A Terrible Misunderstanding (A New Adventure Begins - Star Elite 6)

“She doesn’t have a husband; at five and twenty? What the Hell is wrong with her?” Harry asked dourly.

“Well, at least we can be assured we won’t end up like him,” Niall snorted with a nod to Oliver.

Oliver’s brows shot up but he followed it with a wolfish grin. Rather than take his colleague to task for his teasing, Oliver looked at the report he had to finish relaying.

“Beverley Argent has been interrogated repeatedly by Simon Andrews but has come up with the same information. If the Smidgleys’ operation was ever discovered the kidnappers would strike again and snatch a relation of one of the top brass. The victim would then be used as collateral to barter for their freedom. If Clara Potter is snatched her safety will be used to try to force Atticus to release the Smidgley brothers. If he doesn’t comply then his daughter will die, it is that simple.”

“That would cause such outrage that Potter’s position would become untenable,” Niall interrupted.

Everyone nodded.

“The threat is real, to Clara Potter, Atticus Potter, and everyone else who isn’t involved in the Smidgleys’ shenanigans,” Harry murmured thoughtfully.

“The threat is very real,” Will agreed.

“That’s come from Argent? He actually dared threaten Atticus, the Secretary of State?” Niall pursed his lips, impressed although slightly horrified at the man’s audacity. “Does he not realise that if anything happens to Atticus or his family, Argent would shoulder the blame as well as Smidgley. It is highly unlikely either of them would ever be freed from gaol.”

“How does Claude expect to snatch a woman single-handedly?” Rhys asked. “Now that his nephews are behind bars their little empire has crumbled.”

“With difficulty if she struggles,” Niall grinned.

Rhys smirked.

“We know it is possible,” Jasper warned. “Look at what happened in St Magdaline.”

“How does this impact on our investigation, apart from taking us all to Gloucestershire?” Niall asked with a shrug.

“We are going to split into two teams,” Oliver warned. “Half of us are going to catch up with Peregrine and see if we can catch Smidgley before he strays too close to our dear Miss Potter. We are also going to place men at Clara Potter’s house in case Smidgley evades us and manages to reach the Potter residence.”

“We will be waiting for him,” Niall growled, as if there could be little doubt about it.

“We have to keep watch over Clara Potter, but because we know how effectively Smidgley has kidnapped the victims in broad daylight we have to be extra vigilant. She has to be constantly watched,” Oliver warned. “Do not take anything for granted, gentlemen. One blink is all it would take. We would be disbanded if we failed to protect the daughter of the Secretary of State.”

“She doesn’t know that her life is in danger I take it?” Harry lifted his brows when Oliver shook his head.

“She hasn’t any idea what her father is having to deal with,” Oliver reported. “She is not to know either. This is a government investigation, gentlemen. Clara Potter is not to be a part of it unless she has to know because her safety has been compromised.”

“Why doesn’t Atticus just tell her what is happening and that she is to be vigilant?”

“Because he doesn’t want to scare her. Hopefully, we can get Smidgley before he reaches her. This mission is to be done silently without alerting her or her aunt to what is going on,” Oliver ordered.

“But Claude may just be passing through Gloucestershire,” Niall growled. “How do we know this isn’t just a fool’s errand and the danger Smidgley poses to Clara Potter is nothing more than an idle threat made by Argent because he doesn’t have any other weapons now that he is behind bars?”

“We don’t,” Oliver warned. “But we cannot ignore the threat, or the fact that Smidgley is now doing everything Argent said he would. We don’t know for definite what Smidgley is up to and won’t know until we catch up with Peregrine. Argent has been adamant this was their plan, so we have to assume that Claud

e Smidgley has every intention of sticking to it. He needs collateral, gentlemen and Clara Potter is it.”

“We shall be right behind him,” Niall promised.

“We will get word to you if Smidgley moves away from the area and the threat is over,” Harry assured him. “You can catch us up.”

A heavy silence lengthened over the table. Oliver didn’t dismiss the men as he usually would. Instead, he waited until everyone realised that was something more.

At first, Niall thought nothing of the wary tension hovering over everyone, until he looked up and realised that Oliver was staring intently at him.

“You follow can catch us up,” Oliver repeated meaningfully.

Niall looked around the group. When Will and Rhys shifted uncomfortably in their seats, he realised that his friends knew exactly what his part of the investigation was going to be.