The misty Heath (3)

So who could it be? If only Connie was alive, he could seek her advice. It could only be one of the old guard, and yet they are all either too old or dead. Still, it can only be one of them. Animosity doesn't always diminish with age. If anything, if they wanted revenge they were running out of time. Only one of the two; his closest ally - Toby Esterhase - and his fiercest enemy - Karla.

Smiley always knew that which he would never admit to - Esterhase wasn't an ally. They were on the same side but he would never consider Toby and ally. Being an ally implies equality. Smiley always considered himself superior. Esterhase was the muscle. Smiley was the brain. The former being subservient to the latter. Executing orders. Getting his hands dirty. Worse, and Smiley felt unease having to admit this even to himself, Esterhase was never 'one of us'. Yes, he was risking his life for Britain on a daily basis. Still, he was a foreigner. A Hungarian. One of those countries that lacked any real identity. Lacking spine. It was never overtly mentioned, but Esterhase always felt it. And Smiley knew Esterhase must have resented it. Resented him, Smiley, for at once never fully trusting him yet taking him for granted. This was Toby's one chance to turn the tables. No longer subservient. At the death the Muscle has triumphed over the Brain. Literally and without any subtlety. The Esterhase way.

Or could it be Karla? They're lives interlinked. In a way they grew up together, through the ranks, on opposite sides. They were connected. They only met a few times, but there was a level of intimacy between them that was not according to protocol. Smiley was running through those moments in his mind.

Delhi. In an interrogation cell. Karla captured in a prisoner's uniform. And still, he had all the power. Smiley trying to cajole him into talking. Into giving anything away. Sweating. And Karla just sitting there. Silent. Smoking. Then he did the unimaginable: when Smiley offered him a light, Karla slowly, knowingly, took the lighter and, looking defiantly at Smiley, put it in his pocket.

Bern. In a secluded mental health clinic. Smiley visiting Tatiana - Karla's daughter. Gentle and considerate, Smiley taking the role of a loving uncle. Every show of tenderness mirroring the cruelty of using this fragile young women to lure Karla into defection. His defection being Smiley's biggest triumph.

And it is this triumphant feeling that Smiley was now regretting. He never stopped to think that his triumph was Karla's downfall. It did not bring them together. Did not align them on the same side. Karla did not betray his beliefs. He did not disown his ideology. He defected despite them, putting his obligations as a father ahead of his obligations to his country. Only now did Smiley realise that he never stopped to think how Karla must have felt. How he must still be feeling. And it is this realisation that brought Smiley to discount Karla as a suspect. Karla would have wanted Smiley to feel as torn as he did. A bullet to the back of the head brings an end to doubt and guilt. It brings an end to suffering, not cause them.

To be continued . . . .

PS 960km down. 40km to go.