THREAD:

THE LONGEST NIGHT

1. It's March, it's late & it's raining. Some of the most powerful & influential men in Britain are seated around the table. Discussions have taken place over several hours. The mood is sombre as they all realise it's gone too far.

2. The European Centre for Disease Control & Prevention were wrong. The scientists had got it wrong. The government relying on the scientists now had to find a way forward. And so they sat there discussing how to manage the forthcoming crisis.

3. It turned out that inter-European travel wasn't low risk. The risk assessment was wrong. The skiing trips to Northern Italy at half term had brought back too much contagion & the disease was now spreading amongst the community.

4. No one had factored in the 100,000 Chinese who worked in Northern Italy. Many had travelled back to China for the New Year celebrations & many had returned to work in Italy carrying the virus.

Now the men had to decide how to tell the people the virus couldn't be stopped.

5. He'd been at work since 6am. Courteous & well presented, he was at home in the corridors of power. He sat listening to the conversation in the room, making interventions only occasionally to offer neutral observations. He wasn't there to help.

6. He was used to working long hours, but this day was turning out to be a marathon. He didn't care, this was his life, this was what it was all about. He had to ensure the plan stayed on track, he had to ensure the direction of travel was as predicted.

7. They were talking about behavioural science & how it could be used to help steer people in the right direction. He wanted to laugh at the irony, but self control ensured his demeanour gave nothing away. Oh yes, he knew all about that, but didn't let on.

8. The intercom wasn't working, so the night staff didn't respond when the target buzzed for coffee to be brought into the room. He knew about that beforehand of course & offered to go & make the coffee himself. It was part of the plan.

9. He knew the premises like the back of his hand He made his way briskly to the kitchen. He knew where the cameras were situated & where the security guards would be. They all liked & trusted him - it was like a family in many ways, they all spent so much time together.

10. He waved briefly as he bustled past the guards. They barely looked up from the monitoring desk - the crossword puzzles helped pass the hours & the officers outside were always first to know if trouble might be looming.

11. The rain puts off all but the most serious security threats, so everyone was relaxed, except him, but as ever he looked in control. He only had a few minutes to execute his plan & as soon as he entered the kitchen, the rehearsed routine went into action.

12. He filled the kettle, placed cups on a tray, went to the cupboard & removed a pack of Belgian biscuits, arranging the contents on a plate. He knew the target would make a pig of himself with the biscuits; he smiled at the irony of Belgium again being central to his success.

13. A quick glance out of the kitchen door confirmed no-one was around. This was the moment he'd planned. He turned his back to the single security camera & swiftly removed a mask from his pocket, placing it on his face & hooking the elastic around his ears.

14. Next he put on surgical gloves which he'd stashed in his trouser pocket. Lastly he retrieved the small sealed plastic bag from his inside jacket pocket, carefully tore it open & turned it inside out. He knew the virus could survive for days on plastic.

15. He wiped the contaminated plastic across the biscuits, crumpled it into a small ball with the tips of his fingers & encased it within the surgical gloves in one deft move as he peeled them off.

16. He was careful not to face the camera as he went to the bin, quickly removed the mask & threw the PPE in the bin, covering them over with some kitchen towel.

He made coffee & took the tray calmly back to the meeting.

17. He sat sipping his coffee, watching as they all took the bait. He hadn't expected it to go this well. Even the slim, good looking aspirant couldn't resist chocolate. The men continued talks well into the early hours before wearily going home to catch a few hrs rest.

18. Within a week the fruits of his labour were paying off. One by one the men from the meeting came down with the virus.

The agitators had been told to increase the noise at the 2nd target's property, but to ensure they did nothing to warrant arrest.

19. Already spooked, the highly strung 2nd target was finding it difficult to rest & with sporadic disruption outside his home, sleep became a luxury he couldn't obtain. He felt unwell & with his colleagues out of action, he decided to move out of London for a while.

20. The behaviouralist had predicted this would happen. Alone without instructions, the 2nd target would find himself at a loose end & in the company of many who despised him. Leaving for the bolt hole was a natural conclusion - it just needed a nudge to make it happen.

21. He hadn't expected all the men to contract the virus. My God this thing really was contagious. His contacts were delighted at the success of the mission & promised him due rewards.

22. He knew how lazy the media were & the snippets of information he threw them went unchecked. He also knew that the only man at that meeting not to contract the virus was himself & if those at the meeting got a whiff something was amiss, he'd be singled out.

23. He casually informed one of his media contacts that he'd had the virus at around the same time as the other men. He knew they'd swallow it without a second thought, despite the fact he'd continued working throughout. They were too dumb to dig; anything for an easy life.

24. The second stage of the plan could now be implemented. Create chaos. Undermine. Leak information. Get the old gang back together & work towards the ultimate goal.

To be continued...

25. This is the work of the author's imagination & any resemblance to living or dead persons or actual incidents or events, past or present is purely coincidental.

Sleep well infidels.