"The immediacy of this disaster is that the wave struck with such force and such speed that many, if not all, crossings of the Thames – bridges, ferries, tunnels – have been affected. The main railway tunnels are full of water, but I am assured that no trains were actually underground at the time the wave struck.
“Sadly, this is not the case with the London Underground. I am advised that the water overwhelmed the passenger entrances to London Bridge station so swiftly that the flood defences were not deployed. After entering the railway tunnels, the flood water proceeded both north and south and under enormous pressure. Both the Bakerloo and the Northern lines are out of action and will be for some time to come. There are unconfirmed reports that the flood water has also entered the Central Line system, through the connecting tunnels and through other stations.”
The Prime Minister paused, as his words were digested by his Ministers. Hearing these details for the first time, some of the Ministers raised their hands to seek further clarification, but the Prime Minister shook his head and raised his right hand to stop their potential interruptions.
"Colleagues, there will be time for questions later. Please let me continue. As far as can be ascertained, all bridges over the Thames, from the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge on the London Orbital Road, as far west as Teddington and even Kingston on Thames, have received some damage. Although the damage only appears to be superficial in many cases, in others it is severe. As a case in point, I am advised that the wave ripped HMS Belfast from her moorings at Southwark and she struck London Bridge with such force that masonry was dislodged and the bridge was almost cut in two. There are deep cracks across the entire road surface. Her bow was lodged in the bridge just to the south of the first piling and her stern was then forced by the weight of the water into the river bank, by the London Bridge Hospital.
"Somewhat surprisingly, Tower Bridge appears to have received very little damage at all, save for water ingress.
"I regret that the position with the road tunnels is far, far worse. As with the railway tunnels, the wave struck so quickly and with such force, that every road tunnel has been flooded. Because the water entered the tunnels at both ends simultaneously, the chances of any survivors are negligible. Just before this meeting commenced, I received reports from army patrols in Dartford that the water has completely filled both of the tunnels. The vehicles nearest the surface are crushed beyond recognition from the force of the flood and there are no survivors at all. Because the bridge was closed due to the very high winds, the traffic on the tunnel approaches would have been very heavy. There are no vehicles on the approach roads, leading to the presumption that that they have all been swept away.
"It is also reported that the ferry terminals at Woolwich have been destroyed, as have the ferries themselves. Indeed, army patrols have reported that much of the river infrastructure has been swept away as though by a giant scouring pad. Again, somewhat surprisingly, they also report that the river defences themselves are predominantly in place and, indeed, when the early morning tide came in, there were no reports of further flooding, despite this being the season for spring tides.
"Much damage has been done to the businesses lining the river on both banks. Full reports will follow.
“I can also advise that housing has suffered a terrible onslaught. The flood swept away all the empty sea containers from the container ports at Thamesmead and Tilbury. Once these were in the river, together with many cars, vans and trucks from the various storage facilities on both banks, they were simply washed over the river defences and into the housing and trading estates, where they swept indiscriminately across roads and through the buildings causing devastating destruction. Wherever there were people in the houses that were destroyed, it is expected that there will be few survivors, if any. However, where the housing estates were only inundated, I have been advised that there are many thousands of survivors and all the services are liaising with each other to provide whatever assistance and shelter might be required.”
Once again, the Prime Minister paused. He looked down at his notes and took a deep breath. He then lifted his head and squared his shoulders, before looking left and right down the cabinet table. No one tried to intervene.
“At the beginning, I said this disaster is immediate, overwhelming and defining. I have described the immediacy of the disaster, as the wave struck with such destructive power and extraordinary speed. I have also given you a sense of the overwhelming catastrophe this has created. I now wish to make comment as to why I say this disaster will be defining.”
He looked round the room.
"This country has faced disasters in the past and from them we have emerged stronger and more determined. It is our duty, colleagues, to lead the way in whatever manner possible. The country will be expecting strong leadership and because this disaster is so widespread across northern Europe, I rather feel that it will not be appropriate to seek assistance from Brussels. After all, we spent too many years over the process of leaving the European Union in order to face our own independent future, whatever that future might be. We must, therefore, be prepared to raise the necessary finance ourselves, to recruit the necessary expertise, to assess and address the necessary work. This will not be a time for committees, interminable discussion and careful assessment, even though we all know that such attributes are all so important. Colleagues, this is a time for action!
"The army is already carefully assessing the defences along both banks of the river. We will be building on those reports and all such information will immediately be passed to any and all agencies who can utilise the information to help in returning this city, as well as this country, to normality as quickly as possible.
"We will need capital. We will need volunteers. We will recruit from the job centres, the universities and the voluntary sector. Anyone who is able, fit and capable of lending assistance will be welcome. It will be everyone’s job to work alongside the unions and the opposition parties. This is not a time for petty political differences and in-fighting.
“However, I wish to make it absolutely plain that, when these events are re assessed from a historical point of view, any decisions made now must be capable of standing up to public scrutiny. Be assured, every decision, every action will be picked over for years to come and this government, my administration, your work will be defined by this event.”
Unbeknownst to the Prime Minister, in her office at Le Grove Investments, Alice was thinking along very similar lines. She and Michael Varley discussed the disaster, in as much as what they knew from the news on the television, over their breakfast meeting. It was already emerging that damage was widespread and loss of life immense. To restore London to anything like normality would take an immense amount of investment. Michael was of the opinion that a fund should be raised with government backing, similar in many respects to Government Bonds and Gilt edged investments but administered by the private sector and controlled from the city.
He saw the need for the immediacy of capital and available distribution and that it should be broadly and initially immune from excessive Government control. In time, however, he recognised that central control would most assuredly be incorporated, as normality returned but, for the immediate future, there was a greater need for funding, rather than nit picking compliance control. The detail, as is invariably the case, would be in the record keeping.
He and Alice talked round how best they might pursue his vision before she returned to her own office to type up her notes of the meeting. Michael started to make some calls and, to his surprise, not only did he find colleagues and friends available to talk, but more than willing to listen warmly to his suggestions and proposals. Slowly, he spread his net wider and wider.
In her own office, Alice completed her task, saved it in a new file on her computer and returned to Michael’s office, with two printed copies.
“Thanks for doing this so quickly.” Michael appeared vigorous and more in control than he had for the past few da
ys. “I’ve already made some calls. Everyone I’ve spoken to, without exception, has been most supportive. So, we now need a structure to ensure this plan will not only work but will also receive the blessing of the Treasury.”
“How do you mean?”
“Although this funding will be firmly created within the private sector, the Government will demand a say in how it is organised and spent. And rightly so, I suppose. But for it to work quickly, we must endeavour to restrict Government control as much as possible, especially in the short term. I foresee that the primary clients for this funding will actually be various Government departments, especially the Ministry of Transport and the Ministry for the Environment. They’ve been starved of funding for years. There must be a reasonable level of return for the investors and this return must also take future economic changes into consideration.”
“This will need additional staffing and careful records.”
“Correct!” Michael looked carefully at Alice. “And I want you to step up to the plate.”
“How do you mean?”
“When you brought in our breakfast, you instigated all this. I remember exactly what you said to me about wallowing in self-pity. You were right! So, now’s the time for you to demonstrate your own talents and come on board with me.”
“What exactly do you mean?” Alice repeated.
“I want you to become a director of Le Grove Investments. That’s easily sorted. Then I want you to direct the manner in which the fund will be raised and administered. I will assist in whatever way I can. Once our consortium is in place, we can approach the Treasury and put our proposals to the Chancellor. My first few calls have been very positive and we already have three banks ready to work with us – Well with you.”
“Do you really think I can do this?” Alice asked wonderingly.
“Yes. I do!”
Alice felt a warm thrill start in her chest and slowly work its way down her stomach and into the cleft between her legs. She forced her face to remain absolutely passive, but knew that, very soon, she would have to leave the room. As she stood in front of Michael, her legs began to weaken and her head felt light, as though she was about faint. With some concern, she realised that the intensity she was now feeling was just like her very first orgasm and, as she willed herself to maintain control, she wondered whether men felt such a degree of intensity in similar circumstances.
“Michael, will you excuse me for just a couple of minutes. I just want to check something on my desk.”
“Of course.”
Alice turned away and walked slowly to the door. She turned back and said, “I’ll bring back fresh coffee, when I return.”
“I won’t be expecting you to be doing that sort of stuff in the future, you know.”
“Well, there’s no one else for now!” she quipped.
She left his office and went straight to her own, where she quickly lifted the skirt of her dress to remove her panties. She knew that she had orgasmed and now she found that her knickers were completely soaked. She used a couple of tissues to dry herself, before sitting in her chair. She pulled out the lowest drawer of her desk and put her left foot onto it, before lifting up her skirt so that she could masturbate herself. She orgasmed again very quickly and, at last, felt that totally unexpected degree of intensity begin to recede. She dried herself once more, closed the drawer, stood up and readjusted her dress. Already, she felt totally in control.
Gosh, that was rather intense. I’ll have to ensure that I maintain a far better control over my emotions from now on, she thought to herself.
After making the coffee, she re-entered Michael’s office to find him on the telephone with a list of names in front of him. He had put a tick alongside most of them. She poured the coffee and sat down in the chair on the opposite side of his desk.
At the Gloucester Palace Hotel, breakfast was finished and the various refugees from the previous evening were making their plans. Some had already left the hotel, in an attempt to make their way back home. They faced long and frustrating journeys because Transport for London had closed all operations on the Underground, as well as cancelling all bus services. All bridges over the river were now closed, with the police re-directing traffic accordingly. All mobile communications were now restored, of course, so David was able to contact his mother.
“Where are you?” She asked, trying hard not to display the anxiety she had suffered through the long night. “The school has been on the phone asking why you weren’t in Assembly this morning.”
“Yeah. I thought they might be.” Like his mother, David was also trying very hard to play down his emotions. “So what did you tell them?”
“What could I tell them? I didn’t know where you were. Nor who you were with. The radio and the television came back on at about eight o’clock yesterday evening, but of you and your father, not a sign.”
“Listen, Mum.” David decided it would play better if he was absolutely straight. “You know I’ve been tracking the storms coming across the Atlantic?” He waited for a response, but there was none. "Well, with the wind staying so strong on Wednesday and Thursday, I was pretty sure in my own mind that there would be an event in London, so I phoned Jackie. We cut school and went up to Waterloo. There were thousands of people milling about in the station all trying to get trains out of London. We forced our way over Waterloo Bridge. There were thousands of people trying to get across the river. The crowd was so big that it forced the traffic to stop.
“Anyway, we finally got into Somerset House. It was open, but all the staff had disappeared. We found a room overlooking the river. We could see all the way down the river to Tower Bridge and as far as Vauxhall Bridge in the other direction. While we were there, we watched as the big wave came bursting through Tower Bridge, surging all over the south bank.” He stopped, as the memories of that awful moment came flooding back. Jackie was standing next to him and she linked her arm with his. He turned to look at her, with tears streaming down his face. He shook his head from side to side and took a deep breath."
“David, are you all right?”
“Hang on a sec, Mum.” Seeing that he couldn’t continue, Jackie took the phone from him. “Hello, Mrs Varley? This is Jackie.”
“Where’s David? What’s happened?”
“He’s here and he’s OK. You must understand, though, we’ve both been through a pretty difficult time. There was this bus that had been knocked on its side by the flood water from the river. David organised the rescue of all those that had survived, but were trapped inside. He was brilliant, but now it’s all catching up with him.”
“What on earth do you mean?”
“Look, Mrs Varley.” In her turn, Jackie took a deep breath. “I don’t think it’ll be very easy to tell you everything on the phone. It’ll be best to leave the details until we see you. We’re going to get a cab now and come home. I’ve no idea how long we’ll be. The roads are difficult and some are blocked, but we do have a guy here who has already been very helpful to us.”
“Whereabouts are you?”
“Oh! Right! We’re at the Gloucester Palace Hotel in Kensington.”
“Have you heard anything from David’s father, Michael? And have you spoken with your family?”
“I spoke with my mum just before David called you. We haven’t heard from your husband. Have you tried to call him?”
“Yes. Of course I have,” she replied rather testily. “And his phone is constantly engaged.”
“I guess you should keep trying,” Jackie advised. She turned off the phone.
She turned and put her arms round David. He took another deep breath and leant his chin on her head as she squeezed him tight. He was leaning with his back to the reception desk as he watched WPC Liz Drury came through the door at the bottom of the stairs. Despite the trauma of being knocked unconscious and then having to find and recover her briefcase, this morning she looked absolutely wonderful in control, poised and well rested.
“Hello, yo
u two,” she greeted them, brightly. “Have you seen the Bulgarians?”
“No. Not since breakfast.” David looked up and shook his head as he replied.
“I have,” said Jackie. She gently pulled away from David to turn and face Liz. “Just before David came downstairs, they went through the front door and into the street. They haven’t come back.”
“Did they say where they were going?” A frown crossed Liz’s face which, for an instance, made her look hard and mean.
Somewhat taken aback by the look on her face, Jackie replied, “No. I’m sorry. They just said ‘Thank you for looking after us’ and went out.”
“OK. That is a pity.” The frown had gone and her face had returned to normal. “I just wanted to have a chat with them.” She shrugged. “No matter. I suppose I’d better get off myself.” And with that she returned through the door to go back upstairs.
David looked at Jackie. “Do you know where they’ve gone?”
“Not really. Ivelina mentioned something about Willesden, but they’ll have a hell of a walk to get there.”
“You mentioned that we are going to get a cab. Is Andy still here?”
“He spent the night here.”
“Would you mind if we went to the city first. To see if I can find my dad.”
“Now that is a good idea! And then we can call in at Scotland Yard on the way back, to see if mine is OK.”
David looked at her to see if she was joking and decided that she wasn’t.
“Do you have anything upstairs?” he asked.
“No. I’ve got everything right here.” She picked up her coat and slipped it on. “I think Andy’s gone down there.” She added, pointing down the passage leading to Sebastian’s office. “Come on. Let’s dig him out.”
They found the office door and knocked on it. A disembodied voice called to them to come in. They opened the door and went into the room, to find Sebastian behind his desk and Andy sitting in a chair with his back to the door.
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