Fashion is Our Name Pt. 12

Elated, I punched the air. They looked at me, eyes wide, and came up out of the bed themselves, waving their arms.

I grabbed naked Sally and kissed her neck. "Best offer you have had in your nothings, I'll bet."

She giggled wildly. "Adele, help!"

They struggled into their clothes as I said, "Adele, as soon as we finish the note to Anne, take her with you to the shop and dress her as the FION staff photographer. Make sure there is outdoor clothing and hiking shoes. Send her to one of the good stores for a camera. Put all of it on my chit."

To Sally, I asked, "By the way, you haven't been arrested for drugs or anything like that? Your family are well behaved?"

"My father, brother and uncle have all been in the military. My mother is an acting coach. I narrowly escaped being caught in a pot dragnet at school! Is that clean enough?" Her arms came up in a feint.

She went into the air on my hands, arcing to the bed with a scream.

"Come with me to the computer. We have to send your particulars to Anne."

She dictated and I typed. The tiny bites on my back were creating havoc in another part. Her hand found me and squeezed viciously. "Adrian, I hope you know you are hiring a tease."

Adele was there, dragging her away. "Yes, he desperately needs teasing. Come along, we have a busy morning."

My rendezvous with Jeremy and the lorries was at nine, and I scrambled to get ready, now that we were venturing to Kingham with the vehicles.

A little after nine, as we were inspecting the lorries parked at the curb in front of the building, my phone chimed. It was Tom.

"Anne says she is special. I hope so. You are stretching the limits of the system, young man. I don't know how you managed it, but she comes up clean on the first pass check. You have a very grudging approval from my friends to add her to the trip list, subject to further workup."

"I owe you a million thanks, Tom. Everything fell together last night in a rush. Not only do we need images of the shows over there, but think for a minute. Everyone else on the team is going to be completely absorbed by their primary duties. Now you have a smart dedicated person whose only job is to capture a photo record of what happens. This could possibly be of great intelligence value. I sent her this morning to acquire a camera suitable for the fashion work. You might ask the friends if they have other equipment they would like in her hands."

"Adrian, I'll be damned if you aren't one jump ahead of us yet again. Have a good trip to Kingham and I'll be in touch."

I called Adele instantly. "She has cleared the first review, and is added to the trip list. Do you still have her there? Do you have her mobile number?"

"Please slow down a bit. I've never seen such wild excitement!"

I broke in, "Do you suppose it is at all possible for you to escape the shop early, grab her, and come to Kingham for dinner and overnight? The two of you need to be introduced to the group. Please catch Anne on her phone in the car and fill her in. I must rush off in the lorries this minute."

(Cont'd in Part 13 - The Road to Prague)