Carrying two steaming cups of coffee, Alec Freeman, tentatively walked into Straker's office, placing the coffee on the desk in front of the commander.
"Thanks." Came the response.
"No word as yet from the mobiles as to the whereabouts of the aliens"
Sighing Commander Straker said, "Yes I know Alec." His gaze was fixed on the floor.
"Why don't you go home? I'll call if the aliens are found"
Looking up momentarily, "No Alec, Jackson will be sending his medical report through soon and it is my duty to stay here"
At that moment, Paul Foster strode into the office, walking straight over to the drinks machine in the corner and helping himself to a large shot of whisky.
"How are you feeling Paul?" Asked Alec,
"Alright I guess, I heard about the girl, do we know who she was"
"Not yet, but Jackson and two operatives are dealing with it, what about the mobile operatives, how are they"
"Still in shock, which is understandable, I've seen the photos, God knows what it must have been like to have actually been there"
"Once they've calmed down a bit, they'll be sent for a medical"
BANG The two men jumped as Straker's fist made contact with his desk,
"Dammit Alec, this should all be over by now, that UFO should have been stopped, this should never have been allowed to get out of control, imagine what is going to happen when Henderson finds out"
Right on cue, one of the phones on Straker's desk rang,
"Straker"
"I have General Henderson on the line sir," came the response of Miss Ealand, "he sounds rather agitated"
"Put him through Miss Ealand," there was a momentary pause before,
"STRAKER"
"Henderson"
"Is this true what I am hearing, not only have you got two aliens walking around the English countryside, but you now have three mutilated bodies in less than a week? For your sake, I hope this is greatly exaggerated"
"No Henderson, you have been informed correctly"
"Now listen Straker, I think I have been very tolerant of your leadership, I have come to accept your methods of doing things, allowing you to run your organisation how you see fit despite my many objections but believe me this time you have gone too far...way too far! If the matter is not resolved within the next 24 hours, I shall inform the commission and I think we can say that your commanding days are numbered"
The phone went dead.
Straker go up from behind his desk and walked out of his office. Freeman put out a hand to stop Foster following. The commander walked straight through the control room, ignoring the puzzled looks from the working operatives, and made his way up to the film studio above.
"Go home Miss Ealand," he said as he passed the secretary, "there is nothing more you can do here tonight"
"Very good sir"
With that Straker continued walking until he was outside in the cool night air. He looked up at the clear night sky. Thinking. Somewhere out there was a race, doomed to extinction. Then the vision of the man's body flashed through his mind. For several minutes, he stood gazing upwards, then, taking a deep breath, turned and made his way back down to SHADO headquarters.
"Right Alec," he called as he marched back through his office, "get onto those mobiles and tell them to continue searching the area surrounding the girl's home. The aliens are travelling on foot so they can't get far," turning to Foster, "Paul, collect a third mobile and try and locate the second UFO, in case they try and take off in it." Going to the intercom on his desk he ordered, "Ford, order an immediate launch for Sky-One, tell Captain Waterman to survey the area surrounding this latest UFO incident"
"Yes sir," came Ford's reply, "also Dr Jackson has arrived," All three men turned to see, Jackson walk into the office "I have concluded my examinations. I shall not give you the anatomical details, it's all in the report," he placed a booklet on Straker's desk, "We have identified the two bodies, the first was a man called Mark Rutland, he was a businessman working for an electronics firm based in London, the girl, a Mary Rigby, a writer, has had some work published. All the other details are, as I said, in the report. Now if you'll excuse me Commander, Colonel's, I must run some psychological tests on the operatives who found Miss Rigby's body, analyse their current state of mind." Nodding Jackson left the office.
"I'll get that mobile on the move then." Freeman and Straker watched as Foster left the office, then Freeman turned to his commanding officer as a friend and, for the second time that evening said, "Why don't you go home and catch a few hours sleep? I'll give you a shout if anything breaks"
There was a moments pause as the two men stared at each other,
"Alright Alec, I guess I am tired. Keep in constant communications with the mobiles and sky-one, I'll be back around six."
That night, Straker's sleep was restless, names kept appearing in his head. Mark Rutland...Mary Rigby...Mark………Mary.…...Rutland…….Rigby.
Rigby...Rutland...Rutland...Mary...Mary...Mary Rutland.
Straker sat bolt upright in bed.