by Derek Haines
‘The means justifies the ends, you think?’
‘More than that. A much more progressive way of thinking and finding solutions for seemingly impossible problems.’
‘Impossible?’
‘Only impossible because of the constrains placed on researchers.’
‘Moral, ethical and legal constraints, you mean?’
‘You may think like that, but here there were no such issues to hold back genuine study and experimentation. And you’d have to be naive to believe that we acted alone in this. You know full well who was financially supporting and benefitting from our work.’
‘I’m not here to argue with you, Dr. Mueller. Your beliefs and justification are for you. I just have my duty to perform.’
‘Well, at least we have some kind of understanding then.’
The door opened and one of the agents beckoned Henniger.
‘We’ve checked, and can’t find a way to separate the two operations. There are so many connections within the system that it’s impossible to isolate a single trigger. They seemed to be intermeshed throughout the whole system.’
‘So you’d need to isolate every connection?’
‘There could be thousands sir. We could isolate some, but that wouldn’t affect other points. Each point is individually connected.’
‘Can you isolate the gas connections in the entry points?’
‘We could try to find as many as we can.’
‘If the gas was only distributed in the main facility area, the foam should trap the gas. I’m just concerned about gas going up the entry tunnels and into the complexes above.’
‘It depends how fast or slow the foam fills the cavities, sir.’
‘And we have no way of contacting anyone above to order an evacuation.’
‘That’s correct sir.’
‘All right. Check if you can clear the return points so we can get back up without being gassed ourselves, and also if you consider it safe to allow the gas to fill the main cavity of the facility.’
‘It’ll take some time sir. Maybe three hours to check……’
‘Quick! Grab him!’ Henniger yelled, as Mueller took advantage of their concentration on the problems of the system and ran towards the door to the control room. He slammed the door behind himself, and Henniger and his agents could clearly hear the sound of the door locking, as they arrived a split second too late.
‘Mueller!’ Henniger shouted, as he pushed in vain against the metal door. Then he heard three clunking noises and knew they were the sound of Mueller moving the levers to the charge position. It was at that moment the Henniger wished he had cuffed Mueller’s hands behind his back and not in front. He could press the buttons.
‘Run! Now!’ Henniger ordered his agents. ‘Now!’ he yelled again, as they hesitated until finally they moved.
‘Mueller! Don’t do it!’ he yelled, and still tried pushing the door. It didn’t move. ‘Mueller! Mueller!’
A nozzle above Henniger started to ooze a thick yellowish liquid.
‘Mueller! Mueller!’
‘It’s done!’ Mueller shouted back. ‘Good-bye. Whatever you name is!’
Henniger decided there was nothing more he could do. The thick yellowish liquid was oozing from multiple points above him and starting to coat the walls. He ran down the corridor and started on the first set of stairs leading back up to the surface. Taking the steps as fast as his heavy frame could manage, with the handicap of now covering his mouth and nose with his handkerchief in the hope it may restrict his inhalation of gas.
His breathing was laboured and his legs were suffering under his weight and the effort of moving continually upwards. All the while, nozzles were oozing yellow foam onto the walls of the ascending tunnels and stairwells. After fifteen minutes, he had to rest. His legs could hardly move and he was panting heavily and having difficulty breathing. He looked down and saw the foam, now rapidly filling the space below him, and knew he had to go on, while trying to calculate how much further he had to go. The last time he ascended it took an hour or so, but it was at a leisurely pace. Another fifteen minutes he thought. He moved off again trying to ignore the pain in his legs, as he took two steps at time and tried as best he could to jog, or at least walk as fast as he could on the level areas.
After five minutes, he had to stop to try and get some oxygen back in his lungs. Glancing down and seeing the foam now filling the space only a few meters below him. It was moving faster. He pushed his body up the next set of stairs and felt his chest tightening and squashing his lungs. Pain was shooting down his left side, as he tried to put a heart attack out of his mind. Turning from a level tunnel to the next set of stairs, he caught the sight of the feet of his agents just ahead of him.
‘Run!’ he tried to shout, but his lungs would only allow a whimper. He dropped his handkerchief as it was restricting his breathing too much.
The next set of stairs saw him at the heels of his two agents and they pushed themselves harder once they saw Henniger behind. Both of them panting hard, with sweat pouring from their reddened faces. Pushed on by Henniger, who was panting harder and sweating more. Henniger started to feel a little dizzy and his sight was becoming foggy.
‘We’re close sir. I’m getting a signal on my phone.’
‘Call for paramedics,’ Henniger managed to get out of his mouth, before starting to feel feint. His two agents noticing he was struggling went back the few steps and grabbed their boss. Dragging him bodily up the last few stairs and then along a corridor leading towards the last incline. Kicking open the last door that led to the building above, they dragged Henniger’s now limp body through the building and out into fresh air near their car.
Three bodies lying on the ground, struggling for air. One holding a phone near his ear.
‘Paramedics. Urgent. CERN!………Fas……....’ he said, before losing conciseness.
Ernst Gehrig called Françoise Klausner from HUG.
‘So, what’s their condition?’
‘Two serious and Henniger critical.’
‘Who’s treating them now?’
‘HUG emergency for the moment, but I’ve called Fleury. He’ll be here any minute.’
‘Mueller?’ Françoise asked, knowing that Henniger was taking him there.
‘No sign of him. Only Henniger and his two agents.’
‘Right. Let me now if there’s any change.’
‘Yes m’am.’
Françoise called out to Patrick.
‘Drop everything! Get hold of Gerhard Degen, Henniger’s deputy. I want him here urgently.’
‘On it,’ came a shout from the outer office.
Her next call was to Alfred Letsch.
‘Hello.’
‘Françoise, Alfred. We’ve got an emergency situation. Where are you?’
‘In my office.’
‘Right. Get up here now.’
‘On my way.’
Françoise was thinking back to her meeting with Henniger two evenings before. She grabbed her file from the safe and checked the notes she’d made. Two immediate concerns. The record of interview and the whereabouts of Dr. Mueller. She knew for sure that Mueller was with Henniger, so did he die down there?
‘Mr. Degen is in Geneva,’ Patrick said, as he came into Françoise’s office.
‘Get him in a helicopter. I want him in Bern within two hours.’
‘On it,’ Patrick said, as he turned and saw Alfred Letsch entering the outer office.
‘Councillor Letsch…’
‘Send him in.’
‘What’s ….’
‘Look Alfred. We had a situation at CERN earlier today. Henniger and two of his agents are in hospital. Henniger is critical. I want you to get hold of Ernst Gehrig. He’s in Geneva. At HUG with Henniger.’
‘And then?’
‘He’s the only person who knows how to enter the facility under CERN. So get him and an army team to check what the status of the area is. As all three are seriously ill,
presume there was some kind of poison involved.’
‘Will do.’
‘And…….there were four people down there. See if they have anyway of finding the other body.’
‘Anything else?’
‘The fewer people involved in this the better.’
Françoise’s direct line rang.
‘Yes.’
‘It’s Gehrig. Henniger died two minutes ago.’
‘Thank you, Mr. Gehrig. Just hold the line will you.’
‘Yes, sure.’
‘Here Alfred,’ Françoise said, as she handed him the phone and walked towards her outer office.
*****
Marie was ironing a shirt for her day at work shortly after Jean-Paul had left to meet his new employer. Her mobile rang.
‘Marie.’
‘Barbara, it’s Martin.’
‘Yes?’ she said, wondering what was coming next.
‘We’ve got a problem. We need you to make sure our two new guests are looked after. There’s a helicopter waiting to take you to Brunnen. Can you be at the police helipad in forty-five minutes?’
‘Right. Okay.’
‘Good. There’ll be a file in the helicopter for you to read on the way.’
‘Right, Martin.’
Marie ran to grab a bag and shoved a couple of changes of clothes into it. Then changed quickly into jeans, t-shirt and jacket. Grabbed her toothbrush and toothpaste and headed for the door. She ran back and turned the Matterhorn upside and quickly drew arrows on some post-it-notes and stuck them to the fridge to make sure Jean-Paul didn’t miss the signal. Then down to her car for a sprint to the airport.
Françoise walked past Patrick’s desk.
‘Back in a minute, Patrick.’
‘Yes. Okay.’
She went to the ladies toilet and washed her face and wrists with cold water. Exhausted from the day before, and sensing that she felt anxious, she tried to breathe deeply. After a few minutes, she felt a little better and checked her face in the mirror and prepared to get back to her desk. Only one subject occupying her mind; was Dr. Wilhelm Mueller dead, and if not, where was he? When she returned to her office, Alfred was just hanging up from speaking to Gehrig.
‘Underway?’
‘Yes, Françoise. Gehrig will be there with a small team in about ninety minutes.’
‘Good. Let me know as soon as you have any news at all.’
‘Right,’ he said, as he rose and left the office.
*****
Marie parked her car and ran to the police helipad. Flashing her ID card as she passed through security. She saw the helicopter and ran towards it. There was a pilot, and a man already sitting waiting in the helicopter.
‘Brunnen?’ she asked.
‘Hop in, Officer Dupont,’ the man said.
As she fastened her seatbelt, the man handed her a thin file.
‘You know about this case I believe.’
‘Yes I do.’
‘We’ll be making a stop in Bern on the way. All right?’ he asked.
‘Yes. Fine,’ Marie answered.
As the helicopter rose, the noise made being heard impossible, so Marie sat quietly, reading the notes in the file. ‘Protection of Seaton and Moon. Threats unknown.’ She noted that there was a serious lack of information in the file.
The man next to her was also reading and making notes. She guessed he was what Jean-Paul called a spook, as she was now getting used to meeting people who didn’t introduce themselves. The helicopter landed in Bern, and the man beside her unfastened his seatbelt. He uttered his first and last words for the journey.
‘Goodbye then.’
‘Yes. Goodbye,’ Marie replied.
Within two minutes, the helicopter was rising again.
A car was waiting for Degen, and within twenty minutes he was being shown into the President’s office.
‘Good afternoon, Mr. Degen. Please sit down.’
‘Thank you m’am.’
‘Right, you and I have some serious problems.’
‘Yes, I believe so.’
*****
‘Mary, Mary! Look!’
‘What is it now Milo?’ Mary asked, as she had heard Milo say those words so often and was getting used to his curiosity.
‘A helicopter! It’s landing on the grass. Look!’ he said, as he watched from their apartment’s living room window.
‘I’m going to watch,’ he said, as he ran to the door.
‘I’ll come in a minute,’ Mary said, but probably wasn’t heard by Milo.
Mary heard the loud noise of the helicopter as it landed in between their apartment and the lakeshore. She couldn’t hear anything until the roar of the engine finally started to wane. She put down her tea towel and went to the door to see what Milo was doing. She could see he was excited by the event, but then he suddenly started jumping up and down. She couldn’t quite hear what he was yelling. Until she saw a woman walking towards Milo. Then she understood what he was saying.
‘Marie! Marie!’
*****
‘Patrick!’
He came running to Françoise’s yell. He was getting well used to the fact that she seemed incapable of using the internal telephone.
‘Find an office for Mr. Degen will you, Patrick. Somewhere close by.’
‘The press officer is in Zurich today,’ he said.
‘Perfect. Show Mr. Degen the way will you?’
‘Certainly.’
As Degen rose, Françoise reiterated a point to him.
‘Only two things Mr. Degen. Henniger’s file and Mueller. Everything else can wait.’
‘Yes. Yes m’am,’ he said, as he left with Patrick.
Before Degen had time to sit, the phone rang. He picked it up thinking it was probably a call for the press officer.
‘Yes.’
‘It’s Françoise. I just remembered. Henniger had a surveillance device down there when this trouble first broke. Check if it’s still working.’
‘If it is?’
‘Find out what it can tell us.’
‘Right.’
Françoise sat, waiting. She squeezed the bridge of her nose trying to quell the onset of a headache. Henniger and Mueller running through her mind. She grabbed her phone and dialled.
‘Hello, Fleury.’
‘Françoise Klausner, Dr. Fleury.’
‘Oh, eh, yes m’am,’ he replied, somewhat surprised to have the President call him.
‘How are the two agents?’
‘One’s better that the other. We’re trying to isolate the substance that they were exposed to at present.’
‘Any chance of speaking to either of them?’
‘Maybe later this evening. Do you wish for the police……?’
‘No, you can do it doctor.’
‘What do you want me to ask?’
‘There was a fourth man down there. I want to know what happened to him.’
‘Very well, m’am. As soon as I can, I’ll try to speak to the one who’s in slightly better shape.’
Françoise gave her private mobile number to Fleury and told him to call the minute he had news.
She made notes and ticked off the actions that were being taken. Trying to think of any other measures that she should take. She cursed herself as nothing came to her mind. There must be something more she thought to herself. ‘Airports, train stations and border posts,’ then realised the dilemma. If she sent out information regarding Mueller, it would expose the whole operation. She doodled on her pad while she considered the options.
*****
‘Marie, Marie, Marie!’ Milo shouted excitedly, as she neared. Mary was running towards her as well. She gave them a hug and felt like she was a long lost sister.
‘Good to see you two. You look really well!’
‘Oh Marie. We asked Sylvie if you were coming, but she didn’t know. Oh, it’s a wonderful surprise,’ Mary said.
‘Do you always use a helicopter?’ Milo asked.
> ‘Only sometimes.’
‘Oh come on Marie, we’ll show you our new home,’ Mary said excitedly.
‘And I’ll make coffee,’ Milo said. ‘With the machine, not instant.’
‘Very good, Milo,’ Mary said.
*****
Jean-Paul arrived home knowing Marie had left for work. He dropped his things and went to grab an orange juice. He saw the post-it-notes and the Matterhorn.
‘Second day of my life with a cop,’ he said to himself and smiled. He grabbed the orange juice from the fridge and as he opened it to pour a glass he heard his mobile beep.
‘I love you JP xox’
Chapter 31 - Things To Forget
‘I’ve located Henniger’s file.’ Degen said.
‘And the record of interview?’
‘Yes. We have it as well.’
‘Where are they? Here in Bern?’
‘Yes.’
‘Good. I want them on my desk within an hour.’
‘Yes m’am.’
‘The surveillance device?’
‘Waiting for word, m’am.’
‘All right. ASAP.’
‘Mr. Gehrig on line three,’ Patrick said.
‘Yes, Mr. Gehrig?’
‘We’ve confirmed that there’s still residue of some sort of gas in the upper parts. We’ve had two men down there in protective suits, but they can’t get any further down than the very first level. Only a few meters below the entrance. There’s a yellow substance that’s solidifying and has filled the access.’
‘So there’s little else you can do there.’
‘I’m afraid that’s right. But we’ll keep an eye on the gas level and the solidification. I’ll wait until the area is at least safe for the surrounding buildings.’
‘Were there any casualties at CERN itself?’
‘No, m’am. Luckily it seems to have been confined to the access route only, but we’re checking surrounding air quality.’
‘Very well. Let me know if there are any new developments.’
‘Yes, m’am.’
Her mobile had rung while she was talking to Gehrig. She hit recall.
‘Fleury.’
‘Sorry I missed you call, Dr. Fleury. It’s Françoise Klausner.’
‘Oh yes m’am. I spoke to one of the agents.’