Cue in the Carsons…..

"Is this the car?" Elsie looked around to make sure nobody was standing close to them.

They were wearing their usual matching street outfit for this part of town, something similar to what they donned when they met John Bates. The only difference was she was sporting a grey wig, making her look older than she was, and he, although he had a head of hair to be proud of at his age, a very tacky and misaligned hairpiece. They had realized, through the years, that they usually only needed something small to alter their appearance. Certain things made sense in certain areas and when their geography changed, so did they. The trunk of their car and their full service surveillance van was full of accessories. The average person didn't pay attention when they were out and about and nobody focused on them enough to determine if they were out of place or doing something inappropriate. It didn't take much to carry out their tasks. All it took was confidence; to give the feeling that they belonged and that they were doing no wrong. It certainly helped that there were stereotypes regarding people of their age. They played into those expectations as often as they could. Today would be no exception.

"Why do you even ask? Have we not followed it for the last two days to this coffee shop?" Charles asked in a low tone, making sure that nobody could hear him.

They had followed Vera from the Bates' residence to this coffee house for two days. It was the start of a pattern they had detected. They would never tamper with the cars in proximity to the Bates' residence, as they could not afford to be seen so close to those quarters. Neither would they get close to the Bates Airlift compound. That was Anna's territory to control. Instead, they took much of their required steps out in the open – on city streets. They knew most of Yorkshire like the palm of their hands. They were not limited to Ripon or York. They had worked as far north as Darlington, as far east as Scarborough, down South to Leeds and west to Blackburn. It was a very generous territory, and they blended into the background perfectly. To the untrained eye, they were just another set of pensioners out for a stroll.

As Vera had parked to get her daily caffeine dose, it was their time to move. This time, they didn't even follow her from home. They parked around the corner from her expected destination and waited. As predicted, she drove up.

"You silly man. Yes, I know this is the car. I am being extra sure."

She paused, then reacted quickly, ordering him about.

"Do it quickly. Do it now."

They followed their usual trick. He bent to tie his shoe lace and used the hood of the car for support. Elsie blocked the view from the coffee shop windows. To anybody, it looked like she was supporting her husband who had bent down. In an instant, Pops slipped the GPS device into the rim above the wheel well and it automatically adhered to the inside on account of the magnet that was part of the whole ensemble. He did a good job of placement, as it was not visible at all.

"Ohhhhh," he grumbled when he was trying to get up and Elsie took his arm. "My knee….. ahhhhh." It was all a part of their act. He put his hand on the hood of the car, solidifying their need to be there.

"Are you in pain love?" Elsie asked loudly as she put his arm around her to help bring him up.

"Oh, just give me a minute and I'll be ship shape." He turned to gaze into her eyes. "You're such a doll to your old husband."

Elsie continued to block the view as he grumbled loudly and acted accordingly. Soon his body was upright.

"Oh, never mind love. Who else would help you, if not I?"

He limped forward with his wife next to him. As soon as they reached the corner, they disengaged themselves and moved at a faster pace until they were safely stowed within their car. They turned it on and went home. Vera was going to work. Now was not the time to track her. They would wait a few hours.

Anna pulled into an available spot just as John Bates was parking himself. She had chosen to come early to get a better understanding of the office space and wanted nobody around to do this. It was a surprise, then, to see him pulling into the compound. It was 7:30am. He'd been arriving to the office at a quarter after nine every day. He wasn't supposed to be there, at least not that early.

He was handsome. That was the first thing she noticed as he stepped out of his car. It was chilly this morning and he had donned a black overcoat. He looked like such a gentleman. Then she noticed he walked with a swagger. Wow. That was sexy, she thought. It made him look very confident as he made his way towards her. He was gallant and that left her momentarily confused. She had butterflies in her stomach….But why? He was just a client, she shouldn't be nervous. She had spoken to clients a million times. What was wrong with her?

"How are you getting on?" was what came from him the moment they stood facing each other, close to the office entry. They both hesitated to go inside, knowing that they wouldn't be able to talk as freely.

She snapped out of her muddled state in time to answer him. "Good, so far. I came early to do some reconnaissance. I didn't think there would be anybody else here."

He looked interested, yet not quite knowing what that was she meant in terms of private investigations. He'd only used the word during the war, and it seemed too bellicose a concept to introduce into their conversation. "Reconnaissance?" he repeated.

"….Just getting a better feel for all of the nooks and crannies in your office space and see if there aren't any surprises. Sort of like a security sweep. I'll be doing them regularly until the investigation is concluded. We want to be sure Vera doesn't suspect anything, and knowing everything about your offices will come in handy. I want to know what I am working with and I'll soon have my short-list compiled."

He generated a small smirk on his lips that was very endearing to Anna.

"I am sure that sooner or later I'll understand all your jargon, as I am sure you'll understand ours. Please do tell me – What do you mean by short-list?" His smile was too infectious to ignore. She responded in kind with a giggle.

Oh God, she thought to herself. Did that come out as a normal laugh or did she do a flirty laugh? She wanted him to take her seriously as both a Private Investigator and employee. Him seeing her as a flirt would not do. She composed herself to answer him.

"We'll be looking at everybody, of course, but we can't do full surveillance on the entire male staff at the same time. In a few days, I will have a list of the most likely candidates. My associates are implanting a GPS tag on Vera today, so, once I have set the short list, we will be attacking from both ends."

He looked very pleased, but his face grew dim in an instant.

"You've met her, I reckon."

"Yes, and she was dismissive of me and a little rude, if I'm honest." She didn't want to offend him, but she did roll her eyes. "….. that is a really good thing. That means, as far as I am concerned, that she has no idea."

His demeanor grew a little sad.

"I need this to work. I can't take much more of her." There was something in his eyes that pulled her in. She felt for him. It was raw truth what he was saying. He was in pain. Without thinking much, she found herself reaching out to touch his arm. She squeezed reassuringly.

"We will Mr. Bates. If there is something to find, we will find it."

He smiled, her heartfelt encouragement doing the trick. Without thinking much, he put his hand on top of hers.

They had shaken hands before, at the pub, but it was all very businesslike. Both Pops and Elsie were there too, but right now, Anna could not understand why his hand on her was causing palpitations in her chest. She saw him react to something as well and he pulled away.

Shaken by their contact, she moved forward and concluded their conversation.

I'll suggest we meet at the pub in a couple of days for us to report back our initial findings. I'll let you know when. It's still early days, but we want to keep you informed."

"Excellent."

John Bates closed the door to his office, sat down in his chair and put his head between his hands. Buggar! Buggar! Buggar! He chanted to himself over and over. It was very inconvenient to have this feeling overcome him. Anna Smith, whom he had only met recently, had touched him most innocently and when she did, his heart almost stopped. There was something about her. Something he could not explain. He had had 18 years of miserable marriage, yet he had not turned around to look at another woman during this time frame. She was the first that had inspired any sort of feelings at all. But what were they? ….Gratitude for what she was doing? ….Hope maybe, as a promise of a better future for him? or god forbid, lust? He groaned loudly at the thought of the last one. He was so close to terminating his marriage to Vera in the most legally sound manner. He could not let anything get in the way. He would have to work extra hard to make sure that whatever this was, whatever feeling happened upon him – that it should vanish.

What would she think of him? Could she tell that she had affected him? He asked those and other burning questions over and over. It was unbearable for the first hour that morning. When he started to hear the other employees arrive, he remembered what brought him so early to begin with. He had safety declarations to file with the Civil Aviation Authority. That was it… He would throw himself into his work just like he had done for the better part of two decades. Bates Airlift was his mistress and there was room for no other.

Anna walked as far into the office as possible, far enough that she knew he was nowhere near. In a small hidden corner, close to accounting, she put both hands against the closest filing cabinet to steady herself. She breathed in and out, trying to regulate her heart beat.

What was that?

How could she have been that bold to laugh, then, touch him? If Pops knew about this, he would be upset. Rule #1 of their partnership was that you keep your distance and never get emotionally involved. The raw pain in his voice had moved her. This was not the time to be moved. She finally had what she wanted – a different type of investigation and the opportunity to do more with her life. She couldn't mess that up.

Whether it was his kind eyes, gentle commanding presence or that definite lust-inducing swagger, she needed to get a better hold of her actions. She could not allow these feelings to get in the way. He needed her more than ever.

Her morning exploratory mission was a success. She had kept away from the individual offices as they were all locked and concentrated on the public areas. She found no obvious devices and discovered a few premium locations where she could rig her own when the time came. Now that her work for Carson's Private Investigators was finished, it was time to start for Bates Airlift.

Internally, things had progressed with meeting the rest of the staff she had not encountered on Gwen's initial tour. Daisy, was younger than Anna would have expected, but not too young to not have the adequate credentials. She bypassed the traditional university or trade education and went to flight school as soon as she passed her A level exams. As a female pilot, she absolutely loved having Anna in the office, commenting that she lived in a world made of mostly men, so, she was thrilled to have more female company at Bates Airlift. She was a bit of a chatterbox and had let it slip that Sarah was always in a bad mood, Mrs. Bates never talked to any of the women except Sarah. Phyllis was nice, but you couldn't get her to talk unless it was absolutely necessary. She wasn't mean, just not communicative. Gwen was the only other female in the office that spoke to her, so, having a third girl, and all of about the same age made her very happy. Anna thought she was sweet, if a little bit outspoken, but most of all bold and ambitious to take on a career that few women ever ventured into.

The other men - Michael Gregson, Evelyn Napier and Jack Ross - she had met them as well. They were all pleasant. What astonished her was they were all so handsome. At some point, she thought it might be her mind playing tricks on her and that she should not uphold the myth that all men in uniform were gorgeous, but who was she kidding? They were. Their uniform was not even that becoming either. It was a tan, zippered jumpsuit with their names embroidered on the right hand side over their breast. Anna concluded that it must be their confident swagger as they walked about. Just like John Bates, they walked like they owned the world. It must have been a trait shared by the pilots, as no other male in the office did anything similar.

Through their conversation, she discovered that Michael and Evelyn were married and that Jack was American and engaged to be married to an English girlfriend. Still, attached or not, that meant nothing in terms of their character and anyone of them could be Vera's lover. With so many infidelity investigations under her belt, nobody knew better than she did. At the moment, they were all under suspicion.

She'd also had the opportunity to interact more with Richard Carlisle. Although she had met him briefly at their staff meeting, he had left immediately after to attend to some clients. He was very smooth and charming, but not overbearing. He had the right level of charisma needed for his job. He was rarely in the office, so she could not pick up any other "vibe" about him.

Anna had been working with Gwen during those days and investigation aside, she loved it. She couldn't begin to work on her case in earnest until she learned the ins and out of the business and she was trying her hardest to grasp everything quickly. While Gwen did not hold the most glamorous job, she had plenty to do and the days passed quickly. She handled all calls for both Mr. and Mrs. Bates, besides typing up letters and the basic administrative duties. Anna also understood Gwen's concierge role more clearly, as several clients had come, and she had helped escort them to the waiting area.

There was a finesse about her that made her perfect for a Sales type position. She was very outgoing, very competent and knowledgeable, she was impeccably groomed, all very professional and in good taste, and had phenomenal persuasive abilities. Just yesterday, one of their most important Executive clients, Mr. Wiggleton, a curmudgeon by all accounts, came and was annoyed that Daisy was not available to transport him. He bellowed, very upset, as he had clearly stated in his booking that he was flexible on his departure time as long as she was piloting the chopper. He was an older man, with a clear penchant for younger women. He had winked at Anna when they were introduced. Not that he would try anything, Gwen later told him he wasn't that type of a pervert. He just liked company of the female variety. It was a clear oversight of Sarah's as she had booked Daisy on another flight and she was not there that at the moment and could not be back for several hours. To diffuse the situation, she had gotten approval from Mr. Bates to offer him a discount on his next flight, and had even reassured him that Alfred, his booked pilot, was a fan of Leeds United, just like him. She knew that was one topic he could never get enough of. That appeased the man greatly. The last they saw of him and Alfred, they were boarding the chopper while they talked about MaCormack's goal from the previous game.

"You are so good, Gwen. I thought he would blow a gasket."

Gwen was embarrassed by the compliment, but Anna persisted.

"You should be in Sales, or somewhere with more responsibility."

Gwen sighed.

"That is my goal. I've asked Richard if he would allow me to either accompany him on a Sales call, or let me help in any of the conventions in which he participates, but he always tells me that I am more needed on the phones. To be honest, he is a bit of a misogynist. Thomas asked the same thing once and he had no problem taking him."

Anna didn't know how to respond, but she thought of how reasonable John Bates seemed to be. How could he have a female pilot in one department, but stunt the growth of a female in another? It didn't make sense.

"Have you talked to Mr. Bates? What does he have to say?"

"I spoke to him recently about my future here and he has told me that he will help me and that is part of the reason I am still here. I would have already left to look for another position with more potential, but he is a kind man to work for, and to be honest…. I like this company and aviation in general. I think I could do so much more if they would let me."

Anna thought this was the perfect way to ask her questions about Mr. Bates. She was forming a good opinion of him, but she still needed to be certain she was helping him for the right reasons. Even if he was paying for their services, and regardless of whatever feelings he was manifesting in her, she and the Carson's had always agreed that the moment they realized their customer was lying to them, or if there was anything suspicious about the information they were gathering, they would come together to discuss terminating their case. They had done it in the past a couple of times. No money was worth a guilty conscience. Most notable among those instances was a case where they discovered that a missing person they were searching for had put out, the last year, a restraining order for abuse from their client. They would not be a party for somebody's continued misfortune. Thus, she had to make sure that John Bates was who he said he was and that his allegations, as presented to her, were his motivators, and not anything else.

"You've been here two years, right?" Gwen nodded in agreement. "Almost three," she countered.

"Is Mr. Bates as nice as he seems? He comes across as very fair."

"He is very nice, and very generous. At Christmas, he gives us a very substantial year-end bonus. He says it is his appreciation for making the company what it is. I feel sorry for him sometimes, though."

She needed to steer the conversation to what she needed to know. She lowered her voice to a whisper. Even though they were separated from the rest of the staff, both Mr. and Mrs. Bates offices were in their general vicinity and it made no sense to be caught gossiping, and much less about either of them.

"Oh, really? Why is that? Is it because of Mrs. Bates? I don't know much about her, but, what I've seen the last two three days doesn't give me an awful good impression of her."

Gwen looked embarrassed, and Anna thought she was having misgivings about talking freely about her boss to somebody so new and unproven….. Because Anna had to admit, that she was still unfamiliar and relatively unknown. She hadn't proven herself as anything more than an eager new employee. It looked like Gwen was trying to determine whether she should be trusted. She needed to work on that.

"I'm sorry," concluded Anna, but still trying to coax Gwen smoothly. "Please don't feel like you need to share anything you're not comfortable with. I may have over spoken, and for that, I apologize."

Gwen smiled. Seemingly, that had done the trick. Anna liked that about Gwen, her instinct was to protect Mr. Bates.

"Don't be," she responded. "You hit the nail on the head. I don't know why she treats him so poorly, but she does. She's not that obvious in front of the others, but, I've heard and seen many things because of my proximity to both of them."

Perhaps Gwen could give her a lead to start off with.

"Mmmm. She was flirting the other day with Jimmy and Alfred, wasn't she?" Anna's tone reassured Gwen that she rejected that behavior.

Gwen nodded.

"She flirts with all of them. Even Thomas, and he's gay." She rolled her eyes in exasperation. "Sometimes I think she does it on purpose to get a rise out of him, to see if he will lose his cool in front of us, but, he rarely does. I have heard them fighting, but, that is usually behind closed doors."

"What about him? Does he flirt with the staff?" Anna had to know if what she experienced in the morning was his typical behavior. He didn't directly flirt with her, that she knew, but he smiled at her and touched her in a way that your boss would never do.

"Never. He is the most polite, correct boss one could ever have. I think he respects us too much and would never provoke her by using any one of us."

Anna felt relief that John Bates was as genuine as she thought he was. Gwen wouldn't lie. She was only one employee out of the 17 total here at the firm, but her words gave Anna more confidence. They also made her more nervous. If he never flirted with the others, what was that this morning? Was he responding to her stupid nervousness around him?

They were interrupted by Vera calling from her office. She didn't pick up the phone and dial the extension she needed, she was bellowing loudly from her desk.

"Angie, come here. I need you."

Gwen and Anna looked at each other. Who was she calling?

Vera walked to her door when nobody responded.

"Angie – are you deaf?" She was looking straight at Anna. "I have been calling you."

Gwen responded for both of them.

"Mrs. Bates, did you mean you wanted Anna?"

She now pointed directly at her.

"You, whatever your name is – Angie or Anna – get me some tea. One sugar only."

With that she turned her back on them and walked back to her desk.

Anna was stunned, but slowly starting to fume. Wasn't asking somebody else for your beverage a thing of the past? Hadn't that been phased out in the seventies and eighties? Vera was playing a game. That was certain. She wouldn't let it get to her. She stood to get the damn tea, reminding herself what her true goals were. She wasn't here to cause a controversy. She was here to do a job.

Gwen held her wrist to stop her. Anna swiveled until she faced Gwen who had already started talking.

"She did that to me initially. It only stopped when Mr. Bates overheard her once. He doesn't care for that type of bullshit. His words, not mine. Report that back to him as soon as you can, or she'll be ordering you about to no end. Do it…. He'll listen to you."

Anna balanced the mug of scalding tea and walked towards Vera's office. A man's voice surprised her and she kept herself away from the door frame for just a moment so that she could listen. It appeared to be Thomas.

"I hear Switzerland is nice this time of year. Maybe you should go."

"That would be nice, but not now. Maybe later…."

Anna came into the office then, wanting to gauge their reaction. They stayed quiet, and said nothing. Anna suspected they did not want her to hear their conversation, so, the topic must be private, but Switzerland meant nothing at the time being. Maybe she was planning a vacation without Mr. Bates?

All of a sudden, getting Vera's tea had its advantages. She would be able to pick up on tidbits of useful data. She would be sure to be available as much as possible.

"Here you are Mrs. Bates. Tea with one sugar as requested." She set it on the desk and took a step back, expecting something – anything really – to come from Vera, but nothing did.

Vera just looked at her and didn't even thank her.

Thomas smirked. He was gay, Gwen had confirmed it, and he wasn't hiding his sexuality, thus, Anna did not think he was the mysterious lover. They could have been talking about anything, but the fact that they kept quiet got her to thinking that she might need to be careful around him. Her sixth sense told her that she had to watch out for him too.

Anna caught John in the car park as he prepared to leave for the day. She was ready to depart too. Noticing that there was nobody, she quickly came to him. She chided herself for forgetting to ask him this morning. When he put his hand on her, all coherent thought had escaped her. She would make this quick, lest these questionable feelings that overpowered her in the morning manifest themselves again. She only needed a minute of his time.

He saw her approach and shuddered. He had spent half the morning convincing himself that his morning reaction was ridiculous. His thoughts were very inappropriate. She was a professional - an undercover Private Investigator in his firm, no less. He willed himself to stay calm.

"Before I forget, Mr. Bates, I'll need to see a copy of the anonymous note you mentioned when we first met. Please find a way to get it to me soon."

She was curt and emotionless.

"Is that all you need?"

Following suit, he was curt and emotionless as well.

"Yes."

"Fine. I'll find a way."

"Thanks."

"No, Thank You."

They both turned around and went on their way, not before looking back, at different intervals, to see the other retreat towards their car.

Has she started moving?" Pops and Elsie were parked two kilometers away from the Bates Airlift compound. Elsie managed the hand held GPS device that would track her movements for them, while Pops would do the driving. As soon as the device picked up on her moving, they would start up their car and turn on to the main road, anticipating that she would take the same one. Measuring their speed, she would eventually catch up to them and they would let her pass them, continuing to follow her. This slight maneuver helped make sure she did not get the sense that she was being followed.

"You ask me every time and every time, I tell you that I will advise you when the target has started moving…..so, no. She has not started moving." Elsie remarked quite sarcastically. He never failed with his impatience. She knew he was most excited when they were just about to trail somebody.

Suddenly, the device chirped as expected, signaling their target was on the move.

"You heard that?" She turned to look at her husband. He pouted his lips.

"She is turning on to the B1228 as expected. She should pass us in about five minutes." Elsie smiled, very pleased that they had anticipated her actions and that they could finally start to follow her. It was 7:30pm, a full half hour after her husband had gone home for the day. They had seen him drive by too.

"I'll get on the road." Pops started the car as per their plan and meandered on the road.

"We should see her any moment now." Elsie kept studying the signal given off by the hidden artefact in Vera's automobile. "There she is." The car came into view. They were almost nearing the intersection to the A1079 where she should turn left if she was going home. They let her pass them. Once Vera came into the interchange, she did not merge onto the A1079. She continued north, towards Murton on the A64. The Bates' lived in a large home they had built in Osbaldwick, a farming community two miles east of York. She could only go so far on the A64 and not turn left towards her house. She missed the last possible turn, confirming that she was not headed in that direction.

"By golly, I think we have a live one!" Pops was visibly excited. The idea that something could be happening never ceased to excite him and the thought that Vera was doing exactly what they wanted was always a moment of celebration.

Elsie laughed. "Settle down, love. Perhaps she should actually go somewhere before we celebrate? Mmmm?" Vera could be heading to the supermarket for all they knew. It was still too early to tell.

After a few more kilometers, they began to realize that she was heading towards the Monks Cross Shopping Centre on Malton Road. Before she actually reached the parking area, she turned into the Park and Ride car lot. A respectable distance behind, they followed in her steps. They could see she had found an open space in the front row. This was an odd situation. If she were going to the ASDA, or the Marks and Spencer, she had parked too far away for it to be practical. This could only mean that she meant to take a bus somewhere.

"I'll get off now if we have any chance of following her further. I'll text you." Elsie bolted from the passenger seat in the direction of the bus stop, but Vera had made it to the stop the moment a grey line bus was getting ready to head out on its route. Vera got on board and the doors closed immediately. In a composed rage, Elsie saw as it sped away. It was bus #33, she read from afar on the back side. They could still trail her if they managed to get her to board it further on in the route. She knew exactly where the route stopped, having learned the entire route system of the York transportation authority. She turned to look for Charles, hoping he had noticed she hadn't made it and breathed a sigh of relief as she heard a screech of wheels. He rounded a row of vehicle and moved in quickly to collect her.

"You missed her!" Charles bellowed at his wife.

"Well, I'm not 20 anymore, am I? Making a scene to catch the bus would have her focus on my face as I came on. It wasn't worth the risk."

He harrumphed loudly, but knew she was right. Big scenes only helped if they were awkward and annoying, a pain for somebody else to watch.

"We can catch up," she added.

By the time they made it out of the parking structure and turned onto the road that followed the bus route, it was at a distance. Elsie was determined to board it, but they encountered heavy traffic on the road; the result of exiting vehicles from the Shopping Centre.

"You should do Muslim. That's all you'll have time for." Elsie had reached towards the back seat where they usually had two or three accessories lined up in case they needed them. It was impossible to determine when things could change, so, anticipation was key in their game. Boarding a bus in close proximity to the target required camouflage. Charles kept an eye on the bus, but he could not get close enough to get her to a stop.

The delay, though frustrating, was giving her enough time to attire herself accordingly to the required charade. She had donned the hijab and wrapped it adequately. She looked at herself in the mirror. It looked convincing. To further compliment the outfit, she pulled the light coat she had on the backseat and started pulling it on. She would have to button it up completely. Her jumper had a slight dip in the front, something that a Muslim woman would never wear without a long sleeve, high neck undershirt. That wouldn't do. She needed to look the part and did not want to incite a riot if any other real Muslims saw her. She had the utmost respect for their beliefs and didn't think they would mind if she borrowed into their fashion for just a short period of time.

They were already nearing the York City Centre where Charles might not be able to drive any further. The bus stopped at a distance where Elsie thought she could board if she made a dash for it.

"I am going to run." Without waiting to hear if Charles said anything else, she exited the vehicle and slammed the door shut, sprinting the few meters. The doors had closed, but she rapped on the window and the kind driver stopped to get her.

"Thank you." She bowed her head as she paid and slowly made her way down the semi-congested aisle. There were no empty seats; it was full. There were people standing about, but not enough people that she could not see everybody's faces. She scrutinized every passenger in the most unobtrusive way possible. She reached the end and Vera was not there.

A/N: My next installment may take longer to post, as I will be on the road for the next two weeks. Thank you for reading and please tell me what you think?