Monday 25th January 2016
Courchevel, France
The low-budget production is over, the stage cleared of its props. The cast: Margaret Milner – Miss Bateson in Adam Fraser’s imagination; Emma – once Fiona, now Emms to the departing theatregoers; and the irresistibly named ‘Beef’. All three are in their cheap rental car heading back to Lyon airport, their low-cost flight back to London outbound from Gatwick already. Beef is the elected driver, with Emma and Miss Milner happy to be chauffeured in the rear. During the meandering descent from the Alpine resort, one that involves the occasional hairpin bend and not much talking, Emma wordlessly muses on whether Miss Milner has been a ‘Miss’ all of her life. Perhaps, once upon a time, she had been married? Then, after some incident or mishap, finding herself back on her own once again, she could have reverted to ‘Miss’, never again to discuss the intimate details of her former love life? It’s possible but feels unlikely. In fact, the more Emma thinks about it Miss Milner is most likely a spinster, especially considering the solitary working life that she has endured hitherto.
That issue put to bed, her thoughts drift to Adam Fraser. Newly recruited agent or not, here is one man hardly destined for a single life by himself. Whether he is the marrying kind is hardly the point: that he is blessed with an overabundance of testosterone is beyond doubt. As the car finishes its wiggly descent and joins the dual carriageway, she reflects that surprisingly, she actually has enjoyed her brief moment with Adam Fraser that afternoon. Above and beyond, was what Miss Milner had said to her a little earlier. On that point she might have been right.
As if on cue she finds her hand being patted gently by her fellow passenger in the rear.
“You did well this afternoon, Fiona. Acted like a pro. My old lot would have been proud. I certainly was.”
Her old lot. For over two months Miss Milner has been an ex-employee of MI5; yet the Millbank training and methods seemingly remained an inextricable part of her DNA.
“Thank you. Team effort and all that.”
“Oh, I think that’s hardly fair. The semen sample was a masterstroke. As I said earlier, above and beyond.”
“I didn’t do anything I wasn’t prepared to do,” is all she could think to say.
I rather enjoyed it to tell the truth.
“What next, Miss Milner?”
“Since our fish appears to be well and truly on the hook, we ought to see whether he swallows the bait and if so, where it leads us.”
She looks across at Emma.
“Do you have much else on at the moment, workwise?”
“Nothing that can’t be moved or put on hold.”
“How about you, Beef?”
“At your beck and call, Miss Milner.” He gives her a wide grin in the rear-view mirror.
“Well then, I suggest we try and find you a not-too-expensive apartment near to, if not in, Monaco and get you settled so that you can wait for first contact. Beef, you don’t mind playing babysitter, do you? I am not expecting anything to get nasty. I simply don’t want to cast Fiona to the wolves, real or imaginary. Would that be in order?”
They both nod, smiling at each other in the mirror for added authenticity. If Emma found herself in need of protection, Beef would give it his best shot, she felt certain.
“Now, my dear, just one other thing. I am happy to say this in Beef’s earshot since both metaphorically and for real, he’s the one who will be watching your back. Take a tip from a former field agent. No emotional entanglements. Keep this totally professional, one hundred per cent business. I am sorry to be so blunt but entanglements always spell trouble. Do we understand each other?”
The very statement, of course, makes Emma wonder. Is this a partial confession? As near to an admission of a past fling in the middle of an operation as Miss Milner is ever likely to own up to? Something that had perhaps started with good intentions and turned sour? Painful, if not disastrous? A lesson learnt the hard way, from bitter experience?
“Totally, Miss Milner. I completely understand. You needn’t worry. Adam Fraser is just not my type.”
Or not a type that I’m prepared to admit to liking right at this moment.