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Special Dispensation 5 and 6 (plus 5, Appendix 1)
by Mark Hodder (2006) Page 2 Security Level: ExtraNet - SteelCage 1 From: Sexton Blake [address withheld] To: Edward Carter [address withheld] Sent: 20 December 2005 18:54 Subject: Re: Home for Xmas! Tinker Well done, old son. I’m glad to hear we don’t have an ‘old style’ Kestrel on our hands. A slight change of plans for you: our splendid provider of all things garrulous and good has sent me a rather long-winded letter to say that the new Baker Street house is ready for Christmas. As usual, her language is somewhat obscure but, if I translate correctly, we will be comfortable on the first floor but roughing it on the upper. As far as I’m concerned any slight inconvenience is well worth it for a good old-fashioned Christmas bash in Baker Street — and I’m sure you’ll agree. Upon your return, then, forget our most recent bolt-hole and head straight for the new place. I have had all your things transferred, so this will be a real home-coming for you. To make things even better, on your way over, please stop off at Reg and Susan’s and pick up Pedro. His training is complete and he has, as expected, passed with flying colours. He will now live with us on a full-time basis — a fact which probably has you punching the air with delight (as I am too)! One final item of news: the two Couttses will join us as honoured guests on Christmas Day. As you know, Sir George (or ‘Lord Coutts’ as our landlady insists on calling him) has just retired and George Jr. will become Director of The Craille Institute on the first day of the New Year. We therefore have much to celebrate! Safe travels, young ‘un! Blake Internal Communiqué, The Craille Institute (continued) I should first tell you the truth about the founding of The Institute, for the history you already know is the tailored version — it leaves out items of information which relate directly to Special Dispensation 5. As you are already aware, Eustace Craille was once head of an Intelligence agency which operated at a higher level than either MI5 or MI6. During the years when the existence of these latter establishments emerged into the public domain, Craille’s organisation sank further into the shadows. Through judicious investment, the agency became self-sufficient and, under the virtual dictatorship of its leader, its mission remained unsullied by any political agendas. However, politics is a ravenous beast and, from those few people outside the agency who knew of its existence, pressures came to bear. Inevitably, the purity of Craille’s vision was threatened and there was little he could do to counter this without appearing to oppose the principles of democracy itself. But Eustace Craille was a wily old goat. He founded this Institute; an organisation so secret that, outside of its staff, very few people have ever known of its existence. The original agency became little more than a front. Behind it, the real work was done. And what work! You are familiar with Craille’s inaugural address; I need not repeat it here. But I will draw your attention to that one crucial phrase of his: “We work beyond the Credibility Gap, in territory the police and security agencies regard as fiction, in a realm where threats border on the fantastic and individual criminals are so far outside of the norm as to seem wholly unreal”. And it is here, George, that I must reveal to you the truth of the matter: before The Craille Institute and before Eustace Craille himself, one man and his assistant fought those terrors alone. I refer, of course, to Special Dispensation 5 and 6 — or, as we know them, Sexton Blake and Edward ‘Tinker’ Carter. From: Edward Carter [address withheld] To: Police Sergeant James Withers [address withheld] Sent: 23 December 2005 23:12 Subject: Xmas invite! Hey Flatfoot! Did you miss me? Have you passed The Globe each day and gazed longingly at its doors, dreaming of the time I would return to dazzle you with my wit and wisdom over a pint or three? Well pine no more, my old mucker — I’m back! I know you think we consulting detectives live lives of ‘absconding wives’ and ‘cheating husbands’ but, the fact is, my absence has been due to a rather accomplished swindler who’s been leading me a merry chase across Europe. Fortunately the trail of financial destruction he left in his wake wasn’t too hard to follow and I caught up with him in Switzerland. He is now chipping at stone in a chain-gang — or, more likely, relaxing in a luxurious prison sauna. But whatever you might think about the current prison system, at least he ain’t swindlin’ no more! Anyway, I’m back and today I moved into my new home in Baker Street. You remember I pointed it out to you when it was little more than a building site? Now it’s a luxurious residence fit for a King — or a Tinker! If you’re around over the Christmas period, why not drop by? The guv'nor says you are always welcome. Mrs Bardell says you can come in if you wipe your feet first. Be warned, she has her broom at the ready in case you don’t (not to sweep up after you — you understand — but to beat you over the head with). All the best Tinker From: Police Sergeant James Withers [address withheld] To: Edward Carter [address withheld] Sent: 24 December 2005 09:48 Subject: Re: Xmas invite! Mr Carter You’ve been away? I didn’t notice. I was too busy dealing with thugs, drug peddlers, thieves, pick-pockets, drunken louts, shoplifters and vandals — you know, the real day-to-day criminals who blight the lives of us Londoners. Hope you enjoyed your holiday in Switzerland. If it’s okay with you I’m going to pop in tomorrow to say hello. Would noon-ish be alright? And if you don’t mind, I’d like to bring one of my constables along — a talented young policewoman named Harker. She has a bit of a puzzle which might be right up Mr Blake’s street. Cheers Jim From: Edward Carter [address withheld] To: Police Sergeant James Withers [address withheld] Sent: 24 December 2005 5:07 Subject: Re: Re: Xmas invite! Jim Yes, that’ll be fine. You don’t by any chance mean Joanne Harker, do you? Tinker From: Police Sergeant James Withers [address withheld] To: Edward Carter [address withheld] Sent: 24 December 2005 5:33 Subject: Re: Re: Re: Xmas invite! Yes. You know her? From: Edward Carter [address withheld] To: Police Sergeant James Withers [address withheld] Sent: 24 December 2005 12:21 Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Xmas invite! I know of her. The guv’nor told me she’d joined the Force a few months back. He used to know her great-grandfather, who was a Scotland Yard man. Coincidentally, when you visit, Sir George Coutts will be here. His father used to work alongside the Harker I’m referring to. From: Police Sergeant James Withers [address withheld] To: Edward Carter [address withheld] Sent: 24 December 2005 13:50 Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Xmas invite! Tinker, you clown! Was Sexton Blake consorting with elderly ex-Scotland Yard men when he was in nappies? From: Edward Carter [address withheld] To: Police Sergeant James Withers [address withheld] Sent: 24 December 2005 14:17 Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Xmas invite! Of course I meant ‘knows of’ rather than ‘used to know’. He’s done loads of research into the history of the Yard and the various characters who’ve worked there over the years. All part of being the world’s foremost criminologist, I guess. Anyway, by all means bring Miss Harker along, I know the Chief and old Couttsey (and his son Couttsey Minor) will be delighted to meet her and to tackle the mysterious puzzle you mentioned. See you tomorrow. I hope you’ve bought me a suitably expensive present. Mrs Bardell’s Christmas Menu Wild Mushroom Paté served with Melba Toast and Cumberland Sauce Dill-cured Scotch Salmon with Honey Mustard Dressing Stilton and Port Soup Christmas Roasted Goose with Giblet Gravy Roasted Chestnuts Roasted Potatoes Roasted Parsnips Brussels Sprouts tossed in Bacon Fat Glazed Carrots and Peas Cropwell Bishop Stilton served with Honey Dressing and Fresh Walnuts Toasted Sesame Crackers Flaming Christmas Pudding with Brandy Sauce White Raspberry Truffle Cake Christmas Cookies Internal Communiqué, The Craille Institute (continued) You have often commented on the strangeness of Sexton Blake’s name and have marvelled at the coincidence that he, a skilled criminologist, should share it with a fictional detective who achieved great popularity in years past. And you have laughed at the fact that he nicknamed Edward Carter ‘Tinker’ — the name of the fictional hero’s sidekick. Now for another revelation: the hero of all those books and magazines was never fictional, he was a real man — and ‘our’ Sexton Blake is that man, just as ‘our’ Tinker is the same talented youth who stood at the detective’s side throughout all those supposedly imaginary adventures. You are no doubt thinking your old man has gone potty. You have immediately spotted the flaw in my claim — the stories began more than a century ago, so even if the fictional Blake and Tinker were actually real, they’d be long dead by now. Son, in V3 B5 you’ll find a file entitled ‘The Event’ (Ref: 000027489). Read it. It records what might be the most astonishing circumstance any man has ever encountered in the history of the human species. I will not go into details here — everything you need to know is in that file — but I will tell you the consequences: in 1908 three people — Sexton Blake (SD5), Edward ‘Tinker’ Carter (SD6), and their housekeeper, Mrs Martha Bardell (see SD5, Appendix 1) — stopped ageing. Or to be more accurate, their ageing slowed enough to become almost imperceptible. Sexton Blake is well-over 150 years old. His ‘youthful’ assistant is actually about a century older than you. And as for that marvellous woman who has served you her wondrous Sunday roasts on countless occasions, I daren’t think how old she might really be! |