The Phoenix Series Box Set 2

by Ted Tayler

  “Here,” groaned Giles, holding his lower stomach as another severe twinge gripped him.

  “Did you have your appendix out as a kid?” asked Artemis, recalling her time in hospital in Durham at the tender age of thirteen. Very tender, from what she remembered.

  “No,” moaned Giles, “just my tonsils. It’s easing off now. I’ll be alright.”

  Artemis wasn’t going to back down. She adopted her Mother Hen persona and gave it to Giles Burke with both barrels.

  “Look, Giles, if you don’t get treatment for it, the appendix can rupture. That’s a life-threatening situation. You should always seek immediate medical attention if you think you have appendicitis. Which of these symptoms have you experienced, or are suffering from now? A dull ache in the middle of your stomach? Severe pain on your right lower side? Are you feeling sick? Do you have a fever?”

  Giles nodded like a toy dog in the back of a car. It took his mind off what he had been ignoring for the past two days.

  “All of the above,” he admitted.

  “Right, I’m going to alert the medics. They’ll whip it out in no time. After surgery, most people recover quickly and without complications. You’re relatively young and fit; you’ll be back on your feet in no time.”

  “Thanks,” said Giles, “I think.”

  “How long have you been getting pain?” she asked as she was leaving for the medical centre.

  “Since Saturday morning,” replied Giles.

  “You are an idiot, let’s hope you haven’t ignored it long enough for it to be peritonitis.”

  After the doctor had seen Giles and carried out tests, they scheduled him for an immediate open appendectomy. The affected appendix was removed and the abdominal cavity cleaned. The wound was closed with stitches and Giles allowed to recuperate. There were no complications. When Henry Case was informed he decided that this was as good a time as any for Giles to take a well-earned holiday.

  He dropped in to see him the morning after his operation.

  “Crikey, old chap, this was a turn up for the books. Just as well Artemis was on the ball. The doctor says you’ll stay here until your pain is under control and you’re able to consume liquids. Then I want you to get off on holiday for a week or two. Lie in the sun and have complete rest.”

  Giles protested. He wanted to be back at his desk in the morning.

  “Not a chance, Giles,” said Henry. “Athena agrees with me. You deserve a break. Things are quiet at the moment, but they’re bound to kick off again soon. We need you to be one-hundred per cent when it does.”

  Giles realised when he was beaten. He sunk back into his pillows and relaxed for the first time in months.

  When Henry left he bumped into Rusty and Artemis. They were Giles’s next visitors.

  “Just the young lady I need to see,” said Henry. “Giles is hors de combat for a while, Artemis. I’m sure Rusty will agree this will be an ideal opportunity for you to step up to the plate. You will attend the morning meetings with me from Monday morning. I’ll clear things with Athena and Phoenix first, of course.”

  Rusty looked at Artemis. She looked surprised but elated. They had discussed her full integration into Olympus at a meeting only two weeks ago on the second of September. At that time Athena had wanted to wait until Artemis had completed three months’ service with Giles’s intelligence section.

  Perhaps, Henry was right, it was only two weeks later, but this could be a good opportunity to bring matters forward. Maybe he could talk to Phoenix before Monday. To sound him out; to see whether he was ready to face the former policewoman, Zara Wheeler across the table in a meeting.

  Monday, September 16th, 2013

  No matter how much they wanted it to stop, the clock continued to tick around to nine o’clock. In their quarters Rusty and Artemis were getting ready to walk across to the main house together for the first time.

  In their apartment, Athena and Phoenix were nervous too. Athena had agreed to Henry’s request last evening that Artemis be allowed to attend in Giles’s absence. She was still concerned at the prospect of such a rapid promotion, before really getting to know Artemis and understanding what made her tick. Her background didn’t suggest an ex-detective could just fall in line with everything Olympus did; not without a few qualms at least. She herself had wavered in her early days at Larcombe. Erebus had guided her gently through the darker moments. He showed her the ends justified the means.

  As for Phoenix, he had received an urgent message from Rusty late yesterday. They met in the orangery and his friend made him sit while he told him the news.

  “How do we play it?” had asked Rusty.

  “Stay cool?” Phoenix had replied. “We let Athena chair the meeting as usual. She will introduce the newcomer, tell us who she is and why she’s there for the next two weeks. We run through the agenda, make our contributions and get out. I don’t think we’ll be invited to stand up and introduce ourselves as we did when we went on courses back when we were youngsters.”

  “Are you okay, darling?” asked Athena, bringing Phoenix back to the present.

  “Never better; can’t wait to get this over with,” he replied.

  The couple held hands as they walked to the meeting room. This outward display of affection was not normal. It was just nerves. Athena opened the door and taking a deep breath walked in. Alastor, Minos, and Thanatos were sat together as usual. Henry Case had arrived from the ice-house with an armful of folders. As soon as she and Phoenix were seated, Rusty and Artemis slipped through the door at the far end of the room and joined them around the table.

  “Good morning everyone,” said Athena, “welcome to another week. Giles is progressing well after his emergency appendectomy. We have Artemis to thank for her prompt actions. Giles is a typical man; he soldiered on until it was nearly too late. Henry asked if Artemis could fill in for Giles while he recuperates fully. I agreed. I’m sure we extend her a warm welcome. Artemis, you appreciate why you needed to relinquish your past life and the name you were born with when you joined us at Larcombe. As for the rest of us; you work with Henry in the intelligence section of course. Rusty, well you know on a more personal level. The others around the table today are known by code name too, to protect their past identities from the outside world. Alastor, Minos, and Thanatos have been with Olympus from its conception. They are my senior colleagues. Phoenix is my partner and joint leader here at Larcombe. Whatever we discuss within these walls is classified. At no time can you share what you learn with anyone outside the Olympus family. Is that clear?”

  “Absolutely,” said Artemis. She blinked furiously, her face reddened and despite herself continued staring at Phoenix.

  Athena made the lightest of contacts with her fingers on the back of her lover’s hand for reassurance over what came next. Phoenix was glad of the chance to look her way; he was well aware of the attention he received from the other end of the table.

  “We wish to share our news with you. Around the middle of January, we will welcome a new arrival at Larcombe. I am expecting our first child.”

  Rusty tried to appear surprised. Phoenix had told him earlier and sworn him to secrecy. Athena had warned Phoenix she was going to let everyone know today. She was four months into her pregnancy and the evidence would be in front of their eyes before many more weeks had passed.

  She seized on the opportunity once Henry mentioned Artemis; she thought it might help to have another female on the team. Breaking the news in an otherwise male environment was daunting. Just having Artemis in the room made it easier.

  “That’s wonderful news,” said Artemis, “congratulations.”

  “That goes for me too,” added Rusty.

  The Three Amigos and Henry Case muttered encouraging platitudes. Athena was ready to move on with the agenda for the day. Phoenix was still absorbing the ‘first child’ titbit. He hadn’t realised there could be more little ones on the horizon.

  “Will you be getting married?” asked Thanat
os.

  Phoenix gave him a stare.

  “One thing at a time,” said Athena, “now, let’s get cracking. I know things have been disrupted in the past forty-eight hours Henry, but what’s new from the ice-house.”

  Henry gave a summation of everything the team had gathered over the weekend. Intelligence gathering was time-consuming and never-ending. He referred briefly to the hunt for Erebus’s killer. He informed Athena that the image from the Barfleur store couldn’t be pinned to a definite suspect as yet.

  “Of course, this chap may never have been arrested.”

  “Can we trace the card transaction he made at the chandler’s?” asked Phoenix.

  “We tracked it to a company based in the Cayman Islands,” said Henry, “from there the trail has gone cold. Someone has done a very good job of hiding the person, or persons, behind it.”

  “Keep at it; we don’t have any more to go on,” said Phoenix.

  Athena continued to tick items off the list. The final matter was to tell the meeting of the upcoming Olympus hierarchy meeting.

  “Phoenix and I will be attending the next meeting on Wednesday, October the ninth; I received a text message over the weekend. It was coded, as usual, and read Locksley; Black.”

  “Nottingham is the venue then,” said Minos “but why black?

  Phoenix understood the reference; it was the black book, in whichever form it existed, containing the names of targets chosen by Zeus and the other nine Olympians. That list was likely to be heavily influenced by the faction working to gain control of Olympus.

  The names were certain to be of people who stood in the way of any proposed overthrow of the democratically elected government. He and Athena had had their suspicions of a future coup ever since their first board meeting in Knightsbridge. So far, they were only scratching the surface in determining who was involved with that faction.

  “Whereabouts is this one being held in Nottingham, Athena?” he asked.

  “In a suite just around the corner from the Theatre Royal,” she replied. For the benefit of Minos and the others, she added, “the ‘black’ refers to a blacklist of targets Zeus and the others want to be eliminated. We touched on it at the meeting in Curzon Street, but clearly, it’s moved up the agenda now. We shall have to see what it means for us at Larcombe.”

  It was time to bring the meeting to a close. The Three Stooges left together; Phoenix and Rusty chatted amicably. Henry waited for Artemis to join him to get back to work in the ice-house.

  “Thank you for letting me sit in on the meeting today, Athena,” said Artemis. “It was very interesting, and your news was wonderful. You must both be very happy.”

  “We are,” replied Athena. “My parents were surprised but pleased. I think they had given up hope of grandchildren. You’re still young, you’ve got time on your side if you and Rusty are thinking of a family.”

  “I’ve no idea what he’s thinking half the time,” said Artemis with a chuckle.

  “I wasn’t sure what Phoenix’s reaction would be to becoming a father again. To lose a teenage daughter in the manner he did must have left dreadful scars.”

  Athena stopped herself from going further. She may have said too much already. This was the dilemma she knew they faced. How much does Artemis know of Phoenix? Does she think he’s Garry Burns or has she made the leap back to the man rescued by Erebus from Pulteney Weir? The man whose fifteen-year-old daughter was raped and smothered by Neil Cartwright. A deed that was the final straw sparking a killing spree where nine villains died inside two hours only miles away from where they stood.

  That night started him on a journey that brought them together at Larcombe. He had been responsible for many more deaths since then.

  Phoenix and Rusty moved across the room to join the two ladies. Henry waited patiently by the door.

  “You can go on, Henry,” said Phoenix, “we’ll see she gets to work on time.”

  The four were left alone in the room.

  “What did you make of your first meeting,” asked Rusty.

  “Brilliant,” replied Artemis, “I’ve learned so much.”

  “It’s a shame you haven’t been able to put a name to the Barfleur customer,” said Phoenix.

  Artemis looked at him and swallowed hard. Phoenix thought his voice or a mannerism had triggered a memory.

  “With the fuss over Giles being sick, I’d forgotten,” she said. “When I showed him the EvoFIT picture, he put a name to it straight away. We discounted it because it seemed so preposterous. We never checked where he was at the time of the murder, nor did we delve into his background to see whether he had any yachting expertise.”

  “Who was that?” asked Rusty.

  “The mobile phone CEO who takes part in his own company adverts on television.”

  Athena gasped.

  Rusty looked to Phoenix, “Is that likely? What’s his name?”

  “No idea, mate,” lied Phoenix, “but we’ll find it and check him out. Thanks, we’ll be seeing you.”

  The two couples left the room. Rusty and Artemis went outside to walk across the lawns to the stable block. Phoenix and Athena climbed the stairs towards their apartments.

  “That’s one name identified on the list of our adversaries at the top table,” said Phoenix. “Hermes is our killer.”

  Athena stopped on the top stair. The view that stretched to the stone-pillared gateway to Larcombe Manor was stunning.

  “We must do whatever it takes to protect this place and what it represents. I fear we have more unpleasant discoveries ahead of us. We will avenge the deaths of Erebus and Gavin in time. One identity is a step forward, but we shouldn’t act before we understand exactly who we’re up against. Our meeting in Nottingham will give us answers.”

  CHAPTER 10

  Monday, September 30th, 2013

  Giles Burke returned to work in the ice-house. He had enjoyed his holiday in St. Tropez. Giles thought of it as having been his first complete break in over two years. In reality, it was ten days of sun, sand and texting Artemis to ask if anything interesting had happened back home.

  At this morning’s meeting, he resumed his place alongside Henry Case at the table. Artemis left Rusty at the stable block door and turned left for the first time in a fortnight to head off for a shift in the intelligence section.

  “I’ll see you tonight,” said Rusty. “You made a great impression filling in for Giles. It won’t go unrewarded. Phoenix and I will keep chipping away at Athena to let you join the elite operatives in your own right.”

  Artemis kissed her partner on the cheek.

  “I can be patient when it suits me,” she said.

  Rusty made his way over to the meeting room. He was the last to arrive.

  Athena wanted to keep the proceedings where everyone was present as brief as possible. She and Phoenix decided that individual meetings with Alastor, Minos and Thanatos were the order of the day. They needed to collate the information the three men gathered from the photographs Athena issued. One-third was from the Olympus hierarchy; the others merely camouflaged the true purpose of the exercise.

  Athena wanted to understand her enemy. Those against her had to be dealt with, but the protection afforded by the faithful gods’ code names had to be preserved. There may be several ‘bad apples’ alongside Hermes, but the rest of the barrel was trustworthy.

  Giles was welcomed back, but hardly had time to get comfortable in his chair before he and Henry were dismissed. Phoenix handed him a folder with instructions on how to proceed with the Barfleur suspect.

  “Alastor,” said Athena, “we’ll begin with you. If you two gentlemen could leave us, we’ll call you back in individually when we’re ready.” Minos and Thanatos filed out of the room.

  Major Michael Purvis, ex-Blues & Royals had lost his wife, Jenny, nine years ago last Monday. She had been stabbed several times by a burglar in her parent’s home. The intruder was a young addict stealing to feed his habit. Jenny’s killer was never cau
ght. Michael Purvis joined Olympus from the beginning in 2006.

  “Right then Alastor,” said Phoenix, “let’s have the data you’ve got on the nine photos we allocated you.”

  Alastor slid the folder across the desk.

  “I haven’t got a clue which of the people you gave me are candidates for the genuine Olympians. There are those there with stacks of money and from backgrounds that suggest they might be in favour of the methods we adopt. You chose very well, Athena. Their secret is safe with me, that’s for sure.”

  “Good,” said Athena. “I do try. Are you happy this contains a complete record of these people?”

  “Yes, I have traced family lines back several generations where possible. There were no blocks in place to prevent me from investigating them in full.”

  “That will be it, for now, Alastor,” she said, “can you tell Minos that we’ll see him in forty-five minutes, please?”

  “What about Thanatos?” asked Alastor.

  “Tell him to take an early lunch,” muttered Phoenix, already leafing through the folder. “We’ll get to him eventually.”

  Alastor left them alone. Athena and Phoenix sorted through the photographs.

  “It’s a shame because he’s done such a lot of work on the people I gave him. We’re only interested in these three - Zeus, Hera, and Poseidon.”

  “That’s interesting,” said Phoenix, “we wondered about these two didn’t we? Zeus and Hera are husband and wife then, and older than I thought. The country air must agree with them.” He read Alastor’s summary aloud.

  Duncan (67) and Celia Eliot (66) of Barley Mill, Kent, (code name Zeus and Hera)