Scorpia

three men and me on one side of the bridge. They all had guns. And on the other side of the bridge I could see a figure. That was your dad. He was with some people from MI6.” The lecturer glanced at Mrs Jones. “She was one of them.”
    “It was my first major field operation,” Mrs Jones murmured.
    “Go on,” Alex said. He had been drawn in. He couldn’t help himself.
    “Well, somebody gave a signal and we both began to walk – almost as if we were going to fight a duel, except that our hands were tied. I have to tell you, Alex, the bridge felt a mile long. It seemed to take for ever to get across. But at last we met in the middle, your father and I; and I was sort of grateful to him, because it was thanks to him that I wasn’t going to be killed, and yet at the same time I knew he worked for Scorpia, so I thought he must be one of the bad guys.
    “And then he spoke to me.”
    Alex held his breath. He remembered the video Mrs Rothman had shown him. It was true. His father and the teenager had spoken. He had been unable to hear the words and had wondered what they had said.
    “He was very calm,” James Adair went on. “I hope you won’t mind me saying this, Alex, but,looking at you now, I can see him as he was then. He was totally in command. And this is what he said to me.
    “There’s going to be shooting. You have to move fast
.
    “What? What do you mean?
    “When the shooting starts, don’t look round. Just run as fast as you can. You’ll be safe.”
    There was a long silence.
    “My dad knew he was going to be shot?” Alex asked.
    “Yes.”
    “But how?”
    “Let me finish.” James Adair ran a hand across his beard. “I took about another ten steps and suddenly there was a shot. I know I wasn’t meant to look round, but I did. Just for a second. Your father had been shot in the back. There was blood on his padded jacket; I could see a gash in the material. And then I remembered what he’d told me and I began to run … hell for leather. I just had to get out of there.”
    That was another thing Alex had noticed when he’d watched the video. James Adair had reacted with amazing speed. Anyone else would surely have frozen. But he’d clearly known what he was doing.
    Because he had been warned.
    By John Rider.
    “I tore up the bridge,” he went on. “Then all hellbroke loose. The Scorpia people opened fire. They wanted to kill me, of course. But the MI6 lot had machine guns and they fired back. All in all, it was a miracle I wasn’t hit. I managed to get to the north side of the bridge and a big car appeared out of nowhere. A door opened and I dived in. And that was just about the end of it, as far as I was concerned. I was whisked away and my father met me a couple of minutes later, hugely relieved. He’d thought he’d never see me again.”
    And that made sense. When Alex had met Sir Graham Adair, the civil servant had been surprisingly friendly. He had made it clear that he was in some way in Alex’s debt.
    “So my father … sacrificed himself for you,” Alex said. He didn’t understand. His father had worked for Scorpia. Why should he have been prepared to die for someone he had never met?
    “There is one other thing I have to tell you,” the lecturer said. “It’ll probably come as a shock to you. It certainly came as a shock to me. About a month later I went down to my father’s home in Wiltshire. By then I’d been debriefed and there were a whole lot of security things I had to know about just in case Scorpia tried to have another crack at me. And” – he swallowed – “your father was there.”
    “What?” Alex stared.
    “I arrived early. And as I came in, your father was leaving. He’d been in a meeting with my dad.”
    “But that’s…”
    “I know. It’s impossible. But it was definitely him. He recognized me at once.
    “How are you?
    “I’m fine, thanks very much
.
    “I’m glad I was able to help. Look after yourself
.
    “That was what he said to me. I remember the words exactly. Then he got in his car and drove off.”
    “So my father…”
    James Adair stood up. “I’m sure Mrs Jones can explain it all to you,” he said. “But my dad wanted me to tell you how very grateful we are to you. He asked me to pass that on to you. Your father saved my life. There’s no doubt about it. I’m married now; I have two children. Funnily enough, I named the eldest John after him. There would be no children if it hadn’t been for him. My father