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Silvanus Another tale set in the Stevenson universe. Chapter 1 The First Step It was a thoroughly miserable February evening on the eastern outskirts of the Northern English town of Middlesbrough, it had been raining most of the day but as darkness fell the temperature dropped and it was now sleeting almost horizontally, being blown by the strengthening wind coming in off the north sea. The front door to a large Victorian detached house opened, a woman and man appeared, the woman appeared to be leaving. "Thank you for seeing me Bob, I do appreciate it." Bob smiled and asked, "Are you staying with the Stevenson's Silvia?" "No. I'm not sure what I'm doing at the moment Bob." "They'd be pleased to see you I'm sure." "I'm not going to burden them with my problems Bob, I'll be in contact." "Silvia?" Bob smiled sincerely at his friend, "Look after yourself, you have my private number, my phone is always on." "I will, Thank you for listening to me this evening. I will see you again a couple of days." Silvanus turned and headed down the paved path presumably to a waiting taxi or her car whilst Bob closed his front door and sighed. "Problems?" asked Peggy, Bob's fianc?, who had just entered the hallway. Bob smiled at Peggy. "I've learned more about Silvanus in the last hour and a half than I've managed to get from her in the last thirteen years Peg." "And?" Bob sighed. "I think I've only just scratched the surface; she's left a quite substantial dossier for me to peruse at my leisure, she must have cleared it with Hillary though as some of those documents will." Bob paused for a second. "Sorry; can never be released." "Top secret sort of stuff then?" enquired Peggy. "Oh some of this is well above Top secret Peg; most of the documentation is on a double encrypted memory stick. But some of the older files are handwritten notes from Hillary's fathers diary. I'd better get them into the safe before we go up?" Peggy kissed Bob on the cheek. "I'll see you upstairs shortly then." Meanwhile outside Silvanus headed towards her hotel by foot with the sleet driving against her body as she strode headlong into it. On her arrival at her hotel she went to her room changed her clothing into more suitable attire for exercise then left the hotel once more for a jog along the footpaths by the banks of the river Tees returning just over an hour later soaked to the skin but feeling a lot happier. Lying in the small bathtub in the en-suite bathroom of her room sometime later, Silvanus took out a small disposable razor and proceeded to attend to her armpits, genital area, and legs that over the last couple of weeks she'd neglected she smiles to herself as she watches the extremely sharp blade clear the stubble from her soaped legs leaving her skin perfectly smooth. After rinsing and drying Silvanus took her medication and slipped between the crisp sheets of the hotel bed, lay her head on the pillow, and closed her eyes. For a while Silvanus mulled through the day's events, her trip back up North and her visit with Bob then, as she drifted further into sleep, her body temperature started to drop and her heart rate decreased and her mind relaxed allowing random fragments of old memories to develop into dreams. In Silvanus's mind disjointed pictures of her youth started to form, pictures of a foreign land; of statues, Posters, and government buildings, playing in the square with other students from the international school and swimming in the local river. Then two gunshots rang out from apparently nowhere and she found herself suddenly and inexplicably in a very dark forest. In her hotel room Silvanus was murmuring to herself, but not moving for she was now paralysed with fear as into view came an old but very familiar and most unwelcome vision, a room with bare concrete walls. She was completely paralysed and unable to defend herself but could feel her head being moved until finally he came into her field of view, his seemingly sympathetic smile sending shivers down her spine and an unwelcome feeling of complete helplessness. 'Rrrrzzz, Rrrrrzz, Rrrrrrzzzz' The dream quickly faded and the dim glow of the hotel room came back into view, Silvanus hit the top of the alarm clock, stopping it's annoying buzz. "Nghhhh! Four and a half hours next time I think," she said to herself as she set the alarm for four and a half hours instead of the four and three quarters she'd set it for as she'd prepared for bed. Silvanus got out of bed stretched and after drying the sweat from her body with a towel from her en-suite went back to bed hoping that this time the alarm would wake her before her dreams went sour once more. Silvanus woke before her alarm clock had a chance to wake her a second time, she showered and dressed then headed off to find somewhere to exercise and vent before breakfast. It would have looked strange to any onlookers to see an older woman barefoot on the grassy North bank of the River Tees between two grazing tethered horses behind the scrapyard doing Tai chi but the temperature was bordering on 0 degrees Celsius and the wind was in the local language 'Blowing a hoolie', so apart from a couple of curious dog walkers and the occasional motorist Silvanus was largely ignored. After exercising Silvanus slipped her feet back into her plimsoles and donned her waterproof waxed jacket and headed back towards the hotel, as she was about to cross the old metal bridge that crossed the railway line she noticed coming towards her a very familiar car. "I'm not ready for this," she said to herself as she quickly turned and headed down a side lane that followed the North side of the railway line into town. The old Saab headed on past her and into the industrial estate whilst Silvanus continued, taking the opportunity to explore a little of Middlesbrough's seedier underbelly as she walked. After several hundred metres Silvanus noticed by a parked Sarnie van several of the young female prostitutes that frequented this area having a final cup of tea before heading home, their night having now ended as the contractors and workmen appeared to fill up on cooked breakfasts and hot drinks from the Sarnie van before a long day's work. Silvanus was not at all surprised a minute or so later when she came across?three young men harassing a taxi driver, she approached them and commented. "Let him be lads, he's just doing his job." "Not here he's not Granny." The taxi driver used the slight diversion to quickly drive away leaving Silvanus to deal with the youths herself. "Oops he seems to have driven away, oh well," said Silvanus sarcastically. "So what the hell are you doing here Granny? Need a little something to tide you over?" asked one of the three young men. "No thank you, I'm just out for a walk." "Yea and I'm Pope Kevin the first, no one just comes for a walk down here unless they're after sex or drugs." "Well I do so if you wouldn't mind young man I'd like to be getting on I've a busy morning ahead of me." "Ooooeeee listen to you all posh and everything. Tell you what just give me your purse and you can be on your way." Silvanus smiled unnervingly at the cocky young man. "Take it," she said as she took her purse from the pocket of her waxed jacket and held it up. "Wot?" "Take it, it contains all of my credit and debit cards plus 400 pounds in cash, take it from me and it is yours, I'll even give you the pin numbers for my cards." Silvanus offered the wallet out a little towards the gobby youth. "Give it here then," said the youth as his two friends start to circle their prey. "No, were you not listening? you have to take it from me." The youth looked at Silvanus as though she were stupid and then reached out for it only for his grasping hand to be intercepted by her free hand which grabbed two of his fingers snapping them back with such speed and force that they dislocated, the youth screeched in pain as he backed away. "Don't want it then?" she asked taunting the young man Silvanus heard one of the youths behind her move so she raised her elbow and turned swiftly her elbow smashing into the young man's throat as she did. "Just you now sunshine," she said to the other youth who nervously pulled out a small blade. "Oh really! that's not even a proper knife." "Yea but if I stick you with it you won't be smiling, you got a death wish or summit Granny?" he asked as he seemingly followed Silvanus's every movement, he didn't even see her disarm him nor did he see the blow to his abdomen such was her speed but he did feel their effects as he fell to the pavement in agony gasping for breath. "Anyone else want to give it a go then?" she said not even breathing heavily. "We know people missus they'll find you and make you suffer," said the first young man as he nursed his fingers. Silvanus smiled at the young man. "Do you remember a while back when the drug supply chain around here was run by a young man called Raoul and his family?" "Err yes?" Said the young man shifting his feet uncomfortably. "His organisation was snuffed out almost overnight," Silvanus helpfully reminded the youths. "We know." "My friends made that happen, do you think that the people 'You know' would like to take them on?" Silvanus then turned swiftly smashing her right elbow into the youth's face who'd unwisely risen to sneakily attack her. "Well, I'm waiting?" "No Missus, that lot put the shits up everyone around here for ages after." Silvanus removed two ten pound notes from her purse and dropped them on the ground. "Okay here's a couple of tens, go and have a nice sausage or bacon Butty or three on me and while you are at it have a think about your futures as, if I see you again I may not be quite so lenient with you." Silvanus simply walked past and away from the three young men as they nursed their injuries, they did not follow. Chapter 2 The Call After returning to her hotel and having another quick shower Silvanus boarded a bus to Stockton a small run-down town near to Middlesbrough where, after finding an open library, used one of its computers to access the Internet after first placing a small USB dongle into one of its free ports to ensure her anonymity, "Okay 'Fiica mea' (my daughter) let me see where in the world you are today." Silvanus opened up a very anonymous browser window and input several pieces of information about the person she wished to locate including known contacts and associates, telephone numbers and organisations they had a known affiliation with. "Ah still trying to save the planet 'fata buna' (good girl)." Silvanus noted in a small pocket notebook several international phone numbers and opened up another browser window then one by one accessed each of the phones and their camera's patiently waiting for a glimpse of their owner until on her third attempt a fleeting glimpse of her daughter appeared on the screen. Silvanus froze the image and touched the screen of the monitor at the pretty wild haired woman smiling seemingly at her. It was with reddened eyes that Silvanus left the public library sometime later and as she walked along the wide high street she heard her mobile phone start to ring. Silvanus took her phone from her jacked pocket and glanced at the caller id; it was Hillary. Silvanus then placed the phone still ringing back into her pocket. "Soon my love, be patient with me please." Soon after as she walked along the Quayside by the riverside Silvanus started to wonder about Milosh and how he was faring as she hadn't spoken with him for quite a while, so she took her phone from her pocket once more and using an encryption App dialled his satellite phone hoping that it was switched on. After several seconds there was an answer. It was Milosh. Silvanus smiled. "Salut Milosh ce mai faci (Hello Milosh how are you?)" Milosh answered with enthusiasm in his own language, "Sora mic? e bine s? auzi de la tine (Little sister it is good to hear from you)" continuing to talk in Milosh's native Romanian dialect Silvanus answered. "I'm fine my brother, how is everyone at the camp, how are your sons?" "They are fine my sister, as am I but you I sense in your voice that you are troubled." Silvanus laughed at Milosh's comment. "Ha straight to the point as usual Milosh." "What is your problem Sister and how can we help?" "I want to go back there Milosh, will you take me?" "Absolutely not Sister I forbid it." "Milosh I need to, I need to confront and conquer what happened there, I need to lay it to rest for once and for all." There was a pause where Silvanus heard Milosh issuing muffled orders to someone. "Milosh, are you still with me?" "I am sister, may I ask have the Nightmares returned?" "Yes but I set my clock to wake me up before it gets too bad." More muffled speaking with a female voice joining in the illegible conversation. "Have you spoken to anyone about your Terrors?" "Yes I have Brother but only briefly." "May I ask who you trust so much that you confided in them, is it the man they call Bob?" "It is." "That is acceptable sister he is a good man, Vadoma and I will contact him after this call." Silvanus smiled at her phone. "Sister?" "Yes Brother?" "Have you people close to you at the moment? Fulga or the Fantoma?" "No Brother I do not want to burden them with my problems, I was hoping that..." "Idiot girl, you need to be with friends. Do not make me come and get you Sister." "I'll think about it Milosh, but Joy is pregnant at the moment and I don't want her or Alice worrying about me." "I will contact you on my space phone tomorrow Sister, do not isolate yourself from your friends and you must promise me that you will not travel back there under any circumstances you are not ready for that." "I promise Brother I promise." "Good girl." The call ended. Chapter 3 Terri Visits a Friend. Roughly ten minutes after Milosh had ended his call with Silvanus, several miles away on the far northern fringes of the North Yorkshire moors a phone started to ring, more specifically in the home office of Matt Stevenson. Matt however was on his mobile in the entrance lobby of his home talking to a forestry contractor. Terri Matt's granddaughter appeared out of the dining room "Can I answer your phone grandpa?" she asked with a semi toothless grin her mouth now being devoid of her front two baby teeth. "Would you?" Terri grinned and nodded then turned and skipped into Matt's office. She picked up the handset and said with confidence. "Hello this is Terri with an I, on grandpa's phone." After a small delay she heard a very hearty laugh. "Hello there, my pretty little copil salbatic (wild child) it is lovely to be hearing your voice." Terri's face broke into a huge grin. "Err buna ziua (afternoon) uncle Milosh err, Ce mai faci (how are you?)" "I am tip top as you would say and very pleased that you can still remember how to greet me." "Lucy and Dawn can still swear Romanian Uncle Milosh and my mummies sometimes still talk to themselves in it too." "Ha that is most wonderful." "And I've lost my two front baby teeth look." Terri then proceeded to point at her missing front teeth, completely oblivious to the fact that Milosh would not be able to see them, much to Milosh's amusement. Terri made herself comfortable on Matt Stevenson's big leather office chair and continued to talk to Milosh with enthusiasm until Alice Stevenson appeared at the door to Matt's office with Terri's school coat in hand. "Terri who are you talking too?" she asked. "It's uncle Milosh Mummy." Alice leaned on the desk by her daughter and smiled at her. "I think mummy Alice wants to speak to you now uncle Milosh, pa (Bye)" Terri handed the telephone handset over to her mum and in return received her warm school coat. "Milosh it is lovely to hear from you," said Alice as Terri placed her arms into the sleeves of her coat. "Joy isn't here this morning I'm afraid Milosh she started early to go to one of our offices at Port Clarence, she 'll be terribly disappointed that she missed you though, is there anything I can help you with?" as her mum listened to Milosh, Terri wandered off in search of her shoes and woolly hat bumping into her sister Susan in the hall. "Ooh Suzy Mummy is talking to uncle Milosh." Susan smiled at her youngest sister. "She'll probably be some time Terri, you know how Milosh likes to talk." "Oh." "Why do you have your school coat on were you going somewhere?" Terri frowned a little. "Mummy was going to take me to see Toby at Daniels house." "Oh yes he's just had the plaster taken off his hind leg hasn't he?" "Yes and he's been getting fizzy therpy on it now to make it stronger." Susan laughed and picked Terri up. "I think that you may mean physiotherapy Terri." "Yes fizzy therpy." Susan placed Terri on one of the chairs in the large hallway and produced a small, patterned elastic loop from the back pocket of her jeans. "Tell you what, just let me tie your hair back and I'll take you down to see Toby then we'll go and see how the builders are getting on with the old cottages shall we?" Terri grinned and nodded her head. "Can we play poo sticks on the way back too?" "Yes if you like and later would you like to come with me to the station?" "Is your boyfriend coming to stay Suzy?" "Yes he is, he's doing some work at 'The Centre' so he'll be staying here for a few days." Terri smiled and asked, "Are you excited Suzy?" Susan's face reddened slightly as she moved closer to her little sister and whispered into her ear. "I am." "Is it like Christmas, cos I get butterflies in my tummy at Christmas?" "Yes Terri it feels just like Christmas." "Ooh that's nice." Susan held Terri by both hands and said. "Jump." Terri jumped from the seat onto the floor, Susan then donned her own coat and offered her hand to her little sister. "C'mon let's see how Toby is today." Toby was very pleased to see his friend as she entered through the kitchen entrance of the gamekeepers cottage, Susan greeted Julie who appeared to be preparing lunch. "Here again Julie, people will talk," Said Susan jokingly as Terri went over and hugged the huge Irish wolfhound who's tail was now wagging furiously. "I, I'm just making Daniel's lunch for him whilst his parents are away Susan," said Julie who was now blushing furiously. "I'm kidding Julie, It's nice that you have found a friend here, oh before I forget how is your sister coping? She's staying in a flat near Hillary's place isn't she?" "I think she's coping just fine Susan; she gets regular visits from a health visitor and she goes to a physiotherapist and speech therapist twice a week." "And the kids?" "They are both fine, cup of tea?" Susan smiled and nodded, "Please, and you? I'll bet you miss them don't you?" Julie swallowed as she placed the kettle onto the gas hob, "I didn't think I would but yes I miss them both Susan, especially Carrie, I think I bonded with her the most." "Will you be going down to see them soon?" "Yes Susan, Izzie and I are meeting with the builder who's rebuilding our home in a couple of weeks to check on a few things." "Oh I'll bet that will feel strange. "It will, considering last time I was there I..." Susan quickly interrupted Julie. "Little ears Julie," she said pointing at Terri who was now brushing Toby's thick, rough coat with a brush she'd found by his mat. "Ah yes sorry, Biscuit, cake?" Chapter 4 Visited. Silvanus. I'd spent most of the day either shopping or just walking and thinking. It was now starting to get dark outside as the bus took me back over the flyover and into the town, outside the sky was grey and pretty much matched my mood. I forced a smile for the cheery driver as I got off the bus and then headed along the footpath towards my hotel, I hated this time of year as everything?seemed to be in a perpetual state of dormancy, the trees were now just sleeping scaffolds and the bulbs lay dormant in the ground waiting for the sun to warm the ground before finally coming to life once more. As I walked the last hundred or so yards to the hotel I noticed that due to the diminishing light levels even the grass on the verges of the road was starting to look grey. 'Just a few more weeks Silv, just a few more weeks,' I thought as I imagined the first signs of spring and the snowdrops breaking through the sodden ground bringing one of the first signs that spring was coming. I sighed as I walked into the small car park of the hotel and wondered if I should just get my evening meal over with at the pub/restaurant next door or change first out of my jeans. I didn't feel in the mood to get dressed up or put on make-up; but I knew that I also needed to break my mood and make the effort so I turned and headed once more towards my room where I intended to change into something a little more feminine. As I opened the door to the lobby area my heart both sank and rose at the same time as sitting opposite the reception desk with her lovely daughter Theresa was Alice Stevenson. It was Theresa who noticed me first, slipped down from the chair she'd been sitting on and ran over to greet me, she had a massive smile on her face that showed off her two missing baby teeth. I couldn't help but smile as I crouched down and she greeted me with a hug and a kiss on the cheek. "Hello Auntie Silvia." "Hello Terri, I see that you lost another tooth?" Terri placed her finger in the gap between them. "Yes I wiggled and wiggled it until it was really loose and mummy pulled it out for me, the tooth fairy gave me a pound." I picked Terri up and supported her as I headed towards Alice, she looked a little nervous. "Hello Silvia," she said, "Hello Alice, this is a surprise," I replied and could easily sense her hesitation but it was not Alice who spoke next it was Theresa. "Uncle Milosh rang us today Auntie Silvia." "Ah," Alice continued. "I, I mean we were wondering why you didn't contact us Silvia, you are more than welcome to stay with us any time," I was just about to reply when she added "Have we upset or offended you in some way?" There was genuine hurt in her voice, this was awful. I was avoiding my friends as I didn't want to burden them with my problems and in doing so I had offended them. I felt a lump growing in my throat and a tightness in my stomach. "Milosh is worried about you Silvia, I had a long talk with him earlier." "What did he say, what did he tell you?" I asked a little too defensively. "H, he didn't go into specifics Silvia, he just said that you were struggling a little at the moment and that you needed to be with friends whether you wanted to be or not I, I'd like to think that Joy and I were your friends Silvia and of course Leah." I placed Terri down on the chair next to her mum. "I came up to seek help from Bob Alice, I really do not want to burden you and your family with my problems, I'm not really ready for that." Alice's face changed and she smiled as did Theresa's as I felt a cold draught on my back from the reception doors being opened, only one person could make Alice smile like that so I knew that Joy Stevenson had just entered the hotel lobby. I turned to see Joy, she smiled warmly at me and as she reached me simply said as she took my hand in her warm soft hand. "I do hope that you will agree to come home with us Silvia." Joy looked me directly in the eyes and continued. "We haven't really seen much of you since before Christmas It's almost like you are avoiding us, you're not are you?" Jeez how does she do that? Those piercing eyes seemingly looking directly into my soul, I couldn't tell her a lie even if I wanted to. Joy released my hand and embraced me holding me tightly to her body, I felt our cheeks touch and despite my best efforts to avoid the memory my mind went straight back to the previous year when Joy could so easily have lost her life because of my stupidity and instantly the guilt hit me once more and I felt the tears rising, I feebly tried to break Joy's hug but she stood firm and held me until I felt my lower lip tremble and felt the first of probably many tears make their way down my cheek. After a few seconds I heard Alice whisper to Terri, "Let's go and find somewhere to get a snack shall we?" And then Terri whisper back, "Is Auntie Silvy not happy to see us mummy?" I didn't hear the answer. Joy and I stood in the lobby with her gently stroking my back until I brought my emotions back under control where she then supplied me with several tissues to dab on my tear stained face. "It's not often I have that kind of effect on someone Silvia," Joy mentioned with a smile on her face as she sat on one of the chairs in the reception area and started to re tie one of the laces on her cute little ankle boots. "I'm Sorry Joy but my emotions have been all over the place of late and I'm not sleeping well." "Alice and I would like you to stay with us at Stevenson Towers Silvia, you can have as much or as little privacy as you want, you can even stay in the village if you wish, but don't stay in a hotel in the middle of town, it's just not you." I looked down into those eyes again as she looked up at me and attempted a smile. "Maybe just for a couple of nights just until I'm sleeping properly again," I offered, Joys face lit up with the kind of childish innocent look I did not expect to see from a married woman with four daughters, she offered me her hand once more. "I'm betting that Terri and Alice are being really naughty over in that burger place, fancy being naughty too?" Joys hand was warm in mine and it reminded me of my own daughters when she was a teenager. "I was just going to get something at the restaurant next door Joy before you arrived." "Or you could have a burger chips, fizzy pop and for afters ice cream." She countered, I felt a smile beginning, I knew exactly what this woman was capable of and yet she was behaving like a teen sneaking out of school at lunchtime to get an unhealthy treat, I approved and playing along I replied. "Oh alright just this once but don't tell Hillary." Chapter 5 A Home From Home Silvanus. So I now find myself once again in the home of the Stevenson family, I'm not in one of the lovely bedroom guest suites but in one of the smaller guest rooms on the ground floor at the far end of the corridor next to the big houses small laundry. Of course Alice had offered me one of their suites but this time I declined preferring to be a little away from the hustle and bustle of the central house. It's currently just after three in the morning and my alarm has just woken me, I'm wet with sweat but at least the memories didn't return this time, I get out of bed and go into the en- suite and towel myself down before returning to my bed. As I lie trying to get back to sleep I start wondering to myself if I should have gone to be with Milosh and his family as I've done many times before when the dreams had returned, 'why this time have I contacted Bob?' I ask myself; I then look over at the large stuffed cuddly Sloth Terri had insisted I took on my arrival and smiled, I reached over and dragged it to my chest and hugged it. When I awoke once more it was light outside I'd actually slept in! I quickly dressed and left my room, as I headed along the corridor towards?the entrance hall I could hear Terri and the twins in the dining room, I crossed the hallway barefoot and with my running shoes in hand left through the front door and walked around the old house to Dot's walled herb garden where I could do my warmup exercise before going for a much needed run. 'Matt Stevenson has been busy' I thought to myself as I jogged along the shore of the lake and then followed the new path down past the cottages that are in the middle of being extended and renovated to where there until recently was an old abandoned farmhouse and its associated land, I'd just seen the semi mature trees that Matt had rescued from a wooded area that was now the site of an extension to a university campus and smiled at the thought of several quite mature trees travelling on the back of trucks on their long journey from Chesterfield, 'Kudos to Matt Stevenson' I thought to myself as I turned and headed the long way back through what looked like a large plantation of twigs each surrounded by a single plastic tube to protect it. It was over an hour later that I passed by the old barn just off the courtyard on my way back to the big house and wondered if there would still be anyone to spar with, I smiled as I heard Susan's voice. On entering the old barn I noticed Susan she was instructing Trish, I smiled as I watched Susan demonstrate with confidence and in apparent slow motion how to escape from a strangle hold whilst Chris exercised by herself in the corner. On noticing me Susan excused herself and with a grin on her face ran towards me and hugged me tightly completely ignoring mat protocol. "Mummy said that you were visiting Silvia, I've missed you." I didn't move, Susan's welcoming hug was most appreciated and her 'Sparkle' now seemed to have returned completely. Susan was quickly joined by Trish who hugged me tightly and then Chris who patiently waited whilst catching her breath. "Have you come to spar Silv or just cool down?" Susan asked. "If you have the time, I'd love to spar with you." Susan smiled. "Maybe you could spar with Trish to? Aliza and I have been helping with her rusty judo skills." I turned to Trish. "I'd like that Trish if it is okay with you?" She looked hesitant, I smiled back at her. "Don't worry I will only defend myself; I won't attack." Patricia sighed with relief as I gave Susan a mischievous look. "Susan on the other hand, well that's a different matter." "Cool can't wait," replied Susan as she moved back with Chris to the other end of the mat. Patricia fought well, I was quite impressed at her speed and agility, she occasionally lost focus especially when she noticed Christine struggling with her own exercises resulting in her being thrown a couple of times by me, but she recovered well and if I'd been an average assailant she would have held her own and possibly succeeded but even now I am anything but average so when I noticed her becoming frustrated I stopped the fight and congratulated her. "Trish you have improved greatly since I last visited, you should be proud of how you acquitted yourself that was a good session." She was out of breath and seemed to have a stitch. "Are you in pain?" I asked. "Yes it's just a stitch," she said breathlessly. "Here let me." I went round behind her and gently but firmly pressed the heel of my hand into her side. "take a deep breath, then straighten up and slowly exhale." Trish followed my instructions. "Try and stretch your abdominal muscles and keep breathing." A few seconds later her face changed as the pain subsided and she started to relax. "Ooh that feels better thank you." I released her and offered a little advice. "Make sure that you are hydrated in future, don't eat too much before exercise and work a little more on your abdominal muscles." She smiled at me, said, "Yes mum," and kissed me on the cheek. I was feeling good as I turned hoping to have a quick sparring session with Susan but instead noticing Bob who was standing by the entrance and appeared to be waiting for me. As I left the mat I picked up my running shoes and then walked barefoot towards him, he backed away from me a little as I approached. "I'm not here to see you Silvanus, I was only visiting to scrounge one of Dot's excellent breakfasts before I went to 'The Centre', Alice mentioned that you were staying so I thought I'd see how you were." I looked at him sceptically and heard Susan start to laugh behind me. "I'll get you a badge that says, 'Off duty' and another that says, 'On duty' if you want Bob." "I really don't think that will be neccec... you're kidding aren't you?" "Yup," said Susan, she paused a second before continuing "but if you really want one?" Bob sighed and I felt my smile start to return. "Well as you are here Bob and whilst I'm in a good mood." "Really?" he asked hopefully. "Just let me grab a coat, we can walk around the lake." "Would you not rather do it inside Silvanus, it's a bit nippy?" "No," I stated forcefully. "Err outside it is then." Chapter 6 Street Football Ten minutes later, and with a snack from the dining room Bob and I started our walk, he looks cold and completely out of his comfort zone, this pleases me. "So Silvia you mentioned the other day that you were having bad dreams?" "Yes Bob and they are almost certainly related to the old sport facility where I froze last year just before Joy was captured, it has obviously re ignited memories I'd been suppressing and did not want to relive." "Well Silvanus it seems that you have this all worked out." "No Bob I want the dreams to stop, I've been fine for years why have they started again?" "Now that is my job, let us sit over there, it seems to be sheltered from the wind and has a nice view of the lake." I nodded and followed Bob to a long park bench type seat, he took out a Thermos flask from his case and then a tablet computer. "Tea?" he offered. "Please." Bob poured milky tea from his flask into two plastic cups then asked. "Now where should we start? ah yes your parents Peter Roundall and Jane Lassiter, Peter left Oxford with degrees in history and philosophy, and your mother with a law degree from Newcastle University. They both managed to get good jobs working in government and met whilst at a recruiting seminar for the Foreign Office in Bath. You were born nine and a half months later in a small military hospital attached to RAF Gutterslouh in West Germany on Tuesday May the ninth 1961 at 03:14, you weighed 8Lb and your parents had you christened Stefan Florian Roundall." "Yes, Bob I know all of this, but it has nothing to do with my dreams does it?" Bob raised his eyebrows as though to say shut up and listen, so I did just that. "Even though you had a home in Norfolk your parents spent little time there and although they could have taken advantage of subsidised private schooling they decided that you should be with them on their placements wherever they may be, so with only a break of five years in the early sixties you spent most of your childhood travelling the world with your parents to whatever country the government decided to post them too." I nodded as I started to remember the small country school I'd spent some of my childhood in when my mum and dad tried to settle down in rural Norfolk and then the resentment I felt when I was wrenched away from my friends to travel with my parents again as once more they had gotten themselves another posting overseas. "Needless to say Silvia your upbringing was quite disjointed as it is with a lot of military and ministerial families." Bob skipped through several documents. "Irrelevant, irrelevant, boring," He turned to me and smiled "Washing up liquid in fountain?" "That was never proved Bob, and it wasn't just washing up liquid there was also gelatine too... allegedly." "Ha. Now let me see, oh yes Sunday May 7th, 1978, two days before your seventeenth birthday, you were playing football with some of the local children and some of your fellow pupils from the International School." "Is this really relevant Bob?" I asked. "Just indulge me a little longer please." "Okay then, I was playing football in one of the public squares as you said but we'd just wound up the game as it had started to drizzle and was getting late. I was with some students from the International School and we were heading back to our respective family quarters." I started to see long lost images in my head as I was transported back to just before my 17th birthday. "So you having a party then?" asked Lance as he walked backwards talking to me. "I don't know what is happening my parents haven't mentioned anything." "Mater told the maid yesterday that the big dining hall had been booked for a private doo on the ninth Stefan, maybe it's for you?" "Doubt it," I said as I started dropping the ball onto my foot and kicking it in the air and catching it. Rudy then asked. "Have you given any thought to joining the self-defence class at the barracks Stefan, its good fun." "Naa I'm sure that my parents wouldn't approve they're against that kind of thing." "You could just say that it was to keep fit." "I'll think about it kay?" It was at that point I'd remembered that I'd left my sweater hanging on the railings bordering the square where we'd been playing football. "I've left my sweater lads I need to go back and get it," I said hoping my friends would accompany me back to the square. "Okay see you later then" they replied as they continued their journey home. I turned and headed back kicking the ball and dribbling it as I went. As I reached the square I noticed my cardigan was still there on the railing I'd left it, so I retrieved it and turned and headed back once more towards my current accommodation. About ten minutes after leaving the square and after taking a couple of short cuts though some of the seedier streets of Minsk, the capital city of Belarus or Byelorussia as the Russians liked to call it then. I mistimed a kick on my ball, it hit the corner of a kerb stone of one of the narrower streets not far from our apartments and rolled into an alleyway just off the main street. "Oh balls," I said to myself as I crossed the street past a solitary parked car and walked into the side alleyway. It was as I was picking up my ball that I heard three phut sounds, curiosity got the better of me and I moved forward to investigate and as I did I noticed a man wearing a full length leather coat kneeling over a man in a suit lying on the ground, the leather clad man was searching the pockets of the suited man whilst a dark liquid pooled beneath him, the man quickly found what he was looking for and got up, as he stood he was smiling until he noticed me, then he froze for a second before shouting "Stoy" and started walking at speed towards me whilst at the same time raising a pistol. Dropping my ball I turned and ran, this man was obviously a gangster or worse KGB, so knew I would not be safe until I was back in my parents apartment in the British compound.? As I rounded the corner onto the street I heard the brickwork of the building splinter and felt a small shard of masonry embed itself in my temple near to my left eye, the man had shot at me and narrowly missed me I heard him shout, "Stoy." once more before then hearing the same phut sound as before the instant I felt a searing burning sensation at the top of my leg. Limping as fast as I could I turned left into another side street and heard the screech of tyres as a grey Gaz car appeared from nowhere. The car came parallel with me and slowed to my pace the driver said in a perfect British accent through its open window. "Get in the back son and lie on the floor." I opened the door and fell into the car, the driver not waiting for me to close the door before pulling away at speed, the rear door slamming shut as the car accelerated. "I know that you are scared son but stay down it'll be okay I promise." "I'm bleeding mister, that man he shot me," I cried in panic. "If you have a handkerchief place it on the wound and apply pressure son, it'll hurt like hell but I can't attend to you just yet, we need to find somewhere safe for you to go." "Nghhh, can't we just go back to the compound?" "Sorry son but you've just witnessed the assassination of a potential defector and high ranking government official and as such you have become somewhat of a fugitive I'm afraid." I felt the car being thrown around another corner. "I'm going to need to find a phone kiosk and ring this in but first let us get out of the area before the local police make a nuisance of themselves shall we?" I lay in silence pressing my handkerchief into my now throbbing thigh as hard as I could whilst my rescuer threw his car around several more corners eventually coming to a halt between two half built concrete housing blocks, the engine stopped and I heard the front door of the car opening followed quickly by the rear. "Okay listen to me, those police horns you can hear in the distance are almost certainly because Goran will have reported the assassination and if I know him as well as I think you'll now be number one suspect." "But I didn't do anything, I was just getting my ball," I managed to say in a panicked voice, the man smiled at me. "It's Stefan isn't it? the Roundall's lad?" I nodded. "To the Soviets the truth is an inconvenience that they sometimes are forced to resort to when they can't pin the blame on someone. I need to get to a telephone to make sure that your parents are kept safe otherwise Goren will almost certainly have recognised you as one of the children from the compound and will target them to get to you." "Oh," I replied. "The name is Simpson by the way." He then covered me with a blanket, closed the door to the car and locked it. As I lay uncomfortably on the floor of the car covered with that blanket and pressing my hankie into my thigh I started to sob. What on earth had just happened? I was just out with my mates playing football and now I was seemingly on the run from some guy called Goren who had shot some other guy and had just been rescued by a man called Simpson who knew my name. What seemed like hours later but in reality was only minutes my rescuer returned and as he entered the car asked. "Still with us old chap?" "Yes but I feel a little dizzy and sick." "Perfectly natural, try to relax." I heard the engine start and then the gearbox crunch as he selected gear. "I'm taking you to what we like to call a safe house, don't let the name fool you as it may be anything but safe." "When can I go home Mr Simpson?" I asked. "Unfortunately, you don't have the same diplomatic status as your mother so you are subject to the rules and laws of Byelorussia and if caught will be taken into custody, I'm not going to let that happen Stefan and as such will have to be a little creative." I knew exactly what he meant and knew that I would need to be somehow smuggled out of the country." "That man Goran?" "KGB, nasty piece of work." He then went silent and for quite some time I lay between the back seats and front seats in significant discomfort with only the engine and whine of the transmission for company. It was dark when finally the car stopped and I was helped out of the back of the car. I was supported by my rescuer and as I limped I could feel the coagulated drying blood peeling from my leg as my jeans freed themselves. "Just a little bit further young man and then I will attend to your wound." I was helped into a long dark lane where a man in a suit approached us, he said nothing Mr Simpson however said, "Redmond, take the old girl out into the countryside and burn her do not skimp on the petroleum." "Sir." He then passed the other man the car keys and continued on with me. As I was guided into a door I heard the car I'd come in leave and as I entered another man held me and helped me up bare wooden stairs into a room with one single light bulb illuminating the bed, the room did not appear to have windows. "lie down on the bed son, this is an acquaintance of mine, he'll tend to your injury." "Oh he's a doctor then?" "Something like that." Replied Mr Simpson, The other man smiled he was overweight and had a huge red nose. "I look at your wound now yes?" he asked in heavily accented English. "Y... yes," I replied, he then produced a switch blade and before I could react had sliced into the denim of my jeans and cut all the way up to my belt. "Bullet it is still inside you; It will have to be removed I will dig it out." I was just about to complain when I felt a sharp prick in my neck and the world faded away. Chapter 7 Lunchtime Silvanus. "So there you have it Bob, I witnessed a murder and was shot whilst running away from a particularly unpleasant official of the Komitet Gosudarstvennoy Bezopasnosti (KGB), that should be enough trauma for a lifetime don't you think?" "And do you feel cured?" he asked. "Not at all but I am getting hungry and my feet are feeling cold." I looked over towards the other side of the lake where I noticed Terri on the shore near to Terry and Aliza's house, she was with the gamekeepers dog Toby and was running along the shoreline with Toby running alongside trying to keep up, he was obviously still recovering from the injuries that Ian Thompson had inflicted upon him but seemed happy in Terri's company, Joy was watching her daughter and was talking to Terry. "Terri still visits Toby even though he's back at Daniels cottage, and encourages him to stay mobile Silvia and I do believe the hound appreciates it," commented Bob, I smiled as I watched Terri. I chose to take the long path back to Stevenson Towers if only to give Bob some much needed rest from his own job and as we walked we chatted. "So Bob how long do you think it'll take before I'm cured?" "You are not Ill Silvia but you do have problems that have been left unresolved for far too long." "So is that it, are we just going to talk?" "I could fill you full of drugs if you'd like me too?" He replied sarcastically before adding "If there are some things that you'd rather not speak to me about I could always recommend a good female doctor." "What about Joy or Alice?" "No absolutely not they are not qualified." "Even if you are there guiding them via an earbud and microphone?" Bob stopped in the path and seemed to be thinking. "Yes, yes maybe that would be acceptable, you trust Joy don't you?" "With my life, Alice too but she has issues of her own." "Any idea what is for lunch Silvia?" asked Bob changing the subject once more. "I'm having vegetable soup with ham and wild herbs with walnut roll for afters." "Mmm sounds nice, do you think there'll be enough for two?" "I should think so Bob judging by the size of the pot Dorothy was using." --- In the dining room Bob and I watched as Joy entered the large entrance hall with Terri who was having a piggyback, I found myself smiling at them both as Joy placed Terri on a seat just inside the door and helped her off with her muddy wellies. "Now it's your turn," said Joy as she sat on the seat and Terri attempted to pull Joy's Wellington boots off and ended up landing on her bottom as her boot gave way suddenly. Terri looked very surprised for a second and then started to giggle as she got up and attempted Joy's other boot ending in her landing once more on her bottom and both Terri and Joy hugging each other in fits of giggles. "Hard to believe when watching them together who Joy is, isn't it Silvia?" I nodded and started to think of my own daughter and the fun we'd once had. "Oh hello Sylvia and Bob. Thought you'd sneak in before the masses descend did you?" asked Joy as she entered the dining room and sat opposite me, Terri placed her booster cushion on the seat next to me and sat on it. "Yes I've been out most of the morning, I like what's happening to the old farm Joy." "Oh daddy has big plans for the estate Silv, he's after another sixty or so acres to the west, I believe; he wants our entire business to become carbon negative over the next four years." "Planting trees is a good start Joy, but making his many plants around the world even carbon neutral will take some serious work." Joy smiled. "That's why he and Brian are in Germany at the moment Silvia they are looking at some new C02 reclamation technology, hopefully we will be able to capture at least some of our emissions and catalyse them back into a carbon sludge." "Eww sounds nasty," said Alice as she entered the dining room, Alice kissed Joy on the lips and sat next to her. "Hopefully, we can then refine the carbon and reuse it, it's better than it just being thrown into the atmosphere Alice." I smiled inwardly as Brian, Joys old school friend, had obviously been a good influence on Matt Stevenson. "Will Suzy be joining us for lunch?" I asked making conversation. "No. She and Trish have just popped up to the University, they'll be back later though." "Oh," said Terri she started to look worried. "What's the matter Terri?" asked Joy. "Um I said I'd go with her to see Mikey but went with you instead to see Auntie Silvia, hope she's not mad with me." Joy smiled warmly at her daughter. "It's okay Princess I'll explain to her when she gets back this evening." Joy then turned to me. "I was thinking of going to The Centre this afternoon Silvia fancy joining me?" "Oh I don't know; I was thinking of," Bob cut me off. "Of course she would, wouldn't you Silvanus?" I nodded and broke a little more bread. "Colin is still there Silv he's sort of adopted the place since Robert left in January." So with little discussion I found myself in Joy's car heading through the country lanes towards the Stevenson's private hospital hidden away three or four miles from the Stevenson home. "I'm glad you decided to stay with us Silvia, we all missed you and-" Joy paused for a second or two seemingly wondering if she should continue. "And, and Hillary misses you terribly too." I felt myself swallowing involuntarily. "He does, he certainly has a funny way of showing it, hiding away in his apartment in London." "Probably that stick up his arse stopping him from moving too far Silv," said Joy unexpectedly in a deadpan voice, I just couldn't help it I started to laugh at Joy's accurate definition. "See I knew you could still laugh," said Joy as she indicated right and started to turn into the long single track lane that led to The Centre. "Oh Joy that's awful he's not that bad not anymore." "I know Silvia, but sometimes I just want to give him a good shake." I nodded, but did not mention that I was part of the reason why he is what he is. "So Colin stayed at the centre when Robert left?" "Yes she decided not to go back with Robert once he was discharged and to be honest Robert doesn't need her anymore." "Colin is a she?" "Yup." "So what will we be doing this afternoon." "Whatever you fancy Silvia. Harry has been asking after you, might be nice if you two catch up or you could come with me into the bunker; Mick is there helping Martin install a new server or is Martin helping Mick it's hard to tell sometimes with those two." "And how is the Susan and Mick romance coming on?" I asked as Joy slowed to the first barrier and wound her window down to present her card to the reader. "After being burned by her first romance she's taking it slowly but she did ask some time back if Alice and I minded her going on the pill." "Sensible girl, it's good that you can talk with your children openly like that." At the second barrier Joy stopped and spoke to the security guard, a lovely man called Arnold. "Hello there Ma'am; may I say you are looking much better this week." "Thank you Arnold I think that baby was just letting me know it was there last week." "Oh yes my daughter suffered badly during her pregnancy too, I think that's why she's only had one so far." I watched as Joy laughed. "Major Simmons is expecting you Ma'am I'll register M's Smith as a visitor shall I? Or does she still have her Id badge?" I waved my badge and lanyard at Arnold; he smiled and released the barrier. "Harry is expecting us?" I asked. "No, just me Silvia. He's keeping an eye on me as I suffered quite bad morning sickness last week, he will be pleased to see you though, especially as you are not injured," She paused "He's been telling me some stories about you, I'm not sure whether to believe them or not." I smiled Harry did tell a good story especially if he'd had a drink or two. "There's probably a grain of truth in most Joy, I've had my share of injuries that's true." Joy pulled into a parking space in the car park and as I heard the handbrake ratchet on I unclipped my seatbelt and reached around to take my old, waxed jacket from the rear seat. On the walk from the car park to the reception area I asked, "Still exercising hard?" "Yes Silvia but being very protective of my tummy for obvious reasons." "May we spar tomorrow?" "I'd love that, ah Looks like the Major has spotted us," said Joy as she noticed Harry Simmons walking towards the entrance through the large plate windows of the reception area. As we entered the front door Harry embraced me and not being one for holding back said. "I'm so glad that you swallowed your pride and came to stay with Joy and her family." "I didn't get much of an option Harry." "Pish posh and what is this I hear about you and Hillary falling out?" "I, we had a disagreement." "Don't tell me, it was over your daughter again wasn't it?" How the hell? I stayed quiet. "So it was? Pffffffff you both need your heads examined." Harry then seemed to have realised his mistake and changed the subject. "Well now that you're here maybe you could talk Joy into taking it easier." "She's only a couple of months pregnant Harry." "So that's a no then?" I nodded. "Fancy a cuppa? I fancy one," Joy and I nodded and Harry led us over to the caf? area "Oh and I discovered that Colin the cat should have been called Coleen." "Really is this another skill you've acquired in my absence Harry, gender reassignment for cats?" Harry sighed. "I took him er her to the vet to be done and he pointed out that he was actually a she." "And I've let you treat me all these years," I said with a smile. Chapter 8 A Very Secret Diary Back at Stevenson Towers Bob was making use of the peace and quiet of the Library and was looking at the private and almost certainly unauthorised diary of Hugo Clifford Simpson Sunday May 7th, 1978 My observation of potential defector Otto Krenkovitch did not end how I had anticipated I'd been following him discretely for over an hour by both foot and Old Sturdy, Krenkovitch seemed agitated and seemed to sense that something was amiss. After some time and with the weather worsening he finally entered the alleyway I use for our meetings, I don't know if I'd been spooked by his odd behaviour as he waited but I decided to wait before approaching him. I was just about to approach the south entrance to the alleyway when another man appeared and started to argue with Krenkovitch, I remember using one or two choice expletives when I realised that it was Goran Chenski with Krenkovitch. Pulling back I observed the altercation at a distance and was not the least surprised when he pulled a Makarov pb from his coat and fired three rounds into Krenkovitch's chest and after he had fallen started to search through his clothing. It was then that Goran seemed to notice someone or something in one of the intersecting alleyways I took the opportunity to return to Old Sturdy and out of curiosity headed around to see if I could observe the poor unfortunate Goran had noticed. It was as I rounded the corner that I noticed a young man around the same age as my son Hillary limping along the pavement, worse still I recognised him and my observation turned into a rescue mission. Fortunately, the young man obliged me and fell into Old Sturdy allowing me to leave the scene before Goran could get a good look at us. The young man who turned out to be the Roundall's lad Stefan was taken first to be treated by an acquaintance of mine and passable medic before he was taken to safe house 6 whilst Old Sturdy was disposed of in the outskirts by my colleague Redmond. When young Roundall's wounds had been dressed and as he was being watched over by Mrs Pettifer I made my way back to the compound to make sure that the lad's parents were safe. Unfortunately, Peter Roundall had been picked up on his return from a social event and foolishly agreed to been taken to the KGB facility to help with the search for his son Stefan. The office wants nothing to do with this situation so I'm on my own, I won't let the lad down so this evening I will hopefully make contact with a very old friend I helped out of a scrape in 45. Bob. I picked up my mobile and dialled Hillary it was answered almost immediately. "Simpson." "Afternoon Hillary." "Bob what can I do for you?" "Well number one when are you coming up to see Silvanus?" "I'm really rather busy at the moment." "Bullshit and you know it; I don't know what has gone on between you two but it's tearing Silvanus apart and from what I hear from Mr Tanner you're not performing at your best either." "I'm fine Bob just leave it." "I'm speaking as a friend here, don't force me to put you on medical leave." "You wouldn't." "I have the Admiralty H R department on speed dial, try me." I heard Hillary sigh. "We had an argument." "Was it over her daughter?" "How the hell?" "Hillary it's me remember, tell me about it." "I've been having her watched, discretely of course." Hillary paused "You know of her history?" "Yes she was unwittingly fooled into becoming a drug mule by her then boyfriend, you intercepted the intelligence and disposed of the incriminating evidence at Heathrow on her return before it reached the waiting customs officials Silvanus then beat the boyfriend to a pulp three days later on his return." "Yes unfortunately Silvia's daughter found out about the beating causing a rift between them both that has never been healed." "And?" "Her daughter is, sorry was, being groomed by a group of Eco terrorists, I told Silv but she wouldn't do anything about it, she refuses point blank to interfere in her life now." "Understandable, you haven't done anything silly have you?" there was a long pause this time, "Hillary what have you done?" "You have to understand Bob we've been monitoring this group for over a year so when she appeared on the scene I intervened it was with the best of intentions." "What did you do Hillary?" "My man got her very drunk and whilst drunk signed her up for a three month trip on a whaling protection vessel to keep her out of harm's way." I sighed. "Hillary she's a grown woman now you should have allowed her to make her own mistakes it could in the long run have allowed for a reconciliation between Silvanus and her daughter. You need to apologise." "I can't Bob." "Silvanus visited me the other evening. She's a mess Hillary. Fortunately, she contacted Milosh who in turn contacted the Stevenson's, she's staying with them now. I can't help her unless she opens up and she won't open up without help from you, Milosh and The Stevenson's, especially Joy who she's formed a strong bond with since the incident in the Ukraine." I heard Hilary sigh. "Of course you're right I will travel up on Friday." "Thank you Hillary, oh before I go, I've been reading your fathers diaries and I've just come across a Mrs Pettifer is that?" "Mrs Tanner's mother yes, father trusted her in much the same way as I trust Mrs Tanner, if not more as she was an active agent." "Thank you Hillary I'll let Alice know that you will be visiting, I'll let Joy break the news to Silvanus." The call ended. Chapter 9 Check-up Time Joy. I feel honoured as both Dr Mike and Major Simmons are giving me my check up today. "Blood pressure is spot on young lady," said Major Simmons as he removed the Velcro cuff from my upper arm and unclipped the pulse oximeter from my finger, Dr Mike asked, "Any nausea headaches or sickness." "Only in the morning Dr Mike but it soon goes away I feel pretty much normal by about ten." "Try and take it a little easier Joy you are pregnant after all." I played along and replied. "Okay Dr Mike, but I do have a craving to fire my Glock occasionally." Major Simmons joined in and added, "those kinds of cravings are perfectly normal Joy, I would indulge them if I were you." Mike sighed. "Honestly you are as bad as each other. Oh before I forget did you bring a urine sample?" I produced a small sample jar from my satchel and handed it to Dr Mike. "Thank you Joy, that should be it for this visit unless Doctor Simmons requires you for anything else that is?" Major Simmons smiled at me and asked. "Could I have quiet word with you Joy." He paused, looked at Dr Mike and continued, "In private; a personal matter." "I'll leave you to it then," said Dr Mike as he headed towards the door. "So what is it Major?" He smiled but didn't correct me. "It's Silvanus." "Ah I thought it might be." "She needs a friend, someone that she can rely on." "But she knows that we are her friends Major." "I believe that she needs you Joy." I must have looked confused. "I've known Silvanus for more years than I care to think about Joy, she's always been a cold fish and distanced herself from everyone with a couple of notable exceptions, her daughter and Milosh, but more recently I've noticed a softening in her defences, I believe it started with Trish's sister Leah, I've watched her slowly open up to you and your family and her relationship with Hillary blossom and thought she'd finally found a little peace but letting your defences down can also be dangerous Joy and I believe she's now suffering the consequences of that. Obviously, the incident in the Ukraine didn't help." "Major," I interrupted. He looked at me. "Alice and I already class Silvia as more than a friend. Don't worry we'll look after her; she's even talking to Bob." "Now that is a first," he commented. I leant over and hugged my friend, made my apologies, and headed out of the centre and over to Terry's bunker where I was passed an unnecessary hard hat and a pair of steel toe capped overshoes by the site health and safety coordinator. I'd had a run in with this man a couple of weeks ago. He wouldn't let me on site as I didn't have the appropriate health and safety qualifications with me and made me sit through a lengthy health and safety talk. "Did my father email you with my credentials Mr Craythorne?" I asked politely. "Yes I received your CSCS details this morning, If I'd known that you were professionally qualified I would not have been so abrupt on our last encounter Mrs Stevenson." "So may I enter now or will you still need to escort me?" "You may go anywhere but the restricted areas, those areas are for ministry of defence personnel only I'm afraid." I showed him my MoD id card. "Is this okay Mr Craythorne or will you need an email from the Admiralty?" Mr Craythorne simply sighed a resigned sigh. "I bet you know that sarcastic Geordie Terry Percy too, do you?" I nodded. "Figures." Mr Craythorne gestured for me to enter so I did and was soon walking down the bare concrete entrance tunnel to the bunker. As I walked I could hear drilling and knocking and the sound of the contractors going about their business, I then noticed Martin and Mick leaving the rest room and heading towards what will soon be our new server room/ communications hub. I increased my speed a little and caught up with them just as they reached the dust sheeting protecting our new server room. "Mrs Stevenson." "It's Joy," said Martin abruptly to Mick correcting him. "Sorry I just can't get used to calling you Joy." "Why not it's her name?" Added Martin trying to be helpful, I turned to Martin and asked. "Any Jelly babies going spare?" "I'm experimenting with jellybeans at the moment, would you like one?" Martin offered his packet to me and I took one. "So how is the new server room shaping up chaps." "Mick calls it our fortress of solitude as the builders can't get in anymore." "We've changed the filters six times since they moved out Joy and they are still picking up muck," added Mick I smiled. "So let's have a look see then." I'd been looking forward to this for a few days now, the server room was a completely new addition to the bunker the entire structure having been built separately from the bunker inside a giant shored up trench before being joined to the bunker and covered once more by the excavated material. Mick placed his finger on the fingerprint reader and looked at the facial recognition sensor then using his Id card against the high security NFC reader. I heard a clunk and a green light appeared above the door, we entered and the door started to close behind us. "The entry siphon will get any loose dirt from our clothing; it may be an idea to hold your skirt down Err Joy." I heeded Mick's warning as I started to feel and increase in draught from all around me and could feel the hem of my skirt attempt to lift. "The first time Mick and I used this we were carrying pizza it ended up on the ceiling." Mick laughed. "Yeah Crayfish was not amused," he added. "No Mick it was Mr Craythorne." corrected Martin as the strong breeze subsided and there was a clunk from the inner door. Another green light came on and it started to open. I was then given an enthusiastic escort around the new data centre, this also had a UPS room that could keep the servers running for at least fifteen hours during a power outage. "That figure should increase to twenty or thirty hours once we've configured the phased shutdown software Joy." added Mick helpfully. The server room itself was pleasantly quiet with several banks of server cabinets quietly ticking over. "Those first three racks are the actual servers, the two in the middle are for storage, we've configured just over twelve petabytes so far with another six by the end of the week." pointed out Martin whilst offering me his packet of jellybeans again. I was then guided through into another room, my smile grew as I entered as the room was not cold and clinical like the others but had workbenches, comfy seats a collection of game consoles and a lot of test equipment. Around the room was strewn cables and other pieces of equipment in the process of being assembled, the kind of managed chaos that I knew Martin and I excelled in. "Is that a TDR?" I asked. "Yes we bought the Time Domain Reflectometer just after our data link was broken and used it to quickly locate the break, the Aircon engineers had gotten too close to the fibre bundle with their blowtorch," said Mick. "Did you replace the cable?" "We had it jointed professionally it's as good as new now." "Apart from the bump," added Martin helpfully. "Tea?" asked Mick. Chapter 10 A Good Listener. Silvanus. I would have visited Joy in the bunker after my medical and fitness check but some idiot called Craybourne or something wouldn't let me enter, I suppose he was just doing his job but it irritated me. Whilst I was waiting for Joy to reappear Alice turned up at the centre and gave me a lift back to Stevenson Towers. We are currently in the Library having just shared one of Mrs Burtons excellent afternoon snacks. "I've been talking with Bob about you Silv." "About what Alice?" "I offered my services as a listener." "A listener?" "Yes, I thought that if there were things you wouldn't want to talk to Bob about you could confide in me." "Alice I just couldn't, it wouldn't be right to burden you with my past." Alice reached over and slid her fingers into mine. "I'm not an innocent Silvia I saw and did things whilst in captivity that would break mummy and daddy's hearts if they knew." "You did those things to survive Alice that is nothing to be ashamed of." "I'm not Silvia, I'm not ashamed anymore. Bob helped me to realise that I had no option but to comply at the time. But I also have a secret weapon against my past, I have Joy." "Joy?" "Yes her very presence, her voice, her smell, her wonderful touch. They all take away the hurt and now more recently with the help of your wonderful friends I rarely even have a bad dream." "And if you do you have Joy by your side." "Exactly." I watched as Alice smiled, probably at the thought of being hugged by her wife, I then had an awful thought. "Alice Is Bob listening in?" "No Silvia he isn't." She then pulled back her long dark hair exposing her ears and showed me that they were clear. "Do you have an ear bud with you?" "I have one in my bag in the hallway yes," she answered. "Go get it and pop it in, I'll ring Bob." whilst Alice went out to get her ear bud I contacted Bob and after a minute or two's conversation with him I brought Alice up to speed with my story. "I never realised Silvia, I'm sorry." I smiled at her. "It's been a running joke with Bob and I for some time about how many people you and Joy help with gender issues, it can't just be a coincidence can it?" "Did you have a gender issue Silvia?" She had me there. "No I didn't." I paused for several seconds. "But it may take a little time to explain, now where did I get up to oh yes I'd been taken to a safe house by a man who'd rescued me from a murdering KGB agent called..." I started talking about my past and a time when I was a very different person a very scared and traumatised teenager called Stefan. Stefan. I woke suddenly it was dark my head really hurt and my thigh was burning. 'Where was I? Was I back in our rooms, had this all just been a dream?' My burning thigh gave me the answer I didn't want, I sat up and fumbled about hoping to find a light switch or a lamp but only managed to knock something onto the floor. I then heard movement outside the room and a thin slit of dim light appeared at what I assumed to be the base of a door. I heard footsteps on bare wood a sort of tack tack tack sound like my mums shoes made on the parquet floor in the embassy, 'Was this my mum coming?' I thought and hoped to myself all the way until the door opened and a woman entered switching the central pendant light on as she did. "Ah I see that you are finally awake young man, you've gotten yourself into somewhat of a pickle haven't you?" "I' I only went back to get my cardigan." The woman moved over to me she was not young and neither was she old, she did however have a warm smile. "Don't move too much Stefan as you could rip your stitches out, would you like a cup of tea or a sandwich?" "A sandwich please." The woman took a small Tupperware box from her bag and opened it. "Only fish paste I'm afraid I wasn't given long to prepare; I do have a thermos of hot milky tea though I'll pour you one just in case shall I?" "Err yes thank you," I replied as I took a sorry looking triangle of bread from my host, fortunately the taste was a lot better than the presentation and my host looked on as I took three or four more portions from her and even drank the sweet milky tea." "When can I go back home, um back to the compound?" "Never I'm afraid; did Mr Simpson not explain it to you?" "We didn't talk much; I think he was too busy driving away at the time." "Well as you're awake now so I'll explain a little of what has been happening while you slept, my name is Mrs Pettifer. but if you like you can call me Irene." "Do you work with Mr Simpson." "I do, he's my supervisor so to speak." Irene took a bare wooden framed chair and pulled it up to my bed, she then sat on it and crossed her legs, I couldn't help but look at them. "Now do you still remember the incident?" I nodded forcing myself to look at her face. "Witnesses are an inconvenience to the KGB but in this case they have used it to their advantage and you are effectively today's public enemy number one, wanted for the robbery and beating of a chap called Otto Krenkovitch unfortunately according to the testimony of Goran Chensky of the KGB. Comrade Krenkovitch died in his arms before medical attention arrived. You sonny Jim are now the KGB's prime suspect for his murder as Goran claims that Krenkovitch implicated you by name with his dying words." "B, but he was shot by that man Goran, I watched him searching through his clothing." Mrs Pettifer gave me a sad look. "It gets worse I'm afraid, your father was taken into custody before Mr Simpson could warn him, your mum is safe however." "I need to go to her; she must be worried." "You're not going anywhere I'm afraid as to prevent any form of diplomatic incident our superiors are distancing themselves from the whole affair, Mr Simpson was furious. Fortunately, he has a son of about your age and he's doing what any good father would do he is going to protect you with or without the governments help." "And you?" "I have a daughter, she's in her final year at Oxford. I'm also going to help you." "But how?" I moved and cringed as my thigh hurt. "We are arranging to have you smuggled out of the country Mr Simpson is meeting with a very old friend of ours in..." Mrs Pettifer looked at the thin gold watch on her wrist "In about fifteen minutes give or take." "What will happen then Mrs Pettifer?" "We will take you to a rendezvous point probably somewhere in the countryside and we will transfer custody to our friends, you will then travel with them until they get to a friendly country where hopefully Mr Simpson or I will escort you back home to England and safety." "And my parents? What of them?" "We'll cross that bridge when we get to it, oh I have some new clothes for you to help you blend it, just give me a minute, I'll get you something for the pain too." And with that Mrs Pettifer stood brushed down her skirt and left my small windowless room. Several minutes later she returned with a small pile of clothing in her hands. "Let me help you up off the bed." She placed the clothing on the bed and helped me over to small washbasin in the corner of the room. "Strip down to your 'y' fronts." Mrs Pettifer noticed my expression. "It's not like I haven't seen a semi naked lad before Stefan." I peeled off my t-shirt and vest and then stepped out of the remnants of my Levi's after carefully peeling a couple of flaps of fabric that had been glued to my flesh with dried blood. "My you are a scrawny little thing aren't you? All the better I suppose most of the local lads don't have much fat on their bodies either, these clothes should be fine for you." "Where did you get them from?" I asked. "Borrowed them?" "Yes borrowed them off washing lines whilst you slept, the shoes I acquired at the park." I filled the sink with cold water, took the wash flannel and soap and proceeded to clean myself. "How long was I asleep for, if you don't mind me asking?" "Not at all nearly two days, that's a good thing as it helped your wound to heal." Mrs Pettifer watched me wash and then before she helped me on with my 'New' clothing said, "we are going to need to do something with your skin and hair I'm afraid your skin is just too pasty for a local and the sandy coloured hair sticks out a mile." She then started covering my hands, neck, and face with a sponge that she kept damp using a bottle of what I assumed to be dye of some sort. After some time even I didn't recognise myself I looked like one of the local lads I even had a Lenin cap! "Okay now we wait, do you play chess?" I nodded. "A little." "Splendid." Mrs Pettifer left my room and returned with a portable chess set and started to set the pieces. Mrs Pettifer was very good at chess but was also very patient and encouraged me. This I appreciated. After some time however, I became fatigued and had to lie down, Mrs Pettifer brought me some more pain pills and I started to doze. I was woken sometime later by the telephone ringing twice stopping then ringing three times and stopping the phone then rang five times and I heard Mrs Pettifer answer in Russian. My Russian was not that good but I could have sworn that she was flirting with the caller and agreeing to go to see the Ballet. I heard movement downstairs and a few minutes later Mrs Pettifer appeared once more, she was wearing dark clothing and had replaced her heels with what looked like small sized men's brogues. "We will be leaving soon Stefan, do everything we say without question and do not speak until we say that you can, okay?" I nodded. "Smashing now put on your shoes, jacket and your cap, oh and it may be an idea to use the loo too as it will be a long night, it's just along the hall, I'll see you downstairs." she left me in the room and I heard her go back downstairs. When I joined Mrs Pettifer she was sitting by the front door smoking a cigarette nervously and glancing at her watch. "Come on Hugo where the hell are you," I heard her say as I approached, Mrs Pettifer, on noticing me, immediately stubbed out her half smoked cigarette and smiled. "Ah good Mr Simpson should be here any moment now." We waited for nearly ten minutes before there was a single tap on the door followed by five taps and then two taps. To my surprise Mrs Pettifer removed a small automatic pistol from her bag then cracked the door open a little for a second before opening it fully. "Mrs Pettifer we do not have long, this location has been compromised." "Johnson?" "Yes he's finally shown his hand, get the lad into the car I'll prepare a surprise," said Mr Simpson as he entered carrying a large jerrycan. "Come on Stefan quickly into the back seat." I complied and sat upright on the back seat of the surprisingly spacious car; Mrs Pettifer sat by my side. We were joined by Mr Simpson after a short wait, he pulled away immediately as the engine was still running. "I take it that this safe house is now unsafe?" Said Mrs Pettifer casually as the car moved slowly along the road. "We should find out any moment now, I've been intercepting radio chatter for nearly an hour that's why I've moved forward our rendezvous with my contact." The car moved through the dark streets in semi silence with only the noise of the engine and an annoying squeak from the dashboard to keep me company, when behind us the night sky lit up; Mr Simpson glanced into his rear view mirror. "Defiantly no longer safe Mrs Pettifer." "I'll remove it from our list when I get back to the office sir." "Thank you Mrs Pettifer." I sat in the back of the car my head bowed slightly so that my face could not easily be seen whilst Mr Simpson and Mrs Pettifer discussed apparently mundane office topics as though they were driving to a meeting. Why on earth did they not even appear to be the least bit concerned? I thought to myself as I heard both bells and sirens of police cars in the distance. My two rescuers continued talking politely to each other for seemingly ages until the streetlights became fewer and farther between and then almost non-existent as we exited the city and headed north as denoted by the small bobbing compass stuck to the glass of the windscreen. "I believe that we have company Mr Simpson." stated Mrs Pettifer calmly "Yes I noticed them a while ago staying well back, don't think it's the soviet's though, not their style." "Ours perhaps? "I believe so Mrs Pettifer, Johnson must have planted a transmitter on my car, he will have needed at least two equipped cars to triangulate our position let's hope he chose his men wisely and didn't tip off our counterparts in the KGB." "How long before our rendezvous sir?" "About fifteen minutes, hopefully my associates spotters have picked up our tail too." I started to fidget nervously and my thigh began to spasm. "Here take another pain pill Stefan, I'm afraid you'll have to swallow it dry." I took the pill and swallowed it just as Mr Simpson turned off the main road and headed down a smaller much bumpier road. "Not long now old chap," he said cheerily to me as the car started to lurch up and down and side to side. The headlights of the car illuminated a large clearing in what I now knew to be forest surrounding us, it seemed to be a logging camp as there were many cut and stripped trees in front of us laid in piles ready to be transported. "Mrs Pettifer if you would look after young Stefan for me please?" "Certainly Mr Simpson." she turned to me and in the dim light of the one small lamp illuminating the cabin of the car she smiled. "I know that this sounds wrong but we'll be safer out of the car, are you okay to walk a little?" I nodded, Mrs Pettifer then opened her door exited and offered me her arm. "Over here by these logs Stefan, we should be safe there." I followed blindly and once behind a stacked pile of logs I waited. Mr Simpson stood in the middle of the dirt area near to his car his headlights illuminating him clearly as two cars approached slowly and stopped about 100 yards away the headlights of the cars went out and the cars disappeared into the murk followed a few seconds later by both of Mr Simpson's headlights shattering. Mrs Pettifer reached into her bag and pulled out her small gun once more. "Stay down Stefan this could get a little heated," she said as she quickly tied her hair back. I dropped as low as I could and tried to make myself as small as I could and then noticed the entire area slowly being bathed in an eerie white light, I looked up to notice that the moon had come out from behind a cloud so I peeked and could see Mr Simpson still standing waiting, it was really odd but the entire scene now almost entirely looked black and white. "Simpson we know that you have the boy, give him to us and no more will be said about it old chap." "Ah Johnson, come out into the open, you can bring your friends with you." Slowly several men appeared in an arc around Mr Simpson with one man slightly ahead of the others. "Look old chap we know that you are the mole we've been hunting; give us the boy and I can assure you that you'll keep your pension as long as you resign this evening." "Mole?" "Yes it was you who gave the whereabouts of Smedley, Catchpole and Armstrong to the Soviets, you are responsible for their deaths." "In order for me to be responsible for their deaths 'Old Man' they would have to be dead is this not true Johnson?" "Stop playing games Simpson I'm warning you; we have enough incriminating evidence to put you away for life, take the offer." "No." "In that case you leave me with no other alternative but to place you under... what!" Two of the men in the arc around Mr Simpson took out weapons and pointed them at Johnson whilst two others restrained him and forced him to his knees. "Sorry Johnson but we've been feeding you false data now for over six months, Smedley, Catchpole and Armstrong are currently on secondment as guests of our American colleagues, what did Goran promise you may I ask?" "But how?" "Your luck simply ran out, the incident last weekend sealed your fate, you were the only other person apart from the victim and I who knew about my rendezvous." "Yes, yes you've got me, now what are you going to do with me, remember who my father is." "Unfortunately yes and because of that I can only think of one honourable solution for both your father, your good wife and your daughters." Jackson started to struggle but the men holding him stood firm. "Mrs Pettifer has prepared a statement. I think you will find it satisfactory." Jackson looked at the offered document and bowed his head. "My father will never know?" he asked meekly. "No." "And my wife and children?" "They'll think you died a hero. Your widow will get a full pension plus your full gratuity." "Get it over with then?" Mrs Pettifer's hand started to cover my eyes as Mr Simpson raised his pistol. "Don't look Stefan," she said. Unfortunately for me I could still see through a tiny crack in her fingers as Mr Simpson placed the pistol about an inch or so above the crown of Jacksons head and fired through his skull, the bullet seemingly exiting just below his neck causing a spray of blood on the ground, the men holding Johnson then let him go, his body pausing for a second then falling forward. Silvanus. I was brought back to the present by the sound of the front door being opened by one of the Stevenson's staff and Terri running into the hallway shouting excitedly for her Mummy after being at school for the afternoon. "Oh Silvia that was terrible, but I'm so glad that you felt you could confide in me." Bob's voice came from the mobile phone that had been sitting on the table the entire time. "Thank you Silvia and thank you very much Alice, for your listening to Silvanus." "It was a pleasure Bob." "Mummeee," shouted Terri as she ran in her stocking feet towards Alice with her arms outstretched in expectation of a huge hug which was immediately given by Alice who had crouched in preparation. Alice picked up Terri and received a kiss on the lips as thanks from the pretty bundle of energy, Terri then turned to me and frowned. "Have you been crying Auntie Silv, it looks like it cos your eye paint has run." I smiled as best I could and was about to speak when Alice spoke. "Auntie Silvia has been telling me a sad story about when she was younger Terri." "Oh." Terri then turned to me. "Do you want a hug too?" I nodded and offered my arms. "I can lend you another one of my cuddlies too," she said brightly as I held her and she hugged me tightly. Alice watched in silence as I held her daughter in my arms and imagined it was my own daughter from a time long ago when we were close. I dropped Terri onto the rug and she looked up at me with a smile. "I've got homework just like Lucy and Dawn get." "That's because you are getting cleverer Terri," I said, she turned to Alice. "Am I getting cleverer mummy?" "Oh yes most definitely. So what is your homework then?" "It's in my school bag I'll get it." And with that she skipped out of the library straight into Susan. "I've got homework Suzy." I couldn't help but smile at her enthusiasm. Chapter 11 Another Night Another Mare Silvanus. I've just woken from a bad dream, it's three in the morning and I'm drenched with sweat I quickly dry myself off in the bathroom and attempt to return to sleep but sleep eludes me as my mind has woken and is full of thoughts, some helpful some not so. I quickly slip into one of my warmer coats and leave my room then exit through the laundry room. Walking around the house I notice that as the sky has cleared the stars have come out. It doesn't take me long to reach the walled rose garden, I find a seat and sit looking up at the stars attempting to clear my mind as I do. After a while I hear a rustling to my left and as I turn a large dark shape comes out from between two lichen covered ornamental statues and pads over to me with a distinctive limp. "Oh hello there Toby could you not sleep either?" The large dog allows me to tickle him under his chin and then lies over my bare feet warming them in the process. I must have sat quietly for over an hour in the cold just watching the stars slowly moving position in the sky before my mind was calm enough to risk a little more sleep Toby stayed by my side the entire time. he got up with me and escorted me back to the laundry entrance of the Stevenson home. "Thank you for keeping me company Toby I appreciate it." I received a wagging tail and a bark and he turned and headed out into the darkness once more his limp from his injuries at the hands of Ian Thompson being quite obvious as he walked. After returning to my bed I fell quickly back to sleep and was woken by my alarm at 07:30. At breakfast after my morning Tia Chi, Jog and sparring session with Joy and Susan I commented to Alice and Joy that I was actually feeling much better today than I had for quite a while. "Joy and I were thinking of going out and doing some shopping Silvia, you're welcome to join us?" "I think I could force a trip into town Alice." Our trip into town was good, Neither Joy or Alice mentioned my problems which I appreciated, we had a surprisingly good lunch in a small Cafe in Redcar It was quite run down but the proprietor was very friendly and even gave us a tablecloth whilst he kept some of the more unruly customers under control. On my return to the Stevenson home I was informed by Bob that he had asked Hillary to visit this weekend, this did not irritate me as much as I thought it might as we did not part on the best of terms. I was sitting in the corner of the Library earlier. relaxing and watching Joy and Alice interacting with firstly Terri and her friend Andi playing a board game on the large rug and then after a while I watched them both helping Lucy and Dawn with their homework just after they'd arrived back from school with Leah who came over and gave me a wonderful hug before finding a desk and doing her own homework. I've seen many young couples 'in love' over the years but watching Joy and Alice together simply makes me smile; maybe Bob is correct, maybe they aren't complete without each other. On Thursday afternoon Hillary contacted me on my mobile and immediately apologised that he wouldn't be able to make it up to Stevenson Towers on Friday then curiously he asked if he could speak to the head housekeeper. On passing the phone back to me I finally asked. "Okay Hillary you have my attention, what's going on?" "I've just advised Sally to increase the buying of provisions for the Stevenson family just in case." "Is this the Wuhan thing?" "Yes Silv, our Chinese cousins will hopefully have the virus under control in their country but here in the west we'll never be able to impose such draconian measures, There is a meeting in the Cabinet Office Briefing Room 'A' later today where 'bumbles', sorry the PM, will be given advice from experts, I just hope he chooses the correct experts to listen to." "Good luck with that Hillary." "Yes but at least the Chinese have mapped the genome of the virus for us we've passed the information on to anyone who is interested, hopefully I'll be free next week to come up and see you." "I'll look forward to it." "Oh before I go Silv." "Yes?" "I am truly sorry about tomorrow." "I know Hillary, I know." If I'd looked at my diary for the next few days and I'd actually filled it in it probably would have said. Friday: - Nightmares Saturday: - Nightmares Monday: - Was gently woken by Joy Stevenson from my nightmare who then stroked my hair until I fell asleep once more, nothing was said the next morning. On Wednesday mid-morning I went in search of Joy; Mrs Burton pointed me in the direction of her workshop. "I think she's working in her workshop in the basement Silvia." I thanked Mrs Burton and headed into the basement where I smiled as I found that the door to her workshop had been decorated since my last visit with glitter and a rainbow over the sign, I knocked. "Come in its open," said a cheery voice on the other side of the door, I opened the door and entered. Joy was sitting on a high padded stool. She was soldering something on the workbench, the fumes immediately being sucked out of harm's way by the extractor above her head, she was wearing what looked like a pair of large pink fluffy overalls with a hood containing two ears, I couldn't help but smile. Joy finished what she was doing and turned to me, she immediately noticed my stare. "Ah yes It's a onesie Silv, the twins and Terri got them for Christmas, they looked so warm and comfy that Terri and I went shopping and bought Alice and I ones too, Terri chose mine, it's an Anime character apparently." "It does look comfortable I'll give it that Joy." "It is, anyway, what can I do for you Silv?" "I was wondering if you had time for a chat?" "Official or unofficial?" "I'm not sure." Joy smiled, hopped off her chair, took my hand and led me over to a comfy chair in the corner, She sat opposite me and flipped the hood up on her onesie, I just couldn't help it I laughed out loud at the expression on her face. "Do you think they do them for old ladies like me?" "You're not old Silvia, anything but." "I think it's my mind that has become old Joy, old, battle worn and weary." Joy leant over and took out a small Dictaphone type device from the drawer in the small occasional table in front of her. "It sounds like you need to unburden yourself Silvia so how about this, you can use my recordy thingie whilst we chat and afterwards you can keep it, delete the recording or share it with Bob." She placed the small device on the table in front of me. I pressed the record button; I was smiling at my friend as I started talking. Partly because of her own engaging smile but mostly because of the ridiculous onesie she was wearing. Chapter 12 Feeling Abandoned Stefan. I'd just witnessed the killing by Mr Simpson of a man called Johnson. It was carried out as though this kind of thing happened every day, Mr Simpson wiped his gun with his hankie and then passed it to another man who took it and wrapped it in a cloth, he and the others then turned and started to walk away from the dead body lying in the dirt. After a minute or two the other cars started to leave and a short while later Mrs Pettifer asked me "Are you okay Stefan?" I wanted to say "yes" or "no" or even "you killed him, you killed that man" but instead I stayed crouched behind the pile of logs and started to shake. "Mr Simpson I believe that young Stefan is going into shock, you wouldn't happen to have your flask on you would you?" I'm not sure what happened next but I remember drinking something that burned my throat but made me feel very warm inside. My next memories are a little jumbled, I remember several people appearing from seemingly nowhere and a discussion with a loud friendly sounding man in a foreign language possibly Romanian or a close dialect and a voice saying in broken English. "You will come with us now; you will be safe." I remember being hesitant to leave Mrs Pettifer and Mr Simpson then nothing. I woke to the smell of wood smoke and coffee, I appeared to be in some type of canvas tent and was on a cot style bed, there was a lad by the base of my cot staring at me, he smiled. "Heloo Steefan my name is Milosh." "Ughh." I rubbed my head trying to clear my thoughts. "Drinking booze at your age is bad, very bad," said the lad called Milosh. "I wasn't drinking I was given some alcohol to calm my nerves that's owwww." Milosh looked with concern at me as I stumbled out of the bed. "You are bleeding Steefan, let me help you up." "I'm okay it's just arghhh what the hell." the pain in my thigh was almost unbearable, Milosh produced a large knife and approached me I backed away from him. "I want look at your, your hurt, no wounded, yes look at your wounded." I stopped. Milosh approached and slit the seam of my trousers with a knife he'd produced from seemingly nowhere, looked at the redness creeping from under the dressing of my wound and took me by the arm. "Come with me Steefan." I followed him out of the large tent and into a large forest clearing, Milosh virtually dragged me over to where three older women were sitting peeling vegetables, he spoke at length in his native tongue to the women, one of the women got up from her seat and looked at my dressing she then in one swift move ripped it from my flesh causing me to scream out loud and on seeing my wound started issuing orders to the two other women. I was then placed on a mat and what was left of my pants were removed and as another arrived the first woman slit the stitches on my leg with a sharp knife. I looked in horror at the lunatic woman, she simply smiled and pointed at the foul smelling liquid oozing from the cut. "Is infected we will make better." Milosh watched over me as the women carefully cleaned the hole in my thigh and then started to pack it with a fibrous material coated in a dark paste." "Will take the badness away," she assured me, it was at this point that a very pretty girl appeared and stood next to Milosh, I tried to smile but she seemed concerned for me and started to talk at speed with Milosh, pointing at me occasionally. After a while Milosh looked down to me and said, "My sister she wants to know what happened to you." I pointed to the cut on my head and the wound on my thigh. "I' I was shot by a man called Goran or was it Otto from the KGB." There was another exchange of fast paced chatter between Milosh and the girl, the girl smiled at me and Milosh said, "My sister Adriana wants you to know that our father will protect you." I looked up at the girl and attempted a smile. "Thank you." she looked a little confused, Milosh said something like multumesk to his sister, she turned away as a group of women got her attention, she kissed Milosh on the cheek and headed away into the woods her long skirts swishing as she skipped away. Milosh gave me a wry smile and said, "My sister thinks that you are cute, she is obviously mistaken." The old woman attending to me then wrapped a clean white linen bandage around my leg fastening it with a knot. She showed me four fingers. "Patru ore, patru ore." "Steefan you need to come back in four hours," said Milosh. "Four hours why?" Milosh asked the old woman and engaged in a lengthy heated conversation. "to take the poison from your wound and re pack it, bunica, er grandmother does not like to be questioned." He paused. "I get you new pantaloni and we will go explore yes?" I assumed that pantaloni meant trousers so I nodded, Milosh offered me his hand and helped me up Milosh's grandmother slapped me on the backside as I got up. "She likes you too." Milosh supplied me with a pair of his trousers and as I swapped my tattered trousers for my new ones he took a knife along with its sheath and clipped it to the belt of his trousers. "We go and explore now yes?" I nodded. Even though I had a wound on my leg I then joined Milosh on a walk through the thick forest following a narrow winding path, I was a little unnerved that he had simply picked up an old rifle as he left camp from several leaning against a tree. Milosh led me along the path for several minutes, pointing out many animals I hadn't even noticed. "Where are we?" I asked foolishly after a while. "In the forest Steefan where else?" was his reply. "Sorry I mean are we still in Belarus?" "Of course, in the forest in Belarus, you are safe here, it is a big forest. "So if I'm safe why do you have a rifle with you then?" I asked. "We are safe from the people who chase you Steefan, we are not safe from the lupi or the ursi." I must have looked confused as Milosh then started to play a weird version of animal charades culminating in me finally answering. "Wolves and Bears, you have wolves and bears here?" "Yes lup is wolf, lupi is wolves." "And Ursi is bear?" Milosh smiled as though I was a child learning to speak. "No urs is bear ursi is bears." "Oh I see." as we walked through the woods Milosh continued to translate common trees and anything else he could find into their equivalent in his language, I stopped really listening after a while and started to nod. "Ah look over there my sister she is helping pick food." I looked down from our path and could see several women both young and old gathering from bushes and trees in the clearing below. "Adriana my sister she is pretty yes?" I nodded. "What is she doing Milosh. "Oh she is picking the ciuperca, the wild err." Milosh looked around the edges of the path and pointed at a patch of wild mushrooms with bright red domes. "ciuperca see." "Oh mushrooms." I thought for a second and asked, "She does know which ones are edible doesn't she." Milosh laughed a very hearty laugh. "All ciuperca are edible Steefan but some you only eat once!" "Ah." "She knows which ones will not kill you Steefan, we all do." I was so out of my depth here, I couldn't speak the language and certainly wouldn't be able to survive in the forest alone, I stayed close to Milosh as he headed up the narrow path up the steep bank until just before reaching the top my injured thigh went into spasm, I fell back onto the steep verge of the path. "Ahhh, ahhh." "What is wrong Steefan." "Ahh my leg it feels like it will burst, it really hurts." Milosh put his rifle to one side and going down on his knees felt my muscle, he smiled and said something I didn't really understand but assumed he thought I had cramp, he then kneaded the tensing muscle with his knuckles initially causing great pain but quickly relieving it, breathing heavily I said, "You must show me how to do that." "Pha it is simple, do they not teach such things in your scoli?" "Schools er no they teach maths and science and." "Enough we will head back now and check my traps on the way." As Milosh and I doubled back on his circuitous route back to the camp and watched Milosh check many well-hidden snares I realised that I was alone for the first time ever, no parents or teachers to look after me I was in the care of what appeared to be a band of gypsies. I couldn't go to the authorities for help as they were hunting me for a crime I did not commit and did not know when I would next see my mum and dad again if ever. Chapter 13 Toby's Leg Silvanus. "I felt so lonely Joy, lonely and abandoned, I'd been torn from my family and friends and seemingly dumped with a group of travellers by a man I didn't really know, I was completely lost." Joy leaned over and took one of my hands in hers. "It must have been a terrible culture shock for you Silvia but Milosh he seemed to like you." "He did, Susan reminds me so much of Milosh when he was a young man and like Susan he doesn't judge, he was a friend for me when I needed one and he's been a loyal friend no, brother, to me ever since." Upstairs a few seconds later I heard the dinner bell go off. "Ah saved by the bell, you won't have to put up with me unburdening myself any longer Joy." Joy stood up in her silly but cute onesie took the small recording device from the table and passed it to me. "Anytime that you want to come down here and tell me more of your story Silvia feel free I've really enjoyed listening to you." she then flipped the hood of her hoodie up offered me her arm which I took and we went up to lunch together. To be honest It felt good to have talked to Joy and I felt much better for unburdening a little of my past, lunch was unusual as when Terri saw what her mum was dressed in she went up to her room and returned wearing an identical but much smaller one, They sat together and Terri mimicked everything that Joy did, it was very amusing especially with the costume's tails sticking out through the hole in the backs of their chairs. After Lunch Dot asked if I had a little time and when I nodded she asked if I had any suggestions for alternative herbs as she and the gardener were planning what should be planted in her walled herb garden, I suggested several wild herbs I'd used over the years including nettles which the gardener was not overly keen on cultivating. The next morning after my exercises and dressing for the day I went for a quiet walk around the grounds after first popping the recording of my chat with Joy into an internal mail pouch addressed to Bob at 'The Centre'. As I sat looking over towards the old boat house where Terry and my old friend Aliza normally lived with their daughter Andi I started to think back to Adriana, Milosh's sister and her beautiful fresh faced smile. I felt myself smiling as her image formed in my mind an image of a very pretty teenager. I was disturbed sometime later by the sound of Terri coming along the lakeside path a little while later with Toby, Daniel's Irish wolf hound, Toby was limping quite badly. "Come on Toby we can rest here with Auntie Silvia." Terri clambered up onto the seat next to me and said, "I think Toby's leg is hurting him today Auntie Silvia." "He's still recovering Terri give him time and he'll soon be back to his old self." I then offered my hand to Toby, he sniffed at it and he moved closer. I then stroked his coarse coat until I reached his rear leg where he'd had some of his more invasive surgery the previous year and said in as soothing a voice as I could. "Let me just have a look Toby." Terri seemed to sense what I was doing hopped off the seat and stood next to Toby's head, I gently kneaded the muscle tissue around the wound area and broke up several fibrous growths of scar tissue by pressing and kneading, Toby whimpered a little but didn't react, Terri also winced a little but put a brave face on for Toby. "Auntie Silvia is helping you Toby," she said with a weak smile as she stroked his head. Toby is a very obedient dog and allowed me to massage the entire scarred area and when I stopped I was rewarded by two dirty paws on my blouse and a wet face from his licking, I smiled at him and said, "You're welcome Toby." Terri sat with me with Toby at our feet for quite a while. "When is Uncle Hillary coming to visit again Auntie Silvia?" "He was going to come this week Terri, but he has been delayed." "I like him, he's nice." "So do I Terri, but I'm annoyed at him at the moment." "Oh, did he borrow something without asking cos Lucy and Dawn fall out when that happens." I laughed. "No nothing like that Terri, he just did something I'd rather he hadn't." "Was it a bad thing Auntie Silvia?" "No Terri it was a good thing but..." I went quiet as I didn't really have an answer for her. Terri sat quietly waiting for me to finish so eventually I said, "He helped my daughter." "You've got a daughter, what is her name?" Terri lay against my side. "She's called Adriana she's named after her, her, she's named after a very pretty girl I once knew." "Adriana that is a pretty name." "Thank you Terri." "Does she live with you in your house with Uncle Hillary?" "No I'm afraid not Terri." "Oh." Terri went quiet for a second or two before asking the inevitable, "Why not?" I was thinking about how to answer Terri tactfully when Toby who somehow must have sensed my hesitation got up and gently took Terri's arm in his mouth and pulled. "Oh I think Toby wants to carry on his walk now Auntie Silvia, byeee and thanks for helping his leg." I watched as Terri skipped away from me with the large hound happily walking by her side and started to think of Adriana; Milosh's sister and the first real love of my life. Chapter 14 Life In The Forest Silvanus. It's really strange, I've been with the Stevenson's now for just over two and a half weeks and in that time I feel as though my internal batteries have been recharged, the weather has up until today been horrid but even that has not dampened my spirits I've just seen Susan off on the train with her mums, she's spending a few days at Brunsfields so that she can visit Mick and introduce herself to his parents, I really like Mick and despite his outward casual appearance I believe him to be a very decent young man. I met with Matt Stevenson a couple of days ago and he showed me with quite some enthusiasm the plans he'd made for the estate. I approved. Matt has bought up the land that until recently housed an old industrial estate to the far east of the Stevenson estate, he's decided that it should become a small country park attached to, but not part of, the main estate. He will retain ownership, but it will be free for the locals to enjoy. I suppose it also helps that he owns some construction companies and has almost unlimited cash but it is a nice gesture. I visited the old cottages on the bottom road yesterday where Trish and Chris usually live next to Leah, Julie and more recently Dixie. The building work is all but finished and should be ready for occupation in the next couple of weeks. Aliza and Terry return from Israel this afternoon, I'm looking forward to seeing her again. The Stevenson estate is slowly waking up from its winter slumber now and as I walk I notice the first snowdrops forcing themselves through the borders next to the footpath by the quarry, in a month or so the Daffodils and bluebells will also come out, the leaves will form on the trees and once again the estate will be full of colour and noise as the birds return from their winter holidays. I haven't bothered anyone with my story recently despite both Joy and Alice offering their ears, Bob is waiting patiently for me to visit him and has not attempted to press me which I appreciate. I notice someone ahead on the footpath climbing over one of the stiles that lead to the moors. it is Christine, she waves at me just as Trish comes into view, they must have been to 'The Centre'. Christine has a huge smile on her face as she waves at me, I wave back at her and pick up my pace until we meet. I hug Christine and immediately notice that she is no longer the frail young woman of the year before and has recovered a lot of the muscle mass and weight I would expect of a healthy young woman of her age. "You look absolutely wonderful Christine." I say as I look at her, Chris smiles at me. "Trish has really helped me Silvanus, she's nearly as hard a taskmaster as back at 'The Centre'." I turned to face Trish. "And you Patricia, how are you, how are your studies going?" "I'm fine Silvia, Susan and I are studying hard." I smiled at them both. "And I believe that you're both expecting a delivery later this year if all goes well." Patricia reached for Christine's hand and held it tightly they both smiled and I could tell that they were both really excited as they then both started to tell me about the preparations they'd already been making. I happily walked with my two young friends back to the big house as they explained in great detail what they had planned for their cottage and garden on the run up to the delivery of the baby which Joy was carrying for them. As we approached the house I heard a familiar shout from the direction of Matt Stevenson's garage. "Trish, you have five minutes?" It was Dixie, Trish turned to Chris and kissed her full on her lips. "Looks like Dix needs my help Chris, May I?" "Of course." Trish then smiled at me and headed down towards the little workshop she and Dixie shared, Chris unexpectedly took my hand in hers "She'll be a while Silvia, she loves working on her projects, lunch?" At lunch it was relatively quiet; I sat with Chris as we ate I thought about her past, her relationship to Hillary and her own mother who I'd befriended whilst staying at Brunsfields following a falling out with my own mother. Chris noticed me looking at her. "Silvia?" "Oh sorry Christine, I was just remembering your mum, you look so much like her, she was very pretty too." Chris visibly blushed. "I keep forgetting that you knew her Silvia, what was she like then?" I was just about to answer her when. "Ah Silvia, I thought I'd find you here." It was Bob "have you been avoiding me?" "Yes Bob I have." "I like your honesty. Now down to business," he said as he sat opposite me, I sighed. "Can this wait until after I've eaten?" "Of course." He then said in a hushed voice, "I'm only really here to get one of Mrs Burton's excellent meals." Chris started to giggle. "Whilst I am here though, I've listened to the chat you had with Joy, I'd like you to continue it." "With you?" "No." "Bob?" Bob Sighed as one of the staff placed cutlery in front of him. "You seemed to open up to Joy further than you would me, I actually got a greater appreciation of what you were experiencing from the recording than sitting with you in person, I'd like you to continue like that, I don't even really care who you speak with," Bob paused for a second, "Actually I'd rather you didn't relay the more gory details of your life to Alice." "And you?" "I'll listen to your recollections and intervene when I feel it's necessary." "Are you sure you're a Doctor Bob?" I replied wondering what the hell he was up to. "Yes I am I've got a certificate and everything," he said with a smile. That evening I went to bed early hoping to get a few hours before my alarm or a dream woke me, I remember placing my head on the pillow and looking at the clock one final time before closing my eyes. Chapter 15 The Room There is something wrong, I can hear noises in the distance and there is light but I can't open my eyes; no not just that I can't move anything at all. I can feel myself panicking inside as I try without success to make even the simplest movement, it is then that I feel my chest expand and then a quiet wheeze like sound as it slowly deflates. Somehow I'm getting the smell of disinfectant, to my left I hear a crash as someone drops something. A man shouts an insult in Russian and I hear a female voice attempt to apologise. A shadow briefly casts itself on my eyelids blanking out the brightness of wherever I am, the shadow returns and a softly spoken voice speaks to me in English. "Ah good I see from your EEG that you are awakened." I hear a tray being placed to my side. "My name is Kuznetzov, I'm very pleased to meet you. Ah of course you cannot respond how impolite of me." I do not know why but this man fills me with dread, I feel my left eyelid being parted and something being used to keep it open. I'm looking up at a painted concrete ceiling with a large mirror mounted on it and can see my body lying on its back. It's covered with a green cloth. I start to scream inside but nothing comes out, a masked face comes into view and I feel tears start to run down my cheek as I find myself staring into piercing green eyes... Beep beep, beep beep beep, beep, beep, beep. I gasp for breath as I wake, it takes a few seconds for me to control myself enough to turn off the alarm clock and sit up in bed and even though I'm naked I'm dripping with sweat. "Ohhh," I groan. "I've not had that one in a while." Finally after several seconds I manage to regain control of my breathing and heart rate, and as I get up I pull the sheets back to let them air as they are damp with my sweat. I don't need to take anything off as I'm naked so I enter the bathroom and towel myself down, I start to think about my problem and have a conversation with myself in my head. 'Maybe I should go back and be with Milosh?' 'They have helped you before, they made the dreams go away.' 'Yes but it is winter there and will be for a while yet, Bob is good I've seen his work.' 'But he didn't help Joy did he? That was the elder women.' 'That was Milosh's choice, Hillary would have used Bob.' 'But-' My argument went on with myself for some time as I dressed in a peasant blouse and skirt, left my room, and headed out of the house via the laundry room towards the old barn. When I reached the old barn it was open so I entered, wiped my bare feet clean and after turning on the lights proceeded to warm up with Tai Chi, moving on quickly to several Kata's of my own devising with increasingly difficult and strenuous moves. After a while I noticed that Daniel's hound had entered the barn and was sitting patiently watching me with a curious look on his face as I exercised, I continued for several more minutes on the mat before finally sitting on the mat, Toby then rose from his sitting position and waited by the edge of the mat, I smiled as it was almost as if he knew not to enter the mat until invited. "Come on boy," I also patted the mat beside me as I spoke, Toby stepped on the mat and padded over to where I was sitting and sat upright to the side of me being supported by his front legs. "Could you not sleep either?" Toby simply cocked his head to one side. Reaching over I stroked his wiry coat and as I did I was reminded of a situation long ago I'd almost forgotten about and started to talk. "When I was younger Toby I got myself into a bad situation..." Chapter 16 Adriana Stefan. I've now been with this band of travellers, gypsies, bandits, I'm not sure what they are; but I've now been with them for nearly a week, I'm helping them pack as I think we are moving camp, I asked where we were going, the reply was something like o alta tabara so I'm assuming it means another camp. There are few people in camp that speak English some speak Russian but everyone seems to speak Romanian or at least a version of it so I've been trying to learn some words. Milosh and his sister Adriana have been helping me, but I think that they must think me stupid as they can both speak at least three languages and I only speak English and a little Russian. I met Milosh's father Constantin the other day, he scares me and I would not like to get on the wrong side of his fury, Milosh has an elder brother Marius, he doesn't like me and was rewarded with a slap from his father when he commented the fact to him, fortunately Milosh's father and Marius are away from camp most days 'Conducting business' as Milosh put it. I am disturbed by Milosh as I bundle a large, folded tarpaulin into the back of one of the old trucks. "I go fishing now Steefan and check my traps, I will be back before lunch, you do your chores and I will see you for Masa de pranz." I looked at him blankly and then replied with a smile. "Lunch?" "You are learning my friend, soon you will speak good Romanian like I speak the good English yes?" I nodded. "See you soon my friend." And with that he left and headed out into the forest, his rifle strung across his back. A few minutes later as I was feeding the campfire with logs I heard a delicate feminine cough behind me, I turned to see Adriana, Milosh's sister watching. "Oh hello there Adriana I didn't notice you." She smiled at me. "You, your wound has it recovered yet?" she pointed at my thigh." "Yes thank you it is getting much better now." "Let me see." "I-" She pointed over to the space between two vehicles. "Over there drop your trousers, let me see." I hesitantly walked over to where she'd pointed and undid my belt, the buttons of my trousers and then lowered the waist band to expose my still dressed wound, Adriana crouched and examined the surrounding skin. "Yes the redness it is going, good." She then said something I didn't understand. "I'm sorry I don't understand." Adriana blushed a little as she rose. "You have very pretty skin Steefan eet is white like the fantoma." "Oh you mean like a ghost?" She nodded and smiled. "Yes like the ghost, you have no colour." "I'm sorry but I'm British we don't really get a lot of sun I'll be better in the summer." "I like the fantoma face." "You do?" She smiled warmly at me. "You will walk with me yes?" "I err, I, I mean yes, yes I will." I just couldn't believe it; a very no extremely pretty barefooted girl had just asked me if I would walk with her. "Pull up your pants first Steefan." "But I need to finish my chores." Adriana shouted over to several women sitting in a circle, they nodded back. "It is okay we can walk I take you to see forest." She then grabbed my hand and gently tugged at it. "Come." To say that I enjoyed my walk with Adriana would be a complete understatement I absolutely loved it, I hung on her every word as she pointed out herbs and flowers to me in her beautiful broken English as we walked the well-worn paths where I normally gathered wood and twigs for the campfire. Adriana stopped several times showing me the various Fungi of the forest floor pointing out several that I should avoid at all costs. Our return back to camp however was not peaceful and resulted in an argument between Adriana and her eldest brother Marius culminating in me receiving a punch to the face that knocked me to the floor. Constantin intervened at this point and slapped his son Marius across the face, shouted at him for several seconds and then seemed to order him away from me. Constantin then helped me from the ground. "I am sorry for my son, he has the hot head and is very protective of our daughter, are you hurt?" I held my hand to my smarting face and pretended that it was nothing. "It is okay sir, it is nothing." "Ha it is not, you people and your stiff upper lip; if it hurts just say." "It hurts sir." "Good, now see the women they will help with the swelling," he said as he pointed at two old women sitting on old wooden deck chairs by their van. Constantin then turned to Adriana and said softly to her. "umbl? cu mine." He offered his hand, she replied, "Tata," took his hand and walked with him away from me. I just stood wondering what was happening. Eventually I went over to the two women who applied a muddy green paste to the skin around my eye, then shooed me away. I spent the next hour or so avoiding Marius who I assumed I had greatly offended by being near to his sister, I now started to really feel homesick and just wanted my mum. Milosh approached me after he'd skinned the rabbits he'd caught that morning. "Sorry for your eye my friend but Marius he is protective of Adriana." "I didn't know I was doing anything wrong Milosh." "Ha you were not; it was Marius, Tata is furious with him." "I'm sorry Milosh I don't understand why was your brother annoyed with me." "He still thinks she is the little girl; she is not; she likes you Steefan. Marius worries that you will break her Inima," He held his chest "When you leave here and it will make her ill." "Ill?" I asked. "Yes she has faulty Inima, it mumbles." I looked confused for a second, then I remembered that one of my mum's family had a heart condition a heart murmur but that was not serious at all. "Your sister she has a heart murmur?" "Yes inima, heart." There was now a loud clanging coming from one of the men banging a pot. "Come we must go now; you will sit with me in pickup." I followed Milosh and sat in the back of an old pickup truck with him whilst after a minute or two we were joined by Marius who sat opposite me and glared at me. I watched Adriana as she sat with her father in one of the old trucks. Soon we were heading off in convoy along the very bumpy forest track to a new camp, with Milosh trying to occupy my attention by teaching me new words as his older brother continued to stare at me in an attempt to unnerve me, it worked. Silvanus. I was returned to the present by Toby's paw hitting my thigh. "You want something Toby?" I asked, he then turned and stood with his rear leg nearest to me, I realised that he wanted me to massage his scar tissue so that is exactly what I did for the next few minutes to the sounds of the occasional involuntary whimper from the large trusting hound. When I'd finished he then took my wrist in his mouth and gently pulled, I got up and followed him out of the old barn. It took Toby and I nearly an hour to walk around the lake with me barefoot and the dog consistently by my side leaving me only as I entered the big house by the laundry entrance. Chapter 17 A Very Unwelcome Intruder Silvanus slept very well for the rest of the night and when she eventually woke the next morning she contacted Bob and via a Teams chat in the library she talked through the evening before. "The dog seems to have taken quite a shine to you Silvia," said Bob. "He's a good listener Bob and I think he's struggling a little with what that lunatic Thompson did to him and it's aftereffects, I think he just likes human company." "Nothing wrong with that Silvia, oh before I forget you don't happen to know what is for lunch today at the big house do you?" Silvanus smiled. "I'll send you a menu," she replied and closed the call on the laptop she was using. Silvanus was in no hurry to revisit her past once more so spent the next week or so recharging her batteries enjoying the peace and tranquillity of the Stevenson estate. One afternoon as Joy and Alice played tennis on the courts down by the eastern copse Silvanus who'd been sitting enjoying the warm afternoon sunshine noticed a glint from something reflective coming from the wooded area on the hill past the rear of the big house. Silvanus got up from her seat placed the magazine she'd been browsing on the seat and casually moved away until she became lost in the foliage of the gardens. Silvanus then dispensed with her footwear and stealthily moved around the house and started up the gently sloping hill that led to the copse of trees and eventually to the moors, she stopped about halfway up the hill and looked back towards the tennis courts, to see Joy and Alice in their tennis whites enjoying their game with Terri and Andi also cutely dressed in whites waiting patiently on two wooden chairs by the court. Silvanus knew that her target was not a sniper as a sniper would never have used such a vantage point, she assumed it was something that in her eyes was far more loathsome. It took Silvanus a good ten minutes before she reached her vantage point behind the paparazzi photographer lying in cover on a bed of ferns and using the ridiculously large lens on his camera to spy on her friends. Silvanus left the photographer as she would deal with him later and decided to locate his vehicle so she headed away at speed leaping over the low stone wall that marked the boundary of the moors and ran downhill for six or seven minutes on the bare ground, her thin intricately patterned skirt billowing in the self-made breeze as she did, until she reached the road where she found parked in the layby on the road a Jeep type vehicle. It did not take Silvanus long to open the vehicle by 'Bitch Picking' the door lock using one bent hairpin as a rake and another as a lever. "Hmm now let me see," said Silvanus as she rummaged around in the vehicle, "Ah here we are, so that's confirmed he's a parasite." Silvanus then took her phone from her pocket and hesitated for just a second before she dialled. "Hillary?" "Silvia, it's lovely to hear from you are you okay?" "Yes, The Stevenson's have attracted a member of the Paparazzi, he's busy snapping away at the moment on the hill behind the big house." "Is he trespassing?" "Yes." "Hmm, where are you at the moment?" "At his vehicle." "We had a problem recently with a nosy photographer at Brunsfields when Susan was visiting my security team dealt with it." "You did not mention this Hillary." "Must have slipped my mind, I suppose his vehicle is insured?" "I would imagine so." "And his camera will be insured also?" "I would think so Hillary." "Well that's settled then." "Understood." Silvanus was just about to close the call when Hillary said, "I miss you Silv." Silvanus closed the call swallowed trying to relieve the lump in her throat then opened the bonnet of the vehicle and quickly found the plastic petrol line that fed the injectors in the engine and after taking a small rock from the stone wall started to rub the plastic pipe until petrol started to spurt onto the manifold. "Too easy," she said as she reached into the vehicle and located a small disposable lighter she'd noticed moments before and lit the dripping pipe. By the time Silvanus had reached the top of the hill the flames of the burning vehicle had finally reached the fuel tank, she turned to see a huge fireball rise into the air followed a second or two later by a loud bang. As Silvanus entered the Stevenson property once more she heard a menacing growl coming from where the photographer had been hiding and noticed both Daniel and Toby standing over the Photographer. Daniel was holding his double barrelled shotgun but was not pointing it. "Problem Daniel?" she asked. "Caught this guy taking photographs, Ms Smith. I was just about to call the police as he's trespassing." Silvanus smiled warmly at Daniel and then at the man still prone on the ground seemingly afraid to move. "Oh I'm sure he's just bird watching or something Daniel." "Yeh that's it I'm birdwatching," said the man with a gruff southern accent, Silvanus offered her hand and helped the photographer up, Toby seemed confused by this and stopped growling. "I'm sorry for the misunderstanding sir but this is private property you see." "Oh ah right, I'd better be going then," said the photographer thinking he'd gotten away with it as he inched away back towards the perimeter wall with his camera, as the man climbed used the stile to climb the wall however Silvanus tapped the long lens of his camera with such force that when it came into contact with the wall the delicate lenses within the thin aluminium tube could be heard to break, she then sliced through the camera strap with a thin bladed exceedingly sharp knife causing the camera to fall onto a large dislodged stone. Such was Silvanus's skill that the man did not notice either her hitting the lens nor her slicing the strap. "Aw Shit," said the man as he started to climb down and retrieve his camera. "Here let me sir," said Silvanus helpfully as she retrieved the camera and with the dexterity of an illusionist removed it's memory cards. "At least your camera seems to be okay," said Silvanus with a smile as she passed the damaged piece of equipment over whilst simultaneously lifting his wallet as she did. The man took the camera re climbed the wall and headed on the journey down towards his car. "Hmm Terrence Flashman, that can't be his real name," Silvia said to herself as she looked through his wallet just before being joined by Daniel and Toby. "He wasn't a twitcher Miss, was he?" "No Daniel they are mostly harmless, this particular species however is anything but harmless and doesn't care who he hurts in the process." Silvanus walked over to where the man had been and lay on the same bed of fern. "Pass me your field glasses please Daniel." asked Silvanus Daniel did as he was requested and Silvanus confirmed what she'd known all along he was taking pictures of Joy and Alice as through the binoculars the tennis court came into view, Silvia watched with a smile as Joy helped Aliza's daughter Andi to serve the ball and Alice helped Terri do the same only for her viewing to be disturbed by a warm panting furry body dropping down beside her. "Looks like that guy was trying to get photos of Joy and Alice, Ms Smith." "Yes well he be disappointed when he gets back to what's left of his vehicle as I have the memory cards from his camera in my skirt pocket. By the time Silvanus got back to the big house she'd forwarded several pictures of the contents of the photographers wallet to Hillary. "Let's see how he likes being constantly hounded," she said under her breath as she noticed Joy, Alice and the two children approaching her still wearing their tennis outfits. "Hello Silvia, did you have a nice walk?" asked Alice. "Yes thank you Alice it was bracing." Joy simply raised an eyebrow and smiled at her. Silvanus crouched down and with a huge smile said, "Oh and look at you two with your little tennis outfits on, you look sooo cute." Terri and Andi both blushed with pride and Terri took the edges of her little pleated skirt in her fingers and curtsied, quickly followed by Andi who did not want to be left out she then hugged the two little girls. As they all walked into Stevenson Towers Silvanus asked, "Do you have a little time later girls, for a chat?" Both Alice and Joy nodded. Chapter 18 Friendship and Romance Silvanus. Joy was called to the office about an hour ago, I'm waiting for Alice to finish helping Terri with her homework and am browsing through one of Aliza's fashion magazines, when I hear Alice raise her voice a little presumably so that I could hear. "Oh that is a nice little project, do you know who could help you with that Terri?" I watched as Terri's face contorted into the cutest little puzzled look before shaking her head. "No Mummy." "Auntie Silvia could help you with that she's really good with wildflowers and leaves, do you think that we should ask her?" Terri nodded. "Come on then, hop off the chair and you can ask her." I watched as Terri held her mum's hand tightly as she approached. "Silvia I think Terri has something she'd like to ask you." I watched as Terri shuffled nervously on the rug causing her thick red tights to wrinkle around her toes. "Um." I smiled at her. "Do you want me to help you find a monster Terri?" "Err no." "A unicorn?" "Umm." She smiled, I quickly realised that unicorn was the wrong thing to ask. "No it can't be unicorns as they're still on their winter holiday... okay I give in?" "Can you help me with my homework please it's about leaves and plants and things?" I smiled. "I would love to Terri." "Oh goody, cos mummy says that you are an Eggspurt." "So when do we start then young lady?" Poor Terri she just smiled and looked confused. "Um." Alice intervened at this point. "Terri has three weeks to do her project Silvia so maybe you and she could start this weekend?" I gave Terri a reassuring smile. "Oh it'll be fun Terri I promise, I might even let you eat a nettle leaf." Terri didn't seem convinced but at that moment Dawn and Lucy burst into the library they were carrying backpacks and Lucy had Terri's backpack in her hands. "Are you ready to go swimming Terri?" "Ooh yes." Terri then kissed Alice goodbye, hesitated, and then gave me a little peck on the cheek. "Thank you Auntie Silvia for helping me." As Terri skipped over to her sisters I felt a lump growing in my throat. Alice left me to my thoughts before finally saying, "You wanted to talk a little more of your past?" "Oh yes sorry for burdening you with this." I then recapped a little and started once more. Stefan. After the incident with Adriana I shied away from her for the next few days until Milosh confronted me as we fished early one morning by the banks of a large slow moving river. "Why are you avoiding my sister Steefan?" "I thought that was obvious, your big brother disapproves of me being with her." "Pha and that is all, she likes you Steefan." "But your brother is really scary and I really do not want to be punched again." "Hit him back next time." "I don't really want for there to be a next time Milosh, I've still got this black eye as a reminder." "I will teach you how to fight then soon you not be the scaredy pisica anymore." "Scaredy cat?" Milosh would not take no for an answer and was soon tutoring me on how to fight, this was completely against my nature as my parents had always told me that nothing was achieved by fighting. ? Milosh was a very good fighter and as I sat a little later on the embankment nursing several new bruises and fishing once more he told me that if we were to visit Hungary this summer he would take me with him to visit the old man who taught him how to fight, all I focussed on was the words 'This Summer' as I was expecting to be home much sooner than that but I stayed quiet because at least I wasn't being shot at any more or being chased by the KGB or at least I assumed I wasn't. As Milosh and I returned to camp with our catch of two carp a trout and a Zander he stopped me suddenly and pulled me into thick undergrowth. "Stay here with your rod and do not move my friend," he said as he picked up our catch and continued back to camp. I soon realised why he'd pulled me into the undergrowth as I could just see that the camp had a visitor in the form of a rather portly member of the local militsiya or police. I Peeked through the fern undergrowth as Milosh entered the camp and greeted the policeman, hung his catch, and then sat to the side of his father along with Marius. It seemed like hours before the policeman finally left camp with the largest of the fish Milosh and I had caught earlier. It took several minutes before Milosh appeared once more and guided me back into camp. "You are a big enemy of the state my friend, my brother should watch out I think." Milosh then laughed heartily and slapped me on the back. That evening Adriana came over and sat next to me, I looked over nervously at Marius but he simply turned away. "My father has had angry words with my brother, he will not disturb us anymore." "I'm still not sure that this is a good idea Adriana," I heard myself saying. Adriana looked hurt as she asked, "Do you not like me Steefan?" "I, I yes I do I like you very much, you are very pretty." "Then that is settled we are friends," she offered me her hand, "Come we walk." Adriana slipped her hand into mine and guided me out of camp and onto one of the well-worn paths through the old forest. "My father tells me that you are English, what is England like Steefan." "To be honest Adriana I don't really know as I've spent most of my life travelling with my parents from placement to placement." "Is that why your accent is not like they show at the Cinema?" "I'm not sure what you mean?" Adriana let go of my hand and started to walk backwards whilst her large dark eyes locked onto mine. "Eenglish people they say, 'Jolly good' and 'Old Bean' and 'Tally ho' you do?not say these things." I smiled. "No Adriana we don't all speak like that, there are many different dialects err 'dialecte' of the language, I think mine has just gotten a little mixed up from all of the places I've stayed over the years." I watched as Adriana walked backwards with her skirt sometimes catching on the ground giving me glimpses of her bare feet and ankles. "So you are a traveller just like us, but you travel the world?" "Yes that's it." "I'd like to travel the world one day not just the forests Steefan, travel the world and have a husband and have lots and lots of Copii." "Baby?" "Yes lots of babees," she said with misty eyes before stopping and suddenly looking sadly into my eyes. "Or maybe just one little baby." She grabbed my hand once more and started to lead me further into the forest. "Come I show you the sunset." Adriana and I sat together on a boulder in small clearing in the forest that gave us a perfect view of the now larger and redder sun as it started to descent behind two large tree covered hills in the distance. She turned to me and said, "It is pretty yes?" I turned to face her and smiled as I said, "Yes it's is Adriana." She leaned over and kissed me on the lips, I'd never been kissed by a girl before and just froze not wanting the feeling to ever stop. When she broke the kiss I could actually feel my lower lip trembling, Adriana gave me surprised look that turned into a huge grin. "You never kissed a girl before Steefan?" "N, no," I said in complete surprise I then said something completely stupid. "Have you?" She smiled mischievously. "Been with a girl no, have you been with a boy before Steefan?" "N, no." "I am joking with you Steefan, your face it go red like Tomato." She took my hand and placed it on her upper thigh, I could feel her leg through the thin fabric of her skirt, it was a nice feeling unfortunately the feeling was short lived as Milosh appeared his rifle strung across his shoulder. "It gets late, time to return to camp." He smiled at me and raised his eyebrows knowingly. I moved my hand over towards Adriana's not sure what would happen and was surprised when she took it. "Look over there Steefan, you can just see it over there." I looked and in the distance in the murk could see a couple of chimneys and several cranes with lights on. "What is that?" I asked. "That Steefan is the new Vladimir IIlyich Lenin power plant and over there the glow in the sky is the town of Pripyat, we may visit it in a few days to get you new clothing. "Pripyat isn't that in the Ukraine?" "Yes Steefan we crossed the border a few days ago." "But there were no checkpoints or..." Milosh started to laugh, as did Adriana. "We have no need of checkpoints or borders, that is for the politicians, they ignore us and we ignore them, good yes?" How could I disagree with that logic? Something both wonderful and sad happened over the next few days, I firstly noticed that my understanding of my new friends language was accelerating with both Milosh and Adriana tutoring me constantly and my homesickness virtually vanished as I started to slowly integrate within the camp. I think that my reduced homesickness was helped by my burgeoning relationship with Adriana who's sunny disposition and thirst for life always kept me smiling. Of course I still wanted to return home but for the moment I was quite happy being with my two new friends. Silvanus. I was brought back from my reminiscences by Alice as she passed me a small cotton and lace handkerchief, Joy was now sitting next to her. "I can tell from your tears that you cared for Adriana greatly Silvia." "I loved her I just didn't know it at the time Alice, I really enjoyed her company and," I hesitated "Her smile, it disarmed me completely I loved to see her smile, she was absolutely beautiful too in a wild untamed mischievous way." 'Just like your twins' I thought but did not say. Later that evening at his home on the outskirts of Middlesbrough, Bob had just finished a couple of assessments he's been marking for two students he was mentoring, he strolled into the kitchen of his home and located a cold beer in the fridge and sat down to read a little more from the unauthorised diary of Hugo Clifford Simpson Saturday July 1st, 1978 Brunsfields It seems that my superiors have now cooled off enough to allow me to resume my duties, I will return to London on the 5th to be given my next assignment. Mrs Pettifer called by Thursday last and brought me up to speed with the Roundall case. Peter Roundall was released by the KGB two weeks ago straight into the care of the embassy who immediately had him medically evacuated to our holding facility near Chelmsford, it appears that he's had?a breakdown of sorts in custody, hoping the medics can help him, his wife Jane has not yet been informed. Still no word from Constantin regarding the Roundall boy, but I have managed to arrange for his daughter to be allowed entry into the country for treatment so I've kept my part of the bargain. Young Hillary is becoming a good cricketer, not quite county standard but improving. Bob paused from reading the diary and quickly browsed through some of the other documents. "Treatment, treatment for what?" He was unable to find what Adriana required treatment for as it just wasn't mentioned but what he did find saddened him as he stared at the coroner's report death certificate for Peter Roundall, 'Carboxyhaemoglobin' and 'Carbon monoxide poisoning' being the terms that stood out. Bob sighed and took another sip from his beer. "Poor bastard killed himself, but when?" Bob looked quickly at the date, "fourteen and a half months after his return from Belarus in his Triumph Herald whilst his wife was out with friends, Hmm so when did..." Bob was interrupted by his mobile phone going off. ? "Hillary this is an unexpected pleasure, I was just going through some of your fathers old papers." "Did you find anything useful?" "It's really just filling in the blanks giving me a better picture of Silvanus's past." "May I ask how she is at the moment Bob?" "She's annoyed that you didn't visit but otherwise coping quite well." "Is she talking to you?" "Not as such but she is talking to Joy and Alice, she trusts them far more than she ever would me or you." "Good I'm glad she's at least talking." "How are things at your end?" "Not good, government will not take the China issue seriously and are responding far too slowly, I need a favour from you Bob." "Anything just ask." "Christine I need her protecting." "You want me to put the Stevenson estate into lock down to protect Chris?" "I can't lose her again Bob." "No." "NO?" "Hillary have you talked with the major about this?" "Yes he said no too." "And did he say that her lungs were just fine now with all of the therapy she's been receiving and she's now only on a very low dosage of inhaled corticosteroid?" "Yes but." "I'd be more inclined to impose a lock down on the estate to protect Matt Stevenson or Iona or even Mrs Burton not a healthy young woman." "As usual the voice of reason, could you give Silvia a message for me please?" "I can do better than that Hillary." And with that he forwarded the call to Silvanus's phone. "Talk to her you idiot," said Bob knowing that Hillary could no longer hear him. Chapter 19 Just an average day Alice. I woke just over an hour ago to Joy gently stroking my inner thighs with the fingers of one hand whilst caressing my breast with the other, my body had already started without me and I was feeling really horny as my legs parted and I allowed her access to my very moist pussy. Joy's caress soon became full on lovemaking with her wearing 'The penis' today as she eased the bulbous end of the lubricated v shaped strapless phallus into her own pussy with a contented sigh. "Let me be on top Joy," I said as today I needed to be in control of our lovemaking, of course Joy understood my reasons and lay on her back with me watching as the bright blue phallus stuck out of her body in much the same way as it did all those years ago when she was still a boy. I straddled Joy and looked down on my wife smiling as I gently moved my crotch back and forth lubricating the fake phallus with my juices before slipping my hand down and assisting it into me as I lowered myself down our breasts pressed gently into each other's as we kissed and I slipped my hand behind her head to cradle it, she tasted wonderful as usual. After a while Joy whimpered slightly and I just knew she was about to orgasm this hastened my own orgasm and as her body started to involuntarily spasm as she temporarily lost control I found my own orgasm starting and joined her in her blissful state. As Joy lay there afterwards her eyes glistening and an almost fixed smile on her face she said, "I love you Mrs Stevenson." "And I love you too Mrs Stevenson," I replied breathlessly still recovering from the last forty five minutes, we lay for several more before we heard the tell-tale click of a certain small person opening her bedroom door along the corridor from us. "Looks like Terri is up Joy, better turn off your penis or we'll have to answer more awkward questions as to why we are humming." Joy grimaced and reached under the covers and removed the strapless dildo emitting a happy sigh as she did before turning it off, wrapping it in tissues and placing it in her drawer to be cleaned as soon as the coast was clear. Joy had just closed the drawer when Terri burst into the room with a hair band two bobbles and her hairbrush. "Mummies," she said loudly as she climbed onto the base of the bed and then up the mattress finally sitting between us. "Mummies can you do my hair for me pleez as Andi and me are going to Martine's for to play this morning and I want really nice hair." "I'll do it for you Terri as Mummy Joy has to go out for her jog before work." "Ooooh work on Saturday mummy?" Joy had by now slipped out of bed and pulled a pair of soft cotton panties up her legs and was settling the waistband as she replied. "Yes Terri but just for a couple of hours then I'll be back here all afternoon." I continued to pull the fine brush though Terri's thick and now impressively long hair as Joy pulled a sport bra over her head and eased her breasts into the supportive cups. "Mummy are your boobies getting bigger?" Joy smiled at Terri's innocent question. "Yes Terri it happens when there is a baby inside growing it's so that I can feed it when the baby is born." Terri looked quizzically at Joy and I just knew another question was brewing. "But I thought that the baby was for Trish and Chris won't they be feeding it?" Joy sat on the edge of the bed. "I may have to feed baby for a little bit Terri just like Mummy Alice and I did with you." "Oohh," Terri paused momentarily before "Are Trish and Chrisy's boobies getting bigger too?" "Yes I imagine they will be Terri." "But how because they don't have a baby in them so how does their boobies get bigger." I decided to intervene at this point. "Let mummy Joy finish getting dressed for her run Terri, you can ask me questions now." I watched as Joy smiled, kissed Terri on the forehead and padded over to our bathroom whilst Terri wound up for her interrogation of me. Amongst the many questions I had to field as I plaited her hair were. "Do hippopotamus's have boobies?" "Do hippopotamus's wear really big bra's mummy?" "If Suzy marries Mick Dawn says he will then be my brother, will he be my brother Mummy?" I enjoyed answering Terri's questions but was quite relieved when Susan appeared and enquired if I'd like her to take her down to breakfast, I nodded enthusiastically and as Susan took Terri's hand and led her away I suppressed a snigger as Terri asked. "Suzy can your boobies feed babies too like mummies?" Susan was not prepared for her question. "Err." "Do Unicorns have boobies Suzy do they? I bet they do." I dressed quickly and joined Joy for the last portion of her Jog with Silvia and Aliza before going on to our makeshift gym and learning a little more self-defence from Aliza and, after a while, from Silvia too, Silvia looked much happier today, apparently she'd had a long talk with Hillary last evening. I was re-joined by Joy just as I was finishing my lunch and was rewarded with a very pleasant full on kiss on the lips. "Terry is setting up in the quarry Alice, fancy a little target practice?" I'd finally succumbed and for the last couple of months had been learning about handguns, they still scared me but as I learned about them I started to appreciate them a little more. Silvanus prefers not to use guns if at all possible choosing stealth, her astoundingly sharp knives or at a push a crossbow. After my shooting practice Terri, Andi, Joy, Toni, and the twins drove in a small convoy to the outskirts of Saltburn then, after Terry and Aliza removed our cycles from the van, we all cycled through the valley gardens to the beach where we messed about on the sand for most of the rest of the afternoon with Toni entertaining Terri and Andi whilst the twins explored the pier amusements and Joy and I went for a long barefoot walk along the beach towards Redcar. Terry and Aliza walked along the pier together and I noticed when we met up at the bikes later they were holding hands. It was really nice to have Joy to myself most of the day and I took full advantage of it. Chapter 20 Outbreak Silvanus. It has been a busy couple of weeks at the Stevenson household. Just over ten days ago as I was exercising with Joy I noticed that she was struggling a little so I asked if she was feeling okay. "I just feel a little hot Silv that's all," she replied breathlessly but on touching her forehead I realised that she was anything but okay so finding a small thermometer in the Gym first aid kit I took her temperature, then taking Joy firmly by the arm led her back to the big house. "I'm okay Silv I promise," she protested. "You are not Joy; you are anything but okay, you have a temperature of 103 you are running a fever. "But I don't really feel that bad." "No arguments Joy, bed." Joy seemed to find my comment funny and replied. "Yes Mummy." I led her back into her house and then up into her room where I helped her undress, Alice appeared as I exited their bathroom with a paracetamol and a glass of water, she was red in the face and out of breath from running and went straight over to Joy who was now lying propped up by a couple of pillows wearing only her jogging bra and panties, Alice was in obvious distress. "Joy I just got a call from housekeeping what's happened?" Joy smiled and touched the side of Alice's face. "It's okay Alice I just have a little fever that's all." I went over and passed her the paracetamol and the glass of cool water, she took the pill and a gulp of water then smiled at Alice. "Don't worry It's probably just one of those 24 hour things, I'll be right as rain tomorrow," reassured Joy to Alice. Alice sat quietly with her wife holding her hand whilst I contacted Major Simmons for advice. Harry appeared within twenty minutes and took blood from Joy and then met me in the corridor outside Joys room. "You did well Silvia It's almost certainly one of the many viruses going around, I'll know more when I get this sample analysed, fortunately Joy is both young and strong, she should sail through it with no ill effect. The parents are they still in Scotland?" "Yes Harry they're staying with Iona's Brother at the moment." "Good, has Joy had any contact with any overseas travellers recently?" I shrugged. "Just a sec." I went back I to her room and asked Alice who was still sitting by the now sleeping Joy and on my return. "Yes a week or so ago a buyer a chap called Barry Connaught, he'd just returned from Shenzhen province in China on a sourcing trip, Joy was only with him for less than an hour though, are you thinking that this could be the Chinese virus that Hillary has been fretting about the Corona virus?" Harry sighed. "Corona virus is a blanket term Silvia it covers a lot of the respiratory tract viruses I'm worried that it could be the Covid-19 variant as it can be particularly unpleasant especially to people with compromised immune systems and the elderly." "Let's just hope that it isn't then." Harry nodded. "Okay but as a precaution I want the estate placed into temporary quarantine, Mrs Burton needs to go back to her cottage to shield, Chris and Trish also need to stay away from the house, I'll arrange for them all to be tested." "They won't like that Harry." "I'm not asking them to like it Silvia, I'll leave you in charge here." With that Harry left me standing in the corridor and headed off with Joy's blood sample and a couple of swabs he'd taken. I explained to Alice that Joy may have contracted an unpleasant virus and offered to stay with her but she steadfastly refused to leave her bedside much as I had expected. I've seen devotion between couples before and I already knew from her actions how much Joy loved Alice, but Alice sat with Joy for two days before her fever finally broke by itself without any real medical intervention apart from the occasional sip of paracetamol syrup to help with her temperature. Because Joy never really developed a cough the virus spread was restricted to poor Terri whose life was made a misery by a runny nose and the sniffles for nearly a week and Alice who was bedridden for several days and was attended to by the recuperating Joy; but by this time Joy was well on the road to recovery and had already started to work out once more. Harry confirmed that it was indeed COVID-19 -19 variant A. As soon as Terri was well enough and whilst she was off school I started to take her for walks in the grounds to get her going on her school project. For such a young girl she's already very knowledgeable and already knew several of the wild herbs and flowers I pointed out, I then remembered back to last year where for a while she stayed with Milosh and figured she must have learned lots whilst there. Terri is like a huge information sponge, she asks questions and politely listens to my replies before asking the next or questioning me on my answer, one thing I find completely adorable about her are her facial mannerisms and the way she uses her hands, they remind me so much of my own daughter when she was young and inquisitive. After our walks we'd usually place the leaves and twigs along with other things of interest and sort through them on one of the tables in the library. Terri looked at me in horror one morning when we picked several stems of stinging nettles and I suggested that we could eat them. "But won't we get a stingy tongue?" she asked whilst holding out her tongue. "No Terri once the leaves have wilted the stings don't work anymore but just to make sure we'll blanche them in boiling water." We entered Dot's domain and I prepared several leaves along with making myself a cup of nettle tea. Terri, bless her, did eat one leave but passed on anymore, I enjoyed my nettle tea. Chapter 21 Lock Down Tales Silvanus. With the British governments usual efficiency and after weighing all of the available data on the new virus spreading across the country it decided to send the country into a lock down state about three weeks too late in my opinion, but that is just my opinion. Fortunately for the Stevenson's they have a massive (and growing) estate to be locked down in and due to Harry's testing most of the staff and family now appear to have antibodies to the disease including me even though I never had a fever or symptoms. Matt Stevenson always the shrewd businessman had offered spare production capability of his many businesses to the British government an offer they had yet to take up. This morning as we fought it was the first time I'd noticed any signs of Joy's pregnancy, it wasn't much but her stomach was definitely a little larger this morning, it saddened me a little that even though I'd been a woman all of my adult life I could not conceive and I felt a little jealous of her. Two minutes later the repercussions of thinking of my past broke through my long established mental barriers and I recalled several glimpses of the past I wish I could have gone back and rewritten and for this I missed one of Joy's attacks and was sent reeling onto my backside with a singing tone in my head. "Are you okay Silvia?" asked Joy with concern as my vision returned and the noise in my head subsided. Making light of my situation I said, "I must be getting old Joy, I didn't even see that one, oooohhhh you pack one hell of a punch for such a petite girl." Joy helped me to my feet. "For that comment you've earned a hug." Once standing Joy held me and hugged me tightly mostly to stop me swaying I would imagine as the world had still not settled down. "You were distracted Silvia, want to talk about it?" she said quietly into my ear as she held me. "Not really Joy but I will, do you have a little time?" "As much as you need Silv, as much as you need." When Joy finally released me she offered me her hand. "Let's have a quick shower, I'll order refreshments and as it's a nice day we can sit in the walled garden in the shade." I nodded she then led me to the relatively new showers at the back of the old barn. The showers were communal I usually went back to the house for my shower but as I'd been led here I simply undressed and stepped under one of the warm spray nozzles and started to wash with the supplied body wash, shampoo and conditioner, Joy joined me and stood under an adjacent nozzle and started to wash herself. "I'll tell you something Silvia if, when I reach your age, my body is in such good condition as yours, I'll be a very happy bunny." I was sure that she was just being kind as her own body looked perfect to me albeit with a few more visible but fading scars but still perfect, I could feel myself blushing and thought that Alice was one very lucky girl. As I finished dressing Joy started to plait my hair. "Hope you don't mind Silvia." I didn't. Soon we had left the old barn and had walked around to the walled garden, it was breezy outside but inside the high red brick and stone walls it was sheltered and relatively warm. Joy led me over to a table that had recently been set up with drinks, sandwiches and cakes neatly laid out on a three tier cake stand. "Your staff spoil you Joy," I commented. "Actually this was Susan, Dot is spending time with her daughter today." Joy poured the cordial and then smiled warmly at me. "So what caused you to let your guard down then?" I recapped on some of my sorry tale and then... Stefan. Adriana, Milosh and I had become good friends as we travelled, I'd now been with Constantin and his band of travellers for over three months and was now comfortable in their company, we'd now travelled from Belarus through the Ukraine, Moldova and into Romania. We travelled through Bulgaria for two days before turning and heading back North once more and entering Romania. Romania is a beautiful country, Bucharest seemed a bit of a dump though with its bland concrete housing projects blighting the outskirts of the main city, Adriana and I spent a very pleasant couple of hours browsing a small market whilst almost constantly holding hands, It was only later as I sat in the back of the pickup I realised that nobody noticed that I was anything out of the ordinary, I must have appeared as a local to the people. I'd talked too when buying fruit and poultry, this caused me to smile as with the encouragement of Milosh and Adriana I'd been speaking less and less English, with my two friends correcting every mispronunciation until I got it right. Adriana had even commented that I was developing a very 'Cute' accent on the rare occasions we spoke in English. One evening as we were cleaning up after our evening meal I was approached by Constantin. "I have troubling news Stefan." "Oh?" I asked. "We were due to meet with a contact of mine three days ago to arrange safe passage over the border into Greece but it seems that the secret policeman that hunts you was tipped off by someone unknown. This is the reason we are now travelling North once more." I started to apologise for the trouble I'd caused but Constantin just laughed his hearty laugh. "You are not trouble little one, I have left letter for my good friend Hugo he will make alternative arrangements for you, do not worry I will keep you safe, if not I will avenge your death." I hoped that his last statement was a joke and was relieved when he started to laugh once more. "We also need a new name for you." "But isn't Stefan an acceptable name?" "It is young man, it is also the name the secret police are hunting for, I do not want to paint a large sign with 'he is here' on it so I think we'll call you." Constantin paused for several seconds before Adriana piped up. "Codrin, I like Codrin Papa." "Codrin it is." "Do I not get a choice?" I asked only to get a simultaneous, "NO," from both Adriana and Constantin. Early the next morning I was woken by Milosh and after dressing we went out into the forest and checked the traps he'd laid a couple of days previously returning with two Rabbits, a Hare, a Moonrat and a Hedgehog. We left our catch with one of the older women and Milosh led me out of the camp to a stretch of wide sandy riverbank where he continued to tutor me on how to look after myself or more specifically how to escape, evade and generally make myself invisible to people. "My friend if you look like you belong to a place then people will think that you do." "What if I'm asked questions," "Ha ha, then carry a clip board then people will avoid you completely." "No seriously Milosh." "Your language is getting better but not good enough my friend, play dumb and pretend not to understand." I was distracted a few minutes later as I watched on the other side of the riverbank Adriana and some of the other camp females heading out towards one of the local villages. "She is pretty yes?" "Uhh." "My Sister she is pretty, you like her do you not?" I immediately felt my face flush and realised that it must have been obvious to Milosh. "Ha yes it is obvious you really like her." It was true I'd not had a girlfriend before but with Adriana I felt completely at ease, Milosh did not wait for me to talk he simply slapped me on the back. "Come we will return to camp now." Chapter 22 Codrin Codrin. I really don't like my new name as it sounds harsh and abrupt but hopefully it's only temporary until Constantin and his group can get me back to civilisation. On a plus side my skills at being inconspicuous have improved and yesterday I entered the local village and I managed to sell several freshly caught rabbits to the local butcher in return for four dozen eggs and some undefined meat, probably horse. This morning I was out with the women helping to pick mushrooms and berries when I realised that I wasn't thinking in English as almost all of the words running around in my head were either Romanian or Russian, I smiled at myself as I started to say in my mind things like. 'cup of tea,' and 'jolly good' but found that I was even thinking those words with an accent, was I losing my British identity? I hoped not. Adriana sneaked up behind me as I was finishing one last patch behind a huge old oak tree and placed her hands over my eyes, I turned to see her wonderful bright smiling face looking back at me. Grabbing my hand she led me further into the wood and within seconds we were kissing passionately, she grabbed my hand and placed it on her right breast and sighed as I gently cupped her firm but soft flesh through her thin blouse and bra. We continued with our kissing until we heard a woman's voice say. "Adriana leave that poor boy alone; we are returning to camp now." Happy, but with very embarrassed and guilty looks on our faces we appeared out of the undergrowth with me trying to hide the bulge in my pants with my jacket and basket. The next morning we moved again heading to the east this time back into the Ukraine where we made camp deep inside one of the remaining forested areas. It was mid-summer now and the days were pleasant especially in the shade of the trees, Everyone in the camp now knew that Adriana and I were courting and all seemed to accept, it even Marius. I enjoyed walking with her and the kissing. I loved the feel of her lips and the natural smell of her body, she did not wear scents like every female I'd ever known, but she did wash often. This surprised me at first as unlike my home where we had baths and showers in the camp they simply used a bowl of water and cloths or if available the nearest river which could be bracing! "Codrin." I smiled as it was Adriana. "Come let me show you something," she said as she passed me a large cloth shoulder bag which I took and with my spare hand I took her hand and we headed out of our recently set up camp. "Where are we going Adriana?" I asked. "Somewhere special and magical," she replied. "Oh okay then." Adriana and I walked for nearly twenty minutes along a well-worn path on the forest floor and then down a steep bank through high ferns. After a while, the sound of moving water could be heard. "Is there a river down here Adriana?" I stupidly asked. "It is better than that Codrin it is somewhere to bathe." "Oh but I didn't bring my..." "Shush, we are nearly there." The ground levelled off to a short pebbly shoreline bordered with thick prickly bushes, in front of me was a crystal clear plunge pool with a small but high waterfall in the background. "Wow that is a beautiful waterfall Adriana," I said as I heard a splash and turned to see my girlfriends pert backside vanish under the water, she was naked. A second or two later Adriana surfaced smiling and gestured. "Join me Codrin, the water is cool but refreshing." I just stood there not sure what to do. "Take your clothes off and join me." I started to undress and was soon down to my underpants. "Those too for I am wearing nothing." I slipped off my underpants and immediately covered my genitals as I slowly walked down the pebbly shore into the crystal clear water. "I must cure you of that British reserve Codrin it will be your undoing." Adrian swam across to me then wrapped her legs around my waist and her arms around my neck. "Ohhhooooh" I said as I felt her breasts press into my chest and my penis start to respond. "Kiss me please." My lips touched her wet cold lips and I heard Adriana sigh as she let her body drop ever so slightly until I felt flesh touch the tip of my penis. "I want you Codrin I want you to be my first and only." "I'm not sure if... ooohhh." My situation, Adriana's beauty and blind passion finally got the better of me and I matched her kisses and allowed her to lower herself further onto my painfully hard erection. I'd never had sex before and really wasn't sure what to do I felt my penis slowly being engulfed in warm soft flesh but then it seemed to reach a point of tightness, Adriana grimaced for a moment as she bore down on my penis, followed by something giving and me entering her fully, I was in heaven. Later as we lay on blankets on the pebbly shore of the waterfalls plunge pool naked and looking into each other's eyes I said, "te iusbesc Adriana." Her eyes glistened as she replied, "And I you my beautiful English lover." Chapter 23 A Very Welcome Visitor Joy. Silvanus had to stop telling her story as she noticed me dabbing at the rapidly forming tears she leant over the ornate ironwork table and touched my hand. "I'm sorry Joy I shouldn't have burdened you." I sniffed. "That was beautiful Silvia, Adriana sounds like a wonderful woman." "She was Joy she was, we took each other's innocence and I thought that we would be together forever." Silvanus paused for several seconds then placed her right hand on her chest and literally squeaked "She'll always be here in my heart Joy." as the tears started, I quickly rose from my seat and went over to my friend and held her as she wept, I'd never seen Silvanus so vulnerable. Silvanus however quickly regained her composure and broke our hug. "You must think me a silly old woman Joy," she said as she straightened her blouse and smoothed the pleats on her skirt. "Not at all Silvia I'm starting to think that you are a survivor who has been without her real family for too long." "Real family Joy?" I smiled. "Yes, I remember how you looked last year in the encampment with Milosh, his extended family and friends, you looked at peace like you were home." "It is my home of sorts Joy but there are ghosts of memories that also linger, things I would rather stayed in the past, there were happy memories too, lots of them but always the sadness." "You have us too Silvia and you have Hillary." "Ha, the elusive Hillary wherever he is." "You know where he is Silvia and from what Susan has told me he misses you terribly." Silvanus stayed quiet so I suggested we walked back to the house where she could freshen up. "Actually Joy I think I'll go and visit with Aliza she probably thinks I've been avoiding her, which I have." "Okay I'll walk with you to the house." As we reached the house some minutes later Silvanus turned, smiled, and said, "Than you for being with me Joy, it means a lot to me." she then kissed me on the cheek. As I entered the front hallway I was not at all surprised to see Bob standing there with two large mugs of tea in hand. "Ever fancied a career as a councillor?" I smiled at him. "Not really Bob I like my engineering and electronics, I probably wouldn't be able to fit it in with my busy schedule." he smiled. "Got you a cuppa, fancy a chat?" "Lead the way Bob." Bob's chat was relatively brief as he'd heard my entire conversation with Silvanus, I suppose he was just checking that I was okay, I was. I met with Alice later that afternoon, her smile lifting me as it always did, I then started wondering if there were any secluded waterfalls nearby as I closed the door to our room. After listening to Silvanus she didn't offer me anymore of her story and our lives carried on as normal as my life usually was until I received an unusual phone call one morning nearly three weeks later. "Miss I have immigration at North Shields ferry terminal on the line they are asking for you." "Thank you Sally transfer it to my mobile I'll take it here." "What's inmirgation mummy?" asked Terri who was chasing the last remnants of her breakfast cereal around her dish. "They stop people who shouldn't be in our country from getting in princess." "Oohhhh." My mobile started to ring so I answered it on hands free. "Hello Joy Stevenson speaking." "Ah hello there Mrs Stevenson My name is Arnold Dobson from Border Force. Immigration has alerted us and detained a gentleman who entered the country this morning and claims he knows you." "Does this gentleman have a name Mr Dobson?" "Yes he refers to himself as Milosh and is saying that you are his daughter." Terri looked up from her breakfast and squeaked with Joy before dropping to the floor and heading out into the hall. "Suzi suzi, Milosh is here he's at an immygrashun." I smiled. "Actually Mr Dobson Daughter is more of an honorary rank." "Thank you Mrs Stevenson I'll prepare the paperwork to deport him." "Not so fast Mr Dobson, he's welcome to stay with us as long as he wants," I replied. "I'm afraid that decision does not lie with you Mrs Stevenson." "Mr Dobson?" "Yes Mrs Stevenson." "Can you give me twenty minutes before you make any decision?" "Twenty minutes?" "Yes just twenty minutes." "And you are based at the ferry terminal?" "Yes." "I'm on my way to pick Milosh up Mr Dobson, you can expect conformation of his right to stay soon." with that I cancelled the call and contacted Hillary's office unfortunately Hillary was not available but his wonderful assistant Mrs Tanner assured me that she would arrange for the appropriate paperwork to be forwarded to Mr Dobson within the hour and as I left the house I left a message for housekeeping to locate a firm orthopaedic mattress for our new guest. "Mummy wait, I'm coming with you," said Susan as she grabbed one of her coats. Unfortunately Silvanus was out with Aliza and Terry so I could not bring her too; so Susan and I set off in my trusty old SAAB 99 towards Tyneside with Susan keeping me amused telling me of her recent trip to visit Mick and his parents, it seems that Mick's mum was somewhat snooty about where she came from and like quite a few people in the south of England thought that the North east was full of pit heaps and cap wearing whippet owners, which is such a shame because it's coastline and countryside is for the most part unspoilt apart from around the large industrial towns and cities such as Newcastle, Sunderland and of course Middlesbrough. Fortunately, Susan also said that Mick's father was a lovely man. After a quick trip up the A19 and through the Tunnel we arrived at the local ferry terminal where we were met by a uniformed man at the entrance to the car park. "If you would just follow my vehicle Ma'am." "It looks like Mrs Tanner has sorted everything out Mum," commented Susan, I nodded. "Yes, I'd love to meet her sometime, she's certainly very efficient at her job." "Maybe when Hillary finally comes up to see Silvia we could invite her for a few days also." After parking the car Susan and I were led into a prefabricated building that looked like it had once been a temporary structure but had now seemingly set down roots and become permanent having its own lush green borders and manicured flower beds, we were led in through a door in the side of the building with red peeling paint on it and then along a long narrow corridor with several interview rooms. "In here if you would Ma'am," said the friendly uniformed young man. As Susan and I entered a large and very well furnished office a man who had been sitting at his desk tapping away at the keyboard of his computer rose and met us halfway. "Dobson Ma'am, I supervise this facility." I shook his hand and asked, "My friend is he here?" "He's in the canteen Ma'am, he has quite an appetite." "May we take him away now or do I need to sign for him?" "Everything has already been completed and verified Ma'am however I cannot allow his transport to leave our storage facility," he sighed "It's a death trap, part of the exhaust system fell off when one of my officers moved it." "I'll arrange for it to be transported to a garage for repair." Mr Dobson winced. "A scrapyard would be more appropriate Ma'am; I'll take you to your friend now." When we arrived in the canteen Milosh was standing talking with enthusiasm to several uniformed officers, they seemed to be hanging on his every word and as we approached I realised why. "Yes My friends I have worked with 'The Angel' she is as deadly as they say, fast, silent and like the ghost and as fast as the lightning." One of the young officers asked, "Like a superhero?" Milosh frowned. "No my friend she is as human as you or I and can be injured just as easily. We tended her wounds not so long ago." Susan nudged me and whispered nervously, "Mummy?" I then said loudly. "Milosh." He turned and his smile became wider he then quickly made his way to me and held me tightly lifting me from my feet. "Hello there, my beautiful daughter, you seem to grow younger with each day." "And Susan too." Milosh then hugged Susan tightly. Milosh then turned to the uniformed officers "I will be off now toodle oooh as you English say and thank you for your hospitality." He then turned to Mr Dobson, his face became serious and he said, "Not everyone lies my friend." We then exited the canteen I noticed as we left two of the female officers waving at Milosh as he exited the canteen, this made me smile. "They say I cannot use my Pickup in your country." "I'm sorry Milosh but the rules for road worthiness are quite strict here." "I had rabbits and hares too but they took them away." "I'm sorry Milosh, you can trap rabbit's on the estate if you would like." "I would like that, is your home far away?" "No not far." Milosh sat in the back of the car silently for a while before finally saying. "Where are the trees, the forests all I see is buildings?" "The landscape will change soon, but we don't really have the massive forests that you have in Europe any longer I'm afraid." "They are getting bigger once more Joy, they are finally planting more trees; even the Russians." Milosh kept lapsing into his own tongue but my mind still seemed to have no problem translating. "We have trees where we live Milosh, Grandpa is planting lots more." "A wise man, I like him." stated Milosh." It didn't take long before Milosh started to see green once more and I look a rather circuitous route via Guisborough to avoid the worst of Middlesbrough's industrial parks, chemical plants, and factory complexes. As we turned onto our estate Milosh looked out of the window, down at the lake and the woodland beyond it, he then noticed our house. "Oh this is like your Downtown Abbey." "That is our house Milosh," said Susan. "Is Silvanus there, does she live here?" I smiled into the rear view mirror as I slowed to allow a delivery van from the local butchers to pass me on the narrow road. "She doesn't live here normally Milosh but I think she likes staying with us." "How is she may I ask?" "Opening up but very slowly; her last trip back to the Ukraine didn't help her." "I know and I tried to talk her out of participating but she was adamant, I learned a long time ago how stubborn my sister can be." Milosh had almost abandoned any pretence of using English now and was talking almost entirely in his peculiar dialect of Romanian. As I slowed down in front of our home Terri appeared at the front door. "Oh my friend the little wild girl is here to meet Milosh." and as soon as the car stopped he got out, crouched down and opened his arms wide as Terri ran towards him and leapt onto him receiving a bear hug as she did. "Terreee you have grown so big and so pretty." Terri kissed his unkempt whiskers and said, "Uncle Milosh I've lost my two front teeth see." Terri pointed at the gap between her teeth. "So you have wild girl was it fighting the boys?" Terri giggled. "No silly I wiggled them loose thee." Terri then proceeded to wiggle another of her loosening baby teeth to prove the point. Susan and I carried Milosh's bags as he followed us giving Terri a piggyback ride into the house Talking to her as he did. It was over an hour later that Silvanus entered the house, I watched through the door as she placed her bags of shopping on the floor and slipped out of her heels then walked barefoot towards the dining room, today Silvanus looked relaxed, she wore a long flowing print skirt and a black v neck tee shirt that flattered her slim waist, her hair was tied back. As she entered the dining room she seemed completely unaware of Milosh as she asked, "Is there any tea left in the..." "Salut sora mia," Terri whispered into my ear. "Is Silvia really uncle Milosh's sister mummy?" Silvia slowly expressionlessly moved towards Milosh, Milosh got up from his seat. "My sister is hurting inside, Milosh has come to help if he can." Milosh stated as Silvanus threw her arms around him and rested her head on his chest. I held Terri's hand and said quietly. "Come on Terri I'll help you with your homework." She followed at arm's length looking back at Milosh and Silvia. "Why is Auntie Silvie crying Mummy is she sad?" "No, she's actually happy to see him." "But she doesn't look happy mummy." Once in the library I explained to Terri that sometimes you can be so happy that it causes you to cry. "Like when you found teddy for me Mummy?" "Yes just like that, you were so relieved to see him you started to cry didn't you?" "Yes Mummy, Mummy?" "Yes Terri?" "Have you cried when you were happy?" "I have, lots of times," Terri looked at me quizzically and I just knew she was about to ask me for an example so I leant forward and touched her nose with mine and said, "I cried lots on the day you were born Terri because I was so happy to see you." "But wasn't I all wrinkly? Uncle Terry says that babies look like bald monkeys." "Oh no you weren't at all ugly you were really cute with your cute little nose and you smelled yummy." "Will you cry when the baby in your tummy is born Mummy?" I gently stroked my small bump and smiled. "Yes Terri I probably will." "Will you be sad when you give the baby away to Chris and Trish." "You know I think I will but I'll also be really happy too because I will have made my friends very happy. And if I'm sad I can always get a big hug from you can't I?" Terri beamed at me. "Yes mummy." "Can you keep a secret Terri?" "Err I think so." "When I went to the hospital and had my scan the nurse found two babies inside me." Terri scrunched her face up and then smiled. "Will they be twins just like Dawn and Lucy?" "Yes Terri but I don't know if they are boys or girls yet, Mummy Alice and I are going to tell Trish and Chris next time we see them. "Ooooh." Terri and I then hugged before we started her reading homework. "So what do we have today Then?" I asked. "It's this one." Terri looked at the cover. "Cimanom, no cu, ih, nu, nu, ah," she stopped and looked at me hopefully "Cinnamon, that's a really big word isn't it?" "Yes Mummy I wanted the book about worms but Jake Thomas got it but this one has a big tiger on the cover I like tigers." Terri settled down after that and she started to read to me, she is a surprisingly good reader but I would say that wouldn't I? Chapter 24 Joy Loses Her Car. With Milosh staying with the Stevenson's, Silvanus seemed to become a little less withdrawn, her relationship with Milosh was in essence a brother-sister relationship and they argued a lot but always when out in the grounds of the large estate and never in the company of Alice, Joy, or her family. On Silvanus's insistence Milosh visited Major Simmons who immediately as though pre warned of the visit took the opportunity to firstly x-ray and then scan Milosh's lower back. Milosh was then given a series of exercises to do each day to relieve the pressure on the lumbar section of his back and strengthen the muscles. "You are getting a warning Milosh of future problems, once the jam is out of the doughnut it cannot be fixed with pills only surgery." Milosh turned to Silvanus and spoke in his own tongue. "Doughnuts? What is your friend talking about; is he a fool?" Silvanus patiently explained to Milosh until he understood. Joy's pregnancy progressed and her tummy grew bigger and bigger, Trish and Chris were both shocked and overjoyed at the news, Alice was pleased to see a much softer side to Trish emerging and attributed it to Chris. Towards the middle of August and with her body expanding to the point that exercise was getting difficult Joy started feeling increasingly frustrated and impatient for her pregnancy to be over with. Chris and Trish were also getting excited because their cottage along with Leah's and Dix's cottages were now days away from completion and they wanted to prepare the nursery for their children. With only weeks to go until her due date Joy was forced to leave work early and start her maternity leave as her blood pressure was high, Joy did not like being forced to rest so one morning Alice suggested that they should visit a retail park roughly halfway between Middlesbrough and Newcastle, Silvanus joined Alice and they headed out to Joy's favourite car which was waiting for her on the gravel near to the front door. The journey to the retail park outlet centre was enjoyed immensely by Joy as it meant she wasn't stuck in the house anymore; she parked the car in the large spacious car park and slowly eased herself and her now very prominent bump out of the driver's seat. Unfortunately, several metres away Joy and her friends were being watched by a teen on a bike a baby faced teen seemingly with an eye for classic cars. the teen watched from his bike the pregnant woman and her two friends leave the old Saab in the car park as they walked towards the shops totally unaware of the future repercussions his actions would have, he waited two or three minutes watching as the three women entered the collection of outlet stores he then Chained his bike to a lamppost and headed over to the old car carrying his backpack by his side. The young man noted with a smile that the car he was about to attempt to steal was in very good condition, as he took out his large flat bladed screwdriver and prised the top edge of the door away from the body to allow his modified wire coat hanger into the car, within seconds he had pulled up the little popper at the top of the door card and gained entry into the car. "Where's the bloody ignition key?" he asked himself as it wasn't on the steering column where he'd expected it to be, it took a few seconds of frantic looking before he located it next to the handbrake between the seats, he then removed an old well-worn slide hammer tool from his backpack and after a few tense seconds the lock finally gave way with the entire barrel assembly pulling out, taking his pliers he turned the mechanism on the switch and was rewarded by absolutely nothing, not even a click. "Shit it must have an Immobiliser," he says to himself as he locates the bonnet release lever and pops the bonnet, the young man then quickly exits the car and lifts it. Taking a length of wire from his backpack he connects one end to the battery positive and then feeling his way down to the starter motor he touches the other end to the starter solenoid tag and the engine turns over but does not start, "Shit not good, not good" he says to himself knowing that he had precious little time before someone noticed what he was doing. The young man then takes another thicker wire link from his backpack removes the fuel pump relay and bridges the contacts with the link, this time as he touched the starter solenoid the engine starts immediately. As he got into the car feeling smug with himself he noticed that one of the women that had exited the car a few minutes earlier was now sprinting towards him with impressive speed for an old woman. He slammed the door shut, locks the door, and attempts to head out of the car park at speed with the old woman still giving chase. As he reaches the exit to the car park he immediately turned left and headed towards Murton only to be confronted by the old woman running out in front of the car and standing in the road seemingly playing chicken with him. The young man accelerated thinking that she would move but she doesn't even flinch and at the very last moment he applies the brakes but mistimes his stopping distance on the damp road then watched helplessly as the car slid a little before the anti-lock braking system took effect, he braced for impact but the old woman simply jumped seemed to run over bonnet and the roof and landed behind him on her bare feet on the road. "Holy crap what the hell is she!" he exclaimed as he accelerated away as quickly as he dared and headed west as fast as the car would allow as he observed the old barefoot woman watching him driving away through the rear view mirror. Within minutes The Old Saab had been passed on to its new but very temporary owners. Chapter 25 Activated That evening whilst the thief slept soundly in his bed, somewhere near the far northern tip of the North Yorkshire moors a set of codes were input into a small touch keypad of a mobile phone and unlike the several previous attempts this time the ping was successful, unfortunately the reply only gave rough GPS coordinates, fortunately they highlighted the old County Durham pit village of Pittingburn. Unfortunately for the old Saab it was now at the mercy of men who only saw it for its scrap and strip down value, the so called mechanics got busy using cutting torches to slice through drive shafts and engine mountings on the recently rebuilt engine before hoisting it out of the hole where until recently the bonnet had been. Other alleged mechanics unbolted the doors and removed the seats whilst yet another man photographed the stripped out parts for a quick sale on various internet auction sites including eBay. It was not until around eight the next morning that one of the mechanics pulled the spare tyre panel open in the boot of the now almost completely gutted car and noticed a sturdy steel box welded to the rear subframe of the car. "Here Marty this car has a safe in it," shouted the young mechanic to his boss who had just come out of the office with a bacon sandwich in hand. "Get Scotty to open it up with the angle grinder Darren lad, careful though I want nowt damaged. Fifteen minutes later two of the mechanics used a pry bar on the almost destroyed strong box whilst the others looked on expectantly. "Come on lads put your backs into it," said Marty impatiently as the front panel of the box finally gave way. "Ooooh shit!" exclaimed one of the mechanics as a single Glock pistol along with an assortment of accessories were revealed. Marty was just about to issue instructions on getting rid of the weapon when he was interrupted by the confident voice of a man with a Geordie accent. "Just couldn't wait to strip her could you?" He and his mechanics all turned to see one man two older women and a stony faced young woman standing just inside the entrance to the garage. "Who the hell are you, get out this is private property I'll have the polis onto you," shouted Marty at the unwanted witnesses to his desecration. "Well my name is Terry and this is my wife she's called Aliza, the angry looking woman to my left is called Silvanus and the very angry young woman standing next to her is the daughter of the person you stole the car from, oh and no you won't call the police mate as then you'd have to explain why my good friend's car is in bits and why you have an untraceable firearm in your possession." Marty smiled. "Or I could just treat you as trespassers and let the lads have a go at you." Marty turned to his mechanics. "Teach them a lesson lads." "Oh I was hoping you'd say that," said the Geordie man with a smile on his face as he took a wooden rounders bat that had been tucked into the rear of his belt and wielded it as he headed at speed towards his attackers. Sylvanus leapt across the bonnet of a Subaru kicking the young man who had just re-emerged from the office with his camera in the face before dropping and sliding across the painted floor and slicing through the Achilles tendons of another man wearing dirty blue dungaree shorts. Aliza took on two mechanics and seemed to get a great deal of satisfaction making them hit each other as she literally played with them letting their own anger become their weakness before felling each one with a single blow to the neck. Susan however was making her two assailants suffer making sure that each blow she delivered was as painful as it could be she looked to be furious at what the alleged mechanics had done to her mums favourite car. "Steady on Suzy the low loader is on its way we'll have your mums car back with Don and Sarah soon," said Terry as he held a young man by the collar and punched him full in the face. "That is," Susan elbowed one of her attackers in his eye socket, "not the point Terry." She then grabbed his arm and threw him into the side of a ford estate car on a ramp. "Look, what these bastards have done." She then dropped and punched the young man in the testicles. "To mummy's beautiful car." She then finally kneed him in the face before turning to the other man she'd been fighting grabbed a spanner and said, "Come on then let me disassemble you with the care you took with the Saab." He took one look at her face and decided he didn't want to face her. "Fuck that, I'm off." He turned to make his escape only to have a large fist hit him side on in the head knocking him senseless as he reached the door. "Oh no you don't sunshine." "Dix!" "Sorry, only got your message at 23:00 last night, been driving ever since." "From Paris! not bad going though," said Terry as he smashed Marty's fingers against a work surface with his rounders bat. "Enough enough, take the fuckin car." Terry stopped his assault and smiled at Marty. "Whoa skippy not so fast, there is the question of repairs to the Saab, I take it you'll be paying for the restoration work?" "Like fuck I will." "No problem," Terry turned to the recently arrived man "Three incendiaries and a gallon of unleaded should do it I think Dix." He threw a set of car keys to Dix who simply replied. "Sir." "Wh, Wha... no what?" "Well if you're not going to pay for the damage to the car you stole from my friend then I'm just going to inflict damage on something you hold dearly, seems fair to me," stated Terry. "Can't you just take one of these other cars as payment? I mean that Merc over there it's probably worth three or four times what that old Swedish tank was." Terry looked around the workshop. "Unfortunately, Skippy the owner of 'That old Swedish tank' as you call it loves it dearly and would like it back in the condition she left it." "That's not going to happen is it, I mean look at it it's virtually scrap now, it would take thousands to rebuild it." "Thousands?" "Yes with labour, replacement parts, professional repairs to the subframe and a respray I'd say at least twenty thousand, you'd be better off getting a scrapper and working with that." "No," said the youngest woman. "This is mummy's car I'll pay to have it restored if I have too." "Yea like that's going to happe..." Marty stopped speaking as he was slapped across the face by Susan. "You deserved that mate," stated Terry, he then turned to the young woman. "So Suzy how do you want to handle this?" "We can't just torch this guy's workshop, but then we can't let him continue to steal cars either." Terry started to nod. "Unfortunately, Hillary agrees with you Susan." Terry turned to Marty "Okay Skippy here's how it's going to go." Terry started to explain to Marty the mechanic the implications of stealing Joy's car and what Hillary had worked out to ensure his criminal enterprise stopped. "Looks like Don and Sarah have arrived Susan," said Sylvanus who had just been rinsing her blades off in the sink at the rear of the workshop and was now drying them with a sheet of blue paper towel. Sarah entered the run down workshop first and gasped at the sorry sight of Joy's car. "Who did this?" she asked Susan. "Him over there the guy with the white face who's talking to Terry." Sarah stormed over to where Terry was and confronted Marty who was now wishing he'd never seen the old car. Sarah was a good six inches shorter than Marty the garage owner but that did not stop her from giving him a piece of her mind. "I'm already in deep shit with this guy girlie so I don't need any of your Nghhhhhh..." Sarah did not appreciate being called girlie and kneed the arrogant man in the testicles. "Don't call me girlie." Don, the Stevenson's mechanic, knew better than intervene and simply started gathering the many scattered parts of the old car, Susan went over to Don and asked. "Can we make this better Don?" "We'll take the parts back to my garage miss. Normally I'd advise scrapping but as I know how much your mum likes the old girl I'd say about three weeks to get her back on the road If I have help." Don smiled at Susan. "I'll help and I'm sure Trish would help also." Terry then shouted across, "I'm not much of a mechanic but I can get parts from scrapyards as long as you show me what you need." "I'm a pretty good labourer," said Dix. "That's sorted then I'll clear my calendar, we'll take it back to my place and we'll make a start this afternoon. Chapter 26 Marriage Susan. It upset me to see Mum's car in such a condition, but I knew that it was not terminal and although strictly uneconomical it would be returned to its former condition. I've just left the grubby old garage in Pittingburn, Silvia is with me, The stripped body shell of Mummy's car has just been placed on Don's low loader and all of the stripped components have been carefully packed into the van for their trip back to Narwhal garage, we decided to take the car there rather than our own garage so as not to upset mummy Joy too much, hopefully her car will be back to normal in a couple of weeks. "So what are you going to tell your Mum about the car Suzy?" asked Sylvanus as I turned onto the A19. "The truth Silvia I would never lie to my mum." "How about the truth with omissions, play down the severity of the damage and by the time she gets to see her car again it will be all mended." "I'll think about it." As I headed south I realised I hadn't eaten and it was now almost mid-afternoon so I asked Silvanus. "Fancy a spot of lunch?" She nodded. "I know this place is a bit of a dump but the snake and pygmy pie is really good." "Snake and pygmy surely not?" "Oh Silvia steak and kidney." I could almost sense Silvanus smiling as she said "Gotcha." She then asked me about my recent trip to Brunsfields where I stayed whilst visiting Mick so I cut straight to the chase. "Hillary visited the first weekend Silvia, just after one of his men apprehended that photographer he asked about you, he really misses you and wanted to know how you were." "I know Suzy but until I get my mind back on track I think being apart is for the best." "He told me about your daughter." "He shouldn't have done that Suzy." "I know but I pestered him until he finally gave in. she sounds wonderful." "She is Suzy I really miss her." "When did you last see her Silvia?" "Two or three years ago but she didn't see me, it was in Istanbul, she was having a week's leave from the ship she was volunteering on, she walked straight past me, didn't even notice me." I thought for a second and then said, "You were in disguise weren't you?" "I was, we didn't part on the best of terms so I've been keeping a low profile hoping she'd contact me." "Is she as stubborn as you?" I asked. "Stubborn? I'm not stubborn." "Oh yes you are." "Am not." "Are so." Silvanus then burst out laughing something I'd not really heard before it was really nice. Silvia and I then chatted as I turned off and headed through the outskirts of Hartlepool and on to Seaton Carew and after parking I contacted Mummy Joy before entering the cafe and ordering our lunches. Mummy had already been contacted by Don and he had given her an honest appraisal of the work needed to restore mummy's car and had promised that the work would be completed in less than two weeks which I was a little surprised at. Over lunch Silvanus seemed far more talkative and even offered to share some of her earlier life with me. "I'd love to hear about your past Silvia but aren't you supposed to be talking with Bob about these things?" Silvia beamed at me and produced mummy's dictation gadget and placed it on the table. "I'm sure that you already know that I wasn't always the handsome woman that you see before you Susan?" I nodded. "Well just like you my first love didn't go to plan either; I mean Adriana wasn't a manipulative sociopath like Thompson but things didn't go quite to plan and little did I know at that time that it would be over two years before I met with my mother again and would never see my father." Stefan/ Codrin It soon became obvious in the camp that Adriana and I were courting but to my relief Marius seemed no longer to care his respect for his father's word overriding his objections to Adriana and I being together. As for Adriana and me, we were almost always together after the daily chores had been done and I had been out for my morning trap setting/ checking with Milosh and sometimes his self-defence training which at the time I thought pointless. All the while travelling through Communist run countries as though borders did not exist, not once did I wonder how we got away with it as when I travelled with my parents the amount of paperwork seemed endless. I figured out quite early on that Constantin and Marius along with the other men of the camp were not entirely operating to the letter of the law and seemed to run a thriving business providing goods and services to the local towns and villages they passed through, not exactly black market but certainly not legitimate business. By mid-summer I had gained a little colour so no longer looked like a pale westerner and with my improving language skills this allowed Adriana and I to visit some of the many beautiful towns in the less industrialised areas. Adriana went barefoot most places but usually wore decorative soft leather boots on our excursions into towns. Both Adriana and I had a close escape one afternoon whilst shopping at a street market in Budapest, as I came face to face with a picture of myself pasted on a bare rendered wall along with the pictures of several other undesirables. Adriana quickly pulled me away from the poster and made sure we quickly merged into the crowds of shoppers. A little later as we sat on the grass in 'The people's park' eating apples and fresh bread Adriana commented. "You need to be more careful my love I do not want to lose you to a stupid mistake." "Sorry it's just that I hardly recognised myself I looked so different in the poster." "That is the point of blending in Codrin you are a different person now and until we go home to your country." "We go home?" "Yes unless you wish to stay here with me, I will go with you." I smiled into Adriana's wide open beautiful eyes and snatched a kiss. "I'd like that Adriana I'd like that a lot." Adriana rested her head on my shoulder and placed her warm hand into mine. We did not stay in Hungary for long as at the time unspoilt stretches of forest were not easy to find so we moved on to Czechoslovakia where we spent two months. One evening as I was preparing the fire after most of the camp had retired for the evening to their trailers or tents I was approached by Constantin he held two small glasses and a bottle of Vodka, he sat and poured a generous amount into each glass. "Come sit with me," he stated, I sat on an old wooden folding chair and took the offered glass from him. "You have made Adriana happy Codrin and for that I thank you." he went on to explain that he had an arrangement with Mr Simpson that in return for my safe return to the UK he would arrange for Adriana to come with me for treatment for her heart condition. "This was before I met you young man and before she gave you her innocence." "I, how." "I am not blind Codrin nor would I ever stand in the way of my daughters happiness." He looked at the glass in my hand. "Now drink, drink to your future." I took a sip of the Vodka and it burned my tongue but then watched as Constantin simply tipped the liquid and swallowed so I copied his actions and was rewarded with a small coughing fit and warm sensation in my throat. "Good it is decided you will marry this week." He then took my shocked body and embraced it tightly. All I could think was, 'What would my mum and dad think?' Within the week I was married and couldn't have been happier, the strange thing is that nothing really changed but the sleeping arrangements as I now slept with my wife instead of sharing Milosh's old canvas tent, I still had to do my chores and hunt and Adriana still went out with the women of the camp and foraged but once chores were done Adriana and I enjoyed our private time together immensely. One small fly in the ointment of our happiness however was Marius, he was quite vocal that I was not good enough for his sister and one evening he caught up with Adriana and I when we were out for a walk and confronted me. "You; have you been laying with my sister?" I must have looked confused because Adriana answered. "We are married my brother what we do together is no longer your concern, do not make me tell father of your anger towards us." I stepped between Adriana and Marius and tried to calm him down, Marius was fired up however and took a swing at me which until very recently would have resulted in a fat lip or black eye but I seemingly instinctively dodged his fist and fortunately stopped short of retaliating. Marius did not however stop and pushed me against a tree then started to bang my head against It with Adriana screaming at him so stop until I lost consciousness. When I next opened my eyes I was in a trailer and one of the older women of the camp was watching over me, my head was banging. When I tried to get up I was pressed firmly in the chest. "No," I was told which I obeyed as the very action of moving caused me extreme nausea. "You have been unwell Codrin, Adriana is out foraging she will return soon." "What has happened? my mind is fuzzy." "Drink this it will help with the sickness." My head was supported and with help I sipped from the offered beaker and soon fell once more into a deep dreamless sleep. When I woke once more it was to the sound of Adriana gently tapping my cheek and asking me to wake. "Codrin my sweet husband it is time to wake now." It took me a few seconds to focus on where I was and then answered. "I'm sorry Adriana, ooh my head." "You are lucky to be alive, you have a fractured skull and concussion." I sat up with Adriana's help and immediately became dizzy but not nauseous like before. Adriana helped me on with a shirt and trousers and after I had dressed she helped me out of the bunk then the van I'd been sleeping in. "Come, father wishes to speak with you." I figured that I must be in trouble so it was with trepidation that I headed over to where Constantin was sitting with several of the older men of the camp as I approached Constantin glanced at the other men who immediately rose and left. "Codrin my Son please sit with me." He offered me a seat next to him and reached for a large tin jug. "Coffee?" I declined, Constantine then turned to Adriana who looked worried. "Go daughter I will not harm Codrin." Adriana nodded and turned leaving me with my new father in law. "What Marius did to you was unforgivable my son and for that I have banished him until you are safely back in your own country. The doctor said that you could have died from your injuries if you had then I would have lost two sons." "Two?" "Has your head injury affected your mind Codrin? Two You and Marius." "Oh." "Marius is headstrong and when he found out about his sisters condition he lost his mind a little." "Her condition, oh you mean her heart?" "No, that she is with child?" I sat looking at Constantin and could feel my jaw dropping in slow motion as the news sank very slowly into my dulled mind." "With child, you mean Pregnant?" "Of course did my daughter not tell you?" "No." "Ah, then I apologise, please forgive my mistake." "May I ask, why am I not more badly injured Marius was furious with me and he seemed completely out of control." Constantin smiled. "Milosh, he may be the youngest but he is the clever one, he followed Marius and intervened, he then as you British say 'beat the living daylights' out of him, he is a skilled fighter and can control his anger, unlike Marius." "I'm sorry Constantin, sorry for all of the trouble I have caused." "STOP, stop being so English and apologising for everything Codrin now go and see my daughter, she should be on the lower path by the bend in the river." "Thank you." It did not take me long to find Adriana, she was sitting on an old rotting fallen tree and when she saw me her face lit up and on seeing me said, "Father has told you hasn't he?" I nodded. "I was going to tell you on our walk but my idiot bigger brother spoiled my moment, I will never forgive him for that." "I'm going to be a father?" "And I a mother, are you scared Codrin?" I nodded. "I'm terrified but happy." "Me too." Adriana and I sat and we silently watched the river whilst holding hands. Susan. I found myself using my paper napkin to catch the gathering tears before they ruined my mascara. "Oh Silvia that must have been a wonderful feeling finding out that your wife was pregnant." "It was Suzy but I was also still so immature, I'm glad I had the guidance of older wiser minds and even though we were both still teenagers there seemed to be no stigma attached to either our marriage or Adriana's pregnancy." "You loved her so much didn't you?" Silvanus paused for a second before answering and just for the tiniest brief moments I saw through her defences and caught her expression, a look I'd seen many times before when my own mum's look at each other. I couldn't help it and smiled. "What?" I decided to have a little fun with Silvanus. "I've just realised Silvia." "What have you just realised?" "You are not actually the wrinkly emotionless killer cyborg sent through time the long way to wreak havoc on evil doers I thought you were." Fortunately, Silvanus smiled broadly at me and replied. "So it's just Terry that still thinks that now is it? Oh and less of the wrinkly if you don't mind." "Pudding?" I asked. Silvanus's eyes lit up. "I'll risk it." our jam sponge and custard turned up quickly and as we tucked into it I commented. "You know when you were talking to me before you kept lapsing into Romanian." "Did I? I suppose it was because I was in the moment so to speak. I'd only been in the camp a few months but as I was encouraged not to speak English and with Milosh and Adriana's encouragement and tuition I'd learned quickly, even now sometimes when frustrated I break into Romanian but that is for an entirely different reason. "I think it sounds cute, I know my mummies sometimes use it, especially in shops when they don't want to be overheard." Silvanus smiled warmly at me as she polished off the last remnants of sponge cake. "That was lovely Susan, you certainly know your cafes." "Grandpa does Silvia, I've only managed to remember a few." "Well I suppose we'd better get going and relieve Daniel, Milosh is probably driving him crazy by now." Silvanus and I left the cafe and after quick trip on the transporter bridge we headed back towards my house where I dropped Silvanus off before picking up my overalls and getting as many spares as I could cram the boot of my own Saab with from our garage before heading to Don's garage to see how Mummy's car was getting on. On arrival at Narwhal Garage I was surprised to find Trish there wearing a pair of her own overalls helping Don to remove the damaged engine mountings from the engine of Mum's car whilst Sarah and Toni were working in the driver's side wheel arch. "Anything I can do to help?" I asked Don. "Yes please miss can you check the rear beam axle for corrosion for me please and the Panhard rod bushes, then if the Geordie gets back in time from my mate Monty's with the new lower trailing arms and shocks he can give you a hand offering it up to the chassis. "Okee dokee." I donned my overalls in Don's toilet and set to work. It was just after eleven when I returned home that evening Don and I had to order Trish Sara and Toni to go home and get some rest. Martin from Stevenson controls arrived at eight this evening with a new 'And improved' ecu for mums car along with a replacement wiring loom which he and his colleagues had been working on most of the day along with the consumption of a lot of jelly babies. Chapter 27 Twins. Joy. I was furious that someone had stolen my car and even more annoyed that I had to rely on others to retrieve it but really glad that Alice calmed me down and got me to see sense as in my current condition there's not much I could have done about it. My car was recovered the very next day and taken to Don's garage as opposed to our garage, fortunately Susan was honest with me and said that my car had been almost entirely gutted but that I was not to worry as it would soon be good as new, this did not help my blood pressure. True to her word my car was returned to me eight days later and it did feel and look as good as new, As I couldn't really drive as my bump kept getting in the way Terry became my unofficial driver and for our first trip went to Newcastle for the day and visited with Terry's mum Grace in the afternoon she looked really good and her confidence has returned, she's taken up genealogy as a hobby and is busy tracing her relatives. As I can no longer work due to my pregnancy I've taken to going for walks, I'm never alone however as someone always seems to fancy a walk at the same time as me, pregnancy is a wonderful thing and on the whole I've enjoyed it, all the way up until the last few weeks that is; where in my case swollen ankles, aching back, wacky blood pressure, breathlessness, and the inability to be more than ten minutes from a toilet have been making it quite tedious. I visited Trish and Chris in their refurbished cottage recently it looks good but sadly no longer resembles the quaint little cottage that Alice and I spent a wonderful summer in just after we'd first met, I suppose that is progress for you. On my visit Trish told me with pride that her breasts were now nearly a size bigger and that sometimes she found her nipples stuck to her nightgown in the mornings but had not as yet noticed any milk. Chris admitted that although her breasts had swollen with the medication she hadn't produced anything as yet and worried that the implants she'd once had could have damaged her milk ducts. I'm currently sitting on a large rock in the old quarry with Terri whilst we watch the twins and Susan abseiling down the sheer rock face. Milosh, Dix and Terry are at the top with Aliza and Silvanus at the bottom, I so wish that I were abseiling as I'm now as for the last hour or so have been having small contractions every fifteen or so minutes, I gently lay my hands on my bump and feel as my womb tenses, causing me to give a little involuntary "ohh" I move a little to try and get more comfortable but this time relief does not come for nearly a minute. "Terri could you ask Suzy to come over please before she goes up for another go?" "Okay Mummy," says Terri, she then skips happily over to her biggest sister. It is almost comical as I watch Terri ask Susan; Susan look over to me and see that I am in discomfort, Silvanus note the look of concern on Susan's face quickly followed by Aliza. Aliza takes Terri's hand and immediately gets on her phone presumably to Major Simmons as Dr Mike Is currently touring the Northern coast of Africa at the moment on the 'Alice'. Silvanus and Susan help me up. "It's probably nothing, probably just a couple of Braxton Hicks contractions Nghhhhhhh," my reassurances were cut short as my Uterus picked that exact moment to contract ferociously, this time however the gnawing pain was followed by the feeling of something giving way inside me and a feeling of wetness. "I think my waters have just broken," I said in surprise as the pain subsided. "Let's get you back to the house Joy," said Silvanus taking control of the situation and leading me over to the quarry entrance where one of the estate Land Rovers had just pulled up. Although I had enquired about a home birth I had reluctantly agreed to having the delivery done at The Centre where a delivery suite had been prepared for me. The journey to The Centre seemed to take forever and the Land Rover seemed to find every single bump in the road. On arrival I was met by Harry Simmons. "Hello Joy, I wasn't expecting to see you for a couple of days yet." "Contractions have been about five minutes apart for the last twenty minutes Harry. Joy's waters broke roughly half an hour ago." "Thank you Silvia." Harry helped me into a wheelchair. "We've prepared you a spacious room Joy the midwife is on her way, as is Alice, she has Chris with her in the car and is stopping off to pick up Trish. I was pacing my breathing and trying in vain to find a comfortable position as another contraction hit me, Harry waited for it to subside then as I got onto the large double hospital bed said, "I need to check how dilated you are, would you mind Joy or would you prefer a female to examine you?" I smiled at him and started to pull my long skirt up, Silvanus held my hand tightly. After removing my sodden panties I watched as Harry examined me. "About seven centimetres, I'm surprised you're not in more pain Joy". "Maybe I just deal with it better than some Harry," I said through gritted teeth as I cramped up again. "Ah here is the midwife, I'll be around if needed otherwise I'll see you when it's all over." My midwife, Fiona, waited for my latest contraction to finish. "I wasn't expecting to see you today Joy but when baby wants out there's no stopping them and it looks like it won't be too long either by the look of it. "My wife, do you know if she's nearly here?" I asked breathlessly as Silvanus helped me remove my skirt. "Oh err I don't know; I'll ask as soon as you are settled." I needn't have worried as Alice burst through the door not thirty seconds later breathless from running and immediately hugged me. "Sorry But there was a tractor blocking the road, Dix moved it." She paused. "Trish and Chris are outside Joy, They weren't sure you'd still want them with you." I managed a grimaced smile and said, "Yes invite them in now or they might miss the good bit, Nghhhhhh." I gripped tightly on Silvanus's hand, she simply smiled warmly at me even though I must have been causing her pain. Trish and then Chris meekly walked into the room and stood at the back by the door, Chris was quite white faced and Trish looked as though she was about to cry. I crested the wave of pain and as it subsided said, "I'm sure it wasn't this bloody painful last time." Alice who had now removed her coat and shoes slipped on the bed to my left. "Ha, you're kidding right? You screamed the hospital down last time; half of the midwives are still getting counselling from the obscenities you were shouting." "Don't Alice, don't make me laugh it'll bring on another contraction." Alice grabbed my hand. "We're all here for you Joy, you scream as much as you want." Silvanus who'd been really quiet then said, "I'll be going now girls; I shouldn't be here." Simultaneously both Alice and I said, "Don't you dare go." "But-" "We're family remember?" I smiled and Silvia returned my smile. "It's been a while since I've been at a birth." I raised myself a little and looked over at Trish and Chris. "And you two get over here too, you can be backups in case I accidentally break Alice or Silvia's fingers." All the time I had been talking our efficient midwife had been wiring me up to a monitor, had taken my blood pressure and monitored babies hearts. "Looks like another contraction is coming Joy," she said as she looked at the monitor to the side of the bed. "I bloody know," I said through gritted teeth as I gripped Alice and Silvanus's hands tightly and resisted the urge to push. It didn't take too long before Trish's shyness and nervousness were cancelled out by the excitement that soon she, and Chris, would become mothers. My labour continued for another two hours and the midwife was joined by Nurse Peggy who would be assisting in the final stages. As the first baby's head crowned and I was finally given the okay to push Poor Chris fainted, Peggy caught her and lay her on the floor then stepped over her as the first of the twins were expelled. Within seconds I heard a whimper and then a cry as baby took its first breaths in the harsh bright and, thanks to me, noisy world. Baby one was passed to Trish who was now sobbing. Baby two joined the world at speed and was soon crying as it was passed to me (Chris still lying on the floor oblivious as to what had just happened) it wasn't until the midwife was helping me expel the now useless placenta's that Nurse Peggy attended to poor Chris. "Wha, oooh I feel woozy," said Chris as she was helped to a chair. "The excitement of the situation got the better of you dear and you fainted." "Oh." She then heard baby two whimpering I gestured with my eyes to Silvanus who was now holding baby two. "Chris I have your son here would you like to hold him?" Silvanus took Baby two over to Chris who looked absolutely terrified of it. "Just hold him like this Chris, that's it and support his head." Chris did as instructed and soon was in her own little world much as Trish had been for several minutes holding their new children. I smiled as I watched my two friends. "So was it worth all of the suffering Joy?" asked Alice quietly, I simply nodded my head. Silvanus kissed me on the forehead. "I'll leave you now to rest, thank you Joy." I can't remember when I fell asleep but I awoke to the sound of a baby crying and almost immediately felt the inevitable moistness in my breasts. As my room was empty I slipped out of bed with some difficulty and headed towards the source of the pitiful wail. Trish and Chris were both sitting in the room next to me and when I entered Trish was sitting topless trying to get one of the baby's to latch on, she looked frustrated and on noticing me she said, "It worked earlier for the other baby Joy, but I don't think I've any left for this one. I smiled and gingerly sat next to her. "fortunately, my milk bar is primed and ready for service." I dropped my gown and sat topless with both breasts dripping onto my lap as Trish passed the grizzling baby over to me I then sighed as she immediately latched on and started to relieve the pressure in my breast. Chris and Trish looked on transfixed as the greedy little mite sucked for all her worth. "Sometimes girls you don't need to feed them they just like the feel of their mummy's bare flesh next to them, don't be shy about it I wasn't." "Oh Joy look at her she looks so peaceful now." I smiled at Chris. "I'm happy to help out with milk whenever you need it girls and the milk bar is at your children's disposal any time day or night so don't be afraid to use the phone at least until your own milk comes in fully but when the milk comes out the other end you're on your own!" Trish who had now donned her bra said, "I don't think we could ever thank you enough for all you've done for us Joy." "I'd settle for a hug" Trish hugged me tightly and then took the now sleeping baby from me. "Do you have your breast pump here?" "Err yes we brought the whole kit with us." "Good is everything sterilised?" "Yes but." "Good then I'll express some into bottles so you can feed babies when they wake, it'll give your boobs a chance to recharge Trish." I expressed a bottle and a half of milk for use later and shuffled back into my own room quickly falling asleep allowing my traumatised body to start the healing process. Chapter 28 Realisation Silvanus. It's been a little less than three weeks since Joy gave birth to the twins and it has turned Trish and Chris's lives upside down as any new born would but as Chris is now on leave from her job and Trish is waiting to find out how university will work for her next year they have plenty of time on their hands at the moment, Trish is now producing nearly enough milk for the twins and even Chris is now starting to contribute making her feel more a part of the parenting experience, Joy has understandably kept her distance from the babies, not wanting to bond with them, and has been spending lots of time with her own children. Milosh and I have been talking a lot recently, I love him dearly. but he can be in his own words 'A pain in the arses' and has been on a daily basis like a nagging voice constantly trying to get me to open up about my past to Bob or Joy. I'm currently sitting by the shore of the Stevenson's lake wiggling my toes in the cool water as I watch Joy who is canoeing in the lake with Terri, Terri has her own tiny little canoe with stabilising pontoons and is splashing along furiously with her paddles as Joy glides effortlessly by her side encouraging her and as I watch and listen to Terri's squeals and shouts of happiness I feel a tear run down my cheek as I think of my own daughter and her childhood. "Why do you cry so? Are you happy or sad?" I hadn't noticed Milosh come towards me and accepted the clean polka dot handkerchief he passed me. "Oh just thinking back to when Adriana was a little girl and the fun we'd have, just the reminiscences of a stupid old woman." "You are not stupid nor are you old my sister, you are weary, weary with the burden you keep buried inside you and saddened that your own daughter is still mad at what you did to her lover." Milosh sat next to me and pulled me into his side then took off his own boots then dipped his feet into the lake. "Joy she is happy look at her splashing the little wild girl with her paddle and the little wild girl she squeals with delight yes?" "Yes." "And Joy has she not suffered extreme sadness in her life?" I thought back to when I'd read her file and thought of how she must have felt when her wife had been kidnapped and of course her own rape at the hands of Lucius Withers. "You, my sister, are in many ways stronger than her, but you are also much weaker than her." "I'm older than her Milosh of course I'm weaker than her I no longer have the stamina of youth." Milosh took my hand and placed it in his own large, calloused hand. "You need to remove the burden of your own past my sister, share it, cast it away and you need to reconnect with Adriana your daughter before it is too late for you both." I sighed. "Hillary's interference has put paid to any reconciliation with Adriana, Milosh you know how strong willed she can be." "Pig headed like her mother, but not like her father, her father was a kind soft natured young man." "He's dead Milosh he died a long time ago," I stated abruptly. "I know that is not true, you fought to save Leah." "It was just a job." "Bull crap and you know it Sister, you liked her, you helped her and..." "MILOSH STOP Arghhhhh, Why don't you just go back home and leave me in peace?" I said in anger. "Is that what you wish sister?" "Yes, yes just go and leave me in peace." Milosh stood up and as he turned to leave I heard an angry growl to his side, it was Toby but not as I usually saw him, his teeth were bared and he looked ready to attack, Milosh moved to leave but Toby blocked his way so I got up and noticed the hairs on the back of his neck were raised, I did not want to harm the usually placid dog so sat back down. "Milosh sit," I ordered. Milosh complied and Toby immediately stopped growling and lay on the grass behind us. "Ha the wise old dog wants us to continue our conversation," said Milosh. I don't think Toby meant us any harm but it was a wakeup call to me. Milosh and I talked into the afternoon and cleared the air between ourselves. Toby seemed much happier as we walked the shoreline of the lake towards Matt Stevenson's new woodland plantation. "Mr Matt is a wise man Sister; he tells me that he wants to buy more land to return it back to woodland." "I think it's more to give his family more privacy Milosh. I caught a man taking photographs of Joy and her family a while back and Susan was harassed by one when she was staying at Brunsfields." "I think that privacy is good, but not too much, this land should be available for all yes?" "Yes Milosh I believe that most of it is free for walkers and horse riding." "Ah look over there it is Mr Matt with his wife and Susan." Milosh and I joined Matt, Iona and Susan and we spent the rest of the afternoon in their company. Chapter 29 Tricked We dressed for dinner that evening as the Stevenson's liked to do on occasion, Joy looked absolutely beautiful, her figure was well on its way back to her pre pregnancy size, her hips would probably never quite return to their original size after carrying twins, her breasts were still quite matronly but she looked elegant with curves in exactly the right places, elegant and beautiful as did Alice who could easily be mistaken for her twin. Lucy and Dawn also dressed for their evening and it was becoming increasingly obvious that they would also soon develop onto beautiful young women just like their sister Susan but I also hoped that they would retain their mischievous sometimes tomboyish nature as it really suited them. Terri had her own independent way of dressing for dinner which never failed to make me smile. When I finally retired for the evening it was with a smile on my face, this however only lasted until I woke gasping for air and covered in sweat. "Silvanus it's okay it was only a bad dream," said a familiar voice in the semi darkness. "Joy?" "I'm sorry I was awake and was expressing milk into bottles for the twins in the library when I heard you, I'm sorry if I disturbed you." I pulled myself up in the bed. "This is ridiculous I've been okay for many years and ever since I froze I've been intermittently troubled by these bad dreams." "Alice used to have night terrors Silvia sometimes, but fortunately rarely nowadays but when she does she relives her rape as a child at the hands of her uncle." "And you do you have nightmares of your own..." "Rarely but Alice is always there for me, as I am for her. I hear her in my nightmare and realise it's not real, She always guides me somewhere peaceful as I did/do with her." "I know I need to deal with this Joy but." "But what? you'll show a little weakness big deal." "Maybe we can talk about this in the morning Joy," I suggested. "Or we can talk about it now Silvia, I've still got two huge aching boobs to drain so you'll have my undivided attention." she took the small recording device from my dressing table and placed it on the bed whilst she placed the cup of a small electric breast pump to her breast. "Well okay then, do you remember from the last recording Adriana and I had married with the blessing of Constantin and Marius although he seemed to accept us finally attacked me when he found out that Adriana was pregnant" Joy nodded. Codrin. I had only just come to terms with the news that I was about to become a father when one morning as I was collecting provisions with Milosh and several other young men of the camp in a small town near the Romanian border when one of the older young men approached me and said in Romanian. "Milosh has asked if you would come to the rear of the hardware store?" I nodded as I had no reason not to but as I turned the corner I was grabbed roughly from behind; my head was bagged and I received a torrent of blows around the chest and stomach. I quickly lost consciousness. When I woke I found myself to be in a concrete cell like room with a metal bed a washbasin and a toilet, there was one small wooden shelf above which was mounted a small oval mirror. The door to my cell was made of grey painted steel and had a small peep hole just under a third of the way from the top and a hatch with a shelf at roughly hip height. As I rose from my bed I was quickly overcome by an overwhelming desire to throw up closely followed by me rushing towards the toilet and almost making it as the contents of my stomach thrust themselves up out of my mouth and into my hand covered mouth. I remained on my knees for seemingly ages before finally cleaning myself up in the small washbasin. When I finally finished cleaning myself I looked at my almost grey face in the mirror. "What the hell have you gotten yourself into now?" I asked myself in Romanian before looking closer. "Hmm no bruises, I should have bruises," I reasoned after the beating I remembered getting so I removed the Light green tee shirt I was wearing and noticed that there were a couple of faded bruises on my side but they were almost gone. "How long was I unconscious for?" It was then I noticed a small but new slightly reddened quarter inch scar on the inside of my upper arm and another on the lower portion of my abdomen. 'Must have cut myself somehow,' I thought just as I noticed the bruise on the back of my hand and remembered my mum had a similar one for a while after she'd had her appendix removed. 'Am I in some sort of hospital?' I thought to myself as I sat back on my bed and wondered why I was here and where my wife Adriana and my friend Milosh were. It seemed like hours before I heard a loud clunk in the distance and then the sound of talking as people approached. Within seconds I heard the jangle of keys and the sound of bolts being pulled and a key being inserted before finally a mountain of a man in scrubs and a female nurse entered, The nurse was carrying a tray and placed it on the bed before me. "Hello, could you tell me..." I was slapped across the cheek by the huge orderly and reeled back onto the bed, the female nurse reprimanded the orderly in what sounded like Russian, she then turned to me, said simply in broken Romanian, "No talk, food you eat." The orderly then passed her a glass test tube with a stopper on it she then said, "First you fill this now." I looked at the test tube and then back at the nurse, she pointed at the toilet. "Fill it, over there now." I simply stared but then as the huge man approached me I got up, went over to the toilet and after pulling my shorts down filled the small tube with my own urine then continued peeing into the toilet until my bladder was empty my urine smelled strong as though I was dehydrated, the nurse slipped latex rubber gloves onto her hands took the Tube capped it then placed it into a bag then left with the huge orderly. 'What the hell' I thought as I looked over at the food on the tray, it looked like some form of thick soup or broth or even possibly a stew, this was complimented by a large torn off chunk of brown bread along with what looked like fruit cordial in a glass. Sitting back down I started eating the thick warm meal with the provided spoon and afterwards placed the tray on the floor and lay back on my bed wondering if I could ask for a pillow. For the next several days I was fed three times a day, I learned quickly not to talk with the nurse or orderly so my days consisted of lying on my bed or pacing around my room eating, doing toilet, and sleeping. I really hated waking in the morning as almost the second I rose I felt a wave of nausea overcome me usually ending in me throwing up into the toilet. The nausea and vomiting slowly subsided and after nearly a week of just feeling out of sorts in the morning I was presented on my breakfast visit with a white towelling robe. "Strip and wear." I readily and eagerly removed my tee shirt and the shorts I'd been wearing since waking on my first day and was led out of my room, into a long corridor with linoleum floor and ceramic tiles on the walls. Once in the corridor I was held tightly by both upper arms by two orderlies and marched along it until I turned and entered a large but empty shower room where my gown was removed from me and I was ordered to shower by the nurse. The water was both hot and harsh as it pounded against my now foul smelling skin. One of the orderlies stripped to his underwear and started to roughly soap and sponge my body I foolishly attempted to say that I could wash myself but was rewarded with another slap across the face. More worrying for me though was that I could plainly see orderly was getting an erection through his underwear as he washed me but fortunately the nurse admonished him in Russian. Once the orderly had finished with me I was passed a large grey towel and dried myself I was then given a hospital gown which the nurse fastened at the rear and I was led back into the corridor and along to what seemed to be a doctor's consulting room. Sitting quietly in the consulting room I started to think of Adriana and how much I missed her and wondered if she missed me, my thoughts were disturbed by the door opening and a severe middle aged woman wearing a white coat entering, she gestured for me to stand so I stood, The nurse released the ties on my gown and I stood before her naked. the new woman who I assumed to be a doctor then started to measure me with a tape measure and noted each measurement on a chart on a clipboard, she then asked the nurse something in Russian and was passed a pair of tongs or callipers with a dial gauge attached and started to tug at my skin, she was measuring my body fat for some reason I knew because I'd had it done once before at school by the school nurse. I wanted to speak and ask why I was here but did not want to incur the wrath of the nurse so I stayed silent and after nearly fifteen minutes of being poked and prodded by the doctor I was handed a small plastic cup and an adult magazine the nurse pointed at the examination table and pulled a folding portable screen to give me privacy, I couldn't believe it they wanted me to masturbate for them but why? I stood plastic cup in hand with a tattered old porn magazine wondering what I should do then the nurse pointed at the examination table. "Go, give sample now." I went behind the screen and looked at the curvy naked women with their large breasts and hairy pussies but with the nurse and doctor talking to themselves on the other side of the screen I just couldn't get into the mood I then closed my eyes and thought of Adriana. Some minutes later I sheepishly passed the small cup with what looked like a couple of teaspoons full of my seed in it to the nurse who put a lid on my offering and labelled it, she then handed me a tissue to attend to my cleansing. I was then given a new tee shirt to wear along with some form of surgical support undergarment and a pair of shorts, the undergarment was extremely tight and crushed my balls into me causing discomfort the shorts were also tight on the hips but otherwise comfortable, the tee shirt was almost form fitting. I was escorted back to my room and after my lunch was collected once more by two orderlies and taken outside the building where I was given to a tall woman with long blond hair tied back into a ponytail wearing a tracksuit. "Do you understand me?" she asked in Romanian. "Y'yes," I replied. "Good, do as I say or you will be punished, understand?" "Yes" she passed me a tiny pair of socks and a pair of plimsolls. "Put these on we go for run." I complied immediately and as I donned my new footwear I looked around to gauge my surroundings, I seemed to be in some kind of training camp like the sports academies run by the Russians to train athletes but why on earth was I here? I spent the next 30 or so minutes slow jogging with the track suited woman giving me the opportunity to see some of where I was, it was indeed some kind of athletic training camp but with a difference; it had a twin perimeter fence and armed guards with dogs, I wondered if this was to keep the athletes in or the world out. After my run I was taken to a large concrete and brick building as I entered I noticed the unmistakeable smell of chlorine, it was a swimming pool, I smiled to myself as I loved swimming. My trainer passed me what looked like an all in one swimming costume as I entered the changing room and as I removed my tee shirt and shorts and the crushing underwear I wondered why I hadn't been given swimming trunks I figured stupidly that it must be to help with streamlining my body I stepped into the leotard like garment and pulled it up my body then put my arms through the straps. As I entered the pool area I noticed that it was not only massive but also completely empty with the exception of my trainer and I, she passed me a flimsy rubber hat and after I failed miserably to fit it to her liking she sighed snapped it on and tucked my loose hair into it. "Now show me your swim." I dived into the water and attempted to show how good I was at swimming; she was not impressed. I was exhausted when I was escorted from the swimming pool but I still noticed my surroundings as she escorted me back to my room. Chapter 30 Realisation and Consequences Sitting in my room after my evening meal one evening after a hard days exercising with my trainer I started to think about Adriana, My Mum and the KGB guy that had started my unwanted adventure, I found to my surprise that I didn't particularly care about any of these people not anymore it was like they were becoming memories like my emotions had become damped in some way. 'Had I been drugged or brainwashed or worse, the two tiny scars on my body, they were almost healed but I just couldn't remember getting them, how long was I unconscious for?' I thought to myself as I went over to the toilet and stuck two fingers down my throat causing me to gag followed quickly by the contents of my stomach exiting through my mouth as it had done almost every morning until recently. I rinsed my mouth out with water from my glass and spat it out immediately, I reasoned that if I had been drugged in some way in my food or drink I would hopefully soon start to feel the effects of missing a dose so I retired to my bed which now had one blanket on it. I woke in complete darkness to cramping in my stomach severe cramping and tried to get my bearings, the pain was almost unbearable as I curled up into a ball in the darkness and started to weep to myself, I don't remember when I lost consciousness but the last thing I remembered was a faintly antiseptic smell and feeling dizzy before nothing. When I next woke it was to the sound of someone humming to himself and the feeling of something in my mouth and going into me, my eyes were closed but I knew it was very bright where we were as the light was making it through my eyelids, one problem however I couldn't move I was completely paralysed. "Mnnnn I think our patient is awake nurse, please irrigate the patients eyes and open them for me," said a polite voice in Romanian, I felt someone open my left eyelid and drip something into it, my eye stayed open, this was repeated for my right eye. After a second or two the world came into focus and I found myself lying on my back looking up into a mirror mounted on the ceiling. "Ah number 340 I see that you are awake, good, good," said a voice I could not see. "You may have noticed that you cannot move, this is perfectly normal as many patients are administered a paralysing agent prior to surgery." 'SURGERY, what! No I don't need surgery.' I tried to struggle but nothing at all. "You are probably wondering why you need surgery at the moment aren't you?" the voice continued. "You were volunteered by your family to assist the state in its goal to create the world's greatest athletes and for that I salute you. Unfortunately, last evening you did not cooperate with your program so I have decided to bring forward a small alteration which hopefully will correct a chemical imbalance we've not been able to correct with medication. Normally this procedure is carried out under anaesthetic but this evening I will perform it without, thank you once more for your cooperation. A gowned face appeared before me and then moved down the table I was on before stopping by my mid-section. "Nurse if you could remove the covers and focus the light." ? a cover was removed from my legs exposing my genitals and mid-section. 'My pubes they've been shaved,' I thought to myself just before watching a nurse paint the entire area with a watery brown liquid, I also noticed a small tube exiting the tip of my penis. "And now for the main event." stated the man with enthusiasm as he approached me with a scalpel in his gloved hands. "It is a long time since I have operated on anyone without anaesthetic but you are the first in many years, of course then I did not have paralytics available to me and the guards had to hold the patients down to stop them moving." The man paused for a second then I felt a tearing of my flesh as though I was being given a paper cut. "I am making the incision here just over Poupart's ligament do not worry I have performed this surgery many times before, although I may be a little rusty." I watched via the ceiling mounted mirror as the surgeon cut through my flesh and then into the cream coloured fatty tissue beyond whilst all of the time screaming in my head for him to stop as the pain increased, I watched in horror as he buried his finger into my flesh and felt as he hooked something with it and started to pull causing a thin pink tube to come out of my body, he then passed a length of rubber hose under the pink tube and held it in place with some kind of clamp. 'Please god stop this, stop whatever he is doing,' I begged in my mind as I felt tears running down my face. From then on it only got worse and worse as the surgeon seemed to be massaging one of my testicles into my body towards the incision it hurt like hell and at one point I passed out only to be woken by the nurse with what I assumed to be smelling salts. "Oh my, that was quite rude of you and as we were just getting to the good part, fortunately my nurse noticed and now you are back with me. I looked up and could see one of my testicles in the surgeons hand and instinctively knew what was about to happen, somehow I resigned myself to what was about to happen and as I watched helplessly my now severed testicle fell into a silver kidney shaped dish I started to wonder why he hadn't removed both of them. "You are probably wondering why I performed a radical and not a simple orchidectomy on you?" "No? Well I'll tell you anyway, it was simply the toss of a coin, heads simple, tails radical. And now for the good news you will be excused from exercise for the next two weeks in which time we will monitor your hormone levels and decide if additional action is required, let me just finish off suturing the incision and then it is off to recovery for you, thank you for being so cooperative." I continued to watch for a while but as the doctor was finishing what he was doing and dressing the area, the clips holding my eyes open were removed by the nurse and I was plunged into semi darkness. I was kept in a paralysed state for what seemed like days but was probably only hours before I started to twitch and regain a little control, I tried to move but my wrists and ankles were bound preventing me from getting up, it was then as I struggled that my gag reflex kicked in and I started to panic. I heard someone enter quickly and start to curse me in Russian before removing what seemed to be an endless pipe from my throat, causing me to gag and choke before I started straining to take unaided breaths and as soon as I was breathing normally I started to get a warm fuzzy sensation in my head and then nothing. The next time I woke I was in a different room not my cell but I soon found that the door was locked so in effect I was still a prisoner but now with apparently an upgraded cell including wall to wall carpet and a table with an old Selga 7 transistor radio on it. As I recovered my senses I went over to the wall mounted mirror and dropped my soft pyjama bottoms and underpants and looked at the small slightly reddened line to the side of my crotch then cupped my scrotum finding an only half full sac and quickly realising that I indeed now only had one ball. "Why would they do this to me?" I asked myself several times. "Maybe I had cancer in it and they removed it to save me but then why operate on me with me awake?" My dimmed mind just didn't understand why I was here at this place and why I was being treated like an object and not a person. I finally noticed that this room had a shower room with a toilet and on inspection also noticed that it had been supplied with soap and shampoo. I stripped naked and turned on the shower, the only temperature I could get was tepid so I took the nondescript white block of soap and started to wash myself under the water then washed my hair with the supplied shampoo. "Ohh I must have been unconscious for quite some time as my hips really ache," I said to myself as I bent over to finish washing my legs. After my shower I found my towel to be quite scratchy and harsh on my skin but thought no more of it, dressed, and then towelled my hair dry and brushed it through. With the exception of my new room nothing much really changed I couldn't see any real way of leaving this place as the guards had guns so I just continued with my daily regimen of medical checks, blood and urine samples and exercise which now included pole vaulting along with swimming and running, I of course played dumb and rarely spoke during the days lest I give away my actual nationality and caused people to delve into my past more closely. The longer I stayed at the training camp the more Russian I picked up and was relying less and less on the poor Romanian of the woman who trained me, several other things happened the longer I was at the camp the most devastating being a growing resentment towards Constantin, Milosh and Adriana as I had now assumed that they were responsible for me being here. Something curious happened to me one day, I'd spent the morning in the gym doing floor work and gymnastics and as I was practising my vaulting technique, I'd taken an almost faultless run on the runway my pole engaged with the launch box my arms and hips were in perfect position as I rose into the air but the pole fractured at its point of maximum stress just as I was preparing to change my position to launch myself over the bar causing me to fall onto my back followed by the splintered end of the fibreglass pole slapping me across my chest. I woke to my trainer tapping my cheek and a pain in my chest similar to me having been kicked in my remaining nut. "Come, enough for today," she said as she helped me up and brushed aside several splinters of fibreglass. "My chest, it hurts," I said. "Take pain pill, it will go," she said with her hand holding my arm in a vice like grip as she marched me over to the block that housed my room. I heard the door lock behind me as I went straight into my washroom and took one pill from the recently supplied pain pills and took a pill with a sip of water, my chest was still agony so I dampened a towel with cold water and placed I inside my tight tee shirt so that it covered my aching chest, I then went over to my metal framed bed curled up and tried to get to sleep. When I woke it was dark so I figured it must have been after lights out, I got up to go to the bathroom and turned on the mirror light so I could see where I was aiming I relieved myself and as I was washing my hands noticed something strange on my chest through my tee shirt, two swollen lumps. I reached up and touched one of the tiny tender bumps and winced, I then removed my tee shirt and looked at my nipples and the darker area surrounding them, my nipples looked normal but the skin around them appeared to be swollen a little and was tender to the touch. 'That pole must have slapped me harder than I thought,' I said to myself as I stared into the mirror. For the next few days, my nipples itched and ached considerably and rubbed against the fabric of my tee shirt causing me severe 'joggers nipple' until my trainer supplied me with a very soft tight under shirt which relieved the itching considerably when I exercised. After another week or so I started to wonder why I had been abandoned by the travellers and it then dawned on me that I may have been hasty in assuming that they were responsible and the longer I thought about it the more it seemed not to make sense, had I just been the subject of a random kidnapping or had I been press ganged into serving the state like I'd read in history books at school? Silvanus. I paused in my retelling of my story as Joy asked me. "And you had no idea what was happening to you at all?" "No Joy, I thought the changes my body was going through was a result of the relentless exercise routine it wasn't until later that I realised I was one of the many guinea pigs for state sponsored cheating in athletics, I'd however drawn the short straw." I paused and looked at the clock. "Oh Gosh look at the time Joy, you'd better get back to bed I'm sure that I'll be okay now I promise." "That's a promise you can't keep Silvia, you have no control over your nightmares." I reached over to the bedside cabinet and after opening the small cupboard below removed a small well-loved threadbare teddy bear. "Terri gave me this the other day, I'll just hug him Joy," hoping that she would leave me alone, Joy gave me a wry smile. "That's her favourite Teddy bear Silvia. She's had it since just after she was born, it was a present from Bob." Curiously, I felt quite tearful to hear that Terri had loaned me her favourite cuddly toy and held it to my chest like I'd held the cuddly sloth on my first evening here, I thought it would feel ridiculous but I really felt comforted by it. "Turn out the light as you leave Joy," I said unnecessarily coldly as I lay down with my back to her and squeezed the small bear further into my chest. As the light dimmed and finally went out I felt my lip quiver as my mind drifted back to what those bastards did to me and my body in the alleged name of science. Chapter 31 Mushrooms Joy. Alice and I had just done three laps of the lake and had just stopped so that she could cool down before she left me to go to work (I was still on maternity leave whilst I regained my fitness). "I noticed that you were gone for a while in the night Joy." "Yes I went downstairs to express milk, I didn't want the buzzing of the pumps to wake you, whilst I was in the hallway afterwards I heard Silvia in her room she was having a bad dream." "Oh, like the ones I have sometimes?" "Yes a little, anyway after I woke her she told me a little more about her past, the recording is on the dresser, I emailed a copy to Bob before coming back to bed." "Is she still happy for us to listen to it Joy?" I winced. "Yes, but you aren't are you?" I nodded slowly, Alice leaned over, pulled my body into hers and kissed me full on the lips. "I love how you still protect me Mrs Stevenson but I'm a big girl now and according to Bob stronger than I've ever been." "I'm sorry Alice force of habit." I apologised. "Oh god look at the time I'm going to be late." She kissed me on the lips once more and tweaked my left nipple through my top with her finger. "Don't empty them too much today dearest I may just be in the mood for a snuggle when I get back." She smiled mischievously as she turned to jog back towards the house. I watched as Alice jogged away from me with her long dark hair bouncing with every step until she reached the house and then continued my own morning run until I noticed Milosh in the bottom field with a basket. Curiosity got the better of me and I headed towards him to find him picking wild mushrooms. "Ah there you are, I watched as you jogged with your beautiful wife, has she now finished?" "Yes Milosh she has to get ready to go to work and I have to work to regain my fitness." "I too am exercising and gathering the Fungi, I was thinking bacon and fungi sandwiches." "Bacon and mushroom sounds wonderful." "Your cook she is a good cook I like her food." "She'll be pleased to hear it Milosh." I paused and then asked, "Milosh?" "Yes My Daughter?" "I had a long talk with, no more like a long listen to Silvanus in the early hours, she told me about being taken to a sport training facility." "She did?" He sounded surprised. "Yes can I ask you a question?" "You want to know if it is the same place you visited last year when she froze?" I nodded. Milosh's face dropped. "I begged her not to go but she insisted, we argued so much before you arrived at our camp, she was so convinced that she had conquered her memories of that place and what they did to her." "I think I understand Milosh." "No, no you do not fulger, you do not understand at all, Steephan was an innocent scared young man who had already witnessed two deaths when he came under our protection, my sister Adriana she fell for him almost at the first seeing and with my assistance we tried to guide him and help him to forget what had happened to him. We thought we had failed and for months thought that he had run away from us, my father was furious Adriana was devastated, only Marius seemed happy and took every opportunity to remind my father of his folly after being forgiven." Milosh looked me directly in the eyes, gone was his normal warm smile, replaced by a deep repressed sadness bordering on anger. "If only we had found out sooner about that lying cheating cowardly..." Milosh then broke into a string of swear words that left me under no illusion of his anger "Big brother Marius," he then spat onto the grass to his side "May he rot in the darkest of hells." Milosh then sighed. "I am sorry but what we dragged kicking and screaming from that place was not the same person." I'd already assumed that the camp was giving him drugs to force his body change and that they were feminising him to a certain extent. "But surely with the help of your camp and his wife he could have coped with the changes to his body?" "Pha the body is nothing, th, they stole..." "Ah there you are I was hoping to find you this morning Joy." I turned to see Terry coming towards me and found myself to be somewhat irritated by his interruption but it quickly dissipated as he was with Andi who was smiling at me. "And what can I do you for?" I asked as I bent down and picked up Andi who's arms were outstretched. "Dix and I are setting up the range in the quarry want to join us?" I smiled and turned to Milosh. "Weapon practice?" "Only after the bacon and mushiroom sarnie old Girl," he said in an appalling British accent. I nodded to Terry. "Smashing Dix and I will set up come on Andi, daddy had lots of interesting work to do." Andi grinned at her daddy and tightened her grip on me. "Can I go with auntie Joy and play with Terri, Pleeezzze?" Milosh and I walked back to Stevenson Towers with Andi happily hitting leaves with a stick between us and once I'd delivered her safely to Terri who was sitting talking to Silvanus in the library I joined Milosh in the dining room for breakfasted before showering and dressing in fatigues for my trip to the quarry and range practice. Chapter 32 Little Acorns Silvanus. Last night was awful, truly awful, Joy sat patiently as I remembered the first weeks of confusion following my abduction and forced internment in the Soviet sports academy. This morning however I woke and actually felt much better, I know it won't last but I'm not going to look a gift horse in the mouth. As I did my warmup Tai Chi this morning I noticed Joy jogging with Alice. Joy is working hard to regain her fitness and her figure following her pregnancy. At breakfast I was joined at the table by Terri who sat opposite me and smiled broadly at me. "Good morning Terri." "Do oak trees have flowers Auntie Silvia?" I couldn't help but smile as she produced a little jotter and a pencil in expectation of an answer. "Yes sort of they are called catkins and they arrive before the leaves and hang from the tips of the branches in the spring, they produce pollen that gets blown away in the wind and they used to make me sneeze lots." "Oooohhh does the pollen just make people sneeze then?" "No the pollen blows off the tree and finds another oak tree and pollinates it so that it can make lots and lots of acorns in the autumn, we can go and look at the acorns growing later if you wish?" "Mmm yes please, so what do the acorns do then are they just for the squirrels?" I smiled. "No but the squirrels do like them don't they?" Terri nodded enthusiastically "They are like big seeds, if you plant an acorn it will one day grow up into a big oak tree." "Is that what grandpa is doing Auntie Silvia?" "Yes but he's buying little trees called saplings from someone who grows them and is planting the saplings." 'Oh to be Terri's age again' I thought as I looked at her inquisitive little face contorting as she concentrated hard on writing in pencil in her little notebook. My breakfast then moved to the library where I helped Terri for the next hour with her seemingly using me as an encyclopaedia. a task I did not mind at all, especially as it ended with a thank you followed by both a hug and a kiss. I milled around the big house for a little while before going to my room and changing then heading off to The Centre to see if I could catch Bob for a chat. On arrival at The Centre I was a little disappointed to find out that Bob was not on site yet, but as a most amicable consolation spent the next half an hour catching up with Harry over a cup of Chamomile, when Bob arrived he headed straight over to where Harry and I were sitting. "Good morning Silvia, social call?" "No actually I've come to see you." Bob tugged at his trousers and sat. "Is this about last evening?" "Yes," I replied. He smiled warmly. "Cup of tea first to lubricate the old brain and then into my office I think." I frowned. "Orrrrr we could go for a walk in the grounds and talk that would be good too?" offered Bob sensing my hesitance. "Thanks Bob." Once Bob and I had made idle chat, he'd finished off his tea, we left the warmth of The Centre and started to walk around the grounds. "I have to say I'm a little surprised to see you this morning Silvanus, normally you leave several days or weeks between unburdening yourself." "No one is more surprised than me Bob but I'm nearing the part of my life I'm most ashamed of, That Academy took everything away from me, it changed me forever, hollowed me out and stripped me of my humanity, what was left of me when they'd finished was what turned me into such an efficient operative." "Cold, emotionless, efficient and after additional training back in the UK deadly, yet you somehow also managed to be a loving mother and good friend and mentor to Aliza and now you have found love once more." "Yes, that's on pause Bob. Hillary and I only ever seem to speak on the telephone now and yesterday all I got was his secretary Mrs Tanner." "Well what with the current situation it is understandable Silvia." "I suppose." "So If you are so ruthless Silvia why have I observed you smiling so much when you're in Terri's company." "You are kidding aren't you? How couldn't you end up smiling, have you spent any time with her?" Bob actually laughed at my comment, "Yes Silvia she's my Kryptonite too, I don't know how Joy and Alice manage to discipline her when she's naughty, I couldn't." "I don't think she requires a lot of discipline Bob, she along with the other Stevenson children seem to have inherited their mum's sense of fair play and an abundance of common sense. "Even the twins Silvia," "I think it's their adventurous streak that gets them into trouble sometimes Bob." "Perhaps but we're not here to talk about them are we?" "No we're not. I want to ask you a question." "Fire away then." "Can I ever be the person I once was again Bob? I mean I know physically I can't as that boat sailed long ago but," I paused and sighed not quite sure how to explain myself. "Can you ever regain your former personality, the one you had prior to witnessing the murder in the alley?" "Yes that's exactly it." "No." "Oh well that's my answer then." "That's not what I mean Silvia, even if you hadn't witnessed the murder you would now still be a different person from the one you were in your teenage years, it's just a fact of life, the best we can hope for at the moment is a better version of the person taken from the training facility and to be honest with you apart from your bad dreams you're almost there already." "Really?" "You are talking to me aren't you?" "Well yes." "And you now have managed to cultivate real and meaningful friendships?" "Yes but." "You helped a young and very green Mossad agent out on her first solo assignment, befriended a young girl in need of direction then agreed to be part of a team to protect her from her mother and the unwanted advances of the local drug dealer." "This all sounds good Bob but I'm still a loner I prefer to work on my own." "Do you?" "Yes." "Are you sure?" "What are you getting at Bob?" "Why did you approach me to help you?" "To help me Bob that's what you do isn't it?" "You could have approached many trained counsellors or professionals to get help Silvia but you chose me why?" I paused before answering, "Because I want you to pass me fit for duty." "Why Silvia, why now? Why not ten years ago?" "Because." "That's not an answer Silvia is it?" It was then I finally blurted out, "Because I like working with Joy and her team, I actually enjoy it, she's my... She's my friend." Bob sighed, "There now that wasn't that hard was it?" "Actually yes it was you patronising bastard, it was really hard to admit." "I've been called worse Silvia don't worry about it." He actually smiled as he spoke "So what are we going to about you then?" "Fix me, that would be nice," I replied. "That would involve a little more cooperation on your part Silvia for instance access to your full medical records, Harry has only given me partial access and after listening to last evenings recording I would like to do a little more research on that sports complex surgeon." His very mention caused my eyes to widen. "Judging from the look on your face you'd rather I didn't talk about him." "You are correct Bob. I may have just called you a bastard, but there is a very special place in hell for that monster," I paused "I'll tell Harry to release all of the gory details to you when we get back." "Thanks Silvia." As we walked back towards The Centre Bob asked, "So what is the deal with you and Harry anyway?" "What do you mean?" "Well from the limited information I have on your medical history he's the only surgeon you have voluntarily allowed to treat you since the 1980's." "That is true Bob I trust him and he was the only surgeon that would operate on me under a local anaesthetic, I like to know what is happening to me and be able to intervene if I don't like it?" "Anyone else Silvia and I'd think they were joking." "I'm not." "I know." Chapter 33 Joint Therapy Silvanus. It's been a couple of days since meeting Bob and I now find myself in one of the utility rooms of The Centre with Milosh and Joy who I'd asked to be with me. Bob is going to listen to me try and explain what happened to me at the sport complex (although I think he already has a pretty good idea) I hope Joy will then understand why I froze last year just before her capture; I'm not looking forward to this at all. Joy looks absolutely beautiful today and is dressed comfortably, she's also made herself comfortable next to me on the large very plush leather recliner sofa. "Okay before we start If anyone at any point becomes uncomfortable or wants to stop please just say and we can have a break, I don't want this session to be in anyway stressful as that could prove counterproductive. Joy are you okay?" "Yes Bob." "And You Milosh?" "I am ready to be helpful Mr Bob, do you know what is for lunch?" "I believe it's a buffet so there will be a selection." Bob then turns to me. "Silvia I'm going to start with you, now I've read transcripts and listened to your telling so far of the events in the Ukraine, I've even pieced together some other information but can you continue where you left off, I believe you had just noticed the first signs of your body changing." As I started talking Joy moved closer to me and Milosh looked at me almost shame faced as though he was representing some kind of shame for what his brother had done to me. Codrin/340. About three or four weeks after noticing the two small swellings on my chest I stood before my bathroom mirror one morning in my pyjamas as I brushed my teeth, I could see my chest protruding and pushing against the material of my pyjamas and found myself staring, 'Are they getting bigger?' I thought to myself as I placed the toothbrush back into the plastic glass. I undid the buttons and allowed my top to fall to the ground then stood staring at the two grotesque angry looking little bumps on my chest stretching my areola tightly causing them to look much larger. I took my hand and grabbed one of the bumps between my thumb and finger and squeezed hoping that it would burst like many spots had done over the years but no nothing burst I was simply rewarded with a gnawing pain and tears streaming from my eyes. I had absolutely no idea what was happening to me apart from these bumps should not be here only girls have bumps and I was not a girl. I'd recently been given three new tops they were like elasticated very short sleeveless tee shirts that compressed my chest and helped with the irritation I eased a pale blue one over my head and past my 'bumps' then put on my tee shirt. My 'bumps' could clearly be seen. My trainer appeared a little earlier than usual and unlocked my door to take me to breakfast, or so I thought. "340 come with me," she ordered, I slipped on a pair of plimsolls and walked two paces behind her out of my block over the courtyard, past the recently erected statue of Leonid Brezhnev into the rear entrance of the medical facility where over the next hour I was poked, prodded, nipped and several samples of blood and urine were extracted. As I sat in the waiting room sometime later wondering when I was to be released so as to continue training I heard an argument it sounded like my trainer, I moved as close to the double doors to the corridor leading to the consulting rooms as I dared, my trainer was arguing in Russian with someone who was speaking softly and I could not hear, from the parts I understood she said, "No, this has gone far enough, I am a trainer not a jailer." "It may already be too late but you do not have the right to..." "Yes I know but-" "I will do as you ask comrade Doctor." When my trainer appeared sometime later she looked ashen faced. "340 follow me you need a vitamin shot." I followed her through into the corridor where I was led into a room with a wheeled bed on it and a chair. "Sit." I sat, my trainer then prepared a syringe and as she injected it into my vein she for the first time showed something other than indifference towards me. "I'm sorry 340 but my father he is old." "What do you mean?" I asked just before suddenly finding it incredibly hard to breath and started to gasp for air. My trainer pressed a button on the wall and just as my eyelids started to close I noticed two orderlies and an old thin man with a goatee beard wearing old fashioned thin wire rimmed spectacles. "Intubate and catheterise the patient, I'll scrub up." Soon I was breathing albeit with the aid of a machine and felt myself being wheeled into what I assumed to be an operating theatre. "Nurse eyes please." My eyes were once again forced open and I could see my body once more. "I was hoping that the removal of one of your testicles would be enough for our needs but your body thought differently so I am afraid as your body will not cooperate with my research I will have to force its hand. I watched via the ceiling mounted mirror in horror as the monster took a scalpel and quickly made a small incision in my groin and screamed silently whilst begging in my mind for god to intervene but nothing happened, soon I lay wide eyed in shock as the evil surgeon dropped my severed testicle attached to a bloody cord into an enamel bowl. My medical recovery was swift but my mind was now traumatised not helped by the re-education sessions I was introduced to a week or so later where I was medicated and placed into a receptive state then force fed propaganda via newsreels and magazine articles projected onto a screen in front of me. I started to work with other athletes and compete against them but only female athletes and hardly noticed as my bodily changes continued at an accelerated rate and my cropped tight tee shirts were replaced with more supportive elasticated and more importantly softer garments. One sad fact is that as time passed I thought of my time with Adriana, Milosh and the travellers or my own parents less and less and my own performance and improvement more and more until it became an all- consuming passion. After a while I even started showering with the female athletes after workouts although I always kept my penis covered. One evening after lights out I was woken to a presence in my room and the smell of stale cigarettes and alcohol I started to turn to see who had entered only to be grabbed firmly by large hands, I was quickly forced onto my front and my hands bound to the bed rail with restraints. I felt cold steel against my neck. "If you make a sound I will cut you, if you shout I will kill you," threatened the gruff voice. I was terrified as he slit through my pyjamas and underwear then felt my legs being parted and my rear end being raised. My assailant then dribbled spit into the crack of my backside and forced one of his fingers into my bum hole, I tried not to make any noise but squeaked in pain earning me a hard slap. He then took me firmly by the waist and guided his hard penis against the crack of my bottom then after a little searching for my hole started to push, I was in agony as my sphincter muscle slowly opened to allow the unwelcome intruder entry followed by a grunt from my rapist as he finally entered me. Within minutes it was all over, I was lying curled up and wide eyed on the bed having now been released and my rapist was leaving the dark room as silently as he had arrived. The next morning I breakfasted as though nothing had happened with the exception that I had a sanitary pad cushioning my backside and absorbing the blood from my torn sphincter. Over the next few weeks I redoubled my efforts and became quite successful and determined to succeed not realising that I was slowly being stripped of everything that made me a unique person, I was starting to become a state automaton. One morning about six months after my arrival at camp as I sat eating my evening meal two large orderlies sauntered past my table in the large communal dining hall, moments later my nose caught the scent of something that sent chills down my spine, the smell of my rapist. Picking up my steak knife I leapt up onto the table ran along it past my surprised colleagues, dived onto him knocking him to the ground and as I straddled him I slashed the steak knife across his neck the serrated blade digging into his flesh and severing his carotid artery. I was dragged away soon after and placed into a solitary cell with only the occasional visit from my trainer who rarely spoke to me choosing instead to stand at the door and stare at me. I continued to exercise both in my new cell and when taken out at evenings after lights out after all of the other athletes had vacated the grounds. I showered in the large changing rooms by myself now and sometimes lingered by the large mirrors as I dried to note the changes to my body. One night as I stood before the mirror I looked at my naked form and my apparently shrinking penis with empty scrotum, I no longer cared that I was growing breasts which was really the only sign that I was changing as due to my constant exercise I wasn't really laying on any other fatty tissue at all. My breasts what there were of them now consisted of my swollen areola but now with tissue starting to grow beneath sort of a little bump on a flattened raised section of pillowy flesh, not how I remembered Adriana's breasts to be. I raised my left hand up to my right breast and after closing my eyes imagined I was cupping Adriana's breast and for the first time in seemingly ages I felt a tear run down my face, it was then I formulated a spur of the moment plan to escape and find her, in hindsight it was probably the stupidest decision I'd ever made. After dressing in my underwear and a grey tracksuit, I was escorted back towards my cell by one of the night security staff but as we rounded the final corner before entering the block I pushed him into the wall and sprinted over to the fence leaped up onto the diamond patterned woven metal fence and started to climb it was only when I reached the near top about fifteen foot up and grabbed at the top wire to leap over that I realised my mistake. I didn't remember getting the electric shock or being thrown clear of the fence but I do remember being kicked in the stomach by the camp guards before losing consciousness. I could tell from the acoustics of the room I was in that I was in deep trouble as I woke, once again I could not move and knew what was coming next but in my semi confused state couldn't for the life of me figure out what the surgeon would be operating on this time I just knew that this sadistic bastard would make me suffer. "Ah good morning 340, you have been getting into mischief haven't you?" "Fortunately, I have convinced the administrators to let me continue my research, nurse the patients eyes if you please." I couldn't respond in my completely paralysed state and my surgeon seemed to love to talk so I was stuck listening to him. "As you will have noticed over the last few months since your arrival your body has changed somewhat, not as much as I would have liked but your puberty had almost ended and that posed problems, initially I thought removing one of your testicles would have given the compounds within your body a chance to overcome your natural hormone level, unfortunately this was not the case so I made the decision to remove your other testicle and that seemed to work until one of our orderlies made an unwanted and misguided advance on you." The doctor paused as I watched him wheel a trolley containing surgical implements over towards me via the ceiling mounted mirror. "I apologise for that." 'What! How on earth did he know about that?' "But the surveillance tapes were only checked after the event, most regrettable, you did however redress the balance and that I can forgive although he will always have a very nasty scar wherever he is now." I watched as he loaded a new blade onto a scalpel and walked towards me. "Do not worry about my skill as a surgeon my friend as I have honed it on many many patients over my long career helping many patients and also furthering medical science. Of course sometimes my methods have been criticised but never my conclusions." "I cannot however forgive you trying to run from us thus jeopardising my anonymity so I now find you before me once more but take heart my friend as you are helping in vital research." It was at this point I noticed that my sparse pubic hair was gone and some of the areas on my groin seemed red and angry. "Nurse I assume the necessary depilation has been carried out on the patient?" "Yes doctor the follicles were burned out as instructed." "Normally for today's surgery we would require a general surgeon, a urologist and plastic surgeon but as I specialise in all of these disciplines I will be carrying out the entire procedure myself with perhaps a lunch break in the middle" The lunatic then moved his scalpel and made his first incision causing me to scream inside. "Of course as you have already had an Orchidectomy my work will be a little easier," he said cheerfully as he continued to cut. "Here at the sports academy we have many young hopeful athletes in training, some will go on to great things but some will falter and never make the grade but a few who show promise but are not quite good enough to compete as their current gender may be offered an opportunity to compete as females giving them an advantage over genetic females. Fortunately, our intelligence services have found ways to circumvent the now compulsory chromosome and urine tests so former male athletes who have become females can now compete with all of the advantages that gives, you are helping with my research as today I will be attempting variant 'd' of my procedure on you, I've not performed this procedure before so wish me luck." "Nurse could you prepare the electrocautery for me please, Oh now where was I? Ah yes so you volunteered to be a part of my research and as such on your arrival you were implanted with three rods of time release chemicals the first being a new synthetic oestrogen compound that exactly mimics human female oestrogen, the second being Synthesised progesterone and the third and this is one I am particularly proud of and has been the subject of many years practical research a chemical compound similar to gamma-aminobutyric acid which I have used to dampen your recent memories this along with a very mild tranquilliser has made our job here much easier. "Electrocautery please." It was soon after this I started to get a faint smell burning in my nostrils. "We were going to simply observe your reaction to your body changing unfortunately your body refused to play so I had to intervene surgically and today I will complete your transformation and after recuperation and re-educating you may yet become one of our star athletes. Even though the pain was unbearable I was trying to see what was being done to me 'Surely he couldn't actually turn me into a girl?' I thought as another wave of pain hit my paralysed body and the doctor finally moved and I looked at a bloody mess between my legs. "I am about to re-route your urethra to its new location my friend and will need to be careful so as not to sever your catheter." I watched as smoke rose from my penis and mercifully felt myself losing consciousness. When I awoke once more it was to the acrid smell of smelling salts and a most curious feeling deep within me. "That was very naughty of you 340 deciding to have a nap whilst my nurse was busy, no matter and just to let you know what I've been doing in your absence I've now removed all of the remnants of your old genitals saving some penile skin and have relocated the tip of your penis along with a good blood supply and nerve bundle. I'm currently placing anchor stitches within you to accept the pocket I've created out of your scrotum and penile skin. As I lay there wide eyed due to the clips holding my eyes open I found that I no longer cared, the pain was there but it was just pain I simply watched as my Surgeon reassembled several flaps of skin to form what looked to me like a badly sewn pink patchwork quilt with a thin rubber pipe exiting and some kind of much thicker tube deep within me my spirit had been broken. I lay for days in my bed in the medical wing, my arms were bound but they needn't have been as I no longer cared, I simply stared at the ceiling even as I was examined and my mould was removed and cleaned, the pain was there but I never even winced not even when they removed my catheter. I healed very quickly and found myself once again under the knife, this time for remedial plastic surgery or "tidying up." where my new vagina was given shape and form and the surgeon fashioned both a labia major and minora and revised my new clitoris before hooding it, he also did something to my new urethra as I had been peeing to the left. Following my surgeries I stopped talking I just couldn't see the point anymore; I followed every instruction without fail but never spoke to the staff again. Curiously after I healed my trainers attitude to me softened and after several attempts finally made me see sense and start using a sport bra. Chapter 34 Unwelcome Intrusion By this time I'd been away from the camp and my wife for over 6 months possibly more and with the aid of the medication I was on and the constant conditioning had almost forgotten they'd ever existed until one morning as I ran alone circling the inner perimeter fence I noticed a pick-up truck and just for a second thought I recognised one of the young men sitting in the back, I of course was now almost unrecognisable as my features had softened a little and my hair was now quite long. I shrugged off my sighting and headed to the pool thinking no more of it until later that day I was taken by my trainer back to my room and told to dress as we were getting a surprise visit from the IOC. on my bed I found a skirt with matching jacket, a shirt blouse, and a pair of tan tights and on the floor a pair of smart shoes fortunately with no heel. "Dress, I will help you," said my trainer as I stripped out of my tracksuit and started to don the completely unfamiliar clothes. My trainer was patient and even located another pair of tights for me after my initial clumsy attempt resulted in a ladder from my crotch to my knee. Soon I was dressed in regulation team wear and I tied my hair back. My trainer grabbed my chin and said in Russian, "Do not move I will apply makeup for you." As I was now becoming proficient in Russian I nodded as she used her own makeup to make me look presentable for our guests. It was mid-afternoon that the gates to our training facility were opened to allow a cavalcade of state limousines containing party officials, IOC representatives and accompanying security to enter. I was marched out along with all of the other females and we stood to attention in two rows behind the male athletes whilst the officials gathered to inspect us. Two things about this event unnerved me the first being that one of the security officials bore a remarkable resemblance to the KGB agent who'd shot me and one of the IOC officials standing in the background made me feel nervous, I did not recognise her but she kept glancing over in my direction causing me to lose momentary concentration and be reprimanded by one of the other trainers. After the initial greetings were over I was instructed to go to the pool and change for a demonstration event, this I did willingly as I just wanted to be out of my unfamiliar clothing, on arrival at the pool I entered the changing room, removed a dry costume and cap from my locker, undressed and slipped into my costume. The other athletes no longer stared at my body as now it resembled their own, I tucked my hair into my cap then placed my clothing back into my locker where my personal trainer approached me with a wad of cotton wool coated in cream. "You need to remove your makeup 340, here let me." She then removed the makeup that had only recently been applied, she passed me my goggles and slapped me on my behind. "Now go to the pool and make us proud." When I entered the pool area several of the other swimmers were already there, I noticed that up on the observation level The IOC visitors were being entertained with food and drink I also noticed the Security man talking to the woman I'd seen watching me. This was of secondary concern to me as I had a race to do. "340 lane four breaststroke," I was instructed, I took my position and listened for the starting pistol. I did not win my race, I came third as I was not back to full fitness following my last surgery but I did feel as though I'd let my trainer down and was not in the best of moods for an hour or two afterwards, later that afternoon I was lying on my bed with my legs splayed and easing a lubricated stent into my vagina when my trainer entered, she stood for a second seemingly unsure what to do as I continued insertion as I'd been instructed to do. "When you have completed your dilation 340 come to my office." I nodded acknowledgement and continued for the allotted time then pulled my underwear up then my track suit bottoms, cleaned my stent, and headed to my trainers office. "Ah 340 good, this is Marcus you are to attend a function soon in honour of our guests, Marcus is to dress you and make you beautiful for the occasion, the man nodded and then took a tape from his pocket. "Strip." He ordered in Russian, I looked him in the eyes and removed all of my clothing placing each item neatly on a small chair. Marcus took several measurements. "Too thin far too thin in the hips, no matter padding will help." 'Heels an invention of evil' I thought to myself an hour later as I wobbled and teetered back and forth in panties and bra across the carpeted floor of my trainers office to the insults of Markus. "She is pretty yes but she walks with the poise and grace of a lame dog, surely another could be chosen?" "340 was chosen comrade Chenofski, Dr Kuznetzov has approved it, you however are welcome to discuss it with him." "That lunatic, no I will persevere, how long do I have?" "Six days the IOC visitors will return then after touring other facilities." "Impossible I cannot do it, I will not." My trainer smiled at Markus as I attempted to gain control of my wobbling ankles. "I will inform the good doctor of your decision." "No stop, I will need her all day every day until the event." "You can have 340 for three hours each day after practice." He sighed. "Look at her she cannot even fasten her own bra correctly; I will do my best, that is all I can do." That evening as I sat on my bed looking at the wall and listening to state radio in order to improve my understanding of Russian I was visited by an old woman and my trainer. "This lady will show you how to correctly apply cosmetics 340." The old woman was carrying a stool and a large carpet bag, she sat directly in front of me and smiled. "Such a serious face for one so young, I assume that you are trying to cultivate wrinkles are you not?" I did not reply or respond. "No matter I will start." She removed a pair of tweezers and a pair of glasses from her bag. "I'll leave you and will return in one hour," said my trainer. "I am to make you beautiful but beauty comes from within, could we start with a smile perhaps?" I continued to stare ahead "No well maybe later." She then started to thin out my eyebrows as she told me about her children and grandchildren. "I cannot go on calling you 340 so I must think of a name for you, Markus tells me that you came from the forest so hmm I know I will call you Silvanae after the nymphs of the woodland god Silvanus, yes I like it Silvanae it is." her craggy face broke into a wide semi toothless smile and I found my lip start to tremble, The old woman lowered her voice as she noticed a tear making its way down my face and whispered "Your emotions betray you young one." She then said loudly, "My apologies did my tweezers catch you." She produced a tissue and dabbed the tear away. "I may be old but my hands are still steady let me show you how to look beautiful." The old lady quickly made my face up and then removed the cosmetics she then instructed me on how to apply lipstick, which I applied several times until I managed to follow the line of my lip in the mirror without too much deviation. By the time our session was finished I had become quite adept at covering my lips. "I will leave this with you and wish you to apply lipstick and wear it whenever you are not exercising until it becomes natural to you." I nodded and she left with my trainer, soon after my door was locked and my light turned out. When I awoke the next morning I looked over at the bra I was now expected to wear, I removed my sleepwear took the flimsy lace and nylon flesh coloured bra wrapped it around my middle and fastened it as I had been shown with the hooks at the front, I then turned it around so that the hooks were at the rear and eased it up my body until I could get my arms through the straps, the elastic fabric caught on my left breast and slapped it as it released causing me to wince a little before I placed my hands into the small padded cups and nestled the extra flesh into the supportive cups. Looking at myself in the mirror I stared at my bra covered top before taking the lipstick and after puckering my lips gently traced them with pigment following my instruction from the previous evening. The redness around my brows from the plucking had now subsided and I nearly smiled at my shaped brows as they now made me look mildly surprised. I removed my cotton panties and the sanitary pad and replaced it with the softer silkier panties that had been supplied for me to wear today, I slipped another pad in to protect my new panties from the occasional emissions from my virtually healed vagina and donned my tracksuit and went off to practice. I was visited by the old woman every evening for the next five evenings and in that time gained quite a collection of cosmetics along with the skills to use them on my table. In the afternoons I was made to walk and dress in the most feminine of costumes by the man I knew as Markus he also now had me wear a girdle to give my body a little shape. On the afternoon of the sixth day I was told to shower and shave all over before being taken by car to a local town where my hair was styled and makeup professionally applied I was then dressed in a long flowing maxi dress with voluminous sleeves and a slit up to my thigh that almost exposed my underwear. My shoes were surprisingly comfortable and only had a two inch heel. My trainer clapped enthusiastically. "You look every inch a sophisticate 340." She then sat me down and sat opposite me. "One of the IOC committee has requested that you attend this evenings event I believe that she may prefer the company of young women to men, you are to indulge her and if possible lead her into a compromising situation that we can utilise to our advantage." I looked up and into her eyes but remained emotionless. "You do understand what that entails don't you?" I nodded. "And you will comply?" I nodded. "Good girl." I had been under the impression that the event I was to attend was to be held on site but simply accepted it when I was told that we would be travelling to a large hotel for the evening. I along with several other male and female athletes were escorted by security into a large single decker bus we were all dressed in our provided finery and were escorted in convoy to a hotel where our security became more discrete. After being escorted into the huge hotel and after having our coats booked in we entered a large opulent ballroom with a painted ceiling and three giant crystal chandeliers where we were instructed to mingle, I attempted to find a quiet corner but as I headed there I was headed off by a woman holding two glasses. "I have a spare drink if you would like it?" she asked with a smile in accented Romanian, I simply looked at her blankly. "I have a spare drink if you would like it?" She then repeated in almost perfect Russian I stopped and looked at the women who seemed a little unnerved and was holding out a glass of champagne, I reached out and took it then held it close to my body. "Victoria, Victoria Armstrong, I'm from England I'm pleased to meet you," she said excitedly as she held out her hand, I reached out and gently enveloped her hand with mine and shook once. "I know that you do not speak but am very pleased to make your acquaintance, you don't happen to understand English do you?" she asked once more in Russian." I simply shook my head. "Such a pity, would you mind if we took a seat, I feel a little exposed here in the middle of the dance floor. I gestured with my free hand then followed the woman as she found a comfortable leather sofa near to a huge ice sculpture, I sat as I'd been shown and turned towards Victoria, she took a gulp from her glass and started to giggle. "I've already had three of these before you turned up, bottoms up." I sat patiently taking the occasional sip from my drink and listening to the quite pretty but older woman tell me how pretty I was and move closer to me, she even at one point ran her fingers through the slit in my skirt and started to stroke my thigh, I looked over in panic towards my trainer who was watching me like a hawk but she seemed displeased with me. Eventually when Victoria went to powder her nose my trainer approached me and angrily said, "Respond to her, we cannot lose her at this stage girl." When Victoria reappeared I smiled at her and after she'd sat down I placed my hand in hers. After several minutes of listening to her talk about 'Daddy's estate' and her horses she guided my hand up through the slit in her dress, I felt the softness of her stockings and then her bare flesh and then hair and moistness, my eyes went wide but noting my trainer was still watching me I resisted the urge to pull my hand away and simply left It resting on her moist genitals. "It is such a shame that you cannot speak as I'm sure that your voice would be as sweet as your face." Victoria's smile seemed genuine so I smiled as best I could back to her and took a gulp from my glass. As the night progressed I drank a little more and the strangeness of my situation started to ease I even gasped a little when she leant over and nibbled at my ear playfully, my nipples curiously also hardened the second time she nibbled my ear and I found myself breathing hard as she kissed my neck. "I think that we should go somewhere more private don't you?" she asked as she stood she offered me her hand, I walked with her hand in hand until we'd left the ballroom and entered a ground floor corridor where she held me firmly in the small of the back and kissed me passionately. As our kiss broke I must have looked stunned and could feel my lower lip tremble, my emotions were in turmoil was I turned on by this woman? I just didn't know. "Come my room is just down here." I blindly followed and soon had entered a plush bedroom suite, I heard Victoria's shoes being kicked off as we staggered back into the room with her lips firmly locked against mine. I could smell the faint scent of cigarette on her breath as I inhaled her sweet breath directly from her lungs as we kissed and made a little whimper as she cupped one of my breasts through my dress. It did not take too long for Victoria to remove her dress leaving her dressed in only bra and stockings with a suspender belt holding her stockings in place, she wore no panties I was now also partially undressed with one of my breasts exposed but with my panties and tights still intact. I was becoming very aroused and starting to enjoy the whole encounter when I heard Victoria whisper into my ear in perfect English. "Keep playing along with me Stefan, we'll have you out of here before morning." My eyes opened wide and I attempted to scream "NO" but nothing came from my mouth, I found myself unable to speak it was no longer a choice for me I just couldn't do it, my mouth opened and closed but nothing. I quickly gathered my clothing and shoes and exited the Suite into the corridor where I ran straight into my trainer who slapped me across the face so hard I staggered back and landed on my backside. "Stupid girl one task, you were given one task," she said to me coldly my mouth opened and closed but no sound came out. "Get back to the bus now." My trainer noticed Victoria exiting her room still in a state of undress. "My apologies Mrs Armstrong, may I send another young woman up to see you or perhaps a virile young man, or perhaps both." One of the camps guards ushered me into the back of the waiting bus then leered at me as I tried to cover myself up. I waited in the back of the bus for three hours shivering in the cold until finally I was joined by the rest of the athletes and staff and we headed back to the complex. The very next morning it was as though nothing had ever happened, I trained hard and after training I sat on my bed and listened to the radio whilst staring at the wall, all of my feminine clothing with the exception of two sport bras and panties had been removed along with the heels I'd trained walking in and now relied entirely on my training suits and sportswear. It took nearly a week but as I listened to the radio drone on I started to think about the woman who'd tried to seduce me, she was strangely familiar and as her words replayed themselves in my head my dimmed mind kept thinking of chess. I started to rub my temples. 'Why did she want to take me away?' I thought. 'This is my home now; I work hard here and they look after me' I felt myself smiling but I also felt tears brimming in my eyes. Curiously, I got up from the bed and went over to where my tiny supply of cosmetics had been, sat down and using the tip of my finger started to trace my lips as though applying lipstick, once finished I used a tissue to remove the imaginary excess and blew a kiss at the mirror, I then took off my clothing laid it in a neat pile on the chair and slipped into bed. I awoke sometime later to movement in my room and saw a shadow coming towards me, the door to my room was ajar and the lights in the corridor outside my room were out with only the emergency lighting giving a faint dim light, I watched in terror as the silent hulking shadow reached over to cover my mouth presumably to have his way with me and as his hand went over my mouth I moved and bit it as hard as I could. "Nghhhhh" was the only sound I heard followed by a punch in the stomach which winded me. I was then held by my arms in a bear hug by someone with immense strength as I struggled whilst the first intruder taped my mouth shut. my head was then bagged with a cotton bag that smelled of soil and potatoes. I managed to wriggle an arm free and swing my arm aimlessly catching several things before it was grabbed and held once more. I continued to wriggle and try to escape until a hand was placed over my bagged mouth and I smelled a pleasant sweet powerful overwhelming scent, choked for a second and then darkness. Silvanus. "I'm sorry but I have to stop, I'm so sorry." I let go of Joy's hand and got up from the comfy sofa and headed out of the room hearing Bob say firmly. "Let her be Joy." As I exited the room and headed towards reception with the small handkerchief from my skirt pocket dabbing tears away, I took one of the warm coats for patients use and left the building where after a minute or two I came across an elderly security guard. "Excuse me." "Yes can I help you Miss?" "I was wondering is it possible to get up onto the moors from here." "Ah need a good walk eh? There is a gate just around there to the right Miss your access card will let you in and out. Miss Joy and Miss Alice use it when they want to walk home the scenic way." "Thank you." I followed the security man's instructions and followed a path up a well-worn grassy path to the top of the valley then found a rock to sit on and sat with the sun in my face looking down into the small well hidden valley that housed The Centre. After a while I sighed and asked myself. "Oh what must they think of me now? I must have been nuts to tell that story." "I know they now probably do think I'm ... Jeeez where did you come from?" I said as I turned to see an inquisitive panting very friendly face looking at me. "Toby, sorry you gave me a shock, come here boy." Toby lay down on the thick grass and allowed me to stroke his thick hairy coat. "I think I've just been very stupid Toby dredging up old memories, memories of a time I would really like to forget, Bob said it would help me but it hasn't, it's made me ashamed of myself of what happened to me and how easily I was assimilated." Toby barked cheerfully as I continued to talk and stroke his coat. Chapter 35 Milosh's Tale At The Centre Just after Silvanus walked out. "Don't you think I or someone should see if Silvia is okay Bob?" asked Joy whose expression showed a great deal of concern for her friend. "Most definitely not, give her an hour or so to digest her recollections, if she's not already back here then you can call her." Milosh who hadn't said anything was now dragging his fingers down his face and sighing. "I did not know, she has never told me exactly what happened at that place we only dealt with the aftermath, it is much, much worse than even I had imagined, had I known I would have prevented her from going back." Bob looked blankly at Milosh; Joy translated as well as she could. "Milosh this was not your doing; you have nothing to be ashamed of." Milosh turned to Bob and said angrily. "My Brother." He then also left the room. Bob smiled at Joy. "It was never going to be easy; I must say however that Silvanus's powers of recall are quite remarkable." "Don't you feel anything for her Bob?" "I cannot allow myself to Joy; I hope you can understand, lunch?" Joy nodded, she understood fully she linked arms with him and they headed out into the main area to the caf? area where a buffet lunch had been laid on for them, Bob filled two plates and said, "I have a little work to do in my office, see you in about an hour." Joy nodded and continued to load her plate. When Milosh re appeared Joy hugged the big man for several seconds. "What was that for?" he asked. "Because you looked like you needed it," replied Joy. Milosh turned to the trestle tables laden with food and said, "Ah a feast." hoping that Joy wouldn't see that her hug was most appreciated and that the gathering tears would soon drain away saving his embarrassment. After loading his plate Milosh joined Joy at a table. "Silvanus she is up on the hill, she sits with the large grey hound in the sun." "Toby?" asked Joy. Milosh nodded. "He must have sensed her pain, wise animal." As Joy and Milosh sat at their table Bob sat in his office working his way through his own meal and reading Hillary's fathers diary. Diary of Hugo Clifford Simpson SundayApril 15th, 1979 Brunsfields Have been in Iran for some time, looking less likely that we can do any business with new leader (The Americans certainly miscalculated this one!) After months of silence been in contact via mail drop with Constantin and it seems that the boy Stefan did not run off as initially thought, Constantin is following a lead from one of his contacts, have dispatched Mrs Pettifer to find out just what the hell is happening out there as my application for re-entry has been refused again (Chensky?) Mrs Pettifer is posing as a tourist she's a little rusty in fieldwork but I do trust her. Met with the Boy Stefan's mother last week in London she looks tired, I assured her that we were still trying to get her son back to the UK she didn't seem convinced of my sincerity. Off to see Hillary play cricket now and then Easter dinner with the family. Saturday April 21st, 1979 Disturbing news from Mrs Pettifer this morning delivered to Brunsfields by courier. The Boy Stefan has been located but is somehow now in the hands of the Soviet, fortunately they don't know who he is so at least he's safe at the moment from Chensky, Will attempt to get over there myself and take charge of situation. Monday April 23rd Situation in Ukraine will have to wait, packing to go to Tel Aviv at the moment. Timmins of our Washington office has sent out a bulletin stating that the President Jimmy Carter was attacked by a killer rabbit over the weekend, sounds unlikely but did make Hillary and Linda Smile when I told them. Mrs Pettifer is a competent operative I'll attempt to get her some support. Bob leaned back on his reclining chair and sucked at the straw of his little boxed fruit drink. 'Honestly how did we ever manage without instant communication, reading this is like looking back to the dark ages, sending letters to each other.' he thought as he slurped the last of his cranberry and mango drink from the little box. Bob then flipped open another file a very old file he'd managed to acquire from the sealed archives of the S,O,E (Special Operations Executive.) The title simply read Kuznetzov: (Andreas) Dr He opened the file and started to read and immediately his eyes caught the Name Bogdanovka which after reading further found had been a concentration camp in Romania during the second world war, Bob continued to read and sighed several times as he scanned the dossier. "Maybe if this information had been passed to the appropriate authorities sooner it would have saved a lot of heartache and destroyed lives," he said to himself as he closed the file. Bob was just finishing off a particularly good mini sausage roll when there was a knock on his door. "It's open." Silvanus entered. "Ah Silvia I'm glad you returned." "Toby didn't give me much of an option he escorted me back to the gate." "Smart dog." Bob paused and his voice became softer. "This morning took a great deal of strength Silvia and I'll understand fully if you want to give it a couple more days before continuing." "Maybe, I'm not sure." "Let's just see how it goes then shall we? I'll just give Joy a ring in her office and we'll resume." Bob and Silvanus then headed back to the room they'd been using that morning and as they approached it Joy appeared and immediately hugged Silvanus, a hug she welcomed and appreciated, Joy then slipped her hand into her friends and they entered together, Milosh entered a minute or so later. "Your friend the Marine he has been showing me your bunker. It is large." "It is also supposed to be a secure area," added Bob. "Pha, I did not steal the lead from the roof, do not worry Mr Bob." Joy giggled quietly at her friends answer. Bob then turned to Milosh. "Milosh can you recall much of what happened from the time Stefan/Codrin went missing until..." "Until we located my sister and rescued her, of course I can." Milosh started talking in English but quickly lapsed into a mixture of Romanian and English before giving up on English completely and reverting to his native tongue, Bob however was not fazed by this and simply nodded as the Ministry translator who was listening in gave him a quick translation via his earbud. Milosh. I just couldn't understand what had happened one minute Codrin was with us as we bought provisions and bartered, but, after returning from the hardware store with nails and bolts, Codrin was nowhere to be seen. My friends and I searched for over an hour along with some of the older young men but it was as though he had just vanished, when I returned to camp without Codrin, father was furious with me, I felt ashamed, had Codrin run away? I just couldn't understand why he would do such a thing. Adriana was inconsolable accusing me of many many things that were not true and suggesting that I had deliberately lost him, none of this was true I liked Codrin he was like a little brother to me, I classed him as a good, if na?ve, friend. Codrin did not return to us and over the next week or so Adriana resigned herself to the fact he'd gone, her spirit had been broken and although she continued with her chores it was without enthusiasm or a smile. Father who was not a stupid man seemed to have lost a great deal of his self-confidence and started listening to the inevitable whispers. 'Marius was right all along'. 'Constantin is getting old.' 'Time for a change.' 'Why has Constantin not forgiven Marius?' Then one morning about six or seven weeks after Codrin's disappearance, one of Marius's friends came with news that Marius had been spotted in one of the towns to the east working as a labourer in a foundry, Constantin left the camp that afternoon and returned three days later with Marius, who appeared like a conquering hero. Nothing really changed for quite some time, Adriana's pregnancy progressed and she started to show, Marius enjoyed being back with us and took every opportunity to cast doubts about my father's competence subtly at first but as time went on his disrespect for my father grew until they seemingly disagreed about everything. I tried my best to keep up my sisters spirits but her sadness was quite overwhelming, she loved Codrin deeply and just could not, no would not, believe that he had just run away from camp. We moved about quite a lot that summer but as the winter drew in moved closer to the coast where it was a little warmer. One thing I noticed several times was that when Marius looked at his sister it was not with contempt, he also found it difficult to keep eye contact with her when they talked, I would have assumed he would have relished being right about Codrin and have taken every opportunity to let her know, such was his nature. The winter of 1978 was very cold and we ended up staying in an old abandoned military base to keep a roof over our heads and protect us from the biting winds and snow. One morning after returning from a hunting trip just as the snows had started to recede I heard arguing as I rounded the footpath before turning into a large copse of trees, my brother Marius was arguing with one of his friends, no he was not arguing he was threatening him with something. I made my presence known and Marius let go of his friend I think his name was Dimitri, it is a long time ago, perhaps not. "You should not be sneaking around little brother," he said with a threatening smile. "I am doing my chores as father ordered Marius what are you doing?" Marius came up to me and attempted to intimidate me with his size, but I held my ground and stared him out knowing that if he hit me this time I would retaliate. "Go back to daddy little boy I have no time for you," said Marius and so that is exactly what I did I went back and told my father about Marius threatening Dimitri. "Leave this with me and do not talk of this with anyone else my son." I was a little disappointed that my father did not act on my information and started to lose respect for him as he allowed Marius to carry on his campaign of hushed disrespect for him until one morning in spring when Marius disrespected father for the final time to his face. Father placed his tin coffee cup onto the table, looked Marius in the eyes and said, "On my journey to Synevirska Polyana yesterday I had a long talk with your friend Dimitri." "And what of it old man?" My father turned to me. "Milosh get Adriana please." I immediately got up and was about to get my sister when she appeared from behind one of the pickups, she was breathing heavily with the burden she carried. "Adriana my daughter, Codrin your husband did not run away from you." She gasped and grabbed at the tailgate of the truck I rushed over to help her and steadied her as my father seemed to rise in stature. "No father please." Pleaded Marius "Would you like to know what happened to him?" Adriana nodded. "Please father tell me." Marius attempted to rush my father to stop him talking but only ended up in the mud. Marius got up off the ground. "Old man I can best you anytime I wish." He clenched his fist took a swing at my father, my father stood his ground stepping back at the last moment, he then punched Marius a short jab in the stomach winding him. "Your brother Marius had Codrin abducted my daughter." even in his breathless state Marius was fuming at being caught and even more shocked to see his friends and relatives turn from him. Marius once again attacked my father hitting him near the eye and splitting his skin. My father retaliated by hitting him in the jaw, stomach, eye, reigning blow upon blow upon him until he started to cough up blood, he then dragged my brother over to Adriana by the hair. "I have spent the last three weeks finding out the fate of Codrin Marius. now I wish for you to apologise to your sister before I decide what to do with you." "I will not, I did what I did for her, for our family." Father hit my brothers head off the tailgate of the pickup. "Apologise." he ordered. "I will not." Replied my brother followed by his head once more making contact with the tailgate, this was repeated several times before Adriana shouted, "Enough," she looked Marius in the face and spat in it, "You are no longer my brother I now only have one, Milosh." "No Adriana please, please I did this for us for our family." Adriana was no longer listening to his pleas as I helped her away. Father then dropped Marius to the ground what happened next I did not see but as my father walked away Marius picked up a bar from the back of the pickup and rushed towards him with murderous intent, there was a single crack as a pistol was discharged I turned to see my Grandmother holding her own husbands pistol, a pistol he had liberated from an SS officer many years previously, the barrel was smoking, my grandmother walked over to Marius's now dead body and spat upon it, she gave my father the pistol and slowly walked back towards her caravan. Several of my older relatives then spat upon my brothers body before eventually it was removed from the camp. Later that day my father approached me as I was sitting with Adriana. "I did not want for it to end this way I was prepared to simply banish your brother." Adriana smiled weakly. "I know Papa, you are a good father to us." "I know where Codrin is, My daughter but he is much changed now." "I do not care Papa, I love him." My father smiled at Adriana. "I know that you do but I would like you to talk with Marta, to prepare for Codrin's return." She smiled and nodded. "Milosh come we have lots to prepare." I joined my father and as my first job as his eldest son I was given a wrapped bundle. "This is a communication for my friend in London, you are to leave it here." He pointed to a point on the map of the local area approximately 35 kilometres away from us. "There is a stone wall bordering a farm and three oak trees, an ash and two oak trees along the wall, in the wall by the ash tree there is a loose stone be careful do not be seen placing the bundle behind the loose stone." "Do I return here after this father?" "No I wish you to meet with a woman, she is a sport trainer, she has agreed to help us for certain favours." I listened to my father's instructions and headed out of camp at first light the next day in my brothers old truck. It was strange being alone but I would not let my father down and by noon had already placed the package as requested. I then drove 55 kilometres to a small town parked my truck up and waited as instructed in a small virtually deserted back street caf? I sat quietly and enjoyed my potato pancakes until a woman entered she was a severe faced middle aged woman and seemed ill at ease in her clothing, she looked nervous. I rose from my chair and approached her and commented. "I recognise your bag; did you purchase it from us?" "No I bought it at the GUM store." "May I buy you a coffee?" "Thank you." I purchased another coffee, the woman looked around nervously and sat opposite me, she then slipped something that felt like a thick envelope onto my knee under the table I took it and slipped it into my back pocket. The woman then got up to leave but stopped and turned. "You must understand all I have done is train the child, Kuznetzov was responsible for the rest, I am so sorry." She then turned once more and walked out of the caf? leaving her untouched coffee on the table. After waiting several minutes I also left and after a long walk through the market and several quieter parts of town to see if I was being followed. I returned to my pickup and headed back to camp. Approximately halfway back I was flagged down by a local policeman, who after stopping asked where I was going, where I'd been and checked through my papers. In reality he had stopped me as he thought I would possibly have game in the back of my truck that I would offer him to avoid a random fine, he was correct and walked back to his car with two recently snared rabbit's and a pheasant. I continued for several more miles before entering the forest then abandoning the pickup and travelling the rest of the way back to our camp with my Uncle. "Did you meet with the woman?" "Yes uncle I have the envelope here." "Good now perhaps we can finally sort this mess out and restore our honour." "Do you know where my friend Codrin is then?" "We do but hopefully we will know more soon." He pointed at the thick envelope I was holding in my hand as soon as I returned to camp my uncle said, "Give me the envelope I will see that your father gets it." "No, sorry uncle, but I have to deliver it." He smiled. "Good boy." I located my father, who was fishing, and gave him the envelope, he in return gave me his fishing pole and I continued for him whilst he read the contents. After nearly an hour and with a grave look on his face he passed me the envelope once more. "Take this directly to Marta and ask her to start preparations." "Yes father." I left back along the dirt path from the river and made my way back to camp. Marta was our camps medical woman, she had been a doctor or nurse or something during the last war, the rumour in the camp was that she came from a wealthy family but was so ashamed of them that she stayed with us as a penance for her family's conduct during the war. I found Marta and several of the camps older women sewing and doing clothing repairs by the roaring fire. "My father asked me to give you this Marta." "Thank you, now go." Marta was not much of a conversationalist. For over two weeks nothing happened. Adriana met every day with Marta and went for long walks in the woods, Adriana seemed to be happier now. One morning a visitor was brought to us, an English woman, who I now know to be called Mrs Pettifer, arrived travelling under the Alias Henrietta Holmes, she immediately met with my father and after an hour or so was escorted into one of the females caravans where she changed into more appropriate clothing. Slowly over the next couple of days I was drip fed with information about Codrin presumably so that I did not become enraged and try and mount a rescue mission of my own. I was sitting by the river one morning about three or four days after Mrs Pettifer had arrived wondering if I should risk a swim when Adriana appeared next to me and with my help lowered herself down into a dry rock to my side. "Brother?" "Yes?" "Father tells me that you will be going with him when they go to get Codrin." "I am?" I asked in surprise. "Yes brother." "I won't let him or you down Sister." "I know that you will not, but be careful, I do not want to lose another Brother." I paused for a second and thought of the best way to broach the subject of her husband. "Father tells me that Codrin has been changed." "No matter what has been done to him Codrin is still the father of our child Milosh," Adriana held her baby bump in her hands and gently rubbed it. "We will find a way to be good parents to the little one." "But." "I have discussed this with Marta, Codrin will need good friends and patience more than ever when he returns to us. She will not let him return to his country until she thinks he's ready." "She's ready Adriana, Codrin is a she now." Adriana sniffed, "It will take a little time Milosh but I will make it work I swear." I smiled and offered my sister my arms Adriana leaned into me and allowed me to hold her for several minutes, before leaving me once again to my thoughts. Chapter 36 Plan B Milosh. With the aid of Mrs Pettifer two plans were hastily drawn up Plan A which was more of a reconnaissance mission. I, along with several of our camp, would gain a detailed knowledge of the sport academy from the outside whilst Mrs Pettifer would embed herself as a last minute replacement in a scheduled IOC inspection tour where she could get the lay of the sport academy and take photographs from within ironically using modified soviet Minox spy camera. The initial part of this mission worked quite well, unfortunately it took several days for the photographs to be taken to a trusted lab and several more for the prints to return in the meantime Mrs Pettifer had to keep up the pretence of being a sexually frustrated inspector with somewhat unusual sexual tastes, she hoped that the soviets would pick up on this and arrange a honey trap in the hope of getting leverage on an IOC inspector. The Soviet's fell for it and organised an evening event where athletes including Codrin would be available, Mrs Pettifer even managed to get Codrin alone for most of the evening whilst playing at being lovestruck middle aged lesbian. Unfortunately when Mrs Pettifer revealed herself to Codrin he, sorry she reacted very badly and for some reason panicked and ran out. Marta later told me that her behaviour was quite typical for the trauma she'd suffered. So we went immediately to plan B, which was far less subtle but nonetheless stealthy. We waited for nearly a week until the moon had waned sufficiently to allow us the cover of darkness. My father and three other of the camp men prepared to break through the fence adjacent to the accommodation block we knew Codrin to be in, whilst several of the camps women located the dogs that roamed freely between the inner and outer fences and threw small pieces of drugged meat towards them, slowly one by one the hounds all succumbed to the meat, it did not knock them out but it did render them docile so as not to arouse the guards suspicion. On the other side of the camp furthest away from us Dimitri headed another group that would form a diversion. We silently cut through the links of the outer fence avoiding the cables supported by ceramic insulators then made our way as fast as we could under the cover of darkness to the inner fence avoiding the occasional and random sweeps of searchlights by bored guards. After breaking through the inner fence we temporarily laced it back up and headed quickly into the accommodation block via a door that had been deliberately left open, I disabled the lighting and the internal telephone network then rendezvoused with my father and the others in a basement room who were struggling to subdue a struggling girl, My father pointed at my bag, I took out a small phial of chloroform and tipped a generous amount onto my handkerchief then placed it over the sack on the girls head, she quickly lost consciousness, I then whispered "Father who is this?" not believing that this was really Codrin. "Grab that bag over there and check the corridor," was his reply. Father carried the now bound and taped bundle out of the small room and into the corridor himself whilst the others watched out for guards and opened doors. Just as we reached the inner perimeter fence there was a loud crackling sound and then the sound of many fireworks being triggered. I undid the temporary lacing on fence and after everyone had passed through stayed and laced it back up to hide our means of escape. As I crossed the no man's area between fences I came face to face with a large German shepherd dog that sniffed at me curiously for a second or two before continuing on his journey. After reaching the outer fence I was assisted in securing the fence by my uncle before crossing the scrubland at speed and after entering the cover of a small, wooded area and climbing into the back of my father's pickup truck to see Mrs Pettifer preparing a syringe and introducing it into the neck of the young woman tied and bound with tape lying on the floor. "There that should keep her quiet until we get back to the safety of the forest." I looked at the body lying on the floor. "Are you sure we have the right person; I mean that looks really like a girl?" I asked, Mrs Pettifer nodded sympathetically. "It is Milosh I'm afraid." "But he's changed so much." I then thought of my sister. "Has Adriana really been prepared for this?" "She is stronger than you give her credit Milosh, now let us get the poor child to hospital." "Hospital? But I thought we were going straight back to camp." "We are via a small hospital administered by a friend of your fathers." I sat in silence as we bumped along the dirt roads and tracks until after four or five minutes on proper roads we approached a bland concrete building where Marta waited impatiently by the Morgue entrance. Codrin was then placed onto a morgue trolley and wheeled into the building. "Why is he here?" I asked. "She is here because Marta feels she may have had a small stroke following her final surgery affecting her ability to speak and to remove an implant from her left buttock." "Implant?" "Yes some form of experimental mood stabilising drug Marta believes it's why she became quite passive quickening her institutionalisation." Replied Mrs Pettifer. Surprisingly half an hour later Codrin was returned and we continued our journey back to camp once back in camp father carried her into a stripped caravan and placed her on a premade bed, he then posted a guard outside the caravan to stop Codrin escaping. Adriana appeared and nervously asked my father if she could see Codrin. "Of course you can, but I will escort you just in case." I was not witness to what happened in the caravan but my sister cried herself to sleep that morning. At around seven as I was building up our cooking fire I heard a strange commotion consisting of grunts and squeaks, I turned to see a barefoot girl in light blue cotton pyjamas struggling against Dimitri who was holding her arms tightly around the waist in a bear hug, her legs were about two inches above the ground and she was struggling frantically to be free. Dimitri looked over at me. "She ran past me Milosh I had to grab her." I approached the slim girl trying to see any of my friend Codrin in her but just couldn't, was this struggling wild woman really the young man who my brother had betrayed months before? As I approached she seemed to calm a little before grunting and trying to escape once more. "Stop that," I said firmly and to my surprise she immediately stopped and looked into my eyes as though waiting for further instructions. "Go back into the caravan." she nodded her head in understanding and when Dimitri let her go she simply walked up into the caravan and sat on her bed looking at the wall. Dimitri and I stood together looking at the girl sitting in the caravan. "If that is Codrin Milosh, they have certainly broken him good," said Dimitri. "Stop watching Boys," ordered Marta as she approached us carrying a selection of neatly piled clothes in her arms her daughter was with her. "When your sister wakes make sure she eats a hearty breakfast then could you ask her to join us please?" The two women were then joined by Mrs Pettifer and the three of them entered the Caravan. "I did not witness what happened that day, but I did hear lots of short sharp orders being given every now and then." Marta spent over a week with Codrin before I next saw her. It was just after lunch and Marta shouted for me to come to the caravan. "Codrin needs to bathe, you will escort her and Adriana to the plunge pool and watch over them." "But they will be naked." Marta sighed. "Grow up boy, you may need to protect Adriana from Codrin and possibly Codrin from herself, I think however that nothing will happen." I nodded and followed Marta back to the caravan where I found Codrin sitting on the bed still staring at the wall with the only difference now being that she was dressed and was wearing soft leather ankle boots, a long skirt and a very baggy cotton blouse, her hair was tied back into a ponytail. "This is Milosh, you remember him don't you? He has come to escort you and Adriana so that you can bathe, would you like that?" Codrin looked up at her and opened her mouth as though about to speak seemed to hesitate and then simply nodded before looking back at the wall. I reached over to offer Codrin my hand but she squeaked and reeled back against the wall and started clutching at her knees pulling them into her body. "Slowly Milosh and issue it as an order." "Come Codrin," Marta interrupted. "Try 340." It was her original room number according to the copied records." "Come 340 you need to bathe." I slowly offered my hand and she reluctantly took it then as we left the caravan her grip became much tighter and she whimpered a little. "It's okay do not be afraid." I attempted to reassure her but she just kept looking from side to side almost as though she were about to be reprimanded. Adriana appeared as we crossed the camp Codrin seemed relieved to see her. At the plunge pool by the small waterfall Adriana took control. "Take off your clothing." Codrin looked over at me. "He's seen me naked many times, just ignore him." she seemed happy with Adriana's assurance and started to undress as though I wasn't there, Codrin struggled with her bra but was soon naked and simply walked into the water up past her chest and waited for my sister to join her. I had bathed with Codrin many times before but watching as she undressed I realised that she would never again be the person she once was and resolved to help her become the best she could be as a female and my first thoughts were self-defence I would never allow her to be defenceless again and I vowed to myself that I would see to it personally. My sister became progressively happier as her due date approached as she spent more and more time with Codrin. Marta endured long days in Codrin's caravan sometimes I listened and heard Marta encouraging her to make sounds I believe she was teaching her how to speak once more and one morning she surprised me as I was setting the fire, she stood barefoot to my side and smiled at me. "Oh hello there Codrin would you like some coffee." She looked at the pot I'd just prepared and with a look of extreme concentration on her face she hesitantly forced, "Da." from her lips. I grinned as I took the pot and poured her an inch or two into a tin cup. "That was very good Codrin you'll be speaking again in no time." She seemed pleased with my compliment. For the next week or so Codrin could be seen after her sessions with Marta walking slowly around our camp practising mouth sounds, sometimes with Adriana, but as she now tired easily she usually just sat and watched. About a week before Adriana was due to give birth as I was practising my own fighting skills at the top of the local escarpment, Codrin appeared, sat down, and started watching me. "Hello there Codrin, I come up here as it has a really good view of the forest below. "I was just practising, trying to burn off some energy." Codrin watched me practice and I wondered if she was trying to work out what fighting style I was using. Truth be known at the time I had no idea what it was called as I'd learned it over two summers when I'd been sent to stay with one of my uncles in Czechoslovakia after nearly being caught stealing from a store. After a while Codrin rose and came over to me, she looked nervous. "eu invat." (I learn) she said very slowly and hesitantly whilst pointing at herself. "You want to learn?" Codrin nodded and I smiled warmly at her. I'd already tried to teach her the basics of self-defence when she'd arrived at camp as Stefan but now she seemed very eager to learn. I smiled not that she wanted to learn, but that she had communicated with me. Marta's retraining of her brain appeared to be working and she was now stringing together words and soon hopefully sentences, I did however wonder if she would end up not being able to speak her own tongue, English, it was a stupid thought and completely unfounded. On the final days up to Adriana's confinement Codrin joined me every morning, dutifully exercised and practised the close combat fighting techniques I'd learned from my uncle, My father approved greatly of this and even allocated my trapping chores to my uncles twin sons giving us more time to practice fighting. Mrs Pettifer watched us with interest several times and sometimes even joined in, she was very fit for an older woman and had very good defence skills, but seemed quite weak on the attack. Codrin quickly improved, her fitness already being good due to her training at the sport academy. My father approached me as we had just finished breaking camp to move to a forest camp closer to medical assistance should it have been necessary for my sister just in case it was needed. "Milosh could you get Codrin for me please?" "Certainly father." I found Codrin with Adriana they were both smiling Codrin was lying with her head on my sisters bump and was listening to the child within. "Baby moving," said Codrin, Adriana looked up at me. "Come brother feel my stomach the baby is restless." I declined her offer. "Father wishes me to take Codrin to him," I said apologetically to my sister, Codrin got up and looked at my sister fearfully. "Do not worry my love I have given my blessing to your trip; father wishes to give you a gift." I added. "I do not know what this gift is Codrin but I will be with you all of the time I promise." Hesitantly Codrin joined me and we headed to see my father. My father was already in his pickup when we found him, Codrin sat demurely in the passenger seat and I sat in the back, I had no idea where we were going. Three hours later we parked on the outskirts of a large village, my father shouted out of the window bring the wrapped package with you my son. I picked up a cloth covered heavy item about six inches long three inches deep and four inches wide and joined Codrin and my father. "The man we are about to meet is a master of his craft I am hoping he will agree to make a special gift for you Codrin." As we approached the door a lean man wearing a leather apron and an impressive beard appeared. "Constantin my friend you are getting old," he said in a loud booming voice, the two men embraced. "So what brings you to me my friend?" asked the bearded man. "Milosh," said my father extending his arm, I passed the cloth wrapped item over to him, the bearded man watched as my father unwrapped it uncovering several layers of cloth and oiled paper before revealing a metal bar. "Is that?" Said the bearded man almost in disbelief, my father nodded. "May I?" my father passed the thick roughly cast bar over to the bearded man, it was then I noticed the swastika and eagle etched into the surface and several numbers etched below that. "Please come into my workshop I must consult my records." I shrugged at Codrin and we both entered. From the outside the building had looked like a normal blacksmiths shop but as we went into the back area it started to look far more up to date. "Welcome to my metallurgy laboratory, now where did I leave my reference works," said the bearded man. I sat on a stool near to a microscope and Codrin next to me. "Now let me see the first number ah, of course Swedish Steel, Titanium, chromium, beryllium Tin? Silver and Aluminium." He then turned to my father. "Milosh where did you get this?" "The Americans liberated it from the Germans, The Russians stole it from the Americans and I liberated it from a Russian Truck." "Do you have more?" "Yes." "What do you wish of me?" "I wish for you to make three perfectly balanced thin bladed knives for my Daughter Codrin." "And in return?" "I will give you one further ingot and you may keep what you do not use." The Bearded man thought for a very short time. "Agreed, I will require four months." "Agreed." The bearded man then took a wooden dowel and covered it in soft clay, offered it to Codrin and said, "Hold it like you would a knife if you were about to kill someone." Codrin took the dowel and held it as requested then gave the dowel back to the bearded man, I could see that her hand and fingers had left an imprint in the soft clay. "Now we have drinks and food." My father and His friend drank much that day. Codrin and I ate but stayed sober I then drove back to camp with my father sleeping on sacking in the rear. Chapter 37 Unwanted Intrusion Bob took the break in Milosh's story to thank him. "Milosh you have provided many missing pieces to Silvanus's story thank you so much." "It was my pleasure Mr Bob; will this help my Sister?" Milosh looked at Bob and followed his eyes to Silvanus who was sitting with Joy, Silvanus smiled. "I can hardly remember any of it; some parts seem familiar but mostly that time is just a jumble of memories I do remember you working me really hard though." "Father wanted you to be able to protect yourself to be able to defend yourself and your family." Silvanus sighed. "Thank you Milosh," said Silvanus, she rose from her seat as did her Brother, they hugged each other tightly. "I'm thinking we'll wrap it up here for the day anyone fancy a cuppa?" Joy got up and stretched allowing her flowing skirt to cover her tights once more. "I may actually have half an hour on the mat before I go back to Stevenson Towers." Joy was interrupted by her phone ringing. "Or not." Joy removed her phone from her satchel. "Terry?" "Terry what have you done?" "He was doing what?" "Where is he now?." "Be right there?" Joy sighed. Bob asked, "Trouble?" "Yes a little; Terry has kidnapped a guy who was taking photographs of the twins at their school, he's in the bunker now, Terry is in his own words 'Busy putting the shits up him'." Bob sighed. "I'll join you Joy," "As will I," stated Silvanus. The two women and Bob walked the short distance to the entrance to Terry's bunker Joy used her access card and then allowed the retinal scanner to verify her identity, the door then released with a satisfying clunk. On entering Terry could be heard whistling to himself down the long sloping corridor and the smell of fresh popcorn was in the air. "I hope he's done enough," commented Joy. As the three neared the bottom of the slope angry complaints could be heard coming from the holding cell area. Terry was in the 'Bait room' as he often called it watching the microwave popcorn rotating in the microwave cooker. "Ah there you are I've done three lots hope it's enough." "Major Percy you cannot just kidnap civilians," stated Bob. "He pissed me off, I encountered him earlier when I was picking up Terri and Andi and asked him nicely to stop taking pictures, he gave me the bird then but I restrained myself." "I sense a but coming at me at great speed Major," said Joy. "But when I noticed him trying to take pictures of the twins as I was waiting for them I decided to take action." Joy looked at Terry, her eyes narrowed. "Terry?" "He was standing on an industrial bin at the time Joy, holding his camera over his head, it was pointed through the girls changing room windows." "Bastard," said Joy "I must warn you I did dent him a little on the journey here." Silvanus's fists clenched. "I can deal with him if you wish?" offered Silvanus, Bob took control. "I think that on balance I should deal with this gentleman don't you?" "Yeah okay then, want me to put him in the interview room?" "If you wouldn't mind, did you bag him before you brought him here?" "Yes of course I did, he didn't even see who knocked him off the bins." "Okay then full hostile interviewee scenario, we'll treat him as though he was a terrorist, so suit up Major Stevenson and Major Percy." Joy and Terry then went to get dressed completely in black with black balaclavas obscuring their faces whilst Bob started to research their guest. "So who are you really Mr Flashman?" he said to himself as he looked at the photographers Id And picked his phone up to make the first of several phone calls. It took nearly an hour and a half before Bob called for his interviewee to be brought to the interview room. Joy and Terry both took a handful of their rapidly dwindling popcorn supply and popped some into their mouths donned their Balaklava's and after turning the lights out in the corridor donned their night vision goggles. Terrence Flashman was now sitting on the wooden bench bed set into the concrete wall of his cell he heard the door open but as his room had just been plunged into darkness did not see the two masked guards enter his hands were quickly bound and his head hooded, he was then guided out of the room along a quite long corridor and into an oppressively warm room. He felt his hand bindings being cut but also his hands now being held with what felt like handcuffs. Blinded for a second as his mask was removed, he found himself sitting on a wooden chair. there was a table between himself and another person, he could not see that person clearly as there was a light behind his interviewer shining directly into his eyes. "Is this really necessary?" he asked tugging at the long chain that went between each handcuff and through a large steel hoop bolted to the table, there was no answer, the two guards backed away and left the room. Joy and Terry removed their Balaclavas as soon as they had exited and secured the interview room door but stayed silent until they reached the CCTV room where they found Silvanus reclined with her bare feet up on the table. "I brought the rest of the popcorn in here, hope you don't mind, it's not as good as the stuff you used to get at the cinema is it?" "Ohhh Butterkist in the big bags," enthused Terry. "And the little plastic containers of Kia-ora I used to love that, can you still get it?" "Don't think so Joy I think it was deemed racist," said Silvanus. "Orange cordial Racist? Sheesh." Joy's attention was then drawn to the monitor as Bob had started speaking. "Walter Lyon, born October the fifteenth 1987, that makes you let me see thirty seven years old. Originally from Bolton in Lancashire but moved to Milton Keynes at age ten. Art college, then the armed services, worked as a photographer for six years before leaving and setting up on your own. Oh now this is interesting you joined the Royal marine reserves four and a half years ago; HMS Calliope I believe." "Yea okay you know who I am. Big deal. Now either arrest me or let me go, don't particularly care which." "Sorry Walter but I'll be asking the questions today." Bob then produced a very impressive camera from his side. "Now I'm an old fashioned sort of guy so when I was told that this camera actually can upload pictures automatically to a cloud I was impressed." "Yea you should be that little beauty cost me a pretty penny." "I imagine it would have Walter so why on earth when there are so many beautiful images you could take would you stand on a bin trying to get images of children in a potential state of undress in their changing room." "No that's not what, I wouldn't have used those images." "I see they were just for your own private use were they?" "No. I'm not like that, I was just." "Just?" "Look whoever you are I'm not a Paedo, I was just trying to get some photographs of this rich families kids that's all for an article." "Article." "Don't I get any legal representation, a lawyer or union rep or something?" "No, now you were saying an article." "Yea I'm freelance and this guy a journalist he asked me to get pictures of the rich family's kids". "The Stevenson family children?" "Yes them, two lesbians can't make children by themselves can they, so he's come up with several potential fathers to match the children with, probably create a lot of scandal." "I'm sorry but you will not be able to use the pictures you've taken." "Just try and stop me mate, the pictures are already in cloud storage, deleting the camera's memory or taking my memory cards won't help this time." Bob Pressed a button on an intercom like device mounted on the desk. "Taff?" "Accessed cloud Storage an hour ago Sir. Expunged all relevant files and forwarded several quite incriminating documents to your inbox," said the voice coming from the desk mounted unit. "Thanks Taff." "Sir." Walter shuffled irritatedly in his seat and tugged at his chain. "What the hell! That was my property you can't just delete my files." "I can and I have, now the question is what to do with you." "Look mate I'll leave the family alone now, Just let me go and you'll never see me again." "Yes but therein lies the problem you see; I feel that we may need to make an example of you to dissuade others from taking up where you left off." In the control room. "Bob is really enjoying himself this evening isn't he?" said Joy as she placed her feet on the same table as Silvanus. "After today he probably just wants to let of a little steam," said Silvanus. "By scaring the living crap out of some poor guy, I mean look at him he looks as though he's about to start bubblin, Naa just kidding he certainly deserves having the shits put up him," said Terry as he reached for the nearly empty popcorn dish, Silvanus looked Blankly at Terry, Joy noticed Silvanus's confusion. "Bubblin is Geordie slang for crying Silv." "Ah." The interview carried on and looked to be a long one until Terry offered, "I'll stay and finish off here with Bob if you like girls, I'm sure Terri would like a goodnight hug and kiss off you before bed, Joy." He smiled. "Thanks Terry, what will happen to our photographer?" "Bob will leave it a little longer then point out that as a serving reservist he is subject to the official Secrets act, Dix and I will then escort him off base and dump him somewhere nice say Leeds." "Okay I'll go and change, see you back here in a few minutes." Joy got up and left the CCTV room returning a few minutes later dressed casually." In the car on the trip back to Stevenson towers Silvanus said, "Thank you for today Joy It couldn't have been an easy day for you." "If it helps you I'm happy to listen anytime Silvia you know that." "I'm probably not going to feel like talking for a while Joy so you can have a nice rest from me," Silvanus paused and changed the subject "On a completely unrelated topic Joy, Terri has been showing lots of interest in the trees in Matt's new woodland, I was wondering if she would like to collect acorns with me sometime. I've been speaking with the Gardner Mr Richardson and he's willing to help try to plant and cultivate some and possibly plant them out somewhere in a year or so." "Terri always tells Alice and I of your adventures in the woods Silvia. I think her stay in Milosh's camp has also encouraged her to be more inquisitive of the world around her, of course you can I'll even speak to Daddy and get him to set aside a little land especially for your project. Now may I ask you a question?" "Of course." "The knives I've seen you use so efficiently were they made from the metal ingot supplied by Constantin?" "Yes Joy they are there are three of them I have two and my daughter the third," "Nice." Chapter 38 Halloween. Silvanus. I can't believe I'm actually doing this but currently I'm in fancy dress for the Stevenson's 'Alice in Wonderland' themed Halloween party I thought I'd be something like the queen of hearts but I'm actually dressed as the white queen and am loving every moment, my costume having been created by Toni and her wife Sarah. This year's event was rescued by Joy and Alice after the village fancy dress party was cancelled over health concerns but every attendee is having their temperature taken on entry before going into a series of booths where 15 minute antigen tests are being carried out by a lovely young woman called Ruby and her assistants from Stevenson Biotec, if the guest passes the test they can then enter the community hall and enjoy the event, If not they are given a large goody bag and are unfortunately not allowed entry, this bloody virus has a lot to answer for. It amused me that Terri has been wearing her rabbit costume since lunchtime but I then observed mid-afternoon both Joy and Alice skipping along the path through the woods with Terri they were both dressed as Alice from Alice in wonderland and looked completely adorable. Their costumes consisting of Mary Jane shoes with a buckle across the instep, white tights and short dresses with many petticoats that caused the dresses to billow out unnaturally, this was topped off with a pinafore and real hair wigs to cover their natural hair and an Alice band to complete the effect. The twins have curiously opted to dress as Japanese schoolgirls with plastic Katana's strapped to their backs at least I hope they were plastic! Aliza who is dressed as the queen of hearts is really getting into the spirit of the evening and is having a wonderful time. "Penny for them your highness?" I turn to see Joy offering me a plastic glass of blood red fruit punch with the words 'drink me' on it, "It's non-alcoholic." She reassured me. "I was just looking out at all of the happy faces Joy." "And you were smiling Silvia, something you should do more often it suits you." I took a sip of my fruit drink. "I know Joy." Joy moved to my side. "Dawn is wearing the costume I wore a couple of years ago, Lucy a copy of it, they look so cute don't they?" "They do and look at Andi she's trying to dance with Toni and Sarah, do you do this every year Joy, have a Halloween party that is?" "Not really Alice and I bowed to pressure from the twins a couple of years ago, I think it'll probably become a tradition now though." Alice then joined us she was a little out of breath as she'd just been chasing Terri around the dance floor she stood the other side of me. "You look great Silvia, that dress and wig really suit you," said Alice breathlessly, I couldn't help but smile as I turned and looked at her perfectly made up face, both Alice and Joy had gone for an innocent look and had perfected it they both looked perfect to me it also made me smile that their dresses billowed out to such an extent that the hems were both brushing against my legs. "I wasn't sure about coming here Alice, but I'm glad I did." Both Alice and Joy then moved to face me, each then took their right foot and placed it behind their left then whilst holding the edges of their billowing skirts curtsied, they then simultaneously said, "May we escort you to the dance floor my queen." "Err I'd rather not." Both wonderful girls then grinned broadly and once again said, "But you must you simply must for that potion was a dancing potion, please my queen dance with us." Alice offered me her right hand and Joy her left then stood expectantly, I'd been trapped in a most wonderful way so I placed my drink on a handy table and took the girls hands, they both skipped onto the dance floor with me between them. Later that evening. Okay I admit it this evening was fun. Terri managed to stay awake until just after she was strapped into the car now she's leaning into me and is asleep with her mouth open, Joy and Alice are still in costume and are in the front Alice has her hand in Joys lap. When we reach the old house Joy asked me if I could unstrap Terri and carry her into the house, I nod and carry Terri who is still sleeping soundly into the hallway. I attempt to pass Terri over to Joy but instead she shakes her head. "Actually Silvia could you carry her up to her room for us please." she whispers. I whisper back, "Okay," and head upstairs where I deposit the cute soundly sleeping bundle into her bed. As I return to the corridor outside her room Joy and Alice are standing waiting for me, they are holding each other's hand. "Actually Silvia whilst you were out this evening we had the staff move your stuff up to a more suitable room, hope you don't mind." How could I? I simply smiled and said, "Thank you girls is it my usual?" They both nodded I then held my arms out in the hope of a hug and was rewarded by two beautiful hugs the first off Alice and then Joy both girls kissing me full on the lips afterwards. I left Alice and Joy outside the door to their rooms and as I walked along the corridor to the staircase I started to smile to myself. I was still smiling as I entered my room and looked at my smiling reflection in the mirror and thought 'That was a wonderful evening if only Hillary were here to share it with me' it was only then that my smile dropped a little. For some reason I did not want to undress just yet as I actually really liked my costume for the evening it was really comfortable and flattered my curves. Sitting on my bed I took one of the long plump pillows and hugged it like a person I closed my eyes and concentrated. Slowly long buried but happy images forced themselves forward into my mind, images of the beautiful girl who became my wife for such a short time before I was irrevocably changed. Keeping my eyes closed I slowly lowered myself onto the bed whilst still holding the long firm pillow and still wearing my costume started to drift off to sleep. When I woke this morning I felt completely refreshed, I had slept like a baby no nightmares, no sweats, and no interruptions. It almost felt like as I was now regaining control of my bad memories and as a bonus I was also allowing good memories to slip through, I stretched as I rose and noticed the long blonde wig lying by my side, I picked it up and after adjusting the skull cap keeping my own hair in check I eased it back into place and started to brush the tangles from it, I then repaired my makeup. Once finished I slipped my feet back into last evenings heels and posed in front of the long mirror by the door to my wardrobe room. "Not bad for an old lady," I said with a smile as I observed myself. I was quite surprised to hear a knock on my bedroom door. "Hello?" I asked. "Hello Silvia, it's Joy, I was wondering if you'd like to come for a jog with Alice and I and then possibly a workout in the barn with Aliza." "I'd like that." "May I come in or are you not decent." "Please it's not locked." Joy entered carrying my workout clothing in a neatly folded pile which looked freshly laundered, she looked over at me, I watched as a broad smile grew on her face. "The girls make wonderful costumes don't they? We didn't want to take ours off either." I smiled meekly back at Joy. "I'm just an old woman being foolish Joy." I reached for my wig to pull it off but Joy said sternly. "Don't you dare think that of yourself like that Silvanus Smith, you are not an old lady, you looked beautiful last evening as you do now." "But Joy it's just an illusion underneath this costume is plain old Silvanus." "You are not plain and you are not old, you are my friend and I will not allow you to think of yourself that way." I kicked off my heels and returned to my normal height which was still an inch or so taller than Joy, walked over to my bed and sat down, she placed my workout clothing on a handy Ottoman then came over to me. "You looked so happy when I entered Silvia, I'm more than happy for you to be the white Queen for as long as you want to but white is a bugger to keep clean." "Maybe only for special occasions then." "That's the spirit." "Err Joy?" "Yes Silv." "Could you unlace me please Toni laced me in and I'm not sure I can reach the laces." Joy probably knew it would have been easy for me to unlace the dress but she humoured me and waited quietly whilst I removed my makeup and changed into my workout clothing. Joy and I met with Alice in the hall downstairs she was kissing Terri who was preparing to leave with Dix and Andi for a morning exploring rock pools at the local beach. On our Jog Aliza joined us for the final two laps of the lake whilst Alice returned to the house to shower and change. Joy, Aliza, and I then spent the next hour sparring. "Either I'm really slowing down or Joy is getting even faster." I commented to Aliza as we sat breathlessly on the mat watching her attack a defenceless punch bag with her fists, elbows, and legs after our own sparring match. "She does seem to have gotten her edge back quickly since her pregnancy Silv, I don't think she enjoyed the last couple of months of her pregnancy especially the high blood pressure and swollen ankles." "Is she still providing milk for the new twins?" "Yes; but since Chris's milk came in, not so much." Aliza paused. "I believe that Alice may be enjoying the occasional sip too." I smiled at Aliza it didn't surprise me in the least. That lunchtime I noticed Joy leave the house and get into her car, she seemed dressed for work, although unlike most directors not in a suit but a smart comfortable looking dress, plimsolls, and her almost trademark satchel. On entering the house I asked Susan where Joy was going. "Oh Mummy's gone into work for the afternoon, she received a phone call from Martin earlier, something about a jellybean crisis." I shrugged as I had no idea what a jellybean crisis may be and Susan didn't elaborate, "I believe that mummy Alice is returning shortly though, is there anything I can help you with?" "No not really Susan I just fancied a chat." "I'm a good listener and I can always ask Bob to listen in if you'd like?" Then the booming voice of Milosh appeared from the dining room. "Do not start without me Sister, I am giving Mrs Burtons my recipe for Rabbit Goulash. I will join you soon." I smiled at Susan and reasoned that as she'd witnessed her own mum's recovery she would remain unscarred hearing about mine. "Thank you Susan but could you give me a few minutes to check up on something first please?" "Okeedokee, see you in fifteen." Susan turned and headed off upstairs towards her rooms and I went to the library to log onto one of the computers, it had been a while since I'd checked on my daughter's whereabouts and I was curious what she was up to. Chapter 39 Turning Point After a quick search I found that my daughter had obtained yet another new mobile phone and currently appeared to be working in Columbus Nebraska. I wondered to myself if she'd finally found a reliable young man and started to settle down. "She is as beautiful as her mothers," stated Milosh who seemed to have appeared from nowhere and was looking over my shoulder. "I agree Brother." "Do you still not talk?" He asked softly as I closed the secure browser window. "No, not since-" "Since you nearly killed the boy she was courting, now what was his name again?" "Joshua, she called him Josh." "Ah yes I remember he visited with us; I did not like him." I looked up at Milosh, "That is the trouble brother I did, I was taken completely in by his charm and he made Adriana so happy." "And whatever became of him, do you know?" "I neither know nor care." "But you still watch over my Niece? "I do but I've made myself a promise not to get involved in her life," I paused "Unfortunately Hillary has not made such a promise." "I am aware sister, do not be hard on him, he cares for you." Mrs Burton then entered the library. "I've brought some tea and snacks for you Silvia and you Mr Milosh." "Thank you Mrs Burtons you are a good woman." I smiled as Mrs Burton started to blush at Milosh's comment, Mrs Burton placed the teapot cups and saucers down on the table beside us and then arranged the small pile of triangular cut sandwiches before departing. "Milosh you embarrassed her." "I did not, she walked with a spring in her step did she not?" I nodded and smiled, Milosh always did like to flirt. Susan who was now dressed in thin baggy pants and a large soft sweater then appeared and walked over to the snacks. "Oh look the food fairy has been," she said as she took as small sandwich and devoured it in a most unladylike fashion before making herself very comfortable in a nearby recliner. "I've been chatting with the Bobster, he says any time you're ready he'll switch to noodle analysis mode." I smiled but Milosh looked confused. "Susan says that we can start any time now Milosh." "Noodles I do not understand the noodles." I pointed at my head. "Creier." "Ah your brain is the noodles yes? I am understanding now." I then started thinking back to my own past and recounting my slow recovery back with Adriana, Milosh, his family and extended family. Codrin. It was like an alien world to me being back in the camp, I wanted to go back to my room and my radio I needed to be given orders to be told what to do they call me Codrin, but Codrin has gone all that is left now is 340 or, what did the old woman call me? Silvanae. ? I resolved earlier to escape and run back to my trainer and safety but was caught and ordered back into the caravan by, by. It was then I realised I knew the man who'd ordered me he was called Milosh. Three women entered the caravan, I immediately moved to the back of my bed and buried my head in my knees, I felt a hand gently touch my arm. "Hello, my name is Marta do you remember me?" I raised my head a little and started to blink, she smiled. "Good this is my daughter and the other woman is English like you, she helped us to bring you back to us." I looked at the other two women the youngest of whom was going through a bag and removing items it was then I noticed my stent 'how long had it been since I'd used it was it 9:30 yet? I grabbed for the young woman's wristwatch but she was too fast for me and pulled her arm away quickly. "Do you want to know the time?" I nodded frantically as I didn't want to miss a dilation and be punished. "Show her your watch." The young woman showed me the time, I felt panic rise in me and grabbed my latest stent and lubricated it with jelly then dropped my pyjama pants on the ground lay back on the bed with my legs parted and eased it into myself hoping that my lateness would not be punished, Marta gestured for the other two women to leave and sat whilst I slowly eased the stent into and then out of the recently created cavity within my body, I gained no pleasure from this it was simply something I now had to do or be punished. Marta sat with me until I had finished, I then took it and cleaned it in the wash bowl with water from the large tin jug and wiped it clean with a cloth. "Codrin." I did not respond as I once again sat by my bed. "Codrin." I stared at the wall satisfied that I would not now be punished. "340 look at me," she ordered, I turned and looked directly into Marta's eyes. "You have been given a very powerful drug, this drug interferes with memories, I removed the implanted capsule from your buttock last evening." She rubbed one of her own buttocks I reached back and felt a small dressing on my own buttock. "The reason I am telling you this is that as the drug works its way out of your system you may suffer unpleasant side effects, do you understand?" I nodded but didn't really comprehend what she meant. "I would now like you to get dressed as you can't stay with your bottom half naked can you?" I went to pull my pyjama bottoms on but Marta passed me a pair of ladies underpants I took them and stepped into them, she then passed me a small very flimsy looking bra, I took it between the tips of my finger and thumb and held it as if it were a rodent I'd just caught. Marta looked at me inquisitively. "I suppose you've mostly worn support garments to do sport not something as pretty as this, here let me." Marta instructed me to take off my pyjama top then looped the shoulder straps of the bra through my arms she then pulled the cups of the bra down allowing my small protruding lumps to settle into them before pulling the rear straps around my back and fastening them. "Is it comfortable." "340 Is it comfortable?" I looked at her in confusion. "Your Bra is it comfortable." I looked down at the flesh now gathered in the soft cups of the bra and felt my hand tracing the shoulder strap until my fingers touched the soft lacy fabric holding the lumps on my chest in place, It was not comfortable as it was pinching flesh at the bottom of my bumps, so I shook my head and frowned. Marta looked at me then gently slid her hand into one of my cups and tugged at my fleshy lump until all of it was inside the cup of the bra she then repeated for the other side. "How about now?" I looked into her eyes and nodded. "Good try this soft top on it should feel really nice." I slipped on the soft long sleeved top and she was right it did feel nice, it was not tight or scratchy it was soft and warm and although my arms barely made it to the end of the sleeves I loved the way it made me feel. I thought the next item was a pair of trousers but it was a skirt, I stepped into it as instructed and fastened it then sat once more on the bed waiting for my next instruction. Marta sat opposite me and asked me a barrage of short simple questions that simply required a yes or no answer so it was easy for me to respond. She then passed me a pencil and a notepad and asked me if I could write down my answers; this I did with little trouble. "Interesting, if I ask you questions in Russian or Romanian, you answer on paper in English, I wonder." She then asked me how many toes I had on each foot by writing it down in Romanian I of course wrote my answer in English. This went on for seemingly ages before she noticed me rubbing my head. "Are you okay do you need a drink or something to eat 340?" I pointed at my mouth, Marta smiled at me. "Just to let you know we haven't been playing games the last couple of hours I've been assessing your cognitive functions and apart from your speech, memory and the trauma you suffered at the hands of Dr Kuznetzov." My eyes instantly widened and I backed myself along the bed and into the corner. Marta looked at me she showed signs of genuine compassion for what I'd gone through. "I'm sorry, I had to mention him to gauge your reaction," She then said sternly "340 sit here." She pointed at the bed in front of her and I reluctantly returned. "Now as for your speech, I heard you earlier and you certainly can make sounds we just need to re teach you to make them more coherent so over the next few days I think we'll practice making voice sounds then hopefully you will soon be able to join them up into words, your voice will be different from what it was but you will be able to speak again I promise." Soon after a young woman entered with two men she was carrying a small tray with bread, cheese and meat on it and a tin cup with milk in it, she was pregnant and kept looking at me and as she looked her face became redder. I stared back at her and just couldn't keep my eyes of her. "Thank you dear," said Marta dismissing the girl who placed the tray on the bed and left. As she left the caravan and the door closed I could feel my heart beating hard in my chest as though I was running and something on my cheek, I touched my cheek and then noticed dampness on my fingers and looked over at Marta, in confusion. "Tears dear, you are experiencing an emotion, a strong one." I opened my mouth as though about to speak and then closed it as nothing came out, it was most vexing. "eat and drink, I'm hoping that the fat molecules in the food will bind with the drug you've been given helping remove it from your system if not we have plenty of charcoal." After eating I needed to urinate and on noticing a chamber pot I pulled my skirt up, removed my underwear and after placing the pot between my legs crouched low and allowed my bladder to vent, I then cleaned myself using the wash bowl and cloth then stepped back into my underwear and pulled it back up my legs. "Your hygiene is impeccable my dear but you need to work on your modesty." I looked blankly at Marta. Marta was very patient with me slowly gaining my trust and as soon as she felt confident enough she left me for a moment and returned with the girl who'd delivered food earlier, I looked up at her wide eyed and somehow knew that she and I were or had once been very close, my mind was in turmoil everything around me the people, the smells, the faces everything seemed so familiar and yet so foreign but the young woman with child that stood hopefully before me she was different I could feel a familiarity with her I leaned closer to her and like an animal sniffed at her clothing, her scent hit me like a brick, I could feel my lower lip quivering and the tears once again pooling I looked up at the pretty girl nervously looking down on me and opened my mouth but only a low quiet wail came out. "Go to her sit with her, she is remembering." The girl sat on the bed near me I so badly wanted her to hold me I leant over and placed my head in her lap then as I lay there I started to curl up on the bed and whimper. In response the pretty girl started to stroke my hair. "It, it is really my Codrin my beautiful husband isn't it?" "It is." replied Marta but as they talked I stopped listening to them I had stopped listening to everyone I felt so secure and loved I just did not want to ruin the feeling I did not want this feeling to end I knew that I was once more home. Chapter 40 Rekindled Silvanus. Interrupted by the dinner gong I stopped my tale; this was fortunate as I'd been thinking forward as I told my tale and felt myself blushing remembering the time at the plunge pool. "So what is for lunch then?" Milosh asked. "Casserole of some sort I think Milosh," answered Susan before turning to me. "Thank you Silvia it must have been horrid being so confused and frightened." "Marta worked wonders with me Suzy I have a lot to thank her for." "Did she help Mummy last year, is she the same Marta?" "Yes her body may be old and crooked now but her mind is still as sharp and bright as I remember it being back when she helped me." "I found her a little scary but Terri really liked her and used to listen to her tell fairy tales to the other children in camp, I'm not sure how much she understood but she always looked forward to the next one." "She is not scary Susan, well actually yes she is just a teensy little bit." Susan laughed and held my hand, and continued to hold it as we walked through the library towards the dining room. After lunch I excused myself and went for a walk by myself through the woods stopping on the bridge over the recently uncovered stream where Terri loves to play poo sticks. I closed my eyes and listened to the water as it burbled and sometimes cascaded against carefully placed rocks down towards the lake and tried to imagine I was back in the forest all those years ago tried to re live my rebirth as a fledgling female. I'd spent days and days locked away in the caravan with a notepad and pencil whilst Marta, her young daughter Vadomer, Mrs Pettifer, other women from the camp and Adriana helped me through my many mood swings and attacks of frustration as I tried to vocalise voice sounds that once I didn't even think about but now required extreme concentration. The women in the camp only ever spoke Romanian or sometimes a little Russian but never English only Mrs Pettifer ever spoke English to me. Milosh entered my caravan one morning with Marta, I immediately started to feel ill at ease as I imagined he was looking at me probably with disgust at what I'd become, he offered me his hand but as I was not ready to be touched so I squeaked and moved away from him, then he ordered me to follow him and my conditioning took hold once more. Milosh then escorted me out of my safe haven into the big scary world outside and after a moment Adriana joined us, we then walked through the forest to a large plunge pool where I was allowed to bathe. It was my first trip out of the camp since I'd been rescued and it became a turning point for me, I think Adriana had noticed too as she hugged me, her cold wet flesh pressing against mine, her magnificent body so changed as it had grown and stretched to accept the child we'd created together, pressing her body into my body which had also been changed against my will but was now beginning to feel normal, was I starting to accept my new normality? I'm not sure I was but as we hugged naked my little breasts pressing into her impressive pregnancy expanded ones I started to feel aroused. I smiled as best I could and gave Adriana a peck on the lips, she smiled mischievously and after checking to see if her brother was looking slipped her hand down to my empty crotch and started to gently stroke the thick covering hair that now resided there. After several seconds I looked at Adriana's mischievous expression and became wide eyed as her finger brushed past something and caused me to gasp in surprise. "Your little love lump my darling husband it seems to be working, I think all is not lost with you." "Oohhh," I groaned as quietly as I could, I noticed Milosh moving further away probably out of embarrassment, Adriana continued to rub me down there and I continued to become more and more aroused until suddenly she slipped a finger inside me and I gasped wide eyed and looked at Adriana with complete surprise at the pleasure I was feeling, pushing my stent into me was just an exercise I gained no pleasure from it only a feeling of being stretched but Adriana whatever she was doing to me was wonderful. Adriana stopped just as started to whimper loudly. "I think we can try again in private later don't you my beautiful lover? I was in no position to communicate as I was now having trouble standing. Adriana washed my hair and then naked we both left the water and started to towel ourselves, Adriana's body had changed greatly her breasts had grown significantly along with her nipples and areola which had darkened, her once flat stomach sported an almost grotesque bump but within it a child growing a child that we had created together a child of love. After dressing I felt both happy and comfortable as we walked hand in hand back towards our camp with Milosh following. That evening Adriana slept with me. For days afterwards my spirit was lifted and I endured Marta's sessions with good humour, Adriana did not sleep with me again for a while as it was something I was to work towards. On one of our sessions I wrote that I wanted to tell Adriana that I loved her, Marta broke into a smile and clapped her hands, I then practised mouth sounds until one morning when Adriana sat with me I took her hands and very slowly and falteringly said, "te iubesc." Adriana initially looked shocked that I had spoken, then her face reddened and tears ran from her eyes. "And I love you too my pretty husband." She then embraced me tightly and showered me with kisses. Adriana took every opportunity she could to visit me within my mobile cell after that, almost always under the watchful eye of Marta or her daughter. One morning I awoke feeling really good, I dressed and waited patiently for Adriana or Marta to come to me but no one came. I continued waiting patiently for some time before hesitantly making my way to the door to the caravan that had been my cell since returning, opened it, and was surprised to find that there was no one guarding the door. I stood in the open door for what seemed to be forever watching Milosh who appeared to be tending to the fire and took my first unsupervised step into the outside world for what seemed like an eternity I stepped onto the bare ground and could feel the dirt on my bare feet, I walked towards Milosh and stood just behind him slightly to the side he noticed and seemed pleased to see me then offered me a cup of coffee which I accepted using my newly reacquired voice. A few minutes later as I was sipping at the thick strong brew in my tin cup Adriana appeared and immediately came over, embraced me and, after asking, started to plait my hair. I enjoyed the feeling as she ran her fingers through my now thick and silken hair and the tightness against my scalp as my hair was parted and braided into a pattern, she then produced an ornate old hand mirror and showed me the result of her work. I smiled and offered her my arms. I did not return to my caravan that evening instead returning with Adriana to hers and spending the night with her, only returning to the caravan to work with Marta. As Adriana drew closer to her confinement we became much closer and the feelings my mind had been suppressing for her returned, at the time I did not know where she learned her skills but she knew exactly how to drive me crazy with passion and my first orgasm as a woman was very probably heard throughout the camp such was the surprise and intensity and length of the feelings produced. I of course reciprocated and soon Adriana was bucking on our bed as she received her first orgasm from my amateur ministrations. "It looks like we are now lesbians my pretty husband," said Adriana breathlessly with her eyes still glistening as she lay by my side. The baby within her started to kick causing ridges to appear on her stretched skin Adriana started to Giggle. "It also looks like we have woken baby up." She took my hand and placed it gently on her bump and after a second or two I felt baby kick against her flesh causing me to become wide eyed. "Our Baby?" I asked. "Mmmmm yes our baby." One morning I decided to have a walk through the forest and headed towards the escarpment, I'd left Adriana asleep as she had suffered a bout of heartburn in the night. When I reached the escarpment I noticed that Milosh was there and he was practising his fighting skills. I took a seat and watched him for a long time before finally plucking up the courage to ask him to teach me, he agreed immediately. Because of his training Milosh was and actually still is a ruthless fighter he made no allowance whatsoever for my new gender in fact I think he actually worked me harder because of it for which I will always be grateful. Adriana helped me to grow into my new body and with Mrs Pettifer's help I was soon starting to feel at home with my new clothing and anatomy as she escorted me into local towns several times with other women from our camp so that I could start to build a wardrobe of my own of simple clothing mostly as there wasn't really any need for anything else in the forest. Being measured for a new bra by a matronly sales lady in one of the larger towns was nerve wracking as I had to go topless without any of my friends around me but she was professional and seemed to understand that I was mute, she also understood approval from my expression when she fitted and correctly adjusted the first bra I purchased for myself, she smiled knowingly as I raised myself onto tip toes and lowered myself and felt the way my new bra supported me and kept my bumps under control, I still couldn't bring myself to call them breasts but I knew that is exactly what they were. On the way back into the forest as I sat in the back of the pickup Mrs Pettifer commented in Romanian. "When you are recovered fully Codrin, Constantin and I will arrange for you and your wife to be repatriated to England." I looked up at her in shock. "But not until you have fully recovered and your new child can travel." "How long?" I asked falteringly. "A year perhaps; possibly longer," she paused "The policeman that hunts you is still looking for you I'm afraid, Chensky was even in the escort when I was posing as an IOC official, he knows that I am not a diplomat's assistant and thinks that as I am associated with Mr Simpson I could lead him to you." she noticed the look of horror on my face "but don't worry as my associates laid down several false trails for you before I came here and I am the only one outside of the camp that knows your whereabouts." I felt myself sighing. "But for now you need to concentrate on your recovery, prepare to become a parent, learn to speak once more and become a pretty young woman." I grimaced at her final comment as I had sort of hoped that there would be a clever cure for my condition but in my heart of hearts knew that this was how I would be forever, it was then as we were bouncing around in the pickup that I finally thought of my mum and dad, did they know about me? Did they know I was still alive? Did they know what had happened to me and that they now had a daughter?" I attempted to speak in English and ask if my parents knew that I was still alive but my voice training hadn't progressed enough to vocalise some of the words so I asked in Romanian. "Parents do they know I alive." Mrs Pettifer nodded. "Mister Simpson has dealt with that aspect Codrin." I didn't realise it at the time but Mrs Pettifer was saving that particular heartache for a future date." I had one further trip out of the forest before Adriana gave birth and that was with Milosh and his father. Chapter 41 The Woods Silvanus. I shivered as little as the breeze changed direction I'd been lost in thought standing next to the little ornamental bridge spanning the recently uncovered stream and could hear Dawn and Lucy nearby along with the unmistakable sound of Terri, Dawn had one of Terri's hands and Lucy the other and as they walked Terri would occasionally swing off their arms as they lifted her into the air. As they approached me they slowed. "Hello Auntie Silvia, we were going to see if we could find any more Acorns for Terri wanna come?" I smiled at the two teenagers and of course Terri. "I'd love to girls where were you thinking of looking?" "Just off the estate, Norton's wood it's a little bit of a walk but there are quite a few oak trees there." "Okay then lead the way." What Lucy and Dawn forgot to mention to me was that Norton's wood was a favourite haunt of young men from the council estate of the local village to ride trail bikes and be mischievous. It took over forty minutes to get to Norton's wood and we immediately set about looking for Acorns. The twins stayed with their sister whilst I rummaged around in the undergrowth on an embankment next to a wide stream filling my skirt pockets with windfall Acorns, on my return to the top I noticed the twins and Terri had moved about 100 yards further from me and appeared to be talking with several teenagers of roughly their age. I did not want to cramp the twins interaction with their schoolmates but also I felt I had a duty of care to ensure their safety so I made my way stealthily towards them, and started to observe. The first thing I noticed was that Terri had moved behind her sisters and did not look comfortable. The teens were quite animated and loud but generally well behaved until one of the teens made an inappropriate comment, I was preparing to intervene when Dawn said loudly. "Paul Drysdale that was incredibly rude, our little sister is with us apologise immediately." The young man stood his ground for a second or two but after noticing his friends stares said, "Sorry Dawn I got a little carried away, I'm Sorry Dawn's little sister I shouldn't have said that." Lucy then said. "Look lads we don't mind you funning around with us but Terri is only little and you are scaring her." "Okay Lucy we'll leave you too it, see you at swimming?" "Yea see you then Glen." The lads then wheeled their bikes back in the direction of the village. "Lucy?" "Yes Terri?" Lucy replied. "What is a bollocks?" "Err it is something you shouldn't have heard; our friends shouldn't have said it as it is a grown up word." "Like the ones you say in Romanian?" "Yes Terri a bit like them." "So it is a swear word then?" "Yes sort of but it's not something you would say in polite company." "You mean to mummies don't you?" "Yes or Suzie's or any other grown up." "Ahhh." I stifled a snigger and at the same time felt quite proud of how the twins had reprimanded their friends, I quickly made my way back to where I'd been and pretended to hunt for more Acorns only to be joined by the twins a minute or two later. As we approached the house I took all of the collected Acorns and placed mine into the carrier bag that Dawn had been carrying, Lucy took Terri into the house whilst Dawn stood by my side and after her sisters had entered the house she kissed me on the cheek. "Thank you for not intervening Auntie Silvia, we had it honestly." "I know you did Dawn," I replied smiling. "Paul is always saying stupid things I think his brain has a slipping clutch or something." "Go on in you go, oh before I forget Aliza has a dentist appointment tomorrow afternoon so I'll be doing your 'Ninja training'." "Smashing, see you at dinner." I watched as the pretty teen entered the house and headed around towards the Stevenson's garage via the greenhouses to drop off Terri's collection. As I entered the garage I immediately saw Joy's legs in her scruffy pink overalls she was standing under Susan's car. "Hello' Joy?" "I'm just putting the sump plug back in. I'll just be a second, pop the kettle on would you?" I went over to the small bench with sink by the top wall and topped up the kettle, popped a couple of teabags into mugs then sat whilst Joy finished, she then appeared from under the car, I smiled as she had a couple of smears of oil or dirt on her face and a very black wet looking arm, she followed my eyes. "Ah yes the oil glugged as it was draining and got me I hope it hasn't gone through to my blouse." She then proceeded to unzip her oversized overalls and allowed them to drop to the floor, she sighed as she noticed that the oil had seeped through and marked her blouse she stepped out of her overalls then took her skirt from the bench seat next to me and slipped it up over her waist. "It was a bit of a spur of a moment oil change Silvia, we had a problem at work and it took Martin and I all afternoon to resolve the issue." Joy then removed her blouse and went over to her changing room and removed a lovely blue tee shirt from just inside the door, slipped it over her head and asked with a smile. "What?" as I stared at her. "You have a smudge on your face just on your cheek." I pointed with my finger to my own cheek. "Oh, thanks." I got up whilst Joy removed a moist tissue from her bag and poured water into the two mugs. "Tell me Joy do you always wear such provocative underwear when servicing cars?" "Ha, no but when I dressed after training I felt so good and like my old self I just wanted to feel pretty so I picked out my favourite underwear, the bra needed an extender but otherwise I'm starting to get back to normal." "Were those silk stockings?" I asked as I removed the teabags. "Yup and they feel just as scrumptious as they look." "And the steel toecap boots?" "Compulsory in here I'm afraid, now steel toe capped heels they would be a thing wouldn't they?." Joy loosened the laces of her boots and slipped her feet into a pair of plimsolls by the long old bus seat. "Milk?" "Please, and if you look to the left tucked in the nook behind the wheel balancing machine you'll find Sarah's stash of biccys." I leaned over and located an opened packet of ginger snaps, then took our teas to Joy who was now sitting with her feet up. "Is that' Milosh's pickup over there Joy?" I pointed at a very sorry looking partially disassembled vehicle on stands. "It is, the Chassis rails were almost shot but a good bead blast and a week in one of Daddy's engineering factories has restored it to better than new, waiting for several new body panels a new floor pan at the moment before we put the cab back on though, oh and the engine and gearbox are away for rebuilding." "Wouldn't Milosh be better off with a new vehicle then? Actually no forget I said that, he loves his pickup." "It's just a shame he's not a better mechanic." I carried the mugs over to Joy and passed her a mug. "Thanks Silv, I probably need this," she pointed at my skirt "Been playing in the mud again?" I looked and noticed several muddy patches where I'd knelt in the search for acorns and laughed. "No I was helping the twins and Terri to find more acorns just down the road in the wood near the village." "Oh well that explains it, If Terri gets her way we'll soon have a forest." "Is that such a bad thing Joy?" I asked. "Actually no I'm glad that Terri is showing such an interest." "I think she liked the forest back in the Ukraine." "She did, didn't she and if memory serves me correctly so did you Silvia. I don't think I'd ever seen you smile as much as when you were there with Milosh and his group." "They are family to me as much as my own here in England were Joy, Constantin took me in and with that one exception protected me, I entered the camp as a scared and lonely boy and left as strong independent woman and mother." "Obviously Bob has been keeping me up to date with your chats but do you think they are helping you Silvia?" "Well I haven't had a bad dream for a while, so something has changed." "And how do you feel?" asked Joy as she dipped her biscuit into the steaming mug and then placed it into her mouth before it became too soggy. "A little lonely to be honest I really miss Hillary but otherwise pretty good." Joy smiled at me. "Trish's friend Peggy made a funny the other day when we were at The Centre, she said that and I quote 'you looked perpetually in need of a hug'. Was she right?" I nodded which was the only excuse Joy needed to come over and hold me." and as I held her back I found it difficult to believe that she was one of the most deadly women on the planet. As she hugged me she said, "I was thinking of formal attire this evening or at least posh frocks." I nodded in agreement but didn't say anything as somehow in this workshop Joy smelled almost exactly as I remembered Adriana my wife smelling all of those years ago and I didn't want the experience to end. "And if Hillary can't make it up here I'm sure we can go down to Brunsfields for a few days, I'm sure Susan would like to come also as it'll save wear and tear on our telephone system and give Alice and I a chance to meet with Mick's parents. After a while I reluctantly let go of my friend and sipped at my tea. "May I ask you a question Joy? if you feel it's inappropriate in any way just don't answer." "Ask anything Silvia I would say that I don't have any secrets but we both know that isn't true." "Have you ever regretted becoming a woman?" Joy smiled broadly. "Honestly?" "Please." "I have had periods of doubt I won't deny that but on the whole no not really, but you have to remember I already had a medical problem and looked quite feminine to start with and I had Alice to guide me through it all, she effectively made me the woman I am today, I think if I hadn't met her my life would have probably sucked big time." "But do you feel like a woman? I often worry that people see straight through me I sometimes think that being female is just another of my disguises." "Silvia don't think like that, I don't feel male or female I simply feel like me sometimes when I wake in the morning like this morning I want to dress as femininely as I can., not smartly but femininely, I love long soft flowing skirts and really soft silken undergarments and the whole makeup thing. but other days it's jeans tee shirts a baggy sweater and a day working on one of daddy's cars or on the range shooting or even out in the sea in Terry's rigid raider. I love that I can be and dress however I want and that nobody even bats an eyelid." My wonderful friend then leaned over and gently raised my head so that I was looking into her deep dark eyes "You have the adventurous nature of a teenager and you've taught us all so much especially our children. you are as much a woman as I am Silvanus and don't you dare think you are not." I knew that Joy meant every single word and I smiled back at her she of course was right. After sitting a while talking Joy made us another mug of tea then as she passed it to me she said, "You've talked at length about your traumas Silv, but you must have had good times too. I'd like to hear about your time with Adriana, she sounds like she was wonderful." "Oh Joy she was, on my return Adriana accepted me immediately and along with all of the other girls in camp as I recovered slowly introduced me into their own lives until I felt like one of them." I stopped talking for a second and asked, "This isn't being monitored is it?" "No Silvia this is just you and me, I can ring Bob if you wish though." "No, just you and Alice of course, if you want to tell her later." "Understood." Chapter 42 A New Life Codrin. I'd recently discovered that Adriana and I could still have a sex life, it was a revelation to me and improved my general mood greatly. Milosh was true to his word and continued to train me to fight, he was a hard taskmaster, as was Mrs Pettifer on the occasions she joined in. Adriana went into labour late one evening and our daughter was born at approximately lunch time the next day, the labour left her completely exhausted so I was given my child and shown how to hold her, I fell instantly in love with the tiny naked body in my arms. The days following our daughter's birth Adriana recovered slowly, the birth had taken a lot out of her and she tired easily, I however was full of energy and took over Adriana's chores learning about the various plants and vegetation, fungi and berries that were safe to eat and had medicinal properties as I did, Adriana's grandmother took me under her wing and taught me a lot. Adriana struggled to breastfeed, it was not for lack of milk it was that her nipples had grown quite large and our daughter had trouble latching on with her mouth. for a few days we struggled expressing her milk manually into a cup then into a bottle but it was wholly unsatisfactory and baby hated feeding this way and started to lose weight. One morning one of the old women approached me and pointed at my chest and asked if I had ever leaked from my nipples. I thought back to when my breasts had first appeared and remembered that once or twice I had noticed a cloudy liquid on one of my nipples, the old woman took me by the arm into her caravan, I was soon sitting topless as the old crone slathered a muddy brown paste onto my breasts, which remained until it dried and cracked and fell off on its own. That afternoon I threw up several times and felt completely awful. Adriana was worried for me until I told her what had happened, she then smiled. "Did Juliani not explain what she was doing Codrin?" "No." "She birthed our child do you not remember? I think she is trying to make your breasts make milk." I looked down at my breasts and then over at our child who was grizzling in her crib. Adriana rose and picked up our child, "expose your breast", I did as Adriana requested, she placed our child to my naked chest the feeling was not unpleasant as she was warm and as I held her in my arms her mouth searched for my nipple and on finding it immediately latched on. "See she knows what to do and you are not as large as I have grown," "But I have no milk," I replied as our child fought hard to prove me wrong. "Not yet my love but this will encourage it, you will see." Three weeks it took for my breasts to start producing tiny amounts of milk; three weeks of sore nipples,1 coated breasts and sickness but as I looked down on our daughter greedily sucking at me I knew I had done the right thing. Within days my milk had increased to the point that our child was gaining weight again she hated the bottle and preferred to take her food the way nature had intended. One of the consequences of her feeding however was that my own nipples started to grow in size. This was not a problem as our child was also now growing and soon was able to feed from both of us with ease. Sometimes if Adriana had been up in the night attending to our child I would place the baby in a sling and take her out with us as I foraged in the forest with the other women and slowly I felt myself becoming a member of the camp not just an outsider my thoughts of returning to the country of my birth slipping away as I did. As the summer turned and Autumn took hold Mrs Pettifer left us as she had to return. I spent more and more time with the women of the camp and girls of my own age, Milosh was my only real reminder of my former life and he continued to stretch me to my limits physically whilst the young women of the camp stretched me to my limits in other ways teaching me how to become more feminine. Makeup was not a big thing with the girls but they all knew how to apply it and they passed their knowledge on to me willingly. Every now and then we would meet with other groups and one week as the days grew short there was a great meeting with many families gathering, this was a time when all of the young women wore their best clothing in the hope of attracting a young man Adriana and I were expected to do the same, the meeting was for three days and was a complete nightmare for me as I was expected to flirt with young men from other groups Adriana was exempted as she had a child and as such was seen as taken. My speech had improved immensely but I preferred not to speak in front of strangers so I sat quietly at the gathering for the first evening with Milosh watching over me as a big brother should. I unfortunately attracted the attention of a young man from another camp, I no longer remember his name but he was 24 years old and he decided that I was to become his wife, Constantin pointed out to his father that I was not available due to a childhood trauma but the young man persisted and made a nuisance of himself for the next day and a half. "I will marry you; you will be my wife and we will have many children," he would say to me when we were alone. I did not know this at the time, but I was being tested. I soon grew weary of the young man chasing me and finally turned around faced him and said "NO." Very loudly I then turned and walked away to find Adriana, the young man pursued me and grabbed me by the shoulder. At the time what happened next was a complete mystery to me but I found myself standing over the young man lying dazed on the ground after having disabled him. Milosh appeared out of nowhere and smiled at me. "Look Codrin you can now protect yourself," he said, I looked down at the completely surprised young man who on seeing Milosh smiled. "You said that she was good cousin I am sorry for doubting you." "So will you speak to your father then?" "I will, do you have the knives?" "I do." "I will collect them and get them balanced." "No need they are already done." "I will still take them; father can assess them." "Come we will get them together." the young man then turned to me. "Please forgive my unwanted attention, I will not disturb you further." he then took my hand and kissed it. Adriana appeared with our child soon after. "It looks like you will be learning knife skills soon my love." "Why do I need knife skills?" "Father has decreed, Anso's father is a true master with throwing knives, he used to tour carnivals showing off his skills for money but his skills run deeper than that." "I don't understand Adriana." "You will soon my love." As the nights drew in and the weather cooled I split my time between caring for our daughter, foraging, fighting and my newest lessons of knife skills. I was presented on the first day with three beautiful knives with fine razor sharp blades of steel and brass with dark wooden handles. They had been custom made for me and was told that I could not use these blades until I had mastered others as I was not yet competent to wield such fine blades. Anso senior was a man of about fifty and only had one arm but his skill with his knife was breath-taking, It took what to me seemed an eternity to get 'the feel' of the knives I was using and was forever being reprimanded for holding my blade like cutlery but his patience was almost never ending and soon I found myself able to wield and throw the training knives with quite deadly accuracy. When I eventually was given the opportunity to use my own knives it was though I'd been using them my entire life. The snow was late that year and I enjoyed what free time I had with Adriana and our child, we walked a lot through the forest with us each sharing the duty of carrying our child in its sling, Adriana was still recovering from childbirth and I was warned by her grandmother not to overtax her as her recovery would be a long one, but Adriana always seemed to be smiling and seemed to smile all the more as my language skills improved at an increasing pace. One afternoon as we sat together on the floor of our caravan with our child Adriana asked. "Have you tried speaking English recently my love?" I shook my head as I held baby in a sitting position between my legs an answered. "No not really I know all of the words of course but have had very little opportunity to use them." "Try for me please." It was strange but I actually had to think about the words as I said them. "Hello my name is." I stopped as I was about to say Stefan but that name no longer suited me also my voice seemed strangely odd to me as though English were now my second language Adriana looked at me waiting for me to finish. "I'm sorry but my name suits me no longer." "Yes I've been meaning to discuss that with you, neither does Codrin as it is a male name." I thought back to the kindly old woman who visited me in the sport academy and remembered what she called me. "I liked the name Silvanae after the nymphs of the woodland god Silvanus," "And I like Silvanus I think it suits you." "Silvanus it is then", I noticed that our child was starting to tire of sitting and was starting to grizzle so without even a second thought I pulled up my thick sweater and lowered one of the cups of my bra freeing my slightly engorged breast, then offered the now dripping teat to our daughter who immediately latched on. "Speaking of names Adriana." Silvanus. I stopped speaking as I noticed Susan had entered the Garage and was waiting patiently for a break in our conversation. "I'm sorry Susan we were just talking about my past," I paused "Happy stuff this time though." Susan smiled. "Mummy Alice was wondering if you'd like to dress for dinner this evening Silvia, but I bet Mummy Joy has already asked you hasn't sh... is that my tee shirt you're wearing mummy?" I watched as Joy nodded her head with a big smile. "It really suits you." Joy got up from her seated position slipped her plimsolls back on and then offered me her arm and the three of us headed out into the courtyard together where we very nearly bumped into Milosh as we passed the outhouses. "Hello there, have you seen the little aeroplanes in there?" he asked. "That is where Dix and Trish build models and other things." Explained Susan "They built the exploding drones we used last year in that little room." "The ones that sounded like angry wasps?" "Yes that's the ones." "I would like to play with a drone it looked fun." "It is Milosh, I can borrow one tomorrow; Dix and I can show you how to fly it if you'd like?" "Milosh would like that greatly." Milosh seemed to be very happy as he chatted with Susan, Joy and I walked quietly behind them, I smiled inwardly as apart from the wrinkles he was still the same teenager I'd met all of those years ago. In my room I wasn't at all surprised to see that someone had lain out three gowns for me, two were my own and the other I did not recognise but had a note placed on it. 'Early Christmas present hope you like it, love Leah.' I picked up the gown and offered it to my body then looking into the mirror I started to smile. "You're not such an old hag are you?" I lay the cream coloured garment down and looked at it. "Not much room for flattering undergarments there I hope Leah knew my size," I said thinking I'd actually be really upset if I couldn't wriggle into such a lovely gift. I undressed as I ran a bath and was soon luxuriating in warm bubbles, something I rarely did. I spent the next hour and a half pampering myself and just as I was pulling my new dress up my body I heard a tapping on my door. "It's open come in." I'd just settled my breasts into the inbuilt support of my evening wear when Aliza entered. "Hello stranger," I said with a smile as I settled the dress on my hips. Aliza was also dressed and was as elegant as ever. "The Stevenson's do like these occasions don't they Silvia?" She said as she came over and took over fastening up duties of the tiny pearl like buttons at the rear of my dress. "They do, I think it's quite fun," I replied. "Okay what have you done with my friend Silvanus; she would never say something like that." "Everything doesn't have to be work Aliza does it?" Aliza paused. "She's gotten to you hasn't she?" "Who?" "Joy has, it was inevitable it would happen sooner or later Silvanus, you've been infected too haven't you?" "I have no idea what you are talking about Aliza." "You've developed a sense of fun; I had no choice as I married a big kid; but you there's still a chance for you to escape before it's too late." I looked at Aliza as though she had gone mad and she burst out laughing, I then did something I couldn't remember doing for such a long time I got a fit of the giggles. Aliza waited until I finally stopped and smiled once more. "Do you think it's this place Aliza?" She nodded as she picked up my heels for the evening, she simply nodded as she unfastened the ankle straps and passed them to me. "I hear you were talking to Joy earlier about your life in the forest." "Yes nothing nasty just Adriana and I." "Have you talked about your return yet?" "No but I will soon." "Maybe you could include Chris in that conversation, she might like to hear about her mother." "Hillary's sister? oh yes, that's a good idea Aliza, it's quite uncanny how much she looks like her." Aliza then sat with me as I plaited my hair. "So how is the therapy going then?" "Well touch wood I haven't had a bad dream for a while now, truth being I have my alarm set to wake me up every four hours which is an improvement on two and a half." "And Bob?" "Standoffish I think he'd rather I discussed my life with people I trust." "Oh Silvia surely you must trust Bob by now?" "Yea sort of but don't let him hear that." "I won't tell him, Oh Harry is coming this evening and Bob along with Peggy, I was speaking to Peggy earlier, she's pretty miffed at having to postpone the wedding and her hen night because of that bloody virus." "Hen night?" "More of a long weekend she'd hoped to go traditional and have it in Blackpool we may be needed as security." "To protect her?" I asked, Aliza smiled wryly. "No to protect the good people of Blackpool from her and her friends." I laughed out loud at her comment and wondered if Alice and Joy would be attending. Chapter 43 Preparing to Leave Silvanus. Dinner last evening was wonderful as usual, I really enjoyed myself and got the chance to thank Leah for her unexpected but lovely gift. Leah has come a long way since I first encountered her. She's doing really well at school and has passed all of her exams with good grades, she's started on a BTEC course run within the local schools sixth form so that she can maintain her watch over the twins and guide them from disruptive influences, not that I think they really need guidance anymore. When I returned to my room carrying my heels in my hand later in the evening I was in such a good mood that after I'd readied myself for bed and took my medication I contacted Hillary on his private number, he answered immediately. Hillary and I talked until the early hours clearing the air. I finally admitted to him that he was correct to intervene in my daughter's affairs as she does seem to unknowingly get herself into a lot of trouble. Hillary also warned me that if the situation were to arise again he would still intervene and help her as he would intervene with anyone he cared for. I suppose that is the way Hillary is wired, there's nothing I can do about that. After our long talk I hugged my pillow and with his voice still in my head drifted off to sleep only to be woken at four by a dream but not the usual one, this one was deeply personal involving Adriana, Hillary, and me. I got up from the bed and went over to the chest of drawers by the drawer then removed a tube of lubricant my favourite toy and returned to my bed with wickedness on my mind. As a result of my nocturnal naughtiness I'm currently in a very good mood as I dress for my morning fitness routine. On the way out the house I noticed or rather Bob noticed me, he shouted through from the dining room. "Silvia pop by and see me later at The Centre." I smiled to myself. "Or the library here Bob." "Or the library here would be fine." I heard him sigh as I left into the semi darkness of the morning. In the dining room Bob opened a folder and as he tucked into his breakfast started to read. Diary of Hugo Clifford Simpson SaturdayJanuary 12th, 1980 Brunsfields Update on the Roundall lad? When Mrs Pettifer finally made her report in full to me on her return I was quite unnerved to hear that he had become a girl, (is that even a thing?) his or should I say her body having been changed at a sport research facility in the Ukraine. Constantin has now refused to return the Roundall child to me until she has recovered from her injuries both physical and mental. Mrs Pettifer seems to have a lot of respect for the women treating her, however I personally think she should be returned to us as soon as possible to receive proper medical attention. I have been allowed entry once more into the Soviet Union but hesitate to do so as I am almost certain that Chensky will use my entry as a means to locate the Roundall child. I met with Jane Roundall just before Christmas, she was almost at her wits end as the Ministry had been giving her the run-around over her husband's death in service benefit's as Suicide isn't normally covered but after talking to an old school chum over lunch at the club that is all now resolved. Promotion is looming and as such I need to wind up all unfinished business before I'm taken off the operational list. Sunday March 16th, 1980 Packing at the moment as it looks like Chensky may have finally located The Roundall Girl, information is sketchy at the moment and can't help feeling I'm being played, time will tell. Should be in Smolensk in a couple of days or so will assess situation on arrival and travel from there. "Proper medical attention, Pha my Sister got the best of medical attention at our camp Mr Bob." Bob turned around to see Milosh standing behind him looking at the open folder, he was quite an imposing figure still and this unnerved him a little. "I agree Milosh but at the time we in the west just assumed that our ways were the best, a sort of technological arrogance I suppose." "I like you my friend," said Milosh loudly as he slapped Bob on the back and sat in the adjacent chair. "May I ask a question?" asked Bob. "Yes you may." "Why did you train Silvanus to fight?" "A gift from us to her to help replace what was taken from her." Bob looked blankly at Milosh. "We failed to protect and my Brother betrayed her Mr Bob, as a result she had her manhood taken from her. We could never return what was taken so we gave her everything we had, we healed her mind and taught her to be independent and strong, my sister and the other women taught her how to be a female." "You turned her into a killer." "No, independent and strong a sister to be proud of and I am proud to be her brother but we did not turn her into a killer." "Tell me about Adriana, I know very little about her." "No." "Why not?" asked Bob. "That is for Silvanus not I." "She had a medical condition is that why she didn't make it back to England with Silvanus?" "You ask a lot of questions Mr Bob." "It is my job, Milosh that's what I do." "Can I ask you a question then?" "If you wish." Bob looked at the stout man quizzically. "Do you know why Silvanus is suffering from the bad dreams?" "Because of her trauma at the sport academy and being reminded of it when she revisited it." "She still went despite my pleading for her not to Mr Bob, but do you know why she is suffering now?" "I have my suspicions." "I will tell you; it is because she refused treatment at camp to allow Marta and her daughters to devote all of their time to help Fulger (Joy) to recover fully from her ordeal as she was so ashamed of her own weakness. Bob placed his knife and fork on his plate. "Why didn't you tell me sooner Milosh?" "Because you didn't ask and I was hoping that she would come home to us, Ah here is my breakfast Thank you Dorothy that is most splendid." Dot smiled at Milosh as she placed the heaped plate before him. Joy had finished her morning routine early and was heading towards the dining room for breakfast when she heard raised words from within, she couldn't help standing quietly by the side of the dining room door and listen to the conversation she wished she hadn't as a strong wave of guilt washed over her 'Had Silvanus actually sacrificed her own treatment so that she could recover sooner?' she thought to herself. Joy of course knew the answer and immediately felt the tears welling up. "Mummy?" It was Susan, Joy did not want her daughter to see that she was upset so she turned and headed back upstairs. "Mummy are you upset?" From the dining room behind her Susan heard Bob say "Oh shit." Loudly and heard the sound of his chair moving quickly as he rose. Susan stood confused at the base of the staircase looking up as Bob exited the dining room at speed. "Bob?" asked Susan in confusion as he walked swiftly past her. "Not now Suzy," he said as he headed at speed upstairs towards Joy's room. Susan was not stupid she took her phone from her jeans pocket and was about to dial her mum when Milosh appeared. "Do not contact your mother Alice come with me, we need to find Silvanus." It took Susan less than 5 minutes to locate Silvanus. "My sister, I have been very foolish." He then went on to explain that Joy had overheard the conversation he'd had with Bob, Silvanus did not say anything as she kicked off her running shoes and sprinted away in the direction of the big house. Silvanus. I was annoyed with myself more than I was at Milosh as I sprinted along the lawn towards the house with my phone to my ear as Bob informed me that Joy had locked the door to her room and was not answering his knocks. This was not like Joy at all so as I approached the house I counted the windows along and on finding Joy's rooms leaped onto the drainpipe nearest the small balcony to her dressing room quickly scaling the old cast iron drainpipe up the wall barefoot until I stepped onto her balcony and then into her dressing room. Cautiously I entered Joy and Alice's bedroom where I found Joy lying curled up on her bed holding a battered old teddy bear tightly to her chest. I gently stroked her hair. "Joy It's Silvanus." she remained curled up but squeaked. "I'm so sorry." "You have nothing to be sorry about my beautiful young friend, what you heard were Milosh's words and not mine. "But he said." "I do not care what he said, it was my decision and your need was greater, much greater than mine, what that bastard did to you and the torture you underwent beforehand was inhumane you needed the help of Marta and the other women of the camp and I did not." "But your nightmares?" said Joy as she moved to face her friend. "Just that, nightmares nothing more, nothing less, they've caused me to be a little moody and interrupted my sleep but that is all they are, I however am more worried about freezing again." "Like you did at the old sport academy?" "Yes Joy, Milosh was right about that, I should never have gone back there; it was too much for me I should have listened to him." Joy placed her Teddy to one side and hugged me tightly. "I've been stupid haven't I?" whispered Joy. "That'll teach you for listening into other people's conversations and if I'm not very much mistaken you are probably due your first period since the birth of the twins soon." Joy broke our hug and looked at me with surprise. "How on earth could you know that?" "You've been demolishing the chocolates the last couple of days and Alice told me you'd been suffering a little with cramps." I chatted with Joy for over an hour before leaving the conventional way nearly tripping over Bob who was sitting in the corridor outside of her room. "Come on Bob we can have our chat now," I said, curiously talking with Joy had lifted my mood too and I now felt quite chipper. "Did you really climb up the drainpipe to Joy's room Silvia?" asked Bob "Yes Bob." "What on earth for?" "Her door was locked and she needed a hug." "But she'd locked her door." "Joy may not have wanted a hug Bob but she needed one, now drop it." In the library I found a comfortable seat and sat, Bob sat opposite me. "So what do you wish to talk to me about you've had all of the gory details of my gender change and torture at the hands of Dr Kuznetzov so what is left?" "Adriana." I felt my expression darken. "Another subject Bob." "I want to hear about your wife, she sounded like a very special young woman." "Bob unless I know why you want me to talk about her I'm not saying anything I want my memories of her to remain unchanged." "Because they are fond memories Silvia." "Because I still cherish every moment I spent with her and want it to remain that way, I don't want you or anyone else poisoning my memories of my wife." "Silvia you've known me a long time all I want is to hear you talk about Adriana, your memories of her." "You want to know how she died?" Bob sighed. "Yes, Hillary's fathers diary mentioned her death but he did not provide details." Milosh sauntered into the library at this point and sat down beside me. "Are you still annoyed at me my Sister?" asked Milosh, Bob Interrupted him saying. "Actually Milosh I'm conducting an interview here." Milosh turned and faced Bob. "Do not let me stop you." He turned back to me. "Am I forgiven?" I nodded. "Actually I think I will talk about Adriana," I said as I picked up my phone and texted Joy, "Milosh tea would be nice." He got up and left the library leaving me with a frustrated looking Bob. "You are not an easy woman to help Silvia." "I know." Joy appeared a minute or so later she had a black mini skirt on complimented by thick black tights and a curious but very cute tee shirt, she sported a pair of novelty slippers and a hot water bottle. "I got your message." She curled up on the large leather reclining chair next to me. Milosh appeared after a few seconds with a tray of drinks. "Oh Milosh we got your engine back from its rebuild earlier, if you fancy giving me a hand to mate the reconditioned gearbox to it later on." Milosh went over to Joy and hugged her very tightly. "Only if you forgive me for my words earlier." "Done." Chapter 44 Living in Brick. Silvanus. The summer with Adriana and the other groups of travellers had now long gone and the first snow of winter lay on the forest floor when Adriana and I were summoned to see Constantin. "No Father I am okay and will be okay, I've been through many winters and this will be no different." Adriana had just heard from her father that she was to spend winter in an apartment owned by another of his relatives in a small city called Brno in Czechoslovakia before moving on to England with me possibly in the spring. "You are not fine Daughter, I see your lips go blue when you exercise, the baby took a great toll on your heart and I have arranged for you to have it repaired in England." I sat quietly and listened, I agreed with Constantin but I, like Adriana, did not want to leave our camp. "Daughter when you are recovered both you and Silvanus and your daughter will be welcomed back here but until then you will go to England with Silvanus." "But father." "My word is final." Adriana and I travelled in silence to what would be our temporary new home we were both feeling quite miserable. We met Elena in a small, wooded glade 15 miles outside of the city of Brno, she was a slight woman with a most endearing smile, she passed us a wrapped parcel each and asked us to change our clothing, this we did, I struggled with the tan tights that had been supplied but Adriana assisted me and soon we were dressed as we assumed the city dwellers dressed, it was certainly not for warmth. "Get into my car my dears the heater is on; I have warmer clothing back at my apartment." We left the majority of our clothing with Constantin who presented me with a polished wooden box containing the three knives I'd been taught to use. "My gift to you, I look forward to your return soon Silvanus my daughter." I could not believe what I did next, I actually hugged him. We joined Elena in her car with Adriana holding our sleeping child in her arms as she quickly left the glade with Constantin standing and watching as we drove away. "I will be looking after you girls until we can get you across the border, I'm sorry but you will have to share a bed I hope that is to your liking?" "Thank you Auntie, it is." "Constantin has told me all about you Silvanus so I will not force you to speak to me if you do not wish, if we get back early enough there may still be enough hot water for you to bathe." "In a bath?" "Yes Adriana just like you did when you were younger do you remember?" "Yes Auntie I do." When we reached the apartment block Elena parked on the street outside, we then entered and walked up what seemed like several flights of concrete stairs. "The fifth floor I'm just along the corridor over there, come and we will get into the warm." I carried Adriana's bag now as well as our child sleeping within the wrap as Adriana was out of breath, and when Elena opened the door to her apartment we were hit by a wave of warmth that almost left me breathless. As soon as we entered the apartment Elena set about running her bath for Adriana and then me. "I'm sorry but you will have to use Adriana's water as there was not enough hot for you both perhaps early tomorrow, oh and both of you please remove the hair from your legs and armpits with the razors provided, we are not cavewomen here." I smiled and nodded. After my time at the camp the luxury of a hot bath was indescribable, I washed myself thoroughly and also washed my hair then using the last remnants of tepid water in the pipes filled a jug and rinsed myself off. On entering the living space with a large bath towel up to my chest I found Elena holding our child gently rocking her in her arms. "It's been such a long time; you don't mind do you?" she asked. "No not at all," I replied in Romanian. "I took the opportunity of buying you some new underwear, it's on the ottoman in your room, I believe that Adriana is having a nap in there." I entered the room quietly and found the new underwear and stepped into the pants first, this sent a shiver up and down my spine as I'd never felt fabric so smooth or light before, I then quickly donned the bra pulling my breasts gently into the soft padded cups, I then put my blouse back on and stepped into my skirt, kissed Adriana on the lips and exited as I heard our baby starting to wake. On entering the living area once more Elena smiled at me. "She is awakening, do you have her bottles?" I pointed to my chest. "Oh she's not on formula milk." I sat down on the settee and took a towel from my bag to protect my blouse and unbuttoned it then gestured for her to give me the baby, Elena turned away as I exposed my breast and swollen nipple. "It is okay I am covered now I apologise if I made you uncomfortable," I said realising that Elena was uncomfortable seeing me breastfeeding. "It is me who should apologise it has been so long since I have watched nature at work I just assumed that young women all used powdered milk nowadays." To be honest I didn't even know that powdered milk was an option and also knew that my feeding baby was just a mid- afternoon snack for her as I really wasn't producing that much milk and now that baby could feed from her Adriana was her main source of nutrition, still it didn't stop me from feeding her once or twice a day as I actually really liked the feeling of closeness it gave me to her. "Silvanus as Adriana is asleep I will talk to you, the city I live in is quite liberal by soviet standards but you must not show any form of affection towards each other in public apart from that of sisters or good friends, you cannot afford to attract the attention of the authorities." I nodded. "We will be careful I promise." "I will coach you how to fit in and what fashions young city women wear but you must be on your guard at all time." I nodded. "Oh and you both need to start wearing makeup, just a little and just so you fit in." "Makeup?" "Yes both Adriana and yourself have very pretty unblemished faces with the most perfect rosy cheeks but that is not what society demands so I will teach you how to apply the perfect face, think of it as a disguise." I remembered back to the old woman who'd visited me back in the sport academy and what she'd taught me. "I think I can do makeup I was shown and Adriana has taught me too." "Well once baby has fed and been settled then you can show me." So an hour later I was sitting in Elena's room using her makeup applying makeup as I'd been shown by the old woman from her seemingly vast supply of cosmetics and as I finished I turned and smiled. "Yes you have some knowledge and that look would be acceptable for a party but you need a subtle more subdued look for normal daily use, here let me show you." Elena then proceeded to remove my makeup and made my face up again as she wanted. "There all done, so what do you think? Acceptable yes?" I heard an enthusiastic "yes" from the door behind me, it was Adriana she had woken. "Oh my precious husband you look so pretty you are perfect." she then turned to Elena, "Can you do me can you make us look like sisters." Elena smiled. "That was my plan." I then watched as Adriana allowed Elena to do her makeup, the results were startling it was my wife, she looked almost the same but somehow enhanced, the makeup actually enhanced her beauty and made her look more innocent at the same time. "As winter is upon us it will give me time to accustom you to heels indoors, you would be foolish to wear heels out on the street at this time of year but young women do and they suffer because of it, you will not because you are sensible girls." Adriana and I both nodded. "Okay now that I have you both here if anyone asks; you are my nieces from the country and you are staying with me because your father is suffering ill health, be very cautious around the other tenants as they could be secret police informers and be especially cautious around friendly tenants." I nodded. "How long will we be staying here Auntie?" "I do not know but until you leave I expect you to both behave like ladies, so I want none of your feral ways," She turned to me. "You will continue with your training as Constantin has insisted upon it so I will take you each day to a place of safety where you will receive tuition." she then turned to Adriana. "And you my dear will regain your strength." she smiled at us both, "but I think this evening we will eat out I have arranged for the little one to be tended too." I was extremely nervous as I left the apartment block with Adriana and immediately felt the biting cold evening wind hit my legs, my tights being little use, Adriana and I wore boots with little to no heels. After a short drive we entered a rather grand looking but quite run down building. "This is a nightclub, but also if you know the owner a good place to eat, I happen to know the owner." We were shown through the dance floor with many young people enjoying themselves and into a much quieter area with well-spaced seating by a thin man in a dark suit who took our coats from us. The food was excellent and after a while an overweight man approached us. "Is this the girl?" he said pointing his finger at Adriana. "No this is she," stated Elena as she continued to eat, 'What is happening?' I thought nervously. "She is so thin, has no meat on her are you sure?" asked the fat man "If we hurt her Constantin will kill us." he stated nervously, Elena answered with. "Constantin has said that she is ready my friend." without any warning the thin suited man kicked my seat from under me, my backside never hit the ground as I almost immediately recovered kicked the thin man's legs from under him, leapt onto him straddling him and was about to throat punch him when with surprising speed the fat man grabbed my hand. "Whoa whoa steady on there he doesn't deserve a fractured windpipe." I looked up at the fat man who was smiling broadly a very friendly smile, I was breathing heavily. "Lars was just following my instructions, I needed to see for myself, my name is Branislav and I am honoured to make your acquaintance, my friends and I have been tasked with protecting you from the authorities during your stay and hopefully to hone your already impressive skills." he offered me his hand and helped me to my feet, Branislav then sat with us whilst we finished our meals and afterwards invited Adriana and I into the large ornate ballroom which now was serving as the local disco. Adriana and I then danced a while to imported American and English music whilst several suited men stood in the background and observed our every move and discouraged the local young men from approaching to closely. That evening as Adriana cuddled into each other naked under the thick blankets of our bed she said, "I think we will like it here." She started to snake her fingers down my thigh, I nodded. "It is warm and we have a bed with a mattress." Adriana's fingers slowly traced my skin getting closer to my vagina, she stopped as she reached it and looked at me in surprise. "It is hairless?" "Yes Elena told me to shave so I did." She giggled. "Just your legs and your armpits silly," She paused and stroked my flesh a little more "But it does feel lovely and smooth down there now, pity it will be all prickly and itchy in a few days." I gasped a little as she found the refashioned tip of my old penis that was now my clitoris. "He may have been a monster my love, but I can't tell the difference between mine and yours." I should have been upset at her statement but was too engrossed in the feelings she was creating between my legs and being bald only seemed to heighten the effect. that evening we made love until baby woke us up for her feed. The next few weeks went by without incident, almost every day I was taken by Elena or one of Branislav's men to the ballroom where I exercised in the small gym at the rear and then learned new skills in the ballroom itself, My new skills included weapons training almost constant defence training, anatomy where I learned about the human bodies many pressure points, the use of toxin's, poisons both offensively and how to protect myself from their effects along with more mundane but essential skills such as dancing in heels and the effectiveness of high heels as a weapon of last resort. I simply went along with everything I was taught not thinking why I was being taught such skills that I would probably never use. The winter was cold but nevertheless Adriana and I made the best of it and enjoyed shopping together, we never held hands in public but did occasionally link arms as sisters do when out walking or shopping and as the winter slowly ebbed away I started wondering if we would soon be travelling back to England and my parents, what would my mum and dad think about me being married with a child? I worried that they wouldn't accept Adriana or my baby, not once did I think 'will my parents accept me as a girl?' the thought just didn't seem to enter my mind as this was the way I was now; I was a young woman, I behaved like a young woman, dressed as a young woman but I didn't feel like a woman or a man I simply felt like me and I was happy with this I was also blissfully happy to be with Adriana and our as yet unnamed child. Chapter 45 Escape One morning instead of being picked up for my normal work out a note was slipped under the door to our apartment, it was handwritten and read. KGB at club do not approach, prepare to leave apartment at moment's notice. The note was not signed, but Elena immediately set us packing and had us dress in warm clothing for travelling. At lunchtime or thereabouts we noticed in the street below three black cars appear in front of our building. "Quickly follow me," said Elena as she led us into her bedroom where she removed a section of wood panelling on the wall revealing a hole in the block work leading to a large service duct behind. "Come quickly." She urged as we stepped into the duct Elena pulled the panelling back behind her and secured it with a large steel square sectioned bar. "Follow me." as she led us along the narrow poorly lit duct lined with steam pipes for the communal heating system and electrical wiring. At the end of the duct there was an opening in the floor. "You go first Silvanus keep the child firmly strapped to your chest." I looked down at the seemingly endless shaft occasionally lit with small bulkhead fittings and at the steel ladder that stopped at each floor with a small landing area. I stepped onto the ladder feeling the thin metal of the rungs press on the soft bottoms of my winter boots. It took several minutes for us to climb down to the bottom of the long ladder and as we stood on the concrete floor I looked along another seemingly endless tunnel of pipes and ducts. Elena now seemed less urgent in her manner and explained. "This tunnel links the apartment blocks, we will go this way and just before the pipes end will meet with Branislav or one of his men, he will start you on your journey home." She then passed us several documents. "These are your papers and your passports and these are tickets for the evening express train to Poland where you will use new documents to travel via boat to Copenhagen in Denmark where you will find a public phone kiosk and ring this number, then state your original name and say 'periwinkle' you will then be issued with further instructions, do you both understand?" Adriana and I nodded. "But what about you Elena?" "I've been living on borrowed time for a while now, do not worry about me." She then kissed us both on the lips and sent us on our way. Adriana and I made our way along the long wide duct between buildings until. "Over here quickly." A man stood in an offshoot duct he dropped his cigarette to the ground and led us along the very narrow tunnel to a ladder that led after a few metres into a small brick pump house. "The car will be here in a moment when it arrives quickly enter it and stay low the police and The KGB are searching for you, one of our men betrayed your presence, he'll be dead by this evening." I heard the noise of a car approaching the building and then the engine deliberately rev up twice. "He is here, quickly into the car." The door to the small brick building opened and Adriana followed by myself quickly entered the car whose rear door was already open. "Keep low in the car and keep quiet." Adriana and I stayed as low as we could in the back seat as our driver went about his task as sedately as though he was going for a drive in the country. I heard as we travelled bells and the occasional siren until after nearly an hour. "You can sit up now if you wish as we are out of the city and no one is following." Adriana and I sat, she looked pale and worried, I held her. "Our journey will take us most of the afternoon." He passed us a wrapped package with food in." "I am sorry it is not better, tell me if you need toilet." the driver then continued without speaking until he noticed a 30 kilometre marker for Prague, he pulled the car into a side road and parked, he then exited the car and opened the boot returning to us with two packages. "I will give you privacy, please change into these." Adriana changed into her new clothing whilst I fed and changed our baby then I changed into my new clothing whilst baby slept by my side and Adriana applied makeup to her face and painted her nails. Once finished I applied my makeup and Adriana did my hair finishing it with a liberal application of hairspray to hold my style in place. The driver returned took all of our old clothing, placed it along the lane doused it in petrol and set it on fire. He returned and noticed the box that contained my knives. "Box too." I took the knives out, gave one to Adriana, and slipped one into my bag and the other wrapped in cotton I placed with our child. The journey continued until we were in the city of Prague itself. "We are nearing the station I will accompany you to the train, you will be met at the end of the train journey." We did not go through the usual process of ticket and document checks but instead was led by our driver through the staff areas of the magnificent train station to a platform where a train awaited, we were handed suitcases and were soon assisted by efficient staff to a sleeping compartment. I had travelled may times on trains like this as a child and teen but never as a young woman, to Adriana it all seemed so strange, but to me I was finally somewhere where I was not out of my depth, I smiled and held her hand as the train jerked and slowly moved out of the station. Soon the train was moving in a northerly direction once more and snow started to dominate the landscape as we passed over the border and moved into Poland. "How do you feel my love?" asked Adriana as finally she'd started to relax. "Nervous and excited that we could actually soon be back in England and I'll finally be able to resume my life, with you of course." "I'm looking forwards to meeting your mother and father." "That is one of the things I worry about Adriana, when last I saw them I was a teenage boy but now look at me." "A beautiful young woman." "But I have a wife and a child." Adriana smiled. "They have gained two daughters and a granddaughter, do not worry my love they will understand, my father understood and Milosh understood." I smiled but was still not sure what kind of reception I would get. Apart from getting our tickets and documents checked twice our journey was mostly uneventful, our sleeping bunks were functional but not particularly comfortable, baby however just didn't seem to mind and slept almost all night, probably enjoying the gentle rocking and rhythmic 'clickety clack' if the train as it continued northwards towards. In early afternoon we were disturbed in our compartment by a man wearing a boiler suit. "Come quickly, you need to leave the train before the terminus." By this time we were used to surprises, and as we were within an hour of the end our journey we'd already packed and were ready expecting to alight in Gdansk." I strapped our baby to my chest and she looked on curiously through the harness as the boiler suited man escorted us the short distance to the very rear of the train whilst all of the time it slowed. At the rear I climbed down a short metal runged ladder and jumped onto the gap between the rails, Adriana followed only stumbling a little as she did. We watched standing between the rails as the train gained speed once more and following the gentle curve of the track disappeared into the thick forest. "So what happens now?" I asked Adriana. "I suppose we head into the forest a little." I nodded and opened one of our cases and located flat shoes as walking through the forest in heels most probably would have ended badly for one of us, I sat on one of the rails and removed my heels, Adriana did the same whilst baby burbled happily to herself. We walked for a little while along the track in the hope of finding a path or road and was rewarded with the sight of a large firebreak after two or three minutes and as we reached the fire break we were surprised to see a large truck parked about 100 metres away. On noticing us one of the occupants exited the vehicle and gestured for us to come towards him, he was carrying an AK47, and was most insistent so we complied. Soon we were in the back of the covered truck and I heard for the first time in a while an English voice. "Sorry about the change of plans girls my name is Carstairs, bit of a clich? of a name I know but I'm stuck with it, I'm afraid that if you'd made it to Gdansk you'd almost certainly have ended up in the tender care of the KGB, Mr Simpson would not have liked that so my friends and I have intervened." I forced my mind to form English words and started to talk, my language after speaking Romanian and Russian for so long actually felt foreign to me. "Where are we going now Mr Carstairs?" I asked. "To a small port to the west of Gdansk where we will place you on a small cargo vessel, it will take you to directly to Copenhagen where you will be processed before being repatriated," Carstairs paused and said enthusiastically "May I say that your disguise is bloody perfect even down to your accented English?" I thanked him in Romanian feeling quite unnerved by his comment. As the covered truck pulled away Carstairs produced a large tartan painted thermos flask and a package of wrapped sandwiches. "Hot sweet milky tea and beef sandwiches, best I could do I'm afraid." As we'd had little to eat or drink for several hours Adriana and I enjoyed our food and started to relax as much as the situation would allow. "Your baby seems quite alert what's her name Carstairs asked us as he pulled funny faces at our child. "We have not yet talked of a name Mr Carstairs we just call her Baby; our documents call her Silviea, Adriana." "Oh Silviea that is a really nice name, it suits her a child of the forest." After a while there was three bangs on the bulkhead at the front of our truck. "It looks like we have now entered the outskirts of the city, in a few minutes you will enter a warehouse and will then be transferred to a smaller vehicle which will take you to the port, I'm afraid that this is where I leave you as I will be far too conspicuous to be with you, good luck for the rest of your journey." It was at this point I started to feel nervous, was this it? Was I about to go home? The curious thing is that I liked it in the forest and didn't really want to leave. All too soon we were sitting uncomfortably in the back of a small fishmongers van and from the glimpses I kept getting in the failing light through the rear window we were, heading along the coast towards our means of escape. It was dark when the van finally stopped, Adriana and I were quickly manhandled out of the back of the small van and up the boarding ramp of a medium sized cargo ship. Slowly we were led deeper and deeper into the bowels of the ship and then to my complete surprise the sailor escorting us said, "Just wait here a moment please." in perfect English, he banged on one of the grey painted walls of the corridor and it moved inwards slightly then slid to the left. On the other side of the open panel was a man dressed much the same as the other sailors but with a full and quite bushy beard. "Welcome to Her Majesty's listening ship 'The Lady Grey' my name is Commander Sandy Montague of Naval intelligence; you two young ladies and the little mite are to be my guest for the next three days." He gestured us in and as the heavy steel panel closed behind us escorted us through the narrow corridor into a much larger area occupied by several staff who all wore headsets, and were operating large radio sets, to the side of each operator was a large grey metal cased reel to reel tape recorder with the name Ferrograph on the base plate and on the cover for the recording heads it stated series 7, the reels travelled slowly so I assumed they were being used for recording data or voice, I smiled as my father had a wooden cabinet version of this recorder in his study at home 'Were these actual real spies?' I remembered thinking as we were led into a small room to the left. "I'm sorry it's not much but there are two cots mounted in the wall and the chief engineer has knocked-up a little bed for the child, there are washing facilities over there and if you require a shower I will organise for facilities to be provided once we've left port. "Thank you Commander, you are being very kind," I said in my best English accent. "You may want to change into more comfortable clothing as it can become quite stuffy here sometimes, once out of port you will be allowed on deck for exercise if you wish." Adriana had already found a bunk and was in the process of slipping her shoes off, she looked tired. "I'll leave you to get comfortable, evening meal is random meat goulash I believe with Spotted dick and custard for afters unless cookie has a change of heart." The commander closed the door as he left and I unstrapped the now sleeping baby from my chest and placed her in the small crib provided then slipped off my own shoes and removed my tan tights and after noticing where our bags had been placed I searched for more comfortable attire. As I unpacked my bag I noticed that Adriana had slipped into sleep, so I loosened her clothing a little kissed her on her head. I was about an hour later as I was looking at a British fashion magazine that I heard the engines of the ship start and a gentle rocking motion start as I assumed the ship navigated its way from the dock. Chapter 46 The Drone Silvanus. "So did your wife make it back to the UK with you?" asked Bob returning me from my memories to the present. "Why do you ask?" I replied. "Because Hillary's father's diaries do not cover anything from the day you entered the listening post." "Hugo was a good man; he probably couldn't bring himself to put on record what happened in Copenhagen and I don't blame him at all." Bob looked into my eyes and to his credit did not probe further. "I think that we should call it a day now, possibly another chat tomorrow Silvia?" "Possibly," I replied as I rose and stretched, Milosh took my hand. "It was like my sister was in the room with us I had my eyes closed and I could see her face, see her smiling back, thank you for reminding me of her." Terri chose that moment to enter the Library she was covered in dirt and had a wide beaming smile on her face, she ran to Joy first and hugged her. "Mummy I've been planting acorns with the gardener, we planted lots in little pots and he led me put the composts into the pots." Joy laughed out loud. "And you seem to be wearing quite a lot of the composts too Terri." Terri wiped her soiled hands on her skirt in an effort to clean them. "Umm" Joy kissed Terri on the cheek and rubbed her nose to her daughters. "But I think you look cute as a, oh yes a ragglemuffin, you are a cute little ragglemuffin, shall we go for a walk in the woods before you have a bath?" "Yes please mummy." Joy looked over at me. "Terri has a spare hand if you'd like to join us." I nodded enthusiastically and took Terri's other hand. "Soreeee it's dirty auntie Silvia," Terri apologised. "Don't worry I'm sure it's good clean dirt." Terri looked a little confused. "So how many little acorns did you plant this afternoon Terri?" I asked as we stopped to don warm jackets in the hallway. "Millions and millions," she replied enthusiastically. "Ohh that is a lot," I replied as we left the house. Early the next morning I was woken by a noise below me outside, I padded naked over to the window and looked down onto the moonlit lawn to see a fox heading across the lawn it appeared to have part of the carcass of a cooked chicken in its mouth. "Must have been raiding the bins," I said to myself as I turned and headed back towards my bed stopping short and retrieving my memory box from the holdall at its base. I sat cross legged on the carpet and took out one of my most cherished but rarely used possessions a small, faded picture of Adriana my wife. "I miss you so much still it hurts my love. I can still see your face in my mind and hear your voice, you have not aged one minute and will be forever young in my memories. I however have aged but am no longer lonely my love as I have wonderful caring friends and a purpose once more." I sniffed and wiped my nose with the back of my hand, before placing the faded photograph against my chest. After a moment or two I reprimanded myself as to being a sentimental old fool but my mood had lifted significantly as I slipped once more between the covers and placed my head on the cool pillow. As I went down to breakfast the next morning after my exercises and shower I met Alice, she was dressed for work but immediately hugged me. "Joy told me of your escape I hope you don't mind?" she whispered as we hugged. "Not at all," I whispered back. Alice and I walked down to breakfast together and sat chatting whilst all around us the chaos of the Stevenson's morning routine continued. Lucy and Dawn talked enthusiastically about something happening that morning at school whilst apparently still dressing as they entered the dining room, Susan entered and stole two slices of her mum's toast and a sausage before kissing her on the cheek and leaving to pick up Trish, Terry appearing with Andi and waiting whilst Terri quickly finished her breakfast. After a while, the dining room quietened and Joy appeared. "Feeling better?" asked Alice. "Much thank you," replied Joy as she sat next to Alice and kissed her on the lips. "Has the cramping eased?" "A little." "Have you tried fenugreek or ginger, that should help with your cramps, I'm assuming they are still of the once a month kind," I said, "I thought Ginger was just for nausea Silvia?" "Ginger is pretty much for everything Joy, it's very potent stuff." "I'll see if Dot has some in the kitchen," a voice appeared from the direction of the kitchen, it was Dot's. "Already making you a Ginger infusion with Honey and lemon, stay there." I then whispered, "Of course orgasms help too." Alice giggled and said mischievously, "Maybe you can help me with my cramps after I've dealt with yours Joy?" Joy said nothing just blushed a little and bit her lower lip. Dot appeared soon after with a hot steaming mug that smelled of Ginger and lemon. "Would you like a cooked breakfast?" "Yes thank you," Joy replied. I sat with Joy and Alice whilst they finished breakfast until Alice said, "I think I'll work from home today, care to join me up in our rooms Joy?" Joy took Alice's hand. "We'll see you a little later Silv." I smiled at Joy. "I'll see you at lunch or later girls, have fun." I was actually in the mood to chat but I also understood that Joy was feeling uncomfortable so after finishing I donned a coat and went out intending to go for a walk, but as I approached the end out building in the quad I heard Milosh's booming voice. Looking into the small unit where Dix and Trish did their modelling I saw Dix explaining something to Milosh, curiosity got the better of me and I entered. "Sister have you seen these little things? They can take pictures from the sky and if you lose them they come back to you." Dix smiled at Milosh's childlike enthusiasm. "We were just about to take one out for a flight Ma'am would you like to join us." I smiled. "I've used drones a couple of times for surveillance purposes but never for fun, I'd like that yes." I joined Dix and Milosh and went with them to one of the clearings near to the lake where Dix flew the drone whilst wearing a type of VR helmet that was also connected to a small screen so that we could see what the camera could see. The camera gave a wonderful view of the surface of the lake as it swooped almost at water level across the surface then as it soared into the sky the camera tilted down showing the orange and yellow of the remaining leaves on the trees and the green of the leaf strewn grass beyond. "Look over there Silvanus you can see the new woodland being planted by Mr Matt and where he's had the road diverted." "It looks so large Milosh I didn't realise how big it would be." "Not like the forests back home Sister but it is a start is it not?" I nodded in agreement, I had worried that Matt was just buying up surrounding land go give himself more privacy, this was partly true but he was also returning some of the surrounding land to nature from its industrial/ semi industrial state. "Do you see at the end of the lake where it looks like a wide path has been left unplanted?" asked Dix. "Yes why is it like that?" "Mr Stevenson is hoping to return the exit stream from the lake back to its original path as it now goes underground for a while, anyone like a go?" "Me I would," enthused Milosh. By lunchtime I knew exactly what I would get Milosh for Christmas, but figured that by hook or crook he'd already have a drone by then such was his enthusiasm. I was a little surprised to receive a call from Hillary as I was preparing to go down to lunch and spent the next hour lying on my bed like a teenager talking to him on my mobile. I ate lunch with Terry having missed Joy and Alice by a few minutes. "So when are you coming back to work with us then Silvia?" "When Bob certifies I won't be a liability Terry." "Would you like Aliza to have a word, she can be quite persuasive?" "No but thank you, this has been needed for some time now Terry; I've just been putting it off." "It was that academy place wasn't it?" "It was." "Well whatever happened there must have really screwed you up, I don't think I've ever seen you look like that." "It did Terry you've no idea." He then changed the subject, "Thinking of going up to Otterburn this weekend to use the ranges, fancy a trip out? Aliza and Dix will be there and, hopefully, Joy too." "I'd like that." I liked Terry for a couple of reasons, he had a very easy going nature but when required he was the perfect soldier, the other reason being that he'd saved Aliza's life with very little thought for his own safety, he'd simply done what was right and had paid for it with a bullet in his back. Joy and Alice reappeared a few minutes later just as Terry was finishing his food, they were both dressed for comfort and were barefoot with their feet barely making an appearance as their soft skirts were so long. "Been raiding Susan's wardrobe again girls?" Alice grasped Joy's hand but Joy simply smiled, "Not this time Silvia this is from my own collection of super comfy workwear." "Workwear? Really?" Joy nodded. "Yes Maud keeps us stocked with really lovely and practical clothing as I don't really like the whole corporate thing even though sometimes it is a necessary evil." "I approve." "Thought you might," said Alice. "Actually we were wondering if you wanted to talk a little more about your past Silvia, If you're feeling up to it that is?" I looked at my two friends and smiled. "Only if you let me bead your hair as I do girls." Alice looked at Joy who's expression turned to a broad smile. "Okay then, my room in ten minutes I believe I have the appropriate items up there." In my room I found in the back of one of my suitcases several packs of fine beads and a comb, this briefly brought happy memories of me beading my daughters fine hair when she was a toddler much to the disgust of my own mother. Joy and Alice turned up together reminding me of how Dawn and Lucy can be. "Okay so who wants to be first?" Joy Allowed Alice to sit on my bed and as I combed out her hair Joy said, "Yesterday you seemed a little hesitant to continue your story Silv was it because Milosh was present?" I nodded. "Yes he is under the impression that she was murdered in Copenhagen and died quickly there were omissions." Alice gasped a little. "Are you sure you want to know what actually happened?" I asked. Joy nodded solemnly. "Yes Silv if it helps you I do." Chapter 47 Copenhagen Silvanus. Our trip across the Baltic sea went without incident and after the cargo had been unloaded we were smuggled off the ship in a container of some sort. When the container was opened we were greeted by the man I only knew as Mr Simpson. "Mrs Pettifer has appraised me of your situation err," "Silvanus I am called Silvanus now." "Ah yes well welcome back to the west Silvanus and it is a pleasure to finally meet you Adriana. We won't travel back to the UK for a couple of days yet as I would like our doctors to give you the once over first just in case." I nodded I'm not sure why I needed a check-up but at least I was now safe and in the west once more. The doctors will also check you over Adriana as I believe that childbirth has worsened your condition." I turned and looked at Adriana. "Why didn't you tell me?" I asked in Romanian. "I did not want you to worry my love, I will soon be repaired and we can continue our journey together." Mr Simpson interrupted. "My Romanian is a little rusty so could you try and use English for my benefit please?" I hugged my wife and soon was being led into a very large car with leather seats after the car we were led into a large building where we were separated into different rooms and our baby was taken temporarily from us by a 'Childminder' I was interviewed for several hours before the noise of our baby crying caused our interviews to be cut short and we were reunited with our distraught child. That evening Adriana and I slept together in a very comfortable bed with baby in a cot at its base and two armed men outside the door to our room. The next morning I had several medical examinations along with x-rays and an ultrasound check on my stomach area. The afternoon was taken up with questions about the sports academy, questions about how my body had been changed questions I found very hard to answer as I was desperately trying to forget what had been done to me there, Mr Simpson intervened when one of my interviewers started shouting at me, reprimanded him then stated that the interview had ended, he then took both me Adriana and our baby from the building. In the car he apologised for what he called the 'farce back there' and took us all to Lunch, his assistant looked after baby once we'd fed her. "It will take me a few days to get your new passports through but by Monday you should be back home Silvanus and you Adriana you will be a British citizen." Adriana hugged me tightly. "In the meantime if I were you I would take in the sights of Copenhagen, I have posted two operatives to observe and protect you. Mrs Pettifer has been out shopping and purchased a folding push chair for your baby so she can look around. Once you've finished here may I suggest a walk to the main shopping street and have fun.' He then passed us a wallet like purse. "It may look like a lot but it isn't really as there is roughly 12 Krone to the pound it's about 100 pounds give or take, have fun." Adriana and I finished our meal and then took baby out in her first ever push chair, and went shopping, our observers must have been very talented as we hardly noticed them all afternoon. That evening Adriana and I made plans for what we would do when we arrived in England, the first thing being visiting my Mum and Dad. I was however more than a little worried about what they would make of me now. As we prepared for bed that evening Adriana took a pill from a bottle and popped it into her mouth, "What is that for Adriana?" I asked. "The doctors gave them to me today it helps to regulate my heartbeat, It is only until I get my heart mended in England though my love." I wasn't particularly happy about Adriana taking medicines but I had also been informed that when the implants within me started to lose potency that I would also have to take medicine for the rest of my life or run the risk of bone disorders or worse. As we cuddled up together that evening I smiled inwardly thinking positively about our future together. The next two or three days were spent sightseeing with only the occasional meeting to get photographs for passports or closely monitored interviews. On our final day in Copenhagen Adriana and I went to a pavement caf? for a snack lunch we were meeting with Mr Simpson. We ordered tea and sandwiches from the attentive waiter and chatted whilst we waited for our food to arrive, Mr Simpson arrived a few minutes later his driver parking on the street near to the caf? and sitting with us. Our food was placed on the table and our teas were poured, Mr Simpson asked the waiter for another cup and for a while we chatted then I took a sip from the hot tea, I remember my lip feeling strange after sipping the tea but not much else. What happened next was recounted to me by Hugo in hospital several days later at a military hospital in Wiltshire (England) "How do you feel?" "Absolutely terrible Mr Simpson what happened to me?" He touched my hand softly but it felt like sandpaper as my skin was really sensitive for some reason. "You were poisoned I'm afraid." "Poisoned but how?" "Your tea, one of Chensky's operatives killed the man and woman I had protecting you then slit the throat of your waiter he then administered a nerve agent to your tea." "But." "I unfortunately did not notice your pupils but as your speech became slurred I realised that you had been affected, your wife was also exhibiting milder symptoms, I signalled to my driver to bring my first aid kit and radio for help by this time you were struggling to breath and your muscles were starting to spasm fortunately my driver is a trained medic and we administered a drug called atropine to both you and your wife, you were both immediately taken to hospital where Adriana made a quick recovery, her heart medicine partly protecting her from the effects of the poison." "So she's safe?" I asked hopefully, Mr Simpson lowered his head. "I'm afraid that I have some very bad news for you Silvanus, Adriana is dead she was murdered last evening at a government safe house a few mile east of here in Andover." "But you said she'd survived." "She had but last evening person or person's unknown killed three policeman guarding the safe house and the two special branch officers within, your wife it seems fought bravely and as a result your child is unharmed but inevitably she succumbed and was stabbed several times in the chest by a thin piercing blade, I'm so sorry Silvanus." Even in my weakened state I felt an uncontrollable hatred for the people who'd murdered Adriana and asked through gritted teeth. "Was it Goran Chensky?" "He was in the country yesterday yes but even if I'd wanted too I couldn't touch him as he'd just claim diplomatic immunity, curiously though an observer at Heathrow airport noted a dressing on his cheek this morning as he boarded his Aeroflot flight back to Moscow." at the time I did not understand why Hugo was telling me these things but he did not even flinch when I stated coldly. "One day I am going to destroy him." Hugo stood up and left me with a small card. "Contact me day or night when you are ready." Chapter 48 Comfortably Numb I was in hospital for nearly three weeks before being reunited with my child, who was being carried by my mum. Our meeting was very business- like and cordial, my mother informed me of my father's recent death but, due to the strong tranquillisers I'd been prescribed, I couldn't have really cared less. After three more weeks I left hospital and was taken to my old family home where my bedroom had been redecorated and a cot installed. I sat in my room for days just looking out at the small area of woodland in the distance and imagining that if I went there Adriana would be there to meet me, but knowing that if I did go there my dream would be shattered so I simply continued to stare out to the woods. I was visited several times by social workers and on one occasion by my family doctor but it was only when I was visited by Mrs Pettifer and who'd brought with her a young handsome doctor called Harry Simmons that I finally received the help I so badly needed. "Who the hell prescribed these?" I heard him say to my mother. "They help her to cope with her bereavement," said my mum. "If by help you mean they turn her into a pliable zombie then yes they'll help her cope admirably, these things are very addictive, I'm reducing her dosage immediately and you will reduce the dose every day until she's free of them." "But won't that make her harder to be with?" asked my mum. "Boo hoo, suck it in woman, this is your child, she's grieving, she needs love not pills, take her for walks, talk to her, don't lock her up in her room." "Yes Doctor." "And let her hold her baby." "But she's in no fit state." "I wasn't suggesting it, that was an order." My mother became irritated at the young man giving her orders. "Look you can't just come into my house..." "I can and if feel that I have to remove your daughter and her child for their protection I will, do not push me madam." My mother left the room and brought my baby to me then placed her into my arms, even in my drug addled state I could feel my emotions rise and for the first time in her short life I called her Adriana. Mother begrudgingly followed my new doctors' orders to the letter and soon my burgeoning addiction to tranquillisers had been replaced by a new and at the time more acceptable addiction as I took up my mother's habit of smoking cigarettes. As soon as the tranquillisers had cleared my system and with the help of my new doctor I started to breastfeed once more and after a while even started to leave the house with Adriana in her pushchair with her happily burbling to herself as we walked. Mother however did take control of trying to turn me into a lady and with some success turned me into 'Normal' young mother and as the months went by I slipped slowly into my new life. Of smart blouses, skirts, hose and heels, rebellion was not even in my nature anymore as I was still numb from my recent history and had simply given up fighting. With my relatively sedentary lifestyle I started to fill out and although not fat became undistinguishable from any other young woman in our little town. I think it was my form of denial. One morning at the local park I was sitting with several other young mothers whilst our children either sat on the grass, crawled around or simply slept. Adriana crawled up to me and nudged my breast. "Mmmmaa" she attempted to say as she nuzzled into me, out of instinct I undid my blouse and pulled my bra down allowing her access, she sucked happily whilst I looked at the surprised faces of the other girls. "Why are you still feeding her that way haven't you gone on to formula or baby food yet?" one asked. "She likes it and it soothes her, I feed her little pieces of food occasionally but she still likes mothers milk." "But what about you what do you want?" "I want my baby to be happy, she'll decide when to stop not me." One of the women laughed commenting. "She'll still be on the tit when she's sixteen at that rate then." I ignored the comment and carried on until Adriana had finished, she then sat by my side and played with her rattle. After a while Adriana crawled away and started to play near to a flower bed, I noticed her playing with an earth worm and that her clothes were becoming soiled. I got up to take it from her and clean her up and, as I did, realised that she was doing no real harm 'Children need to be children and learn.' I remembered from the women in the camp so I sat back down and watched as she explored her surroundings her tiny dress and tights becoming more and more soiled as she did, I smiled inwardly as I could tell it was upsetting the sensibilities of the other young mothers. After a while I did retrieve Adriana and as I did I heard Brenda comment. "Well, if that's the way they let children behave in her country." "I am actually English you know? And my hearing is perfect thank you," I stated indignantly at their bitchiness. Chapter 49 Turning Point As I walked home I was angry with myself and smoked a cigarette as I pushed Adriana (Something I rarely did as I did not want her to see me smoke) but today I smoked in front of her and it relieved my anger a little, in order to finish my cigarette I turned into a street I would normally have missed but as I needed a couple more minutes I continued on to the end before flicking my spent cigarette into the gutter and continuing my journey, as I turned to retrace my steps I noticed an old Chinese woman and her husband standing on their front lawn doing what to me looked like slow motion exercises, I slowed a little and watched for probably longer than was polite, the old woman smiled at me and said, "Good morning." I muttered something back and embarrassed that I had been caught staring moved away quickly. The next week in the park I noticed more disapproval from the other young mothers but this time I simply shrugged my shoulders and figured it was their problem not mine, on the way back from the local park curiosity got the better of me and I deliberately deviated from my normal route home to see if the old couple were still there doing their slow motion exercises, it was a little later than the previous week and I was a little disappointed to see that the old couple had finished. The very next day I deviated once more after buying groceries and noticed the old woman and her husband on the lawn in what looked like stiff cotton pyjamas, I did not know why but I was fascinated by the flowing movements they made almost in synchronisation with each other. Once again the old woman said, "Hello there" with a smile as I passed by. I smiled at her and scurried a little faster past their large front lawn and once out of eyeshot turned around and watched them both until the net curtains of houses started to twitch. I avoided the couple for the next few days then on one particularly warm morning I found Adriana and I walking along the same road, I found a good vantage box by a red telephone box and smoked a cigarette as I watched the old man and then the old woman come out of their house. Half an hour the old couple moved in almost perfect synchronisation both graceful and elegant in their movement, I so wanted to ask what they were doing and why. The old couple finished their lawn display and went back into their house, I then walked back towards their house in order to get back onto the main road, as I passed their house the old woman came out smiled at me and then walked towards me. "Hello again, oh what a cute little girl." "I, I'm sorry I must be going," I said as I tried to make my getaway. "It's called tai chi chuan." I stopped in my tracks. "I'm sorry what?" "What my husband and I do it is called tai chi; we use it to stay fit." I wasn't sure what to say to the friendly old woman who spoke beautiful English. "It looks so graceful, the moves all seemed to flow into each other." She smiled warmly at me. "I have made tea, would you like tea?" I must have hesitated for too long as the old lady frowned a little. "Maybe some other time then?" she said, I wanted to know more about this tai chi so I apologised. "I'm sorry I just didn't expect to be invited to tea I didn't even expect you to strike up a conversation with me." The old woman touched my hand. "I should apologise, my husband says I am too friendly." "I would love to have tea with you," I found myself saying, the old lady smiled once more and led me through a small ornamental gate through into the back garden of her house. "Please take a seat I will pour, this tea is called Lu Cha, it has a little wild ginger and is good for digestion." The old woman poured from a see through teapot into glasses, I just stared at the glass. "It is good look." The old woman took a sip from her glass, she looked at my expression and somehow understood, she then took my glass and took a sip from it then placed it back down. "You are hurting inside?" I nodded, she shouted several things in Chinese to the old man. "I told my husband that you were hurting inside, is the hurt recent?" I swallowed and nodded once more. "Then you do not wish to talk of it, I understand." I took a sip from my glass the drink had a leafy taste but was not unpleasant. "My name is Ling and my husband's name is Junjie." "Sorry my name is Silvanus." Ling raised an eyebrow. "You say your name as if it was new to you?" "It is, something happened to me, something terrible, I had to change my name." Ling nodded but said nothing, she looked at Adriana and smiled. "My daughter she is called Adriana." "Adriana that is a beautiful name a beautiful name for a beautiful little girl. but also a very old name too." "It was her mmm mm." I stopped and reached for my bag and ultimately my cigarettes. "You won't find real solace there Silvanus only darkened lungs and bad breath." I removed my hand from my bag, Ling smiled. "There you go you have taken your first step, I am an old woman and I have seen many bad things in my life, for someone so young you have seen many bad things yes?" I nodded. "We will not talk of these things then. You asked about tai chi?" Ling then talked at length about it being derived from a martial art, she then described and showed me several movements and positions, the positions all had names like 'carrying the moon' or 'dancing with rainbows' Ling demonstrated them with precision and grace. "Now you try, remove silly high shoes and stand next to me." I did as was asked and stood on her lawn and followed her directions and was constantly corrected on my breathing. "You do good for beginner, you have a natural balance, come again we will drink tea and talk." As I walked back to my home I felt myself smiling. I returned to see Ling a week later then after a while my visits became more frequent as I learned the basics of tai chi from her and the wisdom that can only be gained from age and experience. Ling became a sort of an anchor point for me and I slowly started to rebuild my life from that point. One morning a small plain brown envelope arrived. I could see my name in the Semi-transparent window and from the crest in the corner knew it was from a government department. "Mum," I shouted to my mum who was changing the sheets. "I have an offer, an offer from Cambridge university." I heard my mother coming downstairs at speed. "What was that dear you said something about university." "Yes look this letter says it, a guaranteed place with enhanced grant, all I have to do is sit my A levels and pass." "Surely not," said my mother who took the letter from me and started to read it. "Oh but you have to attend the local secondary school during the day and on night classes to catch up." I looked at her disheartened and looked over at Adriana who was sitting on the carpet in her nappy happily playing with the many large colourful wooden blocks strewn around her. "I can't go back to school mum I have Adriana to look after." Mum looked at me and smiled. "She also has a grandmother who is quite capable." "I can't ask you Mum I just can't." "Why on earth not?" "She's my responsibility I, I." Mum came over to me and hugged me. "We have both lost loved ones, I don't want to lose you too but your education is important," She paused and for the first time ever she said my new name "Silvanus." I hugged my mum back tightly no longer feeling like an imposter in my body. When I told Ling of my decision to go back to school she smiled broadly and said, "You will still visit me on weekends and holidays." I nodded. "And continue with tai chi?" "Every morning I promise." "A promise from you I will accept." Chapter 50 Return to School Most schools in the eighties had the policy that sixth formers could wear normal clothing, not mine so on my first day, which was actually midterm, I arrived wearing full school uniform, initially everything went well and for the first few weeks I had no problems with either the girls or the boys unfortunately somehow Sharon Sangler a particularly obnoxious young woman in one of my classes found out that I had a baby and started to taunt me about being a 'single mother' and 'keeping my legs closed' these were obviously comments she'd overheard from her parents but they were hurtful nevertheless. I ignored Sharon and her friends for several weeks until a rumour was started about me being 'Easy' and 'desperate'. One morning break as I was going through my notes from my chemistry lesson Sharon was deep in conversation with her gaggle of friends and they all started to giggle. one of the lads asked why they were giggling, Sharon replied. "We were just talking about Silvanus, Jade thinks that after having a baby her fanny must be huge." I felt my fists tighten but did not rise to her comments. Later I noticed Sharon walking by herself towards the swimming pool, I intercepted her just as she was about to meet with her friends and dug my fingers into one of her lower pressure points without being seen and then quickly entered the girls toilet just as she voided her bladder. I then stopped counted to ten and exited the toilet lobby to see Sharon with a shocked look on her face standing in a puddle of her own urine, her friends looked on not knowing what to do or say. "I may have one of my daughters Nappies in my bag Sharon if you require it?" I offered as sincerely as I could, this caused several sniggers which turned to laughs. "Bitch, this was your doing I'm going to kill you for that." I looked as shocked as I could. "No Sharon I believe that this is Karma at work." I turned and left her to her plight. Things calmed down with Sharon after that or so I thought. One evening after school I was just leaving the local park after Adriana and I had used the play equipment, when my way was blocked by Sharon and her big brother with two of his friends. "You did that to me at school I know it was you, you cow." I tried to turn Adriana's push chair to get past the boys but they kept getting in the way. "Look it's getting late and you are upsetting my daughter." "Like I give a shit, you humiliated me." Sharon said totally oblivious to the fact she'd been belittling and attempting to humiliate me all term. I pressed my foot engaging the brake on the pushchair then walked up to Sharon. "If you have a problem with me Sharon deal with me yourself, you don't need three bodyguards to protect you, do you?" Sharon's mouth started to twitch and she turned to her brother. "Are you going to let her talk to me like that?" "I'm only here to look intimidating Shar, I don't need any more aggro with the cops." Sharon took a swipe at my face her long nails aimed to scratch me, I moved my head out of her way, she then swung her shoulder bag at me hitting me with the force of a shoulder bag with a brick in it (which it indeed had!) I winced in pain and retaliated knocking her to the floor only for another of the lads to try and grab me, I head butted his face with the back of my head spun around and elbowed him in the cheek turned back and using a roundhouse kick hit the other youth in the face causing him to fall back onto his backside. "Stop, just stop," shouted Sharon's brother the two lads stopped immediately, he turned to me. "Are you okay Silvanus?" he asked with surprising concern. "Yes," I said whilst holding my defensive posture, he then turned to Sharon. "If you know what is good for you Shar, you will stay a long way from her as she outclasses you in every way." Sharon looked at her big brother with shock. "You are supposed to be my brother and stick up for me you big wimp." "And I would if I thought you'd been wronged but you are acting like a spoiled baby. Someone has finally reacted to your spiteful comments and bested you so you go running to big brother to stick up for you, grow up you stupid little girl." he spat with contempt. "But Dane she made me piss myself." "Did she really?" he replied. I took this opportunity to make my exit, released the brake on the buggy and started to wheel Adriana away, she didn't seem to be upset at all and seemed to have just watched the entire scene with curiosity. On Saturday morning I went to see Ling and after joining them on their front lawn to do tai chi I was invited for our customary cup of green tea. "Junjie was in the local park earlier this week playing bowls Silvanus, he witnessed you." "Oh." "Junjie said that you showed great restraint." "I was scared for Adriana I just wanted to protect her Ling, I'm sorry." "Do you have something to be sorry for Silvanus?" "I sort of caused the problem with Sharon." "Tell me more?" asked Ling as she poured tea into my glass, I explained what had been happening at school with Sharon and what I had done to her. "You were correct about Karma Silvanus." Ling's husband appeared to my side. "Tell me what you know about pressure points and where you learned to fight." He ordered quite abruptly in broken English as he pulled a seat to join us the small metal ornamental table. I explained how I'd been taught how to fight and use knives. "Do you have these knives with you?" he asked. "No they are at home in my dresser, I only have two now as the other was with my wife when she was murdered." I stopped talking as I realised what I'd just said and felt relieved that I had finally said what had happened and finally admitted that Adriana was my wife, Ling reached over and held my hand for a second, she turned to her husband and said something in Chinese, he replied and smiled at me then got up tapped my hand with his, leaving Ling and I together once more. "My husband, he likes you, he asks if next time you visit you could bring knives with you?" On Monday as I had two free periods in the morning I wrapped my two remaining knives in newspaper and took them to Ling's house in time to join them for their tai chi session and afterwards I said to Ling. "I brought my knives." Ling's husband who was about to re-enter the house turned and said, "Follow please." I followed him to the garage where he opened one of the large doors revealing a very large and spacious but empty double garage. he held his hand out and said, "Please." I passed the newspaper wrapped package over, he frowned at me. "No box?" "I'm sorry but I had to leave it behind when we left the soviet union." "Pha communists they destroy everything they touch." he then spat onto the ground. At a small work bench at the rear of the garage he carefully unwrapped my remaining knives and studied them for several minutes holding them in his hands and balancing them then humming and harring before taking each knife and throwing them past me and into a cork board on the wooden garage doors. "Not a master's work but very very close, who made these blades?" "A blacksmith I think," I replied, Junjie walked past me and removed the blades from the door then asked me to hold one of the blades. I held it as I'd been shown, Junjie raised his eyebrows. "These blades were designed for you, I was mistaken your blacksmith was a master, you lost one blade?" I nodded. "I will make you a leather pouch to protect three blades, I have a feeling that you will not be parted forever from the third." he then turned and faced me and without warning and with surprising speed thrust the other knife at me, I reacted immediately and blocked his attack then by applying pressure to his wrist caused it to drop on a section of carpet that seemed almost pre-placed. "Fast, very fast, but you lack finesse. I will smooth you and you will tell Ling of your life and love yes?" his smile won me over I don't think I'd ever seen such a childlike smile on an old person before I nodded and agreed. "Good, it is done." I visited Ling and Junjie Chow frequently for the next year and a half, Junjie showed me the origins of some of the skills I'd been taught and improved them when necessary; he also taught me restraint and respect for myself whilst Ling listened to me talk in a way I simply could not talk to my mother. then one autumn morning I arrived at their home only to see a 'For Sale' placard had been placed in their lawn and to be told that they had moved away earlier in the week by a neighbour, who also gave me a letter. I read the letter in the street with tears streaming down my face. All the while I had visited with the Chow's not once did they tell me of their history but their past had finally caught up with them and they had once again had to flee their home from the people seeking them. This time however I was not down, I was sad yes, but Ling and her husband had once more escaped and were hopefully now safe from whoever was pursuing them I wiped my tears and walked away from their lovely home for the last time wishing them well. "After my shaky start in sixth form I was never again bothered by Sharon, I studied hard and for my labours passed all of my A levels with very good grades and was accepted into Cambridge without even an interview. My course of history and modern languages allowed me significant freedom and due to its closeness to home allowed me to commute home on a regular basis in my new old car (A Citroen Ami8) to be with Adriana who was growing ever so quickly. Mum loved being a young grandmother and looking after Adriana when I was away. Chapter 51 An Opportunity Taken During my second year of study I was asked if I would like to join a party on a four week cultural exchange visit to Russia due to my excellent spoken Russian, I accepted without hesitation and after I'd penning a letter to Mr Simpson with another letter to be forwarded to Milosh I made plans for my visit, this included increasing my normal exercising and training. Mum was unhappy to say the least about me travelling back to the USSR, but somehow realised that this was something I simply had to do. It was a cool morning mid-June when three lecturers, seven students and I boarded the Aeroflot flight at Heathrow, roughly four hours later we landed at Sheremetyevo airport and were met by two cultural guides who would accompany us everywhere we visited to ensure we witnessed the Soviet union at its best, our luggage was collected for us (probably to be searched before we were reunited with it) and we boarded a state provided bus taking us straight to our hotel, the hotel being a very large Stalinist style building. My room although quite basic by western standards was large bright and afforded me a very good view of red square and the Kremlin beyond, there was a small picture of the current leader Yuri Andropov on the wall and a large booklet with the many do's and don'ts that we would have to contend with on our visit. As I dressed for dinner on our first evening in Moscow I wondered if Milosh had gotten my message and would meet with me when we arrived in Byelorussia in two weeks' time. This evening I was determined not to look like a student and as I knew that this was quite a prestigious hotel I dressed accordingly taking time on my hair and only wearing the finest lingerie under my gown. After completing my makeup I slipped on a pair of 4" slingbacks and picked up my small evening bag then as I headed towards the room door I heard a knock. "Silvanus are you ready? We're waiting." "day mne minutku." "In English please some of us struggle with Russian." "Sorry Clara I said give me a minute but actually I'm just about ready now." "Did you say you were ready?" I opened the door. "Da." "Good lord Silvanus we're only going for food," said Clara who was wearing tight jeans and a blouse. "I know I just thought it would be fun." When we reached the grand dining hall Clara and the other students realised their mistake as almost everyone else was dressed for dinner including the lecturers who quickly ushered the others back out to change. The hall may have been quite grand, but the service and food was plain and served without enthusiasm. I smiled at this as it was what I'd grown to expect the communist state having created a people who simply went from day to day without change or hope of change. As we finished our meal Professor Petri informed me. "Tomorrow we are visiting Lenin's mausoleum, Red Square and then some sports complex built especially for the 1980 Olympics, I'm really quite excited." "I'm actually looking forward to our week in Byelorussia professor, I believe that will be most interesting." "Indeed oh and don't forget we have been invited by our hosts to the Bolshoi on Saturday evening I only hope that your fellow students have packed suitable clothing." I liked Professor Petri but he held onto a misguided romantic belief that Russia was not a totalitarian state whose inhabitants had been looked after by the state so long that if given freedom they would find it hard to adapt too, (something the East German people would learn to their cost in a few short years). I wondered what we would be seeing at the Bolshoi. "Will the Ballet be performing professor or will it be opera or something else." He smiled at me. "As I believe the ballet company is currently in residence I would assume it will be a ballet performance but I wouldn't expect swan lake if I were you." "I will look forward to it Professor." "May I ask you a question Sylvanus?" "Certainly, professor." "Who taught you to speak Russian as every now and then I can hear a little Romanian." "It was my Babushka or rather my bunica," I lied. "Oh your grandmother, do you speak Romanian too?" "A little," I replied with another small lie, but as I talked with Professor Petri I noticed then became a little distracted by a woman who had just entered the room and sat down two tables down from me with two men who from the way they dressed were quite obviously minor diplomat's. I wasn't interested in the two men but the woman she was familiar even with the long blond hair and glasses, It was Irene Pettifer, 'What the hell is she doing here' I thought already knowing what the answer would be. After a while I excused myself in order to freshen up and headed to the ladies room noticing as I left the restaurant area the two men with her rising from their chairs as Mrs Pettifer got up from hers. In the rest room I entered a cubicle and sat fully dressed on the seat and waited. After a few seconds, the cubicle next to me became occupied and then a few seconds later I heard flushing as a small torn folded slip of paper was slipped into my cubicle, I took the paper and unfolded it. 'Back terrace fifteen minutes.' I then tore the paper into shreds and placed it into the toilet with several sheets of the Soviet version of toilet paper, which was not quite tracing paper and not quite newspaper but somewhere in-between! After flushing I washed my hands and then freshened my makeup then went back to my table to apologise to the professor that I was feeling a little tired and was going out for air. On entering the terrace area I headed over to the wall stopped and looked out at a view of the city in twilight. I then noticed the orange glow of a cigarette in the shadows to my left and slowly moved towards it. "It's a beautiful evening is it not Miss?" asked Mrs Pettifer as she stepped into view. "It is, you can see the city at its best in the evening." She passed me her pack of cigarettes. "How rude of me would you like one?" "I smoked for a while but I gave it up." "Sensible girl." Then in a hushed voice Mrs Pettifer said, "What the hell are you doing here Silvanus? if you get caught you will be imprisoned or worse." "I think you know why I'm here Mrs Pettifer," "Yes and I think Mr Simpson is a lunatic for indulging you." "Did you bring the package?" "It is in your room and Milosh will meet with you when you reach Byelorussia, look it's not too late to back out, I will understand and even help you." I turned to Mrs Pettifer and looked her in the eyes. "It should have ended in Copenhagen but it didn't; Chensky just couldn't admit defeat so he had us poisoned and then he murdered my wife. He took Adriana away from us, Adriana who was innocent and had never harmed anyone in her life, my sweet Adriana." "Yes Silvanus; but killing him?" "I'm not going to kill him Mrs Pettifer but I am going to destroy him, destroy him completely." "It won't bring her back you know?" "I know, but it will restore balance to my life." Mrs Pettifer stood in silence for several seconds before turning and leaving as several people entered the terrace having also finished their meals. On arrival in my room a little later I slipped my dress down my body then stepped out of it, removed my heels then undid the straps holding up my stockings before rolling each one down my leg I removed my garter belt and slipped into silken pyjamas and after putting my clothes away retrieved the package that had been left under my bed. I rolled out the soft leather pouch containing my two remaining knives and examined them before placing them into my suitcase. I enjoyed the next two weeks immensely and as we travelled over the border into Byelorussia I felt a twinge of nervousness especially as four or five miles later I noticed Constantin standing with Milosh by the side of the road next to their apparently broken down pickup truck. Our latest hotel was both grand and moderately run down at the same time and my room was large and sparse. I quickly unpacked and joined my fellow students and our lecturers for a guided walk around the officially sanctioned sites of interest then later in the afternoon we were allowed a little personal sightseeing in the town centre. I quickly lost myself in the alleyways and lanes and soon found myself on my old stomping ground near to where my parents apartment was and only a few streets away from where I witnessed Chensky murder Otto Krenkovitch. It was with some trepidation that I entered the alleyway and once out of view of the road my heart skipped a beat as I heard the words, "It is good to see you again my sister." I turned and launched myself at Milosh hugging him tightly and allowing him to hug me back. "It is so good to see you but you were not wise to come back here." "I had to come Brother for Adriana." "I know." we broke our embrace then Milosh lifted the bundle of clothing he'd brought. "I will show you where it is safe to change sister then we will start, Chensky's colleagues are already becoming suspicious of him as their own informers have been passing on rumours we have created." "Good and do you have a small packet for me." "It is in your bundle a few grains will cause him severe cramps and he will spend a long time in the small room." I started to undress, Milosh averted his eyes as I changed from my typically western clothing into something that would not get me noticed locally, I wanted to get started immediately and going to his safe place to change seemed like a waste of time to me. Soon I was dressed in comfortable boots, skirt, woollen top and a headscarf, I'd removed my makeup and felt myself once more. "Chensky is a man of routine sister he will soon be doing the rounds of his group of spies; I will take you but first I take your clothing and put it in my vehicle" I walked with Milosh until we reached his pickup truck and he stowed my clothing away then we headed back into the busy centre of the city. It felt good to be walking and not being noticed as a foreigner, being watched wherever I went. It took over twenty minutes but as I caught my first glimpse of Chensky sitting by himself at a small table inside a bleak looking caf? I felt my knees give a little, Milosh steadied me. "This was not a good idea we will leave now." I steadied myself, "No Milosh we continue." We entered the caf? and took our seats, Milosh ordered Coffee's whilst I took several glimpses at one of the two people I despised and hated with all of my being," It was then I noticed a deep scar running from his mouth up past his ear and into his hairline. "It looks like my sister may have tried to give him a smile yes?" whispered Milosh under his breath, I nodded. When the waiter came with our coffee's I slipped the small brown paper packet to the side of my cup, the waiter palmed it and left quickly. After a while, a thin man wearing a cap appeared and sat with Chensky, they talked in hushed tones for several minutes only stopping when the waiter appeared with their beverages, Chensky then passed on several notes to the man, got up and left the caf?. "He will now go for a walk down by the old market and then along the path by the svislach where he will meet with a woman who spies for him in the American zone." Milosh and I followed out of sight of Chensky using several of Constantin's men to follow him so as not to arouse his suspicions. Dimitri stated after nearly a mile that Chensky was starting to suffer and looked to be in pain. Milosh and I watched via a bridge overlooking the river path as Chensky doubled up in pain, a woman and man rushed over to help him and guided him to a seat, I remember thinking 'if only they knew he was a murdering bastard'. "We should now have imprints of his apartment keys my Sister." "You mean that those people were?" "Yes do you not recognise Alfonse and Magda?" I hadn't of course. After two or three minutes Chensky got up from his seat and darted into the thick bushy undergrowth leaving several minutes later looking weak and walking oddly. "I think he has the shits yes?" Said Milosh with a huge smile, I nodded. Chensky never made it to his rendezvous and as soon as he'd gotten back onto the road took a taxi presumably to the nearest doctor or hospital. I walked with Milosh for the next hour holding his hand as we walked. "Your friend Mr Simpson he returned Adriana to us my sister, I think at great risk to himself." "I didn't realise, so she's..." I couldn't finish my sentence. "She is with us now. She is buried I would like to take you to her before you leave." I looked up into Milosh's eyes and with my own eyes watering said, "Thank you brother that would mean the world to me." He hugged me once more. Milosh and I walked the short walk back into the city together, and after retrieving my clothes and being guided to Milosh's 'safe place' I changed back into my own clothing before heading back to my hotel room. After bathing studying and dressing for dinner I noticed that someone had slipped an envelope under the door to my room and on opening it found two keys and an address. 'Chensky's address good now I just need him away from his apartment for an hour or two.' I thought as I balanced on one heel whilst slipping the other shoe onto my left foot. In many ways the hotel we were staying in was superior to the grander hotel in Moscow one of these ways was the food which was very good by soviet standards. It was strange but understandable that although I was only a little older than my fellow students I actually preferred the company of my Lecturers especially Professor Petri who despite his age and obvious infirmity had an almost childlike curiosity about him. "So tell me young lady what did you get up to today?" he asked with interest. "I went down by the river this afternoon professor it was such a nice afternoon it seemed a waste to spend it indoors studying." "Indeed, you cannot study a culture from your hotel room can you?" "No professor but I did study for a couple of hours when I got back." "I sat in the square and watched the world go by Silvanus, then sat in the lobby for a while as my dodgy feet were playing up." I smiled at my professor, it saddened me that due to his condition he was having trouble joining us on our 'Cultural' field trips. "It does not get dark for another couple of hours professor we could get a Taxi and we could visit somewhere." "Thank you, perhaps another time." The professor rose from his seat and I could see his discomfort as he placed his feet on the carpet in his slippers. "Here let me Professor, hold my arm I'll help you to your room," I said as I rose and held his arm. "Thank you, I should have packed my gout pills but my feet seemed okay when I left England." "The hotel has an on call doctor Professor maybe he can help?" "Possibly but my Russian is poor compared to yours." "I would be happy to translate." The professor paused for a moment then winced in pain once more. "Maybe yes, yes I think that would work." It took the doctor just under half an hour to arrive and with my help my professor was given pain medication and something to dissipate the build-up of Uric acid in his body he was also ordered to drink more water in return I agreed to have a drink at the hotel bar with the doctor who was not at all unpleasant to look at. "I must say that for an English woman your Russian is perfect." "Thank you Doctor and your English is also very good." I took a sip of my wine and the doctor moved a little closer to me. "My Mother was Canadian, I'm lucky as I speak Russian, French and English," he then on noticing our tour guides watching us and said, "Your minders think I am a trying to seduce you I must finish my drink and leave." with that he gulped down the rest of his drink, kissed me on the hand and taking his bag with him left the bar area leaving me a little frustrated as I was enjoying his company. On arrival back in my room I thought about the doctor and then on seeing the small picture I had with me of Adriana the guilt started and after undressing I apologised to her picture, "I'm sorry my love I just wanted a little company this evening that's all." The next morning our planned day visiting historic sites was cancelled due to poor weather, but undaunted I stated that I still wished to sightsee so I donned a waxed jacket and asked our guides if they wanted to come with me, they declined, opting to stay in the warm hotel instead, so headed out into the miserable cold city with my camera and backpack. It was curious to me but once in the centre of the city life mostly continued as normal. Once I was sure I hadn't been followed I slipped into a pre-determined alleyway and met with Milosh once more. "You were not followed Sister, Chensky left his apartment fifty minutes ago and was observed entering his headquarters roughly ten minutes ago give me your camera." I passed Milosh my camera which he in turn passed it to Dimitri who was standing waiting, I then quickly removed my waterproofs and as Milosh passed me my clothing quickly undressed under the arch changing into local attire. "Dimitri and Michael will take pictures whilst you and I are somewhere else". "Can you take me to his apartment now?" "Yes everything is prepared." Milosh and I then made way by foot to Ckensky's apartment block. "The front entrance has a porter he is a loyal communist, but the maintenance man is not, he has left the service tunnel entrance open to us, we can gain access there." "NO Milosh I will do this alone." "She was my sister too we go together." I could tell that Milosh was not for budging so I nodded. Milosh and I entered the service entrance and made out way to the north staircase then up the staircase to the fifth floor where we left our wet clothing on the landing and headed into the long dimly lit corridor looking for Chensky's flat. Three doors from his flat Milosh stated, "Over there that flat there lives a state informer she will report us if she notices us." I smiled "Good to know." As we reached Chensky's room Milosh I passed Milosh the two keys he'd had cut from the imprints of the keys we'd had temporarily stolen previously. The door opened immediately and we entered silently, the apartment was not sparse nor was it opulent, it was simply comfortable, there were several bookshelves with works from several Russian authors on them and by his bed very surprisingly an Ian Fleming Novel which I knew was a banned book. I entered his small office area and my blood ran cold when on his desk presumably being used as a letter opener was my missing knife the one Adriana had carried with her. "Leave it Sister, we cannot take it not yet." I nodded, Milosh then passed to me several documents one of which I laid out face down on Chensky's desk and the others I taped to the underside of one of his drawers. "Okay," I said as I deliberately moved Adriana's blade. Milosh and I then silently left Chensky's small apartment stopping only to roughly daub the word Predatel (Traitor) on his door in red paint and cause a small commotion in the corridor to attract the attention of the resident informer. Milosh and I then made our escape and watched from a distance as nearly half an hour later several unmarked, but obviously KGB vehicles arrived as speed at Krensy's apartment block and the occupants of the vehicles entered the block and quickly covered the entrances. "It looks like we have poked stick into ant nest Sister." I nodded and took a sip of my strong coffee. "I probably should be getting back to the hotel now Milosh." "I will escort you, but first you change." I changed back into my normal clothes and waterproofs then after getting my camera back walked the short distance to my hotel. As I entered the hotel one of the guides approached me. "Have you been using that camera?" "Yes I've taken pictures of the city centre and down by the river." "You should not have taken photographs not without us present." "Oh sorry." The guide took my camera and removed the film. "I will have this developed and the pictures will be returned to you this evening." "Oh that is kind of you," I said innocently, as I went for my purse to retrieve some money, the guide on noticing this said, "No charge a gift from us." He smiled and left with my film. Later that afternoon I was presented with 24 beautifully developed pictures from a state lab and a free replacement film for my camera. ` The next morning as I came down for breakfast, I noticed Mrs Pettifer in the foyer of the hotel sitting waiting patiently I foolishly wondered if she was here for me or meeting someone else, She gestured with her eyes that I should take a comfort break so I left my party and headed towards the ladies rest room where she was looking. I entered the rest room and stood at the large mirror pretending to check my makeup, Mrs Pettifer entered and dragged me into a cubicle then after flushing the toilet asked quietly but angrily, "Have you got a death wish or something? Chensky is apoplectic about your little stunt yesterday he's accused us, the Americans, the Chinese and for some reason the Norwegians of breaking into his apartment." "Good." "He spent the entire evening and most of the night being interviewed by his own colleagues, he's now under suspicion of selling secrets to a foreign power." "Good," I replied. "I'm actually surprised they didn't just arrest him and make him vanish, I don't know what you and Mr Simpson have cooked up between you but Chensky is now on the warpath and needs to clear his name, we're battening down the hatches until this all blows over and you young lady, you need to stop this, he's a dangerous man and won't hesitate to kill you." "He tried and failed Mrs Pettifer." "Did you not hear me he's dangerous?" "And so am I." Mrs Pettifer flushed the toilet once more. "This isn't a game young lady." "I know, he murdered my wife." "You need to leave now Silvanus I can organise a flight for you this afternoon and you can be back in England this evening." Looking into Mrs Pettifer's eyes I could see that she was really concerned for my safety. "I have help Mrs Pettifer and if necessary I can simply vanish." "Vanish? Oh the travellers they're helping you." I nodded. "Chensky killed Constantin's daughter, there were always going to be repercussions." Mrs Pettifer seemed to understand and hugged me tightly for several seconds before saying. "Look after yourself Silvanus I hope it is worth it." She then opened the cubicle and left me. Chapter 52 The First Time I played very little part in what happened over the next few days as I was being observed quite closely by the tour guides but Milosh and my family continued to plant rumours and seeds of doubt with Chensky's long term contacts and informers, resulting in them distancing themselves and virtually cutting off his ability to investigate who was harming his reputation. With only two day left before my return to the UK, I was finally informed that Chensky had gone to ground as his superiors had issued orders for him to be detained pending an internal investigation on charges of espionage, I smiled when I read the note from Milosh that had been wedged between one of the seat slats of the bench I was sitting on whilst sunning myself in the local park, the final part of the note stating where he was currently hiding which was ironically an unused British intelligence safe house in a wooded area to the west of the city, a place I would be visiting this evening. After enjoying a wonderful evening meal and socialising with my fellow students until late I went back to my room then after several minutes and changing into more suitable clothing I slipped out and made my way via the service lift down to the rear of the hotel where I was bundled into the back of a small panel van and spirited away. I changed once more into my old clothing with comfortable soft leather boots long skirt loose blouse and woollen top then tied my hair back I placed one of my knives down into sewn in pockets on each boot and then smiled as Milosh. "You understand I need to do this don't you?" He nodded. "But if you die this evening I will have lost both of my sisters, do not die." "I won't I promise," I said attempting to reassure him. "Good; my niece cannot lose another parent." When the van finally pulled to a stop Dimitri came out of the bushes he was carrying an old crossbow. "You were walking into a trap my friends, twelve KGB operatives are bound, gagged, and heading towards Poland in the back of a truck with twelve recently deceased pigs, they will not be pleased when they wake I think." "Is the area now secure my friend?" asked Milosh. "Yes the woodland is secure as is our escape." Milosh and I set off to the old safe house together then as we approached it he stopped. "Are you sure that you wish to go through with this?" I nodded. "I want him to know who ruined his reputation before I leave Milosh." "And then?" "I don't know." I kissed Milosh on the cheek turned and headed in towards the old house alone. The house was in darkness as I approached it then as I reached the front door several bright lights came on illuminating the house and the forest around it, this obviously being a signal for the agents within the forest to apprehend me. I crouched a little and retrieved one of my knives from my boot then slipped it up my sleeve and entered the old house heading towards the only source of illumination the flickering light caused by a raging fire within the fireplace of the main parlour. "I underestimated you my friend," said a cold voice as I entered, followed by a single incandescent light illuminating the bare room, there was then an awkward silence followed by, "Who on earth are you?" Chensky had been sitting on an old reading chair and seemed genuinely surprised to see me, I wondered as he stood who he was expecting. "I repeat," he asked angrily "Who are you?" Chensky then started to pull a pistol from within his coat, I moved forward and quickly relieved him of it pushing him back as I did, then looking into his eyes as I removed the clip and flicked round after round onto the floor whilst he watched until the clip was empty. "Simpson he is not able to do his own dirty work now is he not?" I simply looked at Chensky and at the long scar on his face. "Setting me up has Simpson written all over it but you, I do not know you." I stood my ground and simply stared at him, he looked weak and pitiful nothing like I remembered him being. "Is Simpson still sore about Copenhagen, I do not blame him, it was petty of me." "You killed her." "The girl yes, stupid girl attacked me with a knife." He brought his hand up to the still red scar and traced it with his fingers. "You poisoned her." "Yes but it was intended to kill them both, she survived so I went to the hotel to get her." "You killed her guards." "I did, now are you going to stand here all evening stating the obvious or are you going to get whatever you've come to do over with." As he was speaking he'd slowly moved his hand inside his jacket and recovered another weapon a very recognisable weapon Adriana's knife. I don't know if it was my training, but as the thin bladed knife flew towards me time seemed to slow, I moved to one side and the knife went past me and embedded itself in the architrave of the door I'd recently entered, my own knife slipped down my sleeve into my hand and as I threw it I just knew it would hit him in the eye which it did. Chensky screamed loudly as my knife pierced his eyeball and the blade became lodged in the bone at the rear of his eye socket. Chensky stood for a moment, his brain trying to work out what had just happened to him, he then to my complete surprise grabbed at the knife and pulled it from his eye then staggered a little before steadying himself. "I am going to make you suffer for that." He paused for effect, smiled, then said, "Stefan." "You know who I was?" I asked in surprise. "Of course I do, we know a lot about you my dear and I look forwards to finding out who your accomplices were once I have you in an interrogation room." "I'm sorry but that will never happen." "Do not be so sure." He then shouted, "NOW," and waited with a smug look for several seconds, his smile fading by the second as nobody came rushing to his aid. "No matter I will deal with you myself." He then came at me with the blade he'd only just liberated from his now oozing eye socket, I easily dodged his attack. "Depth perception gone on the blink has it?" I taunted in Russian, he regained his footing turned and smiled. "She fought me you know?" I looked at Chensky blankly. "After she cut me and killed Gregor, she fought like a tigress. it took two of my agents to pin her to the bed whilst I used that knife over there, the knife she cut my face with to cut through her clothing she screamed and kicked the entire time." Chensky edged slowly towards an old sideboard. "I had been denied you my dear, so the next best thing would be the girl, so young and so strong she fought the entire time, even after I entered her she struggled against me and cursed me it just made me all the more excited." Chensky lunged for one of the drawers, opened it and his hand had just entered the drawer when I kicked it shut onto his fingers, he grimaced but said nothing. "I enjoyed her young flesh her knowing that one day you would find out from Simpson and come for revenge I just did not think you would be so stupid to come here so soon. You of course will not make it out of my country alive." I replied with, "Simpson did not tell me what you did to my Adriana, I came to ensure that you suffered for what you did to me, but no punishment is adequate for what you have done." I lashed out with my blade into his groin and from his reaction must have pierced one of his testicles I then stabbed him in his shoulder. "I however am not a monster and will allow you to live if you apologise to me for taking my wife's life," knowing that his arrogance would not allow it. "Bitch you stabbed me in the balls, but I had yours removed and your cock cut off, I also had the great satisfaction of squeezing the life out of that beautiful little wife of yours and watching her eyes bulge in her head as I squeezed her neck tightly and she started to lose her fight for life." "What!" "You heard me, who do you think gave Kuznetzov permission to experiment on you? From the second you arrived at that place your fate was in my hands, I enjoyed looking at the updates every week and the images of your changing body, you would have eventually become an effective asset for us my dear, had you not been removed." "You bastard." I moved to hit Chensky but in my anger lost focus and even with his injuries he somehow managed to get me onto my back and pin my hands to the floor. He headbutted me causing great pain and dazing me for a second or two. 'Concentrate, breath, think.' I thought to myself as I let my body relax, it took some seconds but eventually Chensky involuntarily started to release his grip on my hand and I attempted my escape from his grip. He didn't notice my feet or the knife I'd dislodged from my boot until it slid up the bare floor kicked by my foot reaching my left hand just as my right hand became free and I throat punched him, then as he moved back from me I took the blade and slashed his throat, severing his carotid artery. Chensky's death was slow, he was defiant to the last breath. I walked out of the house some minutes later with three knives covered in Chensky's blood and a hollow feeling inside, it was not a victory for me and it would not bring Adriana back. Milosh approached me with a blanket and placed it on my shoulders then sat with me on the grass. "There is nothing good or honourable about taking a life my sister, but in this case I will forgive it." "D, did you hear what happened in there?" "Some but not all, he has now paid dearly for murdering my sister, you must wash now and then we will get you back to your hotel." "I-" Milosh then took my knives from me and undressed me until I was naked, he then sponged me clean whilst the others turned and looked the other way. Chapter 53 Pressure Release Silvanus. I stopped talking as I could see that Alice was now visibly upset. "I'm so sorry Alice I've gone too far." Alice with tears still in her eyes said, "Don't you dare apologise to me Silvia you have nothing to apologise for," she then wrapped her arms around me and squeezed me tightly to her chest, Joy smiled weakly at me. "Hillary's father didn't tell you what had happened to Adriana?" asked Joy. "He visited me after my return to England with Mrs Pettifer at university and explained everything to me. He was apologetic and even invited Adriana and I to stay at his home over the summer but I was by then quite numb over what had happened and had withdrawn into my studies." Joy took my hand, but turned to Alice. "Will you be okay here Alice?" "Yes Joy it was just a little upsetting that's all." "Are you sure?" Alice nodded. "If not I will ring you I promise." Joy then turned to me "Want to see how Milosh's pickup is coming along?" I nodded, Joy smiled, let go of my hand and hugged Alice tightly, kissed her on the lips and said, "We'll be in the garage then we may go for a walk." Joy and I then left the house and after a couple of minutes entered their garage where Sarah appeared to be welding a new floor into the driver's side of Milosh's truck. Joy and I averted our eyes from the electric arc whilst Sarah finished and then approached the sorry looking truck. "It doesn't look much just yet but almost all of the structural work is now completed, the chassis has been repaired and sent away to be zinc dipped and will be back by the weekend and after the cab has been treated and resprayed we'll start to put it all back together, oh and I love the hair." "Silvanus has just done it to Alice and I, I like it but I'm not sure if it is that practical for military purposes." Joy made small talk for another five minutes about Milosh's pickup then she said, "I think a walk is in order don't you?" I nodded and we left Sarah working and headed out into the courtyard before then heading to the lake. "Killing Chensky didn't help much did it Silv?" she asked as we approached the wood. "No it just left me empty and angry, oh so angry, he was gone I had no one to blame anymore; no one to plot against. I wanted to somehow un kill him and make him suffer again and again for what he had done to us but he was now gone I had no one to focus my anger and hatred on." "I felt the something similar after being confronted by Lucas Johns, he'd been responsible for turning our lives upside down, on his orders I'd been infected with cancer and Alice had been kidnapped, but as he lay dead at my feet I felt robbed of my revenge. Fortunately, I had my new friend Terry, all of my friends in the SBS, Bob and eventually Susan and Aliza to help me through it." Joy paused for a second. "I'm never going to be the same person I once was Silv and in some ways I don't think I'd want to be any more as with this whole Angel thing I'd like to think we're making at least a teeny little difference." Joy stopped at the shore, picked up a flattened pebble and flicked it across the calm water watching it skip several times before sinking below the surface. I watched as she turned to face me and wondered to myself how could such a pretty, petite caring young woman be so deadly and yet so wonderful a friend? Of almost everybody I'd ever met since I became a woman I think meeting the Stevenson's has had the most impact, from my first ill-fated meeting with Susan to meeting Joy and agreeing to help her my life has changed beyond all recognition. "I really need to hit something Joy," I found myself unexpectedly saying, she simply smiled. "Here or back in the gym?" I wanted release I really didn't care where so I shrugged and as I did Joy attacked me. I blocked her attack and dodged her next one then pushed her back into the lake and went on the attack which she expertly countered. Attack, block, parry, attack, attack, Joy, and I fought constantly for several minutes as she and I became wetter and dirtier as we fell into the mud and pebbles of the lakes shore and sometimes into the icy waters of the lake itself our only obvious audience being Toby the gamekeepers dog who appeared after a minute or so and sat quietly watching us with curiosity. Eventually and inevitably Joy bested me and with her thighs wrapped around my neck slowly cutting off the blood my brain whilst I thrashed about to get free in the shallows of the lake I finally submitted, Joy released me immediately and then burst into a fit of infectious giggles which I found myself copying moments later as I crawled through the mud onto the shore. "Feel better now?" she asked several seconds later with a broad smile and a bright red face. "Much; I needed that thank you Joy." Joy pulled herself up and then offered me her hand. I took it and she assisted me up out of the now muddy water. "I think you've ruined that skirt Joy," I said as I pointed to the rip on her beautiful long skirt exposing her torn laddered hosiery. "Hey ho," she said cheerfully as she took my hand and we walked back onto the shore, Toby came over to us and walked by my side as we headed back to the big house dripping wet. About halfway through the woods a Land Rover approached us Terry was driving and Bob was in the passenger seat, Terry had a big smile on his face but Bob was not smiling and looked nervous. Bob was the first to get out of the vehicle, he immediately asked, "Is there anything I should be worried about?" he asked seemingly to the both of us. I looked at Joy and she looked at me, we then both burst into another fit of giggles once more, he was really uncomfortable and that made the whole scene all the funnier to me. "Next time you go mud wrestling lasses, give me the heads up beforehand will you so I can bring my camera?" Said Terry with a grin. "Terry you are not helping." Stated Bob tersely as we stood dripping wet facing him. "Just letting off a little steam Bob that's all." Stated Joy "Out in the freezing cold by the lake really?" "Yes Silvia wanted to hit something so I offered my services," I added. "It was actually great fun." As Bob attempted to make something of us Terry had gone to the back of the vehicle and brought back two foil survival blankets and two woollen blankets. "Here you go lasses don't wanting you catching your death before Christmas do we?" "No Mum," said Joy as she took her blankets and pulled them over her shoulders. Bob however was having none of it. "I want to see you both in Mr Stevenson's office once you've cleaned yourselves up." He then stormed off back towards the house by himself. Terry turned to us his smile faded a little. "Actually girls he was really worried that you would hurt each other." Joy and I chose to walk back to the big house carrying our now sodden shoes in our hands and with the blankets pulled over ourselves for warmth. Alice and Susan greeted us at the front door, Alice took Joy's hand and escorted her upstairs leaving Susan. "I have run you a bath Silvia I hope that is okay?" "You didn't need to do that Suzy, but thank you." She then hugged me. "So do you feel better now then?" I smiled. "Much thank you." I walked up to my room undressed in the bathroom and slipped into the warm water of the large bath and sighed. I found myself humming as I dressed and brushed out my hair after my bath and after plaiting my hair I headed down to face the music with Bob meeting Joy as she walked up the wide staircase presumably to go back to her room, she was dressed in a ridiculous fleecy onesie with a long tail, she was fresh faced and smiled at me. "All sorted, Bob still wants a chat though," she said brightly. "Thank you for before Joy." She beamed at me and pulled the hood up which had two pointed ears. "I'm off to play dress up with Terri now, I'm a cat." She then made a catlike swipe at me and meowed. By the time I reached Matt Stevenson's office I was smiling broadly I just couldn't help it as I couldn't get Joy's ridiculous costume out of my mind. I knocked and entered. Bob was sitting at Matt's desk, he looked up at my expression and sighed. "I've just attempted to give Joy a bollocking with her dressed as a cartoon cat I hope you are not going to pull some stunt too?" "Nope I've come to talk to you openly and honestly," I replied, Bob looked surprised. "Really?" "Yes Bob really, I'm assuming you would like that wouldn't you?" "Well yes, but I wasn't expecting you to be so forthcoming." I pulled a chair up to the side of Matt's large desk and sat. "So what do you want to know?" Bob immediately looked down at several hastily scribbled shorthand notes, he seemed unsettled at my willingness to talk. "Well earlier Alice brought me up to date with your history and Joy has just filled in some more blanks, What I want to ask you is what happened following your dispatching Goran Chensky." "I came home." "Back to England?" "Yes." My mind then drifted back to my return to the hotel in the early hours of the morning and sneaking back to my room with the assistance of Milosh and his friends from the camp. "I will look after your blades my sister; they will be returned to you soon," he said at the door to my room at nearly four in the morning, he hugged me. "Now get some sleep as you will more than probably have a busy day ahead of you." As I entered my room I felt numb, almost nothing had changed, Adriana was still dead, I was still a woman and I felt no satisfaction from killing Chensky. If felt anything It was disappointment at my actions, I had not shown restraint as Junjie had taught me I had acted purely out of cold blooded revenge. I slumped down onto the floor and wept silently out of shame. I sat on the floor until I watched the first breaking of dawn through the thick curtains of my room, picked myself up and undressed then slipped into the large double bed after washing and taking my medication. At around half eight there was a knock at my door, it was Professor Petri. I wrapped myself in as thin robe and went to the door. "Sorry about this Silvanus but we've been requested by our guides to assemble downstairs, would you accompany me as your Russian is much better than mine and I don't want any misunderstandings." "Misunderstandings professor?" Professor Petri cringed a little. "Ah well I've been known to be quite vocal about what I dislike about the communist state and I think they may want to stitch me up or something like that." "Come in professor, just give me a couple of minutes to change and I'll accompany you." I quickly dressed and applied my makeup paying particular attention to my eyes which may have revealed my lack of sleep. After slipping my feet into a pair of low heels I escorted Professor Petri downstairs. In the lift to the lobby he said, "If anyone asks you where I was last evening could you say that I was playing chess with you in your room until the early hours?" inadvertently giving me an Alibi for my previous night's activities. "Professor?" I asked questioningly, his reply was whispered. "I was meeting with an old friend; she would probably not want it known that she had consorted with such a vocal capitalist." 'The sly old dog,' I thought with a smile. As it happened the meeting was not directly about the previous night's events at all but a warning that there was an increased police presence in the town due to an undisclosed security threat and that we were to carry our paperwork with us at all times to avoid unnecessary delays in our itinerary. The rest of our trip went without any further incident and I returned to living with my mother and daughter Adriana as I awaited the start of the new term at university. Chapter 54 Breathing Space When I returned to my family home even though I'd only been away for a couple of weeks it seemed foreign to me once more and as Adriana had been spending a lot more time with my mum she was slightly hesitant to come and give me a hug when I returned. "Is everything okay dear?" my mum asked as we ate our evening meal on my first night back. "Fine," I replied curtly. "Something is on your mind I can tell; you were just like this when you..." my mum didn't get the chance to finish her comment as I rose quickly causing my chair to fall back onto the kitchen floor and giving Adriana a shock. "Look there is nothing on my mind just leave it." I then stormed out of the room and headed up to my room, when I reached my room I closed the door behind myself and fell back onto it slipping down the smooth surface until I was sitting on the carpet. I sat for several minutes staring at the window and at the rolling hills beyond wondering what was wrong with me, Chensky was now dead why was I not elated? After several minutes sitting feeling sorry for myself I got up and went to my wardrobe then quickly abandoned it, going instead to the utility cupboard and removing one of the skirts I'd worn whilst at the camp with my wife during my recovery and a thin cotton blouse, removing my nylon skirt and my fashionable top I looked at myself in the mirror and frowned, I then removed my tights and went over to my makeup and using the appropriate cream makeup remover and a small wad of cotton wool proceeded to remove all traces of my makeup. After my face was bare I dressed quickly in my old blouse and skirt removed my nail polish and let my long hair go free, I closed my eyes and sighed as minute traces of the smells from the camp made their way up to my nose and I imagined being back with Adriana, in my mind she was sitting by the central cooking fire, she was smiling and talking animatedly to the others near her, my breathing became laboured and I could sense myself about to cry so I opened my eyes dabbed at them quickly and left my room barefoot. I met Adriana as she carefully climbed the stairs. "Mummy hugs," she said so I picked her up and hugged her tightly, relishing the warmth of her small body as she clung to me. "Come on it's bath time Adriana," said my mother a few moments later. I scowled at her for spoiling our moment and said, "I'll do it mum." "It's no trouble, we have a routine." "I said I'll do it tonight mum." with a little more menace than I'd intended to project causing my mum to step back a little "Oh well, if you are sure but routine is good for small children I read it in a ..." "Thank you mum I'll do it tonight," I said cutting her off again, "I'll be downstairs if you need anything then." Adriana splashed a lot as I bathed her and I got a little wet but her smile was worth it. Soon she was in her Winnie the pooh night dress and sitting on the bed as I brushed her fine hair through. Once brushed I tucked her into bed and it was then she said, "Story?" "You want a story?" I asked; little Adriana smiled and nodded her head furiously. I wanted to tell her about the mother she was named after but instead simply read two chapters of the brave little toaster! Which was one of her favourite stories. After reading to Adriana until she drifted off to sleep and then kissing her forehead, I left her room and went downstairs pausing only to tell my mother that I was going out and digging out my old Sony stowaway (Walkman) and a random cassette from the drawer. I left the house barefoot and headed the short distance towards the hills behind my house where I knew I would get peace and not be disturbed, after a few minutes I started to jog slowly as I warmed up I then increased my pace until I reached the meadow by a small river that bordered a small patch of woodland, I went down by the river bank and found a section of the bank that was relatively flat and grassy then after stretching for a minute or two placed my headphones on and pressed the play button. I closed my eyes and started to go through the motions of tai chi, with my eyes closed and my ears being assaulted by an old tape of my favourite music I continued to go through a very slow kata speeding up a little with every repetition until as one of my all-time favourite tunes started I was moving quite fast, it was then that I was disturbed by bright headlights and opened my eyes to see a ford Cortina bouncing down the field in my rough direction followed by a police panda car with its blue light on. The Ford slowed down to a stop and out of the front and rear doors fell five young, aggressive, and obviously inebriated young men. They immediately headed towards the river and me, their car choosing to coast gently to a stop into an old tree stump, the police car stopped and a lone WPC got out, she managed to chase down one of the youths and tackled her to the ground, unfortunately on noticing that one of their friends had been apprehended and that the police officer was a woman his friends turned back and approached the young WPC who was valiantly holding onto her prisoner whilst trying not to show her fear and also trying to call for help. I reluctantly paused my tune (Chasing the dream by Peter Baumann) and pulled the headphones down so they were wrapped around my neck then approached the four young men who were now approaching the struggling policewoman. "Excuse me but you have disturbed my relaxation." The youths hardly noticed my complaint and started to attempt to remove their friend from the Policewoman's grip. I grabbed one of the men by the shoulder and as I pulled him back said, "Excuse me." He immediately attempted to hit me thinking I was another policeman but instead earned my knee in his chin causing him to partially to bite through his tongue. Even though I was a little slow due to my reduced exercise because of university and my trip abroad, I was still much faster than these inebriated fools. I quickly disabled another of the men by winding him and another using a nerve point but did not expect to be hit across the back by the policewoman's truncheon (baton) which almost knocked me for six, it took me a second or so to gather my thoughts whilst being constantly kicked. I saw the truncheon coming towards my head and twisted out of the way just in time quickly grabbing at its head and kicking up with my bare foot poking my big toe into the truncheon bearers eye as I did, he screamed in pain as I relieved him of his stolen weapon then in very few seconds using the liberated truncheon had incapacitated all five youths. I walked over to the policewoman who was still sitting on the grass with her mouth wide gasping for breath quite unsure what to do next. "I believe that this is yours officer," I said as I handed the truncheon back to her and offered her my hand to help her up. "You've laddered your tights and I think your cap has seen better days I'm afraid," I said as I dusted her down. At this point three other police cars could be seen bouncing across the field towards the WPC and I with blue lights flashing and sirens blazing. After a uniformed man in authority appeared and the WPC was questioned in private I found myself being arrested for assaulting the young joyriders by the WPC's Sergeant as in his opinion 'I had not used appropriate force' the WPC mouthed sorry to me but did not intervene. I was taken to a police station in the local town booked in and held there for nearly an hour before remembering Hugo Simpson's telephone number and his promise of help. I asked if I could make a phone call and was escorted to a phone cubicle by the custody sergeant who dialled the number and placed the handset into my cuffed hands. "Hello, hello is that Mr Simpson." "Do know what time it is madam?" "Yes I know it's late sir it's Silvanus Roundall and..." "Silvanus, what can I do for you?" "I'm sorry sir but it seems I've been arrested." "Arrested what on earth for?" "For using inappropriate force, I thought I was helping but." "How many people did you hurt Silvanus?" "five of them sir they're all in hospital now sir." "Did you say five?" "Yes sir five but I was using the WPC's baton so it evened the odds somewhat." I actually heard Mr Simpson laugh. "Who is with you now? Do you have legal representation?" "The custody Sergeant sir, he let me make this phone call, no I don't, I didn't want to call my mum as I've only just got back today and." "Put the sergeant on Silvanus." The Sergeant, who was a pleasant older man nodded and said sir several times then placed the phone back on the receiver he then turned to me and smiled. "Not sure who your friend actually is but he's coming over to see us, here I don't think we really need the handcuffs do we?" "No sir." I rubbed my wrists where the metal cuffs had been chafing at my skin. "From the language your friend was using I believe he has a lot of power miss; I don't want to get into hot water for mistreating you as I'm actually really grateful to you for helping my niece so how about we go up to the canteen and get you some food?" I nodded. As I sat and ate a cheese toastie in the canteen the old policeman explained "We had to arrest you miss as first thing tomorrow those young thugs parents will be down here complaining about their little darlings being unnecessarily brutalised by the police." "So it's true then, a good deed never goes unpunished, I didn't want to get involved officer, I was doing Tai chi by the river when they interrupted me, if I hadn't intervened your constable could have been very badly hurt." The policeman nodded. "I read the preliminary medical report from hospital just before I took you for your call miss, dislocated shoulder broken kneecap damaged eye, fifteen missing teeth three broken elbows and many many bruises and cuts, and several torn ligaments and tendons, the doctors thought initially that those thugs had crashed their car." "Could I possibly have another toastie please?" I asked, the Sergeant obliged and sat with me until I noticed Hugo Simpson entering with a uniformed officer, the Sergeant immediately stood to attention. "Is this the young lady Sergeant Cowley." "Yes sir, considering the circumstances I thought it appropriate to release her and provide a meal." "Of course of course," The new smartly dressed uniformed man then turned to me. "Miss Roundall I must apologise for the misunderstanding; you are free to go." I looked up at Hugo Simpson, he smiled. "I'll give you a ride home Silvanus." In Hugo's large car we drove silently for nearly fifteen minutes before he finally said, "Just what were you thinking young lady?" "I thought I was helping Mr Simpson. The young constable was about to be set upon by the other youths." Hugo sighed and commented. "Constantin prepared you well for the world, a little too well it seems." he indicated left and pulled into a lay by and turned his engine off. "I'd like to talk with you about Goran Chensky." "I'd rather not," I replied. "I gather from my sources that Mrs Pettifer was unsuccessful in dissuading you from confronting him in person." "I didn't mean for him to die Mr Simpson I just wanted to destroy his life like he destroyed mine but he was one step ahead of me at every move; it was like a game he was playing, a deadly game but I don't think he was particularly interested in me." "No Silvanus it was me he was after, it has always been me, as long as he was alive I kept him distracted from things he should really have been looking at, you were just an annoying and irritating diversion but now with him dead his replacement may be less blinkered, do you understand?" "I think so sir." "I cannot obviously go into details but you may have just made the lives of several of my implanted operatives a little less secure, this however is not your problem It is mine." "I'm sorry sir but he said that he tortured and raped Adriana before, before." I stopped talking and looked down into my lap. "Yes Chensky did torture your wife Silvanus, but I was there at the autopsy and I can assure you that she was not sexually assaulted in any way, Chensky lied to you." I could feel my emotions rising and wanted to cry, not out of sadness but relief, Hugo passed me a clean handkerchief. With the engine once again running on the car and dawn quickly approaching Hugo asked me. "How are things at home Silvanus?" "Okay I suppose but with me being away at university and my recent trip abroad I think that I am losing out a little on my daughter's life." "Understandable and your mother, how is your relationship with her?" "Limping along." "Ah." Hugo indicated and he pulled out of the lay by and headed out on the last few miles to my home. As Hugo's car entered our front street he asked. "I was wondering if a short break would be in order for you and little Adriana." "A short break?" "Yes a few weeks in the country away from your mum and other distractions perhaps." "I'm not sure I can afford a holiday Mr Simpson." "I would like you to come and stay at my home Silvanus it is in the countryside, we have a large garden and I'm sure that my daughter would love to have a little company for the summer until you go back to university." "That is kind of you but." "Good that is settled then, I will send a car for you on Thursday morning say 11:00?" When I got out of Hugo's car my mum appeared at the front door and she was not pleased. "Where the hell have you been? I've been up all night worried sick; you can't just go out into the night anything could have happened to you." it was then she noticed Mr Simpson getting out of the car. "Mr Simpson what are you doing here?" she asked in surprise. "May I suggest that you hug your daughter as she almost certainly saved a police officer's life last evening." He did not elaborate nor did he linger, he simply got back into his car and drove away. "Is what Mr Simpson said true Silvia?" I nodded and held my arms out, mum hugged me tightly, things between us improved once more after that and she even encouraged me to take up Hugo Simpson's offer. Chapter 55 Brunsfields Silvanus. So early on a beautiful late June morning Adriana and I were picked up in by large Bentley, Adriana and I waved at my mum as we were whisked away to Hugo Simpson's home in Somerset which I'd learned was called Brunsfields. Brunsfields was not a small house and was not a modern one, but we were welcomed into it by Hugo who for the first time since I'd met him was dressed casually, he introduced his teenage son Hillary and Hillary's younger sister Linda to us, Linda immediately took Adriana's little suitcase and offered her hand. "Hello Adriana, my name is Linda do you want to see our big back garden and swings?" Adriana looked up at me, I smiled and nodded, Linda then took Adriana by the hand and led her into the house. I was then introduced to a woman called June. "This is June, she runs our house if you need anything, anything at all, just ask her and if possible we will try and accommodate you; I will be in my office if you need anything but I will now allow you time to settle in." Hugo then turned and left me with June and his son Hillary. "Would you like me to show you around Silvanus?" he asked hesitantly. "Could you show me to my room please err Hillary?" Hillary looked at June. "Top of the stairs second door along Hillary, now take our guests bag." "Err." Hillary took my bag from me and headed into the house with me following closely behind. Hillary Simpson was possibly a year or so younger than me and was in the sixth form of the local school and seemed to me to be just a little bit 'wet'. "My father says that you have lived in the Soviet Union Silvanus, is it as horrid as people say?" he asked as we walked up the staircase to the landing above. "It's okay, the people are mostly fine it's the authorities you have to be wary of." "I like your accent you speak really good English." "That will be because I am English," I didn't however say 'you patronising prat' out of politeness as I was sure that he must have had some redeeming qualities. On my first evening at Brunsfields I decided as I sat in my room looking out over the long gently sloping garden to leave the house and go for a walk in the garden so I slipped on one of my thin cotton peasant dresses over my underwear and headed out. The grass of the long lawn was soft against my feet as I walked down the garden. It was only just dark but there was a low moon illuminating the ground as I headed down towards a small river that appeared to be the boundary of the property. At the river I found a semi ornamental cast iron bridge with slatted planking to walk on. I crossed the bridge and on the other side made my way a few yards up into the meadow before stopping and starting to do stretching exercises. "What are you doing?" asked a voice a few minutes later taking me quite by surprise, it was Linda, Hillary's sister. "Exercises, I didn't get a chance earlier Linda." She came up to me and whilst watching she asked. "They look funny." "I'm just warming up I was about to go for a run." "Barefoot?" "Yes I like running barefoot I like feeling the ground between my feet," "I love your accent Silvanus It sounds almost mystical; did you pick it up when you travelled?" "Yes sort of." Linda then sat on the grass. "Is it okay if I watch you warm up?" "Yes if you like." "It's great having a girl staying with us, my school friends say that I live too far away from the village to visit, Hillary cycles to the village regularly to visit his friends, but my cycle has a puncture." Linda continued to watch me do my exercises and commented, "I do cross country but we just do stretches before we run." "I like to loosen everything Linda just in case." "Oh." After a while I tied my hair back and as I prepared to run Linda asked, "Can I tag along?" "Yes I would like that, you can show me a good route." Linda was a good runner and an hour later as I stood by the back door to Brunsfields doing my cool downs I watched her running down the gently sloping meadow on the other side of the river before finally catching up with me. "You should do cool down exercises too Linda as your muscles will contain a lot of heat and need to lose it." "Cool down?" She asked breathlessly. "Yes like this watch me." I then showed her several stretches and breathing exercises. After which we entered the house and headed to our rooms. Over the next few days Linda and I became friends, she was fourteen and was enjoying her teenage years to the full, she was interested in fashion, boys, music and had amassed quite a collection of makeup seemingly entirely from teen magazines, she and I spent hours in her room exploring different looks and hairstyles whilst Adriana either slept or played on the floor with her toys. Hillary could at best be described as a brat, he was surely, unfriendly, uncommunicative, and generally a pain to be around. One morning at breakfast as Adriana made a creative art installation from her mashed banana Hillary entered mumbled something and quickly left the room with one of his sisters slices of toast. "What's up with him?" I asked innocently, Linda giggled a little. "He fancies you silly, he's just too shy to tell you." "Really?" "Yes have you not noticed him looking at you?" "No not really. Anyway he can't fancy me as I'm older than him." "Not by much Silvia, you're at university aren't you?" "Well yes." "Well he's just waiting for his results to see if he can go to university before he joins the army." "The army?" "Yes my grandfather was a commando, as was Daddy, Hillary wants to get a degree before going for officer training." "I had no idea." "Silvanus he may look and act like a public school pillock, but he really isn't Silv, he's my big brother and he's as tough as they come, he's got awards for boxing and everything and he plays rugby." I could tell from the way Linda was describing her brother that she was immensely proud of him. "I'm sorry Linda I didn't realise I was being unfriendly towards him." Linda looked into my eyes and smiled. "He can also be a right royal pain in the posterior but I think he likes you." "He does? he has a funny way of showing it." "He's a boy what did you expect?" I smiled at Linda. 'If only you knew' I thought to myself closely followed by my thinking 'have I really changed so much?' That afternoon June took Linda and I shopping into town a child minder had been called in to look after Adriana and was holding her and waving at us as the car pulled away. Late that afternoon on our return I noticed Hillary on the terrace at the rear, he had Adriana in his arms and was gently rocking her. When I approached him he said, "The child minder had to go so I've been looking after your daughter I hope that is okay." Adriana was asleep in his arms and looked very peaceful, I nodded and took her from him. "Thank you Hillary," I said as I turned and headed up to Adriana's room to lay her down. After that Hillary became more approachable and even joined Linda and I on a couple of picnics up in the local woods. It was with more than a little sadness that I left Brunsfields to return to my own home and my mother. What I hadn't counted on however was that whilst I was away my own mother had started courting again and was now in a relationship with a man called Bryn, I did not take to him and was glad when I could go back to university. Bryn was quite religious and was a Lay preacher, he also had very firm ideas about unmarried mothers. Every weekend I would get home from university knowing that the only thing I had to look forward to was Adriana's smiling face. I did actually try to like Bryn but his attitudes were almost prehistoric and mostly I ignored his talks bordering on sermons about the sanctity of marriage and that being an unmarried mother was destroying my daughter's life. By Christmas Bryn had somehow talked my mum (Brainwashed) into attending church on a regular basis and as I lived in the same house as them I was expected to attend also, it wasn't that bad really and I simply turned my mind off for an hour or so whilst the vicar droned on and people with nice hats sang. It was due to church however that I met Dan, Dan was okay so we started to date intermittently and in the march of the next year I agreed to marry him, it being a marriage that would be convenient to us both just so I could get out of my mums house as she and Bryn were making my life almost unbearable coupled with the fact that one evening after Adriana had been caught colouring in some of his work documents with crayon Bryn raised his hand to hit her resulting in him breaking two of his fingers as I prevented him from touching her, Bryn was wary of me following that incident and it was made obvious that I should find alternative accommodation as soon as possible for Adriana and I. Dan wanted to get as far away from his own parents for his own reasons. So as soon as the law would allow Dan and I married in a local registry office and moved in to a small rented flat near to my university. Dan and I lived happily together for several months until one afternoon when I came home from Adriana's nursery with her to find his mother, father uncle and several other people in my flat apparently having some sort of intervention, I chased them off with a broom much to Adriana's amusement. Dan's father stood his ground and refused to leave however so using a sciatic nerve pressure point I relieved him of the ability to stand, his brother dragged him from the flat. Dan apologised profusely for involving me in family matters and explained that his parents had recently found out that he'd had a relationship with a male friend and wanted him to go for counselling to "Straighten him out" he explained that he wasn't gay but liked both women and men, I really didn't care either way as our arrangement did not include sex. Dan left me the following week and filed for divorce two weeks after that for non-consummation. It was a little hurtful that Dan had sneaked away just leaving me a note but on the plus side I now had the flat to myself and was a mostly independent young woman. I was invited to stay at Brunsfields that summer once more and took up Hugo Simpson's kind offer. Linda was now turning into a beautiful young woman and even Hillary seemed to have matured. Chapter 56 Pictures of a Friend Silvanus. Bob spoke up, "I had no idea that your home life was so fragile Silvia?" "It wasn't really fragile Bob it's just that Bryn was a pious self- righteous arsehole and if I hadn't gotten away from him he would now probably be buried under the patio." "How did you feel when he raised his hand to Adriana?" "How do you think I felt?" "I would imagine anger?" "Not even close, murderous intentions would come closer Bob, he was lucky he only suffered sore fingers." "Broken fingers I believe." "Tomato; tomato Bob, nobody hurts my princess." "So did your mother stay with Bryn then?" "Two whole years then she found out he was having an affair with one of the woman in her bible studies group, I intervened when I found out." "And?" "And she was awarded a very good divorce settlement, he left England and was living a solitary life somewhere in the heel of Italy last time I checked." Bob frowned. "So shall we see what's happening for evening meal then?" he asked, I smiled. "Okay then," I paused and asked as we approached the large door to Matt's office "So when are you and Peggy getting hitched then?" "Next year hopefully or as soon as this virus thing is over and done with." "Do I get an invite then?" "Peggy has insisted on it, she likes you... and at the same time is a little afraid of you." "Understandable. I think I may dress up this evening." "Really?" "Yes I'm sure Joy and Alice have some spare onesies, perhaps a dragon or a Pokemon." I heard Bob sigh, making me smile. I dressed casually for my evening meal and afterwards in my room I started to think about Brunsfields particularly Hillary's sister Linda and wondered if I still had some photos of her. I opened up my laptop, logged on and started to review many years of photographs stored online. I had digitised my entire photo collection some time back whilst recuperating from surgery after noting that some of my earlier photographs were starting to deteriorate. "Now let me see not a lot for 1979 understandably 1980, 1981 through to," I said to myself as I accessed the appropriate folders. "Oh now she was pretty and the spitting image of Christine," I said to myself as I selected several photos I'd taken during Linda's teenage years and sent them down to the colour printer in Matt's office via the network after selecting the photographic paper option. After a few minutes I left my room and headed downstairs where I encountered Alice who was standing over the printer with several of the prints in hand, she smiled at me. "Are these of Christine's mum Silv?" I nodded and said, "I was talking with Bob earlier about my time at Brunsfields and remembered that I'd taken lots of pictures of Linda on my little Instamatic. I hope you don't mind me using the printer but I thought Christine would like to see them." Alice continued to look at the pictures. "Oh Silvia she's going to love them, is that Hillary? Golly he looks young there." I leant over and pointed at the pictures. "Yes I think that was after his first year at uni and that is me in the background on that one oh and that is Adriana, she must have been three or four in that picture." "She is as pretty as her mum; you look so natural Silvia." "Watcha looking at?" asked Susan from the hallway as she noticed us through the open door. "Ooh is that Hillary, pfwoarrr he was a bit of a hunk back then in the olden days wasn't he?" "What do you mean was Susan? I think he's still quite hunky," I replied without thinking, I turned to see Susan grinning at me. "Oohh what are you looking at?" asked Joy as she entered with Terri who was now dressed for bed. "Just some old Photos I thought I'd print out Joy," I replied repeating myself again. "Is that Auntie Chris when she was younger?" asked Terri as she noticed one of the pictures on Matt's desk. "No Terri that is Chris's mum." "Oohh she's really pretty, does that mean I will look like my mummies when I grow up, cos if I do I'll be reeeeealllly pretty then." Joy picked up Terri and held her to herself. After a minute or two Terri yawned and we all said goodnight and hugged her, Susan went up to her room leaving me with Alice. "I have virtually no pictures of my teenage years, non that I want to share at least but you have these wonderful memories Silv." Alice said as she looked through mine. I smiled inwardly as I looked at the picture of Hillary bare chested as he walked up through the garden towards Linda and I and bit my lip as I remembered what happened later that afternoon. "I took Hillary's virginity that afternoon," I said quietly. Alice's mouth opened and she looked at me as though I'd just said a rude word. "No." "Yes, it just sort of happened." Alice reached over and took my hand in hers. "Silv, If you want to keep this private?" I sniffed as I stared at the old photograph. "I spoiled everything Alice." Alice guided me to one of Matt's reclining chairs and left me for a second to close the door to his office. "Is this something that needs to be recorded Silv?" "I don't know Alice. Are you sure you are okay listening to me?" I asked. "Don't worry about me Silvia I have a Joy and a Bob to look after me." She smiled and placed the recording device in front of her, I pressed record. It had been a lovely few weeks staying at Brunsfields and after his first year at University Hillary had changed no longer was he a schoolboy but not quite a man either, he wasn't that much younger than me but I felt much older than him due to my recent experiences. I encountered Hillary late one afternoon as I was heading down to the river to catch up on my exercises. He was in the shade of a small copse of trees lying on his front on a large, outstretched tartan travel blanket reading a book. I must have cast a shadow on him as I passed as he turned and looked over at me. "Hello there, are you off to do some of that Tai Chi?" "Yes I missed it this morning because of shopping with Linda." he sat up and asked, "May I watch?" I shrugged my shoulders. "If you like." I went a little further down the hill, found a shady spot and started with Tai Chi my movements slowly merging into several fast martial arts Kata's of various disciplines, before slowing back down and finally resting. Hillary watched the entire time and as I headed back up to the house he asked. "I've noticed that you don't wear exercise clothes to do your exercises in." I stopped and headed towards him. "There is a simple reason for that." "Oh please tell." "Imagine that you are walking down the street and you're attacked." "Yes I would retaliate." "Well I practice my fighting skills in clothing I would normally wear so that I can learn their limitations and uses." "Uses?" "High heels for instance can inflict a lot of damage but for running are useless so I tend to run barefoot, long nails very useful for gouging but awful for most other things." "So that dress you're wearing is not just because it makes you look prettier?" I felt myself blush. "No it's really comfortable, gives me a lot of freedom of movement, the skirt is pleated so there is almost no restriction of movement for my legs and of course it does make me look good too, may I?" I pointed to his blanket, he nodded so I sat down. Hillary and I talked for several minutes whilst I slowly became aware that I was attracted to him physically. Although I had not had sexual relations with Dan I'd had two one night stands and on both it had ended in sex as I wanted to test my new parts to see if I could be with a man, the results had been disappointing but as I talked with Hillary I actually felt myself becoming aroused, something that had only ever happened with my wife. "Are you okay Silvanus?" asked Hillary. "Uh what?" "Are you okay you seem a little distracted." "Sorry where were we?" "I was talking about the self-defence course I'd enrolled in at Uni." "Oh yes so what discipline?" "Mostly Judo but there is a little Karate too." I leapt to my feet and foolishly said, "It sounds like fun, show me a little please." Hillary reluctantly got to his feet, kicked off his shoes and said, "So if you get up and attempt to attack me I'll subdue you." "Okay then" I said as I stood to face him. "So if you try and attackoooof" he said as I quickly moved forward dropped to my knees then pulled his legs from under him, Hillary groaned as he got up. "Oh you are quite fast aren't you?" "I try," I said, "Okay I'm ready for you this time." this time I ran towards him leapt up high onto his body then with a twisting motion caused him to lose his balance and fall back, I was enjoying myself and so it seemed was Hillary. My final move involved me grabbing his shirt just below his shoulders and pulling him back as I fell then using my leg as a lever throwing him over me, I then straddled him and held his arms back onto the grass. "Wow you are a good fighter Silvanus what you lack in strength you certainly make up for with sheer speed." I smiled and lowered my head towards his and kissed him on the lips. For the first time since Adriana's death I felt electricity from a kiss I was really attracted to Hillary and as our kiss broke I could hear my heart pounding. Because of how I was sitting on Hillary and how my skirt lay the only barrier between my nether regions and Hillary's jeans was a very thin layer of Silk, I could actually feel his penis engorging and seemingly involuntarily could feel myself grinding my crotch into the growing lump. "Hillary we shouldn't," I said almost in a panic that he would agree with me, he didn't say anything he was enjoying the sensations too much. I can't remember how his pants became undone but I can remember pulling my panties to the side allowing his penis to gain access and rub against the lips of my vagina. I also remember gasping as I rose, then lowered myself slowly onto him feeling him enter me inch by incredible inch until he was inside me completely. It was a good job that we were hidden from view of the house as although our love making was swift it was intense. Afterwards I lay against Hillary's chest as he rested and as I did I realised that I had made a horrible mistake. I then got up and left Hillary, saying something lame like 'I had to clean myself up' Once back in the big house I went straight to the bathroom and indeed did clean myself up I then immediately went into the bedroom I was sharing with Linda and packed my bag before packing Adriana's and taking them both downstairs. June was in one of the rear rooms colouring in a story book with Adriana so I went to the telephone and used it to call a local taxi firm to take us to the bus station. June must have sensed that something was amiss with me as she came through to the front room a few minutes later and on seeing how agitated I was said, "You're leaving aren't you?" I nodded. "Whatever has happened it is probably nowhere as bad as you think it is Silvanus." "It is to me June I have betrayed my own moral code and Mr Simpson's hospitality; the taxi will be here in moments." "Would you like me to say anything to Linda when she returns from Piano class?" "Please tell her I'm sorry." I could feel tears rising as I heard the toot of a car horn outside Brunsfields. I quickly took my bags and Adriana's hand and led her out of the old house and into the taxi. June looked on with sadness as our Taxi pulled away followed a few seconds later by Hillary running towards us and shouting as the taxi pulled onto the road and accelerated away, I watched as Hillary tried in vain to catch up to us but turned looked forwards and closed my eyes. Back in our rented flat in Oxford I started to prepare for the new year but could not stop thinking about what had happened with Hillary. Fortunately, Adriana was also starting school this year and preparing for her first day took my mind off my indiscretions. Many mothers say that they cry when their child attends school for the first time but as she waved at me from the playground carrying her tiny little satchel I felt nothing but pride Adriana was full of confidence and was grinning from ear to ear as she turned and skipped towards the entrance door. I avoided any unnecessary interaction with male students and avoided the usual social aspect of being a student and buried myself into my studies. Late November I had just entered the Wren library and had set about finding a list of books for Professor Petri when as I stood in the queue for the new photocopier I heard a familiar voice. "Your professor said I might find you here." I turned and looked to see Hugo Simpson standing to my side, he must have noticed my surprised expression and quickly raised his hands a little in the air. "I come in peace young lady; I just want to talk that is all." "Talk?" "Yes I have a proposition for you." Hugo must have already arranged with the library staff as he led me to a small room. "We should get a little privacy in here," he said as he opened the door and gestured me to enter." "Please take a seat." I sat on one of the old dark wood seats arranged around a high desk, Hugo sat at the other after taking off his overcoat. "Look about last summer I'm really sorry I..." "Shh, I have not come here for that my girl, Hillary is an adult, let us speak no more of it." "But." I did not continue as from his expression I could tell that he wanted to talk about something else. "So what can I do for you Mr Simpson?" "I have been talking with Mrs Pettifer, your Brother in law and your father in law along with several of your tutors and Professor Petri, they are all very impressed with you and the speed at which you pick up new skills." "And?" I asked cautiously. "I would like you to consider coming to work for my department, once you have completed your degree of course." "Work for you what as?" Hugo then pulled out a very thick file from his briefcase consisting of four or five smaller brown cardboard folders, he took the top file and undid the thin waxed string bindings and opened it, Hugo then spread several black and white surveillance photographs across the table. "I must apologise Silvanus but you have been under constant surveillance since returning home, initially for your protection but latterly simply because you intrigue me." I looked through the photographs and noticed that they almost all showed me defending myself, the incident in the park with Sharon Sangler; my fight with the car thieves and even a picture of me standing up to Bryn, what surprised me the most however was several pictures of me with Junjie and Ling. I pointed at the photographs. "Did you make them disappear?" I asked accusingly. "Mr and Mrs Chow? No absolutely not but it may interest you to know that they are safe at the moment living in a rather pleasant cottage in Northumberland." "They are safe?" I asked. "Yes unfortunately they have fallen foul of the Chinese government who would dearly like them back." "Like them back?" "Yes they dared to defy the ruling party many years ago and have been on the run for a very long time but they are relatively safe now." "So what do you want of me Hugo? I'm assuming it's not an office job." "No and I personally think an office job would destroy you, what I am proposing would make the best of your linguistic talents, your degree and of course your Self-defence skills." "You want me to be a spy." "Not exactly but you would be trained in the art of espionage amongst other things yes." "So a spy with extras then." "The job would enable you to visit with Milosh and his father along with the rest of his motley band on a regular basis." "And what of Adriana, I don't want her being brought up by my mother and that loon Bryn." "We would of course pay for her education and when you are away on assignment she would be more than welcome to stay at Brunsfields, June is more than capable of looking after your daughter and is also a qualified Nanny although she's currently little more than a housekeeper." "May I think about it?" "Of course." He then passed a separate dossier over to me it was quite old but it was obvious it had recently had several additions. "If you do agree to work with us I will keep this particular dossier updated until which time you decide to act." "Is this?" I asked hardly daring to say the name. "Everything we have on Dr Andreas Kuznetzov, his family, children, grandchildren et cetera." I looked quickly through the file. "Even if you do not agree to work with me Silvanus I would like you to consider visiting Brunsfields occasionally as my daughter Linda really misses your company." I left the library over half an hour later with a lot to think about. Chapter 57 An Overdue Visit. Silvanus. "So you see Alice my life it seemed had already been planned out by Hugo Simpson, whether by design or accident I slowly evolved into the person I am today." "So obviously you took Mr Simpson up on his offer." "Yes I completed my degree and went straight into training, I was sent to facilities run by British Telecom at Martlesham Heath and then to Stone in Staffordshire for technical training and after three months to another near Aviemore in Scotland where June joined me with Adriana so that she could be with me in the evenings and the mornings." "Then after your training what happened then Silv?" "I was sent into Romania where Adriana and I were reunited with Constantin and Milosh." "Did you go back to Brunsfields then?" "I did and over the next few years watched Linda grow up to become a quite beautiful young woman, fortunately Hillary was rarely in residence and when he was he avoided me." I noticed Alice suppressing a yawn and noticed that it was now past midnight, "I'm so sorry I didn't notice the time Alice." "We can continue if you wish?" she offered. "No Alice you go and join Joy we will talk again soon I promise." Alice then picked up the tiny voice recorder and quickly found the part where I described my sexual encounter with Hillary and deleted it. "Bob only needs to know that the event happened Silv not the gory details." She then came over and hugged me tightly kissed me on the cheek and headed out of Matt's office. "See you tomorrow Silvia," she said as she left the room. I stayed in Matt's office for a little longer looking at the old photographs I'd printed out and then headed upstairs to my rooms. As I removed what little makeup I was wearing whilst sitting at the small vanity in a pair of silken pyjamas I noticed myself smiling and after taking my medication I slipped beneath the sheets of the large comfortable bad and fell almost immediately into a deep sleep. I must have forgotten to set my alarm last evening as when I woke it was starting to get light outside my room. After dressing and my usual morning jog I headed towards the old barn where I found Alice and Susan sparring with Aliza and Trish, I wondered where Joy was but figured that she had probably gone to work early. Aliza and Susan kept me very busy for nearly an hour before I went for my shower before breakfast. After my shower dressed in a gown I went into the large walk in wardrobe and selected a pretty Bra and pant set I stepped into the soft panties and slipped them up my legs and over my hips I then quickly pulled the bra on and fastened it noticing how it supported my breasts and enhanced my cleavage, I smiled to myself as I ran my fingers down from my neck and onto the gentle slope of my left breast before feeling the soft fabric of the bra as it cupped and supported me. I tried to remember a time when my chest was flat and how it felt but simply couldn't remember how it felt. I noticed that the bra and pant set had also come with a suspender belt. 'Seems such a waste not to use it' I thought to myself so I slipped it around my waist and dropped the suspenders through my panties before finding a pair of 10 denier plain top stockings and easing them up my legs. I normally rarely wore stockings but today they just seemed perfect to me. After looking through the racks of tops and skirts I settled upon a classic white cotton summer dress with multi coloured polka dots, it was totally inappropriate for the time of year but it felt good and the house was warm. I used curling tongs to add a little shape to my hair and applied my makeup then slipped into a pair of wedge heeled shoes and headed out and down towards breakfast. At breakfast Mrs Burton was attending to Terri who seemed to be wearing a pinafore over her skirt and top. "Hello there Terri, that is a cute pinafore." she grinned brightly at me. "Mummy Alice said that in the olden days girls used to wear them to protect their clothes but mummy said I should just get an apron, I talked to Toni and she made it for me so my dresses and tops don't get dirty when I'm helping Mr Rishardson". "I love it Terri Maybe I should ask Toni to make me one too?" Terri shuffled in her seat and smiled. "If you aksed her nicely maybe." I sat opposite Terri so that we could chat whilst we breakfasted. "I like your hair Auntie Silvia, all wavy it's nice, mine goes wavy if my hair is in a plait and gets wet, then dries Mummy Joy likes my hair all scruffly." "Sometimes 'scruffly' is the best hairstyle Terri, did your mummy go to work early today?" Terri looked at me then at the door and then over to see what Mrs Burton was doing, she then leaned over towards me and whispered. "Mummy Joy is on a secret mission." I smiled and whispered back, "Where to?" "I don't know, it's a secret." I decided to continue by whispering, "Well if it's a secret I won't tell anyone." "Good but mummy will be back for lunch." "Ah a short secret mission then?" Terry nodded brightly "I'm going to see Mr Rishardsun now to see if my trees have grown bigger, do you want to come?" "I'll just finish my toast and we can go to see Mr Richardson together." Terri reached over, took my two slices of buttered toast placed the buttered sides together and said, "There you can put them in your pocket now and they won't mess your dress." I must have looked blankly at Terri for a little too long wondering whether to laugh or not but simply said, "Um." "Oh does that dress not have pockets." She then reached over, took my toast, and slipped it into the large front pocket of her pinafore "All done." Terri then jumped down onto the rug and walked around to where I was still sitting, she offered me her hand. I took it of course and we headed out to the hallway where I found a warm coat whilst Terry donned a thick woolly hat, coat, wellies, and mittens. As we were about to leave Alice entered with Aliza. "Oh hello there Silvia, off out?" "Auntie Silvia is coming to look and see if my baby trees have grown, but it's okay because I have her toast in my pocket." Alice looked towards me, I simply smiled and nodded knowing that my defences had been overwhelmed by cuteness and enthusiasm. "Oh well have fun," said Alice as she held the door open for us to exit, I imagined Alice and Aliza's mirth as they closed the door but didn't care as almost every moment with Terri was an adventure and it reminded me of the many times that Adriana and I had wandered out into the local woods on adventures together when she was growing up. Mr Richardson is around fifty or so and he supervises the small team of gardeners that look after the Stevenson estate, he is a man of seemingly infinite patience when it comes to Terri and happily answered the myriad of questions she had for him as we toured the many tiny pots each with a single acorn planted within. Fortunately for Mr Richardson, seven or eight of the seeds had now started to sprout, two of which were now sporting tiny leaves. Terri stared wide eyed at the barely emerged shoot and as Mr Richardson and I joined her she passed me most of my toast which was now in a slightly mangled state after taking some for herself and offering some to Mr Richardson. Terri and I were then shown some of the other plants that Mr Richardson was propagating including an old orange tree he had been nursing back to life for several years in one of the heated greenhouses and a patch of carnivorous Venus fly traps which Terri enjoyed immensely. It was as we were just about to exit the final greenhouse (one with whitewashed windows) that I became seemingly glued to the ground as Hillary entered and surprised me entirely, he was dressed casually and smiled broadly at me, Joy was standing just behind him. "Hello old girl, It's been a while." I could feel my lip start to tremble as Terri's hand slipped into mine and she guided me towards Hillary. I wrapped my arms around his neck feeling his slightly prickly face against mine. "I have missed you so much Hillary," I said as I felt tears of relief and happiness start to flow, he then wrapped his arms around me and held me tightly to his body. I didn't notice Joy, Terri, or Mr Richardson leave, but as Hillary gently and tentatively kissed my lips I was in a world of my own. Eventually we stopped kissing and Hillary leant back against a raised bed and looked at me. "Staying here agrees with you Silv, you look twenty years younger." "Twenty?" I asked sceptically. "I'm not kidding Silv, you look really good." Hillary and I were left to ourselves for the rest of the day as we talked constantly about what had happened since we'd last met. We shared each other's bodies that night and the next morning was awoken to Hillary gently stroking my hair. "Uhhh." "Good morning sleepyhead I brought you breakfast." "Breakfast! What time is it?" "9:45 you were sleeping like a baby so I sneaked out and got this from Mrs Burton." I pulled myself up out of the bed noticing as I did that I was topless; I smiled at Hillary and brushed a few stray strands of hair from my eyes. "I must look a complete fright after last evening." "Not at all you look beautiful, sugar?" "Honey, one spoonful." Hillary poured me a cup of tea and placed a loaded teaspoon of honey into it, I sipped at the tea enjoying the subtle sweet taste as the honey slowly dissolved. "I've been talking with Bob," said Hillary seriously "And?" I asked hoping that what he was about to say did not involve the old sport complex where I had been altered all those years ago. "And I have been talking with my counterpart within the Ukraine." "Hillary No, no I'm not going back there, you know what happened last time." "Oh Silvia I'm not saying now; but when you are ready we can go there under controlled conditions. Joy has offered to accompany you." "She has?" "Well when I say offered she contacted me and insisted that she accompany you as did Aliza." I looked over at Hillary, he looked genuinely nervous and as though he was regretting bringing the subject up. "Joy and Aliza would go back to that 'hell hole' for me?" Hillary edged towards me and tentatively placed his arm around me. "They insisted upon it but only when you are ready." I placed my tea on the bedside table and embraced Hillary feeling the soft material of his dressing gown on my bare flesh, the tears started moments later. Hillary gently stroked my hair as I wept. "You have been a loner most of your adult life Silvia, you don't need to be any more." "I'm scared Hillary, terrified that place will bring back my nightmares." "I know, I know." Hillary continued to hold me and I continued to allow myself to be held, it felt good. Eventually the allure of a small box of breakfast cereal broke our embrace and I managed to compose myself and after a minute or two as I was eating my cornflakes I asked. "When?" "I'm sorry?" "When will I go back there?" "When Bob says that you are ready, possibly in the spring." "Aliza and Joy will be with me?" "Just try and stop them." "And you will you come with me too?" "Yes I'd like to be." "Okay then." "I will finalise the arrangements." "Hillary?" "Yes Silvia?" "Would you like to come back to bed for a little?" I said with what I hoped was an impish smile on my face. "Oh, err." He dropped his dressing gown and was busy unbuttoning his pyjamas as he entered he bed. Chapter 58 Doctor Kuznetzov Silvanus. Although Hillary had taken several days leave he was still contacted several times a day by his assistant and secretary Mrs Tanner, he created small office in one of the ground floor bedrooms as he did not want to abuse Matt Stevenson's hospitality and use his office continually. Hillary's leave ended, but he did not go back to London or Brunsfields electing instead to work from his new temporary office in Stevenson Towers at least until the Christmas holidays had ended. This new arrangement I found to be very agreeable indeed and out of office hours we would often walk the grounds together and talk. Slowly the Christmas decorations went up and Terri became more excited, this year she chose the Christmas tree and personally supervised it's chopping down and recovery with Mr Richardson two gardeners and Toby who it seemed wanted to assist too. Bob was notable by his absence, so one morning I asked Joy why he hadn't been continuing his sessions. "I think he's giving you a little space Silvia to be with Hillary, he's still at The Centre most days." With Hillary's arrival I'd almost forgotten about the pictures I'd printed out for Christine to see until one morning when I was reading a magazine in the library I remembered them, Hillary was working so I went to our rooms retrieved the pictures wrapped up warm and after popping my head into Hillary's office to tell him where I was going, he grabbed his coat and headed out towards Chris and Trish's Cottage with me. Toby joined us as we walked along the western shore of the lake for a while before bounding off to join Daniel. The old row of cottages had completely changed from my first visit and now sported an upstairs as well as absorbing the cottage next door making each cottage now a good sized family home. Hillary opened the little white gate to Christine's cottage for me and as we reached the front door I pressed the doorbell. To my surprise the door was opened by Toni who was smiling as she almost always was. "Hello there Silvanus and Mr Simpson, have you come to see Trish or Chris?" "Well Christine but if she's busy we can come back some other time," I said, "No no, she's just putting the twins down for a nap with Trish, Sarah and I were having a coffee with them come in please." Toni led us through to the living area where Sarah was sitting on the floor with Dylan who was sitting playing happily. "Would you like a tea Silvanus, Mr Simpson?" "Please if that's okay?" answered Hillary. "I'm sure it will be." It didn't take long for Christine to appear she immediately went over to Hillary and hugged him tightly. "Uncle Hillary this is a most pleasant surprise." Trish stood for a second looking a little lost. "Have you not got a hug for me too Patricia?" asked Hillary, Trish smiled and hugged him I then remembered that Trish was now Hillary's adopted daughter. "We were coming up to see you later Uncle Hillary, we only got back from Dad's yesterday afternoon." "And how is your father now?" "Much better." "I'm glad," said Hillary. Toni appeared with two teas and we all sat. "The reason we've come Christine is that I recently came across several photographs of Linda your Mum when she was young and wondered if you would like to see them?" I did not require a reply as Christine's face answered for her so I retrieved the photographs from my bag and passed them to her and after looking at each one she in turn passed them to Trish who passed them on. When the pictures arrived at Hillary he simply stared at each one and smiled. "Your mother would be so proud of you Christine," he said. "Do you really think so?" asked Christine. "I got to know your mum very well Christine, I agree with Hillary." "You were friends?" "Yes look at this picture, That's me holding my daughter and that is your uncle Hillary when he was still at school." "Oh wow." Hillary's phone went off at this point and after a moment he apologised and left us, it was then I realised of the five females in the room only one, Sarah, had been born female. I left the cottage about an hour later after enjoying sharing some of my memories with the girls. I decided not to go back to the house instead taking the fork in the path that led to the old quarry and then the moorland path to The Centre. The light was fading as I used my access card to enter the side gate of the medical complex and as I made my way to the main building it started to rain. On entry I enquired at reception if Bob was still there then headed to his office. I entered without knocking as I did not want him to feel in control of my situation. "Silvia, what an unexpected surprise," he said as he looked up and placed the paperwork he was working on to his side. "I wish to talk about Kuznetzov." Bob looked genuinely surprised at my statement and raised himself in his seat in anticipation. "Really?" "Yes but not here, too clinical." "So where would you suggest then?" "I was thinking about a walk but as Joy would say the weather has gone a little 'Manky' so how about the hydrotherapy pool?" "Really?" "Yes I'm sure I still have a costume in my locker and the water is usually lovely and warm in there." "Give me a few moments Silvia and I will join you." I left Bob changed put my hair up and was just stepping into the water when I noticed Bob wearing swim shorts leaving his office. "You really want to talk about Kuznetzov then?" "Yes you must have questions." Bob smiled. "I do. The biggest being that he died of natural causes aged 94 in a rest home near Bremen in Germany." "You want to know why I didn't terminate him?" "Well yes please, I am curious." "Karma." I then thought back to the years following my initial training. I had been working as field agent under Hugo for two years before I next looked at Kuznetzov's folder and even more time had passed before I finally felt it was time to do anything about him, it was the spring of 1990 the Berlin wall had only fallen the November before and the entirety of the soviet union was in directionless chaos. I was in Prague ironically for non-espionage reasons when I noticed a magazine article mentioning a Dr Kuznetzov whilst I was in a local dentists office getting work done on a loose crown. When I read the article I initially thought that 'this cannot be the same man' but the more I read the more similarities appeared to me until finally on the next page there was a picture of him with his wife. The picture elicited the correct response and I immediately felt my immense hatred towards him resurface. The article described him as being a victim first of the Nazis and then then the soviet state having been forced to work in a concentration camp during the war as a very young doctor then for the soviet state as a sport physician and surgeon before then dedicating his life in recent years specialising in paediatric treatment of cancers following his granddaughter succumbing to a rare form of leukaemia. It was half with disbelief and half in anger that I read the article. How could this monster be lauded almost as a saint after the crimes and atrocities he'd inflicted on countless unwilling victims? I quickly wound up my business with the new elected government and set about mounting my own unsanctioned surveillance on Dr Andreas Kuznetzov It was relatively easy to get a job at his current hospital as a member of the cleaning staff allowing me to observe him unnoticed. Kuznetzov had aged badly in the decade or so since our last encounter he'd lost his beard and most of his hair and now walked with a stick, he was now practising as an oncologist and surgeon. I observed him as he visited with sick children and watched with disbelief his apparent compassion of their illness, it sickened me as at the time I figured it was just a front he was putting on. Every single day at eleven Kuznetzov would leave the hospital and walk with the aid of his stick to the nearest chapel where he sat for half an hour in apparent prayer before leaving and getting his lunch. After three weeks of observation I picked the locks, disabled the alarm and broke into his apartment then after a relatively short search came across in the corner of one of the smaller bedrooms what appeared to be a shrine of some sort with several pictures of a young girl, most of the pictures were of a bubbly little blond haired girl in pigtails but one of the pictures bordered by two unlit candles was of the same girl sitting with who I assumed to be her parents, she was completely bald and had a plastic tube going up her nose. 'Was this Kuznetzov's granddaughter?' I thought as I retraced my steps, wiping surfaces as I left the apartment. It was with some difficulty I managed to find every member of his family, he currently had a son and a daughter. His wife had died three years previously. Both his son and daughter were married his son having three children and his daughter who was eight years younger two. Kuznetzov's son had four children in total two girls of which the youngest had not survived and had died from leukaemia. his daughter had two girls both now teenagers. As I read through Kuznetzov's latest file I read that the daughter who'd died had been staying with her grandmother who was a nurse in the Ukrainian city of Pripyat when on Saturday the 26th April 1986 an uncontrolled nuclear chain reaction occurred in reactor 4 of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant resulting in the water that usually cooled the reactor core becoming superheated, the resulting explosion breached the core and a large amount of radioactive material was expelled into the atmosphere. The rest of the family were away at a cultural event and never returned to Pripyat. The resultant doses of radiation over the next two days before their evacuation obviously played a massive role in Kuznetzov's wife and daughter's early deaths. After reading the document I left my room and went for a long walk. 'Had Kuznetzov really changed?' 'Was this Karma at work?' 'Was I still justified in my complete hatred of this monster?' I milled over those and many other thoughts as I walked and decided to find out more information about him and his activities. Kuznetzov could not have known that he was being observed such was my training and over the next three months I documented his every movement, surgery, patient visit, trip shopping, sleep pattern and visit to his remaining relatives. In short I was his hidden companion and after three months observation if he'd been a diplomat suspected of espionage I would have cleared him but he wasn't he had performed surgeries on me without my consent, he had violated me in the worst way and I wanted to find something, anything that would justify his termination but I just could not. So after a little longer I decided to so something that I had not done before to my other target's I decided to confront him. I was not going to confront Kuznetzov without a backup plan however, so three weeks later on a cool Wednesday evening I broke into his apartment once more. The alarm was competent, but not one of the more advanced keypad types, I already knew from monitoring Kuznetzov that on entering his front door that I would have at least 47 seconds before the alarm triggered so after picking the locks to his front door I then approached the alarm panel, it had a simple key arrangement to unset and set the alarm and with my lock picks already in hand I placed the lever in and applied gentle tension then after a relatively swift run across the internal plates with my number 3 pick the lock gave way and the beeping stopped. I then relocked the front door from the inside, reset the alarm and waited. It was just over 45 minutes later that I heard a fire door open down the corridor and the footsteps of one person walking with a stick getting closer. I heard the keys enter the door and as the door opened the alarm start to beep, I watched as Kuznetzov placed a large brown paper grocery bag onto a nearby table before closing the front door and then turning the alarm off. Kuznetzov then picked up the grocery bag and carried it through to his kitchen and started to unpack it. Kuznetzov was nothing like the memory of him I had burned into my mind, he was an old man now and walked with a stick he was very surprised when I suddenly appeared and said in Russian. "Dr Kuznetzov it has been a long time." He looked at me blankly for a second or two, then with some difficulty slumped down into an old well-worn armchair. "I knew that this day would one day come, it is 340 is it not?" "My name was once Stefan; my name now is not relevant Doctor." "You have become a beautiful woman, but you did not come here for me to tell you that, you have come for your revenge, I both understand and accept this and I will not fight you, you have my word." "If you think that I am here to kill you 'Comrade Doctor' you are very much mistaken." I then laid in front of him many surveillance photographs of his son, daughter, surviving grandchildren and great grandchildren. Kuznetzov looked through the pictures in horror. "No, kill me but do not make my children suffer for my crimes." "If I terminated your life, the world would lose a doctor, but your children they are largely irrelevant, they may not die of course but they could so easily be spirited away never to be seen again." Kuznetzov looked up at me. "Please 340, please they are innocents, I am a worthless old man take my life now I beg of you." I spoke calmly as I said. "No, you took everything from me, my life, my manhood, you brainwashed me and damaged my mind," I paused "but I am not without compassion, you have already lost your wife and a grandchild I understand?" He nodded. "You will continue to work as a doctor and you will continue to help people for the rest of your life but if your old habits re-emerge I will ensure that all of your grandchildren will disappear one by one starting with the youngest. "And if I take my own life?" "Then the same will happen, I will punish you in death, if you run from me I will punish those you love, if you go to the authorities I will punish them and make your extensive file available to the authorities also." Kuznetzov nodded. "I created a monster, I deserve this punishment, I accept." Silvanus. "I did not agree with Kuznetzov, I did not think of myself as a monster of course, but he kept his word and continued working for several years until his health deteriorated to such an extent that he could no longer carry out his work." Bob looked thoughtful as he asked his next question. "So did you and Kuznetzov ever meet again?" asked Bob. "Twice, once just to remind him that I was still watching." "And the second time?" "He was in a rest home in Bremen, he had been diagnosed with cancer and was receiving end of life palliative care, he was still aware of everything happening to him, his mind was still alert but his body was deteriorating quickly, I posed as a nurse and visited him in his room." "Hello Comrade Kuznetzov, do you remember me?" I asked, there was a look of fear in his eyes, his speech was slow and deliberate as he pleaded with me. "340 I did as you demanded, I worked until I could work no more." "I know Comrade and for that I am grateful," I replied. "So what is it you wish of me now, I can no longer work." "I wish nothing of you." "Then why are you here?" I moved so that he could see my face. "To release you from your burden to ease your mind and to tell you that your family is now safe." "Safe?" he asked. "They no longer have anything to fear from me." I assured him. "Thank you 340 that takes a great burden from my heart." "One more thing," I paused for several seconds "I forgive you." he did not react or even move as I took the firm foam pillow from under his head, placed it over his face then forced it down, Kuznetzov barely struggled and soon his body became limp. "May your next life bring you peace," I said as I closed his eyes and placed the pillow back under his head. "So in the end you got your revenge?" asked Bob "NO," I said a little too firmly "not at all; what I did was save Kuznetzov from a relatively swift but very undignified death what I did was out of compassion if not for him for his relatives who would have watched him slip slowly into a drug induced nether world before his inevitable death." "You mentioned a moment ago that you forgave Kuznetzov." "Yes and I meant it Kuznetzov was a product of his time a man in exactly the wrong place at exactly the right time, he'd been a medical student as war broke out, he was first recruited by the Romanian state and then in turn the Nazis, where he probably witnessed at least some of the mass extermination of the 40,000 people who died at his camp. Few people would escape that scenario with an intact moral compass. After the war he fell straight in with the soviets who gave him everything he needed to assist with their aspirations." "Silvia?" "Have you been reading my notes?" I smiled at Bob. "I'm a spy, what do you think?" "I'm thinking that your last statement about Kuznetzov was almost word for word what I'd written about him almost three years ago." I smiled at Bob. "I'm thinking that it is time to leave the pool as I'm probably even more wrinkly than usual now." "Just one thing before you go Silvia?" "Yes?" "Are you sleeping well?" "Actually yes I am." I rose from the water and immediately felt refreshed and as the air cooled my body I reached for my large towel. "I'm happy to continue our talks wherever and whenever you wish Silvia but you need to start thinking..." I didn't let Bob finish, "Start thinking about returning to the old sports academy." "Well yes." "When and if I do I would like to be accompanied by Joy and Aliza, I think that they of all my friends would understand." "Not Alice?" asked Bob. "No." "I fully understand and agree with your choice." Bob then grabbed at his towel then rose, quickly covering himself in it. After dressing I borrowed one of the Centre's pool cars and drove myself back to Stevenson Towers where I was greeted by Susan who by the look of her dirty face and overalls had just been working on a car. "Hiya Silv just been working on Milosh's truck with Sarah and Don, he's down at the garage if you'd like to see him." "Maybe later Suzy, I was hoping to find Joy actually." "Ah, then you'll more than likely find her in her workshop with Terri making fairy lights." Chapter 59 A Stable Multivibulator An hour earlier. Joy. I had just flashed the latest map onto the new engine control unit for Milosh's truck when I heard. "Knock knock." Outside my workshop door, I immediately knew who it was and quickly allowed Terri to enter. "Mummy?" "Yes princess what can I do for you?" Terri held up her favourite teddy bear. "Teddy wants to know if we can make some fairy lights?" I scrunched up my face as I picked Terri up. "Mmmmm now let me see, does teddy know anything about fairy lights?" "No but I bet you do mummy." I raised one of my workbench chairs to allow Terri to sit then placed her teddy near to my solder station. "Teddy can watch us from there as we work." "Okay mummy." "So do you want your fairy lights to just light up or flash on and off?" Terri thought for several seconds as I pulled a couple of general purpose NPN transistors two potentiometers, a resistor kit, and a capacitor kit over to where I was. "Flashy." Terri replied with a huge toothless grin. "Okay then, can you remember what this is?" I pointed to one of the little three legged devices between my fingers. "Yes, yes it's a, it's a, a-" "Tran..." I said prompting her a little. "A transistor?" I smiled. "Very good Terri and can you tell me what it does?" "Um. Makes little currents bigger?" "Oh you are getting clever, yes that is what they do, now if you take this one and push it into my prototyping board just like this," I said as I placed the legs of one of the two transistors into three adjacent holes on the right side of the board, Terri placed the other about 5 centimetres to the left of mine, I then drew a picture of the transistor on a piece of scrap paper, and marked a B on the centre pin a C on the rightmost lead and an E on the leftmost lead. "Now I bet you can't remember what those letters mean can you?" Terri smiled broadly and said. "The B is the base, the C is um." "The coll-" "The collector." "Well done Terri." "Sorry mummy teddy and me can't remember what the other one is called." leaned over to her teddy and placed my ear to its snout. "Oh I think he's just shy, that's right it's the Emitter." Terri giggled a little at my silliness. I connected wires to the Emitters and took them both down to the track I'd allocated as a ground rail. I then picked up an electrolytic capacitor from my box. "Can you remember what these are called?" I watched as Terri's eyes darted to the storage box to read the wording. "Capacitators," she said hopefully. "Capacitors yes and can you remember what do they do." "Ooh they keep electricitys in them like filling a bucket with water." "Do you want to pick two capacitors from the box for us to use on your fairy light?" "Mmmmmm." Terri hummed as she mulled over the selection of capacitors and finally chose two 10 microfarad 16 volt capacitors. Terri is still too young to understand a lot of the concepts of electronics but as we plugged the components into the prototyping board I could see that she was concentrating and was enjoying herself, it took about fifteen minutes to wire up the simple circuit with me explaining in as simple terms as I could how the circuit worked until finally. "Now those two LED's are what's known as the load so when each transistor turns on it will make the LED's light, but, as the circuit does not have a stable state, the LED's will flash on and off, so do you want to turn it on?" "Yes please mummy," said Terri excitedly. "Okay then but what do we do if it makes smoke?" "Turn it off quickly." "And?" "Put the fan on." "Good girl now turn it on and we'll see what happens." Terri flicked the switch on my power supply unit and the two LED's started to flash rather slowly. "Oh" Said Terri disappointedly, I smiled and passed her a small pot adjuster. "Don't worry it just needs adjusting, here use this and adjust the two variable resistors." Terri took the adjusted and turned both presets until the LED's started to flash faster. "That's better mummy but um." "It's not really fairy lights is it?" Terri smiled and shook her head, I reached over to where I'd hidden a string of LED's. "Well it is a good job I made these earlier then, turn the power off and we'll put them in circuit." Terri and I then proceeded to connect the string of LED's consisting of two separate interlaced loops of multicoloured LED's in a parallel series configuration into our circuit replacing the original LED's. "Oooooooooohhhhhhhhhhhhhh that is pretty," gasped Terri with a huge smile, I dimmed the lights and we watched as the multicoloured lights flashed on and off, she then hugged me tightly. After turning the lights back on I removed the lights from the protoboard and soldered the leads onto a small circuit board I'd already made. "This is exactly the same as what we made Terri it's just a lot sturdier and runs off batteries so that you can take it up to your room." "Yay." it was at this point that I heard another knock on my workshop door. "It's open." Silvanus entered and smiled at us; Terri was now sitting on my knee as I placed four AA batteries into the battery holder of our fairy lights. "We've been making a stable multivibulator Auntie Silvia." I laughed and stroked Terri's silken hair. "It's a simple Astable multivibrator Silvia, to power Terri's fairy lights." I turned the lights on. "Oh Terri they are lovely I think that's one of the best stable multivibulator's I've ever seen." Terri looked so proud of herself as she listened to Silvanus. "Mummy helped too but I choosed the speed." Terri turned to me and kissed me on the cheek. "Can I show Suzy and the twins my lights now mummy?" "Yes just wrap them up carefully." Terri proceeded to carefully roll the length of cable strewn with LED's before dropping off her seat and grabbing both the still flashing lights and her teddy bear. I also dismounted my seat as Terri half ran half walked past Silvanus. "Terri's enthusiasm always makes me smile Joy." I offered Silvanus a seat and sat down myself. "It does doesn't it, her lights are a bit crude but she loves them, maybe in a year or three I'll introduce her to Neopixels and microcontrollers, but until then I think the basics will do." "The basics Joy, she's barely at school and she's already fiddling with electronics." I beamed at Silvanus. "Yes it's great isn't it." Silvanus nodded and smiled very warmly at me. "It is." "So what brings you down to my dungeon then?" "To ask a favour of you." "Yes to whatever you are about to ask." "But you don't know what it is yet." "Silvia it must be important or you wouldn't be asking, so yes." "It involves the sport academy in the Ukraine." I felt my mood slip a little. "The answer is still yes but what do you wish of me." "I want to go back, to face that room once more and I would like you and Aliza to be with me for support." "This means a lot to you doesn't it Silvia?" Silvia nodded. "Yes it does." I got up from my seat and crouched next to Silvanus then embraced her. "The answer is still yes." "It may be a while yet Joy, but thank you." Chapter 60 A New Year Christmas was a relatively quiet affair at Stevenson Towers as the majority of the UK was still locked down because of the current epidemic. The new year started with a whimper Hillary spent lots of time with Silvanus and Silvanus voluntarily spent many hours with Bob although never in his office choosing instead to talk to him whilst walking or exercising. As a result of Silvanus's therapy Bob started joining Silvanus some mornings doing either tai chi or even jogging a little improving his health and causing him to lose some of the weight he'd gained over recent years much to the appreciation of Peggy Hillary was forced to go back to his office mid-January for two weeks but returned almost every weekend he could. Trish and Susan were not allowed to return to University and started relying on online lectures to continue their studies. Life at Stevenson Towers was quiet but never mundane as with the beginning of February the Easterly and North Easterly winds brought with them Arctic conditions, this coupled with moisture picked up off the North sea created ideal conditions for snow and the associated fun that it entailed. One morning Bob watched on from the warmth of the Stevenson dining room to see what looked like five soldiers dressed in Arctic combat fatigues heading through the trees towards the woods. For a second he was a little alarmed until Harry Stevens who he was breakfasting with said, "Ah it's beginning is it." "Is there something I should know Major?" asked Bob "Lucy misguidedly challenged Joy to a snowball fight the evening before last I believe the campaign is just about to start." "So who is with Joy?" "Hmm Terry, Aliza, Silvanus and Dix if I'm not very much mistaken, I believe they are about to set up an ambush." "Who are they up against then?" "The Might of the Stevenson family plus several added mercenary's." Bob raised his eyebrows at Harry. "Mercenary's?" "Well the opposing forces consist of an expeditionary force of Alice, the twins Terri and Andi, with a potential pincer movement of young Patricia, Christine, Toni, Sarah and three of the stable lads headed up by Susan." Bob sipped at his tea. "And Marshals?" "Daniel, Toby and a couple of gardeners." Bob turned to Harry who had a bowl of cornflakes in his hand. "Is it odd that I find none of this strange in any way Harry?" "I'm only here in the unlikely event that anyone gets hurt Bob, you tell me." As Bob and Harry stood looking out of window in the comfort of the dining room Alice appeared, she was wrapped up warm and was holding Terri's and Andi's hands, They were both wearing ear defenders and goggles. "Oh hello there Bob, are you coming out?" Bob looked on to see Susan and the twins also appear. "Maybe in a while." Alice left the dining room and soon she Terri and the twins could be seen slowly making their way over the deep snow covered lawns towards the woods, with recent powder snow blowing over the surface quickly filling in the imprints they left as they walked. "The little ones were wearing ear defenders Harry." "Hmm so they were, did I not mention that there may be some pyrotechnics?" "No you didn't." "Oh well, there may be some pyrotechnics." He then shouted through to the kitchen, "Mrs Burton I think that hot chocolate may be in order in an hour or so." "Already done Major," came the reply. "Ah there you are Mr Major Simmons and Bob; I have field glasses for us all." Stated Milosh as he caught Bob by surprise. "Good lord for such a stout man you are very quiet." "Ha I know, are you both comings?" Bob noticed The Major was wearing stout boots and sighed. "Yes just let me get my coat." Seven minutes later. Bob, Harry Simmons, Milosh and one of the gardeners stood on high ground near to the back of the old quarry affording them an almost unobstructed view of Alice, her children and Susan with her own group. "So where is Joy and the others?" asked Bob as he scanned the terrain with his binoculars. "Your guess is as good as mine old man, I expect that they are no more than a few metres away from Alice though and are about to announce their presence." At that moment there was a series of flashes high up on several trees followed moments later by quite loud bangs. "Not flash bangs as Joy didn't want to scare the little ones too much." Bob watched through his binoculars as behind Alice three figures dressed in white emerged out of the snow. "They buried themselves?" he asked. "Yes." The figures then started throwing snowballs at the still shocked twins and Alice. Terri tugged at her mum's hand and picked up one of the snowballs that had landed near to her and threw it at one of the white clad figures hitting her on the shoulder, she fell back onto the snow for a few seconds. Bob smiled to himself as the sounds of laughter and excited high pitched screams reached his ears as the snowball fight started to intensify with the twins uncovering what appeared to be a premade stash of snowballs from under a snow covered tarpaulin by the frozen shore of the lake. Susan appeared a few seconds later with her group joined Alice only for Susan and her own team to be hit by several snowballs in quick succession from two another hidden assailants. Pretty swiftly the white clad ambushers had dispensed of their masks revealing their smiling faces and it became a complete free for all snowball fight with the exception that Terri and Andi rarely got hit and only softly if they did. "You know Major, I believe I approve," said Bob only to be hit in the back by a large snowball thrown by a very mischievous looking Milosh. "I am missing the fun Mr Bob, I will join my friends," and with that Milosh headed back down the steep slope mostly on his backside. Bob looked over at Harry. "Does the youth of today still build snowmen Major?" "Probably called snow persons nowadays but if not I'm sure that between us we can educate." By lunchtime there were several snowmen on the front lawns of the Stevenson estate and a partially built Igloo, Bob had used the time well and apart from helping Terri. Chapter 61 The Return In early March Milosh climbed into his newly refurbished pickup truck to start his long journey back to be reunited with his own family happy in the knowledge that his sister was making great progress, but sad to leave his friends. Milosh also left with one further gift, the gift of health as he was now fitter than he had been in a very long time and his back problems had been eased greatly. Milosh however did not leave before securing a promise from Joy and Alice that they would visit him as soon as they were allowed, a promise that they would not find difficult to keep. Mid-March arrived and with it spring, the Stevenson estate woke from its winter slumber and soon leaves were budding and shoots started to appear followed by snowdrops then all of the other spring flowering plants in quick succession. Silvanus stood on the small balcony of her room one morning as the recently risen sun started to burn away at the thin layer of grass frost on the lawn and smiled, she picked up her phone and after a few seconds said, "Hillary I think I'm ready now." 'I will sort out the paperwork today Silvia, would you like me to be there for you?' "Can you?" 'I'll make it happen.' "Thank you Hillary." As Silvanus cancelled the call a single tear rolled down her cheek. "You are getting soppy you silly old cow," she said reprimanding herself. Almost as though every single detail of Silvanus's trip had been planned meticulously beforehand (It of course had been by Hillary) Joy, Alice And Aliza prepared to leave for their trip to the Ukraine. Fortunately, everyone in the travelling party had now been vaccinated against the corona virus thanks to Ruby at Stevenson Biotec and all had showed a strong immune response when tested so none of the usual travel restrictions applied to them. Not that this would have mattered anyway as they were all travelling with newly issued diplomatic passports. Unlike Silvanus's previous trips to The Ukraine this trip was sanctioned by the Ukrainian government and she along with her party were treated as VIPs. After an overnight stay in a hotel Silvanus and party was taken by coach to the Old Sport academy and place of her nightmares. Silvanus. Watching the countryside go past outside our coach did nothing to stem the swarm of butterflies in my stomach (or would that be a kaleidoscope?), Aliza who was sitting next to me must have noticed and placed her hand in mine. "Do not let your fear overcome you at this late stage Silvanus, remember what you taught me," she said causing me to briefly remember a moment several years ago when Aliza was a novice operative. "It is hard Aliza but I am in control just nervous very very nervous." "There is nothing at the old academy that can hurt you anymore, only memories, we will be with you at all times." "I know Aliza," I said as I gripped her hand a little tighter, I looked around to see Terry and Hillary talking to each other, Joy and Alice were just across the aisle they were holding hands. Hillary and I had a wonderful evening last evening even though he seemed a little distracted at one point after receiving a call from Mrs Tanner. It took just over an hour for us to reach a faded steel sign and then once we'd turned onto a smaller road for the rusting perimeter fence to come into view and about another three seconds before I wanted to throw up. We waited in the coach as two waiting workmen removed the chains and padlocks holding the now badly corroded and twisted steel gates closed and as they dragged them along the concrete until open to allow the coaches entry. Once our coach had parked I waited, as Hillary and Terry got up and exited then as Joy and Alice then Bob exited. Taking a deep breath I finally rose from my seat. "Well this is it," I said as Aliza moved to allow me out, I took one of my old warm coats and placed it over my arm as I made my way along the isle to the front doors and then onto the cracked and weed strewn concrete of the huge central quad. Looking to my left I could see the massive concrete structure of the Olympic sized pool I'd spent innumerable hours during my captivity in and beyond it just to the right I could just about make out the running tracks and field sports areas I'd used through the overgrowth. I turned through almost 90 degrees and looked directly at the gymnasia where my body was transformed using exercise. I then turned towards the accommodation block where I once had a small room. "May we go there first please?" I asked. "The site is yours; you may go anywhere you wish," replied Hillary, I looked over at Joy and Aliza who joined me as I headed over to where I remembered my old room being. The door to the accommodation block was just about hanging off its hinges and the entry lobby had been redecorated with many years of graffiti but in my own mind I filled in the blanks imagining the entry and exit of the many sportsmen and woman that passed through the lobby each day. "This lobby area used to be a hive of activity girls, I never really communicated with my fellow athletes, in fact I was probably never even classed as an athlete by them." Joy and Aliza stayed quiet, but listened politely. "Down here along this corridor." I pointed as I strode forward into a darkened corridor, long gone was the clinically white walls replaced with dirt, debris and a long string of temporary lighting that looked like a giant string of Christmas lights. After a few seconds I came across my old room and pushed the stiff door open noting the number 340 embossed in dirt on the painted surface (the brass numbers having probably been stolen as scrap). As I entered I felt it's calming effect as I sat down on the metal frame of my old bed (the mattress having long since disappeared or rotted away) and looked over at the table that once housed the radio I used to listen too constantly. "There used to be an old radio just over there and after I'd been here a while I used to just sit and listen to it, every now and then I could receive English broadcasts but not very often, I think it helped keep me sane, shame it's gone. Joy moved past me and started to move some rubble from the corner of the windowless room and pulled from it a circuit board with a speaker hanging from it. "I think that this is your radio Silv, oh it's really retro and has top hat transistors, shame the PCB has been damaged though." She then pulled the remnants of the case from the pile of rubbish "May I?" She asked, I nodded as Joy placed the broken parts into her satchel. I sat on the bed and looked over to where the desk and mirror had once been and after some minutes sighed. "I can't put it off any longer, let us get this over with." "Not just yet my sister not without me." It was Milosh and when he entered the room I felt myself smile, I rose and quickly embraced him, he hugged me very tightly indeed but it was a welcome hug. "This was your room, the room we re-captured you in, you struggled and fought us Silvanus, you did not want to leave." I started lapsing into Romanian, "I was not in my right mind brother, they had changed me, I did not know who I was." "I had to sedate you." "It is a good job that you did or I would have woken the entire camp." Milosh turned to Joy and Aliza and smiled, "My sister she did not want to be rescued." Explained Milosh, Joy and Aliza stood quietly and nodded, they understood. "I have been told by Mr Bob that you wish to visit the operating theatre with only Fulger and Fantomer." I nodded. "I will wait outside sister just in case." I walked out of my old accommodation block and outside into the fresh air once more, I noticed Joy and Aliza getting closer to me as we headed over the weed riddled and rubbish strewn courtyard towards the still imposing looking medical building in front of me. On entry I noticed that the large cargo style lifts were now completely decommissioned with only a flimsy barrier preventing a fall down the lift shaft, I turned and headed through the opening where until recently there had been two sturdy wooden doors barring entry to the staircase down to the basement. as I walked I noticed that there had recently been holes drilled into the concrete walls and that now the holes had wires entering and exiting them and even though I knew what they were Aliza said, "Demolition charges Silv, the building is now classed as unsafe so the state has decided to demolish it, we're okay though as all cables are currently grounded." I walked down the old concrete staircase noting as I did the increasing amount of wiring and explosive packed holes. At the bottom I walked along the corridor I'd seen many times over the years in my nightmares and felt my stomach tighten, I reached out and immediately both Joy's and Aliza's hands were there firmly gripping mine. As I finally reached the doors to the old operating theatre I could hear my breathing become heavier and I stopped. "Take your time Silvanus, this must be difficult for you," advised Aliza. I took a deep breath and stepped into the place of my nightmares only to be confronted by an almost empty room with an old operating table still mounted centrally in it, to the side of the operating table were several pieces of ancient anaesthesia and monitoring equipment with trays laid out deliberately as though an operation were about to take place. "It looks just like it used too," I said falteringly as I looked around the room to see that it looked almost the same as it had when Dr Kuznetzov had performed his barbaric surgeries on me. Looking up I noticed that the mirror I'd been forced to witness my surgeries via was still there and at the slight angle that showed the best image, it was the same mirror but was now showing the ravages of dampness and time with large sections of its mirroring having peeled off. I released my friends hands and walked over to the operating table closing my eyes as I did and in my mind I could see Dr Kuznetsov standing about a third of the way up the table wearing his gown, mask and ugly latex gloves holding his scalpel ready to mutilate me, I stumbled as I reached the old operating table, stopped and remembered, remembered all of the surgeries and the pain, how I'd nearly lost my mind and how I'd been almost turned into a state automaton, I heard my breath become laboured and the anger within me start to build. "How dare he," I said slowly through gritted teeth. "How dare they." I continued I then heard Joy's voice and felt something being placed into my right hand. "This may help Silvia." Opening my eyes and looking down I found Joy's Metal baseball bat in my hand. The mirror smashed into a thousand shards and scattered across the dirty floor of the old operating theatre I then smashed the bat into the table several times scattering surgical instruments far and wide and with every blow I said, "How dare they." "How dare they." "How dare they." Blow after blow reigned on the old equipment until I fell to my knees and started to sob. After several seconds I heard soft shoes walk towards me, the person stopped and I felt a hand slip into mine. "Mummy," the voice so full of emotion squeaked, I felt and then swallowed the growing lump in my throat as I realised who was standing by me holding my hand. "Adriana?" "Yes Mum it's me." I turned and looked up to see my beautiful daughter Adriana leaning over with a very worried expression on her face. "Oh Adriana," My voice was breaking as I spoke "I've missed you so much." and as I rose she embraced me holding me tightly in her arms. "I've missed you too mam?," she said as she wept. I'm not sure how long Adriana and I stood together but when we broke our embrace Joy and Aliza had left the theatre. "Mum they said that you have been poorly." "Who did?" "The women from Milosh's camp who came to get me, they said that you needed me but that you didn't know it, have you been unwell?" I nodded at Adriana's question. "Nightmares, nightmares and lack of sleep." "like the bad dreams you used to have when I was young?" "Yes but much much worse." "Is that why you are here mam?." I felt my breathing change once more and I gripped Adriana's hand even tighter. "Oh, is this the place that..." "Yes Adriana it is, this place is, was the place of nightmares, but I've just seen it for what it is it's just a building, The people that made the nightmare are either very very old now or dead and can no longer harm anyone else." "Oh mam?." Adriana and I then left the old operating theatre hand in hand and, as we reached the waiting area along the corridor, came across Joy, Aliza and a broadly grinning Milosh. "I've been staying with Uncle Milosh mama; at his camp for nearly a week now," said Adriana I looked at Milosh. "You are both very headstrong women, I worked with my good friend Mr Hillary and we brought you back together." I wanted to be annoyed with Milosh but just couldn't be, I turned to Joy and Aliza. "Did you know of this?" Joy answered. "No Silv we didn't It seems that Milosh is very good at keeping secrets." "I will make a good spy yes?" he said as he smiled, I didn't feel it was my place to tell him that he had probably unwittingly been a spy most of his life. "Can we leave this basement now please? It no longer matches my mood," I asked. Outside in the fresh air the clouds had now cleared and the sun was out, over by the buses that had brought us and the several government officials I noticed another battered old minibus and Milosh's pickup truck. Hillary noticed me first, but what really surprised me was that he was holding the hands of two small children. They looked about six or seven years old, Hillary released them and they started running towards us. "Mam? I have something to tell you," said Adriana quickly "Adriana are they your children?" I asked looking at the boy and girl running towards us. "They are, they are twins." As the two children reached Adriana they stopped and looked up at me almost in awe, "Denis, Izabela this is your bunica, your grandmother she is called Silvanus." Izabela approached me. "Are you really our Grandmother?" I nodded and squeaked. "Yes I am." "I'm Izabela." She looked at Adriana. "Can I hug her Mummy?" Adriana nodded Izabela then came forwards and wrapped her arms around me holding me for several seconds, she then turned to Adriana. "Mummy she's not scary at all." Denis then approached me and held out his hand for me to shake, I then remembered something I'd heard Susan say once and copied it. "In our family Denis we don't really do handshakes, we hug, a lot!" I leaned over a little and hugged Denis, "It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance young man." Denis looked a little embarrassed when I finally let him go, but was smiling. "Mum says that you are one of the toughest woman in the world is that true?" asked Denis, I didn't know how to answer that question, was I tough? "Your grandmother is a survivor Denis and yes I think she is the toughest woman in the world. I was very angry at her for a long time but now not so much." Adriana turned to face me. "Could we start again please?" I nodded as I reached for a tissue. My grandchildren took my hands as we walked back to the vehicles which had now moved back up the approach road and as we walked I noticed several men and women in hard hats and bright yellow coats had appeared, Terry headed towards me. "Hillary is staying at a safe distance Silvia just in case he's misjudged the situation." "He hasn't Terry, everything is just perfect," I said. "Not quite perfect Silvia, that place is still standing, you're not the only person here that wants to see it gone." I looked at Terry wondering what he'd meant and then realised. Terry then crouched a little and addressed my grandchildren then pointed over at the old medical building. "Want to make a bet with me? I bet that your grandmother Silvanus can destroy that entire building over there with just one finger." They looked at Terry then at me with a 'what the hell is he on about' look on both their faces, I smiled and held up my middle finger. "My finger is old and wrinkly now, but I bet I could still do it with your help will you help me please?" they both held up their index fingers and smiled broadly, Terry then said, "Great just give the team five to ensure the site is still clear then, the exploder is over there, I believe it's a model that you are familiar with." "Mam? what is happening?" asked Adriana cautiously. I turned and asked, "Do you want to help too?" She shook her head. "I'll watch." We headed over to where everyone else was. Hillary approached carrying two pair of ear defenders and goggles. "Put these on children please," he asked before turning to me. "I hope you are not too upset with me." "I have questions Hillary but they will wait; but in answer to your question no, not anymore." he looked relieved. After a few minutes, several sharp blasts from air horns could be heard from various perimeter points warning of an impending explosion and after a quick chat with the demolition foreman I took his exploder and placed it behind a screen whilst he did final continuity checks on the cables. He then passed the two bared ends over to me and I placed each one into the quick connectors, I then removed the shorting link and turned the failsafe key arming the box. "Okay when I pull this protective cover up I will put my finger on the red button and then you Izabella will place your finger on mine and Denis will put his on yours, then when I say now you both press as hard as you can." "What will that do Grandmother?" asked Denis. "It will cause a big bang and turn that big ugly old building over there into rubble." I noticed the demolition foreman signal that he was happy for me to proceed. "Okay then, let's count down from three and then press, Three... Two... One... Press." I felt the two small fingers pressing on mine and as they did I added a little more pressure to overcome the heavy return spring on the switch. I then watched as several small sequential charges went off on the upper floors weakening the structure followed by several substantial charges taking out supporting structures in the basement, the old concrete structure hung motionless for a second before collapsing vertically down and creating a massive plume of dust that was almost immediately blown away into the woods by the stiff breeze. Denis immediately turned to my daughter. "Did we really do that did we really blow up a building mummy?" She nodded. "Yes Denis you and your sister did." I turned to Adriana. "I did not plan this distraction Adriana I promise." She smiled. "I know Mam? Uncle Milosh has just explained everything to me." Then remembering my friends who were all standing at a respectful distance away I asked, "Have you met my friends yet?" "Friends?" "Yes over there the two pretty young women they are called Joy and Alice, the woman next to Terry is called Aliza and the girl standing near them she is called Susan." "They are your friends; you have friends now?" "Yes Adriana don't sound so surprised, Aliza has been my friend for a long time but Joy, Alice and Susan are new friends, Milosh has even made Joy and Alice his honorary daughters. "Uncle Milosh, really? They must be special." I looked Adriana in the eyes. "They are very special my daughter, I will introduce you to them." Chapter 61 Decisions Silvanus. I've been in Milosh's camp now for two weeks, Adriana and her children love it in camp especially as the weather is now warming and the forest here is now also waking from its winter slumber, Joy and Alice joined us after a few days with all of their children and are enjoying being away from home. Adriana and I visited her mums grave yesterday and left flowers for her, I cried buckets as did Adriana. We both decided to leave it a while before allowing Denis and Izabela to visit to avoid confusion. There is one large fly in the ointment however and it is something that I am determined to make better one way or another when I finally leave here, that is if Dix, Aliza, and Terry haven't already resolved the issue. A rather sensationalistic article was published simultaneously in German and French glossy tattle magazines by some scumbag journalist casting doubts on the Stevenson children's parentage, somehow a photographer managed despite our vigilance to finally get several pictures of the twins and Susan but fortunately not Terri, the article made several untrue allegations as to who the twins and Susan's 'real' fathers were. Joy is understandably livid, Alice is upset but seems to be resigned that this sort of thing happens, Matt Stevenson has instructed his legal team and is suing both magazines and will almost certainly win massive damages, Hillary however was incandescent with rage and travelled back to London as soon as he found out to locate and have a chat with this so called journalist and probably remind him what is and isn't public interest, I wonder who will get to him first? But for now everything in the forest is calm. Milosh has been exercising regularly and I have been for several chat's with Marta's daughter, she seems grudgingly impressed with Bob's work on me and Adriana and I have been going for very long walks with my daughter and catching up, I'm still not sure how she managed to sneak a pregnancy past me and she refuses to say who my grand children's father is, not that it matters as both of my new grandchildren are wonderful. "Silvia?" I turn to see Joy, she's dressed for mischief. "Just give me a moment Joy I was enjoying the camp atmosphere." "I could tell Silv you were in a world of your own there." "So what do we have planned this morning then?" "Avoidance and camouflage, we've got to make it past Milosh's men and reach the escarpment before noon, then a barbecue I believe." "Okay then I'm ready." I rose from my seat took the offered backpack from Joy and headed out into the forest for a little morning fun. I've been wondering for the last few days if I should slow down a little and take a back seat a little more with Hillary and his jobs and spend more time with my grandchildren and my daughter, but the more I think about it the more I realise I can easily do both and still have months to myself. Joy and I lie silently in the undergrowth as two of Milosh's lads pass by us literally a foot away and as they head along towards the waterfall and plunge pool we pause for a moment, and head to the left to circle around to the rear of the escarpment, Joy signals to me one of Milosh's lads in a tree so we adjust our course. As Joy and I work together and we slowly make our way through the undergrowth caked in mud avoiding Milosh's lads I think, 'Do I really want to give this up?' my mind answers immediately as I find myself smiling I answer, 'Not a hope in hell, this is far too much fun!' Epilogue. That evening approximately 2,094 miles away as the crow flies. Bob sat in his home study, he was sipping at his drink and staring at an old faded typewritten report, it was not the official report of Adriana's death but the original preliminary report, he placed his fingers to his lips and sighed wishing that Hillary had not sent the last box of documents to him. "So Hugo you lied to Silvanus." Bob studied the single sided document and picked out several key phrases. 'Violent struggle.' 'Frenzied attack by unknown assailant or assailants.' 'torn clothing and underwear.' 'violent sexual attack.' "Hugo you spared Silvanus the heartache, now what to do with this information." "What was that dear?" asked Peggy as she entered his study. "Nothing I've just been left with an unpleasant loose end." "Does anyone else know about this loose end dear?" "It was pretty well buried and by the look of it hasn't seen the light of day in many years." "Will revealing this loose end do more harm than good?" "Most definitely." "Then may I suggest that you make it vanish permanently?" Bob sighed but before he could react Peggy had taken the sheet of paper and lit it with the lighter she used on the cooker; she then dropped the fiercely burning sheet into his metal wastepaper bin. "You can't just..." "Just what Bob?" "That document you destroyed it." "What document I see no document, what I did see was a relapse and many years of work down the drain, sometimes ignorance is bliss Bob, she's at peace now; Sylvanus is stable, what more could you ask for." "Nothing Peg nothing at all come here." Bob guided Peggy to his lips and kissed her. The End? © Kyorii 2021 I hope that you enjoyed my latest story, if you did please leave me a review, or even if you didn't enjoy it please leave comments, comments good or bad are always welcome and encouragement keeps me writing. Thank you.