Need a safe venue for a high stakes meet-up

[alchemist]

No, not the next venue to have lunch with springs, but something for my WIP. My MC and friends are on the run in London. Their pursuers have infiltrated government and police and nowhere is safe. But the MC has an enemy contact who he thinks he can convince to call off their pursuit. He just has to meet with her but he doesn't completely trust her. On the plus side, his contact doesn't yet want it widely known they control the police so they won't surround the building, but he worries they'll bump him off more subtly.

So, where does he arrange to meet? I imagine somewhere busy (in the relative safety of general scrutiny) with many exits, like a train/tube station. Problem is, I've already had two scenes involving the tube.

Anywhere else you think might work? And any general principles my MC should follow? He's only going to reveal the venue at the last minute, so they haven't time to lay a trap, and he's avoiding CCTV/dumping phones after a single use/disguising himself, in the build-up.

 

[Mouse]

How about a shopping centre or square somewhere? Maybe somewhere really touristy and busy.

 

[Jo Zebedee]

At the statue at St Pancreas, loads of descriptive opportunities, always busy.

Good sandwiches, too. See you there.

 

[alchemist]

Maybe Trafalgar Square, but he'd worry about snipers (the baddies could do that without revealing how much power they hold). Shopping centre, though... Anybody know a labyrinthine shopping centre in London?

Edit: Is that statue in St Pancras indoors or out? I am trying to avoid another train station, but I remember that from the last photo challenge. Hmm...

 

[Jo Zebedee]

There's a Westfield one out near Bayswater that's pretty big (Mariah Carey did the Xmas lights one year). Alternatively somewhere like Covent Garden which is cosier but still busy?

 

[alchemist]

Covent Garden: google shows me covered markets, stalls, people, potential confusion. Yes, that could work. Ta!

 

[bedlamite]

How about at a crematorium? The MC could pick a funeral from the local classified. Always people there, with the opportunity to check the location beforehand. No broadcast CCTV, and grounds to slink off and discuss.

 

[Ursa major]

On the basis that the MC's pursuers don't want him to be arrested (because they don't want him to die in Police custody as it's too public), why not meet in the queue to be in the Strangers' Gallery:

The Strangers' Gallery is set aside for members of the public at the British House of Commons, and is intended for both invited and uninvited members of the public to watch the proceedings of the House. A similar gallery exists in the House of Lords. Members of the public may obtain tickets from their Member of Parliament. It is possible to queue outside St Stephen's Tower and be admitted to the gallery without booking, especially on Fridays, however during popular debates it will be nearly impossible to obtain a place without booking.

It's very public and I expect the queue is kept under close observation by the House of Commons security people. I'm not sure how early one has to be there to guarantee getting in - which circumstance may or may not help his escape after the meeting (I'm guessing your MC would rather not go in, so would want to arrive in time to have to stay in the queue**, but not get in), but I don't think it would be seen as strange if people left the queue. There are plenty of ways out of Parliament Square, most of them very public.


** - I assume they keep letting people in as those inside leave, meaning the queue might be there for some time. Note that I haven't been into the House of Commons since the mid-to-late 1970s, so I have no idea how it works there.

 

[alchemist]

@bedlamite: Good shout but (wait for it)...




He's already met her at a funeral earlier in the book!


But it is a little more low key than what I've been doing, and would make readers less suspicious I work for the London tourist board.


@Ursa: ah, back to well-known venues again! Interesting. Presumably there are security checks too which might benefit him.

 

[Ursa major]

I assume there'd be all sorts of checks nowadays.

But when the book's turned into a film, but not moved to somewhere in the US (), the place is well-known location.

 

[AnyaKimlin]

Cinema? or Theatre? or Changing room at the leisure centre.

 

[Jo Zebedee]

For a really cool venue google Postman's Park.

 

[alchemist]

Cinema, maybe... Leicester Square...

Postmans Park gives lots of interesting things I could work off -- heroism, sacrifice, envelopes etc -- but might be a little small for my purposes (and only seems to have two exits). But somewhere else to add to the research tour!

 

[Tyburn]

If you're going on a research tour, might I suggest Bethnal Green Museum of Childhood, just for the fact that it's a museum full of toys and is utterly terrific? Just take the right-hand exit from the tube station and walk about 400 yards, you can't miss it.

No, I don't work there - I can only wish I did.

 

[jastius]

its too easy to hide a gang of pursuers in a crowd.. i would go opposite.. the mews, harrods for tea, that church near the law courts.. the inner temple church or even temple pier. the thing is that there are so many eyes in that area looking for something odd or out of place that all those watchers act as a defence against the baddies. i wrote something about a lawyer that had to meet up with a contact whilst being accused of something and they used the church to pass the information in..

 

[Boneman]

Have the MC in a taxi, (driven by his operative, naturally) and give instructions to her to walk along a road, so he can go past a few times, check she's not in contact and then pull alongside and order her in - taxi lost in traffic with hundreds of others in a moment- you could even have them switch taxis under Admiralty Arch, or that bit of underpass that goes from somehwere to somewhere...

 

[alchemist]

Thank you both. Taxi is interesting; the main drawback being that his contact might not want to get in (ha! I'm speaking of her like she's a real person). But that shows cunning...

 

[Boneman]

MC could drive the cab, pull alongside her she could leave the door open (to ensure he doesn't suddenly lock her in).

 

[MstrTal]

The main problem with meeting in a public or busy place is that a person could easily be murdered or assassinated. Someone walking by could open a vein, jab them with a needle or as mentioned previously shot from a distance.

Someone mentioned a cab and this was my 1st inclination. Another thought is an expensive restaurant and meet in the woman's bathroom. A bus or tram stop or even on the bus is another. It is cliche but in the stacks of a dusty old book store or library.

 

[ralphkern]

Does your MC have any information over his opponents that he can put on a time delay to be released?