Episode 2

The ride from Westminster to the airport was going to take a while. Even with a congestion charge London's ancient streets just weren't built for heavy traffic.

Kelvin Carter went over again in his head just what trouble his son had now gotten himself into.

He wasn't sure he wanted to believe the report he had been given.

A succession of bomb attacks in Cairo on religious sites had caused untold damage and casualties.

The extent of his son's involvement was as yet unconfirmed by the embassy, but there was no doubt that he was, in some way connected.

Kelvin had immediately called in a favour with the Prime Minister to suppress the story for as long as possible. Not to save his embarrassment but to allow time for the diplomats to do their job in determining exactly how to stave off political disaster.

He may be a member of the opposing party but in the halls of Westminster his Foreign Policy advice was well trusted. Although it could never be revealed in public, the current PM relied on him as if he were a party advisor.

The current Foreign Minister was in his post to gain experience, not because he had any. He was the favoured child to lead them at the next election and so this was seen as invaluable to cement him as a contender in the public's eyes.

The thought that by helping the Prime Minister from time to time might be ruining his own party's chances of election gnawed away at him. In the end, he was an idealist.

He was in politics because he really did want to make a positive impact on the world and bring about peace and harmony for everyone.

Petty party politics didn't concern him.

If he could improve things for other people in the world today he would do so. It seemed like madness to wait for the slim chance that his party would get re-elected in order to make progress on things that could make life better for all.

How many lives could he save today by influencing the current foreign aid policy? How many conflicts could he resolve by using his substantial negotiating skills now rather than later?

That thought brought him back around to Thomas. Thankfully in all the confusion surrounding the alleged massacre, his son had made his way to the British Embassy before the local authorities got to him.

He was now being flown back for his own protection after a bit of adroit thinking by one of the local diplomats. Getting him out of the country would at least make it difficult to prosecute anything quickly.

It would be hard to reconcile this mess.

Even though his son was a constant embarrassment to him, he still loved him.

He had tried to help him before. Divorcing Thomas' mother some years ago had not stopped him from trying to keep in touch with his son.

Amidst his burgeoning political career it had been especially difficult watching him grow up mentally unbalanced.

A doubt had always resurfaced at times like these that maybe it was his fault. If he had tried to make things work in the marriage and not been selfish about his career then maybe he could have been there to guide Thomas' through his dark years.

He pushed the guilt back down as he normally did, in order to think more clearly. If he was going to help his son now, he needed to be on top of his game.

If the situation got nasty though and it turned into a full-blown international incident then there would be nothing he could do to protect his son. He may have to sacrifice him for the greater good.



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