Chapter 12: The Good Life.
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Max was half way through a very busy day. He had attended the autopsy of the young man who had died at the school. The attending pathologist had found clear signs of electrocution and concluded that that the deceased had been tazered to death by his assailant. Armed with this information Max joined his hospital team as they moved the second victim to the facilities at the Health Protection Agency. She was now conscious and fully aware that she was in custody. She was playing the dumb blonde, crying out for them to stop and for her mum and dad. In fact her parents were at the police station trying to find her. They believed she was at the Medical Centre, but soon found she wasn't there and that she wasn't at school either. No teachers, friends or dates had seen her. Max's teams had been extremely busy but were still no closer to getting the answers Cara’s parents would certainly demand. What could they say to the parents of the children had been infected? They were getting very close to having some answers but needed a few missing items such as Josh and Chloe. Ronald also needed to finish running his programme that was now set up on a small network of computers to see what it turned up. Sighing deeply at the almost insurmountable seeming tasks in front of them, Max answered his phone. It was a representative of the Home Office stressing that he could only keep a lid on this for a short while longer. It was only a matter of time before the press or the parents smelt a rat. Max used the opportunity to request permission to interrogate Cara. His request was firmly rejected although he argued that Cara wasn't human anymore. If she had committed crimes she would be held wholly accountable, he was told, but we don't torture children, human or not. Max knew permission would be refused but he felt he had to ask. He needed more answers and quickly. Marcus wasn’t able to be much more help when Max phoned him to check his findings from CCTV. He had tracked the young people to Wick but then lost them. Max instructed him to check through local police reports for the areas the runaways had travelled through as they seemed to be involved with the police every other day before checking in with Ronald. Far too much time had already gone with nothing to show for it.
"Ronald, I really need something today," Max sounded desperate. Ronald held an equal rank to him but had a record of not completing tasks with the speed needed. He always took too long before it went tits up.
"Well, I‘ve got six computers running the programme, all networked together. I'm beginning to see amino acids," Ronald told him.
"What do you mean?" asked Max.
"I mean we're just starting to see life forms appear on the screen although they are a long way from being conscious entities," Ronald said.
"So could a life force leave the Internet and jump in a body?" Max asked.
"And I thought secret agents were clever! Of course not. This programme is designed to create a conscious being, life from lifelessness," Ronald explained.
"If there were things like that on the Internet could you find them?" Max continued his train of thought.
"No, it would be like trying to find a needle in a haystack," replied Ronald.
Max sank back into his seat, thinking deeply. Why, he though, would Josh and Chloe kill anyone and how it did they do it. How and why? Max was desperately trying to link all the recent events together. They must be related, but he needed to find Josh and Chloe. He was sure they would have the answers he needed. As Max was finally driving home his phone rang. Typical, he thought as he pulled over and checked the caller display. It was Marcus reporting in. He had checked police reports as Max had suggested and in one area a man had been found dead in a train and also that there had been an incident involving young person on a ferry. The local police, he was told, were unable to give clear details. Apparently, a young girl had been able to lay a constable out with one touch. He was found fast asleep and was now getting checked out for narcolepsy although he had no previous history of this. It was taking time to trace the CCTV from the boat but Marcus was checking the train station CCTV footage as he spoke. The ferry had docked in the Orkney Islands, at Kirkwall. Max had a hunch and, although it was late in the evening, drove straight to Nottingham airport, abandoning his plans for an early night at home. He called for a chopper to fly him to Kirkwall airport and half an hour later an army lynx helicopter was waiting on a landing pad, blades whirring over his head as he climbed on board. He didn't do this very often but was allowed to requisition choppers as well as having a license to kill. He didn't do that much either, unless ordered to. There was a running joke amongst Secret Service agents. They were all licensed to kill, but nobody did. Police did most of the killing. His flight would take about an hour and a half. It was a long way for a chopper so it was just taking him to waiting jump jet. It sounded very fancy he thought, but with all this technology lying around somebody had to use it. It's not like they were at war every week so it had been a while since the jet had been used. Technically jump jets had been retired but officially they had a few lying around because they were so good at what they did. Kirkwall had an airport, but it wasn't massive. The Harrier pilot wasted no time getting there and landed at the airport vertically. Max, his stomach protesting queasily at the sudden change of altitude, was convinced he’d done it just to show off a bit. A taxi dropped him off at the public house nearest the ferry terminal. As he walked in he saw that it was a beautifully furnished barroom. It was small and had real fire glowing in the corner. Gleaming oak and well polished brass added to the old world effect. Several men, locals by their wind scorched faces and workman’s clothing, were openly staring at him. Max nodded to them in a friendly fashion and ordered himself a pint of Guinness as he sat down at the bar. He spotted a few tatty postcards advertising various services and items for sale tacked to a notice board near the bar. Amongst them was a card advertising a holiday cottage.
“That one has gone,” George the innkeeper had seen him reading the card, “I was just about to take it down. We have room here if you need somewhere to stay.”
“A room for one? Thanks, that would be great,” Max acknowledged, “Are you busy this time of year?"
"We’re always busy in summer,” George replied, “but you struck it lucky, just the one room was left.”
Max drank his beer as he waited for the innkeeper to return with his room key.
"Breakfast is from seven until 11. After that we move to the bar menu," the George explained.
"That's great. Actually I’m looking for my friends. They came here a bit ahead of me. Have you seen them?" Max asked as he took pictures of Chloe and Josh from his wallet.
The innkeeper looked carefully at the pictures. He spotted the other contents of Max’s wallet as he did so and his eyes widened at the sight of the thick wad of cash Max had in his wallet.
"How much is the room," Max asked casually
"Forty pounds per night,” George replied.
Max took forty pounds out and then placed another forty on top.
"I’ll have one night then please," Max said.
"Oh yes,” the innkeepers face lit up with greed at the unexpected bonus, “I remember, there was three of them, those two and another lass. They rented a place up the coast. Mickey took them there on his way home about an hour ago but you won’t get up there till tomorrow." George explained.
"Why is that?" Max was puzzled.
"That particular ten miles of coast has no public transport running till morning and everyone here is pissed,” the innkeeper’s watery blue eyes swept across his customers who did indeed look very much the worse for wear. One elderly customer was sprawled across a seat, snoring loudly, his trousers agape from his last fumbled visit to the toilets and the others appeared to be getting steadily nearer this condition, “There’s nothing else to do is there?"
Max jotted down directions to the cottage before browsing through the display of tourist information leaflets that were endemic in all holiday venues. He picked one up and shoved it in his pocket before retiring to his room where he immediately viewed the location of
the cottage on the Google maps app on his phone. It was close to the coast, very isolated, and if they didn't want him there they would easily see him coming and make a run for it. He studied the surrounding areas and decided he wanted to get within walking distance rather than turning up with a vanful of police. He wanted their cooperation. They were murder suspects but this was personal. In his head he could not reconcile the image he had of Josh with that of a killer but the fact that they had run away made it appear that they had something do with it. He just wasn't sure what. He finished his beer and crawled gratefully into the soft bed for an early night. The sheets were crisp and clean smelling and Max was exhausted. He hadn't slept properly for a while because of night time phone calls. Glancing at his phone he saw that this would not be a problem tonight. His display showed he had no signal. Within seconds Max was in a deep and dreamless sleep.
The next morning Max was up early and eating his way through an egg and bacon breakfast complete with fresh coffee and orange juice. He glanced at the morning papers which he knew must have been flown in from London. He was going to have to keep his business here short, he saw with dismay. The newspapers had got hold of both pictures and information on the case and they had connected the forty deaths. They had also researched the families. This was crisis management time for the Ministry of Defence and had gone beyond his level and his area of expertise now. He knew that someone would want his ass though for not managing to keep this contained for long enough. The papers had linked the strange deaths to a contagion. It seemed obvious that the Health Protection Agency had a leak and that someone had blabbed to the press. This was always the problem, he thought angrily, conspiracy theorists confused national security with conspiracies and inevitably, some people can't keep their gobs shut. He looked his phone and decided he was not going to turn it on. He still might have enough time to get to Josh and Chloe and sort this mess out.
"Innkeeper, is there anywhere can I get a taxi or hire a car." asked Max.
"Yes, there's car hire place just down the High Street, turn right at the lights," George replied.
Max decided to take an early morning walk and get there before the hire car shop opened. He could get straight out to the cottage after that. It was 7.30am and he felt invigorated by his first good nights sleep in days.
It was a good walk to the High Street. Max quite enjoyed his early morning stroll; the air was fresh and clean. There was very little noise, just the sounds of the sea lashing against the rocks near the harbour and the echoing shrieks of gulls flying overhead, cawing at every opportunity. The little car dealership proudly flew the Scottish flag from a flagpole in front of the forecourt. Max knew that this fairly typical in Scotland. It was five minutes before eight when he arrived and the opening times notice taped to the door told him the business opened in twenty minutes. He knew he would have to turn his phone on at nine and that people would need to talk to him. Minutes later a young man in the suit hurried across the forecourt, taking a key from his pocket as he walked. He paused at the hire shop and looked enquiringly at Max as he unlocked the door
"Morning, I was wondering if I could hire a car?" Max asked.
"Yes, I’ll look what we have available," replied the attendant in a broad Highland accent. He sifted through paperwork and then looked at a board behind him.
"We've only got one car, that Nissan X Trail. It’s available for week," he told Max.
“I’ll take it,” Max passed his driving licence and credit card over.
"I'll need the deposit and another form of ID please."
Max took out his Ministry of Defence badge and photo and showed it to the young man. The badge identified Max as an agent of MI6. The attendant's eyes opened wide in astonishment and disbelief.
"I don't know, if I can use this, I’ve never seen one before. Is it real?" he stammered.
"It's as real as this," Max said opening his jacket and showing the man his firearm.
"I don't get it; why not borrow a police car?" the Scotsman asked.
"I'm on holiday so please hurry up,” Max said sarcastically “I'm in a rush. James Bond doesn't get this hassle."
This got him the reaction Max had hoped for. He was quickly handed a pen and shown where to sign before being handed car keys. The young attendant photocopied his I D with a look of reverence on his face. He was clearly awed by finding himself with an armed spy. Max drove towards the cottage, stopping en route at the fuel station. He knew the car only had small amount of fuel, as with many hire cars. The garage clock told him it was now 8.25am. He drove quickly until the cars inbuilt sat nav told him he had reached his destination. As Max pulled up he heard the familiar wail of sirens and a police car, a Range Rover, went flying past him in the opposite direction followed by the flashing lights of an ambulance speeding after it. It was a bit early for ambulances and police cars on such a small island he thought getting out of the car which he had parked on high ground. He could see the holiday cottage one hundred meters below him on the beach and decided he would take a slow walk down the hill and leave the car there. Hopefully they wouldn’t be up and he would wait for them one at a time. Rocks and shrubbery masked his descent to the cottage and Max was careful not to dislodge any stones that might give his presence away by rattling down into the cottages garden. In the distance he heard a car coming towards the cottage. It was a Land Rover, one of the new ones, in black. He thought they looked really nice. It was moving at speed and the driver clearly knew how to drive well as the road leading to the cottage was rough and track like. With a screech of brakes the car pulled up abruptly outside the cottage and five men got out. They were all armed with baseball bats, clubs and various blunt objects. Max, abandoning his plans for a quiet approach, raced downhill to the cottage as he took his Browning 9 mm out of its holster and loaded it the first time. He had never had to shoot his gun but knew there was a first-time for everything. He heard screams and banging just as the window at the back of the cottage opened and Josh jumped out closely followed by Chloe and another girl who was bleeding. Josh was desperately attempting to throw some clothes over his partially naked body. Four men ran round the side of the house. Max heard them shout directions and then heard one of them order the others to kill them all. The first man to reach the teens took a swing at Maddy just missing when because Josh intervened and grabbed hold of the crowbar he had raised over his head ready to swing down on Maddy’s head. The crowbar was sparking as Josh held on with both hands. Maddy pressed her hands to her attackers head at the same time, static crackling and he dropped to the floor, grabbing her leg as he did so. Chloe was struggling with the other two.
"MI6, everyone stop now," Max shouted.
Max had taken his pistol out and was pointing it in the general direction of the fight but no one was listening, intent only on surviving or killing respectively. Max fired a warning shot in the air. He didn’t want people getting hurt. The shot attracted the attention of one of the intruders who moved towards Max holding a large iron bar. Pointing his gun steadily, Max ordered him to put down the bar and the man slowly lowered it. He stood only three feet away, holding the bar and not moving.
Seeing Max wasn't about to shoot him, the man put the bar on the floor where it just touched Max’s foot. The pain was immediate and excruciating and he could feel his body numbing from his feet to his waist and spreading. Max saw no choice now. He pulled the trigger and saw the man's face explode in front of him. The pain continued though, his body twitching with terrible agony. A second man had crept up behind him and was causing the dreadful sensations. Max let out a scream of pure pain just as Josh came running over. Josh struck the other man on the head releasing Max from his grip. Freed from the crippling numbness Max raised his pistol and fired twice, dropping the remaining intruders who had still been intent on attacking Chloe and Maddy. Chloe came over touch Max to relieve the pain that had subsided but not left him till now. They all stood, shocked and panting with exertion as they looked at the dead and unconscio
us men surrounding them. Max, still trying to figure out how his pain had been relieved so quickly and easily, moved to check the bodies and see who was still alive. Josh intercepted him.
"Let the girls check, you don't want to be electrocuted again."
The girls checked and found one man was still alive. Max watched in amazement and then in the immobility of horror as Maddy finished him off. Finally he found his voice; “No!” he shouted picking up his gun, Chloe disarmed him with one fluid motion, causing the pain she had just removed from him to triple in veracity.
"You can't leave Max there like that, in pain. You need to explain things to him, he’s a friend," Josh explained to Chloe.
Chloe took the bullets out of the gun and gave it back to Max, relieving his pain as she did so.
"I need to eat, I'm starving," Chloe complained
"Yes, oh and my leg is killing me," Maddy agreed, “Lets go back to the cottage.”
Max felt astounded by the lack of emotion the youngsters were showing as he followed them indoors. His breath was slowly coming back to him now and the feeling in his legs was returning but his face was a picture of disbelief, fear and curiosity. Max scrabbled for his phone, intent on scrolling through his contacts list. He needed backup but the phone showed nothing, not even the time. It was completely dead. Max cast his eyes around the small living room. Josh, Chloe and Maddy were collapsed together in a corner. Maddy sat on the floor. She hadn't realised how badly her leg was injured and she could barely stand up. She knew the ligaments had been damaged and it hurt like hell. Josh had convinced her that she wasn't dying and would get better if she rested it. He actually had no idea whether her injuries would get better or of how to heal them. The beings usually directed their attacks straight to their opponents brain and was a battle of strength and will as to who died when they touched. The concept of injury hadn't occurred to Maddy, it was either live or die. They conferred in whispers and reluctantly decided that Maddy would have to stay with Max to avoid slowing them adown.
"What are you doing?" asked Max, looking suspiciously at the teenagers through narrowed eyes.
"I'll explain in a minute. Max,” Josh said, “give me a hand with Maddy and then let’s have some food first."
Max lifted Maddy easily onto the settee and, while Chloe made enough dinner for at least ten people, Josh explained what had happened to him from the very beginning and why they had run. He told Max he was sorry for all the upset and pain he had left behind and how he wished he could let Miriam know he was okay, but felt this would lead to him being traced and his mother potentially being put in danger. Max was saddened when Josh told him about the trail of death and injuries they had left in their wake but understood that Josh had been involved in life or death circumstances not of his choosing. Josh went on to explain the problems he had in encounters when an occupied persons host had died. Chloe joined in, telling Max earnestly that she and Maddy were there to help and not to hurt the human race. Max didn't fully understand but he was happier and he also had Maddy who had agreed to participate in any testing he wanted. She stressed that she would only allow this as free entity, not as a prisoner. Maddy could see herself as helping. She would assist Max in the manufacture and security of weapons, Internet security and also act as adviser to the Ministry of Defence on all matters concerning the evil ones. She had one more condition; Josh and Chloe must be allowed to slip off the radar. This seemed acceptable to Max; he had something to show the MPs and obviously they would keep this deadly quiet until such time as they had to make the information public. With these decisions behind them they sat to eat, Maddy having first been handled a fully loaded tray. Chloe made the biggest breakfasts in the world.
On full stomachs they climbed into Max’s car and drove for hours into what appeared on the map to be desolate unpopulated areas in the middle of nowhere. Chloe had found an old crofters cottage. It was still intact and was built into the side of a hill overlooking the beach. Chloe explained that she and Josh would stay there, either till winter came or Maddy came and told them it was safe to return. Max was to return and drop off supplies, a solar panel kit, batteries and Josh's laptop containing the troublesome equations so that Josh could work on sorting out the mess completely and for good.