Dark Tidings

Chapter 40 - Only Following Orders

After the Council Meeting, Jim Robinson was summoned to Sir Samuel Buckingham's office. He was the Head of Security at IIBE and a loyal member of the Occultus Populous. He'd worked for Buckingham for many years, enough years for a strong bond of trust to be built between the two. They'd originally met through the Occultus Populous and had quickly grown to like and respect one another.

He'd a long and distinguished army career under his ammo belt, much of it served with the Special Forces. He never talked about what had been involved, except to Sir Samuel; only Sir Samuel knew about the black operations, the dirty tricks and the state sanctioned killings.

His combat experience spanned the globe. Officially, his tours of duty had taken him into most of the regions where British forces had a presence. Unofficially, his tours had taken him to parts of the world where the British had no military involvement whatsoever.

He'd been wounded twice. Nothing particularly severe but the last incident effectively ended his career. A ricocheting bullet had caught him in the thigh. Had it been treated straight away he might have fully recovered but he fought on for three hours killing five of the enemy and ensuring his mission was successfully completed. Fight on was what he did; what he always did. This time, his thigh paid the price... permanent damage to the muscle structure. Damn the leg and its stupid muscle structure. A slight weakness and bang went his one hundred per cent fitness record. Anything less than one hundred percent was unacceptable in his regiment. Damn the leg and its stupid weakness.

Returning to ordinary duty was an option but the routine stuff would have killed him with boredom after the exhilaration of his 'special' adventures. Routine would never work for him, so he accepted an honourable discharge instead. He missed army life; the adventure, the comradeship... the killing. Had he made the right decision? He stopped wondering the day he met Sir Samuel Buckingham.

Within a month of meeting Buckingham, he'd been appointed as the Head of Security. It wasn't the army but hey, it gave him the fulfilment he needed and he inwardly thanked Sir Samuel every day for the opportunity. He felt indebted to Sir Samuel and that indebtedness evolved into a great personal loyalty to the man, a loyalty which went far above and beyond his allegiance to IIBE or the Occultus Populous.

An outsider would probably think his security role was a far cry from the thrill of special operations. That's because an outsider could have no inkling about what his job actually entailed. True, it was a different sort of excitement but the challenge of protecting such an important institution from thieves and fraudsters genuinely inspired him. He loved his job.

With a dedicated professionalism and efficiency, he shaped the security department into a highly effective shield for the bank. Behind the scenes, there was a lot going on; shady secrets, dirty dealings and special assignments. This clandestine side of his job created the buzz he craved, especially when it crossed society's legal and moral boundaries. Personally, he'd no qualms about doing 'whatever was needed' to protect the bank and Sir Samuel trusted him enough to give him control of all the dangerous, off-record activities.

He had only let Sir Samuel down once and he'd never owned up to his failure. It was his own personal, dirty little secret and he was ashamed. The assignment had been the final part of a campaign to terrify a local drug dealer. Sir Samuel had wanted the man and his cronies to stop dealing in the vicinity of the bank. A sterile, crime-free area around the bank meant the police had no need to poke around, no need to stick their noses in the bank's business. Killing the man wasn't the answer, one of his underlings would have stepped up and carried on the trade; almost literally stepping into the dead man's shoes.

"His daughter, Jim, I want you to kill his daughter. Shoot her in the face in front of the mother. Destroying the little girl's face will deliver a message they'll never forget. Even the best mortician in the city won't be able to reconstruct her. The last memory the toerag will have of his beloved five-year-old daughter will be viewing the outside of a closed coffin."

It seemed cruel but Sir Samuel was just making sure the dealer was in no doubt that moving on was his only alternative. Jim knew his boss wasn't a cruel-hearted man by nature, he was just a man who liked a job to be done properly.

When the time came, Jim couldn't do it. He could still see the little girl staring at him in wide-eyed terror as he pointed the gun in her face. The mother's wailing and pleading still haunted his dreams. The worst part though was remembering how he'd weakened and let Sir Samuel down. He'd put his hand on the girl's head and turned her face away before shooting her through the temple, just once, leaving her face intact. What a weak man he was, what a failure.

It had all worked out fine in the end. The drug dealer was distraught. He got the message and moved away. Word got round the criminal underworld and no one chose to fill the gap. The streets surrounding the bank were clean again. Job done. He considered telling Sir Samuel about his failing but decided against it. This second weakness would stay his secret. He cursed both his weaknesses, damn his lack of determination, damn his leg. No more, he swore he'd never fail his boss again, not ever.

Buckingham briefed him on the current situation and described what had been discussed at the Meeting.

"The search hasn't been conducted with any real urgency up to this point. Things need to change. These thieves must be found, the Scroll must be found. You know what this means to the Society but I also want to stress how important the Scroll is to me personally. I'm placing my trust in you, Jim, to hunt these people down. Bring them to me."

He nodded. He knew better than to interrupt his boss when orders were being given.

"Assemble your best people and track down the fugitives. Money is no object and you have total control over the operation. Remember, Jim, this is top secret... sorry, I know you know that but I'm nervous. This is all so important."

More nodding.

"You have full authority to call on every resource available to IIBE and the Occultus Populous. If you can't get hold of something, just ask me. Whatever you need, no matter what, it will be made available. Money is no object," Sir Samuel repeated. "And take no account of legal considerations. Do what you need to do. I'll protect you from any, uhmmm, unwelcome consequences."

His heart thumped and he could almost feel the adrenaline pumping through his veins. This mission was what his dreams were made of. Yes, there were plenty of complications within this task, not least of which being that he'd have to keep secrets from his team but that just added to the excitement.

To date, only a small group of agents had been sent out to catch the magic makers and they'd not known exactly what they were looking for. They'd not known about the Scroll. They'd not known about Sir Samuel's personal interest in the mission.

Everything had changed. The Council had decreed that this search was the top priority, in fact, it was the only priority. More importantly, Sir Samuel had decreed it. Now the gloves were off and he relished the challenge. Watch out Scroll thieves, here I come.

"I have faith in you, Jim."

"Thank you, sir."

He left Buckingham and went back to his office to plan his campaign of attack. This was the big one. All his training and experience kicked in. This was his most critical mission ever and it needed to be tackled with military precision. First step, work out the best resources to line up against the problem. He started making lists.