| "Sans Violer (Without Force)" | ||
|
Monday 26th May 2008 11.30hrs The car dropped her at her door, the driver had been silent throughout the journey, but that had been fine with her; she wasn't in the mood for talking either. Her entire upper body was stiff and bruised and where the road rash was worst her clothes were rubbing against it which meant that a nice warm bath was out of the question. She opened her front door, and picked up the post, throwing it onto the counter and peeled off her jacket slowly, hanging it up on the rack wincing at the motion in her bruised shoulder. Putting the kettle on she flicked through the brochures, trying to work out what to replace the Harley with, there was never a question of not replacing it, not in her mind. Despite the risks, she wasn't prepared to give up, not yet. She poured herself a cup of tea, and took it out onto the balcony. The sun was warm, and the breeze refreshing, she sorted through the bikes, discarding the ones which she either didn't like or didn't meet her specifications. Finally she came down to two, the Honda Transalp or the BMW R1150GS; the Transalp was a smaller 600cc engine, but a lighter body meant a higher power to weight ratio, while the BMW was built to handle the freeways as well as the rough tracks. She knew it wasn't going to be an easy choice, and probably needed to try both out on a test drive before making a final decision, though her heart was swinging towards the BMW because the engine size was big enough to get her out of trouble and after the incident with the Harley safety was paramount. She heard the bleeping of her comms system indicating incoming mail, and ignored it in favour of sitting out into the sunshine, but she couldn't ignore it forever and finally went inside and flicked the screen to her email accounts. The latest was an email from Hazel at the Wolfe Lab querying an element in her report. She couldn't bring the report to mind, and had to call it up on the laptop before realising that the numbers in a key table had been transposed and that the results were skewed. She edited the report, correcting the errors and sent it via email to Hazel apologising for the delay. The next couple of hours she spent reviewing her schedule for work, as well as putting together an outline for improvements to the communications systems for the SIA. The roll out of the secure network to Liaison Officers had been done fast, but had left little room for checking or improving the performance and now they had been operational for a while she had given some thought to improvements. She encoded the outline and emailed it to Gray, along with a request to test ride the Honda and the BMW bikes as well as thanking him for his assistance yesterday and she added a postscript inviting him over for a meal as a thank you for giving her dinner last night. That done, she grabbed a lightweight jacket and went for a stroll along the seafront. She was too stiff to consider running or too much exercise, but a brisk walk would do just as well and she took along some stale bread to feed to the birds on the lake near the shore. 18.30hrs Paige had called to let her know she was doing ok, she didn't want company still but explained that away with the effects of the concussion, though she said she would call in a few days and then alpha team would hang out, even offering her place though mentioning Pizza or someone, meaning Saf, cooking up a meal. Saf had felt relieved, she had been worried about Paige, but she had sounded as though she were on the mend and she could quit worrying about her now. Invigorated by her walk, and suddenly realising she was starving she sent out for a takeaway, cooking was not on her plans for tonight, instead she was going to have an evening in front of the television watching the baseball game, not that it made a lot of sense to her, but if she was going to a game with Paige she had to make the effort. Afterwards she realised that the presenters made it easier, after a while she had got the basics of the ground rules and although she wasn't going to be any expert, neither could she be called a ignorant novice. Tuesday 27th May 2008 01.15hrs Sleep was still elusive, she was as wide awake now as she had been at 8pm, despite having only got a couple of hours light sleep last night, and there would be no point in trying to force sleep she would only turn restlessly in bed before getting up again. Instead she flicked on the tv to the film channel, watching old movies. 03.45hrs She woke up fast, as wide awake as though she had never been asleep the tv hissing silently in the cold light of dawn, she switched it off and stretched. Then pulled a blanket over her before lying back on the couch, she hit the remote for the sound system and the gentle sounds of the music playlist echoed through the room. The first track was Albatross, and it never failed to make her relax, the music swept over her like waves on a beach and she let herself be caught up in the mood. 07.00hrs The gentle bleep of the phone, the tone telling her it was Gray, brought her out of her doze; she couldn't go so far as to call it sleep. "Good Morning Gray" she answered brightly, though surviving on 3 hours sleep a night was beginning to be a strain. "I have read through your outline, it sounds interesting," she smiled at the tones in his voice. "I thought you might," she replied, "the first version was rushed through, since then I have had a bit more time to refine the system." "How soon can you be ready to run a test?" she noted the tones in his voice, it was as though he wasn't the only one listening. She glanced down at her watch, if she got on the computer now and started writing code, she estimated that she could demonstrate it for 15.00hrs. She chose her words carefully, "I can have a rough system ready for testing about 4pm, but to be certain all the bugs are ironed out, I would prefer to have a couple of days. I really wouldn't want to rush this one through, and the other one is still secure enough for the moment." Gray murmured, "I see. OK, in that case let me know when you are ready and I will schedule a room here." She smiled, she could have done it faster, but it was always worth trying to give yourself some leeway. "Thanks," she replied, "I'll be in touch." "Hang on a moment." "Something up?" she asked. "Only two bikes waiting for you to test drive," he laughed, "if you are up for it after yesterday?" "No worries," she would be fine, the soreness was beginning to go, and she had had worse injuries than this and had still had to go out on missions for Section 1. "When and where?" "Mackenzie and Fraser, about a mile down the coast road from you," he responded, "I have put enough money in your bank account to cover either of the two you selected, and they are expecting you at 2pm." "Thanks Gray," she meant it, and not just for the bikes either, he was turning out to be a good friend. "That's ok, just let me know which one you choose." And then he hung up, and she was left holding a now silent phone. She made herself some tea and took it upstairs to the computer, putting together the ideas into reality. For the next few hours she immersed herself in the coding and testing that the outline indicated. She set herself an alarm; otherwise she probably would forget the appointment for the bike ride. 13.35hrs She noticed the alarm, designed to be irritating and saved the programs, closing down the computer. She never knew where the time went, but hours could pass by in what seemed like only one hour to her. She changed into her spare set of leathers, and drove down to the dealers. Greg was a typical salesman dealing with a woman, but she stood her ground. She purchased a new helmet to ride the bike with, hers having been irretrievably damage in the accident and took out the Honda first. It was light, and responsive, but she didn't feel comfortable in the saddle. After a drive down the coast road and back, she returned it and switched to the BMW. She swung her leg over the saddle, and familiarised herself with the controls. It gave her a good feeling from the start, she felt at home, the bigger engine and larger body suiting her down to the ground. She turned the ignition on and felt the power burst into life; it spoke to her inner voice and she knew that this would be the one for her, she didn't need the test drive to tell her that, but she was going to take it out anyway. She kicked it off the stand, and opened the throttle, feeling the engine respond. After the Honda it was like a thoroughbred, light, and manoeuvrable and it was meant to be hers; she could turn it on a circle in the yard, and yet it still felt stable beneath her. She turned it out onto the road, and opened it up a pace, it was sweet, the engine full of power and yet she was doing over the speed limit. Unlike the Honda, she didn't curtail her ride, instead she took a full two hours of pure indulgent pleasure on the bike, her stiffness and bruising forgotten in the sheer fun that it was giving her and it was with some regret that she finally turned back to the dealers. Greg was waiting for her on the forecourt, looking anxious at her delayed return. She apologised for her lateness, but when she announced she was buying the BMW his eyes lit up; he was obviously on commission. She smiled, the memory of the ride lingering uppermost in her thoughts. "How soon can I pick it up?" It was agreed that she could pick it up at 18.00hrs, subject to her cheque clearing. Of that she was certain, sufficient funds were in her account and all she needed to do was give Gray the details and he would sort out the insurance cover in time. She signed the relevant paperwork and drove home, her mood lightened considerably by the bike's performance and handling and she was looking forward to spending some time getting accustomed to the bike. 14.25hrs She parked the jeep in the garage and went inside, calling Gray who arranged the insurance as well as a car to pick her up and take her to the garage for 6pm. She relaxed on the sofa, for once happy just to sit still in one place, and feeling more settled than she had for a long while. 19.50hrs Having collected the bike, she had taken it for a spin, while the roads were quiet and getting used to the bike, not that it demanded a lot from her and it was exhilarating to put it through its paces; but it was time to head for home, and finish off the outline for Gray. 20.45hrs The phone rang the tone one she used for unknown numbers and she stared at it wondering who or what was involved. She picked it up, and answered it slowly saying the minimum and not giving anything away. "Hello?" "Safara, its Joshua." What did he want? "Yes?" "We have an emergency. Call in Jordan to your place I'll be there as soon as I can to explain." 'We have an emergency? SIA or Section? And why call in just Jordan, not mentioning the rest of the Alpha unit, she felt the prickles rise up on the back of her neck, but she challenged him coldly, "What's going on?" He paused, "This doesn't go to the SIA. Paige and Baz were just taken in by a Section team working covertly." She felt as though her body was numb, but she had only spoken to Paige yesterday, how could she be lifted by Section and who or what was behind it? Anger at the situation tinged her voice when she replied, "When will you be here?" "I'll be there within the hour." She would have to move fast, to get Jordan over to her place in time, but she wouldn't give him the satisfaction of knowing that, instead her reply was calm and authoritative, "Alright, we'll be here." `Yes, waiting for you and you had better have some answers as to why Section is lifting agents?' she finished the call without saying anything else and hot-dialled Jordan's number. "Jordan?" "Yes," came her voice, sounding a little weary. "Jordy, we have a problem. I need you to be at my place about five mins ago, Joshua is on his way over to explain, but I need you here before he gets here." A brief pause, crisper and more alert, "I'll be there." And she was left holding a disconnected line. All she could do now is wait, and prepare. Return |
||