OHMYGOD I AM SO SORRY GUYS! A-LEVELS ARE A BITCH AND I'VE HIT WRITERS BLOCK I'M SO SORRY!
Not far until the wedding, I promise! Maybe five chapters at the most. I was hoping to get this finished by Christmas, but I don't think I will. I'll try by Easter though!
Ladies and Gentlemen, I apologise for interrupting your nth cup of coffee this morning to bring you this announcement. You freeze, your mug halfway to your lips, as Lester's voice rings through your office. In all fairness, you're actually doing work. If Mr Temple would kindle report to the hub to fix the ADD then I would be most grateful. Whilst he is doing that I would rather like the alpha response team to be making their way across town to the Hall of Lords where we once again have an incursion. Elegance and efficiency is requested as the Minister is trapped in the main counsel room with whatever a Jinfengopteryx is. You grimace as you get to your feet and hurry from the office. You run into Abby in the garage who's being tailed by a pair of soldiers.
"Matt wants everyone there ASAP. You and me will seal the perimeter and then try and get to the minister."
"Yay for anomalies and the minister. Is Connor going to manage things from the hub?"
"Once he fixes the ADD, yeah." Abby throws you the keys. "You drive. I need to configure the EMDs."
It's been a while since you've driven through London lunchtime traffic and it's not long before you remember why. "If it wasn't for government plates we'd have been pulled over minutes after leaving." One of the soldiers mutters from the back seat.
"Watch it." You snap. "Or we'll see how good I am at dodging strategically placed soldiers."
There's a muffled thud as the soldier which spoke is thumped in the arm by his friend. "That's the Captain's fiancée you idiot!"
You and Abby exchange looks and try hard not to laugh. You swing down St. Margaret Street and park in front of the old building, trying to avoid hitting the evacuees from the building. "Anyone been in here before?" Three 'no's are given as you get from the car.
"You are the team sent to deal with this situation?"
Talk about posh. You roll your eyes discreetly as you shake hands with one of the 'big bosses' of the building. "Not all of us. Have you got contact with the Minister?"
"No, we have not. That is your job."
"No, our job is to get him out safely. Send everyone home who doesn't need to stay. If anything about this is said to anyone on the outside then I will make sure that people are fired and living on benefits for the rest of their lives. Understood?" the man nods through a light sneer, brushing the sleeves of his black jacket. "Good. Now when the other members of my team arrive make sure they're let in. Now go."
"My God, you're scary." Abby laughs as the two of you move towards the main door. "I don't think Becker knows what he's getting himself into."
"Oh, he knows." You laugh and you push the door open. "You two cover the halls. We'll clear the rooms."
"Yes ma'am." The soldier snaps a salute and drags his partner off down the hall.
"So, what's the likely hood that this is going to go severely wrong?" Abby mutters as the two of you clear the nearby rooms. "I'm betting on one of the Jinfengopteryx's taking a nibble on the big guy."
"What is a Jinfengopteryx?"
"A small bird like thing. About seven inches tall. Teeth in its beak. I don't imagine they'll do a great deal of damage, but I never imaged I'd have prehistoric creatures as pets."
"Yeah, and now you have five. The odds aren't good, are they?"
Abby smiles and leads you back into the hall. The two soldiers have stationed themselves at the end of the corridor and are talking into their earpieces. The soldiers end their conversation and motion you and Abby forwards. "The Captain says we're not to enter the infected area until backup arrives."
"You explained that the Minister is in there too, right?"
"Yes ma'am."
"Tell the Captain that he needs to be here in ten minutes or we go in without him. Chop chop!"
The two soldiers nod and go back to talking to Becker. Abby glances at you. "Why can't you call him?"
"Because I like winding him up."
"The Captain will be here in five."
"Great. You three stay here, I'll go get him." You turn and head back down the corridor to the truck. Some of the higher ranking parliament members are still hanging around outside as though they expect you to let them back inside in a few minutes. "You may as well all go home. You won't be able to get back inside for at least another twenty four hours."
"Miss, that is not your decision to make. We are politicians. We run this country."
"And what a shit job you do. Now bugger off before reinforcements arrive."
"Listen woman, nothing you can say is going to make us leave?"
"Yeah? Well you've never met the Army Captain running this operation." You glance over his shoulder and smile. "You're about to." You nod at the soldier behind the wheel and jerk your head towards guy who won't leave the site. "Have fun!" You turn and head back inside the building. "Becker's here. Let's get moving!"
One of the soldiers rolls his eyes. "We aren't going in until the Captain says so."
"Captain's here. Let's move. You can stay here if you want, but I'm going in there to help the man that keeps my pay check in line and saved my job. You want to wait, that's great. See you later." You push past them and roll your eyes, Abby laughing as she follows you.
"You got a plan then?" Abby asks and you nod.
"Get in there before the Minister gets eaten or Becker gets to us."
"Lowest possible EMD setting. I don't want any of these creatures dead."
"What about politicians?" Becker materialises over your shoulder as you reach the door which will lead you to the incursion. "Can they be shot on high voltage?"
"Yes. Definitely. Who's going first?" You glance over your shoulder and smile sweetly. He rolls his eyes and slips past, opening the door to the other room. You and Abby follow, the soldiers in tow.
Once inside the room your burst out laughing. The Minister is sat cross-legged on a desk, surrounded by the small, feathery creatures. "Is something funny, Miss X?" He demands and you take a deep breath.
"Probably not from your point of view, sir." You bite your lip and hide your face behind Becker's back as a Jinfengopteryx leaps up onto his lap. "You can walk through these sir, just try not to step on them. They won't hurt you."
"And you are sure of this?"
"I'm sure. If they were going to I'm sure they'd have eaten you already." You try to avoid looking at the older man as he carefully wades through the Jinfengopteryx's. "You guys can sort this mess out. I'll take the Minister back to the ARC where Lester can debrief him. Everyone okay with that?" You don't get a response from the soldiers but Becker and Abby nod. "Where's Matt?"
"Trying to get rid of the people outside." Becker replied. "Jess, has he had any luck?"
The coms are quiet for a second before Jess' voice enters your ear. They're leaving now and the ADD is back up and running.
"Good. Let Lester know that I'm heading back with the Minister and he's okay."
Copy that.
You lead the Minister from the building, calling out to a stressed looking Matt. "I'm heading back to the ARC. They've got it all under control inside."
"I'll be tagging along then." Matt motions for you to get into the truck, nodding at the Minister. "Sir." You hop into the backseat of the truck, grabbing a notebook and pen from your bag. "Cover story?"
"Nope, e-mail to all those who think they know better. How did you get rid of them, by the way?"
"Not whilst our boss is in the car. It's not a great move."
You laugh and go back to drafting the e-mail. When you reach the ARC everyone is working and looking smarter than they usually do. There's a faint hint of disinfectant and if you didn't know better, then you'd say that the windows had been polished. One thing's for certain; Lester is not in the same suit he was in earlier that morning. He discreetly waves you and Matt away as he meets the Minister outside of his office. The two of you make your way over to Jess and Connor who are trying their hardest to look busy.
"How'd it go?" Connor asks, still hidden under the desk. You pick up a monkey wrench and duck down to talk to him.
"Fairly straight forwards. Wouldn't want to vote for any of those people which sit in Parliament, that's for sure."
"It's why I don't vote." Connor slides out from under the desk and you help him stand up. "It annoys Abby but maybe she'll see my point."
"How many wombats does it take to change a light bulb?" You, Connor, Jess and Matt turn to see Lester leaning on the railing outside of his office.
"Did he just call us wombats?" Connor hisses in your ear. Lester beckons you over and heads back inside his office. "It was nice knowing you. I'll tell Becker you send his love." You smack the back of Connor's head as you pass him, heading inside the office. Apart from you and Lester it's empty. You hadn't even noticed the Minister leave.
"The Minister thanks you for saving his life."
"Saving his life?" You echo. "From what, chickens?"
Lester smirks. "Yes, well, there we go. As a thank you he wishes to get involved with your wedding."
"He what?"
"Your upcoming nuptials to my head of security. The Minister wishes to sort the transport to and from the venue."
"Oh. I take it I can't say no?"
"It's not recommended."
You roll your eyes. "Great."
Okay, I may be able to get the wedding bumped forwards. The next chapter will be up by Christmas, I promise!