Hunters: A Trilogy (50 page)

‘What do we do with this?’ she asked, glancing back to Mike.

He replied: ‘It fits into the reader on the dashboard, we can check it some more whilst we are underway. It links to the navigation system and will take us straight to a pre-determined location. That’s what I’ve been told…’

Ken interrupted them. ‘Should we go now, or is it too late?’ he asked. ‘Maybe we should wait until the morning…’ He was just being polite – in all honesty, the idea of a late-afternoon adventure enthralled him.

Fortunately, he wasn’t alone in his keenness.

‘My God, no – let’s get on with it! I’m tired of all this talk. What do you think, Mikey?’ Jane said, turning to see him walking over with three suits and the box of blue tablets in his hands. ‘That’ll be a unanimous ‘Yes’, then…’ she murmured.

Ken laughed and grabbed two of the suits. Throwing one to Jane, he said, ‘Last one changed makes the brews when we get back!’

With a flurry, they ran to their rooms to get ready.

Within ten minutes, they were back at the table, having stripped, donned the suits and then put their normal clothes back on over the top. The suits felt strange – they weren’t really like wearing anything. In reality, they felt more like a second skin. Mike passed them each a bluey and sharing the glass, they swallowed the tablets with a swig of tap water. Then, taking the red case, they headed for the barn. Once there, Mike zapped one of the Spears, opening the doors and the boot. He picked up the other miniature vehicle and placed it in the interior of the boot. ‘Just in case we have a breakdown along the way,’ he said.

Ken nodded in silent agreement.

Jane asked: ‘That reminds me, I forgot to ask before, but what about fuel, are they diesel or petrol?’ She looked at them questioningly. ‘I don’t have any cash on me, should I go and get my purse?’

Mike replied, saying: ‘It’s okay, I have plenty money and credit cards on me, but we won’t need it for fuel, Ken will show you why…’

Ken obliged and lifted the carpet. Looking into the space where a spare wheel should have been, Jane saw two transparent, plastic tanks. They took up the entire under-boot space. Noticing they were filled with liquid, she said, ‘Goodness, it’s no wonder we won’t need any fuel, there must be enough in there to last a month – is that safe?’ The thought of having two hundred litres of fuel behind her backside wasn’t something she felt too happy about.

Ken’s answer was the last thing she expected. ‘It’s only water, hun, that’s all these things need,’ he said. ‘Remember, I told you?’

She looked at him in shock, saying: ‘Yes, but I forgot…water, that’s it, just water?’ But the car looks so, so normal…’ Shaking her head in amazement, Jane turned away. Then, with a wide grin on her face, she asked: ‘Should I drive?’

The men agreed, and also decided that Mike should take the front passenger seat so that he was able keep all the gadgets working. Ken, in the meantime, would ride shotgun in the rear. It wasn’t too far from the truth. Even though they had put all of George’s devices into their pre-determined places, Ken had also slipped a 9mm Beretta pistol into his waistband whilst he was getting changed upstairs in the lodge. ‘Electric pens and liquid energy are great, I’m sure, but nothing beats a hollow-pointed bullet when the shit starts hitting the proverbial!’ he’d said to Jane when she had questioned him.

‘Right, where to, guys?’ Jane asked, sliding into the driver’s seat.

Mike inserted the little disc and waited whilst the screen deciphered the information contained therein. Shortly afterwards, the windshield illuminated, heads-up display glowing with its soft blue light. A map appeared and a small triangle flashed briefly upon the detailed surface of the screen.

Reading the instructions, Mike said, ‘Hmm… that’s down in Wiltshire, I think, do you see the big forest just outside of the town? We have to get there by the most direct method, and get there unseen.’ Tapping the screen, he enlarged the map and scrolled through with his finger until he came across a heavily-wooded area with a small clearing in its centre. ‘There will be fine, I reckon. We’ll arrive in Shrink Down, wait a bit and then, if the coast is clear, we can jump to full size. What do you think?’ He turned and looked at Ken in the rear.

Ken agreed. ‘Sounds good to me – fire her up,’ he said. ‘Let’s just do this!’

Jane reached over, flicked a black switch downwards and then pressed the silver button marked ‘Start’. With a rumble, the engine ignited and in unison the dashboard lights began their rapid systems check before flickering out one by one.

Mike looked once more at the little line of instructions and then closed the icon with a touch of his finger. ‘I guess that now is as good a time as any to learn without the words,’ he said, pushing something on the control panel. A small black tray extended silently from the fascia. In the middle sat an aluminium button. He turned it once and waited until it had rotated upwards to its full height. As it did so, a warning flashed onto the windscreen.

‘Transfer to destination – are you sure?’

‘Yes!’ Mike said, pushing the button firmly downwards.

Ken whispered: ‘I hate travel sickness…’

The familiar tearing-liquid noise filled their minds. It only lasted a short while and then ended abruptly. To the occupants of the car, it seemed to have had no effect. ‘Well… that’s weird. It doesn’t seem to have worked; I wonder what’s next on the menu?’ Mike said, turning to stare at Ken.

He was answered by a slight gasp from Jane. Banging the steering wheel to get their attention, she whispered, harshly: ‘Mike…Mikey, we’re there! Oh, God, look at that!’ Jane had her nose pressed against the side window. The men saw her body vibrating with shock.

Peering out, they saw an enormous beetle flying past the window without a care in the world. They heard the beating of its wings as the helicopter-sized insect hovered above them. The car vibrated in the down draft as the huge thing lingered overhead for a brief moment. Probably deciding that the shimmering Spear didn’t appear to be lunch, it increased its wing speed and with a loud buzz, zoomed off over the tall blades of grass surrounding the vehicle. The buffeting downdraft of its departure rocked the Spear on its suspension. They were there all right, there and in complete miniature. It took a second or two of almost total incredulity for the trio to accept the obvious. They were miniaturised, had done some sort of time travel, and were now at their destination, still encased within the amazing vehicle. They sat in stunned silence for a moment, before Mike’s understated remark spurred them into action.

‘Well, that’s fairly interesting isn’t it, folks?’ he said, reaching up to touch the screen where it said ‘Scanner’. A white circle spread across the screen, highlighting the various life-forms in range. Several white dots appeared in an indication to the presence of local insects and wildlife. There were no human forms to be seen. ‘Okay, let’s get back to the real world,’ Mike said. ‘It sure was fun being a Lilliputian…but I ain’t getting out of the car like this, I don’t even know if we can get out,’ he whispered.

The black tray appeared, Mike pushed the button once and they waited as the bubbling whirlpool encased them again. With a dizzying lurch, Ken’s much-hated travel sickness made its reappearance. After the dust and their thoughts had settled a bit, Mike read the instructions again, eyes scanning the words as they flitted across the screen. ‘Right,’ he said, ‘by the looks of things, the next waypoint is down in the town – just follow the Navigator, Jane. It looks to be about five miles away. Let’s go, shall we?’

Jane gunned the engine and spun the vehicle to follow the arrow that shone upon the windscreen in front of her. It glowed with an opaque blue and gave its instructions in writing underneath. ‘Ahead, two-hundred metres, and then turn left…’ The tyres spat gravel as she pulled out of the little clearing and onto the track. Following the Navigator’s instruction, she drove them out of the woods towards the main road. Following that road, they found themselves heading into a small town that lay down the valley.

Almost as soon as they cruised onto the town’s main street, the Navigator instructed them to wait. Jane pulled into a parking place across the road from an old Public House. It was home to ‘The Jolly Carpenter’, or so the sign said. The chalk-board menu on the pavement outside announced that today’s special was ‘Homemade Corned Beef Hash.’ As they sat and wondered what was next, the screen flashed once and a red emblem clicked up over on the left side, the same side as the pub was on.

Two words illuminated beneath the red emblem. ‘Target is approaching.’

A picture of a man appeared on the screen, there were several pictures, in fact. As they watched in disbelief, the very same man exited the pub, which lay twenty yards away, crossed the road, and entered a shop marked ‘Greys Ironmongery’. A name flashed beneath his picture.

‘Graeme John Peters – caretaker of Brown Hill Primary School’.

This was followed by a stream of information regarding the now targeted Graeme Peters. It wasn’t pleasant information, either. Definitely not something you would put on your résumé – especially if you were working at a primary school. Most certainly you wouldn’t. The words were interspersed with some graphic pictures, terrible images, including several of him digging a small hole in the darkened corner of a wood somewhere.

As he watched the show, Ken couldn’t contain himself. ‘This guy is one A-Grade arse-wipe, isn’t he?’ he hissed. After breathing in deeply, he said, ‘I’ll go and kill him right now, and I’ll do it for free!’ His clenched cheek muscles gave away the anger he felt.

More information followed the terrible pictures, more information about the little girl whose face they had seen before. The images also came with some written information. ‘Susan Jennifer Bearsden: Aged six-years. Entrapped and killed in seventeen days’ time by one Graeme Peters.’ The date and time flashed up in red. The light of its digital display was detestable to them. To see the actual date of someone’s death, read out in advance, was not something you get to see every day.

The digital text continued. ‘Bearsden destined for greatness in the field of Hydro-Cell Activation, she will be one of the first pioneers of desalination technologies and H2O ignition.’ The final line screamed at them. ‘Susan Bearsden, mother of three – Susan Bearsden, Nobel Prize winner.’

The pictures of the child floated across the blue screen. A happy-go-lucky child, playing and smiling like all children should be. Yes, a happy young child who had no idea about the events looming upon her unseen horizon – awful pictures of a soon-to-be very dead, young child.

Peters exited the ironmongers carrying a brown paper bag. He wandered across the High Street, passing within several feet of the Spear. The heavily tinted windows would have been enough to disguise the occupants had he been looking, but he wasn’t looking and instead, walked on past them without a care in the world. He was whistling – paper bag carried in one hand, the other tucked into the hip pocket of his coveralls.

He crossed the road next to them and walked over to a green Renault. Stooping to unlock the door, he reached in and popped his package onto the passenger floor before slipping into the driver’s seat. Fiddling with his keys, Peters finally managed to get the car started. He slammed the door shut and pulled out of the parking space, blue smoke puffing from the Renault’s exhaust pipe.

Ken spoke to Jane from the back seat. ‘Follow him,’ he said, ‘but not too closely, the Navigator knows where he’s going – if you think he’s spotted us then break off.’

With a nod, she eased their vehicle out of the parking spot and followed the target, hanging back three or four cars behind the smokey old Renault. Keeping their distance, they followed the man to a small village that lay just over four miles away. The road led down a winding hill where, at the bottom, they saw their man pull onto a driveway at the side of an old cottage. They cruised past whilst Mike followed the instructions of the Navigator. He pointed at the cottage, saying: ‘That’s his house…now all we need to do is find the final location. Just keep following the directions; they should take us to the woods.’

After they had found the remote destination, memorised the shape of the wood and where its entrance lay, the navigation system indicated straight ahead. Following its cue, Jane pushed on through the woods until they had exited the other side – as the woods opened, the trio found that they were now on an empty track, bumping across the rough surface with the scanner showing no trace of humans. Without notice, the Spear came to a halt of its own accord. As she looked at the dashboard, for some sort of warning light to indicate as to why they had stopped, Jane noticed the words that had flashed onto the screen.

‘Mission is complete - transfer to start point?’

She turned to Mike, eyebrows raised in query.

He nodded, saying: ‘I guess that’s it, then. Let’s go, shall we?’

The tray made its reappearance.

‘Stand by, people… puke city on the way!’ Ken only just uttered the words before his dry prediction confirmed itself.

Minutes later and they were back on their feet in the barn with the miniaturised Spears and other equipment safely packed away in the carry case. Still feeling slightly unsteady, they traipsed back to the house, their silence spoke volumes. Once back inside, Jane placed a drink in front of the two men and pulled up a chair. They sat and discussed the day’s events and how they might have been able to improve upon a few things.

Mike said he wasn’t quite sure what the trip had been about. ‘Was it a test, or was all of it for real?’ he asked. ‘I mean, that guy, Peters, he’s a horrible creature…’

‘I think it’s for real,’ Jane said. ‘Don’t forget, Susan is predicted to die in, umm… how many days was it the message said?’ She thought for a while with her brow creased. With a nod, she then said, ‘Seventeen days, wasn’t it? That’s the best part of three weeks away.’ She tilted her head, raised her eyebrows and looked at the men, seeking their confirmation.

The Australian agreed. ‘Yeah, you’re right, that’s plenty of time for George to watch him, and for us to go back. Yeah, there’s plenty of time,’ Mike said, and then looked at his watch in surprise. ‘Jeez!’ he exclaimed. ‘Have you seen the time? I’m shattered… let’s talk about it tomorrow, I need some kip!’