Chapter 16

The next few days were quiet and Wendy and I got around to cleaning out the flat after the weeks it had been collecting dust and we did a bit of shopping to restock the pantry. I then had a phone call from the agency asking if we could all go and see them the next day; they would send a mini-bus at ten. We let the other girls know to be ready.

When we got into the agency we were taken into a meeting room and shown the proofs of the previous months work. I had the feeling that the pictures from El Paso onward had a bit of an edgy look to them. Our photographers were chatting in a corner so I went over and spoke to them about this. I asked if they felt a bit changed after their little experience and they both said that they now had a much better idea of what being alive really was as they were not lying out in the desert riddled with bullets. It had altered their view of their surroundings and agreed that the pictures showed it.

The agency manager came in and called us to order. She said that the customers were very happy about the results of the shoot and that they had decided to have a fashion show to coincide with the launch of the catalogue. It would be in six weeks’ time and a big venue in London had been booked. We were told that the six of us would be the main models and that it would be a similar format to the catalogue – swimwear, outdoor wear, casual wear, day and cocktail dresses and top of the line dresses. As the catalogue was a joint venture between the fashion house and the accessory supplier, the second half would see us on the runway with bags and accessories.

She told us girls that there would be some shoots for us between now and then but she would make sure we had a clear week before the show to be ready for it as she was expecting some high powered guests in the audience but nothing had been settled yet. She congratulated the four new girls on such a high class shoot and told them they would go far. Of course, this meant that we would have to go out to lunch to celebrate.

The following week the chief and the Major took Wendy and me to a quiet dinner to keep us in the loop with the case. We found out that the unknown new girl had been located in the records under her old name and that a school picture had been obtained. It was with our artist to be aged and feminised to see a likeness which may help. The girl in the electronics shop, Tamsin, turned out to be a keen electronics buff- on the outside. An undercover officer had been able to befriend one of the other salesmen and had been told that Tamsin used to buy up big quantities of parts on her shop discount and take them home with her but had never spoken to the others about her projects. The chief suspected that this was how the sunbeds had been modified without a delivery trail. She was now being closely monitored.

The third girl was still unfound but investigations were under way with as many weightlifting gyms as they could contact. The arson/murder case had brought up a delivery point for a distributor who said that he had taken delivery of six beds for a cash buyer and had not taken any details. He was now being investigated for tax evasion. The Major thought that the six was to allow for rejects as the modifications needed to be highly accurate to ensure that the electronics were spot-on. He also told us that he thought that the FAT software had a rider which told the subject to shoot herself after achieving the result asked for. This was why Serena committed suicide and also answered the question about our four girls leaving one in the weapon at the shooting range. As they had the codes blanked now I suspected that they would now empty the weapon.

The Major asked us to fully relate the episode in the desert and he was very pleased with how quickly the four girls found their skill for the first time. We were able to tell him that, as far as we could see, it had not affected them at all. I did tell them that we were likely to all be on a runway in a big fashion show in just over a months’ time and that I would keep them in the loop with this. The Major raised one eyebrow so I said “Just think about it, five assassins on a raised platform with a crowd of high level celebrities in front of them. The last walk is all in designer dresses with handbags – can you think of a better situation for a little mayhem?”

A couple of weeks later we were at a fashion shoot in the studio when the agency manager told us that the big show would have a couple of royals as guests, as well as several diplomats. Now this was news that the chief needed to hear. When Wendy rang him with the news her said that he would have to work with the SB and the Met on this. He would redouble his efforts to find the two earlier girls who were still loose and that Tamsin would now have a tail on her around the clock. It was a hectic couple of weeks and then we were at the point of the run -through and organisation for the show. I had the feeling that things were coming to a head.

The chief had given us the drawing of the first name on the list, now aged and feminised, and it was a shock to meet her, face to face, at the first run – through. It appeared that Duncan Ditchburn could not forget her roots as she was now Dee Dee Shackleton, the owner of the accessory company supplying the bags for the show. We made sure we hid our surprise and immediately called the chief who said he would put a bug on her car and a tail would be provided by the SB. A couple of days later he reported that she had been seen having lunch with another couple of women. One had been identified as Teresa Cann, a paramedic who was scheduled to be present at the fashion show, while the other was Elaine Barnette, the owner of Elaines House of Elegance and Beauty, the fashion house that was presenting the show.

When we received photos of the three taken at that lunch, we showed them to the other four girls. Jean immediately picked Teresa out as the ‘Two Ton Tess’ she knew from the gym. It all got a bit more complicated when Tamsin showed up as an extra model, having left her electronics job the previous week. The police where now in a state of confusion as we now had eight girls who had been subjected to the brainwashing, all in one place with a room full of bigwigs. It would be easy to put a stop to proceedings before the event but there was no proof of intent.

The six of us met with the chief and the Major on the Thursday night before the show. We were told that we would have new dressers for the event, four police women who had the prior experience. They would have hidden radios so that the SB teams spread through the building could be kept in touch with what happened behind the scenes. We were told that Elaine Barnette would be the announcer for the parade, with her and Dee Dee joining the rest of us on the catwalk at the finale. Wendy said that it would be impossible for normal forces to subdue anyone who had the combat training and suggested that the chief organise sharpshooters with knock-out darts that had quick-acting drugs on them.

The problem for the police was that the guests would never allow themselves to be subjected to a frisk search and metal detectors was also not allowed, so we had to hope that we had all of the suspects already in our sights. I was sure that all the weapons were already on the premises. On the morning of the show the chief called and told us that Elaine had appeared out of nowhere some ten years before and was the operator of a range of tanning and beauty salons as well as the fashion house. All of her premises were now being watched and, if what we thought happened today, all would be raided, along with all of the premises that Dee Dee was linked to.

In the afternoon we prepared for the show. Our dressers were well trained and had been brought up to speed by the agency, now in the loop. The audience had so many high fliers it almost made my eyes water. The main point of interest was two brothers with wives known to be fashion icons who had pride of place, surrounded by their own security. It looked like every diplomat in town was taking this opportunity to be seen with their wives or girlfriends and the stalls literally reeked of money. I had sent our friendly politician four tickets and he was there with his wife and daughters.

The first part of the show went as planned, the swimwear and casuals creating some interest and applause. We then got into the day dresses, followed by the cocktail and evening wear with accessories and bags added to the mix. There was a short break before we were to do the final parade and then we were to all be on the runway together. Elaine took this opportunity to check us all out before we commenced and when she got to me she said quietly “Cauliflower oyster, you are to kill the royalty at the finale, the gun will be in the bag. Goodbye.”

What she didn’t know was that I had a small microphone embedded in a barrette and that our dressers were monitoring it as well as everything being recorded in a control van outside. Our other four girls were similarly equipped and had been told to kill certain other dignitaries before trying to kill as many as they could. This was the proof we needed and three of our dressers produced the dart guns and shot Elaine, Dee Dee and Tamsin where they stood. We found that all of the bags except Wendys’ and Elaines’ had 9mm pistols in them. Tamsin had a Mac10 as well and I suspected that she would have been told to kill any of us who may be still alive after the mayhem. All the guns were collected by our dressers, now wearing disposable gloves, and put into evidence bags.

The agency manager was ready to take over the microphone and we went out on to the runway as if nothing had happened with her giving the commentary. It was just that we were now one short for the final. At the end we all went out and stood in line, lapping up the applause, while there was a bit of drama near one of the exits when a certain paramedic fainted and had to be carried away. Before we went to an after-show party, the chief told us that all of our captives would be taken out of the building quietly in the early hours and gave all six of us a handshake which turned into a hug.

The show was deemed to be a huge success and there were pictures in the Sunday paper with a glowing report that ended with the note that it was odd that Elaine and Dee Dee were not on the runway for the finale and had not been able to be contacted. I noted that all of the photos had been taken by our agency photographers and that the agency was well mentioned in supplying the wonderful models. All in all it was a good day and we were happy at the thought that we may have wound up the case, at last.

Later in the week, the chief got the six of us to visit him in an office at New Scotland Yard where we were congratulated by a high ranking Met officer and an un-named member of the Special Branch. Everyone was happy that the entire operation had been completed without any questions from the audience. They said the royal protection officers were very happy with it as well. We were told that the raids had found the six sunbeds with four fully operational and that the Major had taken possession of these and all of the software that had been found. Everything had been taken to Kent which was now officially the counter – brainwashing centre for the military. Of course, if they call it counter anything they mean that they will be trying to perfect the systems for themselves.

Elaine had been secluded in a secure mental facility for a very long interrogation. She had been found to have been Elija, the surgeons’ son who had disappeared after being beaten up in the toilets of a good boys’ school by some boys from well-connected families. Closer investigation of the surgeons’ records showed that he had been her first transgender operation. Dee Dee, Tamsin and Teresa had all been taken to Kent to undergo a long period of sessions designed to remove all of the compulsions to follow the wrong orders, after which they would be released with help to be fit for work.

The six of us came out of it very well, all being on the A List when it came to modelling. Elaines’ business was kept as a fashion house as a cover with Wanda and Jean taking over the management, while Mallory took over the beauty salons to manage and Valerie was now the manager of Dee Dee’s Designer Accessories. Dee Dee was allowed to come back as the head of the company but was to be monitored, although the records of the night of the show had her being whispered to as well. They were over the moon as their futures were now totally secure. The only caveat was that they needed to find work for the other girls we had in the system. There was still Lesley and the girls from Scotland, Michelle and Geri, as well as Julia and the Smythe sisters when the French let them go.

A few weeks later the six of us were taken to Hereford by army helicopter and kitted out with full dress uniform of the Regiment. At the dinner that evening the Major related the basic history of the case to the assembled men who applauded us for saving the life of their future Commander in Chief. The Colonel then showed the ‘Village Walk’ film as many here had not seen it. There were gasps as it progressed. At the end of that the CO stood up and asked if there were anyone present who did not think that we deserved to be honorary associates of the Regiment and there was silence. He then took each of us and presented us with our insignia that would, of course, never be worn.

The following day we were taken into a secure room and told that we would be a special secret task force for the protection of the country, with Wendy as our CO and our day jobs being a perfect cover. As the other girls were released they would be brought into the group. The Major told us that he had discovered a way to add skills to the brainwashing and we would all be subjected to sessions to learn other languages first. I took on Russian which came in handy during another operation a couple of years later. But that’s another story.

Marianne G 2020