A few hours later, he awoke. He was in a four-poster bed with a canopy and red velvet sheets. There was a plate of fruit biscuits and heavy cream along with a glass of water on the bedside table. There was also a chair next to the bed. And on that chair sat a tall, gaunt man dressed in the standard doctor’s uniform of the Queen’s Imperial Medical Association, who was taking notes on a clipboard.

Victor and exchanged hurried words with the doctor.

“Where am I?” asked Victor.

The doctor responded with “Medical ward thirty-two of St. Georges Hospital. We found you on the beach and took you here.”

Seeing the look on Victor’s face, the doctor added

“You’ve been out for 2 and a half days.”

Victor got up, had a glass of water, thanked the doctor, and left. Outside, he went to a phone box and phoned the London Police Station.

He was informed that Francis was also recuperating, as he had gotten a rather serious concussion. After inquiring about the culprits, he got the nasty shock that they had, in fact, gotten away.

After assurances that there would be a strike team to continue the investigation, Victor was told to be on bed rest for one week, after which he would rejoin the strike team along with Francis. Taking a taxi home, he finally got to enjoy the full English breakfast he waited so long for, albeit fifty hours late.

After breakfast, Victor took a long nap and decided to take his Yorkshire Terrier, Fluffles, for a walk in Hyde Park. As they were walking, Fluffles bounded off into a bit of tall grass near the water. Victor chased him because after all, those geese and ducks are really ferocious to little fluffballs. With a little stumbling through bushes, Victor found his beloved companion- facing off with a ferocious goose. They circled around each other honking and growling, teeth bared and ready to go for each other’s throats. Victor dived in and saved Fluffles just before he was about to be ripped into furry little shreds by a giant goose. After a harrowing encounter with death (which Victor escaped by the skin of his teeth), the two went to a very nice little coffee shop (which also sold dog biscuits) to have a cup of tea and some pastries.

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

As they ate, they looked over the river Thames. It flowed serenely, not caring about anything that goes on around it.

“How nice.” Thought Victor “To not have a care in the world and watch everything around change.”

Deep in thought, he failed to notice the Fluffles had jumped on the table, had finished the other pastries, and was lapping up the last of the tea when Victor snapped out of his reverie and attempted some damage control, but it was too late. A full Yorkie never runs, and with the next traffic hour imminent, Victor had to find an alternate solution; he picked up Fluffles and together, they ran towards the nearest taxi. It was already taken.

Five taxis and one nap for Fluffles later, they were in a taxi and going back to 17 Redwood Lane. As they were pulling up to Victor’s cosy home, Fluffles decided to finally awake and move around, wreaking havoc until he was tired. Just as Victor went in for dinner, Francis arrived to check in on him. They had a roast for dinner and talked over the case. It was decided that once they rejoined, they would focus more on the case and not try and dumb stunts like harpooning a boat again.

This goes on for a couple of weeks and before you know it, seven days are up and the two are ready for adventure! Unlike last time, they were prepared this time. They were told that the strike team had tracked the suspects to the Belgian Congo, where the biggest threats are mosquitoes and snakes. With the likelihood of facing crocodiles and tigers looming on the horizon, it was decided that bringing a rifle, a machete and a mosquito net in addition to the usual survival kit was a decent idea.

As they made their way to the plane which would fly them from England to the Congo, there was a surprise announcement; A third member would be joining their team. He is an ex-SAS and very skilled in hand to hand combat. As HQ has discovered that mercenaries have been hired by the suspects to guard them at all times. Hopping on the plane, Victor had a glass of champagne and took a nap. After all, a two-day flight is not to be rushed. During a refuelling stop, Victor hopped off the plane to buy some snacks. A snack of grapes, olives, and bread was purchased, as, seeing how the refuelling stop is a Mediterranean island, there wasn’t much else to purchase. Another stop later and they were there.

They were greeted by the commanding officer of the strike team, (Henceforth referred to as Strike Team Alpha) who told them to set up their tent and go to a mission briefing in 0100 hours. The tent was set up and they went to attend the mission brief. The commanding officer started with: “Boys, I have some terrible news…”