction. It was perfectly concealed within the most shadowy of government institutions, a tiny group who reached out to intimidate and control through a tentacular web of influence. If MI5 were occasionally a law unto themselves, JSON was even more so and infinitely less accountable.
    Paradoxically for the Prime Minister, the more he relied on JSON to make him look good, the more he became susceptible to their influence. This was the essential bedrock of Hugo’s stratagem, underpinning his position, making him increasingly invulnerable to even the PM.
    Chaplain was JSON. In no other agency was the essence of its