Part Eight: The Morning Meeting
Sir Henry Abersnatch, Prime Minister's office, Chair
Jeffrey Withers, Aide to the Home Secretary
Edward Covington, Under Secretary, Home Department
David Eggers, Justice Department
Various aides to the attendees
The Prime Minister's security liaison, Sir Henry Abersnatch, began to gather his papers. Looking up at the others at the table, he said, "If there's nothing else, gentlemen, I shall bring your reports to the attention of the PM."
Jeffrey Withers, the liaison to the Home Secretary closed his briefcase and started to rise, as did the others.
"Eh-hmm, well, um," David Eggers, a member of the Secretary of State for Justice's staff cleared his throat as he remained in his chair. "The Lord Chancellor was hoping for an update on the Jessica Smythe issue. Does the Home Department have any news?" The man looked at his counterpart, Edward Covington. "It's been over two years now, and we were told you would have her back in custody in no time. Well, 'in no time' has long since passed. We would like to prosecute the dike one of these days." He tapped his fingers on the table as Edward sat back down.
"Yes, well, she's a slippery bitch, that's for sure. We've had good intel on her location several times but she's managed to elude capture each time."
"Have you ever considered that there's a Kink Support Network mole in your operation?" Eggers asked in a rather condescending tone.
"All of our people have been thoroughly vetted," Edward snapped back defensively. If it was one thing he hated it was lawyers, and the pompous stuffed suit, Eggers, was at the top of that hate list. "Besides that, all of our raids have been coordinated with Justice. It seems to me the traitor may very well be in your ranks."
"Now, now, gentleman," Jeffrey cut in. "Let's don't forget the lezzie was in charge of the entire Special Actions Unit, and an operative for ten years before that. She could easily go to ground in a city the size of London."
"My apologies gentlemen," Sir Henry interrupted, "as you know I've only recently been brought onto the Prime Minister's staff, and while I've heard of Miss Smythe, I'm in the dark on the issue here."
"The issue is, Sir Henry, that Smythe was arrested with her lesbian lover but was liberated from the SecuroShuttle before it reached the MRU sub-station."
"What about the lover? Did they liberate her as well?"
"No, sir. The standard procedure is to separate the women when they are arrested. The lover, one Abigail Stewart, was taken to a MRU facility and regenerated."
Jeffrey Withers sat up a little straighter. "She was married off to that Taylor chap, wasn't she? I heard he removed her from the program before her regeneration was fully completed. Is that something you should be looking into."
"We have, Jeffrey," Edward said. "Actually, Nigel can update the group on the investigation into Mrs. Taylor."
The man sitting behind the Home Department liaison stood up, "Yes, quite right, we've been..."
"Excuse me," Henry Abersnatch broke in, "you are...?
"Forgive me, Sir Henry. Nigel Green, Director of State Security." When he received a nod from the Prime Minister's aide, he continued, "We've been keeping Mrs. Taylor under a loose surveillance since she was released from the Program. As far..."
"Loose?" the lawyer asked. "Why loose?"
"Because she and her husband, Major Peter Taylor, are both former MI6 operatives. If they even suspected we were surveilling them the operation would be finished. Our hope is that Smythe will try to contact her former lover."
"You say the Major took the woman out of the Program early, what reason was given for that?" Sir Henry asked.
"A source within the Signals Corps reported that when Taylor learned she had been taken to a Regeneration Unit he waited until her processing was nearly complete, and then used his rank and connections to make sure he got her. He knew he wasn't the only one interested in the woman; she was the submissive lesbian partner of the former head of the Special Actions Unit."
"Why would that make a difference?" Sir Henry asked, leaning forward, seemingly engrossed in the drama of the story Sir Nigel was revealing.
"Because, quite frankly, Smythe was a cold and calculating bitch who made few friends in the Unit."
"Why was she allowed to remain in that position, then?"
"The answer is quite simple, Sir Henry," Edward Covington broke in. "She was by far the most effective Head the SAU had ever seen. Her field experience, together with her highly analytical mind, and the ability to make hard decisions quickly made her an ideal leader. She simply did not make friends in the Unit, maybe a defense mechanism carried over from her field work."
"But getting back to the girl..."
"Oh, quite right," Sir Nigel said. "Being the partner of their former ice queen boss, many single men in the SPU were keen on taking her once her Regeneration was complete, out of spite, if nothing else. We believe the Major had an axe to grind with his former boss, as well."
"Good lord, he must have hated her. The Taylor woman is not a looker, that's for sure," Edward Covington said, a comical grimace on his face. "Have you seen her? Why else would he want it?"
"I found her to be quite cute in her own way, actually," Sir Nigel interjected, then regretted his admission. He adjusted his stance and crossed his arms, almost in a defensive manner, as his superiors in the room looked at him. Regaining his composure, he continued, "I commanded Major Taylor in the Syria campaign, so it was decided that I should try to make contact with him, to get a close-up look at the girl. Our operatives followed them to Selfridge's, and when it looked like they were going to be there for awhile I went with my wife to accidentally bump into them."
"You've seen plenty of regenerated sluts, I'm sure. How did the Taylor woman seem to you?" David Eggers asked.
"I would say the program was entirely successful. She seemed submissive to her husband, really, it seemed that she hung on his every word. I would catch her looking at him with those big puppy dog eyes..." he paused slightly as if imagining Abigail's image. "My wife spent a couple of hours alone with her and said she was as timid as a church mouse. She also noticed that Abigail was wearing a chastity belt, so the Major is doing the proper thing as far as controlling her sexual urges."
"And this Major...the husband," Sir Henry probed, "what's he like, is he loyal to the government?"
Sir Nigel nodded. "Absolutely. We talked at great length about the reforms and his commitment to seeing that his wife obeys of all the new laws. He seemed quite eager for even harsher reforms to be enacted."
"Well, I think we should take the bull by the horns and shake it a bit," David Eggers said. "Your plan to wait until Smythe drops by is lame. We should arrest the Taylor woman and use her as bait. Smythe is at the top of our Most Wanted list, and it's an embarrassment that she's loose in London to spread her lesbian filth right under our noses."
"Besides that," Jeffrey Withers said, "we believe she's a leader, if not the leader, of the KSN in London. I agree that a more aggressive course of action is needed to apprehend her."
"Yes, well, we must make sure everything is done legally, or we'll not be able to prosecute," Eggers said as he stood. "Will you pass along the Committee's recommendation to your Minister, Edward?"
"Yes, I'll pass it along."
Sir Henry stood and thanked the men as they left the meeting. The Prime Minister would be very interested to read his notes. The damned Kink Support Network was one of his pet peeves, and now there was a chance to deal it a severe blow.