Dinner with the Doctor...

The EIS team have liberated Albert Einstein from a Russian facility within the walled city of Kurchatov and escaped to the west, handing him over to the American authorities. An unexpected encounter with a young girl claiming to be the daughter of Doctor Jackal on the aeroplane journey back to England has led the team back in the direction of Ravens Row. The EIS 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, January 1950

It is a January morning in a rainy London when the EIS Team jump into their car and head in the direction of Ravens Row and a meeting with Doctor Jackal. The day is Friday 23rd January 1950 and the team drive in silence as the enormity of meeting with the man they have chased around the globe settles in. As they are pulling into Whitechapel Road Mimi spots a dark sedan car seemingly following them, Sven suggests that they stop for food and see if the car passes and Alfie remembers a great pie shop on the corner of Whitechapel Road and Vallance Road. He pulls their car up outside, and it is then that they remember that they don't have any English currency. With a disappointed frown, having missed out on a pie, Alfie watches the tailing sedan drive past them.

Alfie pulls casually away and turns slowly down Turner Street before turning right onto Commercial Road and left into Cannon Street Road before he put his foot down hard on the accelerator and races through the traffic in the direction of Hyde Park. Madeline, who had been closely watching what was happening behind, spots a second sedan weaving through the traffic behind them. They now know for certain that they are being tailed, but they don't know who by. Even though they are safely in the west, their recent experience in the east causes the team to follow their instincts and try to lose those who are shadowing them.

Mimi navigates them to Hartford Street on the edge of Hyde Park where Alfie parks the car and they leave it and head across the road and into the park. As soon as they are walking through the trees and bushes on the edge of the park Sven jumps into cover and transforms into a small thrush and takes to the air to see who is trying to follow the team. As soon as the remaining three team members arrive at Hyde Park Corner underground station they use a public telephone and put a call through to the smartly dressed man, after a few moments silence a familiar voice can be heard at the other end of the line:

Good morning Ms Forsyth. I wonder if you and your colleagues could possibly visit with us at 54 Broadway?

Madeline scowls a little before replying:

We believe that we are being followed. Are they yours?

A moments silence, and then:

If you wouldn't mind reporting to 54 Broadway, that would be splendid!

Madeline hangs up the receiver and turns to the others to tell them that they have been asked to report in for a debrief, as she is talking to them she spots a young lady in a long coat and hat trying to look inconspicuous over Mimi's shoulder. She turns and points towards the ticket gate and while her back is to the young lady she whispers to the others that they are still being followed.

Sven follows the team to the underground station and then flits down the stairs and into the station proper. Nobody pays any attention to the small thrush as it flaps over their heads and darts into the ladies toilets. A few minutes later an old lady shuffles out of the toilet and heads towards the tall frame of Alfie Baldrick, if anyone had been paying close attention they would know that the old lady had never entered the toilets. But no one was paying close attention.

Knowing that they still need money to travel across London, Madeline and Mimi weave through the crowd towards one of the many newspaper vendors. On route Madeline instantly transforms into a shadow, but the busy commuter crowd barely notice. A couple of people double take but just put it down to losing the woman in the crowded station and move on about their business. Mimi approaches the newspaper salesman and thoroughly distracts him while the shadow Madeline slips her hand into his cash box and grabs a handful of cash.

The old lady approaches Alfie and asks if he can help her, when he bends down to hear her she tells him that she is Sven. Strangely, Baldrick takes it completely in his stride and just says:

Yes Sir? Ma’am?

Ten minutes later and the four team members are approaching the barrier with newly purchased tickets in hand. Standing on the platform Madeline can still see the young lady in the hat and as the train pulls in the team enter on of the carriages and the young lady gets into the one behind. Sven asks Mimi if she has checked to see if there are any other enhanced in the area, suddenly remembering that she can do such a thing she pushes out with her senses and is instantly alert when she gets two returns, one in the carriage behind and one at the front of the carriage that they are in. Mimi quickly tells the others and Madeline decides that it is time to take the initiative, she turns to the rest of the team and says:

Rendezvous at the Blind Beggar.

The British agent then gets up and walks directly towards the young lady in the hat. Seeing Madeline coming towards her the young lady also gets up and starts to walk away along her carriage. Madeline follows her but when she gets into the third carriage the young lady has just disappeared. The train pulls into Knightsbridge station and Madeline makes a show of exiting the train and moving along with the crowd towards the exit. As soon as she rounds the first corner she ducks into cover and transforms into a shadow waiting and watching for the young lady. But she never appears.

The others leave the train at Gloucester Road station and head for the public toilets. Once inside their respective lavatories, Alfie and Mimi both duplicate, and then Billy and the duplicate Mimi leave and head towards the platform. As they are walking, duplicate Mimi pushes out with her senses and can tell that they are being followed by an enhanced individual. She looks back over her shoulder and can see a young man in a long rain coat and a fedora hat behind them, Mimi’s sharp eyes also spot the slight bulge beneath his coat under his left arm, a good sign that he is armed. Billy and duplicate Mimi walk down to the platforms and board the train to Westminster station with the plan of heading for 54 Broadway. When they are sure that their tail is still with them Billy mentally messages Alfie to say that the decoy has been followed.

When Madeline is sure that she is no longer being followed she slips as a shadow back down to the platform and onto the next train heading in the direction of  Hammersmith. She switches trains at Gloucester Road and slips onto the outside of the next underground train heading in the direction of Whitechapel.

Alfie and Mimi exit the toilets and reunite with old lady Sven, the three of them all board the train for Whitechapel. As they are travelling old lady Sven prompts Mimi to see if there are any enhanced still following them, Mimi pushes out with her senses and gets a single return. At Sven's urging she uses her enhanced ability to triangulate the location of the enhanced and she discovers that they are on the outside of the underground train. The three EIS operatives agree that they will lure the individual into following them and will jump them and get some answers. But as they are exiting the carriage at Whitechapel the sharp eyed Sven spots the shadow of Madeline sliding from the train onto the ceiling of the station and he tells the others to stand down.

Billy and the duplicate Mimi exit the train at Westminster and make their way towards 54 Broadway, making sure that their tail is with them. They enter the building and give their names and are directed to one of the upper floors, as soon as they pass reception and head towards the lifts they see that their tail ceases to follow them and heads elsewhere within the building. They wait for a short while before they are joined by Colonel Sawdon, as well as Albert Victor Alexander the Minister of Defence, My Nye, and the young man who had been following them who is introduced as Tommy Tenley. Sawdon starts by saying:

I hope that you have had a pleasant trip. May I ask where your colleagues are?

Mimi smiles and tells the Colonel that the team realised that they were being followed, at this point she nods at Tenley, and so they followed the teams standard protocols and separated. She goes on to tell those in the room that the other members of the team will go silent for a while but will make themselves known within twelve hours. The Colonel looks a little sceptical, but accepts the explanation and asks for Mimi to fill them in on the detail of their journey. This is what Mimi has been waiting for, and so she begins a very, very through debrief. This was her plan from the start, to filibust with EIS to give the others time to find Doctor Jackal.

The main EIS team exit the underground in the vicinity of the London General Hospital and walk directly to Ravens Row and their appointment with the Doctor. When they reach number seven Ravens Row they find an older lady scrubbing the front step, Madeline asks her if she could let the Doctor know that he has guests. The lady looks up and says:

Oh my! You are very early. Dinner isn't being served until eight. And the Doctor is currently not at home.

Madeline looks at Mimi and the French agent pushes out with her enhanced senses and can tell that not only is the older lady enhanced, but that there is also another enhanced individual within the building. Mimi says that there is definitely someone else within and the older lady admits that Miss Jade is in. Madeline asks if we can talk to her and the older lady says that she will go and find out. She leaves the team on the doorstep and heads inside. A few minutes later she reappears with the little red headed girl that had given Mimi the message on the aeroplane from Berlin. But looking at her Madeline can tell that her eyes are wiser than they should be for a girl of her age and that she is incredibly bright.

I'm Jessica Jade!

She offers her hand for Mimi to shake and when the French woman does Miss Jade tries to dominate her, but Mimi is able to force up her mental defences and push the young girl's mind away. Miss Jade tries the same trick with Madeline but the British agent's iron will is a formidable obstacle that the young girl has no hope of breaching. Madeline smiles and says:

We have gone to a lot of trouble to get here, is there anyway that you can contact him?

The young girl says that there isn't, but Madeline can tell that she is not telling the truth. But it is also clear that the young girl will not budge on her standpoint, however she does offer for the team to stay within the residence until dinner is ready. The team agree and step inside. As they are walking to a reading room on the first floor Madeline asks Miss Jade:

Jessica, who is meeting us? Henry or Edward?

Jessica replies:

My father is meeting you. His name is Henry.

Madeline goes further and asks the young girl who her mother is, Miss Jade says that she doesn't have a mother. She also looks surprised by the question, as if it is not a question that she expected to be asked. 

The team are left alone until just before eight when they are shown down to the dining hall, the table is laid and there are name cards denoting where everyone is expected to sit. Madeline points out that she is surprised that the table is only laid for five people including the Doctor, which means that Miss Jade will not be joining them. Madeline asks if the host has arrived and Mimi pushes out with her senses but can still only sense two enhanced. Madeline is then surprised when Miss Jade walks into the room, she removes the record that Mimi had put on the gramaphone and says:

I have always preferred the sound of the phonograph.

She pulls a wax cylinder from a chest and sets it running, Madeline recognises the music as a live recording of Elgar's Enigma Variations. Madeline has just commented this when Jessica looks up suddenly and says:

Daddy is on his way!

She then rushes from the room. The team look at each other in apprehension, and then Doctor Jackal's voice eminates from the wax recording playing on the phonograph:

Things have got to change. You took part in creating the new me. I have changed to fit the new narrative, but this is the least interesting thing for I have found a new way.

The EIS team look around at each other, confusion fixing them to their seats. The Doctor's voice continues:

Mr Baldrick, we have not been formally introduced. But when I saved your life after the explosion at Hanslope Park I took the opportunity to plant a small tracking device inside of you and this has allowed me to follow you all across the globe. However, all of this has just been to delay you. Things have got to change, and when they do I hope to see you there.

The team are frozen in place by indecision and the shock revelation that Alfie had met Doctor Jackal at the start of this but had said nothing. It is then that the phonograph explodes in a ball of inky darkness that consumes the room.

Billy and the duplicate Mimi are leaving 54 Broadway when they both feel something deep within themselves, a sense of loss. Both try to contact their other selves mentally. Billy looks at Mimi and stutters:

I can't contact Alfie. They're gone. All gone!