A New Style of Education - Year Five

by Karen Page

Part 9

picture created using DALL-E

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Part 9
Saturday 27th February 2010

"Let's go to London," said Helen.

She and David completed their morning run. They were walking sedately back to their room. "The weather should be nice, and we haven't been there for a bit."

"Okay," David agreed. "The coach is going to Luton today. Why don't we hop on it and get the train from there. Is there anything specific you want to do?"

The days were now long enough that dusk wouldn't start until they were back home at Hayfield Hall. The warmth wasn't there yet, but the worst of winter was now rare.

"If we're going from Luton, why don't we get off at Blackfriars and do Tate Modern."

David pulled a face.

"Well, how about we do it in the morning and then we do–?" Helen stopped and looked questioningly at David.

"I'd like to have a mooch around Covent Garden. We've done those pieces when we went to France and I realised we'd walked past it several times, but not really had a look."

"You do know the original market moved elsewhere, don't you?"

"Of course. Just like the-" David trailed off and started walking more rapidly. It was engrained into them that you didn't run inside the school building unless it was an emergency. Helen rushed to keep up, wondering what David had suddenly thought of which needed to get back quickly.

At their room, David went to the drawer and removed a slip of paper that had been handed to him in France. "The first bit - 96 ER. That could be 96 Euston Road. That's the location the British Library moved to."

"And the rest?"

"No idea. Hopefully we will get a clue if we visit."

David looked at Helen, who grinned back. "Every time we try to visit Tate Modern, we seem to have something else to do. Anybody would think you weren't interested."

"Amazing coincidence."

During breakfast they all had a general chat about what everyone in the year planned to do. A few were staying in the school as they had work to complete, others were off to Luton. It was only Helen and David from year five that were off to London.

"The website says we need proof of ID to get a reader's pass," David said to Helen while they relaxed with their coffee. "Also, the minimum age is eighteen."

"We have our driver's licences that shows we're old enough. Do we need anything else?"

"Something with our address on it, like a utility bill."

Helen thought aloud. "Our paper part of our driving licence has our address, though I've no idea if it is enough."

"Are you talking about proof of identity?" enquired Dan Mathews, the support person sat at our table.

"Yes," Helen acknowledged.

"That can be difficult when you don't have your own place. You aren't the first to have this issue. Go and see Rachel when breakfast has finished. She will give you a letter on school headed paper that we have for this type of occasion."

"Thank you."

"You are aware the British Library isn't like a normal library. They have every book ever published, but only the frequently used ones are there. The rest are in storage locations and can take time for them to get to you."

The trip into London no longer thrilled them. It was a time they no longer looked out at as the countryside disappeared and houses looked like they were built closer together. The trip would take them to St Pancras rather than Euston. It didn't matter to them as the British Library was between the two stations.

"Who would have thought that we would ever get to know London so well," remarked Helen as they followed the stream of tourists along the platform. They weren't at school, so they held hands. Public demonstrations of affection weren't frowned upon in the school, but it was something that nobody really did. It was obvious who were together or who were just really good friends, but the school was a closed environment, and nobody wanted to cause upset, especially for the younger years who might not have thought about love. Most of the youngest two years still thought it was a yucky topic.

"I don't know if that's a good thing or not," David laughed in response.

In the end, the trip to the British Library was a let-down. They got their reader pass, but with fourteen million books, they had no starting position. Trying to understand the rest of the message was what they discussed as they made their way to Covent Garden. It had been too late to go to Tate Modern, much to Helen's disappointment.

Lunchtime came and a nearby Pret was just the ticket. As they finished, David decided to use the facilities and disappeared leaving Helen to finish her coffee in peace.

He had just finished drying his hands when his phone chimed. It was the priority chime. He grabbed his phone while reaching to unlock the door to the single cubicle toilet/basin. It was from Helen telling him to not come out. A second later there was another ping with a picture showing the mysterious women. She was with another women, who he instantly recognised. Mrs Taylors old personal assistant, Sue.

David wanted to fling open the door and ask them both what they'd been playing at. Why had they followed him all those years ago. Had they followed him to the coffee shop? Was Helen going to be hurt or kidnapped?

It was only after a few paces around the tiny room that David realised that he was pacing. 'Breathe,' he thought to himself, and the lessons that Dr Ruiz gave on relaxing and focusing when in stressful situations filtered into his memory.

Ten minutes later, after much anxiety, David was given the all-clear and with his heart lighter, he went back to Helen. He sighed with relief that she was still there and hadn't followed them.

"And?" he asked.

"They both had cake and hot chocolates, then disappeared."

David knew she was winding him up a bit. "What did they say?"

"Oh, this and that. I recorded it if you want to listen. They sat just behind me."

David grinned and after turning down the volume on her phone, so only they would be able to hear, played the conversation.

"We have a new job for you," said Sue.

"I'm forgiven then?"

"Poppy, you know that wasn't my decision. You are being given another opportunity to help and become very rich."

"So, what do they want?"

"There is an Australian called Julian that runs a website promoting hushed up information. They want you to encourage his work. There are people in his team that are holding him back."

In a quieter voice, Poppy asked, "Is this your project or The Reginadde's?"

"Shush. And while you are at it, see if they have any information on that mysterious kid who blew my cover."

"Sue, I wasn't the one who lost him. I did my bit and reported what train he was on and even what station he got off. All without him noticing me."

"I know, but there was a purge of all people involved. You got to do other things. Dean and George were removed from service. Permanently."

Helen pressed stop. "Their conversation ran dry at this stage, and they soon left. They went separate ways. I waited a bit before giving the 'all-clear', just in case one of them circled back."

"Wow."

"I know, right. I've never heard someone slurp their drinks as loud as Poppy."

David gave his girlfriend such a look before continuing. "I'm going send a message asking Mr Hobson for a meeting. Then you send the picture. See how long he takes to respond. I think we should head back home. I'll send a message to the others."

As they wandered out of the shop, Helen thought aloud. "If this Poppy person has been seen in Milton Keynes, I don't want to go via Euston. Especially not now. There is a good chance she's going home, and we don't want to be on the same train."

"Good point. I hope someone will pick us up if we use the other line."

David's phone rang, and he glanced at the caller. It was Mr Hobson.

"Hi Sir," David answered, polite as always.

"That was a very disturbing picture that Helen shared with me."

"Indeed. Helen suggested we come back via the Bedford line."

"I see where she is coming from, but can you go to Hemel instead. That way it repeats the journey you made last time you saw her. Then if you are being followed, they will think it is your usual route. You'll be met there. Is there anything else I should know?"

"Yes, hence the meeting request. We're on the way to the train station now."

"Okay, be on your guard."

As they approached the train, their phones beeped. It was from Anna on the secure beta message app. "Put in your earpiece."

"Testing," said David when his was in place.

"I'm on too," said Helen.

"Watchtower, acknowledging both," remarked Anna. "Any sign of guests?"

Being only lunchtime, the train out of London was quiet. With careful choice, they managed to get an area which was empty, bar themselves. There was no sign of Poppy.

"No. All quiet."

David muted his comms and with a quizzical look, Helen followed suit.

"Can you play it again?" asked David, as the train set off.

"I take it you don't want the others to hear."

"Not before we are back. I don't know who, apart from Watchtower, are listening."

"Do you want all of it?"

"Sure. There was something later on, which didn't make sense."

They played it again. "Stop," called out David. "What is that word? Is this your project or The Renegade's?"

"It didn't sound like Renegade."

"It had the word The in front of it. Perhaps it is a title of someone?"

"It's a very weird title, if it is one."

"The last sentence?" David enquired gently, taking Helen's hands into his, and gazing lovingly into her eyes. "Are you okay?"

The way Sue had said 'permanently' was with menace. It didn't sound that they wouldn't be used again, but that they couldn't be, as they were dead.

"Yes," she responded.

"Are you sure?"

"If you're thinking about what happened in Moscow, then don't worry. This is a different thing. It's like hearing about a death on the news. It isn't nice that murders occur, but they do. Anyway, what about you? Are you okay about it?"

"In some respects, I'm more implicated in their deaths than you. I was the one they were following. If I hadn't been so observant-"

"You can't think like that, darling," exclaimed Helen. "We didn't tell them to follow you. You didn't do anything apart from stay safe. And being killed for failing to find out where you were going is something that doesn't make them people I'd want to get involved with."

"I just hope that we never get involved with groups that kill to set a lesson for others."

"Amen."

With that, they both turned their comms back on.

"Pickup is waiting," Anna informed as the train pulled into the station. "Collection at gate."

Since their day in London had been interrupted, the day was still not too cold when they stumbled off the train onto the dingy platform at Hemel Hempstead. It was a commuter station which nobody seemed to go to unless they were travelling between it and London. The paint was pealing slightly, and the design looked unchanged since the 1970's.

This was only David's second time he'd used that station, and it was Helen's first. They made their way to the entrance and waiting outside was Rachel. She guided them to the car and slid into the front passenger seat. The driver was Mr Taylor. It was just like the previous time.

"Thanks for collecting us," said Helen as the car pulled out of the carpark.

"Our pleasure," said Rachel. "We are going to see if we are being followed. If we hear we are being followed, please don't look around. We don't want them to know that we know."

Helen and David looked at each other and smiled, remembering the bit about Poppy not knowing that David had spotted her.

"We understand," responded David and Helen in unison.

As they joined the motorway, Mr Taylor's phone rang. It was linked to the car, and he answered it hands free. "Clear at checkpoint one."

"Acknowledged," he responded and hung up.

This was the pattern as they made their way back to the school. Eight checkpoints and eight all-clears. It was with the last reassurance that they headed through the village and out to the school. The gates opened, and Mr Taylor drove through and paused.

Helen and David turned to watch the large gates swing closed, just as David had done four years previously.

"Thank you," said Helen, as they gates finished silently closing.

"He did the same for me four years ago," David mentioned.

"It is good that you know this school is secure. There is a lot of effort put in to ensure the safety of everyone."

There was obvious anti suicide security, and David knew there were other checks to make sure that pupils rarely got to that level of anxiety. There was the physical security and the tracking of students, but to David it seemed to be more than that.

"You don't just mean the students, do you?" he enquired.

"No. The teachers, cleaners, cooks and even the psychiatric staff. We are all a mini community. We don't all live fulltime at the school, but we all look out for each other. Apparently, it wasn't like that at the start, but as the bonding of the students took place it started to rub off on the adults around them. I've not worked at Hayfield for much longer than you've been students, so I only see the benefits and not the earlier strife."

Mr Taylor pulled up at the front and the three passengers alighted and he drove off to park the car.

"We're back. Thank you for watching over us. David and I have a meeting with Mr Hobson, but then a group meeting. Can you inform the others?" Helen said and on acknowledgement, they closed their comms to Watchtower.

"Can we have a chat later?" Helen asked Rachel. "There were a few things I think it will be good for us to mention."

Rachel looked across to David who nodded. "I'm sure you will understand some of this in the meeting with Mr Hobson. How much did he tell you?"

"He shared the picture taken by Helen with two women in it. One he recognised as the mystery woman. The other was unknown to him, but Mr Taylor recognised her."

They went into the school and straight to Mr Hobson's office. He was waiting for them.

"Come in and shut the door."

They did as he'd requested. Mr Hobson went to the bookshelf behind his desk, and a few seconds later, it was swinging out revealing a secret door. Mr Hobson signalled for the three guests to follow him.

The two pupils schooled their surprise and followed Mr Hobson as if they'd always known about this secret door. There were steps leading down into the basement where they found a passage with a few doors leading off. They were ushered into one of the rooms, where they found Mr Taylor waiting for them.

To David, at first it looked like a normal meeting room, but when he touched the doors as he pushed them closed, they seemed a lot heavier than expected. They also clanked a few seconds later, like they were being locked.

"You seemed reluctant to talk earlier," started Mr Hobson when everybody was seated.

"The two women came in while David was in the toilet," explained Helen. "I recognised the mystery woman and sent a message to David to stay where he was. I then recorded their conversation. Just so everybody is on the same page, the lady on the left is called Sue. She was the personal assistant to the CEO where David did his work experience in year one. The lady on the right is called Poppy. She is the woman who followed David at the last day he attended that work experience."

Helen paused and looked around to make sure everyone was following.

"Carry on," encouraged Mr Hobson.

Helen turned up the volume on her phone and pressed play. The recoding played out and David watched Mr Hobsons face. He remained impassive.

"Sue certainly seems to hold a grudge," he remarked.

"An interesting conversation with a lot in it for something so brief. Who is this Julian and why do they want to help him? We have a first name for Poppy, but no idea who she is and what she has been doing for the last few years."

"It sounds like they have some hold over her, to make her come back after they threw her away," David added. "What Helen and I didn't get was the name mentioned. "The renegades or something like that."

"Play it again," urged Mr Taylor. "The renegade bit."

She did, several time. "It sounds more like Reginald than Renegade. Let me make a call."

Mr Taylor disappeared out the room.

"First off, I'm not going to ban you from going out," said Mr Hobson. "You look a lot different than you did four years ago and you were very sensible in how you reacted. It is an amazing coincidence you ended up in the same coffee shop. The chance of you bumping into each other again like that is so remote."

David felt relieved. He didn't want a group causing him to be scared or be banned from doing something because someone might not like him. He'd been bullied and hidden away before he came to Hayfield. There was no way he was going to cower now he'd found that life was so much better being lived.

"The second thing. You are both still students. It isn't your job to investigate these two people and find out what they are up to."

"I know it isn't," David responded defensively. "We didn't go looking for Sue or Poppy. We were just having a coffee and they came in. Helen made sure I didn't come out of the toilet."

Mr Taylor slipped back into the room as David finished his defence. All in the room looked across as he made his way back to his seat.

"It seems both The Reginadde's, which I'm told is how it is pronounced, and the group Poppy is going to help, are known. A warning was passed down that you must not get involved, especially with the The Reginadde's. You are a pupil, and you should be concentrating on your studies."

"We've just had that talk from Mr Hobson," sighed Helen. "We just got carried away that once and then had years of reminders."

"They might be Reginadde's but we don't want you to be renegades," quipped Mr Taylor.

"You wait until our last year before you gain a sense of humour?" David enquired, trying to keep a straight face.

"I've always had it," he responded. "You just haven't been able to appreciate it until now. Please share what you found today with the other four, but please stipulate that they must not get involved. However, if they hear anything more abut The Reginadde's then please let me know."

"I'd like you both to have a chat with Rachel," said Mr Hobson.

"When they got back to the school, they asked to see me after we'd finished here," informed Dr Ruiz.

"Fantastic. Carry on."