Orange Storm by Ned Marcus

Author:Ned Marcus
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Orange Log Publishing

18

Ruth walked down a carpeted passage deep underground in a section of Thames House she hadn’t known existed an hour earlier. She was still tired after the night at Shakerley Manor; her hopes of taking a nap had gone. It was late on Saturday afternoon, and she was already behind schedule, having got lost in the labyrinth of passages, and was nervous at the prospect of the meeting some of the most powerful people in Britain.

Her phone vibrated as she approached the soundproofed meeting room. If she’d already been inside the room, the call wouldn’t have reached her.

“Jack?” She was irritated. They’d agreed not to speak until next week. “I’m late for a meeting.”

“I need to talk to you—”

“Can’t this wait?”

“Bonnie and Steve have been killed.”

She stopped in the passage. “Are you alright?”

“I’m okay, but Bonnie was executed in front of me.”

“Oh my God!” She’d never met his colleagues in Red Team, but she’d heard their names and knew they were close. She listened to what she guessed was the abbreviated version. “When did this happen?”

“This morning. I’ve already spoken to the police. I think the two suspects are innocent. I saw their reaction when Bonnie was murdered, and when they saw the killer.”

“Who?”

“Angel Provost. We served together. I told you about him.”

“I remember.”

“He shot Dr Lee, too, but the bullet just grazed him. He’s lucky to be alive. He was delirious, mentioning aliens or something, but the medic said he’d be okay. What I do know is that a foreign group is attacking our country.” He paused. “I’ll let you get to your meeting.”

“I’ve found new things inside the snow,” she said.

“Tell me later. But one more thing.”

“What?”

“There was an animal with Angel.”

“A panther?” She’d read the reports.

“Its eyes glowed.”

Ruth almost laughed. “What?”

The man by the entrance of the meeting room coughed.

“Jack, I’m being called into the meeting.”

She hung up and walked inside the plush meeting room. When she realised that she had been the last person to enter, she felt her cheeks burning in embarrassment, especially when she saw the new home secretary watching her from the head of the table.

“Good of you to join us, Ms Hardy,” Robert Best, the head of MI5, said as she entered.

This was the first time since she’d joined MI5 that she’d been late for a meeting. It wasn’t something she did. But here, in front of the most senior people in the country, she was late.

“I’m sorry. I had an important call . . .”

The men and women in the room all watched her.

“From . . .” She didn’t want to say from her boyfriend. “From someone with information on the situation.”

The head of MI5 nodded, and she took her seat next to Derek White, the head of the biological and chemical warfare unit. He’d been studying the chemical composition of the snow. There were seven people in the meeting, including herself, and she knew the names of all but two.

Rebecca Smith, the new home secretary, sat at the head of the table.

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