My Generation

Lacon :

Fit, George? 

Natter, garden? Super. 

******

Lacon :

When you came to me six months ago talking about a mole in The Circus, I'm afraid I threw you out. I was remiss.

George Smiley :

You instructed me to abandon my inquiries 

because they were unconstitutional.

Lacon :

Oh, was that the word I used? 

How very pompous of me. 

You never had any, did you? 

George Smiley :

What? 

Lacon :

Children. You and Ann. 

George Smiley :

No.

Lacon :

I have to admit, I didn't absolutely trust your motives. 

I rather thought Control had put you up to it, you see, 

as a way of hanging on to The Power, 

keeping Percy Ableline out. 

George Smiley :

'There are Three of Them and Ableline.' --

Control's words. 

Lacon :

The composition of the now all-powerful London Station. 

Bill Haydon, Roy Bland, Toby Esterhase --

George Smiley :

Three of Them and Ableline. 

Lacon :

Yes, quite. But at the time, George. 

After all, we both held perfectly honorable positions. 

You felt Jim Prideaux had been betrayed 

in that shoot-up in Czechoslovakia, 

and you wanted a witch hunt. 

My Minister and I felt there'd been gross incompetence 

on the part of Control. He wanted a new broom. 

A view which The Foreign Office 

shared, to put it mildly. 

George Smiley :

Oh, I quite understand Your Dilemma.

Lacon :

Thank you. 

George Smiley :

It isn't every day the head of one's secret service 

embarks on a private war against the Czechs. 

Lacon :

And don't forget, George. You were Control's man. 

He preferred you to Haydon. When he lost his grip 

and launched that extraordinary misadventure, 

it was you who fronted for him. 

You were in the hot seat.

You had to go. Wasn't as if you offered a suspect. 

Remember the circumstances, George. 

George Smiley :

All in all, I'd say Percy Alleline has done extremely well. 

With Bill Haydon to field for him, who wouldn't?

Lacon :

He's produced intelligence instead of scandal, 

and won the trust of his customers.

George Smiley :

That special source of Percy's, 

it produced the Witchcraft material. 

Is that still running?

Lacon :

Since you ask, yes. Source Merlin 

is our mainstay. And, yes, 

the name of his product is Witchcraft. 

The Circus hasn't produced such good material 

in living memory. In mine, anyway.

George Smiley :

Does it still get the same special handling? 

Lacon :

Certainly. And now precautions will have 

to be more rigorous than ever, won't they? 

George Smiley :

No, Gerald, the mole would soon latch onto that. 

Lacon :

Of course he would. 

We can't move, can we? 

We can't investigate because 

we can't employ The Circus. 

We can't eavesdrop or watch or open mail because 

to do any of that, we need the services 

of Esterhase's lamplighters... 

George Smiley :

And Esterhase is suspect like the others. 

Lacon :

It's the oldest question of all, George. 

Who can spy on The Spies? 

George Smiley :

Get the security mob in. 

They'll do a job for you.

Lacon :

You know The Minister won't have that. 

George Smiley :

Rightly too. A lot of ex-colonial bobbies 

plowing through The Circus files? 

Lacon :

It's a serious point, George. 

We do have agents in the field, 

and I wouldn't give much for their chances 

once the security gentlemen come barging in.

George Smiley :

How many do we have? 

Lacon :

600, give or take a few. 

Plus 120 behind The Iron Curtain. 

So I can tell The Minister you'll do it, can I? 

You'll take The Job, clean The Stables. 

Go backwards, go forwards. Do whatever's necessary. 

It's Your Generation, after all. Your Legacy. 

I never heard of anyone yet who had left The Circus 

without some unfinished business. 

There's no emotional or other reason 

which you feel might debar you 

from the assignment? 

You must speak up, George. 

George Smiley :

The state of My Marriage 

must be very common knowledge 

if it's got as far down the line as Ricki Tarr. 

For the record, the thing with Ann 

and Bill Haydon is long over. 

My Wife's present infatuation 

is with a young actor, currently unemployed. 

Lacon :

There's always that part of us that belongs 

to the public domain, isn't there? 

You always knew that, I'm sure. 

So did Jim Prideaux.

George Smiley :

What does that mean? 

Lacon :

Well, good lord, George, a bullet in the back 

is held to be quite a sacrifice, isn't it? 

Even in Your World. 

George Smiley :

Two bullets, actually. 

They were at Oxford together, 

weren't they, Bill and Jim? 

Lacon :

And stable mates at The Circus

 the famous Haydon-Prideaux partnership. 

"The Iron Fist and The Iron Glove" 

somebody once called it. 

George Smiley :

Prideaux was far too old for 

that Czechoslovakian nonsense.

Lacon :

It made no difference. 

George Smiley :

Oh, quite. I shall need some help. 

Remember Control's man, Mendel? 

Lacon :

Yes, of course. If he's the chap you want.