In the street, Dave led Sally across the road, they sat on a bench overlooking the Thames. As they sat down, Sally started crying, Jane Goodley had closed and locked her office door, sitting behind her desk, she was dabbing her eyes with a tissue. Twice Dave and Sally had saved her life, she hated what she had just done, but she was given no choice. She picked up the phone and called the Home Secretary, she said the voice recording would be with him this afternoon together with their ID’s. Pouring a coffee, she swore several times, she knew she had just lost one of the best, if not the best operators she had, together with Sally, she was sure there wasn’t anyone better.
In between her sobs, Sally asked why they had been sacked. “Obviously the new Home Secretary doesn’t like us, I think he might have been swayed by Henry Wiggins, maybe I shouldn’t upset those in authority.” “What’s next, where do we go now?” “When you are ready, we will head back to the hotel, pick up the backpack and make another call.” They walked hand in hand past Westminster Abbey and the Houses of Parliament and up Whitehall, he led Sally into the MOD building. At reception, he asked if Brigadier Storey was in, “I’m Sergeant David Stretton and this is Sally Fellowes.” They waited while a call was made, “the Brigadier will see you, do you know the way?” Dave nodded, in the lift, he said he hoped they would receive a friendlier welcome. They had to wait in his outer office for a few minutes before being shown in. “Coffee and biscuits for three please,” the Brigadier shook both their hands. “So, you’re out on your ear, sacked?” “News travels fast, it was only an hour ago.” “I heard he spoke to the Defence Secretary yesterday saying we should get rid of you as well. There was a meeting with the Chief of Defence Staff yesterday, you are to be retained.” There was a knock at the door, the coffee was brought in and left on a side table. The Brigadier carried on talking as he poured out the drinks. “I was going to call you on Monday to see how you were.” Sitting back down, he looked at Sally, “I hear you are now a fully trained field operator,” she nodded, “did you enjoy the training?” “It was tough, bloody tough, but I managed to complete it all.” “Sir, Sally could do with training on the SA80 at some time in the future, MI5 have no facilities for it.” Sally left for the toilet, when she had gone Dave was asked if she was as good as he had heard. “Sir, she has the right attitude and commitment, she will pull the trigger if she has to and is a good shot. She understands me and we work well together. I’m sure you have seen the reports.” “Would you like to have lunch with me, I don’t have another appointment until 14:00?” Sally had returned, Dave asked about lunch, Sally said yes. The Brigadier was good company, as they sat with coffees he spoke more quietly, David, we have nothing for you at the moment, you know the cost of you and Sally was split between the two departments, obviously there will be a reduction, I will try to sort things out next week and contact you.” Sally interrupted, “we may be away next weekend, possibly from Thursday.” Dave looked across the table at Sally, “I’m working on it.”
At Flemings Hotel, they picked up their luggage and took a taxi to the station. The train was busy, Dave sat in silence while Sally read a free paper she picked up at the station. Once they were home, he put the suitcase in the bedroom, taking a chair from the spare bedroom which had been converted into an office, and pushed up the loft hatch, he took down a small black hessian bag. Inside was a bug detector, he went round the house carefully scanning each room to see if any listening devices had been put in while they were away. He went round the house twice, it was clear. Sally ordered a pizza then cooked oven chips, there was salad in the fridge which she put in a bowl. She wanted to talk, but Dave was saying very little. He ate mechanically, it could have been anything, “Dave what’s going on in your head, at lunchtime you were your normal self, but since we got on the train you have gone quiet. Are you planning something?” “Several things, I’m trying to work it all out, when I have it. I will tell you.” Sally was exhausted, the day had taken its toll on her, not long after she had cleared everything away, she made a milky drink, taking it upstairs she went to bed leaving Dave downstairs. She woke at 01:30, Dave’s side of the bed was empty, she got up to find him, he was in the office writing furiously, it was a scrawl, it always was, he had to get the thoughts in his head onto paper, he would normally write it out again before one of them would type it up. “Dave, come to bed, you must be knackered,” “five more minutes, I’m nearly finished.”
In the morning, before she left to play tennis she reminded Dave they were going out for dinner with Michael and Olivia, “the Tesco shopping list is in the kitchen, don’t forget.” He raced round the supermarket, he wanted to get back to carry on from where he left off last night. He was upstairs writing more slowly this time, when Sally came back, she found him sitting at his desk. Standing behind him she was reading what was written, his hand was trying to find a way inside her tracksuit top. “Don’t, I’m all sweaty, I need a shower, you can come and help me.” There was no more work that afternoon, as they lay in bed she asked about the notes he had been writing. “Are you ready to tell me, or do I have to wait?” “It’s nearly done, I’ll explain it tomorrow when it is typed up.” “Tell me some of it now.” “One part is to do with Sir Alan Cunningham, I want to turn him inside out, I want to know what is in his file. I will pick him apart until I find out what he thinks has been buried away, I won’t do it in a couple of days, it’s a project. No one does what he did to us, if he has any dark secrets, I’ll find them, I don’t know what I’ll do if I discover something, but he will pay.” “What else do you have planned?” “Tomorrow, no more work talk, he pulled Sally on top, she didn’t resist. Sally got out of bed when she saw the time, it was after 18:00, “Dave, if we don’t get a move on we will be late.” Sally sorted out her clothes while Dave showered, he left the water running as he came out. They were ready just before 19:30, the table was booked for 20:00, they had to pick up Michael and Olivia on the way. It was a couple of minutes after 20:00 when they arrived at the restaurant. The food was good, however Dave was quieter than normal, just before the coffees were brought to the table Sally and Olivia went to the toilets. “Do you want to tell me about whatever it is that’s bugging you.” Michael had asked the same question on many previous occasions, each time Dave had said no. “Yes, but not here, maybe later.” On the way from the restaurant, Dave pulled onto the drive outside Michael and Olivia’s house, he switched off the engine, looking at Sally, he said they were going in for another drink. As they were making coffee, Sally asked Olivia if she knew what was going on, she shook her head. The lounge was empty, Michael had taken Dave into his study. Olivia knocked on the door, she took in the coffee and left. “It looks like they are settled down for a chat.”
Dave first asked Michael how he was able to read his mood. “I’ve told you before about my father being in Military Intelligence, in reality his job was a bit like yours, sometimes he would be gone for weeks. It was only as I was older I found out what he was doing, if it was a one man job, he would take me along with him to help his cover. I was always told to wait at the local bus station for him if he went off, “Tell a policeman if I don’t come back. He taught me about disguises and how to pick locks, I thought it was just a great adventure. I learned about secrecy, I wasn’t allowed to tell anyone, imagine being a teenager and not being able to tell your friends the adventures you had been on with your dad. My mother knew, but said nothing, I don’t know if she was told by my dad, but he probably didn’t. I could see how at times he struggled, I never knew if it was to do with a job or the fact he had to keep everything bottled up. When he retired it looked like a weight had been lifted from him. He still never spoke about what he had done. That’s why I can read you, I understand the pressures you are under. Fortunately, you have Sally, you can discuss things amongst yourselves. I would never ask you to say anything which might compromise you or Sally.” “We were sacked yesterday, escorted out of MI5, our services no longer required, persona non gratis, our passes were taken from us, I have been told we are being monitored.” Michael sat back in his chair, he waited a moment before asking why. “The new Home Secretary, either doesn’t like me, or the way I operate, it might be both. Being freelance I work outside the rules, I upset his predecessor, he may have left a note. The MOD will still give us work, but it’s not much compared to MI5.” Michael asked if they were OK for money, “It’s not a problem, we were well paid, there’s plenty of money, we will still have a retainer from the MOD. I don’t like being sacked, they’re being bloody fools, Sally and I are good, I have skills they need, Sally and I can work in the field or at a desk.” Michael looked at Dave, “Sally out in the field, with a gun?” Dave nodded. “She’s not afraid to pull the trigger.” “You certainly have changed her, before you she was quite timid. What are your plans now?” “Sally wants to go away next weekend, I don’t know where, she can organise that. I have a score to settle and I want our jobs back.” Dave said no more, he thanked Michael for listening to him, they took the empty cups back into the lounge, neither Sally or Olivia asked what they had been talking about. Both would find out later.
On Sunday morning Sally sat in bed facing Dave, “I want you to tell me what’s going on, what you discussed with Michael and your plans for the immediate future.” He pulled her towards him, she wriggled free, “no, we are talking about this now, not later.” He could tell from the look on her face he was going to have to say. “Don’t interrupt, wait until I have finished, you know the first part, I want to find out the dirt on Alan Cunningham, the other two parts are a bit of a distraction. Remember Jane Goodley saying we were being monitored and a report was being sent to the Home Secretary on a Friday.” “Yes.” “Well, we are going to have a bit of fun, the internet, phones, credit cards, bank accounts and vehicle movements will be monitored, I want there to be plenty to put in the report.” Tomorrow after work, I want you to start using one of the laptops, I will clean it up so there is nothing on it relating to work, look up websites about emigrating, possibly to the US, Canada and Australia, no hostile countries, I want them to guess we are thinking about leaving the country, do some property searches as well. I will use the other laptop but log on using a VPN and one of the neighbour’s broadband, I can start on my research.” “What else, there is more?” “I’m flying to the US after we come back from wherever you take me, I want to see Cyrus Grantly, the CIA controller we met in London.” “Can’t you just phone him?” “No, I want it to look like I’m being called for an interview, I want them to think I might move over to assist the Americans.” “Dave, is any of this illegal?” “Only the bit where I’m breaking into the government servers, but then the Brigadier would hopefully cover for me. That’s it for now, use your phone as normal, but use a burner phone if we have to communicate about anything to do with this. I’ll sort out the phones later.” Only now did Sally allow herself to be pulled towards Dave.
Sally sent Dave a message at lunchtime on Monday, she had booked three nights in the Balmoral Hotel in Edinburgh from Thursday, she would finish at lunchtime that day. He was in their office, he had spent the morning wiping, then reinstalling software on one of the laptops. The other laptop was connected to the internet using the broadband from the house at the back of them. The first job was to read through Sir Alan Cunningham’s Wikipedia page, he made notes of dates, schools and university, where he had worked, he noted his wife and two sons names, they might throw up something interesting. Next were bank accounts, Dave had software which gave him access to the back office of bank systems. MI5 has similar, but authorisation was required before it can be used. Dave picked a bank, he set the software running, he drunk a cup of coffee while he waited, eventually he was in, doing a search on his name returned several pages, he tried again putting a ‘Sir’ in front. Access was restricted, he had encountered this problem before, sensitive accounts have an extra level of security. He set the software working again, there were two accounts, one was a joint account, the other in his name, He quickly looked at the balances and then downloaded statements for the last five years. Going back, he typed in the wife’s name, she also had an account in her own name, he downloaded the same number of statements for her. He thought he had been lucky to hit the right one first time, the software was run again for one of the other banks, there was an account there as well. It was the same in each of the major banks. By the time he had finished he had four individual accounts and one joint. He wondered if there were more in other banks. Quickly counting up the totals, there was over £1m, not bad he thought for a career politician.
Picking up a burner phone, he looked through his notebook for a number, He heard the US ring tone, “Cyrus Grantly,” “Dave Stretton, how are you Cyrus?” He waited for him to remember who he was, it didn’t take long, “I thought you had been paid off?” “I have, do you have time to talk?” “Sure, go ahead.” Dave explained what he wanted done, “I’m not sure that would be possible.” “Cyrus, I know what you Americans are like, you won’t do anything unless there is something in it for you. I have a deal for you, help me out and I will show you how I can break into your systems.” “I don’t think you can, the security has been beefed up, any attempt will set alarms ringing.” “I will give you a demo, call your boss in, give me permission to hack in and I will show you. Call me back on this number, do not use my normal number, it is being monitored.” “Gee, you must have upset someone big time. I’ll call you back later.”
While he was waiting Dave returned to the Home Secretary, he searched on Companies House website. He found a property development company he had been the sole director of. When he entered Parliament he resigned, it was taken over by his two sons. Dave sat looking at the accounts, it made a little profit while he was in control, under his sons, it rocketed. It was now worth around £50m with each son drawing £500k each year from the business, they were now major developers in the south east.
He heard Sally come in and run up the stairs, “how has it gone?” “Quite well, I’m waiting for a call back from Cyrus Grantly.” Sally was in the bedroom undressing, she quickly showered, pulled on a pair of jeans and a tee shirt then joined Dave. “Have you eaten?” She could see he hadn’t, empty plates would normally be left on his desk. “I’ll make you a snack now, then we will eat early.” Dave’s phone was ringing as Sally was downstairs, she could hear voices, she guessed it was on speaker. She slipped quietly into the office, Dave was doing something on the laptop. “I’m almost there, I will download my screenshot and email it over to Cyrus, wait a couple of minutes.” Sally could hear swearing at the other end of the phone. “Cyrus has a busy day ahead, according to his calendar, a few meetings this afternoon I see.” “You shouldn’t be able to do that, wait while I speak to IT.” Dave was furiously typing away, he sent a copy of the CIA file on himself to Cyrus. Next he accessed the back end of the Defense Department, he didn’t go any further than the access page. “Dave, stop it, you’ve proved your point.” There was a muffled conversation he couldn’t hear, he took the opportunity to eat one of the sandwiches Sally had done for him, she was sitting watching his screen. Cyrus was now back on the phone. “Dave, we want that software, if we send someone for it in the next hour, will you hand it over please.” “Sure, I will just download another copy from my secure storage area, Cyrus, you know my terms, I will bring it with me, when we meet next week, try anything and it will be all over the internet within thirty minutes, it’s not a threat, it’s my insurance policy.” “Will you tell me how you obtained it?” “Next week, I will tell you most of it.” There was a pause before the reply came through, “Dave we have to discuss the implications of this, I will call you back in fifteen minutes.” “Sally put her hand on Dave’s arm, “how dangerous is this?” “On a scale of one to ten, maybe a three, they want what I have, but they know if they try to take it by force they will end up the losers.” It was ten minutes before his phone rang, “tell me what we have to do,” “email me an invitation to discuss the possibility of helping you out on certain work within the UK. I can be with you next Tuesday, I will fly out on Monday, leaving later on Tuesday or Wednesday morning. Make sure you send the email to my Hotmail address.” With that the call ended, he turned smiling to Sally. “It’s been a good day, I enjoyed it, I will tell you what I found later.”
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