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by Trish Moran

  ‘Well, things are looking better now, Zig!’ Ruby smiled at her.

  ‘And what about your own childhood, Ruby?’ Zig asked her.

  ‘Remember that girl I told you about with no education, who ran off?’

  Zig nodded. Ruby told them the story of her life – finding herself alone when her gran died, running away, meeting the Labs and making a new life with them.

  As Zig climbed into bed much later that night she sighed contentedly. She felt a bond with both the women. She wasn’t the only one in the world who felt different.

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  Angus was engrossed in studying data on the computer screen when Adam and Celia walked in.

  ‘You know, it’s amazing, the differences in our blood samples. I just wish we were in touch with more Independent Labs to make further comparisons,’ he told them.

  ‘I’ve made contact with two other groups, but they are reluctant to arrange a meeting at the moment. I think they are afraid of being taken over by the Compound Labs and having to follow the laws set down for us,’ Celia told him.

  ‘No luck contacting Takir?’ Adam asked him.

  Angus sighed. ‘Not so far; but I had the idea of someone who might be able to help me. An old friend in Edinburgh.’

  ‘Perhaps you could chase him up?’ Celia suggested. ‘He might be more willing to speak to us through you.’

  A few days later Angus knocked on the door of a house in Edinburgh. A young girl opened it.

  ‘Oh, it’s you,’ she said standing in the doorway and blocking his entrance.

  ‘Liz, let me come in for a moment, please,’ he said.

  She sighed and stood back. ‘Not for long. And don’t go and get ill here!’

  Angus opened his shirt and revealed the faint scar on his chest, ‘No chance of that. I’ve a brand new heart!’

  She looked sceptical.

  ‘The Compound Labs did this. A brand new synthetic heart. I’ll outlive you all now!’

  Liz ran her fingers over the scar. ‘Really?’

  ‘You want me to prove it? I’ll race you to the top of the street and back!’ Angus laughed.

  Liz turned and led him into the lounge where two girls were seated. ‘It’s Angus and his brand new heart, girls.’

  ‘Jackie! Helen! It’s so good to see you!’ Angus smiled broadly.

  One of them got up and came towards him.

  ‘Is this true? A new heart?’

  Angus nodded, laughing. ‘You bet, Jackie!’

  They sat down together and listened as Angus described his collapse and operation at the Compound.

  ‘So you’ve joined the Compound Labs?’ Helen asked.

  Angus nodded. ‘It was that or die. Anyway, I’m involved in research with a team of them now.’

  ‘Research funded by the government?’ Jackie sneered.

  ‘No, the Labs themselves are running the whole thing,’ Angus insisted.

  ‘Until the government move in,’ Helen added. ‘We all know the Compound Labs do as they are told now.’

  ‘And what have you been up to these days? Breaking scientific frontiers?’ Angus asked.

  The three people looked at each other but said nothing.

  ‘Go on, then!’ Angus urged them.

  ‘It’s up to Takir, if he wants to tell him,’ Liz said. She turned to Angus. ‘Give me your number; I’ll get Takir to call you, if he decides he wants to get in touch.’

  Despite various entreaties, Angus could get no more from them. Finally he rose to leave.

  ‘Make sure you don’t bring any Compound Labs around here, OK, Angus?’ Jackie warned him as he left.

  Angus nodded. ‘Don’t worry. Just get Takir to call me. We’ve a lot to talk about.’

  It was a week later when he received a phone call.

  ‘Takir! I’d almost given up on you.’ he said.

  ‘Are you on your own?’

  ‘Yes,’ he replied.

  ‘Good. I’d like to meet up with you. But not with your new friends, OK?’

  ‘OK.’ Angus listened as Takir gave him directions to a small hotel just outside Edinburgh.

  ‘I’ll be there, what day is it now? Sunday. I’ll be there Tuesday morning. Ask for me at the desk,’ Takir told him. ‘Remember, Angus, any sign of Compound Labs and the meeting is cancelled. OK?’

  Two days later Angus waited nervously at the desk as the receptionist rang through to Takir’s room.

  ‘Certainly, sir. I’ll get someone to bring him up right now,’ she replied as she smiled at Angus.

  A young man in the hotel uniform appeared behind Angus and took him to the lift. They alighted at the fifth floor and he was led along a richly decorated corridor to two tall wooden doors. The hotel porter gave a discreet knock and opened the door to an answering voice. Angus stepped into an opulently furnished suite. Takir was seated in a deep armchair set in a bay window overlooking green fields. He gestured for Angus to join him in a similar chair nearby as the hotel porter quietly closed the door behind him.

  Angus gave a low whistle and looked around. ‘You’ve certainly been doing well for yourself, Takir.’

  The other man nodded. ‘We’re well looked after in this organisation. That’s all I can tell you at the moment.’

  ‘Are you still involved with creating the perfect Lab?’ Angus asked.

  Takir nodded his head excitedly, ‘And you won’t believe how far we have come! We have plans to produce a Lab endowed with much greater attributes than we ever thought possible back in our early days, Angus. And we are looking for trusted Labs to join us in our research.’

  ‘You can count me in, you know that, Takir,’ Angus answered eagerly.

  The other man sighed. ‘I think I do know you. But I also know you hid a dark secret from us in the past.’

  ‘How could I tell you about my heart problem when I knew how you would react? And I was right. Anyway, that’s all in the past now. The Compound Labs have given me an invincible new heart.’ he continued.

  ‘Yes, your new heart is one of the reasons you are here today. We would like to find out more about this procedure, as it could well be something we can use or adapt for our own use. Before I can tell you anymore about our organisation you’ll need to undergo a full medical check-up and a series of lie detector tests to ensure you present no threat to us.’

  ‘I’m more than willing to comply.’

  ‘Good. The car will be at the door for us in five minutes.’ Takir smiled.

  They travelled for several hours to a small medical centre situated in a remote area.

  ‘Is this where you do your research?’ Angus asked.

  The other man shook his head. ‘No one is allowed near our main centre until we have established their credibility.’

  After several more gruelling hours, Angus once again sat opposite his old friend who smiled as he scrolled through a document on his computer screen, ‘Well, Angus, as I had hoped we will soon be working together again. Welcome to the group. Our benefactor is the sole sponsor for the Radicals, which started as a group of New York Independent Labs. It’s the strongest group of Independent Labs on any continent and it’s expanding every day. Since joining them I’ve been involved in experiments way beyond what you and I were capable of organising. Tomorrow I will take you to Bramways and you can see just how far we have come with our research.’

  The following morning Angus settled himself into Takir’s car and this time they headed south towards the Lake District. Finally they turned into a long driveway that led to an old grey brick mansion and pulled up in front of wide steps. Sanjit was waiting for them and came down the steps as they parked the car.

  ‘Welcome to Bramways Abbey, Angus!’ he smiled.

  ‘Impressive building,’ he said.

  ‘Wait until you see what goes on inside!’ Takir sounded excited. ‘Let’s take a walk around to the old stable buildings. That’s the laboratory block now.’

  He nodded to two men in security uniforms at
a reception desk.

  ‘You’ll have to leave any mobiles or flash drives here, Angus,’ Takir told him. Sanjit walked on ahead and unlocked an office door. The two men followed him in.

  ‘Sit down, sit down,’ Sanjit urged, pulling a chair up in front of a computer screen. ‘In our earlier research to create the perfect Lab, what did we consider?’

  Angus frowned. ‘Intelligence level, talents, physical fitness.’

  ‘Yes, these are the finest characteristics of a human,’ Takir joined in enthusiastically. ‘But here at Bramways we are taking things one step further. As we know, humans are often far behind other species when it comes to the senses and physical attributes.’ His face lit up. ‘We are selecting the most highly developed attributes from other living species – finding out which animals have the best sight, which ones have the keenest sense of smell or hearing. We are also working on a substance similar to the steroids used by Non-Labs to enhance physical abilities, but eliminating any harmful side-effects. If we can add these abilities to a highly intelligent Lab, just think of the being we can create!’

  ‘So you have created a Lab with these added attributes?’ Angus gasped.

  ‘Not yet, we are still in the early stages. We have quite a way to go. Look at this example.’ He brought up a series of images on the screen. ‘We selected the auditory system of several wild creatures – owl, bat, antelope – and adapted and matched them to our subjects before transplanting them. At the moment we are only using Non-Labs for our investigations. We are at the stage of inserting a separate enhancement into each individual. Many have been most successful.’

  ‘Wow! This is really something, Takir!’ Angus gave a low whistle as he looked at the images displayed on the screen. ‘But this kind of research must cost a fortune! How do you manage it?’

  ‘The Radicals have an American backer. No one knows who he is, or even if he’s a Lab or Non-Lab. We deal with his lawyer who refers to him as “Our Benefactor”.’ Takir gave a proud smile. ‘He is very generous. This is just the start. At the moment we are implanting only one enhancement per person. We’re aiming eventually to implant several enhancements into one person. These trial runs are on Non-Labs, but hopefully by next year we will be ready to start on Labs.’

  ‘How do you monitor their progress?’ Angus continued.

  ‘Well, we have daily and weekly tests we carry out, and …’ he glanced at his watch. ‘It’s about feeding time. Sanjit will take you. He’s monitoring them today.’

  Sanjit appeared in the doorway, beckoning a puzzled Angus to follow him as he led the way out of the laboratory and down the corridor.

  ‘I bet your Compound Labs haven’t anything like this, eh, Angus?’ Sanjit said.

  Angus shook his head. ‘Nothing! Where do you get the Non-Labs for your trials?’

  ‘City centres, bus stations – you can usually pick up a few youngsters from these places. Some need cleaning up – not just giving them a bath, but getting them over alcohol or drug dependency – before we can use them. That can take some time.’

  ‘What happens to these Non-Labs when you have finished your investigations?’ Angus asked.

  Sanjit shrugged. ‘We tell them we’ll wipe their memories clean, give them back their normal eyes, ears, or whatever, and take them back where we found them.’

  ‘But surely …’ Angus began.

  ‘No, of course we don’t! Though it can be shorter than they expected, they end up with a better life here than they were used to,’ he shrugged. ‘So it’s winners all round!’

  They entered a small dimly lit room and sat facing a window. He flicked a switch to reveal a view of woodland bordered by a grassy area. There were ropes, nets, and wooden frames set out as an assault course. At intervals in the grassy border were differently coloured wooden platforms.

  Sanjit nodded to the top area where a group of people were emerging through a wide set of French windows. Angus recognised one of them as Liz. The others were a mixed group of male and female teenagers.

  ‘Two-way mirror. We can see and hear them; but they can’t see or hear us,’ Sanjit told him. ‘All members of the Zoo, as we call our friends here, get a generous breakfast, then they undergo physical training for two hours. They all have access to a healthy lunch, then there’s a further exercise period of one hour followed by free time until six o’clock. Every night they play for their supper. Each boy or girl must use their given enhancement to be the first in their group to locate the box, except for the Muscles who compete to get their wristband on the chosen goal first. The winners form team A, who have first sitting for supper. This meal is not so generous, meaning there’s not always enough left for team B. So it pays to be a winner. We monitor it to see whose enhancements are not functioning to full capacity.’

  Liz’s voice sounded through a speaker on the wall.

  ‘We’ll start with Eyes.’ They watched as two teenage boys stepped forward and each put on a wristband handed to them.

  ‘The colour of the wristband tells them their starting point,’ Sanjit explained as the boys took their places on a coloured platform.

  Liz blew the whistle and both boys set off, searching amongst the grassland and woodland. Suddenly one shouted and held up an object.

  ‘Otis, well done. You’ve improved your timing by 2.3 seconds. You’re in A. Tony, you’re in B,’ Liz said. Otis high-fived a young girl while Tony threw himself on the grass dejectedly.

  ‘Let’s have Ears next,’ Liz continued. Two girls and one boy stepped forward. They each took a wristband and found their platform. Liz blew the whistle and they began their search. The girls moved their heads slowly from side to side and headed in the same direction, unaware of each other. The boy seemed to struggle, taking a few steps one way and then another, undecided in which direction to go. One of the girls froze, then stealthily ran towards a point. A few seconds later the second girl headed for the same goal, giving a cry of dismay as the first girl held something aloft.

  ‘Jez again! Same timing, but OK. Join Otis. You’re B again, Lynne, you too, Simpson. What’s the matter with you? You need to concentrate,’ Liz said as the two of them joined Tony.

  ‘Noses,’ Liz continued. The procedure was repeated with a girl and boy. The boy seemed disorientated, often shaking his head as if to clear it. The girl walked confidently forward, sniffing the air and soon appeared triumphantly holding aloft her prize, taunting the boy who aimed a kick at her legs.

  ‘Don’t get any warnings tonight, Cam! You know what happened last week. Any violence towards Brit and you don’t eat at all tonight!’ Liz said firmly as he scowled and threw himself down beside Tony’s group.

  ‘So, Muscles, ready?’ Liz waited until the two remaining boys stood either side of her, then handed them their wristbands. The others watched as Liz blew her whistle and they set off across the assault course, sprinting, climbing, running and jumping at amazing speeds. Finally there was a triumphant cry from one of them.

  ‘Rhys is in A, by 0.04 seconds!’ Liz smiled. ‘OK, As – in you go. Let’s hope you’re not too hungry and that Cook has been generous tonight, don’t you agree, Bs?’

  ‘Entertaining, eh?’ Sanjit laughed as he flicked the switch shutting off the view and turned the main light on again. ‘Let’s go and see Takir. He will have analysed the results by now.’

  Takir looked up as they entered an adjoining laboratory. ‘Cam is underachieving compared to four weeks ago. We need to take a closer look at him. The two Muscles are not so fast tonight. Jackie can get onto that.’

  ‘Maybe they need a stronger dosage?’ Sanjit suggested taking the results. ‘I’ll go over these with Jackie and Helen, OK?’ He left the room as he nodded.

  Takir seized Angus by the shoulder. ‘Come and have a look at these!’ He led him to a small glass-walled room at the back of the laboratory. He gave him a white suit, gloves, and goggles and pulled on the same himself.

  ‘We can’t risk any contamination,’ he explained. Inside t
he room he illuminated two small containers. Inside each was an eyeball.

  ‘Look at that!’ he said excitedly. ‘Wildcat. Adapted, resized, and modified ready for transplant.’

  Angus drew a deep breath. ‘When will you be transplanting them?’

  ‘Tomorrow, or Tuesday. They won’t last longer than a week. We have the subject ready. He was a drug addict – nothing hard, but we needed several weeks to detox him. He should be ready now.’

  Takir secured the room and walked with Angus to the door. As they stripped off the protective suits Angus looked at him.

  ‘I’d like to join you here, Takir,’ he said.

  Takir frowned. ‘I’d like to have you here, Angus, now you’re fit, but we’ve decided you might be more useful where you are at the moment. You’ll be able to keep us informed of any new developments with the Compound Labs. Of course, you’ll be able to join us here as often as you can make it.’

  He looked up frowning as a young man hurried towards him.

  ‘What is it, Lee?’ he asked.

  ‘It’s the new patient, Takir,’ the young man answered breathlessly.

  ‘What about him?’ His frown deepened. ‘He should be ready for operating tomorrow, surely he’s not going to take any longer to detox?’

  ‘He’s … he’s … dead! It was probably his heart!’ Takir slammed a hand against his forehead. ‘The eyes. They won’t last for more than a week! And where are we going to get a suitable person at such short notice?’

  ‘Just for once couldn’t we just pick someone up randomly?’ the younger man suggested.

  ‘It’s too risky. Our benefactor would not even consider it,’ Takir shook his head. ‘We’re safe as long as we stick to the ones that no one is looking for.’

  ‘Hey, wait a minute …’ Angus held up his hand. ‘I – I think I can supply an ideal candidate. No family, no close friends. And she would probably be willing, with a little persuasion …’