Chapter 30

The men from the ministry were conducting a very different interview than had been undertaken at the police station. Dan was thinking carefully as he answered their questions. If he said the wrong thing, he could end up not only getting himself into trouble, but dropping others in it too.

He had in his head the basic strands of his story and he clung to those throughout the interrogation. He had only met Bertie twice. He had acted alone. Phyllis had not asked him to look for her son. He had no sympathies with anti OWG rebels. He would never have mentioned his father-in-law's party if he thought it would put people at risk.

Dan was repeating for the umpteenth time that he was horrified when the gas canister was thrown through the window at Eric McBride's house. He wished he had never gone looking for Bertie, but at least the meeting had led to him hearing about the gas. Recognising what was happening had helped him to save dozens of lives. He only wished that he had been able to save everybody.

"I can't believe the OWG has made a weapon like that. Then they let it fall into rebel hands, how did that happen?"

Dan was attempting to turn the tables on the men from the MOD. They were trying to blame him for all that had occurred, but they had to accept their part in this mess.

"Who lived at the farmhouse where you had your meetings?"

They were moving on to a new area of questioning and Dan knew exactly where it was leading.

"I saw an older couple there, but I don't know their names. The woman gave me a bowl of soup." There was a pause before it was revealed that they had been found dead.

Dan did his best startled look. He had to get the tone right. He had met these people twice and they had been members of the labour class. That meant that he should not care too much about them.

"What happened to them?"

The gruesome details of the killings were revealed and Dan responded by saying

"Was this Bertie as well? For God's sake you need to catch him as soon as possible.

He had got through the gruelling, two hours, ordeal and he had been released. Dan was saying a silent prayer of thanks to a God who had been banned. His manager at work wanted to know why he had been summoned to the MOD. The secrecy within the organisation meant that he had no idea what was happening. Dan told him that he had been assisting them with their investigation into a dangerous rebel. It was more or less the truth.

Martin shook his hand and clapped him on the back when he arrived back at the office. Quite a demonstration of emotions in this world.

"Well done, Dan, you've got nerves of steel. I'm sure I would have cracked under the pressure."

"The police interview was bad, but the ministry guys were a different thing altogether. I had to think carefully before every answer. When they let me go at the end of it, I couldn't believe how lucky I'd been."

It looked like they had got away with it. Both men were going to stay on their guard for the foreseeable future. They still felt the same way about the OWG, but they would have to quash those sentiments for the moment until it was safe.

No more notes were going to be sent anywhere. The last thing they wanted was a paper trail which led to them. All previous correspondence, including Serena's note and the file on Bertie, had been burned long before. Those who had previously attended the leadership group meetings had been warned verbally and were remaining under the radar too.

Within hours of the interview with the MOD, flyers had been printed giving details of the rebel they were searching for. They wanted Albert, Bertie, Crawford, 6ft tall with dark brown wavy hair and blue eyes. As an incentive a reward of £100 had been offered for information leading to his arrest. The leaflets were being distributed all over the country and the police were on the lookout, now that they knew what their target looked like.

As the flyers started to circulate one was delivered to Bertie by one of his followers. Someone, somewhere had been talking to the authorities and Bertie already had an inkling about who it might be. Information was at a premium in the world of the OWG. News of the two separate gas attacks and his ability to perpetrate more would be known to only those in higher positions. People like Eric McBride.

Bertie was beginning to hate Daniel Ellis. More accurately he was hating him more and more. From the moment he had met the man from the leadership class, he had been wary of him. He remembered how Dan had sat back and taken in the conversation which had been led by Martin. He had been examined and then judged and he didn't like it.

He searched for a word to describe Dan. In the other world he would have said he was cool. Dan was clever and likeable and never seemed to try too hard. Bertie had wondered about his attitude and admitted that he had never known anyone quite like Dan. He wanted to be the one who was enigmatic and different. He didn't want anyone else stealing his thunder.

When it had been revealed that Serena had liked Dan a little too much, his dislike became hatred. Bertie did not necessarily want or have time for the girl, but he didn't want someone else to have her. Would Dan seduce his followers away from him, as well and become the leader of the rebellion?

The gas and the party had offered him an opportunity to get rid of Dan. The lucky bastard had escaped and that was, initially, annoying. Now Dan's bit of luck was turning into a nightmare for Bertie. It was obvious that Dan had turned on him and had spoken to the authorities. He had probably found some way to incriminate Bertie without implicating himself. He could picture the tall confident man persuading the police of his innocence.

Serena was in the next room with one of his men. She was sewing and the man was watching to make sure she didn't do anything different or attempt to go anywhere else. It was a less than satisfactory situation. Bertie wouldn't let her go off alone in case she didn't come back, but he barely bothered to talk to her. If she left, would she go to the authorities? He wouldn't put it past her.

It was later that evening that she saw the leaflet for the first time. A number of emotions swept over Serena as she realised that the authorities could be getting close. She suspected that Dan had spoken to the police, too. She hoped he was not in trouble. She worried for herself because she was in the company of a murderous rebel. She was also glad that there was an increasing possibility that Bertie would be stopped.

They were packing their things and moving to a new venue. They had moved every couple of weeks, but the frequency of their relocations would no doubt increase in light of the flyers. Bertie was having his thick dark hair cut really short in an effort to disguise himself. He was still handsome but the curls had softened him and now he looked like the maniac he really was.

The others thought he was crazy but Bertie was determined to return to the south of the country. He wanted to deal with some business there, he said. They used a number of OWG lorries to make their way back to an area near Marlborough. Serena was near her home and she felt better than she had in a long time.

She had listened carefully to Bertie whenever he spoke. Serena carried on with whatever chore she had been assigned, but she was aware of everything he said to everyone who called at the house where they were staying. She had learned what his business was and she had to get word out.

Being watched so closely, meant that getting word to Dan was going to be difficult, if not impossible. Serena had to be alert to even the smallest possibility to do something to stop Bertie. There was no way she could escape, she'd have to bide her time and pray that an opportunity arose.

Bertie had decided that Dan had betrayed him and he was going to pay for his actions. He had failed with the gas bomb, but he wanted Dan dead and he would go to any lengths to achieve his ends. He had lost all sense of perspective. The war against the OWG was put on hold whilst he pursued his personal vendetta.