The Enhanced Intelligence Service...

Having located the workshop where the brass spheres were created, and discovered that the horologist Leopold Schwob had transformed into the horror of Sidney Square, MI6s team of enhanced individuals were piecing together all of the clues when they were summoned to attend a meeting in London. MI6s team consists of Alfie Baldrick, the one man rifle section; Mimi Dubois, maîtresse of skills; Madeline Forsyth, the living shadow; and Sven Hyse, the Norwegian shapeshifter.

London, England, September 1949

Charlie pulls the car up outside 54 Broadway, the main headquarters of MI6, and we step from the car in our full dress uniforms. Alfie meets us outside and I take a moment to attempt to wipe a grease spot out of the front of his uniform before we head into the building. We are directed to a large boardroom on one of the upper floors and as we enter we are met by silver tray wielding batmen who take our coats and hand us glasses of drink before once again circling the room. Madeline leans over and whispers in my ear that by their bearing it is obvious that all of the servers are special forces soldiers, I trust her judgement and realise that this is an important meeting.

That fact is enforced when we start to register the faces of the others that are in the room. Alfie recognises both the Foreign Secretary and the Minister of Defence, and Madeline spots Major Sawdon talking to both Colonel Menzies the head of MI6 and Director General Percy Sillitoe the head of MI5. The ambassadors of both France and Norway are also in attendance, and the latter of these makes a beeline to Sven and greets him warmly before talking to him quietly in his own language. The ambassador of France slides up to me and kisses my hand before attempting to engage me in pointless conversation, I quietly flirt with him to keep him on side and feign interest while my eyes take in all in front of me. The doors at the opposite side of the room open and Prime Minister Clement Attlee enters the room and we are called to order and asked to take our seats.

The Prime Minister starts by relaying a number of the facts that we as a group had helped uncover about the recent increase in enhanced activity, as well as the activity of the enhanced during the war. At that point he looked pointedly at our end of the table and gave a nod of appreciation. He continued to outline which nations it is believed have the technology to create enhanced individuals and that it was believed that since the war it was only Britain that had the expertise to do so. He pointed out that it was concerning that not only did it appearing that Pandora's box had been opened, but that it appeared that the process had been simplified and made accessible to mere criminals.

The Prime Minister continued;

To combat this worrying turn of events we will be establishing a new branch of the intelligence community, the Enhanced Intelligence Service under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Sawdon.

At this point Attlee nods to Sawdon sat to his left and I realise that Sawdon's regalia is indeed that of a Lieutenant Colonel and not a Major anymore. I realise that the Prime Minister has carried on;

Lieutenant Colonel Sawdon will be codenamed 'E', and in light of your service records during the war, as well as your considerable assistance in more recent matters, you will make up the initial core of his team.

That last sentence had been directed at our end of the table, and I had to hide my smile at the look of abject shock on Alfie's face when he realised that it included him. An important looking document was placed in front of the Prime Minister by one of his aides and he signed his name, it was then passed to Sawdon who did likewise. The document was then placed in front of Sven, who was at the end of of group, the rugged Norwegian looked across the table to his ambassador and when he saw a nod of approval he also signed. Next in line was Madeline, and we all had time to get our drinks refreshed while she skim read through the fine print. Eventually she seemed satisfied with it's contents and she signed before passing it on to Alfie. The prime Corporal Baldrick looked about himself nervously before signing himself and sliding it across the table to me. I was amazed that Alfie had somehow managed to smudge such an important document when it had only been with him for less than a minute, and without even looking at the French ambassador I signed my name.

After the official signing there was a meal and drinks, during which Sawdon approached us and congratulated us on our recent efforts. He also said that we should enjoy some well earned R&R and that he would contact us in a few days time to arrange a meeting. Madeline spends her time researching the occult at the British Library, cross checking the scant information that we have on the brass spheres with known occult equations and practitioners. Charlie retrieves Jonny from Hanslope Park and we set up a permanent base of operations at Canning Place Mews.

A couple of days later Isy answers the telephone and is informed by the Smartly Dressed Man, who is now working as Sawdon's secretary, and is informed that we are to meet the Lieutenant Colonel in Dorset Square at ten o'clock that morning. when we arrive we are ushered into Special Agent Philby's old office and find Sawdon sat behind the table. The Smartly Dressed Man serves drinks and and informs us that while he is getting the new EIS HQ up and running he would like us to interrogate the enhanced criminals. He wants us to find out what they know about Doctor Jackal's base of operations as well as any information on where he may have travelled to.

Sawdon also hands over a small file of papers telling us that it contains a copy of all of the references to Dr B within Leopold Schwob's log. We take our leave and head back to Canning Place Mews where Madeline reads out Schwob's log;

Tuesday 13th May 1947

Visited by a Dr B, he wants to learn Horology. I don’t know what he expects, I’ve been at this for 30 years and I’ve only just scratched the surface. Still, he’s paying well and it could be a good earner for a few years or until he gets bored!

Wednesday 11th June 1947

We’ve spent a few weeks going through the tools and techniques. Dr B is a fast learner! I swear I have to tell or show him once and he totally understands.

Monday 14th July 1947

Lord D has asked for a custom time piece. I know it’s early days but let’s see what Dr B can do with this! Should be a good test of his skills and I’m curious to see what he produces.

Thursday 31st July 1947

Such beautiful work! I see and understand what he’s doing but I fear his skills are already surpassing mine and the alarm! What devilry is this? It makes no sense, monstrous work, but so engaging. I’m sure Lord D will be happy with the work.

Monday 18th August 1947

Lord D was ecstatic and has promised to engage my expertise in future, I was ashamed, but could not tell him the work was not my own. Dr B insists that he remains unaccredited, saying that his work is an extension of my excellent teaching. I sense some evasion.

Monday 14th September 1947

Has it been only 6 months? I feel that I am now learning from Dr B! He comes infrequently now, but when he does come he brings wild ideas that I have no idea how to execute. I’m the one that has started asking the questions now.

Tuesday 21st October 1947

Dr B has a new project. I expressed disappointment at the idea of making clockwork toys!

Monday 3rd November 1947

I think I begin to understand the intention of the toys. The purpose of each one is not important, he’s practising, I think. Before embarking on something truly ambitious. He has come up with a whole new mechanism that makes my eyes water and gives me a headache. He says the number of teeth on the gears and the arrangement of the gears is important but I don’t understand what he’s saying anymore! I merely offer advice from my many years of experience and watch flummoxed as he creates a device with no logic. It is insanity!

Madeline looks up from the page that she is reading;

I believe that this is just more evidence that Doctor Jackal is somehow combining the occult with the enhanced effects.

We all agree that this needs to be further looked into, and I suggest that while Sven and Madeline interrogate the enhanced criminals at Hanslope Park myself and Alfie visit the British Library and see who else may have been studying the same books that Madeline has spent the last few days researching. Madeline continues to read the last couple of entries from Schwob's log;

Monday 13th September 1948

After nearly a year Dr B has finished with the toys. He has gifted me 'The Crawler', I still don’t truly understand how it does what it does. Some of the toys were truly beautiful, some of them do nothing as far as I can tell, pointless artefacts that only whir and click. But, oh the Flower! Such a complex device, executed with such artistry, but what purpose? Is this a toy? He has gone way beyond our initial creations. The Lighter and the Chameleon! How do they do that? Together we built 10 of these things. When I say together, I mean Dr B did most of the work at times I felt like the apprentice. He says he is using his advanced knowledge of physics. How does that even apply!?

 

Saturday 13th November 1948

I believe Dr B must have his own workshop now, he mentioned working on some more advanced toys but he doesn’t bother me with such “trivialities” any more.

Charlie drives Madeline and Sven to Hanslope Park that afternoon and they both agree that they will start the interrogation with Edward Hughes, the enhanced mind reader. Sven transforms himself into a massive mastiff and sits just to the right of the prisoner while Madeline connects electrodes to Hughes' body. As the interrogation gets underway Hughes attempts to read Madeline's mind, but his attempt is deflected from her fortress like mind and knowing that he has attempted to read her mind, Madeline gives the criminal a mild electric shock and says;

Stay out of my mind! It will not go well for you!

Madeline lays out everything that she knows about the criminal gang and asks Hughes to fill in the blanks for her. Hughes swallows and glances briefly at the growling mastiff to his right before answering;

I'll tell you everything that I know, but I don't know much.

He goes on to say that he was introduced to Doctor Barghest by George Chatham. Chatham had met the Doctor in the Blind Beggar, George had got badly injured and the Doctor offered his services. The Doctor worked out of a house on Raven Row, and over time the gang formed a working relationship with him. Eventually, Hughes was taken to the Doctor's house by Billy Hill where the Doctor gave him some kind of injection. When he regained consciousness, his hand was missing and over time he was able to read minds. Madeline pushes him for details on the Doctor and shows him a picture of Doctor Jackal, but Hughes says that he doesn't know. Madeline turns the dial on the piece of equipment on the table and Hughes receives another electrical shock. Madeline stares at him;

Not good enough! Try again!

Hughes looks again, this time longer and agrees that he could have been disguised and it could well be the same man. Madeline starts to question him about the brass spheres and is told that Billy Hill was gifted the first of the spheres. Madeline moves onto the Battle of London Airport and asks if he was there, Hughes admits that he was and when pressed as to how they got the stuff out of the safe Hughes says that Sammy could snatch things through solid objects. Madeline questions him as to where Teddy Machin might run to, but even after prolonged questioning he cannot answer so Madeline is convinced that he really doesn't know. He also doesn't seem to know anything about where the Doctor was travelling to.

Madeline tells Hughes that he has been right to work with her and be honest in his answers, she goes on to say that if he shows the right attitude and aptitude he may be able to work with her going forwards. Hughes did not want to be sedated again, but a long growl from Sven and he stopped resisting. 

Madeline stretched her back and passed Sven a cup of coffee, they had grilled Hughes for several hours, as Sven took the cup she asked him who was next. The big Norwegian replied;

Let's pull in Big Alfie!