by Hatchett
Sam stepped aside as the two Harrys’ entered the kitchen, placing their large boxes on the kitchen table before scanning their guests.
“Hello everybody,” Harriet said, locking onto Jess. “You must be Jess,” she said, “Harry and I have been so looking forward to meeting you. Sam had told us all about you and your amazing gifts. If it wasn’t for you, we’d still be none the wiser about our visitors.”
Harry and Harriet proceeded to walk around the table shaking hands with everyone before finally finding a spare seat each and sitting down.
Hilda had come over and was waiting to see if she could get them anything.
“Don’t you worry about us Hilda,” Harry said, “we can help ourselves like everyone else,” as he lent forward to grab a plate and select a sandwich. Harriet poured them both drinks then they sat back to look more closely at their guests.
Both Harrys’ were in their sixties and made a handsome couple. Harry was around five feet nine with greying hair and medium build. However, it was his commanding presence which everyone noticed and when he spoke you found yourself listening. Harriet was shorter at around five feet three, slim with straight, hazel tinted hair down to her shoulders. She had a few laughter lines around her face, but it was still a pretty face which hinted at a lively sense of humour.
“Sam has updated us on the latest,” Harriet said, “and Harry has already been in touch with a number of our friends and acquaintances.”
“Yes, after many years of suspicions, we now have living proof in the basement. Word is now out, and we can do something about it,” Harry added. “Project Reclamation is already underway as we speak.”
“And to start it off,” Harriet added, “we have a little present for all of you.”
She opened one of the large boxes on the table and started passing out smaller cardboard boxes about fifteen centimetres by 5 centimetres.
“These are stun guns. They look a little bit like a small torch, don’t they? They deliver about three to four milliamps, which is significantly less than a defibrillator, so we don’t know if they will remove a Laakuu from a host. Worst case they’ll incapacitate your target and allow you to get away or give you time to secure them and get them to a defibrillator.”
“I thought these were illegal in this country?” Damian queried.
“They are,” Harriet replied, “but I suspect that particular law might well be relaxed in the very near future, once the news gets out. In any case, who cares? We’re at war. Oh, and the Underground are already trying to get hold of as many tasers and stun batons as they can. It’s easier for the groups in countries like the USA; they can just go and pick one off the shelves in their local shops. We’ve had to rely on the good old black market and exorbitant prices. We could’ve got guns cheaper.”
The guests around the table took out their new weapons and followed the instructions until their stun guns were operational. Thankfully, they fit nicely into their pockets.
“Shouldn’t we try them out?” Pete suggested.
“I’m not getting zapped by one of those things,” Jimmy squealed and shuddered at the thought.
“Not you, plonker. I meant we could try them out on our guinea pig in the basement.”
“NO. WE MIGHT NEED HIM. IF SOMEONE CAN DRIVE ME TO A TOWN, I’LL SEE IF I CAN SPOT ONE.”
“That sounds like a good idea,” Harry agreed. “Sam, can you get the van ready. You, Jason and Andy can accompany Jess and myself into town.”
31
The Harrys’ house was situated deep in the country between a small village called Aldbourne and the market town of Marlborough in Wiltshire, just a few kilometres from the M4 motorway with links to Bristol and Wales to the West and London to the East. It was at the end of its own mile long track and sat in around fifty acres of land. It was an ideal location; anyone approaching could be seen long before they arrived.
Sam drove the remaining white van with Harry and Jess in the front seats and Jason and Andy suffering in the back, sitting on a couple of pillows with their backs against the sides, feeling every bump and sway of the vehicle. Once they’d left the drive and were onto more established roads, the journey became much smoother, and in any case, they didn’t have too far to go. They would be in Marlborough within ten minutes.
Harry and Jess chatted the whole journey. It didn’t take long before they lapsed into silence and communicated just through thought. Harry was absolutely mesmerised by Jess and her abilities and he felt the need to hug and protect this poor young lady.
Sam drove into the centre of Marlborough from Poulton Hill to the East and headed straight for the high street and parked in the first space available in the middle of the road.
It was now late afternoon and people were beginning to leave work and do some quick shopping before going home for the evening. The group in the van really weren’t sure that there would be Laakuu in this part of the world; they expected them to stick to main hubs around the country and after half an hour of sitting there with Jess scanning the people walking around, they were beginning to think they were on a fool’s errand.
Twenty minutes later and still nothing, so the decision was taken to return to the house.
“At least the good news is that the country is not swarming with them,” Harry commented.
As Sam drove off the High Street into Kingsbury Street, Jess’s voice box emitted “THERE. ON THE CORNER.”
Harry looked at Jess and followed her line of sight. There was a black man about five feet nine inches tall, in his thirties with black hair cut close to the scalp, wearing stone washed jeans and a grey hoodie with some sort of writing on the back. The man turned the corner into Silverless Street and was lost from sight.
“Turn right here,” Harry ordered.
Sam slammed on the brakes to make the turning, causing a few fellow drivers to press their horns in annoyance.
‘Typical ‘White Van Man’,’ Sam could imagine them screaming, along with a long list of profanities no doubt. Still, he managed to make the turn without any shunts and was now heading up the street.
“There he is,” Harry said, pointing to the pavement on the right a few yards further along. “Get ready boys,” he said over his shoulder, then continued to survey the area.
Sam was driving on the left, but the target was on the right, so he had no choice but to drive past the target and wait until he found a parking spot amongst all the parked cars. He eventually found one and pulled across the road into the gap. They were about thirty metres ahead of the target, so they watched him carefully in the rear-view mirrors until he was a few feet from the back doors.
Harry got out of the van and stood in the middle of the pavement as the man approached.
“Excuse me,” he said to the target, “I don’t suppose you could tell me where the police station is could you?” The man was startled but stopped and considered the question. In the meantime, Jason and Andy had left the rear of the van quietly and moved up behind the target. Jason put an arm over his shoulder and clamped a massive hand across his mouth to stop him from shouting for help. He then dragged him to the back of the van, and with the help of Andy, they lifted the target in before following and slamming the doors shut.
“What the fuck is going on? What do you want?” the man asked, looking around wildly, looking for a chance to escape.
“Are you sure Jess?” Jason asked.
“YES, CAN’T YOU SMELL HIM?”
“Now that you mention it, yes I can,” Jason replied.
“Me too,” Andy added before turning to the man. “Stay down and shut the fuck up and you won’t get hurt. Make a sound and you’ll be in a whole world of pain.”
“He’s got silver flecks in his eyes,” Jason noted.
“So what?” the man spluttered, “I’ve also got a big cock as well. What’s your point?”
“I thought I told you to shut the fuck up, Mr Laakuu,” Andy shouted, raising one of his massive fists ready to bring it crashing down on the ma
n.
“No!” Harry ordered, “there’s a human in there.”
The man’s mouth was wide open in shock as Andy lowered his fist.
“How do you know who I am?” the man asked but got no response.
“Let’s go,” Harry ordered, and Sam pulled out of the parking spot and headed back to the house.
Thankfully, no one had noticed them kidnap the man off the street in broad daylight.
32
It was early evening when Sam drove the van back into the barn and the doors closed behind them.
Harry had phoned ahead to let them know the trip had been a success and there was a welcome committee waiting for them. As he got out of the van, Damian and Di pushed past him to help Jess out and Pete and Jimmy went around the back to open the rear doors for Jason and Andy. Between them they manhandled their captive out of the van and into the house.
“Take him downstairs,” Harry ordered them, “and put him with the other one.”
Harry, Sam and Jess stayed in the kitchen and helped themselves to a quick drink as they updated everyone on what had happened. Then all bar Hilda went down into the basement.
Harry, Sam, Pete, Jimmy and Jess entered the holding room to find Jason and Andy leaning against the wall and Joshua was sitting nonchalantly in the solitary chair. The man they had kidnapped was sitting on the floor against the wall. The rest of the group entered the room next door, eager to watch proceedings.
“Well, well, well,” Joshua remarked. “I see the information I gave you has helped you snag one of my brethren.”
“Do you know him?” Sam asked, as he approached.
Joshua laughed. “Do you know everyone on your planet?” he asked sarcastically. “Of course, I don’t know him. What are you going to do with him anyway? Why have you brought him here?”
Sam ignored Joshua while Harry focused on the man they had just abducted. “Hold him,” he ordered, and Jason an Andy moved across the room and grabbed the man by the arms. The man started to panic and kick out until Pete and Jimmy grabbed hold of his legs. Between the four of them, they manoeuvred him towards Joshua’s seat. Joshua quickly jumped up and out of the way before scooting across the floor and picking a spot against the wall.
“Now we find out if everything we’ve been told is true,” Harry said ominously as the man was tied down.
“What’s your name?” Harry asked.
“Errol,” the man replied.
“Well, Errol, now we find out who you really are.” From his pocket he withdrew one of the stun guns and moved towards their captive. “I’ve been told that the best places to place the electrodes are the shoulder, under the rib cage and the hip.”
“What about the clothing?” Sam asked.
“Shouldn’t make much difference, if at all,” Harry replied. “Most clothing is not resistant to electricity unless its thick leather or rubber, and even that’s no guarantee.”
Errol was already starting to shake before Harry had even placed the electrodes on him, his eyes wide with fear and uttering ‘no man, no man’ repeatedly. Harry ignored the protests and pressed the stun gun against his shoulder and pressed the button. Errol’s muscles immediately went into spasm and his mouth opened in a silent scream of pain. Harry would have kept the button depressed a little longer, but Errol jerked so much he toppled the chair over and fell to the floor. He lay there for what seemed like an eternity, twitching and moaning, although in reality it was only a few seconds at most.
Eventually, Errol raised his head off the floor to look at Harry and smiled. Harry’s lip rose a fraction in return, but he was still not sure if it had worked and he was looking at the real Errol or the imposter. His concerns were quickly dispelled when Errol spoke.
“Thanks Man! I don’t know what the fuck is goin’ on but somethin’ had control over me and there was fuck all I could do about it. There was me watchin’ an’ thinkin’ ‘please help, do it, do it’ and yet I couldn’t say a thing. Fuckin’ hurt though.”
“Help him up,” Harry ordered, and Jason and Andy quickly picked up the fallen chair with Errol still in it.
“Can you let me loose, man?”
“In a moment perhaps,” Harry replied as he lent over and smelt Errol. He then took out a torch and directed the beam into Errol’s eyes.
“I get it, man. You just wanna check I’m ok. You a doctor?”
“No,” Harry replied, turning to Jess. “What do you think Jess? He looks alright to me.”
“HE’S HUMAN,” Jess confirmed. “I CAN SEE HIM CLEARLY FOR A START.”
Harry turned to Sam, “Get the word out urgently. You know what we need to do.” Sam nodded and quickly left the room.
Harry turned back to Errol and smiled properly for the first time. “Hello Errol, I’m Harry.” He then turned to Pete and ordered, “Untie him and get him something to drink.”
Errol rubbed his wrists and ankles then started massaging some of his muscles. “Feels like I forgot how to move and ‘ave just run a marathon at the same time,” he explained. “Who’s that dude?” he asked, pointing towards Joshua.
“He’s one of what you were a few minutes ago,” Harry explained.
“And what exactly was that?” Errol asked with interest.
“You were taken over by an alien,” Harry explained matter-of-factly.
“Is that right?” Errol asked suspiciously. He took a long look around the whole room, taking in the occupants and their demeanour. “Well, I’m not in a padded cell so this ain’t a nightmare, but it sure is weird.”
“What do you remember, Errol?” Harry asked.
“The last thing I remember was walkin’ home from the gym. Then, the next thing I’m at home watchin’ the TV, no idea how I got there. I’ve also lost two days and I have messages on my phone tellin’ me I’ve been fired for not turnin’ up to work. Trouble is, I have no idea what happened in them two days and when I was conscious again, I couldn’t do anythin’ but watch what was goin’ on. I was doin’ things and talkin’, but it wasn’t me. Well, it was me, but it wasn’t, if you get what I mean. It was fuckin’ weird, man, like I was dreamin’ and out of control.”
“How long did this go on for?” Harry asked.
“Dunno. About a month or so, I guess. Still managed to lose my job and my girlfriend in that time.”
“Well, you’re back with us now Errol, and you seem to be fine, so that’s all that matters.”
“You said ‘aliens’ before, man. Are you on somethin’ dude?”
“No, it’s true I’m afraid. Isn’t it Joshua?” Harry asked, looking towards the Doctor. Joshua nodded.
“And what’s with the girl and the heavies?” Errol asked. “Feels a bit like I’m still in some fucked up dream here.”
“Let’s get you upstairs where you can meet the others and they can explain what is going on. Then we’ll see if you remember anything important,” Harry suggested.
33
Following an early meal, the Harrys’ and their guests were all in one of the large sitting rooms, enjoying a drink and chatting with Errol about his experience and trying to work out what was likely to happen next.
“If you’re this rich,” Errol pointed out to Harry, almost spilling some of his beer as he waved his arm around the room for effect, “then you must know some powerful people who can do somethin’ about it all.”
“To a degree,” Harry replied, taking a sip of his cognac. “The problem is that we only found out earlier today how to spot a Laakuu and how to deal with them, so we haven’t had much time to do anything except check the information was correct and start spreading the word. Plus, it’s a fairly difficult story to sell, as I’m sure you can appreciate; you were invaded but even you weren’t sure we were telling the truth.”
“I still don’t,” Errol replied with a wide smile. “Joke.”
“As we know from John,” Harry continued, “one of his so-called friends is one of them, and he’s an MP, so we have no idea how far up the hierarchy they�
�ve managed to climb. So, we have to be careful who we talk to. We can only tell if they’re Laakuu face to face, or a bit further away if we have Jess with us, so that makes it even more difficult.”
They turned towards the door as it opened, and Sam came in. “Evening all,” he said before helping himself to a bottle of beer from the bar and finding himself a seat to lounge in.
“Everything ok?” Harry asked.
“Let’s put it this way,” Sam replied, taking a long pull on the bottle, “I’ve been making some calls and sent out a few blogs and the like, and I’m now looking forward to the ‘News at Ten’. We may find out where the police have got to in their search for Jess.”
Harriet picked up a remote control and pointed it to a large flat screen TV on the far wall. She then selected a twenty-four-hour news channel and muted the sound before continuing with her conversation with Di and Paula.
As it happened, the group didn’t need to wait for the News at Ten. As the hours passed, the odd reference to minor individual attacks started appearing, but the programme producers obviously hadn’t linked the attacks together.
The good thing about twenty-four-hour news channels was their ability to latch onto a story and stay with it as long as it was necessary. Most days it was slow going with the same old shit being regurgitated hour after hour, but when the shit really hit the fan, these channels were worth their weight in gold.
By nine pm, there had been multiple reports from around the country that people had been attacked and by nine-thirty the reporters knew that all of these attacks involved tasers or stun guns of some sort. By nine-forty-five, the channel was reporting similar attacks overseas and the moving banners across the screen were trying to keep up with the numbers and attack locations. It was beginning to resemble a general election night with studio footage of talking heads highlighting various brightly coloured graphs and charts. Despite all the waffle and ‘expert opinion’, no one seemed to be able to explain why people were being electrocuted, why there were so many attacks and why they appeared to be happening at the same time all across the world. If only they knew.