Fallen Hero (A New Adventure Begins - Star Elite 3)

“If you are not too tired, maybe we should hear what he has to say,” Aaron suggested.

Elspeth nodded, and led the way into the kitchen.

“It is a pleasure to meet you at last,” Sir Hugo murmured when Aaron had made the introductions.

“I will get everyone up,” Jasper offered.

“Have you been on watch?” Aaron asked.

Jasper nodded. “All has been quiet. There have been no recurrences.”

Aaron nodded his thanks and made his way into the kitchen. By the time the rest of the men had joined them, Aaron had already started to sort through the pile of letters and packets in his saddle bag. He selected the ones he suspected might hold something unusual and placed them before him on the table. The rest he left in the bag at his feet.

“Firstly, I want to apologise on behalf of the Star Elite, the Lord Chief Justice and the War Office, for the lack of rest and recuperation you men have been given over the last year or so. It has been an incredibly busy time for all of us. Unfortunately, while we have been successful in the investigations we have dealt with, our success has made us more popular and we are in increasing demand. That has put us all under pressure. When you all left London, I took the problems we all face to the hierarchy in the War Office and explained our problem. They have given us funding to set up a larger unit of men and will be enlisting several new recruits over the forthcoming weeks to help us.”

“How many?” Jasper murmured. “It won’t help if we keep losing the new recruits to the local groups. While the local groups are important, they can’t help the investigations we have ongoing in London. The damned city is huge. It takes more than a handful of men to investigate the dark streets and different parts of the city. It’s just a stupid, futile

job to try to follow someone through London without at least three men behind you.”

Everyone nodded.

Elspeth looked at the men. Their annoyance was tangible. So much so, she felt sorry for Sir Hugo, but not if it meant the men who worked such long hours for the benefit of others weren’t allowed lives of their own. She knew, from first-hand experience, just how much of a personal cost their work must have on their families. She therefore couldn’t find much sympathy for the difficulties the ‘hierarchy’ at the War Office faced.

“The men in the regions are all looking to recruit four to five men for each group. The London group, which consist of yourselves, are going to get fifteen more men. They will be from London, or the closer regions, and will be fully trained and ready to start work by the time they join us. Two groups in the regions have already started to train their men. Once they have finished, they will then train your new recruits, so they will be ready to join their new groups without the need to be trained,” Sir Hugo reported.

“A bit like the army then,” Oliver nodded.

“Yes. You will not be expected to train the men who will join your investigations.”

“If we work,” Aaron responded.

“This is an investigation, isn’t it?” Sir Hugo drawled.

“It’s nothing to do with Horvat,” Oliver challenged. “We are working on something completely different.”

“I know,” Sir Hugo murmured.

“He has something to tell us about Thomas’s death,” Aaron warned them.

“You know Thomas?” Elspeth gasped. She winced because she knew that he had probably heard about Thomas given his connection to Aaron.

“He came to see me,” Sir Hugo said eventually.

“When?” Oliver’s voice lashed across the room.

Sir Hugo cautiously took a seat at the head of the table. “Before news broke of his death.”

“Is he dead?” Aaron demanded. He leaned forward and pierced Sir Hugo with a look that warned the older man that Aaron would know if he lied, and there would be dire consequences for Sir Hugo if he wasn’t honest.

“I don’t believe so. No.”

Elspeth cried out loud and slapped a hand over her mouth. Her eyes were wide with horror as she stared at the man at the opposite end of the table. Aaron reached out to clasp her hand and edged closer in his seat. Not that he wanted to be any comfort. He wanted to stop her from racing over to Sir Hugo and pummelling him until he told the truth. He suspected, from the look on her face that she wasn’t just relieved, in a stunned, tearful kind of way, but also wildly horrified. It was only a matter of time before fury over her brother’s deception began to burn through the lot and left her trembling with rage. There would be Hell to pay when it did, especially given the awful situation she had been living in because of Thomas’s apparent lies.

“How do you know?” Jasper demanded.

“Why in the Hell didn’t you tell Aaron before he left London?” Oliver asked.

“Just what in the Hell is going on then? Where is he? What the Hell does he think he is doing to his sister?” Niall interrupted.