Chequers
I waited by the window in the empty room, the curtains drawn as the sun began to set, creating a soft blue hew upon the white cloth. The attack on the Iranian naval vessel should have taken place hours ago, and now I stayed to wait for the news, as well as the fate of the men onboard allied vessels. The doors opened, with Aunt Maddie entered the room. In the open we are leaders of two nations, but behind closed doors I often call her aunt, being my godmother and all. "Don't bother about what they will say outside Isabella." she says, holding my hand in hers. "You have done what is best for the country." I nodded in quiet agreement. We heard a knock on the door and our chiefs of staff came in.
"Ma'am." Oliver stepped up, gesturing for a private conversation. We moved to a set of empty chairs and a table and sat down, while the British PM also moved to another corner. "The American people... they were in disbelief." he said. I held a hand against my face, knowing it was real. "That's why you had to delay the strike until now."
"Huh?" I ask.
"Yes Madam President." Oliver said. "The American people had different opinions, some called for a full-scale war, some see us as aggressors, but the majority are asking themselves, why the revenge for the sinking of the USS Maine came so late."
"There are still detractors." I say. "I know I have a responsibility to answer for my actions."
"That will come, but not now." Oliver said. "I assume that you're either going or not going home later on."
"Not tonight Oliver." I say. "I'm going to stay at my uncle's townhouse." I say. "I need some time to think, and to finish some things."
"Well... I'll stay at the official hotel reserved for foreign dignitaries for now." Oliver said. "Who am I kidding? I have been staying there when we touched down anyway." he joked to himself, while I raised a brow.
"I know you're joking Oliver, but it's bad timing." I said, subtly taking a jab towards the former NSA officer.
"Sorry, old habit of mine at NSA." he said, getting up and ready to leave.
"I'll see you tomorrow." I say, the man lifting a hand at the same time.
London
I stood by the railing of the London Bridge, watching as the current of the River Thames swept away to the English Channel. A strong wind current accompanies the equally strong current, lifting my long hair in the breeze. I took out my phone and dialled Bruce's number. "Hi, this is Bruce Wayne. I'm currently unavailable but will get back to you as soon as possible, leave a message as well." I smiled a little, thinking that Bruce was probably distracted by the children, who even though he never said it out loud, had loved dearly. Or maybe he is surprised about Richard and Barbara's impromptu visit.
"Hey Bruce, it's me." I say. "I'm... I'm not coming home tonight. Look after the children for me will you? With love, Isabella." With that I ended the call and typed a text message, sending it to Jun.
"Hey, you guys around?" I ask.
"Yes, we're okay. We heard about the sinking, u okay?" he replied.
"Still holding up, I'm heading to Calypso."
"Baek is nearby, I'll have him pack your things up and meet u there."
"Wait. Is Bruce...?"
"You need to keep him off your back?"
"No, just curious where he's at. He wasn't answering my call."
"He's gone horseback riding."
"Oh."
"Auntie was angry just now, lucky that u and my nieces and nephews are not there."
"What was it about?" I ask, walking down the concrete pavement and climbing the stairs down the London Underground.
"What else? You know how Englishmen and women feel when an uninvited house call came."
"Fair enough."
"I'll grab your equipment the sealed hard drive from Philip."
"Great, see u ltr."
It was only a few minutes after the rush hour well... rush hour run, as I reached the ticket station. The platform was nearly deserted as the train arrived, its doors sliding open for the passengers to disembark. "MIND THE GAP." came the announcer's voice through the still crackling loudspeaker. I kept my baseball cap pressed low, while my long hair tucked into a tight bun and beneath the cap.
More passengers entered the train and the door slammed shut, the train moving forward. I leaned against the body of the train, holding the handle to keep myself steady as the train hurtled past station by station. The train soon stopped at the station I planned to stop and I got out. Uncle Roland's townhouse was located a few streets away from the still-under-construction 10 Downing Street, which proved a quite beneficial location for me to spend my time doing secret things, either intelligence analysis or now, decrypting the hard drive Philip had retrieved from the Swiss Bank vault owned by Suleiman Farouk. Philip mentioned the decryption methods that I knew close to the heart, but there are so many decryption methods out there I'm not sure which one was it. Motorcycles stopped at the road curb, just as I was taking out the keys to unlock the door to my uncle's townhouse.
Jun and Baek disembarked, removing their helmets and setting them on the dashboards of the vehicle. They each held baggage of their own and carried two duffle bags where I had stashed my clothes and equipment, separately of course. "Here you go." they said in unison, handing me the duffel bags. "Just like the doctor ordered."
YOU ARE READING
The Fall Of House Farouk
Mystery / ThrillerMore secrets will be revealed as Suleiman's past comes to haunt his current family, as the same past seeks to exterminate the Farouk family.
