Free The Few (The Abductions of Langley Garret Book 2) by Derek Haines

very upset as the summer passed and pleaded to leave the island prison as she called it.'
    'Decem Filios?'
    'Yes. But she wasn't simply complaining about it. She'd tried to commit suicide once that summer, and made a bloody mess of it too by slashing her wrists, but missing any main veins luckily. My father finally decided that it would be best for her to leave and that she would hopefully settle down in time.'
    'And did she?'
    'I returned to Athens in September that year and she had disappeared. I have to tell you, that was not easy for anyone connected to the Sons of Cleito, but somehow she did. It took three years to finally locate where she'd ended up, and also to discover that she was dead.'
    'How did she die?'
    'Suicide.'
    'How?'
    'She jumped from a five storey window as best we could discover. After an argument with the man she was living with.'
    'In Athens?'
    'No, in London. That's how you ended up there and after her death you were handed off to some distant relatives of the man Andrea was with.'
    'So why didn't you just come and get me? I mean, if you were my father, you would've done that.'
    'I would have. But even with our network looking for you, tracking you down wasn't that easy. It took some years until we finally did.'
    'When?'
    'When you were at university.'
    'Don't tell me. Helen.'
    He didn't reply, as he heard Giovanna arriving with more beer. She took her time placing the tray on the table and topping up our glasses. 'Anything else?' she asked.
    'I think we'll have lunch inside. It's a bit warm out here,' Nelson said.
    'At around one?'
    'Yes, that'll be fine.'
    Giovanna nodded and turned to go back inside. I waited until she had disappeared from view.
    'Helen?' I repeated.
    'My father was still alive back then and he made the decision to assign her to you. She was his niece by marriage on his wife's side and very loyal to the family and the Sons. It was her task to keep you safe, while at the same time fulfilling her role within the Sons.'
    'Which was?'
    'To gather information from The Few.'
    'And did she?'
    'Yes. She performed both of her tasks exceptionally well, in most respects.'
    'Most?'
    'It took some time before we discovered that she had been convinced, by who or what we never knew, that your mother was a traitor, which as you can imagine rather complicated things and caused us great concern for a number of years. With her working so closely within The Few, we weren’t absolutely sure of her motivations. Perhaps it was her way of trying to protect you at that time, or she thought that your mother had been giving information to someone. I asked my father to bring you back then, but he decided to leave you with her. Maybe it was because she was family, but he refused to believe that she was not doing anything other than working diligently for the Sons and protecting you.'
    'But why was she working with The Few anyway? That doesn't make sense.'
    'We're in a very strange business Langley. So strange in fact that after all these years, I still sometimes struggle to understand it. But to answer your question, I received a copy of your mother's letter – from within The Few. It was accompanied by a copy of a short memo outlining the significance of it and signed by Helen. But before and after receiving it, I got classified information from her that she obtained from her role with The Few. I imagine she may have used the letter as leverage, or to prove her worth to them.'
    'Hold on. You got a copy of her letter from The Few, and not from Helen?'
    'That's right.'
    'I'm lost. But Helen was a spy.'
    'Too simplistic, but it will do.'
    'That damn letter has caused me a lot of trouble.'
    'Perhaps.'
    'Look, I'll be straight with you. Even if you are my father, which I'm still not convinced about, I have to ask why I shouldn't just walk out the door and forget all about the Sons of Cleito, Helen, my mother and all the mumbo jumbo I have been fed in the last few months? I'm sorry if I offend you by saying this,