The Gruinard Project Chapter 27

[khandy]

A beloved character returns

Chapter 27.

11pm M1 southbound.

Did he realise, Kate wondered, that she was pretending to be asleep? She had shut her eyes and turned her head away almost as soon as they pulled on to the M1; an old trick she had used when she had disappointed her Grandfather. She knew she was delaying the inevitable, she would have to face him and the others, debriefing couldn’t be avoided. She didn’t care about the others or what they thought; she only cared about what he thought. She would give anything to avoid looking in his eyes. The expressive icy blue mirrors to his thoughts would surely not hide his disappointment. Not would he be able to keep the censure out of his voice. She remembered how he had spoken to Fred Davies, the icy calm, she dreaded him using that tone on her.

Why had she not listened to him? He had been completely against her taking part in this evening’s operation. Kate cringed as she remembered how she had insisted that she was the best person for the job. What had she been thinking? As Lucas had said she was a civilian not an agent and not qualified for the job. He had been proved right; she had in some way compromised MI5 and the operation. She shuddered to think what the repercussions could have been. Of course she knew the answer to her question; she had been trying to protect Lucas and as a consequence had been oblivious to the bigger picture.

As they moved smoothly south in the warmth and comfort of the car, Kate began to plan how she could make amends. The only skill she had was her knowledge of biochemistry. The obvious thing was to get started right away on coming up with a vaccine for this new strain of Anthrax. Kate allowed her mind to focus on the challenge ahead.

The motorway was considerably quieter travelling at this time of night. Traffic was light and what there was appeared to be mainly commercial. With no major delays they should be back in London by just after midnight.

Lucas glanced across at Kate. She appeared to be asleep; she had been since they joined the motorway. Lucas frowned, three small creases appearing on his brow, above his nose and between his eyes, as he thought. Was she relaxed in sleep or was she troubled by the events of this evening; the interior of the car was so dim that it was impossible to tell. It was unusual for Kate to sleep in the car. In the past week he had made several long distance journeys with her and she had generally been quite talkative. It was probably delayed reaction he reasoned; she had been through a stressful operation with all the nervous tension that entailed and was probably exhausted.

Lucas sighed; he would have liked to have spoken to her about how the op had gone. She had reacted like a real pro throughout the evening but especially when she had realised that she was being followed; keeping a clear head and not panicking. He wasn’t stupid though it must have been a frightening experience especially as she was a civilian who was not used to being followed.

He glanced across at her again unsure whether he should wake her or let her continue to sleep.His thoughts were interrupted by the call he had been expecting from Harry.

“Hi Harry… Yes traffic is light we should be in the capital just after midnight.”

Lucas glanced at Kate.

“No she’s asleep at the moment. I think everything has caught up with her.”

He listened carefully to Harry’s response.

“Yeah Malcolm is pretty spot on with his evaluation of Kate’s performance tonight. Where do you want us to head for?”

Lucas’ eyes widened in surprised at Harry’s answer.

“May I ask why there and not Porton Down?”

“So we still do not trust anybody in central government. I didn’t realise that they had that kind of facility in this country. Do you have directions?”
Lucas put a new destination postcode into the car’s sat nav.

“And they are expecting us tonight? It’s just I don’t fancy hanging on to this bacteria any longer than is necessary.”

Lucas smiled.

“Is that the best code name you can come up with? Oh I’m to blame Malcolm for it. Once we have delivered the samples Kate and I will need to get some shut eye can you book us a room at the Grand please? Why there, well let’s just say it holds fond memories for us both.”

Kate lay still trying to work out from the one sided conversation what was happening and where they were going. It certainly was not to the Health Protection agency labs at Porton Down. Lucas had mentioned the Grand that was down in Brighton. Who had level four lab facilities down on the south coast? It was obvious that Lucas intended to deliver the sample and then get some sleep. Well she didn’t, she intended to get to work straight away. She shouldn’t have been surprised that Harry had asked Lucas about how she had been during the op. She was also curious about Malcolm’s evaluation of her performance. Whatever it had been Lucas had seemed to agree with it.

She wasn’t asleep Lucas realised; he had noted a change in her breathing when he was speaking to Harry. He was curious as to why she would pretend to be but for now he would respect her obvious need for time and space.

US Military Laboratory outskirts of Brighton.

Lucas brought the car to a halt at the security barrier.

“Kate we’re here,” he said as he undid the window.

Kate sat up wondering where here was.

An armed soldier accompanied by a German Shepherd approached the car.

“Do you have identification sir?”

To Kate’s surprise the accent was American.

“And a password sir?”

“Ovis Aries,” Lucas answered.

“Thank you sir, if you and the lady would just step out of the vehicle.”

“It’s Ok Kate this is standard procedure.” They stepped out of the car as another guard approached with a dog, this time it was a spaniel. While the first guard searched Kate and Lucas for weapons the spaniel and its handler checked out the car.

Once the search procedure was over they were allowed to enter the facility.

“Why are we at an American military base?”

“Harry is not happy to trust our government at this point. Sands has worked for the foreign office before. Harry won’t risk using British Government controlled labs in case Sands is working for the foreign office again. So he has called in a favour from a friend.”

“And the password, what is the relevance of Ovis Aries?”

“None except that we do all follow Harry like a herd of sheep. I think it was Malcolm trying to be funny.”

They were met at the door by a woman in her late thirties who surprisingly had an English accent.

“Hello you must be Lucas and Kate, Harry told me to expect you. My name is Naomi.”

There was the slightest of pauses when she said her name and in that instance Lucas knew who the woman before him really was.

“How do you do, you are an old friend of Harry’s I believe.”

“Well yes we do go back a while. Tell me is he well? It is an age since I saw him and to be honest I was surprised to receive his call.”

“So you should be, according to your file you are dead. Maybe Lazarus would be a better code name although I understand Naomi.”

“Harry said you were smart, I wanted to see how smart.”

“Harry would tell you once a minister’s son always a minister son. Hence my knowledge of the biblical references. How are you Ruth?”

“I am good Lucas but you look done in as does Kate. I think we best get your samples stored and then you two can get some sleep.”

Kate followed them both a million questions racing through her mind. Who was this woman? And what was her relationship to Lucas?

“Kate this is Dr Miles Tyler, if you give him the samples he will store them correctly and then you and Lucas can go and get some sleep.”

“I don’t think so. I will store the samples and then I need a work station so that I can begin my work.”

“Kate you are not starting working on this until later in the morning,” Lucas told her.

“Surely I don’t have to tell you that time is of the essence here.”

“I realise that but you are tired and emotional and you must know that that is when mistakes can happen.”

“I’m fine Lucas let me do my job.”

“No you’re not fine Kate and I won’t let you risk either yourself or anybody else by making a mistake that was entirely preventable. Now please hand the samples over. We will return at nine tomorrow.”

Kate wanted to cry. Lucas really did not trust her.

[HellsBells]

Another great chapter, and an interesting idea of where Ruth was.