Chapter 26
A Long Day
2345 – London, UK
Elvis was a bundle of suppressed energy waiting for the doctor to make the final snip on the sutures.
"These will need to be removed in ten to fourteen days, and watch for any signs of infection….."
"I read ya doc. I've got a personal medic at home," Elvis said reaching for his shirt.
Doctor Prescott looked toward Dave Warner for assurance.
"His wife," Warner said.
"I pity the poor woman," Prescott said pushing himself back on the wheeled stool.
Elvis chuckled but winced as he put his arms into the shirt sleeves. "Nah, I'm the one to be pitied doc. I ain't never gonna hear the end of this."
Xxxxx
0000 – Hereford, UK
The clock in the foyer chimed the midnight hour just as Georgie began her descent down the staircase. She paused when she reached the bottom, taking in Elvis' office from the doorway. Her eyes slowly narrowed when the thought struck her that he could have borrowed Spanner's phone, but instead used Dave Warner's. She sought out Toni.
"Heyyy, is the little private getting his crew rest?" Toni said twisting around in her chair when Georgie entered the room.
"Yeah. He's good. Blissfully oblivious," Georgie said. "Have ya heard from Spanner?"
"Recently? Negative."
"Hmmmmm. Elvis called me."
"What? When?"
"About twenty minutes ago," Georgie said moving to sit on the sofa.
"So…..he's OK?"
"That's debatable."
Toni frowned, "debatable?"
Georgie leaned in, elbows resting on her knees. "Elvis contacted me, using Dave Warner's phone."
"Warner? MI5 Warner?"
"Yeah."
"Ok. So….?"
Georgie lowered her head, stewing on her thoughts for a moment. "If….the team was together Elvis would have used Spanner's or Jackson's phone. No. He used Warner's."
Toni straightened her posture. "And your perception is?"
"I haven't figured that out yet."
"Seems to me it's better that Elvis called you instead of Warner." Toni said. "Besides, as captain he would be held accountable to a different level of intelligence."
"Yeah, yeah you're right," Georgie said sitting upright and rubbing at a tight muscle in her neck.
"It's been a long day." She slowly sat back letting her body settle into the cushions. Covering her face with her hands, she pressed fingertips into her eyelids. If only the stress would let up, even for an instant. "To make matters worse," she said. "And yes, they are worse, Laura has not returned home."
Toni's mouth fell open before she said, "You've got to be joking!"
Georgie's arms dropped to her sides. "No. I finally talked to Debbie. It's a shit show there. She said London is on lock-down and the police are involved in the search for Laura. Reginald is being a prick, as usual, and oh…..yeah…..we just need for Elvis to find out."
"Laura did tell you she was going home, yeah?"
"Yaaaaaaeah. That's the impression she gave me."
"Did you try to call her and find out what the hell she is doing?"
"No. I told Debbie to call her. She's her mother."
Toni scrunched her nose. She had not received an all clear message from Spanner. Something was definitely still brewing in London. She looked at her watch. 0030 hours. Both she and Georgie were due back on base at 0700 hours. Keeping a vigil was not going to change what they had no control over.
"Mind if I bunk here for the remainder of our wait out?" Toni said.
Georgie lifted her wrist to her face and squinted at the numbers on her watch. She had to get Daniel packed for his day with Iris. Thankfully their neighbor watched over Daniel whilst she and Elvis were on base. "No problem. The spare room is all yours."
"Appreciate it," Toni grabbed for her mobile before standing and regarded Georgie for a moment. "Laura will be OK."
"I hope so. She was really distraught about her father," Georgie said.
"Then let her know you talked to him."
Georgie stared at her friend. It was a good idea.
"I have a small kit in my car, be right back," Toni said.
Georgie responded with a weary smile and said, "of course ya do."
Toni gave her a cheeky wink before heading out the door.
Xxxxx
0030 – London, UK
A light rain streaked against the car windows. From the back seat Elvis took in the artificially lit sidewalks. Few people were out at this time, only those with a purpose or short distance to their destination. Traffic however, was slow moving. The ride to Whitehall should have been textbook. Not this morning. Elvis' arm throbbed from the picking, prodding and suturing. Of course, he refused pain medication. He needed to remain focused, sharp. Instead of debriefing at MI5 Headquarters they were convening at Whitehall. Colonel Thornton was waiting along with other military advisors, and Jason Speers.
Now his arm was screaming disapproval. The lock down was hindering their movement. Metro blockades were positioned throughout the city. Elvis knew he would have no place to rest his head when the debrief was over. All of the hotels would be booked to capacity with folks who could not get out of the city. His stomach gnawed in protest. The last meal he had eaten was breakfast and that was over eighteen hours ago. His fingers began tapping on the arm rest to a tune playing inside of his head. He needed a diversion from his rising impatience.
Dave Warner glanced at him. He knew beneath the otherwise calm exterior the Special Forces Captain was anything but calm. The tapping was just a prelude. The fingers stopped tapping.
"Steve, ya runnin out of fuel or wha?" Elvis said to the driver.
Warner smirked. A pair of blue eyes in the rear view mirror directed their gaze at Elvis.
"Fuel is fine. Traffic is not," Steve Parks said.
Elvis stared back at him. "We could walk faster than we're movin 'ere."
"Be my guest sir."
Parks was not military. He was a civilian who chauffeured for MI5.
"We're only a couple blocks away. Relax, "Warner said.
Elvis ground his jaw in disdain. He knew they were both right. It was a long day.