Julia: Part Three

~ beetleypete

This is the third part of a fiction serial, in 783 words.

When she answered the buzzer, she didn’t recognise the voice. “Miss Calder? This is the Government Car Service. I am here to pick you up and take you back to the ministry offices”.

He seemed relaxed and polite, speaking in a normal voice. But Julia was not about to buzz in a strange man, even one who might know her name and where she worked. Okay, he could only get up the stairs to the front door of her flat, but she wasn’t happy about it.

“There must be some mistake. I was not expecting a car, and I don’t work at this time of night”. There was a pause before he replied.

“Nobody contacted you to expect me? Okay, I will phone my base and wait outside”. Looking out of the front window, she watched the smartly dressed man walk back to a newish four-door car, and get inside. It had unsettled her, and she decided to phone the police. But before she could get to her mobile, it rang on the side table.

“Calder, this is Miss Millington. There is a car outside to collect you and bring you into work. It’s a special meeting, something of an emergency, I cannot say more over the phone, but I am sure that you recognise my voice. It doesn’t matter what you are wearing, just get ready quickly and go down to the car”.

There was something about her tone of voice that gave Julia an unpleasant feeling in her stomach. But it was undoubtedly her boss, so despite what Harriet had said she went into the bedroom and dressed in a smart trouser suit. When she got down to the car, she felt the need to say something as the driver held open the door.

“Sorry about that, but I wasn’t expecting anyone”. He just smiled and nodded, and then said nothing all the way to Whitehall.

There was a long row of cars dropping people off outside the ministry, and armed police officers patrolling the pavement and waving away any traffic that didn’t look official. More policemen stood inside the entrance, watching the security guards double-checking I.D. cards against a list of names carried on a clipboard. Julia was wondering what could have happened, but every idea that popped into her head seemed ridiculous.

After she was checked off the list, she was told to go down some back stairs to the basement, where she would be directed. In all the years she had worked there, she had never thought about the building having a basement, so that surpised her. There was a small queue of people in front of her when she got to the doors, and more policemen carrying guns. A man in a three-piece suit checked each name again, then issued each person with a red plastic I.D. fixed to a lanyard. He pointed along the corridor. “All the way to the end, then turn left”.

That led into a huge room the size of a small cinema. Rows of chairs were set out, most already occupied. There was a rudimentary stage at the end of the room with a large projection screen on the wall behind, and three people were sitting on it plastic chairs. One of them was Harriet Millington, the man to her left was the Minister of Health, and the woman to her right was the Prime Minster of Great Britain. All three looked incredibly serious.

Before she was allowed to go in and sit down, a stern young woman wearing an army uniform checked her I.D again. Then she handed Julia a clipboard with one piece of paper on it. “It’s the Official Secrets Act. I don’t care if you have ever signed it before, you need to sign it again. It has been amended and dated for this meeting. You are aware of the seriousness of signing it and the implications, I presume?” Julia nodded as she signed.

Something bad was happening. Perhaps it was World War Three.

Taking a seat three rows from the back, she looked around the room trying to spot the familiar face of a colleague. But she didn’t recognise any of the mixed group. There was a delay of about fifteen minutes as the last stragglers turned up and sat down. Then the doors were closed and locked, with two armed police officers standing inside the room in front of them. A young bearded man appeared on the stage holding some microphones, handing one to each person sitting there. Harriet stood up and walked to the front.

“Okay, we are going to begin. I need your complete concentration, so if you have a phone, turn it off now”.

44 thoughts on “Julia: Part Three”

  1. Pingback: Full Moon | DearTedandJody

  5. (1) Last journal entry of a tent camper: “There’s a buzzard at my door.” (Parts of the camper’s rotting corpse were discovered a week later by a desert hiker.)
    (2) Overheard:
    Julia: “There must be some mistake. I was not expecting you.”
    Stranger: “That’s okay, Señorita Calder. No one expects the Spanish Inquisition!”
    (3) Overheard:
    Charlie McCarthy: “It’s a special meeting, something of an emergency, I cannot say more over the phone, but I am sure that you recognize my voice.”
    Edgar Bergen: “Of course I recognize it. What do you take me for, a dummy?!”
    (4) I heard that DAVID lost his ID, and now everyone just calls him DAV.
    (5) Meanwhile, at a nearby restaurant…
    There was something about the taste of Soylent Green that gave Bentley an unpleasant feeling in his stomach. After he returned from the loo, he ordered the Sautéed Mushrooms. Before the waiter turned to leave the table, Bentley said, “Nothing can go wrong with the mushrooms, am I right?”
    (6) What is a stern young woman’s favorite part of a boat? If you give me the right answer, I’ll bow with a smile.
    (7) Overheard:
    Young woman: “It’s the Official Secrets Act. You are aware of the seriousness of signing it, I presume?”
    Julia: “Absolutely! That’s why I’m signing it in blood.”
    (8) Are the stern young woman and the young bearded man a couple? I’m just wondering if they’ll grow old together.

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