by Derek Haines
‘And?’
‘There was a fourth man down there. He locked himself in an electrical control room apparently, and set of some kind of mechanism. Behind a steel door, he said. The agent wasn’t fully coherent, but he mentioned three levers, buttons, foam and poison. He said Henniger stayed for a while after he had told the other two to run. I hope that makes some sense to you, m’am.’
‘Yes. Thank you Dr. Fleury, it does. But I’d like you to ask him one more question for me.’
‘Yes?’
‘Was there another exit, entrance or perhaps another way out of this control room?’
‘Just a moment m’am. I’m with the agent now. Can you hold?’
‘Yes, doctor. Certainly.’
Françoise could hear Dr. Fleury talking to the agent, and could hear how difficult it was for the agent to speak. She could understand what Dr. Fleury was saying, but not the agent. It was some minutes before Fleury spoke to her.
‘I’m sorry m’am. It took a while.’
‘That’s okay.’
‘Look, he seems to think that there was only one door to the room. He said he didn’t see another, but there was something on the wall opposite the door. He thought it was a storage cupboard at the time, but said it could possibly have been something else. He wasn’t sure though.’
‘Perhaps when he’s recovered somewhat, he might be able to tell us more.’
‘Yes, m’am.’
Françoise ended her call and sat quietly. Knowing that was not the answer she wanted to hear.
An hour later, Degen arrived with the files Françoise requested, and confirmation that the surveillance device was still operational. He had with him, images taken over recent hours of a yellow substance, slowly filling the cavity that had been Sootere.
‘Thank you, Mr. Degen. That will be all for today.’
‘Yes m’am.’
‘Patrick!’
‘Yes Françoise.’
‘It’s Friday. Go home.’
‘Yes, thank you Françoise. See you on Monday.’
Françoise Klausner waited until her office was quiet, then sat in front of the fireplace in her office. It was hardly ever used. Tonight though, it would be used.
To cleanse history. It never happened.
Chapter 32 - To The Moon
Sunday arrived, and Marie had had no problems. She had briefed the security staff, and was relieved that the last couple of days had passed without incident. She expected to be relieved soon. Sylvie had called and said she would come as planned. So Milo, Mary and Marie waited for their lunch guest.
A knock at the door heralded her arrival.
‘Hello there!’ Sylvie said, when Mary opened the door.
‘Oh Sylvie, hello. Come in.’
‘Hello, Milo!’
‘What’s that?’ Milo asked, as a large white box Sylvie was carrying was far too obvious for Milo to miss.
‘It’s for you Milo.’
‘For me? What is it?’
‘Well, open it and see,’ she said, as she handed it to him.
Mary helped Milo unpack the box, and inside a lot of shaped foam they found a number of parts of something.
‘What is it?’ Mary asked.
‘I don’t know,’ Milo said. ‘What is it Sylvie?’
‘Keep going you two. You might figure it out soon.’
Marie stood smiling. She knew what it was already and thought it the most wonderful gift anyone could have given Milo.
‘Are you staying this evening, Sylvie?’ Marie asked quietly.
‘I can’t unfortunately.’
‘So I get the pleasure.’
‘Do you mind?’
‘No. Not all. I’ll be honoured. It’s truly a wonderful idea.’
‘Thanks Marie.’
‘I still don’t know what it is,’ Milo said, with a mystified look on his face.
‘Me neither,’ Mary said.
‘Here. I’ll help you put it together,’ Sylvie said.
‘But what is it Sylvie?’ Milo asked again.
‘It will take you to the moon, Milo.’
‘The Moon!’
‘Yes Milo. It’s called a telescope. You can take Mary and Marie with you to the moon tonight.’
Marie quickly wiped away a happy tear that had accidentally escaped onto her cheek.
The End
Thank you so much for reading my book. If you enjoyed it, in the in next page or two you will be given the opportunity to add a quick review and this would be definitely appreciated, as reviews really do help me keep writing … and a roof over my head.
About The Author
Derek Haines is an author of science fiction farce, historical fiction, essays and poetry and writes from a view of what fascinates him and not from a formula based on one theme or genre. Starting with poetry before moving into essays and novels, his writing is varied but is always written in a style that communicates with and engages his readers.
Most of all, the stories told by Derek Haines are about people, their feelings, regrets, hopes and struggles with life. Ordinary people, often a loser, but with extraordinary qualities that makes their story worth telling. While some stories reflect his own thoughts and beliefs, others are told from the view of characters who are sometimes dark and complex or childishly open. With splashes of allegory, black humour or satire, his stories can develop from the simplistic to the complicated and back again, leaving the reader to decide if it is time to laugh or cry. Or both.
Born in Australia, but now living in Switzerland, his stories cross a wide geographical range but often draw from elements of his life and experiences in the two countries he calls home. From the rugged, dry and hot desert country of Australia and its crowded cities, to the cafés of Europe and the peaks of the Swiss Alps.
When not writing and blogging, he is usually doing what he equally enjoys – teaching English.
www.derekhaines.ch
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Also by Derek Haines
Louis
Dead Men
Milo Moon
One Last Love
Eyes That Could Kill
My Take Away Vampire
Pelf – Emily’s Men of Greed
February The Fifth
Septimity and The Blood Brotherhood
The Adventures of Hal
The Glothic Tales Trilogy
The Sons of Cleito
The Few
Loss, Limbo, Life and Love (Poetry)
Table of Contents
Chapter 1 - Wednesday
Chapter 2 - One Way Please
Chapter 3 - Welcome to Reality
Chapter 4 - Seemingly Home Again
Chapter 5 - Identity Crisis
Chapter 6 - Claire And The Cat
Chapter 7 - Keeping Secrets
Chapter 8 - We’re In Deep
Chapter 9 - Two To Tango
Chapter 10 - Digging A Hole In The Sky
Chapter 11 - Day Break
Chapter 12 - Cold Turkey
Chapter 13 - Colours
Chapter 14 - Secret Secrets
Chapter 15 - Unpleasant Truths
Chapter 16 - Battle Stations
Chapter 17 - My Enemy’s Enemy
Chapter 18 - A Foot In The Door
Chapter 19 - Money And Drugs
Chapter 20 - Lost In Time
Chapter 21 - Never Seen
Chapter 22 - No Secrets
Chapter 23 - The Art Of The Achievable
Chapter 24 - Moving Day
Chapter 25 - A New Day
Chapter 26 - The Evening News
Chapter 27 - Same Problems Different Depth
Chapter 28 - A Life To Live
Chapter 29 - What Will Be
Chapter 30 - Erasure
Chapter 31 - Things To Forget
Chapter 32 - To The Moon