UG2:Spying By Numbers Part 2 Heather

First posted here in 2014/5, this story had only been available on Kindle since 2017. The third & fourth books are also now out.
 

Gail and Sophie declined the offer of a police car to take them down to the Barbican, electing to walk instead. They had wasted two hours in the police station but at least had their weapons back. One unfortunate consequence was that they were both hungry, lunchtime had happened whilst they were in that meeting room.

Once they reached The Barbican they paused by the Mayflower Steps, before looking for a decent café. Gail noticed something as they were checking out the third potential eaterie.

"I think we're being followed?"

"We are, I saw that guy in the police station, there'll be another around here somewhere."

"Are they keeping a tab on us?"

"Probably to make sure we don't need to repeat our earlier actions if something happens."

As if on cue, a teenager had grabbed a tourist's handbag and was running towards Gail. Unfortunately their tail hadn't cottoned on to what was happening, so Gail walked straight into the path of the teen who ended up in a heap on the stony quayside.

Their plain-clothed tail finally realised what was going on and headed towards Gail as the teen tried to get up. The owner of the bag now also caught up, Sophie slipped backwards, out of the frame.

"Thank you, thank you."

"No trouble, I'm sure this officer can handle it now?"

"Errr, yes Miss. I'm Detective Constable Evans, and you," he grabbed the teen, "are under arrest."

The DC looked at Gail, who smiled back; she could now see DC Evan's partner approaching, calling for transport. Gail left them to it and rejoined Sophie, plainly hanging around this area was a bad idea. They walked away quickly and used the footbridge to head to the other side of the harbour, soon finding a pub that would supply food to order all day. This was an ideal way to wind down, even though Sophie was technically still on duty.

By five pm Gail was the wrong end of several halves of ale so Sophie asked the bar staff to order a cab back to their B&B.

***

Gail managed a few hours rest, i.e. sleep, but by 7.30pm Sophie was shaking her.

"Come on, we need to have some dinner."

Gail growled.

"Don't give me that, you won't sleep tonight if you stay here, worst than that you'll wake at 11pm and ask for a kebab."

Gail dragged herself into the bathroom and washed her face before reapplying light make-up. Ten minutes later she was fit to head out into the night.

Most of Plymouth's nightlife is on Union Street, but it's not a place to eat unless the most sophisticated food you want is Southern Fried Chicken or Kebabs. Sophie steered Gail towards one of the many Italian restaurants around the city centre, inside it wasn't busy but the lousy service made it seem that way. Sophie ordered them both mineral water and left the wine alone. They were finishing their dessert, ice cream of course, when Gail's phone pinged.

Where will you be tomorrow lunchtime? Organising a courier, Helen.

"Sophie, Helen wants to know where we'll be tomorrow lunchtime? Something about a courier."

"Well, anywhere you fancy visiting?"

"Another beach?"

"Sure, which one?"

"Shall we lunch in Weymouth and take it from there?"

"Sounds good."

Gail tapped a quick reply to Helen but saying they didn't know exactly where in Weymouth.

A few minutes later they had settled the bill and headed back to their overnight accommodation.

***

"So they confessed and have already been dealt with in court?"

"Yes, DS Grieve, there's no need for you and Miss Jones to do anything further. I understand you were leaving Plymouth today, do you know where you're going?"

"No, and please don't try to tail us, I'm trained in counter-surveillance."

"As if ..."

Sophie killed the call, they were already out of Plymouth and were parked outside Exeter Airport. Their plan for the day was simple, head for Dorchester for coffee and shopping, then into Weymouth for lunch and shopping. No need to attract unwelcome attention by letting anyone know their movements.

The first task however was to return their Hertz hire car and to take a car from Europcar, if they were being tailed it would give them a small advantage. Back on the road Sophie took her time, checking the mirrors regularly. If she was expecting anything then it didn't happen and they rolled into Dorchester around eleven.

They had a coffee in M&S, Gail had looked at some tailored suits but wasn't inspired, neither of them made any purchases. By midday they were back on the road for the short drive into Weymouth.

As they reached the outskirts of Weymouth Gail spotted a young man hitching by the side of the road, Sophie spotted him too.

"No I'm not stopping and, if you were driving neither should you."

"I wasn't suggesting that, Sophie. If he's only a mile or so from Weymouth why is he hitching, and why did he not show his face?"

"Perhaps he's escaped from Portland Prison? The entrance wasn't far back?"

Once on Weymouth Quay Sophie looked for somewhere to leave the car, mindful of her recent experience in Windsor. One of the carparks was ideal, plenty of people and plenty of cameras. It was twelve thirty, time to look for somewhere to eat. Gail's phone rang.

"Hello Miss Young?"

"Errr, yes?"

"Hello, I'm a courier and I have a package for you from a Miss Bell. Where are you?"

"Just a moment."

Sophie had caught enough of the conversation to be on her guard already.

"What vehicle are you in?"

"I'm on a bike, black BMW."

"Okay, we're in the Park Street carpark near the marina."

They both kept a look out, Sophie had her bag open with her Glock accessible, Gail's bag was closed but her hand was on it, just in case. A minute later a black bike rode around the corner and came to a stop whilst the rider scanned the area. He phoned again.

"Miss Young, is that you I can see with the other lady?"

"Yes."

The bike now approached but the rider stopped a safe distance away before opening one of the panniers to retrieve a large padded envelope, from the other pannier he took a laptop bag. Only then did he approach Gail with all of the items.

"I'm glad I found you so quickly, these jobs can be a right pain, Miss."

"That's okay, although I wasn't expecting this?"

"This is what Miss Bell gave me this morning, she said there's a letter in the laptop bag. All I need is a signature."

He offered a pad asking that she signed before remounting his bike and leaving at high speed, Gail signed as H. Young , something that she needed to get used to.

"What are we going to do with these?"

"We're going to put them in the boot then go to find lunch, that's what. You can open your presents later."

"Yes, mum."

Sophie was about to swing her bag at Gail when she remembered the bag was still open, she closed it up quickly. They found a café, not a cheap one, just by the marina. Whilst they sat, they talked about the rest of the day; neither had any desire to stay the night in Weymouth so they decided to head into Salisbury, leaving an easy drive into London on Friday if needed.

Sophie suggested they left straight away so, after a wee, they headed the short distance back to the carpark. Apparently without a care in the world, the hitch-hiker they'd seen earlier was now trying to break into their car.

"Move away from the car!"

"Piss off."

"Move away, I'm a police officer."

"Yeah, and I'm the Easter bunny."

Sophie was virtually on top of him but he span around suddenly and caught her chin with his foot. She went down. The hitch-hiker started to go for Sophie's bag, Gail had to act.

"I'm armed, move away now!"

"Yeah, yeah."

She removed the weapon from her bag and aimed.

"One last warning, move away, punk."

"Babe, is it a toy?"

A shot was heard.

The hitch-hiker, plainly distracted by the sound of a gunshot, turned to look towards the marina. Sophie took this opportunity to grab his ankle and pull him roughly down to the ground, before rolling him onto his front and sitting on him. Gail slipped her weapon back into her own bag and picked up Sophie's bag which was still on the tarmac.

Sirens could be heard in the distance and arrived in the carpark within thirty seconds. Officers ran over.

"You can get off him now."

"I'm DS Grieve, Met Police. He was breaking into our car and I suspect he's an escaped prisoner. I don't have any handcuffs unfortunately."

"Correct, he was doing time for armed robbery and broke away from his escort following a hospital visit."

Sophie was getting up and was allowed to get clear before two officers, plainly rugby players, cuffed him then lifted the toad. He was screaming obscenities about having been shot at. Gail handed Sophie her bag and was about to say something when another officer was seen heading from the marina with a detainee, the officer was carrying a pistol, carefully.

"Let me go, I'll hold you personally responsible for any damage to my firearm, I have a permit for it, I have rights!"

The senior officer, Sgt Downes, supervised the removal of the hitch-hiking escapee then turned to the newly arrived detainee.

"What were you doing with a pistol?"

"I'm John Logie Bartholomew the Third and I was cleaning it in the marina, as I said to this officer I have a permit from the State of Maryland. It was an accidental discharge, that's all, certainly not worth this hassle. Where can I buy a box of point four-five around here?"

"Sir, you're under arrest for illegal possession of a prohibited weapon and ammunition. You do not have to say anything...."

Mr Bartholomew (the Third) started complaining loudly, threatening to call the American Ambassador, but Sgt Downes continued with the caution regardless as the American was shoved into a waiting police car. The handgun was placed in an evidence bag and then handed to an officer in the armed response vehicle that had just arrived. Sgt Downes now returned his attention to Gail and Sophie.

"So ladies, thank you for helping detain him but you took an awful risk."

"Sergeant, as I said a few minutes ago I'm DS Grieve of the Met Police," she showed him her warrant, putting it carefully back in her bag, "myself and my friend are on holiday and we'd just got back from lunch when we saw a male attempting to break into our car."

"Yes, the CCTV camera over there caught it", he pointed back across the carpark, Gail realised quickly that her body would have shielded her weapon from the camera.

"The camera operator had a photo of the escaped prisoner so was able to raise this as a priority call. He is a dangerous man, you're lucky he didn't have access to a weapon."

"Quite, you don't need us, do you? I don't think his attempt to break into our car is as important as his recapture? There's no obvious damage."

"No, I'll just take your details and you can go. Is it a hire car?"

"Yes, we just collected it from Exeter Airport."

He took out his notepad and recorded brief details, Gail hadn't yet seen the full bio details for Heather Young's identity so gave her legal name. It was unlikely that Dorset Police would check with Devon and Cornwall Constabulary and discover her firearm.

They climbed into the car as the various police vehicles left the carpark, but Sophie made no attempt to start it.

"That was a close call Gail."

"Too close."

"You have to learn to leave the gun out of sight unless your life is directly threatened, even then let me deal with it. You have no protection in law if you shoot someone who is not about to kill you, the 'self defence' principle is quite restricted. That licence is not a licence to kill, or even to wound."

"I know, but it's that strange buzz I get from carrying it."

"And that's the risk, if you didn't have it, what would you do?"

"Run? Call the police?"

"Exactly. Let me take the risks, that's what I'm employed for. Come on, let's find a hotel and then look at what Helen's sent you."

Gail checked her phone as Sophie pulled away, there was a text from Helen reporting that the courier had confirmed delivery, could she concur? Gail sent a simple reply, understating the situation:

All received but not opening until we reach hotel in Salisbury, eventful lunchtime.

***

They were sat in a twin room at The Red Lion Hotel in the middle of Salisbury, a seriously old hotel. Gail had gone for the large padded envelope whilst Sophie opened the laptop bag. She also found a small router/encryptor plus a boxed mobile phone. Under the laptop lid was a sheet of paper. Sophie read it:

Gail,

In the envelope you should find the following, provisional driving licence, passport, bank cards (same PIN as before), medical card and any others I've forgotten to mention.

One strange item in there is a Home Office Special Warrant, conferring powers under the Terrorism Prevention and Investigation Measures Act 2011 and Criminal Justice Acts. It's a Get Out Of Jail Free card in case you get into difficult circumstances, but you are not to use it unless Sophie agrees.

Now, I've been able to secure accommodation for both of you and the sweep team were in there Wednesday. The phone and broadband go live today but there's no chance to deliver an encryptor so I sent one with the laptop.

The address is contained in an email, the laptop's the same as you used at the house, so you know the password but have to change it immediately. Use a cabled connection to the internet if possible and put the encryptor in the line. Phone me if there's a problem.

The new phone is registered to your new name and is for business and social use only.

Helen

Of course there wasn't a network socket anywhere in the room, indeed there were limited power outlets in the room as well. Fortunately there was a power extension lead in the bag, although Health & Safety die-hards would have declared it a hazard. Gail fired up the laptop and went through two layers of passwords before attempting to access the internet. A webpage declaring it to be a UK Gov level 3 encryptor popped up and asked for the local wireless password, that sent Sophie scurrying to Reception to find it out. It turned out to be 'RedLionHotel', never mind.

Finally she opened found her emails, over a hundred of them. Most would wait for another time, the only one she wanted was Helen's.

From: Helen Bell
To: Heather Young
Subject: Address

Heather,

You and Sophie are to meet me at 16 Caxton Rise, Redhill RH1 4AJ at eleven on Friday morning. Your clothes and belongings will be brought out of storage and delivered around midday.

I've registered a business website for you and any other paperwork can wait until we meet.

I know you weren't responsible for any of the leaks but that does not remove the need for you to be careful, otherwise your clearance and privileges will be cancelled and you're on your own.

Helen

A stark warning, her second of the day, she started to sob. Sophie, gathering that something Gail had read had caused this emotional response, gently turned the laptop towards herself and read Helen's email.

"Gail, don't read anything personal into Helen's words, that's a message that we hear all the time if you have higher level security clearance. Helen doesn't know what happened today yet but I have to write her a report so she will find out, don't be surprised if you have your weapon taken away."

"I didn't want the thing anyway."

"I know, we'll talk to Emily about it, right? She was the one who obtained the authorisation."

"Yes, I suppose so."

"Get into that bathroom and give your face a wash, we've still plenty of time before dinner and there's loads of shops out there, put your new cards in your purse, move anything that says Gail Jones into your suitcase so you don't use them accidentally."

Gail emerged from the bathroom having reapplied her make-up, Sophie in the meantime tidied everything away including shutting down the laptop. It was unlikely that a member of the hotel staff would come into the room but it was common sense not to leave anything on display.

They were already in the centre of town but first did the tourist thing and visited the cathedral. It was on the way there that Gail realised she didn't have a camera, her decent camera had been lost when he home had been destroyed. She told Sophie and they went looking for a camera store, they quickly found Jessops.

She was expecting a greasy faced student type salesman but was pleasantly surprised when a lady approached Gail.

"How can I help you today?"

"I'm after a DSLR, I lost mine in a house fire."

"Oh dear, I'm so sorry. What brand was it?"

"A Canon EOS 600D."

"Oh, they're good but seriously outdated now. If you're looking for good value then the 1200D is exceptional, there's a package for a 300mm lens too. Only if you want to stay with Canon of course, we have deals with the other major brands too."

"I'd want to stay with what I'm used to, can I see the one you mentioned?"

Gail walked out of the store with the camera around her neck, a large capacity memory card inserted; the packing and the long lens were in a carrier bag. Now she felt properly dressed as a tourist. Next stop was the cathedral.

An hour or so later they were sat in a café just off the High Street, a selection of bags from major and small stores littering the floor, Gail had gone a little overboard. She'd finally found some suits she liked and had bought matching trousers as well as the skirt and jacket, the English weather wasn't always suitable for skirts. David had always avoided suits, but Gail now understood that image was everything.

Her 'H. Young' bank card had suffered to the tune of almost £1000 in the space of a few hours but she was happy. Despite the previous week's attack she was now out of the Security Service's controlling atmosphere and back in the real world. With the following day's move into her own home she was now in the best possible position, even if she still had a bodyguard. Her smile broadened. One thing was clear, Gail was now fitter, having walked and swum whilst in Cornwall, she was also tanned, had clear skin and reasonable teeth, although she needed to see a dentist soon. So far as Gail was concerned, she felt brilliant.

It was nearly five o'clock so they returned to the hotel and dropped off the bags. The stores were starting to close so there was little point heading back out, that decision was confirmed when it started to drizzle, the first rain Gail had seen for a week.

They opted to eat in the hotel's restaurant so, after a make-up check, walked down to the lounge bar for an aperitif. The food followed as they finished the first bottle of wine, a Shiraz naturally.

Talk of the following day's events accompanied the meal. They were over an hour away from Redhill but Stonehenge was only a short distance from Salisbury.

"Can we go there in the morning?"

"We don't have the time. You have to park some distance from the stones and walk the rest, I'm also not keen leaving our kit unattended again."

"I suppose so."

"Look, we'll go there one weekend, although we'll need a car first, I have one but I figure you'll need one eventually."

"I need to restart lessons first."

"So let's have a leisurely start to the day and take breakfast at a civilised time before we hit the road, we need to leave by half past nine."

"Okay."

"Now, most importantly, what do you fancy for dessert?"

***

Friday morning began with Gail wondering what to wear, the sun was out and it looked like it was going to be a warm day. She toyed with a top and shorts, swapped the shorts for a skirt, chose a different skirt but then changed the top as it didn't match. Finally, with the pile of rejects getting higher she put on a summer dress and a cardigan over her shoulders.

"How does that look, Sophie?"

"You looked good with everything you tried on."

"But the dress?"

"It's fine, hurry up as the hotel breakfast won't wait for us."

"I'll just do my make-up."

"Leave it, do it when we get back up here."

"But..."

"But nothing, move!"

Gail fancied the classic cooked breakfast as she figured lunchtime might not happen whereas Sophie was going for the muesli and fruit. Gail ended up with a compromise, a mushroom omelette and some toast, washed down with OJ and coffee.

Back in the room they packed as much as possible into their cases but still had several full bags of purchases left over. That meant several trips by each of them down to the car, but only Sophie had a key. A military operation it was not.

Finally they checked out and hit the road, it was just after nine thirty. The journey was uneventful until they reached the M25 and discovered that one short stretch of roadworks can cause several miles of tailbacks. Finally, once off London's orbital carpark, they approached Redhill. Gail sent Helen a text to let them know they would only be a few minutes.

Sophie drove into Caxton Rise just after eleven. The road was a cul-de-sac half a mile from the town's railway station, Helen was stood outside a detached house at the end of the road. Gail jumped out of the car as soon as Sophie pulled up and ran across to Helen, giving her a hug.

"I've missed you."

"I know Heather." It was now imperative that only her professional name was used and Helen was making certain it started as it meant to go on. "Let's go in before we unload whatever you've picked up."

Helen gave Heather and Sophie the penny tour and wasn't pleased when Sophie made a stake on the master bedroom, citing security as her reason.

"I'm not accepting that."

"But if there was an attack on the house the front bedroom would be the greater risk."

"No, Sophie, if it's my place then I take that room regardless, after all I need the additional space for all my clothes."

Helen intervened, "Heather's quite right and the risk is minimal. All I'll suggest is we fit bullet resistant glass in the front windows."

Sophie wasn't impressed but had to accept the loss of that argument, so would use the slightly smaller second bedroom at the rear. The tour continued into the box room, an 8ft by 8ft central room barely big enough for a single bed. Instead of a bed there was a desk, large monitor, secure phone and a scanner/printer. On the floor next to the paper shredder was a safe.

"What's the safe for?"

"Any restricted documents, your pistol, ammunition, your Gail Jones identity documents, encryptor keys and so on."

"Okay, but what's an encryptor key?"

Helen gave Heather the short version and explained she had to load a new code into the encryptor every Sunday, or she wouldn't be able to communicate with the Security Service. She would be sent new keys monthly and had to store them in the safe.

They finished the tour downstairs then headed into the garden. David had lived in a flat since childhood so had never needed to look after a garden, this would be a new experience for Heather. Helen had brought milk and coffee with her so they sat in the garden after Heather made three mugs, Heather was feeling relaxed.

"Don't get comfortable! Don't you two have a car full of stuff?"

Heather and Sophie started bringing the bags in but Heather stopped carrying and started putting her clothing away.

"How come I'm doing all the carrying, Ga...Heather?"

"I did bring up two bags."

"One of those only contained your make-up!"

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To be continued

Unaccounted Gains Books 3 & 4 are also available on Kindle