Let the Games Begin

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Chapter 10 - UNEXPECTED OPENINGS

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Connor sighed as he ate the last bite of his pizza. "I can't believe the opening ceremonies are starting so late."

"9's not that late," Abby commented.

"And just think how much faster the rest of our shift will go," Jess said, hoping to cheer up her friends, since she still felt bad about scheduling them to work tonight. "By the time the ceremonies are over, it'll be time to go home."

"And then we can all sleep in tomorrow morning," Abby pointed out, "since we don't have to be at work till 4."

"Wait, what?" Connor asked, confused. "We have to WORK? On a SATURDAY?"

Jess instantly tensed up, a wave of guilt flooding over her. Becker must've sensed her discomfort for he put a calming hand on her shoulder as he said, "It's on the schedule, Temple."

"EVERYONE is working extra shifts," Abby concurred. "That's what this whole Olympics thing is about, remember? Full coverage of the ARC 24/7."

"Besides, it could be worse," Emily pointed out.

Connor reluctantly nodded. "Yeah, I s'pose Lester could be here, barking at us to tidy up our mess and get back to work."

Jess smiled, relieved that Connor wasn't going to be too upset, at least not with her. Not that she didn't blame him for being sore - she was certain every member of the ARC staff would have a word or two to say to the Minister if given the chance. Of course, the Minister had a legitimate point as well - starting tonight, the entire world would be focussed on their fair city, and they needed to be prepared in case the unimaginable happened.

And working for the ARC, the unimaginable was a fairly regular occurrence. This obviously made planning ahead difficult, which was the one part of her job that drove Jess crazy.

Of course, she had no one but herself to blame for this morning's lapse.

"I still can't believe I forgot the bells," she blurted out, feeling bad about ruining her own plan. "I'd meant to pass them out so everyone could participate."

"Well, I'm sure Lester was pleased," Matt said drily.

"You know," Becker said, "I never did really understand the whole bell thing anyway."

"All the bells in the city rang out at the same time to celebrate the opening of the Olympics," Connor explained helpfully.

But clearly Becker was not satisfied with this explanation. "Yes, I know that. I mean, why do it at 8:12? The time doesn't make any sense in the morning."

Emily frowned. "And it makes sense at night?"

Becker nodded. "It's 20:12."

"Yes, I am aware of what year it is," Emily insisted.

Matt smiled and hastily clarified, "8:12pm is 20:12 in military time."

"Oh," Emily replied, turning back to Becker to add, "Why did you not simply say so?"

Jess felt Becker instantly tense up, and she quickly placed her hand on his forearm, wordlessly convincing him not to respond.

"Well, there'll be more bells tonight, won't there?" Abby asked, clearly trying to make Jess feel better. "You could always ring along with them."

"Yeah, the Olympic Bell will be rung," Jess said. "You know, it was made by the same foundry that created Big Ben."

Becker smiled at her, awed. "How do you always know so much?"

Jess gave a proud smile, pleased that Becker was impressed. But before she could impress him more with a smug kiss, Abby commented, "Well, I hate to sound like Lester, but it is almost 9. We'd best tidy up before the ceremonies start."

Everyone agreed, quickly clearing away the remnants of their meal as Jess let everyone know, "Oh, and I brought popcorn for later."

They finished just in time, for the announcer was just introducing Bradley Wiggins as they all settled in to watch.

"He is English, is he not?" Emily asked as the cyclist waved to the crowd. "So why is he wearing that horrid yellow?"

"He won the Tour de France," Abby explained helpfully.

But Emily frowned. "If he won, then why are they punishing him by making him wear that colour?"

Jess tried not to laugh at Emily's comment as they watched the cyclist approach the Olympic Bell and grab hold of its rope. Jess held her breath, watching anxiously as the rope was pulled, causing the giant bell to ring...and the ADD's klaxons to sound.

"Perfect timing, Jess," Abby complimented.

"Though I would not exactly call these 'bells'," Emily pointed out.

But Jess was too busy typing into her computer to pay much attention to their comments. However, she couldn't help but notice Connor's exclamation, "Oi! What you doing, Jess?" as the opening ceremonies were suddenly replaced on the large monitor by a map of the nation.

The field coordinator merely gave a frantic sigh as her fingers flew across the keyboard. It was Becker who was first to catch on.

"Where's the anomaly, Jess?" he asked.

"Anomaly?" Connor asked, surprised, as he and the others finally began to realise that Jess had not been personally responsible for the klaxons sounding.

"Can you get a reading on what time period it leads to?" Matt asked anxiously as Emily inquired, "Where is it?"

"Please don't tell us it's in the middle of Olympic Park," Connor said.

"No, it's down south," Jess said as she zoomed in on the signal. "Near Weymouth. In the ocean!"

As Connor breathed a sigh of relief , Abby gasped. "Weymouth! That's where all the Olympic sailing events are being held!"

"At least the athletes won't be there now," Becker pointed out. "They'll all be at the ceremonies."

Unfortunately, that was the only positive Jess could see in all this!

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"What've you got for us, Jess?" Becker asked as he sped the 4x4 through the night. Thanks to the entire country having their eyes glued to the telly, there'd been no traffic for the entire drive, getting them to Dorset in record time.

"I've contacted the Coastguard," Jess explained through the comms. "Principal Officer Gelles is ready and waiting for you at the docks to take you out. The anomaly isn't far off-shore, and so far-"

"He don't mean that," Connor cut her off. "He means what's going on with the opening ceremonies."

Becker rolled his eyes, thinking of ways to convince Temple to ride back in Matt car's, as Jess explained, "I'm recording them at home, Connor. We can watch them together tomorrow."

"But that ain't the same," Connor insisted. "The rest of the world is watching them now. Can't you just give us a quick preview?"

"Connor, maybe the others don't want it spoilt before they watch it," Abby patiently suggested.

However, Emily's voice quickly came through the comms, "I would quite like to hear about it as well."

"Well," Jess began hesitantly, "if everyone else is okay with-"

"Yes, Jess, just go ahead," Becker snapped impatiently. The sooner she got this over with, the better - they were almost at the site, and he wanted everyone focussed when they arrived.

"All right. Well, after the bell rang, which you all saw, children's choirs representing the four countries of Great Britain sang."

"What'd they sing?" Connor asked eagerly.

He was definitely riding back in the other car!

"You'll find out tomorrow, Connor," Abby said before encouraging, "Go on, Jess."

"Then Kenneth Branagh performed a speech by Shakespeare."

"The St. Crispin's Day speech?" Matt asked.

"No, one from The Tempest, actually," Jess said.

"Be not afeard; the isle is full of noises, Sounds and sweet airs," Emily quoted.

"That's the one," Jess confirmed.

"How'd you know that, Emily?" Connor asked, clearly impressed.

"I doubted they would be opening the Games with 'There be some sports are painful'."

Becker could practically hear the proud amusement in Matt's voice as he prompted, "So then what, Jess?"

"Well...," she began tentatively, "it's kind of hard to explain. Basically the green and pleasant land was overtaken by factories from the Industrial Revolution. There was lots of drumming, and a parade, and general pandemonium, and eventually giant Olympic rings were forged and rose above the stadium."

"O...kay," Connor said. "Sounds weird but cool."

"I'm not describing it very well," Jess said, sounding almost flustered. "Oh, but then they showed a short film where James Bond visited the Queen in Buckingham Palace."

"Which Bond?" Abby asked.

"Daniel Craig."

Becker heard Abby give a small sigh of delight from the passenger seat.

"And who played the Queen?" Connor asked.

"Her Majesty," Jess answered.

"Yeah, Her Majesty the Queen," Connor concurred. "Who played her?"

"No, that's what I'm saying," Jess said. "Her Majesty the Queen played Her Majesty the Queen! For real! In Buckingham Palace!"

"Wait, let me get this straight," Matt said. "The fictional character of James Bond met with the REAL Queen?"

"Yes. It was brilliant. Even the corgis were in it."

"So what happened?" Connor prompted excitedly.

"Well, he showed up and accompanied her out to the helicopter. Then they flew around the city, past all the landmarks, to Olympic Park, where they both parachuted out."

"Her Majesty the Queen parachuted out of a helicopter?" Emily asked.

"Not the real Queen, of course!" Jess said, as if it were obvious. "She's 86, for goodness' sake!"

Becker shook his head - the lines between reality and fiction had once again grown a little blurrier.

And unfortunately they had an unpleasant reality to face.

"That's all we have time for now, Jess," Becker said into the comms as he pulled into the Coastguard station. "We're here."

"Be careful," Jess urged as he brought the 4x4 to a screeching halt at the dock.

...

to be continued