Different

by Tony Butler

  “Rebecca Carlyle, I am arresting you for assault causing actual bodily—”

  “No, you’re not!” Roger Thompson alighted from the coach. He’d been assuring the youngsters that they would be well looked after and that the relationships they had formed would be respected.

  “I don’t know who you are, but be warned I’ll arrest you for obstructing a police officer in the execution of his duty!” Roberts said.

  “I’m afraid I can’t allow you to arrest the Prime Minister, Roberts.” The Chief Constable said as he, too, climbed down from the coach. “On the other hand, I am arresting you for conspiracy to divert the course of justice, the statuary rape of a fourteen year old girl and anything else I can think of…”

  After that, everything happened in a whirlwind of activity. Social workers and a coach to transport them all arrived to take them to temporary accommodation. Warrants were issued for the arrest of Janine and Russell Granville-Smith, and the Foundation that they’d set up was being investigated.

  Adam stood alone and Rebecca walked over to him as the coach carrying the tribes prepared to leave. He’d decided not to go with them.

  He had told her about the girl who’d awakened him. “She must be Jay-Be-Free, Ben and Eve’s daughter. She was only a toddler the last time I saw her but she must be sixteen or seventeen now. I must find her and warn her, for she is the only other one of my kind.”

  “She’s eighteen and her name is Jay-be-free-Williams. I know her. Come with me and I’ll show you.”

  As they walked into the village, Adam, wearing new clothes supplied by social workers, looked like any other boy. Only Rebecca knew that he was special—very special indeed. She had unwittingly reiterated the same advice that Tom Williams had given to four year old Jay-Be-Free, and told him it would be a mistake to let others know that he was different.

  The church yard was deserted and she led him over to Anna and Tom’s grave. She pointed to the inscription on the headstone.

  “She was brought up by this couple as their granddaughter and someone tried to kill her last week. Now, someone has murdered her adopted uncle and aunt in America and she’s flown over there to attend their funeral.”

  “I must go after her! Someone has found out she’s alive! Matheson Chemicals are based in America and she’ll be killed unless I can warn her.”

  Rebecca nodded. “We’ll get you fixed up with a passport and then we’ll both go. Now, tell me again about the micro-chip in your ear.”

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Wheatstone City, USA

  “…is wanted for murder, kidnapping and rape…”

  Janine switched off the television and looked at her pale reflection in the mirror. She’d just watched her world collapse as reports of their activities on The Devil’s Footprint were broadcast around the world.

  I’ll have to get out of here before someone recognises me, and I’ll have to warn Russell. They had more money in their six-figure account than they could ever hope to spend. Come on, Janine, she told herself. Get out of here while you still can! She wiped the tears from her eyes. She’d never see Stephanie again, not now that the girl’s real mother was free. There was a knock on the door and she walked over and opened it. Russell and another man dressed in a chauffeur’s uniform walked into the room and Russell hugged her fiercely. The chauffeur was in his thirties and wore a light grey uniform.

  “Right, I’ll just throw some things into a bag,” Janine said. “Oh, Russell, am I pleased to see you.” She started stuffing her clothes into a suitcase. “Give me a couple of minutes and I’ll be right with you.” It took almost five minutes while the man in the suit kept looking at his watch every few seconds which did nothing to ease Janine’s nerves. She fastened the leather straps of the suitcase and nodded. “Okay, I’m ready,” she said.

  “Fine, we’ll leave by the fire stairs.” Russell ushered her out of the room. “Don’t worry about your bill. I settled it on the way up to see you and I’ll have your car returned to the rental company if you’ll give me the keys. There’s a limo waiting outside and Blake here will take you to my ranch.” He kissed her on the cheek. “I’ll catch up with you later.” He turned away and left the room. Blake took her suitcase from her and Janine followed him out of the room, along the redcarpeted hallway to the fire door. Blake held it open for her and she emerged at the side of the hotel. Hurrying down the metal stairway of the fire escape, she could see a stretch-limousine parked just a few yards away. They reached street level and as she hurried towards it, Janine tensed, expecting at any moment that someone would recognise her and try to stop her leaving. She reached the car safely and Blake turned to her, smiling.

  “I’ll put your bag in the trunk,” he said, popping the lid. “Make yourself comfortable.” He indicated the car. “There’s a fully equipped bar and Mister Downey will be joining you for lunch.”

  To Janine’s relief, the air conditioning was working and she settled back into her seat, leaning back against the expensive upholstery, her mind racing. What had Russell got planned for her? She would need plastic surgery, that was obvious. It was alright for him because his name had never appeared on any of the foundation’s paper work and, as far as the world was concerned, she was the sole owner of the clinic. Even the lease on The Devil’s Footprint was in her name. Well, there’s nothing that I can do about it now, so I may just as well relax and see what booze Russell’s got stashed in this bar.

  * * * *

  According to the opinion polls, Henry Matheson was sweeping ahead in the race to become the next President of the United States of America. But as he read the report in front of him, Henry saw the spectre of their involvement with Richard Maylor’s experiments returning to jeopardise everything that he’d worked for. Perhaps he should have taken Russell’s concern over the Williams woman more seriously and given the resources to finish her earlier. If he’d known that Adam had survived, then he would have done.

  He looked at Russell, who stared back at him in disbelief as Henry dropped the report from the British security services back on Henry’s desk.

  “Survived after being frozen alive for fifteen years. It’s what we feared. We have to take him and the girl out now, Henry!”

  “You’ve read the reports, Russell. According to the prisoners he helped to escape, this Adam seems to have absorbed Maylor’s memories. He will definitely remember us and will have to be taken care of, but not killed, at least not yet. I want him and the girl captured and held in your cabin in

  Montana.” He raised his head and smiled at Russell without humour. “Yes, I know all about the cabin, Nathan, and the women you’ve taken there, but I figured you deserved your little diversions.”

  “I kind of thought that you’d find out, Henry. I never could get one past you. But why the hell do you want the freaks taken alive?”

  “Maylor was brilliant and, if the boy has his memories, there’s no telling what he could come up with.”

  “The British will want him as well and you can bet your bottom dollar that the Pentagon will have agents looking for him, so I’ll have to move fast. Why do you want the girl kept alive? She hasn’t got Maylor’s memories, has she?”

  “I don’t know, but the boy might refuse to co-operate and I thought that you could use the girl to persuade him.”

  Russell grinned. “Yes, I can do that. I’m an expert at persuasion.”

  Henry leaned forward until his face was only inches from Russell’s own. “Do this for me and after I’m elected I’ll arrange for you to be head of National Security.”

  “I’d appreciate that, Henry. I’ll pick the girl and her cousin up first. The cousin can just disappear. He’s not important. I’ll check in with you later.”

  “Adam has a British police officer acting as his bodyguard, a woman called Rebecca Carlyle, and he’s using the name Adam Maylor, would you believe that? If you take both the girl and Scott Williams before Adam and his minder arrive at the house, they’d walk straight into your
arms.”

  “That’s how I figured it, Henry. I’d better get out of here and start things moving.”

  After Russell had left, Henry replaced the file in his desk drawer. Once Russell had Adam and the girl secured, Henry intended to hand them over to his team of scientists. They would use chemicals on the prisoners to obtain all the information they possessed. Afterwards, they would simply disappear along with Russell. Russell had become a liability now, which was a shame—but he too would have to be eliminated.

  * * * *

  The helicopter hovered just above the swell of the Atlantic Ocean ten miles from the nearest shoreline and Russell nodded to Blake. “Alright, this is the game plan. First, we throw her out, followed by the pig’s liver and blood to attract the sharks. Then we throw out the inflatable life-raft just in case her remains are found. That way, it will look as though she drifted out to sea and was washed overboard.”

  Blake opened the cargo doors and shivered as spray lashed against his face. “We could have dumped her from a couple of hundred feet up,” he complained. “It would have saved us getting wet.”

  “It would have also have smashed most of the bones in her body and we want it to look as though she drowned,” Russell said. If I were you, I’d keep my mouth shut and just do as you’re told!

  I’d hate to think that you were becoming unreliable.”

  “Okay, enough already! I didn’t mean anything, Russell, just asking is all.”

  Russell nodded. “Alright, Blake, let’s do it!”

  Blake turned towards her and Janine closed her eyes but became aware of Russell approaching her. She had played possum ever since she had almost knocked back a drink laced with a tasteless drug in the back of the limousine. Fortunately, moments before the glass touched her lips, Janine had detected the slight odour. She’d been forced to play along because she knew now that Russell had decided to kill her. He would have shot her without giving it a second thought if she’d tried to escape. You Bastard! she screamed silently as she felt his hands slip beneath her arms and reach around to cup her breasts. I loved you! You Bastard!

  Blake’s grip on her ankles was painful but she made herself relax as she was lifted and carried to the open door. They were only a few feet above the water and Russell had said that they were throwing a life raft in after her. She had a chance – she just might survive!

  “One!” came Russell’s voice as she was swung out and then back.

  “Two!” Out again and as she was swung back for the last time she resisted the impulse to suck in a lungful of air in case one of her killers noticed.

  “Three!”

  She was swung outwards and felt herself falling. She hit the icy water with enough force to expel the breath from her lungs. Fighting an almost overwhelming desire to breathe in the salt water that seemed intent on sucking her down, Janine gritted her teeth. With air bubbles streaming through her nose and lungs that seemed about to burst, Janine dog paddled furiously up towards the surface. Her head broke through the waves and she quickly gulped in air, then made herself go limp and float face down with arms outstretched as though unconscious. There was a splash a few yards away. Turning her head slightly, she saw that the life raft had landed upside down about ten yards away. It bobbed up and down just as she rose and fell in the swell of the waves, secretly breathing whenever her face rose briefly above the water. There were several smaller splashes and she saw a piece of bloody meat floating by her head. The bastards were summoning the sharks!

  Ignoring the impulse to race over to the raft, Janine allowed herself to sink beneath the waves and was almost instantly rewarded as the helicopter’s engine note changed. She heard it bank and head away from her, but she forced herself to remain submerged for as long as she could, before resurfacing to look around.

  Simultaneously, there was a movement just a few yards away from her and she screamed as the head of a shark rose above the waves, its rows of white, razor sharp teeth now stained red by a piece of bloody meat that it held clamped in its mouth. Janine screamed again and raced desperately towards the bobbing life raft.

  * * * *

  Jay, Mary and Scott had watched the television news broadcasts and Jay somehow knew that she had been a part of the genetic experimentation program carried out on The Devil’s Footprint. She had been genetically altered somehow and that’s why she used to be able to become. She was some kind of freak. Not completely human—not normal. She could never have children as they might develop into some kind of monsters.

  Stop it, she told herself, you’re only scaring yourself. You don’t know for a fact that it’s hereditary.

  She became aware of Mary squeezing her arm. “Jay,” she said. “I guess I can understand how you’re feeling, but I’ve known you since you were five years old and believe me, if there’s anything wrong with you, then I wish that everyone had it. You’re one of the kindest, most considerate people I’ve ever met and nothing has changed that. To me, you’re more like my sister than ever, so please don’t ever forget that.”

  “She’s right, Jay.” Scott smiled at her. “We three are family now and if you want, we can get specialists to take a look at you but, personally speaking, I think that you’re fine. I mean, it’s not as though you’re different from anyone else, is it?”

  Jay looked at Mary who shrugged helplessly, as though to say, it has to be your decision whether or not you tell Scott about your healing powers.

  Jay sighed; even Mary had no idea just how great her difference was. “I am different, Scott,” she said. “Your grandfather was the only one who knew and he made me promise not to let anyone know.” Jay took a deep breath, knowing that she risked alienating them. What would she do if Mary and Scott looked at her as though she was some kind of freak or something? But they had a right to know.

  She stood and smiled wryly at them. “Granddad Tom said that I was a chameleon, but I’m different in other ways, too. Let’s go outside and I’ll show you. Perhaps, it will be easier that way.”

  Ignoring their puzzled looks, Jay stood and walked out of the room and sensed that they were following her. She walked down to the steps that led to the land at the rear of the house. Ahead of her on the right of the lawns were the stables where they kept the horses. The girl who managed the stables was pitching hay down from the loft and she looked up and waved. Jay waved back and pointed towards the cherry and chestnut trees that grew at the edge of the white rail fence that bordered the property. “Okay, you two. Give me time to reach the trees then you come and try to find me.” She wondered how it was that she suddenly knew that she could still become. There was not a doubt in her mind. Jay set off at a slow jog towards the trees. It was cooler beneath the canopy of leaves and from here the stable manager would not be able to see Jay stripping off her clothes. A giggle escaped from her lips when she thought of Scott’s

  reaction – when he got to see her without any clothes. She felt a mixture of embarrassment and excitement at the thought.

  Jay chose an old chestnut to hide behind, and just as she had as a child, she balled up her clothes and hid them behind a low bush. Then she pushed herself backwards, pressing her bare skin against the coarse texture of the bark. Jay concentrated and felt herself become. It felt as though she’d slipped into a favourite coat – warm, snug and secure.

  Through slitted eyes—and it was really tempting to close them and just bask in the serenity that flowed through her—she saw Mary walk past her. Her cousin gave her, and the tree, just a cursory glance before moving on.

  “Jay’s around here somewhere,” Scott’s voice sounded puzzled. “You don’t suppose she’s climbed up one of the trees?”

  “I don’t think so. She said that your grandfather called her a chameleon and they can change colour, can’t they?”

  “Look, Mary, you don’t suppose that Jay’s flipped, do you? I mean after all she’s been through and everything?”

  “No way, José! Jay’s as sane as I am,” Mary said. “I was expecting
her to tell you about her—”

  “About her what?” Scott interrupted. “What’s going on, Mary?”

  “Why don’t you find her and ask her?” Mary quipped. “Perhaps she’s watching us from somewhere around here.”

  Scott laughed. “But a chameleon…?” He shook his head. “That’s a pretty tall order to swallow.”

  “With your mouth, that shouldn’t be a problem,” Jay said, and Scott stopped in his tracks, spinning to face her. Mary was looking past her, scanning the other trees.

  “You can come out from behind the tree now, Jay!” Scott laughed, standing with his hands on his hips with his legs apart.

  Mary looked at him and walked around the tree. “She’s not round here,” she said.

  “Oh, I get it. You two are in this together. Let’s play a joke on Scott. Well, the joke’s over! I know Jay’s behind the tree.”

  “She’s not here, I’m telling you and it’s no joke, believe me. Jay is not behind this tree.”

  “She’s right, Scott.” Jay stepped away from the tree towards them and they looked at her fearfully, taking a half step back away from her until she un-became.

  “My God!” Mary cried as Jay’s skin lost its look of lined bark and returned to its natural colour. Scott just stared, and Jay made no attempt to cover herself from his scrutiny. In fact, she felt a little turned on by his gaze.

  “Hey, put your eyes back in your head,” Mary said, being the first to recover from the shock. She punched Scott on the arm. “Haven’t you seen a naked girl before?”

  “Not this naked girl, no!” Scott grinned and then averted his eyes slightly. “Jesus, Jay, you gave me quite a scare. For a moment you looked a bit like that woman from that advertisement. Do you remember, Mary, the deodorant advert where the woman was being chased by a big cat and she blended in against the trees?”

  “Oh, I remember it. We had that one in Britain too!” Jay said.