Thirty Four Minutes DEAD

by Kaye, Steve Hammond

  "Mr Voight will be placed in charge of both internal and external security in London, although in Chicago his American counterpart will handle affairs. Both men will work in liaison with Ms Levene.

  "Paul Mason will work with his American parallel, Dwight Richards. Together they will monitor surveillance, selecting victims and liaising with security to organise the collection of victims, the mapping of desirable routes and the reconnaissance of venues where a ‘hit’ is to be made.

  "All of you are going to be exhausted when the two months is over. All of you, apart from the active service arrest squads, will be restricted to the Designation site where you are in residence during this time period, and every team member will understand what the word teamwork really means after this intensive operation. Two months is a long time to be parted from loved ones, but you knew that when the squeeze came that this would be a factor. The squeeze is ten days away!

  "Tonight we have a function that has a dual purpose. We should eat and drink to celebrate how far we have come, and we should socialise with MC Project members who we haven't previously associated with. We are a family, holding the key to a new world. Once the MC discovery is broken to the world things won't ever be quite the same again. The same for the global population and the same for you my friends. At this moment in time we are a small intellectual niche who know something everyone else doesn't. Once knowledge of our discovery is shared by the world you will experience a sense of loss despite the praise that you will enjoy. This loss will involve the floodgate factor. Part of you will always be reminiscing back to the beautiful world when only the few knew! Savour the moment. I'll see you tonight. Good day my family".

  The MC Project team rose to a person and applauded. It was a spontaneous reaction never partaken of before. Denison was an excellent orator and this reaction had been on the cards for a long time. It was this moment that finally released the collective admiration.

  No one clapped louder than Gregory Vain did, but despite his enthusiasm for the moment, three factors lodged in his mind offsetting the admiration he felt for Denison.

  Despite the enthusiasm of the man, despite the opportunity that Denison had presented for him, and despite the warmth he seemed to feel for the whole MC Project staff, there was a darker side to him, something that Vain couldn't pinpoint but a disturbing subliminal trait none the less.

  The second issue that bothered Vain during the applause concerned the further absence of Natassia Overson. No reason had been forthcoming to explain this and Vain knew that the MC Project wasn't one where leaving was an easy option. Each individual knew too much and Vain was glad that he loved the work.

  It was the final factor that really disturbed Vain. While the applause reached its climax he became aware of a pair of eyes - beautiful dark eyes that surveyed him intently. For the first time he saw the white skin and dark hair belonging to a different woman, a beautiful woman who had proffered a cold half smile as her gaze seldom left him. For the first time he had seen Ms Marcia Levene in a different light!

  The Review Meeting closed and Vain was left to reflect upon the subtle networking that the MC Project was protected by. His thoughts dwelled longest on Marcia Levene, pondering how he could have been blind to her attraction before. Vain wasn't hooked on her image yet but he was curious. There was something about her presence that made her enchanting - the dark eyes that beckoned him, and the almost vampirical pallor that suggested a power above her slight frame. Vain loved Tanya deeply, but Levene's gaze had sown a seed. Her eyes spoke to him with the power of the only verbal address he had so far heard her utter- that fateful hammer-blow sentence to Everett!

  * * * * *

  The Banqueting Hall was laid out to sumptuous proportions with the red and white table decorations blending well with the dark wooden wall panels. Denison had decided that the celebration meal would adopt the format of European Nouvelle Cuisine. He hated the vulgar eighties translation of this concept, preferring to mirror original Nouvelle practice. The courses would subsequently be minimal in proportion but vast in quantity. The obligatory wine would appear with each course. Vain cast his eye down the menu, looking at the nine courses that made up the celebration meal and realised that the whole event would take up to six or seven hours to reach its conclusion. When Denison did something he didn't do it by halves!

  The Memory Camera Project Team were now there in their totality, with the Legal insider appearing to make up the full complement. He had worn Everett down when compiling his supposed defence, and while the guilty now rested he had taken his leave to partake in the celebration. In addition to the MC Project team, the forty-six people who had been present at the Venison demonstration had been invited. A collection of twenty-five musicians had been hired to add a classical musical mise en scène to the evening's proceedings. Their presence was the reason that the phrase ‘Et In Arcadia Ego’ appeared in gold embossed lettering at the top of the menu. This Latin phrase signified in this instance that death as far as the project was concerned was everywhere, especially when one's guard was down and the wine led ‘good times’ were the emphasis. Each MC Project member and each of the forty-six guests knew its presence on their menu meant that there was to be no mention of the project inside the Banqueting Hall and no dialogue at all with the ‘alien’ party - the musicians. The musicians understood their paymaster was the C.I.D and they were fully primed with regard to the format of the evening and their role as aesthetic support. Voight would keep an eye of scrutiny on them none the less.

  Leif Denison speaking from the head of his table extended his usual ‘le mot juste’ greeting.

  "When you are proud of your family, you share the moment of celebration and invite your close friends to extend their homage in communion. Tonight we are celebrating and I hope you will enjoy the food, drink and musical entertainment that we have provided. I will for once limit my words, and after my greeting toast you may commence your meal.

  “The Champagne tastes best when it is toasted to those dear to you and so...

  ...to Family and friends".

  "To Family and Friends", the collective response echoed. The meal began.

  Vain was seated next to Mr Voight and Ms Diana Fearston, one of the invited assembly who had impressed Denison with the work she had undertaken whilst graduating from the Sorbonne. Her specialism concerned exploring the déjà-vu phenomenon and she held Vain in great respect for his MC findings. Fearston was a very pleasant woman who was a good raconteur in relation to a wide range of disciplines. Denison had personally recruited this American feeling that once she and Vain started to collaborate the collective potential would prove salient to their research. Vain, for his part, was looking forward to drafting Fearston into the ‘fringe’ team after their Chicago placement had reached it's conclusion.

  The Et In Arcadia restriction had blocked any references to the project, but Vain enjoyed the human sandwich he was positioned between, as the dialogue was wide ranging from extolling the merits of German nineteenth century Romantic painting, to debating over who had the most comic prowess, The Marx Brothers or Laurel and Hardy. Mr Voight had still operated his security obsessed gaze from time to time but he had played a full part in the discussions offering a critical type of assessment that proved to have regulation potential as far as any debate was concerned. He had a ‘casting vote’ role, which pleased him immensely.

  A break of twenty minutes was built into the evening's schedule after every three courses and the assembly could utilise this rest period to sit nearer the musicians or walk around the vast floodlit gardens that made this designation so palatable to the eye.

  Vain didn't take advantage of the first break option, being too immersed in the discussions which he, Voight and Fearston were enjoying. After the sixth seafood based course had been consumed he felt it was a fitting moment to take advantage of the break facility and proceeded to slowly walk around the main lawns. Voight and Fearston had taken the opportunity to survey the musicians from a clos
er proximity, and thus Vain was alone enjoying a few moments of contemplation to himself.

  Vain's thoughts turned to Tanya and his children. The ten-day rest period would be a blessing, enabling him to spend more time with his beloved family, but the succeeding two month absence would represent the longest period of separation Vain and his family had experienced so far. He felt Tanya deserved to know more, to learn a little about the work he was undertaking and understand the reasons why his employment was so secretive in the process.

  Vain was standing at the bottom of the main lawn with his back to the Manor looking downward at the illuminated terraced gardens that fell away gradually, culminating at the edge of the distant boating lake which in daylight was one of the Designation's most attractive features. He was on the point of turning back to the Manor when a voice broke his contemplation.

  "One can revel in the mysteries of darkness can't one, Mr Vain?”

  Standing twelve feet behind Vain stood Marcia Levene, resplendent in a black shoulderless evening dress.

  Feeling underdressed in comparison, wearing the same casual suit that he had worn for the past three days, Vain responded in a hasty and slightly defensive fashion.

  "Surely the profusion of illuminated lights dispels any mystery, doesn't it?”

  "Well doesn't that depend on what you are actually seeing Mr Vain, doesn't that depend on whether your eyes or your mind's eye paint the image on your memory canvas? You see Mr Vain, you know better than anyone what people really register, don't you? I mean what would you store, what would you keep for access purposes if this black dress dropped to the lawn beneath me with it's owner lying naked on the dew covered grass and you Mr Vain, lying on the said grass with your face between my legs. What would you keep?"

  Vain rose to the challenge.

  "I would keep two images, Ms Levene. One would be governed by my eyes and would highlight your illuminated face from an angle where the viewer is looking through the cradle of your legs, past your breasts to your facial region. This image would show your shut eyes and your mouth, which is twitching slightly in the left hand corner as you approach a state of ecstasy.

  “The second image is determined by my thoughts. It shows the part of you that I can't see but which my tongue can feel. This image highlights what I am doing as opposed to what I am seeing. This image burns brightest because it is essentially the most intimate. Does that answer your question Ms Levene?"

  "It is an able answer forcing my hand into my next move, freeing the shackles that clothing presents in such an instance. I…"

  Vain cut her short.

  "What you really need to know, Ms Levene, is that both images are held in bondage by a more powerful series of visual and mental images; images that illuminate the physical appearance of Tanya Vain and display a montage of devoted wife recollections, in addition to this face-value, visually inspired portrait".

  "Well resisted Mr Vain. I congratulate you upon your loyalty. Good evening Greg".

  Vain watched Levene glide back across the lawn to the Manor. There was something almost feline in her gait.

  Gregory Vain had been tempted. He had resisted her advances - just.

  FOUR

  Gregory Vain walked down the drive of his residence in a determined fashion. His mind kept referencing the pivotal developments that had taken place in the last few days. His memory camera kept illuminating the defeated Sandford-Everett, the ecstatic Denison and the sensuous Levene.

  As he neared his house his thoughts turned to Tanya and the children. He was grateful for the ten-day respite because despite the love he had for the MC project, it had a wasting capacity that rendered team members exhausted in quite a short time period. Vain, Tavini and Ko-Chai would receive understudy support once suitable individuals had been selected and trained but they were currently the only ‘front line’ team that the project could call upon. This front line demand meant that Vain's team was constantly in the spotlight and thus the MC project extracted the proverbial pound of flesh from its three leading lights.

  Whilst the ten day rest period represented a blessing, a ‘serpent's kiss’ factor sealed this arrangement, with the project members having to break the news of the impending two month separation that would follow this effective ‘holiday’. Vain and Tanya had been split up before during the MC project's research stages, but an eight week separation would represent a radical increase with regard to the amount of time the two were parted. Vain felt sure that the strong bond he and Tanya shared would not be reduced by this lengthy separation period but he also felt that it increased her claim for ‘right to know’ factors surrounding his employment. As he opened the front door he made the decision that he thought he would never make - to give Tanya an understanding of the ‘basics’ pertaining to his MC team's work. He felt it was time to add a little colour, a little definition to the greyness that hung over his absences.

  "Daddy, you're home!”

  Rachel was usually the first member of Vain's family to register his presence when he returned from his MC business, and this occasion did not prove an exception. The girl proceeded to give him her legendary ‘war hero returning’ welcome with a melodramatic flood of emotion and then she started to fill her Daddy in with regard to the ‘highs’ he had missed in his absence.

  "...and I lost my blazer so Mummy bought me a new one and so now I've got two 'cos I found my old one afterwards but Mummy's one is best and she says I can wear it on Tuesday because…"

  "Slow down darling. You can tell me everything when I've got my coat off. Daddy's home for ten whole days so I can spend all my time with you Gary and Mummy".

  "Ten days with my Daddy, ten days with my Daddy..." chanted Rachel to a fictional tune she had composed on the spot.

  "Only ten days this time, Greg?”

  Tanya Vain made a svelte like descent of the staircase and tenderly started to cuddle both her husband and daughter. She had been watching the ecstatic reunion from a vantage point on the first floor landing, and after she had let her daughter perform her usual welcome routine she decided to utilise her favourite method of greeting - the ‘staircase glide’. The daughter's exuberance was a perfect foil to her mother's choreographed precision.

  "Yo Tan - it's seemed an age. I guess the milkman's a permanent resident now eh?”

  "It's only been a few days Greg, but yeah - it's been too long. Ten days sounds great initially but there's a catch love - I can see it in your eyes. Still, that can wait because Gary is hiding upstairs waiting for you to find him. He's doing his ‘Omen’ routine!

  I thought you hid that video, we've had Damien impersonations since you've been gone!”

  Vain went upstairs to find that his son. Gary's greeting was one of mock attack, and Vain kicked himself for leaving his old horror video collection in a place where his kids could find them. Gary had performed his part well, combing his black hair forward in a style reminiscent of the Anti-Christ in the said film.

  In the afternoon Vain and his family went into London and had the ‘family day out’ that both he and Tanya worshipped. The Museum of the Moving Image thrilled the kids, McDonalds went down well in a party sort of fashion, and the shopping trip to Harrods sent all three of the Vain clan into raptures as ‘Daddy’ was always Mr Generous when selecting his presents. In the evening Vain settled the children down for the night and then he was alone with Tanya.

  The Vains proceeded to make love with the spice of lust and this act honoured the intimacy shared between Tanya and Greg. Their lovemaking was never dull and Vain's absences heightened the mutual attraction shared by the couple. In the warmth of post coital intimacy, Tanya chose to ascertain how long the inevitable separation would be following their ten-day ‘holiday”.

  "Eight weeks Tan. Sorry, this one's kinda special, things are moving at lightening speed and yours truly is one of the leading lights".

  "Eight bloody weeks, Greg. It's August love, not April. Are you fooling around here or what?”

  "Sorry
Tan, no joke I'm afraid. We're in the London area for three weeks and then the project is to be based in Chicago for a five week residence".

  Tanya was rendered silent by the time period involved in the latest separation, and Gregory Vain felt that this was the right moment to reveal more about the MC project.

  "Okay Tan, you deserve to know more. I can't hide our work forever can I? The project work I undertake involves advancing the ‘Memory’ work I researched a few years ago. My team involves two other guys as well as myself, one a leading light in laser extraction and the other a genius with regard to digital conversion. We look inside the mind Tan, at the moment dead minds with visual platforms still intact".

  "Platforms intact? Break it down Greg, for us lesser mortals!”

  "Sorry Tan, yeah okay. By platforms I mean areas of the brain that store images - important images that we all keep - at least for a while. At the moment my team is calling up images from dead human minds!”

  "Sorry Greg, but this sounds science fiction to me. Are you saying that a brain stores images after death?”

  "Precisely. The brain is like a camera film in this context, and my team have the developing key for want of a better phrase".

  "What about brain death and decomposition then Greg?”

  "Both were seen as the end of the visual story in the past, love, but our work changes that, it knocks it into the past in terms of relevance. Yeah some parts of the brain rot - all of it in time, but other parts are impregnable remaining fresh and useful to my team for some days after death has been diagnosed. You see Tan, humans store HVs, visuals of significance in the area of the brain we are investigating, and our team can access them - call them up and even play them back!”