BEYOND THE SPRING

by Mike S Martin

  “Don’t look at them Wyre” said Andy as they left the room and proceeded to climb the stairs to the next floor.

  As much as he tried not to look Wyre could not help notice the lumps of bone, bloody flesh and hair now covering the walls. The cordite of the fired weapon filled his nostrils and throat as they reached another door on the next floor up. This door wasn’t locked as Andy slowly pushed it open. Frowning, he went back into the stairwell where Wyre was waiting and looked up and listened. The slight noise of air conditioning units possibly on the roof told Andy that this was the floor they needed to be on. The silence of their current position indicated to him that this floor most probably had sound proofing, a normal thing for a place Bostock was occupying.

  “This way!” pointed Andy.

  They went through the door to another small corridor where they were faced with two further doors, one felt heavily sound proofed and was locked and the other was a normal door that was unlocked. There was no sound coming from the unlocked door so Andy entered. To his and Wyre’s astonishment they found themselves inside what could only be described as a sort of control room. A dozen TV screens showed various rooms, some with lights on and some in infer -red night vision green. Andy could tell straight away that some occupants were dead and some were still alive due to the odd visible movement. Wyre instantly started scouring the screens for any signs of Susan or Oliver but it was hard to make out details. Suddenly Wyre cried out because there hung on the wall was Oliver’s rucksack still with his library books in it.

  “My god he’s here Andy, Oliver is here”

  Wyre’s voice was one of relief but also fear because he could sense this was an evil place and this was reinforced when he glanced at the TV screens.

  “Look…. There!” said Wyre pointing to two monitors that were showing a corner in a corridor from two different angles.

  They instantly recognised Alex on one of the cameras as a group of three armed guys approached from the other camera. Andy tried the heavy locked door once again to see if it would open but it was locked using the dreaded key card system. They both took a good guess that this is where the corridor was and searched desperately for a card or a button that might open the door whilst trying to watch the screen.

  “We’ve got to get in there!” said Wyre feeling helpless.

  Andy checked the box of switches on the wall with names next to them hoping one of them might be the electronic release for the door. He then searched to see if there were any key cards in the room. Wyre was now transfixed to the screen as the armed group were closing in on Richards who could be seen waiting around the corner.

  “Shit there’s a fourth……in that room……it looks like he’s behind Alex!”

  Wyre was now holding his hand over his mouth feeling helpless and fearful for Alex. Andy remained silent not feeling entirely sure how this was going to end but like Wyre became morbidly engrossed knowing they could do nothing to help him. Andy knew shooting the lock on the door would do nothing. They watched as the three gingerly approached the corner, weapons raised not knowing if their prey would still be there. Hand signals were the only communication between them all and it was this that had Andy shaking his head knowing realistically Richards didn’t stand much of a chance. It was evident on the cameras that there were other rooms that Richards could make a stand in, rooms that looked like hospital wards so why was he giving himself little chance in a tight corridor where a stray bullet hitting him was a real possibility.

  “Fuck it!” shouted Andy banging the table, showing the first signs that the situation was getting to him.

  The first guy took up position right on the corner, readying himself to take a look with his weapon raised to fire as the other two prepared to back him up meaning Alex’s head was just a few meters away from the guys weapon. The feed from the camera to the TV screen was slightly pixelated meaning it looked like Richards wasn’t even armed as he stood, not with his back flat against the wall in a defensive position but just normally in the corridor looking calm and relaxed just waiting for the imminent assault. From the camera that was situated behind Richards both Wyre and Andy watched as the weapon of the first guy appeared from around the corner. They remained still and held their breath as they watched Alex Richards prove why he was one of, if not the most feared men to ever have worked for Bostock. Before the guy even had chance to react Richards had grabbed his weapon, then grabbed him around the throat then killed him with one shot to the head. Still holding his weapon to the guys forehead and before the other two had time to react Richards had rounded the corner and fired two further shots through the same bullet hole whilst using the dead guy as a shield, killing the second one. The other one got his shots off but they missed their target meaning Richards in a blur had killed him outright, also by shooting him in the chest and through the head. The sight of Richards stood in the corridor searching the dead bodies for a key card had both Andy and Wyre glancing at each other with Andy mumbling his thoughts out loud.

  “Mother of God!”

  Remembering his family and feeling morbidly inspired, Wyre now seemed to take charge and continued looking for a way in.

  “I’ll try this” said Wyre holding up a key card that he had found hidden away, taped to the side of one of the TV screens.

  As Wyre swiped it Andy held up his weapon in case there were others. The door swung open and there with weapon pointing straight at them was Alex covered in blood splatter and bits of flesh stuck on his leather jacket.

  “We need to get these doors open” Alex shouted to them both as he tried the first door.

  “There is another shooter in here somewhere Alex” shouted Andy as the door Alex was stood in front of clicked open.

  “Where is he?” asked Richards calmly entering the dark room.

  “He was approaching from somewhere behind you” replied Andy.

  As Wyre also tried various doors with the key card he had found, he felt himself staring at Alex as though trying to study him. Alex’s mannerisms hadn’t changed and he continued to act calm and thorough as though what had just happened had not actually happened. Wyre had never seen anything like it and stepped over the first body whilst trying another door. Again it failed to open so he threw the card down as it became apparent the only door it would open was the one they had just come through. Richards turned the light on in the room he had just entered and it was empty so he quickly made his way to the next one. He swiped the card, the door clicked open and Alex turned the light on.

  “Please sir no more, I just want to go home to my Mummy and Daddy” said the boy bravely, still sat against the wall next to the plug socket.

  “Wyre….. in here….quickly!”

  Wyre entered the room, his demeanour immediately changing at the sight of Oliver.

  “Daddy……please take me home now!” said Oliver standing up and calmly walking to his father with his arms outstretched.

  Wyre threw himself to his knees and embraced his son, not being able to control his emotion at the realisation that he had found him alive. Alex watched as the boy and father expressed their gratitude at seeing one another, both their faces now stained with tears with Wyre sobbing out loud. Alex Richards took a deep breath at the scene unfolding in front of him.

  “Everything is ok now Oliver. We’re going to leave here and go home to mummy!”

  As Wyre said this he picked up Oliver and held his head on his shoulder whilst glancing at Alex whose only reaction was to discreetly shake his head and shrug his shoulders as though he had not seen her. The relief at finding Oliver turned to dismay but he knew he had to hold himself together for his son’s sake. Whilst Wyre took a few minutes to ask how Oliver was and if he needed anything Alex studied the boy for any signs of abuse or ill treatment. The needle marks were obvious and he could only guess at what Bostock had been pumping into him.

  “Wyre” whispered Alex, indicating to him it was time to go.

  All three of them left the room and re-entered
the corridor where Andy was leaving one of the other rooms shaking his head in dismay.

  “Alex I think you should see this!”

  With Oliver still being clutched against Wyre’s chest they all entered the room. There in the middle was a table surrounded by what looked like a life support machine, a drip and surgical instruments. Lay on the table was a man of about forty years of age covered in plastic sheeting apart from his head which was uncovered. It was obvious he was dead, his eyes stared blankly at the ceiling with his mouth slightly open and his skin was deathly cold to the touch.

  “Look at his chest!” said Andy quietly.

  Alex removed the sheeting from his upper torso to reveal an open wound in the man’s chest. As he inspected it closer he could see that a small section of one of the guy’s ribs on his right hand side of his chest had been removed. In place of the piece of missing bone was a carbon fibre piece of tubing about four centimetres long, exactly the same diameter as the missing bone. Somehow it had been fused together with the rib with extreme precision and it looked like whoever had performed the surgery had started to sew the wound back up. Richards looked at both Andy and Wyre indicating with his head that it was better they leave. As they turned away towards the door Alex grabbed the tubing between his thumb and two fingers and ripped it out, pulling some of the rib with it. The sickening snap of bone breaking and splintering shattered the silence. Wiping the blood off it, Alex placed it in his jacket pocket.

  “What is it?” asked Andy.

  “I don’t know but whatever it is, the poor bastard was still alive when they did the operation”

  As Alex and Andy entered the corridor they were greeted with a sight that had Andy reaching for his weapon. Wyre was stood with his hands in the air and Oliver was being clutched tightly around the neck by a guy in jeans and trainers, his face filled with fear once again.

  “Listen it’s all over just put your weapon down and let the boy go!” pleaded Alex.

  All three of them could tell that this guy was not one of Bostock’s men. His jeans were creased, his tee-shirt was stained with sweat and it looked like he had not slept for days. The needle marks and bruising were also visible on his arms which meant he had obviously been another Guinea-pig for whatever Bostock had been doing here.

  “You don’t understand he must die!” said the crazed looking guy now pushing the barrel of a browning pistol into Oliver’s temple.

  “Listen we can help you just tell us what Bostock did to you and we can get help!” pleaded Andy.

  The guy seemed confused, his eyes darted from each person to the other and the sweat poured out of him.

  “You’re not listening to me………I’m doing the right thing here…….” replied the guy, now struggling to focus on the conversation.

  “Who are you?” asked Wyre trying to creep slowly towards Oliver in the hope of grabbing him. He had not come this far to see some drug filled nut job kill Oliver.

  “You don’t need to do this!” said Richards studying his face.

  “Stop with the fucking questions ok. I know what they were doing here…..I was sent……..I was sent to investigate…….now look at me they have fucked me up…..bastards!”

  The guy seemed to be losing it quickly and Richards watched as his hand shook violently and his finger kept twitching on the trigger. Even if he didn’t mean to kill the Oliver it was only a matter of time.

  “What did Bostock inject into you? Whatever it was we can help” asked Andy.

  “What do you think you fucking prick? Look at me I’m a fucking drug addict now…..but the boy well if I kill him then it would have been all worthwhile…….I know why……..”

  Wyre flinched and cried out as a shot fired by a weapon almost deafened him. Blood splatters could be seen running down the wall as both the guy and Oliver fell to the floor. Wyre cried out with relief as Oliver could be seen trying to wriggle out from the arm of the guy whose brain was now all up the walls. As he picked up Oliver, Wyre glanced back at Andy who was stood holding his weapon.

  “Jesus Christ!” whispered Wyre.

  “He would have killed Oliver Wyre” said Alex as he took a closer look at the guys face.

  Wyre was speechless at how quick Andy had drawn his weapon and fired it. Even Alex gave Andy a glance in his direction with a look of approval.

  “He was MI5, I’ve seen him before” said Alex as he studied Oliver making Wyre slightly nervous.

  “MI5! What the fuck was he doing here spying on Bostock?” asked Andy.

  All Alex could do was shake his head with uncertainty at Andy’s question. “Who knows? Undercover maybe, perhaps he had pissed Bostock off, I don’t know but I think we need to leave here before Bostock’s men come and clean up this mess and get rid of all the evidence. Then I think we have to find out what they did to Oliver. Unfortunately it looks like Bostock has left”

  They quickly made their way back down the stairwell and into the walkway that led to the car. No sooner had they reached the road and joined the dual carriageway Oliver fell asleep gripping his father tightly.

  “It looks like he hasn’t slept for days…….what have they done to him?” said Wyre looking at the needle marks and the bruising surrounding them.

  “We need to get him to a hospital where they can do some tests” replied Richards.

  Wyre could barely pick up the courage to ask Alex about Susan but he so desperately wanted to find out where she might be. His priority was getting Oliver to the hospital and only then would he interrogate Richards.

  Chapter 15

  Wyre quietly knocked, then poked his head around the door to see if Alex was inside. It was quiet with the blinds in the window half closed meaning the sun was caressing the walls with its shafts of light making the room a relaxing, warm and soothing place to sit. Alex was stood to the side of the window stroking his unshaven face, his eyes that had seen god only knows what staring at something a thousand miles away.

  “Andy said you wanted to see me” whispered Wyre.

  Richards nodded and guided Wyre to one of the seats in the room.

  “How is Oliver?”

  Wyre sighed with relief whilst rubbing his hand through his hair.

  “Yeah they have said he seems fine. They are concerned that he might have missed out on his medication but they won’t know the full extent of the damage until they get the results of the first set of tests. Thank you Alex for everything”

  Richards didn’t smile but looked at Wyre coldly.

  “Please don’t thank me yet Wyre…..please don’t!”

  “Why shouldn’t I, you have helped me get my son back and……….”

  “Stop Wyre there are things you need to know…….about Susan…..please sit down!”

  Wyre never said anything as he sat on the edge of one of the seats in the room trying to way up Alex’s demeanour. The detective seemed slightly confused and deep in thought.

  “Wyre I found this in one of the rooms down from where we found Oliver” said Alex passing Wyre the ring he had found amongst the charred remains.

  Wyre instantly recognised it and studied it calmly but his expression told the detective he was struggling to comprehend the reason why he had Susan’s ring.

  “This at least proves she was there. Could she have dropped it there before they took her somewhere else?” asked Wyre, his voice filled with purpose and determination. “She wasn’t in there because you would have told me…….wouldn’t you?”

  “I honestly don’t know what I see in there Wyre but you deserve to know. I found the ring on a hand or at least on something that looked like a hand and I’m telling you this because I don’t want you hanging on false hope”

  “What do you mean?” asked Wyre, his emotions betraying him as anger and sorrow battled with each other for supremacy.

  “There was no proof that it was Susan but I found the ring amongst some badly burnt remains”

  Wyre seemed stunned as he just sat slowly shaking his head, not wa
nting to let go of any hope he had of finding both Oliver and Susan alive.

  “I don’t know what to say Wyre only that Oliver is going to need you more than ever assuming that it was your wife. I’m just so sorry we could not get there sooner”

  Alex was surprised how strong Wyre was being and carefully watched him stand and walk towards the window. As much as Wyre wanted to be brave for Oliver’s sake as well as his own, his face was beginning to crease and his lips trembled.

  “It’s the thought that she suffered at the hands of this bastard called Bostock. It’s the thought she was calling mine and Oliver’s names before she died, pleading for her life and to see us again. What has happened? Why has all this happened to us? Why!!!!!?”

  As much as Wyre tried to shout out his feelings of dismay and anger his voice broke under the realisation and the magnitude of what had happened to his loving family. His mind exploded with thoughts, each of them crossing in front of the other making it hard for him to focus on a particular one. Why did she die? How did she die? What would have happened to Oliver if they had not got there when they did? Will he be scared by the trauma of it all and if so how bad? Could he himself have done more? Was it his fault in the first place why all this had happened? Should he have trusted this detective called Alex Richards who he knows little about only that he worked for this Bostock? Was it now the time to walk away from these people and get the proper authorities involved and call the police?