The Weekly Dormouse. (aka Bike, est. 2007) Part 3474 by Angharad Copyright© 2024/2025 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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Henry rang me at work, he said that his sources reported that the SIS had been active and a few people had died as a consequence, he then asked after Meems and had Trish been to see her. I told him that she had but it had been so brief, she hadn't stayed for dinner. He told me he was disappointed but not entirely surprised.

I told him that Meems had been philosophical about it and that she thought everyone changed as we grew older, some was maturity and how we saw the world, and some of it in Trish's case was obsessionalism. I thought for a moment and remembered the old adage, that transgender people had two obsessions, the second was talking about the first. Trans women are often obsessive, they almost need to be to get anywhere toward realising their dream.

There were funnier self effacement one liners, 'what's the difference between a transvestite and a transsexual? About six months.' Thereby saying that people were right to be concerned about transsexualism as it was a transmissible disease caught by transvestites.

One statistic I read in a tg fiction suggesting a survey had found that 3% of Dutch men had cross-dressed, a Dutch doctor I knew chuckled and told me in his case, he had dressed as a hooker at a fancy dress party along with several male colleagues, the women dressing as clerics, the theme was obviously, vicars and tarts.

I worked from home for a couple of days and Meems being young and healthy, healed very quickly. By the time I returned to my office, she was limping around on elbow crutches, determined to regain her mobility and independence.

Her university was very caring, asking her when she'd be back or did she want redundancy as they had an overspend and were looking to bring about savings, redundancies or laying people off was one of the measures she was looking at. I called their HR department and told them in no uncertain terms that the only reason she had been on sick leave because she cared about her students and the university and if they rewarded such things with redundancy I would instigate a lawsuit that made their overspend seem like petty cash, so they had better think again and after doing so, fuck off. The call was terminated immediately with a voice saying about no need for abuse. I thought but didn't say, there was no point as they had disconnected the call, that they hadn't seen anything. I worked in the system at a higher level than any HR clerk, so knew its weaknesses and if I so wanted I could destroy it.

The next day I received a letter telling me that they were disappointed in my behaviour. I wrote back and told them in no uncertain terms that they had no sense of loyalty towards exemplary staff who actually cared what they did, who valued their students, the university, and upholding standards. Obviously, HR didn't and had no investment in their staff if that was how they treated a member of the academic staff who was nearly killed because she cared and reported her suspicions of drug dealing to the university authority, then they didn't deserve any respect and deserved to be destroyed, they weren't an academic institution any longer but a greedy self-important business who cared nothing for their students or staff.

Two days later I received an apology saying that the system had picked up Meems because she had had extended sick leave, and hadn't discriminated about the form of sickness she was suffering. They did in fact, know that she was a valued member of staff and her injuries were because she valued her students and her department and was in no danger of being made redundant.

I showed it to Meems and called Jason to be ready to sue a university into oblivion if they pissed me off once more. He laughed asking me if I was suing Portsmouth and I told him no and then explained Meems' letter from Southampton. He told me it was just a computer pulling out likely candidates who had excessive leave. I told him it should have been more discriminatory and examined every case separately and on its merits. They didn't and if it happened I would demand huge compensation, for her injuries and showing her actions were supporting an edifice that pissed on her with no mercy or compassion. He suggested it may be difficult to prove. I told him that if I went in front of a jury by the time I had finished they'd be ready to bring back hanging for Vice Chancellor's neglecting their duties to educate and improve the minds of youngsters not just bleed them of all their money and sign them up to a life of loans they'd have to payback. No wonder kids were voting with their feet, universities were just king-sized parasites.

I went to lunch and nearly submitted my own resignation, because I felt that we were failing so many youngsters. I spoke to Daddy about it and he convinced me that some were trying to make a difference and he needed me to continue to uphold academic standards and principles. I came home feeling totally depressed and very tired.

Over dinner I wondered if I did uphold those standards or just got on the gravy train along with the rest of academia. I was so distracted that when it happened it took me a few moments to discover what had happened. We were just finishing eating a beautiful French cuisine casserole, David was so good, that the sound of glass smashing and an explosion, took me by surprise. Somebody had firebombed.us and we all had to work to try and contain the damage and prevent injury or loss of life.

Fortunately, Meems was with us and Danni grabbed her and helped her towards the utility room. I was dithering a little from the shock and didn't see a man wearing a mask enter the room waving a knife. David did and I have never seen a dinner plate thrown with such accuracy. It hit the intruder on the forehead just above his nose and dropped him like he'd been shot. I leapt on to his supine body and removed the knife and began to tie him up with cable ties. I wasn't very gentle threw his recovering body onto the floor away from the fire. I saw another masked man and hit him with a dining chair, it was brute force and anger and it hit him in the chest area and knocked him down, as he was rising I kicked him once under the jaw and he fell back down stayed there. Danni helped me drag him to his mate and tied him too with the cable ties.

By now the fire brigade were on the scene and we had piles of foam in the house but thankfully none of the family had been hurt nor had the fire got into my study or the library, had it done so, apart from the loss of loads of book and papers and a computer, it would have gone up like tinder.

No work for me the next day, I spent much of the night and the following morning washing down carpets and walls, sweeping out the rubbish and the foam and trying to return order to the house. The police were there in numbers but the Chief Inspector was warning me to stay within the law. "I did that and look what happened. This gang have declared war on us and that means they have to be punished, let them know who they have attacked. I will show no mercy."

"You're as bad as them aren't you. Violence begats violence, you know that."

"We could all have died. Those two with big knives that we neutralised weren't sharpening their pencils and were ready to stab anyone the fire didn't get. Retribution is called for."

"Look, I know you're angry and frightened, but stick to the law, put them away for a long time and make the world safer for all."

"If they cease to exist, it get's safer quicker," I said coldly.

"I don't know how good the prison library is, but if you do anything violent, I'm coming for you as well as the criminals, because that is what you'll be. Think on that." He turned and went back to his team who were still collecting parts of the bottle that formed the petrol bomb.

Once the scene of crime people had finished Maureen came to survey the damage and discuss how we wanted the repairs done. I told her to make it like it was and to do it as quick as she could. Simon came home the next day and viewed the damage for himself. He called James and quietly told him, "Find who did this and neutralise them. Do it now, I don't want any of these bastards running about afterwards. Let Chas and Dave use 'em for target practice. Okay, do it." James left almost immediately. Simon after cuddling me and the girls for a short while said he had to go back to the office and left.

Maureen and her team blocked up the damaged window with a tarpaulin on a wooden frame, thankfully it wasn't cold, they would start as soon as the materials arrived. I took the damaged chair to a furniture restorer and he asked what happened to it. I told him I threw it at somebody who was intent on stabbing me after lobbing in a petrol bomb. He was quiet after that and just quoted me a price, presumably thinking I was drug lord or something. I accepted the quote and left. When I returned an insurance assessor had been and left me a number to phone him.

I was told the police weren't looking to prosecute for excessive violence. If they had I would have gone to court to defend myself. However, the message told me that was on the attack and didn't cover future actions by me. I got the message, it wasn't exactly subtle, my response may be but just as ruthless as MI6 had been. I was tamping when I saw the mess and how close we had come to being badly hurt or homeless.

James came back at dinner and ate with us, though with the mess the house was in it subdued the sense of enjoyment. After we went off to my study. "The fire made a bit of a mess," he said.

"Yes, Simon was very angry about it and told me no prisoners."

"Oh, that's what he said?"

"Yes. I'm not sure if he understood what he was telling me."

"Nor, am I, but I was feeling the same earlier, we could all have died and lost our home. I'm surprised Daddy was so calm about it, he's lived here forever."

"Quite," he paused for a moment. "John Henderson."

"Who's he when he's at home."

"He's actually a well-known CEO of a hedge fund."

"Right, so big deal."

"He is, my source tells me he's also the funding for this county lines gang."

"Are you sure?"

"My source is pretty confident."

"How do we get the info to MI6?"

"I think I know someone," he replied.

"Do it." I instructed him.

"As good as done," he said then added, " That was a very good meal."

"David is a very good chef."

He nodded and then left presumably en route to pass on his snippet to MI6 via his contact. I would wait and see what happened but I'd tell Simon as I feel he'd love to bring Henderson down. Meanwhile, I have to get the house sorted and see who else we can vent our spleen at. I also have a university department to run, funny that I nearly forgot it, but I have decided not to resign just yet.