Sergeant Edwards spoke to her and then came over to me. He was a dapper little man, with very short hair and a little moustache. As with most PTIs he was physically very fit, but then that’s all he did all day. I looked up as he approached.
“Miss, I’ve been asked to subject you to a stringent physical test to ascertain your level of fitness and competence. The doctor tells me that you’ve been passed medically fit, is that so?”
“Yes, Sergeant Edwards, that is correct.”
He looked surprised that I knew him. He was simply wearing a white vest with the crossed sword motif of the PTI with dark tracksuit trousers and army boots.
“Have we met?”
“Ah, don’t you remember me? You must have been pissed. Guinness, isn’t it?”
He smiled, with his neat moustache bristling.
“I think I’d remember you, Miss, no matter how pissed I might have been.”
“Ah, but Mrs Edwards wouldn’t approve, would she?”
“I don’t know what you’ve heard about me, but I know for a fact we’ve never met. Let’s get started without any more shenanigans!”
He sent me on a run around a track. It was four hundred metres round a circuit, so I had to do five miles, or eight kilometres. After twenty laps, he permitted me a short respite and then had me in the gymnasium to test my standing jumps, bench presses, press-ups, chin ups, abdominal curls and many other mind-blowingly boring exercises.
This new body of mine was magnificent! My recovery rate was excellent. As soon as I finished the run and had a drink of water, I felt fresh enough to run the five miles again. I pushed myself to the limits, exceeding my previous best for every exercise, even the bench presses.
Ron Edwards started to treat me with slight respect, as even he acknowledged that I was in superb physical shape.
“Not bad, Miss,” he said, grudgingly. That from him was the highest praise that anyone could ever hear.
“That’s enough. Go take a shower, Miss,” he said, and I grinned at him. I saw him walk over to where Carlene was sitting. She was looking at me with faint incredulity on her face.
I showered and changed into my skirt and pullover, I had nice thick tights on, as it was so damn cold. There was no hairdryer in the changing room, but my short fuzz was easy to dry. I wondered if it would actually be worth growing too long.
I ventured forth to find Carlene waiting for me, wrapped up in a thick coat and scarf.
“That was amazing,” she said.
I just smiled.
“The Colonel wants to see us both. Do you know why?” she asked.
“Yes. I think ‘eventually’ has arrived.”
Chapter Nine
Carlene’s face was a picture.
We were alone in Howard’s office, as he’d left us while he concluded various administrative jobs relating to my new identity.
She gasped aloud several times as I told my story, and a couple of times I swear there were tears in her eyes. It was bad enough as I spoke about my coming round in hospital with no memory for a while, but when I got to the kidnapping and drug induced interrogation, she gasped audibly. However, when I told her about my family and my impending funeral, she actually reached out and took my hand.
I brought her up to date, leaving out a certain vet in Hertfordshire, as I thought life was complicated enough.
When I finished, Howard returned and capped it off.
“We’ve sorted out your identity and bank problems. Here’s your new birth certificate, passport, driver’s licence and company credit card. They’re all legitimate, by the way. I’ve arranged your new car to be registered in your name, and taken out insurance. Now you’re twenty-one again, you’ll find the insurance premium has rocketed.”
“New car?”
He smiled. “I think the Range Rover has outlived its usefulness. Besides, we found an Agency chip in the wiring loom. It’s gone to the graveyard of all good cars.”
“You scrapped it?”
“No, we sold it on Ebay,” he said with a naughty grin. Some poor sod would be driving the CIA all over the shop.
“By the way, we’ve used the temporary national insurance number they gave you and made you official. All your existing funds have been frozen, and will be dealt with as for any death. I’ve transferred the same amount to another account in your new name with the same bank, but a different branch. The chequebook and cards will be through in a few days. I’ve added a small sum in grateful appreciation of work done. I hope you will find it generous. You are officially a civil servant employed by my department at the Home Office. Your actual job title is my personal assistant, so that gives us some leeway to interpret as we see fit.”
I was amazed at the speed and efficiency with which he had made it all happen.
“Thanks Boss, you never cease to amaze me,” I said.
“As for Rob, I’ve managed to take a certain detective inspector into my confidence up in Hull, and have closed the file on the strange case of Rebecca Carter. In addition, together we’ve concocted a story that Rob’s body was found by some hikers. We even managed to get some rather grisly photographs of a nasty looking corpse wrapped up in a plastic sheet. The full press release has been fudged as if it’s a government cover-up. As I said yesterday, Rob will be laid to rest with full military honours tomorrow. His ex-wife and son will be in attendance, as shall I.”
I felt enormous sadness hit me, as it was like closing a door to my son. It was so tough that I started to cry. Carlene put her arm around me, as I fought for control. It took several minutes.
“Are you all right?” Howard asked.
I nodded.
“Good, now, we’ve some serious work to do trying to locate Standing. Carlene, I’d like you to go somewhere and teach Rebecca a little about being a girl.”
“Like what? She seems about as together as anyone I’ve met.”
“I leave that up to you to discuss. I hope you have nothing planned for the next seven days?”
“Nothing I can’t postpone, but what about my work?”
“This is your work. Young Rebecca is going back to work and so I want her ready, willing and able to get stuck in without having minor anxieties over feminine intricacies.”
I was grinning and Carlene laughed.
“Okay, boss, what about Harrison, you said I could see him?” I said.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea yet. We want to see if we can wring anything more out of him first, so go and have fun for a week, but then I might let you play with him when you come back, okay?”
I smiled. “Received and understood.”
Howard passed me an envelope.
“Enjoy it, as we don’t often give out such perks. But I want you two well out of harm’s way for the next week.”
I opened the envelope. There were two tickets for Paris on the Eurostar and a reservation at the Hotel Prince de Galles on Avenue George-V, in Paris.
I grinned. “Don’t worry, boss, we’ll enjoy it as much as we can.” I passed the tickets to Carlene, who gasped with surprise.
My new car was a bright red Mazda MX5 convertible. I actually almost managed a giggle when I saw it. It was so in keeping with my new persona. Howard must have had fun selecting it. I got in, secure in the fact that I didn’t have to worry about licences and stuff. I felt some relief at being a real person again.