Joe Country / C02
Chapter 2
Summary
On Saturday morning Lech Wicinski leaves the Crouch End flat he shares with his fiancée to buy milk, takes his car keys instead, and drives west out of London. A call to Josie on the Hub is refused, as his HR letter requires; he remembers the letter, the mousetrap he left in Ho’s bin and the Clint Eastwood mug he broke. He recalls the discovery of child pornography on his Service laptop, the recorded interview with his line manager Richard Pynne, and being escorted out of Regent’s Park. He leaves the motorway at the sign for Northwick Park and walks the estate where his Polish grandparents settled, past a memorial to the ex-servicemen who lived there from 1948 to 1970, and remembers his first meeting with Jackson Lamb. In a Soho café, Louisa Guy meets Clare Addison, who telephoned the day before, and learns that her son Lucas, Min’s son, seventeen, has been missing three days. He took a few hundred pounds and a small rucksack, has run off before, and recently said he was no longer worried about a student loan. Louisa tells Clare the boy left of his own accord and will come back; Clare accuses her of not caring, says she had hoped sleeping with Min counted for something, and leaves. Lech remembers running a flagged name through Service search engines as a favour for John Bachelor, then finds seven missed calls from Sara.
Beats
- C02S01 · Lech Wicinski — Lech Wicinski leaves the Crouch End flat he shares with his fiancée on Saturday morning to buy milk, takes his car keys instead and drives west out of London. A call to Josie on the Hub is refused, as his HR letter requires. Driving, he remembers the mousetrap he left in Ho’s bin and the Clint Eastwood mug he broke, then the pornography found on his laptop, Richard Pynne’s recorded questions, and being escorted from Regent’s Park. He leaves the motorway at the Northwick Park sign.
- C02S02 · Louisa Guy — Louisa Guy, in a white ski-jacket, waits in a Soho café for Clare Addison, ten minutes late, and replays the call that brought her here. She remembers Min Harper, their affair, the disk he left on the Tube, and the shame that drove them together, and works out that Clare wants a face to go with the name. Clare arrives, apologises and takes a latte. Louisa studies her, ready to say only that yes, she was the woman. Then Clare says she needs help: her son Lucas has disappeared.
- C02S03 · Lech Wicinski — Lech Wicinski walks through the Northwick Park estate, past a rusting skip and garages where overalled men work on engines, thinking about the huts that housed displaced Poles and about his two grandfathers, who served in the RAF and settled here. He remembers arriving at Slough House and Jackson Lamb’s welcome: fresh meat, a cigarette, whisky, and the accusation of kiddy porn. Lamb told him nobody is assigned here temporarily and that he is guilty of being in Slough House. Lech left, wanting to scream that he was innocent.
- C02S04 · Louisa Guy — Louisa Guy asks the obvious questions. Lucas is seventeen, has been gone three days, took a few hundred pounds from his savings and a small rucksack, has run off before after Min left and died, and once had trouble over cannabis. Clare mentions his brother Andrew, catering work in Pembrokeshire, and Lucas’s sudden remark that he was no longer worried about a student loan. She says she feels watched. Louisa tells her the boy left willingly and will return; Clare leaves, saying she had hoped Louisa owed Min something.
- C02S05 · Lech Wicinski — Lech Wicinski finds the memorial on the Northwick Park estate, a drystone alcove with a Virgin and unlit candles, and reads that it commemorates Polish ex-servicemen who lived there from 1948 to 1970. He thinks about Sara, who believes he has been seconded over a protocol issue, and about the one unusual thing in the weeks before the scandal: running a flagged name through Service search engines for John Bachelor. He switches on his phone, finds seven missed calls from Sara, and walks to his car thinking about Slough House.
People
- Lech Wicinski — Slow horse and former Hub analyst, accused over material found on his laptop; drives to the estate his grandparents knew.
- Josie — Hub crew member who refuses his invitation to a drink because of the investigation.
- Richard Pynne — Lech’s line manager, called Dick the Prick; conducted the recorded interview about the laptop.
- Roderick Ho — Lech’s office-mate at Slough House; his mug was broken and his bin used for the mousetrap.
- Louisa Guy — Meets Clare Addison in Soho and hears about her missing son.
- Clare Addison — Min Harper’s widow, now remarried in name; asks Louisa for help finding Lucas.
- Min Harper — Louisa’s dead colleague and Clare’s former husband.
- Lucas Harper — Clare and Min’s seventeen-year-old son, missing three days.
- Jackson Lamb — Head of Slough House, who greeted Lech with “Fresh meat” and the kiddy porn accusation.
Places
- Regent’s Park — Service headquarters; the Hub where Lech worked and where the Dogs came to his workstation.
- Slough House — Lech’s new posting, near the Barbican; where Lamb received him.
- Pegsea — Where the family holidays and Lucas did cash-in-hand catering work over Christmas.
Lines worth keeping
“They had found pornography on his Service laptop—child pornography.” — Narrator, Lech’s recollection of what the Service says it found.
“Fresh meat.” — Jackson Lamb, Lamb’s greeting as Lech steps into his office for the first time.
“Here in Slough House, you’re always guilty of something. Of being in Slough House, if nothing else.” — Jackson Lamb, Lamb tells Lech to drop the wide-eyed innocence.
“I’ve no idea where he is.” — Clare Addison, Clare, having said that Lucas has disappeared, tells Louisa she does not know where he has gone.
“But you were fucking Min, weren’t you? I’d have hoped that counted for something.” — Clare Addison, Her parting words as she leaves the café.
Threads
- Plants: Lucas Harper has been missing three days; he took a few hundred pounds and a small rucksack and said he no longer needed a student loan.; Clare Addison says she feels she is being watched.; Lech once ran a flagged name through Service search engines as a favour for John Bachelor.; Nobody has explained how the child pornography reached Lech’s laptop.
- Payoffs: The mousetrap and the broken Clint Eastwood mug are shown to be Lech’s retaliation on Ho.; Lamb’s greeting and his kiddy porn accusation are replayed from Lech’s side.
- Continuity: Lech tells Sara he has been seconded to an office near the Barbican over a protocol issue; she has left seven missed calls and four texts.; Lucas is seventeen, his brother Andrew two years younger; the family has holidayed in Pembrokeshire since Lucas was two.; Lech is five-eleven, not the six-foot Pole Lamb called him; he drives about a hundred miles from London.