The PM and foreign secretary exchanged equally nervous glances.
"Can I just clarify this?" said Ian. "The CIA decided to join in with a bunch of crusading towel heads who think computers are a tool of Satan to sabotage several scientific laboratories?"
"Very diplomatically put," said White, but the irony went straight over the foreign secretary's head.
"The Yanks were doing it because they were falling behind with their research and development and decided to destroy the competition, and the towel heads were doing it because putting microchips in humans is some kind of blasphemy?"
"In a sense, yes, though we're still only speculating about the CIA's motivations. Apart from the driver, who knows very little, they're all expert at not answering questions."
Ian shook his head.
"Fucking idiots."
Jennifer looked away and stifled a grin.
"Anyway," said White, "the point is that you two have to decide what you're going to do about this mess. I have fifteen prisoners and thirty seven corpses, including Libby Stevens. Three corpses were ex-IRA men, eight of the survivors are CIA and six are Iranian. What the hell are we going to do with them all?"
John cleared his throat.
"Now really isn't the time for a joke, 22."
John took out a hanky and blew his nose extravagantly.
"There aren't that many options, surely," said Jennifer. "One, we say nothing to anyone, dispose of the corpses and then either lose the survivors in the prison system, repatriate them or kill them. Two, we go public and see what happens. Three, we contact the CIA or the US president and see what happens. That seems pretty much it to me, though I suppose that both sides of this table will have differing views on each option." She looked over at the PM.
"That's true, Agent 45. If this becomes public then you no longer have any part to play and it becomes a political circus. I don't much care for circuses."
"Who actually has the final say on this?" said Arthur.
"Nobody," said White, "that's why we're here trying to figure it out. This unprecedented set of circumstances simply hasn't been legislated for. In practical terms the prime minister and myself must reach an agreement."
"I've double checked the relevant legal small print," said the PM, "and we're entirely within legal boundaries thus far. We are also entitled, in the absence of any communication from their countries of origin, to hold these people indefinitely. Moreover, we are in no way obliged to seek out that communication ourselves. If they are here in any official capacity then it is the obligation of their county of origin to admit that within six weeks of their capture. If they are here at their own behest, then they are subject to our legal system and we're under no obligation to inform their homeland of anything."
"Speaking pragmatically," said Jennifer, "we're the only ones who know any of this has happened. The CIA agents may or may not have been authorised for this undertaking. If they were, I suspect we'd have heard from Washington by now. Therefore, if we happened to have killed all of them last week, then nobody would be any the wiser. Who says there are fourteen survivors? History is written by the winning side."
"I cannot be party to the murder of prisoners," said White, "and frankly, 45, I'm surprised at you."
"I said I was being pragmatic," said Jennifer. "It's an option."
"No it isn't," said the PM.
Jennifer shrugged.
"Just trying to help. Anyone have any better ideas?"
John stood up.
"Yes, I'm going for a fag."
The posture of everyone around the table sagged in defeat. This wasn't going to be sorted out any time soon.
"I'll put the kettle on," said Jennifer.