Don and Colby enjoyed teaching the class, but they were still glad when class let out each day. Even though the investigation for the Legat office was mainly deskwork, it was still a more familiar routine to them. They also met several of the MI-5 officers in the course of helping Braden with the investigation that he was leading. Colby was amused to find out that MI-5 personnel were called officers, agents were the officers' sources of information.
"So far, we've had vandalism at Lutex Corporation headquarters and Macon Incorporated headquarters. No one's been hurt, even though threats have been made to the board members and upper management of these two companies," Braden was catching Don and Colby up on the situation.
"Are these companies co-operating with the investigation?" Don was curious.
Braden nodded, "It's really in their best interest to do so, and they've provided us with everything we've asked for."
"Do we know why these companies are being targeted?" Colby wondered out loud.
"All we know is that it's somehow related to the environment. And that's only because ELM has been spray painted on the vandalized properties. These companies are not manufacturing concerns, so nothing toxic is released anywhere." The frustration was evident in Braden's voice. "We've looked at their charitable contributions to see if they're supporting anything controversial, but everything looked clean. Macon Inc. is a publishing company that outsources their printing, and Lutex is a textile broker, buying from textile manufacturers and selling to design houses and clothing manufacturers."
"What about their UK backers? Anything controversial in their other ventures?" Don felt for Braden.
"They have two backers in common. One is large venture capital corporation Bristol Venture Capitalists, and the other is a smaller one, Weybridge Hill Associates. Neither have had anything to do with any environmental concerns."
"Weybridge Hill Associates? That's Eleanor's company!" Colby sat up, startled.
Braden perked up now, "Do you know her? We've been trying to talk everyone into getting some sort of protection. She's the only one who's resisted the idea. She doesn't think it's related to her involvement with those companies."
"How necessary is this protection, Braden?" Colby asked.
Braden shrugged, "No one's been hurt, and those who've received death threats are under protection. God willing, no one will be hurt. But it wouldn't hurt to be cautious.
"Perhaps Hannah can talk her into getting some sort of protection. Or I could insist on it if Hannah's going to be spending a lot of time with her." Colby was worried now. He didn't want Hannah caught in another crossfire.
As they made their way home, Don asked Colby, "What was Hannah's plan for today, Colby? Was she going to see Eleanor?"
"Yeah, Hannah was planning on heading out to Weybridge this morning. I don't know what they were planning to do during the day, but they were both going to come back to London and have dinner with us. I think Eleanor was thinking about staying in London for the weekend because of the party tomorrow night, and some sightseeing plans they had made for the weekend. She has a cousin or something who lives in London, and she was planning on staying with her." Colby told Don.
They had dinner in a Cuban restaurant. The food was fabulous, but it was a trendy place, packed with people and and the loud music pounded through the restaurant. Their conversation was limited to what they could yell into each other's ears, and they were all laughing from the effort as they came out of the restaurant.
Hannah was snuggled against Colby's chest, as usual. They were already murmuring to each other, lost in their own world. Eleanor was a little shy, she hadn't seen Don in a few days, and she didn't know if anything had changed in the interim. She was happy when he reached for her hand, and as they walked towards the flat, he pulled her against his chest.
"There's a little dessert place just up this way, do you want to stop there, Hannah?" Eleanor asked. Colby and Hannah turned around, and Colby smiled to see Eleanor settled comfortably against Don. Eleanor noted that Hannah looked a little uncertain. She smiled reassuringly at Hannah.
"I'd love a dessert, actually. I hope it's a quiet place so we can have a real conversation!" Hannah replied.
"We're working on the environmental vandalism case for the Legat office, Eleanor. Braden says they recommended you get protection in the interim." Don commented, when they finally got their coffee and dessert.
Eleanor looked sharply at him, "Is that an issue? I didn't see any indication that the vandalism had anything to do with my involvement with the two companies."
"Yes, you're right about that. But the point is that we don't know, and it's better to be safe than sorry. I don't want you to get hurt." Don said gently.
"And I know I don't want Hannah caught in the middle of another crossfire." Colby's quiet voice was hard.
"What are you saying? That you don't want Hannah anywhere close to me?" Eleanor's temper flared.
Colby shook his head, "No, that's not what I'm saying. I just want Hannah safe. We can talk about how we can accomplish that without hiring bodyguards, if you're really opposed to that idea."
"Stay with me this weekend, Eleanor," Don said quietly. "You can have the bedroom. The sofa pulls out into a bed, I can use that."
Eleanor looked into Hannah's worried eyes and sighed. "I'm sorry, Hannah, I just didn't think it affected me in any way. I wouldn't purposely put you in harms way, you know that."
"I'm worried about you, Eleanor." Hannah hesitated, "Perhaps it would be a good idea to take Don up on his offer."
Eleanor relented and agreed to stay with Don. But she reflected with some disappointment that it just wasn't what she had in mind when she'd hoped he'd ask her to stay the night.