Read Online Invasion by Dc Alden - Free Book Online

that happen, despite the urgency of the meeting. Time, in that case, to wrap things up. He cleared his throat loudly and the arguments died away, the CIG attendees lapsing into silence.
    ‘Time is pressing, ladies and gentlemen. Recommendations, please.’
    ‘Prime Minister, losing a subject isn’t unusual, but in the last few hours we’ve witnessed multiple disappearances,’ the head of SIS reminded the room. ‘They all appear to be pre-planned. This isn’t mere coincidence. An operation is under way.’
    ‘So , w hat do we do?’ asked Harry.
    The senior Defence Intelligence Staff officer, Brigadier Giles Forsythe, leaned forward and clasped his hands together on the table. All eyes turned to the man in the green uniform.
    ‘Prime Minister, I agree with my colleagues. Our alert status should be raised across the board in both our civil and military forces. As SIS has pointed out, a planned operation looks increasingly likely against-’
    ‘Nonsense!’ Around the room, heads swivelled sharply towards the suntanned, balding pate of the Foreign Secretary, Geoffrey Cooper. ‘Prime Minister, I really think that we may be overreacting here. ‘The Brigadier shot him an icy look. Cooper ignored the glare and concentrated on Harry. ‘Yes,’ he continued, ‘I agree with our colleague from SIS that the circumstances are rather unusual. However, the subjects in question are all Muslims and I think that this raises a very important issue.’
    ‘Explain,’ ordered Harry, glancing at the clock on the wall. He could see that Cooper was in his element, the focus of attention in the room. A small, dapper man in his early fifties, Cooper exuded an air of annoying self-importance and not a small degree of arrogance, qualities that seemed to have manifested themselves only after his appointment as Foreign Secretary. As a result, Harry had quietly pencilled Cooper in for a demotion in the next Cabinet reshuffle. He wasn’t a vindictive person, but Cooper had a habit of getting under everybody’s skin, which was bad for business and bad for the country. Harry was curious to see if a stint in Transport w ould deflate that ego.
    ‘As you know,’ began Hooper, ‘I have spent some time working with the present Arabian administration with whom I have been able to forge some very productive diplomatic ties, ties that have directly benefited this country. Now, it’s a fact that since the state of Arabia came into being, Islamic terrorism has melted away across the globe, something that-’
    ‘Get to the point, Geoffrey.’
    Cooper visibly reddened. ‘My point? Quite simply, why are we watching these people? What evidence do we have to warrant this potentially illegal surveillance? The Commissioner here says that none of them have criminal records and most of them are tax-paying voters. The fact that they’ve visited Arabia on several occasions and are on some vague watch list doesn’t mean they’re guilty of anything. I’m sure I don’t have to remind anyone in this room that the diplomatic implications of these clumsy intrusions could be severe.’
    ‘They’re British citizens,’ Harry reminded Cooper. ‘This is a domestic issue.’
    ‘Have we learned nothing over the years?’ the Foreign Secretary countered. ‘My time in Arabia has taught me many things, not least that for people of the faith their loyalty is towards Islam first. It’s offensive to suggest otherwise. And we all know Arabia can be very unforgiving if it feels its people are being persecuted.’
    Further along the table the SIS official bristled. ‘ Foreign Secretary, there are some in the Intelligence Services who believe that the threat posed by Islamic extremism still exists, despite the ambient diplomatic temperatures we’ve become used to. And with these particular subjects there is some history, their citizenship notwithstanding. Right now the evidence is clear; a timetable is almost certainly being followed and anti-surveillance methods