Prelude: Removal Men

Rebecca Hales was tired. It had been a long flight. She dragged her trolley bag through the front door of the flat she shared with her boyfriend. "Larry?" she called, not really expecting him to be there. No reply. Then she saw the note on the hall table. "Hi Hun, welcome back," it said. "I'm up in town tonight. Call me tomorrow when you get back, we'll do lunch if you're not too tired." She looked at her watch. Half past nine. Time enough to have a really good soak in the bath and then decide. She took off her uniform forage cap and tossed it down onto the table. She'd flown for four airlines over the last eight years and uniforms for cabin staff had got no less stupid. Always these terrible heavy jackets, shapeless skirts and always the stupid hats. She shook her hair loose and kicked off her shoes. "Yes," she thought, "a bath before anything else."

Her intentions were interrupted by a ring at the door. Almost without thinking she reached out and opened it. Outside stood two men in dark blue overalls. The taller one of the two, smiled and pulled his cap from a mass of black curly hair. "Ms Hales?" he said, "Ms Rebecca Hales?"

Rebecca nodded, puzzled.

"Blue Box : Archive Storage and Removals." He said, gesturing to a pile of bright blue, flat-packed, plastic crates stacked on the wheeled trolley being pushed by his colleague.

"I don't think so," Rebecca said. "I'm not planning on moving and I don't have anything that needs to go to storage."

The curly haired guy looked puzzled too. He scratched the back of his head. "I'm sorry there must have been some sort of mistake. Do you mind if I just call the depot to check," he said taking out his mobile phone. He was holding it in front of him, pointing directly at her. She thought nothing of it at first. Then she said "Why are you wearing latex gloves?"

He tapped out a sequence of numbers on the keypad. There was a quiet hiss. Rebecca looked down in surprise as the dart hit her. She gave out a short "Oh!" at the sudden pricking sensation. A tiny scarlet stain spread out around where the dart had pinned her white blouse to her belly. The chemical took effect quickly, her knees buckled under her own weight and she toppled forward into the hands of the curly haired man. He lowered her gently to the floor.

She was conscious, aware, but unable to move. He took her under the arms and pulled her back into the apartment. His colleague leant down and plucked the dart from her. This time she didn't feel a thing. "Very neat," he said, turning it over in his hand. "Very neat indeed."

The curly headed man was rummaging through Rebecca's handbag. "Be careful you don't scratch yourself with that," he said. "I don't want to have to carry you out." He pulled out a small, laminated photo-id on a silver chain. "Rebecca Hales, Atlantic Airlines, Cabin Crew," it said. He held the photo against her face. "That's her all right. Best to be sure."

Chapter 1 »