by David James
'I can get you more details later on Gary, but until then, and I can't stress this enough, you mustn't tell anyone else about this.' Her voice was now quite stern.
'Scout's honour,' replied Gary.
Sarah kept her gaze on him for a few more seconds, as if to burn into his mind the fact that he had made a promise to her.
It worked and Gary found himself saying 'You can trust me, it'll be our secret.'
'Well we all have our secrets don't we Gary' said Sarah looking at the packet of cigarettes protruding from his pocket.
'I guess so,' he said, his turn to be sheepish.
'Oh, and one last thing, I'd like to do it this evening if we can. After the institute is closed down,' said Sarah.
'Blimey, not much notice then!'
'Best way I think. Less time for anyone to spoil our plans,' said Sarah.
By the time Sarah had opened the door and slid quietly out into the corridor, Gary had already worked out what must be done.
'I'm surprised myself really. It all came out of the blue. I never thought she trusted me that much.'
Helen was speaking as quietly as she could manage. She had only just managed to find what she hoped was a secluded part of the institute. But she still felt the urge to whisper.
'It's a place I used to go as a child. Sherwood place. We're going there at seven o'clock...I know it doesn't leave much time but...'
The voice on the other end of the phone sounded pleased, but the short notice seemed to have caused them some problem.
'That's a good question, I don't really know how she is going to manage to smuggle them out. The press are still camped outside.'
'I got the feeling that she isn't going to tell the management at the institute. So she really is going out on a limb on this one.'
'I think she is hoping that getting them away from the institute will get them to open up. She seems worried that they are becoming institutionalised already.'
'Yes, I agree it does sound like a risky idea, but I think she is doing it now because she is getting a bit desperate.'
Helen finished the call, looked around her and unable to see anyone, headed back to the office.
Helen had indeed taken precautions not to be seen or overheard. And she had done it well. It was just that John had been doing this for a while. And he was damn good at it.
He had followed her without her noticing at all and now he had what he wanted. He had a final check that no one could see him or overhear him and dialled the number.
Chapter Twenty Five
Sarah shuffled the papers pointlessly on her desk. She realised that in the last ten minutes she had moved them from the left of the desk to the right. She was looking across at John; she needed him to leave at the usual time. As the time arrived, he got up and entirely as usual smiled at Sarah and said 'Another day another peso.'
Sarah smiled back and started to appear to be leaving herself.
'Can I walk you out boss?' said John.
Sarah began to panic. He wasn't supposed to say that. 'Just got a few other things to do,' she said.
John looked at her with a strange expression in his face.
'Okay, I'll leave you to it then. Have a good evening.'
And with that he left the office. Sarah let out a sigh of relief.
It was time to meet up with Helen.
Sarah casually gathered her things and left the office exactly as usual. What was slightly unusual was that after checking that she hadn't been seen by anyone, she ducked out through a side door. It led to a side of the institute that people rarely ventured into. She made her way across the small clearing and was soon swapping the neatly trimmed open ground for a mixture of small shrubs and trees. Under her feet she could feel that there had once been a path in the undergrowth; but it had given up the battle with nature and was now just a rather uneven gap in the undergrowth.
The institute had been around for nearly a hundred years and it was proud of most of its history. As she pushed her way through the undergrowth she could see the outside of the old institute building. This was a building that the institute was rather less proud of.
As she opened the door, which produced an unfortunate groaning noise as she pushed it, she looked inside the large open hallway. She had read about some of the treatments that had taken place here in the past. And she had to admit that it hadn't looked good. ECT was one of the treatments that had been used and the black and white photos she had seen of some of the recipients would not have looked out of place in a horror film. But at the time she knew that many of the top professionals had believed that this was the best treatment for some patients. They hadn't been sadistic monsters who did this for their own pleasure.
Besides, the institute had always prided itself on being at the forefront of techniques of treatment. Many of their methods had been described as outlandish even at the time; but they were now regarded as mainstream. The director and her father had certainly taken risks in some of their treatments; and she had played her own small part in helping them. She was also aware that some of the experiments had been moved away from the old institute due to some adverse publicity. She could remember that being a difficult time for her father and the director.
Despite all her rationalisations as she walked down the long corridor, with its evenly spaced doorways on either side, she was feeling uneasy.
Helen had been waiting in the old institute for ten minutes or so and had been involved in a battle between her rational side and the side of her mind that didn't like standing, alone, in a dark empty and decaying building. She too had read about some of the experiments that had taken place here and she had seen the photos as well. At this moment her rational side was losing. She had even begun to wonder if Sarah was punishing her. Had she found out about Helen? She couldn't see how, everything had been so well organised. At this moment she was wondering if Sarah was going to come at all. Or if she did come, what she had planned for Helen. She suddenly felt very alone indeed.
Eventually she heard the front door open and she managed to say in a quiet voice ‘Sarah?’
From the gloom came the reply 'Helen, is that you?'
'There's something about this place…' said Helen as Sarah approached.
'I know what you mean,' replied Sarah, 'it makes everything seem more..'
'Intense?'
'I was going to go for creepy, but intense sounds better,' replied Sarah. 'But you can guarantee it is a safe place to meet, no one else will be here.'
'Is it alright if we leave now, please?' said Helen.
With that they both gratefully walked back down the corridor, opened the door and made their way outside.
Sarah had arranged to meet Gary in one of the outer buildings near the old institute. It was a part of the institute that Sarah barely knew existed.
Sarah and Helen approached the side door, all was quiet and there didn't seem to be anyone around. There was just the one giveaway that they were not alone. The plume of smoke gently drifted into the air and was turned into a swirling pattern by the light breeze.
Helen looked puzzled.
Sarah looked across at her and said 'I think our organiser is waiting for us.'
Sarah walked around the side of the building, following the trail of smoke and opened the smaller door.
Gary seemed surprised that they had discovered where he was.
'I was just taking a break, you know, steady my nerves and everything before the main event,' he said before taking a long final draw on the cigarette.
He moved away from the wall that had been supporting him and beckoned for them to follow him.
Instead of following the normal path back into the institute, he turned the opposite way and with Sarah and Helen in tow found a door that Sarah suspected few people knew existed.
Gary saw her expression and smiled. 'You've probably never been down this part of the institute Sarah.' As he pushed the door open they followed and found themselves in a wide open courtyard. There w
ere vehicles of all sorts, vans mainly, but all in various states of repair.
'It's where we keep all the less glamorous vehicles for the institute. The one's you probably wouldn't want to have parked round the front. Might mess up the appearance of the place,' explained Gary.
He smiled, but Sarah wasn't sure he was entirely joking.
One vehicle caught Sarah's eye, even in this less than glamorous setting it looked slightly shabby.
'Ah, you have a good eye,' said Gary, following her gaze.
The van in question was hiding in the shadows. It was really more of a coach size van.
'It's filthy,' said Helen with more than a little disgust in her voice.
'Camouflage,' said Gary immediately.
Sarah understood immediately and smiled at Gary's comment.
Helen considered for a few moments before nodding her head and saying 'Ah, that's how we are getting out of here.'
'Sure are,' said Gary.
'What does it say on the side?' said Helen her interest now growing.
'Arkwright's medical waste supplies,' said Gary as he cleaned some of the dust off the side.
'Makes sense,' said Sarah nodding, 'shouldn't raise much suspicion here.'
'That's the idea,' said Gary.
'No windows either,' said Helen peering round the vehicle.
'Avoids prying eyes,' said Gary.
'It won't be all that comfortable though,' said Helen.
'True, but it won't be a long journey will it?' said Gary.
Sarah turned and looked at Helen.
'No, not too long,' replied Helen, her eyes still fixed on the van.
They all stood there saying nothing. Sarah realised it was time for her to take charge.
'Do you need any help getting the children into the van Gary?'
'It will be easier with some help,' replied Gary.
'If you could help Gary please Helen,' said Sarah. Helen tore her eyes away from the van and said 'Yes, of course,' and followed him out of the courtyard.
Sarah was left alone with the van and her thoughts. She remembered when she went on school trips when she was younger with the sense of excitement and the loud chattering of the children. She would settle for anything from the children today. Excitable chatter was perhaps asking too much, but a word, a phrase, anything would do.
Sarah turned around as she heard the sound of the door being opened.
Gary was the first to emerge, followed by Nathan and Emily. Nathan's expression seemed to lighten as he saw the van. He flashed a quick look at Sarah as if to confirm that they were indeed going on a trip.
Sarah nodded and said 'We thought you might like a little trip out.'
Emily came bounding around the side of Nathan and her face needed no words to convey her excitement.
To Sarah's eye they already looked more relaxed.
This could go well, thought Sarah. It might even be worth the considerable risk to her career. But if it led them to start talking to her, it would be a risk worth taking.
Sarah approached Gary, and as Helen led the children to the van, Sarah said in a low voice 'Helen knows the way, so if you and Helen can ride up front I can stay in the back with the children.'
'Okay, but it might look a bit odd with Helen dressed like that, with the nature of the business being what it is.' He looked across at the livery of the van.
'I see what you mean,' said Sarah, 'what did you have in mind?'
Gary reached round behind where he was standing and produced a set of overalls. They weren't exactly stylish and they certainly weren’t exactly clean.
For a brief moment Sarah wanted to see the expression on Helen's face as she was presented with them. Helen was always such a smart dresser.
'I think you had better hand them to Helen,' said Sarah, slightly embarrassed by her own cowardice.
'No problem,' said Gary, the smile on his face was unmistakeable as he set off towards Helen.
Sarah had a last look around the courtyard. All seemed quiet. Time to get going then.
She was met with the sight of Gary and a newly liveried Helen.
If she had put up any resistance to wearing them, she wasn't displaying it now. Perhaps Gary was more persuasive than Sarah gave him credit for.
Gary and Helen climbed in the van and Sarah opened the door at the back and stepped in. It wasn't exactly comfortable in the back. Gary had thoughtfully placed some soft cloths for them to sit on, but it was clearly designed to carry boxes not people. But Sarah realised that this was part of the camouflage. No one would think that there would be people in the back of a van like this. The children were dutifully sitting either side. There was a small portable light placed precariously on one of the boxes. Its light only managing to alleviate the gloom slightly. As she slammed the door firmly shut, she became acutely aware of the lack of windows and the darkness.
Sarah shuffled down inside, smiling as she went. She was not surprised at all that Emily smiled back and it may have been the gloomy light, but she fancied that Nathan had something approaching a smile on his face. But it was the sort of smile that makes you stop in your tracks. It wasn't helped by the light, but it made Sarah feel slightly uneasy.
'Everyone alright?' said Sarah.
Emily nodded.
The van set off with a lurch which immediately threw all Gary's carefully arranged seating into a pile in the middle of the van. As Sarah tried to stand up the van lurched again and she ended up sprawling on the floor again.
'I think if everybody can hold onto something tight,' she said and following her own advice she clung onto a piece of metal that was firmly attached to the side. She really hoped that the journey wouldn't be too long.
The van continued to sway frequently as it drove along. As Sarah sat there unsteadily in the dark, and naturally in silence, she began to wonder at the strange situation she was now in. Being thrown around in a dark van, surrounded by children that she barely knew who either wouldn't or couldn't talk. She smiled. It was all she could do.
The van began to pick up pace. This had the effect of pitching her around as if she was on a particularly unstable boat in the middle of a storm. Just as she was struggling to stop herself hurtling into the darkness, the van began to slow down.
Sarah's immediate thought was that they had been discovered. Outside the van would be security guards from the institute. She wondered if the director was there? She could imagine the furious expression on his face.
But the van never fully stopped. It just settled down to a steady speed. She guessed that they were passing through the gauntlet of the world's media. As she strained her hearing she fancied she could hear the sound of cameras being pressed, though what exactly they could take a photo of she wasn't sure. At this point she was willing the van to keep moving. If it stopped, then she had no idea how she would explain this. The doors would be yanked open and Sarah and the children would be exposed to the full glare of publicity.
The van continued its leisurely progress, until she could no longer hear any sounds of activity. They began to speed up and she hoped that they were now clear of the institute.
'Is everyone alright?' said Sarah.
There was silence. She may as well have been in there on her own. Briefly she wondered if they were still there or they had somehow been spirited away in the dark. She realised she was being stupid. She decided to give her mind something to do.
What exactly was she hoping to achieve? She had never formulated what she expected to happen on this trip. If she was honest it had been planned more out of a final act of desperation than sound theories. When you have tried the usual things, what else is there left but the unusual? She had been helped by Helen's enthusiasm, she hadn't always been this enthusiastic about all of Sarah's ideas.
And then of course there were the children. Was it Nathan who had first suggested it? She had the sudden unsettling feeling that she was sitting here in a dark van, on the way to somewhere she didn't know; and it was all the child
ren's idea.
With no reference points, the passage of time in the van was hard to gauge. She had deliberately left her phone at the office, she didn’t want to be disturbed. She had long ago given up wearing a watch, she had realised that normally she was never very far from a clock of some sort. It was therefore a surprise when the van started to slow. She couldn't work out if they were still close to the institute or miles away from it. She felt herself being driven around in a circle and as she fought to avoid ending up on the floor, the van lurched to a halt. She waited for the doors to be opened. She didn't suffer from claustrophobia and she suddenly wondered if any of the children did. Surely if they had, they would have communicated it somehow? For a moment she wondered if she had just subjected them to a terrifying experience. In the dark she couldn't tell. As the doors were finally opened, she looked hurriedly at the children who now came into view.
Their expressions looked as she would expect them to. Perhaps a hint of excitement even from Nathan, but otherwise not traumatised. She breathed a sigh of relief.
'Everyone alright?' said Gary.
Sarah answered truthfully 'Yes, we are all fine.'
They all dutifully stepped out of the van and Sarah had the first glimpse of where Helen had brought them.
They were standing in a car park. But as Sarah looked out she was looking at a vista of a ruined abbey and she had to say that she was impressed at Helen's choice. The dimming light did give the decayed buildings an ethereal air but overall the effect was impressive.
Sarah turned to Helen. 'It's certainly impressive. You came here with your father you said?'
Helen's expression seemed a little strange as she said 'Yes, my father, that's right. But it was a while ago.'
Sarah was about to pursue the point, but out of the corner of her eye she saw Emily start to run towards the nearest building.
Sarah started to run towards her, worried that she would wander off. But she needn’t have worried. She stopped and waited for Sarah to catch up. Emily turned to look at Sarah and her mouth began to form a word, Sarah felt her heart rate quicken. But Emily's mouth settled down into its former smile. But this was closer than she had ever been before to speaking. Sarah was convinced of that.