Cherry Picking

by Tim Heath

  Robert thought quickly and knew escape was his best plan. Jumping into the driver’s seat and having the engine on in no time, he spun the car round as best he could but he wasn’t able to do it in one go because of the narrow road.

  His pursuer was now a lot closer, shouting loudly, with the metal pole held in both arms above his head as he raced in to strike. Robert got the car into gear again and moved forward, throwing dirt up into the air, as a mighty smash came and the back window caved in, the metal pole visible through the empty hole for a moment. Mr Taylor shouted that he’d kill him and this was all Robert heard before he raced down the road and around the corner, out of sight. Yet it was obvious where he was going, and at best on foot he’d still only have about a ten minute head-start as he was sure the man would be coming straight for him now.

  **********

  Still sitting in the chair at the house, Katie Taylor heard the car come racing up the driveway much faster than he’d come up before and something sank within her. She got up and ran to the front door, seeing the car come to a halt, the afternoon sun shining brightly off the metal, and the light catching on the broken glass scattered across the rear shelf.

  Katie could tell from his face that there was a problem, and he came rushing around the side, nearly tripping over as he approached her.

  “Get your things and the dog. We’ve got to go straight away! He’s coming here!”

  Terror filled her once again and she just froze as Robert tore past her and he had to come back and take her by the hand, pulling her through the front door, closing it behind her.

  “Let’s just go now, Robert. What are you waiting for?”

  “I just need some things!” He raced around grabbing what he could, stuffing books into a bag, his laptop in its case, his phone and notepad. He went into the kitchen and grabbed a key, running to the cellar door and locked it quickly.

  “What are you doing, let’s go!” Panic was in her voice now.

  “I can’t leave this open. Hold on, I just thought of something,” and he raced back into the kitchen and out of sight, going to the back door and undoing the two bolts that couldn’t be opened from the outside, just leaving it locked.

  He came back, picked up his bags and they rushed out the front door and into the car. Robert dropped everything into the back seat and jumping in behind the wheel in a matter of seconds, the engine now on.

  “The dog!” she said.

  Just then, they heard her husband’s cry as he started working his way up the path, not more than one hundred metres away.

  “We have no time, Katie. We’ll have to leave him.”

  He pulled the car out and spun it round. The dog came running from around the side of the house and was there for just a moment before they went at speed back down the driveway, the path ahead clearly blocked by the red-faced beast of a man running straight towards them no more than twenty metres away.

  Katie put a hand to her mouth and screamed as Robert drove straight on, increasing speed, and the car jumped all over the place as the ground was deeply rutted.

  Only at the last moment did her husband jump to one side, out of the way, as the car carried straight on, but not before he’d got a crack at the driver’s side of the windscreen, a large hole appearing as the metal bar struck it and then they were clear. The windscreen seemed to remain intact, at least for the moment, as they got to the main road, the surface a lot more accommodating now for faster driving. Katie looked back, seeing him standing there staring at her, that evil, horrendous gaze that was to haunt her for the rest of her life. She burst into tears and buried her head as they sped down the road. Robert didn’t know where he’d go but knew the house was not safe any longer. Once he was a little nearer the city he would call his new friend Brendan and maybe he’d be able to help them out somehow. Before they went much further, having left the village now, they pulled over and cleaned the glass up a bit. Not long after that they were in the neighbouring town at a garage where they were able to repair both pieces of glass while they waited. Robert used the time to go and get some food for them both from a nearby fish and chip shop, bringing back two bags which they sat down together and ate in silence.

  When the car was ready, Robert paid them the cash he’d promised for a quick job, way over the odds but he didn’t care. They were back out on the road in time for the evening rush hour traffic, blending into the many cars that were heading into the city, Robert now more aware than ever that a new stage was about to start, for better or worse he could not as yet tell.

  Chapter 24

  Brendan Charles felt surprisingly positive as he left the office, walking down the road to a local flower shop where he purchased a large bunch of his wife’s favourite flowers, irises.

  His working day had seen him carrying on much as before, dealing with several other companies within the group that needed his help as well as continuing to run his own company. There had also been some on going discussions with Tommy Lawrence and the club which had seen Brendan very busy, but somehow with the way things had gone in the last day or so, he had more purpose now than ever before, far more ownership than even he thought possible. He reasoned that surely in the near future it would all be his — somehow, though he was yet to work out how, it would all fall back into place and he would be in charge at last.

  His thinking of course was quite strange because certainly within his own company, to everyone around him he was the man in charge anyway, and his growing importance within the group meant many others also looked only to him, some not even aware that there was anyone above Brendan. But it was always in Brendan’s mind, where he knew the truth, that his biggest battles were fought, battles to find purpose and satisfaction in what he was doing. He always tried to tell himself that his boss was some genius but deep down he never believed it. Now at last he had all that he needed to know for certain, since Robert Sandle had been so open with him.

  Now that he was back outside the office, he placed the flowers on the passenger seat of his company car, took off his jacket and got into the driver’s seat, pulling away a minute later into the evening traffic, the roads still busy though the worst of it had already cleared.

  He’d been driving for about thirty minutes, making reasonable progress, but now sitting in some traffic, his peace was broken by his car phone ringing, something that strangely didn’t happen that often for someone in his position, mainly because for a long time he’d made the decision to only give that specific number to a select group of people. He glanced over to the phone to see Nigel Gamble’s name flashing up on the caller display, and pressing the receive button on his steering wheel, his boss’s voice came out clearly and crisply through the car’s sound system.

  They exchanged greetings and went through the meaningless small talk which Brendan was always impatient with. He tolerated it nonetheless, though now if anything he could allow himself to enjoy it, not knowing if it would be the last time.

  After a few minutes Brendan could sense Nigel moving the conversation on, still onto insignificant things, and he smiled to himself as he made the occasional comment, wondering this time what the real reason for the call would be. And there always was a reason. Never had there been a time that Nigel would just call for a chat, and so it proved again this time, but even after all his experiences, it still surprised Brendan in the way it was said. Nigel was clearly getting frustrated and picking up on the fact that Brendan was playing with him.

  “So you’ve been talking personally with Robert Sandle then? Did you suppose that I wouldn’t know?”

  The suddenness of the way he said it took Brendan by surprise for a moment and he nearly ran into the car just in front of him, his car skidding and stopping just an inch behind, in the now static traffic. Brendan was working hard at regaining his thoughts, thinking what he should say in reply. The silence was noticeable enough and it was Nigel who instead carried on.

  “You must take me for a fool if you think such things could possibly go unnot
iced. Anyway, I’m guessing you weren’t meeting up to exchange email addresses!”

  Brendan could tell it was a statement more than a question and he could sense anger growing in Nigel as well as in himself. He battled hard to remain silent, to let Nigel have his say, realising it no longer mattered what he said anyway.

  “I’m guessing because you haven’t thought to mention it nor have you confirmed his capture that you talked about a lot of things, things that you didn’t need to know? Things that you shouldn’t know but now do!”

  Brendan was beginning to get really angry inside but part of him was enjoying this, seeing this man exposed and how he’d try to deal with the fact that now the truth was out. Nigel continued, his words picking up in speed:

  “What you clearly haven’t realised in your actions of treachery is that I’d have planned for such a time as this. You must really think little of me to even imagine I hadn’t thought it possible that you’d betray me!”

  Brendan didn’t like the words he was using.

  “Look here!” he said.

  Nigel was having none of it: “No, you listen to me! I’m going to imagine that Robert told you everything because he has no other options. On his own he’s a dead man, always has been. There is no way he could have got to me without some inside help. That is where you have been foolish, Brendan. You see, in my preparation in this whole thing, I knew it was ever so probable that such a man’s only option would be to get to me through a close employee, someone such as yourself. And therefore I needed to select such a person so that I could be sure that when it came to it, they could be turned back on side.”

  Brendan was taken in by the sheer arrogance of the man, but maybe they were just the last words of a fool?

  “And what makes you think I’m such a man?” Brendan said.

  “Oh, you are such a man, trust me.”

  Brendan was now starting to despise his boss more than ever, and there was this almost evil connotation to every word he now spoke, like the words of a madman who has lost all sense of truth and reality.

  “You see Brendan, if Robert has told you what I assume he has, then you must realise that I know everything there is to know about you from the vantage point of history. I’ve even read your own autobiography, which of course you’ll now never actually write, but that doesn’t matter. I know what’s important to you, I know what you value more than anything, and I know what would hurt you the most — because I’ve read your own words, from your own heart.”

  “If you lay one finger on my family then God help you!” Brendan was more angry than he had ever been, his blood boiling and racing around his body. He suddenly felt quite powerless to help them, fearing even at that exact moment that something bad was happening to them, dreading what Nigel was about to say.

  “Oh, Brendan, what do you take me for? You’re the ruthless killer, remember, or have you forgotten that? No, you get to choose about your family, not me. It’s very simple.”

  “What do you mean?”

  Nigel was now enjoying having the upper hand again.

  “Okay, I’ll be straight with you, Brendan. As things stand you’ll be on your own within ten years from now. The illness that is killing your wife’s parents is also in your wife and therefore in your children, all of them. It’s a currently unknown killer that’ll take the lives of millions over the next few decades. You are living in the time of the ‘Digital Disease’ as it was crudely called, the effects of all those millions of signals passing through you in everyday life, until it got too much and people started dying from it. It took them nearly twenty years to actually understand its cause, you know. Until then they took it as a new strain of cancer. Such waste. Anyway, once they understood, they were able to make it safer, even perfecting a cure, so that from where I came from it was a thing we only studied in History or Biology, it had long since been killed off.

  But as things stand, today, in your reality, no such cure exists. Before such breakthroughs are made, you’ll be a lonely old man, burying your wife and family before dying alone an old, sad, man. Why am I telling you all this Brendan? Well, it’s very simple. I have the cure with me this very moment, ready to be used ahead of time. You therefore now have a choice. Either stay as you now are, teaming up with Robert. Even if you find a way of getting to me you end up alone in a decade. They all die, for I can promise you that, without my say-so, that cure will never be found. Or you can come to your senses, know when you are beaten and bring him down. I then promise it’ll be the next breakthrough drug to be released and your family will be the first people to use it. It’d even save your wife’s parents. You could then leave the firm and move on. I’d give you enough money to retire early and you could live out the rest of your years together, as a family, wherever you choose.

  Know this therefore — what ever way you choose, you don’t get to have it your way. But what type of husband and father would you be if you placed the life of this man over that of your own family? Why don’t you think about that one for a little while and then call me back? You have fifteen minutes to decide and if I don’t hear anything, trust me, you’ll end up alone and you’ll have the blood of millions on your own head.”

  The phone in Brendan’s car went dead and for a moment he just sat there, speechless. An angry motorist sounded his horn from behind, alerting Brendan to the fact that the traffic had moved up some way ahead of him, so that he was now sitting holding up the traffic. He pulled away slowly, not knowing what to think, or what to do. He felt sick inside, worse than he’d ever felt before, gutted to the very core. Everything, it seemed, had fallen into place and now it had all changed. How could he go on, knowing what he knew and yet what option did he have?

  After a while he started to reason about how things had taken place. If he was to turn on Robert, because of the way events had unfolded, Nigel would then have open access to the man whereas before he had no options. Chance had thrown them together and he was sure that he had Robert’s confidence. It would be easy now to hand him over, but where would that leave himself? But then again did he have a choice anyway? Nigel had been right in saying that he wouldn’t choose the life of Robert over that of his family. And yet he knew that would be playing right into the hands of Nigel and would finally give him everything he wanted. But again, that thought came back to him — what choice did he actually have?

  Reluctantly, while he drove through the clearing roads, he called Nigel back and when it was answered, simply said:

  “Okay, I’ll do it your way,” and then he hung up, pulled over to the side of the road and jumped out the car, desperate for air so that he wouldn’t be sick.

  **********

  Robert had opted for a small Bed and Breakfast just on the outskirts of the city centre, the sort of place that let rooms on an hourly rate, the clientèle usually of the less savoury type but that didn’t bother him too much, and besides, he’d stayed in worse places in his time.

  In the light of day though, the room looked a mess and it was obvious that it hadn’t been maintained in a long time. Robert had been up early, showered and dressed as Katie lay asleep on the spare bed against the far wall. Coming out of the bathroom he paused and looked at her, a peace upon her like that of a sleeping child, the rest clearly having done her the world of good. He had no way of knowing what her home life had been like nor what she had to put up with but from yesterday’s experience he could guess. So now it wasn’t just himself who was homeless but Katie too.

  That added a slight complication to matters as he had always been a lone agent but this whole situation had just happened to him. Besides, a little female company was a welcome change, though he wouldn’t involve her to a level that it would threaten her safety, as much as he could help it anyway.

  She half turned, clearly still asleep but waking slowly, her leg coming free from the sheets, half hanging out of the bed. She had nice legs, he’d always thought so, and the soft pale skin caught his eyes and he watched for a moment, the bed she
ets covering her up again at the thighs so that she remained decent. Standing there silently for a few seconds, it was only then that he realised she had woken and was looking at him, a smile on her face.

  “You know you only have to ask and you can see the whole lot,” she said, playing with him as he turned around a little embarrassed and went back into the bathroom.

  He could hear her getting out of bed, the cheap and old bed frame making a lot of noise as it had done all night. They passed each other at the bathroom door as he went out again, not saying a word, and after she’d entered she locked it and moments later the shower was turned on.

  Robert went over to his bag and found his main notebook. His research had taken on some new turns and what he was now solely searching out was all the information relating to this unknown third brother.

  Robert had a hunch that he was working on. The world knew of the brilliance of Christopher and Nathan Wentworth and it was assumed to be Christopher who made the breakthrough with the first Door, the one that Nigel ended up going through. Later Nathan made a copy, the Door which Robert was able to use. But what if both had copied something already drawn up by their troubled brother Austin? And if that was the case, Robert’s hopes were that it had not just been on paper that Austin had worked, but that somewhere an actual Door existed, the original therefore, and more importantly than anything else, almost certainly an earlier Door than the one Nigel Gamble had first gone through.

  Robert had so far been able to trace Austin, as far as he was aware, to a home in Switzerland, such was the lack of evidence and paperwork on the matter. That was understandable, as in that era it wasn’t something to advertise, the fact that you had a son who was mad. As it was still the time when few travelled too far, it was easily documented that both Christopher and Nathan made trips to Switzerland over a number of years and it was on a lake in Switzerland that Christopher drowned in a boating accident.