| "Dans L'deporvue" | ||
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Monday 7th April 2008 10.15hrs Since Saturday, she had slept fragmentedly, waking in starts before curling up in a ball, and closing her eyes against the light outside and returning to her disjointed dreams. This time she wandered the empty halls of Section 1, but voices, of long lost dead operatives called to her "You did this, you are responsible," she had tried to escape, but there was no escape. Each time she found herself back where she had started and heard the voice of Operations laughing, "You thought you could escape," his face a picture of scorn, he pointed a finger, "you are one of us." She woke sweating, shaking and only relaxed when she had searched the apartment thoroughly that it was only a dream. She took a shower and dressed. Making coffee, she glanced at the answer phone, 15 messages from Paige, she had listened to them; all of them pleaded with her to get in touch, but she had been unable to do it. As she sipped the mug of strong black coffee, the phone rang shrilly making her jump, she clutched the mug tighter in her hands, as she waited for the answering machine to kick in. "Sage. This is the bookstore, the order has been delivered�" she snatched the handset up, "Gray, I am sorry�" for everything her mind said, his response was curt, "No matter," he paused for a short moment, and she wondered whether he was aware of recent events, tensely she waited for him to continue, "I have sent a case file over to you for your attention. You will be giving a presentation Tuesday at 12pm to the executives of Samboy Aggregates. All the data you need, is in the file. If you have any questions, contact me." He hung up abruptly, leaving her holding the now silent phone. Sooner or later, she would have to talk to Paige about the incident at the bar, but she had no idea what she was going to say, or even how to begin. Sighing deeply, she tapped in the numbers, and waited for the phone to ring, it wasn't answered and she didn't leave a message. She knew she should have tried the cell phone next, but she put the phone down. Later, she told herself, while her inner mind screamed `liar'. Upstairs, she downloaded the file, glad to have something to do, to occupy her mind and it seemed to help, she was focussed, on the task. The presentation was PR, she was Charlie (Charlotte) Ford, a freelance envirojournalist, who was asking to be allowed to present Samboy Aggregates as a positive case for dredging the channel. Her real target was Eric Wells, he worked as an accountant and she was to make contact with him and try to stay in touch. She reviewed the materials in the case file and the presentation that Gray had provided, he had given a financial slant which would allow her to `talk' to Eric if she needed to, but she had already formulated a plan. She took a pen and scribbled notes on paper, roughing out a draft of the plant, and location and was enjoying the satisfaction of being a part of a mission again, she hadn't realised how much she had missed it. She felt more like her old self now, just being assigned to an active case, where her skills were needed, it gave her a thrill to think of going into action. She picked up her cell phone and called Paige, she knew she would be fine, it had just been a minor glitch, that was all. Paige answered at the first ring, "Sara.." her voice was even, but controlled, with just a hint of pissed off. "Are you free to talk?" a pause, "Yes, where?" Saf named a location, she didn't want Paige to see the apartment until she had time to clear it up, and she would feel happier meeting elsewhere. "I'll be there in an hour", she hung up; Saf knew it wasn't going to be easy to explain, but at least it she had made a start. Some Park in South Amboy 12.00hrs The wind was bitterly cold, but she had selected a place that was sheltered and where there were few people around. She had purchased a hot chocolate from a take-out shop, and waited for Paige to show. She didn't have long to wait, Paige came walking around the corner accompanied by Jordan, both of whom looked anxious. Involuntarily she stood up, and waited for the storm to break. To her surprise, it was Jordan who took the initiative, "Sara, what happened at Bello's?" Saf started her explanation and Paige watched on silently, standing apart, as she told of how she seemed to `snap' at the point where the girl had tried to slap her. Jordan threw a look at Paige, that seemed to say `does that suit you?' and a tiniest bit of acknowledgement back came from Paige before she turned to face her, "Get a grip on your temper Saf, you can't afford to bring that sort of attention to yourself." Saf knew she was right, but it didn't make it any easier, "and as for ignoring messages, it isn't on." Paige's voice was angry now, "It isn't just you, you could have brought it all down on us." Saf could hear the pain behind the anger, and stifled the comment she would have made. She bit down on her lip and nodded her acknowledgement of her wrong doing. Jordan sat down on the bench, "C'mon guys, lighten up. The police are not involved.." Paige interrupted, "this time.." Saf knew when to give up, "There won't be another time, it was just a slip. Please give me a chance to prove it to you?" Paige nodded, as did Jordan, and it was Jordan again who smoothed things over, "I'm sure you won't. How about a cup of coffee?, I could do with some caffeine." Saf smiled, "Sure, count me in, though I thought you preferred tea?" Jordan nodded, "Sometimes only coffee works." Paige smiled, but Saf knew Paige still had doubts, but was going to give her another chance. They walked out into the bitter wind. They had enjoyed coffee at a small cosy, shop on the outskirts of the park. The conversation was light, and friendly. They couldn't talk business, in public, that would have to wait for another occasion, but for now three friends meeting for coffee, it was a light relief. Afterwards, Paige and Jordan excused themselves, saying they had to get back, something to do with the SIA she thought, but she was not privy to that information; she had her own future to plan, and ideas to plan out. Returning to her apartment, she cleared the mess she had made, and restored order, enjoying the physical exertion she had to use, it was nice to have a home, her own space. She polished and vacuumed and restored the furniture to their normal position, from where she had thrown it. An hour later, and she was ready for the next task, she showered and changed into cotton vest and pants, removing anything tight. In her bedroom, she sat down on the mat, crossing her legs, following the path. 10 slow breaths, 10 deep breaths, send your mind into the void. No past, no present, no future. No hot or cold, pain or joy, just existence. From dust you came, into dust you will return, from nothing into nothing. She felt the freedom, like a burst of light inside, cleansing her mind of anger, of pain, of everything except the moment of her being, renewing. Slowly she returned, taking on the mantle of everyday life, but feeling energised, more alive than she had felt for a long while. Today was a new start, the old pain and anger removed, time to start living again. She had done a lot of meditation and thought over the past few days; it helped her regain her perspective and control. She stretched and stood up, and returned downstairs, time to start work. 15.00hrs She sat down on the couch with her notes, went through the plan again and rehearsed the presentation she would be giving tomorrow. She realised that she needed to tell the lab, that she would be working at home on her research paper, she phoned the lab to speak to Hazel, who said that would be fine, just keep her updated on progress. The paper was nearly complete, again thanks to Gray, who provided her with enough information to keep her ahead of her work. She read up the profile on Eric, he didn't have many interests, kept very much to himself, but she was certain she knew she could get close to him. She went out shopping and brought some clothes and accessories for Charlie, she was going to be blonde, and had got a wig of straight strawberry blonde hair, plus some bleach for her eyebrows. Eyes, she had got a series of different colour contacts, and after trying the wig on, decided that chocolate brown got her vote. A short skirt of deep chocolate brown, topped with a low cut cream sweater seemed to set the right note of appearance and she settled on a pair of low heels. The rest of her evening was spent learning the basics of environmental journalism, hoping that she had enough of a grasp on it to bluff her way through. Tuesday, 8th April 2008 09.00hrs That night, she slept dreamlessly, for the first time in a few ights. Morning showed that the storms of yesterday had once again given way to a promise of spring. She showered and then created Charlie from the ground up, finishing with the blond wig, careful to ensure that the glue she used, hid all her own colour. Her eyebrows she had lightly bleached last night, and they were now paler than her own colour, but looked natural enough to get away with. She added make-up and lipstick, finishing with quick set nail polish in a matching colour. When she looked in the mirror, she was reminded of Madeline's initial training, `a woman of your looks and with the ability to kill' she turned abruptly away. She picked up her briefcase containing her presentation notes and left. She drove up close to the location, and parked in a shopping mall, flagging a taxi to take her to Samboy Aggregates. The presentation was due at 12pm, but she arrived early, for 11.00am, hoping to get a glimpse of her target. While she was waiting she browsed the literature in Reception, and read through her notes, her brief was to shuffle the papers in front of him if she could, and he would stop to help her pick them up. She had her doubts about that being the case, and had a back up plan arranged. A secretary arrived to show her to the boardroom, she followed, a clutch of papers in her hand. She was led along a series of corridors, and in front of her was the double doors of the boardroom, damn she thought, no Eric. She concentrated on the presentation for the moment, he would just have to wait. She was shown into a large square room, dominated by a large oak table. To her surprise, Paige was amongst those seated around it, along with 5 men and surprisingly Eric. What an accountant was doing there, she wasn't certain, but she went along with it for the moment. Paige was introduced as Melissa Becker, a biologist hired on the recommendation of the EPA, Randolph Branks was another and the other names she noted down on her notebook. She introduced herself as Charlie Ford, allowing her British accent to thicken and strengthen her case. She handed out articles for magazines she had written (Gray must have arranged this), and outlined her presentation. The presentation itself took 35 minutes, or rather it took 20 and then a further 15 minutes were taken up with questions from Paige, who held nothing back. She kept her cool and concentrated on her brief, which was the company slant on environmentalism, dredging had it's good points, contaminated sludge could be removed, and allow natural wildlife to develop. Paige had smiled, and countered with her view on the damage to migration routes of the sea turtles. It had been amusing to be able to put a defence from the point of view of balancing the needs of the wildlife, with the needs of profits in business. When all the questions were done, she was thanked and advised that they would be in contact. She collected her papers together and put them in her briefcase, while still talking to Randolph. She allowed the papers to slip onto the floor and as she bent down to pick them up, she knew she was giving Eric a good view of her cleavage. It was to no avail, although as a group, they helped her pick up the papers, she had no chance of speaking to him. 12.45pm She left her card with the secretary who had shown her in, "I can be contacted here if you need me, they are my agents. I hope they consider my proposal?" The secretary smiled, but with little warmth, she showed Saf the way back to Reception and left her there waiting for a taxi. She was still sitting waiting 30 mins later, the number she had rung had been SIA, and she had spoken to Gray. There was no taxi, never was going to be one, but `they' weren't to know that. She caught a glimpse of Eric, walking towards Reception, and leapt to her feet. Politely, she asked the girl on the desk, how far it was to town, as he approached. She kept looking at her watch, and when he enquired, whether there was a problem, she was able to say that she had ordered a taxi to pick her up, but it still hadn't arrived. She had an interview for a job, but she was going to miss it, unless she could get a taxi. Eric, being the gentleman she had thought he might be, replied "I can give you a lift if you like, I am going that way." She smiled, relieved, "I don't want to put you out," but he was reassuring, "You won't be, what time is your interview?" "It's at 1.30pm, but I prefer to be early," she replied, "Are you sure, you don't mind." He smiled, more friendly now, "Please, it will give me a chance to talk to you about your proposal." She felt good, he had taken the bait. "Thank you, it is very kind of you." He led the way to his car, a sports model, in bright red. Not a cheap model, but then if you are a crooked accountant, you have money to spend. He was a good driver, fast but safe, not taking risks. "How did you get into Journalism?" he asked, she laughed gently "by accident, I was on a protest march about building a motorway across some Newbury. It was covered by the news programs, and Daddy was furious that I had embarrassed him, I was interviewed by Newsnight, about the issues involved and afterwards, a producer suggested I had a flair for reporting both sides of the conflict. I enrolled in a journalism course, and here I am, freelance reporter, just about making a living." Eric, smiled, "I am sure that someone with your looks, doesn't find it hard."She put an edge on her voice, "You would be surprised at the amount of people who don't take what I do seriously, but one day, I will�" He put a hand on her knee, "Sorry, I didn't mean to offend you." She looked at him, "No, you didn't. I shouldn't be so sensitive about it, it's just that.." she allowed the tears to fall from her eyes, and looked away from him, out of the window. "Please Ms Ford. Charlie, don't be upset." He pulled into the side of the road, and offered his handkerchief, she smiled at him, through the tears, and he spoke softly, "You can't go for an interview like that, let me buy you a drink first." She shook her head, refusing politely, "It's not your fault. All my life, people assume that just because I look good, that it gets me what I want. It is harder for me than they think. I enjoy what I do, but I want to be known as a good writer, not a good looker." Eric had the good grace to look ashamed for a moment, and then he said, "If I buy you dinner, would you forgive me?" She hesitated for a moment, before replying, "I'd like that, if you promise not to talk about me," He nodded, and she gave him the address of the hotel where she had booked a room. He agreed to pick her up at 8pm. He dropped her at the address she had given him for the interview, which was near to her car. He drove off, giving her a wave, after wishing her good luck. She walked along, whistling to herself. Target Acquired. She felt pleased with herself, and ready to deal with anything. Return |
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