Page 25 of The Shadow Code (Heroes of War #3)

D espite a few hours of restless sleep, Ellie was back to square one, looking through files for a needle in a haystack.

That feeling of impending danger hadn’t left her, and everything brought her full circle, back to Talbot.

His name was tucked too neatly in too many reports, and he was also present at the last meeting Templeton attended.

She showed the timeline to Jack just before lunch.

He said nothing for a long time, just stared at the paper with an expression that gave nothing away.

Then, finally: ‘We watch him again. Tonight.’

***

That evening, as Talbot shrugged on his coat and headed towards the lift, Jack murmured to Ellie, ‘It’s time.’

She didn’t hesitate, simply grabbed her mackintosh and slipped out behind Talbot, careful not to draw attention.

Outside, the air was sharp with coal smoke and carried the hum of distant traffic. Across the street, Talbot unlocked his black Humber and climbed in without looking back.

Jack appeared beside her a moment later, keys already in hand. ‘Come on.’

They crossed to the Rover, keeping low, and slid inside. Jack turned the ignition and with a soft cough, the engine started. They pulled out just as Talbot’s tail lights disappeared around the corner.

They followed him as dusk settled over London, barrage balloons bobbing against the twilight over the Thames. Jack drove, his hands steady on the wheel, eyes fixed on the Humber ahead of them. Ellie sat beside him, a camera resting in her lap, ready.

In time, Talbot turned onto a quiet street lined with old terraces.

Jack slowed the car, keeping back just enough.

Ellie’s pulse thrummed as she watched Talbot pull up near a small, empty square.

He stepped out, adjusting his hat and glancing once over his shoulder before striding towards a waiting figure. A man in civilian clothing.

Ellie leaned forward. ‘That’s not a military contact.’

Jack’s jaw clenched and his eyes narrowed.

They watched as Talbot reached into his coat pocket and pulled out an envelope which he then handed to the man.

A secret drop. Ellie lifted the Browning camera, snapping a photo just as the exchange took place.

Jack exhaled through his nose, still watching, but his expression shifted – he suddenly seemed uneasy.

‘It’s too easy,’ Jack said, his voice low as they remained in the shadows of the car.

Ellie kept her eyes on Talbot, heart pounding. ‘What do you mean?’

Jack’s gaze never wavered from their target. ‘If he was the mole, why would he be this obvious?’

Ellie shook her head. ‘Maybe he thinks no one’s watching him.’

Jack didn’t look convinced. ‘Or maybe something else is happening here.’

Ellie wanted to argue, but for the first time a thread of doubt wove itself through her certainty.

Was this really the break they’d been waiting for?

She lowered the camera, slid it back into its leather case.

The silence between them intensified as Talbot’s contact turned the corner and disappeared.

Jack tapped the steering wheel. ‘We’ll have to get the film developed. Forrester’s on duty. He can turn it around by morning.’

‘Then we’ll have proof.’

Jack glanced at her, scepticism flickering in his eyes. ‘Hmm, or proof of something we don’t need to know about.’

Ellie didn’t respond. She turned her face to the window, watching raindrops snake across the glass as they pulled away from the kerb.

***

By morning, the prints were waiting in a manila envelope on her desk.

Ellie barely had time to pull them out before anger flared like a lit fuse.

The images were grainy but clear: Talbot, in a quiet square, passing an envelope to an unknown civilian.

Ellie didn’t wait. She marched through the corridors of MI5, photos in hand, thoughts of Pa driving her forward.

She didn’t pause to run her intentions past Jack.

She didn’t want caution, she wanted answers.

Talbot had slipped through too many gaps already, and if she hesitated again, someone else might vanish before she got the truth.

When she reached Talbot’s office, the door was ajar and she pushed it open without knocking.

Talbot looked up from his desk, appearing unbothered by the intrusion.

He looked like a man who had spent years under pressure, who had learned to meet suspicion with cool detachment.

His sleeves were neatly rolled up, his reading glasses balanced at the end of his broad, reddened nose as he scanned a report.

Ellie didn’t give him a chance to speak.

She strode forward, dropping the photographs onto his desk, the grainy images seeming stark against the polished wood.

‘Tell me who you’re working for.’

Talbot sighed. He did not seem tense or startled. Just irritatingly calm with a faint flicker of amusement at the corners of his mouth.

He set down his pen, took his time removing his glasses, and leaned back in his chair.

‘You have no idea what you’re talking about.’

The casual dismissal ignited a spark in Ellie’s chest. ‘You made a covert handoff to an unknown contact. And you expect me to believe you’re innocent?’

Talbot folded his hands together, regarding her as if she were an over-eager schoolgirl grasping at the wrong answer. ‘And you expect me to confess to something I haven’t done?’

Ellie clenched her fists at her sides. ‘So you’re denying it?’

‘I’m saying,’ Talbot said smoothly, ‘that you’re wasting your time.’

Her pulse hammered. She knew deflection when she saw it. ‘Who was the contact?’ she demanded. ‘What was in the envelope?’

Talbot’s eyes narrowed. ‘You’re testing my patience, Miss Harcourt, and I’ve no time for frivolous games.’

Ellie’s patience snapped. ‘Then stop playing them.’

The office door swung open, and Jack stepped inside, holding a file. One look at his thunderous expression sent a shiver of foreboding down Ellie’s spine, and she stepped back from Talbot’s desk.

Jack dropped the file on top of Ellie’s photos. ‘Forget it. You’ve got it all wrong.’

Ellie blinked. What did he mean?

Jack shot her a glare that made her chest tighten. ‘This wasn’t your call, Harcourt.’ It’s classified. That drop was sanctioned.’

She stared at him, her pulse stuttering as the implications hit her.

A covert operation, classified. The envelope Talbot had passed hadn’t been treasonous. It had been part of an entirely separate intelligence exchange. Ellie’s stomach dropped.

‘We’ve been misled,’ Jack continued, voice tight with frustration. ‘Talbot’s meeting was legitimate.’ He turned to Talbot. ‘Apologies for the disruption. I’m afraid this investigation keeps churning out false leads and dead ends.’

Talbot gave Jack a curt nod, then turned to Ellie, his smirk widening. ‘It appears your enthusiasm got the better of you, Miss Harcourt.’

Ellie felt heat rise to her face, but she refused to look away. They had wasted precious time chasing the wrong man. And someone had set them up to do exactly that.

The door shut behind them with a sharp click, sealing the tension in the narrow hallway outside Talbot’s office. Ellie barely had time to process before Jack rounded on her.

‘You let yourself get played.’

The words hit harder than she expected, cutting deeper than any professional reprimand.

She’d staked everything on that lead: her instincts, her place on this case, maybe even Jack’s trust. And now, it was all unravelling.

She squared her shoulders, lifting her chin, but her throat was tight. ‘I was following the evidence.’

Jack scoffed. ‘You weren’t investigating, and you don’t have the authority to do it alone.’

She opened her mouth, ready to argue, but the words caught.

He was right, and it stung. Ellie swallowed hard, heat prickling at her skin.

So who was the mole? The question rose sharp and cold, cutting through the lingering embarrassment.

Her thoughts turned back to Chalmers . His pattern of behaviour had been too subtle to catch at first; the casual comments, the little nudges, the quiet redirections.

He had never accused Talbot directly. Just a quiet murmur beside the tea urn the other day.

Talbot’s always been a bit unpredictable, hasn’t he? Just enough to plant the seed.

Ellie’s stomach twisted. It had been deliberate. She clenched her fists, frustration bubbling beneath her skin. ‘Chalmers,’ she said quietly.

Jack exhaled. ‘Possibly, and it’s a lead we can no longer ignore.’ Jack paced the length of the hallway, his movements sharp, restless. ‘Every minute we spent chasing Talbot,’ he bit out, ‘was a minute the real mole stayed ahead.’

Ellie folded her arms. ‘You think I don’t know that?’

He turned, frustration flashing in his eyes. ‘Then maybe you shouldn’t have stormed into his office throwing accusations like a bloody lunatic!’

Her pulse spiked. ‘I followed the evidence.’

‘No,’ Jack said, stepping closer, ‘you followed a hunch, and you didn’t stop to question it.’

Anger flared hot in her chest. ‘And what would you have done, Jack? Sat on your hands? Waited for permission to act while more names go missing?’

‘This isn’t about caution,’ he snapped. ‘It’s about not blowing the only chance we have.’

Ellie shook her head. ‘Sitting still isn’t strategy. It’s paralysis.’

The silence that followed buzzed with tension. Neither of them looked away. Neither was willing to back down.

In the end, Jack turned first, muttering under his breath as he strode off down the corridor. Ellie watched him go, her pulse thrumming in her ears, cheeks burning with the humiliation of it all.

The rest of the day passed by in a blur of paperwork and clipped sentences.