The Second Son

by Andy Blackman

  “Outrageous,” said Grenville behind them all. “Now get out,” said Grenville.

  As the men were leaving, the Home Secretary turned to Grenville. “Do apologise for the confusion, your Grace,” he said, smiling.

  Grenville was not smiling when he said, “Not good, Fairfax. Men with guns. Shall have to report it to the committee.”

  “Whatever you feel is best, your Grace,” said the Home Secretary, bowing deeply.

  The three men put away their firearms, and as they passed Grenville said, “Not good, gentlemen, not good.”

  The men all nodded and said, “Your Grace,” as they retreated the way they came.

  Grenville turned on his heels and with a spring in his step and a smile on his face said, “Another brandy, I think.” Sitting back down, he pressed the buzzer beside him, and a few minutes later there was a gentle knock on the door. Turning, Grenville said, “Stephen, another brandy if you please, and can you get someone to close that open window? It’s turning rather chilly in here.”

  “Of course, your Grace,” came the reply. “Straight away.”

  Grenville was sitting in his office when he noticed Alice Mitchell had made an appointment to see him at ten that morning, Grenville wondered what Alice could possibly want, but deep down he had his suspicions. At precisely ten am, the buzzer on his desk phone went as Grenville picked it up. Michelle said, “Alice is here for her ten o’clock appointment, Chairman.”

  “Excellent,” replied Grenville, “please show her in.” Grenville heard the soft knocking and standing watched as Alice entered. Smiling, Grenville went and met Alice and kissed the offered cheek and said, “Alice my dear, what brings you to my door this early?”

  Alice replied, “Went to see Grace yesterday.”

  “Oh yes,” said Grenville, and seeing the tension in her eyes, Grenville said, “how is the old dear?”

  “She had a visitor,” was all Alice said, smiling.

  Grenville put a finger to his lips. Alice immediately understood the meaning. Grenville said, “Follow me.” Alice followed Grenville from the room; he stopped at his secretary’s desk and said, “Michelle, going to the meeting in conference room three,” before striding off with Alice. Michelle looked puzzled and scanned the diary; she could not see any meeting in conference room three scheduled, but shrugged, and after all these years working for the Chairman she was not surprised it was not in the diary.

  Once in conference room three, Grenville activated the glass bubble. Grenville smiled at Alice and waved for her to follow. The glass cube had fitted neatly over the small conference table and chairs. Once Grenville and Alice had stepped into the cube, Grenville pressed a button, and the door was merged into the glass cube with a hydraulic hiss. “Impressive,” said Alice.

  “An evil requirement, currently,” replied Grenville, smiling. Grenville and Alice sat at the conference table, and Grenville said, “Shall we start?” with a smile.

  Alice said, “I met Tom yesterday and I have a message from him.”

  Grenville smiling said, “Thought you might, what did you think of our Tom?”

  “Nearly blew his head off, when I caught him snooping around Grace’s bungalow,” said Alice. This made Grenville put his head back and roar with laughter. Alice looked at Grenville with a puzzled look.

  “Sorry for laughing my dear, I bet you made his day pointing a gun at him.”

  “Don’t understand,” said Alice.

  “My dear, let me explain the enigma that is Tom Backer.” For the next two hours Grenville explained everything to Alice about Tom: his life story, where he, Grenville, fitted into the story and the reason for the company. Alice just sat and stared at Grenville and what he was telling her, nodding and shaking her head at times, other times with tears in her eyes, and other times laughing out loud with Grenville; in fact, before Grenville had finished his tale, she had covered the entire spectrum of human emotion.

  After Grenville finished, all Alice could say was, “What a man,” and realised she was perhaps falling a bit in love with him. This thought made her blush, and Grenville picked up on it immediately.

  “No, my dear, you don’t have feelings for people like Tom Backer, he is on a mission of vengeance and he has given his life and soul over to it, you will never be able to deviate him from that path, you will only end up getting hurt if you get in his way.”

  Alice was silent for a bit then said, “After he has killed the last name on his list, what then for Tom Backer?”

  Grenville smiled. “Never thought of that one, my dear. Perhaps between us we can come up with a plan.”

  Alice smiled at Grenville and said, “No doubt we can,” which made them both laugh.

  Once Grenville was back in his office, he thought about what Alice had just said: “After he has killed the last name on his list, what then for Tom Backer?” Grenville admitted to himself with everything that had been going on lately he had never given this a second thought, and he was sure Tom never looked past the names on the list. The future for Tom was never an option; he was blinded by his vengeance and Grenville knew he had never even considered returning to a normal life. Grenville smiled. “A normal life”, whatever that was. But Grenville started to formulate a plan. He had decided to tell Alice about Tom not because she needed to know, but deep down Grenville knew Alice could be good for Tom. Yes, she was a beautiful lady, and no doubt had many admirers, but Grenville suspected she needed a certain man in her life to give her what she needed, and Grenville was in no doubt that Tom was the perfect candidate, although Grenville knew Tom would disagree. But Grenville sat back in his chair, smiled and said to himself, “What we need is a good plan.”

  Next day Grenville and Alice had agreed to meet at Tom’s flat. Grenville was the first to arrive, getting the taxi to drop him off three streets away from the flat. It was not long before he noticed Alice coming in the opposite direction. Eventually Alice joined Grenville, and smiling, Grenville said, “How are you my dear?”

  Smiling back Alice said, “Good, thank you.”

  “They smell nice,” said Grenville, pointing at the bag Alice was holding.

  Still smiling, Alice said, “Nothing like a morning treat.”

  Grenville said, “You look different this morning.”

  Alice went red and said, “Just a bit of makeup to make a girl feel better now and again.”

  Grenville smiled but did not comment. “Shall we?” Grenville said as he indicated toward the door to the block of flats’ main door. Tom let them both in; he was surprised to see her, but he noticed Alice was carrying a large brown bag which had the most amazing smell of freshly cooked pastries.

  While Alice went into the kitchen to make some coffee, Tom whispered to Grenville, “What is she doing here?”

  Grenville held up his hand and said, “Tom, sometimes you’ve got to trust me.”

  Tom said, “Always will, Duke,” before hugging him.

  A few minutes later, Alice came from the kitchen with a pot of coffee and a plate of sweet-smelling pastries. While all three sat munching pastries, and drinking coffee, Grenville casually said to Tom, “Tom, I have explained everything to Alice here.”

  “What, everything?” said Tom, going tense.

  “Yes, everything, and she is now totally on our side and part of the cause.” Tom looked at Alice and saw her smiling at him; all Tom could do was smile back. When Alice took the tray back to the kitchen, leaving them alone, Tom took Grenville’s arms and said in a whisper, “You told her everything?”

  Whispering too, Grenville said, “Yes, my dear chap, everything, warts and all.”

  “Blimey,” said Tom.

  “I know,” said Grenville, “and she still wants to know you, amazed me as well.” He laughed as he patted Tom’s face. Grenville watched Tom and Alice interact and smiled; he was sure they were both becoming close. They had a lot in common and the same outlook on life. Grenville knew if they did not yet, that eventually they would fall in love, and th
is to Grenville was another problem he had to overcome: how would he get them together?

  “You listening to me, Duke?” said Tom.

  “Sorry old man, was miles away.”

  “We could see,” said Alice, smiling.

  Tom said, “Let’s all meet at mother’s in two days’ time. I will meet you there, and see if we can come up with a suitable plan of action.”

  Grenville and Alice both stood to leave. Grenville said, “See you day after tomorrow, and try and keep out of trouble,” before giving Tom a hug.

  Tom and Alice looked slightly embarrassed on what to do. Grenville broke the tension by saying, “Tom, for god’s sake, give the girl a hug.” Smiling, Tom and Alice embraced. Eventually Tom and Alice parted, both looking awkward. Grenville patted them both on the back and said as he laughed, “What are you two like?” Both Tom and Alice smiled, not sure what to say, as Grenville looked towards the sky and said, “Please lord, help us. Come on Alice, let’s get out of here before Tom here turns to a gibbering teenager again.”

  Both Tom and Alice went red and Tom said, “Now you are being silly.” Still laughing, Grenville took Alice by the arm and they left the flat.

  Outside on the street, Grenville said, “Can I give you a lift, my dear?”

  Smiling, Alice said, “No thank you, I could do with a walk.” Grenville watched Alice walk down the street and smiled and thought to himself, Alice and Tom, now that is part of the plan that needs serious finesse, and he knew the right people to ask. Still smiling, Grenville turned in the opposite direction to find a taxi back to the office.

  Grenville was the second to arrive at Grace’s. Grenville noticed Alice’s car already in the parking bays. “Can you wait for me, Newton? Should not be long.”

  As Newton held open the car door for Grenville, Newton replied, “Not a worry, your Grace.”

  Alice opened the door to Grenville and smiled. “Hope you are well, Grenville,” she said.

  Kissing the offered cheek, Grenville replied, “Could not be better, my dear.”

  Grenville went to Grace and gave her a hug and said, “You are looking well, my dear.”

  Grace smiled and said, “Thank you my dear, things are looking up.”

  Laughing, Grenville said, “Indeed they are.”

  Eventually there was another knock at the door. Alice said, “I will get it,” eventually returning with Tom.

  Grenville smiled as Tom and Grace hugged, then Tom hugged Grenville and said, “How you doing?”

  Grenville replied, “Good, thank you.”

  Grace said, “I shall make some tea,” leaving the three of them alone to chat.

  “So,” said Alice, “where do we start?”

  Tom said, “I need to get close to this bloody woman.”

  “Close enough to kill her?” asked Alice.

  “Yes,” said Tom, “she is the last one on the list, the one that gave the orders to try and kill me and Uncle Vlad, but ended up killing my family. I need to look her in the eyes and tell her why she is going to die.”

  Grenville and Alice were both nodded their heads; strangely, they both understood Tom’s obsession. “So,” said Grenville, “How do we get Tom close enough to Julie Somerville, Director of MI5?”

  “I can,” said Grace, standing in the kitchen doorway holding a tray of tea.

  “Sorry,” said Tom, “what did you say, mother?”

  “I said, I can get you close to her.” Grenville looked at Grace with astonishment.

  Taking the tray from her, Alice helped her sit in her high back chair. Before anyone else spoke, Grace said, “Be a dear, Alice, can you get me that brown box next to my bed, and bring it to me?”

  “Of course,” smiled Alice. When Alice returned, and placed the box on Grace’s knee, she sat back down; Grenville looked at Grace opening the box. Grace looked at Tom and said, “What I am about to tell you might alter your perception on all of this, my son.” Grenville noticed Tom looked confused. Grace handed him a faded envelope, which Tom took, and extracting the letter, Tom read it; still looking confused, he passed it to Grenville and over his shoulder Alice read it as well. Grace said, “Julie Somerville is your birth mother, Tom.” The room went so quiet that you could hear the ticking of the clock on the wall. Tom sat and stared into space as Grace went on to explain Tom’s birth. “Perhaps I should have told you when you were growing up; I always thought in my heart she would eventually return and claim you, and take you away from me. That was always my biggest fear, while you were growing up. At first I tried to stay distant from you but after a few years I loved you so much I considered you my own child, and knew I could never give you up, so as time went on, and you grew into a wonderful young boy, I never had the courage to tell you.” Grace had tears streaming down her cheeks.

  Grenville felt the tears fill his eyes. Tom went and knelt in front of her and hugged her. Grenville stood and with his hands on his head, said, “Well, this is a game changer.”

  “Sit down, Grenville,” said Grace, “you are making the place look untidy.”

  Grenville sat down as ordered. Grenville’s mind was in turmoil on Grace’s revelation, about Tom’s real birth mother, but he felt pride for Grace on letting go of her secret, but Grenville was not sure how Tom would take the revelation he thought he would properly let sleeping dogs lie but then again, he was not Tom. Grenville listened to Tom as he spoke to Grace and felt so much love for them both, the tears were now flowing before Tom had finished talking to Grace. Grenville looked at Alice and she also sat with tears in her eyes listening to Grace and Tom. Eventually Tom said, “She is still responsible for my family’s deaths.”

  Grace wiped her eyes and said, “That’s settled it then, you better hear my plan.”

  An hour later, Grenville was shocked on hearing the plan that Grace was suggesting and eventually Grenville said, “You are a devious old bird,” to which Tom and Alice could only nod and confirm his sentiments.

  Everyone was silent. Eventually Grenville said, “Well, I admit in principle it is a good basic plan, but it needs fine tuning to make Grace and her plan work.” Alice and Tom both looked confused. Grenville said, “Of course, getting to kill her is the easy part but has anyone considered what comes afterwards?”

  Tom was the first to say, “To tell you the truth Duke, never really gave it much thought.”

  Grenville looked at Alice, who had a concerned look on her face. Still smiling, Grenville said, “Do not worry, I have the best team to formulate a plan.”

  Alice said, “How long have we got to set it all up?”

  “Three days, four tops,” said Tom. “I think I am on borrowed time. The intelligence agencies are not stupid, and will be closing in fast.”

  Grenville said, “Not to worry, give me a day or two and I will have it all in place.”

  Alice stood and said, “If you need anything, let me know.”

  Alice kissed Grace then as both Tom and Grenville stood. Alice hugged them both but Grenville noticed the hug with Tom lingered longer than his. Once Alice had left, Grenville said casually, “Lovely girl, that, and so loyal.”

  “Stop it, Duke,” said Tom smiling. “I know what you are doing.”

  “What, old man? I was only saying you could do far worse.”

  Tom punched Grenville on the arm, and said, “Behave. Seriously, can you get a plan formulated in the time frame?”

  “How do you ever doubt me, my dear chap?” smiled Grenville.

  “Never,” said Tom, also smiling.

  “Good, then let me worry about it, you spend time with Grace.” As Grenville, hugged Grace he whispered, “Get him to see sense with Alice.”

  Grace whispered back, “Don’t worry my dear, I always knew how to handle my boy.”

  Once Grenville was back in the car, he said, “Newton, the office if you don’t mind.”

  “As you wish, your Grace,” replied Newton as he headed back towards London.

  As soon as Grenville returned to the offic
e and before he entered, Grenville asked Michelle to see if Mr Thorpe and Miss Burke were available for a quick chat. Smiling, Michelle had picked up the phone before Grenville had closed his office door. As soon as Grenville had sat down, the phone buzzed on his desk, and picking up the phone Michelle said, “Mr Thorpe and Miss Burke are available now and will meet you in conference room three,” before the phone went dead. Grenville closed his eyes and hoped Hugo and Carole could put a good workable plan together in the time frame which would allow Tom to complete his quest for vengeance and allow him to escape.

  As Grenville entered conference room three, Carole operated the door, and then came across and hugged Grenville. “You look tired,” said Carole, looking concerned.

  Smiling, Grenville said, “Been a tense few days.”

  Hugo hugged Grenville and said, looking worried, “What can we do, old man?”

  Smiling, Grenville sat down heavily followed by Hugo and Carole. Eventually Grenville told Hugo and Carole what had transpired over the last few days plus the plan that Grace had come up with. Hugo and Carole both sat and listened in silence, as Grenville told them. Once he had finished speaking, and after a pause, Grenville said, “I know I have no right to ask you, and of course I understand if you refuse my request, but if you could come up with a plan that helps Tom achieve this final act and escape capture, we would be eternally grateful. You two are the best minds I think I have ever known,” said Grenville, smiling.

  Eventually, Carole said, “Grenville, give me and Hugo an hour or two and we will come up with a solution.” Grenville looked at Hugo who was smiling and nodding his head.

  Standing, Grenville said, “Thank you both.”

  “Will call you in a bit,” said Hugo, and he shepherded Grenville from the bubble.

  Back in his office Grenville rang Sara, just to hear her voice, and after the conservation Grenville felt a little better. As promised, after a few hours, which to Grenville seemed like a lifetime, Carole buzzed his desk phone from conference room three. Grenville quickly made his way to conference room three. As he entered, Carole closed the bubble and went and sat next to Hugo. Grenville sat opposite them. Hugo smiled and said, “Carole and I have pondered your problem and we have come up with a workable plan.”