by Brian Cain
CHAPTER FORTY
Was forty eight hours before sunny mid morning brought Kalika to Winston's office, he had been seen out and about but still spent most of his time tucked away in his headquarters. He was looking sharp, showered, shaved and impeccably dressed, a gleaming white shirt but open collar in the warm spring air. He was however without complacency as Kalika or Lindy was due the day before and he had missed his update but pushed nothing opting for a low key approach. The kissed each other gently on the side of the face before being distracted by Mavis fussing around them with some tea, they settled at opposite sides to Winston's desk, Kalika taking Winston's seat with her back to the bay window as she had a quick look over the complex while Winston disposed of Mavis. 'Must she fuss like that, I'm not a child.'
Winston stopped sipping his tea and chuckled. 'At our age you are all children, wow I really needed that.' He put his tea down on the table. 'You busy yesterday.'
'Lindy was going to come, she was late back from Glastonbury and we just got snowed under.'
'I see.'
'I was doing a bit of background research on the net, the three horses you ran in Australia, they were called the untouchables, I remember now.'
'Celtic Storm, Flushing Meadow and Flaxmead, yes I recall the Australian press being typical of the Australian press.'
'You didn't influence them at all, you know, use them like you do here.'
'Didn't really enter my mind, the push for the national has a different flavour to it, I just wanted to find Rose and the press were left to do whatever they did.'
'Tell me about Lee Hayford.'
'She is a freelance journalist.'
'From the Hunter Valley in Australia.'
'I believe she was born in Melbourne.'
'Mmm, she followed the career of Flaxmead.'
'Still does.'
'You permitted her to stay at Shangri La winery for a week, studying the training regime of Flaxmead.' Winston folded his arms and was silent, he wore the face of an ace poker player. 'I said you perm....'
'I heard you.'
'Absolutely made her career, she still dominates the pages of equine news.'
'She's very good at what she does.'
'She's very pretty as well, is she not, looks a little like my mum and Cecelia's mother, they are black haired blue eyed buxom beauties.'
'You spoke to her yesterday.'
'She was here.'
Winston fixed his gaze on her eyes. 'I didn't see her.'
'We asked her to come.'
'Oh I see.'
'And bring her nine year old daughter.' There was complete silence. 'She looks just like Cecelia and I at that age.' Winston remained silent and still. 'She attends a private school in Westminster, she is sharp as a tack and Cecelia and I had this incredible sense of connection with her, she didn't want to leave us and I didn't want her to go, can you explain that.' Winston remained steadfast. 'Gracemere private school, her father would have to be a member of a very elite club to attend, you are a member of that club.'
'What are you getting at Kalika.'
Kalika shot to her feet and yelled at him. 'She's my sister is she not!'
Winston looked around, down at his feet, away to the ceiling, he found no solace from the confrontation, he looked at her with a pale drawn complexion, he mumbled. 'Yes, yes she is.'
Kalika shouted with an aggressive sneer. 'Then you will bring them both here immediately.'
'Why, a complication beyond reverence.'
'Because if I can find out anyone can.'
He looked at her sternly. 'You searched things on the net, made phone calls.'
'Yes, the more I discovered the harder I looked.'
He stood up and faced her. 'My god your activities would be monitored by god knows who.'
She feel back in Winston's chair with a look of stark realisation. 'Oh my god.'
'You should leave these things to me,' he fumbled for his phone and waited impatiently for an answer. 'Mechanic get over here please, immediately.' He threw his phone on the table.
'Tell me, do I have any more sister or brothers I am unaware of.'
'Yes you do.'
'My god,' she shook her head with a blank look. 'And we thought you're virtues were beyond question.'
'I will not discuss elicitation of virtues with you as I know more about you than you could imagine, I watched your every move should someone find out who you were then you would have been in the same position you have put Lee and Grace in. Cecelia once loved a man so dangerous my hand was forced, it is to some degree why she is like she is, I took something she loved away from her for the good of us all but love would have made her blind. I did the same to you now I must interfere in a natural course for need of my own love. You think I planned these things, you think I would endanger my own for my own gratification, you don't know me at all. I sincerely hope we get to Lee and Grace before anyone else for an intrusion on their health and safety would surely bring me down. Now you have saddled the same horse, I blame only myself for I am in charge of my life and responsible for everything. I have indirectly burdened you with my own fears, I'm so sorry my love, you are of me.'
Mechanic burst into the room hunting for breath, he handed Winston his satellite phone. 'It's for you.'
Winston took the phone. 'Hello....Lee,' he listened for half a minute, the room was silent. 'Stay where you are, we'll be there as soon as we can.' He shut the phone down and handed it back to mechanic. 'You have someone close.'
'Not that can be trusted, I have to contact Vauxhall Cross.'
Winston looked around in despair, he got angry. 'Get a chopper and get down there, make the call get it covered till you get there, all hell will break loose.'
'You really want to do this like.'
'Mechanic the girl is my daughter.'
'Blimey,' he ran from the room.
There was an uneasy silence, Winston stood motionless and without expression, Kalika sat at the desk stone faced and pale. 'If something happens to them is it my fault.'
'No, blaming yourself is a natural emotion, managing it is all you can do.'
'What did you mean by all hell will break loose.'
'Things you don't need to know.'
'I'm a spoilt brat with a silver spoon in my mouth.'
'You are a person of exemplary talent that continues to reach her goals.'
'How can you say that when I may have endangered the life of my young sister.'
Winston focused and sat down looking at her. 'I never wanted you exposed to all this, however I always wanted you by my side so I went about it in other ways. There are many ways to manage what appears to be insurmountable obstacles but it can be done. With all we do we have great responsibility, but none is more important than family. Lee just told me she had to go to the school this morning as Grace had disappeared, they searched everywhere, they found Grace hiding in a cupboard, troubled no doubt by meeting her sisters yesterday. She did something she should never do, contacted us, she's scared Kalika. Scared about what she knows, scared her daughter will grow up not knowing who she is and I have experienced that by watching you and Cecelia. It's not easy but it's how things are, they are in great danger but I will hunt anyone that harms you to the end of the earth and beyond, they know that and that in this present time is all we have going for us.'
'What happened to the man Cecelia loved.'
'He had an accident.'
'Is he dea...'
'Yes.'
She was silent for a few seconds. 'Would you do that to Graham.'
'If nothing else worked, yes.'
She was again silent and stone faced. 'My god I'm an evil tyrant, educated by experience to the point of supporting you. You're right, I should have minded my own business and some things are better left alone.'
'Karma has a strange way of forging destiny.'
'I was just a spoilt little girl riding my horse around without a care, I had no idea who I was.'
'We need focus, you better call
Cecelia here.'
'She knows.'
'Of course she does, she would have encouraged you to do what you did after she held Grace.'
'How do you know.'
'I would have done the same thing.'
'Who are the others I asked about.'
Cecelia burst in, she confronted Winston standing over him. 'She's my sister isn't she.'
Winston folded his arms and waited for her to calm. Kalika chuckled as she spoke. 'If you're waiting for her to calm down forget it.' She got up and walked around to Cecelia comforting her and putting her in Winston's chair. 'Calm down or your baby will be worse than you, sitting in this chair things look a bit different.'
Cecelia had not settled. 'Mechanic just left in a helicopter, where the hell is he going in such a tiff, he rarely gets frustrated.'
'He's going to get your sister and Lee.'
'Oh you remember her mothers name how quaint.'
Kalika was angered. 'Leave it out Cecelia.'
Cecelia stood in a rage. 'How many more damn siblings am I related to, is a rag from the local knock shop going to turn up here with a long lost family member.'
Kalika roared at her. 'Fucking can it Cecelia.'
Winston slowly stood and Cecelia looked lost and in shock, she slowly sat down. Winston spoke softly. 'I've never heard you use foul language, ever.'
'I've never had to before. You think this is easy sis, we just had our sister come out of a trench she's been hiding in, now someone can shoot at her. Sound familiar, has our father not been protecting us from the same for god knows how long.' Cecelia sat back in her seat, she began to weep. Kalika closed her eyes and let out a big sigh, she lent down along side her sister and whispered to her. 'And now we are three, she is gorgeous just like us.'
Cecelia wept on her sisters shoulder. 'I don't know what's going on, my moods are all over the place, now this.'
'First just calm down, or your child will be a little shit like us.'
Cecelia chuckled, Kalika handed her some tissues from a box on Winston's desk, she began to wipe her eyes. 'Dad, please help me.'
'You don't love him do you.'
'He's after your money.'
'Mmm, everyone is, not uncommon, you think you can handle him being there.'
'No, I want him gone but I'm scared dad.'
Kalika glared at her father. 'No.'
'Come up with alternatives Kalika, I see none.'
'He's the father of your grandchild.'
'He is without reverence when it comes to Cecelia, look at her, not a mistake, a learning curve of the most damaging kind.'
Kalika stood up in defiance of her father. 'I'll take care of it.'
Winston looked at Cecelia, her face yearned for her fathers embrace. 'You want to see him again.'
'I wont ever answer the phone to him.'
'Kalika.'
'Im too angry to deal with it.'
'Anger is a far more useable emotion than despair my love.'
'I leave it to you father, some things we don't need to know.'
Winston walked around and knelt beside his daughter. 'You realise you will never see this man again.'
'It's my fault dad, I despise everything about him, the responsibility of my child has changed my life. He would no more be a father than pigs can fly, he's a narcissistic, manipulative bastard, he just uses everyone. I have no idea what I saw in him.'
'You could see the rebellion you so much craved, against everything I stood for, tis I that drove you to this point and I that will foster you through it.'
'Dad, I did this.'
'For good reason it would seem, the man you loved is long gone, he will never come back, I understand that for I have lived through it more than once.'
'What do I do.'
'Whatever you want now.'
'I want someone to be my child's father, I had two it was wonderful.'
'Things have a habit of working out, one day you will meet that person, for now, you stay close to us.' He stood and looked at Kalika. 'She goes everywhere with you, when Lee gets here we can plan a crèche by the looks.'
Kalika folded her arms with a smirk. 'With you about the place pretty easy.'
Cecelia stood and scalded her. 'Leave it out sis, I can understand why things are like they are, don't throw stones from inside a glass house, remember that....'
Winston interrupted. 'We have a family member to embrace and a horse race to win, petty misdemeanours and human short comings are of no use when the hand of fate is upon you. We wait to hear from mechanic.'