How often had he passed the telephone in the hall? How often had he reached for the phone on his office desk? He couldn't count, but each time he had stopped himself. Rebecca was there just a phone call away, but he still hesitated. What was it. Distrust of her? or himself? He was not really sure about her, even though he was about as sure of himself as it was possible to be. Determined, resolute, and perhaps even stubborn to a degree, when it came to women he had actually had very little experience of them. His mother had died when he was very young, and although he had enjoyed his time at university, the study had generally kept everyone busy, and the social activities had seen little chance to form deep relationships anyway. In the remote parts of the country where he lived, the nearest neighbour was an hour away by plane, and there were no daughters in any case. The country dances of his father’s day were a thing of the past now, and so he had been feeling increasingly isolated on the place for some time.
Cooper reached over and picked up the phone. It was time to get back in control of his emotions. He was behaving worse than a teenage boy worried about making a mistake. He had to go to London anyway. If he was to finish this mission, then he had no choice. He had decided to find out what Agent Mitterrand had wanted him in London for, and it was an idea that caught his interest. More importantly, he could see Rebecca again. Cooper put the phone to his ear and dialled Rebecca's office number. He realised he didn't have her private number, nor even her mobile number. So London was ten hours behind. He checked his watch. The call tone sounded for what seemed an interminable time. It should be about eight in the morning there. Maybe too early, but then an office like that would surely have early starters. Suddenly there was a voice on the line.
"Rebecca here."
Cooper nearly fell off his chair. He was momentarily lost for words, and blurted out.
"Rebecca, it's Cooper. Can you talk, do you have a minute?" He smacked his forehead. What a goose. Calling out of the blue and then saying something as banal as that.
"I mean; do you have time to talk given that it's your work day there?" Cooper realised that he still wasn't making a lot of sense. He started again. Rebecca still hadn't said a word, but he knew she was there, he could hear her breathing.
"Rebecca, have you heard anything from New World? Have you heard anything from MI5 or whoever your contacts were? I've heard nothing, seen no one. In fact, I haven't heard or seen anything from Billy or his people here either. They seem to have disappeared." Cooper waited for Rebecca to respond. One way or another.
Finally, she replied.
"No Cooper, not really. I've not actually heard from anyone at all. New World paid their account some weeks back and that's that." She paused and Cooper could hear her draw a breath.
"This is the first time I've heard from you too. I thought..." She stopped mid-sentence. "Never mind, it's not important now."
Cooper had the definite feeling that something was wrong. Her voice had a resigned note in it, as though she was tired from thinking about things. It was not like her at all. She had a naturally upbeat look on life. A glass half full kind of girl. Her feisty nature usually kept her in charge. This rather quiet, almost submissive sound was something new. Something was wrong. Cooper realised he had no way of finding out.
"Rebecca." Cooper began again. "Is something wrong? Are you unwell?" He asked.
"No, not unwell." She replied. "Cooper, I have to go. Please don't call again." The phone line clicked in his ear and she was gone. Just the hiss of static on the line.
He held the phone in his hand as though it was a snake about to bite him. What the hell was going on. He had behaved rather badly when she was here, he knew that. Packing her off on the plane like some discarded girlfriend. Making matters worse by not calling her at all in the ensuing weeks. He shook his head. He was not a man about to take being hung up on.
He hit the redial button. He would apologise to her whether she wanted to hear from him or not.
The phone rang for some minutes then with a click there she was again.
"Yes?" Was all she said. Very unusual. Cooper frowned.
"Rebecca, please let me apologise to you."
Rebecca interrupted with, "Cooper, you are about to be a father." Then the phone went dead. She had hung up again. Cooper had dropped the handset as though it truly had bitten him. He stepped back from the desk, staring at the handset laying on the floor of his office. He couldn't think straight. He had a reputation for being Mr Unflappable, but this had hit him right between the eyes. It was impossible. Well no, he realised it was eminently possible, he had not taken any precautions, and it seemed that neither had Rebecca. Indeed, it had not even crossed his mind. He bent and picked up the handset and hung it on the cradle. This was something he had not counted on and the news had momentarily caused him to be unable to think. He flopped down into his office chair and stared out of the window. He had not planned on children entering his life at any point. Of course he had thought that being married to Rebecca would be wonderful, but at this early stage his thoughts had not extended past that possibility to the natural outcome of such a union. Now it seemed that having a child was coming first. Did he even want a child? Well, this couldn't be attended to long distance so the only thing to do was fly to London and talk to Rebecca face to face. Anything happening here on the property would just have to wait for his return, or carry on with out him. What ever was going on here he didn't seem to have any control over anymore anyway, and the rebuilding work was almost complete on all the outbuildings, and the builders were now starting on the main house. Maybe it would be a good thing to get out of the place for a few months. The decision made, Cooper started packing a few things right there and then. He was a man of action, needing no long decision period. He had to go to London, and the subject was very important, so with nothing really holding him, the best time was right now. While packing, he carried the phone with him, and within minutes had his flight booked, and accommodation arranged through a travel agency. He could be in Brisbane, and off to London on the evening flight day after tomorrow. He didn't need to rush, there was an aircraft on the runway near the house. He carried his suitcase through to the lounge room. He had decided on only one case. It was easier. A carry on holdall for his immediate needs, and a suitcase. Travel light and fast. He was a frequent flyer with Singapore Airlines, and travelling first class ensured him walk on check-in with a very minimum of fuss. Being Australian, he needed no visa for England, just the current passport. Ready to go.
------------------------
Cooper looked at the cityscape far below. He'd only been to London once before, and that had been many years ago, in his gap year he supposed. there was nothing familiar, and although he recognised some of the landmarks, that was only from seeing them in movies, the local TV news, and documentaries and the like. How would Rebecca react to him just turning up on the door step?
He found his way to his hotel by cab. He didn't see the sense in trying to rent a car and find his way around, because of the traffic if nothing else. It was just after midday, and he needed to relax and let the tension of the trip ebb away. As tough as he was, that journey took it out of anyone so he did little else but put his suitcase in the room, thank the porter and head down stairs to the nearest bar. Cooper needed a drink, and he needed to collect his thoughts. Now that he was here, what was the plan? He couldn't just bowl up to Rebecca's office could he? Could he? No, if she was in any sort of state, and he could imagine she was, that was the last thing he wanted to do. He was still not sure of his own feelings on the subject, other than he had to know what Rebecca's plans were. He realised that he was faced with the prospect of having an heir to his father’s property. It was something else that had never crossed his mind. That he would marry, have children, and they would become the heirs to the Anders cattle empire. Now here was exactly that situation right in front of him. Well, tomorrow he would try and see her. He still only had her place of work to go to. He had no other address, so bright and early he would go to her office and find out once and for all what her plans were. He raised a hand to the barman to order a whisky, and just leant against the bar waiting for it to be mixed. Whisky and dry, and he didn't care if it was the house special. Cooper raised his eyes to catch his reflection in the mirrors behind the bar, and slicked his long hair back over his head. He looked a bit of a sight he realised, and determined to go back to his room and have a shower and change as soon as he had finished his drink. It was getting on to late afternoon now, and he wanted to make contact with Rebecca today if he could.
Suddenly, in the corner of his eye he caught sight of two men who had just come into the bar. He nearly dropped his drink as the barman handed it to him. It was the same two men he had seen in the hotel in Brisbane, he was sure of it. He almost turned around, but instead steeled himself to follow their progress in the mirror. They must have known he would see them, but seemed oblivious of his presence. He didn't look his usual cool well dressed self he admitted, and he had let his hair grow longer over the past weeks, and sported what was probably a fashionable two or three-day growth of stubble on his normally smoothly shaven face. In fact, he thought, he looked positively disreputable. Which may explain the rather tart response of the barman to him. He looked somewhat out of place in this very swish hotel drinks bar.
'Good, perhaps they haven't actually recognised me.' Cooper thought. 'So what are they doing here? It's too much of a coincidence.' He sipped at his drink and kept his eyes down as one of them came to the bar to order.
The barman was there instantly. 'So...' Thought Cooper. Sure enough, when the man ordered two mineral waters, he put them on his room. "4162 room please." He said, and there it was, that sibilant East European accent. There was no mistaking him now. Cooper was a hard man to hide, but his presence there was unexpected it seemed, so no one was looking out for him. His current slightly dishevelled state must have been just enough for the pair to subconsciously place him beneath their notice. All thought of cleaning up in his room disappeared as he sipped his whiskey and carefully watched the pair. They in turn weren't trying to be inconspicuous, but occupied a large table near one of the window walls in the bar. The busy cityscape seen through the glass was a fantastic sight to Cooper, used as he was to horizons so far away that you could see the curve of the world. 'Perhaps I could get used to this view.' He mused. The barman was looking sideways at him from along the bar. Cooper didn't want to raise any undue attention so he kept his head and shoulders slightly slumped forward, resting his arms on his elbows and signalled to the barman. The man carefully finished polishing the glass he had in his hand, placed it in the rack and rather casually came along the bar to stand in front of Cooper.
In a manner that shouted slight disapproval, without being overtly rude - a skill any good experienced barman mastered early in his career, he said to Cooper.
"Would sir like another whisky?"
Cooper looked at him from under his lowered eyebrows, and placed his room key-card on the bar. The barman didn't flicker an eyelid, but the next whisky appeared in front of Cooper as though by magic it came so quickly. The key-card was gold, and only four of them existed. This one was number one. There was one for each of the apartments that took up each of the four quarters of the buildings uppermost guest floor. Cooper meantime kept a careful eye on the two thugs who sat over by the wall talking quietly between themselves. Cooper wanted to make a call, but didn't want to use his mobile. He had an idea that Agent Mitterrand had it tracked, and probably bugged, so although he actually didn't mind him knowing where he was, he didn't want him listening to his calls. The barman was still close by, and Cooper only had to look his way and he was there.
"How can I be of service sir."
'That's better.' Thought Cooper, and said.
"Can I use your house phone to make an outside call please?"
"Of course sir. Just press 0 first for an outside line." The man placed the phone on the bar next to Coopers right arm. 'Good, perfect.' He thought as he turned slightly away from the men. He desperately tried to recall Rebecca's office number. He looked at the barman.
"Do you happen to have a phone book. I need the office number of the firm of lawyers Willet, Barber, Links and Boucher."
"I can do better than that sir," he reached behind him and plucked a card from a little card holder. "Which partner sir." The man smiled. Cooper was surprised, and his face showed it.
"Regulars sir. Their offices are just around the corner."
"Thank you, really." Cooper said.
"Glad to help sir, in fact if you are in here about six, one or the other of them, sometimes all, will probably be here after work." This was even more startling.
Cooper picked up the phone and dialled Rebecca's number direct, right there on her card.
The ring tone was slightly different but ringing none the less.
"Rebecca Boucher, how can I help?" She said.
Cooper was nearly speechless, but quickly gathered himself.
"Rebecca, it's Cooper. Please listen. Don't hang up." He could hear her breathing quicken.
"Yes Cooper. These long distance calls will be costing you a fortune. Really."
"Not long distance, I'm in the hotel just around the corner. Apparently it's the regular haunt of your team. Can you meet me here...? Please." He knew that the two men were just sitting over there, and he knew Rebecca would not want to see them but a plan had formed in his mind. It meant Rebecca had to walk in here unsuspecting.
Rebecca was still hesitating. He could hear it in her silence. Finally, she replied.
"I can meet you there in ten minutes if you like." Rebecca was not hesitating because of any wish to not meet Cooper, but rather stunned surprise that he was here in London, and just around the corner at the Metropole. Nothing for months, now he was here in person. Did he think he was going to step back into her life just because of some misguided feeling of having to do the right thing. 'How quaint.' She thought. She would manage quite well enough alone thank you very much. She was quite wealthy, with a fantastic career ahead of her. There was no reason why with the help of good nannies she couldn't continue just as she was.
"Good, and Rebecca...." Cooper hesitated. "Can you ask your friend from the... Firm... to meet you here. Urgently. Like now if he can." Cooper hung up.
Rebecca stood looking at the handset. That was different. He had obviously meant her friend in MI5, the organisation often referred to as The Firm by those connected with it. He had had a warning tone in his voice as well. Rebecca was very very good at reading people. It was one of the reasons she was at the top so young. Something was up. She didn't think Cooper was the sort to cry wolf, so perhaps he wasn't here for the reasons she thought. She speed-dialled her friend Kali. Kali answered immediately, she must have had the phone in her hand.
"Kali, who is your friend in MI5?"
"Benjamin." Kali replied.
"Can you ask him to meet me in the Metropole immediately? Something is up. Can you join me? We can go together, Cooper is there and has asked me to meet him there - with Benjamin. He thinks Benjamin is my friend."
"Give me a few minutes." Kali hung up. She was in the building, and was in Rebecca's office in less than five minutes. They gave each other a quick hug as Kali looked at her friend. Rebecca was quite pale. Kali didn't ask, but just looked at Rebecca.
"It's ok Kali. I'm just a bit surprised to find Cooper here. I thought I saw him this morning as I was coming in, and suddenly here he is. He is also asking that Benjamin meet us there. There was something in his voice..."
"I called Benjamin on my way to your office. Luckily he was in, and can be at the Metropole in thirty minutes. He is very curious about Cooper I must say." Kali walked in a circle, thinking.
"Can we... Stall? Just to give Benjamin time to get there. No wait. Cooper doesn't know me. I'll go now, you come over in fifteen minutes. Benjamin should be close by then. Ok?"
"Kali, are you sure?" Rebecca was worried for her friend. She needn't have been.
Kali grinned from ear to ear.
"Sure I'm sure." She bounced on her toes. Kali was very fit, and the tight jeans and faux leather jacket she always wore over a tight fitting pull on vest showed clearly just how string taught fit she really was. Dark short hair and dark and intense eyes gave her a real look of ... danger, if seen in passing. Kali didn't talk about her personal life, not even to Rebecca much, but Rebecca knew she worked out a lot, and was often in the company of a very big man, with the spring in his step of a martial arts specialist. Rebecca smiled.
"Sorry Kali. I just don't seem to be able to register things properly at the moment." Rebecca shook her head.
"Ok, then, give me ten minutes and then start over. How will I know Cooper? I never did get a clear look at him past you on Skype." Kali gave a throaty chuckle. Rebecca coloured a little and replied.
"Just look out for the Australian."
Kali left with a flicking wave of her fingers. "Ten minutes." And was gone. Rebecca collected her grip and her coat, ran a brush through her hair and did a double take at her reflection in the mirror. She rarely wore much in the way of makeup, not really needing it, but now! OMG she thought. She found her lipstick and smoothed just a little colour on her lips, and just a touch of colour base on her cheeks. She stood back and looked. 'Hmmm, not quite like a corpse now, but close.' She resolved to start modifying her diet. She would never make the distance, she thought, if she was being drained by something as trivial as someone turning up unexpectedly. A quick shuffle of some paperwork and an unnecessary desk tidy, and the ten minutes was up. She set off for the Metropole. The lift swished to a stop and the doors opened, and there beside was one of the partners. Willet - James Willet. Senior partner. He looked at Rebecca as though seeing her for the first time that day.
"Something upsetting you Rebecca? You look terrible. I do hope you aren't getting something." He said.
Rebecca laughed, a slightly brittle laugh, and swallowed.
"Sorry James. No, I haven't caught anything. Not as such, just been a bit busy with a case that is particularly troublesome. I'll be fine, thank you for asking." They travelled down in silence. Rebecca was struggling to hide the giggles. Did being pregnant count as 'catching something'? She hoped no one else was going to comment on her looking terrible. She felt bad enough as it was. The lift opened into the foyer, and James Willet strode away to the reception desk with a "Take care." In Rebecca's general direction. He had his own problems.
Rebecca headed for the street, wrapping her coat tightly around her and pulling her fur cap down over her hair so her ears were covered. It looked cold outside. She lowered her head and stepped out. The cold bit into her like a knife, finding any chink in her covering to sting bare skin. It was never like this in Australia she thought and headed down the street. What was she going to say to Cooper? Other than he was not under any obligation to her.
She was convinced that she didn't need him in her life. He was nice. Very nice in fact, but she was in no way willing to give up what she had worked so hard to achieve over the last few years. Cooper wanting to walk back into her life would undo everything. Child or no child. He would have visiting rights, the whole deal in fact, just she didn't come as part of the package. She would have to make sure he clearly understood this, right from the get go. She put her head down against the biting wind and struggled forward. The hotel was not far, but in these conditions it may as well have been at the North Pole. Finally, the building shone out across the wide street, the lights all on to display a warm welcome to travellers out in the gathering gloom. It was not particularly late, just dark. 'This is crazy!' Rebecca muttered. She pushed through the massive revolving door, into the warmth of the vast foyer, the plush understated grandness of the place always pleasing to her senses. She realised Cooper hadn't said which bar he was in, and she hesitated a moment. So it had to be their usual, because he had rung from there, and she only ever went to the same bar which was the one here on the ground floor, around past reception. A nice comfortable day bar, evening drinks, casual, oriented toward the after work office crowd. There was a small restaurant in the other direction from the bar. Nice. She thought she might eat there tonight.
Cooper was unmistakable, sitting slightly hunched over at the small bar. Unusual, she thought. He also looked as though he hadn't yet changed from the trip over, nor even shaved. Rebecca hesitated, her eyes fixed on Cooper. Something was wrong, she could feel it. Then she saw that Cooper was watching her in the mirror behind the bar. His right hand was on the top in front of him, his index finger pointing to his left, so that only she could see it. She involuntarily looked left and immediately spotted the two heavies from New World. She missed a step, and her heart missed a beat. What was Cooper doing, getting her to the bar? He must have known they were there; they had obviously been there some time. She didn't know what to do suddenly. She was rooted to the spot, one foot slightly forward as she had been about to cross toward Cooper. Suddenly she nearly jumped out of her skin as an arm went about her shoulder and a strong voice said softly.
"Hello Rebecca, Kali tells me you may be needing some ... assistance? I'm her friend from the Firm. You can call me Charles." He looked down at her, a faint smile on his lips. "Shall we go and talk to Cooper? Kali will be with us momentarily." He had not so much as glanced at the two men, both of whom were slowly sitting back down, having half risen at Rebecca's entrance.
Rebecca was feeling distinctly out of control, and she didn't like it one little bit. She approached Cooper, Charles still with his arm draped casually across Rebecca's shoulders. Charles spoke quietly in Rebecca's ear, leaning down slightly. "Forgive my familiarity Rebecca. Give me a little laugh please, as though I've made a small pleasantry." Rebecca did so, almost without being able to stop. The two men at the table were focused intently on her and Charles. Cooper still just sat there, still looking vaguely like he didn't belong in this place. The two men ignored him. Rebecca and Charles reached the bar beside Cooper, but Charles totally ignored him, as did Cooper to Charles and Rebecca.
The two men sitting over to the side had their heads together in whispered conversation and didn't notice the arrival of three others all wearing neat grey suits, dark ties and highly polished shoes. They weren't particularly big men but the air of menace about them was unmistakable. They sat down at the same table as the two Eastern Europeans, much to the surprise of those two men. Their focus on Rebecca and Charles had allowed the newcomers to insinuate themselves into the scene almost unnoticed. The two henchmen went to rise, but a quietly spoken "Sit," from one of the men in the grey suits had them both back in their seats. They were boxed in really. They had been sitting with their backs almost to the wall so they could see the bar area clearly, and the arrival of the three now had them fairly effectively trapped there. Cooper was watching this and now stood up, stepping around Charles to Rebecca's side he brushed his hair back and said.
"Thanks for coming to see me Rebecca. I wasn't sure you would. I... We need to talk. This situation is under control finally. Cooper glanced at Charles. "I don't think I've had the pleasure." His outstretched hand was taken in a brief shake by Charles and introductions made. Charles said.
"We've been looking for this pair for a while now, and your arrival seems to have brought them to the surface. We'd love to find their boss as well."
"Upstairs," Cooper smiled. "The bar tender here knows the room number. Just ask him." Cooper took Rebecca's elbow and invited her to step away a little with him.
"Rebecca, what can I say? I had no idea of your... Situation. Under the circumstances I will of course support you financially as well as, as well as... Our child." The normally self assured Cooper stumbled on the last few words.
Rebecca wasn't impressed. The look on her face said it all. Even in his current state, he was very much a man, and Rebecca had to struggle to keep the look of him out of her thoughts. She had already determined her course and it didn't involve Cooper in any way, not financially, not physically.
"What do you mean? Under the circumstances. There are no circumstances. None that involve you directly any more at least." Rebecca lost her sharp tone half way through the sentence. It was after all not Cooper’s fault that he had only just found out. She hadn’t known herself all that long.
“Cooper, can we save this for later please?” Rebecca glanced across the room at the men sitting in a circle almost, around the two heavies from New World. Charles had let Rebecca and Cooper move aside slightly, but now encouraged them to move back alongside him.
“Cooper, Rebecca, I have to thank you for drawing these people out. We had actually lost track of them in Australia. I know, I know, but we are stretched very thin at the moment. Budgets and all that. It seemed that the native people who live on your property Cooper, harassed them all the way nearly to the border of their country. The intruders ended up getting out on foot to a support vehicle that came to collect them. The local people had disabled their truck.” Charles chuckled at the memory. “Do you know, they speared the tyres of the truck. Such ancient weapons, and they still disabled a modern vehicle. There’s lessons to be learnt there.” All the time, Charles had his attention on the others across the room. Soon the team who had come in with Charles stood up, indicating to the two that they had literally cornered, that they needed to accompany them. Charles nodded to the one in the lead, and turned back to Cooper and Rebecca.
“Would you mind waiting here please for a while? I hope to be able to have Usman Abbas accompanying me when I return. I would rather that you were somewhere open and in public - as we are here.”
Rebecca looked around for Kali. She had left the office ahead of Rebecca, and was supposed to be here.
“Have you seen Kali?” She asked Charles.
“No.” He replied as he left. Cooper was looking about the room. He hadn’t seen anyone else enter the room in the time he had been there, but he wasn’t surprised. After noticing the two thugs, he hadn’t been looking for anyone else.
Rebecca couldn’t help smiling. She was thinking back to the circumstances where Kali had certainly got to know Cooper, if not actually face to face.
“Yes Cooper, Kali knows you, but I don’t think you really know Kali. Do you remember the laptop was open with Skype running one day back at your home…? Kali was on the other end of the link.”