Decimation: The Girl Who Survived

by Burke, Richard T.

  “Would this remain confidential?” Rosalind asked. “I wouldn’t want some hack digging this up and plastering it all over the Internet.”

  “Under the age of eighteen there are clear anonymity regulations,” the lawyer said. “Even so, once it’s out on the Internet it’s very difficult to stop. My recommendation would be to let the police attempt to prosecute if they think they have a case. I strongly suspect it’ll be too much bother and they’ll just drop it.”

  “Just remember one thing,” Kat said. “The crime that Daniel Floyd committed was particularly nasty. A young girl died as a result of it. I’m prepared to push very hard to go after anybody who’s preventing us from catching this criminal.”

  “That sounds like a threat,” the lawyer said. “I don’t think we’ll consider a caution after all.”

  “Take it how you like. I’m just stating my personal viewpoint.”

  The man rose to his feet. “I think we’re done here.”

  “But–”Jason began.

  “Don’t worry about it,” the lawyer interrupted. “Your mother pays my extortionate fees for my advice. I really think you should take it.”

  Jason took a sip of water. His hand trembled slightly as he lowered the plastic cup to the table.

  “Actually, there is one other matter,” Kat said, still sitting down.

  The lawyer remained standing. “No, I think we’ve finished.”

  “I’d like to take a cheek swab.”

  “That’s a new one on me.” The lawyer grinned. “You need DNA to prosecute a trespass case? I thought you said your precious drone was all the evidence you needed.”

  “This isn’t directly related to the breaking and entering. I was going over the case file for the incident at the birthday party and realised we didn’t have any DNA on record from the people who were drugged. Would you mind giving me a sample, Jason? It’s a simple procedure. Just a swab of the inside of your cheek.”

  “Well, if you were to drop all charges,” the lawyer said, “we might–”

  Rosalind rose from her chair. “No. I’ve heard enough. You can prosecute my son if you wish, but we’ll fight you every step of the way. I’ve wasted enough time already this morning, and I have urgent business to attend to.”

  The lawyer looked gobsmacked. “Well if you’re sure, Mrs Baxter.”

  “Come on Jason, we’re leaving,” Rosalind said, heading for the door.

  Kat leant back in her seat while the other three people traipsed out of the room. When they had gone, she withdrew a clear bag from her pocket and used it to pick up the plastic cup that Jason had taken a drink from. She poured the inch of water that remained in the bottom into one of the other cups then sealed the bag.

  Kat considered Rosalind Baxter’s reaction. Now I’m really curious.

  Chapter 58

  Sunday 16th January 2033

  A rhythmic chirping sound emanated from the corner of the room. At first, Jason couldn’t identify the source of the noise. It seemed to come from the small blue rucksack. He unzipped the bag. The tone immediately became louder. He stuck his hand inside and closed his fingers around the smooth pebble shape of one of the phones he had bought to give to Antimone. The unit vibrated as he pulled it out and studied the display. An incoming call. He didn’t recognise the number. He swept his hand from left to right in front of the screen and held it to his ear.

  “Hello.”

  “Are you alone?” a male voice asked.

  “Um, yes. Who is this?”

  “Who the hell do you think, Sherlock? Given this number to a lot of people have you?”

  “Floyd,” Jason said. “I thought we weren’t going to call each other unless it was an emergency of some sort. What’s happened?”

  “Several things actually, but nothing to worry about immediately. The first thing is that somebody is watching you.”

  “Watching me?”

  “That’s what I said. Your mother’s Head of Security has got a man tailing you. He’s probably waiting outside right now – but don’t look out of the window. They don’t know that we’re onto them, so let’s keep it that way.”

  Jason desperately wanted to draw back the curtains and attempt to locate the watcher, but he resisted the temptation. “How do you know that?”

  “You’re being particularly dense this morning. Didn’t you get much sleep or something? Thanks to you, I’ve got access to your mother’s computer. Several long-range shots of you were attached to emails. There are some of you talking to a woman. There’s a close up of her handing something white over to you. Ring any bells?”

  “That would be Rose. She passed a note to Antimone for me and then gave me her reply.”

  “Right, well they know she gave you something.”

  “Oh God. She was really worried about them finding out. I hope she’s okay and hasn’t been fired or anything.”

  “Hmm, I think I saw an email saying she’d resigned. Anyway, there were some more pictures of you entering what looks like a station.”

  “That would be when I retrieved the bug from the locker. Did they see me take the envelope?”

  “No. The photos only show you going in.”

  “That explains how my mother knew I was there.”

  “What did you tell her?”

  “I said I was meeting a girl, and we were going to walk to school together, but the girl got the days mixed up.”

  “There’s hope for you yet,” Floyd said.

  “So should I try to shake him next time I go out?”

  “No, don’t be stupid. Like I just told you, we don’t want them knowing we’re onto them. Just behave naturally. Anyway, the other thing I wanted to ask was whether you really want to go through with this.”

  “Why wouldn’t I?”

  “Once we start, there’s no going back. You won’t be able to return home. You’ll be on the run like me, maybe from the police but also from your mother’s people. From what I can tell, some of them are extremely dangerous. For instance, I was doing some research on the Head of Security, Anders Grolby. He was accused of killing civilians in Iraq before he worked for Ilithyia. From what I can tell, he only got off due to lack of witnesses.”

  “I’m more frightened of what my mother will do.”

  “So you’re ready to go up against her then?”

  Jason remained silent for a moment. “Yes, I think so if it means Antimone will be safe.”

  “So why don’t you just go to the police now and save us the bother?”

  Jason sighed. “If my mother were to get wind of it, she would squirrel Antimone away somewhere they wouldn’t find her and deny she ever survived. I can only talk to them when Antimone is out of there.”

  “On another subject, you weren’t totally truthful when we last met, were you? You told me I wasn’t the father of the child. You omitted to mention who the real father is.”

  “I was going to tell you, but the police arrived. I take it you know it was me. Anyway, I was drugged.”

  “Who drugged you?”

  “I’m almost certain it was Dr Perrin’s son, Max.”

  “Yeah, that stands to reason, judging by the emails I’ve read. Obviously your mother has the same information, and I’m fairly sure she would be happy to use it if you pissed her off enough by doing something like, I don’t know, stealing the one thing that she’s counting on to make billions for her company. You can do what you like when the girl’s free, but you might end up facing some tough questions from the police. On the bright side, at least I’ll be in the clear.”

  “Nobody’s going to get hurt when we do this, are they?” Jason asked.

  “Probably not, but you never know. She’s heavily guarded, so we’re going to have to do something fairly radical to get her out. It’s going to be mostly down to you. If I show my face, I’ll be arrested straight away.”

  “I’m ready.”

  “They can’t suspect anything beforehand. You have to act totally normally. I’ll pick yo
u up after school tomorrow. That’s when we’ll do it, but we have to shake your watcher. Here’s what’s going to happen.”

  Floyd explained the plan to Jason.

  When he had finished, Jason hesitated before speaking again. “Jesus. Are you sure that’s going to work?”

  “Who knows? I think it’s the best chance we’ve got, but it’s not without its risks.”

  “I don’t know. It does sound horribly risky.”

  “Have you got a better idea?” Floyd said, the exasperation evident in his tone.

  “No.” Jason paused then exhaled loudly. “Alright, I’ll do it.”

  “Good. Take some spare clothes with you tomorrow, but you have to use the same bag as usual. You can’t do anything out of the ordinary.”

  “My mother won’t notice a thing. She’s long gone by the time I leave for school.”

  “Yeah, but the guy who’s tailing you might notice if you drag a suitcase behind you, though.”

  Despite the seriousness of the situation, Jason laughed. “Is that it then?”

  It was Floyd’s turn to hesitate. “There was one other thing I wanted to talk to you about, but it’ll keep until tomorrow.”

  “Go on, tell me now.”

  “No, it can wait.”

  “So, tomorrow it is,” Jason said.

  “Yeah, and remember to destroy the phone like I told you.”

  There was a click, and the line went silent. He glanced around the room at his belongings, attempting to imprint it all on his mind.

  What the hell have I got myself into?

  PART THREE: EXTERMINATION

  Chapter 59

  Monday 17th January 2033

  It took all of Jason’s willpower to resist turning around and trying to spot the man who was surely following him. The weather was dank and blustery. Jason pulled the slate grey hoodie over his head. Even with the blue winter jacket, the wind still found a way inside the layers of clothing. It was still dark as he strode along the pavement, eyes forward. The small rucksack was bulging at the seams with the clothes he had bundled in earlier that morning. He had left some of his textbooks out, figuring that he would be unlikely to need them again if everything went according to plan. He would tell the teachers that he had forgotten to bring them to school.

  He had barely slept a wink the previous night. The same thought kept bouncing around his head. Was he doing the right thing? One thing was for certain. His mother would be apoplectic with rage when she discovered what he had done. She claimed she was seeking a cure that would save countless lives, but what was her motivation? He strongly suspected that it was primarily the value it would add to the company, but if it ensured that women survived childbirth, was he wrong to intervene? Antimone’s survival had provided a huge clue, but did that mean they could justify forcibly detaining her? Clearly, she didn’t want to be there, or she wouldn’t have asked for help.

  He had retained the napkin, keeping it in one of the outer pockets of the jacket. He pulled it out as he walked and re-read his own words, and below them Antimone’s reply.

  GLAD YOU’RE ALIVE. ARE YOU OK? LOVE JASON

  YOU HAVE TO GET US OUT OF HERE. ANTIMONE.

  He had ended his own note ‘Love Jason’, but she had simply written her name. Was there any significance in that? Was she still suspicious of him? Maybe his mother had revealed his role in her rape, and she was just using him as a means to escape. It was impossible to tell from those few words. She had probably been in a rush, and there was no way to glean her feelings from something as simple as the way she had signed the note.

  The other curious feature was the word ‘us’. That implied that Antimone wanted Jason to get somebody else out as well, but who could that be? Perhaps they were holding other women down there, and Antimone had befriended one of them. If that was the case, he was going to have to disappoint her. The plan would only enable him to get Antimone out. Anybody else would have to wait until the police arrived.

  He returned the napkin to the pocket and put his head down into the biting wind that drove the fallen leaves before it. This would probably be the last time he made this walk. What would life be like after the escape attempt? His continued attendance at Oakington Manor would be out of the question, so he would have to find somewhere else to study if he wanted to continue his education. He struggled to get his head around the thought that he would be unable to stay in his mother’s huge house. Would they put him into foster care? He was sixteen and old enough to get married, but he probably wouldn’t be allowed to live by himself, even if he could afford the rent, which he certainly couldn’t without a job.

  And what would his relationship with Antimone be like? The fact that he had raped her, even if it was under the influence of mind-altering drugs, would be a huge barrier between them. Once the police were involved, it was sure to come out. Would she believe that he had not been a willing participant? How would he be able to prove he had been drugged and that Max Perrin was responsible? Again, there were too many imponderables.

  On the positive side, Floyd would no longer be accused of a crime he hadn’t committed. Not for the first time, Jason wondered whether the man really was a murderer. He was coarse and unrefined, but that was probably the result of spending all that time in jail. Underneath it all, he seemed decent. He had upheld his side of the bargain – or at least it seemed that he would do so – when it would have been easier to go the police and present Jason as the rapist. Should he trust the man? At this point, there was little alternative.

  The competing thoughts swirled through Jason’s head as he trudged his way along the pavement.

  Fifty metres behind, on the other side of the road, a man wearing a dark overcoat followed the boy.

  Chapter 60

  Monday 17th January 2033

  Karen Atkins studied the report before her. She scrolled down the page trying to penetrate the technical mumbo jumbo. She picked up the phone, read the name of the technician who had performed the analysis and said it aloud. After three iterations of the ring tone, a voice answered.

  “Hello, analysis lab. Derek speaking.”

  “Hi, it’s Kat. Can you come up here and explain this stuff you just sent me?”

  The man replied affirmatively, and she replaced the handset in its cradle. She paced backwards and forwards, waiting for him to arrive. Less than a minute later, there was a tap at the door.

  “Come in. Hi …” She had already forgotten his name. Her eyes strained to make out the text on his nametag as he pushed open the door. “Um … Derek. Thanks for coming up here.”

  “No problem,” the man said. “What can I do for you?”

  “This report. Can you talk me through it?”

  “Sure. Terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism, or TRFLP, is a technique that exploits variations in homologous DNA sequences to detect similarities between the genetic makeups of individuals.”

  “In English, please.”

  “Oh …” Derek said. “Well, basically we run a test on bits of DNA – you know what that is right? – to see if somebody, a man, is a child’s father.”

  Kat rolled her eyes. “I know what DNA is. So you tested the sample obtained from Antimone Lessing’s child and compared it to Jason Baxter’s DNA? Is that right?”

  “That’s about the size of it.”

  “And it came back as a match. I thought we’d already identified Daniel Floyd as the father.”

  “Yes, we did.”

  “So how can both of them be the father?”

  “Well, obviously they can’t. The test looks for matching sequences of DNA. As you know, those sequences are passed from parent to child. That’s how the technique works. However, that’s also one of its weaknesses. There are bound to be genetic similarities between the father of a child and its grandfather. When the rape was reported, they took blood from the girl because they didn’t want to risk damage to the foetus. The test they did has limited accuracy because they didn’t analyse the baby’s
blood directly. Now we have blood taken from the child rather than its mother, we can be much more certain of the father’s identity.”

  “So basically, what you’re saying is that Jason Baxter is Paul Lessing’s father, not Daniel Floyd?”

  “Yes, that would be the obvious conclusion. Jason Baxter’s DNA is a better match than Floyd’s. It seems we’ve been looking for the wrong man.”

  “And Daniel Floyd is Jason Baxter’s father, right?”

  “Correct.”

  “Hmm. It does explain a lot,” Kat said, “but it also raises quite a few questions. I checked Jason’s birth certificate. It says his father was an anonymous donor. His mother was apparently undergoing fertility treatment at Ilithyia. According to her death certificate, she died in childbirth from a pulmonary embolism.”

  “So Daniel Floyd got this woman pregnant. He was married at the time wasn’t he?”

  “Yes. Floyd’s wife was also pregnant and disappeared a month or so before Jason was born. If Floyd was carrying on with this woman, maybe that was his motive for killing the wife. I suspect that Rosalind Baxter already knows that her son is the rapist. They were out of the door faster than a rat up a drain pipe when I requested a DNA sample from the boy.”

  The technician seemed embarrassed and hesitated for a second before he spoke. “Um, I notice the form you filled in didn’t have a proper case number. I’m guessing there’s also no parental permission, so all of this is unofficial.”

  “Yeah, bloody politicians love putting roadblocks in our way, preventing us from doing our jobs properly, but they still expect us to get results. I’m going to drag him in again, and this time it’s all going to be above board.”

  “How are you going to get the mother’s permission?”

  “I’ll hold him for a day. If he doesn’t talk, or the Baxter woman refuses to give her assent, I’ll go and ask a judge. Given the serious nature of the offence, I’m sure it’ll get signed off. Can we do a more detailed analysis of the baby’s and Floyd’s DNA and prove that Floyd isn’t the father?”