The Phoenix Series Box Set 1

by Ted Tayler

  “Half a day of my holiday wasted,” thought Colin, “apart from that memorable time in the shower.”

  Therese knew Blackpool well, so, she soon found a decent hotel. Colin wasn’t slumming it in the back streets. Not when Erebus was paying. They had a second-floor room that might have overlooked the Central Pier if the other buildings hadn’t been in the way. It was central and near the front, so it fitted the bill.

  The rest of Tuesday was spent checking out the double bed, finding a restaurant that served something other than fish and chips, having a few drinks and then running back to the hotel for an early night.

  “This sea air is so bloody tiring,” said Colin.

  “Just once more sweetheart, please?” purred Therese.

  They fell asleep just after three o’clock.

  The weather proved more autumnal on Wednesday and Thursday so most of the daylight hours found them dashing between Madame Tussaud’s, where Colin half expected to see himself; the sea life centre and Ripley’s Believe it or Not.

  Therese wanted to see everything associated with the Tower. So, they visited the Ballroom, the Dungeon and Jungle Jim’s. Colin drew the line at the Eye. No matter how good the view might have been if it hadn’t been raining right across the sea to Ireland. He didn’t wish to go four hundred feet up in the air to stand on a sheet of glass. No, thank you.

  He paid for Therese to go up on her own. Half the reason for that had been to get a few minutes’ peace and quiet. The other was to cast a wary eye over the scene he saw around him if he looked past the glitzy façade of the Pleasure Beach and the Golden Mile.

  In the bars, they visited he overheard the locals talking of a worrying visitor to the town; the dole tourist. Thousands claiming housing and incapacity benefits had moved to the town for a year-round holiday but had forgotten to pack their bucket and spade. So many people were unemployed. Yet when you go to the bars and clubs, they’re packed with people. It made no sense to Colin.

  He remembered those early days with him and Karen when they used to nurse their drinks to last through an evening in the pub. They listened to the live band, with only enough money at the end of the week for one night out. He worked hard to provide for his wife and daughter. Karen did her bit too once Sharron was a few years older. Why weren’t other people prepared to do what they did back in the day?

  Sat with Therese in a café at lunchtime on Thursday he looked at the people sitting around them. Everyone else in the place seemed on drugs. You could tell the ones with a few quid. They showed the telltale signs of being on cocaine or heroin. Heaven knows what the rest of them had taken.

  Therese was sympathetic to a degree. Her life in Manchester had given her a rough grounding in how hard things could be for many people.

  “You’ve no idea what it’s like living up here, coming from the soft South. There is work out there if you put in the effort to find it. But many of the people up here enjoy sitting on their backsides doing nothing and the government makes it worthwhile for them not to do otherwise.”

  Colin shook his head. It didn’t make sense.

  When they had finished their meal, they made their way outside. The rain had stopped for a while and the sun made a valiant attempt at breaking through the fast-scudding dark clouds. Colin stumbled over two women sitting on the edge of the pavement drinking cans of strong cider. It was just after one o’clock. They could barely talk so when they slurred a few words in his direction he wasn’t sure whether they swore at him or wished him a nice day. They looked old before their time, which came as no surprise.

  The rest of the afternoon soon passed as they visited the Pleasure Beach and Therese even persuaded Colin on to the scarier rides. In the evening, they found a cabaret with a female impersonator and a DJ who favoured the seventies and eighties dance tracks.

  “Terrific,” thought Colin, “if I had a chance to explore this town on my own, I bet I could soon find a place with a live band playing hard rock. This stuff just doesn’t do it for me.”

  It did it for Therese, of course. She wanted Colin to dance with her the whole bloody night. He joined in as best he could, but his heart wasn’t in it. No matter how long she stayed on her feet, her appetite for more exercise in the bedroom when they got back wouldn’t be affected.

  As she dragged him to his feet for yet another disco track he hated, he imagined himself falling asleep during his first meeting with Erebus when he got back to Larcombe.

  “The idea was for you to recharge the batteries, old chap,” he heard him saying as Donna Summer let it rip.

  When they returned to the hotel after another late night, drifting from bar to bar, they fell into bed. Therese was as insatiable as Colin had forecast. She fell asleep on top of him. When the sun rose, he was too shattered to move her. The best day of their holiday and he was in no position to enjoy it.

  Colin woke Therese up with his laughter. He had realised that the statement was ludicrous, given his current status, and laughed until the tears rolled down his cheeks.

  “What’s so funny?” asked Therese, annoyed at having her sleep disturbed.

  “Sorry, not your fault. I thought of something and it made me laugh. You get back to sleep Therese. I’ll have a shower and take a walk, get a breath of fresh air.”

  “I sometimes wonder if you only want me for the sex,” she said, throwing a pillow at his back as he walked away from the bed.

  “You get as good as you give, sweetheart,” chided Colin. “We both came into this with our eyes wide open.”

  Therese sat on the edge of the bed and looked at the floor.

  “Look, I don’t even know who you are. I don’t understand how you died, but then you didn’t. How did that happen? You said you had a few days’ holiday owed. Where do you work? Do they realise who you are? How come you’re entitled to holiday when you can’t have been working with them for more than a couple of months? What kind of job is it?”

  “That’s a lot of questions Therese,” said Colin, “just give me five minutes and I’ll be back. I’ll try to explain as much as I can.”

  As he stood in the shower Colin knew he had reached the turning point. Either he walked back into that bedroom and told Therese as little of the truth as he dared and they moved on with their relationship for as long as it lasted. Or he went back, told her there was nothing to tell, and took her somewhere quiet, killed her and disposed of her body. By the time he had showered, dried himself and dressed he needed to have come to a decision. No pressure then.

  Colin found Therese, where he had left her, sat on the bed. She looked up at him with those dark brown eyes looking sad, on the verge of tears. She stood up, and he studied her naked body. Those breasts were still the best he’d seen. What was he thinking? She linked her hands behind his neck and laid her head on his shoulder.

  “Talk to me,” she said.

  “When you look as incredible as this, the last thing I want to do is talk,” Colin replied. Their lovemaking was more tender and sensual than it had ever been. Later that morning as they lay in each other’s arms Colin began to tell her a story.

  “Things went wrong in Bath back in July,” he said. “I got careless. I’d taken the wife of that copper you met as a hostage. I wanted to keep him off my back long enough to let me finish the jobs I had planned. They found her while I did a job in London that day. On my way back to Bath I took a quick detour to visit my daughter’s grave, for the first time in ten years. I’d returned to England earlier in the year after living abroad for that time. That visit to the grave was a mistake. It delayed me. I’d have been at the house when the coppers turned up and may have used his wife as a bargaining tool. They closed in and I hadn’t a clue. My plans fell apart. I had to get out of the city and as far away from the West Country as possible. I was running back to the car park where I’d left my van and suddenly there were police everywhere. The next thing I know is the bloody copper bundles me over a wall and into the river. He’s trying to overpower me and no way am I
giving up without a fight. We both reckoned without the strength of the waters around the Weir. How either of us escaped heaven only knows. It was a miracle. As darkness fell, I made my way downstream and escaped. They had given up on me surviving and had gone home for the night. I guess they dragged the Weir and the surrounding river first thing in the morning. Even though they didn’t find me, they always believed my body would turn up somewhere along the river. It’s been four months and with luck, they’ll stop looking sometime soon.”

  “Where did you hide, though?” asked Therese.

  Colin was tap dancing, thinking on his feet.

  “There are plenty of empty spaces out there Therese. I roughed it for a while. It was summer. A few weeks ago, I was in a pub and heard two blokes chatting about this organisation looking for people. I got in touch and after an interview, they hired me. They wanted people who liked hard work, didn’t mind getting their hands dirty and prepared to travel around the country chasing up clients. They weren’t interested in my life story. I got offered the job, no questions asked. As you can imagine, it suited me. The money’s good and as long as I hit my quotas it appears they’ll keep me in employment.”

  Colin was pleased with that explanation; it had been close to the truth in many ways. He only omitted to tell Therese what nature of employer’s he had and where they were based.

  It looked to have done the trick at least. Therese had only one more question.

  “This lovely holiday is coming to an end, when will I see you again?”

  “I need to get back and find out where my next job is,” said Colin. “You said you still have the same mobile number, so I’ll put it on my new phone now and I can ring you as soon as I get more free time. I lost my numbers when my old phone ended up at the bottom of the river.”

  After grabbing a bite to eat, they checked out of the hotel and took a taxi to the station. By mid-afternoon, Colin saw Therese back to her place in Runcorn. She wanted him to spend the night there, but he told her he had to get back. His bosses might need him to travel over the weekend ready to start a new job first thing Monday morning.

  “It’s been great,” he said with a smile as he left her, “we must do this again sometime.”

  “Can’t wait,” shouted Therese, as he got into the waiting taxi and headed back to the station. A slower cross-country train delivered him back to Bath Spa after several changes. He had ample time to get the minicab out from the Manor to pick him up from the station. At seven in the evening, the company mini-cab dropped him outside his quarters.

  Colin unpacked his things and walked over to the canteen to get a quick snack. No sooner had he returned to his room and got stuck into a bacon roll than he heard a light knock on his door.

  It was Athena.

  “Hi; you’re back I see,” she said, and came in and sat on the bed.

  Colin kept munching.

  “We were pleased with the outcome in Dunfermline; it was expertly handled.”

  Colin nodded and put down his bacon roll.

  “How’s your mother?” he asked.

  “She’s recuperating well thanks, but under protest; as you can imagine.”

  Colin smiled.

  “Did you enjoy your break?” Athena asked.

  “Plenty of sea air and exercise,” Colin replied. “Glad to get back. I missed the old place.”

  “Did you miss me too?”

  “Maybe,” said Colin smiling, “has there been any excitement since I left?”

  “We had a breakthrough in the ice-house.”

  “Oh, dear, nothing serious I hope.”

  “Don’t be daft. I mean Head Case and his team have got a couple of the boys we brought back from London to talk. He’s reporting to us on their progress tomorrow morning at our meeting.”

  “Don’t call them boys,” said Colin. “They were old enough to be prepared to blow themselves up and many others along with them. When the time comes, they will pay the price.”

  “You’re touchy tonight Phoenix. I expect you’re tired. Do you want me to go?” Athena asked.

  Colin was tired, and he imagined that if she stayed it might lead to something. He knew he couldn’t do her justice, not tonight, not after the last few days. On the other hand, he didn’t want her to get the hump. So, he gritted his teeth.

  “No, stay as long as you wish.”

  Athena stood up from the bed, walked to the door and locked it.

  She turned around to face Colin and undressed.

  “Give me strength,” thought Colin to himself.

  Athena took off her top. With every passing second, she revealed more of her body. He couldn’t wait. When she moved her top further off, her lower breasts covered by a red lacy bra came into view. Slowly her cleavage and bust were out, and he felt himself getting harder. And then her top came off, and she stood in front of him in her bra. It was a magnificent sight. She moved her hands back and unhooked her bra. She slipped her bra straps from her shoulder and let her bra drop to the floor. Colin was amazed by her body.

  “Athena,” he said, “you are stunning.”

  “Be gentle with me,” she whispered, as she stepped out of her skirt.

  Colin stood up and walked towards her. He cupped her breasts in his hands and kissed her lightly on her lips.

  A sharp urgent rap on the door interrupted them.

  “Phoenix? There’s an emergency meeting in the big house. Your presence is needed. Head Case has got news that won’t keep until morning. You’d better get up there sharpish,”

  It was Rusty.

  Colin and Athena stood face-to-face, their breathing ragged. She sighed as her hips moved against Colin’s erection.

  “So close, and yet so far,” she groaned.

  “There’s no rush,” said Colin, “I’m not going anywhere. You made sure Erebus kept me close by at Larcombe. There’ll be other nights.”

  Athena reluctantly pulled away from him and dressed. Colin waited until both of them had regained their composure and were ready to face Erebus and the others. The old man suspected something was going on between them. No point advertising the fact by pitching up to a meeting with flushed faces and dishevelled clothing.

  CHAPTER 24

  Although of necessity, they had to leave his quarters together, Colin and Athena separated as soon as they emerged from the stable block. When Colin entered the drawing-room for the emergency meeting Erebus was deep in conversation with Henry Case. The old man just nodded to acknowledge his arrival.

  The others filed into the room soon afterwards. Minos and Thanatos walked in together; then followed Athena and behind her came Alastor. Half a dozen of the more senior ex-SAS operatives had been invited along too. This must be something big.

  Erebus looked around the room to check that everyone was present. Satisfied that everyone had arrived, he asked Henry Case to go through the events of the past week. Henry stood up to outline the techniques he and his team had utilised.

  Colin hadn’t yet met Henry Case. After learning his nickname, he was keen to find out why it was this guy made people say he was unstable. On the face of it, he appeared normal. In his late thirties, he was five feet eight inches tall and of the slim yet athletic build. His accent that of a highly educated upper-class person.

  Colin imagined him having the right connections that Erebus and the other ex-military people at Larcombe had been seeking. His interview must have been a breeze. Colin and the others listened intently.

  “As you know, we do not dabble in the dark arts here at Olympus. Those techniques unacceptable under the conventions that apply to the interrogation of terrorists or terrorist suspects. This slows our progress somewhat, but we must have standards. Interrogation is a battle of wits with the prisoner, enticing him into talking by building up a relationship, pretending you have learned things that in fact, you haven’t, to dupe him into giving away information. Over the past eight days, we have been battling with four such prisoners. At first, we deprived them of sleep. This
we find is most effective in breaking the will of our detainees. We subjected them to twenty hours of constant interrogation. Within hours, we saw Irfan Baqri, Arshad Usman, and Karim Rivzi showing signs of distress. By the end of their second session, we felt there was nothing to be gained from having them undergo any of the further stages.”

  “Why,” asked Athena, “what did they tell you?”

  “Everything,” replied Henry, “unequivocally. I am sure you have been apprised of the core leadership group that exists in this version of a terror cell. It is a ring network and Habeeb Rehman headed this link in the chain. The late Zunairah Jaffri was his second in command. These ring networks overlap as we know and often an operational cell can become autonomous. In the Milton Keynes cell, Rehman was the link to the other parts of the network. He alone was cognisant of the identities of members in subcells which themselves only had tenuous knowledge of whom or what made up the central core.”

  “So, the three men knew their leader, but nothing material of the rest of the whole set up,” said Erebus.

  “Precisely, sir,” replied Henry Case.

  “Decision time then,” said Erebus, “what do we do with these three little fish?”

  “They imagine the people who picked them up in London came from a secret service branch. They have no idea where they are. We could drop them by the side of a road somewhere in the Midlands. We can allow them to resume their studies.” Henry Case suggested. “It seems harsh to dispose of them.”

  “A dangerous game Henry,” said Erebus. “What if they went to the press and complained about their treatment by the authorities? The secret services would be alerted to the fact that there’s another player in the game.”

  “Can’t we turn them?” asked Athena.

  “If they know so little, what value do they represent?” said Colin.

  Henry Case shrugged his shoulders, “So be it.”

  Erebus held up his hand.

  “Not so fast, Henry. Let’s keep these three for a while longer. I need to confer with my colleagues. We must agree on the best course for Olympus. Any other considerations are secondary to that.”