Heir Apparent

Attending Hunter’s funeral are Callan and Meres, joined afterwards by Liz. She has a message for them: both are to go to the Foreign Office to see Deputy Under Secretary Sir Michael Harvey (John Wentworth) this afternoon at half past four. Meres points out a man also attending the funeral - Sir Michael himself.

Meres and Liz join Callan back at his flat, where a depressed Callan ponders on the dangerous nature of their job. Telling him not to be so maudlin, Meres only succeeds in winding Callan up and so leaves. The two arrive at Harvey’s office to be told that while there is no apparent heir, a temporary Hunter has been appointed. The man in question is John Ramsay, who is well known to Callan; they trained together. However, Ramsay is in East Germany, and it is Callan’s and Meres’ task to bring him back from the frontier.

Harvey tells them it should be quite straight forward, provided they can cross a minefield, and get to a bunker on the other side where Ramsay will wait for them. Waiting for the two back at Section headquarters is Captain Jenkins (Peter Cellier), a minefield expert, who proceeds to show them the minefield map, with a safe course charted on it.

Callan is far from happy at the lack of detail, and Jenkins’ casual manner. After Jenkins leaves, Callan muses over the thought of working for ‘John Public School Ramsay’. The journey to the frontier is made over land, by train and by car, and while en route, an urgent message makes it back to London - Ramsay will be at the frontier twenty-four hours early.

Callan and Meres reach the frontier very early in the morning, and spend the next few hours checking the regularity of the patrols. When Callan is happy, he sets off, but doesn’t get very far when a helicopter flies over. He turns round and goes back to Meres where they spot Ramsay leaving the bunker. It seems obvious to them that extra patrols are searching for Ramsay, and that they will just have to cope as best they can.

Callan sets off across the minefield once more, but just before he gets to the other side, the helicopter returns. He lies absolutely still as the flying patrol circle overhead, at which point he notices a snake sliding towards him. Knowing he can’t move an inch, Callan grits his teeth while the snake slides over his boot, then moves away. With the helicopter moving away also, Callan is able to make a dash for the bunker.

The bunker is empty, but eventually Ramsay returns, and explains to Callan that he was forced to leave East Germany a day early. They hear the arrival of a forester, and soon after, two patrol cars, forcing them to stay put, perhaps until nightfall. Watching all this from the other side of the minefield is Meres, who decides to make his way across to lend a hand.

By the time it is dark, Callan feels it is safe to make a move, even though the patrols are nearby. He and Ramsay leave the bunker and narrowly avoid the patrol thanks to Meres’ distracting them by starting up their jeep and driving it off. Meres ditches the jeep and joins Callan and Ramsay, and the three make a rapid move back over the minefield to safety.