As they ate breakfast Dave explained what he wanted Sally to do, a porter came up to the table as they were finishing, a visitor was waiting for them in reception. Dave asked for him to be brought through. He stood up as Jim Morgan was shown to the table, “I’m Jim Morgan, Miss Goodley sent me, are you David Stretton?” Dave nodded and shook his hand, “this is Sally Fellowes, she will be working with you for most of the day. They sat down, a waiter brought over another cup, “I’m not sure what I will be doing, I was just told to be here, she gave me an envelope for you, it’s in my briefcase.” “We need you to look over accounts for a company, we have the details for the last five years together with bank statements. Sally has a basic understanding, but we need an accountant to give his verdict. We have a private room for us to work in, I have to be away some of the day, but I can be contacted at any time.” Sally and Jim went to the room he had booked, a coffee machine had been installed at Dave’s request, packets of biscuits were next to it. “I’ll get the files,” he returned with the sons files, both laptops, his briefcase and a jacket for himself. Sally had opened the envelope, there were sheets of phone logs. She fired up her laptop with the accounts, passed it to Jim, then moved on to Dave’s. “Depending on where you need to look, use the hotel wi-fi and the VPN, the new software is in one of the pockets in the bag.” There was a knock at the door, Dave’s car was outside, “you know what you are doing, phone me if you have to, ring Jane on the hotel phone, say to her to come when she finishes and expect a late evening.” He kissed her before leaving with the porter.
Driving to Hereford, Dave thought about Fraser MacIntire, when he had come back from Edinburgh, he had searched for his military record, there was nothing, he tried different spellings of the surname, but still there were no results, when he tried F. MacIntire, it returned nineteen results. He went through each one carefully, checking where each person had served, nothing matched, there was no way to search by image, he checked each record, no one looked like the picture on his phone. He next tried the MI5 servers, again there was nothing. In desperation, he checked with Taff to see if he was sure the name was correct. It was, he moved onto the DVLA, then the Passport Office and finally the Revenue and Customs, everyone pays tax, there must be a record there he thought. Fraser MacIntire, as far as the British government was concerned didn’t exist. Dave produced his MOD pass and letter of authority at the gatehouse, he was escorted to a plain building, inside he was handed over to the Base Commander, “What can we do for you?” “I’m looking into the case of an SAS soldier who went missing on a mission. Sergeant Fraser MacIntire, his files are missing, so there is no point in looking on line, I wondered if you have any paper records?” “There is nothing, everything has been put on computer, if it isn’t there, then it doesn’t exist.” “Sir, may I go to the Sergeants Mess, I remember there being section photographs on the walls.” “How do you know that?” “I did six months training here when I was in military intelligence.” His name was typed in, “your record is very scant, there are huge chunks blacked out, I shan’t ask. I will have one of my men take you across.” In the Mess, he looked at the photographs all-round the walls, an orderly was with him, “I’m looking for Fraser MacIntire, can you point him out,” “I’m not sure sir,” “Mack the Knife,” “Ah him, tight Scotsman, we always had to chase him for his bar bill. Let me look at the pictures. “There’s one of you,” Dave saw a much younger version of himself, he was smiling. “Here you are, middle row second from the right.” Taking out his phone, he compared the images, they were the same. He spoke to his escort and asked to be taken back to the base commander. Sitting back in his office, he asked about the mission they were on, “I understand it was in Norway, near the Russian border, a four man surveillance team were checking out a new base just over the border, only three returned. I have no idea of when it was.” He left Dave sitting while he went into the outer office, he returned with the information. I can get the report on my computer, however I cannot show it to you, your letter doesn’t say anything regarding giving you files.” “Would you check with Brigadier Storey, he will sort it out.” Ten minutes later, he was ready to leave, the file in his briefcase. In the car, he called Sally to see how it was going. “The accountant says there are loads of anomalies, he is trying to make sense of it all.” “I’m on my way back, I will blue light it, I’ll see you soon.” It was mostly cross country, vehicles moved out of his way as he raced towards London. He was back in the hotel at 16:15, he had phoned ahead, a driver was waiting to collect the car. He went directly to the meeting room, he wanted to know how it was going. With a coffee, he sat down to hear what had been found. “These accounts should never have been signed off, tax has been evaded, money withdrawn without being accounted for, payments made to people for no reason, Miss Fellowes has more information about where some of the money has gone, I have made notes as I went along. It would take a few more days to fully investigate the accounts. I will leave you with my report before I go. “Will you print out the report when Jim has finished, use the printer in the business suite, we can put it at the front of the file. Any word from Jane?” “She will be here at 18:00, I’ll ask her if she wants to freshen up in our room. Dinner is booked for 19:00 but we can always change it.” At 17:15, Dave thanked the accountant as he was preparing to leave, Sally copied his findings onto a stick and headed to the business suite, Dave sat at the head of the table, his eyes closed, he opened them when Sally returned. “What did you find out today?” “Dave, there were messages to and from an employee in the planning department, they were about big bags of sand. I traced the number, using your software, I was able to download the messages. Do you think the reference to sand relates to the money, the number of bags related to the amount taken out the bank, Ten bags of sand equals £10k.” “I think you might have it, have you typed it up?” “Yes, I printed it out hoping I was correct.” “Pick up everything, I’ll ask them to tidy the room and have it made ready for later, I want to have a shower and change.” Sally was first in the shower, there was no time for Dave to join her, he went in as she came out. The room phone rang, Sally answered it as she was dressing, “tell her we can meet her in the lounge or she can come up to our room.” Sally shouted to Dave saying Jane was on her way up. He was about to come out the bathroom naked when he heard voices, he quickly wrapped a towel round his waist. “Sorry, I didn’t know you were here,” Jane looked at him, “I shouted to you to say Jane was on her way up.” “I didn’t hear you,” Jane Goodley had to force herself to look away. “The bathroom’s free if you want to use it, I’ll get dressed while you are in there.” Sally was smiling, she waited until the bathroom door was closed and locked, “I didn’t think she liked men, she was staring at you.” Dave was dressed and ready when the bathroom door opened. “What do you want to do first, eat or look at our findings?” “I think we should eat first, I should tell you, I am here on official business, this meeting has been logged on the system. I think we should eat, bring what you have with you, we will go up to the private room afterwards.” Each was carrying folders, Dave had both laptops, it was piled up on a spare chair as they ate. There was no work talk, it was a quick meal, Jane was eager to get started. In the room Sally and Dave sorted out the files, Jane poured the coffees, she put the plate of biscuits in the middle of the table. Dave sat at the top, Sally and Jane faced each other slightly further down. “Shall we start, I will give a little background first? When we were sacked, I made it my mission to turn the Home Secretary inside out, there was no reason for him to treat us the way he did, something wasn’t right. In the US, I think I found it, at the same time Sally was looking at the accounts of the business his two sons ran, hence the request for the forensic accountant. We have proof they are bribing a planning officer, some of their money is transferred to Sir Alan. You will be familiar with the first file, it is the MI5 file on Sir Alan Cunningham.” Jane opened it and flicked through the pages, Dave took the opportunity to drink some of his coffee. “Look at the thick file, I picked it up in the US, it shows the Home Secretary in a different light, I’ll let you spend some time reading it, some of the images aren’t very nice.” Dave sat back, he finished his coffee and ate some biscuits. It was almost an hour before she stopped reading and looked up, during this time Dave had filled the coffee cups twice. Sally had said nothing, she was ready to explain the part of the sons. “Before you say anything, there is one more file to look at, it will only take a few minutes, but it is just as important,” Sally talked about the accounts, she said what had been found during the day, Jane was listening intently, Dave thought she must be able to absorb a lot of information in a short time.” When Sally had finished, Jane stood up, she walked round the table to where the coffee was, she poured herself a cup, asked the others if they wanted one. Dave wanted something stronger. She picked up the phone, rang reception and asked for someone to come up and take a drinks order. A porter arrived a few minutes later, Sally and Jane wanted gin and tonic, Dave ordered a whisky and water, Jane said to make them doubles, and to organise more coffee. They waited in silence for the drinks and coffee, once they had been brought in, Jane took over. “David, why is it when you take on a job, it always ends up a lot worse than when you started. Do you realise how much trouble this is going to cause? This could mean the fourth Home Secretary in two years. He’s not a very good man, is he.” “My question is, what are you going to do about it?” “I have to speak to the Prime Minister, he will make the decision on this one, it’s not just a legal issue, there is a political angle to this. She looked at her watch. It was 21:45, she took out her phone and called Downing Street, she had to wait to speak to Richard Carlton, “Prime Minister, I must have a meeting with you, as soon as possible, I wouldn’t be calling this late if it wasn’t important.” He wanted to know how long it would take, “possibly up to two hours, there is a large file and background to go through.” “I have a busy day, be here ready to start at 07:30,” “sir, there are two others who need to be present, David Stretton and Sally Fellowes.” Both Dave and Sally could hear the reply, “what in God’s name are they doing, I thought they had been sacked.” “They have been doing some freelance investigating.” “No, I will see you, but only you, until Sir Alan gives the go ahead for them to return to work, I cannot see them.” “Can you see them if they say they are attending on behalf of the MOD?” “Is the meeting to do with state security?” “Yes it is,” there was a long pause, “OK, the passes will be made out under their MOD status. Please be on time.” Dave thanked her, do you want to stay here tonight, Ruth could bring you a change of clothes?” “No, my car will pick you up at 06:15, I would rather be in my own bed.” At the door of the hotel, she thanked them both for what they had done, “I will speak to both of you after the meeting tomorrow.” They waited until she had been picked up before going back inside, Sally asked at the porters desk if they had a plastic tub they could put their folders in. A porter found one, helped to put it all in and carried it up to the room for them. The alarm call was at 05:00, Sally felt like she had just gone to sleep, Dave made their first coffee of the day, He waited for Sally to come out the shower before going in, she looked much smarter than Dave, he was in chino’s and a plain shirt, Sally had on a business suit. With everything packed, Dave rang for a porter to help them down, he said they would need a trolley or two people. Dave paid the bill and left the suitcase with the porters, the plastic box and laptops were ready to be put in the car, they were fifteen minutes early. Dave went out into the street, he felt the coolness of the morning, he went back in and put his jacket on. The car was five minutes late. Once through security in Downing Street, they were forty five minutes early, sitting in a waiting room, Dave said he was starving. Jane said at previous early meetings, there had been bacon rolls and coffee. A little after 07:00, they were called, the meeting room was ready, there was a long table with chairs down either side, to one side was a desk with a computer, and an operator, he said hello as they came in, “the PM will be here shortly, Dave took the files from the plastic box, he wasn’t sure where they would be sitting, there were twelve chairs round the table six on each side. Dave moved one to the top, pulled two out the way to give them more space, he put the three files at the top of the table and then one set for Jane, the others for Sally and himself. The door opened, Richard Carlton came in accompanied by one of his secretaries. They were a set of files short, he moved to put another chair next to where the PM would be sitting, he took his set of files and put it in front of the new chair. “Good morning everyone, this is Gareth, one of my aides, Charles will be taking notes and sorting out anything we require. I recognise and remember you Mr. Stretton and your assistant Miss Fellowes. Shall we get started, I have a very busy day.” It was Jane who spoke, “I will give you a brief outline as to why we are here this morning, David was in the US last week, while he was there, he discovered certain facts regarding Sir Alan Cunningham…” She wasn’t allowed to say anything else. “We will not be discussing the Home Secretary, whatever information Mr. Stretton may have, should be put in writing, submitted to you and then a report sent to Sir Alan to comment on before anything should be brought to me, this meeting is now over, Miss Goodley, will you stay behind please.” Dave looked directly at the Prime Minister, “sir, the meeting is not over, Sir Alan Cunningham is a crook and possibly a paedophile, if you don’t want to sit and hear the truth, I am sure there are many people on social media sites who would. It’s your choice. I wouldn’t be sitting here if I didn’t think there was something wrong. Read the file, if I’m wrong, I will leave and you will never see me again. Look at the big file, spend ten minutes looking through it.” He leaned back in his chair, Jane was staring at him, Sally had her hand on his leg she squeezed it hard. Reluctantly the file was being looked at, both the PM and his aide were reading. Dave stood up, he walked round to Charles, “you couldn’t organise coffee and food, I’m starving, I think we will be here for some time.” Sitting back down, he smiled at Jane across the table, she didn’t look too happy. Charles had done nothing following Dave’s request, it was the PM who asked for drinks and breakfast rolls. The only sound in the room was the turning of pages. There was a knock at the door, a trolley was wheeled in. Dave was up like a shot, along with the coffee were bacon and sausage sandwiches, he filled a plate for himself and Sally, he asked Jane what she wanted, she got up to help herself. Both Dave and Sally stood up as they ate, it was a chance to stretch their legs. Plates and coffees were put in front of the PM and his aide. When he had finished reading and eating, he asked Dave and Sally to return to the table. “Where did you get this file?” “From the Americans, I was in Langley for a meeting, it was given to me before I flew back.” “The CIA don’t give out files to someone who turns up for a meeting.” “I was invited for a meeting when it was known I might be available, I have an acquaintance who works there. He travels between the UK and the US.” “What did you give them?” “I don’t have anything to bargain with, there isn’t much they don’t know. Look at the other file, it’s the MI5 vetting on Sir Alan, it’s a load of bollocks.” There was more silence as the file was read, it didn’t take long. The next question was aimed at Jane. “Why is there such a discrepancy between the two?” “Sir, a previous administration ordered that only very light vetting be carried out on MP’s, it was only to check for convictions and anything that would preclude them from sitting, we weren’t allowed to go into their backgrounds.” “David, would you and your assistant please leave us, Charles, you as well, we won’t need anything during the next part of the meeting.” Outside and sitting in the waiting room Sally hissed at Dave, “what the fuck did you think you were doing in there?” “Standing my ground, sticking up for what I believe in.” “I thought he was going to call security and throw you out. One of these days you will go too far.” “He read the file, what he does next I don’t know, I have no idea how politicians make their decisions.” The aide came to find them, “would you come back in now please, the Prime Minister would like to speak to you.” As they entered Jane was leaving, she still didn’t look happy. The files and the plastic box were gone, only their laptops remained. “Sit down please, your files have been taken away for safe keeping,” “It’s OK, I can soon print some more.” “David, you and Miss Fellowes are most resourceful, what first alerted you to Sir Alan?” “The way we were dismissed, we had no chance to put our point of view, he was friends with the previous Home Secretary, I thought it might be that, or something else.” “Why did the Americans help you?” “They didn’t, we came to an agreement, I showed them how easy it was to hack into their systems,” “it’s not difficult to do that,” “undetected it is, I sat in Langley giving them a demonstration, the IT guy couldn’t find me. I left them with the software, the file was delivered to me later. I picked up a newer version of the software on my way back to the UK. Sally spent yesterday going over the accounts for the company his sons own. MI5 provided an expert to help her.” I need to speak to both of you again, I have other appointments this morning, I will contact you, we can arrange a suitable time.” “Sorry about being outspoken earlier, I can get a bit carried away at times.” The PM waived his hand to say it was nothing. Outside the back of number ten, they were offered a car, they decided to walk back to the hotel, pick up their case and head home. Daves phone pinged, it was a message from Jane Goodley, ‘meeting, my office 10:30, passes at reception.’ Dave showed it to Sally, “We’re not going, I’m not stepping foot inside until we have been reinstated. He replied, ‘bench across the road overlooking the river 10:30’, he showed it to Sally before sending it.
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