Per was on edge. When Rupert had taken her phone with him and Ivo, I had seen the worry on her face, then with the bang we heard, I knew she was right to worry.

We had continued in the kitchen, Thad letting the ranger and Mr Jones in and offering hot drinks, which they accepted. It gave Per a chance to ready herself for what was coming.

We had listened as Peter introduced himself to Per and explained what he was doing there.

"My name is Peter Matlock, I am the ranger for this area, sort of a cross between mountain rescue and the Police" I saw her relax a little as she looked at all of us,,, Till his next words.

"Your parents reported you missing and have been trying to contact you" he had sighed and looked around the room "I am here to escort you to the base where a flight out has been arranged for you"

"No, she is staying with us" Rupert had growled out.

I wasn't surprised at Rupert's outburst, it was a toss up between him and Ivo as to who would stand in front of her first, but I guess listening to her voicemails had really riled him up.

"I'm sorry son, but she's got to go to the base" Mr Jones said, looking at Rupert.

"Why, she is legally an adult, she only has to go if she wants to" I question and all eyes turn to Per.

"Miss Brooke-Bennet? Do you want to leave?" The ranger asked, ignoring our growls of anger. "I personally spoke to your mother before coming top here" he paused and looked around us all before continuing. "She was most adamant you be returned" he said with a pained look.

"Yes, I am sure she was" Per replied and I could see she felt sorry for the man, but I hoped it would not make her sorry enough to cave to her mothers demands.

"Mr Jones, Peter" I stepped forward and drew their attention, "Prior to today we have had no power and no signal, it is unfortunate we have not been able to contact any of our families, but we now have signal, and before any decisions are made, I think we need to talk to our families and see what the best options are, we could all use a ride out of the base, but if we have permission for that, then we could get a helicopter in here to collect all of us" I explain and I know Thad is already reaching for his phone.

"And what would I tell Mrs Brooke-Bennett?" Peter asks looking at me, not Per.

Rupert replies "I will contact the Brooke- Bennet family and let them know I am taking care of Per and will be bring her home briefly before we join our families for Christmas"

I grin across at him, sneaky bugger, it would have to have been one of us, from a business perspective, he just got there first, not that they would have turned down an approach from any of us.

Rupert moves to my side, drawing the attention away from where Per is sitting, Ivo whispering something in her ear. I can see she is worried and wants to argue with us , but I can also see the relief and hope.

"Is that something you can help with, I know the MOD is not usually accommodating but we have access to a helicopter, if we have permissions to land it in this area" I ask Peter, whose eyes have narrowed back to Per and Ivo.

"Can you help us?" I ask him raising my voice a little to get his attention back.

"Yes, but I will need confirmation her parents have requested a stop on the search for her, I cannot take your word for it" he runs his hands through his hair sighing, "I also need to know if you want to press any charges against Mr Powell?"

"Yes, we do, whilst nothing really happened, he did gain access and I believe he was a threat, he stole something from one of our wallets so that should be enough to deal with him as the rest is almost hearsay"

"We found a large sum of cash in his pocket" Mr Jones mentioned "Are you saying that was yours"

"Yes" Per looked up, "I saw him take something from the wallet on the dresser, before I hid"

Peters attention was back on her "Why did you not call out, Challenge him?"

Ivo squeezed her hand "He made me feel uncomfortable when I had seen him when we were looking for staff, he made some comments, and... I was alone here and he let himself in, no knocking, no warning, he snuck in and that worried me" she tells him.

"You did the right thing" Peter confirms and I can see her relief at his words.

"Okay, so perhaps from the beginning you can tell me what has happened" he asks, finally sitting down and looking at all of us.

We all explain how we got stranded here, the power cut, finding food and each other, then the confrontation with Powell, our further concerns about him lurking about and up to todays incidents".

When we finished both men were of no doubt about Powell's motives and assured us they would deal with him, but we could not stay here, with not power and the unknown factor of the weather and the remoteness of the campus, we all knew we would have to leave.

"Can I make a suggestion?" Peter said looking at us all.

"Of course"

"Lets get you all to the base and onto that flight, all of you go with Miss Brooke-Bennett, check in with her family, then move on from there. That flight has already been approved, you can then work out between you all how you will support her next" he says.

"Its a good idea" Ivo muses, looking at Per, who after a moment nods.

"Were is the plane flying to?" Thad asks, his phone in his hand as he's tapping away.

"Jersey is the information I have" Peter said as Per replies "France"

"No, the base definitely said the flight plan is to Jersey, I remember them joking about hitchhiking to warmer places" Peter tells her and we look at her face, its sheet white and she is shaking her head.

"Per, what's wrong" I ask her, moving forward to kneel at her feet, the two men forgotten, my focus on her. "Per, who is in Jersey?" I push and she whispers out her response.

"The Vaughn Family, their estate is there, we have no home in Jersey, they told me France, at our villa"

"Fuckers!"