Dory's Avengers

by Alison Jack

  ‘So you just stood by and let the Unsponsored kidnap her…What do you want?’

  Lord William turned in fury to Dex Montfiore who had just entered the room, cup of coffee in hand.

  ‘That's no way to talk to a guest, Your Lordshit,’ replied Dex, grinning at Faye via the computer's camera. ‘Especially one from across the Pond. I can hear every word from upstairs, so thought I may as well join you. Hi, Faye; bad day, huh?’

  ‘Hello, Dex. You could say that! You're looking a bit better today.’

  ‘Yeah, thanks. His Lordshit's very kindly invited me to enjoy the comforts of his home, and the coffee's good…’

  ‘Will you SHUT UP, you bloody poof!’ roared Lord William. ‘I'm trying to conduct a meeting here.’

  ‘As you can see, His Lordshit treats his guests real nice,’ said Dex to Faye, exaggerating his American accent as he settled himself in Theo's armchair and sipped his coffee. Doing his best to ignore Dex, Lord William continued to berate Faye, Fiona and Mortimer until the doorbell sounded three floors below.

  ‘Aha,’ said His Lordship, ‘here comes another troublemaker.’

  A couple of minutes later, Brian Mooreland ushered Philip Lorimer into the room. Looking around him, Philip noticed that there wasn't a chair for him to sit on, and Lord William's hostility was palpable.

  ‘Lorimer,’ said Lord William without preamble, ‘your Unsponsored friends in Applethwaite made a break for it last night, but I'm sure I'm not telling you anything you didn't already know. What part did you play?’

  Recognising that the time for diplomacy was at an end, Philip perched on the arm of Dex's chair before replying.

  ‘My friends needed transport. I supplied it.’

  ‘What form of transport?’

  ‘Do you really expect me to answer that, Your Lordship?’

  ‘You do realise that the Unsponsored SCUM you call friends have kidnapped my daughter, don't you, Lorimer?’ snarled Lord William, his anger reaching fever pitch as Philip Lorimer started to laugh.

  ‘How unfortunate,’ replied the head of Europe Logistics UK.

  ‘LORIMER,’ roared His Lordship, ‘how would you feel if your daughter were to be kidnapped?’

  ‘Devastated,’ replied Philip. ‘But, unlike you, I care about my daughter.’

  The grandfather clock ticked away the seconds into the silence as the Sponsors waited tensely for Lord William's response to Lorimer's statement.

  ‘What,’ said Lord William, enunciating every syllable, ‘makes you think I care any less for my children than you do for Catherine?’

  ‘The answer to that is behind me, Lord William,’ replied Philip, gesturing toward the iron rings in the wall. ‘I would die before I allowed anyone to treat my daughter the way you treated your son.’ Continuing in a voice heavy with sarcasm, Philip said, ‘It's probably a silly question – I'm sure a loving father like yourself will already have thought of this – but have you tried phoning Rosanna?’

  Glaring at Philip, Lord William realised that the man was right. Wondering how he'd allowed his brain to switch off to such an extent that he didn't think of something so obvious, Lord William dialled his daughter's number, this time deliberately leaving the phone on loudspeaker mode.

  ‘Father,’ said Rosanna cheerfully on answering, ‘we've been expecting you to call.’

  ‘Rose! Where are you? Are you hurt?’

  ‘Not at all, Father. I'm currently sitting on a cushion, nice and comfortable, becoming reacquainted with my brother and sister…’

  ‘Shhh! Don't tell him any more!’ said Theo's voice in the background.

  ‘It's all right, Theodore; I'm not as dumb as you.’

  ‘Could have fooled me, Rosanna.’

  ‘Oh piss off, you little prick!’ Speaking into the phone once more, Rosanna continued. ‘Sorry about that, Father; as you can hear Theodore and I still have some ground to make up. Yes, I'm fine. Please don't haul Faye, Fiona and Mortimer over the coals; none of this was their doing…’

  ‘Are you telling me you were in on this?’ hissed His Lordship.

  ‘Afraid so, Father.’ Lord William was silent for a couple of seconds as the implications of Rosanna's words sank into his brain. All three of his children had deserted him. When he did speak, he could only manage one word and that came out as a pathetic whimper.

  ‘Why?’

  ‘Because I've had something of an epiphany recently. Being hurt isn't fun. Hurting people isn't fun. Your Scheme is based on fear and intimidation; Mummy was right all along. You don't help people; you dictate to them, rob them of basic freedoms. I no longer want to be a part of it…’

  ‘Rosanna,’ interrupted Lord William, ‘is your mother with you?’

  Rosanna was silent.

  ‘Rosanna?’

  Silence. Then:

  ‘Yes, William. I am,’ replied Isabelle. Lord William closed his eyes and shook his head. Never had the Sponsors seen him so shocked.

  ‘Shit!’ said Lord William, before pushing his chair back and almost running from the room.

  ‘William?’ said Isabelle's voice from the phone. ‘Are you still there?’

  Crossing over to Lord William's desk, Dex sat himself down in the seat recently vacated by His Lordship and spoke to Isabelle.

  ‘He's just left the room, Izzy. Think you took him by surprise there.’

  ‘Dex! How are you?’

  ‘I'm good, Izzy. I've still got one of those security tag things on my leg, though, can't leave the house.’

  ‘God, Dex,’ said Theo's voice, ‘sorry to hear that. Welcome to my world!’

  ‘Hey, Theo; it's not all bad. I've been treated OK since Al made His Lordshit aware the American Embassy's likely to kick his ass. He's stopped Dyer kicking my ass, anyway.’ Laughing, Dex added: ‘Is Al there, by the way?’

  ‘No, Dex; sorry. He's in the other van…’

  ‘I'm here though, Dex darling,’ said Matilda's voice. ‘Love you loads!’

  ‘Love you right back, Matty honey,’ replied Dex, beaming. Still watching via the visual link in Applethwaite, Faye couldn't help feeling a little envious of the easy, affectionate relationship that existed between her daughter and Dex.

  ‘Get out of my seat, faggot!’ said Lord William, re-entering the room and unceremoniously cutting off the call to Rosanna's phone. ‘And you, Lorimer; get out of my house!’

  ‘Lord William, might I suggest that you allow Dex to leave with me…’ began Philip, but His Lordship interrupted with a snarl.

  ‘You're not in a position to make suggestions, Lorimer. ‘

  ‘You can't keep Dex here for ever, Your Lordship. Sooner or later Alan's going to arrive in London along with Dex's passport, and the American Embassy will get involved. Do you really need that, on top of everything else?’

  ‘What do you mean by that?’ snapped Lord William.

  ‘Well, surely you've noticed the streets of the city are rapidly degenerating into anarchy, Lord William…’

  ‘You mean your Unsponsored rabble is running amok, Lorimer. I can soon quell a few underclass…’

  ‘So why haven't you already done so?’ asked Philip, unwittingly voicing the nagging concern of His Lordship's inner circle. One or two in the room had to check themselves before they inadvertently nodded in agreement.

  ‘Get out, Lorimer.’

  With an apologetic glance at Dex, who smiled back encouragingly, Philip left the St Benedict residence. Still in touch with Lord William's office, the Sponsors in Applethwaite watched the goings on with interest. Mortimer in particular was thankful to have the limelight turned away from them for a while. His relief was to be short-lived, though; Faye spoke next and turned Lord William's attention full on them once more.

  ‘Philip's right, Your Lordship,’ she said. ‘About Dex, I mean.’

  ‘If I needed your opinion I'd ask for it, Maloney…’

  ‘But you do need it! I watch the news like everyone else; I can see what's happening in London. The Unsp
onsored are starting to take control of the streets.’

  ‘If that's so,’ snarled Lord William, ‘why has no one pointed it out to me?’

  ‘Why do you think, Your Lordship? I've pointed it out to you; now what are you going to do? About me, that is?’

  ‘You, Maloney, are going to pay dearly for your insubordination…’

  ‘There you go, Your Lordship. I've acquainted you with the truth of the situation, and your response is to have me punished. Does that answer your question?’

  Fiona tried to hush Faye's unwise words, and Mortimer looked even more terrified than before. Lord William, however, didn't give the roar of rage that everyone was expecting. Instead, he sat thoughtfully at his desk, examining his fingers for a few moments. When he finally did speak, he addressed his question to the Sponsors in his London office rather than Faye.

  ‘How many of you agree with Faye? How many of you have been seeing what she has seen, but not telling me?’

  Looking round the room, Lord William found that no one would meet his eyes.

  ‘Well, that answers that question. Thankfully, Faye has had the nerve that the rest of you lack. Thank you, Faye; I'm glad at least one of my Sponsors has some backbone.’

  Addressing Brian Mooreland, who had returned to the room having seen Philip Lorimer out of the house, Lord William said, ‘Please ask Stephen Dyer to pop upstairs, Mooreland. Our guest is ready to leave.’

  When Dyer arrived, Lord William gave him a set of instructions and sent him back downstairs with Dex. Dex, polite as ever, took his coffee mug with him, offering to return it to the kitchen when he and Dyer reached the ground floor. Snatching the mug, Dyer snarled at Dex.

  ‘I'd shove it up your arse, queer, but you'd probably enjoy that. You're no longer welcome here…’

  ‘I wasn't aware you'd ever made me welcome,’ replied Dex, smiling at Mrs White who'd emerged from the kitchen and taken the mug from Dyer.

  ‘You off now, Dex?’ she said, returning the American's smile. ‘It's been a pleasure having you around the place.’

  ‘It's been a pleasure meeting you, Mrs White,’ replied Dex. ‘I'll pass on your love to Theo and Marina.’

  ‘Please do,’ began Mrs White, interrupted rudely by Dyer.

  ‘Get on with your work, White. Move, queer.’ Leading Dex into the security room, Dyer unlocked the security tag while Dex looked at the huge screen on the wall and grinned.

  ‘Hey! Is this where you used to wank over Theo?’

  Snarling again, Dyer pushed Dex from the room and out of the front door. Shoving him hard in the back, Dyer watched in satisfaction as Dex staggered down the steps before falling flat on his face on the pavement.

  The two vans carrying the Applethwaite Unsponsored arrived in London shortly before eleven; which was shortly after His Lordship discovered that his estranged wife was not only in the country, she was heading for the capital. A very excited Max was waiting with Jim and a number of other London Unsponsored to help unload the vans so that the drivers could get away and protect their anonymity. Max and the Unsponsored then led Dory's Avengers into the huge old building that now housed the network HQ, where Sarah was emotionally reunited with her brother. The London Unsponsored who'd been stranded in Applethwaite since Chris and Georgie's wedding were delighted to see their friends again, and many people wanted to meet and greet the legendary Isabelle. The party spirit was compounded when Philip arrived from his confrontation with Lord William, his wife at his side as they welcomed the Applethwaite Unsponsored to London. Looking around, Alan commented sadly to Georgie that things would have been perfect if only Dex had been there.

  ‘We'll get him away from His Lordshit before you know it, Al,’ she replied. ‘You've got the passport?’

  Smiling, Alan pulled Dex's precious passport from his bag and waved it at Georgie.

  ‘Philip,’ he called, ‘when do you think we should contact the American Embassy?’

  ‘Let's have a breather first, shall we, Alan?’ suggested Philip. ‘I've got news to tell concerning this morning's meeting with His Lordshit…’

  ‘We spoke to Dex, Dad,’ said Matilda jubilantly. ‘He's fine. His Lordshit's realised he's got to treat Dex well…’

  ‘Whoa there, Matty! What's this? You spoke to Dex? How?’

  Realising that Alan and his travelling companions didn't know anything about Rosanna's phone call from Lord William, Philip suggested that he start from the beginning.

  ‘His Lordshit's livid,’ he told the assembled company as everyone settled down. ‘He had his Sponsors in Applethwaite up on his screen, and I got the impression he'd been hauling them over the coals a bit. He hauled me over the coals a bit too…’

  ‘Why, Daddy? Doesn't he have to keep you onside?’

  ‘He does, Cathie, but that seems to be the least of his concerns at the moment.’ Between them, Philip, Izzy and Rosanna filled their audience in on the morning's escape from Applethwaite, the meeting and the phone conversation with Lord William. A lot of the Unsponsored were still highly suspicious about having Lady Rosanna in their midst, but they listened to her politely nonetheless. They were also a little unnerved that His Lordship was now aware that Isabelle had returned.

  ‘It certainly got him disconcerted,’ said Philip with a grin. ‘He even stomped out of the room for a while. Coming on top of the realisation that he's managed to alienate all three of his children, I did wonder for a moment if it had actually broken him.’

  ‘Is that when Dex got to talk to Matty?’ Alan asked eagerly.

  ‘Yes, Alan,’ replied Philip. ‘Dex looks very relaxed by the way…’

  ‘But he's still trapped, I'm afraid, Al,’ said Theo. ‘He's got one of those awful security bracelets locked to his ankle, probably the same one I used to wear.’

  ‘Hmm,’ said Alan, sighing. ‘Well, at least Dex isn't getting kicked about any more, which is a weight off my mind. I am going to give that Dyer such a slap when I get my hands on him…’

  ‘You won't be alone there, Al,’ said Jess.

  ‘I suggested to His Lordshit that he let Dex go without getting the American Embassy involved,’ Philip told Alan. ‘But as I was being rather unceremoniously ejected from his house at that point I'm not sure he took any notice.’

  Exasperated that his friends looked set to spend more time discussing the morning's activities, Alan leapt to his feet.

  ‘Surely everyone knows everything now,’ he said impatiently, ‘so I'm going to get Dex.’

  It didn't take long at all to arrange for Charlie Rollins, an official from the American Embassy, to meet with Alan. Philip persuaded Alan that it would be prudent to phone ahead, commenting that the Embassy might not look too kindly on a rather camp Englishman arriving unannounced on the doorstep. Rollins was actually already aware of reports that Georgia Farrell and Dexter Montfiore were missing, thanks to concern expressed by their mother.

  Sally Montfiore, although English-born, disliked the Sponsors’ control of her native country so much that she'd decided to remain in Seattle following the death of her American husband, and had returned to the USA immediately after her daughter's wedding. Concerned by the fact that she'd heard nothing from her son or daughter since the wedding, and that the phone line appeared to be cut off whenever she tried ringing The White Lion Inn, Sally had alerted the authorities in Seattle. The American Embassy in London had been made aware of this alert, but as no one in the UK had reported either Dexter or Georgia missing, the Embassy wasn't too concerned initially. This changed though following Philip Lorimer's call to Charlie Rollins. Although sceptical about the allegations that Lord William St Benedict had kidnapped Dexter Montfiore and was holding him prisoner, Rollins had enough respect for Philip Lorimer's standing in the UK to agree to meet and discuss the situation.

  Facing Philip Lorimer, Alan Santiago and Georgia Farrell across his desk, Rollins finished his phone call.

  ‘OK,’ he said, ‘Lord William will see us in half an hour.’

&nb
sp; ‘How did he seem?’ asked Alan anxiously.

  ‘Relaxed,’ replied Rollins, looking dubiously at Alan's flamboyant attire. ‘You are the one who made the allegations initially, right?’

  ‘I am, but they're not just allegations. It's the truth…’

  ‘We shall see, Mr Santiago. Might I suggest that only you and I attend this interview with Lord William? We at the Embassy have a good relationship with the Sponsors, and I have no wish to antagonise His Lordship by turning up mob handed.’

  Turning to Georgie, Rollins assured her that the Embassy was delighted to find her safe and well, and that he would do all he could to find her brother. Then, still feeling that he was setting off on a wild-goose chase, Rollins left with Alan to keep their appointment with Lord William. Half an hour later they were seated in Lord William's office, along with a number of high-ranking Sponsors. Rollins found the whole episode a little embarrassing, and his embarrassment only increased as the interview progressed.

  ‘William St Benedict,’ said His Lordship unnecessarily by way of introduction, shaking Charlie Rollins by the hand. Alan refused the outstretched hand offered to him by Lord William, instead sitting himself down in front of His Lordship's desk without waiting to be asked.

  ‘Please be seated,’ said Lord William, smiling pointedly at Alan's display of bad manners. ‘Now, gentlemen, what can I do for you?’

  ‘I've had a report, from this…gentleman…here,’ Rollins gestured at Alan, not sure that gentleman was the right word, ‘that his…er…partner, Dexter Montfiore, an American citizen, is being held against his will in your house…’

  Charlie Rollins's voice tailed off as Lord William started to laugh. Looking scathingly at Alan, who was beginning to wish he'd put slightly less eyeliner on that morning, Lord William spoke.

  ‘I think your companion has rather a vivid imagination. Or perhaps he's been at the wacky baccy – who knows what these Unsponsored get up to? Mr Rollins, feel free to search my house from top to bottom. Feel free to question my colleagues here, who spend a large amount of time in my house and I'm sure would have noticed a random American incarcerated herein. All are respectable people,’ Lord William again looked pointedly at Alan, who was trying to surreptitiously remove a pink comb from his hair and sneak it into his pocket. Totally relaxed, and enjoying an unexpected opportunity to humiliate one of the Applethwaite Unsponsored, Lord William warmed to his task.