The Weekly Dormouse. (aka Bike, est. 2007) Part 3301 by Angharad Copyright© 2021 Angharad

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This is a work of fiction any mention of real people, places or institutions is purely coincidental and does not imply that they are as suggested in the story.
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I sat red eyed and anxious sipping the cuppa Stella had made, she'd also answered the phone when Simon had called to find out what was so important. He was here within ten minutes and we hugged, me sobbing all over him.

"What happened?" he asked still holding me.

"Trish, Livvie and Han asked if they could go to the hotel for a swim. As there were three of them, I thought they'd be okay, looks like I was wrong." I began to weep again, tears running down my cheeks and on to Simon's shirt.

"Have you called the police?"

"They said not to."

"Sod that, we need to call them." He picked up the phone.

"Simon, the man threatened to feed them back to me in pieces if we involved the police."

"They could anyway, c'mon we have to call them."

I knew he was right but I was still frightened in case it caused the kidnappers to do something awful to one of my girls. If they so much as breathe on them, I shall exact an awful price.

"Here, phone Dad, after that call Jim. I want these bastards found and destroyed."

"You can't kill them, Si," I protested weakly because I felt the same as him.

"Watch me."

"Doesn't that make you as bad as them?" I asked almost rhetorically.

"I'm far worse than anything they could imagine, and I'm an amateur compared to you." I winced at his response but it was true, I have killed and in defence of my children would do so again.

Stella took the phone from me and called Henry while Simon asked to speak to the most senior officer available. I could only hear part of the conversation and he was getting rather angry at the person on the switchboard, but they have a protocol to go through. He didn't agree and in the end asked for her name because he was going to get her sacked. I took the phone off him, and spoke to the equally angry woman on the other end.

"Look, we have an emergency situation here and we urgently need to speak to someone as high up as possible."

"I can't help you if you don't tell me what it's about."

"Is abduction of three children urgent enough for you?"

"What? Someone has abducted three of your children?"

"Look stop repeating things back to me and let me speak with a senior officer, now, if you don't mind."

"Can I take some details please?"

"You are wasting time."

"I'm sorry, it's what we have to do."

"Forget it, I'll call the Home Secretary, she'll be informed anyway." I clicked off and rang Andy Bond, thankfully he was on duty. I cut through the niceties and told him what had happened. He immediately put me through to the Superintendent on duty, he took very few details and said he'd be over with colleagues very quickly.

About fifteen minutes later, a large uniformed police officer followed by a man and woman also in police uniforms came to the front door. He asked to put a trace on the phones and we immediately agreed, he nodded at one of his assistants and they walked off talking into their mobiles. A car was also despatched to the hotel to speak to staff and to look for any cameras that may be in use in that area of Southsea.

Another assistant went off to speak to a colleague to access the council and police cameras all around that area and the bus stops. Things were happening fast, I hoped the trail wasn't too cold already and I cursed myself for not calling the police immediately following the kidnapper's call.

"Jim's on his way," said Simon quietly, "and Dad has contacted the Home Office."

Tom, who'd been out to feed the dormice wondered what on earth was going on when he came home and found police everywhere, in fact he had to explain who he was before they let him near the house.

The Superintendent's phone pinged and he walked away to take the call. He came back looking very red faced, "That was the crime commissioner, and the Home Office have been on to him, just what is going on?"

"That's probably my father in law."

"Look we're doing all we can Mrs Cameron, I can see you're well off which is probably why they were taken."

"My pa-in-law is Viscount Stanebury."

"And?"

"He's chairman of High Street Bank and Stanebury Merchant Banks. He's a billionaire and has lots of powerful friends. He's just trying to help."

I watched the redness in the policeman's face pale and his eyes seemed to grow larger. "So you're Lady Cameron?"

"Yes, I'm afraid so."

"That Lady Cameron?" he clarified.

"The pension killer, yes."

"Okay," he said through his teeth, "not that it changes anything, we have procedures to follow whether you're royalty or a homeless bum."

"Do you actually believe that?" I asked him knowing full well that we'd get much more attention than some unfortunate living in a shop doorway.

He gave me an old fashioned look, "I'd like to, but yeah, you're right, to them who have shall be given even more."

"If it's any consolation, Superintendent Gibbons, I actually agree with you in principle but where my children are concerned, if we have to spend billions to get them back safe and to convict those who took them, then I will."

"At least you're not talking about calling in MI5 yet."

"I expect Henry has already done that. The people who have done this cannot possibly understand what they have started."

"No, I doubt they have - they're dead men walking, aren't they?"

I gave him a pained smile, "If they harm any part of them, I wouldn't like to be their life insurers."

"Please stay within the law, Lady Cameron, we'll do all we can to recover your children safe and well, please don't make me have to investigate you if bodies start floating in the Solent."

"I have no intention of harming anyone, Superintendent, but I won't give them a second opportunity."

"Neither will we." He looked out the window and large Audi appeared in the drive and out got two men in suits. "The men from the ministry are here."

They turned out to be from Special Investigations - Serious Crimes Division and I spoke quietly to our Superintendent who agreed they were MI5, obviously High Street Bank is quite important. I just felt sick for the children, because we're wealthy, or Henry is, our children could be at risk and they may not be able to live an ordinary life, doing ordinary things - and this on top of having a high rate of GID amongst them.

Danielle would always be slightly at risk because she is more in the public eye and in playing soccer at the highest level could be a target because it was thought she earned lots or again because she was a Cameron daughter. Sammi, Phoebe and Julie were established in their own homes and possibly overlooked because of it. Jacquie had signed up to do a PGCE to train as a teacher, she was always going to get her degree so the university she was going to train at accepted her on condition she got a 2:2 or better. She got a 2:1. She was going to attend a university in Cardiff from October and I felt she was moving towards leaving the nest and getting on with her life. I had spoken to her about it and reminded her that she was always welcome to call our home her home and to stay as long or whenever she wanted to. We had a few tears and a nice hug but she admitted she wanted her own life away from the high profile Camerons. I understood very much how she felt.

The police and MI5 were talking to Simon, perhaps leaving me out of it because i was the mother involved and one of those hysterical female types. Another woman police officer arrived and explained she was the family liaison officer. I won't say what I thought, but I did not feel at all welcoming and I don't need police under my feet if I have to move quickly. I know, I shouldn't be thinking like that, but I usually manage to deal with these situations by myself or with some back up from Jim or Simon.

I left Stella making WPC Beatrice Strong a cuppa while I went off and sent a quick text to Jim advising him that the police were here in droves. He replied that he explain he was here to advise on bodyguard and abduction prevention policies. I felt like telling him that horse had bolted, so closing the stable doors may be a waste of time. I think he was wanting to help because he knew the girls, especially Trish and Livvie.

Once I finished with him, my mind returned to the emptiness of missing my children. I was about to return to the sitting room when my mobile rang with it announcing it was Trish's phone. My stomach flipped but I answered it hoping it wasn't the kidnappers saying they were going to hurt the girls because I'd called the police.

"Hello?" I said aware my voice wasn't as strong as usual.

"Hi, Mummy, can you come and get us we're outside M&S."

"You're free?" I gasped.

"Yeah, I pointed out you kill them all and my dad would cancel their mortgages. They decided it was better to let us go."

"Go inside the shop, stay together, the police will come and collect you, don't go with anyone who isn't wearing a police uniform."

"What if they're plain clothes?" Trish does like to split hairs.

"They'll be in uniform."

"Oh, okay. Can we go and get a drink?"

"No stay by the door and stay together." I rushed and interrupted the meeting and told them all that the girls were in M&S. Two minutes later a marked police car screamed out of the drive to collect them.

I simply said a thank you to the superintendent.

"I hate to ask this, but it couldn't have been a bit of a prank, could it. I know that teenage girls can be awful hoaxers."

"I don't think so, Trish told me that she had explained who we were and that it would be in their own interests to release them because the consequences could be life changing."

"She's how old?"

"At five she negotiated with a county court judge to be adopted by us."

"She's adopted?"

"They all are, we can't have children."

"I'm sorry, you look like you'd have been good parents."

"I thought we try our best but today has proved we aren't good enough. I just wanted them to have the same freedom as other young teens."

"Poor little rich kids, can't say it's ever been a problem before. I still can't get over a thirteen year old negotiating their release."

"She has an IQ off the scale and the confidence to match. You'll believe it when you see her, just keep off quantum theory."

"I read a book on that recently, by that bloke on telly, Jim somebody."

"Jim Al Kalili?"

"That's the fellah, very clever."

"He is but Trish likes Brian Cox, he looks a bit more trendy."

"Oh yeah, I've seen him on the box too, another clever dick."

"Indeed, but I suspect Trish is just as clever but less experienced. Come back in twenty years after she's been to Cambridge. She's been offered a place there already."

"What, at thirteen?"

"Actually, she was about eleven, but I wouldn't let her go as she wasn't mature enough to cope with classes of people ten years older than her."

"I really am looking forward to meeting her, ah, here they come," he said seeing the police car come rushing up the drive.

"Just don't mention Schrodinger."

Why don't they ever listen? He spent half an hour being turned inside out and upside down by Trish. He also made the mistake of telling her he didn't think she would be capable of negotiating their release. She replied that her sisters had helped but that she had been the main negotiator and she'd learned what to say listening to Simon and I talking to people. "Daddy, works for the bank and is always negotiating something or other and Mummy is a super professor at the university and is always trying to get funding for research and if they'd used her for Brexit, the EU would have surrendered by day two and we'd have go everything we wanted, except her mummy wouldn't have done anything to help Brexit because she was very strongly against it." At this point, I made myself scarce and disappeared to my study with a cuppa while Trish and the copper played mind games with each other and were probably enjoying it. I was just happy to have them home, safe and well.