The Gruinard project chapter 39

[khandy]

This is plotty

Chapter 39

The Gleneagles Suite 07.30

Heidi Scott entered the Gleneagles Suite unselfconsciously, she had no reason to feel self conscious as her security clearance was impeccable; Michael Sands had made sure of that. Thanks to working catering at numerous political conferences when she had been at university, she had been fully aware of what happened behind the scenes at these events and fitted into the Gleneagles team well.

It wasn’t difficult to believe that she was the born and bred English woman she pretended to be. Following her recruitment by MI6 she had worked hard to lose her accent and it was now barely discernable. Another from her country might pick it up if they listened carefully but she even doubted this. She might have lost her accent but her hatred at the reason she was living in England and not her beloved homeland, burned as strongly as ever. She had always held dual nationality so settling in England had not been difficult, even if it had been born out of necessity not choice.

She smiled bitterly as she moved about the tables placing glasses and bottles of water at the place settings. Choice, what choice had she had? She still had nightmares about her parents’ murder and her subsequent midnight dash out of the country with nothing except the clothes she had stood up in. Luckier than most, she had at least had family in England who had been prepared to offer her a home and while she would be eternally grateful to them she would never forget or more importantly forgive what she had seen.


She had been a child, barely sixteen when her family had been killed. Unable to understand the politics that had resulted in her family’s death, her anger and hatred had become deep rooted. As an adult she had tried to understand the historical point of view that the land her family and others like them owned had been illegally taken when Britain had been an imperialist nation. That land redistribution was aimed at righting the wrongs that had been visited on the indigenous people of her country. The problem was she believed herself to be indigenous for she had been born on the farm that had been razed to the ground.

Had there been any negotiation with the farmers on how the land was to be redistributed or any offer of compensation? She realised that there was no way to get a truthful answer to this question as both sides claimed the other was lying and she had been too young at the time to be aware of any such discussions. When she tried to remember, all that came to mind were the months of terror, the loss of friends both through death and families fleeing the brutality of the soldiers. And the vivid images of the destruction of her home and the murder of her parents.

Like any grieving child she had been angry at her parents for dying. Why had they decided to stay when so many ran? She realised now that it was because it was their home and for her father the only one he had ever known. She smiled sadly; his pride had cost him his life and irrevocably shaped hers.

She wondered how she would feel later today when faced with her parents’ murderer. Not that he had pulled the trigger but he had been behind it and a million other atrocities against his countrymen. Her hand shook, it was just as well that she had not been issued a weapon as given the chance she would have carried out the hit herself.

Michael Sands had chosen well, when he had approached her he had known all about her background and had offered her the chance to be a part of ridding the world of the man she hated without having his blood on her hands. All she had to do was ensure that she set the tables, placing the bottled water Sands had provided at each place setting. When the first symptoms were evident then she was to alert Sands and the emergency services.

Heidi looked at the last bottle of water wondering what poison was in it. Sands had remained tight lipped about that. She knew she should have been bothered that others would die today but she wasn’t, she felt like Nemesis administering divine retribution. Today justice would be served.


The Dormy Suite Gleneagles Hotel 08.15hrs

Lucas watched the make up girl brush powder over the PM’s face. Lucas smiled, it was obvious that this was a part of being the country’s leader he barely tolerated. His bodyguard Bryan was just to the left of him, slightly off camera. Lucas realised that Bryan was always on the PM’s blind side presumably because he could not see peripherally on that side having lost his sight in a rugby accident. Lucas was uneasy about this being so regimented, certain that it made the PM vulnerable. He moved to the right studying the room as he walked.

The television lights made the room stiflingly hot; it was easy to see why it was necessary to apply powder to reduce the sheen of perspiration. Bill Turnbull the BBC’s breakfast presenter took his seat and shared a few words with the PM before the interview began.

“Would you like a cup of coffee sir?” a young waitress asked.

“Yes thanks,” Lucas glanced down at her, his linguistic trained brain trying to place her accent.

“Milk or sugar?”

“Neither thanks.” She handed him a cup and moved away.

He watched as she circulated around the room. Her accent puzzled him. It was almost a perfect English accent, in fact that was the problem it was too perfect. A question from Bill Turnbull allowed him to make the connection, he was asking about white farmers’ rights and the land issues in Zimbabwe. That was it. At sometime the young woman had lived in Southern Africa. It would not have been surprising to him, a lot of South African’s worked in the country, if she had not been trying to disguise it. Lucas sighed, maybe he was just too suspicious. She could have come over to this country as a child and just lost the accent over time so that now only the merest trace remained. Was she watching him a fraction too closely? He was unsure. He watched as she left the room and then he moved out of range of the BBC microphones and contacted Malcolm.

“Malcolm I need you to check out a Gleneagles employee by the name of Heidi Scott. She has a near perfect English accent but I would say that she is from the southern part of Africa. I need to know if she is hiding that accent or if she has lived here so long that it has just disappeared.”

The door to the suite opened and Harry entered. He smiled pleased to see Lucas at the back of the room.

Lucas glanced at his watch, Harry must have got up at the crack of dawn to be back in Scotland. He should look exhausted but he didn’t, he looked years younger.

“I hope you are keeping your air miles they must be clocking up with the amount of flights you have been on recently,” Lucas commented.

“The last two have been on private flights, which is a pity as I could use them for the honeymoon.” Harry got a deep sense of satisfaction at the stunned look on Lucas’ face.

Recovering quickly Lucas shook Harry’s hand warmly.

“Wow! That is a huge surprise, congratulations. No wonder you look so well. Do the others know?” he asked.

“No and I want it to remain that way until this is over. No distractions.”

“Fine Harry your secret’s safe with me.”

“Have you had any more thoughts on what is going on here?” Harry asked, getting down to business.

“I can’t get past my being the intended target. If Sands wanted me dead he is a good enough marksman to just take me out anytime he chooses. It doesn’t make sense that he would use a biological weapon to do it.” Lucas said.

“It doesn’t make sense I agree but why else go to the lengths they have to get you here?”

“To kill two birds with one stone? This whole threat seems to be the work of an egomaniac; something that Sands isn’t. He’s a professional killer and as such remains in the background. Whoever is behind this is getting as big a kick out of the power he has over us, as he does the killing.”

“Any ideas who?”

“None, but I’m guessing it is him who wants me dead.”

“Why?”

“Because I’m the link to Sands and that makes him vulnerable. If I can work out the link between him and Sands, I can bring him down and he can’t allow that.”

“Any ideas about the link to Sands besides this?”

“Well it has to be the murderer of Dean and that was because he could have compromised the government, but just supposing the government wasn’t behind that. You and I both know that the power in this country is with the bankers and business tycoons. What if somebody is pulling the strings for the government?”

“And the same person is behind this?”

“Yes and so that is how you get the ‘Two birds with one stone’ situation. Attack his intended target and make sure I am swept aside at the same time.”

“None of which brings us any closer to figuring out who is behind this and why the PM is the target.”

“No it doesn‘t.” Lucas looked over at the PM who was just finishing his interview.

“I will get Ruth to look into any possible links however tenuous they might be between the events surrounding Dean’s death and this situation”

“Ok I will check in later. The media are out in force today so it will be one long day of interviews until Mugabe arrives at the conference. Tell Lady Ruth congratulations for me Harry.”

“Lady Ruth, I don’t think she has thought of that.” Harry smiled. “You be vigilant. I need you to be best man when this is all over.”

Harry’s smile broadened, that was twice in quarter of an hour he had managed to leave Lucas speechless.

The Blue Tower Suite Gleneagles Hotel. 08.15 hrs

The interviewer was pushing the Prime Minister on what the Commonwealth would do if Zimbabwe did ask for readmission. The Tycoon smiled at his answer, he was saying that the decision was not Great Britain’s alone and that it would be a decision for the whole of the Commonwealth not just his.

No it was not Great Britain’s decision, more’s the pity, he thought. If the Empire was still in existence the world would be a different place. It never failed to annoy him when he thought of how Britain had disbanded The Empire. Many saw this as enlightened, he saw it as weak. In his opinion Britain would still be a superpower if she had her Empire. Instead thanks to the infrastructure put in place in India by the colonists, they were now well on the way to outstripping Britain in terms of the world’s market.

The interviewer was asking about Zimbabwe’s human rights record.

“Will you have to meet him?” he turned at his wife’s question.

“If we lift trade restrictions and he accepts British companies in his country then yes.”

“Well I don’t want to meet him. His human rights record against blacks and whites is appalling. The man is an evil tyrant. I don’t know how the world leaders can be fooled into believing he has changed.”

“I don’t think they have been fooled but his people are suffering and that may sway the decision.”

“Well he is a murderer and I will not be in the same room as a murderer. The man has no morals at all.”

The Tycoon smiled wondering what his wife would do if she realised that she was in a room with a murderer.

“I will make certain that you never have to be in the same room darling.”

She smiled.

“The world would be a better place if everybody was like you.”

He smiled again.

Yes, not that his wife meant it in the way he did, but he had to agree with her comment that the world would be better if everybody thought like him.


Lucas North’s Flat London 09.00hrs.

Kate stretched and massaged the kinks out of her shoulders. Re- reading Dr Ross’ notes was no easier second time around. She turned as Marcus came into the lounge.

He put a coffee at her side.

“Are you not going to work today?” he asked.

“No I am working from here. I may need to go to Thames House later but I am just trying to see if I missed something when I went over these notes earlier.”

“Can I help in anyway?”

“Sorry Marcus but that would mean my breaking the Official Secrets Act.”

Marcus sighed.

“You didn’t sleep last night did you? The reason that Lucas is in Scotland, is it because of some terrorist threat at the Commonwealth Conference?”

Kate’s face remained inscrutable.

“He is my brother and I want to help, I’m not a fool whatever is happening you think it is going to happen today don’t you?”

I am not an agent Kate thought wishing the agent who had stayed with Lucas was still around, feeling certain he would know what to do and what to say to Marcus.

“Please Kate it’s killing me just sitting here waiting.”

“I will probably end up in Holloway for what I am about to do.” She sighed but her decision was made. “MI5 has received details of a biological weapons threat. They believe it will take place at The Commonwealth conference.”

Marcus went pale and felt slight sick. A biological weapon in Britain.

“You speak as though you don’t work for MI5?”

“I don’t, I work for The Health Protection Agency. I’m a Microbiologist. I’m trying to find a vaccine for the bacteria we believe they will use.”

“Which is?”

“Anthrax, not a known strain but a modification of a very virulent strain.”

“Jesus Christ. Why are these notes important?”

“We discovered that Dr Ross had stumbled across illegal weapons production, these are the notes he made before he was killed. I am hoping they can tell me something, particularly about the testing on humans they did.”

“They tested on humans?” Marcus felt sick.

“Polish immigrant workers. It looks like none survived and I need a survivor. The mortality rate in Anthrax is around 90% so I was hoping that somebody might have survived but according to this they didn’t.”

Marcus looked at the screen.

“That’s odd.”

“What is?” Kate asked.

“Well these two names are the same. Could he have written the same name twice? And if so does that mean there is a worker not accounted for?”

Kate looked at the screen, how had she missed that?

“It is a long shot. I am going to contact Malcolm to see if we can get a list of employees at Welchem, see if we can find out.”

“If you find a survivor will you be able to save them if the attack happens?”

“The odds are not good because of the time factor.”

“Will Lucas be exposed?”

Kate swallowed past the lump that formed in her throat.

“Yes Marcus he will be.”

[HellsBells]

A very nice introduction to Heidi Scott, very thoughtfully written.
Loved the part when Harry told Lucas about him and Ruth, and Harry enjoying leaving Lucas speechless.
Lucas as Best Man at Harry and Ruth's wedding.......if only.

[khandy]

Thank you I was dubious about the Mugabee aspect of this and tried to handle heidi scott's back story sensitively

[BravoNine]

Oh now you're just twisting the knife in my heart.....*cries* Lucas as Best Man at the wedding........*bawls*

Great! One line and you have me bawling my eyes out like a baby! *sniff sniff*