Pirates a League of Brothers by H, J, Macey (top books to read .TXT) 📕

"Surveillance six, we can confirm the subject's invention, was sent out for delivery by mail. It was scheduled to be on this morning postal round, due to be delivered by noon today. Is that all you require on the subject, or is there any additional information you require." The lady at control said over the radio link, and there was a short silence before the driver said.

"Surveillance car six, you might want to include a medic, on tonight's surveillance team. The main subject may need medical assistance if the lady subject gets her hands on him." The driver said, with unmistakable laughter in his voice.

A dark limousine pulled up behind surveillance six at four-thirty pm, it had two male occupants. They joined the couple in the surveillance six and spent several minutes with them. Before they returned to their own vehicle, then as surveillance six drove away. They left seven to carry on with the surveillance of the house at a hundred and nine railway parade Armadale.

Although Sera had calmed somewhat, Peter was still outside apprehensive about trying to enter. He was now on the veranda out of the sun, still trying to negotiate safe passage for himself. He had to reach his bedroom, so he could change into his work clothes, for his shift at the restaurant, tonight.

"Sera please I'm sorry, let me in I've got to change we need the money, I have to go to work tonight. Look I did it because we are both desperate, we need something soon, or we'd be sleeping on the beach. You don't have to take the job if you don't want to, you don't even have to go if you don't want to!" He said taking a step back towards the edge of the veranda, as Sera appeared in the doorway.

"Alright, Peter I've got to work as well, but don't you think I've forgiven you. You shouldn't have taken that photo, let alone given it to someone else. When you see them on Monday, you can ask for it back." She stood aside to let him pass, but he looked at her suspiciously. So she came out of the house completely, and he hurried to his room.

Sera herself hadn't yet changed into her hungry jacks uniform, her shadow for tonight observed. All week the men had sat and watched the house, but only last night had Sera emerged. Dress in her red and gold uniform, and be followed to the burger bar where she worked. The other man had sat watching, until Sera and her shadow returned at eleven.

The two men were taken by surprise when Peter appeared dressed as a waiter. Then headed towards the town centre, and followed by one of them. Just after five-fifteen, Sera appeared as she had the night before. Dressed as she was then in red slacks with braces and gold blouse, to be again tailed by her shadow up to Hungry Jack's burgers.

Peter's shadow reported in when he and Peter, reached the restaurant in Perth. He was told to stand down, as was Sera's shadow when he reported her at her workplace. They were satisfied, Sera and Peter would only return to their place of residence at the end of their shifts. After five days of surveillance, they were now sure of their subjects' daily routine.

Or to be precise the lack of one, it had soon become apparent to them all. That Sera and Peter were struggling to find their normal work, having read the dossier on the pair. They knew of their qualifications and burger tossing was not Sera's. As for waiting tables, that was not Peter's preferred occupation.

Before these two had taken up their surveillance duties tonight, they had seen the tapes from the surveillance cameras. That had been played back to them as part of their briefing and had seen and heard the heated exchange between Sera and Peter.

They had also seen the photo in question, on previous briefings as had surveillance team six, and saw no reason for Sera to be so upset. It wasn't that revealing a photo, and in fact was quite flattering, though Sera having never seen it would have no way of knowing.

Surveillance team six were back on station, Saturday morning at ten. Then at ten-thirty, they had a radio message, informing them their subjects were now up and about. They were not expected to venture out any time soon, as they had not dressed in outdoor clothing.

Although the monitoring team at their base, could see and hear inside the building. Surveillance team six outside could only sit and wait, for either one of the subjects to appear. They only had the base to inform them of the continuing tension inside.

"I got some steak off the chef last night, as well as those eggs Sera. We can have them tonight if you like, with that French salad I brought home." Peter said as he poked his head into the kitchen, to see Sera frying eggs for breakfast, and noting only one plate out with toast on.

It looked like he would have to cook his own, but was it safe to enter with that frying pan in her hand. She hadn't acknowledged she had heard him at all, or that he was even there in the room. Was she just giving him the silent treatment, or would she turn on him again at any second?

Peter moved cautiously into the kitchen and placed two slices of bread into the toaster. While keeping a wary eye on Sera the whole time, he wasn't taking any chances she could flare up at any moment. She had really frightened him yesterday, he had never seen her like that before.

She had moved away from the cooker and now sat eating her breakfast. At least she had left the frying pan for him to use, and the carton of eggs by the cooker. When the kettle whistled he made his tea then put his eggs on his toast.  

He was about to sit, then thought it better to have his breakfast in his room. As he didn't like the way she held that knife when Sera looked up sternly at him. The girl monitoring the live surveillance feedback at headquarters, gave a rye smile as he quickly exited the kitchen.

All morning he stayed out of her way, by busying himself cleaning the backyard. While Sera did her cleaning and the washing of her underthings, to be hung out to dry. When Peter finished making that dust cloud, with the electric mower.

Anyway, it was too hot to be out there in the open after midday, under the shade of the banana trees was the place to be. It would be nice to have the water spray on, to cool the air but hose pipes were only allowed Tuesdays and Thursdays.

As Sera had spread herself out, in the shade of the tree on her lounger. The only place Peter had to sit in the shade was right next to her. He was glared at when he tried, so it was on the veranda then.

Again that evening they were followed to their work place's, then left to work as their shadows went off duty. That night Peter was restless, as he heard sounds that could be Sera creeping upon him.

Sunday lunchtime he had had enough, of tiptoeing around her and stood defiantly in the doorway of the kitchen. As she stood at the cooker doing something with the burger meat, she had returned with last night. It was smelling much better than just what burgers did, but the knife she was dissing the onions with looked dangerous.

"Look Sera I'm sorry I've upset you, but I did for all the best reasons for both of us. Yes, I should have told you, but I needed a photo of you to send in. It was the only one I could find, and it was a nice one of you sleeping. So you can do what you need to do, I'll not move. Only can we stop this bad feeling between us before it turns into something worse, and we end up hating each other!"

"It might not have been the best thing I've thought of, but there is a free meal and some pocket money if we go tomorrow. The letter said five dollars an hour, that’s five times what you make an hour last night. In five hours we'd have fifty dollars between us, I'm going I can't afford to miss this handout, and neither can you."

"You know I'm right Sera, you have to admit that. You've got to put your pride to one side, we need that money, and it's not like we're being offered the job. It's just an informal meeting right, we don't have to agree to anything, do we? If they want to pay me to go to another one, I'll go to that one too." Peter said, his words making him believe in himself, as he stood tall in the doorway.

Sera had turned from the stove and was looking at him in a new way, he didn't look as weak as he had. Over the last year, he had lost self-confidence in himself. His inability to find work, and provide had sapped him of his independence. He now seemed to have new energy, a new determination. It gave Sera confidence in him and it showed, and the girl monitoring noticed it too.

"Alright, Peter I'll go with you, but only for the money. It was advertised in a sex mag,' has someone hired an office in that building, just to make it look more respectable? Whoever he is he's got my photo, and that’s all he's seeing of me. It's going to cost him twenty-five dollars, to see me in my business suit. That’s going to be at arm's length, he'll get no closer to me than that."

"I might even demand payment before he starts asking his questions! I've got a few for him myself to start with. One is what happened to his last secretary and driver, and how long did they stay with him. How many has he had in the last year, I bet he gets a high turnover of staff."

Sera said; and the girl at her monitoring station smiled, as she typed down the conversion. On the teletype machine on her desk, that was linked to the one in the grand master's office. It was on the twenty-fifth floor of the Gray International Institute building.