“I will try but haven’t the patience for him at the moment. I need to have that shower first, I think.”
“Go and make your calls then; the sooner you do, the sooner you can have that shower.” She reaches again and takes my hand. This time, I don’t stop her.
Pulling the chair out from behind my desk, I place the M4 next to the computer screen and retrieve my mobile phone from my pocket. My battery has half gone so I plug it into the lead lying on the desk. There is still nothing back from Josh unfortunately; I will try phoning him again after speaking to Colonel Reed.
Reed’s phone rings straight away and he answers it almost immediately.
“Andy, I have been waiting for your call,” the Colonel tells me.
“Yes, Colonel. I have been rather busy, I’m afraid,” I reply quite curtly.
“It has been a busy day for us all. Now, where are you, Andy?”
“I’m at Orion, Colonel.”
“Good, I need you to speak to Sir Malcolm, is he there too? I have tried to call him myself, but been unable to reach him.”
“He is, what on earth do you need from him, Colonel?”
“The facility that the virus was released from is completely destroyed by fire. Sir Malcolm oversaw that facility and the one at Porton Down when he was with Military Intelligence, at the time the testing and development was being carried out on this type of weapon some thirty years ago. We have intelligence that he may have kept files or copies of files that may be vital to developing a cure for this outbreak, and if he has them, we need them immediately.”
I am taken aback. “Are you telling me that Sir Malcolm oversaw the creation of this virus Colonel?”
“He was there to oversee shutting the program down, but we understand he kept files as a precaution in case of a situation. We need you to see if he still has them. And quickly! We are losing London.”
“I will speak to him. What is the current situation, Colonel, and how is the virus spread?”
“I’ll be blunt, Andy; the capital is falling. We cannot control the spread of the virus. We have had reports of cases south of the river and our forecasts predict that it is only a matter of time till it spreads outside Greater London. The virus can only be spread through blood; this usually happens through being bitten or scratched by an infected person.”
“So, it can’t be ingested?” I ask nervously.
“Not that I am aware of, why?”
“Just wondering, I will get back to you when I have seen Sir Malcolm. In the meantime, I need you to do something for me, Colonel.”
“And what would that be, Andy?”
“I need you to find out any information you can about my son. His name is Joshua Richards and his Battalion of Fusiliers was, the last I heard, operating out of the Tower of London and guarding Tower Bridge. I haven’t been able to get in contact with him recently, can you do that for me?”
“I’ll see what I find out, but communications are very sporadic in the field.”
“Get what you can, Colonel. Speak soon.” I hang up.
I again dial Josh, but this time, it doesn’t connect at all; there is just a message telling me, it has not been possible to connect your call.
Damn, it has now been hours since I last heard from him. I try again but get the same result, my phone only showing two bars of signal now. It always has four bars in this office? Picking up my desk phone, I’m relieved to get a dialling tone for an outside line, so I dial in Josh’s number but still get the same message. Damn it!
Swivelling around in my chair and looking out over London, the day is still lovely and sunny, but London is hurting. A deep, bloody, acrid hurt. Smoke is everywhere, like a fog hanging over the city. Towards the centre, the smoke is thick and black. Helicopters are still crisscrossing the sky in even larger numbers now, together with aeroplanes, including fast jets; will this old city survive this onslaught or is it already too late?
Sir Malcolm…is it possible he holds the key to how we can fight back?
Chapter 14
Walking out of my office, my M4 back across my chest, I consider how Sir Malcolm needs to understand the seriousness of what is happening, drunk or not. The girls, including Catherine, are all over by the TV and it looks like Emily is still asleep. There is still no sign of Dan; things must be taking longer downstairs than I thought they would. Hopefully, he has at least got all the weapons stored away by now.
The normal protocol for entering Sir Malcolm's office is to go through his PA, or if she isn't at her desk, you knock and wait to be called in.
In this instance, I push the door handle down and walk straight in. I have no time or patience for his formalities. The door slowly closes behind me. But he isn't at his desk and he isn't in his lounge area either. His television is on, playing away to itself with the volume muted, but there is no sign of him. Catherine is right outside, and she would have said if she had seen him leave his office. So, the only place he can be is in his private bathroom, the door to which is on the left of his office, beyond the lounge area.
I go over to the door and knock but there is no answer, I knock again and call out, “Sir Malcolm?” Still, no answer; has he passed out from the booze? I try to twist the
