Chapter 17
The phone call startled Colby from a somewhat sombre reverie. He had been shaken by the shocking revelation from Valentina; her words were still playing in his head like a song caught in a continuous loop. Not only could he not switch it off but the implications for him left him floundering for a reasonable response. In fact he questioned whether he should even try and respond; maybe he should simply forget Valentina Gussev, consign her to his past, a painful mistake. The call on his home line that dragged him from these thoughts was from his boss Jane Freeman. Colby had been vaguely surprised that she was still bothering to speak to him after what had happened in Italy. He took a sip of coffee from the mug he had been clutching before answering the call. The coffee had unaccountably gone cold and he pulled a face.
"Colby, how are you?"
"I'm fine." He said a little diffidently.
"Mm, forgive me if I don't quite believe you... Look smarten yourself up; I'm doing something totally out of character and taking you out to dinner."
"Are you indeed? What's this in aid of?"
"I need to discuss your future with you."
"Ah that old thing..."
"I'll pick you up at seven... If you're good I might even let you drive. I've just pulled the dust covers off my Dad's old Alvis and had it serviced... Cost me a bloody fortune so I better make use of the old girl."
"I'm overwhelmed Jane." Colby said though the tone of his voice hardly confirmed the sentiment.
It was three hours later when Colby, brushed and polished, standing before the view from his living room window watched Jane's majestic arrival. The 1967 three litre TF21 pulled up under the glow of the street light. One of the last cars Alvis ever built before the changing times turned the slow decline in the company's profits into a terminal disease. The Alvis was was finished in silver paintwork with old fashioned but still stylish wire wheels. He had often admired the car when he had seen it parked in the reserved space at Equis. It seemed a long time ago when Jane was still at University and 'Old Man Freeman' still used the Alvis for his daily commute into work. It was already a classic back then and now it seemed possessed by the ambiance of another time when the world was simpler, when elegance was still important for its own sake, when craftsmen had the time to build things intended to last for generations. Of course even back then – especially back then, such qualities were reserved for the enjoyment of the wealthy. That, Colby mused was what separated himself from Jane Freeman. Although she cared little for the excesses of wealth, she had been brought up among those who did and strode comfortably among the well heeled.
Despite his expectation of what Jane intended telling him; the chance to drive the Alvis offered an allure, a sweetener to ease his way into the underclass of the unemployed. He had already come to the conclusion that the 'discussion of his future' was simply a euphemism for being dismissed, sacked, fired, awarded the order of the boot. There was no pleasant way to tell a man he was out of a job.
He walked out into a clear but already chilly evening and returned the rather cautious smile that Jane sent him.
"Here catch..." She said as she tossed him the keys. There was a trace of misty breath as she spoke and she pulled her warm coat more tightly round her and lifted the collar round her neck. "I can already see that you are more interested in the car than in me."
In the soft light Jane looked quite attractive. Somehow he had never really thought of her as a woman... just a sort of continuation of her father in a younger format.
"What a suggestion..." He said "You know I only have eyes for you." He held the passenger door while his boss made an elegant re-entry into the old world ambiance of the Alvis. The car's interior was no less impressive than the elegant bodywork, decidedly traditional British, furnished in red leather and walnut and deep pile carpets; this particular car, he knew, was rare in having a five speed gear box.
"I'm not much of a driver..." Jane said "I get behind the wheel of a car when I have to but this old girl is full of fond memories for me; I can't remember a time when it wasn't in the family, it would be unthinkable for me to part with it."
"You could utilise me as your chauffeur." Colby suggested with half a twinkle in his eye.
"It's a thought... We're dining at the Marlborough... I imagine you know how to find your way there; they have the underground parking which is such an asset."
"That used to be your father's club didn't it?"
"Yes I expect if you gave the Alvis her head she might find her own way there."
Colby drove across the City with the delicacy and care that the car deserved. Each gear change timed to perfection and, despite the temptation of a car that was still good for an easy 120 mph, he never threatened the sanctity of the speed limits. Jane was impressed. "You actually drive like a grown up." She said in a surprised voice as if all men were intrinsically wannabe racing drivers. Colby couldn't help laughing despite the feel of the Damocles sword that swayed precariously... inevitably over his head. He knew what the evening held in store for him but still couldn't help liking Jane.
They had pre dinner drinks and bantered with small talk as if playing an impromptu game of verbal tennis until their table was ready. The final score went unrecorded. The Marlborough was an exclusive establishment, founded long before the Great War had threatened to ruffle the feathers of the aristocracy. They had managed successfully to have retained the easy decorum of yesteryear while embracing all the advantages of the modern world. An excellent club if you could afford the fees; Jane could, though it was a rare occurrence for her to flaunt her wealth. Colby certainly couldn't afford the fees and had never been inside the Marlborough’s timbered and hushed walls before.
As they started on the main course Colby, feeling Jane's discomfort, turned the conversation to the inevitable.
"I've never been fired before but I can't think of a more pleasant way than being wined and dined in a place like this."
Jane looked up from her venison: "So you've guessed my decision."
"It's the one I would have taken if our roles were reversed."
"Well thank you for making this easy, I was rather dreading having to form the words... I can't pretend that letting you go brings me anything but sadness Colby."
"Then give me a stay of execution." Colby said. His humour and light heartedness at odds with the melancholy of his true feelings.
"I wish I could Colby... It's all worked out rather badly for you hasn't it? In truth none of it has been your fault. But you do understand why I have to make this decision?"
He nodded. "Of course... Equis runs on reputation not sentiment. But I'll miss the old place... A big chunk of my life has been spent working for you and your father; some of it successfully."
"Yes..." She opened her bag and pulled out a folded cheque. Equis will cover this of course but I've drawn this against my personal account; I'd rather keep this... what do they call it these days?... this golden handshake out of the public gaze."
Colby took the check, it seemed such an old fashioned thing in these days of digital banking and plastic cards. He lay it by the side of his plate still folded still unseen crisp and virgin.
"Thank you," He said "you were under no obligation."
"Oh I think there was a moral obligation Colby. Equis has always stood proudly on the high moral ground. Whether it is in dealings with out customers or our employees."
"I know that Jane... it's probably why I stayed with Equis so long."
"There might be the possibility of offering you some work on contract. But my thinking along those lines is still rather vague at present."
"I think it might be better for me to just move on Jane; I was never a man for half measures."
Jane nodded and smiled at him and then called the waiter to bring the dessert menu.
"Have you thought what you might do?"
"The Foreign Legion crossed my mind..." he said as he exhausted his last reserves of humour. "do they still have that?... In any cas
e I'm probably too old." He took a mouthful of chocolate pudding. "Actually I was rather a keen yachtsman in my youth and just lately I've been exposed to a taste of that life again..."
"Ah yes the Midnight Falcon wasn't it?"
"Yes, I spent some contented hours on her."
"And tell me Colby, was it the boat or her captain that offered the contentment?" Colby just smiled. "So... tell me more about this interest in sailing."
"Well I started with a dingy when I was still a schoolboy, progressed up the ranks a little and finally managed to get picked to crew on a Trans-Atlantic Ocean racer. A fifty footer; we started from Rhode Island, Newport and finished in Cowes. Took us eighteen days, we got 3rd in class which wasn't bad for a bunch of army amateurs. It was later the same year that I joined Equis – '98 and having finally decided to settle down and try and forge a career, I found I no longer had the time for all that frivolity. Just lately I've been contemplating the possibility of finding a way to earn my living around boats. I have this vague but compelling notion to move to the coast somewhere, maybe set up a chartering business. I'll have to tot up my assets when my head clears and see if it's a viable proposition."
"The cheque might help." Jane said.
"Yes..." He said suddenly remembering the slip of paper; he lifted it from the table. He was reluctant to open it; somehow once he had read the numbers on the cheque, seen Jane's signature written in the expensive old fashioned fountain pen that she insisted on using, then his fate would finally be sealed. There could be no possibility left of begging for a reprieve or throwing himself on her mercy... Finally he drew his reservations to one side and opened the folded cheque, the numbers danced before his eyes.
"Jane this is far too much... I can't accept this." He said.
"I will be offended if you don't Colby. Equis is doing well, the money will hardly be noticed in the end of year balance sheet."
"Are you absolutely sure Jane?"
"It's not that much in the scheme of things; a years salary or so. I want you to have it Colby... My father would have wanted that too. He had great hopes for your future at Equis but it never quite worked out as he had wished."
"No... Thank you Jane, I can't deny that the money will be welcome... It really does put flesh on the bones of my plans... Thank you so much Jane."
The desserts eaten they took coffee and brandy under the vaulted ceilings of the great hall. They tucked themselves into a quiet corner and were swallowed into the warm comfort of enormous arm chairs.
"Something I've been meaning to ask..." Colby said as he swirled his glass and watched the amber fluid catch the soft light.
"Go on."
"This British agent person that I ran into in Italy..."
"Ah... Well, I got a call from some officious... I'll call him a knob for want of a better word..." Colby snorted with merriment into his brandy glass. "A gentleman then, an officious gentleman from the Sachovian Consulate wanted to know what the hell you were doing. Apparently, Colby you were rather deviating from the exact route through Europe that had been given to you... I understand why of course... but they apparently had lookouts placed strategically so they could monitor your progress... and to their horror you rather disappeared."
"It was entirely deliberate Jane, but I was sending regular signals of my position to them."
"He didn't mention anything about that, I rather got the impression that they had no idea where you were."
"Really..." This information was new to him and it started the gears of his brain churning. Following Valentina's confession he suddenly realised that his signals were being sent to the opposition party. He felt suddenly very gullible.
"Are you listening Colby?"
"Yes sorry... just had a revelation about something..."
"So," Jane continued "there's this old family friend, Sir James Penbury, I don't suppose you know him... he was an old friend of my fathers, went to the same school... he's nearing retirement now but he still wields some authority in the echelons of Military intelligence these days... I happened to mention it to him in passing at some appalling cocktail party that I was high-jacked into attending. He suggested that there might be some of our guys in Italy who could liaise with the locals to keep an eye on the boarders; maybe spot you as you cruised through on your BMW."
"How did you know about Italy?"
"The er... let's call a spade a spade shall we?... The knob from the consulate told me that a rendezvous had been arranged in Trieste."
"My God their security really did leak like a sieve."
"Amateurs Colby... Anyway you were caught on camera crossing the boarder from Austria... Nice idea coming in from the north by the way... The rest you know."
"Yes that's cleared up something that was niggling... Jane as you know only too well, I've been rather out of the loop of late... Have you heard anything more about little Natasha Kashinka?"
"No, I would have called you if there was any news of her... Am I mistaken in thinking you let yourself get rather close to her?"
"No, not mistaken but it was quite unintentional; maybe my repressed paternal instinct got the better of me... She's a nice kid, no family left, suddenly burdened with all this monarchy nonsense and now the poor little thing has been kidnapped... Yes I guess I feel an empathy for her Jane; It's more than just the guilt I feel at letting her get lifted in front of my eyes..."
"I know exactly how you feel Colby, you want to put on your armour, mount your white steed and ride off into the sunset and rescue your princess."
He laughed at the imagery but the sentiment it contained was on the money.
"I never really thought of myself as a Don Quixote type; it sounds stupid to admit it Jane but yes, exactly that... Do you have any white steeds on hand?"
"Sold them for a jar of magic beans just last week... I guess you committed the cardinal sin Colby... Emotional attachment to your client."
"I can't argue with that Jane; but is it so very wrong?... in any case what do you propose doing about it now?... sacking me?"
Jane couldn't help the soft smile, the more time she spent with Colby the more she knew he was exactly the sort of decent man that Equis needed... but the dice had been rolled, the decision made. Jane finished her coffee and placed the cup down on its saucer with deliberate precision.
"Natasha must be a very special child." She said looking up.
"Well no that's the whole point... she's just an ordinary scared little girl who's only wish is to lead a simple life out of the spotlight. I don't know who's got her, if its the opposition then there's a terrifying probability that she might already be dead, if its the government then she faces a future that might even be worse for her... Jane If I knew earlier what I know now, I would never have committed to taking her to Sachovia."
"Mm... If not you then someone else would have." She took a delicate sip of her aged cognac, "Talking of Sachovia, the news from there is not exactly encouraging, the pundits are predicting that open war will break out again before the end of winter. It's a pretty grim picture... When will we learn Colby?"
"I wish I could answer that; we seem doomed to repeat the same mistakes time and again. The only thing we've learned since the middle ages is how to kill and maim each other ever more efficiently. I've seen things in the early stages of the 06 war in Sachovia... when I first met Valentina, that would make you doubt the existence of human compassion."
Jane looked into his face, the strong jaw, the intense gaze. If she didn't know the man better, know that he was a man of steel who kept his feelings tied down tight, she might have thought she had caught a flash of emotion in the corner of his eye. She knew he would not shed a tear for himself but maybe for the state of the world and maybe for the two children entrusted to his care that he had lost. She almost changed her mind about letting him go... Almost.
"You mentioned Valentina Gussev, do I detect something simmering between you two?"
"Oh there's something between us all right but I'm damned if I
can put a name to it. One day I'd gladly lay down my life for her then you discover something about her that turns your world upside down, leaves you balanced on the edge of reason... It's as if we are forged from... I don't know some form of matter and antimatter, irrevocably drawn to each other but if we get too close we'll both be annihilated."
"Could be a magnificent annihilation Colby."
"Maybe Jane but you wouldn't want to stand too close to the fallout."
"I'm no expert on matters of the heart but if you want my opinion you shouldn't let her get away without a fight."
"Really... You met her Jane and I think you are a good judge of people... What's your opinion of her?"
"She's strong willed, has a sharp intellect, exceptionally determined, highly capable... If her talents were on the market I might well offer her a job."
"I was thinking along different lines... Is she, do you think Jane, a good person?"
"I saw no evidence to the contrary... I can tell that something about her has recently unsettled your opinion of her... You know Colby we all do things that we later regret, things that are out of character. We need to show understanding for the occasional weaknesses of good people."
"Forgiveness?"
"It's a good starting point..." She rested her hand on his. "Come on let me take you home."
"If you don't mind Jane I think I'd rather walk." Colby said.
"It's a long way, are you sure?"
"I need a long walk to do some thinking, my head's thick with a tangle of cobwebs... Jane thank you. You have been very decent about this."
"Nonsense...Colby..." Jane paused for a moment but held Colby's attention with the force of her gaze. "Do you think I might still think of you as a friend?" She felt suddenly embarrassed almost before the words had escaped her lips, it was not an emotion that she often encountered in herself. Not Jane Freeman business executive, self assured, successful... but desperately alone in the cocoon of her self containment.
Colby stood and looked down at her petite frame lost in the huge chair. She seemed unexpectedly vulnerable as she looked up at him.
"Do you think that would be wise?" He finally said.
"No... probably not... Forget I said anything."