Church? Only the Assembly board and a select few in the Curia, seemed aware of the Archbishop’s passion for cruelty; the reason for the Black in his title.
Keep focused. Uta … Only Uta The Raptor matters. Nothing else.
Her sudden arrival seemed staged; the cardinal trying to scare him perhaps. It worked. Her appearance terrified him. It created the very real possibility that his precious spy might be working for someone other than him; Uta or a woman so similar that they could be twins; an unthinkable state of affairs. Each scenario implied that the Black Cardinal secretly controlled the Fox operation.
For a second, he thought about his late father and his lame advice. ‘Pull yourself together. Hide your fear. Never show the enemy your mind.’
He needed the advice. His longevity might depend on it.
Chapter Seventeen
A s Noah communicated with the G11 placements around the building, Tom noticed the man’s eyelids stretch open in surprise and his pupils dart from side to side.
He exhaled, lowered the phone and spoke to them with urgency.
“They’re coming through both entrances. Isobel, get behind those drums and don’t move. Tom, you come with me. We can squeeze behind the boxes at the far end of the room.”
They raced to their allotted positions, with Tom the furthest away. He crouched behind a large cardboard box with: ‘DANGER - Highly Inflammable Chemicals’, stamped across each visible surface. He could see more of these cartons stored in a caged area behind him. In front on a metal bench, he noticed a range of glass testing apparatus, beakers and Bunsen burners.
He stiffened.
Men moved towards him in SRP uniforms and another man wearing a dark-brown suit.
Tom ducked down as far as he could and waited.
_____________
Isobel heard the men enter through the rear door and move towards her position.
They’re probably the same men who threatened to rape me.
She felt fear gush through her system.
Rape … Stop thinking about it. Let it go … Not now.
She quietened her breathing and held her knees to stop her hands from shaking.
Her thoughts raced; an idea coming to fruition in her mind; a notion previously suppressed; now unstoppable.
Rape …?
The anatomy of rape. Rape not as an act of sexual intercourse, but the theft of her virginity. Control by another through violence; control ripped from her life. Control that she couldn’t get back.
No. That’s bullshit. That’s the ultimate bullshit.
She could take it back … If she chose. Without it, she felt that chaos and random events controlled her life.
No. No … I can’t. Look at me. I’m a little defenceless girl, hiding behind a drum with men coming to violate me; coming to take away any chance of control, ever again .
The footsteps grew closer. They could see her. She could hear the men’s laughter.
She felt someone prod her with his boot.
“Well, look what we have here.”
Isobel thought about capitulation; just sit there like a victim, accepting no choice, no control … Even rape.
Alright … Take a deep breath … and do it girl.
Her tiny body shook as she rose; lifting the wooden three-legged stool above her head.
“Chief, look out …”
As the suited man held out his arms, nodding and accepting the smiled applause from his men, he heard one of them call out and he stopped mid-movement.
He remained rooted to the spot; one hand staying aloft as the heavier seat section of the stool, struck him high on the left side of his head, grazed his ear and slammed into his shoulder; inflicting no serious injury.
“What the hell …? Grab the little whore and hold her.”
Two SRP men ran forward and took hold of Isobel; one man for each arm.
She saw the suited man walk forward. With blood dribbling from his ear, he withdrew a knife from his belt and held it to her throat.
“You stupid, dumb bitch. Give me what I want or I’ll feed you to my men, right here and now.”
_____________
Tom
Keep focused. Uta … Only Uta The Raptor matters. Nothing else.
Her sudden arrival seemed staged; the cardinal trying to scare him perhaps. It worked. Her appearance terrified him. It created the very real possibility that his precious spy might be working for someone other than him; Uta or a woman so similar that they could be twins; an unthinkable state of affairs. Each scenario implied that the Black Cardinal secretly controlled the Fox operation.
For a second, he thought about his late father and his lame advice. ‘Pull yourself together. Hide your fear. Never show the enemy your mind.’
He needed the advice. His longevity might depend on it.
Chapter Seventeen
A s Noah communicated with the G11 placements around the building, Tom noticed the man’s eyelids stretch open in surprise and his pupils dart from side to side.
He exhaled, lowered the phone and spoke to them with urgency.
“They’re coming through both entrances. Isobel, get behind those drums and don’t move. Tom, you come with me. We can squeeze behind the boxes at the far end of the room.”
They raced to their allotted positions, with Tom the furthest away. He crouched behind a large cardboard box with: ‘DANGER - Highly Inflammable Chemicals’, stamped across each visible surface. He could see more of these cartons stored in a caged area behind him. In front on a metal bench, he noticed a range of glass testing apparatus, beakers and Bunsen burners.
He stiffened.
Men moved towards him in SRP uniforms and another man wearing a dark-brown suit.
Tom ducked down as far as he could and waited.
_____________
Isobel heard the men enter through the rear door and move towards her position.
They’re probably the same men who threatened to rape me.
She felt fear gush through her system.
Rape … Stop thinking about it. Let it go … Not now.
She quietened her breathing and held her knees to stop her hands from shaking.
Her thoughts raced; an idea coming to fruition in her mind; a notion previously suppressed; now unstoppable.
Rape …?
The anatomy of rape. Rape not as an act of sexual intercourse, but the theft of her virginity. Control by another through violence; control ripped from her life. Control that she couldn’t get back.
No. That’s bullshit. That’s the ultimate bullshit.
She could take it back … If she chose. Without it, she felt that chaos and random events controlled her life.
No. No … I can’t. Look at me. I’m a little defenceless girl, hiding behind a drum with men coming to violate me; coming to take away any chance of control, ever again .
The footsteps grew closer. They could see her. She could hear the men’s laughter.
She felt someone prod her with his boot.
“Well, look what we have here.”
Isobel thought about capitulation; just sit there like a victim, accepting no choice, no control … Even rape.
Alright … Take a deep breath … and do it girl.
Her tiny body shook as she rose; lifting the wooden three-legged stool above her head.
“Chief, look out …”
As the suited man held out his arms, nodding and accepting the smiled applause from his men, he heard one of them call out and he stopped mid-movement.
He remained rooted to the spot; one hand staying aloft as the heavier seat section of the stool, struck him high on the left side of his head, grazed his ear and slammed into his shoulder; inflicting no serious injury.
“What the hell …? Grab the little whore and hold her.”
Two SRP men ran forward and took hold of Isobel; one man for each arm.
She saw the suited man walk forward. With blood dribbling from his ear, he withdrew a knife from his belt and held it to her throat.
“You stupid, dumb bitch. Give me what I want or I’ll feed you to my men, right here and now.”
_____________
Tom