The Phoenix Series Box Set 3

by Ted Tayler

  “Fine, I look forward to it. We need to move fast on the veterans’ situation. Sleeping rough, even in July, is no picnic,” said Phoenix. “My aim is to help Ambrosia get as many of these people indoors before the autumn. They mustn’t have to spend another freezing cold night outside. Nobody who fought to protect their country should ever be treated so shamefully.”

  “And yet you keep me slogging away until it’s too late to have any fun,” said Rusty.

  “Artemis will be home by now,” said Phoenix.

  “Shattered after a full day’s work, as am I; neither of us will want to do anything except sleep tonight.”

  “We live in hope, mate; we live in hope.”

  The two friends walked back to the main building. Rusty could see lights shining in both his and Phoenix’s apartments. Artemis was still awake. He said goodnight and made for the doorway.

  Phoenix continued walking towards the far entrance, which took him via the kitchens, to the stairs, and up to the awaiting Athena. Rusty was only just through the door, perhaps with a foot on the bottom step, when the light in his apartment went out.

  “Unlucky, mate.”

  *****

  Saturday, 12th July 2014

  In his warm bed at the hotel, Henry Case awoke to a bright and sunny morning. He too was living in hope. First, the weather stayed fine throughout the day. A flower show in the pouring rain was no place to spend a Saturday afternoon.

  Second, he prayed Sarah never uncovered his awful secret.

  Third, he hoped that before he returned to Larcombe Manor, they could spend more time together, alone. It was fine bowing to the sensitive nature of her parishioners, but Sarah’s letters had promised so much more.

  Henry could recite every line. He recalled the comments from Giles and Artemis as they walked to morning meetings minutes after he had read one of her letters.

  “Have you been running, Henry? You look flustered.”

  Henry checked the clock. It was a little after eight. Time for a shower as cold as he could stand it. Then there was a heart-stopping full-English breakfast to look forward to downstairs.

  In the vicarage, Sarah was already busy. She was puzzling over what clothes to wear. Could she be daring and don a summer dress that accentuated her well-upholstered figure, or should it be her basic vestments? The dog-collar won the day. She was on civic duty after all. A touch of make-up wouldn’t go amiss, and she could wear her hair up for a change.

  Decisions were made. She was all set for whatever lay in store for the day ahead.

  Henry arrived at a few minutes after eleven. He had opted for a blue blazer over a crisp, white open-necked shirt, with grey flannels. He had topped it off with a straw Panama hat. His black leather shoes shone.

  He presented her with a bunch of red roses.

  “For the love of my life,” he said, kissing her on one cheek. He stood back, to avoid crushing the gift and causing consternation among any curtain-twitchers watching.

  “Oh, they’re wonderful, Henry,” said Sarah, “come inside, and I’ll get these in water.”

  The village show opened at noon. Henry and Sarah mingled with the crowds. They visited all the marquees and displays; tried their hand at guessing the weight of a fruitcake, and how many marbles there were in a large, glass jar.

  They threw wooden balls between bales of straw towards nine skittles that dodged everything thrown at them. As the afternoon wore on, the couple received less and less attention from the crowds of village families surrounding them.

  “Do you know,” whispered Sarah. “I think they’re getting used to seeing us as a couple,”

  The heavens opened at half-past three. The wind speed increased, and everyone scurried for the relative safety of the marquees. Even the entrants to the dog-show were all lined up with their owners in the tent where Henry and Sarah sheltered.

  “A typical summer’s afternoon,” groaned Sarah.

  “It doesn’t appear to be blowing over,” said Henry. “those dark clouds in the distance are heading our way. They look menacing.”

  “Let’s dash to the cake tent, and grab a few goodies,” giggled Sarah. “We’ll have afternoon tea at the vicarage. If there’s any left.”

  They dashed across from the marquee to the cake stall. Two ladies huddled together under a large, golf umbrella.

  “Ah, vicar, I’m glad you’ve arrived,” cried one lady. “Your gentleman friend’s guess for the weight of the cake was the nearest.”

  “He was within five grams,” added her friend, Lilian, looking impressed.

  “The winner gets the cake, so here you are,” her colleague Edith said.

  A perfectly baked rich, fruit cake in its square box was handed to Henry. He and Sarah hurried back to the vicarage, leaving the two ladies staring after them.

  “They seemed in a rush, Edith,”

  “I can’t wait to hear the Reverend Sarah’s sermon in the morning, Lilian.”

  “For what I’m about to receive, may the Lord make me truly thankful,”

  “Lucky girl. Oh well, let’s clear away these sodden paper plates and doilies. Nobody will want these fancies we’ve got left. I’ll make us a nice cup of tea at my place.”

  “You’re on, Edith. A Viennese whirl is all I’ve got to look forward to, with my husband gone these past five years.”

  “If that cake tasted as good as it looked, perhaps that military-looking gentleman will stay for a while. I hope so, the vicar has been a breath of fresh air in the village, I’d hate to see her leave.”

  In the vicarage, the tea things sat on the dining room table. The kettle had boiled several minutes ago. Upstairs in her bedroom, Henry and Sarah stood facing one another.

  “Are you wearing the red underwear I discovered by chance at Larcombe beneath your grey uniform,” Henry asked, as he removed his blue blazer.

  “I have a confession, Henry,” blushed Sarah, as she removed her dog collar. “I hope you’re not too shocked. I didn’t want there to be any problems to arise that might restrict our progress. I found it exciting to spend the afternoon with you, wearing nothing at all under my outer clothing.”

  Henry was folding his flannel trousers as Sarah undressed. He dropped them in a heap as she stood naked before him at last. She shook her hair loose from the comb that held it.

  “Heavens,” said Henry.

  “One thing at a time, Henry. Just one heaven will suffice for now. Then we can enjoy a large slice of that cake.”

  Henry joined Sarah on the bed. His hopes for good weather had been dashed. Conditions had certainly taken a turn for the worse, for which he would be eternally grateful. His wishes for their relationship to move to a new level was about to be satisfied.

  Two out of three isn’t bad, he thought; and prayed his secret would remain hidden.

  *****

  On Saturday evening, while Henry and Sarah tucked into their late afternoon tea, at Larcombe Manor, Phoenix and Athena were meeting up for the first time all day.

  “There you are, at last,” Athena said, as Phoenix returned from the orangery.

  “Sorry, darling,” he replied, as he flopped onto the sofa beside her.

  “Hope has gone to bed. She tried to stay awake long enough to see Daddy. What kept you so long?”

  “I wanted to get started early, so I crept out before seven. Rusty joined me at nine o’clock as we agreed. We worked on our action plans until four this afternoon. Artemis was coming off-shift from the ice-house then.”

  “I assume you thought there was more tinkering required to your plans. You’re never satisfied.”

  “No, I was happy to sign off on what Rusty and I completed. In fact, I’m looking forward to having my new logistics chap here in a few weeks’ time. It will do me good to stand back to look at the bigger picture. I might have spotted the Irregulars opportunity Ambrosia unearthed if I hadn’t been so blinkered.”

  “Hugh Fraser hasn’t agreed to take up the post we’ve offered yet, darling,” Athen
a cautioned. “You may have to soldier on alone.”

  “He’ll come,” said Phoenix, “he’d be a mug not to seize the chance of working with me,”

  Athena spotted the grin her husband did his best to conceal.

  “For a second, I thought you were being serious,” she said.

  “The past two hours I’ve spent catching up with the reports Minos and Alastor prepare for us. I’m always watching the pile of their data growing in my in-tray.”

  “It has the habit of growing when you only spend a few minutes each day close to your desk,” said Athena, shaking her head. “So, what was it that caught your eye this time?”

  “Rusty and I worked on our response to the anti-Muslim attacks, and I wonder whether the government’s focus on extremism might have contributed to the problem. Recent policy has been based on counter-terrorism measures and the prevention of violent extremism. Over the past decade, the way most young Muslim men engaged with the police was due to ‘stop and search’. That was one of the core pillars of the Terrorism Act. Minos reported that over half a million stop and searches had taken place, but not one had resulted in a terrorism-related conviction.”

  “You’re suggesting the procedures alienate, and place a stamp on youths of Muslim appearance and help to reinforce the justification of those with white supremacist views?”

  “If only it was that simple. It’s not the whole story. White youths from the working-class areas in the North of England where these latest attacks centred, suffer in the areas of education, and employment. They feel abandoned and without hope; they target those of different ethnic and religious backgrounds seeking to find someone to blame for their situation.”

  Athena sighed.

  “Since Olympus was formed, we have seen an increase in extremism, in whichever part of the spectrum it lies. Everything seems to move so much faster too.”

  “The basic messages remain the same,” said Phoenix. “But the exponential growth of the internet and social media means the language of hate can be delivered at the click of a button. It’s in an app, compared to the old days when a pamphlet took weeks, or months to permeate through to an organisation’s followers.”

  “The world has shrunk,” said Athena. “Two hundred years ago, many people didn’t travel further than a few miles from the place in which they were born. Regardless of what the activists of the day promoted. A message of love, or a message of hate, took years to take hold within these shores. The outside world was unaware of what was happening here, and vice versa.”

  “When we follow that idea to its natural conclusion,” said Phoenix, taking hold of Athena’s hand, “then our greatest fear is that a charismatic extremist emerges whose message spreads like wildfire. Instead of fighting a parochial threat, we could face a global conflict.”

  “What sort of world have we brought little Hope into?” sighed Athena.

  “The cynic might say it’s one with little hope,” said Phoenix, with a wry smile, “but while people are prepared to fight against evil, then our daughter will have a future. What she makes of it, will be up to her.”

  “Will you be working again tomorrow?” Athena asked.

  “Not if I can help it,” replied Phoenix. “We deserve to spend the day with our daughter. The weather may not be great, but I fancy a trip to the coast.”

  “We’d better get to bed then if we intend making an early start in the morning.”

  Phoenix did as he was told.

  CHAPTER 7

  Monday, 14th July 2014

  Athena and Phoenix arrived early for the first meeting of the week. They had enjoyed an afternoon of dodging the showers while in the resort of Bournemouth. Little Hope didn’t appear to care; she was enjoying having her parents to herself, for a change.

  As the storm clouds blew away, and a watery sun offered a brighter end to the day, they made their way home to Larcombe via Lymington.

  Phoenix never missed an opportunity to visit Elizabeth, the yacht that had belonged to Erebus. He told Athena that being on board, even for an hour or two, helped him re-connect with the old gentleman.

  “While this beautiful craft is at our disposal, his memory will never fade and die. I’m not one for visiting a family vault. I find no connection or consolation there. Onboard Elizabeth, among the equipment, books, and charts he equipped her with, I can sense him watching over me, as I consider problems we face.”

  “Has he helped you come up with the right answers,” asked Athena.

  “I haven’t heard a ‘tut’ if I’m wavering over a decision yet if that’s what you mean. Although the ship’s bell emitted a single ring one afternoon when I had decided on the steps for a planned mission. There was no one else on board, and the breeze was non-existent. That was spooky.”

  Phoenix spotted the ice-house party through the windows as they crossed the lawns.

  “Here they come,” he said. “Henry got home in one piece, by the looks of it,”

  “I hope he and Sarah had a great weekend,” said Athena, “we can’t ask for details, of course. I’ll ring Sarah tonight and squeeze the juicy gossip out of her.”

  “Won’t she claim the rights of the confessional apply to matters of the bedchamber?”

  “That’s the other lot, Phoenix,” said Athena. “Your religious knowledge needs a refresher course.”

  “I’ll give it a miss,” said Phoenix.

  Minos and Alastor were next to arrive.

  Giles, Artemis, and a cherubic Henry Case entered soon after.

  “I know you worked part of this past weekend,” Athena began, “but I trust you are ready for another busy week?”

  Henry stifled a yawn.

  In the background, he heard Athena running through the morning agenda, and updating everyone on missions from other areas forwarded to her by Zeus. Henry had crept in under cover of darkness and reached his quarters in the stable block at eleven o’clock last night.

  After the events of late Saturday afternoon, he and Sarah spent the evening cuddled up on her settee. However, there was no question of him staying the night. Sarah was reluctant to let him go. But when it was time for the barman to call time up the road at the pub, Sarah said that was the perfect time for him to leave.

  “I need people leaving the pub to see you driving away from here, Henry,” she said. “I hope you will attend the morning service at eleven o’clock at St Mary’s, to listen to my sermon?”

  “I look forward to it,” said Henry.

  After the service was over the following morning, the couple visited the pub for a lunchtime drink. Sarah had promised to cook dinner later. With the exertions of Saturday, Henry was hungry. The smells from the pub’s kitchen, from where Sunday roasts were being served, only made matters worse.

  “Let’s drink up, and get home,” said Sarah.

  “Are you still hungry, Henry?” she had asked him three hours later.

  “Not in the slightest, darling,” sighed Henry as he lay beside her.

  “I meant for food, you goose,” giggled Sarah, “let’s shower, and get dressed. We can still get something to eat at the pub.”

  “Alone, or together? The shower, I mean,” Henry had asked.

  “Alone,” said Sarah, “we’ll not make it out of the house otherwise,”

  It had been half-past eight when he dropped Sarah back at the vicarage.

  “Safe trip home, Henry,” she had said, as they kissed goodbye. “Call me, and write when you get a chance, won’t you? It will seem months rather than weeks until Hope’s christening. I can’t wait for us to be together again.”

  “Is that okay, Henry?” asked Athena.

  “I can’t wait,” replied Henry, startled by the intrusion on his reverie.

  “I’m sure Kelly Dexter is eager to work with you too,” said Phoenix.

  Henry realised he must have missed something important.

  “We’ll leave you two to assess the suitability of candidates from the lists Giles and Artemis compile,” Athena
continued. “while Hayden Vincent continues with the training schedule.”

  “Will do,” said Henry, hoping Kelly Dexter knew what was happening. He needed to catch up with what he had missed while he was daydreaming.

  “We need your report for the fourth of August when Ambrosia returns to Larcombe,” added Phoenix.

  “I shall give it my undivided attention,” said Henry.

  “What progress did you make, Giles?”

  Giles told Athena and the others of the methods they were using in the ice-house to identify where the homeless ex-servicemen and women were located. Over the weekend, he and Artemis had traced eight hundred veterans.

  “I don’t wish to start the week with bad news,” said Artemis, “but our initial research suggests we won’t get the high positive return Ambrosia hoped. She might wish to believe these seven thousand homeless souls have been failed by the system. That somehow, they fell through the safety net, and are entirely blameless for the state in which they find themselves. That’s not the case, I’m afraid.”

  “I feared as much,” said Rusty. “When I was a serving soldier, there were men who liked to drink more than was good for them. Several combined that with using recreational drugs. So, it’s not hard to imagine those parts of their life taking hold when they left the forces. Once the security blanket and camaraderie they enjoyed were removed, no doubt they struggled to come to terms with life in civvy street. Many may find it impossible to cope.”

  “In a depressingly large number of the cases we’ve looked at so far, their service records highlight problems well before they were discharged,” said Giles.

  “They had disciplinary issues,” said Artemis, “and when they left their quarters, the conditions they left behind were a disgrace. The term ‘shit tip’ was often used to describe the state they lived in when off duty.”

  “So, when they found housing in the public or private sector,” added Giles, “they were likely to be evicted by a housing association, or a landlord. Either for rent arrears, or not keeping their place clean and tidy.”