this mess.’
----
Fifteen minutes later they both sat in a quiet corner of the flight lounge each nursing a hot coffee.
‘First of all,’ he said, ‘My name is indeed Brandon and Agnes is my mother. I am a serving officer in the intelligence arm of the Special Air Service but would appreciate it if you kept that fact kept to yourself.’
‘I understand,’ she said.
‘Right, all this started when the first girl was found in Victoria station. At first it was a simple murder case and was being investigated by the police. We weren’t involved at that stage and ordinarily wouldn’t have been called on. However all that changed when the second girl was kidnapped from outside the hotel.’
‘Why?’
‘Because the girl is the niece of the Prime Minister!’
‘What?’ she gasped in astonishment, ‘How can that be? Where was her security, Where were you lot?’
‘We don’t protect extended family members unless there is a specific threat,’ he said, ‘It seems that the family had come to London on a shopping trip and that little girl, Camille, wandered off in Oxford street. That’s when she was snatched.’
‘But nothing’s been on the TV, surely it would have been all over the news?’
‘Like I said, news blackout.’
‘But why, has there been a ransom demand?’
‘No, and there won’t be one. Take a look at these two pictures.’
She examined the two passport size photographs he placed on the table.
‘It’s the same girl,’ she said.
‘That’s just it,’ he said, ‘They’re not. The one on the left is indeed Camille, the one on the right is a girl called Sharon, a young girl who lives in care close to the hotel. We think she is the one that was targeted but Camille was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Whoever they are, they’ve got the wrong girl.’
‘But why don’t the police just release a statement?’ she asked, ‘Wouldn’t the kidnappers just release her?’
‘Think about it,’ he said, ‘At the moment they think they have just got some homeless kid. As soon as they realise it is the Prime ministers niece her life could be in danger.’
‘But surely she is in danger anyway?’
‘Perhaps so, but this way we hope we have bought her some extra time.’
‘We, she asked, and who exactly are we ?’
‘Everyone and his dog,’ said Brandon, ‘There are hundreds on this case but it seems she has just disappeared off the face of the Earth. None of our contacts in the underworld can shed any light. We’ve pulled in every pimp and pervert across London but no one knows anything. The only leads we have are those coins, but the fact that someone tried to kill us to stop us getting further means that we are onto something.’
‘So why are we travelling second class on a public flight?’ she asked, ‘Surely on a task this big you have all sorts of resources to call on.’
‘We do, but we want to keep a low profile. Be the ‘ grey man’ as we say in the service. If we ran about commandeering all sorts of things we would attract unwanted attention. Not so much from the kidnappers but from the journalists and we can’t afford that. That’s why I whisked you away from Victoria when we found the crucified girl. The paparazzi wouldn’t have been far behind the ambulance and the same at the house. All it would take is one over zealous journalist and the kidnappers would have been tipped off, hence the blackout.’
‘What about the two dead girls, do you think they are linked to this kidnapping?’
‘Hard to say. The only link is the coin but that is what I am going to find out.’
‘Is there anything else?’ she asked.
‘Nope, that’s it,’ he said, ‘You now know as much as me.’
‘Wow,’ she said quietly, ‘This is completely and utterly mad.’
‘Right we need to get serious now India. Four people are dead that we know of, another is in a coma and a child’s life is at risk. From now on in I need your full attention and cooperation. You need to
----
Fifteen minutes later they both sat in a quiet corner of the flight lounge each nursing a hot coffee.
‘First of all,’ he said, ‘My name is indeed Brandon and Agnes is my mother. I am a serving officer in the intelligence arm of the Special Air Service but would appreciate it if you kept that fact kept to yourself.’
‘I understand,’ she said.
‘Right, all this started when the first girl was found in Victoria station. At first it was a simple murder case and was being investigated by the police. We weren’t involved at that stage and ordinarily wouldn’t have been called on. However all that changed when the second girl was kidnapped from outside the hotel.’
‘Why?’
‘Because the girl is the niece of the Prime Minister!’
‘What?’ she gasped in astonishment, ‘How can that be? Where was her security, Where were you lot?’
‘We don’t protect extended family members unless there is a specific threat,’ he said, ‘It seems that the family had come to London on a shopping trip and that little girl, Camille, wandered off in Oxford street. That’s when she was snatched.’
‘But nothing’s been on the TV, surely it would have been all over the news?’
‘Like I said, news blackout.’
‘But why, has there been a ransom demand?’
‘No, and there won’t be one. Take a look at these two pictures.’
She examined the two passport size photographs he placed on the table.
‘It’s the same girl,’ she said.
‘That’s just it,’ he said, ‘They’re not. The one on the left is indeed Camille, the one on the right is a girl called Sharon, a young girl who lives in care close to the hotel. We think she is the one that was targeted but Camille was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Whoever they are, they’ve got the wrong girl.’
‘But why don’t the police just release a statement?’ she asked, ‘Wouldn’t the kidnappers just release her?’
‘Think about it,’ he said, ‘At the moment they think they have just got some homeless kid. As soon as they realise it is the Prime ministers niece her life could be in danger.’
‘But surely she is in danger anyway?’
‘Perhaps so, but this way we hope we have bought her some extra time.’
‘We, she asked, and who exactly are we ?’
‘Everyone and his dog,’ said Brandon, ‘There are hundreds on this case but it seems she has just disappeared off the face of the Earth. None of our contacts in the underworld can shed any light. We’ve pulled in every pimp and pervert across London but no one knows anything. The only leads we have are those coins, but the fact that someone tried to kill us to stop us getting further means that we are onto something.’
‘So why are we travelling second class on a public flight?’ she asked, ‘Surely on a task this big you have all sorts of resources to call on.’
‘We do, but we want to keep a low profile. Be the ‘ grey man’ as we say in the service. If we ran about commandeering all sorts of things we would attract unwanted attention. Not so much from the kidnappers but from the journalists and we can’t afford that. That’s why I whisked you away from Victoria when we found the crucified girl. The paparazzi wouldn’t have been far behind the ambulance and the same at the house. All it would take is one over zealous journalist and the kidnappers would have been tipped off, hence the blackout.’
‘What about the two dead girls, do you think they are linked to this kidnapping?’
‘Hard to say. The only link is the coin but that is what I am going to find out.’
‘Is there anything else?’ she asked.
‘Nope, that’s it,’ he said, ‘You now know as much as me.’
‘Wow,’ she said quietly, ‘This is completely and utterly mad.’
‘Right we need to get serious now India. Four people are dead that we know of, another is in a coma and a child’s life is at risk. From now on in I need your full attention and cooperation. You need to
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