Entering his office he smiled. The day’s audit report was placed precisely on his desk; the wheels of Creation were still turning, oblivious to the unfolding drama. He sat, and flipped through the pages, telling himself he would pay more attention tomorrow. He signed the final page and looked up to see the angel Haamiah floating in front of him, Rampel at her side. She began to speak, concocting an implausible story designed to justify Rampel’s appearance on Earth. She told how the angel had sensed a poltergeist lurking inside a building on the outskirts of a small human settlement. And, whilst acknowledging their agreement to delay the planet’s extraction for twenty-four hours, Rampel had heroically returned to Earth fearing for Amy and Daniel’s safety. But his valiant efforts to expel the poltergeist from the universe had failed and during the battle the building had been destroyed.
Hedrick waited politely for her to finish before speaking. ‘Angel Haamiah, I thought we had agreed that no action would be taken. And yet, here you are, telling me that that is exactly what has happened. The angel Rampel’s actions are completely unacceptable and I have a mind to bring them to the attention of Those-On-high.’
‘Director,’ Haamiah was trying to charm Hedrick. ‘The angel Rampel was working in your best interests. We admit his enthusiasm might have got the better of him, but he was trying to bring this awkward situation to an early conclusion for you.’
‘That is as maybe, Haamiah, but our agreement was that the angels would not take any action for twenty-four hours, not a minute more, not a minute less!’
‘But, Director, why wait twenty-four hours? We could search the blue planet for you in seconds. Miss Amy could be sitting at her desk tomorrow morning as though nothing had happened.’ Haamiah was displaying her most enigmatic of smiles.
‘I appreciate your offer but, this time, I must refuse.’
Before Hedrick could start his next sentence, Haamiah’s glowing expression of charm turned to one of indignation. She spun around staring directly into Rampel’s presence and then, in an instant, the angels were gone. Hedrick’s heart was pounding. He had never spoken so forcefully to an angel before and, nervously toying with his fountain pen, wondered what the consequences of the conversation might be. The videophone on his desk started to bleep, flashing the message Incoming Call – Technician Mohammed 112. He pressed the Activate button and Jessian’s face appeared.
‘Director, we’ve just received a fresh batch of drone data. We need you to see it straight away, we’re in Mo’s lab.’
‘Is it urgent?’
‘Yes. Very.’
It hadn’t been Hedrick’s tone that had caused Haamiah’s sudden exit but the emergence of Ravi’s essence. The angel Rampel was now looking down on Main Street, watching the attempts to recover John, the postman’s body. His arrival at the village had been less dramatic this time, and he was now perched on the belfry roof in the guise of a pigeon. An elderly cock perched next to him explained what had happened, how a silver cloud had fallen from the sky, crushing one of the flightless monsters that roamed through the village. Rampel listened to the pigeon’s tale, and then launched himself from the belfry, flapping his wings against the cold morning air to pass over the vicar, still consoling John’s distraught wife. Circling high above the village, more like a buzzard than a pigeon, he could sense the presence of Ravi’s essence. The sensation peaked as he passed over the pub, so he turned and circled back to land on its roof.
As luck would have it, not only had Amy left the back lobby door ajar, but the kitchen swing door was also jammed open against Sergeant Rogers’ body. This had allowed Ravi’s essence to drift though the building and out into the car park. He was now making a futile attempt, using his non-existent limbs, to find somewhere to hide. The gusting wind, swirling around the parked cars, was teasing him; first carrying him towards a suitable niche, then whisking him back into full view. If he could somehow get beneath one of the cars, then there was a chance he could acquire another unsuspecting host, as it walked by.
His attention was drawn by a white flash passing overhead but, before he could focus on it, Ravi found himself staring up at the ceiling from a bed in Creation’s Medical Centre.
The ghost sent by Director Hedrick had concealed itself amongst the stunned onlookers watching the rescue services deal with the disaster. The vicar had gathered a small congregation and now stood to one side reciting a passage from his bible, ‘Be merciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto me: for my soul trusteth in thee: yea, in the shadow of thy wings will I make my refuge, until these calamities be overpast.’ He slowly closed the book and stood for a moment in silence, before saying, ‘Let us pray…’
The vicar’s voice was drowned by the arrival of the first television news crew. As their outside broadcast van sped down Main Street, the satellite link dish on its roof started to rotate and point skyward. The doors slid open as the van screeched to a halt, and a cameraman jumped out, quickly followed by a female reporter, microphone in hand. Seeing the vicar with his congregation, and having an eye for a good story, she beckoned the cameraman to follow her as she ran towards them. Before he could start reciting the Lord’s Prayer, she pushed her microphone into his face and asked dramatically, ‘Do you think this was an act of God, Vicar?’
The Smart Car careered into the farm yard, coming to a halt in front of a barn next to the milking parlour. The yard was quiet except for the sounds of the parlour floor being hosed down after that morning’s milking. Daniel opened the passenger door and Amy wriggled out. As Mrs. Perkins got out Tanka started speaking in a mocking voice, ‘Stay with us, Tanka, Director Hedrick will protect you, Tanka, that nice angel, Haamiah, will rescue you, Tanka.’ She slammed the car door closed and looking at Daniel said, ‘You must think I’m fucking stupid!’ Without waiting for a reply, she turned, walked to the barn, unlocked the padlock, then pulling open the heavy steel doors, entered the dark interior. Daniel grabbed Amy’s hand and followed her. As they reached the doors, Tanka turned on the lights to reveal an identical Land Cruiser to the one that Anubis had. Three metal storage cupboards stood in a row against the wall to their right. Opposite these were two cot beds, identical to those at the Ground Station. Against the back wall was a metal desk with papers and books neatly arranged on it. Pinned to the wall above the desk were two maps; one was an Ordinance Survey map of the local area, the second was a Mercator projection of the Earth, with several coloured markers pinned into it.
‘What’s this place?’ Amy asked, releasing Daniel’s hand and walking across to study the maps.
‘It’s Anubis’ safe store, his insurance against the Ground Station being discovered.’
‘Yes, Anubis is great at looking after himself,’ Daniel said in a tone designed to wind Tanka up. ‘I bet he’ll enjoy leaving you to face the music.’
Tanka sighed, unable to find the energy to fight with Daniel. She unlocked the first of the storage cupboards and pulled open the doors to reveal four bulging canvas holdalls stacked on the shelves inside. Disappointed he hadn’t got a reaction, Daniel tried again. ‘You were never part of his plan, were you, Tanka? You were just his expendable stooge!’
Mrs. Perkins spun around, dragging one of the holdalls off its shelf and, thrusting it into Daniel’s chest, said, ‘Shut-the-fuck-up! And put these bags in the back of the car!’
The Land Cruiser was unlocked and after some fumbling Daniel managed to pull open the tailgate. The rear seats had been folded down and, apart from a tool chest stowed behind the driver’s seat, the interior was empty. He lifted the heavy, tightly packed holdall, and slid it into the back of the vehicle.
Amy was waiting by the cupboard for him to return and they carried the second bag together, each holding a separate handle. ‘What’s in the bags?’ Amy said, struggling to lift it into the back of the Land Cruiser. Daniel looked over his shoulder. Tanka was out of sight, so he unzipped the bag and pulled it open. At first there just appeared to be clothes inside, but as he pulled these aside, the holdall was full
of bundles of carefully cut paper sealed in plastic pouches. ‘What is it?’ Amy asked.
‘It’s money,’ Daniel replied, pulling out one of the packages and examining its contents. He quickly stuffed it back and zipped the bag closed.
As Amy turned to collect the last holdall she jumped with surprise, finding Mrs. Perkins standing directly behind her, ‘Oh, Tanka, you gave me such a fright!’ she said smiling. But Mrs. Perkins remained motionless and silent. ‘When we’ve put the bags in the car, what do you want us to do next?’ Mrs. Perkins didn’t reply, she just stood, silently staring at the pendant necklace hanging around Amy’s neck. She reached out slowly and brushed it with the tip of her finger. Then looked up into Sally’s eyes and smiled as though under the influence of a strong narcotic.
The silence was broken by an unknown voice behind them, ‘Come on, we haven’t got all day!’ They turned to see a stranger, wearing muck-covered overalls and a peaked cap, unlocking the second storage cupboard.
‘It’s Tanka!’ Daniel said, ‘he’s jumped bodies.’
The farmworker stood at the open cupboard, rearranging items on one of the shelves. There were several metallic clicks and clunks before he turned and walked towards Daniel carrying the equipment he had just assembled. He stopped behind Mrs. Perkins and raised his arm. Amy screamed and Daniel flinched at the explosive report from the nine millimetre Beretta. Mrs. Perkins slumped against the side of the Land Cruiser and slid slowly to the floor, rolling over to reveal a large, bloody hole in the centre of her face.
‘There’s no going back now,’ Tanka said, calmly dropping his arm and removing the clip from the pistol’s hand grip. He pulled back the Beretta’s slide and cleared the chamber as he walked back to the cupboard.
‘Have you gone completely mad?’ Daniel shouted, following Tanka across the barn, ‘Mrs. Perkins was your future here. You said you loved living her life.’
‘That’s all over now, Daniel?’ Tanka sighed. ‘Not only did you fuck up Anubis’ plans, but you’ve screwed my future up as well’
Amy was kneeling next to the body, trying to reassemble its face. ‘Daniel! I think Mrs. Perkins is dead,’ she called out.
Daniel ignored her and, grabbing Tanka’s arm, pulled the farmworker around to face him, ‘If you follow Anubis you’ll end up like that,’ he said, pointing at the body, ‘only you won’t have the peace of death, you’ll end up in Purgatory… for eternity!’
Amy got to her feet and shouted, ‘Stop it! Stop all this arguing, it’s getting us nowhere!’ Daniel reached out to put his arm around her but she shook it off violently and, turning to glare at Tanka, said. ‘What good did that do? Nothing! It was pointless!’ Amy paused to regain her composure, ‘We should be finding somewhere to hide out, not squabbling like pups. It could take years for Mo and Jessian to track us down.’
‘If you think Hedrick’s going to save us, you’re deluding yourself,’ Tanka said, turning back to the cupboard. He started to pack various firearms and boxes of ammunition into two large rucksacks. When they were full, he pulled the drawstrings closed and hauled them onto his shoulder. Slamming the cupboard doors closed, he turned to face Amy, saying, ‘If we’re going to hide-out somewhere, you better help load the car.’ Amy watched as Tanka walked back to the four-by-four, shoving the rucksacks into the back of the vehicle. Then, grabbing Mrs. Perkins’ wrists, he looked across at Daniel, ‘Get her ankles.’
They carefully lifted the corpse and laid it next to the metal desk. As Tanka straightened, Daniel could see tears running down his cheeks which he quickly wiped away with the sleeve of his overalls. Without making eye contact, Tanka walked to the third storage cupboard and unlocked it. He took down a clipboard hanging inside and started to check the cupboard’s contents, ticking each item off the checklist.
‘Pssst.’ Daniel sounded at Amy to attract her attention. He nodded in the direction of the vehicle and they both started to silently step backwards towards it. ‘I think we should cover Mrs. Perkins’ body,’ Daniel said in a voice loud enough for Tanka to hear, but not so loud that he would think he was being spoken to.
‘I think I saw a tarpaulin over there,’ Amy said, giving herself an excuse to go to the passenger side of the vehicle. The driver’s door was open and the ignition fob was on the seat. Daniel lifted himself in and, reaching across, silently opened the passenger door. With her heart racing, Amy climbed in. They gave each other a tense smile as he pressed the Start button, kicking the engine into life. As Tanka spun around, they slammed the doors closed and Daniel pushed the gear shift into reverse, but as he looked over his shoulder to manoeuvre out of the barn his foot slipped from the accelerator onto the brake, bringing them to a sudden halt. Tanka ran to the second cupboard and taking out an Uzi sub-machine gun, started to push cartridges into its magazine. He fumbled in his rush to load the weapon, cartridges spilling onto the floor around his feet. Daniel regained control and accelerated towards the barn doors. Tanka snapped the magazine into the Uzi’s frame and pulled back the slide. The Land Cruiser was now screaming out of the barn, its wheels spinning against the smooth concrete floor. Daniel swung the vehicle into the yard, dragging it to a halt outside the milking parlour.
Tanka’s first burst from the Uzi missed them, the bullets ricocheting off the building opposite the barn. Selecting drive, Daniel floored the accelerator. But as the vehicle took off, Tanka fired his next burst, shattering the rear and side windows. He ran into the yard trying to keep the Land Cruiser in sight, but as he raised the Uzi, Daniel turned out of the farmyard onto the lane and was gone. Tanka screamed, ‘Fuck you, Daniel!’ and threw the Uzi to the ground, the impact sending the magazine skating across the yard.
27
Ravi’s Return
Hedrick terminated Jessian’s call and, picking up the audit file, left his office. At her desk, Penny was finalising the details for his retirement party, trying not to dwell on Ravi and Amy’s fate. She discreetly closed the file as he approached. ‘Can I help you, Director?’
‘I am going to Technician Mohammed’s laboratory, Penny. Keep an eye on things for me.’
‘Of course, Director.’
As Hedrick walked away the videophone bleeped and Penny answered the call. Hedrick turned back and stood waiting while Penny frantically scribbled on her dictation pad. ‘Yes, thank you. We’ll come straight away.’ Her eyes lifted and stared at Hedrick. ‘Ravi… he’s back.’
‘Back in Creation?’ Hedrick asked.
‘Yes, he’s in the Medical Centre.’
Senior Auditor Ravi 13 is in sideward seven, the elevator announced as it arrived. Hedrick gestured for Penny to leave the carriage first and they walked down the corridor towards wilderness seven. As they approach the sideward they could hear excited voices. Penny ran ahead disappearing from Hedrick’s view as she entered the room. By the time he reached the doorway Penny was sitting on the edge of the bed holding Ravi’s hand, his sister and mother standing behind her. She turned and looked up at Hedrick, ‘Director! He’s back! The angels have rescued him.’ Hedrick sat on the chair next to the bed while Ravi told of his adventures on the blue planet, although Penny seemed to be more interested in the planet’s females than the danger he had been in. ‘Do they wear makeup? What are their clothes like? How do they have sex?’ Her questions were endless and Hedrick had to keep steering the conversation back to the events that led to Ravi’s return. Other than confirming that Amy and Daniel were alive, little of the information was of use and after a polite period of time Hedrick excused himself and made his way to Mohammed’s laboratory.
Mo was sitting staring into his digital workstation while Jessian was sat at the workbench studying an array of papers. They both looked up as Hedrick opened the door. Jessian stood and handed him a printout of a schematic diagram, ‘Director, we have a major problem. Anubis is planning to implode the planet’s star!’
‘What makes you think that?’ Hedrick asked, taking the printout from her.
‘This is the t
rigger mechanism for a trihadronite-based bomb, Director. We were scanning the new drone data for creationist technology, when Mo came across some structures that resembled drone subassemblies. They’re in what looks like a workshop. Mo’s created a 3D image of the interior on his workstation. Come and see,’ Jessian said, leading Hedrick to Mo’s desk.
As usual Mo was playing super-cool and Hedrick had to coax every syllable out of him. Using the workstation keyboard, Mo panned around the virtual room and zoomed in on a workbench. Lying amongst the tools was a file of papers with NASA Solar Explorer Modifications written across the cover.
‘Can we look inside?’ Hedrick asked.
‘Yep.’
‘Can we look inside, now?’
‘Yep.’ Mo judged Hedrick perfectly and just as he was about to explode with frustration he started to zoom in towards the folder.
As the 3D software descended through the document’s cover, each page was displayed in turn. About ten pages down Mo stopped and expanded the contents to fill the screen. ‘There, Director,’ Jessian said, pointing at the diagram being displayed, ‘It’s the design for a primitive temporal bomb.’
The intricate diagram meant nothing to Hedrick. He leant back against the edge of Mo’s desk, staring at the printout, ‘If only we could communicate with them.’
‘That might be possible, but we’d need to know their location to within a few metres,’ Jessian said, taking back the printout.
‘Is that going to be problem?’ Hedrick asked.
‘Luckily… there are only four packets of creationist essence on the planet. So, if I had the authority to reprogram the energy scanner, they should stand out like beacons in the returned data.’
Creation- The Auditor’s Apprentice Page 23