Dead Lions Quotes
"A fuse had blown in Swindon, so the south-west network ground to a halt."
"He didn’t know where he was headed, and didn’t have a ticket."
"The intercom fizzed. 'This is your train manager speaking. I’m sorry to have to inform you we can’t go any further due to trackside equipment failure outside Swindon.'"
"Lights from houseboats pooled on the river’s surface, illuminating a pair of canoes."
"He was miles from home, with about sixteen quid on him."
"The train shunted, and then the river was flowing in the wrong direction."
"The bus left Reading behind. Through the window, dark countryside unfurled."
"You think it's amusing, but not so long ago a mall was what the queen rode down on her horse, and there was only one of them."
"You can probably guess the size of the tip, too."
"If it was a genuine code word, it would only mean one thing."
"Like I said, I haven’t given it a thought in decades."
"If you’ve watched the video, you know as much as I ever did. Maybe more, because believe me, I have forgotten more than I ever knew."
"If they hadn’t, we’d be wondering where their guns were."
"Every last drop. If you’ve watched the video, you know as much as I ever did."
"Nobody sits at their computer all day and does nothing but work."
"Understanding what made people tick was what he did."
"We all appreciate that you can make one of those things sit up and beg."
"So bearing all that in mind, I asked myself what I’d do if I had your skills and was, let’s say, prone to wandering around the dark side of the web."
"I wouldn’t know one end of a fibre optic from the other."
"If this bench marks my coat, I’m sending you the cleaning bill."
"You can get coats cleaned, teeth fixed, hair washed. I appreciate this is news to you."
"I know some people. We could have her whacked."
"You think it’s easy, Second Desk? Okay, it might not be life behind the Wall."
"Given the chance, she’d scrap Ops and double the size of GCHQ."
"A fist slammed on the table. Three shots … Min was fast, but fast didn’t cut it."
"He looked at her solemnly. 'If I hadn’t found that clue, there’d have been another.'"
"The old guys would tell you ops were where it counted, but Taverner knew the stresses that mounted up backstage."
"That was why he was using the slow horses: they didn’t fall under Barrowby’s remit."
"You get word you’ve been rousting nobodies from the Dark Ages, of course I looked him up."
"A moment’s lapse of concentration, and you’d see bodies pulled from the wreckage on the evening news."
"The Downside Man has whitewashed walls and a wooden pub-sign which once flapped in the breeze."
"Most of the population’s either retired, or commutes, or teleworks, but a lot of the houses are empty."
"But you know what Christmas is like. It always ends in tears."
"It was like eating alphabet soup with a fork."
"The corridors of power were where he left his shoes out overnight."
"You couldn’t see smoke on the city skyline without a shiver of fear that it, or something like it, was happening again."
"Strategy was nine tenths reaction. Study any situation too long, you can think yourself into paralysis."
"All that mattered was that things kept moving smoothly."
"They should be available to those who can afford them."
"Maybe, all these years later, Upshott harboured a cicada, who was getting ready to sing."
"Being anti-bank, chances were the rally would be well attended and turn ugly."
"I mean every bloody word, my son. But it will all seem trivial compared to what’ll happen if you don’t start making sense sharpish. Capisce?"
"Urban flight? It’s what happens in cities when too many undesirables turn up." He paused. "No offence."
"No," Lamb said. "Your mistake was forgetting Min Harper was one of mine."
"If they wanted their door locked, they’d keep the key where it couldn’t be found."
"Either way," said Catherine, "it might be an idea to let River know."
"We all make mistakes, son. Your latest was signing off on Rebecca Mitchell without doing the full-court press."
"Grow up, Nick. Whatever order she gave, you’re the one carried it out."
"So what do you think was going to happen?" Duffy asked. "It’s gone two in the morning, and you’re outside the Park’s front door, smoking like a mad man and doing sod all."
"The gun looked natural in Piotr’s fist, no more surprising than a coffee cup or beer bottle."
"Pashkin snapped his briefcase shut. 'You’ll be locked in. Those doors, they’re pretty good.'"
"Marcus said, 'They’re not just going to lock us in.' 'I know.'"
"Webb said, 'Look, I don’t know what the alarm’s for, but I promise—' Piotr shot him."
"Smoking again, Jackson Lamb slouched across a highwalk in the Barbican complex, heading for Slough House."
"Louisa turned back to Kyril. 'Downstairs,' she said, and understanding dawned."
"It’s a credible threat, Lamb. Credible? Some Sunday aeroplane’s going to crash into a City building—you sure about that?"
"In the flying club’s office, things had changed: the fridge remained, and the chairs; the old desk was still cluttered with paperwork."
"The first flames burst into being like early blossoms of spring: easily caught on the wind, and scattered for miles."
"As Marcus swung the axe a crunch shook the floor, and Louisa shrieked—'Jesus, was that you?'"