“With uncle,” I said, aware my speech was slurred.
“What’s his name?”
“Uncle Howard.” I giggled. The boss would love me calling him that.
“Is that Howard Leech-Thomas?”
“You know him too? Can you call him? I don’t feel well.”
“We’ll call him soon, Rebecca. Why are you staying with him?”
“Because I haven’t anywhere else to go.”
“Why not?”
“Because I’m all alone.” My head was heavy and I felt as if sleep was close.
“Where’s Rob Curtis, Rebecca?”
*DANGER*
“Who?”
“Rob Curtis. You drove his car.”
*DANGER* The car’s identity had changed, so how did they know?
“Uncle gave me the car to use. He said the last owner is dead, so I can borrow it. Poor Robbie died, he went away and never came back.”
“Do you know Robbie, Rebecca?”
“No, I never met him. I think he worked for Uncle Howard. Poor uncle, he was very sad, I think he liked Robbie.”
I couldn’t keep my eyes open any more. A hand held my chin and shook me.
“One more question, Rebecca and then you can sleep. What happened to Hugh Standing?”
*DANGER*
I shook myself awake.
“Huge what?” I then giggled as I thought I’d managed to be cleverly funny.
“Hugh Standing, he’s a man.”
“Is he nice? I like some men.”
I slumped back onto the bed. I knew I had to listen to them for as long as I could. I just couldn’t remember why.
“She doesn’t know anything.”
“How much did you give her?” said the bossy voice.
“Enough. She would have to answer our questions. I think the Brits must have thrown her to make us show out.”
“Then it worked, damn it. Will she remember anything?”
“No, she’ll just have a headache and a hangover. Shall we put her into the house?”
“No, we need to be subtle. Have we got Colonel Leech-Thomas’s home number?”
“Of course, we’re monitoring it, or trying to. The bastards have encrypted it.”
“Then get Dick to call him and tell him that she had too much and would it be possible for someone to pick her up. They won’t know about him yet.”
Sleep overtook me at that point. Everything went black.
Chapter Eight.
Awareness crept up on me. My head ached and I felt completely disorientated. I remembered my training - remain still, and give your enemy no indication you are awake.
“Rebecca, can you hear me?”
It was a friendly voice. I opened my eyes. Howard looked down at me. I was in bed back at his house.
“Don’t shout, boss, they fucked with my brain!”
“What happened?”
“I was a naïve fool, I’m sorry.”
“Stow it, what happened?” his voice was stern.
“I was taken by the Americans. I assume it was the agency. One called Steve, who still has my stiletto mark in his chest; an Englishman called Richard Meecham; a cabbie, also English, and American called Warren, whom I knocked out, and a boss who called himself Martin, but I think he was military. I thought of him as the Major. There might have been others.”
I went through what I could remember.
Howard walked over to the window.
“I’m sorry, boss, I fucked up.”
“No, you did brilliantly. They fell for your story and by doing so have played right into our hands. We now know that they haven’t got him, but were obviously expecting him!”
“Who, Standing?”
“Exactly. My guess would be that he approached the Americans, offered the device for a tidy sum. They looked at the potential and made a deal. But, he never arrived. Why not?”
“Someone else got to him?”
“Exactly, but who?”
“I think it’s possible that he didn’t do his home work, literally,” I said, recalling his file.
“What do you mean?”
“His wife, Sarah, comes from an impoverished aristocratic family, right?”
“Right. What has she got to do with this?”
“Bear with me, boss, please. Now, I assume he wants to take his family with him, so why are they all still here?”
“You tell me.”
“Because she didn’t want to go? Look, I don’t know, I’m fishing, but assume she’s made a different deal, probably for more money and with someone else. She likes living here, so why run away to America when you can stay here and be filthy rich?”
“Why?”
“She hates Americans. I read the file. Her grandfather died an alcoholic due to having lost a fortune on several business deals. I checked. He invested heavily with some American companies who did the dirty on him. He lost everything and Sarah feels nothing but mistrust and animosity towards them.”
“How do you know?”
“The hairdressers.”
“What?”
“I saw an article in a magazine when I was at the hairdressers. I didn’t think anything of it at the time, but it all makes a strange sort of sense now. They were interviewing various impoverished semi-aristocratic families. Her father was one of those interviewed. Sarah was visiting her parents at the time of the interview. She made a caustic comment about an offer made by a wealthy American Anglophile who offered to assist them to renovate their family home some years ago. She said something like, “I’d rather burn in hell than accept anything from an American.” So, I think when Hugh told her to pack, as he thought they were off to California, she may well have made other arrangements, possibly without Hugh’s knowledge.”
“But with whom?”
“That’s why we have the intelligence service, isn’t it, boss? Look, it’s only one theory among many. The bastard could have been kidnapped at gunpoint and is in North Korea, making his device under duress, for all we know.”
“So, we only know that we don’t have him and the Americans don’t have him. But the Americans suspect we sent you into the facility, how?”
“Satellite, or some other spook stuff. They have amazing technology. I wasn’t looking for them, just the security of the facility. They may have seen me go in, then being removed in a body bag and assumed I was killed. They identified the Range Rover, even though it’s on new plates.”
“It must be chipped. Damn! I never suspected they were this active on this one!”
“I think I managed to convince them I really am your niece, so to speak.”
He chuckled. “I met a very nice man who explained you were sharing a taxi and collapsed on him. I knew it was bullshit, he knew I knew, and we just pretended it was all fine and dandy. I’m pleased you remembered your training.”
“So am I. It was so fucking hard, boss, as my mind was all over the place. I really forgot who the hell I was!”
“How do you feel now?”
“Hung over, if you must know,” I said. I realised I was still in my underwear.
“Who put me to bed?”
“I did, and although your underwear is somewhat more exotic than I’m used to, I do have daughters, you know.”
“Thanks. I feel so bloody stupid. Rob would never have been taken like that.”
“Rob wouldn’t have got the intelligence you just have. Don’t feel bad. Remember the Americans are supposed to be our friends, think what our enemies would do.”
“That’s the problem, isn’t it? We have no idea who our enemies are any more.”
“Well, if you feel up to it, I’ll buy you dinner.”