He sat in the lounge, the Glock resting on his lap. “Sally found him there at 09:30, asleep. He was holding the Glock, she took it from him and shook him, Dave, wake up and get into bed. She helped him undress, he was asleep almost instantly.
Sally took over, she sat in the lounge with a coffee, the Glock on the table in front of her, she switched on the TV then muted the sound. The BBC News channel came up, scrolling along the bottom was the breaking news, there were details of a gangland shooting in Essex. Picking up the hotel phone, she ordered breakfast for one, “knock softly when you bring it up, the others are sleeping.” The hotel phone rang a few minutes later, she answered it quickly so as not to waken Dave. She was asked if Mr. Stretton was there, “yes, but he is sleeping, I am his partner,” “I am the duty manager, Claude DuBois, may I come up to your room to discuss certain matters?” Sally guessed it was in relation to last night, “yes, but only into the lounge and I would ask that you talked quietly, the others are sleeping.” He said to expect him in ten minutes. There was a soft knocking on the door, Sally picked up the gun, she went over to the door, “yes?” “Room service, your breakfast.” The gun was ready as she opened the door, seeing the maid, she slipped it into the back of her jeans. She stayed by the door as the trolley was wheeled in, she swapped it with the one from earlier, as she wheeled it out Claude DuBois arrived, “Miss Fellowes? I’m Claude DuBois,” he spoke English perfectly with a French accent. “Come in and sit down.” She adjusted the tee shirt to cover the butt of the gun. “Whatever you have to say will have to be while I eat breakfast, I’m starving, would you like a coffee?” He thanked her for the offer, Sally brought another cup and saucer in from the bedroom and poured two cups, “no milk or sugar.” Sally ate the hot food quickly, Claude said nothing, he watched the TV, there was now a reporter standing outside the gates of the factory, in the background were a row of police cars. “What a terrible story, who could do such a thing.” Sally looked at the screen, it was now saying there were several dead inside, she recognised the gates and the building. When she had finished and was on her second cup of coffee and now eating toast, Claude started. “I know Mr. Stretton is a valued guest, but from the report last night of his comings and goings, I am rather disappointed. Will you explain what went on?” “Excuse me for a moment,” Sally went into the bedroom, she returned with Dave’s wallet and her purse, she took out both their ID’s and handed them over for Claude to examine. “Something took place last night, two people are in the other bedroom, one of them has been attacked, we are looking after her.” Before she could say any more, Dave’s phone was vibrating, she had put it on silent. The caller asked where Dave was, Sally said he was sleeping as he had been up for forty eight hours. She thought she knew who it was but asked anyway, “if you’re the Prime Minister,” Claude looked at Sally, “what did we have to eat last night?” She listened to the reply. “Sorry about that, Dave taught me to trust no one. We’re at Flemings Hotel, the package is damaged, but only on the surface.” Sally was listening again, “No, lunchtime is too early, what about dinner this evening, I’m sure there are private dining rooms here,” she looked across the room, there was a nod. “Sir, the duty manager is here with me at the moment, I think he came up to throw us out, or at least give David and myself a bollocking, can you sort it out?” The conversation finished shortly after that, Sally moved to refill her coffee, she brought the jug over to Claude and refilled his cup, “you were going to throw us out, weren’t you?” “No, I wanted to emphasise Flemings Hotel was a respectable establishment and antics like last night were frowned upon. Is that a gun in the back of your jeans?” He was staring at the back of Sally as she returned the jug to the trolley. “Yes, the people next door, are very important. I’m sure many of your other guests, bring their own security with them, especially the ones from the middle East. We will not disturb any of your guests, there were none about when we arrived last night.” Claude drank his coffee he couldn’t think of anything to say. “Will you arrange for a private dining room for tonight, a round table, four, possibly five for dinner, the Prime Minister, the Home Secretary, Mr. Stretton, myself and possibly one other. You may have visitors this afternoon to check out the room.” Claude knew what to expect, the hotel had hosted politicians before. He stood up to leave, “now I have an explanation for last night, no more will be said, thank you for the coffee.”
Sally thought she had handled the situation well. There was murmuring coming from the other bedroom, she tapped lightly on the door, there was no response, opening the door, she saw Alison was awake. Sally asked if she wanted coffee, she nodded, “what about Jane?” “Warm milk, I think it will help her throat.” “I’ll bring you a coffee and ring for the milk and more coffee.” Having finished her drink, Alison pulled on a hotel dressing gown and joined Jane in the lounge, “Where is David?” “Sleeping, he’s been on the go for two days.” “I don’t know how to thank you for what you have done.” “You don’t need to, it’s what Dave does.” There was another knock at the door, Sally took out her gun again. Alison watched everything she did, when Sally saw it was the same person as last time, she quickly put the gun away. Again, the trolleys were swapped. Alison took the milk through, Sally watched as the cup was held up for Jane to drink, she drank most of it, she spoke softly to Alison, Sally couldn’t hear what was said. She left Jane and returned to talk to Sally, “Jane wants to get up, will you help me if I need it?” “Of course, Dave said she needs to soak in the bath, it will help her arms and legs, pay particular attention to her backside and the tops of her legs, she has been sitting in a pool of petrol.” Alison looked at Sally, tears were running down her face. “She will be all right, it will take a little time, but she will recover.” Alison ran a bath for Jane, she swung her legs over the edge of the bed, Alison was beside her as she moved to stand up, she managed it, her ankles ached, there was soreness everywhere. The walk to the bathroom was slow, every step was a challenge but she made it. She sat on the stool as she had done some hours earlier. Alison pulled off the tee shirt, she wanted to cry, but for Jane’s sake, she didn’t. This time with a little assistance she made it into the bath. Sally left them alone, she looked in on Dave, he was sleeping, it looked like he hadn’t moved. Her thoughts changed to the dinner this evening, neither of them had suitable clothes. She phoned the only contact she had, it was the Prime Minister, “Sir, it’s Sally Fellowes, I have no other contacts, so I need your assistance, I have to go out, David is asleep, I need a guard to sit outside the room for a couple of hours, would this be something you can arrange?” “Leave it with me, someone will be with you soon.” She heard Jane sobbing, knocking on the door, she waited, Alison called her in. Jane was standing naked in front of a full length mirror looking at herself. Alison was sitting on a chair, she didn’t know what to do. “Come away from the mirror.” She picked up a hotel dressing gown and helped her put it on. “Don’t look, you’ve been through a lot, come out the bedroom and sit in the lounge. I can order whatever you want to eat or drink.” Sally switched off the TV as Jane came through. She asked where Dave was, Sally nodded towards the other door, “in bed, he’s worn out.” “Would you order tomato soup for me please,” her voice was a little stronger, but still raspy. Allison wanted to eat as well. Two chicken salads, French fries, mayonnaise, coffee, coke, milk and tomato soup arrived twenty minutes after it was ordered. Jane ate the soup by herself, drank the milk then took some of the softer pieces of cold chicken from Alison’s plate. There was a knock on the door, Sally took out her gun again, she asked who it was before opening the door, “security.” “Slide your ID under the door.” She opened the door, still with the gun in her hand. “What are your instructions?” “To stand guard outside, to let no one in unless they are on my list, or authorised by someone from inside.” “Who is on the list?” He took out a paper from inside his pocket, “David Stretton, Sally Fellowes, Jane Goodley and Alison Brookes.” There was an image of each of them next to their names. “Do you want a chair and a cup of coffee?” “Yes, please.” She nodded towards a chair near the door, “I’ll bring you a coffee before I go out.” Jane wanted to know what was happening. Sally explained then went in to see Dave. He still hadn’t moved. Kissing him, she gently shook him. “What time is it?” “14:00, I have to go out,” Dave sat up rubbing his eyes, “why?” “We are having dinner tonight, I think we should be dressed,” she explained what had taken place this morning, “We’ll make a field worker out of you soon. How is Jane?” “Better but I think she is traumatised. Her head isn’t right, her voice is still weak.” “I want to have a shower and a shave, wait until I’m finished. Order me some food please, make sure there is plenty of it.” Fifteen minutes later, he walked into the lounge wearing only a towel, “Hi, how did you both sleep?” Jane sobbed when she saw him, he walked over and kissed her on the cheek. Alison thanked him again. Jane wanted to say something, “don’t say anything just now, we will talk later.” Sally went to answer a knock at the door, the guard said room service was here. She opened the door, the trollies were changed over, Dave lifted the lid on one of the salvers, there was a double burger, chips and salad. Jane looked at it, “do you want some?” he cut it in half and put it on a plate for her, he ate the rest quickly. Jane was picking bits of burger with her fingers, he put a fork on her plate. He lifted another lid to reveal apple pie, he cut it in half and put the plate within reach of Jane. He left them so he could dress, Jane was eating the pie when he returned, “Jane, may I check on your wrists, ankles and other bruises when you have finished, if you don’t want to, I can see if the hotel has a doctor, or we can go to a hospital. Alison will be with you all the time.” “You can do it.” He drunk another coffee while she finished off the pie. Sally was getting ready to go, “Wait until I have finished before you leave.” Jane stood up and walked slowly towards the bedroom, “sit on the edge of the bed, Alison, pull up a chair and sit beside her. Sally put on the main bedroom light and open the curtains,” They all blinked with the increased light. “A few questions before I start, do you have a headache?” “I did, but it has gone.” “Can you see clearly, if Sally pulls back the blinds on the windows, can you see the rooftops across the road clearly.” She nodded, he opened the hotel information folder for her to read, again she nodded. “Could you smell and taste the food earlier?” Jane thought for a few seconds before saying yes. Do you have any problems breathing, take deep breaths and let me know?” “No.” “Is your throat sore?” “Yes, it hurts like when you have a cold.” “Finally, can you think clearly, tell me your office phone number, followed by Alison’s date of birth.” Jane had no problems with both. “Are you tired?” “I feel fucked.” “I’m going to look at your scalp, I want to see if the petrol has done any damage, from there I want to check your face, it will become more intimate after that, it’s up to you whether I continue. Sally thought he looked like the nit nurse the way he went over Jane’s head. “Your hair has been stripped of all the natural oils, it will soon recover.” Sally had seen Dave check someone’s face before, her friend Sam had been punched and slapped by her husband, when she refused to visit the doctor, Sally had asked Dave to check her over. He ran his hands down both sides of her face, feeling for a break, he didn’t think he would find one, but had to make sure. He did the same round her eyes. There was some swelling which he said would go down in a few days, the bruises would take longer to clear. “Can I look where you were sitting in the petrol, do you have any underwear on?” She shook her head, “I’ll wait outside, Alison, can you help put pants on, call me when you are ready.” In the lounge he said everything looked OK, “I think she may be in shock, she needs to see a doctor soon, I will try to speak to Alison this afternoon.” He was called back in, Jane was standing up, her back towards him, the dressing gown pulled up round her waist. Dave could see how red the tops of her legs were, “is it the same all over?” Alison nodded, “drop the dressing gown back down, just your ankles and wrists and that’s it.” Once he had finished he spoke to Alison, “you need to put plenty of moisturiser on the red parts, Sally will buy more when she is out. See if she can lie face down while it soaks in.” Closing the door as he and Sally left, he asked her to buy a big pot of plain moisturiser. He kissed her as she left. She took a taxi directly to Selfridges, everything she needed would be there. Her first stop was where she had previously bought shirts for Dave, one of the assistants had shown her a brand that fitted wide frames and slim waists. She picked a pack of three and two ties, “I need a suit, can you help me, she gave them Dave’s measurements. There wasn’t a huge choice in stock, Sally picked one she thought he would like, the last purchase for him was a pair of black shoes. Half an hour later, she had chosen an outfit for herself, she had tried it on to make sure it fitted. Sitting in the taxi on the way back, she wondered if the £1200 she had spent could be claimed back on expenses. As she entered the hotel, the bags were taken from her, “There is a man outside the door to the room, leave the bags with him please.” The head porter asked her if she had time to speak with the duty manager. Sally wondered what it was this time. She was shown into his office. “Thank you for coming to see me,” he was now standing, he came round from his desk and pulled out a chair for Sally. “All the arrangements have been made for this evening,” Claude DuBois had done the easy part of his job, he thought what he was about to say might cause some upset. “Miss Fellowes, the suite you are in is booked from tomorrow, we have other rooms available, but nothing with connecting doors. Would you like me to assign rooms close to each other?” “No, not just yet, we will discuss the next move during dinner and let you, or whoever is on duty this evening, know the decision.” Before going up to the room, she walked over to the concierge, “I forgot to buy moisturising lotion, could you obtain one for me and send it up to the room, it must be a large one, unscented.” She was assured one would be with her shortly. The man on duty had changed, he checked on the sheet of paper before letting Sally past. He helped her with the bags, Dave poured her a coffee. “We’re being chucked out tomorrow, this suite is booked out to someone else.” “That’s OK, I wanted to move on from here, this isn’t suitable.” She asked where Jane was, “sleeping, she has had more to eat, she want’s to come to the dinner tonight. I said not to, but I think she may come.” Sally hung up everything she had bought, Dave looked at her purchases, “I hope it all fits, if it doesn’t I will wear the shirt with palm trees all over it.” He wanted to lie down, but knew he couldn’t, sleep would have come quickly.
Sally started getting ready at 18:30, Dave sat with Alison, “will you be able to take some time off to help Jane?” “I’ve already rung them saying I will be off next week, if anything is urgent, I can work from wherever I am.” “If she wants to join us this evening, make sure the guard goes with you, don’t let her come for the entire meal, let her join us for dessert or coffee. Message me when you are coming, unfortunately you will have to wait outside.” “What’s going on, why was she kidnapped, why did they hit her the way they did, she said one squeezed her breasts until she screamed.” “I don’t know, but next week I will start to find out who and why. The people who took her are only small fry, they were doing what they were told to do.” “She can’t make you out, now I’ve met you I can understand why. Nobody really knows what you are thinking, you may be talking about one thing, but your mind is somewhere else. Last night you were killing those who took Jane, today you were so gentle when you were checking her over. She says you give orders to the high and mighty, including Jane, but you can speak softly when it is required. Did you fly back because it was Jane?” “We didn’t know until we saw the Prime Minister, all we knew was it was something important.” Alison had more questions, but Sally had come through, she looked stunning, “My turn now,” Alison took the opportunity to speak to Sally, “how do you keep up with him, he’s thinking all the time?” “I’m used to it now, he can’t keep it up for too long, there will come a point when he will stop, his brain will stop working, he will have to sleep.” “I love him, he cares for me, I feel secure, he is dependable. There is another side to him very few people see, he is so loving. I’ve become much more like him, he has given me confidence, I am not fazed speaking to politicians, the first time I met the Prime Minister, my heart was thumping, now, I’m fine about it.” Dave returned looking very smart, “the jackets a little loose, but with my shoulder holster it will be perfect.” “You look a very good couple. I will waken Jane when you have gone, she can decide then what to do. I’ll let you know.” “The guard is outside, do you want me to leave you with a gun?” Alison shook her head, “I wouldn’t know what to do with it.” “Call me if you are worried about anything, it doesn’t matter what it is.” It was 19:45 when they left the room, the Home Secretary was in the bar already, they shook hands, “You’ll know when the PM arrives, there will be whispers around the bar, Dave ordered a gin and tonic for Sally, a whisky and water for himself and a whisky and soda for the Home Secretary. At 20:00 just as had been predicted, there were whispers going round the bar, they took that as their cue to leave. When the concierge saw them he said to follow. There were two smartly dressed guards outside the private dining room. Their names and faces were checked off from a list held by one of them. Inside there was a sideboard laden with alcohol, a waiter was pouring a drink, he asked the new arrivals what they wanted. They stood chatting, it was all small talk, nothing of the last two days was mentioned. Menus were passed round, they chose their starters and main courses. They sat down once the starters were being served, red and white was offered, Dave was the only one drinking red, the chit chat continued through the main course, most of the talk was about holidays. As they were eating Dave’s phone pinged, he quickly checked, “Jane will be joining us, she wants me to meet her in reception. I would ask that you make no reference to how she looks or her injuries, her voice is a little hoarse, when she has returned to her room later I will tell you of the ordeal she has gone through.” He quickly finished his main course then excused himself. Alison had managed to cover most of the bruises with makeup, Jane was standing upright, she smiled when she saw Dave. She was wearing a dress, a loose fitting summer dress. Putting her arm through Dave’s they walked towards the dining room. “Are you OK, you don’t have to do this?” “I will be fine, I still feel weak, but my brain is working.” Alison as Dave had predicted wasn’t allowed in the room, he asked the waiter to organise an additional chair outside for her to sit on. She would be talking to the guards for as long as the meeting went on. The two men stood as Jane came in, Dave pulled a chair out for her, there were now dessert menus on the table. Only Sally, Dave and Jane wanted anything, Sally opted for trifle, Dave wanted trifle and peach crumble with ice cream, Jane asked for a large helping of vanilla ice cream. Sally thought her voice was stronger. While they were waiting, Dave explained that they would have to leave the hotel in the morning. He asked Jane if she wanted to go to her home. “No, not yet, I don’t feel safe.” Dave suggested Chequers, the weekend retreat of the Prime Minister. “There are protocols regarding who can and cannot stay there.” “We’re staff, they shouldn’t affect us. The place is guarded all the time, there will be no need for me to remain as close protection. I can then get on with finding out what this is all about.” There was no conversation as the desserts were served. The Home Secretary asked for cheese and biscuits along with a couple of pots of coffee to be brought in. Jane ate her ice cream, it felt good as it slipped over her sore throat. She pulled Dave’s crumble towards her, “you don’t mind do you, order another one when the waiter returns.” He was glad to see her eating and said nothing. Instead of ordering another, he had cheese and biscuits. They were now alone. “Tell us your theory, why kidnap Jane?” “The animal rights story about wanting two convicted murderers released was rubbish, they will be out soon with good behaviour. That was done to have us looking in the wrong place. Jane was forced to hand over her login details, fortunately she gave a duress password, it alerted the IT guy working with us, everything they did online was logged, they spent hours trawling through files, some they tried to delete, we could have stopped it, but it would have let them know we were on to them, Jane would definitely have been no use to them and expendable from then on.” “Did you find the computer when you went to the factory?” “No, it was never there, the information obtained from Jane was given to someone else, probably sent using a phone.” The people in Dagenham were nobodies, they probably never met whoever is behind this.” “What do we do next?” “Sally and I start going through the information we have. It won’t be solved quickly unless we have a lot of luck, I think we have used the luck already in the last couple of days, from now on it will be hard work. I know where I want to start from, I will see where it leads to.” Jane wanted to know how he found her. “It was a joint effort by many people, I guided people where to look. As soon as I knew where I guessed you were, I had a third person carry out surveillance, we had someone in who could read Morse code, it was very good thinking, although you need to be quicker, but I will let you off.” “I think you are underplaying what you did, without you, who knows where we would be.” He ignored the Prime Minister, “Sally and I travelled out to meet my man on the ground, he had a plan, it worked out well, none of us were hurt, Sally cut you free and put you in the tracksuit, she did very well for her first field operation.” The Home Secretary asked about the third person. “He is an acquaintance, he has helped me out on jobs before, there is nothing that could tie us together, I am sure he will have a pub full of people who would swear he was there all evening.” The coffee pots were empty, Jane wanted to go, she was thanked for coming, Sally said she would go with her then come back. The Home Secretary asked if there was anything else to discuss. “No, I will speak to you tomorrow.” He said goodnight and was gone. Dave pressed the buzzer, more coffee was ordered, he asked for more crumble. “She’s in a bad way, normally she is on top form, tonight she was struggling,” “sir, will you organise a doctor to see her tomorrow, I suggested she see one today or go to the hospital but she refused. I checked the bruises, but I’m no medic. Can I speak openly and freely, without it going anywhere else?” “Yes, what’s on your mind?” Before he spoke Sally came back in, “There’s something not right about the Home Secretary, nothing to do with this operation, but, I have a feeling, I don’t know what it is, do the two of you not get on, have you given him a bollocking about something?” “Your very perceptive, we are barely on talking terms, I shouldn’t have appointed him, he isn’t up to the job, he knows he will be out at the next reshuffle. How did you figure it out?” “I don’t know, it was just a feeling.” “Tomorrow, I will have cars pick you up and take you to Chequers, what about Alison Brookes?” “She will be going as well, she has booked next week off.” “Miss Fellowes, I watched you and David work together on Saturday, you make a formidable team, you seem to know what each other is doing. Thank you for what you did, I can’t publicly thank you for what you have done, but this is the second time I want to do it.” As they stood to leave, he shook Dave’s hand and kissed Sally on the cheek. “I’ll update you in the morning with times.”
They sat in the dining room, Dave scooped up the last of the crumble. “Miss Fellowes, I feel very tired, I want to make love to you, but I don’t think I have the energy.” “Let’s go upstairs and get into bed, we’ll see how much energy you have.” He pulled her towards himself and kissed her.
© 10210ken 2025
