From Fitzroy's Private Diary (Extract 79)

Of late I have been thinking what I should do with Griffin. I don’t exactly regret my impulse to take him on, and under the circumstances there really wasn’t a long time to think about it. However, I do feel, in practical terms, I was somewhat precipitous.

I’ve always been an independent man, who can take care of himself, like most army men. Of late, even leaving Euphemia out of the equation, I have been asked to do a lot more training and be involved in more planning of serious operations. Consequently, managing my own affairs has become tiresome and time consuming.

I suspect the department decided that, when I took on Euphemia as a trainee, I was finally settling down and becoming less of a wild card. What they did not spare the time to consider was that I might be creating another wild card. Whatever their reason for burdening me with more responsibility, I was becoming seriously stretched.

The ways that Euphemia became my trainee, and Griffin came into my service, look, on the surface, to be almost identical, but there are some major differences. I gave very serious consideration to taking Euphemia on and training her. As far as she is aware, my hand was forced by her incarceration on the charge of attempted murder. In reality, I had been planning on her becoming an agent for a long time. The incident in the church merely gave me the opportunity to put my plan into action. It was already waiting for just such an opening.

Griffin, on the other hand, was about to be hanged before I interceded. I knew I was getting to the point where I was simply too busy to cook, clean, deal with mundane paperwork, etc., and that I would need a valet. I had hoped to recruit someone whose security clearance was high enough that they could be privy to certain operations if I needed support. It seemed to me, at the time, that saving Griffin’s life, and thereby acquiring an assistant, could kill two birds with one stone.

I was wrong. Griffin will never be awarded the clearance I need him to have and, as a former medical practitioner, his intelligence and raw talent is wasted arranging my laundry, cleaning my carpets and performing a little light dusting. Then again, because I choose to work so independently, I often have documents at home that preclude the hiring of a normal cleaner. Regardless, I trust Griffin enough that if I inadvertently (on purpose) leave (certain carefully) selected classified paperwork lying around, Griffin might offer up valuable insights.

I have to decide, at this point, if I will train him in any of the arts of my profession. It would be extremely useful to me if he understood a few basics, such as cyphers, brush passes, dead drops, simple tailing, etc. He’s smart enough to be taught how to read a person’s body language and how to elicit information from an individual without them realising.

 The big question is, should I do this? I can’t ask the department because permission would certainly be refused. Do I know the man well enough to take this action upon myself? I fear not. Euphemia was accused of murder, but I knew she was innocent, and even the department conceded she was, helping with her cover story. Whereas Griffin is a self-confessed and convicted murderer. I admit, if I had been in his position, I would have acted in the same manner, only I would not have confessed, nor would I have been caught.

That he killed a man is not in question. I fully understand his actions. I also know he acted quickly, and out of raw emotion, rather than a cold, calculated undertaking. He wanted revenge, not justice. I am not convinced many people truly, in their hearts, understand the difference.

I do know that Griffin, despite breaking one of the Ten Commandments, is tiresomely moral. Why, there are even times when he seems on the verge of telling me he disapproves of my actions, especially those concerning my relationships with the opposite sex. He has never gone so far as to voice his feelings, but he has sniffed in a most impudent manner.

I could send him back, but his return to prison would be short, ending with a visit to the gallows, and I certainly don’t wish that upon the man.

Perhaps my biggest hesitation stems from the fact that Jack doesn’t like him. I trust the opinion of my dog more than I trust the opinion of most people. Annoying as it is, I fear I must take things slowly with Griffin. I hate under-utilising my assets, but in this instance I must. How bloody boring. Damn the man.