"Yes darling, you're so right," said George, quietly, as if recalling something long forgotten. "I used to have such plans for this place, for my career, when I took over the title from my father. And then, somehow, the dreams faded. I hadn't realised how many of them I'd forgotten, till now. Ah Arthur, you have done more than you can imagine."
"Oh, thank you, both of you. I don't quite know what to say," said Arthur. "I feel as if I've done so little …"
"And maybe you have done so little," said Sarah, interrupting. "Big or little, you've got us back to where we belong, back to a sense of … I don't know … a sense of the warrior rising, as if we can actually make a difference and see a better world through us being here. I don't know the words but I certainly have the feeling. I know I'm not just here to attend endless cocktail parties and fill in the space between my birth and death with nice chat. I now have a reason! I'm sorry, Arthur, I could go on! Let's get you back to your family and we'll all keep in contact and have a meeting with all our knights at the round table soon."
"Yes, absolutely!" said Arthur, relieved that the emotional moment was over. Arthur gathered his papers, put on his tradesman disguise and drove off with the butler, this time, beside him. His heart felt like popping and he couldn't get the silly smile off his face.
"Oh Arthur, sir, you think you be going quite fast?" asked the butler solicitously.
"Oh, oh dear," said Arthur, "just a bit excited, I daresay."
"I understand sir, with today decisions," said the butler, "and if you like, I have idea."
"You have?" asked Arthur and then remembered himself. "Look, I'm Arthur. And you are?"
"Oh, my name's Dalek, sir," said the butler.
"Yes, pleased to meet you, Dalek," said Arthur, extending his hand awkwardly in the small van.
"Yes, sir, I have idea. We just scare these people a little. Just a little."
"Oh dear, what people are these," asked Arthur, his concentration on the road wavering as he imagined bodily harm on someone, somewhere. He brought the van back on track and tried to think only of driving.
"The ones who come here. They tell others, the good police, to go away," said Dalek.
Oh, you mean the MI5 chaps?" asked Arthur. "Why them?"
"Well sir, we know there be lots of people doing this … ah, how you say, um, involved?"
"Yes, involved," said Arthur.
"So lots involved but only these we know about, yet," said Dalek, with unshakeable logic.
"Right, so we scare these particular MI5 men?" asked Arthur. "What exactly do you mean by scare?"
"Ah, you leave that to me. That is my speciality!" said Dalek, smiling broadly.
"Oh dear, I don't think we need to have any violence," said Arthur, shivering a little, trying to focus on the road as he imagined this bear of a man breaking necks and doing other dreadful things to people. "But how do we find these particular people?"
"Ah, that easy!" said Dalek, winking at Arthur. "They come to my brother's club and Andrej he check the list and know where they live. Easy!"
"Oh dear, I'm not sure all this is necessary at all, Dalek," said Arthur, with the feeling he was trying to stop a steam roller by leaning against it.
"It safe too!" said Dalek, trying to twist in his seat towards Arthur, with little success. "We be, ah, how you say … discrete. Nobody know we do scare thing and nobody connect to anybody else."
"But, if they don't know who is scarring them, as you put it, they won't know why they're being scared and they won't know who to stop harassing," said Arthur, desperate to intervene with unassailable logic.
"Mmm, yes, that problem, yes," said Dalek, looking out at the surrounding mist.
"And, if they do know it's us scaring them, then they might go after us more determinedly," said Arthur, ramming his point home.
"Yes, you right, Mr Arthur," said Dalek, thumping his fist on his knee with a grimace.
All was quiet as Arthur negotiated his way through Croydon and he could tell, by the facial contortions and knee thumping, that Dalek was not letting his idea go. As Arthur manoeuvred into a parking space near his home, he really wanted to ease the pressure Dalek seemed to be putting on himself - diffuse the smoking cordite, so to speak.
"Well Dalek, it has been a pleasure to meet you and thank you for your great idea of scaring people," said Arthur, offering his hand, which disappeared into Dalek's massive paw. "Leave it with me and I'm sure I will come up with a way round it - a way to make them listen."
"Oh Mr Arthur, that be good if you think for it too," said Dalek, his face relaxing into a smile. "There many bad men out there and they should be stopped. I know these things."
Arthur had the impression that Dalek had dealt with many "bad men" in his life and he knew, from the frowns and lip-chewing, that Dalek had not totally delegated the solution to him. He stepped out of the van as casually as he could, while his mind wanted him to flee as quickly as he could, from this maniacal bear beside him.
"Mr Arthur, your bag!" said the grinning Dalek.
"Oh, yes, of course," said Arthur, reaching to grab the proffered bag.
No comments:
Post a Comment