The Fenton Saga: Never Say Goodbye / There Was No Body.

by Colin Griffiths

  “What about me and my son?” Lia shouted, “While you’re all here deliberating what to do, what about us?” And then she burst into tears, Tracy went over to console her.

  “She’s right,” said Daniel, “she played no part in this, she’s just a victim of circumstances.” Lia’s sobs stopped, thankful someone understood;

  “We have to get them out,” suggested Carol, “those agent’s work for the government, surely they will take her to safety.”

  “We can try,” uttered Morgan.

  “I’ll go,” said Daniel.

  “No it should be me, I know how they work.” answered Morgan. Daniel didn’t want Morgan to go alone, the trust wasn’t there yet.

  “I’m coming,” said a determined Madison in a voice that said you should not argue this, and Morgan didn’t, he had a feeling he may need her. Daniel agreed, there was no one he would rather trust than Madison.

  Chapter 49

  William Fenton and Roy Slater watched from a distance on the tree laden hillside, it was dark now but the fence perimeter had lights spaced about twenty yards apart, they weren’t very bright but he could see the silhouettes of the agents and their vehicles. Roy had climbed a tree to get a better look and was relaying the information to William. William felt a lot better, he had ate and had something to drink and resumed what was becoming a normal posture to him as he sat leant against a tree smoking a cigarette. Oliver was close by, he had been fed and Roy had even thought of getting some nappies and he had changed him. He lay asleep in his basket, oblivious to what was going on. Things had changed now William had thought, the army that was down there would probably do the job for him and he was quite content to sit and watch them die, but if that should fail, he had his trump card and it was lying in a Moses basket right by him.

  Morgan was telling Madison what they should do and told her to stay close by, but Madison wasn’t really listening. Somehow she felt that the only reason she was going was to protect her father, and truth be told Morgan thought that to. There were objections of course about Madison going, but they were all dismissed by her, someone had to take charge of the situation, and she just had.

  As they were about to leave for the lift, Todd called Madison over and they stood facing each other. Todd reached into his pocket and took out a round object about the size of a golf ball, he held out his hand with the ball in it,

  “This is for you,” he said “I think it was always meant to be yours.”

  Madison held her hand out and as she did the ball jumped from Todd’s hand into hers and then the ball started to shine like the light that followed Todd a year ago, everyone gasped in amazement. Madison kissed Todd on the cheek, she didn’t say anything, nothing needed to be said, she knew the light would guide her, just as it had brought her to Wales a year ago.

  Madison and Morgan stepped out into the compound, as they did spotlights came on that the agent’s had brought with them and the whole compound lit up in an eerie glow. Long shadows of them were casted by the lights, they could see the agents now and the Agents could see them.

  They walked slowly, purposely to the entrance of the compound, the agents were armed and ready, and for a moment Morgan thought that they might just shoot them there and then. Madison showed no fear as she matched Morgan step by step, she also didn’t realise that the light was not in her pocket, it was dimmed, adapting itself to the ever changing environment in order not to be seen, and it was following, following Madison.

  An agent stood prominent at the fence, a man Morgan recognised as his boss, Agent Woodcock was the Commander in charge, and as Woodcock watched the two people walked towards him, his eyes were firmly fixed on Madison. They walked until only the fence stood between them.

  “Agent Hughes,” said the commander,

  “Agent Woodcock,”

  “And this I assume is Madison,” she didn’t acknowledge, she just stared at the commander, the commander grinned but it was a nervous grin, he reverted his eyes to Morgan.

  “You failed in your duty, you disappoint me!”

  Morgan stood prominent, the words would not bother him, or the consequences,

  “Let’s cut out the small talk, he said.

  Woodcock showed a look of disappointment, he had so admired this man, thinking that eventually he would follow in his footsteps, but here he was now, a traitor, Woodcock run his fingers over his clean shaven chin, the agents stood hands on their weapons.

  “There is innocent people inside who have nothing to do with this, I want you to take them and guarantee their safety,” said Morgan, and as he said it he had a feeling that all this was a big mistake.

  Woodcock wasn’t going to negotiate, the biggest prize was stood in front of him, and without her they were useless, this was a window of opportunity he wasn’t going to miss.

  Madison could feel the tension, she also realised this wasn’t a good idea, the next thing to happen, happened in a blink of an eye. The order was given to shoot! At the same time Madison’s hair blew back on this still night, and the light behind her glowed brighter than any spotlight that was around the ground, and as the light dimmed the agents had raised their guns and rifles, but now they were aimed at agent Woodcock. Not one agent could stop it, not one agent meant to do it, their hands were being controlled. They were being controlled by the beautiful witch that stood before them, and her face appeared to glow as she smiled, she wasn’t smiling at them she was smiling at her thoughts Fuck me I thought reading minds was good!!!

  Woodcock stood, terror raging through his body as every agent aimed their gun at him, he daren’t move or give another order, and he knew that, he had lost control.

  Morgan honestly thought they were about to die, and whilst he hated having a daughter who had a small power of being able to read minds, he was now marvelling at the phenomenon around him. Madison had taken control, his little girl.

  “Do you want to give the order to shoot, or shall I?” Madison said.

  Every soldier tried to remove his finger from their trigger no one could, in the compound they watched in amazement as the events unfolded.

  Woodcock tried to gather himself, his voice was shaky, he was shaking,

  “I’d rather neither of us did.” he said nervously,

  “Request granted,” said Madison “but if you so much as move or utter a word until we are in the compound they will shoot, do you believe that?”

  Woodcock nodded, he very much believed that.

  Madison went close to the fence her face inches from his, he could smell her breath as he stood frozen with fear,

  “I bet you have got a wooden cock!” She told him and walked towards the cave entrance with her Father.

  “That was pretty cool,” she said to her father as they walked,

  “You’re some daughter,” he said,

  “You’re some father,” she replied,

  “Wooden cock, that was so corny,”

  “I need to work on my jokes.” she replied.

  As the cliff face door closed with them inside, every agent lowered their gun and Woodcock was able to breathe again, this was bigger than he thought, she was some powerful entity.

  “We need airstrikes,” he ordered “get the mortars on the cliff tops.”

  As Morgan and Madison came back down they were cheered by everyone, Morgan looked at Lia and her son,

  “I’m afraid you have to stay.” He told her,

  After seeing what she just saw she was kind of glad of that.

  Chapter 50

  Gordon Williams had persuaded all channels to put it on air the next morning at 7am, followed by the I ‘o’ clock news and 6 ‘o’ clock news. All channels had the breaking news banner at the bottom of the screens. Gordon looked polished as he read from his autocue, a tool he loathed using, but in order to get the story right it was necessary.

  “12 months ago,” he said, “The brother of the MP Daniel Fenton, Todd Fenton went missing in Wentwood forest, an ancient forest close to where they live. T
here was a horrific chase where two girls were beaten close to death. The Fenton’s went to rescue them in a heroic journey, they saved the two girls who were close to death, before I continue I would like viewers to google this event on whatever device you have near,” Gordon paused for about 15 seconds as if to allow the viewers to do what he asked, his voice was un-wavered as he continued.

  “No matter what engine you use, no matter what words you put into the search engine, you will not find the name of Todd Fenton or what happened in Wentwood forest, it’s like it didn’t exist, why?” He paused for effect. “Because the government don’t want you to know it existed.

  As I speak the Fenton Family are holed up in some compound in Devon, it is a training facility for our secret forces, these particular forces are now hunting the Fenton’s down, probably to kill them, let me tell you why.”

  He told them everything Daniel had written down, from when they were pursued as children, bullied and threatened, about the time Todd could find things. How Marie rose forecasts their births. How Madison found them, or how Todd found Madison. He told them everything in the next 45 minutes, it was explosive stuff, he made the Fenton’s seem heroes and victims at the same time, and that’s exactly what Gordon Williams and now the millions of viewers felt like.

  The country virtually came to a standstill after the airing of the broadcast Gordon had recorded the day before. The BBC and other channels were nervous, Sky loved it, Fox were sensationalising it, and as the millions took to the streets in protest of the government the men in black continued to organise the attacks on the Devon compound.

  Reporters and the camera crews took to the streets to view the protest as the crowds made their way to government and council office buildings.

  With no contact with the outside world, no phone signal, no internet where all the signals had been scrambled, the Fenton’s and their friends along with the agents that were there with them, never had a plan. On the CCTV the outside lights had been turned off, there was nothing much to see. They didn’t know that six agents had done a runner after the event with Madison. Woodcock didn’t try to stop them, he only wanted men who were committed, dedicated to the cause. They were acting on behalf of her majesty’s government, and he had served them well. He would deal with the six later, their act of treason would not go unpunished. What he didn’t know was Downing Street was in chaos and the Prime minister had requested an audience to see the queen.

  Wendy, Todd, Katy and Becky sat squashed on the sofa in the rest room. Lia and Conner on the armchair of which Sandy Potts sat on the arm. Carol, James, Becky and Jezz sat around the table. Dylan remained tied to a chair, Simon, Morgan and Daniel were in the control room, trying desperately to get some outside contact and watching the CCTV. The two agents new what Woodcock was capable of, the underground facility was almost bomb proof, but they certainly could demolish the outside leaving them trapped. He just hoped the Fenton’s could do something because he was certainly out of ideas, they tried to sleep the best they could.

  William Fenton, Roy Slater and baby Oliver, stayed the night in the woods. William sleeping on the forest floor, Oliver being fed and cared for by Roy. He was now asleep in his basket. Roy Slater was up a tree again, it was busy down on the compound, military vehicles and weapons were being brought in all around the compound and he could see the silhouettes on the cliff top, there’s going to be a war he thought, hope I get the chance to fire some of that hardware.

  Chapter 51

  Back in Ashbourne at 6am the next morning, the streets were very busy, bunting had been hung from the street lamps where the Fenton’s lived, dining tables and chairs lined the street, a music system had been set up and a platform being built for the local band “The Rhythm Rockers” to play on later in the evening. Public transport was being stopped from entering the estate, anyone wanting to get into Newport could only get a bus two miles away. All social platforms were reporting the event strictly saying it was for the residents of Ashbourne only. As soon as you turned into the street where Carol Fenton lived was a big banner saying, “Welcome home Todd.” Bouncy castles and slides had been erected and volunteers from the local pubs were building an outside temporary bar, as burger vans and hotdog vans stood ready to cook and serve. The ice cream man had promised not to laden his ice cream with Vodka this time, no this was a family occasion. People baked cakes, made sandwiches, mixed punch and soft drinks. This was going to be one hell of a welcome home for Todd Fenton.

  As dawn broke those in the basement could see the array of armoury that surrounded the perimeter of the compound, they sat drinking coffee and tea, eating bacon and egg sandwiches, and they had even untied Dylan who seemed to have relaxed his defiance after seeing the ensemble outside. A morning discussion had decided what they were going to do, they were going to face their assailants, being trapped inside the building was not an option. Remarkably there was no sense of fear, apprehension or concern. They were anxious, but no one was really scared. They hugged and kissed each other as if they were saying goodbye, they were really hoping that Daniel, Todd, James and especially Madison would somehow provide the miracle. Woodcock stood outside the gates, his men on the cliff tops ready to attack, he was just waiting for the order, he hoped it would be soon, he wanted to rid this country of this vermin, he also hoped the airstrikes had been approved, he felt like they would need it. Oliver still slept oblivious to what was going on around him having spent his first night in his life sleeping outdoors. William and Roy looked on amazed at was going on below them, it was all so easy, these idiots were going to do it for him.

  The lift wasn’t big enough for all of them, so the first group stood and waited at the top for the others. They opened the cliff top gates, not a word was said. Lia holding onto her son, Daniel and Todd at each end, James and Madison either side of Carol and Morgan who was in the middle. The Fenton’s were forming a barrier around the people who were with them, they all joined hands and walked towards the agents in front of them, aware of the artillery around and above them, slowly they walked to their fete or destiny.

  Woodcock was not expecting this, he thought he would just bomb the hell out of the compound burying it’s occupants inside, along with the Fenton’s and friends. There were four agents walking towards him, linking hands, he didn’t like this act of defiance, it unnerved him. He ordered the radio man to see if they had the clearance, he ordered all his men to be prepared to fire, any minute the order would come and then BOOM.

  The line of people stopped short of the gate. Keeping a distance between them and the men in black, the light behind Madison, small and dimmed and not visible to the naked eye. Daniel and Becky were thinking of Oliver, hoping it wasn’t the last time they see him. The tension was fierce, if they moved any closer they might force an attack. The firearms they had themselves would be useless against the military might that stood before them, even if those with the powers chose an offensive, what would be the chances of them all living. They could see that Woodcock looked nervous, and there was nothing more dangerous than a nervous leader, so they stood and stared each other out.

  They could hear the rumbling of vehicles and to those inside the compound they feared that it was backup, no one could comprehend that they needed back up, they were not only outnumbered but they had left themselves in the open, easy prey. On the cliff tops stood a battalion waiting for orders.

  The first vehicle that came in sight was an army pick up, it was soon followed by a host of other army vehicles who were now backed up into the lane with no place to move without blocking the lane entirely. What looked like a Field Marshall got out of the leading vehicle, he went over to Woodcock, handed him some papers. They could see Woodcock studying them. Those in the compound stood still, observing. Within a minute the order was given to stand down and those in the compound watched the men in black begin to disperse in their vehicles, leaving the artillery behind, un manned, and for the moment safe from the threat of use.

  The line broke and t
hey all stood wondering what was happening. The threat seemingly gone for the moment, but had the army just come to take over with all their military might. A man in civilian clothes came over to the Field Marshall, a man Daniel recognised, it was Gordon Williams. Daniel and Morgan went to the perimeter.

  The man in charge was in his late forties, he was a big powerful man, dressed in a pristine uniform, and he stood with Gordon Williams.

  “I’m field Marshall Andrew Stevens,” he said with an air of authority, “we’ve come to clear up this mess and take you away from here.”

  “It’s okay Daniel,” said Gordon, “the prime minister has resigned, the country is in uproar, your story’s told Daniel, word for word.”

  There was dances of joy and sighs of relief as the rest of them heard.

  “Where are you taking us?” asked Daniel,

  “Home,” said the Soldier.

  “What about these agent’s?” asked Daniel,

  “The unit is being disbanded, I don’t know what will happen to them, or what if any charges will be made, somehow I doubt it, they will want to hush this up as soon as they can.”

  Simon climbed up into the Tower and opened the gate, the body of his colleague still slumped over the side.

  Andrew Stevens walked in the compound along with four other personnel. Lia with Connor along with Sandy and Dylan stepped out of the compound into a vehicle waiting to take them away. There was some confusion as everyone stood talking to each other and the army personnel. No one completely trusting the other and it was amid the confusion that Carol noticed Daniel and Madison deep in conversation as they walked outside of the perimeter, and before anyone could stop them, they disappeared into the woods. Two soldiers went to chase after them, Carol screamed not to, they paused waiting for their orders.