Savant ; Rising

by Hatchett

  “Let’s go,” Matt ordered and headed towards the exit.

  Karen allowed Joshua to walk in front of her, where she could keep an eye on him, before following.

  Matt headed back to the lift and pressed the call button. No one said anything as they waited, Matt and Karen sizing up Joshua and Joshua pretending not to notice but with a sly smile plastered across his face.

  The lift took them to the seventh floor where they found the staircase to take them up the final flight to the roof. Matt opened the heavy metal door at the top of the stairs and held it open for Joshua and Karen to pass through before he closed it firmly behind him.

  There was a stiff breeze this high up and it managed to drown out some of the traffic noise from the busy street below, although they could still hear the odd horn or screech of brakes and a police or ambulance siren someway off in the distance.

  They moved across the paved roof to the railings and looked over. The view across the Thames was magnificent and they all stared at it in awe. Matt imagined that this was what it must be like for those lucky enough to own a penthouse overlooking the river. Unfortunately, the cost of such a residence was likely to be in the millions or tens of millions, and his Government pay packet would never stretch anywhere near. He watched as one of the water taxis below sped past, creating a wake behind it and causing other boats to rise and fall on the swell.

  The chopping sound of rotor blades drew Matt’s attention away from the water and he turned towards the West to find a newish-looking executive helicopter coming into land. For some reason he had been expecting an armed forces aircraft, so this was just another surprise in a day full of surprises. This helicopter wouldn’t come cheap either, so whoever owned it and had enough clout to request access to their Laakuu ‘guest’ must be someone very important.

  Matt and Karen looked at each other with their eyebrows raised. They both knew they were thinking exactly the same thing.

  The helicopter eventually settled on the landing pad about a dozen feet above their heads. Matt led the way up a final set of metal fire-escape type stairs and automatically crouched as he made his way below the spinning rotors towards a man holding open the door to the rear of the aircraft.

  The man indicated that Matt should board so he climbed up onto the seats and scooted across to allow Joshua and Karen to follow. Once they were in, the man holding the door slammed it shut and walked around the aircraft and climbed into the seat at the front, next to the pilot, where he proceeded to put on a set of earphones and indicate that the others should do the same.

  Once the earphones were on, they heard the pilot welcome them aboard before taking the helicopter back up into the sky and banking around to head back West, the way he had come.

  “Where are we going?” Kate asked.

  “You’ll see when we get there,” the pilot responded. “It will take about forty-five minutes, so sit back and relax.”

  “Who are we going to see?” Matt asked.

  “You’ll see when we get there,” the Pilot reiterated, and it was clear they weren’t going to get any answers yet.

  The three passengers sat back in their seats and looked out of the windows. Joshua surreptitiously studied Karen’s profile as her attention was drawn by the view. It had been a while since he’d taken advantage of a pretty, nubile blond and he felt the first stirrings of arousal. Lost in his thoughts, he didn’t notice that Karen was staring straight at him. He quickly recovered his poise and gave her a quick smile.

  “Look at me like that again and I’ll castrate you,” she hissed menacingly.

  Joshua quickly turned his attention to the windows and the view outside, already wishing this journey was over.

  11

  Mason was lying on his recliner with his eyes closed when he heard a ‘swish’ followed by approaching footsteps. He quickly leapt to his feet and was in a fighting stance before he recognised the Laakuu standing in front of him and relaxed.

  The figure held up a clawed hand and waited until the entrance had re-sealed then he lowered his hand and approached Mason.

  “Good to see you Mason,” the figure said.

  “Good to see you too, Declan,” Mason replied, smiling. “Is everything in order?”

  “Everything is set,” Declan confirmed.

  Whilst Mason had been the Laakuu leader in England, Declan had been the leader in Ireland. In human form, Declan had been a five and a half feet tall nerd, in his late forties with a body badly going to seed. Now back in his Laakuu form, he was closing in on eight feet and supremely fit. Mason, Declan and the ex-leaders of Scotland and Wales made up the fabled ‘Four Horsemen’ on the ground, but Mason had found the other two leaders too weak and had killed them. Mason would have killed Declan too, had he not pledged allegiance to Mason and his cause.

  “Where are they?” Mason asked, referring to the twelve members of the Council of Elders.

  “In their own personal quarters as usual,” Declan replied. “You know they never go anywhere unless they really have to. All their communications are done by secure and remote hologram. Still, they might make an exception for your ‘spacing’ and come down to watch.”

  Mason smiled wryly.

  “Then let it begin.”

  Declan re-opened the front of the cube, and using a tiny communicator hidden in his tunic, opened a private channel.

  “This is Declan. I have Mason with me. Proceed,” he ordered.

  As Mason and Declan glided along the passageway, Declan lowered the walls of the cells holding Mason’s six Stormtroopers. They rose, stretched then followed.

  Declan stopped at the holographic screen, which lit at his approach. Declan manipulated the device for a couple of minutes before switching off and turning back to Mason.

  “All your authorities are back in place,” he confirmed, “but obviously I can’t give you top level access as I don’t have it myself.”

  “Good,” Mason replied. “Time to get kitted out.”

  With that he headed to the transfer hub he’d used earlier, stepped instead the car and disappeared, heading towards the armoury on level 34.

  Declan and the Stormtroopers followed.

  12

  The Helicopter carrying Matt, Karen and Joshua landed on the lawn, almost in the exact spot as it had landed earlier when Jess had returned to The Manor.

  This time, only the two Harrys’ were waiting on the patio. The rest of the group were getting on with their jobs and Jess, her parents and the Barrington’s had stayed at the kitchen table; they had all seen more than enough of Joshua for one lifetime and weren’t particularly interested in seeing him ever again, yet they accepted that his knowledge could be useful to their cause.

  Matt, Karen and Joshua had been told to wear blindfolds for the last part of the journey and once they’d landed and climbed down from the aircraft, they instinctively ducked as they moved towards the two figures waiting for them on the patio.

  Harry came forward to introduce himself before introducing Harriet and leading the new arrivals towards the house. Once inside, further introductions were made, and they all took a seat around the dining table.

  “So, Harry, can you explain why we’re all here and what all the secrecy is about?” Matt asked, taking a sip of the coffee Hilda had brought him.

  “Oh? Didn’t you know?” Joshua interrupted. “Harry and his group of kidnapping, murdering thugs are the saviours of mankind.”

  Matt and Karen looked confused while the others around the table just shook their head and stared in Joshua’s direction.

  “What Joshua means is that we are part of the movement which identified and fought back against the aliens,” Harriet corrected.

  Matt and Karen looked at her carefully, trying to see if they were the butt of some elaborate joke, but no one was laughing.

  “So, you’re the Underground we’ve heard so much about in the last twenty-four hours?” Karen asked.

  “We’re part of it,” Harry replied, “but it h
as spread worldwide.”

  “He means he’s the leader of the Underground,” Joshua interrupted again, “and this is his pet bitch,” Joshua indicated Jess, feeling his skin crawling at being in such close proximity to her. He made sure he didn’t look at her or make eye contact.”

  “NOW, NOW! JOSHUA,” came from the voice box, “YOU WOULDN’T WANT TO MAKE ME ANGRY. REMEMBER WHAT HAPPENED THE LAST TIME?”

  There were a few smiles around the table as they recalled Jess forcing Joshua to run head-first into a wall and, as Joshua cowered, Karen spoke.

  “What do you mean, ‘the last time’? Have you met before?”

  “JOSHUA HELPED US WORK OUT HOW TO GET RID OF THE LAAKUU FROM THE HOST BODIES. BUT HE TOOK A BIT OF PERSUADING.”

  “You mean all those taser attacks?”

  “YES.”

  The room was quiet for a few moments while everyone thought things through.

  “I guess we better start at the beginning,” Harry said, and over the next half hour, they filled Matt and Karen in on everything that had happened but omitting some of the more delicate and confidential parts. They didn’t really know Matt and Karen very well yet and after all, they did work for MI5.

  “So, what now?” Matt asked.

  “Now, we wait, prepare and keep watch,” Harry replied.

  “And we’re supposed to stay and wait with you?” Karen asked.

  “That’s up to you and your bosses,” Harry said. “Your welcome to stay or go as you please.”

  13

  Mason, Declan and the six Stormtroopers kitted themselves out with their own form-fitting protective clothing and equipped themselves with various weapons. Mason then entered another of the transfer hubs and a split second later emerged on level 4, the home of the Laakuu leadership. He was closely followed by the others.

  Once there, Mason was met by two other Stormtroopers.

  “Everything is locked down,” one of the Stormtroopers confirmed before moving aside to let Mason past.

  “Good job,” Mason replied. “Secure access to this floor.”

  He then started gliding down the centre of the massive hallway towards the rear of the ship. It was obvious where he was heading because there were several more Stormtroopers waiting around outside several residences.

  “Bring them to me,” Mason ordered, and within seconds, twelve refined Laakuu were brought out of their rooms.

  Each and every one of them looked significantly older than the younger Laakuu guarding them, with wrinkles and layers of fat on their bodies. They all wore shimmering gold gowns which glowed in the light and they all had similar yet different golden amulets around their necks, each with a different coloured stone in the centre. The guards herded the Elders until they were lined up and facing Mason.

  “Elijah, it’s been a long time,” Mason started, looking at the oldest and most senior member of the Council.

  Elijah stared at Mason, loathing written all over his face.

  “You will be the death of us all,” he hissed.

  “No, I will be the death of you,” Mason replied with a smile, “but I’ll give our species something that you never had the courage to provide.”

  With that Mason approached Elijah and removed his golden amulet with a translucent yellow stone in the centre, before putting it around his own neck.

  Elijah looked even older as he was then dragged across the floor and placed near the outer wall of the ship. Mason made a quick gesture with his hand and a blue cuboid formed around Elijah.

  “Any last words?” Mason asked sarcastically, as he glided in the direction of the Elder.

  Elijah looked confused.

  “It’s an Earth custom,” Mason explained. “You get to say something meaningful before you die.”

  Elijah looked towards space and thought carefully until Mason started losing patience and began tapping his foot. At last, Elijah looked back at Mason

  “You should make peace, son, or you will make our race extinct.”

  “Thank you for that wisdom,” Mason replied with a broad smile and flicked his wrist.

  The outer skin of the ship pulled back and Elijah was sucked out into space. The outer skin then re-closed and Mason then flicked his wrist again and the blue wall closest to him reopened.

  “From now on, I will now be known by my proper name, Kinaejah,” Mason informed the gathering as he turned to look at them. “Right, who’s next?” he asked casually.

  None of the Elders showed any emotion.

  “Come on, come on! Don’t be shy. Who’s next? Thaejah?”

  Thaejah stepped forward of his own accord.

  “Just get it over with,” he spat in Kinaejah’s direction.

  “Not so fast,” Kinaejah ordered, before pulling off Thaejah’s amulet which held a green stone

  He passed the amulet to Declan.

  “Don’t say I never keep my promises. You will now be known as Thaejah.”

  The new Thaejah bowed slightly.

  “Which reminds me…” Kinaejah turned to two of his Stormtroopers, “Bring me the Courier!”

  The two Stormtroopers nodded and headed towards the nearest transfer hub.

  Kinaejah turned back to the gathering.

  “Where were we? Oh yes, the old Thaejah. Never did like you.”

  With that, Kinaejah pointed to the cuboid and the old Thaejah walked slowly into it. Kinaejah went through the same routine of asking if he had any last words, but the old Thaejah just glared at him. Kinaejah flicked his wrist and the old Thaejah was sucked out into space.

  For the next half hour, Kinaejah removed the remaining ten Elders and awarded their amulets to his tried and trusted lieutenants, renaming each of them in place of the Elders he had just spaced. As he was putting the finishing touches to his coup, his other two Stormtroopers returned with the Courier.

  Kinaejah smiled like a shark with the scent of blood.

  “If it isn’t my stupid friend, the Courier,” Kinaejah remarked. “Didn’t I warn you? Didn’t I give you the opportunity to side with me?”

  The Courier said nothing, but stood very still, looking very nervous.

  Kinaejah selected a rod from his selection of weapons. A rod was the size of a ballpoint pen, but once the small panel along its side was activated, it expanded to about a metre long and one end became a bright blue sphere of energy. Kinaejah debated whether to use it as a javelin to impale the Courier or use the blue sphere to shoot a blue energy bolt across the gap to vaporise him where he stood.

  The courier was looking more worried by the second but still didn’t say anything.

  “I have better things to do than worry about cretins like you,” Kinaejah relented, as he turned off the rod and replaced it on his belt. “Thaejah, deal with him.”

  As Kinaejah moved towards his new residence, Thaejah quickly ordered the Stormtroopers to place the courier inside the cube, before spacing him then hurrying to catch up Kinaejah.

  Kinaejah entered his new residence and moved straight to a desk area and conjured up a control panel out of thin air. He then used his amulet to reset all commands before switching to a communications channel and addressing all Laakuu on the Mothership and the two Inter-Galactic Cruisers.

  There was a new leader in town and his name was Kinaejah.

  14

  The two Harrys’ showed Matt and Karen around The Manor, and in particular the hidden basement which was the control centre for the Underground movement.

  It was reached by taking the main corridor off the kitchen; the long corridor had numerous rooms leading off it and terminated with a brick wall. The wall was actually a concealed doorway and once it was activated using a special key fob, it slid open to reveal a double-width lift. There were just two options inside the lift; buttons with the letter’s ‘G’ for ground level and ‘B’ for basement.

  The lift took just thirty seconds to reach the basement level and the doors opened up to reveal a cavernous space which stretched the entire length of the
massive house above it and a bit more.

  The floorspace was sectioned off into different areas and rooms, which included a communications room, a kitchen, meeting rooms, cells with one-way mirrors, toilets and changing rooms, a lounge area, storage room and firing range. Everything was soundproofed so no one upstairs would ever know it was down there; it was fully self-contained and had its own power source and doubled as a nuclear shelter. It had been built secretly many years earlier by one of Harry’s own companies so there was no record of its existence and no expense had been spared by Harry in making it as perfect as possible.

  As the two Harry’s took the lead to the basement, Matt and Karen followed behind asking questions as they went. Jess brought up the rear in her motorised wheelchair, much like the one which had been used by the late Stephen Hawking.

  It was a little disconcerting at first being followed by a motorised humming and the squeak of the wheels on some surfaces, but Matt and Karen soon got used to be being followed around and found Jess both talkative and funny. What they didn’t realise was that she was also reading their minds every step of the way, checking that they hadn’t been sent to spy or infiltrate the group.

  “So, how did you manage to get access to Joshua?” Matt asked casually.

  “Well,” Harry began, “with Joshua’s help, we worked out how to remove the Laakuu from their hosts, hence the fightback that happened all around the World. Then we found Mason’s weapons stashed at Robert Stephenson’s house and managed to persuade Robert to contact the PM. From there, we helped set a trap for Mason and the rest is history, as they say.”

  “But, I’m still not sure why you would want Joshua back, and I’m also a little surprised those in charge let him go.”

  “We need Joshua in case anything happens. We need his insight into the Laakuu mentality and his knowledge of how to use their weapons, their likely tactics in any battle and their other technology.”

  “What good will that do you?” Karen started, “…unless…unless you have some of their weapons or technology?”

  “Of course, we have dear lady,” Harriet chimed in with a snort. “You didn’t think we’d leave everything at Robert’s house for MI5 to take, did you? We already knew what many of the items did thanks to Joshua, so we just took what we wanted and left a few things behind for MI5 to get all excited about.”