A New Style of Education - Year Five

by Karen Page

Part 17

picture created using DALL-E

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Part 17
Sunday 23 May 2010

It was unusual to have a meeting with Rachel on a Sunday morning. However, this had been added to David and Helen's calendar the day before. When Rachel opened the door to let them in, the two students noticed someone else there.

"Should we come back?" enquired David.

"No, come on in. Normally this happens offsite, but José requested it be here," said Rachel. When they were inside and the door closed, she continued, "This is José. He is here to discuss your future employment. I will be staying to satisfy Mr Hobson's rules, but I won't be saying anything."

David and Helen glanced at each other and some hidden conversation passed between them.

"Please take a seat," smiled José warmly. "This is just administration, so you are assigned investigations that you are comfortable with."

"How would we know?" asked David, as he and Helen sat in their usual place. "We haven't done any to understand what's needed."

"Fair point, but at the moment we won't be going into that. Let me give an example. David, would you be happy if you had to go undercover as female?"

"Yes," responded David calmly.

"Male?"

"Yes," responded David equally as the first, but he wondered why they would even ask that one.

"On your own, or with others? They might not have come through this school."

"I think I'd prefer my first to be with someone else. But then, I've no issues. I'm aware that I might be away from Helen."

"Your first few would always include someone else. All the investigators are far too important to be ill-prepared. It would be dangerous for you, and potentially us. There will be training and placements to give you real world experience, so when you do get deployed you won't stand out. If you are being deployed with someone else as a couple, are you okay if it is heterosexual, bisexual, gay or lesbian?"

David laughed. "Yes, yes, yes and yes."

José put down his pen. "You seem to be saying yes to everything. This isn't based on what you think I want to hear. You already have the job and have nothing to prove."

"I'm not trying to prove anything. And I've not said yes to everything. I stipulated a proviso earlier. For five years I've been able to present and operate as both male and female. I have kissed both physical male and physical female people, while dressed as the same and opposite sex."

David noticed that Rachel, who wasn't in José's view, was trying not to laugh.

"My answers are the same as David's," said Helen.

"Good to know," said José marking this down. He didn't seem phased by the confident attitude displayed by David and Helen. "Now each year you have done various work experience outside of the school. There was a mixture of manual labour and office work. Was there anything there that caused issues?"

"I'm sure you've got a log of the oil on the clothes fiasco from two years ago," said Helen tartly.

"Yes, but you managed the situation and learnt from it. I wasn't meaning that. I was meaning are there any jobs in those examples that you wouldn't take part in again?"

Both replied that there wasn't.

"They aren't the type of job I'd want to do every day forever," added David.

"Some investigations can go on for a long time. However, you aren't the type of people that would be put on a long-term investigation. You are classified as tactical. You're the class of investigator who would go in, perform the investigation and get out. Others will then take what has been learnt."

José continued, looking over his notes. "You're going on holiday for a few weeks, and then moving to America. You will be going to the university middle of August. Would you be happy for orientation to occur when you get to America? You will never be asked to perform an investigation during a university year, but you might get a small sample tasking during the summer break or extra training. Is that acceptable?"

David and Helen looked at each other, and then in unison replied, "Yes."

"Thank you both for your time," said José gathering his things and standing ready to go. "Rather straightforward. We do this so you are aware of who I am for scheduling things."

"I'll show you out," said Rachel. Visitors weren't allowed to go wandering around the school on their own.

"So, you know most of the investigators?" said David before he could leave.

"Of course," he responded, with a touch of arrogance.

David took out his phone and went through the pictures.

"So, who is he?" asked David, showing the picture taken in London.

"Why are you asking? Why do you have his picture?"

"You know him then?" asked David, his voice still pleasant, but with something a bit sterner in it.

"Yes, of course. He isn't an investigator though. Why are you asking?"

"Don't worry," David said with a false smile. "Rachel will show you out."

"You two wait here," she said sternly.

It didn't take Rachel long to reappear, and she found David and Helen checking over the seat that José had been sat on. Helen straightened up and put her finger to her lips to make sure Rachel didn't say anything. Rachel cottoned on quickly to what they were doing and stayed quiet.

After exhausting the area around the seat David tipped it to one side. Rachel's eyes widened in surprise. Something slid against the wood making an unexpected noise. Helen put her slender arms between the back of the single seated couch and the seat and managed to fish out a small disk. David took out a container from Helen's bag and she placed the object inside it.

When David and Helen put the couch back in its normal position, David signalled they should go outside.

Helen said, "Sorry about earlier. We didn't mean any disrespect."

"Then what was that?"

"An attempt to spread a bit of fear, uncertainty and doubt. Mrs Taylor knows."

"I know what FUD is. Is that a listening device?"

"We think so. Security will probably want to verify we didn't miss anything. This one was inert, and I don't know what activates it."

Rachel took out her phone. "This is Dr Ruiz. We had a visitor. Has he left the grounds? No, then keep the gates shut. He tried to plant a bug in my office."

She listened to something being said and responded with a harsh tone. "He is an administrator. He won't run. Go in hard and scary and he will be easier to deal with later."

"That's one solution," said David, grinning as Rachel hung up.

"Mr Hobson isn't going to be happy," noted Rachel, again portraying her normal calm demeanour. "This is a place of learning. Those type of shenanigans aren't supposed to occur here."

"We didn't invite him here," David responded. "When you opened the door, your back was to him, and we spotted him sitting back down. It was like he'd been doing something while your back was too him. He didn't have a large area to move, so we checked it after the discussion."

Rachel sighed. "I'm still not happy, but it is what it is. Run along. I will also be talking with Mr Hobson, but that will have to wait. I'm seeing another pupil soon, and I need to find a room!"

"Come on in," said Mr Hobson gravely, as the two head pupils turned up at his door. "Security are going to be having a little chat with José."

David shut the door and Helen said, "We just had a meeting regarding our future job prospects. As you are aware, he left a bug. If it is okay, we were going to let Jennifer have a look at it. It was inert, so wouldn't show on the scanner. We don't know yet how it activates."

Mr Hobson frowned. "Are you sure it wasn't there already?"

"It's possible, but an amazing coincidence if so."

"A fingertip search is already underway to make sure there wasn't something else left. By now the caretakers will have sealed off that corridor. Is this the mole that Mrs Taylor has?"

"Possibly has."

He sighed. "We have to check. They were taking a silly risk doing that. If there is a mole, they would know we do regular checks. Give me two minutes."

He disappeared and when he came back, he was carrying a security box, like David had the bug in.

Joining them in his discussion area, he said, "This is the bug that Mavis placed when you were in year one. Don't tell Jennifer how you have it, but it will sow some seeds. Now, tell me what's going on and why someone from your future employer is disrupting my school. I'm going to sit in on the interview so need to know what questions to ask."

David and Jayne glanced at each other. Did they trust Mr Hobson. After a few seconds, Helen nodded, and David explained the pertinent bits. There was no mention about what had happened in Switzerland all those years ago. It wasn't relevant.

After they'd finished, Mr Hobson gave a low whistle. "Thank you for trusting me. But just like the other investigations, you find the information and it then gets passed onto others to deal with. I doubt I'll be doing much more than some fact finding. What happens next is going to be out of my hands and probably out of Yvonnes too."

* * *

David was waiting in the electronics lab. He'd sent a message to Ben and Jennifer to meet him there.

"What's up?" asked Ben.

"A puzzle for Jennifer. It will be good for you to know what's happening, then you can discuss it privately if needed. I'm going to ask that you don't discuss this with anybody else."

"You don't trust me to communicate?" asked Jennifer a bit put out.

"I'm not saying I don't trust you. I'd phrase it like this. I'm trying to create an environment to help you learn how to communicate."

"It doesn't sound much better," she said.

"So why did you want to meet us?" asked Ben, tactfully moving the conversation on. "Is this anything to do with one of the corridors out of bounds?"

"Yes, this is related. I heard there is a small room that has been shielded, so your experiments don't attach to the school network by accident?"

"It's just over there," she said pointing. "It was done based on my report to Mr Hobson. I'm surprised how quickly it got put together."

"How much does it block?"

"Standard ranges. It would have to be very powerful or virtually at the other side of the wall to get through. I have secure boxes outside to put a phone or tablet in. That way it can't leap to that, if it has been programmed to attempt that."

"Great. I have something for you to look at."

"Really?" her voice going up nearly an octave in excitement.

Ben smiled, trying not to laugh.

They locked away their electronic items, and they went into the secure room, going through two layers of doors. It wasn't very large, but there was a workbench with an array of equipment and a large writing pad and pen.

"An actual pen?" gasped David in mock horror

"No tablet or phone in here," she reminded him, having been at the school long enough to understand David's comment. Pen and paper use was extremely rare at the school.

David took out the device from its secure holding and gave it to her. "Please be careful with it, as we might want to use it."

She took it without a word and spent a few minutes examining the casing before gently prying it apart. After examining it under a magnifying glass, she put it down. "What are you involved with?"

"Why?"

"Since the method of receiving a bug's transmission is normally fixed by the organisation, the format of a bug doesn't change much. You can therefore tell where something came from based on how it is setup. This design was found in the office of a MP last year. It was being searched after he died in a car accident. It isn't part of a design used by known agencies."

"Paul Ingles?"

Her eyes widened in surprise. "Yes. How did you know?"

"Two MP's died last year. One was a suicide and the other a car accident. Jill likes to keep current. It seems her parents used to quiz her and her sister about current affairs, and she got into the habit of watching the news and reading around. When she came here, the habit spread. It's good to know what's going on in the world around you."

"How do you know about the one found at that MPs office?" asked Ben curiously.

"My mother's job," Jennifer replied simply. She offered no more than that, and Ben didn't ask.

She gathered her thoughts for a few seconds and said, "It has what looks like a pressure switch. Unless there is a slight pressure, it is inactive and therefore wouldn't have been discovered. Putting under a settee cushion would be the obvious place. It will take me a few hours to analyse it to let you know how it communicates."

"Just before I go, I have something else to show you. It's already been analysed and disabled."

He took out the bug Mr Hobson had given. She took it and after a quick glance, she gasped. "That's one of my mother's old designs. Not a recent one. Very low power but with minor stealth. Where did you get that from?"

"It was found nearly five years ago," said David taking it back. "I can't go into the specifics, but I thought you might find it interesting. I wasn't aware it was your mother's design. From what I've heard, the scanner failed to find it. It sounds like she does good work."

Jennifer blushed.

"You've also revealed so many different bits to Ben, he probably has most of the story about your mother. Sorry."

Jennifer started to cry. Ben was quickly comforting her.

"He is your study partner. You are in the third most secure area in the building. Tell him the rest."

"Third most?" Ben gapped.

"I'll see you later. Please make sure it's secured when you go for lunch. Ben, Jennifer might get engrossed, so please stay with her and make sure she goes to lunch. And remember, we don't want panic that a listening device was found."

"What device?" said Ben quickly.

David smiled and said, "You cotton on quickly."

Jennifer had recovered and was already back examining the device, her right-hand scribbling notes.

Lunchtime came, and David was pleased to see that Ben and Jennifier were with the rest of their year. They were joining in with other conversations, so David turned his attention elsewhere. Mr Hobson wasn't in attendance. That happened a few times a month, so nobody paid much attention to it. However, David wondered if he was still interviewing José. He looked around and spotted that Hilda was also missing.

Instead, Rachel Ruiz rose. "Can I have your attention," she called. When it calmed down, she continued. "I've been asked to relay just one important announcement. The temporary corridor closure has been removed. I've heard several rumours about why it was closed. All of them wrong. It was closed for your safety, and now it is deemed safe, it is back open."

She sat down. As one, and top three years burst into spontaneous applause and the other three years quickly followed. In the five years that David had been at the school, this was the first time someone other than Mr Hobson that had given an announcement at one of the meals. Rachel was sat at the year five table, and David was able to witness her blush.

"I have an exam tomorrow," reminded Lewis. "Zoe is doing practice this afternoon without me."

"Good luck," exclaimed everyone at the year-five table.

"How did your interview go?" asked Emma.

"It was just formalities," replied Helen. "Not an interview for the job, but an introduction and clarification on working conditions."

"And then the corridor got shut and there were reports of a commotion near the main gates," murmured Jill quietly. She was sat to David's right, so only David heard.

"Do you know how many saw the commotion?"

"Just two from year four and a couple from year three. Molly was one of them and let me know. They won't say anything."

"He left a gift. Jennifer's looking at it."

Jill laughed heartly, and the rest of the table looked at her, surprised. That made her laugh even more. Over the years Jill had become a good friend to David. She was always a voice of reason and always had a way of looking at things with her unique perspective.

David pondered at those in his year. More than half of them had suffered at some point. The scars were still part of them, but they didn't let the issues define them. Jill was just one of them. Each had supported each other over the years and David was going to miss that support network.

The memory of Rachel's words of wisdom echoed in his head. Don't look back but look forward. Things change, they always do. His school support would be gone, but he would make new friends and gain new experiences. He would still be with Helen, his constant rock. And he would be with Stacy and Andy.

Then there were the friends he'd made not just in his current year, but that had left the school already. He'd kept in touch with some, and he knew he'd also keep in touch with some that would still be at Hayfield. The Lounge had forever changed the dynamics of the school.

Not long after they'd finished lunch, David and Helen got a message on their phones. They were to report to Mr Hobson's office.

"It never rains, but it pours," said Brian as Helen mentioned them being summoned. Lewis had already disappeared to the library to continue his revision for his exam.

"Yeah. See you in a bit."

The two head pupils trod the familiar path to the headmaster's office. When they got there, the door was shut. Helen knocked and they waited.

"Good," said Mr Hobson eventually opening the door. "Come on in and shut it behind you."

They did and they were escorted through his hidden door to the secure area downstairs. David idly wondered to himself if this area linked to the one the beta students used. They didn't go to the secure room that Mr Hobson had taken them to after the coffee shop encounter. Instead, they continued down the corridor and passed several doors. Eventually he stopped at one, and opened the door, beckoning the two pupils to follow him inside.

It wasn't an office but a large working area. There were desks where people were working. David recognised some as security. Others he'd never seen before. There were a few nods of greeting, but nothing was said, and Mr Hobson took them through the room and through a door at the far side.

Inside was Yvonne and Mr Taylor. There was a glass wall and on the other side was a cavernous area with a single seat which José was sat on. He was wearing different clothing than earlier.

"I'll leave you to it," said Mr Hobson and left.

"This is just like the film True Lies," whispered David. He wasn't as quiet as he thought, as it got a chuckle from Mr Taylor.

"It's normally a training room. Equipment is brought in for whatever is being done. We never thought it would be used for something like this."

"Why is he wearing different clothes?" enquired David.

"He found security a bit frightening, and he err," Mr Taylor paused searching for acceptable words. "He emptied his bowels. This delayed us chatting with him as he needed a shower."

"Hilda interviewed him," said Yvonne. " She has quite a knack for getting people to open-up. We now know who the person is that followed you is. It seems José has acquired a 'friend' and has been indiscrete. We also have someone in the office that asked José to plant that bug."

"What do you need from us?" asked Helen.

"Is that bug still usable?"

"It is being documented and isn't in one piece, but the instructions given were not to destroy it as we might need it."

"Good. José didn't reveal the school location, so that is good. What I want to do is have you two act a scene with Rachel. Send them off somewhere."

"A specific somewhere?"

"Yes. A secure house that the American CIA have in the suburbs of London should do the trick."

David and Helen looked at each other. David could see Helen wasn't happy.

"What they did was wrong, but they haven't hurt us. Setting them up for arrest or worse seems wrong."

"Are you refusing to help?" asked Yvonne.

"Yes," said Helen, her eyes bright with indignity. "It sounds like G.S. isn't the type of company I'd like to work at."

David was shocked but nodded. He knew a line had been crossed. His heart sank, but then he straightened up realising that Helen was right. "There might be times when action like that is needed, but not for something like this. As an investigator we will be out of contact for a lot of time. You will be reliant on our judgement. You don't want a mindless drone."

Yvonne glared at them for a few seconds and then broke out in a smile. "These two will go far. A good moral compass."

David and Helen glanced at each other again. This time a look of confusion passed between them.

"Sorry?" enquired David.

"You stood up for what you believe in," said Mr Taylor. "Including pressing the point about not working for G.S. That took a lot of guts. We would never have tried to get people arrested like that. The person in G.S. will be sacked, but that is it. Revenge like that doesn't drive what we do."

"Oh. Was José a test too?"

"No. Unfortunately, that was all too real."

"You might want to add Charlie Shoesmith to the list of those to be investigated," said David.

Yvonne was the only one to recognise the name.

David continued, "He has been taking payments from The Supplier. However, if he is still doing the job he was four years ago, he would be hiding a leak not creating one."

"Charlie now does what Rob used to, so still looking after network security. Yes, it seems like more investigation is needed there. Are you able to share other data?"

"No. That was the only item to be released. The rest is still part of your long-term agent's task. So why did you want us down here? You could have told us all this upstairs."

"José asked if he could see you. I think he wants to apologise."

"What's going to happen to him?"

"He is suspended while we check him out. We will see if he was complicit or just a fool. I don't sack fools. They get given extra training, and more of and watch is kept on them to make sure they've learnt their lesson."

"What will you be doing about José's friend?"

"He will be investigated. If he has committed crimes and we have evidence, then we will make sure it is passed to the authorities."

Helen nodded in acceptance. "That sounds more like the training that Mr Taylor has given us, and more in line with the morality this school has taught us."

"They just brought out what was already within you," said Yvonne. "This really is an exceptional school filled with exceptional students."