"Strangers We've Become" – A final countdown to publishing in 6 Days

aloysius5

Dec 1

I ought to be on holiday

...

Now that David has finally worked out what it is that Prendergast wants, and what is required to get back to living in the London residence, though he's not sure he really wants to go back, arrangements are made by Alisha's trusty assistants.

Of course, Alicia has to go too, despite the short recovery time, but it seems everyone wants to get back to work, and David realizes that being at the coal face is really what he's been missing.

Nigeria is probably not the best place to be going, and the head of station there is a rather odd fellow who doesn't quite understand the subtleties of secrecy. He's also Prendergast's man and that means he can't be trusted.

David pulls in some old friends he used to work with, and the team assembles in Lagos, and will be travelling to the vicinity of the guerrilla's camp in the Nigerian Delta by float plane landing near a village whose people have been having trouble, and who will take them by boat to the 'back door' of the camp.

It seems the villagers have been petitioning the Queen to help them as members of the Commonwealth. It provides David and his team a perfect excuse to go there if anyone is asking.

All of this works like clockwork. And the means to gain entry is simply enough, they are going to present themselves at the gate, and allow themselves to be 'detained'. As for being shot on sight, David understands the local warlord 'type'; he would use David and his team as a bargaining chip with the British Government.

Not that it was going to happen, the warlord was about to discover what war was really like.

...