The Daily Dormouse. (aka Bike, est. 2007) Part 2599 by Angharad Copyright© 2015 Angharad

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This is a work of fiction any mention of real people, places or institutions is purely coincidental and does not imply that they are as suggested in the story.
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Danielle heard me shout and came rushing into the study, “What’s the matter, Mummy?”

“I don’t know but Daddy’s phone was cut off.”

“He probably pushed the wrong button, you know what he’s like.”

I made a gesture for her to shut up and tried calling his mobile, it went on to voice mail after ringing several times and I left a message asking him to call me back. I then called Henry and spoke to his secretary. I told her what had happened watching Danni’s eyes widen as I spoke. She said she’d get security to go straight to Simon’s suite and also to lockdown the building—it could be a potential kidnap. I thanked her made sure she had my mobile number and rang off awaiting her call back.

Ten minutes later Henry phoned me, “What on earth is going on?”

It took me a further five minutes to explain what had transpired since meeting the woman at the school. I included the fact that I’d spoken to Edward at MI5. He would talk to them later. He also told me that I was to have a bodyguard with me if I left the house—he would speak to James. I wasn’t too pleased about that.

“Have you located Simon?”

“He seems to have vanished, we even checked the ladies. The whole place is locked down and the police are arriving as we speak. I’ll call when I have news.”

I sent Sammi a text and got one back, she was waiting to see what happened with Simon, she was also looking at CCTV recordings in the corridors. I told her to be careful. She replied that she would.

I tried to remember my visits to the bank’s headquarters. Henry had the top floor which was smaller than the rest. Simon was on the floor below as were the other divisional chief executives. They each had a suite of offices. Sammi was on the floor below. My office—I hardly ever went there unless I had to—was on the same floor as Sammi and my two assistants shared an office plus we had a secretary between us.

Two other directors were on my floor and then below were the senior managers and so on. Sammi was now cyber security manager working directly to the director of Information Services—a relatively new post, filled by Sammi’s old boss—she got his job or at least his salary and they recruited a new assistant to work to the director but also to help Sammi when required. As she dealt with protecting the bank’s information and electronic services, she got priority if there was any sort of emergency.

As the risk of attack via computers and other electronic gadgets increased so did Sammi’s responsibility, but she loved it. She likened it to playing computer games with real people and money. What she could do with computers didn’t bear thinking about, it was so over my head, I just let her get on with it. If she could find the time, she’d eventually get a doctorate, she was so clever.

At times I felt inadequate to my children, Trish with her IQ off the scale, Sammi similar but in computer technology, Livvie was almost as clever as Trish, especially with languages. Julie was quite an entrepreneur and although not academic like her sisters, was nobody’s fool. Phoebe was a mixture of academic and commercially minded—I had hopes of her going back to school when she got bored with hair dressing and beauty. Meems was much brighter than her persistent speech impediment suggested and was in the top ten girls in her year. Cate was now five and reading two years beyond her age, she was seemingly interested in computers and gadgets as well. Lizzie—for the moment—I could do more on the computer than she could, especially when she threw up on it. I told Simon to get one of the ones that they use on battlefields for her. His response was predictable. “I’m not giving her something she could use to launch battlefield nuclear weapons, she can have one of the Sony game things.”

It was now nearly an hour since Simon had disappeared. Danni sat with me, waiting for James to arrive with my bodyguard so the text from him had said. “I wonder if he’ll be a hunk like James?” said Danni thinking aloud. I shrugged as my reply. We hadn’t told the others about Simon, so just Danni and I knew about it. If it went on all right they had no need to know, if it didn’t we’d deal with it as and when. At least I wasn’t surrounded by worried children.

When dinner was announced I opted to stay in my room on the pretext of waiting an important call—it was no lie. Danni went to have hers but was forbidden to say anything. David arrived with a tray and my meal covered over with a metal lid to keep it warm. I didn’t even know we had any of those, I used to do it with an inverted plate or dish.

I told him I wasn’t hungry, I was too busy to eat. He insisted I try. It was fresh roast gammon with new potatoes, and three other vegetables—his parsley sauce is pure pleasure. I was so worried I ate everything and only Danni’s return prevented me from licking the plate, it was so good.

Twenty minutes later James arrived with my personal security provider—a woman. James waxed lyrical about Alison’s proficiencies with all sorts of weapons and martial arts. She spoke three languages as well as English and was on her way through Cambridge to work for the European Community when she got indecently assaulted by three men. She dropped her courses and hid in her bedsit for a whole year only going out for therapy, which the college arranged. Her therapist gave her a DVD on several martial arts and after watching it few times she enrolled at a gym running them. She was a black belt in two of them and a brown belt in a third. Her favourite method was called Keysi developed from a system used by Spanish gypsies and designed to enhance natural instincts. She also said it was no holds barred and anything or everything could be used. It sounded a bit like street fighting and we’d be able to talk about it later. Apparently it was used in Batman Begins.

Alison or as she preferred, Allie, was about five feet ten and a bit broader in the shoulders than me—she probably used weights to work out—if I had time, I’d swing a knife and fork before eating. I suppose she was about my age but probably a great deal fitter and stronger. I’d have to ask her if she ever met up again with the men who assaulted her.

I sent her off with Danni, who seemed in awe of her, to get something to eat while James explained how things would work. MI5 decided to pressure the police to allow our bodyguards to carry concealed weapons which could only be used as a last resort. I suppose they considered it safer than letting me have a gun—I’d probably agree with them. I was not to leave home without being escorted by Allie—no exceptions. The girls would be taken to school by Chas or Dave or associate in the Mondeo, they would also collect them. I wasn’t to do things like shopping—too undefendable, so essentially, it was work and back. I also decided but said nothing about it that I was going to ask Allie to act like a personal fitness instructor and also to teach me the basics of Keysi.

Henry called to say the police had searched the whole building—there was no sign of Simon. I felt sick.