by Brian Cain
CHAPTER NINE
“You are holding us against our will,” the musty smell and dim light began to get to the pilot, he didn’t know where his counterpart was. “Where is Leonard?” Stanton payed no mind to his comments, the pilot was in an uncomfortable steel chair in the corner, he couldn’t see beyond the bright lights directed at his face, he occasionally shielded his eyes to improve his vision but optic communication beyond the lights remained sparse. “I’m lodging a formal complaint with the department, where is Leonard.”
“Leonard or whatever his name may be has been given some medical assistance and is helping my colleagues with their enquires. Now unless you have something informative to say just shut up,” growled Stanton.
“We were told to detain Bella Fonteyn she was selling secrets to the KGB with Sheldon.”
“I’ve spoken to Bella tell me something I don’t know, like your real name.”
The man hesitated, he was tired, unshaven, and he felt beyond help. “You're John Stanton.”
“I know who I am who are you?” Stanton went about his work gathering information behind the lights.
The man held his face in his hands, he began to draw short breaths and lent his head to one side. He shook his head slowly. “Kostan Immosnavich KGB.”
Stanton appeared through the lights, Kostan could see his pistol holstered beneath his left arm, the straps of his brown leather holster visible against his blue denim shirt. He had heard about Stanton but this was the first time he had actually seen the man, the rumours made a picture in his mind and the silhouette before him seem to fit. “Thought you looked familiar, I have no issue with the KGB but go on.”
Kostan raised one eyebrow. “We were taking the women, she is MI6.”
Stanton walked into full view within a few feet of Kostan, he could now see his stone face and flat cropped black hair. “You could have taken Bella but you brought her back here.”
“That women is evil, she has the eyes of the devil. She would have killed us if we had not complied. When faced with death I choose to live.”
Stanton smirked, he stayed just clear of arms length from the seated Kostan. “You expected to find what in Sheldon’s case?”
“We were instructed to take them both to Moscow, when in the air terminal we were to leave them, that’s all.”
“What did you do with the commercial pilots?”
“We rendered them unconscious and tied them up in the pilots toilet block.”
Stanton drew his pistol held it beside him. “They’re both dead, found in a rubbish bin outside the soviet commercial aircraft hanger.”
Kostan stood up wearing a look of fear. “We did not kill them,” he barked.
Stanton levelled his weapon aiming at Kostan’s head. “Sit down,” he shouted. Kostan sat back down with a fixed gaze on Stanton’s stone cold face. Stanton holstered his weapon. “If you had killed them this was the last place you would have come. I knew you were Russian as soon as I saw you, wide bottom jaw, wide eyes, you haven’t dropped the ich on some of your dialogue, pretty good but not right there. Commercial pilots don’t fly small commercial jets under one hundred metres over with the fluency you did, fighter pilots do, that little jet handles like a mig doesn’t it. In fact the Kremlin doesn’t know you’re here do they.”
“How do you know?”
“Shut up, you were given a bum steer. The orders to take Bella and Sheldon didn’t come from the KGB, they came from our side.”
“That cannot be.”
“Id like to think so as well but the facts are a bit unnerving. You've been doubled hoping pressure from me would have you eradicate Bella and Sheldon before you got to Moscow, a change of location for Sheldon’s business dealings with some of your Russian friends by a quick thinking member of my staff changed the pawns on the board. Someone on our side knew you were available probably an ear in your upper ranks, that’s how they were able to double you, collaboration. Bella didn’t find what she was sent to look for in Sheldon’s possession, but she did find some valuable information when it comes to industrial might. We both have the same problem, collaborating industrialists are using our government ministers to do their bidding, we have started to stand in their way and they don’t like it. If you think its right to use our creed as pawns to substantiate greed among the public then I have misjudged you. They have crossed the line and are operating on our turf, similar to sending thousands to their death in the trenches of common warfare. All for nothing in this case other than financial gain for a chosen few, I wonder what you thought about that.”
Kostan starred at Stanton, he blinked a lot. He drew a big breath. “How do I know you are not setting us up?”
“For what?”
Kostan stood up. “Do you have any Vodka, I could do with a drink.”
Stanton pushed gently on his shoulder sitting him down. “Not yet, I don’t have an answer.”
“What you say is true, we have some problems with corruption our economy runs on it.”
“And you’re a patriot of Russian communism, Kostan Immosnavich Russian fighter ace, transferred to the KGB special branch five years ago to combat the rise of illicit drug importation and corruption of government officials lining their own pockets. Some of our people just don’t do enough background work, they send one of us to take us out, what’s it going to be.”
“I don't know how you know all that but I need to get back to Moscow.”
“You know who it is don’t you, stands out now you have a bit more info.”
“I need to get back to Moscow as soon as possible.”
“Have a drink first and we’ll drop you and Leonard Brevosni back at the jet you came in, its being fuelled and prepared as we speak. You slipped up there with the Leonard, using his real name, however it confirmed your identities love and respect of your fellow creed, I have plenty of time for that.”
Kostan rose to his feet slowly nodding with a pout of approval, he offered his hand to Stanton and they shook. “I am free to go.”
“Yes, I can’t do this alone, if you need to know about your military and civil police computer system I can assist, I help design and influence its activation.”
“How did you do this?”
“Information is on a need to know basis and you don’t need to know.”
“You think you can trust me?”
“It’s a calculated risk, if it doesn’t work I’ll kill you, you work for me now, in an indirect way.”
“I cannot do that.”
“Then you’ll be dead in two weeks, your own will take you out.”
Kostan hesitated, drew a big breath and sighed. “Where is the Vodka?”
“I don’t drink but we have scotch or bourbon.”
“Humph, that figures.”
While Stanton was busy, Bella had been extracting information from Sheldon in a far different manner. One view of her naked body and he sang like a bird, she avoided his attempts to impregnate her leaving Sheldon to caress her vivacious curves. Once the information was repeating itself she mounted him, it took only two minutes and Sheldon was a relaxed mess falling asleep as Bella dressed to consult with Stanton.
Kostan and Leonard were dispatched to Southend airport; an uneasy understanding established between Kostan and Stanton. The promising thing was Kostan had been there and seen it and the iron curtain was gradually falling, faster globalisation information previously unavailable for days now raced around the globe in seconds. Stanton saw this as the writing on the wall would soon be the read out on computer screens. His perception of this important tool and how to control it had been neglected by his department, a plus in stealth as he built an incredible personal network. MI6 continued to shun written archive in any form keeping operative directives mouth to mouth. As he educated himself on computer and satellite-based communication, he became an expert in the field.
Bella and Stanton recovering from a bought of torrid sex, locked away in the depths of Foulness discussed the gravity of the last few days.
/> “I’m sorry John I was duped so was Bruce.”
“You could have called before you left.”
“Maybe they were waiting for that, could have changed the whole thing.”
Stanton hesitated, he looked deep into Bella’s intoxicating blue eyes across the table. “The wait Bella, I would have broken had you not come back. I dreaded you coming here you know that. I now believe this was a ploy by the very people we are looking for, we haven’t looked into this deep enough yet. Sheldon told you he knows nothing of Polaris now today admits he tried to buy it from Captain Brannigan, could be the information passed through the organisation to slow.”
“Or was withheld at a key point to manipulate.”
Stanton nodded. “Yes, we have reason to believe but no fact, I don’t have enough lotto numbers to jackpot anyone. Brannigan must be around somewhere, I vow we look at detention centres.”
Bella strained he eyes in a deep squint as she thought. “Sheldon mentioned Devon, he was to pick up a package in Devon on a train between two railway stations but didn’t happen, Brannigan got cold feet.”
“Can you remember the railway stations names?”
Bella shook her head. “I think he’d forgotten, not important any more once the deal was off.”
“Then he grabbed the shipping info and was able to negotiate on that within his own portfolio.”
“What are the KGB doing collaring shipping costing, data and contacts?”
“They suffer the same problem as us, Kostan Immosnavich’s face reads like a book. He’d dearly like to find who’s bonking his organisation just to make a few quid. Someone on our side didn’t have the entire story about available KGB operatives.”
“Not something that’s been done every day.”
“No, the speed of information and how it is used will govern who runs the show in a few years.”
“What have you been up to, negotiating with electronics companies, some things you aren’t even telling me John?”
“I want Jodi back, I miss my children.”
“You hardly ever saw them.”
He looked hard at Bella. “I know that now, I’m a victim of my own inner self. Have a look at yourself Bella, every man on the planet wants to get his hands on your body.”
Bella looked daggers at Stanton. “And you choose her over me, blonde bitch.”
“Bella. Jodi never speaks poorly of you.”
“Don’t you lie to me John Stanton, she never mentions me at all.”
“Means the same thing.”
“We are supposed to be working out what to do.”
“We are.”
“About work.”
“We are work John, this has come to the surface because of near loss. Your selfish John you love me.”
“I love Jodi I lust after you and love you in a different way.”
“You bastard.”
Stanton stood up and yelled. “Bella!” He walked to the wall, turned and leaned with his back on the cold concrete.
Bella felt she was at the crossroads, she was about to gain or loose Stanton, and she played her trump card. “Sorry.” She hesitated. “John is yours.”
Stanton turned his head, he thought he hadn’t heard right. “What was that?”
“John is yours John.”
Stanton sat down slowly his gaze fixed on Bella’s face, she looked down away from him. “Your son John is my boy.”
“Yes.”
“You saying that just to be a bitch.”
She turned towards him putting her feet on the ground from having them drawn up into her chest, placed her palms on the table and leant over into his face. “Think John, he was born exactly nine months after you got married, within days of your first born.”
Stanton fixed his gaze on her face, he looked pale and blank. “You went with that Gerard bloke after the wedding then married him only weeks later.”
“John, do you remember I was sick at your wedding, throwing up all morning. Morning sickness John, I was pregnant. I bled John, I was a virgin waited for you.”
Stanton thought back, he looked down at the table. “Yes I remember.”
“How did it feel John,” she lent further forwards a few inches from Stanton’s face. “Bonking the arse off Jodi on your wedding night while your child was growing inside me. I loved you so much John I couldn’t ruin your life instead I ruined mine.”
“Bella I rea…”
Bella read his face. “You want confirmation, you haven’t seen him for years have you.” She picked up her bag and pulled out her purse. She opened it and lay it down in front of him showing him a picture. “Yes John its you, but its not, it’s my boy.”
“He wearing camouflage clothing, he’s just a schoolboy.”
“Welcome to my world John, living with the clone of John Stanton.” She sat back down and began to cry into her hands.
“What have you done with him, where is he, your nearly always with me.”
“He’s with Gerard John, he needs alternative influence, every time I looked at him I saw you, he always has a toy gun in his hand, one day I’m shit scared it’ll be a real one, you bastard.” She cried into her hands.
Stanton looked at the table, a stone blank face, he didn’t blink or move a muscle. He suddenly looked at Bella. “The past is gone Bella, we need clear and positive plans on what to do next. Our son’s future depends on it as do mine and Jodi’s.”
Bella looked up from her hands and she began to compose herself. “You condone it’s our son.”
“Of course I do, you could have told me anytime, nothing changes reality. Where does he go to school?”
“The Lake District, keeping them there is sending me broke.”
“Bring them to back to London, he’ll go to Oxford or Cambridge whichever you please.”
Bella stood up and paced around. “Get real John, how the hell would we afford that on our salaries?”
Stanton blew a lung full of air through his lips, he stood up leaning on the wall next to Bella. “I need to tell you a few things Bella, we’ve been so close but I trust no one. You apart from myself will be the only one that knows what I am about to tell you. I love two women dearly, I have no control over it. For sometime now, years, I have been working outside of the organisation building a network. I own a security business, I write training manuals, program computer systems, sell to just about everyone but not anyone. Did it to test some things for the department originally, given authority and funding by our own. I tapped into the satellite business and with the help of boffins here have built something truly amazing, now used by most of the western world, embedded in it is something that will give one-person control. To give you some idea of how much governments and military controllers will pay for this kind of thing I have no idea of my current wealth because I must stay distant. It is an incredible loop of puzzles and intrigue that controls it but Id say it was currently about twenty billion pounds.”
“John, how an earth.”
“I think this is just the tip of the iceberg but one thing has surfaced that worries me. Even with immense wealth and power, the control of radicals is still out of reach. I still need the department and all that goes with it if we are to stop world war three and funnily enough it’s the threat of world war three that seems to interest the western powers. The demand for military hardware and software in the Middle East is mind blowing, I feel this must be the next task or the control of nuclear arsenals will fall into the hands of those who will willingly use it in the name of I’m not sure, insanity beyond belief perhaps. Brannigan could be one of the first people delivering this kind of blue print into the hands of evil that prolific it threatens the very existence of our son and his son. I need to talk to Brannigan to decide which way to move next, in fact I don't believe he has Polaris.”
Bella sat down in a fixed gaze, her face wore a look of contentment. “I always thought that’s who you were, I see it in our son.”
Stanton put his arms around Bella. “
Always concentrate on the task at hand, we find Brannigan right after you order our boy back to London, I'll put a lock on him so tight we'll have trouble opening the door.”
