by Hatchett
“Roger Issy, but we don’t know what the targets look like.”
Issy turned to Daniel. “Were any of the women taken coloured?”
“Yes, one was. I know what you’re thinking, but if you shoot through the door blindly, someone innocent is going to get hurt. The cottages are quite small and there’s five women and two girls in there in addition to the Judge and Judy.”
Issy nodded at Daniel and clicked her comms. “Both targets are coloured, a man and a woman, but there’s at least two coloured women in there.”
“Roger Issy.”
Daniel added that he thought the Jury should be easy to spot because of all the jewellery she was wearing.
Issy turned back to the cottage door in time to see the woman turn to face her once again.
“They want the helicopter and a pilot,” the woman advised.
“Not going to happen,” Issy replied. “Try again.”
The woman screamed before spluttering “She’s just cut me!”
“Tell her if she does it again, I will dismember her very very slowly,” Issy stated.
The woman stared at Issy without seeing, obviously listening to what the Jury was saying to her before her eyes refocussed. “She doesn’t understand what you mean.
Issy and Daniel looked at each other with raised eyebrows and nearly burst out laughing. It was so surreal.
Issy turned back to the woman. “Doesn’t matter. Just tell her that if they come out I give my word that we won’t kill them, providing they don’t try anything.”
The woman again had a conversation with the Jury before replying, “She wants your assurance that you won’t hurt them either.”
“Agreed.”
The woman was dragged back inside to allow the Jury to open the cottage door wider. She came out with a snide smile across her face and walked towards Issy, the two Alpha sub-team members covering her progress with their MP5’s in case she tried anything stupid.
“So, you’re the bitch who has killed all our people,” the Jury hissed as she stopped a couple of metres away from Issy. She looked at the two soldiers. “And you might as well drop those guns ‘cos you can’t kill us or hurt us.”
“Unless you try anything,” Issy added.
“Do I look fuckin’ stupid?” the Jury screamed.
“I won’t answer that,” Issy replied. “Search her.”
The two soldiers lowered their weapons and moved forwards to give the Jury a pat down.
“Help yourselves to a feel, big boys,” the Jury cackled, “you know you wanna.”
The soldiers completed their search, one of them muttering ‘don’t know where she’s been’ under his breath and nodded to Issy that she was clean.
“So, where’s the Judge?” Issy asked.
“Finishin’ off his shag,” the Jury replied.
“What?” Issy demanded, talking a step forward.
“Don’t you know what a shag is? Are you a dyke?” the Jury taunted. “You look like one with that stupid hair do. He’s finishin’ off his fuck with one of them girls, you stupid bitch.”
Issy turned to the soldiers. “Go and get that bastard. Drag the fucker out by his bollocks if you have to.” The soldiers rushed off in the direction of the cottage.
“Don’t forget you can’t hurt him!” the Jury called after them. “The bitch promised!”
By this time, other soldiers had gathered behind Issy and Daniel, watching what was going on. By the looks on some of their faces, there was nothing they would like better than to tear the Jury apart, limb by limb.
Issy ordered a couple of soldiers to secure the Jury with plasticuffs. They moved forward and, as one held her steady, the other bound her hands together. The Jury was shouting profanities, cursing, kicking, and spitting as they did so. Once done, they roughly dragged her to one side, out of the way.
Issy watched the proceedings with a small smile on her face before turning back towards the cottage in time to see her two colleagues dragging the Judge towards her. He was naked from the waist down and was still sporting an erection. The men dropped the Judge in front of Issy and she just stared at the man in disgust before turning to Daniel.
“Can you get someone to go with our medic to help those poor women?”
Daniel nodded and turned to find Rhys, who was just a few yards away. He quickly went over to explain what was needed and Rhys nodded agreement before Daniel returned to Issy’s side.
“Search the top half and secure him,” Issy ordered and her two colleagues did as she requested.
The Judge was kneeling on the grass, looking up at Issy with a smile on his face. They stared at each other for a few seconds before the Judge eventually looked away. He looked back at Issy to find she was still staring at him.
Daniel interrupted the dual, “I’ve just realised! Where’s Bill and Ben?”
Issy’s head shot around to face Daniel. “What do you mean ‘where’s Bill and Ben’?”
“Their two bodyguards,” Daniel explained quickly.
Issy turned to the nearest two soldiers. “Find them! Kill them if you have to.” They ran off in the direction of the cottage, raising their MP5’s. Issy watched them before turning her attention back to the Judge.
“Got anything to say?” Issy asked.
“You might have promised not to hurt or kill us, but we didn’t make any promises,” he replied with a smile.
Issy was not sure what he meant until two huge men emerged from the cottage with their hands in the air, being pushed along by the MP5’s in their backs. They were wearing black suits, like bouncers, but they were covered from head to foot in blood. The two soldiers brought them to Issy before forcing them to their knees, searching them and cuffing their hands together.
Issy had a really bad feeling, which was confirmed when the two soldiers looked up at her and shook their heads slowly. “Need to make sure, though,” one of them mumbled. Issy nodded and the two men returned to the cottage with their Bowie knives in hand.
Issy stared back down at the Judge and the two bodyguards, no emotion showing on her face, yet they were all smiling back at her as if they’d just won the lottery.
“You can’t fuckin’ touch us, bitch!” the Judge shouted with a laugh. This set the Jury off again and she started cackling and calling Issy a bitch.
“You’re right,” Issy agreed. She turned to the remaining soldiers. “Grab them and follow me.”
The soldiers moved forward and pulled the Judge, the Jury and Bill and Ben to their feet as Issy started walking in the direction of the Bloody Tower. Everyone followed, both Daniel and Joel rushing to keep pace with Issy.
“What are you going to do?” Joel asked cautiously.
“Wait and see,” Issy replied staring straight ahead.
Issy marched into the Outer Ward and headed towards Byward Tower. When she reached it, she looked up to see the eight soldiers who had cleared the Outer Ward and Byward Tower, before clearing Middle Tower and coming back.
“Open the gate and find me some rope.” Issy ordered. Four of the soldiers disappeared inside the tower with two returning almost immediately with a long strand of rope. Moments later the portcullis was raised and Issy walked through the gate before coming to a stop in the middle of the drawbridge and turning around.
“Bring the fat boys here,” Issy ordered and Bill and Ben were brought before her and forced to their knees. “Cut the rope in half and tie one end of each to their ankles.” The soldiers did as requested as Daniel moved towards her. The Judge and Jury had been quiet for some time but were now looking a bit worried, all front slowly eroding.
“What the fuck are you doin’?” the Judge shouted. “Are you fuckin’ mad?”
Issy ignored him.
“Are you sure you want to do this, Issy? Daniel whispered in her ear.
Issy looked at Daniel. “More than sure.” However, in the back of her mind, she did fleetingly wonder whether she was becoming a monster herself.
Issy looked
back around at her soldiers. “If anyone wants no part in this then I have no problem with that. Would anyone like to dangle these two over the edge?”
There was a rush of people grabbing for the rope while others picked up Bill and Ben. Issy smiled. Although she had been briefly concerned that she was going too far, the response of the others had just confirmed that they all felt the same way.
“Dangle them over,” she ordered, and Bill and Ben were dropped over the side of the wall head first and left dangling a few metres above the hoard of zombies milling about in the dry moat below. Bill and Ben were both now alternating between cursing, crying and screaming and this attracted the zombies below. They were now looking up at Bill and Ben, arms outstretched, trying to reach for them.
“You can’t do this!” the Judge shouted. “You gave us your word that you wouldn’t kill us or hurt us!”
Issy turned to him. “We’re not going to hurt you.” She pointed to the zombies below. “They are.”
The Judge paled and went silent as Issy ordered the ropes to be lowered and marshalled the decent until the zombies could reach Bill and Ben’s heads without being able to bite them.
Bill and Ben screamed and screamed as fingers clawed at their faces, tearing their cheeks away from their faces and scratching their eyes out.
“A bit lower,” Issy ordered, and halted the descent when Bill and Ben’s heads could be bitten. The screams continued unabated and Issy then ordered that they be brought back up.
Still alive but seriously injured, Bill and Ben lay on the drawbridge. Their faces and ears had been torn away and they were bleeding profusely. The Judge and Jury were now cowering in horror, trying to back away from their captives.
“Untie the Judge and Jury,” Issy ordered and the soldiers complied. Bill and Ben stayed where they were on the ground, groaning and crying, their legs still tied together. The Judge and Jury ran towards the portcullis under Middle Tower, trying to get as far away from Issy as possible.
“Let’s go,” Issy ordered, heading back in the direction of Byward Tower and the Outer Ward. The group with her followed, some of them looking back at the Judge and Jury.
Once everyone was through Byward Tower, Issy ordered that the portcullis be lowered. She then started walking back towards the Inner Ward, closely followed by Daniel.
“You do realise what is going to happen?” Daniel asked quietly.
“Yes,” Issy replied. “The Judge and Jury can either jump into the moat or they can wait for Bill and Ben to turn and take part in a game of blind man’s bluff on the drawbridge. Should be fun to watch,” she added with a smile.
“That’s really cruel,” Daniel commented.
“That’s what they deserve,” Issy replied, “and I haven’t quite finished.” She stopped and turned to the soldiers behind them and selected half a dozen. “Get all the remaining gang members and sit them down by the portcullis. I want them to see what happens to our enemies.”
The soldiers ran off to round up the gang members while Issy and Daniel continued walking towards the Inner Ward.
“We’ve got a lot to discuss,” Issy advised.
“Fancy a cup of tea?” Daniel asked.
“I think I could do with something a bit stronger.”
“I’m sure that can be arranged.”
64
Day 7 – 22:45
Tower of London, Inner Ward
Issy and Daniel sat in the cottage with glasses of whisky in front of them, their comms now turned off. Zak, Isaac, Grace, Nelson, and Shauna had taken themselves off to sleep and leave them to it. The civilians were in their own buildings. Some of the soldiers were keeping an eye on the gang members before locking them up in the White Tower for the night. Other soldiers were helping Rhys and the rest of the Warders with the clean-up operation before they themselves found a spot to get some well-earned sleep. Dave and his back up team had returned to Battersea and the Apache had returned to Heathrow. Irish, Bear and Charlie Team stayed at the flats in Stepney.
“Earth to Issy, are you ok?” Daniel asked quietly. Issy had been staring at the wall for the past five minutes and hadn’t touched her drink. She gave a brief shake of her head before replying.
“Yes, I’m fine. Just thinking.”
“Anything you want to share?”
“Yes, we need to decide where we go from here. I’ve got some ideas, but we’ll need to discuss with the rest of the Leaders tomorrow.”
“Anything else?”
“No, I’m fine, but tired.”
“Well, you can take the couch if you like. I’ll make myself scarce.” Daniel started walking in the direction of the stairs but paused and turned back.
“Thanks, Issy,” he said with a smile.
“You’re welcome,” she replied as she drained her glass before lying down to get comfortable.
65
Day 8 – 8:30
Tower of London, Inner Ward
Issy had been up and about for at least an hour, although she hadn’t slept that well on the couch. Whether it was the couch or her dreams she couldn’t be sure. Once she awoke, she had taken a shower and was now clean and relatively tidy, almost unrecognisable from the zombie-like creature who had entered the Tower the previous evening.
Issy wandered down the path and through Traitor’s Gate, and despite the Autumn sun shining down, it was still a little chilly. People were passing her in both directions, going about some duty or other. There was an air of newfound freedom as they smiled and nodded in her direction, often uttering ‘good morning’ as they passed by.
Issy stopped when she came to the portcullis at Byward Tower and watched as the Judge and Jury came snarling and shuffling in her direction, gnashing their teeth as they came. Bill and Ben were crawling around behind them, the rope trailing from their tied legs. Since the previous night, the clothing around their elbows had shredded and the skin underneath had worn away, leaving nothing but bones at their elbows.
The Judge and Jury came on until their progress was stopped by the portcullis, their arms poking through the gaps trying to reach out to her. They were a mess. The Judge was missing an ear, most of his nose and part of his cheek. He had lost a hand and he had bite marks all over his bare and bloody chest. The Jury hadn’t faired any better. She had lost most of her face and was dragging her entrails around like a dog on a lead.
Issy looked into their eyes, one at a time, but she could see no recognition or anything resembling humanity. She was not sure it would’ve been any different if she’d looked into their eyes the previous day. Perhaps it had been cruel to do what she had done, but she could live with her decision. She didn’t think either the Judge or Jury would’ve treated her any differently if their roles had been reversed. Indeed, based on what had happened to the poor women and the girls in the cottage, she knew from personal experience what kind of animals they were. They might have been a different colour to her father, but they were definitely the same colour underneath.
Issy withdrew her pistol, placed it against the Judge’s forehead and pulled the trigger before moving across to put the Jury out of her misery. She then shot Bill and Ben before replacing her pistol and slowly made her way back to the Inner Ward.
As she came up onto the lawn, she could see Daniel, Rhys, Joel, and Don waiting for her next to the Lynx. The two pilots were already in the aircraft, checking that everything was alright.
“We heard the shots,” Daniel noted.
“I thought it was time to put an end to it,” Issy replied. “Are you ready?”
“Yes, we’re all set.”
“Ok, we’ll leave everything in Rhys and Don’s capable hands for now,” Issy confirmed as she made her way to the heli and climbed aboard. Joel and Daniel followed and joined her in the rear cabin.
The pilots turned on the engine, preparing for take-off.
66
Day 8 – 9:00
Heathrow Airport, Security Briefing Room
“Welcome Daniel,” Jack
Robinson gushed as he stood and made his way around the table to shake hands with the newcomer. “It’s good to finally meet you.”
“Likewise,” Daniel replied, taking Jack’s outstretched hand. “I’m pleased to be here.”
“Here, let me introduce you to everyone.” Jack guided Daniel towards the conference table where Issy had already taken her seat. “These are all our Leaders; on this side there’s the Major, Issy you know, Gina, Andy and Travis. On the other side are Sarah, Bear, Dave, Joel, Sean and Irish. I suggest you take the seat here next to Travis and help yourself to a drink.
Jack moved back around to the head of the table and took his seat. “We have regular meetings where we keep ourselves up to date and discuss any problems or issues that need to be sorted out. Obviously, over the last few days we have been focused on what’s been happening at the Tower and I’m please to say that this has now largely been resolved.”
There was a knock on the door and Tom Williams entered and took his seat at the end of the table opposite Jack.
“This is Tom Williams. He’s in charge of our Security Command Centre and has twenty odd staff continually monitoring cameras and communications. Tom provides us with an update of what is going on in the World each day.”
“I thought electricity and communications were down?” Daniel interrupted.
“We have our own power sources and not everything runs off the National Grid,” Tom explained.
“Over to you Tom,” Jack advised.
“Well, the first thing to say is that Heathrow, the hotels and Battersea Heliport are still all secure.
The TV stations in the UK have been off air for almost a week now, although there are still a number of continental and satellite channels still broadcasting.
The National Grid is down, so there’s no power or electricity across most of the country. Water will also become a problem; those homes and premises which rely on electricity to pump water rather than gravity will start to struggle.
The virus is now prevalent in the whole of England, Scotland, and Wales. Northern Ireland and the islands still appear to be virus-free at the moment, as far as we can tell anyway.