Daneburgh Priory
by obohobo
Copyright Obohobo 2003
Chapter One. Almost sacked
ERNIE! ERICA! MY OFFICE NOW!! The chief editor's voice boomed across the office
silencing the altercation between two younger members of staff. Everyone else
had already stopped work and was listening to the invective the two junior
employees were hurling at each other. Both knew their jobs were on the line.
"Sorry Sir," muttered Ernie as they entered the office, "I did all the research
for the article and she was going to write it up and get the credit."
"I did as much work on it as you did," Erica retorted, "You just trolled the
Internet. I went and.."
"She...."
"Silence the pair of you. Enough is enough. Both of you have done nothing but
squabble ever since you came here, what was it? Six months ago? Less than week
back, I had you both in here for a similar incident and I told you quite clearly
what would happen if it occurred again, didn't I?"
"Yes Sir," Ernie answered, "But do you have to sack both of us? Without her
interference I would get on just fine."
"And so would I!" Erica stated vehemently.
"Firing one without the other would leave me wide open to discrimination charges
and while they probably wouldn't stick, I can do without the hassle. I need
people who can work as a team here. People who will pull together, help each
other and not turn the place into a bloody battlefield. This morning's little
set-to stopped everyone working for ten minutes or more. Even now they are
probably discussing what it happening here and not doing what they ought to be
doing. Some of them I'm sure, watched you with some amusement, others with
disgust and some no doubt were wondering when Chief was going to put an end to
it all and send you packing. The answer to that is now. Denise is already doing
the form that gives you the statutory fourteen days notice to terminate your
employment. With names like yours you should be a pair. An item. Not a
squabbling pair kindergarten brats." Chief paused and pressed the intercom,
"Have you the forms ready Denise?" On receiving the affirmative he asked for
them to be brought in. Chief signed and handed them out.
"Will you give me a reference?" Erica asked when Denise had left, "I've done
some good work here."
"Yes, but I will state quite clearly why you are leaving. I have my position to
consider as well," Chief replied, "If your college references were as honest as
they should have been, I wouldn't have employed you in the first place."
"Could you not give us one more chance, Chief?" Ernie asked, "As Erica said, we
have done some good work here."
"I agree you have. Both of you are talented journalists and this could have been
just the first rung on the ladder to a good career, but you have caused too much
disruption. Not just here but as I found out afterwards, at the college you both
attended. I gave you your last chance last time. I could understand it while you
were students and teenagers but you should have grown out that by now. You are
both twenty-one for heavens sake. Supposedly adults." Chief sounded totally
disgusted with them.
"Just give one of us a chance Chief please," Erica pleaded.
"I don't see how I can unless...." Chief paused. "Go and get a coffee while I
think about it." Ten minutes later Chief called them back in.
"I've had several snippets of information come in over the last few months and
this morning something a little more concrete. It could make a good under cover
story if you can get to what is behind it all. If it weren't for the animosity
between you, you would make fairly ideal under cover agents. You're young and
could pose as lovers."
"Yuk. Like hell!" Erica exploded.
"With a bitch like her?" Ernie queried.
"I only said pose. Not be lovers. Now if you will let me continue." Chief put
his hand up for silence. "You do have one thing in common. You're both into bird
watching, and I do mean the feathered kind. Both of you are members of the Royal
Society for the Protection of Birds and ...."
"She's into woodland birds whereas I study waders so our fields are well apart,"
interrupted Ernie.
"No matter. Either let me finish or get your hides out of that door. You wanted
a last chance and this is it. Few of your age would get a chance to do under
cover work any way. At this stage I cannot tell you much about it because you
might well blab if you decide not to undertake the work but it will involve you
living together in a tent, out in the wilds, pretending to be bird watchers but
actually keeping observations of another sort."
"I will not sleep with him! Not that arrogant bastard!" Erica burst out.
"Nor will I with that bitch! No way!"
"No, you won't actually have to physically sleep with each other, not unless you
wish to. You will have your own sleeping bag but in the same tent. Nor will I
condone him raping you, Erica. That would be treated as a criminal offense but
you would have to work together as a team. Help each other with the usual
camping chores. Both of you are familiar with that aspect of things. And because
there is always some danger in undercover work, you would have to work together,
as a team." Again he emphasised the last words. "I've a meeting with the
printers union for the next hour or so. Go away. Get out of this building and
discus it between yourselves. Either take the job on and if I think you've done
well together, I'll reinstate your employment, or you can work out your notice.
See me at noon with your answer. It must be both of you that agree. Not one or
the other. This is a two person job. Now get out of my sight."
*****
"Daneburgh Priory is set in a corner of land bounded on two sides by water. The
River Hazelum borders its eastern side. As you know, it is a major waterway
taking seagoing ships The Brent runs into it almost at right angles and forms
the southern boundary. At this point the Brent is nearly half a mile wide and
has extensive mud flats." Chief was explaining the position to them as the pored
over a large scale map. "On the Hazelum shore there is a jetty with deep enough
water to take the smaller coaster type boat and most of the supplies seem to
come in by that route. So do the personnel although they seem to be moved to the
priory at night, which again rouses our suspicions as to what goes on there."
After a long and bitter argument, they had finally agreed to a truce and to take
the opportunity of the undercover work.
"I know the area," Ernie remarked. "Quite a high seawall. Footpath along the top
along both riverbanks and a wide drainage ditch on the landward side. World War
II pill box on the corner which used to be accessible and was useful as a hide
for watching the waders but the doorway was bricked up a year or two ago. Had to
take a canvas hide last time I was there. You can't see much of the Priory from
the seawall, only the tops of a few chimneys. The gateway to the jetty is sealed
off with a high fence and a locked gate and so is the track from the jetty to
the house. A few walkers use the seawall footpath and I know other bird watchers
go there."
"Well, that's more information than I could glean from the map," Chief went on.
"A small road runs alongside the Hazelum to East Daneburgh and then about half a
mile from the village, turns sharply right to West Daneburgh a distance of
roughly two miles. Part of that road forms the north side of the estate. Both
this side and the western side boundaries are fenced with high wire fences and a
thick thorn hedge. The entrance is through some ornate gates that now have
electric controls, so my informant says. Very few cars or people seem to use
that entrance."
"So how do we get in?" Erica asked.
"That's your problem. I haven't been there. In fact as you can see, it's almost
off our patch. Ern may have more ideas. A Ken Shepton owns the farm next door.
The paper supported him in his battle with the authorities during the Foot and
Mouth outbreak so he's friendly enough toward us and I'm sure will allow you to
camp on one of his fields. His phone number is on the files."
"So far you have not said anything about what goes on in the Priory. It can't be
all above board or you wouldn't be sending us to look it over. Unless it is a
stupid hoax to get us out of your way for the next fortnight." Erica sounded as
if she was getting worked up again.
"We don't know very much, but it does sound as if they are not exactly as
religious as they ought to be. Or it may be they are worshipping a different
god. Might be sexual deviant things. For example, we know they are not all
friars or monks, there are some women there but they are never seen outside the
gates. Only occasionally are any of the friars seen in the villages and again it
is rare even for tradesmen to go into the building and when they do, only one
person shows them the work. None of the others are ever around. Sometimes an
expensive car is seen going through the gates at night but otherwise, as I said,
there are few visitors by road. People dressed in monk's habits come in on a
boat and leave by it. It's very mysterious, which is why we want to know more."
Chief related a few other small items of information but none shed any light on
what went on there.
*****
"Don't think because you are bringing a pint sized caravan instead of a tent,
I'm going to let you inside my knickers," Erica spat out the words.
"I thought we had a truce, Erica. I promised not even to attempt to rape you."
Ernie refrained from adding that he couldn't see anyone wanting to fuck a bitch
like her. She was attractive enough physically but had a spiteful tongue and a
way of demeaning people. "We both want to keep our jobs and although my caravan
is small, it will be better than sleeping in a tent. It has two beds, and
limited cooking and toilet facilities. It's not luxurious but I only bought it
to take on bird watching trips and I expected to be alone. Certainly if it
rains, you'll appreciate having a solid roof over your head, even if it is a
noisy metal one."
"Perhaps no one would come with you," Erica snapped then after a long pause,
"Sorry. Truce."
"First time I've heard her apologise," thought Ernie out loud he said, "I still
wonder what goes on inside that place."
"It's not a staging post for illegal immigrants for sure. They could bring them
in by sea but someone would have noticed them leaving the priory by road. The
gate is rarely opened and I doubt if they would stock pile immigrants in the
house. In any case, Customs have been on board the boats several times and not
found anything other than supplies and occasionally a few passengers that seem
to be legit. It's either drugs or sex or both," stated Erica confidently as
though she had inside information.
"Maybe, but from what little we know, there seems to be very few women in the
place."
It was two days since they left Chief's office and now they were travelling
across the county to Daneburgh Farm where Ken Shepton had agreed to allow them
to park on the site of some wartime gun emplacements. The surrounding buildings
had long since been demolished but the concrete base remained and Ken used it to
store the huge straw bales left after harvest until they could be sold. They
were gone now and the neighbouring fields were knee high with green barley.
