- Smiley goes to meet Jim Prideaux who is now back in Britain having survived his experience in Czechoslovakia. His testimony and that of others sheds new light on the "Testify" fiasco and source "Merlin".
- George Smiley calls on San Collins, ex-circus spy, who was the duty officer the night Jim Prideaux was shot. He confirms the events as George understands them and that Prideaux's good friend Bill Hayden is the senior officer who took charge of the case after all hell broke loose. George subsequently meets with Prideaux to get a firsthand account of what happened during the disastrous Operation Testify in Czechoslovakia. Prideaux confirms that it was a disaster from the start and was under surveillance almost immediately from the time he arrived. While under arrest, his interrogators knew as much about the operation as he did, including the meaning of "Tinker, Tailor".—garykmcd
- Part Five - Tinker Tailor
The scene starts at Prideaux's school, where he is living in a caravan parked on the school grounds. He is watching school boys egging on one of the boys, Bill Roach, who is driving Prideaux's vintage car across a field. Prideaux asks the boys if they have seen a man in the distance before who is keeping watch (this is Mendel).
Prideaux is in his caravan and attempting to place bandages on his wound (caused by being shot in Czechoslovakia). Roach is returning to the school and sees Prideaux unearthing something outside the caravan. Roach spies on Prideaux through the caravan window, sees a gun, but falls. Prideaux is kind to him and tells Roach he is a loner like himself. Prideaux tells him he used to be a soldier and this is why he has the back wound and gun.
Back in London Smiley goes to see an ex-Circus employee, Sam Collins, now managing a casino. Smiley asks Collins about the night Prideaux was shot; Smiley explains that the records have been doctored but that it is clear that Collins was the duty office at the Circus on the night. Collins explains that he had just returned from abroad and Mendel takes him to see Control. Control asks him to act as a 'cut-out' man for one night, but is not to tell anyone. The night of the shooting is told in a flashback - Collins is asleep when is woken up by a Circus employee, who tells him that all hell has broken loose on the Circus radio monitoring and that there are reports of a shooting of a British agent by the Czechs. He rushes up to see Control, who seems stunned by the news. Collins asks for a brief on how to handle the crisis, but Control does not reply. He asks for Mendel or Smiley, but Control has forgotten that he has sent both of them away for the night. Collins rings Smiley's wife and asks her if she knows where Haydon is (they are cousins). Later Hayden turns up and says he saw the news on the ticker tape at his club. Haydon is shocked and springs into action to calm the situation down.
Smiley and Collins are still in the casino office. Collins says he admired Haydon's actions on that night. He also tells Smiley that when he returned to the Circus after leave Alleline questioned him about why he was doing duty officer role that night, but Collins makes an excuse. Collins says he was sacked for drinking on the premises.
Smiley puts it to Collins that the reason he rang Anne was because he guessed that Haydon would be with her. Haydon did not come from his club and it was too late for the ticker tape to have been running. Collins doesn't reply but it is obvious that this is, in fact, what happened.
The action returns to Prideaux, who is walking through the countryside to meet Smiley. Prideaux checks that Smiley has come alone and Smiley confirms that he has. Smiley tells Prideaux that he has to know what happened to him after the shooting. However he first tells Prideaux that he has seen in a letter in the files from their earlier days (these have been provided by Lacon) where Haydon describes Prideaux to a 'talent spotter' of the Circus in glowing (and also affectionate) terms.
Smiley drives Prideaux to a hotel room where they continue to talk. Prideaux describes his incarceration after his arrest, and admits he eventually told the Russians everything - however the Russians seemed more interested in the briefing that Prideaux had with Control. Smiley tells Prideaux that his network of agents were all shot, and Prideaux had been blamed.
Prideaux has been physically sick after this news and they resume the conversation outside. Prideaux continues his description of his brutal interrogation. He says he was moved around a lot, and at one point was taken to a Russian man. Prideaux tells Smiley that the man showed him a cigarette lighter which is the one taken by Karla from Smiley years before. The man is Karla, and Prideaux admits that by this point he tells Karla everything he knows about Control's suspicions.
Before he departs Smiley quizzes Prideaux about his return to England. Initially Prideaux was kept at Sarrat (the Circus training and holding facility) - he says he was only visited by Esterhase, who pays Prideaux off. Smiley thinks it strange that Prideaux is not interrogated more about what has happened. Smiley muses how Esterhase knew about Tinker, Tailor when he spoke to Prideaux. Prideaux leaves, telling Smiley he has just been obeying orders and forgetting.
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