The Unexpected Coincidence by Amelia Price Read Free Book Online Page B

them
for her, but it would be a good lesson for her to have to protect
herself and figure out who had sent the letters without his help.
While she was solving her own problem, he could keep an eye on her
and continue his own lessons. It was the simplest way to
proceed.
    As the time
continued to trickle past, Mycroft considered getting some sleep,
but he expected something to happen soon. The cache of food at the
marshland had fruit, bread, and other perishable items that
wouldn't last much longer. Whoever had left it there wouldn't stay
away past the night.
    Settling back in
his armchair, he picked up his book again, almost hoping he
wouldn't get to read many pages before someone contacted him.
    When two more
gongs sounded from the clock, he considered going to bed, but a few
seconds later his phone let out a shrill noise from the small table
beside him. He picked it up and saw what he'd wanted. A man had
returned to the cache and looked like he would be there long enough
for Mycroft to arrive.
    He buzzed for
Daniels to get the car ready and walked briskly upstairs to get
changed into more suitable attire for his task. It didn't take long
as he'd already had his housekeeper lay out the necessary garments
for him to don at need.
    Daniels already
waited by the car, and the quiet noise of the running engine came
to his ears as Mycroft walked out of the front door.
    “Get there as
quick as you can,” Mycroft said as he got himself into the back of
the car and pulled the door shut. Daniels was efficient enough to
be behind the wheel and ready to go as soon as he was. There had
been several chauffeurs in Mycroft's employment before he found
Daniels, but the search had been worth it. His household ran well
thanks to him and the housekeeper.
    Mycroft looked
over the preliminary information as it was coming in from one of
the observing agents. Just before two in the morning they'd heard
the sound of something rustling the grasses and reeds on the
marshland. A few seconds later a tall man with a thin build had
appeared, striding over the land. He'd dressed in black but the
agents all had heat scanners and could see his outline as it made
its way to the food.
    At the moment they
were watching him eat and rest, which helped Mycroft feel more
relaxed about his decision to wait at home. If the man, probably a
Russian, wasn't in a hurry, it would give Daniels time to get him
there. At least London this late at night was nowhere near as busy
as during the day.
    He tried not to
get impatient as he sat and waited to arrive. The agents were
feeding him very little information. Hopefully, because the Russian
was still eating, or even better, trying to get some sleep.
    When Daniels
finally pulled up in the right place, Mycroft sprang into action.
Not saying a word to his driver, he headed away from his car and
towards the marshlands. Daniels turned the car off and the
headlights went out. The darkness wrapped itself around Mycroft and
he had to wait several seconds for his eyes to adjust to the new
environment.
    It didn't take him
long to spot the closest of his team of three agents. The light
pollution from the large city helped to prevent it being totally
dark, and his observant eyes did the rest of the work.
    Being careful to
move as silently as he could and going more slowly, Mycroft wound
his way across the marshes to his agent. As he went, he kept a
close eye on the area around him. Many birds roosted here and he
didn't want to startle any and draw attention to his presence.
    It took him
another fifteen minutes to get to the agent, making his total
arrival time from notification to the present just shy of
forty-five minutes. Not bad, considering everything he managed. For
someone well over a hundred years old, he was still in good
shape.
    “What's the
latest?” Mycroft asked in the ear of agent Herbert.
    “He stopped eating
but doesn't appear to be leaving any time soon. Might be reading;
hard to tell,” the agent whispered