Codename Angel (The Angel Chronicles Book 1)

Codename Angel

Jason Chapman

Book 1: the Angel
Chronicles

©
Jason Chapman 2012 – 2015

4
^th
Edition

All
rights reserved

No
part of this publication may be reproduced, stored on a retrieval system other
than The Amazon Kindle, Kindle Paperwhite, Kindle Fire or Kindle app, or
transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior permission of the
Author.

Author’s notes

The story you are
about to read is a work of fiction. The historical events and people that are mentioned
are merely used to enhance the storyline and should not be considered as fact.

This book is
dedicated to all those who have spent their lives searching for answers

Prologue

Mr & Mrs Jones

Ripley – North
Yorkshire – 11:56pm

Friday 27
^th
June 1952

The clear night sky
shimmered overhead as the car meandered its way along the deserted country
road.

Brian Jones glanced
up and marvelled at the stars that filled the crystal clear sky. The
surrounding landscape consisted of gentle slopes, which gave an impressive view
of the Milky Way from horizon to horizon. Jones hummed to the voice of Vera
Lynn which drifted out of the radio.

He had just received
a telephone call from his mother in the village of Knaresborough, who had
sounded very distressed. Jones' father, a World War One veteran had taken a bad
fall down the stairs and had not been able to get up.

Edith Jones sat
beside her husband but was in no mood for Vera Lynn. She reached forward and
turned the radio control knob until it clicked off. ‘This is the fourth time in
less than two weeks your mother has asked for help. I’m getting fed up Brian,
why can’t Mr Quince next door deal with it?’

Jones reached forward
and turned the radio back on. ‘Do you mind, I was listening to that.’ He took a
deep breath. ‘Sweetheart, you know how mum is she won’t knock on his door this
time of night.’

‘Oh no, but she
decides to pull us out of bloody bed. She does know I’m seven months pregnant
doesn’t she.’

‘Don’t be like this
Edith you know how dad is with his injury.’

‘Too bloody right I
do, I seem to remember Doctor Jordon telling him to use the spare room
downstairs instead of risking another fall. And you’ve been going on about
converting it into a bedroom for ages.’

‘Look I promise I’ll
sort that room out this weekend so mum and dad can use it as a downstairs
bedroom.’ Jones’ offered.

‘When this baby is
born Brian we’ll have to move to Leeds. Dad promised you a job as clerk at the
factory.’

‘Don’t keep going on
about that you know I’m happy where I am. Mr Adams needs me, and Sir Ingles has
promised to give me a wage increase. This time next year I’ll be earning ten
shillings a week.’

‘I don’t care Brian,
we have to move for the baby’s sake, we can’t live in the middle of nowhere
forever.’

‘But what about mum
and dad I can’t just abandon them.’

‘For god’s sake
Brian, we’re not moving to the other side of the world.' Edith rolled her eyes.
'It’s only twenty miles away. We’ll take the baby up there every other
weekend.’

Up ahead a car
approached on the opposite side of the road. Jones squinted at the headlights
as it sped by. ‘Ok, I know I promised you we’d move, I’ll speak with Mr Adams
tomorrow, but I know he'll beg me to stay.’

‘I just said I don’t
care Brian, besides it’s more money at the factory than what Sir Ingles has
offered and we’ll be able to put a deposit on that house.’

‘Courtesy of your
dad.’ Jones scoffed. ‘We’ll end up owing him for the rest of our lives.’

Edith glared at her
husband unimpressed by his tone. ‘No we won’t, besides three hundred and fifty
pounds is quite reasonable; dad says we can repay him slowly.’

The car radio started
to crackle replacing Vera Lynn with static. Jones reached forward to tune in
the radio station. A long stretch of road lay ahead, climbing a gentle slope,
ending in a bend at the top of a hill.

‘It’ll be so much
better for the baby, and they have some modern shops now in Leeds we can go
shopping every Saturday.’ Edith sounded excited at the prospect of moving to a
bustling city. ‘Within three years you’ll be earning double what you’re being
paid now. And you know there’s a job for life at the steel works, those types
of places will never shut down. You said last week that Mr Adams is retiring
next year so there’s no point in keeping you on.’

Jones ignored his wife
and kept turning the dial on the radio but the static grew louder. ‘Bloody
radio, I was enjoying that station.’ He grumbled. All of a sudden the road
ahead became pitch black as the car headlights blinked out. He pushed the brake
pedal, and the car came to a gentle halt. The engine spluttered and then died.
‘I don’t bloody believe this!’ He shouted clenching his fist and hitting the
steering wheel.

‘I thought Frank gave
this car a service last week.’ Edith complained.

‘He did.’ Jones
seethed. ‘I gave him two bloody shillings.’ He turned the key in the ignition
but nothing happened. ‘You wait till I see him tomorrow.’ He tried the ignition
again, but still the car wouldn’t start.

‘Well we can’t sit
here all night long.’ Edith pointed out.

Jones produced a box
of matches and got out of the car.

Edith looked out of
the window into the star filled sky. With no car headlights the night sky
seemed to glisten. A shooting star streaked across the heavens. ‘It’s a shame
there’s no moon or I’d consider walking, it’s quite warm.’

‘I don’t think so not
in your condition.’ Jones answered staring at the engine. Although there was no
breeze the flame from the match emitted almost no light. He stepped back
shaking his head. ‘I can’t find the problem, it’s like the car has died.’ He
glanced up the road considering Edith’s suggestion. A bright light appeared
around the bend at the top of the hill following the road. ‘It’s ok love
there’s another car coming, they’ll be able to take you to mum and dad’s.’
Jones stepped out into the middle of the road waving his arms in the air. The
light kept coming and showed no sign of stopping. He also noted that it was
moving fast, perhaps a little too fast for a car, a motorbike perhaps. But this
couldn’t be a motorbike either; whatever was approaching made no sound. The
light showed no sign that it had seen Jones who moved to the side of the road.
The light then started to grow in size, becoming more intense.

‘Brian get in the
car!’ Edith called out glaring at the oncoming light.

Jones put his hand
over his eyes to block out some of the glare of the approaching light. ‘Just a
second sweetheart.’

‘Brian come on!’
Edith called out again with more urgency. A familiar fear she was unable to
explain began to grow from within.

The light was now a
few hundred yards away, it lifted off the road, before starting to slow.

‘Brian please, come
back in the car, I’m scared!’ Edith pleaded, her fear peaking as she looked on.

The light was now
twice the width of the country road, it moved slowly over the car bathing a
wide area in a soft blue light. Jones stood rooted to the spot looking upwards
at the intense light. A low pitched humming noise filled the air. Jones could
sense the hairs on his arms tingling from a static discharge.

‘Brian please!’ Edith
started to cry. ‘Get in the car!’

There was a sudden
intense flash of brilliant white light and then instantaneously the road
plunged into blackness again, the humming noise was gone. Jones rubbed his
eyes, his car suddenly jumped to life. The headlights came back on. The static
on the radio cleared and Vera Lynn played. Jones took several seconds to
process what he had just witnessed before running back to the car and getting
in. ‘Did you see that love, that was bloody amazing....’ He looked at the empty
passenger seat, and then out of the window. ‘Edith!’ He called out.

Jones climbed back
out of the car. ‘Edith sweetheart, stop mucking around.’ He walked to the front
of the car and peered down the road. ‘Edith where are you, come on love, look
I’m sorry ok.’ Jones looked up into the clear sky. A tiny point of light moved
across the star filled heavens then in an instant it accelerated away and
disappeared from sight. Jones screamed at the top of his voice. ‘EDITH!....’

Chapter 1

Prime Minister’s memo

Downing Street – London – 11:28am

Monday 28
^th
July 1952

Professor Ralph
Frederick adjusted his bow tie as he waited patiently outside the Prime
Minister’s office. He glanced at a mirror and waved his hand through his short
brown hair. His wife Elizabeth had gone out of her way to make sure he looked
his best that morning. ‘It’s not every day you get to meet with the Prime
Minister Ralph you have to put on a show here.’ She tugged on his tie.

‘Careful Liz darling,
I need to be able to breathe when I meet with him.’

‘I wonder what he
wants to speak to you about? Perhaps you’re in line for the top job at the
Royal Society.’ Elizabeth said excitedly.

‘Norman already has
that job remember love, besides you act as if this were the first time I have
met with Mr Churchill. I was on his scientific advisory council during the
war.’ He winked at her playfully.

‘Yes I remember, the
result being our marriage.’ Elizabeth finished his bow and kissed her husband
on the tip of his nose. ‘Say hello for me and Susan please.’

Fresh out of
Cambridge, thirty eight year old Ralph Frederick was handpicked to work at
Bletchley Park. While at Cambridge Frederick had demonstrated a remarkable gift
for being able to understand complex mathematics and coded sequences. When the
German army began its relentless march across Europe Frederick was assigned to
a government scientific advisory team. When the Enigma Machine was captured
Frederick and Alan Turing had played a key part in breaking the Nazi device
which had blighted British shipping.

It was late July 1940
while on official business to the War Office Frederick encountered Elizabeth
Greenwood one of the Prime Minister’s cabinet secretarial staff. After several
weeks, Frederick plucked up the courage to ask her out to an evening at the
Cinema where a film called Gone with the Wind was playing. Unfortunately due to
the Third Reich’s merciless bombing Ralph and Elizabeth spent most of the night
in an air raid shelter. Tragically Frederick’s parents were unable to make it
to one of the many shelters set up around London and were killed that night.

They were married in
August 1941 but were unable to enjoy any honeymoon due to wartime restrictions.
After the war Frederick surprised his wife with a trip to Paris. Our long
awaited honeymoon as he called it. The Fredericks lived 38 Miles outside
Cambridge on the Norfolk Cambridgeshire border in a quiet leafy village called
Emneth. In September 1947 Elizabeth gave birth to a baby girl named Susan.

Frederick was
finishing up for the weekend at Cambridge where he lectured, when an unexpected
telegram from London landed on his desk.

Office of the Prime
Minister.

Winston Churchill.

Requests an audience
with Ralph Frederick, Professor of Astrophysics Cambridge University, regarding
matter of a scientific nature.

Monday 28
^th
July 11:30am

Frederick took a deep
breath before knocking on the door of the Prime Minister’s office. There was a
short pause before a voice beckoned him in.

Winston Churchill was
staring at a newspaper as Frederick approached the large reading desk and stood
patiently. Finally the Prime Minister looked up. ‘Sit down please Professor.’

Frederick sat in a
chair opposite the Prime Minister.

Churchill handed Frederick
the newspaper he was reading, pointing out an article. ‘What do you make of
that?’

Frederick reached
into his inside jacket pocket pulling out a pair of turtle shell reading
glasses. He peered at the newspaper article.
‘Flying saucer kidnapped my
wife.’
Frederick smirked as he read the article. ‘It looks like another
silly story about flying saucers sir.’

‘Yes that’s what I
thought.’ The Prime Minister answered abruptly. He put a large cigar to his
lips and lit it, before getting to his feet and stepping out from behind his
desk. ‘Unfortunately these stories about flying saucers and men from Mars seem
to be all the range these days.’

‘Surely Prime
Minister you don’t think there’s any truth to these stories? It sounds as if
the press have nothing better to do, it’s all a load of codswallop if you ask
me.’

‘I don’t know what to
think.’ Churchill said taking a drag from his cigar, pacing up and down. ‘We
have been inundated by these reports in the newspapers. Even our military
pilots are reporting strange objects in our airspace.’

Frederick nodded.

Churchill pointed at
a piece of paper on his desk. ‘I’m sending a memo to Lord Cherwell at the Air
Ministry to look into this nonsense. Henry Tizard has had a team working on
this flying saucer problem since the summer of nineteen fifty.’

Frederick looked
across the desk at the memo.

What does all this
stuff about flying saucers amount to? What can it mean? What is the truth? Let
me have a report at your convenience.

w.c

28
^th
July
1952

‘Well if anyone can get
results on this it’s Henry.’

The Prime Minister
shook his head. ‘I’m only doing it to quash any public interest on this matter,
the sooner people have an answer the better.’ He gestured at the newspaper.
‘Stop any more ridiculous stories from being fed to the public. I don’t want
them thinking we are not in control of our airspace. Besides I’m not happy with
the progress Tizard and his team have made. They’ve had two years and have yet
to produce anything solid. They’re working in conjunction with the CIA, but
quite frankly I don’t trust the Americans.’

‘Do you think the
American’s could be withholding information?’

Churchill nodded, ‘I
wouldn’t be surprised.’

‘I must say Prime
Minister I’m a bit puzzled as to why I have been summoned here today, if you
already have Henry working on the issue.’

Churchill walked back
over to his desk and sat down. The chair creaked under his weight. ‘I want you
to conduct a separate investigation away from the prying eyes of the press.
Henry’s group has attracted unwanted attention, there could be a leak.’

‘So you do think
there’s more to this?’ Frederick questioned.

Churchill nodded
slowly. ‘The war has been over seven years, yet as a result of Hitler and his
Nazi rabble there have been major advances in technology. Talk of rocket ships
into space and cities on the moon are becoming more common. Added to that we
are in the midst of this cold war, and we have no idea what the Russians are up
to. Both America and Russia are building these atomic bombs at an alarming rate
so they can blow each other to bits. Tensions in Korea are becoming more
volatile every day, and we’re caught smack bang in the middle of it all.’ The
Prime Minister shook his head. ‘I don’t like it one bit.’

‘Do you think the
Russians or the Americans could be behind some of these flying saucer
sightings?’ Frederick suggested.

Churchill pointed a
finger at Frederick. ‘That’s what I want you to find out Ralph; I need to know
if it’s either the Soviets or the Yanks.’

Frederick nodded.
‘Yes certainly Prime Minister, but if I may be so bold as to ask, it’s one
thing not to trust the Russians, but America, aren’t we their closest ally?’

‘Huh! You know what
the Americans are like they take sides with whoever’s winning. It’s like you
just said, they may be holding out on us. Besides there have been rumours
coming out of America since the late forties that they might even have captured
one of these so called flying saucers. I have spoken to President Truman on
this matter but he hasn’t been very forthcoming about sharing information.’
Churchill took another drag from his cigar. ‘We need to get started immediately
so I am giving you a free reign on this Ralph. I want regular reports on your
progress. I want you to use all methods to find out more about these dammed
flying saucers. The sooner we get this matter wrapped up the better.’ The Prime
Minister paused taking a long drag from his cigar. ‘You’re a Cambridge man are
you not?’

‘Yes sir, I studied
there and now teach at Trinity College.’

‘Former member of the
Cambridge Apostles, and now an Angel?’

‘Uh.. well.’
Frederick stumbled over his words.

Churchill waved his
hand grinning. ‘It’s alright Professor your secret is safe with me, my former
private secretary Edward Marsh was a member, he did a little digging around for
me the other day. I thought it might be useful if former Apostles made up this
group, given your code of secrecy.’

‘That is a very good
idea sir.’

‘Good, as from now
you are to head up the science division of The Angel Committee. I’ve contacted
Malcolm Chambers and said you’d meet with him an hour from now. I’m sure you’ll
both come up with suitable people for your team. I want this group kept under
wraps, don’t want to ruffle Tizard’s Feathers.’

‘I’ll keep you
informed at every turning point Prime Minister.’

Churchill nodded. ‘So
how’s Elizabeth and Susan? Both doing well I hope.’

‘Yes sir, Elizabeth
sends her regards.’

‘Fine woman you
married there Ralph, proud to have her as a member of staff during the war.’

‘Thank you Prime
Minister, if there is nothing else to discuss I will get on with the matter in
hand.’

Churchill gave a
dismissive nod, and Frederick stood and marched towards the door.