In the shadows
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Correct Answer
SOMEONE WAS OBVIOUSLY KEEN THAT I SHOULD KNOW ABOUT DOUGLAS BLACK BUT I WAS LEFT WONDERING WHAT HE HAD TO DO WITH THE SHADOW ARCHIVE. I FOUND SOME TRACES OF HIM IN BOSTON NEWSPAPER CLIPPINGS FROM THE PERIOD. THE STORIES STOPPED IN 1873, AROUND THE DATE OF THE LETTERS BETWEEN VICTORIA AND SIR CHARLES, SO I ASSUME HE RETURNED TO ENGLAND THEN, BUT I COULDN’T FIND ANY RECORD OF HIM IN THE IMMIGRATION FILES AND THERE WAS NOTHING IN THE OFFICIAL RECORD TO SUGGEST THAT HE MET WITH SIR CHARLES, LET ALONE WITH HER MAJESTY. THE TRAIL HAD GONE COLD AND I MIGHT HAVE MOVED ON AT THAT POINT, BUT THEN I GOT THE THIRD EMAIL. THIS TIME IT WAS A KEYWORD CIPHER AND IT TOOK A LITTLE LONGER TO BREAK, THOUGH THE WORD STRUCTURE HELPED A LOT. IT CONFIRMED EVERYTHING I HAD GUESSED SO FAR ABOUT BLACK, AND RAISED A WHOLE LOAD OF NEW QUESTIONS! IT ALSO SUGGESTED THAT I MIGHT FIND ANSWERS IN THE SHADOW ARCHIVE, BUT FIRST I HAD TO FIGURE OUT WHERE IT WAS, AND HOW I COULD GET IN. I STILL CAN’T BELIEVE IT, BUT THE ANSWER CAME FROM A GOOGLE SEARCH. I WAS LOOKING FOR A LOCATION THAT WOULD HAVE PROVIDED BLACK WITH COVER FOR A STREAM OF VISITORS, PREFERABLY IN A CENTRAL LONDON LOCATION, AND WITH FACILITIES FOR SECURE STORAGE OF OFFICIAL RECORDS, AND IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN OPENED IN 1873 OR 1874. I SEARCHED FOR “BLACK, LONDON, 1874” AND I LIKED WHAT I FOUND. AND THAT IS WHY I FOUND MYSELF LYING ON THE ROOF OF THE NORMAN SHAW BUILDINGS IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT AND IN POURING RAIN! I HAD TO FIGURE OUT A WAY OF GETTING INSIDE ONE OF THE MOST SECURE LOCATIONS IN ENGLAND!
The devil and the deep blue sea
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Correct Answer
HER MAJESTY IS RIGHT, LIFE IN BOSTON IS DULL, BUT NOT DULL ENOUGH TO PERSUADE ME THAT WORKING FOR HER WOULD BE WORTH THE RISK. BUT OF COURSE SHE HAD AN ANSWER FOR THAT. SHE POINTED OUT THAT RETURNING TO THE UNITED STATES CARRIED ITS OWN RISKS.
I HAD KEPT MYSELF AMUSED FOR THE LAST FEW YEARS SEPARATING THE GREEDY AND VENAL FROM THEIR MONEY BY A VARIETY OF MEANS, NOT ALL OF THEM ENTIRELY APPROVED BY THE LAW. I WAS LEFT WONDERING HOW THE QUEEN KNEW ABOUT THAT, AND WHETHER MY COUSIN HAD BEEN INSTRUCTED TO TELL THE FEDERAL MARSHALLS ABOUT MY ACTIVITIES. DISCRETION SEEMED THE WISE COURSE, AND ANYWAY, HOW OFTEN DO YOU GET A JOB OFFER FROM A QUEEN?
CHARLES HAS DONE A STERLING JOB DEVELOPING A NETWORK OF AGENTS AND HIS INTELLIGENCE OPERATIONS HAVE BECOME A KEY PART OF BRITISH DIPLOMACY. THE GROWING INSTABILITY ACROSS EUROPE THREATENS THE EMPIRE, AND IT IS HER MAJESTY’S BELIEF THAT WE WILL NEED TO RESPOND IN KIND TO DESTABILISE OUR ENEMIES BEFORE THEY GROW TOO STRONG. THIS IS A NEW AND DANGEROUS KIND OF WARFARE, BUT COULD, I SUPPOSE, SAVE LIVES, AND WE WILL, IN ANY CASE, NEED TO MATCH OUR ENEMIES IF WE ARE TO STAY AHEAD.
THIS ENTIRE OPERATION MUST BE KEPT SECRET. FIRST FROM OUR ENEMIES, BUT SECOND, AND JUST AS IMPORTANT, FROM THE OFFICIAL MACHINERY OF STATE. HER MAJESTY CANNOT AFFORD THE RISK THAT HER GOVERNMENT COULD BE IMPLICATED IN THESE OPERATIONS, AND SIR CHARLES HAS REASON TO BELIEVE THAT THE FOREIGN OFFICE MAY HAVE BEEN COMPROMISED. FOR THIS REASON WE NEED TO MOVE SIR CHARLES’ INTELLIGENCE OPERATION TO A MORE SECURE LOCATION. AND I THINK I HAVE AN IDEA WHERE THAT COULD BE!
