Coveted (Completed) - Chapter 3: Chapter 3

I look at the report Jamison had just passed me, Hector pacing as he looked through his own copy. We had left Emily working on getting all the information and had updated Jamison who had arrived at the end of the meeting.
Crest and his team had been tasked with reviewing everything done so far and the original work all seemed okay but they were rechecking everything just in case.
Jamison already had a location for Strait, she had flown out of the country and was currently in a hotel in the Caymen Islands, alone as far as we could tell, and we were still looking for Stuart Duncan.
His team had found a link between Strait and Duncan, they had been at university together and had kept in touch, everything was pointing at this been an opportunist grab not a set up from the start, but until we had questioned the two of them we wouldn't really know.
"Do you want me to bring her or both of them back?" Jamison asked and I shared a look with Hector.
"No, watch her, see if he turns up, I would expect him to join her and if we pull her in to soon he will go to ground" Hector answers and Jamison nods.
"And the money?"
"What are the options?"
"Em has a lock on it, she can trace where it goes, but it depends how you want to deal with this, if your choice is publicly then we need to keep everything clean and above board... or in house and we can pull the money back and leave them guessing as to where its gone"
I exchanged another look with Hector who nodded, "In house, pull the money back, all of it including the original for the land that went through, can you leave them a message, let him know it was us without it being obvious if he goes to the police" I asked not sure just how much we could get away with.
"I can"
"Thanks Jamison. How did you get on with looking into her emails to the real landowner?"
"Lady Mairead Greystone is very well connected and I am surprised she has not come after you directly given the tone of the emails Ms Strait was sending her and not to mention the letters. I am not sure if it was a sort of smokescreen to make her aware of the deal Duncan was doing but shy away from it, not wanting to get involved. Lady Greystone made it very clear in her responses she would not sell. Duncan is her cousin but I don't believe there is a close link, the land was originally part of her family estate"
"Damn it, we need that land, its key to the design concept" I groan.
"We will go to her and see if we can talk her round, explain what has happened, you never know she may know when Duncan is" Hector replied and I nodded.
"There is something else you should be aware of, the other landowner that borders the Duncan land is also linked to Lady Greystone, another cousin but not of Duncan's"
"Do we have a name and are they going to be a problem" I ask, knowing Jamison would have had a reason to bring it up.
"Yes... Commander Bishop Fraser" Jamison says looking at us and waiting...
"Why does that name sound familiar?" Hector muses and I know what he means but I can't place it. We look back at Jamison who is grinning at us now.
"Okay spit it out, who is he and how much of a problem do we have?"
"If Commander Fraser doesn't listen to your explanation and support what you are doing then you have absolutely no chance of talking Lady Greystone around. He makes me look like an amateur" he pauses and we can hear the admiration in his voice. "In fact I think I'll come with you, just in case he decides to make you both disappear, Your parents would not be happy if I let that happen" he was still grinning as he said the words and then it hit me.
"He was the face of that face off between the armed forces, he... " I sat back silently thinking about the man who had both captured the hearts of the nation and terrified us all. "Oh"
"You think we should approach him first?" Hector asked and Jamison nodded.
"Yes and before anything else comes to light, He may be able to track Duncan down, and I have no doubt he will want to protect his cousin when he know what has happened."
I pressed the intercom and waited for my PA to respond "Sir?"
"Gloria, can you get me the contact details for Commander Bishop Fraser and set up a meeting" i tell her, pausing as Jamison shakes his head "What?"
"My recommendation would be that you need to talk to him directly, I feel if Gloria calls she will be knocked back and it will set a bad tone for getting him onside, Also start with an apology"
Hector nods and I press the button again "Gloria, get me the details and I will call him" I tell her, hearing her confirmation before I sit back. What a day, everything about this project was suddenly turning to crap and we still had to talk to our father.
"Don't suppose you want to talk to Dad after we solve the problem?" I ask Hector hopefully and Jamison snorts, shaking his head at us as he leaves my office, shutting the door behind him.
"Yes and No, with what Strait has done, I don't want him to hear from anyone else. I know he trusts us and he will probably say we didn't need to tell him but I think we should"
I nod and pick up my mobile, scrolling down and finding Dad's number and hitting call. It rang twice and I had only just put the phone on speaker when our fathers voice filled the office.
"Angus?"
"Hey Dad, are you busy, how is our new nephew?"
"He's great, though I think your brother might be losing the plot" he laughs "I don't know how Per puts up with them all, they fuss around her like old women, there was nearly war earlier when they tried to make her rest, Your mother is off at the Zoo with the twins and the other grandmothers" he pauses "Now that the pleasantries are out of the way, what can help you boys with?"
"Dad... " I start but freeze, Hector takes over and explains everything that's happened so far.
"You don't need me to tell you what to do and I know you know I trust you, so go with your gut, do what feels right and if we can't get the land then there will always be another location, however if it all goes to plan, I would really like to meet Commander Fraser"
"Not you as well, Jamison was almost fangirling" I laugh.
"Well that's a real hero, but seriously boys, I will back whatever you chose to do"
"Thanks Dad" we both say together and ring off after sending our love to everyone.
The rest of the afternoon is spent sorting through the original paperwork and checking with legal. Mid afternoon Gloria passed the contact details for Commander Fraser to Hector and we phoned his office. His PA initially explaining he was unavailable but then transferred us to him, in the brief conversation he had availability for a meeting on the base in two days, we agreed and let Jamison know.
Emily had informed Jamison she had moved the money and left the message, he then directed her to going through all of the work Strait had been involved with in the last three years she had been with the company. His view was if she did it this time she may have done it before. Not a thought that sat well with any of us.
Gloria was tasked with booking accommodation for us and arranging for the plane to be available. Then with everything in place we turned our attentions to the day to day work we needed to clear so we could focus on this.