Codename Angel (The Angel Chronicles Book 1)

by Jason Chapman

  ‘Don’t you want to know what happened to that woman’s child? Or who that man was who killed that doctor?’ Rothschild called out.

  Frederick stopped dead in his tracks and spun on his heels. Frustration started to take hold. ‘You know, I regret not bringing MI6 along. Stop playing mind games Doctor either you do or you don’t have access to information that might be useful. You obviously have access to information we have. Who was responsible for the doctor’s murder? And what has happened to his body?’

  ‘Why don’t you ask the Americans?’

  ‘Why?’

  ‘Because they know more than anybody what went on in Ripley.’ Rothschild answered. ‘As for what happened to his body, let’s just say he got up and walked away.’

  ‘Why steal the medical file of Edith Jones?’ Frederick asked.

  ‘Because of the information it contained, first she was pregnant then she wasn’t, most puzzling wouldn’t you say. And it wasn’t the first time this woman has been reported missing.’

  Frederick’s patients hung by a thread. ‘Not the first time, what exactly are you getting at?’

  ‘What I’m trying to make you understand Professor is that you need to go back and interview this woman, to find out everything you know about her baby before it’s too late.’

  ‘Too late?’ Frederick stated shrugging his shoulders. ‘What’s that supposed to mean?’

  Rothschild stood. ‘I think Professor I have given you enough to go on with for now. Whether you want to go on meeting with me is your choice. The group I represent needs men like you. All that you’ve discovered about flying saucers so far isn’t even the tip of the iceberg.’ Rothschild stood up. ‘Goodbye Professor we shall see each other again soon enough.’

  Chapter 21

  Ripley North – Yorkshire – 1:12pm

  Monday 15th September 1952

  Frederick looked around nervously before knocking on the door of Mr & Mrs Jones’ house. All morning he had questioned his motives for being there, not to mention he had no idea if they would be there and not still at Ripley Castle. After his meeting with Rothschild he walked through to Whitehall and met up with both Chambers and Stanford. The three of them discussed the incident at Church Fenton. Frederick then switched topics and asked to review the casefile of Mrs Jones.

  ‘I’m sorry old boy but the casefile has been stored away.’ Stanford explained.

  ‘Stored away?’

  ‘Yes Ralph, because what you have reported over the last few weeks regarding information leaks the committee feels that we need to maintain absolute secrecy.’

  ‘Even from other committee members, I thought we all trusted each other?’

  Stanford smiled. ‘And we do dear boy, but with last year’s events regarding the defection of Guy Burgess and Donald Mclean everything has to be kept secure.’

  The door opened a little way, Frederick returned to the present and peered through the narrow gap. ‘Mr Jones we met a few weeks ago my name is Ralph Frederick, I’m from the Air Ministry.’

  ‘What do you want?’ Jones barked from behind the narrow opening.

  ‘If it’s possible I would like to speak with you and your wife regarding her flying saucer encounter.’

  ‘Look I’m fed up with people calling around here, just leave us alone will you?’ The door slammed shut.

  Frederick stood for a few moments wondering what to do next, before banging on the door again.

  ‘Piss off we don’t want to talk with you.’ Jones shouted from behind the door.

  Frederick produced three one pound notes from his wallet. ‘Mr Jones I have travelled all the way from Cambridge to speak with you. I am willing to pay you for your story.’

  The door opened again, Jones glared at the money Frederick held in his hand before opening the door wider.

  Frederick sat down on the sofa opposite Mrs Jones who was sat in the main armchair. The woman looked thin, and had pale skin. Her eyes were blood shot from hours of crying.

  Her husband entered the room with a tea tray which he put down on a small coffee table. ‘I’m sorry about swearing at you Mr Frederick, it’s just so many people have been around here wanting to take the piss. People calling all hours of the day, we’re getting so fed up of it now.’

  Frederick nodded. ‘I can understand your frustration. I thought Sir Ingles had put you up at the Castle.’

  Jones shook his head. ‘I don’t work for him anymore, I was given the sack yesterday.’

  ‘Oh dear I’m sorry to hear that.’

  ‘I’m not, we both got fed up of him and his friends all they wanted to do was question us over and over. In the end I moved us back here. We were going to be interviewed by The News of The World but sir Ingles stopped them from coming up here. They were going to pay us fifty pounds for our story. I had an argument with the old man a couple of days ago about it, so he ended up sacking me.’

  Frederick looked across at Edith Jones.

  ‘She’s hardly said a word since her experience.’ Jones walked over to her and stroked her hair. ‘But she has terrible nightmares.’

  ‘Nightmares?’

  ‘She keeps screaming about terrible black lifeless eyes staring at her through the window. It takes a lot to calm her down.’

  ‘If you don’t mind me asking Mr Jones is this the first time your wife has gone missing?’

  ‘No, she went through a phase with sleep walking last year. Edith got out of the house one night and vanished for nearly a day. We eventually found her wandering in the local woods.’

  ‘When was this?’ Frederick asked.

  Jones thought for a moment. ‘It must have been last October, towards the end.’

  ‘And shortly after you found out she was pregnant.’

  Jones nodded and looked at his wife, a tear trickled down his cheek. ‘We thought it was a miracle because Edith was told she was unable to have children.’

  Frederick thought back to what Rothschild had told him, he looked back at the couple. ‘What will you do now that you have lost your job?’

  ‘We’re moving to Leeds to be close to her parents. Her dad has offered me a job in a factory he runs. I wasn’t looking forward to going there, but now I cannot wait to get out of this shithole. Besides Sir William owns this house, and he wants us out.’

  Frederick decided that he had spent enough time in their company. Mrs Jones wasn’t going to reveal anything. The poor woman was in a state of shock. ‘Well thank you for speaking to me Mr Jones, I hope you and your wife can find peace with all this.’

  Jones nodded then showed Frederick to the door.

  Chapter 22

  The Offer

  Cambridge University – 4:52pm

  Wednesday 17th September 1952

  ‘Good afternoon Professor I trust your little visit up north bore knowledgeable fruit.’

  Frederick swung around, he was just about to get into his car. He glared at Rothschild and then glanced around to see who was in the vicinity.

  ‘Please Professor do you think I would come here if I knew we were being watched.’

  ‘That’s not very reassuring Doctor!’ Frederick snapped. ‘I took a great risk going up to Ripley.’

  ‘And what did you discover?’

  Frederick drew a deep breath. ‘The woman was extremely traumatised. Her husband said she’s hardly spoken a word since the incident.’

  ‘What else did the husband say?’

  ‘He admitted that it wasn’t the first time she had gone missing.’ Frederick revealed. ‘She disappeared for nearly a day last year. He also mentioned that she was unable to have children before her first disappearance.’

  Rothschild nodded. ‘Yet shortly after she came back, this woman became pregnant.’

  ‘Yes, but something tells me you already knew that.’ Frederick said.

  ‘I can tell you that this case is not new. Similar incidents have happened all over the world, thousands of incidents.’

  ‘Ok then Doctor humour me. H
ow is it that a woman unable to give birth suddenly became pregnant after a short visit to the local woods?’

  ‘I thought that would be obvious to you by now Professor.’ Rothschild replied.

  ‘She became pregnant by a flying saucer?’ Frederick restrained from laughing. ‘Do you have any idea how absurd that sounds?’

  ‘Several weeks ago Professor you told me that flying saucers were nonsense. But now you have seen these things for yourself, is it so hard to go one step further and speculate that these craft are being piloted by creatures from another world.’

  Frederick remembered what Jones had said about his wife’s nightmares. ‘Mr Jones did mention his wife was having nightmares. Large black lifeless eyes staring through an open window.’

  Rothschild nodded. ‘Yes a common description of the occupants of these craft.’

  Frederick shook his head. ‘The idea that this woman became pregnant as a result of contact with a creature from another world is too incredible to believe, despite what I have seen.’

  ‘I understand your scepticism Professor, but consider this. Our world is filled with technological wonders. The invention of radar helped protect these shores from Hitler’s marauding armies. But it has also revealed new mysteries. In the past people mistook unidentified flying objects as visions, or falling stars. Now technology has demonstrated that these things are anything but. They are as real as you and I standing here. Believe me when I say this Professor, encounters with flying saucers and beings from another world are nothing new.’

  Frederick stood looking at Rothschild, feeling like a young boy again being lectured, he shrugged. ‘So what now?’

  ‘The offer is still open to join our group.’

  Frederick looked out across Trinity College recalling the conversation he had with Chambers and Stanford. ‘I am not sure members of my group are being totally honest with me.’

  ‘I can understand where you’re coming from with that concern Professor. Men of military backgrounds live to serve their own ends. They have no interest in the greater good, just the ability to destroy their enemies. The group I am a part of has no interest in military or political domination. We merely wish to understand our universe and the creatures that inhabit it.’

  Frederick nodded. ‘I’ll need a little time to make my decision I cannot suddenly jump into something I might regret.’

  ‘Wise words Professor Frederick.’ Rothschild replied with a thoughtful tone. ‘We have no interest in your government’s secrets if that is your main concern. Our interests lay beyond the realm of petty government decision making. We had plans to approach you a few years ago, because of your theories on quantum physics. Our group feels that your knowledge is best served to advance mankind peacefully not through the development of modern warfare. I promise you if you decide to join our group you will get the opportunity to talk freely with us about any scientific theory you have, no prejudice and no restrictions. We will find answers to every question you have, that’s what our group is about. Until next time Professor.’ Rothschild tipped his hat before walking off.

  Frederick turned to his car and unlocked it. He then turned back to say something else, but Rothschild had vanished from sight.

  Chapter 23

  Operation Mainbrace

  HMS Illustrious – Norwegian Sea – 1:42pm

  Thursday 25th September 1952

  Frederick wiped his brow before flushing the toilet. It was his fourth trip, but it did nothing to calm his stomach which felt as if it wanted to crawl out of his mouth. Frederick swore under his breath, he was never fond of boats, and tried his best to convince Chambers to send another committee member. However Chambers refused to budge on the matter and insisted that Frederick should join Admiral Berkshire on a major Naval Exercise. A number of UFOs had been reported by Royal Navy personnel operating in the North Sea. Despite Frederick’s reluctance and busy schedule at Cambridge he was eventually persuaded into going. Chambers had also acquired a film camera which he insisted would be used if any major sighting took place.

  Lord Admiral Anthony Berkshire stood on the command deck of HMS Illustrious scanning the horizon with his binoculars. The Illustrious and her escorts were just a small part of a massive fleet. Amongst the nations taking part were the United States, Canada, France, Denmark, Norway, Portugal, Netherlands and Belgium.

  The entire fleet was spread out over an area of 30 square miles, and consisted of ten Aircraft Carriers with fighter support. Two Battleships, six Cruisers, ninety six escort ships and thirty three submarines as well as several dozen other ships which had been committed to this enormous fleet.

  Vampire jets were parked up on the flight deck of the Illustrious and naval personnel hurried about the ship performing their day to day duties.

  Frederick made his way to the bridge to join Admiral Berkshire, who delighted at seeing the colour in Frederick’s cheeks. ‘Don’t worry Professor you’ll soon grow some sea legs.’

  ‘I’d rather stay on dry land thank you Admiral.’ Frederick replied trying not to swallow.

  The weather was cloudy with good visibility and despite Frederick’s unsettled stomach the sea was a calm battleship grey. The American Aircraft Carrier USS Franklyn D Roosevelt was clearly visible on the horizon. The Illustrious had just taken part in a mock battle in which a simulated attack was carried out by the Americans. Berkshire smiled as he looked out to sea. He had never been fond of promotion and always felt that his place was on the deck of a ship, not stuck behind some bloody desk in Whitehall. He missed the sea and always jumped at the chance to step aboard any ship.

  Standing at the Admiral’s side was commanding Officer Timothy Watson a World War Two veteran. The ship’s communications personnel sat at their posts talking and coordinating battle drills with other sea traffic. A loud squawk sounded over the main speaker and the voice of a pilot could be heard.

  ‘Illustrious, Golf Alpha Sierra over.’

  ‘Roger golf alpha.’ A young looking communications officer replied.

  ‘I’m twenty seven miles out and tracking five unidentified contacts heading towards your location, over.’

  Berkshire and Frederick took up position behind the communications officer and peered into the radarscope.

  ‘Roger that golf alpha I’m tracking you and the contacts, stand by.’

  Frederick looked at Berkshire. ‘Do we have anything else in that area?’

  The Admiral shook his head. ‘Besides that vampire all other aircraft have been recalled.’ He leaned forward, the communications officer handed him the microphone. ‘Golf alpha, how far away are the contacts, over?’

  ‘I’d say about fifteen hundred feet above me, over.’

  ‘What can you see, over?’

  ‘They’re flying in formation, similar to the spots on a side of a dice. I can see that they’re circular, the object at the centre of the formation is very large. I’d say about a hundred and fifty feet in diameter maybe more. The smaller objects look as if they’re flying escort, over.’

  ‘Roger that Golf Alpha, stand by.’ Berkshire looked at another communications officer. ‘Scramble four of our vampires.’

  The officer acknowledged the order and spoke into his mike. Less than ten minutes later four Vampire jets screamed off the flight deck heading out to sea. Another communications officer handed a sheet of paper to Commander Watson who joined Berkshire and Frederick. ‘The Americans have just scrambled six of their fighters, and the USS Midway is heading for our area.’

  Berkshire moved to the command deck window and peered through his binoculars. The outline of another aircraft carrier could be seen heading towards the position of the Roosevelt.

  ‘Contact our escorts have them form a tight formation around us, what’s the position of the HMS Eagle?’

  ‘She’s deployed at the outer edges of the fleet.’ The officer replied.

  ‘Contact her and brief her on the situation, tell her to have her vampires on standby.’

  Berkshir
e was still peering through his binoculars while mulling the situation over in his head. He thought back to the committee’s first meeting and his defiance with what Richard Wilks had suggested. ‘Huh, pure fantasy.’ He muttered to himself, then looked at Frederick. ‘Professor may I have a word please.’

  Both the Admiral and Frederick retreated to a side room. Berkshire shut the door behind them. ‘I need to know if you have any thoughts about what could be heading for our position.’

  Frederick shrugged. ‘I have no idea what we’re about to face.’ He replied innocently.

  ‘Given your experience at Church Fenton a few weeks back I thought you might be able to lend some insight on what we could be up against.’

  ‘I trust you read the report I submitted.’

  ‘I did, I just want to know if you have anything extra to offer this moment in time.’

  ‘I’m afraid I don’t Admiral.’ Frederick said. ‘I do not think we are in any immediate danger if that’s your fear.’

  The admiral nodded thoughtfully. ‘No, but I am relieved to know you are confident we’re not in any kind of peril.’

  Both men returned to the bridge and Berkshire resumed looking through his binoculars. He looked out across the grey ocean in the direction of the approaching Vampire. An object came into focus, Berkshire felt an icy cold shiver race down the back of his spine. The object was circular in shape, but what disturbed him was its size. As Berkshire looked on four smaller shapes came into view. The command crew of the carrier continued to talk to the aircraft that had been scrambled. The lone vampire had joined them and were now keeping pace with the five craft.

  Frederick had been handed another pair of binoculars and stared at amazement at the sight on the horizon. For the first time since coming on board he forgot about his sea sickness.

  ‘Good lord!’ Watson exclaimed as he looked out of the window. Some of the command personnel also looked mesmerized by the approaching objects.

  Within a few minutes Berkshire, Frederick and Watson were on the flight deck of the Illustrious. A junior bridge officer was already on the flight deck with the film camera which was pointed in the direction of the approaching objects. Six escort ships had pulled up on both sides of the aircraft carrier. The four smaller UFOs had broken away from the larger UFO and fanned out heading towards the two American Aircraft Carriers.