Different (11 page)

"But what do we do with the girls once they've given birth? Kill them?” Russell asked sarcastically.

"No. I thought of mating them with young male runaways and letting them breed, we don't want any breeders under eighteen because they could cause trouble, whereas the older kids will probably be grateful for a roof over their heads and regular meals."

"That's true and if we take blood samples from them we could cash in on the black market in human organs. How much would dying rich people pay for, healthy kidneys, hearts and lungs that matched their blood type?"

"That's a brilliant idea, Russell. Why we could even breed designer babies, blonde, blue eyed, babies with the same colour hair and eyes as their adoptive parents."

It was a great idea and Russell felt a flush of excitement. Breeding kids would be no more difficult than breeding any other animals and besides all these runaways were just a drain on society that no one would miss. They could even ship the babies and organs anywhere in the world. The operations could take place in the Foundation and no one need ever know.

"I'll arrange for another dozen huts to be put near Ben and Eve's,” he said. “We'll need a bent doctor to take care of them, I know just the man."

"And I already have a girl in mind to be our first breeding mother,” Janine said. “She's eighteen, coming nineteen and desperate, or so she told me on the phone. She'll be ringing me back later today and I'll set up a meeting. Can you get the old hut ready for her within the next day or two?"

"No problem. I've got six weeks before I have to fly home again. I'll sort out the hut and the doctor. You just concentrate on the girl."

The small cafe was crowded and Janine was surprised by the cleanliness of the place. After ordering a large mug of tea and a butter toasted tea cake, she found a vacant table in a corner and sat down. Karen had told her it was where she usually ate because the food was cheap. Janine had finished eating and was beginning to think that either Karen had already been and gone, or she'd changed her mind and wasn't coming.

Then the door of the cafe opened and Karen came in. At least Janine thought she must be Karen, she was wearing the kind of anorak that she'd described on the phone, and Janine didn't think there could be that many young attractive blonde pregnant middle-class girls coming in a place like that.

Janine quickly drained her mug of tea and carried it to the counter for a refill. There was someone else standing between her and Karen. Karen hadn't seen Janine and she stood with a mug of tea in one hand and a plate, on which was a bacon sandwich, in the other. She was looking for a seat.

"Karen!” Janine called and the girl looked at her. “I'm Janine, from the Foundation. That's our table in the corner over there.” The girl relaxed, smiled and nodded and made her way to the table and Janine breathed a sigh of relief.

"Have they decided?” Karen asked when Janine returned to her seat. She spoke in the kind of voice pupils used to address their teachers. “Will the Foundation take me in?"

"That's why I arranged to meet you. How's your hotel?"

"It's all right I suppose, but you have to be out by ten unless it's raining, they let you stay in the lounge then."

"Have you thought any more about putting the baby up for adoption Karen?” Janine asked as she lifted the steaming mug of tea to her lips. She'd arranged to meet Karen in the cafe because it was always crowded, and no one would remember them.

"Not really, I mean half of me wants to keep it, but I don't know if I could cope with bringing up a baby on my own."

"It won't be easy but it has to be your decision. Anyway, there's no need to worry about that now, lets go and speak to a friend of mine. She runs a special unit especially for young girls like you who're pregnant, and some of the girls there are your age. You could have a chat with those who've decided that they're going to keep their babies. Perhaps we could get you booked into a room there."

"Yes, all right!” Karen said animated with excitement. “When can we go?"

"Why not now? I've got the day off and I fancy a drive in the country."

Karen chatted for a while during the drive to Catherstone, but slowly the drug that Russell had given to Janine to slip into the girl's coke, started to work, slowly her eyes closed and she fell asleep.

Russell was waiting at the rear of the house as she parked the car, he walked over and opening the passenger door he took a long look at the sleeping girl. “Not bad,” he said. “Now let's get her into the basement room before she wakes up. Are you sure no one knows she's with you?"

"Yes, we met in a transport café, no one there will remember us and she doesn't know anyone at the hotel."

She helped Russell get the girl out of the car and between them, they half carried her into the house and down the stone steps that led to the basement. The room installed by Matherson's Chemicals was almost a self-contained suite, where you would have expected to find windows, framed scenic pictures hung on the walls.

The door was steel and the lock was on the outside, she wondered what the previous tenants had used it for. They lay Karen on the bed and left the room, locking the door behind them. Janine suspected the girl would sleep for at least another two hours.

Karen was awake and sitting on the bed when they returned, she looked frightened as they shut the door behind them.

"What's happening?” she asked. “Where am I?"

Janine let Russell deal with her; after all it was his house.

"You've been brought here to have your baby and you'll be staying in a hut on the land behind this house. You'll have the run of the land, all one hundred and twenty-five square miles of it. There's a half a mile strip of marshes in front of the fences, so be careful not to fall in or you'll be dead. If you behave yourself then you'll be treated well and have some little luxuries like a CD player and maybe even a television, on the other hand if you don't behave yourself, I will hurt you so much that you'll scream yourself hoarse. No one can hear you and there's no one to help you. No one at all."

"Please let me go! I won't tell anybody, honest! Just let me go!” She started to cry hysterically.

Janine grabbed Karen's hair, pulling her head back; she slapped the girl hard across the face, once, twice, three times. “Shut up!” she hissed and slapped her once again.

Karen stopped her wailing and sniffed as she tried to stifle the sobs that were bursting from her throat.

"That's better,” Russell said. “Now listen up. Behave yourself and do exactly as you're told and you'll be well treated, but if you do anything that harms your baby, you'll spend the next five months strapped to the bed and if anything happens to your baby, I'll kill you! Believe it! Now, you have everything you need in here and there's a radio on the table. I suggest you settle yourself in, we'll be taking you out to your new home later."

"Don't look so worried Karen,” Janine said. “We're going to breed you, not put you down."

In the beginning was the scream,
thought Russell. Six months later when Karen's baby announced its arrival into the world, Janine held it up for him to see. It was a boy, a boy they'd already sold for twenty thousand pounds. It would be the first of many that would make him and Janine rich; it was difficult to believe that the idea was actually working. Janine had already picked up a fifteen-year-old runaway boy, who was now living in a small hut on the land and after Karen had recovered from giving birth, she would be given the boy as a mate.

The birth of Karen's son was just the beginning and already other couples who moved within the same social circle and desperate for a child had made approaches to him. Russell didn't intend to disappoint them and to make sure of that, they would need a permanent doctor. They had been lucky this time both he and Janine knew that. If there had been complications, they could have lost Karen and the child, so it was time to pay Marcus a visit.

Marcus was at home in his luxury flat and when he opened the door, his eyes were bloodshot and he held an open bottle of red wine in his hand. “Russell old chap! Come in and join me in getting well and truly pissed, I suppose you've heard the news?"

"Yes, it was in all the papers, the television and has probably been put out over the Internet.” Russell said, following Marcus into the lounge.

"Struck off! Bloody well struck off just for touching that bloody girl! I tell you Russell, there's no justice, I mean it's not as though I raped her."

"No, but you did grope her when you thought she was still under the anaesthetic. I'll tell you Marcus, you were goddamned lucky she started screaming before you did anything worse to her. You could have ended up behind bars. Anyway, that's why I'm here Marcus. How do you fancy a job?

"Doing what? I'm a doctor ... Sorry was a doctor for Christ's sake, I don't know anything else.” He swayed slightly and sat down too quickly causing some wine slopped out of the bottle onto his white shirt, but he didn't seem to notice.

"That's just it Marcus, I need a doctor and I don't care whether you're struck off or not, because I have a scheme going where your patients are girls in their late teens, eighteen, to twenty. And they'll never be able to complain."

Marcus looked at him owlishly. “You give me the job and my professional services will be all yours. Will I get paid anything?"

"Marcus old buddy, you're going to be rich, very rich indeed.” Russell laughed and taking the bottle out of Marcus's hand, he fetched two glasses and poured them both a drink.

Wales 2012

Ben and Cassie checked them into a motel near the A55 and few miles from Colwyn Bay. Cassie, Jay and Ben had single rooms on the first floor, Tom and Anna had a double room on the second. Jay unpacked the nightclothes and toiletries they'd bought in a twenty-four-hour hypermarket, and then went down to the restaurant to join the others. She was feeling confused and afraid, only the fear of upsetting her grandparents stopped her from running out and hiding away.

Ben and Cassie were already sitting at a small table near the bar and when they saw her, Cassie smiled and leaving Ben at the table, she came over to her.

"Jay, I know how difficult this must be for you, but just for tonight try and put it out of your mind. No one knows where you are, so just try and relax and enjoy your meal. Ok?"

"I feel like some kind of freak,” Jay said, “and I'm scared."

"Of course you're scared. If it were me though, I wouldn't be scared,” Cassie said. “Terrified, yes, but scared, no."

Despite everything Jay smiled. “I'm just trying not to think about what's happened."

"Good and remember; you're not on your own. Ben and I will try to protect you as best we can. Oh look, here come you grandparents. Why don't you take them over to our table? What would you like to drink?"

"I'll have a diet coke, please."

"Right, I'll bring it over.” Cassie made her way towards the bar, and Jay, seeing that her grandparents were about to sit down by Ben, she went over and joined them.

They had been shown to their table in the dining area, theirs would be the last meal order accepted that evening as it was ten-forty-five, and Jay suddenly discovered she was ravenous. She chose the steak and after the others had given the waiter their order, they chatted together like old friends. There were several television sets mounted around the restaurant and all of them turned towards the set nearest their table when the eleven-o-clock news came on.

Jay had made the headlines and when the scene changed from the studio to a reporter who was standing outside her grandparent's house, Jay groaned. Reuters and TV crews stood outside the gate but worse than that was the queue of people who lined the pavement. The queue started outside the house and stretched the length of the street and around the corner. People stood behind wheelchair bound children and adults. Sick looking men and women, some leaning on canes or supported by their Zimmer-frames stood silently, staring longingly at the empty house.

"Over sixty people are standing here hoping that seventeen-year-old Jay Williams will come and heal them,” the reporter said,” and the queue is getting longer by the minute. The question is though, where is Jay Williams now?” A photograph of Jay that had obviously been taken at the talent contest appeared on the screen and Jay looked around to see if any of the other diners were staring in her direction, but nobody was. The next item of news replaced her photograph and she breathed a sigh of relief, she was safe at the moment but what on earth was she going to do?

Their meals arrived and Jay had an uneasy feeling that whenever she'd looked up at the waiter that he'd avoided meeting her eyes.

"These spare ribs are good,” Tom said. “How's your salad, Anna?"

Before she could reply, the restaurant door burst open and cameras started to flash. Jay, who'd been temporarily blinded by the glare of the flashes, saw a woman holding a microphone, followed by a man with a TV video camera, hurry towards her.

Jay leapt from her chair, grabbed her coat and ran. She pushed through the swinging doors that led into the kitchen, the door slammed into a waiter carrying a tray full of food. He gave a startled yell as the tray upended itself and plates full of hot food tipped over him. He slipped and fell backwards as Jay darted past him, out the backdoor and emerged in the car park.

Without pausing she ran towards the darkest corner, leapt over a fence and found herself standing on the nearside lane of the A56. A pair of headlights was almost on top of her; she threw herself backwards and was buffeted by the displaced air caused by the vehicle that sped past her.

The three men sitting in comfortable leather armchairs were the sole occupants of the opulently furnished room of an exclusive Gentleman's Club; located in St. James's Square, and only a few minutes walk from Westminster. Each of the men had arrived separately in ten-minute intervals by chauffer driven Bentley limousines.