CHAPTER THIRTEEN
By the time, the chopper put down on the island Stanton listened to Brannigan hearing mostly what he suspected and could work on some burning issues confronting him. Every fact Brannigan stated Stanton could verify in his mind from what he knew, what warmed him was the confirmation patriotic operatives are hard to sway. He still had nothing that could pinpoint corruption more was needed to find the top of the pyramid, Sheldon had withheld telling Stanton the full facts, and Stanton knew it.
Polaris was in the hands of Middle Eastern dictators this was a threat to the planets existence should they persuade scientists to develop a nuclear capability. Stanton pondered which way to go, he could enter Iraq, an invite forwarded for Stanton to review defence systems made indirectly, no agreements existed between this area of the Middle East and the UK. The thing that roused suspicion was this very point, it would be impossible for MI to investigate the Polaris disappearance and trace the perpetrators but he was. He made the decision to send Brannigan back to Westminster supplying information currently unavailable to those in power clearing Brannigan of any wrongdoing and putting MI central on track to trace the misguided.
Bella had to lead Rose down the pitch-black stairway, Rose complained of the musty smell and rough concrete wall scratching her manicured nails. Bella abused her in the darkness. Stanton and Brannigan reached the illuminated entrance cavern he held Brannigan back pushing his hand into his chest. He pointed to the floor, a trail of fresh blood barely visible on the worn concrete floor. They drew their weapons cocking them safety catch off and slowly progressed through the hallways and caverns looking for Hurst. The blood trail became easier to trace as they progressed, it led to a closed room where Sheldon was held captive. The door was closed and Stanton used his head to indicate to Brannigan that he was going to bust in and needed cover. Bella held her hand over Rose’s mouth down the end of the corridor to keep her quiet holding her pistol in the other hand over her shoulder, Rose could see down the barrel sight.
Stanton open the door it was not locked bursting in followed by Brannigan, they fanned the room with their weapons but it was empty. The room was littered with bloodstains on the wall, floor and bedding. Stanton led them on quietly until the underground tunnel opened up into the area used as the living quarters. Hurst sat at the table holding a bloodstained towel to his head. Stanton holstered his weapon and rushed to his side. “Bruce, what the hell, they got Sheldon?”
Hurst struggled to talk, his face covered in blood and barely conscious. “Someone got him, I was sitting here and suddenly the lights went out hit from behind. I don’t know how long I’ve been out to it or how long I’ve been conscious, seems just a couple of minutes.”
“Bella check with security, the gate, air control, locals see if they saw anything out of the ordinary doesn’t matter how small.” Bella raced off.
“Is Sheldon in his room?”
“No.” Stanton picked up a lamp usually sitting on top of the fridge behind where Hurst was sitting. Broken, the glass base had a sharp edge and one had to be careful when picking it up not to be left with a nasty wound. “Whoever hit you cut them selves on this when they hit you, by the blood on the floor must have been deep. There’s blood in the room Sheldon was in, spread all over the place.”
Stanton returned to the room while Brannigan and Rose attended to Hurst. Stanton concluded the blood and marks in the room had been done on purpose, hand marks and fingerprints everywhere. A length of linen torn from the bed sheet with messy blood marks around the tear. Stanton believed Sheldon had escaped injuring himself in the process. Just as he walked from the room, Bella could be heard down the entrance end of the access tunnel. “Move,” she kicked a neatly dressed man in a grey suit and white shirt complete with blue tie up the rear forcing him forwards loosing his footing.
The middle aged man looked back at Bella. “I’m injured cant you see,” he begged. He looked forward as he staggered along looking straight into Stanton’s face. “Holy shit.”
“He fell in the old gun emplacement cellar near the jetty, they left him there when they saw our chopper landing, he’s MI5.” Bella held out a wallet, Stanton took it looking the man right in the face as he leant passed him. “He’s carrying a thirty eight revolver.”
Stanton opened his ID, he occasionally looked up right in the man’s face. “Warren Kelly, inspector MI5,” he stuffed the wallet back inside his suit jacket. He looked through his pockets but found nothing. “You came by sea.”
“Yes.”
“Wooden power launch, used their ID to get access claiming they were here to see Hurst,” added Bella.
“Is that right, who sent you?”
“I don’t take orders from yo…”
Stanton slapped his face, drew his pistol and aimed it squarely at the man’s forehead. “Having trouble understanding please, this is top secret MI6 turf and you are on it without permission. I can decide right on this spot if your treason is a threat to national security and undertake an immediate sanction. You took Sheldon right.”
The man swallowed looking down the barrel of Stanton’s weapon. “Yes.”
“Where?”
“London via the Thames.”
“London is a big place.” The man said nothing. “Bella leave us.” She trotted up the tunnel towards Hurst. “Go in that room.”
The man entered the room Stanton followed him and stood against the wall just inside the door. He cocked his weapon as Kelly turned to face him, he put his hands up in front of him arms outstretched. “No please, I have a family.”
“So does Hurst the man you left for dead. “He had a pulse.”
“So it was you, how many of you came.”
“I never hit him someone else did and copped a cut. Four of us two stayed on the boat.”
“That’s better,” Stanton lowered his weapon. “Now where in London.”
Brannigan rushed into the room. “Don’t kill him,” Stanton shrugged his shoulders and pouted. “Kelly you bastard, where’s Sheldon.”
Kelly looked shocked, flabbergasted, he looked in disbelief. “Brannigan, I was told you were dead.”
“I may have well have been, you followed my wife you bastard.” Stanton listened with interest. “Was it you that passed on Polaris.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Brannigan lunged at him but Stanton pulled him back.
“Not now, you move,” Stanton waved his weapon in the direction of the door following Kelly’s progress with the muzzle as he walked. “Turn right head for Hurst you obviously know where that is.”
They followed him to the cavern where Hurst had cleaned his head wound with the assistance of Bella and Rose was in the bathroom facilities showering. Stanton sat Kelly down in the corner and turned on powerful floodlights directed at his face, he struggled to see holding his hand over his brow in an attempt to see what was going on. He was left for ten minutes before Stanton was ready to interrogate him. “Where in London?”
“Look they know I’m here won’t be long before you’re surrounded.”
Stanton laughed under his breath. “We’re surrounded by a lot of things, sea, fields of wheat, farmers, our security forces in fact the only thing that is missing are your accomplices. They left you and fled, I don’t know how you work but we leave no one behind.”
“They’ll be back.”
“We just rang your operations centre, they have no knowledge of any activities in this area. In fact you’re supposed to be in Plymouth a point I found most interesting. Now do you want me to tell you or are you going to tell me.”
“I’m not saying any more.”
“George Hollis Kelly, you’ve been doing some ground work on him lately.”
Kelly stood up struggling to see through the lights. “Look I am saying nothing.”
“Sit down!” Kelly sat down. “If you don’t talk I’ll put it out to the mafia you’re an ear.”
“No they’ll kill my family.”
Stanton walke
d in between the lights, Kelly could see his silhouette. “I have problems understanding them myself, you need to give us a bit more.”
“Why should I.”
“Because you work for me now Warren, or I’ll release you and everyone will be looking for you. Brannigan can tell you what its like.”
Kelly looked at the floor, the musty stale air depressed him, he shook his head slowly his long dark hair brushing his shoulders. “We were ordered to take him to Windsor, the home office.”
“Oh, too late for Sheldon he’ll be dead by the time we get there.”
“Why, he’s got a lot of clout there.”
“He knows too much and will be liquidated.”
“I don’t believe you.”
“Gustav Fleming.”
Kelly looked up. “You know him.”
“I know of him. Rose Fleming.”
Kelly’s face lit up. “She’s beautiful.”
“Mmmm, interesting. You’re a major puppet Kelly.”
“You know her or something.”
“She tells me you pay her by the half hour.”
Kelly stood up wide-eyed. “You would have had to talk to her to know that.”
“The whole departments not rank with misguided people Warren but I’m finding the same names cropping up with the word Polaris.”
“I’m saying nothing.”
“Rose.” Rose walked into the lights standing in front of Stanton, she wore only a towel tethered around her breasts the bottom of which was only just short of her pubic region.
“Hi Warren, small world.”
Kelly shook his head in disbelief, he blinked quickly and stuttered. “R R Rose, what the hell.”
Rose looked at his crutch, it began to swell. “You always get excited when you see me, I wonder what your wife would think, I wonder if you last longer than thirty seconds when nestled between her loins.”
“Rose you don’t understand I love you.” He looked at Stanton. “Let me have her and I’ll tell you anything.”
Rose walked away. “I’m afraid not Warren, your liable to tell us anything to get at her let alone the truth. I think you can see things are not as they seem,” stated Stanton.
“What the hell is going on, Brannigan, Rose you’re treading on some powerful toes. Who the hell are you anyway?”
“My names John Stanton.”
Kelly went pale and stone faced. “Why didn’t you tell me that in the first place?”
“It’s the first time you’ve asked.” Stanton walked to the table leaving Kelly shrouded by the lights. Brannigan, Hurst, Bella and Rose had been talking quietly sitting around the table talking in a low voice, Stanton interrupted. “We need to get some rest, Bella will show you the sleeping quarters Rose. Early tomorrow morning Brannigan and I will go to Westminster unannounced. We’ll drop a file on Albert Hollis’s desk, the information will clear Brannigan and he can start to find the underlying cause of the Polaris plans, many questions and we need answers. Hurst, Bella and Rose stay below ground. I’ll take Kelly with me and leave him with Hollis, should keep them busy arguing for a while. Bit more information and when I get back I’ll think about which direction to go.”
“There’s a side door behind the bookcase in Albert’s office,” said Hurst. “Go in the office to the left of his and along the right hand side of the room is a long bookcase, the section with encyclopaedia Britannica opens when you pull the top of volume one down. The same in Albert’s office, quick way in and out, anyone that visits he doesn’t want listed as an official visit uses this access.”
Stanton sat down on the only remaining chair, he looked puzzled as he squinted at Bruce. “I didn’t know about that one, they’re common some date back to the rebuild in 1834 designed by architect Charles Barry after the great fire. I studied his original plans whilst working on the security system.” He hesitated everyone was poised in concentration of his statement. “Albert would have put it there for a good reason. He still resists moving into the new Vauxhall Cross complex, when we designed the place he didn’t think it was healthy to be that close to one side and not the other. I thought I’d covered every door in the system. He’s one of the only remaining ministers to hold out in the old palace complex, I think I see why now. He is against computerised systems,” Stanton shook his head slowly. “If he only knew how right he was.”
“He asked me to inform you about it, only just came to mind,” added Hurst.
“Albert’s clean or I’m blind to something.”
Hurst backed him up. “Albert put us here for a reason, he risked his position to set us up. He mentioned the separation of powers or the lack of them.”
“We’re not so stealth any more as obvious by the visitors. Not such a bad thing but I see no reason to panic. We plant Brannigan and back him up, we need a lead on Polaris.”
“Polaris could have been duplicated, more than one power may have the plans,” said Brannigan.
“Mmmm, everything’s useless except the warhead design, Polaris has been restructured. A strength in this is the opposition planning defence based on the plans would be weakened to a point of being without defence at all. However, behind the iron curtain my dealings would bring me to believe they’re not that silly. The warhead design in the hands of Middle Eastern dictators is serious,” said Stanton.
Rose looked blank and bored. “What are you people talking about, sounds like double Dutch, I thought we were going to bed, my bedroom is like yuuuuk.”
Everyone laughed. “If you need any help Rose just ask,” said Stanton.
Bella’s face etched with rage. “You keep away from her room, you’ll sleep on the wall side of the door and if you want to use the men’s room I’ll keep watch.”
“I was thinking of sleeping in Rose’s room to make sure she’s okay,” said Brannigan.
“So was I,” added Hurst.
Kelly raised his voice shielding his eyes from the bright lights. “Rose, please, I love you I’ll make sure your okay.”
Bella got up shaking her head looking daggers at a smiling Rose, she grabbed Stanton by the arm and began to drag him away. “Oh my god.”