The Sol 3 Agenda

by Brian Kitchen

  Looking around him, John saw that the railway station had vastly changed since he’d last used it back in 1969. It had been completely modernised, and he was pleased to see that it had now had a café on the platform which was open. He knew he had about 20 minutes to wait for his train and so he decided to see if he could get something to eat. John was in luck and was soon munching on a breakfast cob, containing egg, bacon and sausage. The coffee wasn’t too bad he thought, taking a sip and he’d got it in a Styrofoam cup, so that he could take what remained of it onto the train with him. Having finished the cob, he walked back onto the platform. John looked around, there were only a few people waiting for the train which he needed to catch and no-one that he recognized.

  The express train going to York soon pulled into the station and John got onto the train and quickly found a seat. Sitting by the window, John looked out as the train pulled away from the station and he remembered his last journey by rail, down to Penzance. He wondered whether if he’d known then what was going to happen to him, would he in fact have got onto that train. He guessed that he would have, for it had been an amazing adventure so far. To tell the truth though, he now had a sense of foreboding.

  John didn’t get too comfortable, as he knew that he’d soon be getting off the train, as soon as it reached Derby. Could this mysterious Oisin really be his father, John wondered? Conn had been evasive again, when he’d briefly spoken to him that morning.

  “John, I can tell you no more than what I’ve already told you. Oisin was very specific about that,” Conn had said.

  John was pretty sure however that it must be his father, for as he’d told Conn, he didn’t think anyone else could possibly know where he and his father had gone to, a year after his mother died. John certainly hadn’t told anyone and to the best of his knowledge, neither had his father. Still he would soon find out.

  Before too long, the train pulled into Derby station and John got off. Leaving the railway station John walked down Railway Terrace and then on into Station Approach, reaching the Cock Pitt, he continued walking into the Morledge. He didn’t think that he was being followed, but as for some reason John was feeling a little paranoid, he decided to go into the Eagle Centre. First walking through the busy covered market area, John carried on walking into the shopping centre. He then went in and out of several of the large stores, until he was now completely sure that no-one could possibly be following him.

  John then went out of the Eagle Centre, crossed the road and went into the bus station. He had timed it, so that the bus he now needed had just pulled in. John boarded the Transpeak bus, taking a vacant seat near the back of it and carefully watched the other passengers getting on. There was no-one that gave him any cause for concern, so he settled back into his seat, as it would be over an hour, before he reached his destination. John had well remembered where he and his father had gone, a year to the day after his had mother died. It had been Haddon Hall in Derbyshire, one of the finest examples of a fortified medieval manor house in existence and that’s where John was going now.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Abbot’s Arm Hotel, the same morning

  Terry Jackson awoke with a start and glancing at his wristwatch swore when he saw that it was long past the time he’d intended to get up. His recollections of the night before were all a bit fuzzy, but he knew that whilst carrying out surveillance on Abbot’s House he’d overheard a very interesting conversation between John Trevaskis and Conn, the android. Oisin’s name had been mentioned and a meeting that Trevaskis was going to have with him. He’d also heard that Trevaskis was going to the railway station to catch the train, early in the morning, the following day. Terry had heard all this whilst outside the exterior window of Conn’s study, using the equipment that the Aossi Corporation had developed, which could pick up conversations through closed windows and walls.

  Feeling very pleased with himself, Terry had gone into the bar when he’d returned to the Abbot’s Arm Hotel. Although he was a cyborg, Terry still had the traits and habits of the human male he’d once been and drinking to celebrate a successful operation had been one of them. He’d also enjoyed chatting up the very pretty barmaid, but wouldn’t have been so happy if he’d known that she was the Fianna operative that Conn had contacted. Terry cursed now as he hadn’t let Marcus King know that he’d need the car early that morning and cursed even more, when he realised that he couldn’t get a signal on his mobile phone. Terry quickly dressed and then left the hotel running out of it and up the long drive to the road.

  Terry soon realised that something was wrong with him as he sprinted up the drive. He was soon out of breath and his legs were beginning to feel like lead weights were attached to them. Terry also noticed that his heart was pounding, but why was this happening? This shouldn’t be, Terry knew that as a cyborg he would normally have the stamina and the running capacity of an Olympic athlete. A drug or something was severely affecting his abilities, but how could this have happened. Then he suddenly realised, the barmaid must have put something in his drink. That could be the only explanation, but in that case then the Fianna must know who he really was and that was very bad news. Terry pulled the phone out of his pocket and seeing that he now had a signal, dialled the pre-set number for Marcus King.

  “You’d better come and pick me up. I’m on the road outside the hotel. Yes! Now King!” Terry instructed King as soon as it was answered.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~

  John’s bus journey to Haddon Hall, Derbyshire

  The bus was keeping good time and after about 20 minutes or so, John realised that they were passing through Belper and that he could see the North Mill up ahead of them. Another 25 minutes went by and the bus was passing through Matlock. Not long now, John thought to himself.

  “Excuse me, would you happen to know if it’s far from here to Rowsley?” he heard a young woman’s voice enquiring and looking across the gangway of the bus, to the seats opposite him, saw a very pretty young woman, with spiky green hair. John realised that he had seen the girl get on the bus in Derby. She was wearing a black hoodie like the one he was wearing and jeans.

  “It won’t be long now,” John replied looking at his wrist watch. “About 15 to 20 minutes I’d reckon.”

  “Thank you,” the girl replied. She had a Scottish accent and though he wasn’t an expert, John guessed that she probably came from one of the larger Scottish Islands, like Skye, or South Uist.

  “Is Haddon Hall far from there? Can you walk there from Rowsley?” the girl then asked.

  “You can do, but the bus stops just outside Haddon Hall. You have to ring the bell though, to let the driver know that you want to get off there,” John told her.

  “I wouldn’t know where the bus stop was,” the girl said a little anxiously. “Do you know where the stop is?”

  “I do and better still I’m getting off there myself.”

  “Oh, that’s great!” the girl said delightedly with a beaming smile. John couldn’t help noticing that she had the most beautiful blue eyes. “Oh, my name’s Iseabail,” she told him.

  “I’m John. Your name’s Scottish isn’t it?”

  “Aye, the English equivalent is Isabel.”

  “Are you from Scotland?”

  “Yes, I’m from Skye, but I’m studying at Derby University.”

  “What’re you studying?”

  “Computing. I’m lucky though, as I’m being sponsored by the VarTech Corporation, and so I get paid a salary by them.”

  “Better than a grant then.” John smiled. He wasn’t going to tell her he was now joint owner of VarTech.

  It wasn’t long before they were approaching the bus stop for Haddon Hall and John rang the bell

  “We get off here,” John told the girl, who was texting on her mobile phone.

  “Thanks,” she answered, putting the phone back into her pocket.

  They both got off the bus and then had to wait for a break in the traffic, before they could cross over the busy A6, to the entran
ce to the Hall.

  “You’ve not been here before then?” John asked Iseabail as they walked through the archway of the gatehouse.

  “No, it’s my first visit. Do we have to pay here?” she asked, indicating the giftshop, on their left-hand side.

  “No, the ticket office is down there.” John told her, pointing towards a wooden cabin, where there was a barrier across the driveway to stop cars. They walked to it, bought their tickets and then continued to walk down the driveway, getting glimpses of the Hall through the trees, as they walked along.

  “Do they have guided tours of the Hall?” Iseabail asked.

  “There’s usually guides in all the rooms, but I’m not sure if they do guided tours. I could show you around if you like though.” It was only 11.15am and John had several hours to kill, before he was due to meet Oisin and to tell the truth, he quite liked Iseabail.

  “Yes, that would be nice,” she answered, giving him a beautiful smile.

  “Well, then, let’s go and take a look around.”

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Terry and Marcus King’s pursuit of John

  Marcus King had been having a leisurely breakfast when he had received the call from Terry, and he wasn’t inclined to hurry himself. Besides, ‘Soldier Boy’ had wound King up and he didn’t take kindly to that. King had to smile to himself as Terry had sounded very flustered and out of breath as though he’d been running. What was up, King thought as he started the car and then drove off towards the posh hotel Jackson was staying at.

  “I thought I told you to come straight away!” Terry breathlessly accused, yanking open the door of the battered old Ford Granada, as King drew up alongside him a short time later. “Where have you been? Couldn’t you drive here any faster?”

  “I can’t waste any petrol,” King told him, as Terry flopped down into the front passenger seat. “You know full well, there aren’t that many filling stations about that have petrol these days, since the introduction of electric vehicles and punitive taxes on all other kinds. I don’t know why you didn’t get me an electric car, rather than this old crock you’ve given me to drive. It soon gets through a tank of petrol and I have to keep the speed down to conserve fuel.”

  “Less of the lip, King,” Terry snarled back at him, “and get driving.”

  “Where too? What’s your crystal ball say?” King asked sarcastically, starting the car engine. He saw that Terry was breathing heavily and his body was jerking spasmodically. There was a slight slur to his speech, and he had a very worried look in his eyes. Something was up with him. Hope it’s fatal, King thought.

  “Oh, I’ve got something better than a crystal ball,” Terry told him, pulling his mobile phone out of his pocket. He touched an app on it, one of which was not available to the general public. Terry waited until a map came up on the screen, which had a red dot on it which flashed on and off. “Ah, there you are John Trevaskis, looks like you’re in Derby. Right then Royalty, get a move on,” Terry said, more his old self again.

  So, how do you know that John Trevaskis is in Derby?” Marcus King wanted to know.

  “Because, Royalty my old mucker, when he was last in my company, I slipped a microscopic tracking device into his drink ,” was Terry’s glib answer. King cringed, he hated being called Royalty.

  The device was one that JT had developed which was undetectable and remained in the human body, after entering the blood stream and navigating its way to the brain. It had a life of about 50 years and had been inserted through a drink that John had had all those years ago, when he’d had a meal with Terry and JT at the Explorers and Adventurers Club, in London. It needed to be activated though to work and Terry had been able to do that the previous evening, when he’d learned that John was going to meet Oisin.

  “So, what’s the big hurry for?” King asked, noticing that Terry really didn’t look very well at all and was sweating profusely.

  “He’s going to meet with Oisin, you do know who he is?” Terry asked sarcastically.

  “Oisin, well that was his code name. The leader of the rebels who took Albert Brown down. No one ever really knew who he was.”

  “That’s right,” Terry knew that King wouldn’t know that Oisin was an Aos Si and the leader of the Fianna, well technically acting leader, in the absence of Fionn Mac Cumhaill.

  “When did you find this out?” King asked.

  “Last night.”

  “So, have you phoned the boss about John Trevaskis meeting with Oisin? We’ll surely need back up.” Marcus King then enquired.

  “No, need,” Terry answered, causing King to swivel his head to look at him in disbelief.

  “You’ve not told the boss!” King exclaimed incredulously. “You know that we were all given implicit instructions to contact the boss if we ever found anything out about Oisin, or John Trevaskis. If he’s really meeting with Oisin, then this will be a big operation.”

  “Keep your eyes on the road!” Terry shouted, as King nearly drove the car into an oncoming farm tractor pulling a wagon full of bales of hay. King spun the steering wheel and narrowly missed it. “And no, I haven’t told the boss,” Terry informed him. Terry didn’t report to the same boss as King, but then King didn’t know that. “I’ll leave telling anyone until we’ve dealt with them both. Now keep your eyes on the road and if you’ve nothing useful to say, keep your lips buttoned as well.”

  Marcus King wasn’t at all happy that Soldier Boy hadn’t contacted the boss and decided to do so himself. They’d need to fill up with petrol very soon and he’d phone the boss then. King knew that there was a petrol station on the A38, which they would soon be joining, and he’d make the call from there.

  Chapter 24

  Haddon Hall, Derbyshire

  Wednesday 14th September 2005

  John and Iseabail had had a pleasant hour or so looking around the Hall and then feeling hungry they had gone to the restaurant which was situated in the 17th century stable block. They had an excellent meal and John was now wondering how he was going to be able to meet with Oisin, with Iseabail in tow.

  “You’re looking thoughtful, John, is something bothering you?” Iseabail suddenly asked him.

  “I don’t want to appear to be rude, but I have to meet someone here at 2pm,” he told her deciding to tell the truth. He really liked Iseabail and didn’t want to lie to her.

  “Oh, that’s ok,” Iseabail said, smiling at him. “I have to get back to Derby, I’ve got some studying to do, before a class tomorrow. Where did you say the bus picked up from?”

  “I’ll show you.”

  John walked with Iseabail back to where the bus stop was, not far outside the gates to the Hall. He looked at his wrist watch, it was 1.50pm.

  “There should be a bus just after ten past two,” he told Iseabail. “Will you be ok?”

  “I’ll be fine, John. I’ll take a look in the gift shop for a few minutes. Then I’ll go and wait for the bus.”

  John and Iseabail walked back to the gatehouse.

  “Well it’s been lovely meeting you John and thank you for showing me around the Hall.”

  “It was a pleasure, Iseabail and lovely meeting you too.” More than lovely John thought, this was a girl he’d like to see again, but as usual he was tongue-tied and didn’t know what to say.

  “I’m sure we’ll meet again, John Trevaskis,” Iseabail said smiling again and then to his surprise leaned forward and kissed him on the lips. Then she turned away and quickly went into the gift shop. John was stunned and even more so, for he was quite sure he hadn’t given Iseabail his surname. Still, no matter. The kiss had been very nice, and he knew that he had a broad grin on his face, as he walked back down the drive to the Hall gardens where he was to meet with Oisin.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~

  The Oval Office, The White House, Washington DC

  The same day

  Mona McBeolain was a very worried woman. Since Hoskens had made the call to her the previous day, telling her that he was facing six Deltoi
ds who were all powering up their weapons systems, she’d heard nothing further from him. The one observatory under her control had searched the area of space his Deltoid should have been in, but there was no trace of it, nor of any other Deltoids for that matter. Nor had there been any signs of a battle either. The other observatories on Earth had been carefully monitored too, but no reports of unusual events in space had come from them. It therefore appeared that Hoskens’ Deltoid and the Nemhain’s had completely disappeared.

  The only good thing that had happened since Hosken had called her, was that JT had hurriedly left The White House soon afterwards. Mona had never seen JT frightened before, but he had looked terrified after she’d told him what Hoskens had said. Where JT had gone, Mona didn’t know, nor did she care, but she suspected he’d returned to his private island in the Bahamas. What good that would do him, Mona didn’t know. She did know however, that the Nemhain would be merciless in her revenge, if Hoskens and his crew had fallen into her hands and she had learned who had sent Hoskens’ Deltoid to destroy her. Just then the phone on Mona’s desk rang. She snatched up the receiver.

  “Is it Hoskens?” Mona demanded to know.

  “No,” Gail replied. “It’s apparently a Marcus King. It came through on your Rectifiers line, madame President. Shall I put him through, he says it’s urgent.”

  For a moment or two Mona struggled to think who Marcus King was, then realised he was the one working alongside Terry, JT’s pet cyborg.

  “Put him through, Gail.”

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~

  King and Jackson’s journey to Derby

  “I need to fill up with petrol,” Marcus King had told Terry as they neared the filling station on the A38, a few miles from Derby. Terry had looked at the petrol gauge and saw that King was telling the truth. For some reason, Terry had started to distrust King, but to be fair he had had no real reason, other than his intense dislike for the man.

  “You’d better pull in here then,” Terry had answered.

  King had turned the car onto the slip road and then into the filling station, pulling up at the sole remaining petrol pump. No diesel pumps, diesel had been banned 5 years ago. Everywhere else were charging points for electrically powered vehicles. It was all self-service nowadays and after filling up, King went to pay. There were some toilets beside the payment kiosk and so after paying for the petrol, King had gone into the Gents toilet and into one of the cubicles, pulling the door shut behind him. He’d quickly took his mobile phone out of his pocket and dialled the pre-set phone number for the boss. Like Terry’s phone, King’s was a very special encoded satellite phone and after announcing who he was, he’d been patched through to the boss. King would probably have had a heart attack, if he’d known that he was then speaking to the President of the USA, but Mona McBeolain’s voice was heavily disguised by the voice masking software she used.