I would like to thank Chris both for her encouragement and
advice, and for her seemingly tireless efforts in getting the following
story ready for its appearance before the public. Any errors are mine
alone! I also
acknowledge a debt to the writers of all the fiction I have read and
enjoyed on the website and I hope you will enjoy the story you helped to
inspire.
A “Captain Scarlet” story for Christmas
By Marion Woods
“You know very well that love is, above all, the
gift of oneself!”
Ardèle (1949)
Jean Anouilh (1916-87)
Colonel White re-read his
year end report to the World President on the progress of Spectrum, the World
Government’s new flagship security organisation.
2067 had been a momentous year. The personnel had been chosen from amongst the
best in their professions, they had trained hard and those who had made it
through the rigorous selection process were now ensconced on the state of the
art, command centre, known as Cloudbase, hovering 40,000 feet above the surface
of the earth. Only fully
operational since July, Spectrum had come along way in a short time, but they
were still under pressure to perform.
President Younger had a great deal of his personal
cachet invested in the success of the operation – not
to mention the responsibility for providing the funding needed to keep it going.
The funding was the major problem –wasn’t it always? White thought cynically.
Many of the commanders of
existing security and military forces had fought the creation of Spectrum on the
grounds of cost and that concentrating on an elite force would inevitably weaken
the established forces. They wanted nothing more than to see it fail.
The men and women of the
elite force, living lives that necessarily cut them off from their families and
friends, were forced to find companionship from amongst their peers. Not all of
the personalities had gelled – as might be expected. There were too many egos jostling for position to make it all
plain sailing, but the few that proved to be irritants were slowly being weeded
out – moved to terrestrial assignments or in rare cases – dismissed the service
altogether.
As a former Admiral and
head of a security force, Charles Grey believed in maintaining strong discipline
and although he made certain allowances, he laid down clear guidelines and
punishments for any who knowingly transgressed.
He, personally, had welcomed the inclusion of five female pilots – known as the
Angels after the jets they flew – even though he anticipated it might lead to
problems amongst the exclusively male senior officers. He let them know that any hint of
scandal involving the Angels would earn the perpetrators the severest
disciplinary punishment and would almost certainly lead
to their being dismissed the service.
What he hadn’t reckoned on
was the women themselves.
Juliette Pontoin, their
unacknowledged leader, was a worldly and beautiful Frenchwoman, with a mind of
her own. Destiny, as she was called, had
made a name for herself in the WAAF, a notoriously difficult profession for a
woman. Yet Juliette had done it without
sacrificing any of her femininity and elegance. Some years ago she had had a
brief, but passionate, affair with a handsome young English officer. They had parted with mutual goodwill and
even now Juliette retained some lingering affection for the dark haired, blue
eyed man. Discovering that he was
now Captain Scarlet had been something of a jolt – for them both!
Their reunion had been
amicable, but they both quickly realised they had moved on and had no desire to
turn back the clock. The Colonel
had worried that they might resume their relationship, about which he far knew
more than either would have wished – so he was relieved to see them settle down
to an excellent friendship and if Destiny presumed to be an expert on Captain
Scarlet – well, no-one questioned why.
No one except for Rhapsody
Angel - the youngest member of the team.
A pretty redhead with a taste for fashionable clothes and classic romantic
novels, underneath her apparent flightiness was a keen and sharp mind, with a
clear insight and iron will. As
Lady Dianne Simms, the daughter of an English aristocrat, she had grown up with
every advantage and through a meeting with the near legendary agent, Lady
Penelope Creighton-Ward; she had trained in espionage, before throwing it all up
to fly planes. It was noticeable
that she gravitated towards the only other English officer. At first she was wary of intruding on Destiny’s friendship,
but as it became clear that the pair were not an item, Rhapsody allowed herself
to hope he might return her interest.
Currently the most
problematical of the Angels was a moody American – Karen Wainwright, codenamed
Symphony. An only child, she had had a hot-house education, attending Yale
University on a mathematics scholarship at the tender age of 16, where she had
been spotted by the security forces and recruited into the service. Eventually, her wilfulness had led her to leave the service
and take up flying, for which she proved to have natural adroitness. The Colonel
liked Symphony, who was popular with all of her colleagues, although they had
learnt to avoid her in her darker moods. These had been more frequent of late,
following on from the sudden death of her Grandfather. In fact, the only person who seemed able
to draw her out from these pits of melancholy was the urbane Adam Svenson –
codenamed Captain Blue.
Blue was the
eldest son of a wealthy financier, whose domineering attempts to direct his
son’s quick and impressive intelligence into the family firm, had led to
innumerable conflicts between them.
But Blue had inherited more
than his share of his father’s stubbornness, and chose to employ his abilities
as a test pilot, moving on to become a security agent and proving more than
equal to the task. The Colonel had
‘expectations’ of Captain Blue, seeing – perhaps - his natural successor in the
cool headed, intelligent American. But Blue had confounded him somewhat, firstly
by forging a friendship with the headstrong Captain Scarlet and – more
surprisingly still – with the volatile Symphony.
If anyone had asked him, the Colonel would have paired Blue with
Destiny. Both were from wealthy, cultured families, both well-read and widely
travelled, both with the sense of élan a moneyed upbringing could instil. The pair seemed friendly enough but The
Colonel sensed a restraint between them that was not apparent in their dealings
with their other colleagues. What
his research had somehow failed to reveal, was that some 30 years ago – in an
unwise attempt to crack the American market, Juliette’s grandfather had borrowed
a lot of money from his acquaintance Stefan Svenson’ s finance company. When the project failed, nearly
bankrupting the French firm, Stefan had courteously renewed the line of credit
and kept the company afloat.
However, when Stefan went into semi-retirement handing his business to his son -
John Svenson had engineered a board room coup to remove Armand Pontoin from
control and put in his own mangers.
It had undoubtedly saved the company, but it had taken Juliette’s father a
further 8 years to get rid of the ‘requins
de la finance’ and regain control of his family’s firm.
The very name of Svenson was anathema to the proud Pontoin family and
however much Juliette told herself Adam was entirely innocent of any offence,
she could not help harbouring a slight residual animosity. Beyond establishing that each
realised the significance of the other’s identity, neither mentioned it and
Juliette gave Adam unmerited credit for the absence of his father from the
commissioning ceremony earlier that year.
The Colonel rarely
discussed his staff officers, but when he did it was with Captain Black – the
man who had been responsible for overseeing the construction of Cloudbase and
for directing the training of the selected recruits.
Conrad Turner was an old friend, and the Colonel valued his judgements.
Confronted with his commander’s qualms Black ventured the opinion that Blue was
an archetypal big brother – he had
a number of younger siblings - and it was only natural that the two most headstrong officers, who
were both only children, should gravitate towards him as an unshockable safe
haven – he was never phased by anything they did. That Symphony should subsequently turn this unconscious need
into a romantic attachment was hardly surprising – for in addition to his
boundless patience, Svenson was a good looking man.
Black could not say if Blue returned the young woman’s feelings – if
Svenson wanted to keep a secret it stayed kept, but either way, he did not share
the Colonel’s misgivings.
Concerning Captain
Scarlet, Black maintained that Blue would act as a natural curb on the younger
man’s recklessness, whilst Scarlet would balance Blue’s proclivity to be over
cautious. In fact, Black was convinced the pair would make a near perfect
partnership and had said as much on several occasions.
The Colonel was still
trying combinations amongst his officers to find the best partners. Currently, Captain Brown was his main concern. Brown had
little military experience, so Scarlet was the obvious choice to partner him,
yet Brown’s inexperience made him less able to curb Scarlet’s rashness. Paul Metcalfe was an
excellent soldier – much decorated and promoted through the ranks of the WAAF. He had a clever mind, with an aptitude for
strategy – exemplified by his unbeaten record in the chess league that occupied
much of the spare time on base - and he was an expert on many forms of armed and
unarmed combat. He seemed destined to add to his family’s illustrious military
service record. On duty he was a thorough professional; his only real fault was
an impetuosity that could amount to rashness in the face of personal danger. The
Colonel could only hope that Scarlet’s professionalism would extend to keeping
his partner intact and act accordingly. Yet, Metcalfe himself displayed a
cheerful vivacity, at odds with his reputation as the consummate soldier on the
Base, and he enjoyed his off duty hours to the full.
Surprisingly enough, two
other American officers, Captains Ochre and Magenta were shaping into an
effective unit. Ochre had been a policeman, whilst
Magenta had turned from the boredom of a routine office job to use his computer
skills to control parts of the New York’s criminal syndicates. Realising his skills could be better
employed; the World Government had approached Patrick Donague with the offer of
immunity from prosecution and a free pardon, to devote his computer skills to
Spectrum’s service. Intrigued by
the prospect of starting a new life, Donague had willingly accepted the offer.
The two men got on well together, once Richard Fraser had overcome his natural
suspicion of anyone with the criminal background of Patrick Donague and they
seemed likely to remain as a team.
Currently Captain Grey was
partnered by Captain Indigo, but Indigo was in the process of being transferred
to a ground assignment. There would
have to be a reshuffle when that was finalised, although, hopefully, the other
impending change would happen around the same time.
It had been announced some weeks ago that Captain Black was to lead the
latest expedition to Mars – to investigate recently discovered signals emanating
from the red planet. With his long
experience in the World Space Corps he was the obvious choice. Presently Black was partnering Blue, a
euphonious situation the Colonel was in no hurry to change; but Blue could
partner Grey in the New Year. Eventually, the Colonel expected he would end up
partnering his two most outstanding officers and trusting to Black’s analysis
that they would balance out each others’ shortcomings.
The two remaining Angels –
Melody and Harmony gave the Colonel no cause for concern.
Melody was a tomboy, who drove cars and flew planes with a dare-devil
skill that the male officers admired.
She had grown up in the Southern States of America with four brothers and
treated the men around her much as she would have treated them. She was never happier than when she was
tinkering with engines or better still, testing the Angel Jet to its limits.
Everyone was fond of Melody and if anyone had been silly enough to upset her,
they would have found their fellow officers more of a threat than the Colonel!
Harmony Angel, the quietly
spoken Chan Kwan, had settled down to life on Base better then anyone. She went
through her day with unruffled calm and her unexpected martial arts skills left
none of the officers in any doubt that tackling Harmony would lead to broken
bones! She even gave some of the more
inexperienced officers classes. The other Angels trusted her and valued her good
sense, often turning to her when they had a difference of opinion that needed
resolving.
All in all Colonel White
thought they had come through their first year with far fewer problems than he
had expected and he was in the mood to be generous when a deputation of Angels
came to see him. They stood in a
line before the circular desk in the control room, caps tucked under their arms
and hopeful smiles on their pretty faces, as Destiny outlined their plan for a
party – just a little party – to celebrate their first Christmas on Cloudbase.
There was mounting
excitement in the Amber Room as the Angels prepared for their Christmas Eve
party. They were still amazed that The
Colonel had agreed to the party at all – within strict guidelines. Harmony had
volunteered to man Angel one for the duration, having, as she expressed it, no
interest in Christmas – the remaining four were determined to make the best of
it. They knew they could not have a ‘real’ party, but they had an array of soft
drinks and nibbles from the canteen, balloons and party streamers, a tree and -
finally, a large bough of mistletoe which had arrived that morning from
Rhapsody’s Family estate in England. There were presents for the guests –bought
as joint presents from them to all the Officers and exquisitely wrapped by
Harmony, as her contribution to the preparations. Destiny had set a firm limit on the amount to be spent on
each individual and despite Melody’s suggestion that they just buy the same gift
for everyone, the others had preferred to try to fit the gifts to the recipient.
The door opened and
Captain Ochre looked in, “Am I too early?” he asked with a grin.
“No, come in Captain,
we’re all ready!” Rhapsody cried excitedly.
“Well, as ready as we will
ever be,” the less excitable Melody amended.
Ochre was enjoying the
attention as the girls made him comfortable, when Grey and Magenta came along,
closely followed by Lieutenant Green and Dr Fawn.
Destiny started the music and the first balloon got burst. Captain Scarlet arrived with a large
carrier bag full of the Officers’ presents for the Angels, and was hailed, by
the now thoroughly over-excited Rhapsody as ‘Santa’s little helper!”
The Colonel wandered in a
short time later and was swept up by Destiny and plied with goodies from the
buffet. Gradually the room filled up with the senior officers and the invited
guests from amongst the support staff.
Symphony was watching the
door, and only paying moderate attention to the chatter of Captain Magenta along
side, when Scarlet came over and wished her a happy Christmas.
“What? Oh thanks, same to
you,” she said distractedly, then “Captain Scarlet, Captain Blue did know the
party was today, didn’t he?”
“Of course, but he’s
covering for the Colonel. We
couldn’t have every senior officer partying away and let the base flounder in
the control of underlings! We drew
lots and Blue got the short straw.” Scarlet gave Magenta a warning glance – it
wouldn’t do any good to tell her that Blue had volunteered for duty. “He and Lieutenant Claret are up in the control room. I promised to save him a sausage roll.”
Her face fell. “Oh, I
hadn’t realised. I thought you were
all coming along.” “Well, if
the Colonel leaves early, Blue might get along later.”
Symphony gave a half
hearted smile and slipped away.
Magenta and Scarlet exchanged glances,
“Now, what do you think
that is all about?” Magenta asked as one dark eyebrow rose in query.
“I couldn’t possibly
comment,” Scarlet replied. “But I think someone’s just realised the mistletoe is
going to be wasted. “
“He’s a lucky son of a gun
and he doesn’t deserve her,” Magenta responded with a sigh.
Scarlet gave him a
quizzical look. “Ah, so the wind’s from that quarter is it? I think you could
have an uphill struggle with that one.” “Oh, I know.
Symphony’s a lovely girl, I like her a lot, but I know I can’t compete with Mr
Blond Matinee Idol,” the Irish American said ruefully.
Scarlet pursed his lips,
“I think it may be pretty one sided.
He doesn’t strike me as the kind of chap to get emotionally involved and risk
his career. When all is said and done, he probably
hasn‘t even noticed.”
“You know, Grey said that
a while ago and I thought he was off the mark, but if you say so too, perhaps
it’s me that’s wrong? You do know
him best.”
“Hmm, I do don’t I?”
Scarlet shrugged.
Rhapsody came by and
dragged them to where Melody was organising the party games and it was only
later that Scarlet realised Symphony had disappeared.
Symphony walked through
the corridors towards the Control Room.
She was carrying a large plastic serving plate, piled high with sausage rolls
and potato chips, cashew nuts, vol-au-vents and a selection of other finger
foods. In the pockets of her jacket were an
individual carton of apple juice and a handful of serviettes, two of which held
the sprig of mistletoe she had broken off from the bunch Rhapsody had fixed
across the doorway. The door slid
open and she entered the room to stand on the moving walkway, carefully
balancing her burden.
Blue looked up to see who
had arrived. He was seated behind a pile of files, pen in hand, whilst
Lieutenant Claret scanned data into the mainframe and monitored the radio
communications.
“Merry Christmas!” she
called as she approached the circular desk. “They told me you had drawn the
short straw and so I thought I’d do my best to spread a little festive cheer
your way.” She deliberately turned to include Claret; it would never do for Blue
to think he was the only person she came to see.
“Why thank you M’am,”
Claret said, in his heavy accent. She remembered that Blue had told her he was a
Parsee and, in the face of her blank expression, had gone on to explain about
Zoroastrianism. She was always surprised by the extent of things he knew something about! She stopped and fished out a serviette allowing
Claret to select from the dainties. Then she went towards Blue.
He was watching her with a
surprisingly wary expression, absently twirling the pen around in his long
fingers. She handed him the platter, careful not to fish the mistletoe out with
his serviette.
“Thank you Symphony
Angel,” he said, his voice making her go as weak at the knees as usual, “It is a
kind thought. How is the party going?”
“Very well, Melody was
starting the party games as I left.” She glanced at him and was in time to see a
fleeting grimace. So, it seemed that Blue was not into party games.
“Don’t let us make you
miss them then,” he smiled.
“Oh, I’m in no hurry and
anyway I ought to take the plate back when I go. “She fished out the juice
carton and he nodded his thanks. “Is it
quiet?” she asked.
Blue had selected a few
cashew nuts, for which he had a particular fondness, and was crunching one in
his teeth. He chewed, swallowed and answered, “Well, there is trouble in the
Middle East, as usual and the Pope is calling on the World Government to
intervene, as usual. New York’s
under a blizzard, as usual, and there’s turbulence across the North Atlantic, so
nothing new there either.
Apparently, everything is much as expected and, yes, it’s quiet.”
He lobbed another cashew
into his mouth and chewed again, then thoughtfully pushed the plate towards her.
“No thanks, I’m stuffed
with nibbles already!”
“I thought the party had
only just started?”
“It has.
I was ‘helping’ with the food,” she explained with a rueful smile. “I’m a
sucker for little cheesy things on sticks and crunchy concoctions of E numbers.
A hopeless case, I’m afraid.”
“Sounds like it.” Blue
smiled and broke the carton open, grimacing as juice squirted on his sleeve.
“Let me,” Symphony said
and mopped at the damp patch with a serviette.
“My mother always
maintains I’m a messy eater.” Blue glanced up at her, somewhat surprised to find
her face so close to his.
“Those cartons are
notorious for doing that, though.” Symphony flushed and drew away to sit gazing
anywhere but at him.
Blue sighed to himself. He was neither as obtuse as Captain
Scarlet thought, nor as indifferent, and he knew Symphony had a soft spot for
him - perhaps more than that. He
admired her tremendously; she was clever and witty, a splendid instinctive flyer
and very attractive to look at. They had hit it off immediately on meeting at
the Koala Base training centre and for a few heady weeks he had speculated on a
bright future. But when it was made clear that Spectrum’s rules of conduct
discouraged personal relationships, even if they weren’t actually forbidden, it
threw him into turmoil.
In addition to that
setback, the surfacing of long dormant emotions brought the memory of the
searing pain of losing someone dear.
As they learned more of the hazards in their new duties, he recalled his vow
never to put himself – or any woman he cared about – in the situation he’d been
in, when his fiancée had died in a car bomb attack intended for him.
He’d only recently moved to the WAS Security Department, and they were
still living close to the base where she worked. He’d arrived back in the early hours from a two day
conference in New York and left his car at the end of the drive. Next morning, in her rush to get to work on time, she’d
called up the stairs, “You’ll have to use my car today - the keys are in
the drawer and please don’t forget to
collect the dry-cleaning again!“ He’d barely acknowledged her, still sleepy and sated by their
early morning passion. He could
still remember, as a physical sensation, the force of the blast shaking the
house. The doctors assured him that she must have died instantly. But it was never like that in the dreams
that haunted him for months afterwards – fuelling his determined pursuit of the
perpetrators. He would clearly see her face and the look of betrayal in her dark
eyes, which rebuked him for making her so late they forgot the basic security
routines they’d been coached in.
Faced with such obstacles
to his growing attraction for Symphony, he had reluctantly begun to distance
himself from her. It had not been
easy – she was an open and warm-hearted woman and he did not want to hurt her. Then came the news of her Grandfather’s
death. The Wainwrights were a
close-knit family and as an only child she had been the focus of their
attention. This death – the first
she had personal experience of, had devastated her and she instinctively turned
to him. She knew he had been close
to his paternal Grandfather, whose support and affection had been a refuge from
his turbulent relationship with his father.
Stefan’s death – whilst Adam was in the WAS, had been a bitter blow. He
had been touched by her misery, knowing she needed someone to talk to; someone
who would listen to her memories and it would have taken a much colder heart
than his to turn her away. Yet he
envied men, like Scarlet and Ochre, who seemed able to indulge in relationships
and move on when necessary, without all the emotional baggage he habitually
accumulated.
Unnerved by his long
silence Symphony had gone to speak to Claret and they were laughing at some joke
when Claret moved the chair along the console to acknowledge a flashing light. There was a muttered conversation and
then he called, “Sir, permission to go to the Computer Room? There appears to be a malfunction with
one of the navigational beacons, which the technicians say is a programming
fault. I will need to run the
diagnostic from there to compensate.”
“S.I.G, Lieutenant, who is
your standby here?”
Claret punched a button.
“Lieutenant Viridian. He should be in the admin office.
I’ll call him up...”
“Viridian? No, no wait. Don’t disturb him. I can manage from
here for the time it will take you to do what’s necessary. You go now.”
“Yes sir.” Claret left the
room at a jog and the door whooshed shut behind him. “What’s
wrong with Viridian?” Symphony asked.
“I can’t stand the man,”
Blue admitted with a shrug. “Just rubs me up the wrong way.”
Viridian was a large and
somewhat self-important American from the Bible-belt, with a loud voice and
exaggerated manners, but she was surprised that Blue should be so anti.
She thought he got on with everybody on the base. He returned her gaze with a steady smile
as she looked at him thoughtfully,
“I know it’s irrational, I
don’t like the way he’s always trying to push his own opinions as the only
acceptable ones,” he said, then seeing her surprise he added, less forcefully,
“Apart from that he’s never done anything to me, except nearly deafen me from
time to time!”
“Yes, he does like the
sound of his own voice," she agreed, grinning at an idea that occurred to her.
“Perhaps he’s still smarting after the Appomattox bi-centennial?”
Blue joined in her
laughter and suggested, “Or perhaps I just look like a lost soul?”
He was still smiling as he
turned his attention to a flashing light on the console. He flicked a switch,
heard a burst of music and a laughing voice shouting,
“Merry Christmas Greenie,
you old Bastard!”
“Thank you, Spectrum
London. I will pass your message on to Lieutenant
Green at my earliest opportunity.”
“Oh Lord! S’that you,
Bice?” the voice asked hopefully.
“No, this is Captain Blue. Is there anything else you wish to
report?”
There was a burst of
laughter from the intercom and a different voice was distinctly heard to say,
‘Oh my Gawd - now we’re for it - he’s got the merciless Blue!’
The original voice came
back with, “No sir, Captain Sir. All quiet here.”
“Hardly,” Blue replied.
“Merry Christmas London. And try to
keep the lines clear for genuine emergencies.”
“Yes sir.” The line went
dead.
“Merciless Blue indeed,”
he muttered, seeming genuinely put out by the incident.
“Well you can sound a
little severe, you know?” Symphony told him, wondering if he would be annoyed.
“Me? I’m a pussycat!” he
protested.
“So is a tiger, but you
don’t expect it to purr at you.”
He gave a spurt of
laughter and they both grinned. “It sounded
like another great party,” she smiled.
“Yes.” He crunched on a
cashew. “Look, I’ll dispose of the plates, you go and enjoy yourself. I’d hate
you to miss all of the fun down there, just from a sense of… charity. ”
Symphony stood up - it was
now or never - and taking her courage in both hands, said, “Will you come down
to the party later? I was hoping we
could talk. I haven’t really thanked you….”
Blue interrupted her,
shaking his head. “Nothing to thank me for, Symphony Angel.”
“When you helped me out of
that… mess I was in.”
He had found her a few
weeks ago, weeping over a final demand from the credit card Company. Over–riding her protests he’d given her the money to make the
immediate payment.
“It was nothing. I’d have done the same for anyone.”
“But you did it for me,
Adam. I am grateful.”
“It was nothing,” he
repeated, harsher than she expected.
She was irritated by his
sudden volte-face. Lately it had
been so difficult to read his mood – he’d be friendly and chatty one minute and
then just as suddenly as prickly as a holly bush and so dismissive that it
verged on rudeness.
She gave it one last try. “Festive cheer, I said.” She fished out
the mistletoe. “It’s obligatory, I’m afraid.” She watched his face for a
reaction.
Surprisingly, he smirked
at her. “Well, we mustn’t break with tradition, now, must we?”
She reached over and held
the mistletoe above his head. To her surprise, he turned and kissed her full on
the lips. She lost her balance and fell across his lap.
He helped her to her feet
and teased, “You never want to read too much into events at Office parties.”
Blushing, she straightened
her uniform and looked angrily at him. “Why do you pretend so hard that you
don’t care? You say one thing and do another!
And they call women fickle… ”
Without waiting for an
answer, she turned on her heel and left him looking unhappily after her.
Back at the party, Scarlet
had extracted himself from the game of charades and slipped out into the cool
corridor. He averted his eyes from Captain Ochre and a young woman who looked
like Janice Desoto - a technician of the Angel flight - who were busily getting
better acquainted in the corner. He smiled and sprinted up the down escalator
and along to the Control Room. He took the door at a rush and squeezed in before
it was half open.
“Whatcha Blue-boy!” he
shouted.
Blue jumped and cursed as
his pen scrawled across the page he was studying.
“Whatcha yourself.”
“Having fun?”
“Oh heaps and heaps. Have a sausage roll.”
“Where did they spring
from?” Scarlet asked, shoving one whole into his mouth and chewing furiously.
“Symphony brought them
up.”
Scarlet looked round.
“Where’d she go?”
“I don’t know where she
went. She waved some mistletoe over my head, fell over when I kissed her and
stormed off in a huff, muttering something,” Blue said, almost truthfully.
“Wow, some kiss, heh?”
Scarlet perched on the console. “Where’s Claret?”
“Running a diagnostic on
the navigation beacons.”
“So where’s the standby
officer?” Scarlet asked a little surprised that Blue had contravened regulations
about manning the Control Room. He
screwed up his face. “Oh, I know it’s your favourite Lieutenant - Viridian,
yeah? You’ll have to get over this thing you
have about him, it could be important one day.”
“I know, but I don’t like
being told I’m some kind of pagan...” Blue muttered.
Scarlet rubbed his chin reflectively.
Blue had been angrier then he had ever seen him after Lieutenant
Viridian had hijacked an amicable discussion of Christmas traditions, in the
various cultures represented by the Spectrum crew, to deliver what amounted to a
sermon. Most of the audience had just shrugged it off as another of Viridian’s
little foibles.
“Well you did say some pretty
cutting things in return,” he mused, remembering the general astonishment when
Blue had ripped into Viridian at the conclusion of the speech, with an acerbity
that had shocked them all.
“And I meant it,” Blue
snapped, starting to get angry again.
“Whoah, hold on, there! We don’t want civil war breaking out on
Cloudbase – that’s not what Christmas is about – peace and goodwill and so
forth.”
“I have no intention of
starting a war – you idiot,” Blue said tolerantly, as Scarlet helped himself to
the last vol-au-vent. “You seem to
be having a good time at the party.”
“Yeah, but not as good as
Ochre.” He nudged his friend suggestively, “He’s busy making out with Desoto.”
“Scandalmonger,” Blue
said, amused by Scarlet’s archness.
“No really! It was getting awfully passionate in that corner. Would you like me to cover here and you
can go and see for yourself?”
“No thanks.”
“Perhaps get a little
action of your own? After all if
Symphony fell over after one kiss, then I’d say you were in with a chance there,
Blue-boy.” Scarlet watched for a reaction, wondering if Magenta could have
sensed something he’d missed in his friend.
“What
did
they put in the punch?” Blue asked severely.
Scarlet decided Patrick
was imagining things. “It is a good
party. Even the Colonel got roped into playing charades.”
Blue raised an eyebrow and
sighed. “Seems like a long time since I went to a really good party. My parents always give spectacular parties at Christmas -
fancy dress ones. Some of the costumes were amazing. I remember my Mother had
this fantastic dress one year taken from a portrait of Madame de Pompadour. She looked stunning.”
“What did you go as?”
Scarlet asked intrigued.
“Oh, just about everything
in my time. Cowboys, spacemen,
pirates – even went as a Viking once – we all did my brothers and me.”
“Sounds like fun.”
“Yeah, sometimes.” Blue
gave a slight, embarrassed laugh. “I haven’t been to one in years.”
“Look, Adam, I know it’s
none of my business but, maybe you should call them up.
It is Christmas.”
“You’re quite right – it
is none of your business.”
Scarlet frowned as Blue
ducked his head to the papers on the desk again and refused to look at him. He knew that relations between Blue and
his family were strained – had been for years – but since he joined Spectrum
things had got worse.
When they had held their
commissioning ceremony everyone’s family had come to join in the celebrations–
both of his parents had come along – but only Blue’s mother had attended.
Apparently his father had refused to consider it, returning the invitation with
a short, handwritten note, which his son had read once, crumpled and thrown into
the waste shute. Blue had confided to him, whilst deciding whether to send the
invitation at all, that his father
had never forgiven him for firstly refusing to join the family firm and then for
joining the WAS Security Department, which had meant he didn’t even have the
consolation of talking about ‘my son the
test pilot’ any more. Joining Spectrum and using a code name was just
another insult in John Svenson’s mind.
At the ceremony, seeing
Mrs Svenson standing alone by a window, Scarlet went to speak to her, and
introduced his parents. She had
turned out to be a perfectly reasonable and charming woman, obviously devoted
to, if slightly in awe of, her eldest son.
She had been largely ignorant of Spectrum’s role in the World Government’s
security arrangements and had asked intelligent and pertinent questions, until
Adam approached with a tray of champagne for them all, when she had pointedly
changed the subject.
Personally, Scarlet
couldn’t imagine what it must be like to be estranged from your parents – to
keep secret something so central to your life that it made you an outcast from
the people who loved you most. General and Mrs Metcalfe were an important part
of their only son’s life and he was devoted to them in his own way. Both of his
parents knew all about Spectrum, had encouraged him to accept the offer to join
and celebrated his successes and his commission with genuine pleasure, whereas
Blue had told his parents as little as possible about the organisation and his
part in it.
Scarlet pondered on the
problem, as he watched Blue checking through the documents with unnecessary
diligence. He liked him – had done since they’d met
up on their Spectrum training, but he thought the man was sometimes way too
stubborn for his own good. He
also felt sure that, beneath that calm exterior, Adam was hurting.
“Did you send them a
card?” He asked suddenly.
Blue looked up, a sour
expression on his face. “We are on speaking terms – just.”
“Did they send you one?”
“What is this - The
Spanish Inquisition?”
“No – you’ve got it mixed
up, Svenson – probably because you’ve only had a Yankee education. I’m British and
that was the Spanish… hence Spanish
Inquisition? We didn’t have
one – an Inquisition – because we were already C of E and terribly enlightened.”
Blue grinned at him.
“You’re crazy, d’you know that Metcalfe?”
“MetCARF – not MetCAFF,”
Scarlet corrected with mock severity.
“Okay MetCarf – and its SVENson not Svensun.”
They both laughed and Blue
leant back in his chair and stretched.
Poking fun at each other’s accents and nationality was becoming something of a
tradition with them.
“Yes, I got a card.
Actually I got three. My Mother sent one and my sister and youngest brother sent
one together. And there was the official family card –
Dad has them printed by the van load. You know the kind of thing – embossed
wording, season’s greetings from John and Sarah Svenson and family. I assume that was from my Dad.”
“Oh.” Scarlet was at a
loss. He’d received a huge parcel from his
parents a week or so ago full of birthday and Christmas presents carefully
wrapped, and two sets of cards, each with a loving handwritten message in.
Blue turned to look at
him, his eyes suspiciously bright. “So you see, the spirit of Christmas really
is dead. At least in my father’s house - where it
takes its lead from Scrooge: Bah,
humbug.”
“Adam…”
“Forget it Paul, I have.”
Scarlet could see the lie
in that, but he let it drop. No
point in getting the guy more upset. He wondered if he should go and leave Blue
to his moping, but on the whole he thought it better to stay awhile.
Blue stopped staring into
the distance and picked up his pen again. He had considered calling his parents;
in the past, his mother had always called him on Christmas Day, but it would be
more difficult now that he was on Cloudbase. The Officers were not allowed
mobile phones in case the signals interfered with the base’s electronics, and he
knew his Mother wouldn’t be able to get through to the Base itself. His reluctance to phone them was
because, deep inside, he was not at all sure his Father would accept the call.
He had tried to speak directly to him about attending the commissioning
ceremony, only to have his calls refused at the office and hung up at home. He had no intention of giving his Father
the satisfaction of doing the same again – or of allowing him to upset his
Mother by so pointed a humiliation of their wayward child.
It was silly, but there it was –
John Svenson could win Olympic gold for irascibility!
The Amber Room party was
in full swing. Destiny and Rhapsody
were plying everyone with food and drink; Melody was deep in conversation with
Captains Grey, Black and Brown about motor cars, whilst Symphony was perched
moodily on a stool as Captain Magenta and Doctor Fawn tried to cheer her up.
The Colonel drained his
third cup of fruit punch and decided that enough was enough.
He had already consented to join in charades and he felt sure there would
be dancing some time soon, and he didn’t want to get involved with that. He waited until he could speak to
Destiny to excuse himself.
“It has been an enjoyable
evening, Destiny, thank you for inviting me.”
“Oh but Colonel, you must
not go! We are to have dancing and there are
presents...”
Colonel White gave a
slight bow of the head. “I’m sure that Captain Blue is better suited to dancing
than I am and he deserves a chance to join the party, don’t you think?”
“Bien sûr, but why
must you go?”
“Someone has to command
the base, Destiny.”
“Poohf, there many
officers here who could do it for once, it does not have to be you, Colonel.”
“I think it best that the
younger officers get a chance to unwind.
I have enjoyed myself and I think you have all done marvellously well with
organising it.”
“Then you must ‘ave your
present before you go.” Destiny whirled away to the pile of gifts surrounding
the tree and rummaged through them.
“Ah
bien.” She turned to the
Colonel and presented it to him, “Joyeux
Noël, Colonel.”
“Why, thank you, Destiny.”
The Colonel looked a little embarrassed. “I do not have presents for you…”
“Poohf – there are too
many of us, and it does not surprise me that the silly men did not think to make
you one of their consortium!” She smiled gaily and tiptoed to kiss his cheeks.
The Colonel cleared his
throat and noticed the grinning faces of all the other guests watching Destiny’s
little ceremony.
“Yes, well, thank you
Destiny and all of the Angels, for the charming party and for my gift. I shall open it tomorrow morning. Please, continue with the festivities, everyone.”
“Merry Christmas,
Colonel!” Black called out as the Colonel was about to leave the room.
“Thank you, Captain. The
same to you – to all of you!”
“Merry Christmas,
Colonel!” Everyone chorused and the laughter and talking broke out again as the
door closed.
Colonel White examined the
elegantly wrapped present as he strode to the Control Room. He was surprised to
find Scarlet in there, chatting away to Blue and Claret.
“Gentlemen.”
“Good evening Colonel, is
there anything wrong?” Blue asked standing to attention. “No,
Captain. I have come to relieve you
and allow you to go to the party.”
“See Cinders, you shall go to the ball,” Scarlet quipped.
“I hardly see myself as a
fairy godmother Captain Scarlet, but in essence that is true enough.” The
Colonel smiled. “How about you, Lieutenant Claret, do you wish to go?”
Claret shook his dark
head, “I am fine, Colonel Sir.”
Blue needed no second
urging and cleared the desk.
Scarlet waited for him and with a smart salute, the pair left the Control Room
and strolled down to the Amber Room.
The dancing had started by
the time they arrived. Melody and
Lieutenant Green were dancing the twist and Destiny was rock and rolling with
Captain Magenta, whilst Rhapsody, wearing Captain Scarlet’s cap which she’d
found discarded somewhere, was bopping around
a rigidly stationary Captain Black.
Brown was still talking cars to Grey whilst Ochre and Janice Desoto had
completely disappeared!
“I told you it was a wild
party.” Scarlet grinned at his friend and then noticed Rhapsody, “Oy! That’s my
cap young lady, I want it back now!” he darted across to her and Rhapsody dodged
behind Captain Black.
“Save me Captain!” she
squealed.
Black wore an expression
of tolerant disgust as he was used as a maypole by his younger compatriots.
“Give me back my cap!”
Scarlet threatened.
“Or what?” Rhapsody danced
away to the bunch of mistletoe. “You can have it if you pay the price,” she
teased, pointing upwards.
“Extortion, heh?” Scarlet
laughed. Nothing loath, he grabbed her by the waist and tilted her backwards
until the cap fell off, and then he gave her a long, flamboyant kiss on the
lips, whilst men nearby egged him on. Finally he dropped her the few remaining
feet to the floor and left her to get to her feet as he rescued his cap and took
the plaudits of his fellow officers. A somewhat breathless Rhapsody straightened
her tunic and flounced off in an exaggerated huff, rubbing her backside as she
went.
Blue was filling a glass
with the remains of the fruit punch as Rhapsody came over.
“Any left?” she asked.
“Only this – have it if
you want.” Blue proffered the glass.
“Thanks, but you can have
it, I’ll take the lemonade.”
“Are you okay?”
“Of course, why shouldn’t
I be? I’ll get Metcalfe back for that later.”
She grinned up at him. “I’m not gonna tell you how, though, you’re one of the
enemy.”
“I wouldn’t tell,” Blue
protested, with wide eyed innocence.
“Oh no?” Rhapsody
demurred. “You’re all the same, you men.”
Symphony joined them,
giving Blue the merest glance of acknowledgement. “Dianne, we have to get
revenge for that,” she hissed, conspiratorially.
“Oh, we will.” The pair
put their heads together.
“Not dancing Captain?”
Melody asked as she joined them by the drinks.
“I only just got here,”
Blue excused himself. “Besides, terpsichore is not my forte.”
Melody pulled a face.
“Massa Blue, I can’t unnerstan’ dem forry-gen tongues.”
“Stop it Magnolia,” he
grimaced.
She gave him a bright
grin. “Talk proper then!”
“Okay – I am quite
possibly one the world’s worst dancers,” he admitted.
“Well, I is a brave lil’
girl, so I will risk it, Massa Blue.”
“I’ll have you know my
family were fervent abolitionists.
I lost ancestors in the civil war.”
Blue chuckled.
She smiled and took his
hand. “Come on, you damn Yankee, let’s shake a leg!”
Symphony watched Melody
lead Blue onto the improvised dance floor and allow him to sweep her into his
arms as they rocked to the music.
Rhapsody had been pouring herself a drink and glanced up to see the expression
on her friend’s face.
She hid her smile and
said, “You can always ask him to dance later – if he doesn’t ask you first, that
is.”
“Why should I want to do
that?” Symphony snapped.
“Oh come off it, Karen! It’s written all over your face.”
“What is?” Symphony
demanded.
“Jealousy… or is it
longing, perhaps?”
“Dianne Simms, you have an
overactive imagination!”
Rhapsody shrugged. “And
you have it bad, girl.”
“Well? What about you and
Scarlet?” Symphony retaliated.
Rhapsody smiled. “Oh that…
well, if he’s lucky, I just might… when he learns to take me and it seriously.”
Symphony sighed, “I can’t
seem to get through to him any more,” she admitted. “I thought he liked me – I
was sure of it at Koala Base, but once we got here it was like… who are you?”
“They’ve got a lot on
their plates, Karen. We all have. Face it, the Colonel isn’t exactly keen
on on-board romances and Adam is nothing if not a good, obedient boy.”
“He’s not a boy,” Karen
corrected absently.
“Is that the voice of
experience?” Dianne wondered aloud and finished her drink, grinning at her
friend’s discomposure.
“Ten…
Eleven… Twelve!
Merry Christmas!”
Everyone counted the
strokes of Big Ben, relayed through to the party from the Control Room by the
ever obliging Lieutenant Claret. There was an orgy of hugging and kissing around
the room, with the officers very keen to get a kiss from all the Angels.
Destiny held out her hand
to Blue and he gallantly kissed her fingers.
“No Adam – you do it like
this!” Scarlet cried and swept Destiny into his arms.
“Drop
me on my derrière and you will live to regret, it Paul,” she warned.
“Would I?” Scarlet spread
his hands in innocent appeal. Destiny
nodded, but submitted with good grace to his embrace and kiss. It went on
somewhat longer than she had anticipated and she thumped him until he let her
go.
“I prefer Captain Blue’s
gallantry to yours!” She laughed at them both.
“Wow, this is a splendid
party,” Scarlet said and went in search of Symphony to claim his kiss.
Rhapsody came to Blue’s
side. He smiled down at her.
“Don’t make me use this
Captain,” she giggled, waving her sprig of mistletoe at him.
Obligingly he kissed her.
“Have you seen Melody and Symphony? Must do the rounds, you know.”
“I just have Melody to do. Symphony caught me earlier with some of
that.” He pointed at the mistletoe.
“Earlier doesn’t count,”
Rhapsody warned, turning to give Doctor Fawn his kiss.
Blue saw Captain Black
hovering near the door. “Don’t forget Black, Rhapsody,” he said, sacrificing his
partner to save himself. He gave the Captain an apologetic smile as the
energetic kisser made her way towards him.
“Massa Blue.”
He turned to see Melody
smiling at him and he gave her a hug and a kiss, whispering, “One more Massa Blue from you and I will do a Scarlet on you!”
“Oh, promises,
promises!”
Melody laughed. “That
would get me in awful trouble with a certain American lady.”
Blue flushed – was
everyone determined to throw Symphony at him? She came across to join them and
Melody watched them exchange their kiss.
“Some people just can’t be
helped,” she muttered, rolling her eyes at the perfunctory display of affection
she’d just witnessed and went to finish her duty by collaring Lieutenant Green.
“The presents!” Rhapsody cried and had to be restrained by Melody and Destiny
from diving in to the pile in search of hers.
“Someone sensible ought to
hand them out,” Fawn suggested, seeing the wrapping paper straining under the
onslaught.
“No - Captain Scarlet has
to do it!” Symphony shouted. “He’s already wearing a coat of the right colour.”
“And I have a nice fluffy
white beard here that will suit him a treat!” Rhapsody agreed.
She waved the beard at Captain Scarlet.
Grey and Brown escorted
him to the tree and he looked like a man waiting execution as Rhapsody fixed the
beard over his ears, giggling. Symphony then produced a red felt hat, trimmed
with white fur and a large pompom.
It was too big and slipped over his eyes.
Melody stepped forward and took several photographs of the unfortunate Captain,
struggling with his costume. Rhapsody had her revenge!
Scarlet grinned
good-naturedly as the girls had their fun, before getting the first of the pile
of presents and squinting at the name on the label.
“Captain Grey, merry
Christmas, Brad.” Scarlet handed out the gift and looked at the next label,
“Lieutenant Green, have you been a good boy, Lieutenant?” He asked sternly and
withheld the present until he got a reply. Amidst
the laughter of the crowd Green replied, “Yes Sir, Captain Santa.”
“La belle
dame sans merci
– sorry, I mean Destiny Angel.”
“Merci bien,
tout le monde.”
Destiny clipped Scarlet’s ear as she took her present –
which it had to be said, was pretty shoddily wrapped by the exacting standards
of Harmony Angel.
“Melody Angel –this one is
all for you, merry Christmas, Mags!”
“Captain Ochre. No
response? Now I wonder where he’s got to.” Scarlet mused as Lieutenant Green
sniggered and wondered if he really needed to be told.
“Captain Magenta – you had
better not drink it all at once, Patrick.” Magenta grinned and took the bottle
shaped parcel carefully.
“Harmony Angel – What? She’s
still
in Angel One? You girls are heartless. Now, let’s see who’s next? Rhapsody Angel – we know you don’t
deserve a present!”
“I do too! I made all the
punch and put the sausages on sticks,” she protested reaching for the parcel
Scarlet was holding out.
“Oh, well that’s different
then.” He smiled up at her. “Merry Christmas Dianne.”
“Thank you, Santa; same to
you.”
“Doctor Fawn - whoops! I
hope it isn’t broken. Captain
Brown, merry Christmas! Captain Black, Wow, Conrad, its heavy whatever it is.”
“Thank you.” Captain Black
gave a taut smile and tried to peep under the wrapping paper.
“This one’s for someone
called Captain Scarlet – can’t imagine who that is! Perhaps you would be kind
enough to hold it for now, Captain Black – it will stop you from trying to see
what’s inside your present. Nearly
done folks! One for Captain Blue - can’t guess what
that is, Adam, but I hope it’s a good read and not the same as the one I’ve got
you! And finally… Symphony Angel –
there you go, good things come in small packages, they say.” Black handed Scarlet his present as Rhapsody started her own countdown, “Five, four, three, two, one – open them!”
The sound of ripping paper
filled the air as everyone tore at the wrappings.
“Tiens, someone has put the whole of a
sticky tape on this!” Destiny complained, and then added, “Merveilleux!
My favourite parfum! How did you know it?”
“That was Paul’s best
guess,” Blue volunteered from the crowd. Destiny blushed slightly and Rhapsody
glared at the unrepentant Santa.
“Wow, thanks folks, kid
leather driving gloves, and just the right size too!” Melody said, displaying
her hands.
“Phew, that was lucky!”
Blue whispered to Brown.
“I got a radio alarm clock
– is that a subtle hint?” Grey asked with a cheerful grin.
“I hope not, I got
aftershave and toiletries,” Brown added.
Magenta thanked everyone
as he opened his Irish whiskey and Symphony reminded him to keep it hidden from
the Colonel! After all, a dim
view was taken of keeping alcohol on the base.
Lieutenant Green had a
hand made guitar strap in soft leather and Doctor Fawn had a Newton’s cradle,
which accounted for the clanking Scarlet had heard.
“Hey, I got a Liberty silk
scarf.” Rhapsody tied it over her hair. “How do I look?”
“Smashing, “Scarlet
replied. “It suits you.” He glanced at Blue, with an ‘I-told-you-so’ smile.
Blue conceded the point.
“What was in there, Con?” he asked as Black screwed up his wrapping paper.
Black held out his hand to
reveal a paperweight, containing a representation of the solar system, with
delicate miniature planets orbiting a golden globe. His Spectrum colleagues knew
he was torn between staying with them to consolidate their new organisation and
returning to space one last time. “It is possibly the nicest present I ever
received; my thanks, ladies.” He said stiffly.
“Only possibly?” Symphony
smiled and kissed his cheek. “Merry Christmas Conrad, you old fraud! Don’t
forget to bring us all back some Martian rock.”
Black gave another of his taut smiles and cleared his throat.
“Now, what did the
mysterious Scarlet get?” Rhapsody asked, peering over his shoulder.
He held up his gift. “A
boy’s own army pen-knife!”
The room erupted into
laughter.
“What were you saying
about subtle hints, Brad?” Blue asked. Scarlet
grinned ruefully. “What was the book, Adam?” he asked to divert attention.
“An edition of Le Chanson de Geste I had intended to buy for myself.” Blue offered
the book up for inspection.
Melody pulled a face, as
she examined the cover. “You like this?”
“Sure.
I used to read these old stories with my Grandfather – he liked the Norse
sagas and these medieval romances too.
He could read the originals, but luckily this edition gives both texts,
see? The original and an English
translation.”
“Weird,” she said looking
at the pages with their archaic printing and bright medieval illustrations. “What is it about?”
“Roland and Oliver -
Paladins at the Court of Charlemagne.
They are forced to fight to the death but when neither is victorious they become
great friends. Then they fight the Saracens at
Roncesvalles to protect the retreat of Charlemagne’s army, after another of the
Knights has betrayed them all. It’s all very chivalrous and noble. They don’t make it, of course and Oliver’s
sister, who is betrothed to Roland, drops down dead when she hears of their
deaths,” he explained enthusiastically.
Melody’s expression grew
more glazed at every word. “Well, each to his own, of course, but give me a good who-done-it any day!”
Blue smiled, sheepishly.
“Well, somebody must’ve read my letter to Santa anyway.”
“No way – some things
remain sacred,” Melody replied. “Symphony heard you talking to Harmony about
it.” Blue looked
across at the blonde Angel, laughing with Captain Grey. “Really? I do remember reading a review of it in
a Sunday supplement and Harmony asked me about the story. I didn’t know Symphony was listening.”
“See, you don’t know
everything, after all,” Rhapsody chuckled.
“What did you get?” Grey
was asking his companion.
She held up a smart
burgundy coloured leather purse. “All I need now is something to put in it! I am
as broke as always!”
Grey nodded
sympathetically.
“My grandmother always
said it was bad luck to give someone a purse without anything in it,” Blue
commented, walking over to join them. “Have you looked inside?”
She gave him a sceptical
look and unzipped the purse. Her eyes widened as she pulled out a silver dollar.
“My Grandfather gave me his collection of silver dollars when I was a kid and I
managed to loose one of them – I never dared tell anyone
at home and I’ve been trying to replace it ever since! I was told you couldn’t get these any
more.” She looked suspiciously at
Blue, who was trying to look innocent, but only succeeding in looking absurdly
pleased with himself.
“You can if your Godfather
is the President of the Federal Reserve.” Magenta commented, looking over Grey’s
shoulder.
“Your
Godfather – are we talking about the Mob?” Symphony gasped.
Magenta laughed, “No – his
Godfather.” He pointed towards Blue. “And I think he might resent the
implication that there isn’t much difference between the mafia and the banks:
possibly.”
“Uncle Martin owed me a
favour; I’ve been providing him with an alibi for years. And he’s only President
of the Massachusetts State Reserve, not the Fed,”
Blue corrected. He saw no harm in using family contacts to get what he
wanted.
“Alibi?” Grey asked.
“Yeah, every weekend he
spent away with his mistress he was supposed to be with me.
I just said yeah whenever his
wife asked me if I’d seen him lately,” Blue stated matter of factly.
Rhapsody voiced her
disapproval and even Destiny – not noted for her narrow mindedness - seemed
shocked.
“What?” Blue asked,
genuinely surprised by their reaction. “I did nothing wrong.”
“I think its more that you did it rather than what you did.”
Scarlet commented. “Boston born and
raised – a puritan to your core.
Tut tut, Adam.”
Blue pulled a face and
shrugged in exasperation.
“Well, it seems as if
everyone got something nice,” Melody said. “I think Santa did a fine job.” There
was general agreement on that score. “I hope the Colonel likes his present,” Rhapsody mused, starting to collect the torn paper.
“What did you get him?”
Brown asked.
“A silver fountain pen,
engraved with his initials,” Rhapsody said.
“I would have liked to get the Spectrum insignia, but it would have been too
obvious.”
“And too expensive,”
Destiny commented.
“I’m sure he’ll like it,”
Black said. “He’ll appreciate the gesture.” He paused. “Which initials?”
“CW – for Colonel White,
of course!” Rhapsody said. There was a ripple of laughter.
She hastened to explain, “If we’d put Charles Grey on it, everyone would
have thought it stood for Captain Grey.”
“Yes, Angel, of course
they would,” Scarlet patronised, smirking all the time. Rhapsody put her tongue
out at him and bombarded him with the wrapping paper she’d collected.
“Children, behave!” Blue
admonished, shaking his head in despair. “There’ll be tears before bedtime…”
Scarlet threw the Santa
hat at him. “Oh shut up!” He advanced towards his friend with exaggerated
belligerence. Blue accepted the challenge, swaggering
to meet him swinging the Santa hat in his hand.
“Give over, you two,”
Rhapsody pleaded, shaking her head at such a childish display.
But honour had to be
satisfied and shoulder to shoulder the two men shoved each other back and forth,
both trying hard not to laugh. It
developed into a friendly scuffle between the pair of them, which Scarlet was
getting the better of when Destiny finally pulled them apart.
Unable to find any further
reason to remain in the Amber room, Melody finally went to relieve Harmony in
Angel One. Most of the officers drifted away to get some sleep or start their
duty rotas. This left a small group willing to start
the clear up.
“I want to say thank you – how did
you manage it?” Symphony asked Blue, joining him in collecting dirty glasses and
plates so that she could speak to him privately.
“Uncle Martin did it all.
Did I get the year right?”
She nodded, “2015 – the
year I’d lost. I’m impressed that you remembered, it was ages ago we were
talking about it.”
“He’s been looking for
quite a while,” Blue admitted, adding, “Well, now your collection is complete
again. Did you look in the rest of the purse?”
With a wary shake of her
head she unzipped the billfold to reveal four crisp new $500 notes.
“Did you put these in
here, Adam? I can’t accept this!”
“Yes you can; if you will
do something for me.”
Her frown deepened and she
bristled at her first thought. He
shook his head, smiling, amused at her all too obvious conclusion.
“That should cover the
balance, so pay off your credit card and cut it up.
Then you won’t have to worry any more about the Colonel discovering you’re in
debt.” She looked
at him in confusion. “Why are you so wonderful to me one minute and so horrible
the next?”
“It’s a long story – I’ll
tell you about it one day – but not here.
Just promise me you’ll clear the card and destroy it?
You can’t spend your way out of misery, sweetheart.”
“Can I ask you a
question?”
He nodded.
“You’ll answer me
truthfully?”
He hesitated and shrugged.
“When we were at Koala
Base, you said some things to me that meant a lot.
Did you mean it?”
“Every word.”
“Do you still mean it?”
“Our situation has changed
radically since then, we’re….”
She put a finger across
his lips and repeated her question.
Blue heaved a deep sigh. Months of emotional frustration and
unhappiness surged through him – over ruling his intellect and reason. “I have tried not to,” he admitted
finally, “but yes, I do – more than ever.”
“Oh Adam,” she said
gently, her eyes shining as she threw her arms around his neck and kissed him.
“I thought we had finished
with that bit,” Scarlet said to Rhapsody as he held the plastic waste sack for
her to put the rubbish in, adding, “Without benefit of mistletoe too.”
“Let them alone!” she
threatened, and leaned across to the music centre, programming in a series of
numbers. The room began to fill with the rich
sounds of a classic romantic ballad.
“Do I know this?” Scarlet
asked, peering over her shoulder.
“Probably not, but its one
of Karen’s favourites. Now she can have her dance.”
“You are just an old
romantic, aren’t you, Di?”
She grinned at him. “Yes,
but I will still dance with you, if
you ask me nicely.” “Lady
Dianne, may I have the pleasure of this dance?” He bowed.
Rhapsody gave him her hand
and they joined Blue and Symphony on the dance floor.
Seeing them, Fawn offered
his hand to Destiny, who gave him a bright smile and they whirled out to join
the others.
Harmony stepped out of the
Angel lift and stretched. She came
to stand beside Captain Black, who was eating the last mince pie and asked, “Was
it a good party? Did I miss much?”
“It was a good party and
some people enjoyed it even more than others.”
Harmony surveyed the
scene. Scarlet and Rhapsody were smiling into
each others eyes, blissfully unaware of the spectacle they presented, whilst
Blue and Symphony appeared to be joined from top to toe. She felt no real surprise, having had her own suspicions
about Rhapsody’s and Symphony’s plans involving the two Captains for some time.
“Is there any food left?”
She looked at the debris on the table behind them.
“I think Scarlet ate it
all,” Black confessed, guiltily swallowing his last mouthful.
Harmony snorted.
“Definitely no surprise there then!”
She grinned.
THE END
OTHER STORIES FROM MARION WOODS
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