For a moment Coke wanted to pull the trigger. He had never killed anyone in cold blood, but he found it difficult not to hate Masters. Because of him, he had lost four years of his freedom. Because of him everybody thought he was a spy. Somehow, Coke got a grip on himself. Perhaps it was because he knew Masters was his only chance to prove he was innocent, and he knew if he killed him, he would lose that chance.
"Let's start at the beginning... when you sent me to Epping Forest that night," Coke said in a flat, cold voice.
"That was Hugo's idea. I had nothing to do with it."
"And who is Hugo?" Coke demanded.
"He sells government secrets to any foreign country that's interested. He made me give him information. I didn't want to!"
"Made you? How did he make you?" Coke asked. Masters stared down at the floor for several seconds before he answered.
"He knew things about me. He said he would tell the police about them if I didn't help him."
"What sort of things?" Again, Masters hesitated before answering. "What does it matter? The sort of things that would ruin any man if the police or anyone else found out about them."
There were only a few more things Coke wanted to know now.
"Why did you involve me in all this?"
"The police suspected someone. We wanted to make them think you were the spy. We knew they would if they found your dead body in a car after a crash with all sorts of secrets in it."
"My dead body?"
"Hugo thought the crash would kill you." Masters said.
"A pity it didn't. You'd still be safe if I were dead!" Masters swallowed and stared at the floor.
"And why aren't you still in the army? You'd be a lot more useful to Hugo if you were," Coke went on.
"It became too dangerous. Anyway, he still uses me."
"How?" Coke asked.
"We hide microfilms of secret documents in the antique weapons I send abroad. The people we send them to pose as foreign collectors." Coke had one last question. It was the most important.
"Where's Hugo now? Take me to him!"

 

1. Why did Coke want to pull the trigger but then changed his mind? 2. Was Masters telling Coke the truth? 3. Why was Hugo interested in government secrets? 4. How did Hugo sell the secrets? 5. Why did Hugo want Coke to be killed?

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