"If you ever say that again,” Adam stormed, “I will personally see that your time in this department is very limited.” As he stood up, his face flushed, and he left the Grid, slamming the door behind him.

Giles Wanstead shrugged. “I don’t see what he’s got to be so upset about,” he complained. “I simply said that if I marry someone who is also working within the service, then for the sake of our children, I would expect her to resign.”

“What you actually said,” Ros replied, “was that no-one should have a wife who works for the service, as they are risking their children’s upbringing. What you want for your own family is one thing, dictating to others is entirely different.”

“And anyway,” Jo added, “it would be perfectly possible for the husband to resign and the wife to continue to work.”

Giles looked at her and shook his head. “No, that’s not the way it is.”

Jo’s expression was such that Ros messaged her, ‘You look like an angry cat, who’s about to spit at someone. Probably better not to.’ Jo grinned at Ros.

Giles glanced round the room and then said, “You’re very quiet, Lucas. I presume your views are similar to mine, but you haven’t got the confidence to express them.”

Lucas went white and moved towards Giles. As he did so, Malcolm put his hands on his shoulders and said, “Why don’t you go and find Adam?”

As Lucas headed out of the Grid, Ros marched into Harry’s office. “Unless you want a dead body on the floor, I suggest you get rid of your latest recruit,” she said.

“Which weapon is being employed?” Harry asked.

“Lethal venom spat by Jo, strangulation with a cable by Malcolm, or I’ll use unarmed combat. But if you would prefer we deal with the corpse ourselves, I can recall Adam and Lucas to dispose of the body.”

“No, I’ll deal with it.” Harry went to his door and called out, “Giles, a word, please.”

Giles walked into Harry’s office and failed to close the door behind him. Harry noticed this, but instead of asking him to do so, began, “Congratulations, in half a morning you have managed to alienate the whole of my team. One could almost think you were an enemy agent, but even they would have the sense to know that by doing this they would make absolutely no progress.”

“I don’t understand. I simply…”

“You leapt in without any concept of the dynamics of the office. We are supposed to be preparing you to enter the field, but that means learning to blend in and particularly keeping your mouth shut until you have a good understanding of the situation. You will be reassigned.”

“I don’t think…”

“Shut up! And sit there while I make the necessary phone call.”

A few minutes later, Harry said, “Right, you’re to report to Section M.”

Giles left, clearly furious at the way he’d been treated.

“Will there be any comeback?” Ros asked.

“No,” Harry replied. “At the moment he’s a liability to any team he’s assigned to, and there’s far too great a risk he’d compromise any operation he was involved in. He’s applied to go abroad, but without being able to blend in, which he clearly can’t, he could be dead within a week. He’s not happy, but at least this way he might live long enough to see the children he seems to be setting so much store on.”