Arriving back at TPHQ, the first thing Ellis saw was North and Lockland waiting for him. Both looked dusty and weary.
The second thing was Grint and his team.
The third was the medical team waiting to attend to Matthew.
Wiping his brow, he motioned for Grint and his team to remove the prisoner to the security department where he could expect to spend some quality time in their tender care.
Luke, supporting a bloody Matthew, volunteered to go with him to MedCen for treatment.
‘Thank you, Parrish, if you would, please. I’ll be along later.’
He turned to North. ‘Tell me you got her back safely. That someone did something right today.’
‘Yes, sir. She was in shock, I think. Probably no one’s ever caught hold of her like that before. We were just in time. We could hear voices in the distance. Whether it was alarmed courtiers coming to warn her or the mob on its way to arrest her, we didn’t stop to find out. Whichever it was, she’s home and safe. For the time being.’
Ellis sighed and wiped his face again. ‘Well, given what’s about to happen to her, I think we were probably the least of her problems today. Well done, you two. Go and get yourselves cleaned up. I’d like your reports as quickly as possible, please.’
‘How’s Matthew, sir?’ asked Jane, anxiously.
‘His wound didn’t look serious and I’m sure he’ll be back with us in a day or two. Off you go, now.’
An hour later, enjoying a quiet drink by himself in the bar, he became aware of North approaching him. He sighed and put down his drink. ‘Do we have a problem, Celia?’
‘Just a very small one, sir.’ She nodded over to where Grint and his team were enjoying a self-congratulatory drink. ‘Are you aware Lt Grint appears to be taking the credit for capturing the young man at Versailles?’
He frowned. ‘I haven’t seen his report yet.’
‘You won’t, sir. His and his team’s reports have gone straight to Commander Hay.’
He shrugged. ‘Credit usually goes to the officer handing in the prisoner. And how much do we actually want to be associated with this one?’
She frowned. ‘The perimeter was his responsibility. We should have been free to act without having to worry about the effect on contemporaries. Sir, I feel compelled to say his contempt for the historical aspect of our missions is beginning to affect his judgement. In my opinion. Sir.’
He nodded. ‘Your opinion is duly noted, Officer North.’
One of the bar staff approached. He raised his voice to include them all. ‘Message from Captain Farenden, sir. Could you, Lt Grint and Officer North please report to Commander Hay’s office as quickly as possible, please.’
Grint looked pleased. Possibly he thought a commendation was in order.
‘My compliments to Commander Hay,’ said Ellis. ‘I have a wounded team member to check on again. I’ll be there in a moment.’
‘Captain Farenden was explicit, sir. Immediately, please.’
Ellis and North exchanged glances. This sounded serious.
Captain Farenden stood up as they entered his office and gestured towards the commander’s door. ‘This way, please.’
They filed in and he closed the door quietly behind them.
Ellis, Grint and North were all field officers. Over the years they had all developed certain instincts. Quite a few of them were kicking in right now.
Without preamble, Commander Hay turned her screen for them to see. ‘I’d like an explanation of this, please.’
The screen showed an enormous picture of Officer North wrestling with a particularly frantic-looking Marie Antoinette. Jane’s legs were in there somewhere, but the star of the show was definitely Officer North. The headline screamed, ‘Did Time Cops Cause French Revolution?’
The only slightly smaller headline read, ‘Undercover Cop Exposed in Time Cop Cock-up,’ with North’s head carefully ringed so that less gifted readers could be in no doubt as to which of the two figures was the undercover cop in question.
North had gone white.
‘Where did this come from?’ demanded Ellis.
‘Exactly my first question,’ said Hay, coldly. ‘My second was – who ran the perimeter?’
There was silence. North was unable and Ellis unwilling to speak. The silence dragged on and then Grint said, very reluctantly, ‘That would have been me, ma’am.’
‘How could you allow this to happen, Grint?’
‘It was a very public spot, ma’am. There were a lot of people around. We weren’t expecting a non-contemporary to come through. And I didn’t know they had cameras in those days.’
‘Did you run the scan? Did you locate his pod?’
‘Eventually, ma’am, yes.’
‘And? Where is it?’
‘Gone, ma’am. By the time we arrived . . . We were delayed by events with the queen.’
‘There must have been at least two of them. Because someone got that pod out of there.’
Grint had the sense to say nothing.
‘Who took this image? The one now plastered all over the media.’
‘I do not have that information, ma’am.’
‘At what point, Lieutenant, did you run the scan to locate the pod?’
‘After visual identification of the non-contemporary, ma’am. Once we realised he was also in the time-slip, we proceeded according to protocol.’
‘So he was actually standing in front of you before you were aware of his presence? Despite the importance of ensuring no detail of the time-slip was changed, you failed to take basic precautions. Your first action on arrival should have been to run the scan. Which would have located the pod. Which would have alerted you to the fact there were illegals present. Which should have initiated stringent perimeter procedures. You should have cleared the area. You should have identified and neutralised the accomplice before he could do any harm. You did none of that. Basic procedures, Lieutenant, and you neglected every single one of them.’
Grint was rigid, staring at the wall over her shoulder.
Captain Farenden said sharply, ‘Look at the commander when she is speaking to you.’
Grint swallowed audibly. ‘Yes, ma’am. But as soon as he appeared . . .’
She slammed a drawer shut. ‘Have you any idea what would have happened had his intention not been to save Marie Antoinette? That he was, in fact, nothing more than a romantic boy hell-bent on rescuing his goddess was good fortune we did nothing to deserve. Suppose he had shot her?’