Foreword

Near the end of this novelette appear these words, as the fugitive ragtag, driven from their homeland, find a temporary haven.

This below is one big “spoiler”, should you wish not to know ahead of time.

…….

The news clippings of what now seemed alien events out there in the 'real' world, the handwritten notes here and there ... told of a world gone totally, evilly insane which had been allowed to happen ... they could not take their eyes from the table. 

 That was reality, was it?

‘All right,’ Cam addressed them, ‘we’re down to taking stock of our situation. Faye has faith we’ll be looked after from Above if we believe we can be … interesting perspective … ancient. Our reality is that sooner or later, we’re going to be down to the chickens and fish …’

‘Provided no disease gets to them,’ put in Lee. ‘Provided we’re not found by these bands of crazed marauders, provided the shadow state psychos don’t get it into their heads to suddenly go to WW3 … use up the last of the arsenals … all that.’

Said Cam: ‘That’s the long and short of it … ‘civilisation’ as we knew it was already on the way out but all orderly govt is now over … just strongarm gangs with warlords and Viking type violence. 

Thing is … to protect Cait’s baby, all our girls’ babies … look, let me put it this way. There’s a view, often called male but many women agree … you do whatever it takes … lionesses do, mother ducks do …’

Said Cait: ‘But there are those always thinking appeasing the monster will work.’

‘All right,’ said Cam. ‘We’re an unusual six … we have a long history of dealing out summary justice … we’re not known for holding back … but now we hold fire … we just add to the defences of this place … but the best defence is a passive, calm attitude … but trained to instantly swap to full force.’

Just silence, but not in disagreement.

‘So that’s our strategy … anticipate different types of trouble, prepare, be ready to act instinctively … drills, practice … spring into action once we see what needs action … the locusts were a perfect example.  Still no objection?’

Not a word.

‘So there it is.  Every single possible threat contained in those news clippings … the notes on that table too … we train, people, we train, we have kids.’

Said Sven, ‘I get this feeling that we’re not going to be in huge danger now from overwhelming force, by bombings, armies, not even by mercenaries … we seem to have moved onto that last stage … I agree that, except maybe from marauders … well … all of us would do what we had to, no qualms … but we’re going to find ourselves creating a little colony … we’d be breeding the chickens and fish, we’d be sick of it, even with creative ways to stave off the boredom, we’d be back to dark age village things … that’s if the poisoned world didn’t get here …’

Said Cait, ‘I’m thinking there’s a thing called overplanning … I’m thinking that Faye’s not wrong in that calm way she has … don’t despair but equally don’t kid ourselves. Have a bit of faith, hope, pray no one gets really ill.’

‘That’s peace of mind,’ mused Cleo. ‘Speaking personally, I need that most just now.’

‘Don’t we all,’ said Cam. ‘So there it is.’

…….

A big thank you to the ever patient and unsung Toodles who has proofed all of my scribblings to date and this is no exception …

1 Kidnapped

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I

‘Gretna’s not this way!’

‘Fen’ looked sharply at his poker face, he ignored her and kept pressing on in a direction which could only have put them onto the A75 west, the last direction he should have been going.

‘Tom, we keep to the low roads here, you know that … now you’ve done this, you take the A75 east, drop me at Gretna and carry on south.’

He wasn’t listening in the least, eyes staring straight ahead … he was definitely heading for the Stranraer ferry as far as she could make out.

‘Hey you! Tom, stop this car now!!’

Grim determination … if anything he accelerated, there was the noise as of a blown tyre, then nothing.

II

‘Let’s listen to it again, Cam,’ they went by monosyllabic names in this "cell" as it was called, this ragtag labelled “far right” by the Beloved Leader … except they were the side of the bewildered, compassionate, fearful … the ordinary … now forced into outlaw status … because they’d refused the new State jabs, plus the State’s Qcodes.

'Fen' had been Fenella Mackie from Kirkcowan, it was her land here … this ‘Tom’ had arrived at the Stranraer ferry, his papers passing muster, the car had collected him as arranged and dropped him near their cell's barn this side of Mill Glen Road, where ‘Lee’ and she had done the usual processing and early training of this new ‘Tom’, then it had been time for his next station near Gretna.

‘It’s too cramped in here,’ said Jeanne, the other van, the Ford, had been bigger in the back but Cam had insisted this was the better vehicle overall, in better condition he meant, less well known too on watcher’s records. 

‘Uh huh …’ standard response.

‘We need to get this Lee down here, Cam, give him the once over … well the girls can anyway.’

III

The concert 'Lee' was to attend was at 7.30 p.m. at Wigmore Hall, formerly the alabaster and marble Bechstein Hall, London’s West End … L’Arpeggiata the early chamber music ensemble. 

He'd signed in under his real surname Hayward, had dropped his things upstairs and then headed downstairs to the Londoner lounge, this meeting set down for 4:30, before things got frenetic early evening. 

It was already filling up, he bought a glass of house red and mixed nibbles … then settled down to wait.

Strange call it had been too … from … well he didn’t really know who she’d been but she’d used the codes all right and the place to be, it seemed, was this bar. Sounded reasonable to him ... a short drive, a succession of trains, tube and now walking, it had got him from Stranraer to here, 7 hours 10 mins to the city all up, another hour to his room upstairs, not bad going for one day. 

A female voice behind him now spoke quietly: ‘Excuse me sir, would you mind changing tables for a few minutes? You’re in the line of fire.'  Then: '... of a gunfight that's about to take place.’

He got up, grinning, not a bad line at all, and was hit by the efficient prettiness of this smallish lady … light patterned top, dusky navy jacket … she now smiled and murmured, ‘Come with me … the stairs.’ 

Dutifully following, as one does at such a request from such a person ...  they’d just started up the stairs when a commotion could be heard behind them.

‘Quickly please.’

Through to the corridor … a door opened … another dark haired fatale appeared, off white jumper set off by a purplish scarf … she said, ‘Come.’ He looked at N1, who nodded and through he went, N1 did not follow.

‘Ok,’ he said, ‘no doubt you’ll explain over coffee, yes?’

‘Relax, Lee, you got here in good time. They’re currently looking for our other guy downstairs … he’s on his way to Ireland.’

‘Pardon?’

‘You were set up, weren’t you, downstairs? The hit was to be on you, you must have uncovered something in Stranraer, we need to debrief, every little detail, I’ve a clipboard of questions our masters want answering.’ 

She switched the kettle on and opened two 3-in-1 sachets taken from her pocket. 

‘You know you’ll not be at the concert, a proxy will. And Lee, nothing must cost us anything in here please, no electronic trail, we’ve pre-paid the room.’

‘ID please.’

.o0o.

The four stage process completed … besides, he’d seen this one before, not the other though … she was ready to get down to details. He asked, ‘My holdall?’

‘In the cupboard, you need something from it?’

‘Just to see it.’ He got up and wandered over. It was as she’d said. Presumably it was hers beside it, keeping it company. ‘And I’m addressing … who?’

‘Call me Cait, short for Caitlin, means ‘true, faithful’.

‘And the lady out there?’

‘Jeanne, French spelling … and yes, she is named after Joan of Arc … vision, resistance and all that. More to the point, she was given that moniker owing to the crusading mission she was on when the ‘authorities’ disappeared her cousin one September night two years ago. We became suspicious of Stranraer as you must have realised, you’d both cleared this Tom through, you know the rest. Gruesome. 

We’ve viewed the footage, we’ve heard the wire on Fen, we’ve been over and over it. Thing was, it’s not happened to us before, not as a unit I mean, not quite like this, so the question is which lot were onto us, and also what about this new Tom? 

We know the Tom you were meant to get … and was this Tom the same person in the car with Fen? I have to ask a clipboard of questions from our cellmaster,’ she showed him. ‘You tell me when you’re ready.’

‘May I lie on my bed? I take it this one’s mine.’

‘I’ll sit on mine.’

.o0o.

It had been gruelling, moreso for her as it all had to be handwritten on dead tree, she was as exhausted as he was by the end.

‘Phew,’ she said, packing the notes away. ‘And now we entertain ourselves, eat, eyes and ears open.’

.o0o.

There was a knock some eight minutes later … a series of Qs&As through the door, backchecking.

She waited … opened the door and stepped out, acknowledged someone to the left, then at the other end of the corridor. She picked up the tray and came back in. ‘You like Chinese of course.’

‘Well of course you’d know that. Crispy duck?’

‘Yes. I’m famished.’

.o0o.

They hadn’t died from it, the note under the tray cover had explained the next steps, she’d nodded. ‘Not rushing you, Lee, but we need to put the tray out. Then we go live again. There really is extant danger, we need to flee sooner rather than later this evening.’

‘Staff lift?’

‘Yep.’ She showed the plastic key. ‘That’s why London. That and ease of egress, losing ourselves.’

‘Do you think you’re any furtherer with Stranraer?’

‘Yes. The suspicion was obviously about the switcheroo of the 'Toms'. You know there’s an MRI coming up this evening, by the way, it's universal across all cells, it's your turn, ours too. Just a question of when to make our move from here. I like your professionalism, Lee, you didn’t even ask if we had anything else planned after the scan. What are you suspicious of?’

‘You tell me.’

‘You suspect our support boys, the 'Fields'.’

‘And girls.’

She sighed. ‘It’s all horrible, truly. I mean society now ... really sick things from eating bugs to drag shows … the whole nightmare.  And it’s always this neverending trust or don’t trust. I lost my brother through trusting. Jeanne lost her sister, you lost those two.’

‘The constant treachery … that’s how they wear us down.’

“If you left this room, Lee, if you went to the loo … the thought would be constantly in your mind that the pleasant person you thought was your friend would pick up that phone and that would be that …’

‘The logic of distrust.’

‘There’s all sorts of dark logic in this end game. Do you think there’s a God?’

‘Interventions in human affairs suggest there just might be.’

‘I hope so.’

‘You’re my new partner … aren’t you?’

‘I’d like to be, I’ll be honest, if you can trust that word. But there’s another you must meet first. You see, we really did a number on you, our little cell … and not just for official reasons. We’re looking at partnerships as well … not just working partnerships … I’ll tell you that one for free.’

‘Ah. She was pregnant you know, Fen was.’

‘Yes, we know. Tragic.’

‘Wasn’t me.’

‘Oh?’

‘Never happened with us.’

‘Old Tom?’

‘I’d say so.’

There was quite a pause. ‘We need to go, Lee. You almost ready?’

IV

Cait had been through her own MRI, only head and shoulders, he’d been in the booth, now their positions were reversed and his was going to be gruelling … full body, 90 minutes. Damned noisy things they were too.

.o0o.

He should have known she’d not be there after he’d come out, a new girl he’d not seen before was there, indeterminate age, might have been 30 plus, some features vaguely familiar, he was going to think that one through later. And what was it with this dusky navy top and pretty scarf motif?

He was famished again.

She spoke and immediately, from him: ‘Oh my goodness … you’re the Faye on the phone.’

‘In one. I’ll tell you all, Lee, but we have to get to our haven for the night, we can’t stay here.’ He was dubious, so she explained in detail, even down to the registration and driver. ‘I’m new to the role but I’ve been trained all the same.’

This one had a very soft voice, not put on, it was natural, he could imagine her being shrill if angered though. Cait was the harder lady, might be useful in a fight or flight situation, this one was all brain. Big, watchful eyes, small frame again.

.o0o. 

They were in digs, a B&B out of London, semi-clad in their respective beds and talking.

‘You’re used to this, aren’t you?’ said Faye. ‘No awkwardness and yet you don’t bother coming on. You give the impression of actually liking the three of us. What do you think all this is about?’

‘Cait told me. It’s not just testing for the cell.’

‘That’s right. Jeanne will speak with us tomorrow, explain it all.’

‘You’re on the tech side.’

The breath was slowly released. ‘All right,’ she said, ‘I’ll ask it …’

‘From our conversation enroute, from your concerns with the two chaps, from various nuances.’

‘I was hoping for this level of thinking you know. It's reassuring. You seemed not bad in what you were doing in Stranraer, Lee, there was the question of whether you’d bedded Fen, I wasn’t sure you had. Would you bed me?’

He smiled. ‘If we were already an item, if we’d gone through the long, drawn out process two people used to in the old days, if most things rang true with you, if it did not break up your little triad of ladies, if I loved you and you loved me, if we’d married. Tell me what happened in the Londoner Bar.’

‘I know of it, I wasn’t inside. Essentially, there were two of the enemy roaming, with the one on the desk also part of it. Straight kidnap job of you it was to be, right where you were. No one had told you to sit there, Jeanne had kittens seeing you do that. We think we know that section, nasty people, you’d not want to go with them.’

‘But they never tried to go upstairs?’

‘Oh they did – they were put to sleep and removed but we still felt there was another girl involved, somewhere, we couldn't pin that down, we do know of her though.’

‘What gives with all this though? I was in Perth looking at a possible business to buy … food … but the socialists had it sewn up … it was like a mafia … same was happening down south, Wales was bad … bad tales out of there, London lost, Paris … other western countries …’

‘People started to put two and two together though, for themselves … not activist types, not football fighters … just ordinary people … then Southport and straight after it, the Beloved Leader’s speech and it was completely wrong in every way.’

‘And how did 20% of voters get that many seats?’

‘Well … rigged of course.  But something else was happening. These people making such a noise about love everyone, include everyone … but they don’t, no way … plus thugs were being used to get us down here … but people were online and they were moving, more and more to one platform and so people of all western nations, both sexes, all ages … were communicating … I’m heavily involved in that … distant early warning if you like … big names started coming over … State saw it as big threat, the outlawing started … you think I like “van life”?  Could no longer pay the rent … they put someone in instead … not from our land.’

‘I’m sorry.’

‘Just as bad for you, I’ve seen the file. We must have files for our security. But the State does too … and how … international.  Bad people. So we just started to form cells and suddenly, men and women worked together again …’

‘No more acrimony.’

‘Well yes. Our purpose as a cell? Help the arrested escape, warn people ahead of time, we’re not above a kill but it’s always counterproductive, comes down upon any locals in the vicinity, comes down on us, support dries up as a result. We don’t do the revenge bit, that’s another lot, we assist escapees, coordinate, do the logistics, jam up their IT.  Funding's interesting ... anonymous benefactors.’

‘It just goes on like this … forever ... for us I mean?’

‘Who knows? On the political front, there are enough cells across the country, across Europe, we know of this one and that but we don’t know them as people, we know no details, not even our boys know everything about our own, all except for Jeanne whose guy is one of the high ups though you'd not know it, so in fact Cait and I are interviewing you at the moment and you, in turn, are interviewing us, partly with an eye to the future.

You see, Lee, to answer your earlier question, ground reports say that the enemy was unable to get close enough to us, or at least they’d not busted us as yet, but that’s exactly when it gets dangerous for people like us. France 1944/45 all over again. We knew they’d try it on but at source? As in Stranraer? That puts it up to another level. We need another type of eyes and ears now, we also need to live as close to sane as we can, especially the nastier it gets … and it’s about to get quite nasty. 

Lee, we do need to have some fun, conviviality, not burn out, I don’t mean sex, I mean just a few laughs … we need a homelife of some kind, some sort of normality. We have someone else in mind too, not from the outer reaches like you, it’s one of the current crew here, we need you as well as us to vet him for the new role … once you know the new role yourself of course. We’re a cell within a cell … six people, three male, three female. You do see the implications.’

‘You asked if I liked you, Faye. Read my body language and my voice . I’ve read yours. You know most things about me already, but I know nothing about you two, you have the advantage of me … there are big questions, minor questions as well to be asked.’

‘Of course there are, we’re well aware of that. We did our homework on you, you need to grill us too, to within an inch of our lives. If you can’t do that effectively, then what’s the point you even being here?’

‘The expression ‘all my birthdays’ does spring to mind.’

‘Look, Lee, in a more normal society before these bastards started on us all … openly I mean … we might not have crossed each other’s paths, we might have continued on our paths in different parts of the country. We were no way slutty party girls, either of us, unlike the Finland Prime Minister … we were though serial monogamists, let’s say, as you were, looking for that one and only, wondering how to keep him … the culture ruining any chance of holding things together. Body count on one hand.

We saw that the issue was within us, ourselves, we saw by your profile, plus the things you’d said to Fen, by many things … that you were thinking along our lines. Cait looked at me, I looked at her and we thought … there might be a God after all. At least it was worth a try. And I’m looking now at how calmly we’re talking and it means a lot to me. Cait is great but eternally restless … you’re a few years older than our other guy … I’m not saying any more.’

Lee was suppressing a smile, not a mocking one either.

‘Nothing might have happened under different circumstances,’ Faye went on, ‘as I say, but times changed, these animals and their stasi started coming at us, breaking through … and then that tragedy near Stranraer. 

The 'accident' in the ditch I’m thinking was Fen trying to grab the wheel. The horror was what someone did to her afterwards. At that point, we needed you down here … fast. You’ll see the photos tomorrow.’

‘I’m without words, Faye. This other guy you have in mind and you two … we have to make some sort of life decisions I take it?’ She nodded. ‘But sometimes decisions make themselves.’

'As long as it takes … yes.’ But she’d certainly relaxed more. ‘We all need a life again, as close to normal as we can get. We were able to fast track this because we'd spent weeks, before Fen I mean, already checking you out and I mean checking everything ... we're deadly serious about this and dilettantes aren't welcome. Look, we’re in weird times, we’ve cut to the chase, both you boys are similarly inclined, we’re not ugly ducklings, slightly different temperaments.’

There was a beep, she pulled out the micropad, read it, put it away. ‘Come, we must go.’ 

‘Thought you said we were the quieter type,’ he grinned.

‘Needs must.’

She jumped out and dressed rapidly, he too, she grabbed her holdall from the cupboard, he too, she dowsed the light, opened the window, stepped out gingerly, careful with her footing, it was less well lit on this side, she pulled out her line, said, ‘Yours is in your pack,’ there was a heavy device on the end, he watched, he’d examine it later, just under a foot long, the solid bit, thinner line connected to it, the end was like jaws with levers, she pushed hers onto where the guttering met the down pipe, it snapped on and grabbed the guttering, she looked to see that he understood, let herself down over the edge, two floors down, looped around her waist.

On the path, she released the jaws via the second line, holding her main line taut while doing it, the whole kaboodle crashed below where she’d leapt out of the way. 

Uh huh, he’d follow that lead.

Down he went.

At the bottom, she said to keep the main line taut, she then juggled his other line, it released and the whole thing clattered down, both units were now stowed in packs, they ducked under some shrubs, through the fence at its rotted point, they were off.

The van was two streets away.

V

‘Well?’ asked Faye in the well-appointed back of the Ford where they’d pass the rest of the night … it had been about two and a half hours and they'd pulled into a layby. 

They heard the driver get out and seemingly head away from them, there was someone else getting out too, passenger side, a light step, a knock, Faye released the bar, in scrambled Cait.

‘Well?’ asked Cait.

Said Faye, ‘I just asked that … you do realise, Lee, that technically, we’ve kidnapped you?’ She now revealed her holster under her long blouson jacket.

‘Any chance you can keep me captive for awhile?’

‘That deserves one of these,’ responded Cait. She kissed one cheek, Faye the other. ‘Now, in all seriousness ... at the changeover, Faye must go, she’ll need to slip away and I’ll be with you for some time. The other guy, who’s Jeanne’s husband, is not far away. Any plod, any issue, he comes back and drives off with us. Either way he must drive off within this hour, we’ll go to another road, another layby, we’ll need to change vehicles, Faye will go, you’ll get three hours sleep, another burst later in the morning. Can you stand all this?’

‘Only about another decade of it, maybe two.’

‘Down, boy,’ she grinned. ‘Trouble is, Lee, this life may be semi-permanent. Things have heated up … that lot have begun their mission on society. Plus we as people do stress out and we need you to be a rock. I’m sure you’ve understood our agenda by now. We want you in this team, providing you are what we think you are, if you remain what you are.’

‘I get your drift. Look, the Stranraer area was nice, I was never that close to Fen, she was betrothed to this guy in Kirkcowan, she told me some of it, not a lot.’

‘Lee, has Faye told you what we’re really really looking for, the two of us?  I mean really really?  Our end game?’ She glanced at Faye, who nodded. ‘It’s going to be awkward if you don’t like either of us and frankly, upping the ante, you do know there’s a price on your head as well, with the enemy, just by coming to us.’

‘Ladies, you really don’t need to explain that sort of thing to me, have no fear. Could you stand a male’s protective instinct?’

‘We’re depending on it … but not the proprietorial kind. We're give and take, all right, within old-fashioned values. Faye insists on those and I do agree.’

‘So do I.’

She pulled out the lunchbox, then the juices. ‘Sorry, should have given them to you earlier.’ 

He started tucking in, Faye was nibbling, Cait took one of the sandwiches. They could hear the guy … or someone … making for the van, he got in the front and started up.

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2 At the opera

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I

They’d already changed over in the next layby, Faye had gone, he’d slept for three hours, then had awoken to find Cait had put a blanket over him. She was kneeling on the van floor beside him, one arm across.

‘Morning,’ said she. ‘We’ll be washing and changing soon, there’s a friendly place, we know the couple. But every stop is danger all the same, the chance of them being watched is high, which is why we approach … unusually.’

He glanced near the back of the van … it had been stacked quite high. She nodded. ‘Yes, we need to deliver that lot too.  Quid pro quo. Then we wash and change clothes after that. Any laundry we usually bundle up … we have someone do it … just ours, privately … such as this lady, she knows what she’s doing, no shrinking, takes overnight.’

The van pulled out.

.o0o.

The delivery itself involved subterfuge, three coordinated vans, twelve people, including a control, the delivery itself maybe eight minutes, the subterfuge an hour and a half, planned to the last letter, each crew needing to react within parameters … their attitude was that if by some chance they’d got away with this one, not that it was any kind of triumph ... now came the next risk.

.o0o.

So here they were, in the back of a home-heating engineer’s van this time … the fourth person in with them used the moniker 'Sven', could take care of himself, this one … plus there was Jeanne, plus the driver. Highest risk they’d taken so far.

Getting straight to the point, Jeanne opened:

‘Cam is driving, we’re married, he’s one of the honchos running this cell. I’m afraid it’s interim decision time, guys … the girls explained the get-out clause to you both, which must be understood and agreed now, before we divulge any further operational matters? 

Good, we’re having no unmarried couples in this cell, call it a reaction to the Sodom and Gomorrah out there, the lawlessness, but it’s marry one of these two or leave now. However, the get-out clause is that if these dossiers which we're going to burn after you've read them turn out to be in any way untrue, you're free of any commitment. We really mean that.

We did our homework on you guys, the girls have answered your questions till now but the dossiers answer far more than they have ... we four were all present when they were written, no one hid anything, even down to some bad relationships in each case, no coverup, we're taking the chance you're both experienced, you'd know what was real and what was pap.  Twenty minutes, guys. The girls will be in the other van, we'll be in the front of this van and no, we can’t overhear you, there’s no wire or camera.' 

They both got out and went around. The ‘guys’ got down to reading … interestingly, Jeanne had casually dropped one dossier into Sven’s hands, the other into Lee’s. The ‘guys’ did not wish to swap them.

.o0o.

Fifteen minutes later, there was a change … what seemed to be Jeanne by the footsteps got out and went over to the van with the other girls. Cam got into the back of ‘the guys’ van’.

Said Cam: ‘I’m here to answer questions. If you’d prefer I was not here, I can go for a wander.’

‘No, stay,’ said Sven and Lee agreed. ‘I suppose we need to discuss the girls.’

‘And the working relationship between you two of course.  This, boys, is where you accept and we go next level … or you return to lower level work at a secure unit far from here, more menial of course, less rewarding but safer.’

‘Girls?’

‘Probably would be.  What chance you’d strike lucky these days? No guarantees but possible of course.’

Said Lee: ‘We just need to know the lie of the land.  All this is predicated on it being true of course.’

‘So there really is pressure to marry one of these after all?’ added Sven … but with a wry smile.

‘You’re already captured, Lee, you told the girls that.’ Lee smiled, Sven too … he took up the talking.

‘Look, let’s cut to the chase.  The physicality, the way of talking, the interests, the pace, the background … you’ve done your homework, we’ve been matched without us having to do much groundwork. It’s pretty clear who I’d choose.  Can I be sure she’d think so too?’

‘Oh yes,’ said Cam. ‘Assuredly. They’re pretty anxious over there as they’ve also made their choices, subject to you two of course.  Lee? Thoughts?’

‘Both are the most fab femmes I’ve seen in a long, long time, as is Jeanne … yes, you’ve done your homework, you knew the odds before it started.  I’m gone on both to be honest and that’s not just diplomatic bullsh … but I can see … that one lady is maybe going to work out better with Sven, and the other with me … that’s if she wants of course.’

‘Oh she wants all right, Lee, I can tell you that now, she’s having kittens over there.  They said the same thing … I do think genuinely … just as I think you’re both being genuine. Look, boys, as we’ve agreed, we did some pretty thorough homework on you two.  You’d not have even got into our vans if you weren’t right for us. Do you think we backgrounded the girls well enough?  Do you need more?  Do you need more time?’

Sven and Lee looked at one another.  No, they were ready and it was a clear yes.

‘May I call Jeanne and say, ‘All good?’

They nodded, he phoned, they could hear two squeals and a ‘Yay’ from across the way.

‘Ok,’ said Cam, ‘thank goodness that’s over. Now … you’ve already discussed the cost of a ring with Jeanne, it needed to be around that amount each, given what we live on, the girls were fine with those.  Afraid it’s not a ‘two sweethearts wander into a shop’ thing, they were told what was available, each chose for herself, hopefully you’ll both be deliriously happy with the choice, you know their stones, it will be churches in two different places, we bring in the vicars, ours, no best man, no bridesmaids, no reception but there is a honeymoon much, much later, maybe weeks …I’ll explain. Any issues so far, apart from the honeymoon?’  

Heads shook.

‘All right, no children just yet either … afap … that time will come but not until the couple are on lighter duties in another cell for awhile.  There’s a year of this work ahead of you first. You’ll need a break for a few months after that, so will Jeanne and I need a break in turn. We talk it all through then. Again … questions?’

Heads shook again.

II

By mid afternoon, the four had been dropped at two different churches far from each other, as Cam had said … no congregation, just officiated, signed, no reception, the vicars were not even going to send it to government … it was not in the eyes of the state that they were married, it was in the eyes of the Almighty, as Faye said to her betrothed.

Cam came through, concerned about something, the pastor was obviously used to this, he was about to lead the way to a back room.

‘Congrats, Lee, best to you, Faye.’

Faye: ‘Something happened?’

‘Yes it has,’ muttered Cam. ‘After the other wedding, they took the pastor, someone’s betrayed us. A different part of the crew will get onto that. Fen and Tom were the first hit of this new situation, one of our vans was also hit a few days back. No one’s above suspicion … not me, not Jeanne, not our senior advisor, not the crew, nor you lot either. It may even come down to who fails to turn anything up. My feeling is it’s not a serious hit on us at this point, more to plunge us into horror, to sow doubt in our minds, as with Fen. Effective, less organisation required.’

‘And you’re living this way 24/7,’ breathed Lee.

‘Society’s changed, Lee. By the way, did you notice the lady in the white Astra, passenger seat, as you came in?’

‘Across the road? Hair in braids?’

‘Good boy,’ said Faye. ‘Natural blonde?’

‘You’ve got me.’

‘All right, where was her man?’

‘Tell me.’

‘In the rear footwell I’d say. She kept deliberately not turning her head but was still speaking sideways, no phone in sight.’

‘In a holder?’

‘Quite possibly but my money is on him being across the rear footwells because of the side talking.’

‘Correct,’ said Cam, ‘he eventually sat up, we have photos, reg, all that. From Stoke, car not stolen … yes, we still have people in the DVLA but the records needed hacking … 70% of what we do is online, we have our own database, including prints.’

‘We feel,’ said Faye, ‘that the girl is far more than just a factotum, too downdressed, no concession whatever to style, not natural, nor a chav, but look at her hair.’

‘The braids,’ said Lee ‘… they looked well done.’

‘Yes, as if she had a function later. No doubt Cam checked.’

‘We did. Opera this evening with a twist, it’s on our hit list, you two will need to get some hours of sleep, can you postpone the consummation for now, we need you fresh for this evening, this one’s been in the pipeline some time. But first, Lee, here’s the photo of the ‘Tom’ you were meant to have in Stranraer,’ he showed it, ‘and here’s the one killed, found in the ditch. You do see the issue, no?’

‘Then why would Fen even get into the car with such a man, calling him Tom?’

‘Fen’s fiance’s name is also Tom. This was new Tom. Listen to it again please, the last moments before the ditching of the car …’

They listened …

… then once more.

Asked Cam: ‘Well?’

Said Faye, ‘Definitely Fen’s voice, I’ve never heard fiance Tom’s.’

‘This is it, a talk at a local tech college not far away.’

They listened, Faye exclaimed, ‘That’s Field 3, he was delivering with us.’

‘Yes he was but we only have Fen’s word on the tape that there really was any sort of Tom in the car with her anyway. And why would she be telling her own Tom which roads they should be taking? Both being locals? I can buy new Tom being with Fen, even driving … but why would she expect him to know the way if he’s not her Tom? And why towards Stranraer? Who would that benefit?  Looks a getaway to me.’

Lee added, ‘She may have been up to something, not necessarily bad, she may have still been for us … her Tom, you say, had the Audi down with you, same Audi from Stranraer to our HQ, where we processed new Tom. Tell us more about Field 3.’

‘Ok,’ said Cam, ‘she used to stop in during such runs, via the low roads, at her home, so she said. This time round, local Tom used the Audi. Who was in the ditch?’

‘The boyfriend of Miss Braids,’ said Lee. ‘New Tom was dead. Who killed him?  And who killed Fen?’

‘You tell us,’ said Cam.

‘Well clearly, a third party bumped off new Tom, if he was actually driving. My guess is Miss Braids did  … but why?  Some relationship? I’m not sure Fen was even alive.  But why the whole charade? Why was Fen’s body in there, why did the guy not just scarper?’

Faye was thoughtful. ‘Fen’s voice was not live, imho … this is my area of work as you know … it was sampling, put together in a sound lounge. She was murdered, brutally, at her home, either by new Tom or by both Toms, Field 3 then went south, the other took the body in Field 3’s car …’

‘In one, Faye,’ said Cam. ‘Look, Fen did go to her home with this new Tom, her own Tom was also there … snoopy neighbours confirm. Field 3 Tom says they swapped cars … well, they did …he then made the journey to Gretna station in the Audi, then south to us.  This was not as we’d arranged, we’d wanted to observe new Tom but when Field 3 got to Gretna, he had a plausible excuse … that there was a reception committee for new Tom, so no check-in.’

‘What then are we sure of?’ asked Lee. ‘Fen was killed and mutilated, we know that by one or both, then loaded into the Passat.’ Cam nodded. ‘Where’s Field 3 now?’

‘Scarpered. Gone, no sign.’

‘Went back inside,’ put in Faye. ‘Sleeper.’

‘We’re pretty sure,’ said Cam, ‘that Fen’s sound was not live on the recording. What we do know beyond a doubt from the police report, shots etc., was that two people were in that ditch after a tyre blowout, the Passat had slewed one wheel into the ditch. Here’s the photo … new Tom in the ditch, no? What’s the fly in the ointment though?’

‘Braids went rogue.’

‘We think so. New Tom was not new at all, he’s one of the shadow string pullers for them, they call him Antony …’

‘Don’t tell me …’

‘In one … yep … Cleopatra. Why did Braids, Cleopatra in other words, kill Antony? And how? You have a try, Faye.’

‘He dun her wrong,’ she answered in a flash.

‘Only Braids can confirm that, it’s inside biz, their internal matter. You were given new Tom in good faith, Lee, so the rot was how he was ever approved in the first place in NI, before Stranraer. That’s our current task but it’s beyond us at this moment. We’re fed by an Irish cell which has never gone wrong till now. They’ve now severed links with us, so a win-win for dead Antony, plus you’re obviously meant to be deeply suspect yourself, Lee, at the Stranraer end, plus Jeanne and I were the ones brokering the ‘Tom’ deal, so we are too … you see how it works?’

He paused, then added out of the blue, ‘What do either of you know about Tosca?’

Said Faye: ‘You mean the opera? As in Quantum of Solace?’

‘That’s the one. Where is it next being staged? Either of you?’

‘One moment,’ asked Faye, reaching for her minipad.

‘Don’t bother, it’s on this evening at that new farm turned stately home in the Dales.  Not publicised. Either of you heard of the place?’

‘No,’ said Lee, ‘unless it’s Cavaradossi, something new Tom mentioned a few times.’

‘You’ve got part of it … that opera’s being performed tonight at this new theatre, which is a farm with a brutalist sprawl of buildings tucked between two hills and ring fenced to keep the riff-raff out.’

Faye had found reports on French social media. ‘Charming.  Looks just lovely.  Anyway, what’s it to do with us?’

Cam paused a few moments, then laid it out. ‘Think of the game of cricket.  We’re the batsmen and they’re the bowlers, fieldsmen, keeper, umpires, press, plus half the crowd.  Supporting us are the rest of the batting team, except that two of us who are quislings.  

Maybe more than half the crowd, a lot more, tacitly support us, but can never declare that … self preservation, as the monsters above know. To the enemy, it’s all just a game, a jolly jape, the thrill of chasing us down.  If they fail one, two, three times, they don’t care, they refine their technique and eventually get us.  To us, it’s sudden death … or more likely torture first … you saw what happened to Fen.’

‘Why don’t we just escape, disappear?’ asked Faye, though she already knew the answer. 

‘We can and we one day shall but they do have something on us.  We also have consciences … we could no more abandon the others … or those suffering … and they know it.  So the only solution is to nobble the enemy so badly in a war of attrition, bit by bit … and stay alive long enough to do it.’

‘How though does this building complex come into what we’re meant to be doing this evening?’

‘I’ve seen the plans to the building … it’s labyrinthine, it has tunnels below, secret passages, wall blocks which slide out, cameras.  We can’t capture them and they know we know we can’t, so they must therefore offer us a sporting chance in a different way, in order to interest us sufficiently.’

'Go on,' said Lee.

'This opera tonight is Tosca. Do you know the story, apart from what you’ve said so far?'  Blank faces. 'Right, there's a singer, a diva, and she exchanges eyes with a young painter but he's crossed the stasi of the time, whose chief officer has it bad for this diva.  He's after the friend of this painter whom they've labelled a terrorist and they torture the painter for the other’s whereabouts.  The diva hears the screams and tells them where the second man is.’

‘Charming,’ repeated Faye.

‘Oh they love such stories. There's a deal made where if she agrees to do ‘it’ (the act) with the SS chief, which he’s slavering for, he'll agree to let the painter and her go free, out of the country.  Naturally, he lies but so does she.  Instead of letting him do it, she stabs him.  Meanwhile, the painter is to be shot upstairs high in the castle, she 'knows' they're blanks in the guns, , believes the stasi man, she races upstairs, he is shot for real, she then sees them closing in on her ...'

'I do know it,' said Lee. 'Isn't this the one where she leaps off the castle wall?'

'Yes it is,' put in Faye, 'I remember it too, I even saw it one evening.  Yes, she jumps … in the play though it’s onto a big mattress.  Or a stunt double does.'

'That's it,' Cam took it up again.  'They have to stage it outdoors this evening for logistic reasons, tricky in Britain, so there are all sorts of canopies over the stage, up high, the audience is in a giant marquee, it's all on the gravelled area before the main entrance.  It's not even within a courtyard, it's open to three roads not far away.  They could not have made it easier for us ... nor more treacherous either.'

'Ok, got that,' said Lee. 'What's in it for us?  What's our mission?'

'That’s complex.  Playing the diva will be none other than Miss Braids ... Cleopatra.  The programme notes they reprinted had her real lover, Antony, as the painter, going to be interesting, eh?'

'They're going to recognise us anywhere near the place,' objected Faye.

'Yes they are, so we're using four of our Romanian friends instead, already living here in Sheffield ... they know the danger, they’re rougher than we are.’

‘There’s something else going on,’ said Faye. ‘I know that lip line of old, Cam.  Give.’

‘Ok, we’ve already taken Ms Braids.  Cait and two girl friends rocked into the hair salon, used the darts, there was only one other customer, they knew the minders had gone for eats, they got her out through the back, a borrowed van at the end of the lane, dropped at a disused hotel, into the cellar area, she was in comfort once it had worn off, she was fed, her hair was finished by Cait’s mate who’s a hairdresser, a good job, Cleo didn’t know what the hell was going on.  She was obviously scared but delighted by the hair … for free.

She was given a choice.  She’d be dropped in a field if she did as she was told, she’d be dropped in the sea if not.  Believe me, the hair played a large part in that decision.

We said we could prove nothing about her killing Antony but we did want to know about Fen.  We suspected she’d shot out the Passat’s tyre just before the A75 west … why had she?  And was Fen killed there, then mutilated, or was she already dead?  Also, she needn’t name names but had there been someone in the Irish cell, a traitor?’

Said Lee: ‘She’d have seen advantage in that, further mischief.’

‘She did.  She relaxed once she saw the lie of the land, probably laughing inside at how little the kidnapping had bought us, plus she now knows one of our hidey holes.’

Said Faye: ‘She was darted on exiting?’

‘In her food it was.  The apple pies.  Means little, she’s a smart cookie and was being accorded respect here.  Probably won’t help us longterm but just might. So anyway, yes, she was the one who shot out the tyre, meaning he’d crossed her … or else she was appalled at what had been done to Fen.’

‘Tawdry people,’ muttered Lee. ‘But why go to that extent with Fen?’

‘Psy-ops.  Terror. Fear.  Some revenge.’

‘What happens tonight?’

‘Assuming Cleopatra makes it back from the field … she had her phone which we’d hacked and have the goods on those people … then she’ll show up.  What she tells pseudo-Antony about the incident, which may or may not have been reported by their boys … well, she has a dilemma.  Why did we go so soft on her for example?  Hopefully that will stir up some trouble between them.  Our four Romanians will be there, we bought four tickets through a double agent at the brokers who sold the land.  They’ve been primed on the exact way to take her a second time if she turns up.  I’m pretty certain she’ll get back and they’ll want her, personally, making the jump.’  Their aim is mayhem among us.

‘I’m assuming,’ said Faye, ‘that they’ve laid traps for us.’

‘Undoubtedly.  Our boys know to sit away from any possible needles, they’re armed with blowguns, darts again, usual thing.  That hell for leather ride out is the crucial part.’

Dark Logic 2 here ... Dark Logic 3 here

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3. Cleopatra

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Dark Logic 2 here … Dark Logic 4

I

'There's one thing I just don't get about this hit,' Sven shook his head in the back of yet another van. 'Why? What does it buy us? We never get Antony, as he's dead ... at best, his double is taken or killed at great risk to ourselves ... why do we want Cleo again?'

Cam breathed out and leaned forward. 'I'm not sure he's dead ... someone's dead all right ... who plays the painter this evening?  Why are they even staging this in the rain to bait us? That's not Q and A, it's only one question. Why would we want Cleo again? It's a question which will puzzle them. Then, if we take her, questions put to her in a similar ‘answer or enjoy the swim’ way might give me some answers to a few other anomalies.

At a risk to us ... yes ... but taking these two is major ... even down to how easy they made it for us ... plus they hope to take us ... me. 

Sven, there really are reasons.'

Said Lee: 'Wonderful weather ... outdoor performance.  In England. In autumn. The gravelled area is going to be sodden underfoot, despite the marquee and canopies, it's going to be interesting to see that van take off too.'

'Driver knows the places for the tyres ... it's been studied. Any more questions, boys?'

'The vans,' said Lee. 'How on earth do we have access to so many? What with cars going electric, killing off motoring ... ah yes ... just answered my own question, didn't I?  Only way to go in Britain today, only way to get away with it. Still ... we'd have to have tentacles in so may places.'

'We do. We must, Lee and Sven. You can pull out of this, boys, if you're not satisfied. Not that you'll be in the immediate vicinity.'

'No,' said Sven, 'of course we're doing it.' Lee agreed.

'Good,' concluded Cam. 'There's something not quite right going on, boys, beyond the bleedin’ obvious … and it's happening obliquely ... it's puzzling me all right.  Say nothing of these things to any of the women and don't ask me why.'

'You're quite worried,' said Sven.

'Yes I am.'

II

The set was magnif, the mat seemed solid enough as one of the crew jumped to show Cleo how to go about it, she nodded her understanding and went back inside the building.  The ‘shooting’ of the painter was to be at ground level on the gravel at the front, backs against the building, Tosca then rushes inside, up the stairwell and out onto the platform above.

.o0o.

Tosca's 'Non la sospiri, la nostra casetta' went down well with the audience, the 'Qual'occhio al mondo' was fine ... and so the evening proceeded.

.o0o.

In Act 2, Scarpia continued to barely manage his dastardly deeds, the 'this is Tosca's kiss' stabbing now occurred, obviously not real life dead but had to lie there, the scene ended, the cunning veil swept across, the audience breathed.

.o0o.

Act 3 and the two lovers urgently conversed, Spoletta the henchman and the murder squad appeared, the painter was backed up to the wall, the audience awaited Tosca running helter skelter up the inside stairs.

The four Romanians in the audience, head man reporting to Cam, readied ... they knew it was about to go insane.

.o0o.

Shots are fired all right, 'Antony' drops but so does Cleo, the nearest Romanian runs straight to her while others take out the hit trio with darts, for real, the audience is in uproar, Scarpio rushes out but also drops to the ground, they get limp Cleo into the waiting van and pile in themselves, the van tears off as if in a slalom course ...

... there's commotion at the far gate by the road, cars are now pursuing the van, shots ring out, the first pursuer skews left, blocking the rest on the narrow exit road.

III

Cleo was now being helped out of the flak jacket but the round had caught the edge, heavily bruising her, also taking a chunk from her shoulder which was going to need attention ... they were heading there now.

Sven was the first aider, Cleo was weak, Cait was soft, she shuffled up in the van and cradled Cleo, who smiled weakly and asked if Cait would do her hair again.

'Assuredly,' smiled Cait, running her fingers through Cleo's hair.

'Drink this,' said Sven. 'Yes, it's going to put you out.  Nothing political … you just need to be asleep.'

IV

'Where is she now?' asked Lee, in the back of the van.

'Still in the cellar,' said Cam.  'Second cellar. There may or may not be a UK-wide woman hunt after her.  Jeanne and Faye are attending.  What's your first question?'

'Did the Romanians escape unscathed?'

'They did.  Second question?'

'Dead and wounded overall?'

'You, Sven and Cait did your part well, shooting out the tyres of the right cars, clearing that gateway, no dead from that or anything else, just very sore crashers of cars … theirs. Third question is why she was shot with a real round if they knew she had a flak jacket on. Bullet to her head would have ended it. We need the girls' reports.'

V

Cait, Faye, a nurse and two Fields were in the room, Cam and Lee were 'elsewhere'.

‘You two are crazy, bonkers.’  Cleo shook her head with the restored updo. ‘Look, we’re after you to torture and kill and what do you do whenever you capture me?  You feed me a whole pizza and do my hair again, gratis.’

‘Yes,’ agreed Cait.

‘I don’t understand.  Not complaining, mind, I’ve seen what you three did to our plant Traque.  That was not nice.’

‘Wasn’t us.’

‘No, you just handed him over … that’s worse in some ways.  At least I …’

Silence from Jeanne and Cait.

‘All right,’ continued Cleo. ‘ we know the rules, we know the quid pro quo, you can’t nail me for Fen … and Antony was half an accident, not my fault he couldn't drive once his tyre somehow blew out.  But I do see I must give.  Plus I’m well aware that two captures does not exactly … er … look so good on my record.  Have I been turned?  Even if I’m luring you into false security, playing on your compassion, firstly it’s a dangerous game and then, even were this a ploy, can they still trust me after Antony?  Ball’s in your court.  So yes, I’ll play.’

Cait went and got out the mini-tortes for all of them, for the Fields by the far wall too.  Cleo continued to shake her head.

‘Insane, truly insane. These are unfair tactics, Cait.’  

At that, Cait smiled. A pause. 

Cleo: ‘Right, yes, ok, I shot out the tyre, you know the rifle already. She was already mutilated, I swear … and I know by whom.  That’s partly why but the other reason you’ve guessed.  Yes, it’s so. I waited, saw the car was in the ditch, then went over to speak with him ... I don't know, half hoping he'd still be alive, half not.'

'Awkward if he'd been alive.'  

'Not sure if I’d have finished him.  He’d betrayed me, had Antony.  I still haven’t pieced together quite when and why it turned against me.  Maybe my first captivity with you.’

Longer pause. Cait murmured, 'You're lying.'

Cleo looked at them, making up her mind. ‘Yes, he was alive.'

'Between the eyes?'

She said nothing.  Eventually: 'It was quick. So …er … what next?’

‘Join us.  You have current intel we want, you can't go back to them … you have the skill set.’

‘Not enough to evade you.’

‘We’re not bad at this.’

She looked at Cait, making her mind up ... but over something else. She looked from one to the other, then said, 'One of you is selling you out, you're aware of that I suppose, for money of course ... but maybe for something else as well. The photos we made sure Cam received … me in the car and one of ours sitting up. No one sat up, it was staged.'

'You lie,' repeated Cait.

'Not this time. If you think I'm thinking of my own survival, yes I am. I'm not a super-intelligence, as Antony was, but I'm not totally thick.  If I give you duff data, hoping you'll be caught before you can get to me ... well that's not a wise game. Inserting this thing now about someone betraying you ... listen, I know your Cam actually said that to you the other day.  Someone's reporting to us ... not to me personally. I'll give you better than this but not now, not in here.'

She took a sip of her coffee. 'Me even saying this to you ... you do know about it, so it's hardly news, but it places me at huge risk ... I can't even afford to avoid this person as it signals that I know who it is.  I'll save you the question ... it's a girl.  What next?'

No reply.

She went on. 'You don't even know what to do with me, do you?  Kill me?  Turn me over to that lot ... yours I mean, or more likely turn me over to ours ... you see my fear, don't you?  I need the loo. Perhaps you think I'll scarper with this person at the first opportunity. I can tell you now, it won't be, you also change codes half daily and each knows only part of it. I'll give you this one for free ... you six are not the only ones receiving notifications.  Others hear it too.  And I'm telling you it's through a girl.'

'And you know her.'

'No, I don't know her, I know it’s a girl from bits and pieces I’ve heard. I know it must be.  By a process of elimination, I think I know who ... we know where the males are at any one time, you've sprung three of ours, including the two Toms, there are a couple more but they're not close enough to the centre. This girl though can end your cell, I'm telling you that now.  You do know why I'm telling you this.'

Said Faye: 'Because the cell must not be blown, either for your own survival or also because you must redeem yourself in their eyes.'

'Yes, that's it. But you have infiltrators too among us and that's where it's going to come from. It's a rotten motivator, fear, but it's mine at the moment.  Maybe I'll get to love you, even start to believe in you, maybe just admire you.'  

It was not enough, so she went on. 'Change your code system in such a way it must eventually flush this person out. Don't give me the third degree, this is me begging you now, please don't hand me over yet, I'll tell you all I can afford to, don't press me on names. I'm telling you straight though, change your code system, right now. I'll tell you some of our codes anyway.  And don't tell me you could get anything out of me if you want - you think I don't know that?'  She lost her equilibrium.

She recovered enough to speak … tough cookie. ‘Let her walk, this girl, let her slip away if she wants, give her enough rope.  See, she knows if she escapes you and comes to our side, our lot won’t trust her in the least … it’s hours, days, of interrogation until she dies. If you give her to your people, you know what happens, she dies too, same result.  So she’ll try to escape altogether … head for Africa, China, wherever. Let her. Give her a head start.  Even leave credits somewhere convenient.’

‘And you?  Give you the same?’

‘Did I ask? With me … I want to see more first, before making a decision. You want to watch me too … our time is not yet.’

VI

Cleo had to be moved to their safehouse north-west of Stoke, more Peak District.  This involved B roads and she was au fait enough to show nervousness as they turned onto the B5053, they had only so much time before hitting the A523, going straight on towards Warslow, or so she reckoned.

This part had her greatly worried and worse was that they weren't in the back of a windowless van, the cell's usual type, this one had had opening side windows put in, though centrally locked ... she could not escape that way, plus she'd noticed the passenger up front had a muzzle pointed at her through a hole.  This was a van for a specific purpose.

It was going to be too dead easy to relieve the Field on her left of his Glock 43 but she was not going to be able to do the same on her right across the aisle. Plus left Field had his window three quarter down ... was the man an idiot? This was heady stuff, she wasn't high on it, she wasn't getting any buzz, she was on full alert though, scared, something right Field could feel even two feet away across the gap and the one with the muzzle at the front was well aware too.

She felt no preparedness from any party at this point, either in the vehicle or outside ... meaning no one seemed instantly ready for anything from out there ... they were insta-ready for any move she made though.

Knowing the terrain, which she did and they knew she did, it was going to be after the A523 that anything would happen, it could be from absolutely anywhere past the A523 ... sniper, assault, low stone walls, whatever ... it was a nightmare, security wise.  

Why were they doing this?  Why were they torturing her like this?

.o0o.

Ah, now she saw it ... at the first bend past the A road ... man in fatigues on the left, hunkered down, not badly hidden but he seemed unaware of a second guy a quarter mile upfield ... it struck her that she was completely in the hands of this cell now ... what was their level of competence?  She was scared.

She saw the letter D on the stone wall, it looked in place but it had no place there, she knew this road, the D was new, it had been made to look part of the stonework. They'd tried to dirty it, wear it down, ye olde wall and all that ... and yep, there was the O now ... if there was a V next, she pretty well knew the bridge would be the place where it would all happen and she'd also know the action required on her part ... it was falling into place.

And there it was, the V ... it was going to be Glutton Bridge.  She didn't need left Field now asking if she was hungry, very hungry, she didn't need that, she could do with some hints though, such as who wanted her dead, who wanted her alive, what should be her first move? She had to think it through ... fast ... because there were no more than two minutes, even at this slow pace. And they knew that she knew about left Field very well, he was too secure, unlike the real Field on the right.

She was assessing the Fields in her head ... this one on the right was new to her, the one driving she knew of, both hard boys, as Lee was in a different way ... she read him as ruthless ... sense of humour when it wasn't duty ... if it was ... ruthless. Three guys in the front cabin, two beside her, the girls not around.

.o0o.

It was fast, in the space of seconds ... gunfire all over the hill, none from the right side of the road ... weird, but as she'd surmised.

Then she saw the bridge ahead, knowing what she had to do, she grabbed left Field's gun and shot him through the temple, flinging the gun out of the window, hands straight to her head, no one else up front nor right Field himself moved, all totally bizarre, left Field was slumped against the seat back, someone up front called, 'Right door, straight into the gully once we swerve and stop.'  It was Lee.

The driver swerved and ditched the van, they all piled out into the soggy ditch smelling of cow, Lee threw her another Glock, she opened, checked, then nodded. 

Lee: 'Eyes midnight through to 2:30, won't be ours, take him out, even if a rustic.'  She nodded again.

All sorts of gunfire and pyrotechnics were going on up at the bridge, something exploded, some vehicle, it was furious up there, then silence.

.o0o.

If that had been bizarre, another van pulling up on their side of the road some thirty yards away was surreal, they ran and piled into the back, Cleo handed her pistol to Lee, who removed the magazine and holstered it inside his bomber jacket, other side to his own.

The sense of relaxation and yet tension was palpable. Cam told her to be super-relaxed, they were going for a drink and a bite to eat, the others were there for the briefest of meals.

VII

Not a bad pub, The John Glossop, lunch had opened, usual chain fayre, one of them had phoned ahead and ordered the set menu ... chicken, ok?  Fine, had said all.

They knew not to talk shop, someone started arguing over League versus Union.  Silence during the eating of.

They finished, paid and departed.

.o0o.

7.2 miles later, their car now dropped them in a layby, then disappeared around the bend, they climbed into the back of a waiting van and there was Faye, as expected. In the front cabin, she told them, was Sven driving, no one else was in the front.

Cleo was nervous again ... another cellar she suspected, this time no dart, no blindfold. She'd half expected and even hoped the six would be together ... that they weren't, that it was these two and Sven, was mightily curious to her, as it aligned with what she knew.  

Lee suddenly said, ‘No cellar, no safehouse, no braids this time.  Just answers in the back of this van.  So talk, Cleo.  What your part ever was, what they really want with us, what you can tell us of a traitress.  Today's operation first.’

‘The operation, right. I guessed there was no safehouse, never was, the bridge was the operation.  Tell me, what was going to be the decider for you … if I’d gone for the one on the right, if I’d aimed any further forward than 90 degrees … what was going to be the trigger?’

‘Both of those but any motion forward with the arm would have triggered me.’

‘Phew.' She felt genuinely chilled to the blood. 'Between the eyes?’

‘Second shot only, first to the heart. Don't dwell on things like that, Cleo.’

‘But you knew I knew about the Field on my left.’

‘We strongly suspected, you made it obvious too.  Any more on the exercise overall?’

‘Exercise, you call it.' She breathed out evenly. 'I don’t know enough about the players.  The word Dove on the wall told me about left Field, yes, I knew you’d leave that job to me.  The man behind the parapet and the one up the hill?’

‘Both friendly, both alive now.  This is public knowledge anyway now in your community but we lost two, this Field was yours. We’re down to just two genuine Fields for now, other than Sven, that we think we can vouch for.  Your ex-lot did not do well.  Yet your far-offs disappeared to fight another day.’

‘As they do.’ Pause. ‘You want I talk defection now?’

‘Please.’

‘I want to join you, you’re good enough with your inter-cell work, except for Ireland but there was a specific reason for that, related to the one we're calling the traitress. 

Talking defection, the big question for me is do I wish to be forever in your position … or instead in my old one?  I’d have said my old one of course … but yours is more exciting … more worthwhile. Less treacherous, a huge factor with me now.  The decider though was Antony, the snake.  Set me up.’  

There was no reply, so she continued. ‘I did see it as the grand game, I did not see the sheer misery until Fen. They’re … maniacs, empire builders, users, truly vicious.  Never get caught by them. Not nice. Pitiless, truly pitiless. They do it for fun, for amusement.’

‘We know.  We're well aware.’

‘That act of trust by you … that was nice, Lee, throwing me the gun … and live rounds too.  That really did get me wobbly in the head. I’ve no doubt Sven is excellent in the field, you’re all battle hardened except Faye ... yet she can scale walls ... yep, we put two and two together.

Did I support their agenda? I really didn't care, I made the right noises, rising in the organisation that I was expected to walk over my grandma for.  When I saw Fen, did that suddenly change me?  Did conscience suddenly kick in? Not really. More like fear. The horror of 'Tom', what I needed to do, the horror of Fen ... well, I shut it out and did what I had to.  Does that make me bestial?  Maybe. 

These people training us ... it's their life's work, isn't it?  To produce such 'operatives' as me, as Antony. They have no other way, the operatives, it's too terrible to contemplate their crimes.  It's not even bitter childhood trauma in all cases ... sometimes it's just a totally cold nature.  Dispassionate.  Most were abused in childhood, I was ... from three years old, a bit late in my case.  Nasty business, no one wants to think about it.

I'm not saying your cell can't reverse things to a point, nuisance value ... you captured me twice ... I was furious with Antony, absolutely furious.  

This traitress of yours, you want me to get to this ... on big money … she’s supporting an extended family, that family’s been sick in the head for generations ... there are very good reasons she would turn you in or turn on you.  You have to get this through your heads, guys ... sane things like loyalty do not come into this, truly they don’t ... it's truly dog eat dog, climbing that greasy pole, stabbing people in the back who are no longer useful. You're expected to ... if you don't, you're suspect yourself. If anything, taking out Antony reassured them, not taking out left Field though ... that did not reassure them. They’ll probably conclude I'm freelance or trigger happy, even loony ... a loose cannon.

'And are you?' 

You lot are the outlaws to us, this time's a sweet time for you right now, even in your hardships, even with that sword of Damocles over you.  You have your grim humour too.  Our humour is always mocking, cruel.  Once I saw I was really a nothing, just a lackey, disposed of when no longer useful … well I can say your shelf life, guys, is short but it’s a sweet, short life, there’s even love with you.  Back there is only treachery and suspicion of me.  I’ve no choice, there’s no escape to Haiti, Greenland, anything like that.

Am I loony? Possibly when pushed, cornered, the rest of the time like this. I can love someone ... how long for though?  

All right ... the traitress, I'll save you a lot of angst ... no, it's not Faye. I suspect you've already dealt with her.  At this point, I'm as close to loving someone as I can be ... the very fact that we never took Cam or Jeanne.

What you have in mind for me is one thing … what I have in mind is I’m alone, I'm not celibate, there's going to be a spare man.  You know, I'm getting the idea she already has walked.'

'She has. Cam's a mess.'

'Is she ... alive?'

'As far as we know. And no, she was not handed over. However, I'd not rate her chances highly ... we're but one cell, even cell leaders don't know everything.'

'The advisor? What of him?'

'Yes,' said Faye, 'he was never inside with us, he never asked, never wrangled, played the independent advisor to both sides, very dangerous game but he was protected by his people, the department ... he was their eyes and ears ... it worked but now he's seconded to Denmark, split from his girlfriend, wife divorced years ago, one son, one daughter in their teens, with the mother.  Lee and I feel he's not a major factor.'

'I wasn't sure about him, we weren't sure, he played his cards close ... but we knew he'd been transferred. It was one of the reasons I thought she'd soon walk ... your traitress I mean.'

'They were close, yes.' A tear came to Faye's eye, lip quivering.

'Yes,' said Cleo, 'but imperial all the same, did you not think? I didn't say imperious, I said imperial, like the Roman purple. She carried herself like a Queen.  Is she with the Advisor?'

'We don't know, as we said. We'd say so.'

'I don't fancy her chances,' mused Cleo, 'I really don't ... if they took her, she'd give ... and that's us back in danger.'

'Us?' asked Lee.

'You chill me at times ... I had hoped ... well you know.'

'How can we trust you?'

'How could you trust Jeanne? Look, all the codes I can give you ... they'll be changed, all the personnel ... they'll be reassigned, I can give you many snippets about their operation but I think you'd know most of it. Oh I'll give it you without question ... high grade, not chaff ... but they know I'm only of nuisance value now ... as you are. That can keep you alive in one sense ... you're not prioritised and besides, they'll give me enough fishing line, in their eyes, then reel me in. I'm no Manchurian, it would be some blackmail if they could.'

'Why aren't you Manchurian?'

'Unnecessary, not high grade material, too diminutive in most ways, ambitious but too much of a loose cannon.'

'And you'd expect Cam to accept you?'

'As a working partner, just that ... anything develops, it develops, anything which doesn't ... doesn't. What else have I got?'

'As a plant, Cleo, you're perfect.'

She groaned. 'I know, I know ... you think I don't know? How hard did they try at the opera?'

'That was peculiar ... they used a live round, yet gave you a flak jacket and fired at that. There are anomalies, Cleo ... yet I buy they tried hard at the gate, lost many men in the process. And at the bridge, the one on the hill we took out ... the muzzle was on you, not on me.'

'Thank you.'

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