An Enquiry (5) - Preparation

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Suddenly Jim found his life in turmoil. Jerked from the gentle, purposeless drifting of the preceding months he found that he now had a purpose, only he didn’t know what it was. He found there were things to do, and he needed to do them. He had committed himself to going for an interview, for an unspecified job in two days’ time!

Within a quarter of an hour of the call from Anastasia Litvenyenko he received the eMail telling him where he was to go, and even directions from Goodge Street, the nearest Tube station. Exploration on the internet told him nothing about the location. It was an unremarkable, narrow street of 19^th Century houses. No doubt many of them served as offices for companies. Apart from the profile of Anastasia Litvenyenko, there was very little about her employer, Dr Medinger (was it Gustav?), except for references to some old research papers or even any company they were associated with.

Jim decided he would travel to London by train. It meant an early start, but he could cope with that. He would take the mainline train to Euston station and then the Tube to Goodge Street. From there it was only a short walk. He booked his Train ticket online, and printed the confirmation. He fished his old Oyster card from the pouch containing his passport and put it with the rail ticked. It was a long time since he had been to central London.

Once he had made his transport arrangements, Jim began the business of brushing and pressing his suit. He shook it out and hung it on the back of his bedroom door. He took a silk tie, still in its wrapping from the dry cleaners and draped that over the coat-hanger and ironed a white shirt. He found the little box containing cuff-links and tie pins and put it on his bedside cabinet.

He looked at himself in the mirror. He was excited. He told himself not to build up any hopes or expectations and got on with the tasks he had for the rest of the day.

(This is the location I have chosen at random from Google maps. The description is not much like the house. Here is the house I going to use as the basis for the external description - I don't know anything about it, but it hasn't changed much in 20 years.)

(Part of the “Tyson” project: 6th January 2017 – 352 words)