Thirty Four Minutes DEAD (4 page)

Ko-Chai was in love with the Anglo American Memory Camera Project because of the potential it seemed to possess in relation to the illumination of the criminal psyche. Ko-Chai was overjoyed that Julia Venison's Memory Camera had revealed so much and he was particularly pleased that the team were going to be able to witness the arrest of Everett. In thirty-four dead minutes, Ko-Chai along with the rest of the assembly had learnt to like Julia and despise Everett. He thought that it was particularly fitting that the team could witness the arrest and see the outcome of their research.

A second knock sounded on Vain's door and David Tavini entered the room. Whilst Ko-Chai was only marginally over five feet, Tavini had the height of basketball proportions. Six feet four would be a conservative estimate, and Tavini's athletic build seemed to accentuate his height even more. His greeting was not quite as formal or warm as his Americanised colleague. A jargonized "Yo. What's going down fellas", was Tavini's way of asking for the game plan concerning Everett's arrest.

Whilst Vain didn't consider to rank Tavini amongst his best friends like Ko-Chai, he nevertheless liked the tall American and couldn't wish to work with a more skilled Digital Conversion expert. Tavini had majored in Athletics in his College days, and had only discovered his potential for Digital Conversion when he reached his mid-twenties. Once this was realised, there was no stopping the ‘All American Boy’ and he sailed through his doctorate by the time he was thirty-one. Tavini, now thirty-five, was two years younger than Vain and he was very much a man in the mould of Denison.

Vain spoke to both members of his team simultaneously.

"Well guys, if yesterday was D-Day, today won't be boring in comparison. Mr Voight told me last night that we could witness the arrest of Everett at first hand and I arranged for us to drop in to the Lister Room at around ten thirty. So let's go and check out Mr Voight's method for eliciting confessions".

The team greeted the security forces outside the Lister room and after completing the required security checks, were shown into Voight's base room. Voight extended his usual formal warm welcome proceeding to detail the team members who would be involved in the arrest of Everett.

"We are arresting Everett tonight at twenty two hundred hours. Surveillance have researched his intended movements and have concluded that he will be socialising in The Vernet Gentleman's Club adjacent to New Bond Street at this moment in time. Tonight’s retribution team will consist of the following personnel. The MC team will be present to a man, but will not enter into any dialogue with either Everett or any of his associates. They are there to bear witness to the outcome of the research which is responsible for this initial arrest. It is of paramount importance that they should see their hard efforts rewarded and coming to fruition with the desired criminal head being presented on the metaphorical platter.

"I will oversee the operation and will subsequently bear full responsibility for the precision surrounding its execution. I will not enter into dialogue either initially, being a silent witness like the MC team. Blyth Carson will represent the C.I.D at tonight's arrest and Brynley Stowles is there to represent M.O.D interests. Both these gentlemen will partake in verbal dialogue with Everett bearing ‘dumb’ testimony that Everett will have no problem in answering.

“Both these gentlemen have a role which involves acting as a proverbial foil for Ms Marcia Levene of the C.I.A who will turn the screw upon Everett in her rehearsed attack role. It is important for all present to realise that at no time will Carson or Stowles proceed with a formal arrest scenario.

Carson and Stowles will act as the decoy for Levene, who will anticipate formal arrest procedures. After she has injected her words, Everett will confess. Using this approach we will get a confession straight from the lips of the guilty party, and the Memory Camera project will not have to be evidenced in the criminal trial that will ensue. It is our prerogative to keep our research hidden at this moment in time, and as you know we have ensured that we are not obligated to reveal our exposition tactics surrounding this crime. The judicial systems of both Britain and America are in the dark concerning the MC Project and that is why the devised method to elicit confessions involves verbal confession in the presence of witnesses. Once we have got Everett's verbal confession tonight I will administer his formal arrest and then unenlightened Law enforcement staff can extract the motivating factors behind the case. After we have done our work the criminal can be returned to the conventional system for them to execute sentence.

"I realise that the MC team members will be a little in the dark with regard to the actual implementation of our confession extraction method, but tonight's arrest will eradicate any doubts you may have.

“It is true we are dealing with a very bright murderer in this instance, a Harvard Legal graduate, a multimillionaire who has many of the brightest Legal minds in this country and overseas in his pocket. It is true that the rain obscured tyre tread details that might have built a suspicion and it is true that Everett's Armani clothing is now as we speak being cleaned to a degree whereby murder connection details would be lost.

We know in our enlightened position that both the dead body of Venison and the living body of Everett carry enough DNA evidence to make the identity of the murderer an absolute certainty, but we only know this through Memory Camera hindsight. Without our MC apparatus, Everett would be beyond suspicion. After all, he only had a brief conversation with the victim and Julia's MC didn't register any people witnessing the pick-up. Small fragments of information might have been gathered, but that would have given Everett time to build a Legal Defence team powerful enough to ensure the case never came to court. Without our MC breakthrough Everett would have remained a free man, a free and extremely dangerous man.

"Our seven person collection squad will depart this venue for the Vernet Gentleman's Club at 2100 hundred hours with the MC team and myself in one car, and Levene, Stowles and Carson travelling in a second car. We will be escorted by four cars, two front and rear, that contain additional security staff. These escort staff know nothing of our research. They will follow us into Central London until two kilometres from the New Bond Street vicinity. At this point they will scatter, to re-assemble at 22:10 outside the club. Our ‘method’ does not anticipate opposition to Everett's arrest, but if this did materialise the sixteen chosen extras would cope with any disturbance very efficiently. Well, gentlemen and Ms Levene, I look forward to meeting you again when we re-convene at 20:55 outside the main entrance of this designation. We are obviously ‘house-bound’ until the reconvention".

Vain was generally pleased with the selection criteria that had governed the arresting squad. He had a great deal of time for both Stowles and Carson. They had shown sustained enthusiasm for the MC Project since they had been made
au-fait
with its objectives three years ago. Stowles was hunched and looked quite unkempt in his appearance. He didn't represent a High Ranking MOD stereotype on a face value level, but his intellect and drive firmly put him into the brightest minds category in relation to the totality of project staff.

Carson had fought hard against any racist discrimination that had tried to bar his way in the C.I.D. He had risen to the top through sheer industry and had preserved a sense of humour that made him one of the most popular project members. His first words to Vain had captured his spirit perfectly...

"...Hiya, I'm Blyth; black, bright and according to my wife, beautiful!” Carson's up-front humour didn't intrude upon the dogged determination he showed when addressing the parameters of the criminal mind. The seminal work he had done in relation to the exploration of criminal psychology had made him an excellent choice for the project as a whole, the devising of the arrest method and the options for that nights arresting squad.

Vain was once again pleased with Voight's pivotal role with regard to the arrest and he was most satisfied that his MC team had been chosen-to a man. If Vain alone had been selected it could have ushered in divisions through the team, and possibly have set back the Anglo-American co-operation that had so far been one of the greatest strength areas in the project.

The only shadow area involving arrest team selection seemed to arrive in the form of Marcia Levene. That morning had been the first time Vain's MC team had met the woman, and whilst she had seemed to register Voight's words with admirable intense scrutiny she represented a ‘new face’ at a time when everyone's mind was upon the arrest. She was to a level, through no fault of her own, an intrusion - someone who had disrupted the collective concentration of the ‘familiar face’ interactions. Before this morning Natassia Overson had represented CIA female involvement and her project commitment had seemed beyond dispute. Vain presumed she had been taken ill, because she wouldn't have missed the arrest execution for the world!

The afternoon passed slowly for the MC team. Tavini had challenged Vain to a game of Real Tennis in the court on the Lower Floor, and had proceeded to hammer the Englishman without breaking sweat. Ko-Chai had immersed himself in an eighteenth century novel detailing Rococo French aesthetics, before witnessing the Tavini massacre in its latter stages. None of the team could concentrate enough to continue their research. Their minds were on that night’s arrest and they knew that their vault extension work, whilst approaching completion could wait a day or so until after the initial criminal scalp had been pinned on the door!

The team members took a light meal together at nineteen hundred hours before they retired to their rooms to attire for the ‘main event’ that would shortly take place.

The team arrived collectively, shortly before the reconvention deadline. Voight, Carson and Stowles were already in readiness as were the escort party. Marcia Levene was the last to arrive, appearing with Leif Denison. The latter proceeded to wish the seven good fortune and finished with a line of typical Denison delivery -
go get that head folks
. This one's for Venison.

The arrest squad departed Designation B and progressed toward Central London. No one spoke because all minds were fixed on their impending encounter with Everett. The escort cars scattered at the appointed place and all seven of the arrest party knew that their quarry was now a matter of minutes away. Vain wished Voight good luck as their car slowed to a halt outside the Vernet Gentlemen's Club.

The seven arrest party members proceeded through the club’s main entrance at 22:01 and Voight approached the door staff flashing his high-ranking credentials badge. As one of the door staff asked for Voight to pause for a moment while he read the badge Voight snapped...

"Read it but be quick. You aren't going to hold up this momentous event with your remedial education. Now where can we find Royston Sandford Everett?"

Taken aback, the door person replied...

"Er, he's in the Trevallier Cocktail Bar, Sir. He won't be very pleased, Sir. He has invited some very eminent guests tonight. I wouldn't advise you to…"

Voight cut in.

"Bollocks. The Trevallier is sign posted over there, let's go".

It was the first time Vain had heard Voight utter a word that bordered upon expletive fare, but he saw the glint of determination in the mans eyes and realised that nothing would get in the way of his handling of the arrest, especially time wasting advice from a well meaning member of the club's staff. Vain was pleased that the organisational side of the arrest was in such capable hands.

The arrest squad entered the Trevallier Cocktail Bar and were greeted by a sight that illuminated Everett at the peak of his vanity. His words dominated the whole Bar and a crowd of eleven drooling associates hung on his every word...

"...and I didn't choose that moment to illuminate my prowess in that merchandise realm. I merely waited until the ignorant fool had given me enough ammunition to fully hang, draw and quarter him! I mean what ignoramus would engage in a dialogue with me on the merits of a transportation method that is so archaic that it renders the extoller positively Bronze Age in comparison with MSE. I mean…"

Stowles, speaking from the squad's position on the fringes of the associates cut short Everett...

"Mr Royston Sandford-Everett we would like you to accompany us to our investigation station to answer some questions concerning the murder of Ms Julia Maria Venison".

Everett didn't flinch in his retort...

"Does your rudeness know no boundaries? First you interrupt a private dialogue at this private Gentlemen's establishment and then you have the audacity to associate me with a crime I know nothing about, concerning a woman I've never heard of. I thank you not!”