Different (25 page)

The dogs turned their attention to the boys on the raft as it neared the shore and leapt towards the electric fence. For a second, Rebecca thought they would hit it but they were too well trained and stopped at an invisible line some eighteen inches from the fence. Rebecca watched anxiously as the boys finally made firm ground and the boy who'd been rowing left the boys to dismantle their crafts and walked towards her.

"Who are you?” she asked, raising her voice so it would carry over the ferocious growls of the dogs who's white fangs glistening in the saliva that ran from their jaws.

"Adam.” he said his intelligent eyes fixed on her face, “Are you a friend?"

"Can you ring the police?” it was the smaller dark haired boy who'd run towards them. “They're going to take Emma's kidneys today! We have to help her."

Adam nodded. “These boys are leaders of the tribes who were captured and brought here to breed with other runaways, their babies are sold and tribe members used as organ donors. Emma, the girl in the house, will be killed this morning when her kidneys are removed.”

Adam spoke with a quiet intensity that belonged to a much older man, she thought. She could see the truth of his words reflected in the other boy's eyes. She thought fast. Suddenly it all made sense. The dying friend the Prime Minister was visiting was going to be the recipient of the girl's kidneys! The Prime Minister was being used and he had to be warned but would they believe her? Probably not without evidence and her evidence was the other side of an electric fence and guarded by the dogs, but the boys must have had a plan.

"I'll help you but how are you going to get over the fence and past those dogs?"

The dark haired boy grinned, “Watch!” he said.

Pulling out her mobile phone, she punched in the number for Divisional H.Q. and using the top priority code, she instructed them to send two cars to meet her. After giving them her exact location she put the phone away and saw the boys were dragging two of the large black PVC lids, which had been used for their rafts. Dropping them onto the ground they pushed the lids so that their narrow ends were together and started to make holes in the lips. Using the rope, they lashed them together then all four boys lifted them and carried them over to the fence. They leaned the lid against it and she saw that the PVC was protecting them against the electric current that was flowing through the wire. Because they were lashed together at the top the lid furthest away from the fence hung down at an angle and the boys tied the rope to the lowest end.

"Catch!” Adam said and threw the coil of rope over both fences and it dropped at her feet. Picking it up, she saw that the boys were raising the outer lid and she understood then, the second lid was going to be used as a bridge to cross both fences. She wrapped the rope around her waist and gripped it with both hands. She started to pull, and the lid slowly rose up until it was standing on its edge. It swung over towards her and bouncing slightly as it landed on top of the razor wire on the outer fence.

The boys were now lashing the oars together and quickly constructed a make shift four-rung ladder, which they propped up against the other lid that was shielding them from the electric current. Rebecca hung onto the rope hoping her weight would hold the platform that now spanned the fences steady and the dark haired boy scrambled up the ladder and crawled onto it.

She was almost pulled off her feet as the lid bowed under the boy's weight. The edge started to slide back, threatening to drop the boy to the dogs that were leaping up at him, snapping and snarling.

"Come back, Josh!” Adam shouted and Rebecca sighed with relief as Josh retreated and climbed back down the ladder.

"We should have left the rails in place.” the boy with red hair said.

"Yes, but then we would never have lifted it, but we could push then across now on top of the lid.” Adam said, picking up a piece of wood and started up the ladder. He slid it over and the others passed him the other lengths until eight pieces of wood lay on the lid. He lashed the ends nearest him together making a wooden platform between 50cm and 60cm wide, but as the other ends were untied there was a real danger that they could fan out.

As though reading her mind, Adam looked at her, nodded and as quick as a cat he stood on the wood and walked towards her. Upon reaching the fence, he straddled the lengths of timber and roped them together. “Come on Josh, its all right now.” he said, and Josh once again climbed up the ladder and onto the timber walkway. After he'd crossed and dropped safely down beside Rebecca, the other boys followed and within minutes all four of them were back-slapping each other as they celebrated their escape.

"We haven't got much time,” Rebecca reminded them gently, the boys sobered up immediately and they heard the approaching wail of a police siren.

Rebecca led them back towards the road, and they saw two men walking towards them. A uniformed police officer and ... Rebecca swore under her breath when she recognised the familiar figure of Detective Superintendent Roberts. Vincent scowled at her as he approached and he gestured to the driver to remain where he was and walked the last few yards to her on his own.

"You've gone too far this time Carlyle!” he growled. “Suspended from duty and using the priority code, abusing your position to demand a car..."

"We haven't time for this, Vincent! A girl's life is at stake here and..."

"Sir!” he roared, “You will call me Sir! I've just about had enough of your..."

"Be quiet and listen! You must help us save Emma, now!” Adam stepped forward his face furrowed in concern. “If you don't intend to help, please move out of our way."

Vincent's face turned an even deeper shade of red as he reached out his huge meaty fist and seized hold of Adam's long hair.

Rebecca's knee slammed her knee into her senior officer's groin, and the effect was instantaneous. Vincent let go of Adam's hair, clutched both hands to his injured parts and in slow motion and sank slowly to his knees before vomiting.

"You're nicked!” The uniformed driver ran towards them and his extending baton was already swinging towards her unprotected head.

Adam's hand clamped around the baton and stopped it mid-swing. Then he wrenched the weapon out of the policeman's grip and tossed it away

"We have to get to Emma,” he said. “We need that!” he pointed to the car.

Rebecca nodded and held out her hand towards the uniformed driver. “I'm Detective Inspector Rebecca Carlyle and I need your car. Give me the keys!”

The driver looked at the figure kneeling doubled up on the grass and shrugged. “I'll give you my keys Inspector, but I hope you know what you're doing. He'll be after your blood for real when he recovers!"

With Josh, Oliver and Callum in the back of the car, and Adam beside her in the front, Rebecca stopped outside the huge wrought iron gates of Greystone Manor, leaned on the horn, and switched on the siren. The racket was unbelievable and she feared that she'd be made permanently deaf. Then Drew Sanders appeared from seemingly nowhere and his pistol was pointing at her head.

"Hello Drew!” she said.

He looked at her in disbelief for a moment before lowering the gun. “I think you'd better turn that siren off Inspector Carlyle and tell me what you're doing here."Rebecca climbed out of the car and took him by the arm. “Look, this dying friend of the Prime Minister's is a lie. He's having a kidney transplant here sometime in the next hour. The donor is a live healthy girl! A runaway called Emma who was abducted and brought here!"

"Oh come on Inspector, don't be ridiculous, kidney donors have to be the right blood type. Are you saying that they kidnapped her for her kidneys?” He smiled at her cynically.

"No, she was brought here two years ago to breed and her babies were sold,” Josh stepped forward. “She is one of my tribe who live on the lands.” He pointed to the land behind them. “Look!” he said.

Rebecca felt almost as stunned as Drew looked as they saw members of the tribes approaching the fence a quarter of a mile away, they were chanting and even here their words could be clearly heard.

"Emma ... Emma ... Emma..."

Drew looked at them in bewilderment. “How did they get past the fences and the marsh?” he asked.

"They didn't, they're all abducted runaways and some of them have been here for years, Drew you have to stop the operation! You can't let them kill the girl!"

He looked at her and shook his head, “I can't ... it's not as simple as that. You see it's the Prime Minister who's having the operation, the dying friend bit was just a cover story."

"You already knew!” Rebecca stared at him in disgust but he held up his hand palm out towards her as though warding her off.

"I knew about the operation but not the girl! The operation has to be stopped but I need authorisation.” Pulling out his phone, he pressed some buttons and when the person on the other end answered, Drew identified himself and snapped, “Give me the Deputy Prime Minister, Priority one!"

"Get me a helicopter and arrange for ambulances, social workers and the local Chief Constable to meet me at Catherstone Manor in twenty minutes!” Roger slammed down the telephone and looked at Granville in disdain. “Did you know?” he asked.

"I really don't know what you're talking about, Sir.” Jeremy Marchant's Private Secretary's voice was mocking.

"Did you know about the girl who was being forced to donate her kidneys?” Roger spoke slowly, making no attempt to hide his anger.

"No, but I'd advise you not to interfere, Sir.” The contempt was more open this time, but Roger refused to rise to the bait.

"Get your coat, you're coming with me, now get the Director of National Security on the line, I want him here in five minutes!"

The helicopter's engine faded and Roger followed the others out of the machine bending low even though the rotor blades were ten feet above his head. Drew Sanders and a woman, who he didn't recognise, were hurrying towards him. She was, he thought, in her mid thirties and her tension was conveying itself to those around her. She looked too feminine to be a police officer, he thought, until he saw the determined set of her jaw.

There were a crowd of teenagers standing or sitting on the grass outside of the house, they had a dazed lost look about them and he noticed that some of the women were pregnant.

"Are those the young people you were telling me about, Drew?” he asked as he led the way towards the house.

"Yes Sir,” Drew replied, “and they've confirmed Detective Inspector Carlyle's claims. The girl Emma has been bred like an animal and both of her babies sold for private adoption. Now, she's been taken to the operating theatre here to have both her kidney's removed.” He gestured towards the young men and women, some of whom were still in their teens. “And some of these poor sods have lost one or more of their own organs.”

Grim faced, Roger turned towards the house. “Lead the way Drew!” he ordered.

Drew and the Carlyle woman hurried up the wide staircase, he and the others followed close behind. They were approaching a pair of double doors and Carlyle held them open for him.

Roger stared in surprise; he seemed to have entered a hospital. The walls were painted a shade of institutional green and ahead of him he could see two hospital style rubber swing doors. A large sign above the one they were hurrying towards had an
OPERATING THEATRE
sign above it. A red bulb glowed above another smaller sign that said. “Keep Out—Operation In Progress."

Don't let us be too late
, Roger thought, ignoring the red light and pushing through the doors, he emerged into a corridor. On his left was the operating theatre and through the plate glass windows he could see the surgeon bending over the figure of a girl. He barged straight in, the two doctors and three nurses looked at him in surprise and one of them came swiftly towards him."You can't come in here!” she hissed behind her face mask, but his attention was on the surgeon who straightened and in the stainless steel bowl he was holding was a piece of living tissue

"Put it back!” he shouted and the surgeon noticed him for the first time.

"If I do then the Prime Minister will die and that would be against the National interest, now please leave my theatre at once.”

Roger knew and despised the way the surgeon was thinking. It would cause too much of a scandal to reveal what was taking place, let alone prosecute one of the perpetrators of this despicable act of self preservation.

"You really had better leave Sir!” Granville's sneer was open now and he was holding a pistol in his hand. “It's a pity that you had to interfere, Thompson, but none of you can be allowed to live to tell the tale.” A sudden movement on Roger's right and Granville's pistol went off. Roger stared in horror as Drew Sander's head seemed to explode. The director of the security services had also produced a pistol from somewhere and Roger waited in anticipation of Granville being hurled backwards by the bullet.

"Alan, take them out of here and kill them!” Granville said and to Roger's dismay Alan Emery, the director nodded, “I'll see to it!” he said

There was a blur of movement rushing past him and then one of the boys had lifted Granville over his head and hurled him at the director with such force that both men crashed through the plate glass window of the operating theatre. The boy leapt through after them and he heard Granville's scream cut off in mid-cry.

Rebecca had reached Drew's lifeless body and removed his pistol. With tears streaming down her face, she rose to her feet. Holding the weapon in a two handed marksman's grip, she pointed it at the surgeons. For a big man Roger moved fast and before anyone could intervene, he'd reached Jeremy's bedside and chopped him as hard as he could across the throat.

"Now put that kidney back!” he said quietly, “The Prime Minister's seems to have died of a stroke, and I promise you ... if that girl dies you
will
be held accountable."

Rebecca listened in fascination as Adam described the Primeval Project to her and the Deputy Prime Minister. She was also relieved that Adam had taken her advice and made light of his great strength and speed. He was also careful not to reveal his amazing ability to be able to re-grow his limbs."You were frozen alive for fifteen years, it's incredible,” Roger said. “I wonder ... Would you mind if I arranged for some of our top scientists to have a look at you?"