Action, Reaction and Consequences Ch. 05

He heard someone sit next to Tanya, the Australian sat next to Matt slowly letting Matt sit back up back normally. He glanced at Tanya and could see tears forming but she looked down towards the table.

The older gent spoke.

"Apologies Matthew, we've not had the opportunity to be formally introduced although you have previously spoken to my colleague Mr. Jones. Unfortunately, our original opportunity to be introduced was cut short by your little rumpus after seeing some images of Tanya working. I must say we were disappointed, we thought you'd have pulled your big boy pants up at the time. You've not been helpful you know and your little paddy over the last few weeks so nearly killed our operation where you've tried to destabilise Tanya's ability to work with your insignificant life problems. Still, water under the bridge now she pulled off the first phase, but no thanks to you."

"Although I'd like to apologise personally for cutting your holiday short, all me I'm afraid, but you will be compensated. You're a silly boy, I would have continued down there and enjoyed St Tropez, splendid place even though it's French."

"You see, there are some very big cogs that turn to keep the world turning, unfortunately, little cogs like you think they are sometimes more important than the big cogs. They are not."

"With Tanya's help we want to, how should I put this, break a few bigger cogs. Cogs that are upsetting the machinery of our country. That's why she's been working hard in Dubai on behalf of our Government. I really wanted to get her back to you earlier but it couldn't be achieved until some key parts of our operation were accomplished. And with Tanya's hard work and commitment they certainly were!"

Matt snorted.

"I don't suppose you want to enlighten me?"

"Of course dear boy, it's in the document you've just so rudely thrown at you dear wife."

"Mr. Smith opened the document at the second page and turned it for Matt to read."

Still angry Matt began shouting.

"It say fuck all! She's working on an operation with the name blanked out, says it expected to last for between six and twelve months but has no actual fixed date, she could be working in any part of the world but the primary operation is in blanked text again. I cannot maintain any contact with her in any shape or form but she may, at the digression of the Operation Director, be allowed limited communication with Matthew Andrews. So basically, some dickhead decides if my wife can call me or not!"

Mr Jones banged Matt's head on the table again.

"Stop being an insolent little boy, grow up! Have you level two National Security Clearance? I don't believe you do. You get to see what your clearance allows other than that, put your trust in the great British Government. I will tell you one thing, although I am breaching the Official Secrets Act. The Operation Director is me, so time to impress me and go about this as an adult and not a petulant spoilt child."

" No, fuck you. He suddenly sprung up and stepped back from the table knocking his chair away. OK let's cause a ruckus, Antonio will call the Police and put an end to all this bullshit!"

Mr Smith let out a heavy sigh.

"Matthew, you disappoint me."

Mr's. Smith and Jones stood up walking to the nearest tables, bend down grabbing a table leg before tipping them up onto their sides sending plates, glasses and cutlery to the floor. As they went from table to table doing the same Matt called out for Antonio believing he would appear from the kitchen to stop the wanton destruction of his restaurant. But he didn't. In the end the only table intact was the one where Tanya sat.

As Matt was looking at Mr. Smith he was unaware of Mr. Jones who had walked up to him from behind. He quickly held Matt in a neck lock and something painfully hard poked into his ribs. Mr. Smith swept his hair back and turned to face Matt.

"Now where was we. Are yes, the agreement. You will sign it so Tanya can do her job."

Barely able to speak due to the stranglehold Matt answered.

"Over my dead body! Fuck you all, I'm never signing that piece of shit!"

"At last! Something we both agree on. Your dead body. If your dead we don't need the agreement. I'm rapidly coming to the conclusi...."

Tanya spoke loudly.

"Please stop! Matt he means it. If you love me sign it."

"You stupid bitch. Love you. You killed whatever love was in me so go-ahead boys, make my day!"

Mr. Smith promptly walked up to Matt and punched him in the stomach winding him badly. Mr. Jones released him as he doubled over clutching himself. He looked to his right to what had been digging in his side. Mr Jones had a handgun.

"Yep dipshit, big boys like me get to play with all the nice toys. Did you know I could spread your insides all over this restaurant and not a thing would happen to me? They'll find some druggie dead with this gun, a load of cash and dead from an overdose. I would have pulled the trigger a few moments ago but the old boy that owns this place makes a mean Lasagne I've just eaten and it'd be a shame to snuff him too."

Tanya spoke up again.

"Please Matt I'm begging you, please sign it, let me do my job and then it's over. I promise it'll be over then I can come back and fulfil my promise to you. Me, you and starting our family."

"I'm never signing that shit Tanya so they may as well kill me!"

Mr. Smith exhaled; he was getting tired of the games.

"Tanya, your call. Yes or no."

She looked at Matt who stared at her defiantly then nodded. Seconds later he felt a prick in his neck. After that his world went hazy. The last clear thing he heard was Tanya saying she was sorry, she didn't think it would come to this.

Matt had a strange dream. It felt like a kaleidoscope of things going on all at once. Someone was taking pictures of him, A vision of Tanya sitting on him riding herself to orgasm, papers to sign, more papers then Tanya kissing him over and over telling him she had an undying love for him and she would be back soon.

He woke up in bed, with a headache like he'd never felt before. He felt odd, groggy, as if he was drunk, but he hadn't been drinking. Looking around it dawned on him he wasn't in his house but in his old bed. The bed he shared with Tanya in their apartment.

His head turned to the side expecting to see her but she wasn't there although it looked as if someone else had been sleeping in the bed. He called out:

"Tan, you there?"

Silence.

He lay for a few minutes before stumbling out of bed, used the toilet, found some mouthwash and brushed his teeth before going to the kitchen. Nothing looked out of place in the apartment. Except for a handwritten letter, a large filled brown envelope, USB stick, business card and three jewellery boxes sitting on the dining table.

He made himself a coffee then opened the letter.

'Catch

Please believe me, I truly thought you'd be able to accept the opportunity that has been presented to me and offer your support. I know what I'm asking of you is hard, extremely hard, but we can do it, I know we can. I'm sorry it all came about as it did a few weeks ago, if there was any other way to have done it, I would have taken it.

I understand your pain and hurt over not knowing, and I want you to know I'm equally full of pain and hurt not being there for you with Georgina's death. I loved her as if she was my own blood grandmother and I'll have to bear that cross for the remainder of my life.

As the morning progresses the fog around your mind will begin to lift. You need to understand that without your signature on the those documents I would not be able to take this position that I'm not able to discuss with you. I can tell you though, I'm now party to an elite few players in this game. Please feel proud I have got this far.

I can't discuss why you signed the documents in this letter, Mr. Smith made it clear of the risk if I do. All I can say is sorry, and if you genuinely believe it was wrong, I hope you have it in your heart to forgive me.

In making love in our bed last night, it's the last time we'll be doing that with me on birth control. The next time will be the first step in starting our family.

The next parts are hard, and that's for both of us. The jewellery boxes contain my engagement and wedding rings and my earrings. For a few months I need to be someone else and cannot under any circumstances have anything to tie me to Tanya Andrews. She will temporarily cease to exist.

Please look at the USB stick, it's really important. The business card is for absolute emergencies and nothing else. Do not abuse it.

I love you Matt, it's breaking my heart that I'm doing this, that I won't be able to see your beautiful face every day and trust me, I have wavered on the edge to come home to you from the very start. But yes, it has got easier to accept that I need to do this and hope that you have the will and determination to see this through for us. I believe opportunities will arise to be able to see you, even briefly, but no promises can be made.

Please, please have it in your heart to forgive me for my actions. I resolutely believe our love for each other can overcome this.

With every molecule in my body, I love you. I truly and absolutely love you. Have faith in me, in our relationship.

Tan'

He read, and re-read it several times. He still couldn't comprehend this was actually his current reality. His thoughts were broken by his phone ringing, he saw it was Graham.

"Graham she's g.."

"Morning Matt just checking in, fancy a coffee?"

"Yeah but Graham, Ta..."

"Look mate, I'm peckish. Lets go grab some breakfast. See you in the 'Spoons near Tanya's place. If she's there, bring her along."

"No, Sh.."

Graham had hung up. Matt thought it was an odd call. He sorted himself out with a quick shower got dressed and found a bag for the bulky envelope and letter slipping the USB stick in his pocket. He took his own rings off and left them with Tanya's jewellery boxes, took her apartment key off his keyring and left that too before one final look around the apartment to make sure there was nothing else of his left. Unlike Tanya, he left no note. He walked out and made his way to the Moon in the Square Wetherspoons.

He found Graham already there, nestled away in a corner.

"Why didn't you come to me, I was at her apartment. Anyway, Tanya's gone mate, I tried to tell you."

"I saw your car and knew you were there, I already know she's gone Matt, come sit down. These are very dangerous people I would not be surprised if that apartment is bugged hence a public place."

Graham's voice was tainted by melancholy.

"I had an email around one a.m. this morning informing me that Tanya Andrews was no longer employed by the Force and all records of her were being expunged from the system. With regards to her whereabouts, or potential whereabouts, no efforts should be made by the department or any individual to trace her and under no circumstance any contact in any shape or form made with her former husband. It was all subject to a level two Security status - That's serious stuff, I don't even have that."

Matt ran through the events of the night before right up to waking up and reading the letter that he then let Graham read. Graham shook his head, the disappointment that Tanya hadn't sought his advice, especially after he tried to warn her off several months ago.

They looked at the contents of the envelope. Everything in Tanya's name was now in Matt's. Car, savings, insurance, even the land registry showed only Matt's name against the property. There was a mortgage statement in Matt's name for her apartment which they had left in her name when they were married for convenience. Whatever they looked at the records simply showed she no longer existed.

Matt was totally stunned. Whatever path they tried she had, to all intents and purposes, ceased to have ever existed by name. Matt went to ring their GP only to find his phone didn't work. He used Graham's phone to call the service provider to be told that no account or phone number supposedly existed for his number. Matt used Graham's phone again and called her GP and dentist to make an appointment on her behalf. They had no records to show a person with that name existed on the NHS system.

"Graham, Those two pricks who are they? Are they MI5 or 6? I mean, the things they are organising, changing things, deleting things do they have that power?

"Yes they do and No, they aren't MI5 or 6, they are far, far worse. I suspect they are the mob that pick up the dirty work that the Government turn a blind eye too. They were likely behind those four prison deaths and one you aren't aware of. Jerod.He died a few months back supposedly of a drug overdose. They were a little sloppy and were found on a Ring doorbell piece of footage near his apartment. With all of this I think they were protecting their investment. Tanya."

Graham put a laptop case and a new phone on the table.

"What's this mate?"

"I suspect your existing phone, Ipad basically anything electronic like it has been tampered with to track and keep tabs on you. Take this new laptop and only use it tethered to this phone for internet access which is new. It only has one number, one that can reach me. Do not call anyone else from it. It was brought cash yesterday afternoon in Portsmouth so as long as don't search her name or ring anyone from it as they may be watching electronically you'll be OK. As for your own phone get another SIM for it so that way you don't raise suspicion. If you call me, do it out in the open or somewhere public"

Graham was off work for two days. He'd taken an extra day after the funeral in case Matt needed support, although this wasn't what he had in mind. They drove up to the restaurant from the night before to find it closed and empty of any furniture of fixtures. Asking around they found out a truck pulled up at around one in the morning and the whole shop was stripped out. Whilst there, a tradesman pulled up with a 'For Sale' which he affixed to the building. The estate agent drew a blank. lt was the most unusual request from the head office which had come to them the previous morning to urgently arrange for a survey and valuation that day with the property being up for sale within twenty-four hours. They had never seen anything like it.

A call to head office by Matt claiming to be a guest that had left a wallet in there the previous night and needed to contact the owner drew a blank as the sales file had a note explicitly allowing details about the site to be raised via the solicitors who were listed as Solicitors of the State. Another dead end.

Matt asked Graham about going to the Chief Constable, going directly to the Home Office in person. He pointed out he would be shut down and get nowhere. He suggested finding someone in the press that may want to make an investigative piece from it.

"Whatever you do Matt, do not bring others into this crusade. They will be watching and can brush of most things claiming individuals are crackpots or attention seekers. Bring in someone considered a danger and they'll likely end up like Jerod. Quite dead. Which is the next point. They may have let Tanya believe that you're out the way safe and sound but trust me. If you make waves, they'll come gunning for you."

Matt's old phone made a sound like a cash register. Whilst he had no SIM the WIFI still worked and they'd not disconnected the restaurants Wi-Fi as yet so it had routed through that. It was his banking app signifying that a transaction had taken place. He looked and passed his phone to Graham. Fifty Thousand pounds had been deposited into his bank account. Along with the bank accounts that were previously Tanya's he was over one hundred thousand pounds better off than yesterday. He would give it all up just to rewind time a few weeks and to have not stopped at Lyon and continued to St Tropez hoping that would have been enough to scupper Tanya's plans.

"Don't bother trying to backtrack Matt and don't be surprised if you get an Inland Revenue letter for an income tax rebate for that amount tomorrow. Typical trick used to pay grasses used by the Police and others. Spend or save it. Which leads to my last question. Do you want to save whatever you and Tanya can salvage when this is all over? Or do you want to use this as your get of jail instead of a divorce card. If she does come back a lot of this stuff will be cleverly reversed. But they've also pathed a way for her to continue working if she chooses too."

"Graham, I have a question and please, don't dress it up, tell me straight."

Graham nodded.

"What, exactly, do you think or know Tanya is doing?"

"Lets go find a pub, I'd rather do this sitting with a beer."

They done exactly that then Graham gave his thoughts on what was going on.

"Are you sure Matt? Once this genie is out of the bottle you can't put it back".

Matt glumly nodded.

"I think Tanya's performance over the sex ring abuse case brought her to the attention of Smith, Jones and associates within those dark corners of the Government. I first clapped eyes on them at the press conference after the case was finalised and they walked by Tanya acknowledging her presence. I think they may have been lurking watching her, possibly even in contact with her on the QT."

"Do you remember they showed up when it kicked off over the files? Their visit got lost in all the noise that went on, and I'll admit, I wasn't sharp enough. I think they dangled the carrot she wanted and they had something that needed someone with her qualities for."

"What qualities Graham?"

Graham took a long swig of his beer then put his glass down. He waited a few seconds before answering.

"Someone well capable in the art of surveillance, able to work and adopt to being an undercover operative. But they needed someone with other skills. I suspect they needed someone young, beautiful, attractive.... and female."

He looked at Matt, he could see the fight draining from him.

"So basically she's a government slut Graham. Getting info on her knees or on her back."

"Look Matt, we don't know that and that may not be the case. She may be just eye candy with one or more other operatives. We simply don't know. But..but she dyed her hair which makes me think she is being used as bait, most likely for a particular individual. Throw in the timescale of the operation and the scale of effort being deployed. It'll be someone big."

"So she's playing a female James Bond shagging around in the hope I'll take her back at the end. No fucking chance mate. After yesterday, whatever we possibly had left between us was torched to a cinder, today I've swept those cinders up and emptied them out into the street. They've done me a big favour by making my marriage go away."

They finished their drinks and Graham dropped Matt back at Tanya, now Matt's apartment block so he could get his car.

"I wish I'd not left the key inside since the apartment's mine now. Graham took a spare from his own keys and gave it to Matt.

"She gave it to me years ago, just in case something bad ever happened to her there would be access to her apartment. I think this day warrants something bad."

He left and Matt drove back to his own home. He made a cup of tea in the teapot then fired up his old laptop to have one, and only one look at the contents of the USB stick. There was a single video file which he played. In the clip he can clearly be seen sitting at a table with two other individuals who's faces are pixeled out. The person he knows is Mr. Smith asks Matt to confirm his name and that the woman sitting opposite him is Tanya Andrews. Each page is read out, where the text is blanked out the spoken words are now bleeps. At the end of each page both Matt and Tanya are asked to sign and date the document which they do for the next twenty minutes. In the end, Mr. Smith states that, due to the level of secrecy attached to the document, Matt would only receive a video transcript which was being recorded. Matt knew he was drugged but whatever it was it was clever stuff, it would fool most people that the person under the influence was responsible for their actions. Matt of course ,knew he clearly wasn't.