National novel writing month (chapters 17-23)

Chapter 17

Exiled

Joe and Polly spent the day together, away from his home, away from her home, they couldn't visit her home if he didn't have an appointment, or her neighbours would accuse him of favouritism (well he didn't want to shag any of them so it was a fair point) he wanted to get to know her, to get to know the real her, without the admittedly good sex getting in the way. They had breakfast in a turkish place in Church street, read the papers, and laughed a lot, mostly about lance. It was their secret, they were in the middle of a major new story but couldn't tell anyone, well the could but wouldn't. They could have made a lot of money, Joe had paid someone for the security pass, that was a big security fuck up, that was a story in itself, added to the prostitute, Joe wouldn't have to work for a while, he could take it easy, no worries about being sacked.

They wandered around Clissold park, had tea in the little cafe, sat outside. They walked around to see the deers and the goats, watched the people of stoke newington at play. Neither wanted to go back to the flat with Lance in it, but they wanted to be together. They walked to Dalston, and saw a french film at the Rio. Polly realised she hadn't been to the cinema in 3 years, and it was great sitting in the dark with Joe.

They had been out of the flat for 6 hours when they decided they had to go back, they wanted to be indoors, Lance or no Lance.

He was asleep in the spare room when they got back, they watched the telly, Joe refused to turn the volume down if it woke Lance, that was tough. It woke Lance.

He came into the living room, groggily, wiping the sleep from his eyes.

"Where did you two go"

"we've just been wandering around" Joe answered.

Lance had not seen Joe in this state for years, he could never remember the names of his various girlfriends over the years, had only met one or two, knew he had lived with one and it ended messily, but now Joe seemed happy. He'd always considered Joe to be a bit hapless, a slacker, happy to get along, not setting the world on fire. But now with his world crumbling around him, Lance was suddenly envious of Joe, he had a better world than him. He had a woman who appeared to be in love with him, he had a nice home. Lance had a nice home, he couldn't actually go to at the moment, he had a wife he didn't love, who was divorcing him and taking his kids to another country, he'd lost his well-paid job, still had another job, but that was time limited. He was about to be humiliated nationally. He was at rock bottom. He needed someone like Joe.

"How long are you staying here" Polly asked frostily

"Just a couple of days" Lance tried to equal the frostiness. but failed. His charm usually worked on everyone, but Polly seemed to see right through him, he didn't like that, he knew she didn't like what she saw.

"have you eaten? Joe asked lance, he needed both of them to cool off, he didn't want to umpire a fight.

"I had a snack"

"I'll cook us some dinner" Joe announced and disappeared into the kitchen.

polly sat down in the arm chair, opposite the sitting lance.

"You don't like me very much do you Polly?"

"do you blame me?

"listen, I've fucked up, I don't need you to remind me, millions of copies of the tabloids will do your work for you tomorrow"

"I don't want Joe involved in all of this"

"he chose to get involved, he's a friend, my oldest friend, how long have you known him"

"why is this some kind of competition?"

"no, i'm just curious"

"not long"

"how long is not long?"

"none of your business"

"ok" Lance held his hands up to show defeat.

"you want me to leave?"

"as soon as possible"

"you want Joe to yourself?"

"we're not competing for joe"

"glad we agree on something then"

Polly fought hard not to smile, but found it coming, managed to stop it after a second
or two, but Lance had seen it"

"is that a crack in the facade of the ice maiden"

"you said something funny, I smiled, it doesn't mean I like you"

Joe came in, carrying a bottle of wine and 3 glasses

"can you bring me a glass into the bedroom please, I don't want to drink in here"

Polly left the room. Joe sighed, poured himself and Lance a glass.

"i'm sorry you got involved in all this" Lance was sorry, he was dragging Joe into this and it was unfair.

"I should leave, and go to a hotel or something"

"you can stay, I can deal with Polly"

"I don't want you to deal with her, she's right, I shouldn't have dragged you into it. I'll leave in the morning, now go and be with her" Joe didn't need to be asked twice and left.

Chapter 18

The bottom

Sunday morning,Lance could have done without Joe being involved in a love affair, his banker of a bolt hole was no longer a banker, he had to hide away somewhere else. Clive would have to sort something out for him. He rang and arranged to meet, Clive would bring all the papers and meet him. They agreed to meet in Regents park.

He left early, decided to walk there, it was a long walk, but he felt he had a lot of time on his hands. It was 6am when he quietly left the flat, after leaving a note thanking Joe for all he had done, and wishing the both of them luck. He walked up an empty sunday morning church street, then along albion road, also deserted. In an hour he had reached Angel in Islington, which was showing signs of early sunday morning life, he passed a few newsagents and saw his face on a few of the papers, he couldn't walk in and buy one, he didn't want to be recognised buying a paper. He walked up pentonville road, close to the scene of the cause of his downfall, he could see a few prostitutes finishing off, the end of a busy saturday night. He wasn't tempted, maybe this had taught him a lesson, humbled him. He left Kings Cross behind him, he thought that ironic, and passed the new British Library, he stopped near Euston and bought a coffee and a pastry. He wasn't dressed in his usual smart clothes, he had borrowed some clothes from Joe, and hadn't shaved for a few days,he'd be a treat for a tabloid photographer right now. Blissfully, no one recognised him, he saw a few newspaper banners chronicling his shame, "minister caught with his pants down" was one predictable headline, he knew his rivals were lapping this up, a minor reshuffle would follow and one of them would benefit. Fuck them, he said to himself quietly.

He reached regents Park at 9 in the morning, he'd arranged to meet Clive at the entrance gates near Baker street. Clive was already parked up, he got in, and clive drove off west.

"i've borrowed a flat in Notting Hill off a buddy, you should be fine there for a few days, I'll get someone to deliver some food and wine later on today"

"thanks clive"

"it's nothing, I'm paying you back for some juicy favours in the past, but I'm going to make some money off your sorry arse as well, remember that."

Lance nodded, he could see some light now, but it was a long tunnel.

They parked close to the flat and walked in quickly, ewven though there were no journalists around, Clice had sent someone around to Lance's house in Fulham which was chocka with journalists and photographers, they had sent a picture of the throng to Clive's phone. There must have been 50 blokes outside his house, jeez I am the story of the day, thought Lance.

The laid out the Tabloids on a coffee table, and went through them one by one, the story was pretty similar in all of them, Lance had received oral pleasure in a bin store in a council block close to kings cross, there was a picture of a used condom in the bin store, "this is the man who is responsible for your children's education" yelled one columnist, there were quotes from teacher's unions, from parent groups, all condeming this sick individual, there was support from some quarters, a pro-prostitution campaign group pointed out that if prostitution had been legalised, there would have been no need for back street sex, it wasn't much support, but it was support. Lance read the words of "sources close to the minister" that he was under a lot of pressure, that his marriage was crumbling, all true, although he was under a lot of pressure because the papers were after him, the job had not been pressurized, he had thrived on that.

Clive continued with his ideas,it was real thinking on his feet stuff and you could tell he loved it, We need to get you on TV, maybe one of the breakfast shows, appear contrite, stress it was a one off, suggest that you had been drinking to handle the stress, that you have entered therapy in order to deal with some of these problems, we can say you and your wife are having a trial separation and are trying to work through some problems while supporting the children in every way, and maybe we can do a hugh grant, come clean, make a joke about it, might be able to get you on Ross, he'd love to take the piss, and we'd need some decent jokes for you to use, it'll cost but a book deal could be in the offing.

Lance wanted to rein Clive in, "

"you want me to write a warts and all book? won't that make me more difficult to hire?"

"the opposite, it'll make you notorious, risky edgy"

"how can an ex minister be edgy?"

"you fuck prostitutes in kings cross, that makes you edgy"

"they only know i have done it once"

"they'll find others i'm sure, you might get chancers who'll lie for the cash, how could you sue them?"

"face it, you're moving on, you are a no longer the young thrusting cabinet minister in waiting, you've fucked that career, let's find you a new one"

Chapter 18

First separation

After spending Friday, Saturday and most of Sunday together, Polly had to go home, she wanted to stay, fuck it , she wanted to move in, but she needed some distance to think about what had happened in the last few days, her life had turned upside down, she was in a middle of a love affair she didn't know she wanted. It wasn't a question of timing, you never knew when these things would hit you, she needed time alone to see if she wanted to continue. She needed to be away from Joe to see if being away from him made her want to see him, if being away from him made her want to be with him.

She walked home, following part of the route that Lance had taken earlier that day. Her neighbours were in when she got home, she had completely forgotten them since Friday, for the first time in a few years they had not been on her mind, and she realised that she no longer cared about all of that. She needed to think about herself, about moving forward wit hher life, and ignore people who annoyed her, all that negative energy. She needed to read some books on that stuff, find her centre and all that.

She wanted quiet, and didn't put any music on, she ran a bath, undressed and climbed in, she had the water as hot as her body could take it, and the water level was as high as the bath could take it, without overflowing when she climbed in. She lay back with her head at the back of the bath, and drifted off to sleep, she was always careful when she slept in the bath to position herself so that she would not slip under water. She slept in this position for 30 minutes, as the water cooled around her. She woke up, climbed out of the bath and dried herself. remembering the naked moments with Joe as the towel moved over her body.

What was going on there? was she in love with him, couldn't be, way too early for any of that nonsense. Did she like being with him, he made her feel wanted, she liked the feel of his hands on her body, of his body on her body, the sex had been great, but it always was at the beginning, would she sill be into him when he came home pissed and couldn't get it up? She couldn't anaswer that, it was a stupid question. Did she want to see him again, easier question, and an easier answer, yes she did, but she was was worried that this one would turn out like all of the others, that they would fuck up, or she would, was it worth all the nice stuff that happened before the fuck up, she might as well fuck up now, easier than having to wait for it to happen.

She always did this, met someone and then tried to predict how it would all end horribly and then be pleased that she was right when it did. Maybe she should give this one a chance, she was 34, maybe there weren't many more chances left. Now she was sounding like someone off one of those american comedies she didn't watch, she was young, in her prime, if this one fucked up, she had years ahead of her to find someone else.

But she would see him again, she looked at her watch, it was 10pm

She rang him

She went to him.

Chapter 19

Back to work.

Joe left Polly in bed, he hated doing it, but he needed to get to work, he did actually have stuff to do, he even gave her a spare set of keys. How had he got to the stage when the tenant who had given him the most hassle in the last couple of years, now had a set of keys to his house and was lying naked in his bed. Peter was already in when Joe got to the office, he called him in.

"what are we going to do with her?"

"Let's wait and see what she says, we've got the advantage over her at the moment, the tape plus statements from me and Barry don't leave her much room to manouvre, try and make a deal with her, she drops all the complaints, and we forget about the tapes, everyone's a winner"

"it's against the procedure, we should take action against her"

"what, evict her?"

"you don't think we should?"

Joe could see whay it made sense for him to leave this job, the first day of the post Polly era and he was acting strangely, a few days ago, he would have been keen to evict her, and not really cared what happened to her afterwards. Now what happened to her afterwards would probably move in with him, tempting though that was, he didn't want it right now, he wanted time to get to know her, he wasn't sure if it would all work out yet, he hoped it would, he heard Peter saying something, and dragged his attention back to him.

"Sorry, Pete, I was thinking about something else"

Peter continued, what he had been saying whilst Joe had been off on a little journey of his own, was that he was going to try and get her to agree to drop the complaints if they didn't take any action against her. Peter would of course make it sound like his idea, his visionary idea, Joe didn't care, he had his flat back, and Polly kept her home. But he needed to think about leaving as he didn't want to be in this sort of position again, he didn't want to be telling Polly how she should behave, if he left, she could do whatever she wanted to her neighbours and he didn't have to do anything. A little voice did shout at Joe in his head asking the same question, is she using you? and then asking another question, did she shag you to keep her home? Joe decided he didn't like the questions, and told the little voice to shut the fuck up.

Barry was at his desk when he came back,

"fancy a tab?"

They went out into the carpark, Joe knew he had to tell someone, and barry was descreet about this sort of thing. They sparked up, and Joe told him he needed to talk about something serious.

"I've done something potentially stupid"

Barry was all ears, "tell me more"

"I've shagged someone, I maybe shouldn't have"

"married bird?"

"No"

"a relative?"

Joe laughed, "no, I do not live in the deep south and play a fucking banjo"

"who then?"

"a tenant"

"blimey, I'm impressed"

"ms carpenter?"

"fuck, in one!!"

"I've always thought she seems your type"

"so you're not surprised then"

"oh I'm surprised, I didn't think you had it in you"

"cheers mate" they both laughed at this, joe because Barry was right, barry because he knew he was right.

"so what do I do now"

"is it going to happen again?"

"it already has"

"it's not serious is it?"

"I don't know yet, she's actually fun to be with"

"can she keep quiet about it?"

"I think so"

"can you?"

"well i've just proved I can't"

"don't worry about me, if the two of you are descreet that you haven't got a problem"

"that is the problem, I don't want to have to be descreet, I want to go and see her at her place without making an appointment, I want to see her there whenever I want to, or she wants me to"

"can't she just hang out at your place?, you have a bigger pad"

"yes, but she's going to want to go home, have me round, to boyfriend girlfriend stuff and it's all one sided if it's always around my gaff"

"so leave then"

"I know, I should, I've got in a comfort zone here, I know how to handle Peter, he doesn't give me any problems, if I leave, I'll have to get used to someone else, and I'll have to come in on time again"

"there is that, getting on time? stay here then"

"you're not helping here, bazza"

"i'm not a fucking career counsellor, you have to decide on this one"

"i know"

"I've got one question though"

"what"

"was she any good?"

"say fuck off barry"

"fuck off barry"

they finished their cigarettes.

As they were going back in, Barry pulled Joe aside,

"fancy screwing around with Peter?"

"always"

"We need his mobile phone, I'll text a service that sends dirty picture to his phone and charge £3 a week for the service, we won't know he's being charged until Finance have a quiet word with him,then he'll have to shell out, it'll take a good 3 or 4 weeks for that to happen"

"but where's the fun in that"

"the fun is in the doing, in the talking about it afterwards, and maybe he'll confide in us, or maybe we'll just see him smiling when he gets one of the texts"

"you're on, he usually charges it in his office, we'll both go in to discuss the case, see if you can grab the phone while i'm going through the file with him"

They saw peter, and the plan worked like a dream.

Aftwerwards, and after another smoke break, joe rang Polly, he needed to see her, needed to talk all this through with her, how she had become his confident in such a short time was scary yet pleasing. She said she'd meet him at his place after work.

Chapter 20

The fightback

Lance was getting pissed off laying low, he had fucked up, he should be facing the fucking music. He called his boss, the cabinet minister.

Surprisingly, he got straight through;

"I'm going to face the press"

"is that wise?"

"I hate hiding away like a fucking kid"

"I can't support you, the PM wants you out, pisses off all those family voters"

"tell him I'll write my letter of resignation today, and tell him I want some sort of good send off, tell him to say something fucking nice about all the work I've done"

"I can't tell him what to say"

"I could take people down with me"

"you wouldn't" Lance could sense that his boss was sweating, he had a lot to lose, he was one promotion away from one of the big 3, Home office, foreign office, chancellorship, his best bet was Home office, and he wanted that bad.

"try me, I'm sinking here, and i need a life belt"

"I'll see what I can do, don't go to the press until i can square this, and we make the announcement, then they can have their feeding frenzy with you"

"I want it done today"

"It will be"

Lance disconnected the call, he was seeing a plan forming, he knew he could get out of this mess, he didn't consider losing his job as a minister as a personal tragedy, he now saw it as an opportunity.

It was time to go and face the music, Lance rang Clive, updated him, told him he was going on, but wasn't going to comment until every thing was confirmed, he got clive to write the resignation letter and e-mail it to him. He hailed a black cab and arrived in Fulham 30 minutes later. There were hoards of journalists and photographers there, but they did part for him as he walked towards his garden gate.

"No comment" was all he would say as the cameras flashed around him, and microphones were thrust towards him, as he got to the gate, he did a dramatic turn (his idea)

"Listen, this has all been a very difficult time for myself and my family, I'd like to ask you to leave us in peace, I'll be issuing a statement shortly"

"are you going to resign?"

"how much did she cost"

"how many times have you used prostitutes"

"does the pm know about your out of hours activities"

"are you ashamed of yourself"

"would you like to see the legalisation of prostitution"

He waved all the questions away, opened his door and closed it behind him.

It was time to start fighting back, he booted up his laptop and found clive's resignation letter had already arrived, he read it quickly, it would do, there was stuff about a personal tragedy, he''d enjoyed being part of a successful government, he didn't want to ruin all the good work going on in the education department by becoming the story.

His phone rang, it was Clive.

"looks like you may have been stitched up

"How?

"it seems that the prostitute and her mate were expecting you, that they made sure they got some evidence and they were paid to do so

"how do you know that?

"I've been doing some digging, it wasn't hard to find out, but has been difficult to find out is who is behind it

"is this where you ask me¦

"have you got any enemies?

"yes, that question

"Is there an answer?

" there are a lot of people who would have wanted to see me fall, I've got a lot of time on my hands now, I'll do some digging too

Lance was pleased and pissed off, pleased that he had been set up,amd it wasn't totally down to his own drunken stupidity and compulsion, pissed off that his stupid compulsion had made it so easy for them to get him.The stitch up had worked, he had sent in his resignation letter, his boss had made a short statement, thanking him for his work, and the PM had come through with a statement, praising him for his hard work and dedication when in post, and wishing him well while he worked through some difficult personal issues.

He had an idea who it was but no proof, luckily for him, and unluckily for that person, he had a network of contacts that could find out stuff like this, he gave them a name, they would come back to him with rumour and fact, how they got it didn't bother him, and he paid well for the information. He got to work, he should have rung Joe, but Joe could handle himself surely.

Chapter 21

Joe left work early, he was eager to see Polly, eager to find out whether it had all been a flash in the pan. The previous weekend didn't seem real now. He knew it had all happened, he remembered it happening, he enjoyed it happening, but now it was almost as if it hadn't happened. He needed to see if it could all happen again.

He was sipping a cup of tea when the door bell rang, Polly stood there, looking nervous, vulnernable, beautiful. They both said hi nervously, and kissed briefly on the mouth. She had brought a large bag, which Joe took to be a good sign, maybe she planned staying the night, the bag wasn't big enough to suggest she was moving in.

"I'm glad you came"

" I Think I am too"

"you're confused too?"

"it seems to be catching"

"let's relax, opena bottle of wine and talk about all this, it's happened quickly, i'm really glad it has happened, but we need to talk about it and decide where we want to go from here"

Polly took off her jacket and settled on the sofa, Joe sat next to her, and whe wriggled her toes under his knees"

" you can keep them warm while we talk"

He smiled, maybe this could all work out.

"I have a lot to think about" joe started. "stuff that is connected to us, and I need to sort out"

"like what?"

"My job, I could get fired I think, for shagging a tenant"

"I'm hardly likely to report you, even if you turn out to be crap in bed"

"I know, but if another tenant sees us together, they might, and I don't want to have to tiptoe everywhere, I want to be able to relax here, and at your place, if I'm not working there, I can relax."

"does that mean you want to stop seeing me until you get another job, that could take months"

"it won't take months, and no I don't want to stop seeing you, we'll have to hang out here a lot, I can't be seen at your flat"

"that's ok, I like your flat, you have a better garden"

"and I don't share it with anyone" Joe wagged his fingers at Polly in a school master manner.

"I'm going to stop all that, I have written to your boss, basically withdrawing the complaints"

"that's another good reason for me to leave, people could argue that I slept with you to stop the complaints"

"you were good, you weren't fantastic"

"you know what I mean"

She nodded and smiled, he might just be worth hanging on to.

"I'm going to resign, and then temp, I'm experienced it won't take long to get something else, and the change might do me good anyway.

Joe was about to kiss Polly when the phone rang. He picked it up.
a voice identified himself as a journalist;

"is it true that you handed over £1500 to a man in Kings cross for the return of a politician's security pass"

"you what?"

"is it true?"

"I don't know what you're talking about" he hung up, the phone rang again, he hung up, and again, he disconnected the call. He rang Lance, who too kthe call first ring, in the past he'd had to leave several messages before he got a call back. Lance signed when he heard the news.

"fuck, they're gunning for my mates now"

"explain"

"I was set up Joe, yes I know I willingly used the prostitute, but they were following me all the time, they put her in position so I couldn't miss her, the security card was a fuck up for me, a bonus for them, they must have followed me to your house and then followed you as well, I'm sorry mate"

"can you do anything?"

"I could stop trying to find out who stitched me up"

"was the call to me some kind of warning?"

"looks like it, you're small fry mate, you wouldn't justify a front page, they are still gunning for me, because I know things, scandalous things. Not enough to bring down a government, but enough to bring down a few people. I'll stop if you want, I don't want you getting more involved"

"lance?"

"yeah?"

"fuck'em, I did what I did because you're my oldest mate, because we played in that garden when we were kids, because we go back, because you're my mate, a fuck up of a mate, but that doesn't change anything, fuck'em lance, and the horses they rode into town on"

lance laughed, "oh i can fuck'em Joe, I can definitely do that, expect some interest outside your door, that will be their next step, just no comment them, whatever they say, I'll handle it my end"

Joe told Polly the rest of the story, leaving nothing out.

She was angry, "what about me, am i going to get followed now, and what about your job, if i get followed and I'm part of the story, you'll have to leave straight away".

Joe hadn't thought it through, his fuck'em and the horses they rode in on speech did mean he had to leave straight away.

"It just forces me to act more quickly, not something i'm good at, but this is not something I have come across before.I'll ring work tomorrow, tell them due to some personal issues I can't come in, and that I may have to resign, a resignation is less messy than a discliplinary, they'll go for that"

"you can't exactly work if your part of this story"

"I have savings, I can last for a couple of months, it's not going to last that long is it?"

neither of them could answer that.

Chapter 22

An unexpected new beginning

Joe made the call first thing, explained to Peter that he had a number of personal issues to sort out. And that it was possible that he may not be able to return to work, rather than try and get signed off, he had decided to resign with immediate affect. Peter tried to talk him out of it, and to be fair, he did actually sound sincere. What he was probably more worried about was covering Joe's work while they hired a replacement, he wouldn't actually cover the work, he'd just worry about it. He'd also have to go through the grind of inyerviewing people, which he also hated as he usually was a really poor judge of character. Joe actually looked forward to hearing from Barry how it all went.

Polly stayed in bed, while Joe left to see if he was being door stepped or followed, there wasn;t anyone outside the flat or in the street. He was a little pissed off, that Lance was right about him not being the story. He was pleased that he had resigned though, it would have got incredibly messy had he stayed. The story still had legs, the morning papers were full of Lance's resignation, the comments from the PM, the talk of government in crisis, sinking ships and all that. As lance hadn't given an interview, the story was still in play, and speculation abounded. he knew it was only a matter of time before they got to him, before his name was mentioned.Even though Lance had resigned the story just wouldn't die, Joe didn't understand why Lance leaving hadn't killed the story. Joe sat in a local cafe, playing with a spoon, turning it over and over in his hand, looking at his reflection in it. His coffee had long since gone cold and he hadn't actually drunk any of it. he asked for another, and they gave him a free one, he was a regular and they treated the regulars well.

He got a bus to Angel, thought he would browse around borders, and be a £50 man for a few hours. It was strange getting a bus during the day, he'd never been one for the thatcher thing, that a man getting a bus over the age of 25 was a failure, with the congestion charge and pterol prices and parking fees/clamping, it made sense to leave his car at home. He didn't actually have a car, but if he did, he would leave it at home.

The top deck was empty when he got on, he liked an empty top deck, and he also tried to use the top deck. He hated the way people just hung around downstairs even if there were seats upstairs, what the fuck was that about? He sat near the back and watched church street and albion road go by, then he saw a group of little children, crocodile style, waiting the bus stop. They got on, and led by their 3 teachers they filled the top deck. One little lad was sitting next to Joe, he could feel him looking up at him, looking up at the big bloke. He didn't like kids, he didn't understand them, he wasn't aroind them enough. It wasn't actually dislike, they were amazing, their little faces full of wonder at this big trip they were making, all chattering excitedly to themselves and the teachers accompanying them.
A Llondon bus full of little kids was way more preferable to a bus full of teenagers though, so Joe counted his blessings. Teenagers and their noise, be it the chat, or their fucking phones, sharing their music with the bus. He was sometimes a moany old bloke.

He got to borders, but then wasn't in a shopping mood, so got a bus straight back. There were no kids on this one, he was pleased to bet back to Stoke Newington. He walked slowly back to the flat, smoking a cigarette as he dawdled. Polly was up when he came in, dressed in one of his shirts. He liked that.

He felt a bit lost, he didn't know what to do. It wasn't like a regular day off, he didn't have a job. A week ago he had a job, a day off was a pleasure, then again, a week ago he didn't have a girlfriend. He reviewed the events of the week. An old mate, loses his security card getting a blow job off a kings cross prostitute, he offers to collect it, and does the whole pushing an envelope of money across the table thing. Meanwhile, a woman, a tenant, who had been getting on his tits for a couple of years, was now allowing him to get on her tits, but in a good way. As a result of both events, he had thought it wiser to give up his job, rather than face any music which might have come his way. His whole life had changed in the space of a few days, this was exciting. What did he have to worry about? His name in the papers, he might be famous for a few days, but like Lance had suggested, his name wouldn't sell papers, so the fuss would die down. No job, he had savings, he could last for a few months, he'd put them away for a raining day, well now it was pissing down, time to spend some of the money. Maybe they could just go away, hire a cottage, stay in a hotel, a b&b, stay at his mums? Take polly to meet his parents, no fucking way, it had been strange enough over the past few days, he wouldn;t be able to handle the whole meet the parents thing. That would have to wait. He liked the going away idea, he suggested it to Polly as she was drinking some strange tasting herbal tea she had brought over. She liked the idea, she hadn't been away for years. She felt guilty that hewas going to pay for it, he said she could pay her way if she wanted to. She said she didn't feel that guilty.

"It'll have to be somewhere we can get to by train"

"Paris"

"somewhere nearer"

"Brighton"

They had a plan.

Chapter 23

Lance was back in the game, and loving every minute of it. He had resigned his seat, forcing a by-election at a difficult time. It was a safe seat so he doubted it would really damage the government. His hunch as to who was behind his fall from grace hadn't yet panned out, but he had an idea of how to flush the person out into the open. The education secretary was now his quarry, he rang his some-time dealer, who he had introduced to the education secretary. He knew that the dealer had no idea he was dealing to someone in that position, he sold to someone who sold on to someone, who sold on to a member of his staff, everyone in the chain had a mark up. Lance wanted to control the source.

The dealer wasn't happy, but Lance had him by the balls, he gave him a list of people he wasn't to sell to for the next 4 weeks, enough time for any supply to dry up. He asked when a certain person had last bought from him, it had been 3 weeks. This could work quicker than he hoped, he would wait for a call, his old boss would come running.

He then rang Joe, heard the latest, Joe was remarkably happy given the fact that he'd lost his job, love can make a lot of things go smoother, he must try it sometime. So far, Joe's name had been kept out of the press, but the story still had legs and it was only a matter of days. Lance had agreed to be interviewed by the Times. He would give a warts and all version of the events that had led to his downfall. Well his version of warts and all, he would admit that it had happened, that it had been a one off, a terrible lapse in judgement, that he had been under a lot of pressure at home and at work, and that he was glad in a way that this had come to pass. He would make vague references to political enemies. He wanted them to know that he was on the war path, and he would also ask that his friends and family be left alone, hoping that this would be put Joe in the clear.

The press coverage had changed from vitriolic to sympathetic, and had prompted columnists to talk about the pressures of modern governments. This was all good for Lance, if he could kill the story with his interview so that it remained a one off incident, he could come out of this smelling good, and not covered in shit, as had been the case on Saturday and Sunday.

He had to control the way the story was being presented, and the only way to do that was to tell his side of the story, his cleaned up side. And put pressure on people who were briefing against him, The fuckers had had their fun.

Time to put his side (her version of his side) He met the Times journalist over lunch at a small italian place in mayfair. The journalist was young, which pissed off Lance, he was expecting one of their columnists, but the editor had vetoed that, and Lance needed them more than they needed lance.

"So, any regrets about your recent behaviour?"
"of course, it was out of character, I'm sorry for the apin I have caused my family and friends, and I am sorry that I had to leave government, I had a lot to offer"

"is there a way back into politics for you"

"not parliamentary, I 've decided to resign my seat with immediate effect"

"isn't that disloyal to your party"

"i'm trying to draw a line under the whole affair, I think it best that the people of my contituency are represented by a new MP, not one with a cloud over him"

"is this the only time you have been with a prostitute?

Lance had been expecting this question, he had planned several versions of the answer, none of them resembling the truth. He used one of them.

"as a student i think i did sleep with a prostitute once, it was a rites of passage thing, most of the men in my group musyt have done it"

"and as an mp"

"just that one time"

"there are rumours that you regularly used prostitutes"

"they are rumours, they are not the truth"

"ok, moving on" Lance was glad she hadn't pushed him, but in a way wished she had, he liked the challenge of a good interview.

"Is it true you lost a security pass"

"I have my security pass"

"the rumour is you had to pay to get it back"

"again, you are listening to rumours when you should be listening to facts"

"did you pay to get it back"

"I won't respond to questions based on rumours"

"you could just say no"

"ask me a serious question and I'll answer it"

"did you pay £1500.00"

"i'm still waiting for a serious question"

"did you send a friend of yours to pay the money and pick up the pass"

"can we have questions based on facts, you don't have any evidence to back up such an incredibile story"

"is it true one of your aides picked the pass up from your friends house"

"that is true, i left the pass there, a honest mistake"

"so he didn't pick it up from the pimp?"

"I don't know any pimps"

"ok, what are your future plans"

"I'm taking a holiday to be with my children"

"have they moved to america"

"my wife and I thought it best given the press intrusion in my life"

"are you divorcing your wife?"

"we are having a trial separation"

"have you spoken to your wife about the incident"

"we have had a frank and painful discussion, but that is all I'm prepared to say on the issue"

"I believe that you may be planning a book"

"it was always my intention to write a politcial memoir when i retired from Politics"

"hasn't retirement come a little earlier than planned?"

"yes, it's unfortunate, I was looking forward to a long and more successful career in government but alas this has come to pass"

"will it be a warts and all book"

"I plan to be candid, yes"

"a chance to get back at people"

"I am not a vengeful person"

"another rumour is that you were set up, that people wanted you out of government"

"that's another rumour, I had a very close relationship with eveyone i worked with in government"

"so you won't be taking anyone down with you"

"you certainly listen to a lot of rumours"

"no comment then"

"I have just answered your question"

The interview ended, Lance thanked her and they left. Clive was outside, he had taped the interview as well to avoid any errors in the printed copy. He was pleased, "you handled her very well", "she was lightweight" "yes, but lightweight on the make, she wanted better answers, she's got her eye on a tv career, I can tell, I gave her my card when she left, I might be able to help her"

"always working Clive!"