by Stan Mason
‘I didn’t really want it to turn out this way,’ commented Jake sadly, ‘but you seem to need some persuading,’
He nodded to the big man who placed the scientist’s hand, palm down, directly on to the hot metal plate on the electric cooker which shone brightly with red heat. Thee was the sound of scorching flesh and the scientist screamed quickly wrenching his hand away but by that time it had been badly burned. Yet there was worse to come for Jake turned towards Rose with the same hard expression on his face.
‘It’s your turn, Mrs. Harris. Give me your hand.’
‘No!’ shouted her husband in desperation. ‘No... I’ll get you the information! I’ll get it for you! Leave her alone!’ He hurried to the sink placing his hand under the cold water tap before nursing it tenderly to ease the pain.
A brief smile appeared on Jake’s face and he nodded to his colleague who turned off the switch on the electric cooker. ‘I’m glad we’ve come to an agreement,’ he went on. He nodded to the big man and they went into the hallway. ‘I’m going to give you two more days to come up with the goods. If you don’t, there’ll be further repercussions which I don’t think you’ll like. It’s entirely up to you, Bob.’
He then opened the front door and both he and his giant colleague left. Rose went into the hallways and closed the door after them before returning to the kitchen where her husband was still running cold water over his wounded hand.
‘Bastards!’ he muttered angrily, ‘They didn’t have to do this. And to threaten you... well that was crossing the line!’
‘I presume you’re going to let them have what they want,’ ventured Rose with concern. She knew how obstinate her husband could be and she feared the worst.
‘I’m thinking about it,’ he told her flatly. ‘I don’t really want to cave in to people like that when they make unreasonable demands. One has to face up to them.’
‘You realise that it’ll be worse next time if you don’t produce those documents. You don’t know, they may even kill you out of spite.’
‘I’m sure it won’t come to that,’ he returned. ‘I may even call the police.’,’
‘What could they do?’ she asked indifferently. ‘Nothing wrong’s taken place,’
‘What are you talking about. They abducted you, didn’t they?’
‘If the police apprehended Jake, he would merely make some excuse to get himself off the hook. No real crime’s been committed.’.’
‘I suppose you’re right,’ he returned miserably. ‘The police wouldn’t be able to stop them.’
‘What about telling your boss at Universal?’ she suggested trying to help him find a way out of the problem. ‘They may take some kind of action.’
‘My boss!’ echoed Harris laughingly. ‘David Coleman! If only he was still there. I heard this morning that he’s gone on a long vacation. The rumour is that he’s suffered a nervous breakdown although, from what I know of him, that’s far from the truth. Trouble is that no one’s been appointed in his place. Not yet anyway,’
‘Well you won’t be able to stall Jake for much longer,’ suggested Rose with concern showing in her voice. ‘You realise that. He’s not the kind of person to be denied. I think it would be best if you simply gave him what he wants. It’s really no skin off your nose, is it? I mean who cares if Universal Energy or this man Jake makes a fortune from your idea. The moment you thought of it, it went out of your hands.’
‘I know that, but I need time to think,’ he responded miserably, turning off the tap and wiping his hand on a towel. He stared at the damage that had been done to the flesh and winced with pain.
‘Did you listen to anything I said?’ she enquired with an element of annoyance in her voice. His attitude was so stubborn that communication had become more difficult with him the longer they were married, At this particular moment, she felt that she could strangle him.
‘Yes I heard you,’ he told her rudely. ‘But it really has nothing to do with you. It’s my decision to make!’
‘That’s where you’re wrong!’ she reproached sharply. ‘There’s a lot of money involved here which could come our way. It’s too good an opportunity to pass up.’
He ignored her comment and went to the cupboard to remove the medical box. ‘I think I’ll take a couple of paracetamol.,’ he told her, staring at his hand. ‘This is going to hurt me for some time.’
She stared at him with contempt and left him to take the tablets, nursing her anger at his stupidity, Something was going to have to give... it had to!
Chapter Six
Harris returned to the laboratory the following morning and started tapping the keys on the keyboard to rewrite his paper. He worked on the project for a while until Don entered with a quizzical expression on his face as he saw the bandage around the other man’s hand.
‘What happened?’ asked the junior scientist with concern.
‘Oh, I just burnt my hand. Nothing serious.’
‘It looks b... bad.’ Don paused to watch Harris tapping out some keys on the computer keyboard. ‘What are you d... doing?’ he asked solemnly.
The other man paused before replying. ‘I’m rewriting the paper on hydrogenetics,’ he stated bluntly,
‘Why are you d... doing that?’
‘Somehow it’s all been wiped off the computer. I have to rewrite it.’
Don stared at him with an element of suspicion. ‘Are you dealing with that or have you found another project?’
‘Of course I haven’t!’ retorted Harris irately. ‘I told you I have to reconstruct hydrogenetics.’
Wise stared hard at the computer screen and he screwed up his face. ‘If you’re not working on s... something new, why are the w... words related to C... Cold Fusion on the monitor. That’s the star in the jar p... project where they say that a b... beaker of c... cold water and m... metal electrodes can produce excess heat. The p... problem is that m... most physicists refuse to accept the idea.’
Harris pause to stare at the screen in disbelief. His colleague was perfectly correct. Although he was typing the paper on hydrogentics, the text in front of him on the monitor showed that it related to Cold Fusion. How could such a thing happen? In despair, the scientist closed down the pages and started again but the result was exactly the same. The next time the text shown related to methyl hydrates stating that a mixture of ice and natural hydrates were believed to contain more carbon than existing reserves of coal, oil and gas put together. However, nothing of the words he typed out on the keyboard produced anything to do with his hydrogentic idea. After a while he stopped typing in despair, completely confused as to why the computer refused to comply with his demands. It did not bode well for the next time that Jake rang him. Under pressure, he had agreed to conform to the man’s wishes. What could he say this time to make him believe what was happening? He could make all the excuses in the world but they would not be enough... it was the presentation of the formula and the details or nothing at all! He slammed his hands down on the keyboard, wincing as he felt pain in his hand.
‘You took the hard copy to D... David Coleman, didn’t you,’ suggested Don in due course when he saw the worried expression on his colleague’s face ‘If you go to his off---off... office, you’ll p... probably find what you’re looking for there.’
Harris stared at him for a moment, sitting up straight at the comment and he nodded his agreement rushing off immediately to the office of the Head of Department. Once there, he opened the drawers of senior manager’s desk searching for the papers only to discover each of them completely empty. It was as though Coleman had cleared out everything before he left. In desperation, Harris went to the bookshelves stretched along one wall in the hope of finding the papers there. However, despite a thorough search of the office, he came up empty-handed, unable to find them, Despairingly, he slumped into the executive chair slamming hi
s hands down on the desk in frustration. Surely, the papers had to be there somewhere in the office but after searching vainly for a while longer he gave up the task and returned to the laboratory.
‘No dice!’ he told his colleague. ‘The papers aren’t there. They’ve gone... disappeared. And now that Coleman’s gone, there’s no one I can contact?’
‘Beats the h... hell out of me,’ responded Don miserably. ‘We’ve been left on our own. But why are you so d... desperate to find the p... papers?’
‘Because my life might be on the line... and that of Rose, my wife. I’m in deep trouble,’ admitted Harris weakly.’
‘If it’s m... money, I can lend you some.’
‘No... it’s nothing like that. It’s something much more serious.’
‘Such as w... what?’
The senior scientist looked straight ahead before replying. He didn’t really want to burden anyone else with his problem but now that his back was against the wall he felt the need to unburden himself to someone else about it.
‘I’m being pestered by a man called Jake. He wants the formula and the notes on hydrogenetics. He’s promised me a million pounds if the tests prove successful. If I don’t let him have it, I don’t know what he’ll do.’ He paused and then held up his bandaged hand which covered the serious burn on his palm. ‘This is what he did to me last time.’
The other man looked appalled at the injury. ‘He c... can’t do things like that.,’ he uttered sympathetically.
‘You can say that but who’s going to stop him. His henchman who did this is a giant with the strength of Samson. I really don’t know what to do.’
Harris opened a drawer in his desk again in the hope of finding his notes on the subject even though he knew they were not there any more. He threw his hands up in the air in desperation. Why should anyone want to steal all his notes? The theory was, as yet, untested. No one could gain anything from it until the system was proved to be satisfactory. It made no sense at all!
‘And now that the computer’s been wiped c... clean, you can’t give it to him,’ uttered Don sympathetically.
‘I thought that if I rewrote the whole thing from my notes, I could settle the matter but the computer’s somehow been wired so that it won’t allow me to do so.’
‘Try another c... computer!’
‘We don’t have one.’
‘Go out and buy one for yourself and k... keep it at home. No one w... will be able to stop you then.’
‘I’ve only a day-and-a-half before he contacts me again. There’s not enough time. In any case, I don’t think I could rewrite the text without my notes. It’s far too complicated.
‘Then this man Jake w... will have to wait,’ declared the junior scientist. ‘Go on... buy a l... lap-top!’
Harris dithered for a moment to assess the situation. It appeared that there was no other way to proceed. However, he wasn’t certain that he would be able to recall the formula and all the details from memory as the process was so complicated, It would certainly take him more than two days to complete the task unless he could find the notes.
‘Who is this man J... Jake?’ asked Don somewhat perplexed.
‘I don’t know. I’d never heard or met him until a few days ago. He held Rose hostage until I got home.
‘That’s why you r... rushed off so quickly. I wondered what was g... going on.’
Harris lit a cigarette and watched the smoke drift to the ceiling. ‘He keep ringing me to give him the formula. I don’t know whether I can do it but if I don’t he’ll keep hounding me.’
‘Why don’t you call the p... police? They’ll h... handle it for you.’
‘Can you imagine what would happen to my work here if I did that? They’d contact the Head of Universal Energy and all hell would break loose. I’d be suspended immediately to safeguard the test. In an instant, I’d be a pariah in the organisation. I can’t afford to allow that to happen.’
‘Then tell this J... Jake that he can’t have the formula and you don’t care if he does kill you or your wife. F... face him down!’
‘Are you kidding?’ yelled Harris astonished. ‘Why should I give up my life and that of my wife for some miserable invention. People like Jake are always the front men of some evil person or organisation. They mean business and nothing’s going to get in their way.’
‘Then let them have the f... formula!’
‘It’s against my principles to be threatened into submission by a bully. I won’t allow that to happen.’
‘Then you’re between a r... rock and a hard p... place,’s said Don unhappily. ‘A r... rock and a hard p... place.’
Harris stared at his colleague with a miserable expression on his face. ‘You haven’t take those papers, have you? I mean how is it the computer’s been wiped clean and it doesn’t work properly?’
‘I have no id... d... dea,’ stuttered Don, irritated that he should be accused for sabotaging the project.
The senior scientist pressed his lips together. He knew that he was in for a rough ride on a matter which should have been the crowning moment of his life. Instead, he was clearly faced with a dilemma that would not fare well in the future for either him or his wife. It was not a welcoming thought.
***
The telephone rang in his home two days later as expected. He let it ring for a while before answering, his mind in a turmoil.
‘For Heaven’s sake,’ complained his wife. ‘You know it’s Jake. Why don’t you answer it?’
‘I know who’s calling,’ he replied.
‘It’s not going to stop ringing,’ she went on somewhat irritated.
‘I don’t care. I’m not answering it,’ uttered the scientist, his obstinacy coming to the fore.
‘Well Jake won’t go away... you know that. You’ll have to talk to him eventually.’
Harris pulled a face and turned away. He knew that he could only bury his head in the sand for a short period of time which proved to be correct, for less than an hour later, the doorbell rang. When it did, Harris began to tremble and shake in his shoes. He knew exactly what was going to happen... or at least he thought he did. He stared bleakly at his wife who was casually reading a magazine as though nothing mattered, and he was surprised that she appeared to be so unconcerned by their dilemma. Their lives were hanging on a thread but she didn’t seem to mind.
After the doorbell rang a second time, he rose from his armchair and went to the front door. Jake was standing there with his big henchman behind him. They pushed past him as though he wasn’t there to go into the lounge. Jake was clearly annoyed at having to visit the scientist once again to gain access to the formula and the accompanying papers and he sat down angrily in one of the armchairs while the giant henchman stood behind.
‘Okay, Bob,’ he began curtly. ‘Let’s cut to the chase. Do you have what I want or not?’
‘It’s going to take me a little longer,’ bleated Harris, sitting on the edge of the settee most uncomfortably. ‘As I told you, all the notes have gone missing and the computer’s been wiped clean. I don’t know who did it. Even worse is that I don’t know where all my notes have gone. Someone has stolen them. You see I’m going to have to reconstruct the whole thing from memory.’
‘Quit stalling!’ reproached the ex-convict. ‘I don’t want to hear any excuses! I want that formula and those notes.’
‘You’ll have to give me more time,’ countered the scientist weakly. ‘I need more time.’
‘You don’t have any!’ came the response.
‘What do you intend to do to us?’ Harris’s voice trembled as a dozen evil visions came into his mind. He knew that the giant henchman would be merciless and that there would be pain involved in whatever he did.
‘Us?’ returned Jake casually. ‘Who’s us?’
; ‘My wife and myself of course,’ Harris replied perplexed at the questions.
‘We’re not asking her for the stuff,’ he grunted. ‘It’s you who’s holding up the process.’
The scientist’s eyes narrowed for a moment as a thought passed through his mind. ‘Before we go any further and you deal with me in one way or another, tell me how you found out about the process. Who told you? I would like to know.’
There was silence for a few moments as Jake looked towards Rose for enlightenment. The glance he gave her perplexed Harris even more.
‘Why are you looking at her?’ demanded the scientist warily.
‘He’s looking at me because I was the one who told them about it,’ admitted his wife. ‘I told him... well not him personally. I told Mr. G.’
The scientist reeled back for a moment staring at his wife in disbelief. ‘Who’s Mr. G?’ he asked flatly.
‘You’d better explain or we’ll be here all evening,’ stated Jake impatiently.
Rose lowered the magazine and turned to face her husband. ‘Some years ago, a man was brought into the hospital. He was an innocent bystander who had been shot in his left arm three times by bandits who robbed a store in the High Street. The wounds were very serious and he’d lost a lot of blood. It was so bad that the arm had to be amputated and he needed blood transfusions.’
‘I don’t understand. What’s that got to do with anything?’ cut in Harris sharply in confusion.
‘That man, Mr. G. and I got to know each other well... very well. After he left hospital, we wrote to each other and kept in touch. His business involves dealing with information. When you told me about the new process on heating, I realised its potential and I knew he’d be interested. You see, I want to be a millionaires so I decided to cover all positions.’
‘Are you having an affair with this man?’ accused the scientist, believing the worst.
‘Don’t be stupid!’ she retorted, ostensibly stung by the accusation. ‘A woman can have friends without sleeping with them.’