condensed master
Will Bonner he felt sick with Louise's little hand gripping him so tightly, there was no mistaking that she was sending him a message. He picked her up and carried her home and within minutes she was fast asleep. Will lay on the bed, his mind was split in two. On the one side was Mark screaming his head off, and on the other, the quiet despair of Louise being left with, in her mind, strangers. Their respective families still lived in England, thirteen thousand miles away, and they would have to accept being on their own. Visiting the hospital next day, Will learned that Mark had sustained a greenstick fracture of his collar bone whilst he was being born, and it would take him awhile to get better. It seemed completely out of keeping to see this little baby with his arm in a sling! Will's associate in the test room at work was away, consequently, he could not take any time off. The routine of leaving Louise at Ivan's each day, then being with her briefly in the early evening before visiting the hospital was painful, to say the least. He could see that she was suffering in silence by the look on her face when he picked her up to take her home. A few days later Dorothy came home with baby Mark, so now they were a family of four and everyone settled down to a more secure routine. Needless to say, Louise was more often than not clinging to her mother, probably wondering when she was going to be whisked away again! It had been nearly three years now since making the move to Watson-Victor, and Louise was approaching her third birthday. By now he had covered every aspect of the work that was required of him, and things had remained easy, with no challenges or trauma, consequently, he was in excellent condition mentally. The only factor that he realized he would have to address, sooner or later, was the financial aspect. There were very few pay rises, and very little prospect of anything forthcoming on the horizon. One of the employee's would occasionally help him out in the test-room, a man by the name of Frank Churchill and it was he who provided him with the answer. "I'm leaving next week Will." "Have you got a job to go to?" "Yes, there's a company in the city and they're still looking for television engineers. Do you want me to put a word in for you?" Will was wary, as things stood at the moment he was as secure as he could 264
The Reluctant Agent A Compelling Story of Espionage ever be. "Drop in and let me know how you get on." After Frank had left Will found it difficult to get the thought out of his mind that he could possibly get back into television. Frank was back visiting the test-room only one week later, enthusiastic about the company and the work. He had been supplied with a vehicle, but Will gasped when he learned that the salary was nearly double to what he was currently earning. "If you're interested I can pick you up tomorrow morning and take you in to meet the Manager. With your qualifications he'll employ you straightway." Will didn't hesitate, he was ready for any challenge now that he'd had the benefit of what could only be described as a long spell of rehabilitation. He talked excitedly with Dorothy that night about the prospects of their finances getting such a big boost. It would take them clear out of the doldrums. The conditions of employment were simple. If you could handle the job you were in, if you couldn't you were out. Problem solving in electronics was second nature to Will, he had no misgivings about throwing himself into the work. This particular branch of the company employed around forty field engineers and it's electronics workshops were located just north of the city centre. Covering the whole of the Melbourne metropolitan area and the surrounding suburbs on a daily basis, this small segment of the company was minuscule in comparison to the size of the overall organization. Will was just settling down to the daily work routine when a note appeared in his message box which he checked each day before leaving to go on the road. It simply read "please phone Margaret" Tony. Will looked around him, his conscience playing tricks, but he had no need for concern. The department was always buzzing with activity at this time of the morning, everyone was eager to clear the building and get to their first call. It was a good fifteen mile drive to his first job enabling him enough time to chew things over. It had been a long time since the episode with Dan at Margaret's hide-a-way. He had a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach, a likeness to eating something that was now having a detrimental effect. Tony must have been tracking his activities to be able to leave the message. It was written by one of the office girls on a company's telephone message pad. Once started, his work demanded his total attention, consequently, he gave it no further thought until he 265
- Page 214 and 215: Will Bonner The next hour involved
- Page 216 and 217: Will Bonner That didn't sound too b
- Page 218 and 219: Will Bonner the car and be able to
- Page 220 and 221: Will Bonner assembled. Will looked
- Page 222 and 223: Will Bonner Bart nodded his head an
- Page 224 and 225: Will Bonner "It's simple logic. The
- Page 226 and 227: Will Bonner his head down between h
- Page 228 and 229: Will Bonner assistance. He was comm
- Page 230 and 231: Will Bonner sounding as though it w
- Page 232 and 233: Will Bonner He could hear the famil
- Page 234 and 235: Will Bonner "They have no organizat
- Page 236 and 237: Will Bonner Tony looked uneasy. "Is
- Page 238 and 239: Will Bonner question in his mind he
- Page 240 and 241: Will Bonner "How did you know where
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- Page 248 and 249: Will Bonner Tensions rose another n
- Page 250 and 251: Will Bonner only been a few days si
- Page 252 and 253: Will Bonner Brenner, why is it that
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- Page 256 and 257: Will Bonner "Yes, but he'll start a
- Page 258 and 259: Will Bonner Margaret's shaking was
- Page 260 and 261: Will Bonner had enough. Picking up
- Page 262 and 263: Will Bonner equipment. Taking the i
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- Page 274 and 275: Will Bonner There was very little i
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- Page 282 and 283: Will Bonner quiet as a tomb and pro
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- Page 292 and 293: Will Bonner Margaret turned to Tony
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- Page 298 and 299: Will Bonner Mr. Byer was still in t
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- Page 302 and 303: Will Bonner Will had not heard from
- Page 304 and 305: Will Bonner "That's more like it."
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- Page 310 and 311: Will Bonner before everyone leaves
- Page 312 and 313: Will Bonner distance between them a
Will Bonner<br />
he felt sick with Louise's little hand gripping him so tightly, there was no mistaking<br />
that she was sending him a message. He picked her up and carried her home and<br />
within minutes she was fast asleep.<br />
Will lay on the bed, his mind was split in two. On the one side was Mark<br />
screaming his head off, and on the other, the quiet despair of Louise being left with,<br />
in her mind, strangers. Their respective families still lived in England, thirteen<br />
thousand miles away, and they would have to accept being on their own.<br />
Visiting the hospital next day, Will learned that Mark had sustained a<br />
greenstick fracture of his collar bone whilst he was being born, and it would take<br />
him awhile to get better. It seemed completely out of keeping to see this little baby<br />
with his arm in a sling!<br />
Will's associate in the test room at work was away, consequently, he could not<br />
take any time off. The routine of leaving Louise at Ivan's each day, then being with<br />
her briefly in the early evening before visiting the hospital was painful, to say the<br />
least. He could see that she was suffering in silence by the look on her face when<br />
he picked her up to take her home.<br />
A few days later Dorothy came home with baby Mark, so now they were a<br />
family of four and everyone settled down to a more secure routine. Needless to<br />
say, Louise was more often than not clinging to her mother, probably wondering<br />
when she was going to be whisked away again!<br />
It had been nearly three years now since making the move to Watson-Victor,<br />
and Louise was approaching her third birthday. By now he had covered every<br />
aspect of the work that was required of him, and things had remained easy, with<br />
no challenges or trauma, consequently, he was in excellent condition mentally.<br />
The only factor that he realized he would have to address, sooner or later, was<br />
the financial aspect. There were very few pay rises, and very little prospect of<br />
anything forthcoming on the horizon. One of the employee's would occasionally<br />
help him out in the test-room, a man by the name of Frank Churchill and it was he<br />
who provided him with the answer.<br />
"I'm leaving next week Will."<br />
"Have you got a job to go to?"<br />
"Yes, there's a company in the city and they're still looking for television<br />
engineers. Do you want me to put a word in for you?"<br />
Will was wary, as things stood at the moment he was as secure as he could<br />
264