It is said that the British Prime Minister Howard McMillan was once asked by a journalist a question along the lines of what were the greatest challenges, his reply was “events dear boy, events”
Sometimes things blow up that we never foresee and our lives our changed forever. Such events have been following Sarah Bentley a seventeen year old from the Lancashire village of Tottington, now on the run with her dead brother’s best friend Shaun Chapman, accused of complicity in his death. She has witnessed yet another assassination attempt on her which has resulted in the death of Shaun’s friend Derek Johnson. Now as events unfold, they have discovered that the mysterious Doctor H who might hold the key to what is going on is based at the World famous CERN, Home of the Large Hadron Collider. Sarah is now following Shaun as they stow away, sort of, on board the Eurostar train to head down to CERN and to finally confront this Doctor H.
However, she is being tracked by a mysterious man known as Mr Reed, a chief inspector who is secretly working for the employer of this Mr Reed and a mysterious American
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On board the Eurostar Train
(Heading for the Channel Tunnel)
Sarah and Shaun had managed to find a table on the Eurostar train, so Sarah sat facing backwards while Shaun faced forwards.
Shaun looked through the tickets he had managed to obtain, “look at the prices on there” he commented, “Good job I knew how to hack into their booking system, there is no way I could have afforded these on what I was paid if we had been getting these legitimately”
Then after a few seconds Shaun swore.
“Now what?” Sarah asked quietly, nervous as they approached the channel tunnel entrance.
“It looks like we have a lay over in Paris” Shaun replied
“I thought we were going all the way to the French side of this CERN place” Sarah asked
“So did I” Shaun answered back, “But there was no train going to the French side, so it looks like we were booked to go via Geneva”
“But I still don’t have a passport” Sarah whispered in a worried tone.
“But like I told you at the station Sarah this should suffice” Shaun said as he waved the scrap of paper with numbers on it, “We tell anybody who asks that your passport was stolen and this is the emergency number you were given.”
“If they ask for ID?” Sarah persisted
“Have you got anything like a student card?” Shaun asked
Sarah checked in her purse and pulled out her student enrolment card, “This is all I have Shaun” she told him as she produced it.
“It will have to do” Shaun sighed, “Anyway, the Eurostar only goes as far as Paris apparently and from there we have to pick up the TGV” Shaun stopped for a moment, “Tomorrow morning”
“You mean we have to spend the night at the railway station?” Sarah asked
“It looks that way” Shaun mumbled, “Looking at the time we get in to Paris, we could visit the British Embassy and see if they will issue an emergency passport based on this number”
Sarah shook her head, “They’ll arrest me Shaun” she whispered, “You saw on the news how they have accused me of killing Trevor and those police officers”
Shaun put his hand to his mouth and sighed, just as the train entered the tunnel, “I was forgetting that” he mumbled that. “Maybe if we get off the train at the station just before the border” Shaun murmured and then shook his head, “It would still be too far to walk”
“Wait a minute” Shaun announced, “How good is your French?”
Sarah was for a moment thrown by the question, “I only got a C in it at GCSE” she replied.
“You’re going to have to try and remember it Sarah” Shaun told her,
“Because we are going to be in France soon?” Sarah asked
“That as well” Shaun replied. Shaun pulled out his notebook computer and opened it up and powered it up, “I need to check something assuming we can still get WiFi down here”
After powering the notebook, Shaun shook his head. “No Wireless on this train” he told Sarah, “I just hope I’m right”
“About what? Sarah asked”
“The
Schengen Agreement”
“The what?” Sarah asked
“It was something they passed in Europe some years ago, but Britain stayed out of” Shaun explained, “It meant the removal of border and passport controls for a bunch of European countries. I think Switzerland is part of it. If that is the case, you may not need a passport, if I can pass you off as French”
Sarah gulped; the truth was that C grade she gained on her French GCSE was only a bare pass as French was not really a subject she excelled in.
“I had an idea about spending money” Shaun told Sarah
“Did you manage to hack in and steal money from a bank?” she asked, he eyes wide open in shock.
Shaun shook his head, “I have a bank card on me and as soon as I can get an internet connection I need to make sure the account hasn’t been frozen like yours has”
“And if it has?” Sarah asked
“It’s not in my name” Shaun told Sarah, “I set it up two years ago in the name of a character I used to play in
Dungeons and Dragons, but even so there is a chance that the powers that be may have cottoned on, especially during that drive last year against money launderers” he explained
Sarah sat quietly while Shaun tapped away at his computer, all the while looking out in case there were any train conductors checking tickets and travel documents. Sarah was not entirely convinced that the scrap of paper with numbers would carry much weight, even if her Shaun had created for her a “virtual” passport. She expected to be arrested at any moment.
She closed her eyes and rested her head against the window, but all she could see was Derek being shot and killed right in front of her a few hours earlier. This scene also merged into the look on the female police officer that was murdered in front of her by the phoney police surgeon. Finally all these images merged into the scene at her house when she found the body of her brother, murdered. She had seen so much death for a seventeen year old teenager and it horrified her.
Suddenly she was alone in the carriage. Not even Shaun was there and it was dark, probably from the tunnel.
Had Shaun run out on her?
Just then she was aware of a presence, someone behind her and someone in front.
The man in front was the American she had ran into the previous day near the Victoria Coach Station in London. He was waving at her, but she could not make out what he was saying
Then the presence behind her said menacingly in a
Mancunian accent “Time to die”
She remembered the voice and who this person was. It was the detective who first accused her of murder, Chief Inspector Halsall. She was also aware that he seemed to be holding a gun at her
There was a metallic click by her head as the trigger was cocked.
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Sarah woke up with a jump, there were out of the tunnel and passing and approaching the French town of Callais
Shaun had just closed his notebook computer, which was what probably woke her. “Well I managed to get the money situation hopefully sorted out” he announced.
“What?” Sarah asked, still disorientated after falling asleep
Shaun went quiet for a moment. “I had grabbed Derek’s mobile and used that to access the internet from here. No idea how much they will be trying to bill him on roaming charges. I used it to log into my Mam and sister’s bank accounts” he told her, “They trusted me to look after them when they were alive, but I don’t have their bank cards so I have transferred money across to that bank account I told you about. It still seems to be working, I just hope that if I use it, it will allow me access to the cash”
“Oh” Sarah whispered, “I’m sorry” she apologised, “I keep thinking of all those people who have been killed over this” she added producing her brother’s iron key memory stick.
Shaun seemed to read Sarah like a book, “I told you Sarah” he said softly, “You’re not to blame for all this, you’re not the one going around killing people”
“But it feels that way Shaun” Sarah squeaked out with emotion in her voice “they killed all those I associated with”.
“There’s no guarantee they wouldn’t have done that anyway” Shaun responded, “We are dealing with a possible government conspiracy, possibly involving MI6, the CIA, the NSA. These guys do not like leaving loose ends. That’s all you are to them Sarah, a loose end. They wanted to eliminate your brother and all the evidence he had compiled on that thing” Shaun went on, pointing to the memory stick, “But since by chance you had it, you got into their sites”
“What if we just post it to them?” Sarah asked, “You said the Americans have a back door into it, what if we just hand it over at the American embassy”
“And everyone will have died for nothing” Shaun countered
“But I just don’t want anymore people dying Shaun” Sarah sniffed
Shaun gently took Sarah’s hands across the table, “I know” he whispered, “But what ever is on there, whatever Trevor found, if they are killing to keep it quiet, then it must be something illegal they were up to. If they were legitimate secrets they would have just have had him arrested under the official secrets act or for hacking or something like that. The fact they have murdered people that we know shows that we have to expose what they are doing”
“Right” Sarah replied and looked down at the table.
What Shaun said did kind of make sense but it did not feel right that people were dying because of something her brother had dredged up.
The train arrived at Calais and a number of passengers started getting off while Sarah watched them go.
Then Sarah noticed that there were a number of gendarmes approaching the train with what looked like British police officers and panic started to seep in.
The police were on to her – but how did they know and how did they get here so fast?
Sarah quickly fished for the woollen hat and dark glasses and put them on and tried to hide in her seat, lest they spot her from the platform.
“It’s the police” Sarah squeaked out.
“Oh great!” Shaun exclaimed and looked around, “go see if you can hide in the toilets” Shaun instructed her.
Sarah was getting ready to get up out of her seat when outside the gendarmes pounced on a number of men wearing England scarves.
There was lots of shouting an anger from the men arrested, but they were all escorted away and the general milling around of other passengers resumed.
“There must be an international football match on tonight then” Shaun remarked, “They must have been here to pick up known football hooligans.
To say Sarah felt relieved was an understatement, but for a moment a wave of nausea swept over here.
“You look white as a sheet” Shaun told her
“I thought” was all that Sarah could get out.
What neither of them saw was a man with a dark complexion who had boarded the train looking at them discretely from the end of the carriage. He opened a mobile phone and pressed a number on speed dial. The phone answered and the man whispered into the phone, “La jeune fille et son compagnon de sexe masculin sont toujours à bord du train. Voulez-vous me les prendre ici ou devons-nous attendre jusqu'à ce qu'ils descendez?”
The man received his reply and quickly closed down his cell phone and stepped off the train on to the platform, but observed the window they were sitting by right up until the train pulled out of the station, after which he pulled out his phone and spoke into it again.
Sarah sat back and watched the countryside fly past after they had left Calais and headed for Paris.
Shaun borrowed the memory stick and for the length of the journey tried to use Derek’s mobile to hack into the company that made the iron key. Eventually he gave up. The signal was too unreliable, and so he disconnected the mobile and closed up the note book. For the rest of the journey, Sarah and Shaun held hands across the table looking at each other and sometimes out the window at the French countryside.
After a while the train stopped at Lille and again she felt anxious at the site of anyone in a uniform approaching the train, but nobody appeared to spot them and the train started again on the final leg of its journey into Paris.
“What are we going to do for tonight?” Sarah asked, breaking an awkward silence
“After I have tried a cash machine I think we need to try and find a low cost B&B” Shaun replied, “Large hotels may be expensive and hanging around the station will be to suspicious”
“Do you know of any?” Sarah asked
“I’ll have to try a tourist information booth” Shaun answered, “I just hope my French is up to it or at least their English is up to it.”
It was the late afternoon come early evening as the train eventually pulled into the Paris railway station and Sarah and Shaun disembarked hand in hand.
For Sarah, this was the first time she had ever stepped on to foreign soil. She could never understand why her parents never went abroad. Maybe it was due to cost, but she was forever hearing her classmates talk of trips to Spain or Ibiza when all she could talk about was Morecombe, Southport or New Brighton.
All around her she could hear people talking in French, only some she could understand, the rest, they went too fast.
Shaun pointed in a particular direction and dragged Sarah over to a cash machine.
Sarah eyed it with trepidation, the last time she had tried one had been two days previous, and it had swallowed her card.
Sarah looked away at the rest of the railway station and the other passengers. She was also mindful of all the police and other officials milling around and hoped that the woollen hat and dark glasses would go someway to disguising her looks, although it had not fooled that American the day before. Even if she were not on the run from police for a crime she did not commit, she had travelled to France without a passport on a ticket that Shaun had obtained by what some might say were nefarious means. What ever way she looked at it, if she were to be challenged by the gendarmes she would be in serious trouble
“I can’t believe that worked!” Shaun exclaimed
Sarah looked back at the cash machine as Shaun was extracting a large wad of Euros, his phoney account had, in spite of her scepticism had paid off and thrown them a life line of sorts.
“Lets go and visit that tourist information desk” Shaun then said and ushered Sarah in the direction of a desk on the station concourse with a large queue forming at it.
While there were queuing Sarah heard some American voices behind her and briefly turned around.
It was an elderly American couple with their grown up daughter who was telling her parents about her course at one of the local universities.
Sarah swallowed hard; the death of her parents the year before in that road traffic accident had robbed her of ever having such an experience. The death of her brother, her last surviving relative had left her all alone in the world, apart from Shaun.
After what seemed like an eternity, they reached the front of the queue and immediately Shaun asked the man at the counter “Parlez-vous anglais?”
“Yes I do sir” the man at the desk replied, and at once Shaun got to asking about low cost guest houses in Paris that they could stay at until they caught their train in the morning. The man at the information desk gave Shaun a fold out map and a list, and then Shaun ushered Sarah away.
As they walked to the entranced through the crowd, Shaun whispered to Sarah, “We’re being followed”
“What?” Sarah said instinctively and in a panic
“Don’t say anything or turn around” Shaun insisted, “If they know we’ve made him then they will get someone else to tail us”
A cold chill went down Sarah’s spine. Whatever it was that Trevor had stumbled across it was certainly big, if they were sending agents all the way to Paris to kill her. Whoever was out to kill her seemed so invincible. They had the power to kill a mobile phone, plant drugs on her and even put forty thousand pounds in her bank account. It seemed so unreal that the British or American government had so much power over their lives and were willing to use it to cover any illegal activity they might be engaging in. The use of the implements of the state, as Shaun had call them, to track, control and destroy an individual seemed so complete. She was wondering if they ever stood a chance of remaining alive, let alone expose some secret government conspiracy to the world, but Shaun had become determined to carry out this mission, more so than Sarah.
As they reached the entrance, Shaun yanked Sarah to the side and pulled her at speed for a shot distance before pulling her into the doorway of a shop, out of site.
Carefully Sarah peered out to see a large guy in a white rain coat rushing into the street and looking around.
Shaun pulled Sarah into the shop, out of site lest .
“Puis-je vous aider?” a voice came from inside.
It was the elderly shop keeper.
“We’re trying to elope” Shaun said to the old man, hoping he would understand.
The man looked blankly at them.
Then Shaun replied in stuttering French, “Le père de mon amie ne pas approuver de moi”
“Tu dois aimer cet homme beaucoup si vous êtes prêt à défier votre père” the elderly man said to Sarah and winked
“Il a envoyé un homme à nous suivre et nous avons besoin de sortir” Shaun said to the elderly man
The elderly man nodded and guided them through the old shop, which seemed to be a tailor shop, through to a back door which he opened.
It was a back alley near the station, and Shaun led Sarah through the door into it.
Shaun took out the list and the map he had been given at the railway station and examined it. “We don’t want to go to far away from the station Sarah” he told her, “And we can’t afford too much”
“What about the police?” Sarah asked, “Won’t they be looking for us?”
“Probably” Shaun agreed, “But I don’t see much choice. There are no trains to Geneva tonight and I doubt we could get away with getting onto a flight down there, the way airport security has been heightened since nine eleven”
Sarah felt nervous about this delay, sure to some a night in Paris might be a romantic vision, and that seemed to be what she was getting, but at a terrible cost. To Sarah, every minute delayed meant that those after her could get one step closer. She had already seen that they had tracked her to Paris.
“What about the guy who was following us” Sarah then asked
“I know” Sarah Shaun replied with irritation in his voice, “But there is no way we can get out of Paris tonight and get down to CERN. I just hope that where ever we pick, they won’t trace us there. Just to be on the safe side I will not be going online while we are there.”
“Sorry” Sarah replied as she backed down. She had to trust Shaun’s judgement, after all he had got them this far, hadn’t he?
“We will try this one” Shaun announced and took Sarah by the hand and led her to a Paris Metro station.
Sarah nervously looked around while Shaun got the tickets and they went down to the platform.
It seemed very much like the London Underground, except everything was in French, the signs were different and the police were armed.
Sarah held tightly onto his hand as he led her on to the train amongst the crowd, and soon they were travelling out to the suburbs of Paris.
“Would you like to see the Eifel Tower?” Shaun casually asked while they were standing in the metro carriage.
Sarah shook her head, “It sounds so tempting, but it wouldn’t feel right Shaun” she replied, “We’re only here because Trevor, Lauren, Vicky, your Mam and Derek have been killed. I just want this over Shaun. I just want my life back” she added with emotion in her voice.
Shaun held Sarah in his arms, “I know me too.” He whispered, “If we make it through this we will have to come here and do Paris properly” and then he kissed her on the forehead.
The metro arrived at their appropriate stop and the two of them got off the train and made there way out of the station.
Ideally they would have rung ahead to confirm if there were any vacancies, but in light of what had happened so far, they did not want to risk using any phone that could be traced. According to Shaun, the reach of either GCHQ or the NSA was very long.
After consulting the map, Shaun in his very best efforts at French, which seemed better than Sarah’s, asked a local the way to a particular guest house near by. The local was just about able to understand and gave simple instructions that Shaun was just able to follow.
The two of them walked through the streets following the directions until they came to a small hotel.
Again Shaun did the talking, and as luck would have it, the elderly proprietor spoke English. Again Shaun stuck with the cover story he had devised, that they had eloped from England, and Sarah’s father did not approve of him. The proprietor seemed to buy it or possibly did not care, especially as Shaun could manage cash up front.
They were led up stairs to a small bedroom with a double bed. Shaun and Sarah were going to be sleeping together yet again it seemed.
Shaun then asked the proprietor if he could recommend a low cost restaurant for their evening meal, and as luck again would have it, he invited the pair of them to have dinner with his wife. Without consulting Sarah, Shaun immediately accepted and they were told what time the meal would be ready, and then the proprietor said he would leave them to unpack what meagre belongings they had.
“It makes sense if we can keep out of sight” Shaun told Sarah as the proprietor left.
“Ok” was all that Sarah could say.
Sarah then looked out of the window and in the distance she could see the Eifel tower and other parts of Paris. The city lights were coming on as night was falling.
Shaun came up behind Sarah and gently put his arms around her waist, and somehow it felt so right.
“Oh Shaun” was all that Sarah could get out.
“We will beat this” Shaun whispered, “Don’t worry Sarah, to use an old cliché as long as we have each other, they can’t beat us”
“But how many more are they going to kill Shaun” Sarah asked, “And how are they tracking us”
“I don’t know” Shaun replied, “I tried to take us off grid but they must have been tracking Derek as well somehow”
“These implements of the state you mentioned” Sarah asked, “I thought there were supposed to be safeguards”
“It’s like anything Sarah” Shaun replied, “If you are high enough you start to think that they are there for your own use. Ever heard of the saying, power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely”
Sarah shook her head
“It’s an old saying Sarah” Shaun answered, “There is another old saying,
Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?”
“What?” Sarah asked
“Its Latin” Shaun explained, “It means who shall guard us from our guardians”
“Nobody” Sarah choked out
Shaun spun Sarah around and held her in his arms as she broke down sobbing.
It was about an hour before the meal with the proprietor was ready and Sarah and Shaun went down to the dining room hand in hand. The proprietor’s wife did not have good English, so the proprietor ended up translating.
The dinner was nothing like anything Sarah had ever had. She had heard that the French ate horse meat and was not sure if that was what they were serving, but did not dare say anything lest she cause offence and ate the minimum of the meat she could get away with. Shaun however seemed to have no qualms.
Again Sarah let Shaun do most of the talking, especially as his French was a lot better than hers. He was also a better liar.
And then it was time for bed.
Again Sarah and Shaun removed all their clothing as they had no night things, and again she ended up sharing her body with his as they made love once again, although somewhere at the back of her mind it did seem perverse given that he had lost his best friend that day.
But then again, if there was a possibility that they could be killed any time by whoever the assassins were, then it was as Shaun put it a case of Carpe diem
Through the night Sarah had troubled dreams. She could see the faces of all those who had died and it seemed as if they were accusing her for their untimely deaths. It was a nightmare from which she could not wake.
Then into her dreams came the figure of that American, who kept saying that he needed to talk with her. All she felt like doing was running.
As she ran along a dark passage, there was the phony police surgeon, holding his gun with silencer. Beside the police surgeon was the police detective who first accused her of killing her brother. Sarah changed direction and kept running. Suddenly in front of her was the American.
“Sarah” the American told her sternly, “Stop running, I just want to talk” Suddenly he raised a gun, pointed it in her direction and fired.
Sarah woke up
She looked at Shaun’s watch on the bedside table.
It was three in the morning.
Slowly so as not to wake Shaun she got up and went to sit on the en-suite toilet. Pulled the door shut and wept silently.
After about ten minutes she climbed back into bed and just kept thinking of all those people who had died as a result of knowing her or her brother.
+ + +
The morning sun broke into the room as Sarah was getting dressed while Shaun was in the shower. It seemed almost like a miracle that whoever had been after Sarah had not found them.
Shaun came in, got dressed and then they went down for what the French passed off as breakfast.
In the background was some kind of Parisian commercial radio station and Sarah could only understand a few phrases. Shaun seemed to understand a bit more, or at least gave that appearance.
Then it was time to leave for the railway station and again they were travelling on the Paris Metro. All the while, Sarah and Shaun were looking out for anyone who might be following them and trying to keep their faces away from any CCTV or gendarme who might be present.
They arrived at the station with three quarters of an hour to spare, so Shaun found a small café in the station out of the way to see if he could get a Wi-fi connection, after first ordering two coffees. One for him and one for Sarah.
After a few minutes Shaun seemed to be in and surfing Sarah could not see what he was looking at as he had sat opposite her at the table.
A minute later it seemed that Shaun’s face went white and he swore under his breath.
Some thing was wrong
“What is it?” Sarah asked
“You don’t want to know” Shaun insisted and hurriedly closed down his computer, folded it up and put it away.
“They’ve killed someone else, haven’t they” Sarah guessed.
Shaun put his right hand to his mouth and nodded.
“Who?” Sarah asked insistently, “Who else have those b*****ds killed?” she added
Shaun let out a sigh, “That woman at the Roebuck Inn and her daughter” Shaun admitted, “The press are just saying it was a robbery gone bad”
Sarah shook her head and looked upwards as tears filled her eyes
“Sarah” Shaun said pre-emptively, “It’s not your fault”
“Why don’t I feel that way?” Sarah said accusingly, “Everyone I talk to Shaun, everyone I have known is being killed by these b*****ds all because of me. How many more are going to die Shaun?”
Sarah got up, “I’m going to turn myself in” Sarah announced, “If that’s the only way to stop these killing”
Shaun got up quickly and started towards Sarah. Sarah backed away, “I mean it Shaun” she told him, “If I turn myself in maybe they will stop the killings”
“What if they don’t” Shaun said angrily, “They are taking people out because they think we have spoken to them. What makes you think these people will believe you? What makes you think they will stop the killings?”
Sarah just glowered at Shaun
“Sarah” Shaun said firmly, “You do this and all those who have died will have died for nothing”
“But Shaun” Sarah said sobbing, “They killed two innocent people because we just visited their pub”
“Which I drove to” Shaun told Sarah, “If anyone should feel guilty over their deaths it should be me, not you” he continued, “I drove there and I accessed Trevor’s Twitter page from a mobile there. It was me they were tracking, not you, and I don’t know about you but I for one will not let them get away with this”
Suddenly a cold realisation went through Sarah, “Oh Shaun” she said, “The people we stayed with last night, we need to warn them”
Shaun walked up to Sarah and held her in his arms, “We never called them in advance; they were on a list with other names and I paid them in Cash. If we had been followed they would have taken action last night. If we try and contact them to warn them, then that will certainly mark them out”
“But Shaun” Sarah pleaded
“We need to catch that train to Geneva” Shaun said gently
Sarah nodded. She hated the fact that somehow she might be responsible for causing people to be murdered and desperately wanted to warn that French couple, but Shaun had a point, any attempt to warn them could result in a visit being paid to them by another assassination team. It was a classic
Catch 22 situation.
They picked up their bags and Shaun lead Sarah into the railway station.
As soon as they had gone a man who had been drinking coffee and apparently reading a copy of Le Monde took out a phone and quickly dialled a number. As soon as the number connected he spoke in an American accent, “Brigadier General, the love birds have just entered the station” he said quietly, “No sign of the other targets at this time”
The man at the table then put the phone away and picked up his newspaper again.
Another man approached him carrying a newspaper in his right hand, it was a man in his late fifties. “Is this seat taken?” he asked in an old Eton accent.
The American looked up, “I’m afraid so buddy” he replied
“Pity” the elderly English man replied.
Immediately two bullets hit the American man in his head, fired from a gun with a silencer that the English man had concealed by his newspaper.
The elderly English man quickly walked away melting into the crowd, where he met with another English man who was in his forties. “Just had to deal with part of that minor complication we had yesterday” the elderly man told the younger English man.
“Is that what you call discreet?” the younger of the Englishman asked the elderly Englishman
“I dare say our French colleagues will come and clear up the mess” the Elderly man replied, “As for the Americans, I’m not sure they will want to admit they were operating on French soil without getting permission from the French government”
With that the two men headed into the station following Shaun and Sarah to their train
+ + +
Sarah and Shaun approached the TGV train that was due to take them to Geneva. It was nothing like the Metro Link trains that Sarah regularly took between Bury and Manchester. For one thing it was quite long, longer than any train Sarah had ever seen back in England.
The two of them got on and found their allocated seats on the train and sat down.
Neither of them spotted the two English men getting on in the next but one carriage
Outside Sarah heard the sound of police sirens that were coming from the entrance. “Oh no” Sarah said quietly, “It sounds like they’re onto us”
“Only if they come here” Shaun said as he started trying to peer towards the entrance of the railway station.
After a while it became obvious that the police activity was confined to something happening outside of the station.
There was the sound of a whistle from outside and the train started to move.
Shaun took out his notebook computer as soon as the train was underway to see if there was a Wi-Fi signal.
There wasn’t, so Shaun took out Derek’s mobile and plugged that in.
“I seem to get a connection of sort’s” Shaun mumbled and then began typing furiously.
Sarah just kept switching her gaze from outside the window to looking at Shaun to the corridor, nervous that someone would find them and arrest them. The nightmare she had had during the night played on her mind yet she did not dare talk about it with Shaun.
Sarah was certain that Shaun thought of her as a wimp, especially as he seemed more determined than her to bring the real killers to justice and expose what ever conspiracy was being hidden. Sarah just wanted them to know she had no wish to expose anyone and that she did not know anything. She was not even sure she cared about any government conspiracy; she just wanted the killings to stop.
A man in a uniform came up behind her and demanded, “Billets s'il vous plait”
Sarah almost jumped out of her skin, then remembered that
billets was French for
tickets
Shaun produced the two tickets he had got at Ashford in Kent and handed them over.
It seemed to Sarah that the conductor was taking longer than usual to examine them. “Is there a problem?” she asked
The conductor handed the tickets back to Shaun without answering and then proceeded to check the tickets of the other passengers, but notably faster than he had with theirs.
Sarah waited for the conductor to leave the carriage before whispering her observation to Shaun.
Shaun told her in an unconvincing tone “Maybe it was just because we got it printed at Ashford rather than Paris. Maybe he has never seen such tickets before”
“And maybe they’re onto us Shaun” Sarah said in reply, “remember that man who was following us yesterday?”
Shaun nodded
“I thought I saw him sitting at a table outside the station” Sarah pleaded.
“I never saw anyone Sarah” Shaun replied, “But then I wasn’t looking”
“What if he followed us on to the train” Sarah pressed.
“Then I will have to deal with it” Shaun replied, before adding an unconvincing “Somehow”
“Shaun they’re following us?” Sarah insisted, “I think they want this” she added taking out the encrypted memory stick.
“I was getting to that” Shaun told Sarah and gently took it from her. “I just need to type in the serial number of this memory stick and”
Suddenly Shaun swore
“What’s happened?” Sarah asked
“Just as it was supposed to give me the back door my connection dropped” Shaun explained, then after a pause added “it’s saying it can not find a”
Shaun stopped. “It says on Derek’s mobile replace SIM card?” he said in a puzzled tone
A cold chill went down Sarah’s back, “That happened to my mobile Shaun” she said in a horrified tone, “When they killed it”. After a moment Sarah started shaking her head, “they found us Shaun and they’re coming for us”
Shaun unplugged the mobile, opened it up and took out the SIM card.
“All they had to do was order this done from England” he told Sarah as he showed her the SIM card, “Doesn’t necessarily mean they have someone on our tail, but I suppose we have to be careful”
“They have to know where we are headed” Sarah pressed
“Possibly” Shaun answered, “I wonder if that conductor was making sure where we were on the train”
“That means they will be arresting us off of the train?” Sarah said in a panic
“Which means as soon as we cross the border, we move to another carriage as if we are looking for the buffet car or something like that” Shaun instructed Sarah, “We do not want to be in these seats when we arrive in Geneva”
Sarah nodded, “If we find this Doctor H, what are we going to do” Sarah asked, “Especially if he has sent out all these people to kill everyone we know”
“No idea Sarah” Shaun admitted, “I’m making this up as I go along”
For the next two hours Sarah and Shaun spent a tense time as the train sped on through the French countryside. At any moment they expected someone to arrest them or try and kill them. It was obvious that in spite of Shaun’s best efforts those in control were able track their every move.
Shaun had even briefly switched his simple mobile on, but it was not working, although it did not say anything about the SIM card being disabled, only that it could not log onto a valid network. Since his phone was a simple one, not designed for international travel, there was no way he could work out if like the SIM in Derek’s phone, and earlier in Sarah’s mobile, if it had been disabled. The only thing he could think of would be to try and buy a pay as you go SIM as soon as they arrived in Geneva, but then they might need the money for travelling from Geneva to CERN.
The train arrived in the French city of Le Creusot and both Sarah and Shaun kept looking for any gendarmes who might be coming for them, but none came.
After several nerve wracking minutes the train started off, heading for the Swiss border and on to Geneva.
Sarah and Shaun waited for the conductor to check tickets from Le Creusot, and as soon as he left the carriage, they picked all their belongings up and headed through the carriage in the opposite direction to the conductor. Their aim was to get as far away from where they were known to be sitting as fast as possible.
Shaun led the way while Sarah held onto his hand. As they passed through the first carriage Sarah though she saw someone she recognised, but before she could get another look, he ducked into the toilet.
It was someone who she felt should not be there, but for the moment Sarah was unable to place him. Wearing her dark glasses to hide her face did not give her that clear of a view of the man. Also Shaun was insistent that they keep going, so it slipped from her mind. Maybe she had been to wound up about the nightmare she had the previous night and only just imagined it.
For several minutes they made their way through the carriages of the French train. Some were crowded and some were empty. All the while Sarah would try and look behind her as she got the feeling that they were being followed, but it was not easy with Shaun pulling on her hand as he pressed on through the carriages.
Finally they got to the last carriage, or at least the last one they could walk to. Shaun found a couple of airline style seats facing back the way they had come and so the pair sat down, their bags at the ready to get out as soon as possible.
+ + +
In the carriage next to them, the younger of the two Englishmen dived into a seat by the door and pulled out his cell phone and dialled the number of his elderly companion. “Mr Reed” he said quietly into the phone, “They’ve stopped moving if you want to join me”
The younger man listened to the reply and then carried on whispering, “They’re in the last ruddy coach on this stupid train if you want to come and join me.”
The younger man received another reply
“Oh you don’t? Fair enough, I’ll keep tabs on them, but it won’t be easy as I was the one that made sure the girl was taken into custody. She might recognise me as well”
The elder man then asked him over the phone if he had had problems following them through the train
The younger man shook his head “Nah, but I must say it was a damn close thing though. I was certain the girl would rumble me as she looked right at me at first and then she kept bl**dy looking in my direction as they went through the train”
Then the younger man had a quick think, “Are you sure we don’t just take out both of them, I mean what so special about that girl? If you ask me the, sooner”
The younger man was interrupted by the elder man on the phone as it was reiterated that their mutual employer for the moment wanted her alive.
“Well yeah” the younger man retorted, “That’s all fine and dandy Mr Reed, but to me she’s just another lag we could all do without and I can’t see how National security will be served if the goes on trial”
The elder of the two men started to talk again over the phone, but the younger of the two men closed his mobile down.
What was so special about this girl? Nothing he could see, and suppose he were firing at that guy, and she got hit accidentally on purpose, would it be that great a loss?
+ + +
The train finally pulled into the Geneva train station.
Shaun led Sarah off of the train, all the while looking around for who ever might be after them, before quickly mingling with the crowd of other passengers.
“Ok” Shaun announced, “We need to get
Tram 16 to Meyrin-Gravière and get off at Vaudagne and then get a bus to the CERN complex” he told Sarah, “I looked it up on the
CERN website”
Sarah just followed without saying a word, worried that someone was still following her. She kept wondering if the people who ran the small hotel they stayed at would be killed as well and wished she could have warned them, even though Shaun had a point, an attempt to warn them would probably alert the killers to where they were”
Shaun dragged Sarah to another information desk, where the lady working on the desk also spoke English and they were directed to where to pick up the tram and the machines where they could get the tickets. They then headed off to the automatic ticket machines and Shaun purchased the tickets for the tram, then the two of them raced off to the stop and managed to only just catch the tram, which again Shaun commented was lucky as in his opinion anyone following them on foot would either become immediately obvious or miss it entirely.
They climbed onto the tram and it set off almost immediately. Sarah looked out of the window and to her shock saw the out of breath figure of Detective Inspector Halsall, trying to run after the tram unsuccessfully.
“Shaun” Sarah piped up and pointed to the figure vanishing in the distance as the tram picked up speed, “That’s the police officer that had me arrested”
“What the hell’s he doing here?” Shaun asked
“I don’t know Shaun” Sarah whined, “I think I saw him on the train following us”
“Something’s not right” Shaun commented, “If he was tracking us, why not get Interpol to have us picked up, if he was legit”
“You mean he’s been in on this from the beginning?” Sarah asked
“Well we know in some countries the police do the state’s bidding” Shaun replied
“But that means he had two police officers murdered Shaun” Sarah said with confusion
“Which means that what ever conspiracy Trevor unearthed is, it’s so serious that they are willing to kill their own people to cover it up”
“What are we going to do Shaun?” Sarah whined
Shuan thought for a moment, “We have to continue on Sarah. We have to find and confront this Doctor H”
Sarah thought for a moment, “You said we have to change on to a bus before we get to CERN”
“Yeah” Shaun replied as he seemed to be getting on to Sarah’s wavelength. There was the real possibility that whilst waiting for the bus, they could be intercepted by Detective Inspector Halsall or the other assassins.
Shaun took out his wallet and examined the amount of cash in it. “I’m not sure we have enough for a taxi” he told Sarah, “In fact I’m not sure how expensive they are or if we could get one”
Sarah wanted to say something, but she could not think what. Suppose they did make it to CERN alive and find this Doctor H her brother had mentioned and had been following on this Twitter site, what then? That would not bring back the people killed, she was not even sure if it would help clear her of all the charges mounting against her back in England. It just seemed that this was some conspiracy investigation her brother had started and now her boyfriend, Shaun Chapman had taken over.
All Sarah had wanted to do all along was bring in enough money to save her dead parents house. It seemed so long ago.
The tram arrived at Vaudagne and the two of them got off and headed in the direction they were told where the bus stop was.
It seemed their luck was in as just as they arrived at the stop, the bus was arriving.
“We timed that nicely” Shaun remarked. Sarah kept quiet.
Sarah scanned the road as the bus started, looking for the detective inspector, the mysterious American and even the motor cycle assassins.
The sky was beginning to darken as the bus arrived outside one of the entrances to the CERN complex. On the right across the road from the entrance Sarah could see a huge structure looking like a large ball. The entrance they came to had a small glass booth with a couple of gate guards in it. A large blue sign directed bus visitors to reception.
The two of them approached the glass booth. “Let me do the talking” Shaun instructed Sarah.
Shaun broke into stuttering French for a moment and then they were asked to sign some sheet of paper and then were given plastic visitor passes and allowed onto the site.
As they walked towards the reception Shaun explained to Sarah how he said that he had arrived to pick up some registration documents as he was due to start an internship the following week and was showing his girlfriend where he would be working before they went to the hotel.
“And they bought that?” Sarah asked with incredulity.
“Well seem to have we got passed them” Shaun replied
“How do we find this Doctor H?” Sarah then asked as she saw from the surrounding buildings and the huge car park, “This place is huge”
“I noticed that Sarah” Shaun replied, “I’m guessing that this person probably doesn’t go by the name doctor H here, after all that was a Twitter ID”
“If only we knew the person’s real name” Sarah complained.
“That would help” Shaun agreed, “But we have the twitter name, maybe someone at reception might be able to help”
“And if this conspiracy is about this CERN place and that LHC thing they were all worried about a few years back?” Sarah challenged.
Sarah could vaguely remember some of the people at School had once said that it could bring about the end of the world by creating mini black holes or something called Strangelets which she did not understand. There had even been a rumour that someone had committed suicide because of it.
“I heard those scare stories too” Shaun said with irritation, “
There is no way the LHC will destroy the Earth Sarah” he went on, “We are bombarded with cosmic rays all the time which are more energetic than what the LHC produces. This idea that the LHC will kill us all is a load of rubbish!”
Sarah shut up, it was immediately apparent that the idea that the conspiracy was how LHC would destroy the planet was a non starter and she thought it made her look stupid in Shaun’s eyes for even mentioning it.
The two of them reached the glass doors of the CERN reception building and entered.
Sarah was not entirely convinced they would achieve anything, but since Shaun seemed to know what he was doing, she was going along with whatever it was he had in mind.
The lady on the reception desk spoke to them in French; it was a standard greeting that even Sarah could understand. Shaun asked if she could speak English and she shook her head.
“Great!” Shaun mumbled in an irritated tone, “I thought they were all supposed to be bilingual here”
The lady at reception raised her hand and said “un moment s'il vous plait” and then picked up a phone and called someone. After about two minutes a man in a blue shirt and tie came into reception, “Sorry about that sir” the man addressed Shaun in an English accent, “But we have been short staffed and the local temping agency wasn’t able to supply and English speaking receptionist this week. How can I help you?”
“We’re here to see someone who works here who goes by the Twitter ID of Doctor H” Shaun replied
Sarah noticed the man do a slight double take in puzzlement. “I’m not sure who that might be” he told Shaun, “Are you sure they actually work here” the man went on, “If it’s this Twitter thing, they might have been having you on. Did they invite you to come here?”
“Please” Sarah interrupted in an emotional voice, “He was a contact of my brother’s” she pleaded, “This Doctor H may have been in contact with him when somebody killed him”
“We think this Doctor H may either be next or know something” Shaun took over, slightly wrong footed by Sarah’s intervention.
“Well I’m sorry about your brother Miss but even so we have no way of knowing who this Doctor H is or if they actually work here” the man insisted.
“Ok I understand that” Shaun replied, “But is there a possibility that whoever looks after the official CERN Twitter accounts may know something about this Doctor H. We wouldn’t be here if it weren’t important”
The man sighed and then said to the lady on reception, “Pouvez-vous me le département informatique, idéalement une personne qui s'occupe de nos sites internet”
The lady picked up a phone and tapped a computer screen, waited a few seconds and then passed the phone up to the man.
The man took the phone and asked into it “Est la personne qui s'occupe de tous les comptes twitter il?”
The man waited for a moment and then asked “Savez-vous quoi que ce soit sur un compte twitter pour un Médecin H?”
The man nodded replying to the voice at the end of the phone, “Donc, c'est elle alors. J'ai un couple de visiteurs d'elle de l'Angleterre”
A frown then went across his face and he turned to Sarah, “Are you Miss Sarah Bentley?” he asked.
A chill went down Sarah’s spine and her face went white.
This Doctor H knew she was coming and she had obviously walked into a trap
“Yes” she admitted meekly and then Sarah quickly pulled out her brother’s memory stick, “Please, I’ve no idea what’s on this” she pleaded, much to Shaun’s horror, “I’ve no idea what secrets you have that my brother uncovered, he never told me anything, I promise”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about?” the man said with a puzzled expression, “or what’s going on” he then went back to the phone saying into it. “Oui, c'est la jeune fille Bentley et un ami avec elle. Elle a un bâton de mémoire et de parler de son frère mort découvrir quelque chose. Qu'est-ce qui se passe?”
After a few seconds said in surprise at what he heard on the phone, “Général de brigade qui?”
The man put the phone down, “Apparently you’re expected. Someone is coming to collect you now to take you to see them” He told them, “Please wait here”
The man sighed and then spoke to Sarah, “I don’t know what you’ve heard, but we are not a secret organisation. Everything we do is published on the web. There are no secrets to hide and we certainly would not go about killing anyone”
“So why was my friend in contact with this Doctor H of yours” Shaun said accusingly, “He told Sarah here that he was onto something big and it was somehow connected to this Doctor H”
The man shook his head, “What ever it was sir, it was nothing to do with CERN. All I know is that a few years ago the person you are talking about went on a special secondment to the US as a consultant. I assumed it was on the
Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider at the
Brookhaven National Laboratory”
“That’s the American connection” Shaun commented and then asked the man, “Does this doctor H character have expertise in nuclear weapons then?”
The man briefly looked horrified, “Absolutely not, the RHIC is like us, a peaceful civilian research facility into particle physics”
Just then he was interrupted by a young woman in a similar uniform to the lady behind the desk, “I am here to escort the visitors” she said in a German accent
Nervously Sarah followed the young woman; hand in hand with Shaun as they went passed a non descript building before being invited to get into the back of an electric car. Then they were driven through the CERN complex.
Sarah looked out at all of the buildings, which looked like standard office building to her.
Was this really the home of the world famous LHC?
+ + +
A Citron car pulled up at the front gate. In it were four men. The two in the front were in civilian coats while the two men in the back seemed to be in uniforms of British commandos.
The guard left the booth, and walked up to the car. “Avez-vous un monsieur rendez-vous?” he asked
“What?” the man in the front passenger seat asked.
“He’s asking if we have an appointment Detective Inspector” the driver said with faintly disguised irritation.
“Yes that is right” the guard repeated in English, “If you are coming in by car after visiting hours you need an appointment. Do you have such an appointment?”
“Oh yeah” the man in the passenger seat replied, “I’ll just get the letter” The man in the passenger seat reached into his coat, pulled out a gun with a silencer and shot the guard dead.
“That was uncalled for” the elderly man said disapprovingly
“It gets the job done Mr Reed” the Detective Inspector retorted.
The elderly man shook his head, “Major Gee, kindly clear that mess up for our Detective Inspector friend and secure the entrance to this establishment” he said to one of the men in the back seat.
“Yes sir” one of the men replied and got out of the car.
“And be a good chap and let us through the barrier” the elderly man called out
The man known as Major Gee went into the booth. Another guard was there and had been filling in a time sheet and so had not seen his colleague go down. Major Gee made short work of him with a luger and a silencer before raising the barrier to allow the Citron to go through. As it did Major Gee saluted it.
The Citron drove up to the reception and all three men got out and walked into the reception.
The man who had spoken to Sarah and Shaun were still there and had noticed the men park just outside. “Excusez-moi vous n'êtes pas autorisés à y stationer” he told them as the men came in.
A few seconds later he was dead as the detective inspector fired two bullets into him.
The commando produced a machine pistol equipped with a special silencer and used it to take out the CCTV cameras
The lady at the reception desk saw what happened and put her hands up, “S'il vous plaît ne tirez pas, j'ai une famille” she pleaded
The elderly man put a hand up to the detective inspector and the remaining commando and walked over to the frightened lady. He smiled and then asked in perfect French where a certain young woman and a young man had been taken.
Instantly the lady at the reception desk told the elderly man exactly where the two were being taken.
The elderly man smiled and then turned to the commando, “Major Eff Deep clean her” he commanded.
Instantly the commando shot the lady dead. “Shall I take out the reception area?” he then asked the elderly man showing him the explosives he had on him.
“That won’t be necessary major” the elderly man replied, “It will attract too much attention anyway. Just find security and do a deep clean there” the elderly man quickly looked at his watch
“Yes sir” Major Eff replied and headed off.
Just then, there were the sounds of motorbikes arriving outside reception
“Right on time, it sounds like the others members of the squad have arrived in case we need to widen containment” the elderly man commented
“So can we get on with it now Mr Reed?” the detective inspector said with irritation, “and why do we need them anyway, I thought we were supposed to be being discreet” he added sarcastically.
“One good lesson the Americans taught us” the elderly man replied, “is that when you have to go into action you take with you overwhelming force”
“Won’t this extra lot attract the local boys in blue?” the Detective Inspector complained.
“No need to worry about that my dear chap” the elderly man said as a matter of fact, “Our employer will make sure we are not disturbed by the local law enforcement officers”
The elderly man’s mobile phone rang and he answered it. Listened, nodded and then closed it up. “I have further instructions from our employer” he announced
+ + +
Sarah and Shaun were lead into another non descript building along a corridor among a suite of offices until they came to one which had the name plate “Professor Charlene Henshaw Ph.D”
Was this Doctor H a She and not a He?
The young women knocked on the door and a voice called out for them to come in. The young woman opened the door and left to go back the way she came.
Sarah followed Shaun into the office. At the desk was a platinum blonde woman in her mid thirties.
“So you’re Doctor H” Shaun spoke up
“Only on Twitter” the woman at the desk retorted, “In fact I never go on it much, the account was set up because someone thought it would be a good idea after
Professor Cox set his one up.”
Suddenly from behind the door stepped the American man Sarah had run into in London, axcept this time he had a holstered side arm on him. “Miss Bentley, Mr Chapman” the American man said firmly, “I’m so glad you could make it”
“Oh S**t” Shaun yelled “it’s a trap” and grabbed Sarah’s arm and pulled her into the corridor and began to run back the way they had come
As they ran down the corridor they came across the young woman who had escorted them. She was lying dead in the middle of the floor
Over the body was that of one of the motorcycle assassins that first attacked Sarah back in Tottington.
Shaun pushed Sarah into an open doorway to protect her.
The assassin fired his gun and instantly Sarah saw Shaun go down.
He had been shot in the head between the eyes
“No!” Sarah screamed and knelt over Shaun’s lifeless body. Then she looked up at the assassin as he was standing over her. In the back of the corridor coming through the front door she thought she could see the phoney police surgeon and Detective Inspector Halsall.
Sarah looked up at the assassin as he pointed the gun pointed straight at Sarah’s head.
The assassin placed his finger on the trigger and squeezed…
To be concluded