Salby Damned (31 page)

“That’s good. We’ll have a chat with them anyway to see if they know anything. Other than that, I’ll need an official report to give to Whitehall. Can you see to that?”

“Yes, of course. Corporal Simms has already written a full statement so I’ll see that you get a copy straightaway. How are things progressing at the facility?”

“Sergeant Cross is still very poorly indeed; he is unlikely to survive. The only good news is that he hasn’t deteriorated, yet. The wound to his leg has been seen to, and Dr. Shepherd has returned to the base, as you know. She has come to pick up the two small children she has been caring for. With Nathan out of action, she’ll be responsible for them so they are to go to the facility for a few days. They seem to have hit a dead end as regards an anti-virus; it is proving to be more complicated than they imagined. I think we’ll be housing the nation for a little while yet, Paul. The damage to the laboratories has been repaired and the remaining bio-weaponry contained. There were more casualties found when they broke through the rubble, unfortunately. The maintenance crews and some of the ancillary staff didn’t stand a chance when the lower level locked down. They will be added to the ever-growing list of people who have so far lost their lives. All of this because of the greed of two men.”

“I dread to think what the final toll will be. Well into the hundreds of thousands, I should think. As Dr. Shepherd said, our only saving grace, at the moment, is that we live on an island; a worldwide outbreak would kill millions,” the colonel said and his mood showed in his voice.

*******

As soon as Susan Wilkes left the aircraft, she made for the armoury to find Chris. She would hand her weapon back in for safe-keeping and assume his role for a couple of days to allow him time to be with his best friend at the facility; he had high-level security clearance and his trip had been agreed with Dr. Shepherd.

Susan pushed against the huge metal door to the weapons store and was greeted by a fresh-faced young soldier, standing behind the wide wooden “U” shaped benches.

“Can I help you, Sergeant?” the young private asked.

“Staff Sergeant Stewall, is he here do you know?”

“Yes, Sarge, he’s out back. One minute and I’ll let him know you’re here.”

“Thank you,” she said and heard the assistant armourer call as he walked to the rear office workshop area, and then she heard the low tones of Chris’s voice.

“Susan! Good to see you, mate. How’s Nathan?”

“He’s not so good, buddy. I came back so that you could take over the guard duty for Dr. Shepherd; figured you might want to look in on him.”

“Appreciate that, mate. What have the docs said, do you know?”

“They’re pretty tight-lipped about the virus. They’ve operated on the bullet wound, though. Not sure if he’ll have full use of the leg or will have a permanent limp, if he survives. Best you talk to the doctor, I think, buddy,” she replied and then thought that she may have been too harsh.

“I’ll tac up. When’s the next flight out there?”

“Next supply mission is in a couple of hours. You’ll have to hitch a ride. The facility is secure now. Supplies have been going in and they’ve fixed the damage to the lower level so you won’t need the bio-suit but pack it anyway. At that place, you never know,” Susan said, exposing her true feelings unwittingly.

“You should get some shut-eye. You look bollocksed! Andy here can cover the armoury for a few hours. You get yourself some kip for a bit. I’ll get him to give you a kick later,” Chris said to Susan.

“That would be great, Chris, but I need some food first. Oh and mate, if Nathan wakes up, tell him we’re sending our best.”

“That I will,” said Chris,

Susan left the armoury for the cookhouse for a bite to eat before bed and a catch-up on camp gossip from her colleagues.

***

Corporal Simms made her way to the most likely places first to try to locate Steve, Janey, and the children, instructing one of the juniors to help her to find them.

Steve and Tom practised with the football group for a couple of hours, concentrating on ball control, dribbling, passing, and a penalty shoot-out. They were learning how to bend the ball in the air to the right and left, when they were interrupted by a lance corporal partway through passing techniques.

“Steve Grey, sir?” the soldier asked.

“Yes, what is it? Has something happened?”

“Everything is fine, sir. I’ve been sent by Dr. Shepherd to ask you if you wouldn’t mind accompanying her to a facility a few miles from here. You, your family, and her children, if you can, sir. Afraid I’m not able to tell you much more, but Dr. Shepherd will be with your wife now. If you’ll follow me to meet them, I’m sure all will be revealed.”

“Right, yes. How odd. Tom, come on, son. It seems we need to go now.”

“Do we have to?” said Tom, clearly enjoying his football practice.

“I’m afraid so. Listen, don’t fret though, we’ll have plenty more time to play when we get back.”

“Ohhhhh, okay then,” Tom replied.

They followed the lance Corporal back towards the main hangar to meet up with Janey and the other children. They were packing for their stay at the facility. Tom was pleased to see Evie and ran to her for a hug; he was excited at the thought of a helicopter ride.

“We have to fly there?” asked Holly, a little nervously.

“Yay! We’re going in a helicopter, I’ve never been in a helicopter before,” exclaimed Tom.

“A, helcoper?” Holly asked, curious now.

“Hel-i-cop-ter,” said Tom, trying to help her pronounce the word correctly.

“Hel-i-copper, that’s what I said!” Holly repeated; everyone smiled.

With their bags packed, Evie told them they would be going on a little adventure, that it would be for a couple of days, and that Steve, Janey, Luke, and baby Gracie would be coming with them. They could think of it as a little holiday, if they liked.

Evie took Tom and Holly to the cookhouse to eat before the flight; the helicopter would be arriving within the hour, so it was best that they ate now in case of any airsickness.

“Okay, what’ll it be then, you two? Let’s see, we’ve got sketty hoops, beans on toast, scrambled egg, full English, sausages and mash, and some kind of stew by the look of it. What do you fancy?”

“Sketty for me please, Dr. Eebie!” said Holly, without hesitation.

“Ummmm, I think sausage and beans for me, please,” said Tom, craning his neck to see if the helicopter had arrived.

“Right then. Here we go; think I’ll have sausage and mash myself,” she said to the cook.

She accepted the plated meals as they walked along the serving counter. Evie chose a table out of earshot from others, seated the children with cutlery, and explained, as best she could, that Nathan was poorly. She explained to them that they needed to go to him, because he couldn’t come to them and that they would be able to see him, but not straightaway. The children looked at her with wide eyes, slightly tearing. They were trying to understand what Evie really meant.

“Does Naffam have what the bad people have, Dr. Eebie?” Holly asked quietly.

“I’m, I, I’m afraid so, love, but we are doing everything we can to make him better,” she replied, feeling the lump in her throat rise.

Holly began to cry, almost silently. Tom put down his fork and wrapped his arms around her to comfort her.

“It will be alright and, and, and Nathan is very strong. We’ve seen him, remember? He can beat anything!” Tom said.

“Come on, don't cry. This won't do us or Nathan any good. We have to be strong now. don’t we? Let’s finish our food and then it should be time to go to the helicopter,” Evie said.

***

The major, true to his word, left his office after speaking with the C.O. for almost two hours and made his way towards the gymnasium to check on the progress of the angry young man he had encountered some time ago. Much had happened since then and it seemed to have passed by in a haze.

I must be getting old, he thought as he walked.

He arrived just in time to see one of the last classes of the day, a play-off between teams in twenty-minute games. The winners had been given a round of applause by the rest of the group and a prize of sweets that had been donated.

The major noticed that all ages were involved, including the group of youths he had “directed.” It had been well organised by volunteer coaches; it looked like lots of fun. Searching for the face he remembered holding against the roof support of the cookhouse marquee, he soon recognised the young man; this time the youth had a smile instead of a scowl as he turned to greet the Mmajor.

“Major Sower, Sir,” Baz greeted, remembering both his rank and name.

“Baz, how nice to see you. I’m impressed. It seems you have taken to this very well. Please tell me all about how it all works.”

“Well, Sir, what we do is ‘ave classes for different ability and ages an’ then those learnin’, well, we provide coachin’ to. An' those more better, we give ‘em tuition to make ‘em even better. I give skill points to the little ‘uns. They’re imaginary but they seem to like it. Ma mates ‘elp out an’ there’s volunteers too. We’re lovin’ it, like!”

“It sounds to me like you’ve found a vocation in life, young man. You do actually care about other things besides the Xbox and drinking. You’ve done me proud, Baz; now keep it up because the rewards are endless.”

“Yes, Sir. We’ve already ‘ad parents come bringing us pop and sweets an’ stuff. Even money, which we’ll donate to the sick soldiers’ fund. I wanna say again how sorry I am for gettin’ in ya face last week, Sir. An’ thanks for givin’ me a chance and the responsibility to do this. We all are sorry.”

The major extended his hand; this produced a broad grin from Baz as he took it. Some of his friends began to applaud.

“I admire anyone willing to change and work hard, Baz, and that attitude will stand you in good stead in life, I hope you’ll remember your days here when this is over. If you should consider joining the Army, come and see me. I’ll recommend your entry personally and will do my utmost to help you get to the unit and base you want. Though, young man, a lot will depend upon you.”

“I got it, Sir. Thanks.”

The major turned to leave and headed for the medical centre to check on the soldiers injured during the Snape episode. He also wanted to catch up with Dr. Fitzgerald and find out about his need for further live victims.

The first roll of thunder echoed across the swollen dark sky, shouting a warning that it was a good time to find cover. He quickened his step as droplets of rain began to splat on the ground, soon to be a deluge.

Pushing through the medical centre doors, he left the rain outside just as a bright, white flash of lightning illuminated the reception for a split second, followed by a hollow rumble from the heavens. The main storm was within a mile of the base. The major found Dr. Charles Fitzgerald attending to the dressings of Private Annells, making sure that the stitches were intact from the operation to remove the steel knife.

“How’s he doing, Charles?”

“He’ll be fine. It’ll take a while for the stitches to knit him back together. He was lucky, if you can call it that. An inch either side would have done more serious damage. We’re keeping him on painkillers with instructions to rest the wound. It seems that Mr. Snape has, or rather had, a lot to answer for, Paul. Is there anyone else in the frame with him?”

“The evidence points to him and another unquestionable suspect, the very deceased Mr. Brin Garrett. Seems they were paid off by persons as-yet unknown, to cause an industrial accident at the wellhead site. We’ve MI5 involved, though things are a long way from running normally anywhere in the country so it could be months before any real progress is made. Any news from the other labs?”

“Regarding a vaccine? No, not yet. We have a clue relating to the rare blood type AB rhesus negative; it seems resistant to the virus though not completely. We think it could be something in the DNA of our female infected victim that inhibits the virus.”

“Interesting. Do keep me up to speed on progress.”

“I will, Paul. Dr. Shepherd will be taking a lead role once she's back at the base. The two youngsters will be joining us for a couple of days. as it'll help Dr. Shepherd focus; she's worried about them, especially with Sergeant Cross out of action. I think the helicopter should be about ready to return. I hope it’ll outrun this storm front.”

“How’s our other wounded soldier doing?”

“Ah yes, Emma Floyd. We released her to rest about an hour ago. She has some bruising to her pelvis and hip; it's minor and will subside in a couple of days. She’s on rest until then, I’m afraid.”

“On the contrary. Allow her as much time as she needs. I would rather she’s ready to return than rush her. She did well to try to stop a two-tonne Land Rover. I’ll try to see her tomorrow.”

“Oh, knew there was something else. Until we've conducted tests on the infected subjects that we have, we’ll not be needing more just yet. Possibly, in a day or so; I'll let you know.”

“Excellent. I’ll relay the message to the duty guard commander. I’m heading for a bit of dinner. Will you join me?”

“I’ll have to pass, I’m afraid, Paul. I’ve a heap of paperwork to catch up on, and I’d like to start testing the AB rhesus negative blood here too. I’ve a sample in the fridge; all hands to the pump for us, I’m afraid.”

“I understand. I’ll let you get on; see you tomorrow,” he said, waving an arm as he walked to the door.

***

With two very excited children on board, the helicopter lifted off from the base. Thunder rolled noisily across the blackened sky in-between brilliant flashes of lightning. They seemed to reach down from the clouds, grab at the Earth, and then disappear, leaving only an imprint at the back of the eyes. Holly held onto the plastic baby doll, “Polly,” with one hand. She gripped Evie’s hand tightly with her other palm.

“Woooooaaaaaaahhhh!” the children shouted, as the helicopter left the ground. They had been given headsets to wear so that they could talk in-flight; windows had been darkened to prevent the children from seeing the chaos on the ground.

“How do we stay up?” asked Holly

“The spinning rotors generate a down-force to the ground and that lifts us up. Once airborne, the pilot can move us around using the same rotors; he just wiggles them a bit,” replied Evie, finding it difficult to use words that Holly might understand.

“That’s funny!” she said, giggling.

“It’s awesome!!” said Tom, excitedly.

His high voice came through the headset loudly; Evie raised a finger to her lips and Tom understood the gesture.

“Listen, you two, when we get there, you’re to stay with Steve and Janey. I’ll get you settled into my home and you’ll be able to play too. There is a computer and games console you can use, and the nice Army men have given you some toys and books. For the first few hours, it’s important that you’re on your best behaviour as I’ll need to go and help make Nathan better. I might be gone for a while. You’ll need a bath, the pair of you, and there are clean clothes in your bags. Then tomorrow, hopefully, we’ll be able to go and see Nathan for a little while.”