Alien Virus

by Steve Howrie

  “Here Kevin – there’s one beginning with ‘E’ – that’s our island!”

  “Ah, you’re right! So Eday it is then.”

  ***

  Twelve

  In London, the Special Branch had been busy. They’d pulled together just about everything about Sandi and I that was on record – passport details, drivers licences, bank account details, car registrations, mobile phone numbers and lists of calls made. Plus full medical records, criminal record checks, school reports and work references, including background information from interviews with Trevor and other work colleagues. What pubs and restaurants I frequented, my favourite drinks, which shops I purchased goods from, and the football team I supported – no stone was left unturned. They also knew – from Trevor – that I’d been on an assignment to Scotland, and knew I stayed in Edinburgh (from hotel records).

  It was just as well I’d left both my car and mobile with Tony. Several days after I rescued Sandi from the hospital, it was easy to forget that the police never do forget – not when they’re controlled by the virus. What I didn’t know, as we were perusing the island brochures in the Tourist Information Centre in Kirkwall, was that someone had already put the finger on Sandi.

  “Are you sure it was her?” the policewoman asked the dark woman who was standing in front of her at the counter.

  “No question – look…” Emily pulled out the newspaper article about the ‘abduction’ of Sandi from the hospital in Fulham. “I was reading this article in the hairdressers just the day before I saw her. I’m certain it’s her.”

  “And you say she was with your boyfriend at the time?” Emily nodded. “Well, it would really help to have his contact details – email address, telephone number… anything like that.”

  Emily stopped for a moment. It was one thing rubbing that woman’s nose in the shit after what she’d done to Gareth – it was quite a different matter getting Gareth into serious trouble. She pondered. “What will you do to Gareth – what’ll happen to him?”

  “We need to find the woman because she could be seriously ill and need hospital treatment – and she could lead us to the man who abducted her. I don’t know how much Gareth is involved with them – I’m sure he’s not done anything wrong. But we do need to question him – only about the woman.”

  Emily thought again for a minute. “Okay,” she said eventually, “do you have a pen and paper?”

  The officer passed her an A4 pad and a biro, and Emily wrote down Gareth’s details – still feeling a little uneasy about the whole thing.

  “I do want him back, y’know.”

  “I know you do dear,” the officer smiled.

  *

  As arranged with Tony, Gareth and Sandi were out shopping – for salt. It was important to get in as much as possible ahead of the proposed ban on sales – except for emergencies. The quantity of salt in their trolley at the Supermarket raised the eyebrows of the cashier.

  “That’s a lot of salt!”

  “Very observant of you,” quipped Sandi.

  “I’m not sure if we can allow that… ” The cashier pressed a buzzer near the till, then smiled falsely at Sandi. “Won’t be a minute.” Sandi looked at Gareth quizzically, as if to say, ‘shall we leg it?’ Gareth shook his head and intimated that everything was all right. After a few moments, a supervisor arrived. As soon as he saw the trolley full of salt, he turned to Gareth.

  “Can I ask the purpose of your purchase of so much salt, sir?”

  “It’s for the slugs…” replied Gareth. “God, you should see them.”

  Sandi caught on straightaway and added, “We’ve tried pesticides, but the slugs are immune. Salt’s the only thing that works.”

  “It’s not illegal to buy salt, is it?” Gareth asked the supervisor.

  “Er, no – not yet.” He reluctantly nodded to the cashier, smiled awkwardly at Gareth and Sandi, then left.

  On the way to the car, Sandi looked at Gareth.

  “I’m glad you said that – I was about to duff him one.”

  “We found this was the best way – there’s nothing they can say. They have it to sell, and until it’s withdrawn they haven’t a leg to stand on. Aliens or not.”

  With the salt loaded in the boot, they drove back to Gareth’s apartment. As they turned the corner, Gareth saw something.

  “Shit!” he exclaimed.

  “What is it?” asked Sandi.

  A police car was parked outside the front door of his apartment block.

  “Keep your head down…” Sandi did as instructed and Gareth drove past the door without looking at his apartment. When they’d driven for a few minutes, he stopped in a side street.

  “It should be okay now.”

  “What was that – surely not about the salt?” she asked.

  “No, it can’t be that.” He thought for a moment, and then it dawned on him. “Emily!”

  “You mean she told them about me?”

  “I’d put money on it,” he said.

  “So what do we do now?”

  “We’ll drive to Audrey’s – the long way round. Then I’ll call Tony.

  *

  Sitting in Audrey’s lounge, Tony was not in a good mood. Gareth had just told him about Emily.

  “Fuck it Gareth you should have told me about this before. Sorry Audrey,” he added seeing her reaction to his language. “We’ll have to be much more careful from now on – we can’t afford to slip up. They’re looking for the least excuse to take us into custody – then who knows what will happen? It just takes a medical exam, and then you’ll be pumped full of the virus – and that’s the end. It doesn’t matter how dedicated you are now – once the concentrated virus is in your bloodstream, you’ll shop your own mother.”

  “I’m sorry Tony… I didn’t mean…”

  “It’s not safe for you to go back to your place – not now. Maybe not ever.”

  “What about Kate’s apartment?” Sandi asked. Tony turned to Gareth again.

  “Is there any way they would know about Kate? Did you ever tell Emily about Kate – or Audrey or me?” Gareth was offended.

  “No – I’d never do that... what do you think I am?”

  “I’ve just got to know for sure, Gareth. It’s very important. I’m sorry. We’ve really got to watch our backs now – too much is at stake.

  “Okay. Well, I never told Emily anything about the group – or about you or Kate or Audrey… or even Frank.”

  “What about in your flat?” Gareth looked puzzled. Tony explained. “If the police go to your flat, is there anything there leading them you us – address book, notes?” Gareth thought very carefully.

  “I don’t know for sure, Tony. I can’t say – I’m sorry.” He was clearly upset. Tony patted him on the shoulder.

  “It’s okay. It was always going to come to this one day. Did you get the salt?” Sandi nodded. “Good. Then this is what we’ve got to do...”

  *

  At four–thirty pm, Tony drove Audrey to Gareth’s apartment. They stopped in the next street, and Audrey got out with cleaning materials – bucket, mop and cloths. With Gareth’s key, she opened the front door, watched by two plain–clothes policemen sitting in a car on the opposite side of the road. On seeing her, they quickly got out of the vehicle and reached the door just before she had time to close it.

  “Excuse me, Madam,” one said. “Can I ask what you’re doing here?”

  “Who are you?” Audrey asked. The policeman pulled out his ID.

  “Oh, well, I’m breaking into Mr Morgan’s flat to steal his silver…” She winked at him.

  “Oh, right,” the officer said, seeing her cleaning materials and implements. “Can you tell us when Mr Morgan will be back then, hen, we’ve a few questions to ask him.”

  “He’s usually back at six. You should catch him then. Now if you don’t mind…”

  “Oh, sure – no problem. And thanks very much.” The officers returned to their vehicle whilst Audrey
closed the door, locking it, and started to search the flat for Gareth’s address book, notebook and any other references to the group he might have left in the apartment. He’d told her the usual places he kept these things, and she found the address book straightaway. The notebook was harder. But after five minutes, she located two notebooks – one under the bed and another in a chest of drawers. Next the leather jacket Gareth had asked for. Whilst she was looking, she also found his bank books, some spare cash and his passport and driver’s licence. Hiding the valuables and books in her bucket, she switched the radio on and hoovered around the lounge with the vacuum cleaner she found in a cupboard. A squirt or two of disinfectant in the bathroom to freshen it up, and after fifteen minutes she was done. Picking up her things, she left the flat and double–locked the front door.

  Outside, she smiled and waved to the police officers, pointing to the leather jacket.

  “Dry cleaning,” she called out. The officers nodded and waved back.

  Meanwhile, Gareth and Sandi drove to Kate’s apartment. They collected everything that Sandi thought Kate might need, as well as Sandi’s own belongings, and put them in two suitcases they found in the flat.

  Back at Audrey’s house, they resigned themselves to the next step.

  “Well, this is it, folks. Much earlier than anticipated – but it was always going to happen one day.” As Audrey came from the kitchen with a tray full of hot drinks, Tony turned to her.

  “Audrey, what about you? I know you weren’t keen to move just yet – and at the moment there’s no need to. Nothing can connect you with us. If you stay here for now and hold the fort, we’ll set something up in Orkney. And when you’re ready, we’ll come back for you.”

  “Well, I must admit, I’d like that better. This is my home, and I’m not really ready to go yet. But if you need me…”

  “You know we’ll always need you. But if you stay here, we know we’ll always have somewhere to stay when we return.”

  “That’s fine by me,” replied Audrey.

  “Fantastic. So if Sandi could stay with you tonight, Gareth can come with me. We’ll be back here at nine tomorrow morning, and make our way up to Orkney then.”

  Everyone kissed and hugged, and Tony and Gareth headed off to Tony’s flat, leaving Sandi wondering what was going to happen when they got to Orkney.

  ***

  Thirteen

  We had several hours to kill in Kirkwall before taking our ferry to the Isle of Eday, so we found a café with wifi so I could check my email. The night before, I’d emailed Frida Stronson in Sweden to ask about helping us to set up a Swedish-registered website. I was hoping for a reply – and I was in luck.

  “Hi Kevin – good to hear from you. How’s Sandi?

  No problem with the website, very happy to help. Just give me an idea of what you want and I’ll start putting something together for you. Any idea of a domain name? It would be good to arrange that asap. Best Regards, Frida.”

  I looked at Kate.

  “What do you think about a name?”

  “How about, alienvirus.org? Or alienvirus.se if you want a Swedish domain.”

  “Both sound great! Let’s do it.”

  *

  Tony and Gareth picked up Sandi just after nine the next morning and the three began their journey up to Thurso. None of them had been that far North before, and they were looking forward to the adventure. Plus it was a relief to get away from Edinburgh now the authorities were looking for them.

  The road was pretty clear up to Inverness, and they reached the city just after midday, where they stopped off for fuel and food. Tony tried to phone Kevin and Kate for the second time that day, but again there was no reply. He added to the message he’d left the night before and put away his phone.

  “Probably no signal where they are,” he said. “I’ll keep checking my mobile for messages from Kevin.” They got back on the road and followed the signs to Thurso. About a mile out of Inverness, Tony noticed a police car in his rear-view window. It was indicating for them to pull over.

  “Oh, shit” he said under his breath.

  “What is it?” Sandi asked.

  “Police,” replied Gareth, looking back.

  They pulled over and waited. Two officers, having run a check on Tony’s car, walked over to the driver’s window.

  “Everything all right?” Tony asked.

  “Just routine sir,” the smaller of the officers said. “Can I see your driver’s licence and vehicle documents please?” Tony nodded and reached across Gareth to the glove compartment for the documents. He glanced back at Sandi to make sure she was all right. He hardly recognized her in the wig that Audrey had suggested she wore for the trip. She nodded. The first officer handed the documents to the second, then turned back to Tony.

  “Can I ask where you’re heading sir?”

  “To John O’Groats – bit of a vacation.” The second policeman handed the documents back to the first, nodding to him. They were then returned to Tony.

  “Have a safe journey, sir – and enjoy your holiday.”

  “Thank you,” replied Tony with a thin smile.

  They drove off thinking that had been a close call.

  “I don’t think they recognized you,” Tony said to Sandi.

  “How about some music?” Gareth suggested, wanting to lighten the mood.

  “Fine – as long as it’s nothing by The Police,” quipped Tony.

  *

  As Kate and I sailed out of Kirkwall Harbour en route to Eday, I suddenly felt so much more relaxed. Edinburgh was better than London, but Orkney was something else again. I smiled at Kate as we stood on deck, surveying the view from our second ferry in as many days. Ahead of us the blue water was relatively flat. Quite a contrast to the rough seas of the Pentland Firth the day before. Kate took out her Ordnance Survey map of the Northern Orkney Islands and traced her finger along our route from Kirkwall, To starboard was first Shapinsay then Stronsay, whilst on the port side stood the small islands of Gairsay, Wyre and Egilsay, with the imposing and mountainous Rousay behind.

  I checked my mobile. Since arriving in Orkney, the phone signal had been patchy at best.

  “Ah, a signal!” I exclaimed with delight. “And a text message from Tony.”

  “What’s he saying?” Kate asked excitedly. I was quiet for a second. “Kevin?”

  “He’s on his way up.”

  “To Orkney?”

  “I think so – with Sandi and Gareth. Look.” I showed the brief message to Kate.

  “SGT on our way… is that all?” she asked.

  “Seems to be. We’ll just have to wait to find out what’s happened when they arrive.” The message left us with a troubled feel, taking the edge of the bliss we’d felt moments earlier.

  “I’m sure everything’s fine,” I said, trying to convince myself as much as Kate.”

  “Yes, must be,” she replied, not believing it at all.

  *

  My mind was still on Tony’s message as we sailed close to Sanday, a low–lying land mass on our right. But I was more concerned with a different type of Sandi – the one I’d rescued from the London hospital a few days earlier. God, it seemed like weeks ago now. I hoped she was okay, that nothing had happened to her. I still hadn’t worked out why Trevor should have drugged her in the first place – if it was him. I could only think it was to cover up Frank’s death. I’d given Frank my work card in the pub, and they would have found that on his body. Then the doctor in the hospital met both of us when we were looking for Frank. If I hadn’t gone away to Edinburgh looking for Frank’s next of kin, it could have been both of us drugged and mugged. And I wouldn’t be in Orkney now.

  Kate suddenly jogged me out of my day-dream by pointing towards some rocks close to the Sanday shoreline.

  “Look, Kevin!”

  What at first seemed to be rocks, were seals at the water’s edge. We were both very taken with the sight. I’d seen seals at London Zoo, of course, but seeing
them in their natural habitat was fantastic.

  “Amazing!” I said.

  Eday was now on our port side, and the boat was turning towards the pier. I’d read that the population of the island was around a hundred and twenty – which was less than the number of people in my street back in London. The ferry took a few minutes to dock, and then we were soon rolling off the gangway and up the ramp onto the main road. We later discovered that this was practically the only road on the island; and it was really nothing more than a ‘B’ road.

  We really hadn’t any idea of where we were going to start, but thought there must be a village of some sort. As it turns out, there was nothing like that: just two shops (general stores), a couple of pubs, and a few houses that provided bed & breakfast. We were about to ask for directions to one such guest house, when my mobile rang.

  “Tony! Where are you?”

  “Just coming into Stromness.”

  “Great! Is everything okay?”

  “Everything’s fine. Sandi and Gareth are with me, and they’re looking forward to seeing you both.” I told Tony where we were. They wouldn’t be able to get over to Eday until the next day, so I suggested they stayed at the same Guest House in Stromness where we stopped.

  “All right, Tony, we’ll do that. I’ll call you again tomorrow. Have a good night.”

  We got directions to a grey stone house at the North End of the island. It was pretty basic, but we were glad to find it. The weather had turned decidedly nippy as the sun went down. There was only one spare room in the house, so Kate and I shared. It was what both of us wanted anyway. Before turning in, we switched on the television for the news. It wasn’t good.

  “In a vote on the new salt bill today, the government won by a majority of forty–nine. The legislation means that from the 1st of September, it will be illegal to buy or sell salt in the UK. The Prime Minister and the Government’s Chief Medical Officer, both welcomed the news.”

  Kate looked at me for my reaction.

  “All news is good news,” I said, quoting my old man.