No war has ever been won without contingencies.
To help manage the population, both military and civilian, Thomas had promoted several men to positions of high command. He was travelling to go and meet with them right now. His orders would be concise, for time was of the essence, but everyone would be on the same page. A great army was to depart Portsmouth at first light tomorrow, setting out to reclaim their homeland. Great Britain would be reborn.
Diane didn’t know why she’d been summoned to what Thomas called the ‘war room’, but her strange new friend, Damien, assured her that everything was okay. Tom hadn’t given up her role in the planned coup, nor had he shared her name with the people he’d recruited on her behalf. However, someone Tom trusted had clearly betrayed him, and despite Damien’s assurances, Diane feared she was walking into a trap.
“Stop worrying,” said Damien for the umpteenth time. The more she got used to his face, the more she noticed the tiny details. A thin scar dissected his right eyebrow and another sliced his bald head. His right wrist was ringed by a line of thickened flesh, like his hand had been cut off and reattached.
“Who are you, Damien? Where did you come from?”
“I’m a fighter like you, but if I told you where I came from, you wouldn’t believe me. Not yet, anyway. The only thing you need to know is that the guy I work for disappeared and left me stuck here with nothing to do. I’ve spent the last couple of weeks in Portsmouth, trying to see where I fit in. I know what you’ve been doing, Diane, and I want to keep you alive long enough to succeed. Thomas doesn’t have anything on you, so don’t give him reason to think of you as anything other than a harmless girl. Just go in there and see what’s on the cards.”
“And what if it’s bad?”
“I wish I could say I’d pull your arse out of the fire, but I didn’t bring an army with me. Keep your cool, and be smart. It’s your only option.”
Diane tried to shoo the butterflies in her stomach, but they refused to retreat. In fact, they laid eggs and gave birth to caterpillars. Thomas had paid her zero interest since Wickstaff’s death, but now he was suddenly summoning her to a meeting, and only a few short hours after executing Tom and his friends.
This can’t end well.
If it looks like he’s going to have me shot, I’ll do everything I can to slice his throat open first.
She took a deep breath and tried to keep from shaking as she walked down the long hallway inside the port administration building. She entered by a door on the left and was surprised to find several people already inside. Commander Klein stood at the back of the room, and seeing his friendly face was a relief. The brief smile he gave her settled her nerves more than anything else could have. She approached the German and asked him why he was there.
“Ze answer alludes me also, Diane. Perhaps ze general wishes to have us all shot.”
“Not funny. You saw what happened yesterday?”
“Ja. Let us not speak of it. Young Tom was a fine canasta player.”
General Thomas entered the room through a separate door. Everyone – four men but no women besides Diane – stood to attention. She was no soldier, so she failed to salute the general. It earned her a glare. A bad start to whatever this was.
“Thank you for your presence,” said Thomas, eyeballing each of them in turn. Klein behaved as if he had some place better to be. “I am sure you are wondering why I summoned you here. Each of you is now part of my executive cabinet. Commander Klein, I understand you don’t like to acknowledge orders, but as you have possession of our only nuclear capabilities, it felt prudent to include you.”
Commander Klein said nothing.
Thomas went around the room introducing the middle-aged white men one after another. “Colonel Wanstead is in charge of defence at Portsmouth. He will take control of security, law and order, et cetera.”
Wanstead raised a hand briefly to say hello. He was a chubby man, which was a rarity these days with rationing in effect. Diane had seen him around base before, making himself heard whenever Thomas wasn’t around. He always spoke slowly, each word perfectly pronounced. “It is an honour to receive such an important duty. I shall endeavour to carry out my obligations in an exemplary fashion.”
Thomas pointed to the next man, thinner and taller than Wanstead, with a long nose that seemed custom-made for snobbishly probing the air. “Commander Morrissey, you shall command our navy. Your immediate orders are to appoint your
