The Whitehall Syndicate: A time travel conspiracy thriller Read Online Free Page A

face immediately formed a grin of recognition. She began to come over and in those few small steps to his table, the cogs in Jack's brain clicked into place and he worked out who she was. “Anisha, wow! Hey how are you?”
    “I'm not bad you know, same old. How about you?” The question hung in the air for a few moments. With the recent unsettling events, Jack had to struggle to maintain a mellow exterior, although he did welcome the distraction.
    “I'm not bad,” he replied with a false smile. “What brings you here?”
    “I'm just killing time with my friend Gina before an early dinner. Come say hi.”
    She ushered Jack over and soon the three of them were chatting away as if they'd been friends their whole lives. Jack knew Anisha from when they were only ten or eleven, wide-eyed and starting school. Back then he had been best friends with her older sister and she had always tagged along with them when they went out. It had been around seven years since they last saw each other and it felt good to catch up.
    Jack quickly found out Gina was Anisha's best friend and although he had expected awkward pauses when the conversation fell on them, he was surprised at how easy she was to get along with. He learned that they had been friends since school and still stuck together now. It then fell on him to describe his life up till now. There wasn't really much to say. He worked in the contracts department of a large faceless corporation. With a divorce years ago and no love life to speak of, he lived alone. His life story: the perfect mood killer.
     
    Looking at his watch he realised it was almost time to meet this mysterious person. The instructions were to come alone and not knowing the consequences of breaking them, he had to assume they would be grizzly. Telling the ladies he had a meeting to get to, he excused himself. “Okay well I'll talk to you soon then. Have a good vacation.”
    “You too. Nice to meet you Gina.” With five or so minutes left he walked into the café, telling the girls he wanted one more drink for the road.
    Inside he took a careful look around. The booths were all smeared and tarnished, while dirt from the ages now encroached the murky beige walls. The only sounds were the faint clatter of chips being fried, and the resonant breathing of a heavy-set gentleman sat near the front. The place was virtually empty, which was unsurprising at this hour.
    From his position in the far corner, a short man with a cough got up and began to walk out. He had an air of destitution to him, evident from the worn clothes and his foul, sharp odour. On his way out he collided with Jack, wrenching him around almost a hundred and eighty degrees. Jack was about to demand an apology when he noticed an unexpected weight in his right jacket pocket.
    After cautiously walking over to a free table, he sat down. Reaching into his pocket he pulled out a yellow jiffy bag and he stared ominously at the mysterious package. Inside it was a dirty scrap of paper with a hand written message. OUR INSTRUCTIONS WILL BE OBEYED. Jack's blood ran cold. Someone had been watching him. Seen him with the girls. He whipped his head around side to side but he couldn't see anyone suspicious in the café. The grubby man had left.
    In a flash he was up and, still darting his head around, he ran out of the door. The man in the pinstripe had gone, but his suitcase was still there. The drink on the table was full and there was no money by it. In Jack's analytical mind that meant one thing: he'd left in a hurry. Leaving in a hurry didn't sound like such a bad idea and as he was about to do just that when he was interjected.
    “See you round then Jack. I have your number, we should catch up soon.” The sweet, friendly voice threw him off guard. Jack turned over to her table but couldn't seem to utter anything. His head was clouded by worry.
    From the scrap of paper he could tell something was going to happen. Something bad. The anticipation was