Millie gave the man his number and he hung up almost immediately.
He walked back home, calmed by the assertiveness he had heard at the other end of the mysterious line.
At home, he sat down in the living room, unsure of what to do with himself.
Georgina breezed in.
“Oh, hello. What are you up to?”
“Nothing,” Millie snapped back.
“Oh. It’s OK, Millie. I wasn’t accusing you of anything. Just wondered…”
“I’m sorry. Have you had a nice day, dear?”
Georgina dropped into an armchair. “Fine. A little boring. It has made me wonder what we’ll fill our days with, come retirement.”
Millie studied his fingernails.
“Millie? Are you listening to me?”
“Sorry, yes. What were you saying?”
Georgina rolled her eyes. “Really, Millie, sometimes you are off with the fairies. I was just saying, I don’t know how we’ll fill our days when we retire. I mean, you want to sail, but what will I do?”
“I’m sure you’ll find something. You enjoy shopping.”
“But with whom? We’re moving to the south coast. Mary will be up here, busy being an officer’s wife. Everyone we know who’s retired is scattered to the four winds. They don’t think about that when they post us all over the place, do they?”
“I’m sorry, who’s being posted?”
Georgina threw her hands in the air. “For goodness sake, Millie. I might as well be talking to the bloody wall.”
The phone rang. Millie leapt up.
Georgina stared at him.
“Whatever’s got into you?”
He looked at his watch.
7.17PM exactly.
“It will be for me.” He left the room and closed the door behind him.
The caller spoke first.
“Squadron Leader Milford?”
“Yes.”
“Someone will meet you. Will that do?”
“Yes.”
“Do you know St Mary and St Melor Church in Amesbury?”
“Yes, I do.”
“8AM on Saturday morning. You will meet one of our staff members who is located close by. She will be instructed to wear blue and sit toward the rear of the church. A young woman with short dark hair. Please come alone and do not discuss this or any aspect of your concerns with anyone else.”
“Yes, of course.”
“Actually, I can’t be certain she has something blue to wear, so don’t be put off if she’s wearing something different.”
Millie had no sooner agreed than the man hung up.
The living room door opened and Georgina stood, one hand on the frame, with a bemused look on her face.
“If I didn’t know better, I’d say you’re hiding something from me, Christopher Milford.”
18
FRIDAY 24TH JUNE
Rob woke early.
The sun streamed through a gap in the curtain, illuminating a swirl of house dust. He watched the slow rotation for a while.
The sound of an early morning engine run drifted into the room.
He still found it hard to believe that he was a part of it all. West Porton, TFU. Secret projects the outside world would be amazed to learn about.
And not just a part of it, but an important part.
Mary was in the kitchen in her nightie when he came down the stairs.
“Will I see you tonight?” she asked.
“Happy Hour on a Friday. I’m expected to be there.”
“But it’s not a formal do, is it? Do they need the mess secretary to help them drink?”
“We’ve been over this, Mary. The boss will probably be there and at the moment, yes, I think I should, too.”
He decided against a bowl of cereal and made for the door.
“We can do something tomorrow,” he said as he left.
“With Millie and Georgina?” Mary called after him, following him out.
Rob pulled back the canvas top of his Austin Healey.
“What is it, Rob? Why are we suddenly not friends with Millie and Georgina? You and Millie were so close.”
“It’s complicated.” He climbed into the car and drove away before Mary had a chance to reply.
IN THE PLANNING ROOM, Rob spotted Speedy Johnson at a desk. As he went over, he also checked for Millie. No sign.
“Speedy. Now might be a good time to see the boss about our suggestion?”
They headed over to Kilton’s office.
The boss was head down in paperwork as usual.
“Yes?” he said, without looking up.
Rob cleared his throat. “Speedy and I think it might be a good idea to take Guiding Light back down to three hundred feet.”
Kilton stopped writing and looked up. He tapped the pen on the table and leant back.
“Obviously, you’ll want to clear it with the station commander,” Johnson said, “but from our point of view it’s behaved impeccably and there’s no reason for the safety margin.”
“No abnormalities?” Kilton asked.
Both men shook their heads.
“We’ve only got a few flights left, boss,” said Rob. “I think it would be a display of our confidence in the system.”
Kilton smiled. “Good. I agree.”
“And the station commander?” Johnson asked.
“It’s my decision, Speedy. I run TFU.”
“Very good.” Johnson grinned. He and Rob headed out.
“Boys,” Kilton said as they reached the door. “Keep your wits about you.”
THE SKY WAS blue with dusty white streams of high cirrus clouds. Millie sat on the bench in front of the TFU offices, in full flying clothing. The planned departure had been delayed because of some mysterious admin task handed to Speedy and Rob.
His mind was on tomorrow’s clandestine meeting.
He watched as a Shackleton with lethal whirring propellers taxied onto the edge of the apron. A marshaller walked toward it, chocks in hand.
The flight-line was busy. Kilton had always ensured Friday was a normal flying day at TFU.
Millie lifted his face to the warm sun and raised his life vest to generate a breeze around his face. Then closed his eyes.
He saw a vision of a young woman in blue, kneeling in an empty church. He didn’t yet know her name, but it was as if he suddenly had a friend, someone to help him. Someone on his side.
Rob and Speedy bustled out of the building, helmets in hand. Steve Bright joined them.
“Let’s go,” Rob said and Millie followed them out to the waiting jet.
“Joining us today, Brighty?” Millie said. “An almost full size Vulcan crew.”
“Yeah, I think they’re playing it safe, just for this one.”
“Really?”
“Just this one, I think.”
Minutes later, panel lights flickered on as the Vulcan woke from its slumber. A growing whine outside signalled the engine start.
They held for a while as a queue formed at the threshold. It was approaching lunchtime and Millie realised he should have brought something to eat.
Eventually the acceleration force pushed him forward in his rear-facing seat as they thundered along the runway and up into the summer sky.
THIRTY MINUTES LATER, they descended to the entry gate for the low-level run west of Shrewsbury.
Rob pointed the nose at a distinctive oxbow loop on the River Severn. He levelled the Vulcan at one thousand feet.
Carefully managing the thrust and attitude, he settled them at two hundred and seventy-five knots.
“Ready.”
He could see from the modified panel to his left that Millie had activated Guiding Light some time back, as he always did, so it was just a case of Speedy connecting it to the autopilot.
“I don’t think I’ll ever get used to that sensation,” Speedy said over the intercom as the control column moved independently.