Chapter 14

The next few days passed quietly, the weather remained fine allowing Jack and Sue to explore the surrounding area. There was a lot of different things to do from visiting the beach to exploring ruined castles and visiting the home of King Arthur out on the rocky north coast where, from the top of the high cliffs, they saw seals floating in the calm waters. Sometimes Hazel and Mike went with them, they knew the area well and so could take them to places not many tourists found but mostly it was just Sue, Jack and Levi. Sue treasured these moments the most, storing the memories for the future when they went back to being co-workers on the same team at the FBI.

The news from London about the terrorists was frustrating, every lead appearing to come to a dead end. The strain was beginning to show and Alex, Will and Ana spent time going on wild goose chases to various ports where sightings of Arif Dessa had been made. On top of this there was the ball to prepare for and Alex was quite willing to postpone it until later in the year but Ana and Sue persuaded him to go ahead with it, life had to appear as if everything was normal if they didn't want to arouse suspicion.

One afternoon, Ana took Sue up into the attics. It was to be a fancy dress ball and Ana explained that they could possibly find a costume stored in one of the many boxes and chests kept there from all the previous balls and parties given over the past decades. They spent a few hours holding up various outfits and deciding which ones would need the least alteration to fit. Ana was tempted by a sleeveless Egyptian style dress in midnight blue with gold trimmings that hugged the waist and followed the shape of her body before flaring out slightly below her knees and going into a tiny train at the back. However, she decided that the costume she had brought with her was just as suitable and, of course, wouldn't need any alterations. Sue decided on a simple but elegant white witch costume decorated with silver ribbons and a matching flowing cloak with long mediaeval sleeves and a hood. Fortunately, it didn't need much work doing to it to make it fit and Ana said that she was more than capable of doing the work needed. They showed the dress to Mrs Roseveare who thought that it needed more shape to it as it was quite soft and loose, she suggested a corset and magically produced one within the hour. It was a strange sensation wearing it but Sue did agree that the dress looked much better with it beneath. Jack tried to get her to tell him what her costume was, or better still to show him, saying that she already knew what his suit looked like so it was only fair that he knew what her's was like. Sue retorted that he shouldn't be wearing a suit and that there were plenty of costumes up in the attic suitable for him if he took the time to look. Jack looked aghast at the thought and Sue grinned at his discomfort.

It was now Thursday and they were due back in London to catch their flight home on the following Monday. Both were reluctant to return without resolving the terrorist issue but when Jack mentioned this to Demetrius he was told that they were needed back in DC and that they were to return as previously planned. That meant that they had only four days to come up with something but there was no information whatsoever to help them. Even the smuggling rumours that Jason had originally been assigned to investigate had come to nothing. Thankfully, the dating website was proving to be promising, if a little confusing, and the details had been passed on to Tara to see if she could use her steganography wizardry to make things clearer. They had worked out that each of the people identified on the website represented a different terrorist, there were six in total, but it wasn't clear if they were male or female or a mix. It also implied that they would be in the country by Friday but gave no details of how they were to arrive. Consequently, all ports and airports were under surveillance though everyone knew how difficult it would be to spot them. To make things even harder, as Alex had already pointed out, Britain was an island and they hadn't the man-power available to watch all of the coast.

It was 2 o'clock in the morning and Jack was lying awake pondering the problems facing them. This in itself was annoying as he had always been able to separate the job from the home and he resented that this investigation was keeping him awake. Suddenly a noise got his attention, was that Levi? There it was again, Levi was definitely barking. Quickly Jack jumped out of bed and ran towards Sue's room. He knocked loudly on the door and was about to turn the handle when the door swung open and a very groggy looking Sue stood before him.

"Are you alright?" he demanded.

"Not really," she replied "I was peacefully sleeping when a ton of dog landed in my lap."

"Sorry," he said and signed "Levi was barking and I thought there might be a problem."

"I didn't hear him," countered Sue, feeling a little more awake and turning towards him with a glare. Levi huffed then jumped up at Jack before darting towards the cupboard that led to the secret passage. Jack and Sue looked at each other before following Levi.

"Do you think he heard some-one down in the tunnel?" asked Sue.

"Who would be down there?" replied Jack.

"Millie?"

"Well if it is she knows her way back here over-ground as well so I say leave her. I'm back to bed." Jack turned to go back to his room but Sue put a hand on his arm.

"What if it isn't, shouldn't we check?" she said.

"The door is bolted, if anyone is wandering around down there then they have my permission. I'm certainly not in a position to confront them and neither are you. Cute PJs by the way are they dog paws?" grinned Jack as Sue turned an interesting shade of pink.

"I still think we need to take a quick peek, just in case," she said opening the cupboard door.

"Wait!" exclaimed Jack "Look at the door."

"The bolt is unlatched," said Sue "I don't remember unbolting it. Do you think some-one has been in my room?"

"I don't know, but you are not staying here it could be dangerous."

"Haven't we had this conversation before," remarked Sue. "Look I will be perfectly safe. If anyone has tried to come up the tunnel then Levi's barking will have sent them away. I can bolt the door again and block the other door." She slid the bolt in place then closed the cupboard door and put a chair under the handle. "If anyone tries to get in that way the whole house will hear." Jack wasn't too pleased but he recognised Sue's stubborn look and decided not to cause an argument.

"OK, I'm not happy but if you promise to leave your door ajar and I'll do the same with mine then Levi can come and get me if he hears anything else." Compromised Jack.

Sue smiled at her victory and gave him a quick kiss on his cheek. "Thank you. I don't think anything else will happen tonight, Levi will have scared them off but it's good to know you have my back."

"Always," replied Jack firmly "Now if I can't convince you to sleep on my couch then I shall leave you in peace. Sweet dreams!" He grinned, turned and left the room whilst Sue hopped back into bed, allowing Levi to jump up for once as well. It took them both a little while before they fell asleep but nothing else disturbed them until the smell of bacon came wafting up in the morning.