Greetings!
Hope everyone is well and taking good care.
Thank you to all following along with Georgie and Elvis x
Chapter 11
Consultations
2000 - Hereford, UK
"Elvis?" Spanner asked, sitting back surprised.
"Yeah. Elvis." Georgie said, nervously rubbing the tops of her thighs, then scooting her chair in closer to make the conversation more private. Spanner watched her, his forehead wrinkling.
"Is there a problem Georgie?"
She looked around quickly to see if Elvis had returned. Spanner's eyes focused above her head to the door. "He's still out. You're good." He said. Georgie swallowed hard. She knows Elvis may be cross with her when if finds out she employed Spanner's help, but she almost felt desperate to get to the bottom of his obsession.
"I'm sorry to have to put ya in this position but there's no one else I trust. Elvis usually confides in Charlie, but he's on tour so I can't even go to him."
"Understood. What can I do to help?"
"Thanks Spanner. Right, so, I don't know if Elvis mentioned this, and I don't really give a toss if he did or not, but Godfrey had a word with him about a complaint. A colonel complained about his tactics during a candidate's interview."
Spanner's eyes narrowed as a wry smile appeared on his lips. That's what the boss was curious about. "He didn't mention it, but go on."
"Well, now Elvis is obsessed with this bloke. Digging for intel." She said pointedly.
"He must have a reason Georgie."
"No! I'm worried he's become paranoid!."
"Paranoid? No way! I'm not seein any of that."
Well how was he at the range yesterday?"
Spanner shrugged. "Fine. Like Elvis." She stared at him evidently wanting more detail. Spanner grinned. "He came. He fired off a shit load of ammo and took the piss about being rusty."
"And…?"
"He said he had loads of emails to take care of. Said the same thing today actually. He's been up to his eyeballs in shit Georgie."
"What were the emails about I wonder?" She said out loud. Spanner leaned in on his forearms.
"I don't know." He said punctuating each word. Georgie squinted at him as her lips pressed tightly together. "How would I know that? It's part of Elvis' job. Selection has just gotten underway and the Directing Staff have loads of work to do. I'm sure he told ya he will be DS for Tactical Field Operations?" Spanner pleaded.
"He did tell me about that, yeah. But he also asked you about Jones yesterday."
Spanner uncomfortably tugged on an ear. "He did."
"And….?"
"He asked a question. I answered it."
"You told him to talk to Toni."
"That's right. I don't know the bloke. I do unfortunately have knowledge about him due to another circumstance." He said, sitting back trying to relax.
"Toni." She said as her shoulders became rigid realizing this was indeed becoming very complicated.
"Yeah."
"Does she know Elvis was asking?"
"I told her. But I don't think he's had a word with her as yet."
Georgie stared at him. Spanner was not the least bit fazed by her glare.
"Why do you think he's paranoid?" He asked stroking his beard.
"Because it's not like him to be this obsessed about someone." She said through clenched teeth. Was Spanner shutting down on her now?
"Look. Elvis is keen about reading folks. If he's fussed up then there must be a reason."
"He's never met him!" She said, voice straining to make her point and contain their conversation as well. Spanner rubbed his eyes, took a deep breath and leaned forward.
"It is odd that someone, even a colonel, would complain about the selection process. That's probably why Elvis is unsettled."
"Well, the candidate is Jones' nephew." Georgie blurted out clearly not expecting the reaction. Spanner's eyelids fluttered as if deflecting something.
"What did you say?"
"The candidate is Adam Jones." She answered, cheeks blanching as she realized she finally hit a nerve.
"Fuck." Spanner said under his breath and began to look out for Toni.
"What?" Georgie asked as her heart beat began to quicken. "Spanner!?"
His eyes caught movement at the door. "Hold. Elvis is back." Georgie sat up straight and smoothed her hair. Elvis made straight away for their table, shoving his mobile into a back pocket. He stood behind Georgie and fondled her shoulders, leaning down to kiss her as she looked up at him. He could sense the tension.
"You alright?" He asked, kissing her gently once more. She nodded and reached for his hand.
"What's goin on?" She whispered as he pulled a chair out. Elvis scratched his forehead with a thumb as he sat down. He did not answer her. He simply lifted his brows indicating something was certainly happening but he could not discuss at the moment. She squeezed his hand then locked her fingers with his.
"Where's Toni?" Elvis finally asked looking at Spanner.
"The loo." Georgie answered. Spanner scanned the crowd. No Toni. The lieutenant looked pointedly at Elvis.
"We need to talk boss." Spanner said. Georgie's eyes flared. Now what the fuck was going on?
Elvis stared at him hard then focused on Georgie. He said very quietly, "We're enterin classified territory. Here comes Blythe." He watched as Toni attempted to sneak up on her finance. She threw her arms around Spanner in as exaggerated hug then plopped into a chair.
"I secured another round for us." She said.
"What took ya so long?" Spanner asked as they exchanged a kiss.
"The que was fathomless." She said looking from one face to the other at the table. "Did I miss something?"
"Nah. But I do need to see ya at 0800 hours." Elvis said.
"Sir?"
"My office. 0800 hours." Elvis said as a server began to distribute their libations. "I got this." He said standing to pay off the tab. The two women exchanged questioning glances and Spanner shifted in his seat as Elvis remained impassive, sat back down and raised his pint. "Cheers." He said as he studied Sargent Blythe from atop the rim of his glass.
