“Not all of it. It had a basis in fact.”
She smiled and reached out to him again, taking his hand.
“We have to go to them. He’s more like me than I thought.”
David frowned. “What do you mean?”
“I can’t explain now, but we are so close it is unreal.”
“Okay, so how?”
“I’m going to make him believe that there are more of me than just me, and that he is vastly more powerful than anyone we have. Then, I want time to talk to him.”
“Aren’t you forgetting the others?”
“That’s what you’re here for.”
“Oh yeah, so clue me, what do I do?”
“I’ll tell you when I know. Have we got time before breakfast?”
“For what?” he asked, as her arm snaked around his shoulder, drawing him back onto the bed.
“I guess,” he said, knowing he had no choice in the matter.
“I have them!” Ivan said, startling Vassily and the others. They were sitting in the car on the M4 near Hounslow, heading west. It was nearly four in the afternoon, and the traffic out of London was beginning to build up. They had a good map of the area, and Ivan was sitting in the front, his fingers hovering above the page, with his eyes closed. They’d spent the best part of three days driving in ever increasing circles out from central London.
“Them?” Vassily asked, once he’d worked out what he was on about.
“Yes, sir, them. There appear to be more than one.”
Vassily frowned, as he had convinced himself that they were dealing with one very gifted individual. Hans smiled, as he’d never accepted that all those girls could have possibly been the same person. Wisely, he said nothing, waiting for Ivan to clarify the situation.
“Well, where are they?” asked Vassily, letting his impatience get the better of him.
“They are at a special facility near Beaconsfield. Like your own centre, I suspect, Colonel.”
“You said they weren’t in London,”
“They aren’t, they’re just outside.”
Dimitri looked at Vassily, who nodded. Dimitri fought over to the nearside lane and took the Heathrow turn off the motorway, at Junction Four, but headed north, through West Drayton, away from the airport.
“Now where?” he asked.
“Come off the motorway, head up through West Drayton, Uxbridge, and then out along the M40, heading for Beaconsfield,” said Ivan, his finger following the route on a map.
Once more, the driver looked to the colonel, who nodded again.
“Are you sure?”
Ivan smiled. “Quite sure, sir.”
“Could this be a trap?”
Shaking his head, Ivan smiled confidently. “No sir, I’ve caught a glimpse of three minds, and none of them are aware of us at all. They are mild receptors only. The girl is one of them.”
“How long?” Vassily asked the driver.
“In this traffic, an hour at least.”
Vassily grinned, glancing at the German, who said little, but the Russian knew the Stasi agent missed little of what was going on.
“Well, Hans, looking forward to meeting her again?”
“I’ll believe it when I see it. Besides, how do you intend dealing with her? You can’t just burst in and grab her, can you?”
“First we locate her, and then we call in the troops. Even if this is a trap, they can only underestimate us. They can’t watch her every moment of every day.”
“They’re coming!”
Matthew nodded, knowing that if the girl was certain, then she was right. He knew better than question her judgement.
David glanced at the tall English officer. Although not in uniform, Dave knew the signs. Major Rider was used to command and would be cool and calm under pressure. Dave had met enough of them in his time.
“How do we play this, Major?”
Matthew glanced at the American. He knew that Amber and he were lovers, and in a way was grateful, for having someone to love meant that Amber was more relaxed. However, the downside was she was less alert and her mind may not be so keen.
<I resent that, Matty!>
Matthew smiled, as he kept forgetting how sensitive she was.
“We let them see what we want them to see. This is a military establishment, so they know they can’t get close enough to spy on us.”
The Army Education Corps HQ at Wilton Park was hardly a secret military base. It was well signposted and was literally a school for the army educationalists. Language courses and diverse training courses were about as exciting as it got.
The Lt. Colonel of the base had been told the minimum of what they were doing, and the MOD police were present but out of obvious sight.
Amber was sitting on a hard chair in a small office. Her eyes were closed and she was obviously concentrating.
“I’ve intimated that there are three of us, three girls. Can you get a couple of girls to use as decoys?”
“Your size and build?” Matthew asked.
“Doesn’t matter, but preferable, I suppose.”
“I’ll get it done.”
As Matthew left, David watched Amber.
“What are you doing?”
“Shhh.”
He shut up and walked over to the window. Set in lovely countryside. The base was in a prime spot. He watched as a group of Middle Eastern looking soldiers jogged along the road. He was aware that the British taught soldiers from many different nations, some of which might very well find themselves fighting those men who had taught them in some future conflict.
“Okay, sorry Dave, but I was just setting the scene.”
“Would you let me in on the secret?”
“No secret, really. I’ve managed to contact Ivan, and convinced him that he was the one who has found us. I’ve focussed on the German, and you were right, it was those damn photographs. Anyway, I will become the girl he met, so they’ll be certain they’re onto us.”
“What about the others? Surely they’ll know they have no power.”
“Ah, I can make them appear to have, just until they see me and lose interest in them.”
Time seemed to slow down. David was becoming tense, particularly as he had very little to do. This was the opportunity for the British to show what they had, which would have enormous bearing on whether they would be in a position to assist the Americans with their domestic problem.
Amber spent most of the time with her eyes closed, but then, in David’s presence she became someone else. The girl was taller and slightly slimmer, like an athlete, but with paler hair, as Ambers was a more yellow gold, this was ash blonde. Her cheekbones became more pronounced and she had a rather Teutonic appearance.
Her eyes opened suddenly, making David jump.
“Ah so, schauen Sie nicht so hat uberrascht!” she said.
“I don’t speak German, and you damn well know it!”
“You look surprised!”
“Damn right! This is weird, I’m not going to get used to this quickly.”
“Well, like her?”
“She’s very attractive. Shit, you’re very attractive. This kinda fucks with my brain. Which is the real you, Amber?”
“The real me? You don’t want to know. As I told you before, the girl you’ve been with is whom I become when I don’t try.”
“So, what happens now?”
“We let them come, I ensure they identify me, then I isolate them one by one, until I have the Russian.”
“Which one? There are two.”
“The young one. The older one is no threat to me,” she said, smiling.
Dimitri parked the car in the lay-by on the A315, just between the M40 and the A40. They could see the tall building belonging to Wilton Park sticking up like a nasty blemish on otherwise lovely countryside.
Vassily looked at Ivan.
“Well?”
The young man was sitting with his eyes closed.
“Ivan! What’s happening?” Vassily asked, not getting a response.
“I suggest we approach by car. There is a military housing estate prior to entering the base itself. There is little or no security until you get to the main gate.”