Raise The Price

by Mark Stanley

  "I'm not sure she is deep down, but she has a steely determination and I've no doubt that it will be tested in the immediate future.

  The car pulled up to the entrance to the estate and was stopped by an armed Policeman. Identities were checked and Gary made sure that the car and its occupants weren't delayed. As they pulled up in the road outside where the Police had cordoned off the house, everyone wanted to get out to view it in daylight.

  “Oh my God.” Daphne stood with her arms around Lulu and Charles as Granny went with Gary to retrieve the clothes.

  “Shocking isn't it?”

  “I never dreamt that it would be so bad Gerry.”

  The entrance gates had been moved and laid on the lawn but everything else was as if it had just happened apart from Mark's car which had been removed and a tarpaulin which was draped across the front of the house, offering protection to the house from the elements and from prying eyes and cameras. Rubble was everywhere, a mixture of bricks, window frames and the inevitable glass. There were men walking around in white coveralls, whilst others were going into and out of a makeshift tented village that had sprung up. The boys stood pointing at the dark dried patches of blood.

  “Where's Adelice and Paolo, Gramps?”

  “I don't know Lulu.”

  They stood for another couple of minutes until Margaret and her helper Gary reappeared carrying two suitcases rather than the expected plastic bags.

  “They were so helpful and had put everything into the cases.”

  “Guilt.” One word uttered by Gerry but which everyone agreed with.

  “Miss Brompton, can I get you anything?”

  “No I'm fine, but thank you for asking. Is there any news?”

  “I'm sorry but I haven't heard anything but that's not unusual, I've asked that they contact me as soon as he's moved into Recovery, once they do I'll let you know. I know it's difficult, but try not to fret he's with the top man.”

  That was easier said than done. Four hours had passed and the emails were still being read. If nothing else it gave Victoria something to do, in amongst the bouts of abject misery. She had listened to the voice mails, well some of them. Lots were follow up calls, after text and emails and so were dealt with easily; the delete button had never had so much use. There were three from her parents but she didn't have the mental fortitude to deal with them at the moment and so they too were deleted. There was a knock at the door and then without waiting for an answer the handle was turned and there stood yet another stranger.

  “Miss Brompton? Paul Coombes.”

  “MI5.” Said as a matter of fact, rather than a question.

  “Yes Miss Brompton. May I sit?”

  The visitor took a chair and pulled it around so that he could face Victoria.

  “Can I express our sympathy at the dreadful circumstances that you and Mister Stanley's family are encountering? I understand that my colleague Simon Gibbs has been and seen you and I felt that I needed to give you an update on the situation?”

  “...So there you have it. At least we have the final attacker in custody but we will not relax our vigilance as we need to question this man and to ascertain if there are any others, we don't think there are, but enough mistakes have been made without exacerbating the situation."

  "What happens now?"

  "Much depends on our investigations and your fiancée. We'll keep a high level of protection on him, you and the children, which in all likelihood, will be maintained going forward, assuming that..."

  "Mark survives?"

  "Well, it's a..."

  "Mister Coombes, Mark will survive. I've known him only a comparatively short period but one thing that I know from the time with him and with his family, he won't go quietly into the night."

  It was after 10 o'clock when the door opened and the Policeman asked if two visitors might be allowed in as they'd been waiting in the Main Reception since yesterday and the staff were getting concerned. Victoria went with the officer to the Reception and walked up to Adelice and Paolo, Mark's Brazilian Housekeeper and husband.

  "I'm so sorry no one told me. Have you been here since yesterday?"

  Both looked relieved and exhausted as Victoria suspected she did, and then Adelice began to cry as Victoria hugged both her and her husband.

  It was a desperately long night, but the three of them had the companionship of each other and conversed in Portuguese as Adelice's English seemed to desert her. Victoria had found out that whilst the attack was taking place, they were having another Christmas lunch with some friends and so had been oblivious to the drama until they returned late in the evening to find that their entry was barred. They had explained who they were and they had been given details of the hospital. They had turned around and driven here and been in Reception since, trying to find out some information. Victoria told them an expedited version of the events and that Mark was in the Operating Theatre, which was the signal for more tears.

  At a little after 7 o'clock, the door opened and David Richards accompanied by Martin James entered the room.

  "Good Morning Miss Brompton."

  Victoria introduced Adelice and Paolo before the de-brief commenced.

  "It's been a long night for everyone and I've bought Martin with me as he's been in the Operating Theatre with me for more than half of it. Your fiancé is a remarkable man Miss Brompton, because he's still alive and that in itself is no mean feat. The operation has been successful, the bullet has been removed and Mister Stanley is in Recovery being closely monitored. We hope that he will be able to be bought up to Intensive Care shortly and once stabilised; you should be able to sit with him only you and the direct family I'm afraid, at least for now."

  "Can you tell me a little more detail?"

  "Of course, you may remember an American Congresswoman, Gabrielle Giffords?"

  Victoria shook her head as she hadn't heard the name before.

  "No matter. She was shot, again to the left hand side of her head, but from the back? The bullet then, unlike Mister Stanley's, exited the front. Anyway I digress; to remove the bullet it was first necessary to remove a portion of his skull, here."

  The surgeon demonstrated on Paolo the area that he had removed to facilitate the operation. "There was some small amount of bleeding within the area and this had to be stopped before I could then carry out a full evaluation. The bullet, as I alluded to, was located close to the occipital lobe, this is where visual information is processed for the right-hand field of view so any damage would directly affect his right eye. I think and believe that no damage has taken place and that his vision will be unimpaired but that will still need to be determined. Also within the left hemisphere and that's what we refer to this part of the brain as, is the area responsible for language, cognition and abstract thought."

  "Going back to the American woman, did she survive?"

  David Richards gave a wan smile before answering. "Yes, she survived the operation and she has returned to politics but she hasn't made a complete recovery as she still struggles with speech and walking, but she has much to be grateful for and is fully embracing her life."

  Victoria stared as she tried to take in the enormity of what David Richards was telling her. "So you think that there will be a similar effect on Mark."

  "At this stage it's impossible to say; until he wakes we can't carry out cognitive testing, all I would say is that he has survived and now is the really hard part as we all now have to be patient to wait and see. Martin was called to assist me as we had further complications during the operation..."

  "...he's in an induced coma and on a ventilator. I expect he'll stay in the coma for a few days, perhaps as much as a week, it's all dependent on his vital signs and those will be very closely monitored. When you see him, please be prepared for a distressing scene for he is hooked up to lots of machinery. He himself is swathed in bandages and unless you prepare yourself you'll be distressed, so my advice is have a cup of coffee and sit patiently for a little while long
er. Will you contact his family or would you prefer me to?"

  "No I'll do it."

  "Miss Brompton do try and stay positive, he's in a dangerous condition but he lives and that's a major success."

  "Will this be the end of the operations?"

  "I'm afraid not. There will still need to be re-constructive surgery done to his skull, not just from the bullet entry wound but also the area that had to be removed. As to any ongoing surgery, that will be determined by Mister Stanley. Miss Brompton, we're both going to be here for a long-time, can we use first names please?"

  "Of course...Victoria."

  Mark's parents and children returned within an hour of the call informing them of the...successful operation. Victoria didn't want to temper anybody's enthusiasm by revealing the potential issues and decided to let them play out in real-time.

  "If you're ready, can the first two of you come with me please?" The nurse held the door open and waited for the chosen ones to accompany her.

  Margaret looked at Victoria who shook her head. "No, you and Gerry go first."

  "Are you sure?"

  "Completely, I'll stay with the children."

  Adelice and Paolo had remained and now felt more useful as they could assist and support the children. They didn't see it as work for they adored the children and were pleased to be able to stay and offer what comfort and support they could. Paolo, who's English, was better than his wife's, chatted with the boys, who seemed brighter today. Lulu sat with Victoria and talked about...nothing, no words were spoken as Lulu just held Victoria's hand and watched the door. It wasn't a very long wait until it opened and the Grandparents returned, both, seemingly struggling with their emotions. Daphne stood embracing the normally stoical Margaret as she began to cry.

  "How is he?" Asked Lulu, just managing to hold back her own emotions.

  Gerry couldn't speak and just shook his head as the tears tumbled down his cheeks, so it was left to Margaret.

  "I don't think you children should go in, at least not now. He's hooked up to machines and heavily bandaged."

  "I want to see him." Lulu said quietly, but determinedly, looking up at Victoria for support.

  "So do we." Chorused the boys.

  "I'll take them Margaret." Victoria stood and looked at the nurse. "Can we all come together?"

  She looked doubtful, but Victoria made a pleading face and mouthed the word 'please', silently. "Of course, let’s go."

  Victoria gathered the children together and said to them all. "We must be strong for each other. It'll be scary in the room and Daddy...well Daddy won't probably look like Daddy, but we'll know it's him."

  With an armed officer at the front and another at the rear of this human convoy, they made their way along two corridors and passing bemused staff and visitors, to yet another room outside of which was stationed another uniformed and armed Police officer.

  When the door opened, the nurse shepherded them in and explained, mainly for the children, what the machines were doing. Mark looked almost serene. The ventilator expanded and contracted his chest, the various monitors bleeped and he looked like an Egyptian Mummy. His left arm was bandaged. There was some type of cage over his legs, presumably to keep the weight of the sheets and blankets off his damaged left leg but it was his face and head that was most shocking. David Richards had forewarned her that he was swathed in bandages what he hadn't told her was that his face was almost black.

  "What's happened to his face?"

  "That's what air-bags sometimes do. Some of the bruising has been caused by his injuries but the majority is by the air-bag, it'll soon reduce and it looks far worse than it is."

  The door opened and David Richards squeezed in with a huge smile.

  "Hello." He moved around to stand next to the boys and bent down so that he could speak quietly and point out what was happening. The nurse had been excellent but this suited gentleman had a comforting demeanour and a timbre to his voice that instilled confidence, at least for the children who at the end actually looked relieved.

  "David, once the family leave I want to be able to come in and stay with Mark?"

  He pursed his lips and looked at the nurse who smiled. "We'd better make some room for Victoria then hadn't we Moira?"

  Back in the waiting room, the children were more animated than at any time during the last two days, chatting away about what they'd seen and explaining to Adelice and Paolo about the machines. They seemed to have taken it in their stride undoubtedly helped by the explanation of David Richards, which had instilled an expectation that everything would be alright. He hadn't said that, but that was the inference that the children took. After a group chat, Victoria managed to get them all to see the sense in leaving, before returning later in the day, when hopefully they could visit him again. She also insisted that Adelice and Paolo left. There was no room at Daphne's and they couldn't return home but they telephoned the same friends that had provided Christmas lunch and were offered shelter. Victoria promised all that she would ring if there was any change to Mark's condition and a couple of hours after arriving; they all left before she left to rejoin Mark. Her timing was perfection, for as Victoria re-entered Mark's room, he died.

  It wasn't as you see on television programmes; there was no panic, no drama, just cool efficiency. As the machines alarms sounded, the staff arrived from other rooms and well rehearsed procedures were put into place. Mark's head was lowered, the bed covers pulled back, revealing the metal cage that supported the blankets, this was removed and CPR commenced. Various readings were called out and a defibrillator was wheeled across the room. Pads attached, people told to stand back and Mark was shocked, three times, with increasing strength until, thankfully, the machines returned to their intermittent beeping rather than the constant ones that they'd been emitting. David Richards appeared and conversed with the nurse before carrying out his own examination, after which he came and spoke with Victoria.

  "Disappointing of course but not unheard of, it's been attended to and we'll monitor it but it's his body reacting to all sorts of trauma." Said matter-of-factly with a slight shrug of the shoulders and a thin smile before he left again and Victoria could try and get her own heart back under control.

  Chapter 2

  The hours drifted by, it was almost surreal to watch the comings and goings, as doctors, nurses and consultants went by their business. All of the while, Victoria sat in the designated corner watching everything. Visitors were still heavily restricted and when they arrived it was with a huge degree of foreboding and trepidation. They leave the hospital with hope but as the hours progress the hope goes in the opposite direction and then reappears as they see that their Son, Father, Brother is still here, still fighting, still alive.

  "Do you think it would be alright for a soon to be mother-in-law to take her future daughter-in-law for a cup of coffee? He'll be alright, Gerry will guard him, or he will if he wishes to see New Year's Eve tomorrow."

  Accompanied by one of the ever present officers, they made their way to the Cafeteria where Margaret purchased two cups of coffee and two slices of home-made Victoria sponge, smiling as she walked back to the plastic table and chairs.

  "What's making you smile?"

  "The idea of a piece of cake and you sharing the same name my dear Mark loves Victoria sponge but nowhere near the same level that he loves you. We're all getting very worried about you dear, this is day five and you've not left his side and by the looks of you, you've not eaten. Now this is a request nothing more but why don't I come with you, back to your house and you can shower change and pack a bag before we return?"

  Victoria was deep in thought but Margaret's words had percolated

  "There's no need I'll get someone to bring a bag, I don't need to leave."

  "But Victoria, you have to start looking after yourself or you'll be no use to him or any of us and we need you as much as we need Mark." She reached across and squeezed Victoria's hand but the tenderness was lost as she saw a woman atte
mpting to take a photograph, pushing back the chair, she walked over to the woman.

  "Now I understand that you are over-awed by seeing this beautiful woman in-front of you. I'm also aware that you're undoubtedly going to offer the picture to some unscrupulous newspaper or wretched magazine, but I would ask you to be better than that. My Son and her fiancée, lies gravely ill and you're attempting to make capital out of that."

  "You old bitch, why don’t ya mind you own business."

  "Do you see that, rather large, suited gentleman staring across? He is Victoria's personnel armed bodyguard and at this precise moment in time he is ruminating on whether to confiscate your phone or to arrest you for Invasion of Privacy, perhaps both? Now take your phone and remove yourself before I forget I'm a lady, because if I do, he'll look like a wimp when you see me in action."

  It really was no contest, the woman looked at Margaret as she returned her telephone to her pocket before she turned and walked away, as Margaret returned to her seat completely nonplussed by the encounter.

  "We're all desperate for good news Victoria and I thought the small change to 'critical' was very welcome. Isn't it amazing to think a small change from 'dangerous' to 'critical' can be so welcome?"

  "There's some more news which I can tell you, about Mark?"

  "Really? Well don't be a tease, go on tell me."

  "It'll be announced in the media either tomorrow or New Years Day, but Mark is to become Lord Mark Stanley."

  There have been very few occasions when Margaret has been at a loss for words but this revelation was one to add to the list. She looked at Victoria who smiled and slightly nodded, before Margaret opened her handbag and remove a small hankie, before dabbing her eyes.