"John, I can't help you with this. It's escalated too much, and my superior personally called, telling me to cooperate with Martin. The pressure on me is immense. I'm sorry."
Carlte hung up the phone, feeling like he had done everything he could for his old classmate who had joined the special department. After all, they weren't in the same system, and he still needed to stay in good standing with Director Hart.
On the banks of the Thames, at a quiet riverbank, three unremarkable Volkswagen cars were parked.
Damn it!
Inside one of the cars, John hung up the phone and slammed his fist on the steering wheel before getting out of the car.
The others in the three vehicles followed suit.
"Boss, what should we do?"
"We have no choice. This has gone public now."
"What about Number Two and the others?"
"We can only ask above to intervene. They should be able to get them out, but things will definitely escalate. Our team will probably be reassigned."
"Fuck, it's the higher-ups' fault, why do we have to bear the consequences?"
A young team member muttered in frustration.
"Shut up. We're just the ones doing the dirty work. When the time comes, we're the ones they discard."
Honestly, John felt some relief.
He would rather face ruthless foreign forces than target an innocent woman. The royal family were all heartless bastards.
Charles, you idiot. I hope you don't inherit the throne until you're seventy! [1]
John cursed silently.
...
"Oh my God, look at this! The brake pads on the right side of this car have been deliberately tampered with."
"Come closer with your cameras, here, here, and here. See the marks from a file? And here, the brake lines are cut a third of the way through!"
"The person who did this was very skilled and clearly knew cars. The brakes won't fail immediately, but after repeated use, that's when the problems will arise."
"Imagine this: a car speeding down the highway, and when it tries to slow down, suddenly the brakes on the right side fail. What would happen?"
Paul, the repair shop owner, demonstrated with a wrench, "It would flip over, tilt, lose control… and then, boom, a horrible crash!"
The reporters captured every detail, not missing a thing.
Paul was pleased, feeling he had done well in his performance. He wondered if Martin would notice his talent and give him a role in the Harry Potter films, even as an extra without lines.
But Martin didn't even look his way, which disappointed Paul, though he quickly recovered. If acting didn't work out, his repair shop would get famous, and so would he!
With great flair, Paul continued, "I can personally guarantee, with my integrity and even my life, that these brake pads were tampered with."
Then he exclaimed, "My God, someone tried to kill Princess Diana! Luckily, Martin discovered it in time and prevented a terrible tragedy! I urge all London citizens and English nationals to act now and help the police find the real culprits."
"Princess Diana is so kind! She's always humble and never acts above others. She has relentlessly helped those in need, even when betrayed in love. She has a golden heart."
"We can't let such a woman be harmed!"
Martin looked at him in surprise. Paul had just done exactly what Martin had planned, and the speech was actually quite well delivered. Interesting…
Paul caught Martin's gaze and felt a sense of pride. Now he knew what I'm capable of, right?
...
The next day, news of the incident spread throughout London and the entire United Kingdom. Even the tabloid The Sun, known for sensationalism, titled its headline "Diana Assassination Attempt."
Charles, Camilla, the royal family, MI6, and other institutions were all under suspicion.
Protests even broke out in front of Buckingham Palace.
Meanwhile, Paul George, the car repair shop owner, had truly become famous. Countless media outlets were interviewing him, and curious citizens came to his shop to inquire about the incident. Even Diana personally visited to thank him.
When Diana arrived, Paul was ecstatic.
During their photo op, Paul didn't know where to put his hands. He stood stiffly, like a shy child, but his smile was sincere.
(P.S. Diana was deeply loved in England, with The Times once stating: "Everyone loves Diana, and everyone hates Charles." After the divorce, even the Queen's reputation had suffered in the eyes of the public.)
"Martin, I really have to thank you. If it weren't for you, I might have ended up in a fatal car accident one day."
Diana personally came to the set and tightly hugged Martin.
No one questioned their relationship, after all, Martin had saved her life! And Diana always treated him like a younger brother.
In Diana's ear, Martin whispered softly, "Never say thank you to me, my love."
Diana's heart skipped a beat.
...
Fleet Street.
The Sun Headquarters.
"Have you found out who those two impostors were?"
"We can't find anything. Their identities are fake, their jobs are fake, and we can't trace them."
"Heh, doesn't that just make their identities even more suspicious?!"
"We'll publish the results of our investigation tomorrow."
"Is that really appropriate? What if their backers..."
"Don't worry, we're just revealing the truth. And do you really think no one's backing us?"
The next day, The Sun ran a headline in bold: "No Such People Found." Alongside it was a large color photo of the bearded man and the Chevy driver.
"After our reporters' relentless investigation, we discovered that these two men, claiming to be reporters for The Sun, are cousins named Smith Williams and Brown Williams. They live together."
"However, when we traced their addresses from their driver's licenses, we found that no one lived there."
"We also checked with the city hall, and their registered occupations were employees at a printing press called Cartlon. But when we visited the supposed address of Cartlon Printing, we found it was abandoned."
"Yes, they are truly 'no one.'"
"So the question remains: who are they, and who sent them to follow Martin, or rather, Diana?"
"What conspiracy is behind this?"
Footnote:
[1]: King Charles III became the monarch of the United Kingdom at the age of 73, after his mother Queen Elizabeth II died on September 8, 2022. He was the oldest person to ever take the British throne. HAHAHAHA!