Alec Freeman braced himself as the attendant stepped aside to allow him into the viewing room. Freeman had no idea why his old boss, General Bond with MI-6, had called him that morning and all but ordered him to the medical examiner’s office to confirm the identity of a body found in a London alley the night before.

Bond had refused to tell him who they thought it was in the alley, only that Freeman’s assistance was required.

The attendant stayed at a respectful distance as Freeman approached the glass partition that separated the viewers from the deceased. The gowned person on the other side of the glass pulled down the drape to expose the face. A monitor in the wall flickered on to reveal a close up of the face.

Freeman suppressed a gasp. He knew that face, had worked with the man for more than ten years. The pale hair, finely sculpted face…

“That’s Ed Straker,” he managed to choke out.

“Have you any idea what he was doing in that alley last night?” someone asked. Freeman looked over to see a man standing beside. Freeman hadn’t realized that anyone had entered the room. Even in civilian clothes the man had a military bearing – military intelligence, possibly. Or a cop who had spent a lot of time in the military.

“I’ve no idea,” Freeman admitted. “What was the cause of death?”

“We have no idea,” the man admitted. “Hopefully the toxicology results will tell us something.”

“You’re sure you don’t know why he was in London last night?”

Freeman shook his head. “The last time I spoke with him, he was heading home.”

He frowned. Security would have told him if anything untoward had happened with Straker last night – even slipping away from the personal protection team would have been brought to his attention. Straker was too valuable to SHADO to be left unprotected.

“Did he have anything with him when he was found?” Freeman asked.

“Funny you should ask that,” the man said. “There was something… a costume… a red space suit sort of thing… in a suitcase.”

A Hallowe'en one.. stories to be short (max 5000 words?)and not to be posted until 31st October.complete or not. (on your own date line) although they can be posted later. Any title