Salby Damned

by Ian D. Moore

  With a wink to Corporal Simms, who looked a little flushed at the compliments from the major, he turned back towards Evie. The hustlers began to form a line waiting for food to be served as each in turn apologised for the trouble they had caused. Sure enough, after eating, they cleared their plates away and reported to the Quartermaster as instructed. The major would check back in a couple of days to see how the football training was progressing; he kept a close eye on everything in his hotel, thought Corporal Simms.

  Catching up with Evie, the major apologised just as the door slid open on the helicopter. From within came the Lieutenant Colonel, followed by Dr. Fitzgerald, three smartly dressed people that neither of them knew, and finally, a member of the aircraft crew, making sure that everyone kept their heads low until out of range of the whirring rotors.

  *******

  Decisions

  Tom and Holly worked tirelessly on the task at hand; it had to be right, had to be just so. They would do this for a while and then take a break. There were outdoor classes for them, and although they thought a lot about their missing mum, it was best to stay occupied. Young Tom did his best to keep Holly from becoming too upset. There were lots of children, and they soon made new friends, chatting endlessly about cars, the best toys, what games they wanted for Christmas, and what they'd been doing since arriving. Luke, the older boy who had been rescued on the journey to the base, came to see them too, and Tom and Holly were pleased to see him. He promised to show Tom the tanks and Army trucks, which made Tom really excited. He’d seen the huge tank when they arrived and wanted to see inside one.

  “Do it like this, Tom,” Holly said. She was showing him how to wrap the thin crepe paper, but his hands didn’t seem to have the co-ordination of hers.

  “I’m trying to,” he said, frustrated, followed by, “Oh! I’ve had enough for a bit. I’m going for a walk. Are you coming?”

  “No, I’ll stay here; want to get this bit finished for Naffam,” she said, busily folding more paper into shapes.

  Tom stood, and making sure that the volunteer teacher wasn’t watching, he crouched on all fours, using the table for cover, because it wasn’t easy dodging the adults there, and headed for the hangar doors. He hoped he wouldn't be spotted. He looked out briefly before joining the back of a line of children, though he had no idea of where they might be going; the leading adult wouldn’t notice one more tagged on the end, he thought—and he was right. No one stopped to question him, and no one noticed that he was missing from the table. Tom listened for shouts of his name, but there were none, and he thought that Holly would be quite safe. He only needed a few minutes to himself for what he had in mind.

  ***

  Departing from the aircraft, Lieutenant Colonel Connell directed the group clear of the blades with the aid of the flight crewman. He turned to address his second in command, waiting for the formal salute.

  “Good to see you, Sir. Dr Fitzgerald,” said the major, as he saluted the base commander.

  “Major Sower and Lieutenant Shepherd, I believe? I have not had the pleasure.” Charles returned the officer's salute and extended his hand to Evie.

  “Good morning, Sir,” Evie replied, shaking the outstretched hand, unsure of whether she should salute.

  “Paul, this is the assistant CEO of the SGFC. He and his esteemed colleagues will be staying with us for a little while. Would you see to it that they are assigned quarters and shown around the relevant areas of the base?”

  “Yes, Sir. I’ll have Corporal Simms attend to it immediately; if you three would like to follow me, please.”

  The C.O. waited for the three SGFC employees to be out of earshot before continuing.

  “Lieutenant Shepherd, if you could give us an hour. In the meantime, could you prepare a report for us? We are keen to get up to speed and share our intelligence with you. We have plans to try to enter the Salby facility either later today or first thing tomorrow. I’ll have Paul come and find you when we’re ready.”

  With a wave of his hand, Lieutenant Colonel Connell walked towards the main offices confidently. He needed to update Whitehall later today, so would need to collate the data for a report that even the politicians could understand.

  Moving closer to Evie, Dr. Fitzgerald caught her gaze before opening both arms wide and scooping her in and hugging her, as a father would a daughter that he hasn’t seen for a while.

  “I thought we had lost you, Evie. I’m so glad you’re safe. We have much to discuss and it’s so good to see you,” he said, smiling broadly.

  “Fitz! It’s damn good to see you. I tried to get to a base as soon as I could, but it’s not been easy,” she blurted.

  She wrapped her arms around him, feeling secure.

  “I'll go and assemble the medical team, or at least those with security clearance. We’ll catch up later this evening if you have time perhaps?”

  “I’ll look forward to it, Charles. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen you, what with my work at the facility. I’ll go and prepare those notes. It’s going to be a long day, I think, but maybe now we’ll be able to come up with a campaign plan,” she said.

  ***

  Through a night in torment, trying to formulate a plan, the deathly pale, anaemic-looking man that was Colin Snape, assistant CEO of a multi-billion pound energy company, had drawn a blank.

  The laptops; the missing computers were key. They were certainly the key to his early retirement, waking up on a sunny beachfront in Mexico, with a beautiful girl and fabulous villa. The base commander had made it very clear to them that they would not be permitted to leave the base at any time or for any reason before they had boarded the helicopter. Snape fumed as his colleagues entered the small office they had been allocated. He waited in silence for them to be seated.

  His press officer, Meriam Stuart was still immaculately suited, a surprise to Snape as he admired her form, given their current circumstances. Chief Engineer Brian Goulding met Meriam Stuart's gaze briefly as Colin began to speak.

  “We find ourselves in a bit of a predicament, don’t we?” Snape said, pausing to look around at them with a belittling power stare before he continued.

  “It seems to me that the answer to our problem lies in the location of the two missing laptops from the site offices. In the wrong hands, the data on those machines could put us all behind bars for a very long time. I don’t know about you, Brian, but it would be a tragic waste of such a fine figure to send Meriam to the cells for eternity.”

  Such a ball of slime, thought Meriam.

  An involuntary shiver ran down her spine. Colin sat at the desk, opposite his subordinates. His hand began to tremble as he reached for his glasses, shakily placing them on the tabletop.

  “Now, priority number one is those laptops. That’s your task so long as we’re here. I don’t care how you do it, what tactics you use, who you have to bribe, kill, or sleep with. Find them!” Snape said, practically screaming.

  “Colin, we can’t just turn over the entire base leaving a trail of destruction behind us,” said Brian, responding first.

  “It’s Mr. Snape to you! Use your initiative, Brian. Let me put it another way. If you don’t come up with them, I’ll see to it that neither of you ever work in the gas business again, anywhere in the world. Do I make myself perfectly clear?”

  “Yes, Mr. Snape, perfectly,” came the snarled response from the two dejected staff, in unison.

  Colin Snape was not a happy man. Despite his privileged life, it seemed to him that nothing ever went right. Growing up he had suffered every infantile disease going, from croup to chicken pox, and the countless doctors had said he just had a weak immune system. The fact was, that what God had given him in brains, He’d taken in body. Colin had been the only son of wealthy and very influential parents. He wanted for nothing and his parents bought their way through his formative years, eventually sending him to a prestigious boarding school from which he had to be withdrawn, due to bullying seniors. This led to home tuto
ring.

  He rarely saw his mother or father; they were mostly jetting around the globe, and he only accompanied them on one occasion that he could remember, it hadn’t gone well. When he was old enough to attend university, he bought friends and protection, learning that, with an almost unlimited supply of money, he could have unlimited power.

  There were many unexplained injuries to people who had crossed him along the way. None of them could directly be linked to him, of course. He was accustomed to getting his own way. By the time he graduated, using his father’s influence, he was awarded a very well-paid position with the SGFC with one condition: that he studied further to attain good qualifications for his advancement within the company. His father accepted the terms on his behalf. So, at the age of twenty-one, he found himself in charge of staff twice his age and more, who viewed his rise as simply nepotistic. His parents had been blatant in their opinions of the lower classes, as they put it. He believed that he had higher status and his superior attitude was an unshakeable part of his character.

  Now, almost thirty-five years on, he retained the notion that he was better than everyone else, destined for greatness. He'd been excluded from his parents’ will but he would show them posthumously; he would have his island in the sun. Their fortune, save for a modest home and a late model car, had been bequeathed to the various charities of which they had both been patrons.

  Right now, it seemed he had the weight of the world upon his shoulders. He looked around at his “minions” and raised himself slowly from the chair before storming out of the office in an act of pure theatrics.

  One or both of those machines have to be found, if I have to tear the base apart to do it.

  ***

  After he had left the room, Meriam Stuart began to cry. It wasn’t the loud, over-acted type for effect though. She hunched her shoulders with her palms over her face, turning away from Brian, although he could see the subtle shakes as the emotions rode over her. He stood, walking around to stand before her, and placing his hands under each elbow, he gently lifted her from the chair. Without comment or resistance, she came to him, allowing him to pull her to his chest. This wasn’t an intimate gesture though. He was a fair few years older than Meriam, which he knew only too well. Every day his joints reminded him of just how many miles on the clock they had and the difference twenty years can make. She lifted her head from his chest and damp trails had formed upon each cheek; the tears had made a valiant attempt at fighting gravity on their way down her face.

  With Snape gone, Meriam and Brian were left alone and neither spoke for an instant. Miriam spoke first and she was as mad as hell.

  “Why do we let that infuriating shit speak to us that way?”

  “I guess because he’s the boss,” Brian replied.

  “He's crap at everything, and he's full of hot air. Think about it; his job isn’t going to be worth shit when all this is done with, just like ours. Have you seen the scale of things? I don’t know what happened at the wellhead, what Garrett did to start this, but I’ll tell you what I do know; I’m not going to spend the rest of my life in a concrete and steel cell just because that little jumped-up prick wants to cover his own arse.”

  “I like your thinking; we're together on this, right. Snape's right, though. The key is the laptops.” He held up a hand slowly, stifling an angry response from Meriam before he continued.

  “If we can find them first, we have the advantage. We can find out what's on them and then hand them over; do the right thing, maybe. I guess we might still end up in jail, but at least we're controlling our destiny and not that jumped-up jerk.”

  With what was almost a smile, she looked up at him, seeing the blue-grey eyes and the wisdom within them. She knew he was fifty, had been married, divorced bitterly five years ago now, there were no children to speak of, and his income was fair to middling. She'd seen his file. Meriam wasn’t an ageist woman; she had dated older and younger men in her day, and she'd found that the older ones tended to be grounded and reliable.

  No, not reliable, she thought, sincere, that was the word she was seeking.

  Meriam stood on her tiptoes, pushing gently against him for support, brushing her lips against his. The action took Brian by surprise. Wide-eyed, he looked down at her.

  “Meriam, I—”

  “Shhhhhh! Don’t spoil it, Brian. I did it because I wanted to, not because we’re stuck together in a sinking boat. Let’s lay it out on the table. I know you’re a bit older than me, not married, not dating maybe, have no kids, and you’re a decent man who is conscientious and professional at what you do. What I don’t know is, whether you are interested in me,” she said, allowing her head to slip slightly, almost not wanting the response.

  Brian took a step back and Meriam felt rejection. He looked at her with eyes full of emotion, and she felt that they were looking through her.

  “I think,” he said, pausing slightly, “that you’re a beautiful young lady. If we make it through this in one piece, it would be an honour to take you to dinner, and if you still feel the same way as you did a second ago, I’ll be a very happy man.”

  He stepped forwards and kissed her tentatively.

  Brian pulled away and smiled at her. He hadn’t dated for a while due to the heartache of the divorce; his wife was twenty years younger and found a fitter more energetic companion. She didn’t want to settle for a slower life and retirement.

  Could I do this again? Brian thought. Do I want to?

  “We have much to do, Meriam. I’ll keep a close eye on our boss. I’ve a feeling he’s up to something bigger, and he may lead us to the laptops himself.”

  *******

  Mischief

  In the hangar play area, Steve and Janey Grey were frantic. They had split up and were following the outer walls of the huge building in circles, meeting partway around in between scooting through the tables, chairs, and other things, searching for one little boy they had promised to mind.

  Where can he have gone?

  They had checked the toilets, the cookhouse, had roamed around the tented shantytown outside, but as yet, were unable to locate him. Nathan and Dr. Shepherd would be furious, thought Steve as countless scenarios passed through his mind. On the third sweep of the hangar, Corporal Simms approached them, sensing that something was wrong.

  “Are you two alright? You look like the world is about to close in upon you. Whatever is the matter?”

  “We, we’ve lost young Tom,” blurted Steve.

  “He can’t have gone far, and the base is secure so he’ll be here somewhere. He came in with Sergeant Nathan Cross, is that correct?” the corporal asked.

  “Sergeant Cross? Ah, Nathan, yes, that’s right, he’s resting in the dorm hangar. Will you wake him, Corporal?”

  “Yes, sir I will. He’ll want to help, I’m sure, and he may have a better idea of where Tom would go. Nathan may have told the boy to go somewhere if he got lost; that’ll be where he is.”

  The young corporal headed for the dormitory hangar to rouse Nathan from his sleep. Steve and Janey fanned out once more to search for the missing boy. As she approached the fold-up bed and sleeping man, Corporal Simms glanced at the cover of what looked like a computer, poking out from under spare blankets. She could just make out the letters GFC.

  The initials of his wife or a son, maybe?

  She knelt, shaking Nathan gently until his eyes opened to look at her.

  “Wuh, wuh, what’s up, Corporal? Is something wrong? What time is it?”

  “Take a minute, Sergeant,” she said, allowing time for his eyes to adjust to the light.

  “It would appear that Tom has got lost on the base. Steve and Janey are beside themselves with worry. He cannot have gone far. Holly is safe and well in the entertainments hangar with the other children and said that Tom went for a walk about a half-hour ago, maybe a little longer. I thought you might have an idea of where he would go.”

  “He is a very curious child, I’m sure he’ll have seen so
mething and wandered off to get a better look. Let me throw a shirt on, and I’ll meet you out front, Corporal. Thanks for coming to get me.”

  Nathan wiped away the last remnants of sleep and watched the attractive young corporal deftly slipping between rows of temporary beds, stepping over shoes and coats, boxes, and small cases strewn around.

  Throwing on the same T-shirt he had been wearing for a couple of days now and noticing the rapidly increasing odour, he made a mental note to rinse it through before he returned. Hauling himself to his feet, he hastily put on boots, without doing up the laces. He followed the corporal to the main doors where he found Steve scratching his head and Janey looking pale with the worry.

  “We’re so sorry, Nathan. We turned to attend a child who'd fallen over. When we looked back, Tom had gone, just vanished into thin air.”

  “Calm down, Steve, its fine, really. Tom is fearless and he has a very curious nature. I should have warned you about that. It will be all right, and I’m sure he won’t have gone far. I told them if we got separated that they were to go to the main battle tank near the front gates, so we’ll head there first,” Nathan said, already turning to leave.

  With a look of apology, Steve nodded and walked with Nathan towards the main gates and the stationary metal monster that was the Challenger 2 tank. As they approached, they could see that the top hatch was open; voices could be heard from inside the vehicle, one of which Nathan recognised only too well. Climbing up onto the body, he peered over the lip and looked inside. The occupants hadn’t realised he was there yet. What he saw relieved the tension immediately. Sitting in-between the tank commander, navigation and weapons control officers, he saw Tom, chatting away about the adventure he’d had to reach the base.

  “And, and, and, then Nathan, that’s the man whose house we snuck into, did I tell you about him? He drove the big truck through the cars. But first, we were in a Jeep, and you should have seen the wrecks. Oh, and we had sketty hoops on toast, dippy egg soldiers, and beans, and then we rescued some people from some other really bad people. They looked poorly but Nathan and Evie managed to save them from the bad people, and we finally made it here. Then it was really scary and the soldiers came with guns and everything. Did you see the guns they have, they look awesome!” Tom said, barely pausing to take a breath.