The Undead | Day 25 [The Heat]
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A moment or two passed for the others to file out, apart from one man holding back in his seat while on the screens only Colonel Poppy remained while Alistair sealed the door and returned to his own seat with a heavy sigh.
‘Right. Go on then. Spit it out,’ he ordered while glancing through the glass door of the ultra-modern underground complex to the backside of Gudipta Singh walking away.
Colonel Poppins cleared her throat with a glance to the other man.
‘Oh god, she’s clearing her throat,’ Alistair said with an eye-roll. ‘Is it that bad?’
‘As the report details, Minister,’ Mary said. ‘SEFOB sent a patrol out. They were checking a weapons cache on the coast.’
‘Where?’
‘Hinchley Point. It’s in the report.’
‘That’s the old Italian town, isn’t it?’
‘It was,’ Mary says.
‘What do you mean it was? Have the storms destroyed it?’
Mary paused, knowing full well that he hadn’t read the report. But then ministers never do read the reports. They expect minions to do that for them and feed them the key points. ‘SEFOB sent a patrol out yesterday, Minister. They were tasked to conduct reconnaissance, in addition to checking a few key sites. One of which was…’
‘Get to the point, Mary!’
‘One of which was to check a weapons cache, where they fired upon by an unknown group.’
‘This is the woman. Right?’ Alistair asked, pointing from Mary to the other man in the room. ‘And what’s that got to do with Hinchley Point being totalled by a storm?’
Ministers do that too. They get details wrong on purpose to keep people jarred and uncomfortable.
‘The SEFOB patrol left the area, Minister,’ Mary said. ‘Their orders being not to engage. However, they did return early this morning and have reported the town of Hinchley Point has been destroyed.’
‘It’s like pulling teeth,’ Alistair muttered while rubbing his face. ‘By what? By a storm? By a whale leaping from the Ocean? Aliens? Avalanche? By what method was this town destroyed?’
‘By war, Minister,’ the other man in the room said.
‘Good god. That’s rather dramatic,’ Alistair said, giving him a look. ‘What kind of war? General warfare, or perhaps the war on drugs?’
‘Minister,’ Mary cut in. ‘That is how the report details the findings. They said the town looked like a warzone with evidence of mortars and the use of a heavy machine gun in addition to multiple small arms. The team leader stated it appeared a concerted, trained, and disciplined stand had been made against a very sizable attack from infected hosts numbering in excess of twenty thousand. That, in itself, is of note. But added to the contact the patrol had earlier in the day from-.’
‘Hang on. The woman. What was her name again?’
‘Carmen Eze,’ the other man said.
‘That was it,’ Alistair said while clicking his fingers. ‘She’s highly-trained, then is she?’
‘Carmen is one of the most effective agents this country has ever had,’ the other man said.
‘I see. Or rather, I don’t see. What’s all the concern for? One woman chopping down a few infected doesn’t prompt a secret meeting like this, especially when I’ve got Gudipta scrutinising every move I make. Chances are that this Carmen has rallied a few young squaddies and got them fighting back, or are you worried about who she might be with? Yes? You’re worried she’s with her old team. See. You lot think we never read our reports. Ah, I won’t lie. I never read it. Somebody told me the key points. Anyway. Tell me again. But quickly.’
‘If she’s with Henry,’ the man said
‘Major Henry Campbell-Dillington,’ Alistair said as he reminded both of them that a sharp mind lay beneath the bluster and bluff. ‘Formerly of the Parachute Regiment, The Special Air Service and latterly CO of a clandestine deniable ops unit hiding within the department of fiscal studies. That Henry? Is that the one? Or are you worried about his right hand man, George? Or Frank McGill? Or perhaps this Carmen Eze running around with some squaddies. That right, is it? Four people? You’re worried about four people in the midst of this shit. Whom, I might add, are probably all dead. Did you even have confirmation it was Carmen Eze?’ he snapped the question out when the man and Colonel Poppins both tried to cut in. ‘Did you get a picture? No? A black woman then. A black woman shot at one of your soldiers. Oh, and this being the highly-trained unit that lost the fucking scientist! The one that ran off with our fucking list.’
‘Alistair,’ the man said.
‘Head Chair!’ Alistair snapped at him.
‘We just thought you should know,’ Mary cut in.
‘Great! Do I need to know if the fucking toilets block up? We’re in a highly fortified secret underground bunker in the centre of London. What the hell is this Henry going to do? Sneak in and tell us off? The games of old spies are gone.’
‘Minister-.’
‘What part of saying Head Chair is difficult for you? Okay. Listen. Let’s wind this down. I get it. You’re bored. You need to prove you still have relevancy. No! Don’t speak over me. You’ve played your part. And for that we are thankful, and you have your place. You don’t need to invent dangers to prove you are needed. And I get it. I do! I know you lost your children, but I lost mine too. My darling Cassie was the love of my life, but we must push on and strive to be a better society. And I know you need to feel involved, and you will be once we get going. But right now, there isn’t anything happening. So sit back and enjoy the time off. Eh? Right. Good work. Now. I must get on. I have a country to run. Albeit one with a much smaller population than a month ago. Ah, apologies. Bad joke given the chat about our dead children. Yes. Poor taste. Stay sane and keep your eyes on the prize. That’s what I always say.’
They watched him go and sat in silence as the glass door to ultra-modern underground bunker sealed shut behind him.
‘Are you worried?’ Mary eventually asked the other man while staring at his dark eyes through the screen on her desk.
‘No. No I think it will be alright. But keep me in the loop would you, Mary? I don’t think the PM will.’
‘Of course. Speak soon,’ Mary said while reaching out to cut the feed, but she paused to think for a second. ‘And he’s not the PM, Howard. He’s Head Chair. Didn’t you get the memo? This is the new world order.’
She blinked out leaving Howard alone in the conference room with his dark, brooding eyes staring at nothing while inside the worry gnawed at his gut because you don’t leave someone like Henry to chance.
Not in any world, even if it is a brave new one.
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