Examination
'Hello, Paul.' The familiar voice was gently amused and sympathetic. 'You'd better sit down before you fall down.' Ed Straker took his arm and guided him to the nearest chair. 'Okay, take a deep breath. And no, I'm not a ghost.' He looked at Paul Foster, blue eyes twinkling with appreciation at Paul's aghast expression.
'What the hell is going …' Foster didn't get the chance to finish his sentence. Alec Freeman, Alec Freeman who was supposed to be unconscious in Mayland, entered the room and interrupted him. Freeman, as fit, smiling, alert as Ed . Had he dreamed it all?
'Going on? Well, Paul, you have just been put through the IAC Verification Procedure. We'll tell you about it when you have got over the shock. Suffice it to say, the command staff are all fit and well; we've just been held under close confinement for the last 16 hours while you have been in charge.' Freeman smiled a rueful smile at the younger man.
Straker looked around the Auxiliary Control room at the operatives who were smiling at him and relaxing in their seats as if they knew what was going to happen next. Lt. Johnson was chatting to Ford as if there was no emergency, and Evan Pierce had actually switched off his console and was beginning to power down the computer systems.
'Alright, everyone. Thank you for the hard work. You can go back to Main Control now. I think they've finished cleaning up the mess they made there. Oh, Keith.' Straker placed on hand on the Communications Officer's shoulder. 'Excellent acting, as usual. I'm pleased to report that I have fully recovered from my non-existent injuries, and there's a job for you upstairs any time you want to star in your own movie.' He winked at Ford, as if sharing a secret joke between the two of them.
Keith Ford grinned at his commanding officer, then shrugged his shoulders at Paul, as if to apologise for the subterfuge.
Paul Foster watched in stunned silence, still assimilating the fact that the whole episode had been a fake, a ruse, a plot against him. He could feel the rage growing inside, rage that they had deliberately played with him, had taunted him with the reports of their horrific injuries and for what… so that they could come in here, now, and laugh at him, laugh at his attempts to run the HQ. He stood up, his face burning with suffused anger, ready to lunge at the SHADO Commander standing there calmly watching him, arms folded, a slight grin of amusement on his sharp-boned face.
'Hold on a minute, Paul.' Alec Freeman grabbed his arm. 'This has nothing to do with us, so don't lose your temper with Ed.' He nodded at Straker. 'Remember my reaction?'
'Quite painfully.' Straker laughed and rubbed his jaw as if recalling a blow. 'You were most definitely not pleased. Neither was Colonel Lake when her Verification assessment was over. I seem to recollect coming off worst in both those situations, although you can hit harder than Ginny. She did scream a lot more though, if I recall.'
'What the hell…..' Foster started again, but again was forestalled by Alec Freeman.
'Let's go to Main Control and get a drink. We'll tell you all about it there. You look like you need a drink, and not just coffee.'
'Hang on, what about the UFO, the one that's crashed?' Paul was not about to walk away from his responsibilities that easily.
Straker smiled, 'It doesn't exist, Paul. The only one that did exist was the one you shot down. Well done for that, by the way. I was waiting with a team and a couple of missiles on the rooftop behind you in case you missed, but I thought you handled it quite well.'
The Commander led him out of the small room, and through the now empty Auxiliary Control Centre. 'Right, let's get to my office, and I'll explain everything to you….on condition that you keep your fists to yourself,' he emphasised.
Foster was too tired and stunned to argue any more. He followed the two men back through the corridors to the main control room, now fully operational, cleaned of the dirt and blood and debris that had soiled its appearance last time he saw it.
There was no evidence of any explosion. No blood marks, no fire-blackened paintwork, no burnt-out wiring systems; nothing untoward at all, in fact. Keith Ford was sitting at his usual consol as if he had never been anywhere else, and then Lt. Southey came in. Paul gaped at her, and she smiled at him, a wry grin of sympathy and understanding.
'Ah, yes. Lt. Southey, one of General Henderson's staff members,' Straker informed him. 'Lt. Southey is responsible for ensuring that the senior staff members are confined to the Mayland Unit or some other appropriate holding area until the Verification Procedure is deemed to be completed. I was allowed out only to supervise the operation on the rooftop. I'm sure she will be willing to talk about her role in all this afterwards, Colonel Foster. You should ask her out for dinner sometime.' The Commander grinned at him and led the way into his office.
He sat behind his desk with a sigh of relief, as if glad to be back where he belonged, back holding the reins, in charge. 'Paul, help yourself to a drink, and pour one for Alec as well. You both look as if you need it.'
The door opened again and Colonel Lake entered, carrying two mugs of coffee. 'Well, Commander, has he hit you yet?' she laughed, glancing over at Paul, who was beginning to redden with embarrassment.
'No, but there's still time, Ginny. Thanks for the coffee, the stuff in Mayland is pretty dire, and I need a decent drink. Who's the other one for?' he asked as she put the second mug down on his desk and poured herself a drink from the bottle of Ardbeg that Alec had opened.
'Me.' Rachel Philips, still dressed in a blood-smutched outfit stood there, holding a thick folder which she handed to Straker. 'It's alright for you lot. You all had a nice long lie down in Mayland while I had to pretend to be the distraught fiancée. And I haven't had a chance to get changed yet. Henderson wanted to debrief me before he finished the report. Yuck, studio blood always smells so sickly.' She moved across the room, pausing to kiss Paul briefly on the cheek.' Well done, Colonel. Thank you for not hitting my future husband.'
Ed Straker watched her, frowning a little, but in jest, as she kissed Foster. He picked up the mug, taking a long drink with obvious pleasure before he turned to the group. 'Right, everyone's here; let's get down to business.'
He flicked the intercom switch. 'Straker. Security now, please.' He waited until two armed security personnel had positioned themselves outside, then closed his office door, stood up, and put the thick file that Rachel had handed him, labelled Paul Foster Verification Procedure, on the conference table.
He looked up at Paul, his face suddenly sombre and unsmiling. 'Ready, Colonel? Crunch time.'
