The Girl In Black [On Hold Till Further Notice]

Life goes on... (Part-II)

All of this was done with an amazingly top speed and by the time any finger could be raised on their identity, the three of them were out the door and out of sight. Whew! However small it had been, the mission was accomplished. All that needed to be done was to activate the whole thing. And no action of the girl would go unnoticed by those who cared.

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THE WALWORTH MANSION

The older Walworth was sprawled on his bed, his eyes closed in a state of delirium as the family doctor, Mr. Osborne, kept taking his temperature and checking his pulse every now and then. The old caretaker, Meredith, stood watching patiently on the other side of the bed. "His condition is deteriorating, Ms. Edith. You'll need to take extra care of him." 

"His pulse is going fainter by each passing day. See to it that he doesn't stress himself with any kind of work, mental or physical," he said, and the old lady nodded in compliance. "If he needs to get out of this state......," the doctor paused, and then continued. "Ah! He's coming round. How are you feeling, Mr. Walworth?"

"Better, I think." "Well, then, I'd advise you to listen carefully to what I say next. Getting better will be a slow and uphill task for your body, if you stay here. The 'Trapeze' air is not doing any good to you. Take a vacation to the seaside, and you'll be up and about in less than two months, I assure you." "All that may be right, Osborne, but I don't think I have a choice. I'm needed here, by my organization and my people. If I'd go away, who will take all the decisions and whom will they ask for advice?" 

"Isn't your son around to do all that?" "No, he isn't. He had an urgent matter to attend to on the other side of the globe, and he can't be here for some time." "What can be more urgent than a father's failing health, to a son?" the doctor muttered in a low voice. "Anyway, you can also do your business from outside the country, can't you?" he reasoned. "All I'm saying is that if you wish to have a speedy recovery, I'd advise you to act upon my words. And if you don't, then Godspeed to you, my friend." With that, he touched his hat, and prepared to go out.

"Wait! Where should I go, then?" Michael Walworth asked, finally giving in. The kind doctor smiled. "Anywhere you like, as long as you get your lungs packed with fresh, unpolluted sea breeze. Have a safe journey, Michael. And don't stress yourself too much. Good day." "Alright. Good day to you too." It was hard to give in to something for a Walworth. "Meredith, tell the butler to open my private Office. I'll have some visitors today." "Yes, Master," Edith answered, and left.

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"I've heard quite a lot about your Agency... in a discreet way, of course," the senior Walworth vocalized to the man sitting in the leather-backed chair opposite him. "I'm sure you heard only good things." "Oh! No doubt, I did." "Well, then, how may I help you?" "A girl in my organization needs protection. I need two of your best and able-bodied men to look after her at all times, without the girl knowing anything about it." "And why shouldn't she know, may I ask?" "Let's just say... that she isn't ready to believe she's in danger." "What kind of a danger exactly? Danger of getting mugged? Harassed?"

"Her life has been attempted upon quite a few times now," Michael Walworth quickly spoke up, giving stress to the word 'life'. Now, the man sat up straight in his chair. "Where does she live?" "At the Aurora, I believe. I had her apartment no. with me somewhere here," he replied as he searched his desk drawers for some scrap of paper. "Yes, it's no. 415."