Chapter 9: Freddie's Meeting

Harry, Connie and Rick were sitting on one side of the table. Freddie and Elly sat facing them.

Freddie was sitting with his eyes closed, his hands folded on top of the open file of research on the table in front of him. He was very still, very quiet. It gave the other three no comfort at all that he wasn't pacing up and down furious at the turn of events on the Norfolk collection.

He took a slow breath. "OK," he said calmly. "Who wants to start?"

"Me, I guess," said Rick, sheepishly. There were tow things he learned about this sort of situation working for Freddie. The first was that safest thing was to be completely honest and the second was that this was no time for jokes. "We missed it. I've been back over the surveillance tapes and the intelligence and there's nothing to suggest that 'Penny' was anything other than she, sorry, he seemed. An ideal target, no real social group, kept herself to herself, quite a private person."

"And now we know why!" Freddie snapped.

Elly looked at him as much as to say, "That won't help."

"I suppose if we'd had more time for research we might have found something but, for heaven's sake, he's living as 'Penny' twenty four seven. I'm not convinced that a few more days' surveillance would have made any difference. It's a lesson to learn though."

"Mmm," said Freddie, abstracted. "And Harry? No one noticed on collection?"

"Come on Freddie, you know how it is. Sure we focus on making sure we've got the right person and that's what we did. They spent quite a while scoping the venue and they had plenty of opportunity to make sure that the target checked with the briefing so they went ahead. After that, well, you know I don't encourage the team to play around with the pick ups unless they've got plenty of time and somewhere secure — it's too much of a distraction. If you want me to tell them to lift the skirt of ever girl they pick up there won't be too many complaints but I don't think it would be a good idea, frankly."

"But no one noticed?"

"No, Freddie, no one noticed. From what was said at the debrief, the team had very little trouble with her. Sorry him. There wasn't anything rough so they didn't get to grips with him at all. I can't see how they would have seen it unless they were looking. I guess another time we'll be looking out for something like this, especially with a specimen as exotic as Miss Trating. But, anyway, what would you have had them do? Leave the delightful Penny behind? I don't think so."

Freddie looked thoughtful for a moment. He turned towards Elly. "What's your take on this?"

Elly sat quietly for a minute looking at Rick and Harry in a way that made them feel even less comfortable than Freddie's scowls had done. Finally she spoke. "I'm not sure it matters," she said, bluntly. "The Kalinin wanted five story tellers. You've got five story tellers. Far be it for me to comment on anyone's sexuality but maybe the Kalinin's son might find Miss Trating an interesting novelty. I think you should follow some of Larry's advice. What did he used to say? 'When in doubt ask the customer.' That's probably a good maxim here. If he's happy and Connie thinks Penny can be properly prepped then why should we worry?"

Freddie considered her words. The furrows on his forehead seemed to say, "This isn't fair, there's been a cock-up and someone deserves a bollocking but I can't quite see who it should be." Instead he turned to Connie. "Can he be prepped?"

Harry and Rick, sensing that Freddie was going to take Elly's advice, breathed a little easier.

Connie leant forward. "No reason why not," she said. "We might have to adapt the sexualisation programme a bit and I might need a few extra pieces of equipment - things not in my armoury, so to speak — but otherwise I'm sure that Penny is as amenable to re-orientation as any of our other guests. Anyway I thought you said the Kalinin didn't want too much prep work done on them."

"Hmm? Oh. Yes, that's right," said Freddie. "Well never let it be said I wasn't prepared to celebrate diversity in the work place. I'll talk to the Kalinin. You'd better start working with our friend on the basis that we'll find a home for him."

By the time Connie returned to their room, the captives, skewered on their "pegs", were more than pleased to see her. All five were groaning with discomfort from the position in which they were trapped. Connie smiled with quiet satisfaction, confident that their treatment was making them all the more amenable to the training that was soon to start. Two of her team each took two of the four girls to start their 're-orientation' as Freddie's people euphemistically called it. Connie had decided to deal with Penny personally.