Lethbridge-Stewart: The Grandfather Infestation by John Peel

Author:John Peel [Peel, John]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: General Fiction
Publisher: Candy Jar Books
Published: 2016-08-02T14:00:00+00:00

— CHAPTER ELEVEN —

Stop Stop Stop

LETHBRIDGE-STEWART HAD ALWAYS UNCONSCIOUSLY assumed that all admirals were stout gentlemen, faces reddened by years of drinking rum, bearded and either irascible or jovial. Admiral Hennessey fit none of his preconceptions; he was a tall, thin, clean-shaven man approaching sixty, with an utterly unreadable face. And his preferred tipple turned out to be Scotch. The two of them had small glasses while awaiting the arrival of Air Marshal McMillan. When the flyer arrived, Lethbridge-Stewart wasn’t too surprised to discover no accompanying handlebar moustache. The three of them sat around the table in Lethbridge-Stewart’s outer office. Since Bishop was absent, he roped in Hawke as his temporary aide.

‘Bad business,’ McMillan opined. ‘You’ve lost a sub, eh, Reggie? They’ll probably take it out of your salary.’ The two men clearly knew one another well, and were not exactly on friendly terms; this didn’t bode well. Lethbridge-Stewart needed co-operation here, not antagonism.

‘Gentlemen,’ he said, briskly. ‘I thought I’d bring you up to date on what we’re doing about the situation and see if we can’t all help one another here.’

‘I don’t understand what the damned army is doing in this business anyway,’ Hennessey growled. ‘It should be a strictly naval operation. And I expected Hamilton here, not some underling.’

The crack annoyed Lethbridge-Stewart, but he tried not to allow his anger to grow. ‘I’m here because the Fifth has experience of these matters in the past, and we’re taking steps to deal with this event.’

‘Dammit, man, I have jurisdiction here,’ Hennessey complained.

‘With due respect, sir–’

‘I have long since learned that when somebody begins a sentence with due respect, then that’s the last thing I’ll get.’

‘With due respect,’ Lethbridge-Stewart said, pointedly, ‘I am confident that you and your forces are more than capable of dealing with the usual run of things. This, however, is not within your usual frame of reference.’

‘It’s a missing – presumably sunk – ship and a missing – presumably sunk – submarine. How is that not my usual run of things?’

‘Because I believe both events were caused by non-human interference,’ Lethbridge-Stewart stated.

‘Non-human…’ McMillan scowled. ‘You talking bug-eyed monsters here, man?’

‘I’m not at all certain of the shape of their eyes,’ Lethbridge-Stewart said slowly, ‘but the monsters part may be accurate, yes.’

‘You’ve been watching too much Doctor Omega,’ Hennessey snapped.

‘I rarely have the time to watch television,’ Lethbridge-Stewart replied drily. ‘And you’re both senior enough to know the particulars of the London Event.’

‘Certainly,’ McMillan agreed.

‘Of course,’ Hennessey added.

‘And if you have the clearance, I suggest you talk to Air Vice-Marshal Gilmore.’

McMillan eyed Lethbridge-Stewart for a moment. ‘What the devil has old Chunky got to do with anything?’

‘Talk to him and you’ll see.’

‘Very well, I will,’ McMillan said, glancing at Hennessey. ‘Regardless, the last thing we need is somebody yelling aliens at everything that we can’t immediately explain. There are other answers you know.’

‘I understand that,’ Lethbridge-Stewart agreed. ‘But in this case, aliens appear to fit the facts. There are other events beyond missing vessels tied into this case.

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