LONDON CALLING

"That's good," he told her, watching her technique. "That's the ticket. I'd rather see you do shorter, sure movements than to take any silly chances. To get down, there are a couple rules of thumb. Stay as close to the trunk as you can because the branches are thicker there and more stable. And, try as close as you can to go back down basically in the same way you want up. Try to use the branches close to you and reverse the process. If you get into a spot, tell Hiss. You can hang onto him, and he'll lower you down. Keep your focus. Forget about anything else other than what you're doing. Focus on the branches close to you and onto your job. Don't pay attention to how far down it is. That isn't important. Watch. I'll go down a branch. You can copy my movements."

He had seen lots of things moving in the woods. There was a good deal of wildlife here. Even if something that was moving wasn't animal, there was nothing they could do about it at the moment. She needed to focus.

"What's your hurry?" Michael frowned. "You can certainly try the climbing wall, but do help me understand what your big push is about. The technique is essentially the same whether you're climbing a tree or a wall. Does it not feel like you're climbing if it's a tree and not a wall, or something?"

"If you want to climb the wall, then I think you should go with Brian when he goes tonight to the gym at St. Mungo's and see how you do with the wall. I know they've been expanding that program. There are now walls for kids, walls for beginners, walls for intermediate climbers and one wall for advanced climbers. And they've got a new trainer there. He tends to work evenings simply because that's when the walls get used the most. Maybe if you tag along with Brian, you can meet this new bloke. Making connections can't hurt, after all.

"I'd like to go, but I'll pass tonight. I'll be here in the kitchen. I've got just too much on my list of things to do to go to the gym tonight, but Brian's going anyway, so you could tag along with him."

"The important thing, no matter what you're climbing, is to have the technique itself right. Climbing cliffs and mountains, for me, is fun. Most often, when I'm climbing for work, I'm climbing up the sides of buildings, or climbing down into a sewer or some such city thing. Being out in nature is more of a luxury for me. But regardless, the technique is the same. Find the next handhold that allows you to pull yourself up and use your body strength without reaching too far or putting your faith in a weak handhold. It also pays to know your own body's weaknesses and strengths so you can use your strengths and avoid having to depend on a weakness to see you through. What you're climbing isn't really as important. I chose the tree deliberately because it isn't a straight up surface but the disadvantage is that Mother Nature isn't so evenly spaced as a man made climbing wall.

"I can understand your thoughts about Angus, but he's well guarded. I don't think anybody's just going to be able to walk up and take a crack at him. You do know, don't you, that if we get a chance to move and go get your father and arrest him, there isn't a snowball's chance in Hell that Robert would ever, ever let you go along, don't you? That just isn't going to happen. You can't always solve your problems with people by getting a good lick in at them. Come on, help me prep some vegetables for supper. I need 4 large aubergines, 4 large yellow squash, 4 zucchini's, and 12 tomatoes sliced into thin rounds, about 1 or 1/2 mm thick. That's going to take awhile. And while you do that, I'm going to start on the sauce and then get a couple of pork tenderloins on to roast."

"Slice, please," Michael said, "as close to 1 or 1 1/2 mm, like everything else," he said, doing his own prep for ingredients for a sauce. He was quicker at chopping because of years and years of experience, but even so, today, he cut himself. "Oh, damn," he sighed. And that was going to cost him four nice bell peppers because he couldn't risk using them because of the blood that was getting on them. "I'll be back in a moment. Then I can disinfect my entire prep area, toss these, and dice four more bell peppers." He was frustrated with himself. He went downstairs to the sickbay to find a couple of larger size plasters and a pair of latex gloves to protect the food from getting contaminated. If it kept bleeding, he would have Robert or Nigel tend to it, but it wouldn't be the first time he'd finished a dish or two with a glove full of blood. As long as it didn't get into the food, it was all good.

As he was coming back up from the cellar, he glanced outside towards the duplex and saw that the two outside guards had seen something in the woods and they were going to check it. That was leaving Angus's safety to the men in the house. Hopefully, those men knew that the outside men were being diverted. He passed Robert in the hallway.

"Heads up. The outside guards have been diverted away from the duplex by seeing something in the woods," Michael said quietly.

"Thank you. Lee and I will be on it, then," Robert said. "What'd you do?"

"Cut myself. It's alright."

"Let me know if it keeps bleeding like that."

"I will. I can't cook very well if I bleed all over it." Robert went into the next room, called Lee, and the two of them went outside together and deliberately walked across the yard to the duplex, deliberately wanting any trespasser to know that this property was secure.

"Thank you," Michael said, "I hate when I do that. Now, get one of Angus's large sheet cake pans and fan them out and around in a pretty spiral. Make them look nice. Like this. You're assembling the vegetables for an enormous ratatouille. If I get the bell peppers diced this time without lopping a limb off, I'll get the sauce made and then we can get it in the oven. I know the sauce is usually on the bottom, but for the sake of time and my clumsiness, we're going to do it ass backwards tonight.

Then, do you think you could you put together some loaves of just a simple soda bread to serve with it? I haven't gotten as far as dessert yet, but I have to get the pork on after I get the sauce made for the ratatouille."

He cleaned and diced the bell peppers without incident this time, except that the glove continued to get redder and redder. He knew as soon as he had the pork in the oven, he was going to have to have someone heal the cut. He glanced out and saw Robert and Lee go inside the duplex. He breathed a small sigh of relief, glad that there were a couple more wands over there for the moment.