The Weekly Dormouse. (aka Bike, est. 2007) Part 3448 by Angharad Copyright© 2024 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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It seems Nigel Farage is the best paid MP, how can that be? The only reason I can think is that scum rises to the top. I presume, because he is employed by some media stations, his prejudicial crap is obviously desirable to some. I have always been a patriot for all the reasons that Farage isn't. He obviously doesn't truly believe in compassion and altruism so he grosses huge pay, he also grosses out all thinking people who see him for what he is, self-important shit, Possibly acquired from climbing up Trump's arse. Neither belong in a civilised country as both are barbarians.

James had consulted the fingerprint department of the Met Police, eventually after some wheeler-dealing and Simon's money, he managed to collect several dozen prints from the posters we'd removed from the uni. I began to covertly collect prints from lots of individuals who were still at the university, mainly students and postgraduates who were supposedly doing research. One or two matched with our specimens, we had some names against whom we could act. I explained what I had done to Esmond. He wasn't happy because he thought by acting covertly, we were impinging on their human rights. I reminded him that as both universities had acceptance of minorities enshrined in their constitutions, then those minorities were suffering impingement of their human rights which meant these perpetrators were committing criminal offences, those of hate crimes as laid down in legislation of the country. Once they called a transwoman a man, they were guilty of an offence and we could prosecute. I pointed out that I had no problem with lesbians until they spouted hate or enticement to violence or actions against others who were ironically doing no more than expressing themselves, as they felt themselves to be. In simple terms, lesbians were saying, they were obligatory in their expressions of who they felt themselves to be. I had no problem with that, what annoyed me is the double standards. They wanted acceptance for being lesbian, but the TERFs refused to allow that same acceptance in transgender woman, they are therefore hypocrites and bigots. They are also too stupid to see that, but perhaps their stupidity is also due to their genetics as it seems incurable too.

I got fingerprints by getting people to sign a document, which I them kept untouched by others. It meant loads of paper being used, as a new one was given to each individual, by glove wearing members of staff. We collected dozens before people began to twig. We also collected prints from male students, so avoided being labeled sexist, which again is something we are accused of but which we take steps to avoid. The same tactics worked with Sussex students. the papers were examined by an independent expert ( again from the Met police) and we established enough names to begin questioning them. We showed them the clip and their fingerprints from the posters, we also explained in great detail why we were interviewing them and the possible consequences of their actions; they were at great risk of endangering their university places and research studies and funding. Suddenly we were faced with a dozen or more little girls who were in tears and one or two supportive boys, who were also in the shit. Four of them came from Portsmouth, eight from Brighton. We also managed the backing of the local police forces to consider prosecutions under existing regulations. If successful, these could result in criminal records of hate crimes, behaviour and inciting both violence and hate.

We left it for a few days to see what happened. There was enormous activity on Telegram, social media and ordinary emails with the US baptist church, who sought to support them with their own counsel. According to the CPS(Crown Prosecution Service) we had sufficient evidence to support prosecution and it was pretty watertight. Simon's contacts in the US observed lots of new activity and some of it was quite febrile in reaction to what we were doing here. When people panic mistakes are made, we got a lead on the name behind the money, one Hiram B. Alpenstock, an American millionaire several times over, an industrialist and a paid up Republican supporter.

By surreptitious means we got someone undercover into his organisation. It took some weeks but eventually, dear old Hiram, whose daughter was a closeted gay woman and the cause of his involvement, thought he was suppressing gay and trans behaviour in both the US and UK. He went with the line that it was all unnatural and against the bible. Now we couldn't prosecute pigs like him in the States because many states have proscribed things like abortion, women's rights and trans rights. It's a sign of the regression in civilisation in that once noble country and my concern was that the UK was becoming equally intolerant of minorities, including race and sexual ones, it was one of the things that set off the recent riots here, racist thugs who were far-right in their outlooks, but who scream blue murder if they are called out on it. It seems beating up someone of colour for no reason other than the colour of their skin, is not being racist. The stupidity is breathtaking and as one commenter on the riots mentioned, they are so stupid they tell you they are coming. Isn't that how terrorists act? Frighten you that they are coming. They don't need to do anything afterwards, the disruption they have caused is their goal.

I suppose we had done something similar, once we had names, we told them we were coming and the consequences were serious, however, one vital difference was that we were acting in compliance with the laws of the land, the opposition were not. Meanwhile, I discovered two of my researchers were involved in the recent anti-trans campaign. I sent them letters saying that as they had wilfully broken several university council rules and possibly some government legislation, including hate crimes, which carry heavier consequences, they were being suspended and their research funding was being suspended immediately with ongoing discussions with the funders to see if it was completely cancelled. The funders were the National Environmental Research Council, an august body of some standing. It led to new tears and questions of appeal. As a university, we have to allow appeals when we take actions against students. I just let it be known that Jason was prosecuting the suspensions. That would mean some waves amongst defence counsel, Jason was practically unbeaten.

Trish phoned when I'd got home and I told her of developments. She had flown straight to Cambridge as she wanted to sort out her accommodation before she started. Apparently, Henry had a property not far from the college and she was going to be using that. It was house she would be sharing with one or two other girls but would be paying minimal rents. She would act as landlady, and she would rent to the others as primary lessee. It all seemed complicated to me, but she said accommodation was in such short supply, she would have no bother finding tenants. I was a little worried that she'd be younger than her tenants but she told me to relax as her visit to Switzerland had helped her mature quite a bit. I wasn't convinced and she was evasive about when she was coming home for me to see her and to collect some of her stuff. Still Trish seemed to have an unshakeable self-belief, I just hoped it was warranted. Yes she was clever, but I could still run rings around her because of her lack of experience.

Danni returned home just after Trish phoned, she was sad that she missed her sister's call but not enough to call her back. She'd scored a goal and was two hundred and fifty pounds richer, apparently. They drew with Reading, I was also reminded that this was a friendly. I explained how things had gone at uni and said that we were winning and playing it by the book. She said you may be playing by the rules but that didn't preclude the others from not doing so. I told her that we had suspension orders on four of our students so we playing it tough as well.

"I don't like it, Mum, it's still too uncertain, they are unpredictable and they break the law with impunity."

The phone rang as I was thinking about what she had said. Danni answered it and said," Hi Trish." followed by a pause as she listened to the call. "Oh my god, they've got Trish."

"What do you mean? I only spoke to her a few minutes ago."

"As I said, Mum, Trish has been abducted, she just said do what they want you to. Then another voice said, 'We have your sister, do as we say and nothing will happen to her.' Then they rang off."

I rang James, then I rang Simon, then I rang the police, who messed me about until I spoke to Toby, he arrived ten minutes later. I brought him up to date and Danni repeated what Trish had said to her.

Toby said that this wasn't like the usual games that these protesters played, abduction is very serious with serious consequences for those involved, like ten years plus serious. I told him that if they hurt her, they could have short life expectancies.

"Don't do anything you'll regret, Cathy, remember your other kids who still need you."

"It may be Simon you need to talk to."

"Why?"

"He's currently involved in destroying an American business man who is funding all these bigots."

"I don't have the fine detail but last I heard he was embarrassing the bloke and it was losing him money. Simon has also pulled some strings to call in loans and destabilise him financially."

"That doesn't sound like the Simon I know," Toby responded.

"If anyone hurts any of his children, he will totally destroy them."

"That sounds like violence, Cathy."

"You can destroy people by reducing their credit rating to zero, by all sorts of financial means, it destroys their reputations and that means no one will go near them, especially in the States where money is god. They may be all religious nuts, but they are even more serious about money."

"What's to stop this American guy coming over here and shooting Simon?"

"Simon will have bankrupted him by the time he finds out and then we just get the government to stop him entering the country."

"Like that's going to work. If terrorists come and go willy-nilly, what chance have we of stopping one pissed-off American?"

I had no answer, because I hadn't thought that far about it, What Simon does, he doesn't ask my consent to it. The fact that he had agents in the country being used to bringing an American millionaire down, possibly precluded any further action by either of them. I also hadn't thought that he could hire a hit man to do a proxy job or that Simon could do the same, except he didn't operate that way. If anything happens to Trish, it will be a whole new ball game and the rules of engagement are still being written.

"So this Hiram B Alpenstock, is financing them."

"As far as we know. What is ironic is that he's all for misogynistic laws that cramp the style of women, yet he has a daughter who would suffering as a consequence, though she's unlikely to require an abortion because she's gay. He doesn't know that but she's a closet TERF. And he's against unnatural people, trying to persecute transwomen and gay people, including lesbians."

"He's unaware of the irony?"

"I think just unaware generally, He's Republican who are not real people anyway, they come from the planet Zog."

"Now who's being unrealistic, Cathy."

"Sorry, I'm just frightened for Trish."

"Hey, we'll get her back, that's a promise."

"Much as I want to believe you, Toby, I want her back unharmed. Who knows what this will do to her?"

He just shrugged.

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