Page 5 of Winter’s Fire

“Thank you.”

Logan went to the door, knocked this time, and entered. Sir Guy looked up, and although the man’s expression revealed nothing of his thoughts, Logan picked up an air of tension about him.

“Good morning, Simmonds. Take a seat.”

“Good morning, sir.” Logan sat across the desk from his boss. He waited in silence until Sir Guy finished reading the single sheet of paper in front of him.

“I see the medical officer passed you fit for a full return to active duty.” Sir Guy set the report to one side.

“Yes, sir. It’ll be good to get back to a real job.”

Sir Guy raised an eyebrow. “If that’s an indication of what you think about your last assignment, you may not consider this a real job, either. Frankly, I’m not even sure I do, but I need someone to take a short trip and ask some questions. As you know, we’ve been co-opted into assisting with a major public order exercise, so everyone else is busy. Since you’ve just become available, that makes you the ideal candidate.”

The only candidate. Last man standing, drawer of the infamous short straw. “What do you need me to do, sir?”

“Have you ever heard of a Caribbean resort called Nenufar?”

Holy hell—who in the community hadn’t? The place was renowned for being kink-friendly, clothing-optional and private in the extreme. Its clientele was limited to adults in couples and ménages—no singles and no kids allowed.

“I have, sir. Isn’t it a little out of our jurisdiction?”

“At this stage, your remit—should you accept the assignment—is to do no more than ask a few discreet questions.”

“Should I accept the assignment?” Mental alarm bells rang. Orders by definition weren’t optional, and if Sir Guy was giving him the opportunity to turn this assignment down, it probably wasn’t a good sign.

“You’ve heard of the place, so I assume you’re familiar with its nature. Not everyone would be comfortable with that, so it’s only fair to give you the chance to decline.”

By the sound of it Logan wasn’t the only one familiar with its nature. Who’d have thought it? Leaving aside his personal interests, he was a big boy, and well prepared to handle whatever his CO threw at him. “I don’t have a problem with that, sir. What do you need?”

“The daughter of a senior government minister appears to have gone missing. Her last verified location was Nenufar, three weeks ago, along with her latest boyfriend, who’s also vanished. They were supposed to be there a week before returning home, but no one’s heard from either of them.”

Sir Guy’s mouth settled in a grim line. “He has no family, and frankly, I think hers is overreacting. She’s a grown woman; it’s probably nothing more sinister than a somewhat thoughtless, spur-of-the-moment decision to extend their break.

“However, given her father’s connections with national defence, I’m not prepared to take any chances. It’s just possible there’s a scenario where she could have been abducted by enemies of the state, with a view to using her as leverage against him. I need you to ask a few questions to confirm her current whereabouts and status without causing an international incident.”

“I take it her family have tried calling her?”

“Calls go straight to voicemail. Her father’s been in touch with the authorities, but isn’t happy with, quote, ‘Their pathetic excuse for an investigation’, unquote. I need you to go there undercover, and see what you can find. As I said, I suspect they’ve moved on to another destination without bothering to keep anyone informed, and they chose somewhere with little to no mobile coverage.”

A quiet knock on the door had Logan turning around, to see Miss Winter enter, bearing a tray with two cups of coffee.

“Thank you, Lucy.” Sir Guy greeted her with an avuncular smile. “Excellent timing. As I was about to say, Simmonds, the problem I have is that they don’t allow single guests, and I have no one suitable to accompany you. Ros is my only female officer, and as you know, she’s just started her latest assignment. I can’t take her off that one—not that I believe she’d be a good candidate anyway.”

“Excuse me for interrupting, sir, but if you need a woman… ah, I mean a female officer… I know I’m not an officer, but could I help at all?”

Logan looked from his boss to Lucy and back again, expecting Sir Guy to dismiss her. Instead, the other man gave her a contemplative look, almost as if he were actually considering taking her offer seriously, ridiculous though it was.

“Close the door, Lucy, and take a seat.” He gestured towards the chair beside Logan.

“With all due respect, sir—”

“Simmonds, I believe Miss Winter may be about to present us with a way out of our quandary. I think it’s only fair to explain to her what’s required. Once she knows what she could be getting into, she may wish to reconsider her generous offer.”

~~*~~

A short time later, Logan was as close to being a dead man walking as he was ever likely to get. Years of fleecing his buddies at poker enabled him to conceal his reactions in most situations, and that ability had proved to be a godsend during the briefing. He maintained that stoic demeanour as he watched Lucy leave, even though his blood was like ice in his veins, at the same time as his stomach threatened to expel his breakfast with extreme prejudice.

Sir Guy had ordered Lucy to go home, a decision with which Logan agreed. She needed time to think over what they’d discussed and do some relevant research before their follow-up meeting. Twenty-four hours was all Somerton had given her for that, but it was all they could afford. Their entire course of action depended on whether Lucy was prepared to stand by her suggestion—if she wasn’t, they needed time to come up with an alternative plan, and fast.