by Carl Andrew
“Tonight we’re looking at the point where science and nature collide. Following a recent spate of attacks on science facilities around the country by an increasingly agitated activist fraternity, we’ll be asking leading Animal Behaviour Scientist, Dr Jennifer Hopwood, why these attacks are taking place, what need do we have for the use of live animals in scientific experimentation and where we go from here.”
“Dr Hopwood, welcome to the show.”
“Thank you for inviting me on and I look forward to sharing the important work that my colleagues and I do for the long term benefit of people in this country and hopefully, change a few of the misnomers that currently exist out there.”
“So if we can start with the activists. Your research facility was recently the target of an attack, is that right?”
“Yes, unfortunately we did have a break in but luckily nothing was lost in terms of the research, just a few broken glass bottles and some graffiti, the usual.”
“I must say, you’re very blasé about the incident. We’ve seen some of these attacks turn particularly violent with a number of scientists suffering serious injury. How can you stay so calm in the face of such provocation?”
“I don’t look at it as an attack on me. I see it as a lack of understanding about the importance of our work. These people, these activists as you call them… They’re just normal people to me. The same normal people who will be thankful of our work when, heaven forbid, they or their loved ones become seriously ill and rely on the medical breakthroughs we uncover on a regular basis.”
“What will come as a surprise to some people,” Jennifer continued, “Is that I love animals. The work I do does not involve intentionally harming animals in any way but merely studying them and their behaviour in different scenarios.”
“We combine field and lab work by observing animals in their natural habitat to identify what they do when they get injured or become ill. What plants do they eat? How do they repair themselves? We then try to recreate that scenario in laboratory conditions so we can get to know the different healing properties of plants and can learn from animals about how they self-heal.”
“As you and your audience will know, there are no hospitals in the wild for animals so their ability to look after themselves can teach humans an awful lot.”
“Well Dr Hopwood, you make a compelling argument but surely, if your work was so vital to human survival, why then are you not getting funding for the next 12 months?” The host smiled smugly believing he had successfully flummoxed Jennifer.
“Your research is obviously very good. I only recently found out that funding for our current program had been stopped. Fortunately, it has enabled us to move on to an even more exciting project with funding set to be announced in the next few weeks,” Jennifer countered.
Taken off guard, the host could only muster… “Really, err, that’s obviously, err… good news. Can you elaborate on the new project?”
“Of course, we’re opening a new Institute researching into both human and animal behavioural patterns. We’ll be looking into similarities and aiming to identify any lessons we can learn from the animal kingdom. It’s more like an extension to what we’ve already been doing,” Jennifer responded.
Jennifer spent the next 30 minutes easily batting away question after question and when the interview ended, she felt very comfortable with her performance.
Watching from a TV screen in Bolton, Leon was equally impressed with the performance of Dr Hopwood. He made a note to write a blog post about her work in the next few days and knew instantly he had another subject to shadow.
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Brampton, Cambridgeshire
Sarah arrived at the target house and could sense activity already taking place inside. She studied the location for possible hidden entry points and noticed the side gate was left slightly ajar.
Taking the invitation, she made her way around the back of the house towards the patio door with an almost expert aplomb. This place was very familiar to her.
Putting downward pressure on the handle she felt a click before the door opened.
Once inside, she spotted some of the other activists and asked what she should do.
“We’re here to find information but also to send a message so look for any paperwork or computers that could contain anything to do with science work. Otherwise, find anything the target would find precious or important to them and smash it,” a tall long haired guy called James told her.
“Sure. No problem. Shall I start upstairs?” Sarah asked.
“Ok. We’re out of here in ten minutes ok?”
“Understood, thanks,” Sarah replied before making her way upstairs.
Taking in the surroundings, a sudden uneasy feeling came over her. Steadying herself by holding onto the bannister at the top of the stairs, Sarah stopped and took a couple of deep breaths.
“You ok Sarah. Look like you’ve seen a ghost.” It was Sebastian.
“Yeah, fine. Just… just a little tired I guess. Has anyone been in this room?” Sarah asked absolutely focused on the door in front of her.
“Nope, it’s all yours.”
She walked purposefully into the room and closed the door behind her. She took another deep breath before recognition set in of the smell around her. She stood still for a few minutes and then, when the rage built up inside her, she unleashed her fury on anything and everything she could find.
Clawing and tearing at the contents from the draws and cupboards she ripped and broke anything in front of her. She felt herself losing control with every action. Tears welled up in her eyes as she continued her maniacal attack.
The room resembled the aftermath of a bomb explosion when the door opened and a voice said:
“Sarah, Sarah, that’s enough ok. You’re making too much noise and we’ve got to go,” Sebastian said, grabbing Sarah for fear she was going to hurt herself.
Sarah stopped and, noticing that she had been crying, wiped her eyes.
“Hopefully that’ll teach the sick bastards a lesson,” she said trying to provide a cover for her emotions.
“You ok? Perhaps it wasn’t such a good idea for you to come along to this one,” suggested Sebastian.
“No, I’m fine, really I am. Just want to make sure we get our message across”
“Ok, well you did that. It’s time to head off. Why don’t you go first and then the others will leave individually so we don’t make a scene out there,” he thumbed out to the street.
“Sure,” Sarah said making her way past Sebastian to leave. As she did so, she turned back to him and said, reassuringly: “I can do this you know. This isn’t too difficult for me, you understand.” She was regaining control and realised she had overstepped the mark.
“Sure Sarah. No problem. I know you can do it. I’ll be in touch.”
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BBC, London
Feeling pleased with the interview, Jennifer left the studio to meet her taxi. For the first time since everything with the Institute had been confirmed, she felt genuinely excited about the future.
It was almost as if having the interview and being able to explain the purpose of the Institute crystallised everything in her mind.
It was late and she was tired although she enjoyed the relative solitude of travel. She glanced out of the window to watch the city rushing by and replayed the interview in her head. She then checked her emails on her phone and before she knew it, she was just a few minutes from home.
When the car turned into her street, an uneasy feeling came over her, more of a sense than anything and something she couldn’t explain so she brushed it off as best as she could.
As the taxi pulled up to her house, Jennifer thanked the driver, got out of the car and made her way to the front door. Try as she might, she still couldn’t shake the strange feeling she had.
The engine sound faded into the distance a
s she put the key in the lock and heard the door click open…
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Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire
Sarah struggled to stop shaking as she got close to home. She wasn’t sure if she was exhilarated, petrified or upset. It was a range of emotions coursing through her.
She kept thinking about what had just happened, how she struggled to control herself. It played on her mind, over and over.
When she got inside her house, she wanted to avoid contact with her housemates so she went straight to her room, sat on her bed and curled up into a ball. She started crying, unsure what she was turning into.
She felt anger but at what she wasn’t sure. She stared up at the ceiling, trying to find answers but only managing to engage further questions.
Her head was spinning, her thoughts playing tricks on her. She pulled the duvet over her head to hide away, hoping that by some minor miracle the torment she was feeling would simply just dissipate.
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Brampton, Cambridgeshire
… Pushing her way inside, Jennifer was greeted by an explosion of hate. Her possessions were strewn everywhere. Photos, travel gifts and furniture all broken and battered on the floor with red paint covering the walls.
She immediately thought back to the break in at the lab and knew the two were connected. They’d attacked her house. How the bloody hell had they found out where she lived?
She was about to go into the living room when she suddenly feared whether the attackers could still be in the house. Scared, she rushed outside, looking around her all the time for any sign of either friend or foe.
Fumbling around in her pocket, feeling for a familiar object she finally grasped hold of the device and brought her phone out from its temporary resting place.
At that point she realised she didn’t have anyone to call. Her husband had died a few years ago and she was too focused on her work to retain friendships. Her work colleagues were nothing more than that and relationships didn’t extend outside of the laboratory. She felt absolutely alone.
For some reason, she decided to look through her recent call list. She saw Vanessa Lim’s number and almost robotically pressed to dial it.
There was a ring tone and then a pause. At that point Jennifer almost put the phone down but before impulse could take over action, she heard a voice.
“Jennifer, is that you? It’s very late. What can I do for you?” Vanessa said.
The reply came back flustered and with a stutter. “I, I don’t know who else to call. I have no one else to call. They’ve been here…”
“Who Jennifer? Who’s been there? What’s happened?”
“The same people, it has to be. They attacked my laboratory and now….and now they know where I live,” Jennifer’s voice tailed off into a cry.
A gasp came through the other end of the phone followed by a pause as Vanessa collected her thoughts. Naked and suddenly feeling exposed due to the distraction of the situation, she pulled the bed sheet over her breasts to cover herself and waived Tom away, her latest love interest, before pulling the phone back to her head and with a much more collected tone said:
“Jennifer listen to me. Stay where you are, I’m going to hang up and call the local police station.
They’ll send someone to you immediately. I’ll also call for a car and will be at your house as soon as I can. Please, don’t touch anything. It’s our best chance of getting whoever it is who’s doing this.”
“Thank you Vanessa… for… for everything.”
Immediately after finishing the call, Vanessa dialled for a car, threw the sheet off to expose her firm naked body to the frustration of Tom who knew he wouldn’t be able to enjoy what he saw.
He knew she would be dressed and out of the apartment in a flash. This wasn’t the first time they’d been interrupted having sex.
Showered and clothed, Vanessa opened up her laptop, searched through her files and found Jennifer’s home address seconds before a knock on the door signified that her car was waiting.
Meanwhile, after being left with nothing more than a tone and then silence to occupy her time, Jennifer stood on the front lawn of her house, alone.
A little over ten minutes later, the local police sergeant pulled up and was taking down some details.
Soon after, a circus of cars brought detectives and forensics officers to Jennifer’s house, stirring up the neighbours for a night vigil of rubbernecking and head shaking. Each was questioned for any possible sightings and leads while the forensics team got down to surveying the house.
An elderly lady and gentleman came over to Jennifer and asked if they could do anything to help.
They invited her in to their house and begrudgingly but in need of company, Jennifer accepted.
It was the first time she had ever spoken to her neighbours and she was almost taken aback by their genuine kindness. Being such a private person, Jennifer was unused to such behaviour.
By the time Vanessa arrived, the investigation was drawing to a conclusion. The lead detective had informed Vanessa that it was ok for Jennifer to re-enter the house. She collected her from the neighbouring house and led her home.
Upon entering, Jennifer, with clarity of thought now, was overwhelmed by the damage she witnessed.
The same red paint was strewn everywhere. Her possessions were scattered over the floors, while pieces of paper had been ripped out of files and left wherever they had landed.
Noticing how overbearing the scene was for Jennifer, Vanessa said: “I’ve already spoken to a clean-up team who will be here in the morning to tidy things up for you. I’ve booked you into a hotel for the night. I think that’s best.”
Jennifer acknowledged Vanessa’s words with a glance and then went upstairs checking each room as she passed. She ended up at the spare bedroom and gasped at what she saw when she entered. This room above all other areas had suffered the most brutal ordeal.
Visibly shaken, but with a strange clarity of thought, she turned to Vanessa and said: “I don’t want to press charges.”
“Jennifer, you have to get these people for what they’ve done. You have to let the police investigate this,” responded Vanessa in a calming tone.
“No, I don’t want to press any charges. I just want to forget about it all.”
“Why? I don’t understand?” Vanessa queried.
“Thank you sincerely for your help but please, respect my wishes, I don’t want to take this any further.”
Confused, Vanessa decided to let this battle go and pick it up another time. “It’s your decision but at least let me arrange for the police to keep a watch over you and the house.”
“Sure, no problem, I just want to forget about this incident. Can we… can we go to the hotel?”
“Sure,” said Vanessa walking Jennifer out of the house and over to the waiting car.
The journey to the hotel was made in silence. Jennifer was staring out of the window and Vanessa didn’t want to distract her from her thoughts.
After dropping Jennifer off and ensuring she got into her room ok, Vanessa made her way back to her car and pulled out her phone.
“Hello, it’s me. I need you to do a check for me. Keep this one off the record please. I need you to find out if Dr Jennifer Hopwood has any family and also if she has any acquaintances linked to anarchist groups. Make this a priority 1 please,” requested Vanessa.
The gravelly male voice the other end of the line simply said, “Ok.”
Chapter 11:
Mid-November 8am - 10 Downing Street, London
Vanessa, exhausted from the events of the previous night, picked up the sealed confidential envelope and slotted it into her bag.
She was desperate to see the contents of the package but had the small matter of a meeting with the Prime Minister to deal with first.
Hurrying along the corridor, she made her way into the meetin
g room. David and Russell were already engaged in conversation.
“Glad you could join us,” David greeted Vanessa sarcastically.
“I was up all night with our scientist friend. Her house was broken into by activists and for some reason, she called me. I don’t think she has anyone else. Married to her work it would seem,” the seriousness of Vanessa’s response completely removed the sarcasm from the room.
“Oh my, she’s ok though right?” David said now with an almost fatherly concern.
“Startled but fine; and adamant she’s not pressing charges. I think there’s more to this than meets the eye so I’m taking this on as a personal project. I’ll keep you posted if I find anything, but best you’re not complicit just in case.”
“Interesting and a little concerning, she’s still the right choice for the Institute though I assume?” enquired David.
“Absolutely, no change there,” responded Vanessa reassuringly.
“Good, well on to business then,” said David, in the range of concerns he had to face, skeletons in the closet of a scientist ranked low on the list.
“Russell was just filling me in on the agreement with Dr Hopwood and next steps. I still find it a struggle to think that we have to rely on science to seek a solution to our… err… challenges, but we’re at the stage where we need to explore all possibilities I suppose.”
“I agree. I’ve been really impressed with Dr Hopwood and her work. I’m keen to hear her thoughts on how we can deal with the anti-social behaviour issue. At our next meeting we’ll discuss the initial projects to focus on. Now, in terms of the public, are they content or do we need to reveal a little more about the Social Behaviour ministerial portfolio?” Vanessa enquired.
Not to be left out, Russell interjected: “I think we need to stick to our original plan. Let’s release further detail including policy plans in a couple of weeks. We always said end of November and to do something any earlier would look knee-jerk.”