Social Engineer

Social Engineer - Chapter 5

Eight Weeks Ago

“What is this?” asked Mel suspiciously, as she looked up and down the deserted backstreet, seeing only a long expanse of redbrick wall. Only the large wooden door they stood in front of broke up the monotony of brickwork. There were no windows. In fact, there was nothing to indicate what the outer walls contained.

Brody already loved her French accent; this pronounced as zees. Her voice was sweet and she radiated continental charm; a natural innocence that he’d never experienced before, especially from anyone he’d met through the dating site.

“It’s a surprise,” he said.

He rapped on the door and stood back. Mel wrapped her arms around herself, unsure of her situation. And of him.

It was all going to plan.

The door swung inwards, revealing a huge man in a suit, shirt and tie, all in black. An electronic earpiece was wrapped around one ear. 

“Welcome to Bromptons,” said the bouncer.

“Evening, Gerry,” said Brody, stepping over the threshold.

Brody looked back and saw that Mel remained outside. He reached out a hand and smiled. After a moment’s hesitation, she took it and allowed herself to be gently drawn inside. She had small soft hands.

Once Gerry closed the door to the street, he opened an internal door. Immediately, the hustle and bustle of a busy bar could be heard; a tenor saxophone playing mellow jazz in the background. They walked through and were greeted by a waitress, who checked Brody’s reservation and asked them to follow her. As they walked through the dimly lit bar, past booths and seating areas separated from each other by black net curtains draped from the ceiling high above, Mel took it all in with an expression of childlike wonderment on her face.

“This is amazing,” she said, once they were seated opposite each other in their own private booth. “How do you know it is even ’ere?”

“This place is called Bromptons. It’s a speakeasy: a concept originally invented by the Americans during the prohibition era, when they had to hide their bars and alcohol drinking from the authorities. You had to be in the know to find it — usually a back door in a back street, with all the windows at the front blacked out completely to hide what was going on inside.”

“Why is it ’ere, now? And in London?”

“Just a fad, I suppose. But it is cool.”

Mel agreed.

As Brody had hoped, the idiosyncrasy of Bromptons had worked its magic, allowing them to fall into conversation naturally, suppressing any of the stiltedness that he otherwise found occurred on first dates. A waitress took their drinks order, and they continued chatting.

Initially, Brody steered the conversation around Mel. She answered his questions openly, neither feigning her responses, nor dressing them up. She described her job as a nurse with passion. She truly cared about the well being of her patients. She offered up amusing anecdotes of randy old hospitalised men. She talked about helping the homeless, attending soup kitchens on her days off. She volunteered in a charity shop near where she lived in Chalk Farm.

He marvelled at her. Mel was unlike anyone he’d ever met before. To give that much of oneself to strangers without a private agenda was something so far removed from Brody’s psyche that he found himself mesmerised. But the reward seemed to be her zany lust for life. She laughed easily and took pleasure in the simplest of things.

“And you Brody? What is a location scout?”

He shifted in his seat, but the lies came easily enough. He explained how he worked for film production companies, helping them identify places around the world that would serve the aesthetic needs of the films. He attempted to make it sound boring, talking about budgets and logistics, weather conditions and lighting, and obtaining permission from location owners.

“It’s how I came across this place,” he concluded. “We ended up using it for a scene in the recent Sweeney movie.”

“The one with Ray Winstone?” At his nod, she continued excitedly, “What is ’e like?”

“No idea. I never got to meet him. Most of the work I do is pre-production. I rarely get involved once filming starts. Unless there’s a problem with the location.”

“But you must know where and when movies are being filmed in London?”

“Some,” he said hesitantly, having no idea about shooting schedules. “Why?”

“Perhaps you could take me to one when they are filming. Maybe we will see a famous Hollywood actor?”

Brody was pleased with himself. Mel was already talking about a future date, even if she didn’t realise what her words had implied. He studied her exquisite features across the table and decided that he would very much enjoy seeing her again.

“Okay, I’ll check tomorrow with the production companies and see who’s filming in town and where.”