Hero
Page 16
‘For Queen and Country,’ said Peter.
‘For ‘er Majesty, God bless her,’ replied Vinnie, as he removed the remains of the aliens from the door.
Peter knew who was on the other side of the door, they must have heard the commotion. He knocked three times on the thick steel door. A moment later, a telephone rang next to the door which he picked up.
‘Hello, we’ve come to take you to a secure location.’
‘What’s your name?’
‘Captain Morgan.’
‘Password?’
‘Balmoral.’
There was the sound of clinks and locks being unlocked, and creaking bars being lifted, and the large steel door opened to reveal some footmen and members of the royal family. Peter bowed his head as Queen Elizabeth came forward.
‘Ah Captain Morgan, thank you for rescuing us, we are most grateful.’
She looked down in shock at the dead aliens for a moment but hid it very well.
‘I see you had a spot of bother.’
‘Yes, your majesty.’ Prince Philip came forward.
‘Good man good man, shall we make a move?’
Vinnie was dumbstruck as he took up the rear guard position. As they started to climb the stairs, Peter gave the Queen a helping hand until they reached the top. ‘Thank you, Captain,’ the Queen smiled.
Peter took point, Vinnie to the rear, as he whispered to the party, ‘There may be more aliens about so keep quiet and stay between us, ok?’ Peter stared at one of the footmen as he coughed.
The royal party nodded as they crept their way back through the palace. Peter stopped, held up his hand, and motioned for quiet. He thought he could hear talking. It was a low guttural language, an ancient form of Arabic he thought, he knew that language well, but the voices did not sound human. As they walked into the pink throne room, they could see two aliens in black uniforms sitting on the two pink thrones. They fired their laser pistols at the royal party, hitting one of the footmen. Peter retaliated on full automatic, shredding the two aliens and the throne behind them.
‘Bloody cheek, sitting on the throne! Erm…sorry for swearing your Majesty,’ Vinnie bowed.
‘Apology not necessary,’ said the Queen as she patted Peter and Vinnie on the back.
‘Good man,’ said Prince Philip. ‘What’s that rifle you’re using Captain?’
‘It’s a PR7 kinetic technology rifle, sir. Our G36s are useless because the aliens have shields, but the PR7 can make mincemeat of them. As long as it’s on automatic. Trouble is, we don’t have enough. I’ve got the only working PR7 in the UK.’
The Prince’s curiosity got the better of him, as he and Peter, walked over to the dead aliens.
Chapter 40
Alien Agenda
Peter looked at the uniform - black jacket and trousers made of a strange material, light but very strong. It had a utility belt and a device which he thought must be the personal force field emitter. A holster for the laser pistol, which was on the floor. On its boot, it had a pouch for a knife.
He undid the uniform to get a closer look at them. The first thing that hit him was the smell. Like a cross between cat urine and bad body odour. Maybe sulphur; not pleasant. Then Peter noticed the large black oval eyes with a red hint.
Empty.
The open mouth showed razor sharp pointed teeth.
The skin colour was light green, the thin arms were wiry.
It wasn’t the shock of seeing the skinny, unhealthy looking aliens with skin problems that would keep a skin specialist busy for a lifetime that shocked Peter so much, it was what they were wearing. The Prince examined the uniform, a look of horror on his face.
‘I have seen these uniforms before—or something like them!’ remembering his days spent in the Royal Navy during World War Two, and the time some Nazi SS Officer prisoners were brought on board his ship. They had been trying to escape the Allies driving north from Italy during the Italian Campaign. His heart skipped a beat as the memory flooded back. He remembered one SS Officer in particular: eyes as cold as ice, hiding the evidence of heinous crimes, defiant, duplicitous, his thin, pale face wearing a thin smile, as if he knew something others did not.
‘There is something more to these creatures than meets the eye, Captain Morgan,’ the shocked Prince exclaimed. ‘What do these uniforms remind you of Captain?’
‘If I didn’t know better, your Royal Highness, I would say they look like a Nazi uniform—a modern version. The swastikas are a bit different, and the material, is strange and shiny, but unmistakable nevertheless,’ replied Peter. The Prince was right, there was an agenda going on here, and he had to find out what it was, maybe he would find those answers when he flew to the states.
‘We need to get out of here, quickly!’ shouted Peter.
They made their way back through the Palace, and to their relief, met no more aliens. Peter received a message on his transceiver from Kojak.
‘We need to leave now laddy!’
They made their way out of the Palace, Peter leading the way, Vinnie at the rear, taking tail-end charlie, and the footmen helping the elderly Royals as best they could.
As they took off in the X-37D and made their way out of London, the Queen looked out of the window and exclaimed her astonishment and shock at the destruction.
‘Captain Morgan, we must stop these aliens, at all costs!’
Peter found himself on one knee kneeling before her, kissing her hand.
‘Yes, your majesty, I promise.’
‘There is something about you, Peter Morgan,’ said the Queen softly.
Peter couldn’t quite figure out why he made such a promise, but as he knelt before Her Majesty, he suddenly had visions of himself, in ancient times. Kay, Cai, a mighty warrior, strong as an ox, kneeling before a King, a great sword by his side, swearing an oath of allegiance, to fight for the King and save the land from a great danger.
As Peter looked up at Queen Elizabeth, he understood why the British people loved her and looked up to her. She was the glue that kept the United Kingdom together. She and her family were the over-soul of the nation. Imagine the UK without a Queen. It would lose its soul, its whole identity. Fuck the federalists, he loved his Queen, and he loved his country, and that was that.
Peter and Vinnie decided to get some shuteye until they arrived at their destination. Peter had learned early on to grab sleep any time he could, because you don’t know when the opportunity will arise again.
He was dreaming of the Welsh hills, holding hands with Jennifer, smiling, laughing as they ran over the green grass and down into the wooded valley where they live.
The warm sun beamed down on them. The bluebells dazzled in the grass among pine and oak trees, but then a cloud appeared, looming, dark and ominous, its tendrils reaching for the ground. A whirlwind, black, and menacing, moved towards them. The wind hit them, the sky turned darker still, and they were running, running away from the tornado, rushing towards them, wind swirling around them - a knot of fear in his stomach.
Chapter 41
Queen’s Speech
‘Pete, Pete, wake up,’ Vinnie shook him as the passengers, the Royal family, disembarked from the plane. Peter shook his head as he got up out of his seat, and went down the steps of the X-37D, onto green grass, and a blue sky, and a fresh breeze. He smelled the scent of a pine forest nearby.
A stupid dream, but it lingered in his memory. In the last year or so, he had gained the ability to remember his dreams. His psychic powers had increased so he could also, most of the time, tell what people were thinking. Certainly, he could tell if someone was telling the truth or not - an internal bullshit detector.
Nearby were some concrete steps, which went down into the hill. He followed the royal party down the steps until they all stood outside a sturdy-looking steel door. The door opened, and they
walked down a corridor, with rooms on either side: sitting rooms, dining room, bathrooms—it was not Buckingham Palace, but it looked comfortable. Like a hobbit hole. The Queen and Prince Philip went into a cozy-looking room, a wood-panelled sitting room, with large chairs and some side cabinets, from which Prince Philip was pouring what looked like whiskey from a crystal decanter. He looked at Peter and nodded.
‘Please join us Captain and your companion.’
‘Please sit down,’ said the Queen, ‘You deserve a rest.’
Peter took a comfortable chair by a log fire. He felt the heat warming his bones, as Prince Philip handed him a glass of whiskey, which he sipped, and looked at his Queen. Vinnie stood awkwardly nearby, not sure whether to sit or stand.
‘Sit down man,’ Prince Philip looked at Vinnie and handed him a whiskey.
Peter bowed his head to the Queen, ‘Your Majesty.’ The Queen turned to look at the young, fit SAS captain, the one who had saved their lives, and brought them to safety, to their bunker.
‘Sir Nigel told me about you, Captain. I remember now. Ah yes, at a garden party, yes that’s right, they call you “Bulletproof Pete” don’t they?’
Peter was a bit embarrassed, as the Queen smiled and Prince Philip gave out a guffaw of laughter.
‘Yes, they do Ma’am.’
‘We are deeply concerned about these alien invaders, and why they have come here, Captain.’
‘And those uniforms, haven’t seen the like of those since my days in the Royal Navy, during the Italian Campaign. It’s like a bad bloody nightmare, Captain, it really is,’ said Prince Philip, leaning towards Peter.
‘We’re flying out to the States directly, and I’m hoping to get some answers there, your Royal Highness. They have this Sirius program.’
‘Captain, why aren’t you fighting for England?’ asked the Queen.
‘It seems I’m just a pawn in a much bigger game, Maam.’
The Queen nodded and leaned towards Peter.
‘Captain Morgan, if you meet with President Wilson, please give him this message. It is very important. Tell him to remember that it is in our darkest hour that we find the greatest courage. We British and Americans have always stood together, through thick and thin, through war and peace. We both uphold the same values of freedom and democracy, our abhorrence of tyranny and evil. We now stand on the brink of destruction. We must make a stand. We must find a solution. In the Second World War, Britain stood on the edge of destruction, London was in ruins, the German invasion force twenty miles away across the English Channel. Thus began the Battle of Britain, where a few Spitfire pilots stopped wave after wave of Luftwaffe through skill, grit, and determination. If we had not been resolute and wavered for just a moment, if we had not found that extra ounce of courage, we would have lost.’
The Queen paused, recalling her many conversations with Winston Churchill.
‘In the words of Winston Churchill, “Sometimes our best is not good enough, sometimes we have to do what is required.” ’
The Queen, recounting a thousand years of history, looked at her husband, then at Peter.
‘We are counting on you, Captain.’
Peter felt the heavy weight of responsibility fall on his shoulders.
‘He is a wise man, he will understand the meaning,’ the Queen added.
The Queen and Prince Philip nodded as the Queen looked directly at him. ‘I will give the President your message, Ma’am.’
‘Captain, in your time, working in the Special Air Service, and with the Secret Intelligence Service, have you seen anything like this?’
Peter was surprised that the Queen knew that he worked for MI6, but then again, Her Majesty was very well informed, about everything, it seems.
‘Well Your Majesty, I have seen some things that are weird. Really weird. We were called out once, in the middle of the night to a site on Salisbury Plain. Air Traffic Control had reported some unusual activity, so we were sent to investigate and control the situation. We were told not to talk about it to anyone, not even other members of our unit, which was odd. Anyway, 8 Flight dropped us in the middle of this field, and there before our eyes is this glowing object. It was not standard military aircraft—not even the Russians have anything like this. It was saucer shaped and buried several feet into the ground as if it had crash-landed, but it didn’t look damaged. There were glowing red, blue and green flashing lights. Brilliant. Dazzling. We had to shield our eyes. The metal it was made from wasn’t steel, it was something else. I had a bad feeling about it, and stood back.’
‘I was going to go inside Ma’am, I mean Your Majesty,’ said a nervous Vinnie.
‘Good job I stopped you, the radiation readings were off the scale,’ said Peter to his friend.
‘Then some MOD guys in white suits went in and pulled out some—what I can only describe as creatures, aliens, very tall, seven feet high, with long silvery bodies and large eyes. These were different aliens, not the ones we’ve just seen. They wore this kind of suit, a biological suit, that seemed part of their bodies. There were four of them, three dead, but one was still alive. He stood up and looked at me, just me, no one else, his big black eyes seem to speak to me. I had visions in my mind, of spaceships arriving and attacking us.’ Peter got serious again, as he looked thoughtful.
‘Then he told me very clearly, in my mind, that I was the one. One day the people of Earth would need me.’ Peter looked at the Queen. ‘I told no one except Vinnie.’
‘He is your best friend?’
‘Yes, Ma’am, we are inseparable, he is my right-hand man.’
The Queen turned to look at Vinnie and smiled. Vinnie was almost in tears as he smiled back at her, then bowed his head, in respect. He would have a lot of stories to tell Reg and Gill.
‘Everyone needs their Batman,’ chipped in Prince Philip.
They all sat in silence for a while, until the Queen stood up, smiled, and looked at Peter and Vinnie.
‘When all this is over, please come to the palace for tea—both of you, bring your wives too, you will be most welcome.’
Vinnie beamed with pleasure as the Queen, and Prince Philip shook their hands, and the Prince gave Vinnie a wink.
As they walked back down the corridor, and up the steps, to the waiting X-37D, Vinnie kept saying, ‘Tea with the Queen,’ a look of great pride on his face. ‘Just wait till I tell Gill and Reg.’ Peter was happy for Vinnie, people from the East End of London always had a great affection for the Royal family, especially the Queen, and after meeting her Peter was most impressed, by her knowledge, perception, and charisma.
He felt blessed to have met her. They both smiled as they climbed back on the plane, Peter replayed the experience in his mind—a moment so rare, and forever savoured. He would have a lot of stories to tell Jennifer when he got home.
If he got home.
Chapter 42
It’s a War,
But With No Rules
They are back at the airbase, they refuel and pick up more supplies and ammunition before their flight to the States. Peter and his team are on the plane as it sits on the runway ready for takeoff. Then, out of the corner of his eye Peter can see what looks like a small aircraft, then he realizes it is not terrestrial. It’s an alien craft, moving at tremendous speed and at impossible angles. It is heading for a civilian airport nearby. Vinnie joins Peter as they watch an Airbus A380 elegantly take off and start climbing skywards towards them, arching its back as it accelerates over a cluster of tall buildings—with the alien craft on an intercept path.
‘Jesus that aircraft, those people,’ whispers Pete as they lean nearer to the window. The Airbus A380 is hit by laser blasts from the alien fighter. It seems to stop in mid-air and move from forty-five to ninety degrees, flames erupting from the fuselage and two of its huge engines. Then it stalls, as its speed is too slow to gain height.
‘Get moving Kojak!’ screams Peter.
They suddenly lurch forward as the X-37D plane launches down the runway. Peter is pressed into his seat by the G-force as it glides into the blue sky, through the smoke, then quickly accelerates to Mach 3. ‘Inertial dampers activated,’ Kojak’s voice announces over the tannoy.
Peter and Vinnie sit in silence trying to assimilate the horror they have just witnessed.
‘They didn’t stand a chance,’ sighs Peter crossing himself.
‘Those poor people,’ says Vinnie, his normal cheerful disposition gone.
‘It’s a war, but with no rules, no hiding place. Total warfare.’ Peter replies. He puts on his headphones and listens to Led Zeppelin: Dazed and Confused, his mind starts to drift as he listens to the lyrics. He is definitely dazed and confused, what the fuck is happening to the world?
‘We have a bogey on our tail!’ shouts Kojak over the tannoy. Peter can feel the plane accelerating through the blue sky. The speed is shown on a display as it increases to Mach ten: 7000 mph.
‘At 7000mph, we can give those aliens a run for their money all right,’ says Vinnie, some of his normal cheerfulness returning. ‘What’s inertial damping Pete?’
‘Remember Star Trek? When they initiate warp drive, it stops the crew getting smashed into salsa.’ Vinnie looks blank. ‘If we didn’t have inertial dampers all the veins in your eyes would burst from the acceleration Vinnie.’