The War

By Sam Worthington

Over seven years after Armageddon, Aquitaine is doing better than everybody else in Europe - it has become the economic and manufacturing powerhouse of the region. The General, Ted Dennison, is quietly confident - that is until somebody tries to kill him . From that moment onwards everything starts to go wrong. A terrorist bombing campaign begins with the inevitable deadly results. A new newspaper relentlessly attacks and ridicules him and his governing committee, an essential tax is subject to an adverse whispering campaign and, when he gets them, his successes against the terrorists are belittled.
As further problems develop Ted and his close advisers struggle for control not just of the war but of popular support as well.. A suggestion that the constitution should be abandoned and a temporary president appointed endangers the very foundation of the stable society Ted has created. When his friends start to suggest he should resign Ted fears the end is nigh - with all the menaces to him and his family that may imply. In desperation answers are sought as the final denouement approaches.
This is the final book of the Aquitaine Trilogy that brings together the peoples of the Earth in a final compelling voyage.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Sam Worthington
• Release date: Oct 19, 2011
• ISBN: 9781465794444

Sam Worthington

Sam Worthington has been around for about twenty years working as a travel writer, bar and restaurant reviewer for several print publications as well as many websites. As can be seen from the website samworthington.com is a nom de plume of a successful restaurateur and publican. A student of economics Tim Randall was a keen politician in his youth and was member of the Hyde Park Tories and vice chairman of Chelsea Young Conservatives. He received international publicity as the pirate postmaster general during the postal strike of 1971. At that time he ran a building business in Chelsea and also was involved in various nightclubs as well as being a sort after party Disc Jockey. In the mid seventies, Sam worked for the electronic security industry selling advanced digital coding systems. In the early nineties Tim was the director of the Budapest Week, the first English Language paper in Eastern Europe (as it then was). He has worked in Turkey, Portugal, Holland, Italy, Spain, Hungary, Poland, Thailand and now lives in the Philippines: in addition he has traveled extensively in Europe, Asia and America.

Book preview

Book 3 of the Aquitaine Trilogy

The story of the peoples of the Earth

Copyright© Sam Worthington 2010.

The right of Sam Worthington to be identified as the author of The War has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Design and Patent Act 1988

Smashwords Edition

Smashwords License Statement

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each reader. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Other books by the same author

The General (1st. book in Aquitaine Trilogy)

The Constitution (2nd book in Aquitaine Trilogy)

Kelly: The bar girl who would be president

Hookers Hero: Thriller based in 1970’s London

A Superlative View (as Tim Randall)

Food reviews at www.samworthington.com

Blog: www.asiabugle.com

Acknowledgement.

I would like to thank the following people for their help and advice in writing this book: David Dean for editorial and, as always, helpful comments, wikipedia.com (who always had a titbit, or information, when I asked), AntonyOtway (editing) and many, many others who have exchanged thoughts and ideas.

This novel is a work of fiction and the characters and events in it exist only in its pages and in the author’s imagination.

Friends

The two men sat in comfortable chairs with a small table between them; the chairs were angled so they were at 45 degrees to the table. Ted Dennison, the General of Aquitaine, was on the right and beside him was Louis Berthier, the assistant general in charge of Education. Dennison was older than the assistant general by about 10 years; however they were relaxed as only good friends can be.

So we are now just Aquitaine, not central Aquitaine? Louis asked.

Well it will come up formally at this month’s Generals meeting but I cannot see any objectors. Ted seemed to think before adding, But it is not going to be a vast re-branding operation. We will just change things as they are needed. New bank notes will use simply Aquitaine but the old ones are still valid and legal tender.

You have always used the Aquitaine flag, Louis pointed out.

That was because all those years ago somebody made me prefect of Aquitaine, Ted said with a slight smile.

All those years - yes I suppose it seems a long time ago - but it is only seven years, okay seven and half years since I appointed you prefect. At the time of the appointment, as both men knew well, he had been General d’Army Louis Berthier, the senior surviving military officer of France. It was just after the nuclear holocaust that had destroyed most of the world. He had flown into Bordeaux airport where English businessman Ted was organising the nearly 1,000 people who had landed in four aircraft from around the World. The airport had been badly damaged; there were no basic services and nobody alive in, or adjacent to, the airport. Recognising Ted’s organisational skills the General had put the ex-business man in charge of Aquitaine - in truth there was no other obvious candidate. Berthier had then continued to try and put France back together again but after two years he had simply run out resources and purpose. France, and for that matter the rest of Europe, and probably the World, had been destroyed as an entity. France was re-growing but in the process it had reverted to a number of fiefdoms. A few had started out with official blessing from the French general; however many were run by the hard man who took charge. Of those officially sanctioned by Berthier, Colmar, on the Rhine, was getting together, and Paris was slowly rebuilding, but Aquitaine was the jewel in the crown. Ted Dennison was largely credited with that success although he would point to the collection of bright experienced people who had got off the planes with him – providing the nucleus of talent and experience that the new state had needed. Three and half years ago a new constitution had come into effect and Ted had gone from army General and military prefect of the French region of Aquitaine to General, the head of the ruling civil service, of Aquitaine, once again an autonomous state.

Ted settled back in his chair happily, I reciprocated, he said with a grin as he sipped at a brandy.

Louis laughed, Yes I made you a general and you made me an assistant general. It was a standing joke between them. Berthier had finally ended up back in Aquitaine after he had given up the re-building of the nation, and after a year in Colmar. Ted had welcomed him as a long lost friend and in the end he had persuaded the ex military general to be the head of the education programme they were in the process of setting up as well as the chancellor of the new university at Margaux. The classic wine town had a wealth of large chateaux that made perfect colleges - Chateau Margaux was the main college and the chancellor’s residence and office. Wine was still made but there was little demand for the high end classic wine that Margaux had been famous for although, as Aquitaine became wealthier, the demand was slowly picking up.

Ted said nothing; he was content to sit back relax. Ted, Louis Berthier interrupted Ted’s repose, I keep getting asked - as they know we are friends - if you will carry on. Ted knew what he meant immediately as under the constitution the general could only serve two five year terms. Ted’s situation was further complicated because he had drafted the constitution as well as being General, albeit military general, before that for the first four years when the state of Central Aquitaine had been born out of the ashes of a bomb ravished land.

I think they are getting a little ahead of themselves, Ted said wearily, I have eighteen months to go!

I know. I know, his friend responded, It is just I keep getting asked. I think some are worried - many fear what will happen after you have gone.

I don’t know why, Ted replied irritably. There are plenty of competent people about.

Jean Soult, Louis threw out the name to lighten the conversation that had suddenly turned sour.

Well, it won’t be him for sure. He is making too much money with his agri-business. Ted added the last sentence with some angst.

Well I am sure the feeling is mutual, Berthier tried to make a joke.

Ted thought for a moment. Jean Soult had been a valuable early addition to the nucleus at the airport; he was, or maybe after the bombs, had been, a top French civil servant. Ted had made him agricultural supremo and he had done well managing the farmers and the crops with distinction. But as that job declined, as agriculture returned to an individual rather than the collective system demanded in the immediate aftermath of the destruction caused by the holocaust, Ted had brought him in to help establish the administrations that would be required to run individual towns and areas as well as the new state. Ted had done this largely to get him on side with the new constitution. That had been overwhelmingly approved in a vote and the new institutions had been formed. The governing institution was the civil service run by the committee of generals. The final move in the implementation of the new constitution, after the House of Representatives had been elected, and the House of the Elders appointed, had been for the committee of generals to vote on who would be the General for the next five years. Ted had promised to resign as Military ruler at that moment. He had, and Jean Soult had expected to be nominated and duly elected as general. What he had not expected was for Ted to be nominated and then elected. He had felt betrayed and made to look a fool, largely a problem of his own making in Ted’s view, because he had been quietly telling everybody he would be the first civilian general. He had stormed out of the civil service in high dudgeon. Maybe it is but he has done very well for himself and his family - Soult et Fils goes from strength to strength.

Well you cannot deny him that, Ted. You wanted people to start businesses and he has done exactly that! Louis pointed out.

Yes he has, but as you know as well as me the constitution forbids civil servants going straight into business.

I know, Ted, so as to stop perceived corruption. You could have objected to Soult setting up - but you did not.

No I didn’t, Ted conceded. And he knew why: partly because he knew in his heart of hearts he had led Soult up the proverbial garden path, and partly because the civil service had not come into effect officially until the constitution was fully operational, and that did not happen until the election of the civilian general. Ted then added, But I have to say, Louis, that I am concerned he is getting into a monopoly situation. And he keeps making his operation broader and broader. He started off as a corn merchant but slowly he is getting into agricultural contracting, fertilisers and now he is about to start setting up cattle markets.

Ah, said the Frenchman knowingly, You need to do something but you know it will bring all kinds of issues to the surface.

Maybe, Ted replied without commitment. He then stood up; his relaxing evening was over as reality reared its ugly head, I will take the dogs out. The last comment was to the two women sitting deep in conversation next door to the men. One was Ted’s wife; they were not actually married, but had lived together since the Aquitaine forces had rescued her after she had been kidnapped by raiders. Claudine was twenty years Ted’s junior and she was talking to Joan Coleman, who was now effectively the chief justice of Aquitaine. She had also landed at Bordeaux on that fateful day. She had been a high flying City of London lawyer, who had for the early years been an unforgiving head of administration. She had been teamed up with John Davidson, the pilot of the aircraft that had landed Ted and Ted’s official deputy. Initially they had fought as they were like chalk and cheese, but slowly a relationship had built and they had moved ahead together. Then John had died of cancer and Ted was never sure if it was that or the change of jobs but Joan had been transformed into a more reasonable person; although she still suffered fools lightly, she had become a first class judge making carefully thought out and argued decisions, very important in the formative year of a new constitution.

Ted looked at Louis who also stood and the two men walked to the door and Ted whistled. There was a scratching sound as claws did a poor job on the polished floor of the hallway, and two dogs appeared. One was a sheepdog cross of some kind that Ted had rescued as tiny puppy a few days after the bombs. Calvados, Calva for short, had been Ted’s companion ever since and the other was a Labrador, little more that a puppy.

Your new dog? Louis said looking at the puppy.

Yes, Almost a proper Lab; I always wanted one, then added hastily, Not that I would belittle Calva; he is a great dog. Ted bent down and patted him. The dog looked hopefully at the door. Ted opened it and Calva shot through it followed by the slightly stumbling puppy. Do not go missing, Ted shouted after the disappearing tails.

The two men walked outside into what appeared to be a vast vineyard. There was small parking area in front of the chateau that led to a tree lined drive which ran to a public road a hundred yards away; to the right there was a large pond and to the left more vineyards. The only light was provided by an impressive array of stars. Unbeknown to each other both men identified the Plough and the North Star that was located almost straight ahead down the drive.

You are enjoying it here now? Louis asked.

Ted had only been living in the house for a few months having finally moved from Portets, administration headquarters from the time they moved out of the airport a few months after they arrived. Then about a year ago a new block had been built in the centre of a reconstructed Bordeaux.

Ted smiled in the dark. It has been strange after nearly seven years of community living. We were one of the last to leave so we had the place more and more to ourselves. But now it is just four of us: Claudine and I plus Billy and a maid.

The two men started walking round the house. I know, Louis said, Kevin is not happy. He keeps asking me to change your mind about security.

I know. I know, Ted was irritable again. Kevin Roberts was head of Aquitaine military, and that included the National police. He has wheedled Billy in as my protector although he pretends otherwise. What more do I want? Billy was officially Ted’s driver but he was also an ex-paratrooper and had many years ago served with Kevin in the British paras.

I sympathise with Kevin. He is ultimately responsible and a person in your position should really have more protection.

Ted did not want the discussion, one he had had too many times with Kevin and even with Guy - the assistant general in charge of security (defence), a former Major and company commander in the British army. Louis please! You know the score. I am trying to keep unnecessary expenditure down. We have had no problems for years. Who would want to harm me? I am just doing a job!

Ted you are not that naive. You are effectively head of state.

Ted ignored the comment and walked on moodily. He knew Louis was right but he did not want to live in a fish bowl with a dozen people watching. He enjoyed the freedom of being away from Portets - he had managed to get his life back. There was no TV and no cameras - most computers had not worked since the holocaust. The few that still did were lap tops brought on the planes, but despite a couple of newspapers there were no pictures of him. There were some drawings but generally he could walk down the street and nobody knew who he was! And that was how he liked it; overt security would draw attention to him.

Suddenly there was a burst of noise in the otherwise still night. There was plenty of cackling and some hisses. The puppy that was not far behind them shied away and Calva kept his distance in the vines as they passed the geese. Ted turned to his friend, That is my security - geese!

Yes that and two dogs. I know, Ted. But they can warn you but they cannot shoot.

I have got Billy to do the shooting, and a telephone to call the cavalry, and I have been known to fire the odd shot myself. Ted voice showed his exasperation with the subject.

They walked on circumnavigating the house returning to the door they had come out of. On the drive there were two vehicles, an old Deux Cheveaux that Ted knew belonged to Louis and a new Bubble as it was called. When the bombs had exploded the electromagnetic pulses had destroyed all computers and most electronics. The result: all modern cars with computerised fuel management systems would not work. Thus any old car with a carburettor was much sort after, and although a few more modern cars had been made to work they were hopelessly inefficient, especially as petrol had been replaced by ethanol, so their use was discouraged.

The Bubble was the first post holocaust vehicle and made in Bordeaux. In many ways it was not dissimilar to its neighbour - flat sides and round appearance from the side. It was a smaller lightweight vehicle powered by a 200 cc engine with four wheels and it only carried two people. It was designed as a runabout and was an upgrade on the motor bikes that had been responsible for most traffic. Few had cars and until recently there had been few lorries; most goods had been transported by motorbike trailers. The Bubble had an automatic clutch with a single forward gear as well as reverse, a fuel gauge and basic windscreen wipers; the heater was activated by opening ducts to the engine. It had simple lights as well as indicators.

Is that Joan’s? Louis asked.

The two men stopped and looked at the machine, Yes, Ted confirmed. She has had it a few weeks. I offered her a real car but she liked this. It is an ideal runabout and she tends to commute by train. One of the first pieces of infrastructure the new state had repaired was a railway linking the main points. At that time Pauillac had been the only place with electricity and therefore it became a centre for industry. The railway line up the Gironde had been renovated. That ran through Margaux and now had a stop directly by the Citadel, as the administration headquarters was called. The Citadel contained the House of Representatives as well as the Elders, most ministries, the headquarters of the military, and the courts. Next door was a large teaching hospital and the health ministry. One ministry not in the complex was agriculture and that was out in La Breda, the only hangover from the early days when John Sault had lived in Saucats and the main administration was in Portets. Ted did not mind that except Jacques Belon had been an assistant to Jean Soult and Ted sometimes suspected he still reported to him - thus that ministry was not part of the tight organisation he had built around the citadel. The other ministry located elsewhere was education that was based near where Ted lived in Margaux; it was part of the university complex.

Ted glanced at his watch as he stood in the doorway; there were low level electric lights. Most places in the old centre of Aquitaine now had electricity; elsewhere it was patchy, varied from town to town and few rural areas had it. Electricity was generated locally by a variety of means: water was used extensively, but wind was a problem as storage capacity was poor. There was a new coal powered generating station for Bordeaux’s industrial area and there were a sprinkling of steam engines running generators. Electricity could only be used privately for light; there had been too many fires from lanterns and candles, some communities used it to pump water and some had minimal street lighting in main areas.

Louis got the message, I will be on my way. Thanks for a very pleasant meal. He then looked at Ted’s watch, Yours still works?

Ted smiled Yes it is an automatic which fortunately I had just had thoroughly overhauled. It had worked nonstop for twenty years before that so I am hoping it will do that again!

Lucky man. Louis looked glum, When I was young I had an automatic but then like a fool I started using a quartz and of course the battery ran out long ago.

There is a guy who has set up as a watchmaker not far from the Citadel. He started trying to get old watches going but I think somebody said he was going to start building new ones, Ted explained and then turned inwards as he heard footsteps. Joan and Claudine appeared still deep in conversation but seeing Ted and Louis they stopped talking and soon goodbyes were being said and the two visitors were gone.

Ted woke in the night - he was not sure why as he normally slept well. He was fully awake so something had woken him. He lay and listened and heard the geese. What had spooked them? They were cackling in alarm. Charlie perhaps, Ted decided; as many as they shot, Monsieur Reynard would not go away. They had released quail into the vineyards and Ted hoped he might one day get to get a decent day’s shooting - but the bloody foxes got there before he had a chance. The geese had an island and the ganders were tough birds - he hoped they would be alright. They let out another burst of cackles.

Now wide awake Ted realised he needed to go to the lavatory; he swore to himself. It was cold as it was December and dark - although the curtains were not thick. There was inevitably a paucity of decent curtain material and many used second hand, but Ted did not mind because he was normally up at dawn - before dawn at this time of the year. In the vague light he part felt, part saw and part knew his way to the bathroom. He reached for the light switch and flicked it on. There was no light - a power cut? They were not uncommon but not usually in the middle of a quiet night; there was no violent storm, quite the opposite. He performed the function he had come for listening for the splash that told him he was peeing in the right direction.

He came out of the bathroom and walked to a window and peered outside. He could see little: still no moon and he was not sure if there was one that night. He turned round wondering if he should simply go back to bed but he heard Calva moving. The dog had always slept in Ted’s bedroom but when they moved Claudine had finally put her foot down and he had been banished to the hallway outside their door. He had a rug under a table, and there was carpet down the middle with bare polished boards on either side. It was the claws on the boards that Ted could hear. That meant he was moving about - unusual. As Calva had been brought up in Portets in the early days he seldom barked - people had been coming and going all the time there. Ted wondered and walked to the door. He opened it and Calva pushed past him straight into the room. Ted felt down to grab him; he did not want to speak and wake Claudine. He felt the top of the dog’s back and realised his hackles were up. He was clearly unsettled. Ted closed the door and walked to a big walk in cupboard. He felt behind some hanging clothes to find a shotgun. It was a semi automatic he had had since the early days. He had made quite a name for himself in one of the early battles for survival against a Russian gangster called Vladimir and then Andre Massena, the number two in the military, had used it in sea fights with the raiders. If that gun had been in the Wild West it would have a string of notches on the stock. Ted reached to the shelf above his hanging clothes and found some cartridges - what type he was unsure but he pushed three into the five capacity magazine and pulled back the cocking handle. He started moving back to the door - he would check downstairs.

A voice said, What are you doing, Ted? Claudine was awake.

I am just going to check downstairs. Something has spooked the geese and now Calva, he replied.

Ted stay here! That is Billy’s job. I will call him! There was an old fashioned bell pull - that rang a bell in Billy’s room - beside the bed.

Don’t wake the poor man. I am quite capable of looking.

There is no electricity, Claudine announced. And what is Calva doing in here?

Ted ignored the comments and half opened the door and peered into the hallway. There was a curling staircase that ran in a large atrium from the ground floor. Ted could see nothing in the dark as the starlight did not penetrate deeply enough but then Ted heard a sound. For a moment he was not sure what he had heard then he realised it was hiss and shush: somebody was telling somebody to be quiet. Maybe they had heard him open the door. He closed the door quietly.

Claudine, get onto the security post. Tell them to send somebody PDQ! meaning pretty damn quickly but Claudine knew as she had got the urgency and alarm in his voice.

Right, I have rung Billy’s bell.

The telephone system was very basic and only covered a few selected people and points - few people had a private phone. It went to switchboard and was routed through that. Ted was confident that if his phone came up at night it would be answered immediately.

Ted pushed open the door again, standing back and peering down the stairs. He decided not to go out of the door as that may make him obvious as he would stand out in the gloom, so he was back in darkness of the room.

Suddenly he heard Billy, Who is there? he demanded in a loud voice. Identify yourself!

Ted then saw the two men about half way up the stairs. He saw them because one fired a quick burst of shots at Billy’s voice, and the muzzle flash was enough for Ted to see. Ted did not hesitate; he brought the shotgun to his shoulder and fired all three cartridges in the magazine quickly. He then found himself flying backwards! He smashed into the bed and landed awkwardly, bashing his back. He had dropped the gun and then realised he could not hear anything and was surrounded by bits of furniture. There was light in the hall now: flickering lights. He saw the door was fully opened. Then he looked further: there was no door!

Billy ran through the doorway - he looked incongruous wearing a battered pair of shorts and a long silk shirt which accentuated his short rotund body and the FAMAS assault rifle made him look even weirder. Billy shouted something but Ted could not hear it.

Claudine was at his side looking concerned and Billy joined her. Ted said he was ok and tried to get up.

Billy quickly realised what was wrong, Blast! He can’t hear! he said to Claudine. He should begin to get his hearing back in a few minutes. He suggested this more confidently than he felt it.

The two pulled Ted up onto the bed where he sat trying to reorient his swirling inner ear.

You okay Ma’am? he said to Claudine.

Yes. I was sitting on the bed, calling the security guys,

Billy nodded. The bed was so placed that she would have been protected from the blast. You get through OK?

Well I was just through when the blast happened. I presume... She added guiltily.

Well then I am sure they are on the way. They would obviously know who was calling - one of the advantages of a switchboard system. Then he saw Calva. Calva. I thought he would have been a goner.

Ted let him in. I think he woke Ted, she replied.

It was the geese that got me up. Noisy bloody things - but the general is right; they are good guard dogs.

Another figure came through the door. It was Jenny the maid, she was dressed in a night dress and looked scared. Billy jumped up as she appeared, ’Ello luv, can you look after madam. I had better check there are no more problems about

He looked at the main staircase and realised that was blocked by the remains of the skylight that had once been over the atrium. The bigger problem was there were several fires. None looked like getting out of hand as the staircase was stone, but loose bits of wood were burning as were a few paintings. Billy did a double take as he realised there were bloody smears and what looked suspiciously like lumps of flesh smeared up the walls. He had ducked back into his room, which was diagonally opposite the general’s, as soon as he was shot at. So he did not know how many people had been on the stairs. He then saw a foot and an arm.

Ted Dennison staggered slightly and came onto the landing as Billy was inspecting the mess. He shouted, Bloody mess.

Billy replied normally and realised he had not been heard.

But Ted had seen his lips moving and shouted, Can’t hear a bloody thing.

Billy nodded and pointed to a door near his room; it was the back staircase that went straight to the kitchen.

Ted nodded, and then shouted See if you can find a lantern or candle - we need light.

Billy went for the back stairs. Ted returned to his room, picked up the shotgun and went to reload it. As he was doing that he grabbed a dressing gown. He was about to return to the hall when Claudine, who was sitting in huddle of the bed with the distraught maid on one side and a frightened looking Calva on the other, said Ted, put some shoes on. There is glass. but before she could finish there was a shot, and then two quick shots from a different gun - they were a different sound. Ted rushed to the door and looked out, the shotgun at the ready. He saw nothing except the flickering light and the bloody wall. There was a third shot from the second gun. Ted thought he heard Billy’s voice - his hearing was beginning to return. Then he saw Billy in the limited light. He had moved so Ted could see him in the hallway downstairs. He gave a thumbs up sign.

Ted turned back to the room and saw the trio on the bed were looking even less happy - if that was possible. So he tried a little reassurance, Billy says it is ok downstairs.

Then he heard a motorbike engine and he looked down into the entrance hall and saw lights swing through. Hopefully the police had arrived. So he reported that. The cavalry are here, he suggested trying to make light on the situation. He realised the room was lighter than it had been and it was not just the fires. On one side opposite the door the curtains were out of the window and in disarray. He got it: the windows had been blown out and it seemed lighter outside as the moon had finally appeared in the night sky.

Ted, do put some shoes on. Claudine was coming out of her panic. She got up and found a pair of shoes - hand made low boots as there was no mass shoe manufacturers in Aquitaine. Ted was still watching downstairs and he then saw a uniform of the National police - Billy had led him into sight and pointed upstairs - no doubt telling him Ted was alright.

Ted allowed himself to be seated on the bed and put his shoes on. As he was finishing the task he heard another motorbike -another sidecar combination Ted presumed, and then the heavier sound of a bigger vehicle - no doubt the place would soon be crawling with police and soldiers. As Louis had pointed out he was considered the head of state - even if he did not judge himself as that.

Billy came back with a lantern - most houses had several which had been used before the electricity was restored but as they had only moved in comparatively recently they did not have many. The light in the bedroom showed up the damage and the mess. Billy and Ted walked into the hall as the two women started putting the room back into some semblance of order.

OK downstairs? Ted asked.

Yes. There was another down there. I think he was badly disorientated by the explosion. When he saw me he fired but the shot went well wide. Billy paused and looked slightly guilty. He is dead now.

Ted picked up the pause plus he had heard the time between the second shot and the third. He looked sharply at Billy, We could have done with him alive - to find out what all this was about!

Sorry General, but I was on my own and did not want anybody alive behind me. Billy excused himself looking away.

‘So you administered a coup de grace’ Ted thought but said nothing; in the circumstances Billy was probably right. Billy interrupted his thoughts, I am sorry General but the puppy... he now did look embarrassed. Well they cut its throat!

Ted swore then had a thought. I wondered if Calva heard that as he was really spooked, he mused out loud.

Ted went down the back stairs and found several policemen in the hall. The front door had survived - just - but the front windows were gone. The other downstairs rooms were in reasonable order as doors had been closed and they had held. Ted suspected that was because the explosion had been half way up the stairs. An anxious looking captain saluted smartly and reported his men were checking the grounds. A couple of policemen were dousing the flames taking water from the pond - the geese were not happy with that. Ted went into the living room and sat in the chair he had been so comfortable in a few hours ago.

Billy, Ted said, Take a couple of these guys and bury the puppy, will you. Do it before we have wailing women on our hands, He was thinking of the young maid who played with the puppy whenever she could. But he was too late; there was a howl from the kitchen and the maid rushed into the room crying.

Billy put an arm round her and she remembered why she had come downstairs. Madam says there is a man on the roof!

Billy turned and headed for the kitchen and the stairs. Ted suddenly said, Wait. Billy stopped, Look we need to catch this one alive. Then to the maid, Jenny, where is this man?

I not sure but ma’am was looking out of the side window, the girl muttered.

Ted thought quickly, Maybe he is in the valley between the house and the roof of the conservatory, he suggested thinking about the layout. Ted looked at the door that went from the room they were in to the outside room. Captain, make certain you have that side of the house well covered. Billy, go and check exactly where he is and then get him down - make it alive. If you have to; shoot him in the legs.

The young captain and Billy went into the kitchen. Ted had a feeling his intervention had not been appreciated - but if there was another attacker it was important they knew why this had happened. He started thinking about the explosion. The man must have exploded when he shot at him - suggesting Ted’s bullets had set off the device. Ted thought back to before - as the time before the holocaust was colloquially referred to - and suicide vests on Muslim extremists. But there had been no sign of any extremism - the only religion or faith was their own Church of the Peoples of the Earth. A few others practiced their religion; there were a few Catholic priests about who had refused to join the Peoples of the Earth but as there was no Rome they had no leadership and direction. Presumably there were remnants of the Muslim church but again he heard of no organisation so it was all very strange.

Jenny had fled back upstairs. Ted had wanted to ask her to make some tea or coffee but he realised until the puppy was removed she would not go into the kitchen.

Ted heard a shot. He stood up, thinking he had better go and see what was happening. If they were shooting it was all going wrong. But he distracted by a noisy motorbike engine that roared up to the house. He walked across the shattered hall and opened the front door to a short man with a battered face. He was wearing a leather jacket which he opened as soon as he climbed off a 500cc motorbike to reveal an immaculate uniform. Ted smiled, Colonel Massena, Andre, what brings you out in the middle of the night?

Kevin is in the south, so they called me to tell me what had happened. I thought I had better come and see all is okay. Kevin was Brigadier Kevin Roberts, commander of the military and national police. Like Andre Massena he was an ex-sergeant be it from the British rather than French army. Massena was one of Ted’s favourite officers; Ted realised he was not really a traditional senior officer as he was far too keen on getting into a scrap himself. But his men would follow him anywhere and he was a very practical person - he had been very important in the early days as a conduit between the various nationalities. There had always been resentment of the foreigners who had got off the planes and became the leaders by default.

You just could not stay away, Andre. Ted joked then he thought, Look they are trying to get a man off the roof and we need him alive - maybe you had better go and see that happens.

Most certainly mon general. He sprang into action but at that moment the young captain appeared with two of his men holding a young man - little more than a boy really. The officer seeing Andre sprang to attention and saluted.

You got him, Ted said stating the obvious. What was the shooting about?

He was so frightened he froze and only when your guard fired above him did he move, the captain replied.

Well since we have Colonel Massena here I think he would be an excellent person to talk to this young man! Ted suggested.

The person in question was looking terrified but still managed a sullen look of defiance when Andre asked his name.

So little boy, Andre said to him, You think it will be that simple, do you? He gave him a grim smile and walked away beckoning the captain. When they were out of earshot of the prisoner he said, Take him to the citadel. Say nothing to him; even if he speaks say nothing. Put him in an interrogation room and take all his clothes, but give him the oldest mangiest blanket they can find. No water, no food. Nobody goes near him until I arrive - I mean nobody.

The lad was led off without further comment and put into a sidecar and handcuffed to it. Then with a combination as an escort it drove away.

I will leave him for a couple of hours to reflect on the wisdom of defying me, the colonel announced to Ted.

Ted nodded grimly; he had little doubt that Andre Massena would soon have the prisoner singing like a bird, as they were fond of saying in American movies. And whilst Ted would not mind if there was some heavy coercion, there were no prizes in letting a terrorist keep valuable information to himself, he doubted it would be needed. Ted assumed he was some kind of terrorist - not that they had seen or heard of any but before there were too many!

Andre Massena and the captain inspected the damage from the blast, and tried to work out what had caused the explosion. They looked at the intruder that had been shot and decided he looked North African and was in his mid twenties; he had no identification on him but that was not unusual. The gun he had fired at Billy was an AK 47 with a pistol grip. There were two more badly damaged similar guns that had clearly been near the explosion. Body parts were strewn around the hall and stairwell; a few were identifiable but most were little more than lumps of grisly flesh, some neatly roasted in the fires that had followed.

Billy removed the dead puppy and coerced the reluctant Jenny into action - making coffee. Claudine came downstairs and announced the house was uninhabitable. Some phone calls to the local electric station enabled the power to be reconnected. Ted felt useless which was unusual in itself, but the combination of his destroyed house which he had just begun to cherish, his distraught wife and maid, and the dead puppy that he had so looked forward to growing up, and the fact he had survived a murderous attack were all compounded by having no idea why he had been so targeted. Was it simply because of who he was? Aquitaine did have enemies - in the reality they were mainly people who were jealous of the success of the new state. To an extent Ted sympathised with nearby fiefdoms; their people all wanted to go to Aquitaine where there were well paid jobs aplenty but the loss of mechanisation meant such territories needed people simply to grow food, let alone get their infrastructure back together. A few areas had even set up border controls to try and stop their people leaving thus creating some tensions that Aquitaine could do without - but he doubted they would send teenagers in the night!

The last straw was when a motorbike roared down the drive and a young man appeared saying he was from Le Journal - a daily paper that had only recently started in competition to The Times of Aquitaine which had been going for just over four years. The Times had been broadly supportive of the administration and made a point of reporting accurately and factually but the new paper from its first edition had attacked the government. Ted knew only too well it was how you wrote a story that mattered when it came to inference and he had little doubt the whole attack was going to become his fault, and by association that of his staff. Ted did not see the reporter but told the young captain to speak to him, to say everybody was fine and very little else.

How the bloody hell did he know? Ted demanded bad temperedly from Andre.

I have no idea Ted, but it went through the main switchboard. Most security and police units have been told, as well as the electric company, and anybody passing by would have seen all the activity, Andre suggested.

Nobody goes down that road at night, certainly not in the middle of the night. Ted glanced at his watch. It is only just after 6am. Somebody had to get that guy out of bed, and he has driven for at least half an hour, Andre did not respond; as an ex-sergeant he knew how to deal with unhappy officers. So Ted added, Get somebody to look into it. Switchboard operators should not be talking, nor should policemen or security personnel. The colonel agreed.

Ted finally left for his office about 8am, a little later than usual, Billy was driving and had a combo escort leading the way and another behind - he usually had none but he had reluctantly accepted them when Andre had insisted that things had to change. The last couple of hours had been the kind of time he wanted to avoid. The return of the electricity and then the dawn had revealed the true extent of the damage to the house. Claudine was distraught switching between fury and misery; after years of living in the mess at Portets the idea of her own home had been a true joy, and she had revelled in the decorating and setting up of the house but now it was all in ruins. She could not decide if she even wanted put the house back together; she half wanted to move elsewhere and then realised the problem was Ted, not the house! Would trouble just follow?

Andre had promised to send a squad of recruits to help clean up, but first he wanted a couple of people who had experience of previous bomb attacks to have a look. It might provide a clue but, of course, there was no technical crime lab and no CSI.

Ted had just returned with a morning walk, ruined by being accompanied by three soldiers, when Joan arrived about 7.30. She had driven to the station and was about to get on the train when she heard the news from fellow passengers. She was friends of them both but she and Claudine had become almost like sisters. She at least solved one problem; she insisted they go and stay at her house. Ted has said he would go and stay at the Citadel for a couple of days until the weekend so Claudine had accepted and Jenny would go too as well as Calva. Ted had felt guilty about running away from the chaos but he knew he would have just paced about all day and become more and more bad tempered. He had packed a few clothes and almost felt a weight lift as he drove down the drive and almost normality returned.

Who did it?

In his office and confronted with the minutiae of the day Ted should have been restored to his normal cheerful self. The trouble was everybody he saw immediately asked how he was and what had happened and they all cracked the same joke. The geese - Kevin/Brigadier Roberts will be unhappy. Clearly Kevin had complained to many that Ted’s reliance on geese for security was absurd. In the end he thought about putting a sign up. Inevitably most of the people he dealt with were senior staff, and generally they avoided talking to him unless they had to but he quickly realised that today they all could find a reason. Finally in frustration he told his secretary no visitors unless it was genuinely urgent or they had an appointment - his ‘My door is always open policy’ evaporated with the explosion.

It was about 11.30am when Yves De Moncay came into his office. An MBA graduate from a prestigious Paris college Yves had been on the planes and had been a very early member of Ted’s staff when he and his friend Hervé had been recruited in the chaos of the damaged terminal to be translators - initially of plans and key tags. Later on he had been Ted’s assistant; he and Hervé had researched and written the Constitution with Ted. He had done various other jobs but somehow he always ended back at Ted’s side. In the seven and half years he had gone from a naive 23 year old to a mature 30 year old manager and key member of the administration as secretary to the Generals’ Committee. To Ted, Yves was a highly trusted manger that he could rely on. Yesterday Ted had sent him on a delicate mission, and he had come to report.

Yves started off by saying, I have just heard. Are you okay? How is Claudine?

Don’t ask. Ted held his hand up and did his best to smile. "I am fine but every idiot who has had a reason has been through that door this morning with some excuse but really only wanting to see how the general took to being blown up. Don’t mention it to Kevin but make certain there is plenty of goose food sent to the chateau, and don’t ask but yes I still will