Free Uncommon Enemy by Alan Judd Page A

you to fail. He does not want Gladiator found.’
    ‘So Nigel is the problem – again?’
    ‘Not only because of what happened in the past. Or could be happening now – we don’t know. But he’s a problem because of what he’s prepared to do to cover that up.
The cover up, you see, it’s always the cover up that gets people.’ He nodded to himself.
    ‘I was very surprised when I heard he was to get your job.’
    ‘A political fix, over my dead body. But not quite, not yet.’ He smiled again. ‘If they’d left it a little longer, it would have been. And he’d have got away with
it. He could still, if you can’t help.’
    ‘I came back because it was you that asked. I wouldn’t have done it for anyone else. I’ll do everything I can.’ Charles was glad of the chance to say it, while there was
still time. He and Matthew had rarely discussed personal subjects, still less feelings. The unsaid was understood, and Charles always felt that their communication was better – subtler and
more honest – for it.
    Matthew inclined his head. ‘So, Gladiator,’ he resumed after a pause. ‘He did a lot for us in Afghanistan before 9/11, and for a while afterwards. But, foolishly, the office
let him drift away, until a couple of years ago when they re-contacted him and he agreed to become re-involved. He did a few trips to Pakistan, for which he has genuine business reasons, but during
which he was able to re-establish contacts among the AQ external operations people. After UBL was killed he went on another and hasn’t been heard of since. His AQ and Taliban contacts are
arranged via cutouts and couriers and he doesn’t always meet face-to-face. It takes weeks to set up each trip and he travels incognito into Waziristan and Afghanistan. If they do meet,
it’s a big deal; usually he returns with intelligence on their tasking and plenty of leadership gossip. Very risky for him, of course, not only because of the threat of discovery but because
he might be killed in a US drone strike.’
    ‘The Americans don’t know about him?’
    ‘Too dangerous. Either it would leak, or they’d be unable to resist killing any AQ figure he was with, and him too. During his last visit, he met no senior leaders, but a number of
second-rankers. They speak freely before him – they’ve known him for years, regard him as tried and tested, the blue-eyed emir they’re always seeking who can come and go freely in
the West. He gives them good stuff. At least, what they think is good stuff. They once suggested he might like to martyr himself over here as a suicide bomber, but he said his faith wasn’t
strong enough and they’ve not mentioned it again. Anyway, this last meeting was reasonably productive, but nothing sensational. Then, about three weeks after he returned, he got a message to
go back. This was unprecedented. The message came via a contact on the fringes of al-Jazeera, the television station, from a man who has family connections with AQ. Not the usual route, but the
reason given was that this was urgent. They wanted his advice in connection with a forthcoming wedding – you know that they sometimes refer to attacks as weddings.’
    ‘Nigel Measures told me this morning he wasn’t going to go back, then abruptly did.’
    Matthew nodded again. ‘True, so far as it goes. We advised – through his case officers – that he shouldn’t go. It sounded too fishy, too pat, and why should he have to go
there to give his advice? He agreed, and sent a message back via the not-really al-Jazeera man saying a backlog of court cases wouldn’t permit another absence so soon – he’s set
up his own law firm, by the way, handles a lot of Pakistani marriage and inheritance cases – but he’d send any advice he could via the same route. Then – suddenly, unexpectedly,
without a word to his case officers – he went. Since when nothing has been heard.’
    ‘That’s what Nigel said.’
    Matthew sipped his tea,