A TANGLED WEB

A TANGLED WEB

    Andy Beaumont smiled at his pretty companion before glancing quickly around the crowded restaurant: he was hoping that his injudicious words hadn’t been heard by anyone. ‘Hannah, I’m sorry to say that I haven’t exactly been honest with you,’ he whispered. Over the last couple of months, the knowledge he’d gathered about a new illegal and dangerous group of people was eating away at him like a swollen river in flood, so would it matter if he told Hannah a little about his work, he asked himself? It was all going round and round in his mind… he had to tell someone, and then perhaps he might be able to sleep properly again.

    Andy had met Hannah in a bar a few weeks before. He considered her to be an extremely attractive woman, and her naive attitude to everything charmed him, so where was the harm? He picked up his wineglass, swirled it around a couple of times before draining it. He needed another drink to try to get away from his damaging introspection, but he’d already had a little too much wine.

     Hannah’s pretty eyes widened as she leant towards him, and she smiled. ‘You’re telling me that you don’t work as an estate agent, and what did you say these people were called?’ she said trying to suppress a giggle. ‘I’ve never heard of anything quite so funny.’

    Andy whispered, ‘I know it sounds odd, but they really do call themselves “The Black Spider’s Web.”’

    ‘The Black Spider’s Web?’ she retorted as she tried to smother a laugh. ‘Come on Andy, I can’t believe that anyone would call themselves something like that: it sounds like a title for a horror film. I think you’re having me on.’ She leant towards him and smiled. ‘Now, you’ve pulled one of my legs, so perhaps you might like to pull the other one?’

    Andy looked hurt, as he wasn’t used to people laughing at him. ‘But it’s true. They hate our government, and are making plans to bring it down. They don’t care who gets hurt. Hannah.’

    ‘But surely…there’s something that…’ Hannah suddenly stopped short. ‘I don’t know what to say, Andy.’

    ‘Let me explain,’ he replied. ‘It’s imperative that my cover isn’t broken. I’ve been trained to get to know people like them, so please don’t tell anyone about our little conversation.’ Trying to explain his job in layman’s term was proving to be difficult.

    Hannah’s hands shook as she put her hands up to her mouth. ‘Andy, do you mean that you’ve been…?’

    ‘Hannah, if any of this gets out, lives could be in danger.’ He looked around again, but all the diners were chatting and seemingly oblivious to his confession.

    She looked at her beautifully manicured fingernails. ‘Andy, I’m beginning to find all this a little unbelievable, but it’s infinitely more interesting than my job in a clothes shop?’

    ‘Look, I’ve already said too much,’ Andy whispered desperately trying to lighten the atmosphere, so let’s go back to my place. It’s far too noisy here, and… er… my apartment is much more conducive too...’

    ‘What, Andy?’ Hannah implied, as her lips parted seductively.

    He looked at her, gave a devilish smile, before standing up and holding out his hand to her. ‘Come on. I’ll go and pay for our meal, and then we go back to my place and…’

    ‘What for, Andy?’

     ‘Now that would be telling,’ he said as he walked away.

    Once Andy had paid for their meal, they hurried outside only to find that it had been snowing for some time. Large flakes of snow were still falling and this lightened the atmosphere between them even more. Once they arrived at his apartment, they laughingly flicked the snow from their clothes and shoes before entering the warmth of Andy’s home.

    ‘Well, here we are Hannah. The sitting room is through here.’ He opened the door with a dramatic flourish. ‘As you can see, I like my creature comforts,’ he said as he walked over to the sumptuous blue sofa, and patted the cushions. ‘Come and sit down, and I’ll get us a drink.’

    ‘Thank you, kind sir,’ she replied with a coquettish smile. ‘This is a lovely room, and the furniture looks wonderful. My flat now seems so small!’ Andy pushed a switch beside the sofa, and all the lights dimmed. ‘Wow, I’ve never seen anything like this before,’ she said. ‘It must have cost a fortune.’

    ‘Oh well, it’s only money, Hannah,’ Andy said. ‘Would you like tea, coffee, or… something a little stronger perhaps?’

    ‘I think it ought to be coffee please,’ Hannah replied trying not to giggle.

    ‘Right, I won’t be long… and I hope you won’t be feeling lonely,’ he said as he walked into the kitchen.

     Andy tried to relax, but his current assignment was niggling away inside him. A sudden image of Hannah swam before him. She was always ready to listen to him, but did she understand any of it, because a shop girl’s mind would be a hundred miles away from espionage, or secret societies? He sighed, as he carried the steaming cups of coffee back into the sitting room, just as Hannah was placing her mobile back into her handbag.

    ‘Here we are. I hope this is not too strong for you,’ he said as he placed her drink on the table beside her.

    ‘Thank you,’ Hannah said. ‘I like it dark and strong too.’ She cradled it in her hands, and looked up at him. ‘I… er… I’ve just spoken to my mother; she often phones round about this time. She would like to meet you sometime,’ she said, sipping the hot liquid slowly. ‘Ah, this is lovely, so come and sit down, and you can make me even more frightened,’ she purred.

    ‘I don’t know where to begin, but… I have to tell someone or I’ll burst. It’s actually starting to affect my whole life, as I’m beginning to suspect everyone. My thoughts are becoming so twisted that I’m finding it difficult to separate fact from fiction.’

    ‘Andy, I don’t understand, as all this cloak and dagger stuff is totally alien to me. What are you afraid of?’ Hannah said placing her hand on his arm.

    He sighed. ‘To be honest with you, I’m starting to wonder if I’m cut out for all this.’

    ‘Surely talking about it will help.’ She grabbed hold of his hand, and squeezed it. ‘Come on tell me. There’s nobody here, so what’s the problem?’

    Her gentle touch gave him the impetus he needed. ‘Hannah, I want your assurance that this will go no further than this room.’

    Hannah laughed. ‘Andy, you can have it. I don’t know anyone who would be interested anyway, because I only see women who like to buy clothes. This is all so amazing.’

     By this time, Andy felt convinced that he was doing the right thing by confiding in her, then perhaps the dreadful weight he was carrying around on his shoulders, would disappear. He shifted in his seat, took a deep breath and blurted out, ‘I need to explain everything, but it’s so complicated.’

   ‘Andy. Get it all off your chest,’ she whispered.

   ‘It all started some time ago when one of our operatives discovered what this previously unknown group was planning to do.’ It took him about ten minutes to tell her, and Hannah sat beside him listening intently. Finally, he said, ‘Now do you understand how I feel?’

    ‘Yes, I think I do, Andy,’ she replied. ‘It’s a shock to hear you telling me what could happen in the future. It brings my own fears up to the surface, and it seems so real. You often hear about espionage and plots, and…’

    ‘My dear Hannah, I know I shouldn’t have told you: it’s against everything I’ve ever learned since joining the Agency.’ His heart thumped wildly when he looked into her eyes. ‘But I feel I can share anything with you, and… Hannah I… I think I’m falling in love with you.’

    ‘Falling in love with me?’ She sat up straight, and looked confused. ‘But Andy, you hardly know me.’

    Andy grabbed her gently and kissed her. He felt cleansed, and liberated. Not only that, he was able to think more clearly again. But a little worm of worry in his brain started telling him that there was something missing! Hannah wasn’t reacting in the way he thought she would. ‘Hannah, I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have done that, but I…’

    ‘That kiss rather took me by surprise, Andy,’ she said suddenly glancing at her watch. ‘I’m not ready to commit to anything at the moment. I…’

    ‘But Hannah… I thought that...’

    A sudden loud knock on the front door made them jump. ‘It’s ten o’clock. I’m not expecting anyone.’ Andy stood up, walked out into the hallway and opened the door. Two men stood there: one was holding an important looking leather case, which he lifted up to show him.

    Andy’s legs began to shake. He knew that he was in trouble.

    ‘Yes, can… can I help you?’ To Andy, his voice sounded hollow and on the verge of hysteria, and he quickly tried to clear his throat.

    The older of the two men placed his foot in the doorway. ‘Yes, I think you can help us Mr. Beaumont. My name is Charles Spencer, and you can probably guess why we are here.’ A shiver ran down Andy’s spine, as the man continued. ‘There’s a little matter of some indiscreet and dangerous information being passed around in a local restaurant. We’d like you to accompany us back to the Agency so that we can have a little chat. I hope you can understand our reasons for being here?’

    Andy knew that his career was at an end. ‘Yes, I quite understand Mr. Spencer, but I would like to see your official passes, please,’ Andy said, somehow managing to regain a little composure. The man reached into his pocket and took out his identity card. Andy checked it, and his shoulders slumped. ‘Yes, well you’d better come in.’

    ‘Thank you, Mr. Beaumont.’ The two men looked at him closely as they walked in.

    ‘But, how did you…’ Andy spluttered. He turned round to see Hannah standing in the doorway with a blank, cold expression on her face. Something clicked in his mind when he realised what had happened, and his face crumpled. ‘Hannah, it was you, wasn’t it? What have I done?’

    Charles Spencer turned to Hannah. ‘Thank you, Miss Anderson. Well done, you did well this evening. It was a tough assignment for you.’

    ‘Did you say a t… t... tough assignment?’ Andy spluttered, not quite believing what he was hearing.

    The second man stepped forward. ‘There have been rumours about your integrity, and Miss Anderson agreed to get to know you. She of course knew we were listening in to your conversation in the restaurant, but she didn’t know that the people involved with The Black Spider’s Web had put a little listening device under your dining table. We know one of the waiters in the restaurant, and he alerted us.’

    Andy’s usually ruddy complexion turned pale. ’I… I don’t know what to say. I can only apologise for my…’

    ‘Mr. Beaumont,’ the man continued, ‘two members of The Web followed you here from the restaurant, and we of course followed them.’

    ‘But…’ Andy now felt small and deflated.

    ‘We also had the advantage of a phone message from Miss Anderson. They were arrested, and with a little persuasion we will of course get them to talk and, bearing in mind what we know about this organisation, I think that you both had a narrow escape.’

    ‘It wasn’t a task I was happy to take on, but it had to be done,’ Miss Anderson replied. She turned round to speak to Andy. ‘I can only say that I’m sorry.’

    Andy felt wretched and ashamed, but what hurt him most was the fact that she’d betrayed him. ‘How could you have done this to me, Hannah? I thought we were getting on well together.’

    ‘My real name is Abigail. You’re supposed to be a man of the world, Mr. Beaumont,’ she said icily. ‘Do you really need me to tell you?’

    ‘Yes, I… I do,’ he stuttered. ‘I thought…’ He looked at her again and everything fell neatly into place. He looked down at his feet. ‘I must apologise to you, as I realise that you were only doing your job.’

    ‘Yes, I was only doing my job. I’m on secondment from another department.’ The young woman seemed eager to leave Andy’s apartment, and turned towards the door with her head held high. She stopped, turned round and looked at him with a cold, blank expression on her face.

    ‘I’m sorry to say that I haven’t exactly been honest with you, either, Mr. Beaumont.’ She smiled and walked out through the door.