You Should Have Got Here Sooner

Section operative Loder (Derek Newark), has searched Lonely’s bedsit, and interrogated and beaten up Lonely over a stolen item that must be recovered. Loder is scared off by the arrival of Callan, who Lonely tells about a recent job he has done on a flat where he was disturbed by the return of the owner.

Later, Lonely sees a photo of a man in a newspaper, and recognises the face as that of the owner of the flat he burgled. Callan also knows the face. It belongs of an escaped Russian spy called Pollock (Jon Laurimore). He has been sprung from prison by Meres, posing as a KGB agent, so as to get back some stolen information.

Callan decides to go to Sussex to visit Sue Lyall (Pinkie Johnstone), Pollock’s girlfriend, where he watches as Meres leaves the Lyall’s house. Pollock has insisted the information he has is with Sue, but Meres has been able to find nothing.

When Hunter finds out that Lonely broke into the safe house they’ve been hiding Pollock in, he orders Meres to make sure that Callan finds out nothing about this, dispatching him to silence Lonely. Callan finds Lonely almost unconscious having had a severe beating, and realises this is Meres’ handiwork.

In order to get back at Hunter, and teach Meres a lesson, Callan travels back down to the Lyall’s house where Pollock and Meres are now trying to retrieve the information he left with Sue. Callan phones the house and asks to speak to Pollock, then informs him that Meres is not a KGB agent, but works for British security. When Pollock puts the phone down, he beats Meres senseless.

Hunter finds out about this development in a phone call from Callan, and goes down to Sussex to sort the mess out. Meres is taken away in an ambulance, and Pollock is arrested.

As for the secret information, it was hidden in a microdot in a ring given to Sue, which it appears, has been pawned by Sue’s mother (Anne Blake). Callan offers to find the ring, but only if he is paid top rate, and the cheque is made payable to Lonely.