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Jinnie spent the next two days with Rick and Charles, staying at the Ennios Anaheim and visiting the Ennios Malibu and the Ennios Laguna Beach. All three hotels were busy, but the Anaheim had rather a different feel to it. Jinnie decided it was because it was serving Disneyland Park, and its visitors only stayed a few days. Some went to some of the other Ennios hotels on the coast, and others hired a car and toured California.
Jinnie was indeed happy with the breakfast at Anaheim. The bacon had been to her satisfaction, and the English breakfast sausages had been excellent. She made a point of talking to some customers whose British accents she heard, and they said they were delighted with a few touches of Britishness. The American visitors mostly tried the British items, and most liked them. Rick wasn’t impressed by the three hotels not having a consistent corporate feel and attempted to get the hotels’ offerings to match the rest of the group, and when Jinnie drove him and Charles to the airport, it was clear that things were coming together. But Rick told Jinnie he was going to get the General Manager from the Ennios Miami to spend a week in LA and lick them into shape.
Jinnie spent her final day in LA looking at whether there was space for an Aunty JoJo’s and a SuperBurger and concluded that there was, and as soon as she got home she would get in touch with Monica and someone from SuperBurger to look at launching both chains on the West Coast. Soon she was considering a satellite office, a warehouse, logistics, and a computer room. It didn’t take her long to realise that the best way to move forward was probably a warehouse with storage for dry goods, refrigerated fresh food, and freezers under a mezzanine, with offices on it. That meant talking to Belinda, Procurement, IT, and Logistics.
***
Jinnie arrived at the main gate of NAN Coronado a touch bothered, as she had no pass or official paperwork. Of course, she had her passport, driving licence, and SIS pass, but she had only been told to arrive that morning and ask for Captain Rodriguez. She pulled up at the barrier across the road, and one of several armed guards she could see approached her open window and said, “Good morning, ma’am, can I help you?” “Yes, Seaman,” Jinnie replied, “my name is Dame Jinnie de Luca, and I have been told to ask for Captain Rodriguez.” “Have you any ID, ma’am?” he asked, consulting an iPad.
Jinnie handed the seaman her British passport and said, holding out her SIS pass, “I carry the rank of Major in British Military Intelligence.” The guard returned the passport and said, “Please put your car in a visitor slot over there,” pointing to a row of parked cars and parking spaces, “park nose-in and wait in the car until your escort arrives.” The barrier went up, and she slowly moved into the designated parking bay. No sooner had she turned off the Chevrolet’s engine than a sailor appeared by her door, saluted, and said, “Ma’am, please come with me to reception to sign in and get a base pass.”
Jinnie got out of the hire car, locked it, and said to the sailor, “I’m sorry, I’m unfamiliar with US Navy badges of rank. I have enough problems recognising the British ones.” “I’m CPO Nowak, ma’am,” came the reply. The CPO led Jinnie into a building and up to a polished wood reception desk, behind which was seated another CPO. Nowak announced, “Major de Luca, to sign in and collect a pass.” The receptionist stood up, saluted, and handed Jinnie a tablet to sign in on digitally. Then he said, “I need a photo for your passes, Major. Would you mind standing still for a moment while I grab an image from the CCTV?” A moment later he said, “Thank you, Major, that looks good. Your ID and pass should be printed in a moment.” This was accompanied by a whirring and clunking from under the desk.
The first credit card-sized card to appear was her temporary military ID, with rank, name, photo, and “visitor from the U.K. Forces” printed on it. Next appeared a base pass, again with her rank, name, photo, and visitor legend, but it said, “unaccompanied access to all areas except those marked restricted, unless accompanied.” Jinnie was handed the two passes, and the receptionist gave her a lanyard with two plastic pass holders and said, “Please wear these so they are visible at all times while on the base.”
With the lanyard round her neck, CPO Nowak said, “Ma’am, first I will show you your accommodation, and then I’ll take you to the meeting room. I understand the meeting is scheduled for one, with a buffet lunch starting at noon. So, you have time to freshen up and get into uniform first. If you give me your car keys, I will get your bags from the truck.” Jinnie smiled and replied, “CPO, I don’t have a uniform. Despite my rank, it is really a courtesy title. I would stand out like a sore thumb on many of the missions I undertake. I am not attached to any regiment, I am actually a civilian.” Jinnie handed Nowak her car keys and slipped into the suite’s bathroom, locking the door behind her. When she emerged, her suitcase was on the bed with a note that read, “I will be back at 11:55 to escort you to Meeting Room 12C.”
Nowak arrived on the dot and took Jinnie from the accommodation block to the admin block and to a guarded Room 12C. Jinnie’s passes were inspected, and she was admitted to the room. She stood at the entrance for a moment, getting her bearings. There was a large conference table in the middle of the room with around twenty chairs. To her left was a credenza loaded with both hot and cold food, although the spirit burners only seemed to be keeping hotdog sausages and burger patties warm. Six uniformed men stood at the far end of the credenza, eating and chatting. From the opposite end of the room, Jinnie could distinguish ranks, but they wore US Marine and Navy uniforms, all except one who stood out in his RN blue.
The man in blue sensed someone looking at him, turned, saw Jinnie, smiled, and hurried over. He held out a hand and said, “Welcome aboard, Dame Jinnie,” then, after spotting her lanyard, added, “or is it Major de Luca now?” Jinnie smiled back and said, “Hello, George, or is it Rear Admiral Dobiecki now?” They both laughed, and George said, “Come over and get some lunch and meet some of the others on the panel.”
Jinnie put cold chicken and salad on her plate and a mug of “Joe.” Jinnie said to George, “Gosh, a decent cup of coffee.” George replied, “As the US Navy is effectively dry, they run on coffee, and there would be a mutiny if it was poor. Now let me introduce you to the others.” He said, “Gentlemen, may I introduce you to Major Dame Jinnie de Luca. She is the lone sniper your Department of War requested from the U.K. I know she is not the sniper you envisaged, but let me tell you, she is a fabulous shot, and her younger sister is only slightly less capable.”
“I have known them both for several years,” continued George, “and have been involved in several secret missions with them. I ought to tell you, as Dame Jinnie won’t, that she retired from the Secret Intelligence Service nearly eight years ago to raise her family and to build a highly successful catering and hospitality business. But she is still retained on an occasional basis, and I understand that it is her involvement with stopping the people-smuggling business from North Africa to Italy that made the DoW ask the MoD for her help. Now I know for a fact that you had no idea that the sniper you asked to borrow was a woman. She and her sister were only referred to as Sniper A and B in the reports released to Washington.”
George added, “Interestingly, Sniper C was also a woman, but she is from Slovenia and was trained by Jinnie’s sister. I would back any of the three to outshoot anyone in the US military, so I suspect that you have fallen lucky, as your best sniper had his car accident.” One of the American Marines, wearing the uniform of a one-star general, asked, “Do we call you Major or Dame?” Jinnie replied, “In the UK honours system, a Dame ranks higher, and the Major is only an honorary title to keep the bean counters at the MoD happy when I am working for the SIS. So, if you want to be correct, I suppose it is Dame Jinnie. But please just call me Jinnie when it’s informal.”
***
The meeting began at 13:00 sharp, with the one-star general in the chair. Everyone else seemed to know each other, as the vast majority were SEALs. He started the meeting by introducing Rear Admiral Dobiecki, the British Naval Attaché in Washington, and Dame Jinnie de Luca, the loan sniper, which brought a raised eyebrow or two from officers who were not there when George had presented his monologue. The general noted the reaction and said, “Jinnie comes highly recommended, and with a huge reputation. You will not have seen her name in reports, as it is always redacted for security reasons, but you will have read of many of her missions in secret reports.”
The general then explained the aim of the mission, and Jinnie listened carefully. The general told how the country was struggling with an influx of fentanyl being smuggled in. There were two main routes, one on the west coast and one on the east coast, and the panel had been set up to tackle both. The west coast route involved the drug being made in Mexico and brought to California beaches at night by speedboat. Of course, the Mexican government were of no help, as the trade was highly profitable to them.
On the east coast, the drug was being brought into Florida from Venezuela by what the general called cargo submarines. However, he was immediately corrected by a Navy representative, who explained it was a semi-submersible, as it did not actually dive beneath the surface. The meeting was to decide how exactly to stop the speedboats in the west and the semi-submersibles in the east.
***
Willie said to Izzy, “We thought Mummy was coming home this morning.” “So did I,” replied Izzy, “but she messaged me last night to say something had come up and she was going to have to stay in America for a bit longer.” “Is she being a spy again?” asked Millie. “I really don’t know what she is doing,” said Izzy, “she didn’t say.” “But if she was spying, she wouldn’t say,” said Willie. Izzy thought he was right, then said, “But she is in America, and they are our friends, so I think it must be business.”
“I hope she hasn’t forgotten that it’s half term the week after next,” said Millie, “and Juliette is coming to stay, and Daddy has got the box at the Emirates on Thursday evening for the women’s match against Barcelona.” “Oh, I don’t think she will have forgotten. But it’s Saturday today, so that’s ten days away. Anyway, I will be here to look after you all, and Mummy and Simone will be working. I understand that Daddy has asked Uncle Nigel to come with us, and he is driving Granny and Grandpa, just like last time we went.”
“But this is different,” said Willie. “It’s the Champions League, and we are playing Barcelona, and we are top of the league.” “Oh,” said Izzy, “I didn’t realise how important it was. I’m sure that even if Mummy is not home, you can go with Daddy and Juliette’s mummy and daddy. Now,” she continued, “how are you getting on with your Spanish lessons at school?” “We don’t think Mr Excell is very good at Spanish,” said Millie. “Why?” asked Izzy.
“When we talked to Daddy about learning Spanish at school, he downloaded a course for beginners on our iPads,” said Willie. “Well, we found that easy, so he got us more advanced courses, and we are now on course seven. Mr Excell is still teaching at beginners’ level, and when we ask questions in Spanish, he doesn’t understand and asks us to speak more slowly.” Izzy laughed and said, “You know I’m trying to learn Spanish, perhaps you should teach me.” Millie giggled and said in Spanish, “We could lend you our courses. They are good.” Izzy replied in Spanish, “I think I understood you, and yes, I would like to borrow your courses.” Millie said, “You speak better Spanish than Mr Excell.”
***
Jinnie’s meeting was coming to an end. The admiral was summing up, “OK, so it’s two operations to take place simultaneously. Here on the West Coast, we will take up the Brits’ offer of using the submarine HMS Anson as a platform to shoot the delivery boats from. Anson is on a ‘goodwill’ visit to San Diego in four weeks, so that gives us four weeks to firm up the plans. The East Coast is a bit more difficult. We know the submersibles come out of Lake Maracaibo, and we know where they are built and loaded, but we need to be careful, as it’s in the middle of a big city. So, the SEALs are to go in via a staging point in Aruba, if the Dutch agree.”
“The problem is we need to hit both targets at the same time, and we only have one sniper.” “I have a solution to that,” said Jinnie. “When I get back to the U.K., I will talk with my boss, the head of the Secret Intelligence Service, and suggest that we use my sister as the second sniper. I am learning Spanish, so I would like to go to Venezuela and leave the West Coast to my sister.”
“Will the SIS let us borrow both of you?” asked the admiral. “I can’t guarantee it,” replied Jinnie, “but I think they will. You are our closest friend and have helped us in the past. I will only share this plan with my boss, and I doubt he will discuss it with anyone other than the Prime Minister. We know how to keep a secret.”
***
Jinnie sat on the bed in her accommodation and checked the Virgin flights out of Los Angeles, and discovered there was one at 10:30 that evening. The question was whether she could get to LAX in time to catch it. A quick word at the reception desk directed her to the base travel bookers, who first checked her return ticket was valid and got her a seat. She clearly didn’t have time to drive back to LA, but she was booked onto a commuter flight from San Diego and was told she could leave the car there. Jinnie threw her things in her bag and was gone.
The rental car drop-off was slow and tedious, but it was eventually done, and Jinnie ran to the Delta check-in and made the LA flight with minutes to spare. She settled into her business class seat for the short flight and was delighted to accept the coffee and pretzels that were on offer. It was then that she started worrying that her case had made it onboard. It was checked through to Heathrow, and she remembered hearing that it was suitcases going from a US internal flight to an international flight that were most likely to go missing. “Oh well,” she thought, “if it doesn’t make the connection, it will get there in the end, and it only has clothes and makeup in it. My iPad is in my cabin bag, and I have loads of clothes at home.”
The plane landed a few minutes early at LAX, and she was one of the first off. She was in no rush, as the Virgin flight was in two hours and thirty minutes, and she had checked in at San Diego and already had a boarding pass. She made her way to the Virgin Clubhouse and accepted a Pepsi Max, but decided not to eat, as a ground stewardess told her that dinner would be served directly after take-off. Jinnie checked her watch, it was 20:25, too late to phone home, as it was nearly 04:30 in the morning. Instead, she messaged Paolo using the club’s free Wi-Fi and said she was on the Virgin flight from LA that landed at Heathrow at 16:50, and could he get a taxi organised to pick her up.
Jinnie then messaged Alan to say she was on her way home and would land late that afternoon, and would like to see him to discuss the “Project” the following morning, and that she would be in at 10:00. Jinnie accepted another Pepsi Max and settled back to watch the TV until the flight was called.
***
Paolo told the twins and Izzy that their mother was on the way home and that he would pick her up at the airport in the late afternoon, and she would be home before their bedtime. Willie wanted to know if they could stay up if the plane was late, and Izzy said, “We will see,” which usually meant no. So, it was a grumpy Willie and Millie that she dropped off at the school gates.
Izzy decided to try her little Spanish on the twins and asked them if they had a Spanish lesson that day. Willie replied, “I think so, but we won’t learn anything.” Izzy thought for a moment and said, “Why don’t you ask Mr Excell if you can carry on with your course on your iPads?” “We are not allowed to take our iPads into class,” answered Millie, “we can only use the school ones, and they don’t have our course on them, only maths lessons, and we are way in advance of them.”
Izzy watched the twins greet Mrs Pilbeam, who was on gate duty, and then trudge across the playground. When they had disappeared inside, she slipped out of the car and approached Mrs Pilbeam, who smiled and said, “Hello, Izzy, the twins don’t look very happy this morning.” “They aren’t. Their mother has been away working on business in America but is on a flight home due late this afternoon, but their daddy says that if the plane is late they can’t stay up. Then, to exacerbate the problem, they have Spanish with Mr Excell later, and they think he is useless at Spanish, and their Spanish is better than his. They have been learning from courses on their iPads and seem very good to me.”
Mrs Pilbeam said, “I know just how good they are at languages, they tested my French and German, and I thought I was fluent. They are probably right about Mr Excell, he is not happy teaching Spanish, and only he and the headmistress speak it at all.” “So, Miss Manson speaks Spanish?” asked Izzy. “Yes, she does,” replied Mrs Pilbeam, who stopped to greet a gaggle of children who had just been guided across the road by Mavis, the lollipop lady. She continued, “She used to teach Spanish before she became head, why don’t you have a word with her?”
“I think I will,” said Izzy, “how do I get an appointment?” Mrs Pilbeam pulled out her mobile and hit a memory key. Izzy could only hear one half of the conversation, which seemed to be with someone called Sandra. Mrs Pilbeam put her phone back in her pocket, looked at her watch, and said, “Right, come in, the bell is about to ring and classes start.” She closed the gate and said, “Anyone arriving now is late and will have to buzz in. Follow me, you have a nine o’clock meeting with Miss Manson.”
***
Izzy sat outside the headmistress’s office and felt apprehensive. She couldn’t help but remember being summoned to the headmaster’s office when she was at school, and it had rarely been good news. At nine on the dot, the door opened, and Miss Manson said, “Please come in, I understand you are the de Luca twins’ nanny, and you want to talk about their Spanish lessons. I must say this could be a difficult meeting, as I should be talking to one of their parents.”
Izzy thought quickly and decided a little white lie would do no harm, and said, “Their mother is in California on business, and I don’t know if you are aware, but their father is very senior in the Italian Embassy and has been recalled to Rome for a few days, so I am, in effect, in loco parentis until their mother comes back.” Miss Manson nodded and said, “Well, let’s see what the problem is, and if I think we are getting into deep water, we will have to stop.”
“As you know, the twins have a particular aptitude for languages, and they were anxious to learn Spanish after visiting there in the summer. So, their father installed Spanish courses on their iPads. Now, I have been taking Spanish classes since the summer, but they are way ahead of me, and they feel that the lessons in class are geared to the slowest in the class, and they are learning nothing. I wonder if it would be possible for them to continue using their iPad courses in class.”
Miss Manson looked at the paperwork in front of her and said, “Mr Excell says the twins are making good progress.” “They think any progress they are making is no thanks to Mr Excell, it is all their own efforts,” said Izzy. “Don’t get me wrong, they like Mr Excell and he is doing a good job in other subjects, it’s just the Spanish.”
Miss Manson took off her glasses and rubbed her eyes before saying, “I don’t say this easily, but the twins are the brightest children I have ever taught. They are far ahead of their classmates in every subject, and I must admit it is not easy keeping them interested. Mr Excell has never taught Spanish before and is not very experienced. I am not in the least surprised that they are not happy, but what to do about it is the question.”
Miss Manson sat for a minute before saying, “How about this. I’ll chat to the twins today to see just how good at Spanish they are. I suspect they are already very good. They will also need to know how to read and write Spanish if they are ever going to take any Spanish exams. If they are really good, then I’ll teach them myself. If they are merely good, I’ll let them use their iPad courses in class. I think I’ll chat to them informally over lunch, and I will ring you this afternoon with my decision.”
***
Jinnie had woken up after a long sleep to the smell of bacon wafting through the plane’s cabin and was ready for what the menu called brunch. Jinnie checked her watch, which she had set to GMT, and saw it was just after 2 pm, and the moving map on her TV screen showed them still out over the North Atlantic. She had a bacon roll and a single glass bottle of English dry white wine for brunch and thought, “I wonder where Virgin source their wines, this is good.”
Jinnie settled down to read her Kindle for the last couple of hours until they landed at Heathrow. Jinnie had only been reading for a few minutes when a voice dragged her back from the world of Jack Reacher. “Can I get you a drink, Dame Jinnie?” “Yes, please,” replied Jinnie, “could I have a glass of that delicious English white wine, please?” “Of course, it is very good,” said the stewardess. “My husband and I visited your winery down near Worthing, and we tried some of your French wines, and they were wonderful. We particularly liked the Merlot.”
“Strangely,” said Jinnie, “that wine is why we bought the French winery. But we are going to concentrate on white at the Long Furlong winery, Chardonnay in particular, but it’s going to be a while before we have enough grapes to make wine commercially. It takes three years for a vine to produce its best, and those at Long Furlong were only planted last year.” The girl came back with a couple of single-glass bottles and said to Jinnie, “You never know, I might be serving your wine in the future.” Jinnie chuckled and said, “That could be sooner than you think, we have just bought a winery in California, and it produces some decent wines. Perhaps we should talk to Virgin’s buyers.”
Jinnie used the automated passport scanner to pass through immigration and headed to baggage reclaim, and was delighted to see her small case was already on the conveyor belt. She lifted it off the belt, pulled out the handle, and headed off for the green channel, pulling her case behind her. She was nearly through customs when an officer stepped out in front of her and said, “Good afternoon, madam, would you mind stepping over to the counter?” Jinnie did as requested, and the customs officer said, “Where did you fly from, madam?” Jinnie answered, “I started my journey in San Diego, but I caught the Virgin flight from Los Angeles.” “And the purpose of your visit, madam?” Jinnie decided to answer the questions, but not to volunteer any information, and replied, “Business.”
“So, you travelled on a business visa,” the officer said. “No,” replied Jinnie, “an ESTA, it allows you to conduct business but not work.” The officer snorted and said, “Can I see your passport, please?” “Of course,” said Jinnie, and pulled it from her bag. The officer flicked through to the photo page and compared it to her. He then wandered over to a scanner and swiped the passport. Jinnie watched as the officer read what came up on the screen and did a double take before walking over to a senior officer. Jinnie knew exactly what had occurred, he had first seen that she was a Dame and then the SIS marker, and didn’t know what to do.
The officer walked back over, handed her passport back, and said, “Thank you, Dame Jinnie. I will detain you no longer, but why didn’t you say you were an SIS operative?” Jinnie replied, “Because I was combining my private business with government business, and that part is top secret, so I would appreciate that you don’t mention it to anyone.”
Jinnie walked out of the customs hall and immediately spotted Paolo, and hurried over and kissed him before saying, “I didn’t expect to see you here.” “I told the ambassador I was leaving early to meet you off a flight, and he just said OK. So here I am.” They headed over to Paolo’s British racing green Jaguar in the short-term car park and were soon out of the tunnel and on the M4, heading to the M25. Jinnie said, “I can’t wait to talk to the twins, but I know if I phone either of them, I will never hear the end of it from the other.” Paolo said, “Why don’t you ring Izzy and tell her you are on the way, she is doing roast chicken for dinner, and I bet Larry is driving her mad.”
Before Jinnie could hit the memory setting for Izzy, the phone in her hand rang, and she nearly dropped it in surprise. She answered the withheld number, saying, “Hello,” and heard Alan’s voice say, “Hi, Jinnie, so you’ve finally got your phone back on. I’ve been trying to ring you all day.” Jinnie replied, “Hi, Alan, sorry, but the plane didn’t have a satellite connection, so it made no difference whether my phone was on or off. What can I do for you?”
“It’s just that I have a meeting with the Cabinet Secretary tomorrow morning, and I wanted to put you off until after lunch. Would one thirty be OK? I’m anxious to learn why the Yanks specifically requested you.” “That’s OK with me,” said Jinnie, “I can have a lie-in to help me get over the jet lag.”
Chapter 26 – Jinnie Goes Back to School
© WorthingGooner 2026
