by steve higgs
I handed out a tin of black face paint for the team to remove the shine from their faces and expected to have to convince them to use it, but they each took to the task with glee, applying it to each other and checking their faces in the reflection of car windows. Apart from also handing out a couple of oversize black hoodies, one to cover shiny black letters on Hilary's coat and one to just cover Poison up a bit, I had no other wardrobe tasks to perform. We were ready.
I had game-played Owen's actions in my head and believed he was most likely to wait until the Mill was empty before he ventured in. From the supermarket carpark, I would see him if he arrived early. What he might do though is enter the Mill by an alternate entrance, so it was time to get moving.
The Mill had no night time security, just an entry code to make the front gate open at night. Their lax security has allowed me to see and commit the entry code to memory on my first visit.
‘Okay, chaps.’ I started. ‘With luck, this will be a short mission.’ I held up a photograph of Owen to show them all. ‘This is the man that has been acting as the Phantom. He has been sabotaging Mill equipment and is responsible for injuring at least one person. I want you all to consider him as dangerous.’
‘Tempest I can only stay a couple of hours.’ said Hilary. ‘My wife will not tolerate me being out all night.’
‘Fair enough mate.' I replied. Next to me, Big Ben had started humming something.
‘Tempest.’ A voice called from behind me. My heart actually stopped, I swear. I turned around slowly to find my parents walking across the car park towards me. ‘Cooee, Tempest.’ My mother called again.
‘What are you doing here?’ I asked them as they reached the group.
‘You said you needed a big team for tonight.’ Chipped in my Dad. ‘So, we thought we could help.’
I gave myself a mental slap. I was struggling to find a reason why they could not help but I had nothing. They were old but not decrepit, they could run, and they had working eyes and ears. Besides they were already here so it would be hard to turn them away. They were even wearing black, although my mother’s sweatshirt had kittens on the front of it.
I hung my head in defeat for a second. Then lifted it back up with a happy expression showing instead. ‘Great, we could use the extra eyes. Ben, can you grab two more radios please?'
While Big Ben was opening the boot of his car, I produced the black face paint again and offered it to my parents.
‘Ooh, Michael. Wait until I tell the ladies at the church.’ Mother said excitedly.
‘I suspect, Mother that you have the wrong idea about how this evening will go. This is a stakeout in the belief that the person pretending to be the Phantom will show up. But what that means is we will be quietly tucked into dark corners doing nothing but quietly watching until he shows himself. That might be hours.' I warned.
‘Oh hush, Tempest.’ said my Mother smiling. ‘You are always off on some adventure. Always chasing some villain and getting yourself in the papers. And who knows? Maybe with us here you will avoid getting arrested for once.’
I took a radio from Big Ben's offered hand and clipped it to my Mother's waistband, then threaded the microphone wire up through her sweatshirt and clipped it just under her chin. Next to her Big Ben did the same with my father. We demonstrated quickly how they worked.
Not willing to have my parents operate as a couple, I split them up, suffering the unfortunate task of pairing my Mother with myself. I opened the map of the Mill once more and added a new spot for the extra team to watch from.
Then my Mother and I, Poison and Jagjit, Hilary and Basic and finally Big Ben, my Father, and Frank slipped across the road when a gap between cars appeared and headed to the Mill. The gate entry number worked as it should, and we were in and fanning out.
Strict radio silence was the instruction until movement is spotted.
I had selected for my mother and me a position on the far side of the Mill. We were exposed in the security lights as we crossed the car park, there was no way to avoid this, but once we reached the buildings there were ample shadows into which I disappeared. I had taken my mother's hand to make sure she stuck with me, but I could feel her dragging behind me slightly now. I turned to see her fiddling with her handbag, trying to get something out of it.
‘What are you doing, Mother?’
‘I brought a torch with me, Love.’ she said pulling a Maglite from her bag and switching it on. The beam of light instantly pierced the gloom I was relying on for stealthy movement.
I grabbed for it and switched it off. ‘Mother.' I started, hearing the desperate pleading in my voice already. ‘We are supposed to be invisible. We need to be quiet, we need to get to our viewpoint without tipping off the Phantom and when we get there we need to remain unseen. No torches. No phones. No humming hymns if you get bored. Do you understand?'
‘Well, I don’t think you need to be so snippy, Tempest. If I fall over in the dark I will make plenty of noise.’ My right eye twitched.
‘Just follow where I go, and I will avoid any trip hazards. Okay?’
Mother said nothing, clearly a little ticked. I took her hand again, forcedly smiled at her and set off again.
The radio crackled quietly to life. ‘Ben's team in position.' came Big Ben's voice.
‘Hilary and Basic in position.’ a few seconds later.
I replied to both with, ‘Roger. Out.' Just then we turned the final corner and I could see where I intended to go. I hugged the shadow at the edge of the building, watching silently for a moment. The best position for us was against the building opposite. It backed onto the water and from the leading edge, we had a clear view down two sides of the mill main building and to several other buildings exposed on this side of the Mill. To get there we would have to cross through the lit area again.
A minute went past. ‘What are we doing, Tempest?’ asked my mother at normal volume, the sound echoing against the dark.
‘Mother!' I whispered with as much inflection as I could muster at low volume. ‘At night noise carries further. Near to water, it carries even further. You must whisper. Like I am. Get it?'
‘Okay.’ she replied with an exasperated face. ‘Are you going to be this pernickety about everything?’
I ignored the question, grabbed her hand and pulled her across the distance between the two buildings at a jog.
The radio crackled to life again as Poison reported that she and Jagjit had got to their position. We settled into the recess a doorway provided and allowed the dark to envelope us. Swinging my head back and forth, I could not see a way that Owen would be able to approach without us seeing him and if he was already here he could not leave without showing himself. So, my only hope was that he did not decide to disobey Brett and fail to show tonight.
Time began to stretch out. Anyone that has performed a task that involves little movement and little talking and where you have almost nothing to watch will understand just how slow the clock hands move. As a soldier, I had performed guard duty in the middle of the night, by myself and with nothing to watch on several occasions. One gets practiced at ignoring the boredom.
‘How long will this take do you think?’ asked my mother. I checked my watch; three minutes had elapsed. I had expected her to crack sooner.
‘Movement. Stand by.’ The radio squawked quietly. It was Big Ben. I had positioned Big Ben on the opposite side of the main Mill building to us. At a run, which would be a walk if my mother was involved, it would take at least two minutes to reach him. There was no reason to go anywhere yet though. I waited for him to confirm what he was seeing.
‘I have a figure wearing a black cloak. Moving north in front of the Mill. Do we pursue or observe?’
‘Observe for now. Let me know if he goes inside.’ I replied.
‘It just vanished!' Frank exclaimed with utter glee. I ignored him, waiting for Big Ben to report again.
‘Erm, Frank is right. I don’t see him now. He went into a shadow cast b
y a lamppost and did not come out the other side.’ Big Ben said, whispering quietly into his microphone.
‘I can see someone. I think.' Jagjit announced. I waited again for him to update us all. ‘Okay, we have a cloaked figure moving away from the Mill towards reception.'
I worked the map in my head. It could not be right. The two points where the Phantom had been sighted were at least three hundred metres apart, but the reports had come in mere seconds from each other. ‘Jagjit, what are you seeing?’ I asked.
‘Hard to tell.’ he answered. ‘It is definitely a person and I think they are wearing a long cloak, but they are a good two hundred metres from us and mostly in the shadow. I only saw it because I sneezed and when the figure turned to look in our direction light caught on something it is carrying.’
‘Where is it now?’
‘I…. don’t know.’ There was a pause.
‘We are moving position, Tempest.’ Poison answered. ‘It may have gone into a building.’
‘Or, it may have vanished.’ said Frank in a happy voice. Frank would like nothing more than to find a real supernatural creature that defied any explanation I could give.
‘Urh, Tempest?’ the new voice was Basic. ‘Urh, there is something here as well.’
‘Hilary, what do you see?' I asked, knowing that I would get a better description from him than I would from Basic.
‘Well, I would say I was looking at a Phantom.' On my mental map of the Mill grounds, the apparition had now been spotted at three different sites that were separated by hundreds of metres all within the space of thirty seconds.
‘Tempest, this is a free forming phantasm.' said Frank. There was utter conviction and a touch of terror in his voice. ‘Tempest, these things attach themselves to a specific place or object and they never leave. It is always a tragedy that anchors them, and they can be dangerously protective. No wonder there have been injuries.'
‘Frank, I think it more likely that we are chasing shadows.’ Frank would always believe a completely nuts explanation over one that made sense. ‘Let’s not get spooked, everyone. Who is seeing what now?’
‘I just saw something move past a window. It is inside the Mill. I’m going in.’ announced Big Ben. Frank and your Dad can stay here to observe in case anything else comes along.’
‘No, Ben. Observe only for now.’ I didn’t want him inside in the dark by himself. Better to wait until Owen came out and we could corner him as a team. This would be difficult though if everyone was seeing something different.
‘He’s gone.’ said Frank meaning Big Ben.
‘Let’s go.’ said mum as she left the darkness that kept us hidden and headed back towards the front of the Mill.
Bugger. This was getting to be bothersome.
‘I just caught sight of it again, Tempest.’ Poison’s voice told us through the radio. ‘It is heading for the office block, I think.’
‘She is right, Tempest. There is definitely someone or something here.’ I quickened my pace. Everything was happening on the other side of the building. ‘We are following.’ Jagjit said and I imagined he and Poison sneaking along behind whoever it was they were now tailing.
‘Don’t get too close.’ warned Frank.
‘What do we do?’ asked Hilary.
‘Stay where you are for now.’
‘But… I mean, what do we do about the Phantom we have here? It is walking right towards us.’ Hilary sounded quite nervous.
This was getting ridiculous. Suddenly, everyone was seeing shadows. I was seeing nothing. I had no way of knowing if anyone of them had seen anything or if they were all seeing something. The team was spread out, starting to sound scared and I could not get to any of them quickly without abandoning mother and running, which was not an option. My anger was rising, I could feel it beginning to wilt my calm, attacking my ability to control the situation evolving around me. I had not felt this since operations in Iraq. It is desperately helpless feeling for a commander. You have multiple reports to filter and assess with only seconds to make a decision that may determine whether people - your people, get hurt or not.
I forced the helpless feeling back down, crushing it with my determination to seize back the initiative. ‘Guys, this is what we are going to do.’ I was nearing the front of the Mill now. My pensionable aged mother beginning to puff beside me, but it meant I would be able to see Poison and Jagjit soon and if necessary leave mum behind without losing sight of her. ‘The Phantom is not… whatever Frank said it was.’
‘A free-forming phantasm. Not to be underestimated.’ he chipped in helpfully.
‘Yes. Thank you, Frank. It is just a man. His name is Owen Larkin and he is not a threat. I cannot tell what each of you is seeing but it is time to put an end to this sham. Hilary, Basic, I want you to approach whatever it is you are seeing and confront it verbally. Issue a challenge. Tell it to stop. If it runs, tell us then chase it. Poison, Jagjit, same for you. I am moving towards your position now so will come to you. Dad, Frank, go to the building entrance that Ben went in through and call for him. Do not go further into the Mill looking for him. Everyone got that?’
I got a round of acknowledgements and yesses back. Then I hit the corner of the Mill and emerged from the darker side into the better-lit front area. The car park, reception, and main office building were all now visible.
I turned to face my mother. ‘I am going to go catch up with Poison and Jagjit, I think they may actually have something. Just keep coming back towards the car park and stay in the light where others can see you please.’
‘Okay, Tempest.' she replied. Whether she would do it or not remained to be seen. I needed to get to where the Phantom was though, so I broke into a run. I could see Jagjit and Poison ahead of me as they moved between buildings and were illuminated by the overhead lights.
‘Then there was an explosion of noise over the radio which carried Big Ben’s voice. The sentence we heard was somewhat unbalanced in favour of words starting with an F or a C. For brevity I shall record that he said ‘Argh. Man down.’
‘Tempest, it ran. We are chasing it.’ said Hilary between laboured breaths.
‘Son, I’m going in to find Benjamin.’ My Dad informed me.
‘Tempest, it went into the office building.’ reported Jagjit.
‘Ben, talk to me.’ I had a man hurt, he had to take priority.
‘The little git kicked me in the nuts.' he managed between breaths that carried the sound of his pain.
I had stopped my run towards Jagjit and Poison, indecision ruling my motions. I needed to be three places simultaneously. I could not achieve that, so I just had to trust the team and hope that no one else got hurt. I thought better of that plan instantly, not the trusting part, but the bit where I used hope as a strategy to avoid injury for my team.
‘Right. Jagjit and Poison, abandon your Phantom and head towards the Mill. Pick up my mother on the way and meet me where Big Ben’s team was located. Stay in the light. Hilary, same for you. Come to us. This situation is now too dangerous, so we are going to regroup and abort.’
I started running to where Frank and my Dad should be. Jagjit and Poison should be behind me and Hilary with Basic should be coming at me from the other end of the Mill. Perhaps twenty seconds and one hundred metres later I was closing in on where Frank and my Dad should be.
‘Ben? Are you going to live?’ I asked as I ran.
‘Yeah. My nuts hurt, that’s all. It is nothing a face full of boobs wouldn’t fix. The guy caught me by surprise.’
‘Who is talking about boobs? Is that you, Benjamin?’ my mother asked, her tone chiding.
I elected to ignore her. I spotted Frank and slowed my pace. He was holding a door open, presumably to allow some light to penetrate the gloom inside. He had seen me coming and spoken to my dad who now emerged with Big Ben. He was cupping his testicles and was slightly bent over, still feeling the deeply imbedded pain is his abdomen no doubt.
Beyond them came the sound of
someone running. The others heard it at the same time, I saw their heads snap around as one towards the noise. From the gloom came a fluttering black cloak running full tilt between the buildings. Air drag from running had pulled the hood back to reveal the out-of-breath face of Owen Larkin.
Gotcha.
Behind Owen, both Basic and Hilary were chasing but did not seem to be making up any ground. I calmly strolled to the middle of the narrow path that ran between the buildings and extended my arm for him to halt. I saw no reason to make a fight of this. He was outnumbered and surrounded and caught in the act. I was sure he would surrender.
Sure enough, he spotted me and began to slow his pace. Then, from my right, my father ran along a raised walkway, probably put there for off-loading trucks and threw himself off to perform a flying tackle. He crashed into Owen, who had the barest moment to react. The two of them crashed to the ground.
‘Oh God, my hip!' my dad yelled, rolling on the ground. ‘Oh, bollocks.'
‘Are you alright, Dear?’ my mother asked, just arriving.
Owen was getting up ‘Are you quite fucking done?’ he asked at a shout.
‘Language, young man.’ said my mother.
‘I might argue that this is, in fact, the correct time for the use of expletives.' I ventured. My right eye twitched again.
Hilary and Basic arrived to join us all crowded around Owen. They were both out of breath. I wondered when Hilary had last had to run anywhere.
‘Hey, guys. How are you both doing?' I asked them.
I got a thumbs-up from Basic. Hilary was inspecting his trousers though. ‘I tore my trousers on something. My wife is going to do her nut.' There wasn't much I could say to that. I chose to ignore it. I could hear Big Ben humming again. I knew the tune but could not name it.