"Fight the Moonlight"
24 April 2008 14.00hrs He dialled the number one more time, and once more got an engaged tone. He replaced the handset in the cradle and stood staring out onto the river below. He had no idea of what he was going to tell Gray, whatever Saf was mixed up in was technically none of his business, but he felt strongly that he needed to pass on the information to Gray. A cold sensation like an icy wind ran down his spine and he shivered. Ghosts walking over his grave; the tiredness had left him completely after Ilya's call, and now he needed to do something physical while waiting for an opportunity to contact Gray. He glanced down at his watch; the second hand moved slowly around the dial. He needed to think about what to tell him and how he had come by the information without exposing his sources. 14.20hrs He stretched out, and loosened muscles in preparation for a run; he would be able to think while he ran. The wind had dropped and the warm sunshine showed promise of warmer days ahead, he set up at a slow pace, allowing his muscles to relax into a steady rhythm and set off around the paths down by the river. His mind was free to think about how he was going to tell Gray about the information he had, and he was so caught up in his thoughts that he wasn't aware of the car approaching his left side until it was nearly on top of him, he tried to jump sideways out of it's path, but instinctively he knew it was too late, he felt his balance go as the car struck into him and then nothing. He wasn't aware of the wall into which he was pushed, nor of it crumbling down on top of him; neither was he aware of the car speeding away as two pedestrians came upon the scene of carnage and called for assistance. 26 April 2008 03.00hrs He heard the voices first, as though from a distance, and tried to open his eyes, but they felt as though they were glued shut. He lifted a hand, but someone prevented him from touching his face. "Mr Strathspey. Sean you are in St George's Hospital. Please don't try to move the bandages.." the voice sounded like it belonged to a woman who was young and pretty, but he couldn't remember how he came to be in hospital, the last thing he remembered was running to work. He tried to speak, but she, the nurse, had already injected him with strong and fast acting painkillers and he drifted off back to the dead zone. 26 April 2008 09.00hrs The clatter of a cleaner moving the mop around the floor woke him; well he thought it was a mop. This time he felt more awake, but still had a vague sense of something missing, something he should remember. A nurse, a new one tended to him, less caring, washing him; he hated that, not being able to see or assist and having to lie there while everything intimate was done for him. The doctor's round came next, a nurse removed the bandages from his head, and he found that he could see a little out of his right eye though it was sensitive to the light, while his left eye was swollen shut. "You had a lucky escape, Strathspey, isn't it?" Sean would have nodded, but when he tried to move his head, it felt like it was in a 1000 pieces, so he whispered his response "Yes, what happened to me?" A nurse leaned over, "Your boss will update you," he changed tactics, needing information, "What damage?" The list was endless: Fractured skull, broken cheekbone, broken collarbone, tibia and fibula, on the left hand side, and bruising and scrapes on the other. He sank back into the mattress, feeling exhausted by the short exchange. His next visitor was a woman, he had to struggle to remember her name before he could recognise her, Andrea.. Andrea Temple, his boss. "You gave us a bit of a fright, but I understand that you will be fine in time." Sean felt as though he were wading through wet concrete, "what happened to me?" his voice was weak and while he wanted nothing more than to go back to sleep, he hated showing how weak he was in front of her. Andrea's voice was cold and unfriendly, "A car struck you along the embankment. From the evidence of the witnesses, I would say it was deliberate, and Russell has received information from his sources that would tie it up with your meeting of a few days back. You were exposed then and now, and you will be moved to a location somewhere so that they can't find you. In the meantime, Russell has taken over your case files." Russell, the creep, taking over his case files. What next? His job? Sean felt those chilling fingers down his spine again, still the nagging suspicion that he had to remember something pulled at him. "What day is it?" Andrea looked down at her watch, "It's the 26th today, you were unconscious for nearly 36hrs and the doctors were quite concerned about you." The unspoken words at the end of her sentence, were almost audible, hanging in the air.. `which was more than could be said about me…' He knew then that his days at MI9 were drawing to a close; the events of the past few days had just made it a bit sooner rather than later. It was a relief to know that it was finished. He would be given a small payoff for his service, and thanked by some senior civil servant; then he could get on with the rest of his life. Andrea cleared her throat, "Because of your head injury, we can't fly you, but instead, you are travelling by private ambulance to the training base in Perthshire. You leave this afternoon." He didn't respond, there was no point, it wouldn't change anything. The training base was a desolate location, in the wilds of the Scottish lowlands. Nothing except heather and birds, basic buildings and a small hospital wing to which he would be delivered. She stopped by the door, "by the way, we issued a press statement saying that you were pronounced dead, at 15.30hrs on April 24th." She left without another word. He lay back on his pillows, he was a dead man. He would have a new identity, new details and a new life, but he felt a pang of regret at losing his sense of knowing where he had come from, his name and family died with him. 29th April 2008 11.00hrs They had left late at 19.00hrs and travelled overnight. The medics in the ambulance had strapped him into the trolley, and made him as comfortable as they could, then they had taken turns in watching him while the team of drivers took it in turns to take the wheel. They stopped a couple of times, but only for short periods, and none of them got out of the ambulance, relieving themselves into the portable containers in the back of the ambulance. There was no mention of food or drink, not that he wanted food, but a change from the constant motion which made him feel sick would have been good. It was raining when they arrived at the facility, typical weather for the Scottish location. He was wheeled into the small hospital wing and handed over to Archie McPherson who was in charge. "Well laddie, what have you been up to?" Sean saw Archie looking at him but as he was being transferred from trolley to bed, and by heavy handed medics who jolted the recently broken bones deep inside his leg, he didn't have the time or the inclination to respond. Sean tried to control his breathing, the pain arcing through his body and what he wanted more than anything else was to sleep and not be pestered by interfering medics. Archie tried again, "The report says you don't recall anything, that right?" Sean looked at him, glaring, "I'm not answering silly questions, the report is right.. the last thing I clearly remember is about 48 hours before the accident, now leave me along and bugger off." To his surprise, Archie roared with laughter, "Well you should start getting flashbacks soon if your temper matches your healing process. I'll leave you in the hands of my assistant, Freddie." Sean didn't care whether he believed him or not, he had no career, no prospects, and no memory. What if his memory didn't come back? It was frustrating to not be able to open the lock between his memories, yet to know that he had something important to remember. He was relieved when Freddie, gave him something for the pain, slipping into oblivion. 17.00hrs This time when he awoke, he was much more aware of his surroundings, and even felt as though the pressure in his head was lessening. The bones would knit together in time, the cuts and grazes would heal in time, and he was beginning to remember more details about the accident, the sensation of flying through the air, and falling heavily. He felt hungry for more, but knew that resting and taking his time would ensure that the details would come back in their own time. The food served was basic rations, but he tucked into them as though they were ambrosia. Afterwards, he listened to the radio that Freddie had found, and tuned into the news station. Nothing new was happening though a report of a break in at a government research facility in Washington warranted a brief mention, no doubt, the FBI were investigating. They even mentioned him in passing, appealing for further witnesses to come forward regarding the hit and run incident where a civil servant had been killed on Thursday last week. It was a strange sensation to listen to his own death, but in some ways it was another tether being untied, holding him to this place; now he would be free to choose his own path. 30th April 2008 10.00hrs The breakthrough came the following morning, when he awoke, he felt different. Still the pain of the fractures, but the fogginess had gone, leaving him in unadulterated clearness. He remembered everything that had happened to him prior to the accident, and knew he was going to have to talk to Gray somehow, and at least alert him to a potential problem. Archie, didn't quite see it the same way, "Laddie, if I were you, I would hang on, after all the Americans won't be awake yet, it's only 5am there." Sean would have shook his head, only that hurt when he tried, so he allowed Archie to believe that he would rest until lunchtime, catching them as they started work for the day. His mobile had gone, but when he had been left alone by his carer's he had got out of bed, ignoring the dizziness, and headed for the office. To his relief, Gray had answered at once, Sean was brief and to the point, "Gray, Sean here. I have some intel for you, unsecured, can you assist?" the crackles on the line faded, and the clarity of the line signal told him that Gray had indeed put the line on a secure footing. "Alexei Konstantin, was seen in the company of a certain female agent, known to you, in Moscow at the end of March. I have a hunch he is connected in some way to Alexis Karpoulounis, who is a large arms dealer." He paused, "I tried to let you know earlier, but someone went to great lengths to ensure that I nearly didn't tell you." Gray was very quiet, listening, Sean wasn't even certain how much Gray knew or wasn't telling. Finally Gray spoke "Thanks Sean, I heard you were involved in an accident, I didn't realise that it was more than that. I will need to let Rebecca know. You can leave it with me." It was a clear dismissal, perhaps Gray had been advised that his service was about to be terminated. Whatever, but he had done what he needed to do; now it was up to the rest to deal with, he had plans to make. Return