Hunters: A Trilogy (49 page)

She passed the milk to him, saying: ‘Yes, and yes, and…it’s given me a belter of a headache!’ Grimacing, she pulled out a chair and plonked herself down on it.

Ken laughed and looked down at her. ‘Perhaps we should take a walk, blow the cobwebs away a bit, eh?’ he asked.

Jane said that she thought it was a grand idea and then suggested they have a couple of mugs of tea whilst they waited for Mike to get up.

Ken smiled, before replying with: ‘We’ll be here until lunchtime if we do that, he likes a lie-in, does our Mike. I’ll take him a brew and throw his arse outta bed.’

Within five minutes he had done just that.

They were soon joined in the kitchen by the weary-looking, unshaven Australian. ‘Bloody hell, people,’ he complained, ‘what time do you call this? It’s the middle of the damned night, for Christ’s sake!’ Mike collapsed into the chair and lifted the mug to his lips, cupping it in both hands to sip the hot tea.

After breakfast they donned their coats and whistled for the dogs, before trekking up the slope behind the house. As they walked, the three of them discussed their meeting with George and the things he had said to them. They also talked about the weird items they had been shown. Strange, deadly objects that now lay in a tiny case back at the lodge below them.

Jane said she was okay with it, and apart from the now departed headache, she felt fine. ‘It makes sense in many ways, I suppose,’ she said. ‘I don’t want to hurt anyone. But, if, as George says, there are some people, who, for whatever reason, are going to prevent the future of our planet advancing…then it puts us in a difficult position, doesn’t it?’ She clambered up the final slope and slid onto the bench-like stone perch which topped the slope.

Mike agreed. ‘That’s exactly what Ken and I were saying last night,’ he said. ‘We know about this now and we have the choice as to whether we act on George’s information or not.’

Ken interjected. ‘Don’t forget that we still have a choice, even when we’ve been given the information, we can still say ‘no’, can’t we? And who says we have to hurt or kill anyone? Maybe, if we get the chance, we can just persuade them otherwise?’ he said, looking at the other two with a frown.

They sat and thought about that. Ken’s remarks made sense and the idea also gave them a comfortable get-out-clause. They talked some more and then, after some fifteen minutes or so, decided to wait and see what happened next. They couldn’t anticipate George’s next move and so there would be no point in them trying to second-guess themselves.

Mike chipped in, saying: ‘Let’s get the kit sorted and then have a look at the Spears, shall we? Jane needs to get used to how they work anyway.’ Looking at Ken, he said, ‘And since it’s been a while, I guess that we might as well have a refresher, too!’

***

Over the next four days they familiarised themselves with all the lethal things held within the case. One morning, whilst sitting in the kitchen, Jane watched as Mike inserted George’s ‘music disc’ into his machine. She laughed when she heard about the old man’s impromptu rock star performance.

‘Now that is something that I would like to have seen!’ she said, carrying out some practice in arming and disarming the pen. Ken had made them do all the drills over and over. Standing, kneeling, sitting, and also whilst lying down. On their backs and on their bellies – they practised using the weapons in every conceivable position and situation.

‘Practice makes perfect, guys…practice makes perfect!’ It was Ken’s motto and he made it theirs, too. By the end they were able to find, arm, and use the devices in complete darkness. The target screen glowed with their accurate shooting. They discovered the pens had an almost unlimited range and that the effect on the target was just as devastating no matter what range they fired from. The only problem being, those longer ranges made it more difficult to aim accurately. The other thing to become apparent was the strong odour that each device emitted after they had been used.

It reminded Ken of the Storm – the smell reeked of burnt things.

Using the stun guns was a simple affair and it didn’t take too long to master a reasonable technique. Ken had decided they should use them as a backup weapon in case something went ‘pear-shaped’. He looked seriously at them and added: ‘Well, you never know what’s gonna happen, and it’s always better to have a plan, isn’t it?’

The other two agreed and concentrated even harder on their training. They also tried out the spray cans; the carpet of electrical sparks which the vapour left after each discharge still fascinated them.

‘You just know that you wouldn’t want a face full of this stuff, don’t you?’ Mike said, shaking his head in distaste.

The other two agreed, totally.

The other thing that amazed them was that none of the weapons ever seemed to need any recharging. Every morning they performed just as they had the day previously. When Jane asked about it, the men had no answer.

Mike said, ‘I haven’t a clue, it must be something to do with the design. I’m sure that we would have been told if it was otherwise.’

Ken had also read the instruction disc thoroughly and there wasn’t a single thing about recharging anywhere. ‘Let’s just hope they don’t conk out when we need them most…’ he commented, dryly. He shrugged his shoulders and then packed the aerosols back into their case.

The best fun they had was with the Spears.

Ken had carried them into the old barn, which lay in the field next to the lodge. Although he and Jane didn’t officially own the barn, they had almost assumed squatters’ rights over the old building. Frank Ball, the neighbouring farmer, had moved away from keeping livestock a few years ago and had asked Ken and Jane if the old barn was a nuisance.

‘I’ll ha’ the boys take it doon if it’s a wurry to you, Jane, aye?’ he’d said. The red-faced Scotsman was a great guy and had become one of their favourite neighbours. Ken and Jane often stopped off at the old farmhouse to deliver a brace of pheasants to the Balls. They never left empty-handed – there was always a spare black-pudding, or a tasty homemade meat-pie that just seemed to miraculously appear from the larder as they were leaving.

Ken had told Frank that the barn wasn’t a worry, and if it was okay, then he may well use it as a small shooting-range, just to keep his guns zeroed in. They had agreed and that was the end to it. And so, their pseudo-ownership of one large barn had begun.

Presently, it became the perfect place to check out their new vehicular additions. Whilst Ken unpacked the vehicles and dug out the fobs, Mike opened his communicator and asked Jane to come over to where the machine was now displaying a blank screen. She noticed that there were several, bright blue dots racing across the bottom of it.

Mike pushed the screen all the way back so that it now lay flat. ‘Stick your hand on there, palm down,’ he said, nodding at the glass surface. ‘Don’t worry, it’s only so you can gain entrance to the Spears, just think of it as a state-of-the-art alarm system is all.’

Jane did as she was asked, and seconds later she was done. Feeling slightly puzzled, she looked at Mike and waited for an explanation.

‘Don’t worry about it,’ he said. ‘It just takes samples of your DNA and stuff, stops anyone else from gaining access to them.’ He turned back to the machine and started tapping away.

With a shrug, Jane stepped back from the machine and turned to see what Ken was doing. He had placed the two miniature vehicles on the floor, making sure there was plenty of space in between them, before taking one of the key fobs and handing it to her.

‘Just point it in the general direction and then push the big arrow once,’ he ordered. ‘I don’t know which vehicle belongs to what zapper, but just zap them anyway.’ He stood back and watched as she tuned the device over in her hands.

Lifting it level with her chest, Jane did as he had asked. Pointing the device at the little cars, she pushed down on the slender button with her thumb. To her amazement, she saw a tiny, green whirlpool take shape; it shimmered and rotated for a second, before blooming outwards with a sloshy, liquid sound.

With a flash, the vehicle seemed to expand before her very eyes – one second a toy car, and in the next, well… a very large and very real-looking vehicle miraculously appeared on the straw-covered floor of the barn. Jane felt a slight waft of pressure on her face and saw several loose strands of straw do a quick gymnastic display past her feet.

Then the unseen force ceased as it had started, leaving her staring in amazement. ‘Good God!’ she exclaimed. ‘That is absolutely the most amazing thing I think I’ve ever seen! Oh my…bloody hell! I mean, how in the…?’ She turned to the two men who stood smiling at her. Shaking her head, Jane whispered: ‘I know you’d tried to explain it to me, Ken, but I had no idea it was like this! It’s fantastic; I want one of my own! I wouldn’t have any trouble parking outside the apartment in London with one of these, now would I?’ With an amazed shake of the head, she threw the zapper to Mike and stepped towards the vehicle in anticipation. After they had shown her how to gain entry to the Spear, Jane climbed into the driver’s seat and waited whilst they joined her inside.

Mike climbed into the front.

‘Mikey will give us the demonstration on all the gizmos, Jane. He’s a wizard at this stuff,’ Ken said, opening the rear passenger door and clambering in.

During the next twenty minutes, Mike showed them all of the controls and strange devices that the vehicle had hidden in its leather-clad interior. To the casual observer the inside of the car was almost exactly as standard, but, with the touch of a few hidden switches, the true nature of the beast was soon revealed.

Jane marvelled at the scanner and couldn’t get over how it was able to see straight through the solid brick wall of the old barn. The entire windscreen illuminated as its head-up display showed them the fields beyond. They were able to see several sheep, glowing brightly in the distance. ‘No way,’ she breathed. ‘That’s awesome, Mikey, simply awesome!’

He showed her the Pusher, giving it a little flick in demonstration. Immediately, a cloud of straw and dust pulsed away from the nose of the vehicle. ‘Don’t mess about with it too much in here or we’ll have the frigging wall down!’ he said, with a smile. Then he showed her how the screen was able to find where they were by locating their implants. Tapping the smaller satellite navigation screen, which lay on the front of the dashboard, he called up a menu and quickly scrolled through by sliding his finger across its glass surface.

The word ‘Locate’ flashed up and he selected it with a slight tap.

As Mike did so, the windscreen pulsed slightly and then displayed three blue dots within the car-shaped emblem that glowed in the top left corner. Underneath the dots were their initials and the word: ‘Interior’. Mike said, ‘This thing will find any one of us anywhere on this planet, probably anywhere in the universe!’

Both Jane and Ken shook their heads in awe at that statement and then continued to listen in fascination as Mike carried on with his tutelage. The only thing they didn’t cover was the Spears’ alleged new ability to take them to wherever they wanted. They had talked about it, but not really considered the practicalities. When Mike mentioned it, Ken said, ‘George reckons we can do it using Shrink Down, maybe we should have a practice run, eh?’

‘Good idea,’ Mike said. ‘I’ll have another gander at the book of words and see if there is anything we’ve missed. I’ll check out the navigation thing, too. Apparently we have to take a tablet and wear the suits before we go and play.’ Turning to Jane, he apologised and then explained about the instructions George had given them after she had fallen asleep.

So, after a bit more practice, it wasn’t too long before all three of them had become familiarised with the intricacies of their amazing new vehicles. When they were done, Mike put the Spears back into miniature mode and then, making sure the barn was locked, they all headed for the house.

***

It was on the afternoon of their fourth day since the dream that Mike was called to put his knowledge into practice much sooner than he perhaps would have liked. They were gathered round the kitchen table, where Ken and Mike had casually been discussing some of the things that had happened whilst they were on the airbase in Afghanistan. As Mike joked about some funny event or another, the lights along the front of his laptop started flashing. The machine’s activation stopped the men’s war stories in their tracks. In silence, they waited whilst Mike switched on the screen.

Tapping the keypad, he said, ‘Communicator on, please.’

The screen slid upwards and blinked once, there was a moment of fuzziness before George made his appearance. He was sitting in a high-backed, black leather chair. His baggy blue jumper and white shirt collar appeared in perfect colour on the monitor, the shirt collar peeking over the neck of his overly-large sweater. It made him look rather like a vicar.

‘Hello there, everyone, I trust that you are well,’ he said. ‘I have downloaded some information for you to read – it is in the machine as we speak. So, when I have finished, Michael will retrieve it for you. Since this will be the first time for you, I would simply like you to try out the equipment. To that end, I have given you a small surveillance task to complete, along with some navigational practice as well.’ He looked down at his notes and then said, ‘Very simple really, go and see how you get along. We will be watching. Oh, and use the Shrink Down too, please.’ Without another word from the old man, the screen went blank and then slid back into the machine.

Mike leant over and tapped some keys. Another smaller screen slid into view and displayed a set of written instructions. There were some photographs of a man and a small, blonde-haired child. Her hair was held up in a bunch and one of the pictures had caught her whilst she looked at something that obviously delighted her. The child’s tiny milk-teeth were displayed in a wide grin that was spoiled only slightly by the small gap where, by the looks of things, the tooth-fairy had just visited. After scouring the information for about ten minutes, Mike pushed another button; a tray slid open and out popped a small disc. He handed the disc to Jane. It fitted easily into the palm of her hand and was almost translucent.