“Presumably I don’t have a choice in the matter,” said Elle.
“There’s nothing to worry about; I’m sure you’ve had these tests before; perhaps not the MRI scan. Follow me.”
Elle followed her into the hanger where there was a portable cabin. Inside the cabin was a surgery: desk, chair, medical bed and portable curtains — everything you would expect when visiting your doctor.
Major Jones asked her a number of questions about childhood illnesses and her state of health, checked, her eyes, ears and throat, and took a blood sample, and swabs from her mouth. Then she asked her to undress and put her through a detailed physical examination. Once she had finished she asked Elle to turn on her side, while she examined her tail bone.
“I don’t have a tail, if that’s what you’re looking for?” said Elle.
“I’m just following instructions,” said Major Jones. “I just need a urine sample, from you then I’ll take you to the MRI room and we’ll do the full body scan.”
An hour later, the tests finished.
“So doc, did I pass the tests.”
Major Jones looked down at her notes. “I need to key in the results to the computer, but there’s nothing wrong with this. You are a remarkably healthy young lady. The DNA test will however take another 24 hours to process.”
“Then you can tell the Major, I’m not an alien from outer space.”
“Something like that.”
“But in the meantime, the Major wants to ask you some questions.”
Now for the hard bit, Elle thought.
As the sunlight broke through the trees, Ben started to wake. Memories of their escape through the forest and their night in the hide came back to him as his eyes blinked open. Something was wrong. As he sat up on the bench, his back felt as though it had been run over by a herd of buffalo, and then it hit him. Where was Elle?
He looked around him and saw her rucksack on the floor. She wouldn’t have gone far without that, he thought. He stumbled out of the entrance to hide and looked around him, wondering whether she had disappeared for a call of nature and called out her name. Only the forest noises answered him. He looked inside his pocket and realised Jane’s mobile was missing and so was the card with the Major’s telephone number. What have you done Elle?
He picked up her rucksack and headed back down the trail towards the cabin. He didn’t get very far, before a helicopter flew over him. He felt sick at the thought she had given herself up; but that is what she wanted to do the previous night.
Ben wandered back to the cabin and found it empty. He headed up the path to the house, and had only got half way up when he saw Kirsty. The look on her face said something was wrong. He ran up the path, and they embraced.
“Where is she?” said Ben.
She looked at him through teary eyes, “They took her, Ben. She did it to get me back. They took her.”
“Do you know where?” said Ben. He realised it was a silly question after he said it; how would she know. “Did she say anything?”
“She said to say sorry to you and for you to look after CAI.”
“What’s CAI?”
“I don’t know. She said it was in her rucksack,” said Kirsty.
Ben took the rucksack off his back and opened it. Inside was Elle’s computer pad. He turned over the machine and found the letters C-A-I inscribed on in its back.
“So that is CAI,” he said.
“I prefer Computer Artificial Intelligence,” said the machine.
Ben turned it back over and the machine had turned itself on. A smiling face of a young woman was shown on the screen.
“So you’re Ben,” said the CAI. “I have a message for you: a voice recording from Elle.”
A picture of Elle came up on the screen and a soundtrack started.
“I’m sorry, Ben. I didn’t want to leave you without saying goodbye, but you would have tried to stop me if I had woken you. I had to get Kirsty back. Look after CAI for me; she’s the most powerful computer — I mean artificial intelligence — on the planet. I’ve programmed her to work for you and no one else — my parting gift to you. I’m sorry I never told you how much I felt for you; I was never much good at expressing my feelings. Please don’t do anything stupid.”
Ben stared at the screen.
“Do you know where they have taken her?” said Ben
“That’s easy; the recording was sent from a mobile and it’s still switched on. I can trace it,” said CAI.
A map came up on the screen and a flashing spot showed the location of the mobile on the map. Ben recognised the site as the one he had been taken to. Then a series of satellite images came on the screen of various parts of the base.
“What are you going to do?” said Kirsty.
“I’m going to get her back,” said Ben.
“Then you will need some help,” said CAI. “I can distract them by causing chaos to their computer systems.”
“I’ll need all the help I can get,” said Ben.
“Oh, before you go,” said Kirsty. ”Dad said he had something for you: something about a solution to chaotic displacement. Is it important?”
“Then I better see him first before I leave,” said Ben.
Elle was taken to another room where she met the Major again, and she was asked to sit down on a chair. Next to her was a machine on a table with a man sitting behind it. Elle guessed it was the polygraph. She sat still while they wired her up to the machine. Elle knew what a polygraph did: it sensed changes in her body that might indicate anxiety from lying. She knew she had to be careful with her answers. The man behind the machine would be monitoring her responses.
The questions started:
“Is your name Elle Masters?”
“Elle Masters Jordan. Yes.”
“Where were you born?”
“Hendon, London.”
“What do you do; occupation?”
“Scientist, Physicist.”
“Who do you work for?”
“No one at the moment.”
“Have you ever worked for an organisation called Infinity, or a similar name?”
“I did for three weeks; but I have no connection with them now.”
“Have you ever been on an extra-terrestrial spaceship?”
“No.”
“Did you see the UFO on the beach a week ago?”
“No.”
“What did you see?”
“I saw a craft. The news reports said it was a military craft.”
“What happened to it?”
“There was a blue flash and it disappeared.”
“What were you wearing at the time?”
“A theatrical catsuit.”
“Why were you wearing the catsuit?”
“I was meant to be going to a Ball.”
“What happened?”
“I got lost and ended up on the beach.”
“So you weren’t abducted by aliens?”
“Of course not.”
“Did you see anyone else?”
“Only Ben and a man with his dog.”
The Major looked at the polygraph specialist who just nodded his head. “They are all true answers, Major.”
“Is there anything else you want to tell me that might be helpful?”
Elle thought for a second. Why would she want to be helpful?
“No.”
There was a pause.
“Can I go, then?” said Elle.
“We’re still waiting for the results of the DNA tests and we’ll have some more questions tomorrow. You’ll be staying here overnight. There’s a room for you with bed and some basic facilities. I’ll see you tomorrow morning.”
The Major gestured to the man taking the polygraph and Elle was escorted away.
The Major was talking to Carla, when Daniels walked into his office.
“What kind of interrogation was that? I’m surprised you didn’t give her tea and scones. It was like a garden party. If you had given me just ten
minutes with her, I would have got to the truth,” said Daniels.
“Is that your solution to everything: stomp in with your size twelve boots? I am sure you’re quite capable of terrifying the woman into saying anything you want. But I have to deal with the fall-out from this. Have you any idea of what media would do, if they had got a hint of what you’ve been up to: the fire in Cambridge, the abduction of Professor Campbell’s daughter, and the torture of a Russian diplomat?” said the Major.
“Sometimes you have to crack a few eggs to make and omelette.”
“The only reason you’re still here is I don’t want to let you out of my sight until this is over. Then if the CIA wants you back, they can have you. That is, if the Russians don’t find you first.”
“So you would just give me up to the Russians?”
“She didn’t deserve what you did to her.”
“You mean Natasha is still alive?”
“Barely.”
“Dam.”
“And she’s looking for you.”
“I can deal with her… What about the Masters woman; you’re not just going to let her go, are you?”
The Major turned to Carla.
“What are the results of her medical tests so far?” said the Major.
“Blood normal, sir: ‘O’ positive. Body scan — no anomalies. Nothing that shouldn’t be there.”
“Anything unusual at all?”
“We won’t know until we get the DNA results tomorrow, Sir. But there are couple of things that are unusual. Firstly, her cardio vascular results were near perfect. She has the cardio vascular system of an Olympic runner. Secondly, she has no appendix, but we can’t find any trace of a scar to indicate it had been removed. She must have used an amazing plastic surgeon.”
“It doesn’t seem like a lot, but we’ll keep her here until we have the DNA results tomorrow. I want you to check everything you can about her. There’s something not quite right here; why did she run away from us? What is she hiding from us? We need to find out.”
“Then do I get a crack at interrogating her?” said Daniels.
“We’ll see what comes out tomorrow when we have more information,” said the Major. “In the meantime, you’re to stay away from her.”
Daniels turned around and stormed out of the room.
The Major turned to Carla. “You’re in charge here tonight. Keep a close eye on Daniels. I don’t trust her. If you need to contact me for any reason, I’ll be on my mobile.”
Elle woke abruptly. Someone was sitting on her, crushing her chest and she could hardly breathe. She gasped for air, and a tape was put across her mouth.
Looking down at her through the darkness was two glaring eyes.
“Put your arms up,” said a woman’s voice.
Elle pulled her arms from under the duvet and put them up in the air. A tight nylon binding was put around her wrists.
“OK, get up,” said the woman. The pressure on her chest was removed as the woman, who had sat on her, got up. The duvet was ripped off the bed, and Elle struggled to her feet still dazed, still half asleep. Is this some kind of nightmare? Is this really happening? From the pain from her wrists, where the nylon binding cut into her, it wasn’t a dream.
The woman pushed her in front of her and through the open door. Outside she was in the aircraft hangar. The night air had a chill, and all Elle had to wear was her panties. The woman pushed her forward, and she struggled to stay on her feet. A pickup truck was parked nearby. Elle was pushed onto the back of the truck. The woman got into the truck and drove out of the hanger, around the taxi way and down the main runway. Where was she taking me? The vehicle stopped at the end of the runway and killed its lights. They were alone together in almost total darkness.
The woman came around to face her. She had a rope in her hand and passed it through Elle’s tied wrists. She then wrapped the roped and tied it around the hook on the main winch used for lifting up the front of vehicles.
“What are you doing?” said Elle.
Elle heard the sound of a motor groan, and the winch started to lift up the rope.
“What are you doing?” said Elle, as the winch continued to lift the rope and with it her as well.
“Stop it, stop it, please,” said Elle. “You’re hurting me.”
Soon she was suspended from the winch, standing only on the tips of her toes trying to take the pressure off her wrists, where the nylon was cutting into them.
The woman smiled at Elle in an insane way. Elle was terrified.
“Now I want the truth from you,” the woman said. “Who are you?”
“I told you the truth. I’m Elle Masters Jordan, and you have no right to hold me here.”
“I think you will find I can do whatever I want to do; and I will. And I won’t stop until I have the truth.”
The woman rested a wand-like instrument against Elle’s face, pushing her head over to the left.
“Pretty face, it would be a shame to spoil it.”
Elle felt an icy sensation of fear run through her body, as she began to realise what she was dealing with. “What do you want from me?” Elle asked.
“Information about the UFO,” she replied, dragging the tip of the wand down Elle’s neck and then down to her breastbone. Elle felt the pressure on the tip of the rod; it was extremely uncomfortable.
“I don’t know anything about a UFO,” Elle said.
The tip of the wand moved to Elle’s left breast and discharged an electric charge to her nipple.
“Ahh!” Elle shrieked out with excruciating pain. Elle’s mouth was dry and she was panting.
“Scream all you like; they can’t hear you here,” the woman said smirking at her. “I can increase the voltage if you like.”
“No, no, please don’t,” Elle said.
“Then tell me about the UFO?”
“I don’t know anything about a UFO?” said Elle bubbling. She felt the tip of the wand move slowly across her body to her right breast.
“Please, please, don’t,” she cried, anticipating what was coming. Her body was shaking with fear even before the wand discharged its current again. Elle screamed in pain as the charge ripped through her body.
Elle’s pulse was racing with the adrenalin; she had woken up into a nightmare. The woman stood next to her so that their faces were less than six inches apart and smiled again cynically. Elle could feel the hot breath of her psychotic torturer.
“You know pain and pleasure are sometimes indistinguishable.” She whispered into Elle’s ear, “I have a lot more toys for us to play with tonight. Do you want pain or pleasure?”
Elle gritted her teeth. “Turns you on does it bitch?” she shouted at her.
It had no effect on the woman; she continued to smile at Elle as she moved the tip of the wand towards Elle’s crutch.
“Let’s turn up the power a bit,” she said. “We’ll see who gets turned on.”
Elle’s eyes were wide open with terror, and her body was trembling as the woman turned the dial at the end of the wand.
She leaned her face even closer to Elle’s face and whispered into her ear. “Tell me about the UFO.”
Elle gulped. “Please I don’t know anything about UFOs, please!”
The woman stood back and swiped Elle across the face with the back of her hand. “Liar!” she shouted.
Elle could feel her cheek tingling from the blow and could taste blood in her mouth. Elle had no idea what to do. This woman was mad, or evil or both. The blow had dazed her and she had difficultly focusing.
“Okay, okay,” she mumbled.
“What?”
Elle mumbled again, and Daniels lent forward to hear what she was saying.
This was her only chance. Elle pushed her head back and head butted the unsuspecting Daniels as hard as she could, crashing her forehead into her nose. Then she pulled up her knees into her chest and kicked as hard with both legs sending Daniels sprawling backwards.
“Ahh! You broke my fuck
ing nose, you cow,” screamed Daniels.
Elle swung her legs upward and onto the hook and lifted herself up, releasing the tension on the rope, and unhooking herself. She dropped to the ground, now free on the winch but with her hands still bound together. She had tasted blood; her own blood, and she was determined to fight to the last.
From somewhere she heard a familiar sound, but her brain had not yet recognised it yet. Her eyes were focused on Daniels, who was getting to her feet. With her hands bound together and bleeding, she had a huge handicap, but she was determined to fight to the last.
Gradually, the noise got louder; it was an engine and it was getting closer; almost on top of her. She closed her eyes expecting it to hit her. And then she heard a thud. She opened her eyes, and her torturer was flat on her back again. Through the daze Elle saw a figure in black coming towards her.
“Are you all right?” a familiar voice said.
Elle tried to concentrate it sounded like Ben, but it couldn’t be.
“Ben?”
Then she saw Daniels launch herself onto Ben’s back. Daniels was cursing and screaming at him; her arms were wrapped around his head and her legs were locked around his waist. Daniels was trying to throttle him. Elle’s eyes focused on the Taser rod on the floor. She picked it up, turned the nob on the dial to the maximum and rammed the point between the woman’s legs. A surge of electricity leapt from the device. Daniels shrieked and was thrown backwards onto the floor, where her body continued to shake and fit.
Ben turned around to her.
“You okay?” he said.
“I am now,” she said. “What took you so long getting here?”
“I was waiting for the invite.”
He smiled at her; then he reached into the bike’s pannier for her leathers, and tossed them to her together with her helmet. She quickly dressed and climbed onto the bike behind him.
“Let’s go,” said Elle.
“One moment,” said Ben.
Suddenly, they heard the sound of fire alarms all over the base and the lighting systems closed down leaving the base in darkness.
“That’s CAI for you,” said Ben.
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