Cherry Picking

by Tim Heath

  Robert knew that the answers might well be in Switzerland. Before going to Switzerland, Austin had only ever lived in the house which Robert had just left. Therefore if he had actually developed his plans, it would surely have been in the freedom and peace of the Swiss home that he would have made such a Door. If it did indeed exist, in reality and not just on paper, then it became the most valuable piece of property in the entire world and it was vital to everyone that Robert found it first, because such a Door in anyone else’s hands, especially someone like Nigel Gamble’s, could only mean trouble as had already been proved. He was deep into his research when Katie opened the bathroom door, the noise making him jump and pulling him back to his senses. She wore a towel around her as she dried her hair a little with a smaller towel before dropping it onto the bed, her hair looking long and inviting. Robert caught himself, again looking a little too long, but Katie didn’t mind, glad for the positive attention she was again getting from a man. Robert turned back to his book, the small cluttered table partially blocking a mirror attached to the wall. With her back turned to him, he could see her in the mirror, the towel around her now off. He looked away for a moment but he found himself looking back a second time as she was pulling up her underwear and putting on a short sleeved white shirt with the same jeans that she had worn yesterday.

  Robert’s eyes returned to his book and a few moments later she came over to see what he was doing, touching the back of his head gently in a way that he hadn’t been touched in years, that soft gentle, almost motherly touch.

  “What have you been doing?” she asked.

  “Oh this, it’s just some research I’m working on,” his hand gesturing over the table in a random fashion.

  “It looks interesting.”

  “It really isn’t,” he said, shutting his notebook so that she couldn’t read anything he didn’t want her to see and quickly clearing up the other books, putting them back in the bag. Katie returned to the bed, picking up the towels and dropping them down onto the floor ready for room service to clean away once they’d gone. Robert also started to pack some things away, but in truth they’d travelled light, with very little other stuff with them, such had been their swift exit from the village the previous day.

  “So what’s the plan then?” she said.

  “There’s a couple of places I need to check out and there’s a man I’ll meet up with who’ll hopefully be able to sort somewhere for us to stay for a while, so we’ll get moving in a bit if that’s okay? Maybe we should find somewhere for some breakfast first?”

  “Yes, that sounds good to me.”

  Robert went over to the door and opened it then stood to one side, ushering her out first, which she liked. She duly complied and Robert followed, closing the door firmly behind him. Across the road stood a mainly truckers’ café, it was rather scruffy-looking but it was cheap and the food was plentiful. They sat there together, mainly in silence, digging into the food when it arrived, washing it down with a pot of tea which they shared between them.

  Having finished, Robert excused himself and went to find the toilet. Katie watched him walk away, he was an attractive figure, tall and lean in simple black trousers, a dark navy blue sweater on top of a loose fitting white shirt. She knew she was attracted to him, but there was more to it than that, she felt safe with him, and not just because he’d rescued her from her old life. She felt free with him, almost too free, becoming another person, her wild side being unleashed and she liked it. She didn’t know where she’d go, or what she’d do but she felt safe with Robert around and staying close to him she knew she’d be all right.

  A minute later Robert re-emerged and came over to her again. They picked up their things and left, having paid for the room in advance the night before, it being the sort of place it was, in the area it was. They then crossed the road and got into the car.

  “I just need to send a text and then we’ll be off.”

  Robert wrote a message to Brendan, still aware that any voice message would quickly be listened to. In the message he said briefly how things had changed and that he wanted to meet him later that day as he was in the city and he asked him to call him as soon as he could. Having sent the message, Robert put down the phone and turned to Katie. In the early morning light she looked stunning, her green eyes picking up the sunlight well and sparkling as she turned to him.

  “Shall we go?” he said, her nod and smile telling him all he needed to know. He switched the engine on and pulled away. The roads were still quiet as the traffic would only be starting to make its way into the centre about now. He thought to himself how he’d have to watch it with Katie, how he could see himself falling totally in love with her and how that would distract him in such a way as to make him vulnerable. He resolutely told himself to leave things there, to no longer pursue anything for fear of dragging her into his crazy world that threatened anyone that got close to him. He didn’t fit in her time anyway, but then the thought came — where did he fit any more? And for the first time in his pursuit of Nigel, he asked himself the question — what will I do if I do end up catching him? Not knowing the answer to that simple question scared him. His life had changed so much since he’d first stepped through that Door, that everything familiar was now gone, but he knew there was no going back, no undoing what had been done without finishing what he’d come back to do. His focus had returned, his mind now thinking clearly again about the task in hand.

  What he needed to do was to talk with Brendan Charles again, as well as do some final research where things had all begun at the Department of Information, which might involve a run in again with Jessica Ponter but he hoped that could be avoided. He expected all his best efforts would be needed to get himself across to Switzerland, in order to start the ground work on tracking down any further clues as to what Austin Wentworth might have achieved over there.

  Chapter 25

  Sitting in his dining room at home in his family house, Brendan Charles read the text message from Robert while drinking his coffee which had been freshly made by his wife. She was always thinking of him, one of the many things he loved about her. The flowers he’d purchased sat proudly in the middle of the table, their scent filling the whole room.

  He still felt sickened by the turn of events but had also come to realise that the end to it all was suddenly in his hands. If Nigel could be believed, and though he’d keep his distance he would just have to trust him, then it would all be over very soon. Even getting that message that morning seemed surreal as it was all happening too easily, but the end was surely in sight now. Knowing what he knew he just wanted out and the thought of being set up for life to spend the rest of his days with his family was kind of releasing. There was no way to undo what had been done anyway. Though the future had been changed it was not his future and even then wasn’t the future always being rewritten by the choices of today?

  But it had been the thought of being alone, seeing his family all die that had finally made what he would have to do a lot easier. He knew some of the bad things that Nigel had done, but because of his involvement he was just as guilty as his boss was in them all. But now there were all these lives that could be saved by this medicine being made available. It wasn’t the first of such breakthroughs that had come from the group and now Brendan could understand them all. Packaged in the right way, Nigel’s scientists would think they’d found the cure themselves so that when the disease was made known, the cure could be sold. Nigel of course would always get very rich because of this and Brendan knew every nation in the world would need to buy the drug, but it would also surely save millions of lives and now again with this drug, those lives included his dear wife and children. Was it a crime to make money? Was it a crime to produce life-saving drugs, even if you had stolen the solution from some time in the future? It surely wasn’t a bad thing to do.

  Brendan kept his own situation and hurts out of his thinking, aware that going there would break the positive bubble he’d made that could a
lmost justify doing what he had to do. Saying it in the way he’d just been thinking almost made it sound like the right thing to do. To sacrifice one man for the sake of millions of others, and though he’d personally profit from such a betrayal of confidence, he tried to convince himself that in fact he was doing the right thing. Of course deep down he didn’t believe any of it but he wouldn’t admit that, even to himself. Instead he hoped that in time, with some distance from events, he’d feel better, forgetting all that had happened and just enjoying the rest of his life, wherever he’d end up, knowing that he’d get as far away from Nigel Gamble as was possible.

  Hearing movements upstairs, the kids up and about, Brendan finished his drink and left, not wanting to see them feeling the way he was, instead getting his mind into gear like a soldier going into battle, his head down and ready to do what needed to be done, even if he didn’t agree with it but as always he was just following orders.

  Sixty minutes later Brendan was pulling into the office car park, many spaces available, not that it mattered with his own private space next to the main entrance. Besides, very few drove in nowadays, such was the cost of travel and fuel. On the way he’d called Nigel out of duty, really alerting him to the fact that Robert had sent him a message that morning. Nigel had been almost excited, telling Brendan that today would be the day things all cleared up, pressing Brendan to make sure that he did indeed meet with Robert that day, to deal with him once and for all so that the problem would go away and his own family could live. The reference yet again to his own family had worried Brendan, so desperate was he to keep Nigel’s hands off them. Brendan finished that call and quickly thought of a hotel that would suit the situation, before calling Ted Hague and ordering the use of his men to actually carry out the act. Brendan had decided that he himself would stay well clear of the hotel, not wanting to be anywhere near the place so as not to be connected in any way to what would have to take place.

  Getting out of the car, Brendan walked to a phone box near the office, making it all appear as normal as possible to Robert and he confirmed to him the meeting place, address and time when they would see each other again, as well as sorting out somewhere for him to stay.

  Putting the phone down, he felt strangely flat, empty inside, but shook those thoughts from his mind and made his way to the office, greeting the reception desk before getting into the lift and going to his office on the top floor.

  **********

  Five hours later Brendan had left the office again, deciding to meet with Ted Hague secretly just around the corner from the hotel to talk things through. Finding a small sandwich bar in the basement of a tall Victorian town house on a quiet side street, they chatted away in one of the dark corners so as to remain as unseen as possible.

  Ted had a team of three guys waiting for him as well as a good contact on the front desk of the hotel who would confirm to them when Robert was in the lift. The meeting was to be on the top floor where the hotel conferencing facilities were. On that day, there were no meetings planned, which made the hotel just perfect, and therefore what happened on the top floor would remain on the top floor as no one else would be around. It would be a straightforward hit and sounded very simple to Brendan. The lift would be stopped remotely just outside the top floor. The guy on the desk would then confirm that their target was in fact inside and the team would then get the doors open before opening fire with their silenced guns. There could be no escape from such a small target area and the lift could then be cleaned thoroughly and returned to normal working action, the whole team exiting with the body stored away in a laundry trolley ready to be disposed of later.

  If everything went to plan they’d be in and out of the hotel within twenty minutes. Brendan liked the organised plan he was hearing and sent Ted on his way, leaving himself a few minutes later so that he would not be seen exiting the place with Ted in case anything went wrong. Brendan was to wait in his car for a call from Ted as soon as it was done. His meeting with Robert had been arranged for two and it had just turned half past one. Brendan saw Ted driving away back past him down the road, a man sitting next to him in the van that advertised itself as a laundry truck. It disappeared around the corner and was gone, and Brendan knew there was no turning back now.

  **********

  Ted drove into the hotel car park and around the back quickly, having already briefed his team of guys with the details of the operation. They were a team of highly skilled men, and it was clear that the fewer shots needed the better, too much fire power would mean the inside of the lift would take longer to repair. But they could all hit a target as small as a postage stamp from fifty metres which is why they were so highly paid for what they did, always available for such a time as this, being kept from knowing much about their target apart from the lie that he was a threat to national security. They all worked under the pretence that they were in some form of Secret Service unit.

  Ted walked them through the back door, having already obtained the key from their contact on the front desk. His team went towards a service lift pushing their laundry trolley loaded with weapons while Ted himself went to check on the front desk, confirming all was okay and again reiterating to the young man sitting there that it was top secret. Ted reminded him that it was especially crucial that he told them as soon as their target was entering the lift, and that when the small alarm was sounded on the desk to indicate that the lift had stopped, he was to check the camera and confirm to Ted straight away that it was indeed the same target in the lift. Ted told the wide-eyed young man that they’d then take things from there. There was no need to tell him what it meant to ‘take things from there’ as that would only complicate matters later.

  Ted then rejoined his team and they went up in the lift together, laundry trolley in front of them, not the usual looking housekeeping team but to any passing guest they would just about pass off as such. But they got to the top floor without anyone else seeing them and they quickly pulled off their blue overalls that had acted as their cover and reached into the trolley pulling a bag of weapons out. Once the bag was opened, they each selected their own weapon, checking it and looking it over as their training had taught them.

  Downstairs on the front desk, the young guy Ted had just spoken to, called Michael, sat there frozen with an excited fear. He watched each guest as much as possible, desperate not to make a mistake but also wanting to remain calm, looking normal, not giving anything away. His telephone rang which he had to answer, but all the time he was looking at the entrance checking for the special arrival.

  An elderly couple were walking out, moving slowly across the hallway arm in arm. Michael recognised them, as they were very regular customers, and he wondered what they’d make of it all if they knew what was about to happen. Having said that, he knew very little himself but knew it was important, some MI5 or MI6 thing he could only guess.

  As the elderly couple got to the door, an approaching guest opened it for them and let them out. Michael sat up in his chair, but quickly realised it was a woman, who came in purposefully, smiled at him and walked on towards the lifts on the left hand side. He followed her a little with his eyes as she was the kind of woman that catches the eye, but turned back to the door as another person approached, and he could feel his heart racing. The guy matched the general description he’d been given, wearing a dark navy blue sweater and black hat, the hat seeming a little strange though a wind had been building up all day outside. The guy came in, studying the main board to the right which listed the floors and the floor plans, before making his way towards the lifts.

  Michael kept his head low and let him pass. A few moments later he heard the lift doors open and then shut again. He paused for a second, almost frozen with a kind of terror mixed with excitement before coming around and calling Ted as instructed, alerting him to the situation.

  Up on the top floor the team had already noticed the lift’s ascent and were standing ready. One man had opened the control box, which was situated on t
he wall by the stairwell that stood next to the two lifts. The other two men were stationed just in front of the right hand lift, the one that was now ascending, guns trained in on the doors, ready to open fire as soon as the doors were opened by their other team member.

  The lift was now at the floor just below them and having been alerted by Michael on the desk that it was their man, they braced themselves. Just before the lift reached their floor, Thomas, the guy standing by the control box, hit the switch that stopped the lift so that it stayed suspended just behind the thick metal lift doors.

  Thomas came away from the control box and picked up a metal bar that they’d need to prise open the doors once the confirmation came through. The two other guys raised their weapons, one man holding it down by his waist so as to be able to spray the compartment if needed, the other using a German made hand gun that he had raised to eye level to make the kill as quickly as possible. Ted stood waiting in the shadows.

  At the reception desk, Michael heard the small alarm signalling that one of the lifts had stopped. Everything was quiet in the lobby and he calmly went over to the monitor to check the lift’s ceiling camera, which showed that same hat, with the shoulders visible wearing the navy blue sweater that he’d seen the guy walk in with. The occupant was clearly starting to feel distressed, now moving around a little. Michael reached for the telephone and called Ted.