Chapter 19

Sam received a telephone call from her father. She looked even more flustered than usual as she returned to the lounge where Dan was watching television. He noticed her agitation and asked her what the call had been about. His wife managed a forced smile and then passed on her father's news. He had been promoted and was now officially a member of the OWG.

"Is this not good news?"

Sam was now pacing the room and Dan wanted to know what her, latest, problem was.

"Of course, its good news."

"Then why are you looking so miserable about it."

She stuck her head out of the door and shrieked "TEA." Phyllis had been about to leave but now she had another task.

His wife sighed and fidgeted and opened her mouth but she said nothing.

"For God's sake Sam just tell me what the problem is. You can't keep bottling things up."

A few more sighs and false starts followed and eventually she managed to string a sentence together. "The pressure of being the daughter of a government member will be huge."

It seemed that Sam was not relishing having a spotlight on her now that Eric had been promoted. They would have to go to functions and her appearance would be scrutinized and judged. The behaviour of their children would be commented upon. Dan would be the subject of gossip too.

Dan took in this information. It was like the invasive reporting and paparazzi in his old world. There wasn't a gossip column in the newspaper but that didn't mean that people didn't talk. Sam felt inadequate in her everyday life and now she was being thrust into the public eye.

"What do you need?" Dan asked.

"Everything." She replied.

She would need evening dresses for any formal events and he would need a new dinner jacket. If Dan had needed a dinner jacket in the old world, he would just hire one. Other outfits and shoes for every member of the family were mentioned. He would have to take a look at their finances and see what they could afford. He could always appeal to Eric to chip in if it looked like it was going to be very expensive. He had caused the problem after all.

The other problem was his membership of the anti OWG group. What would it mean now that his father-in-law was actually in the government? Would there be some sort of check on him now to ensure that nothing could be revealed to embarrass Eric. He sincerely hoped that the police would leave him alone.

He guessed that Sam was being overly dramatic about the difference it would make to their lives. They would go to the occasional party or dinner but he could not see these things consuming a lot of their time. Maybe it was just an excuse for a whole new wardrobe. Once Phyllis had delivered a tea tray to the lounge, he told her to go home.

Martin was stunned by the news about Eric and he was lost in thought for a while. He too was thinking about the ramifications for their work against the OWG.

"I don't think it will affect us too much." This was his pronouncement after some consideration. "The biggest worry I have is what Bertie will do with this information,"

There was no doubt that the rebel leader would be interested in Eric's promotion. He would find some way to exploit Dan's connection to him or demand more insights. They would have to be on their guard in case he tried to coerce them into some scheme which would impact Dan's family.

That evening Dan made a call to Eric. He offered his congratulations on his advancement and explained that Sam, "Its Samantha" Eric corrected, was anxious about what her role might be.

"I'll give you some money towards expenses." Was Eric's comment as he went straight to the point.

Whilst they were on the phone Dan and Sam were invited to the first official function. Eric was having a party at his home for those that had assisted him throughout his career. Other members of the government would be in attendance too. Apparently, Sarah was running around making arrangements on the verge of a nervous breakdown. Like mother like daughter.

~~~

The Ministry for Defence was well funded and efficiently run. Their brief was to keep an armed force in readiness to protect the OWG and their people. There could not be a war between nations because technically there was only one country. There was always however the risk of some kind of rebellion.

Although religion was banned many people still followed their particular faith. This was often a cause of tension especially where those who worshipped in different ways lived in close proximity. The Ministry kept a track on areas at risk and were ready to step in if any kind of conflict turned violent.

The OWG had shipped people around the world in order to ensure that vital farming and industry were staffed. This also stopped large concentrations of residents of one country being in the same place. Too many French in one place, for example, might decide to set up a new nation and run it themselves. The OWG did not want this to happen. Where there was a high number of one ethnicity the army were nearby discouraging any thoughts of independence.

Some of the overseas branches of the OWG had been very successful at running their patch. They might be tempted to break away and try running their area without reference to the main government based in England. Soldiers patrolled the corridors in the places where this was considered a danger.

Their focus was on suppression of rebellion rather than, all out, war. The planet had been devastated by the meteor strikes and there was no appetite for bombs and rockets which would destroy the painstakingly rebuilt towns and factories. This meant that the army were developing other types of weapons.

They still had guns. They had lots of guns. The pistols and rifles were still around but fast firing automatic weapons had been produced too. They had the tear gas and the water cannons that Dan had thought of, but they had other ideas which were more lethal. These were the things which were kept secret from the public.

Only those with the most impeccable credentials worked in the Ministry of Defence. Everyone was sworn to secrecy and the consequences of disclosing what they knew were sufficient to keep them quiet. The only people from the labour class employed by the ministry were cleaners and drivers.

Bertie knew about guns, but he did not have the wherewithal to produce them. He had attended a good school and been inside a science lab so he was familiar with chemicals and what they could do. If he could get some basic ingredients, he would be capable of making an explosive of some sort.

He was eager to know what the army had at its disposal. Some of what he had said to Dan about being prepared was accurate. He needed to know what the army could do and what their latest weapons were. Once he had the details, he could do a number of things. He could copy their ideas. He could steal their weapons. He could find where the arsenals were and destroy them.

Over the past hundred or so years there had been only a small number of acts of civil disobedience. The workers were too busy and they had just enough to keep them happy. Even so there would always be someone who was fanatical enough to agitate. If someone tried, they were immediately neutralised.

The OWG had security at their army bases and government buildings, but they never truly believed that anyone would attack them or attempt to steal from them. Bertie was sure that with observation and planning he would be able to meet whichever one of his objectives would help his cause the most.

First, he needed some way of getting the knowledge that he needed. He had met men who were ex-military, but they had little that they could tell him about the more modern weapons. Current members of the army were difficult to approach. They had been trained and brainwashed into having a fierce allegiance to the OWG and could end up reporting anyone who asked the wrong questions.

Bertie hoped that his leadership comrades could get the details which he could not. There were more likely to be whispers about what the army was working on if nothing else. He had thought about snatching a soldier and torturing them for answers. That would mean killing them afterwards and he was not ready to do that yet.

He had thought a lot about how far he would go to meet his objectives. Bertie never doubted that he was right to fight against the OWG. What was an acceptable price to pay in terms of violence or the loss of human life? He was frustrated at the lack of progress and he was considering more drastic options to move his plans forward.

Thinking seriously about murder was a dangerous path to set off down. Almost as soon as the word murder had crossed his mind Bertie knew that he would not shy away from it if the moment came. His work was too important to shy away from making the hard decisions. The OWG must be dismantled and he would do whatever it took to achieve that.

Those around him might not be as committed as him to the cause. Serena often cautioned him when he began to talk wildly about his plans. He needed to remind them what the OWG was doing and why they must be stopped. He would use his own form of indoctrination on his allies so that when the time came, they would be ready to do whatever he asked.

At each meeting and in every, one to one conversation he listed the atrocities that the OWG had perpetrated. Bertie would sometimes produce tears as he talked about the terrible things they did. There was a lot which was bad but he had exaggerated some things to make his case even stronger.

The people in his close circle would come to hate the OWG with the same passion as him. They would be as fervent and as desperate and would murder and inflict violence as directed. Bertie made his plans for destruction and envisaged the deaths of the hated government. He hadn't given much thought to what would happen after that. Maybe he would rule instead.