=10:29 hrs=
Frank Booker sighed as he read the report lying on his desk, his pudgy finger running down the pages picking out the relevant details. He fidgeted in his seat, not really believing his Director of Research would have had the audacity to turn in such a negative piece of work.
“God damned woman,” he muttered, flicking over another page, scanning it with his steel-blue eyes while wiping his forehead with a man-size tissue. Booker was running to fat and tended to sweat in the enclosed glass cage that was his office.
As he read, Booker tapped a pen on the desktop, his small, almost feminine mouth - framed by ruddy jowls - pursed in concentration. He cursed again, wondering how he had ever employed such an unsophisticated scientist in the first place. A doctor she might be but one with little imagination about positing a resolution. If Booker’s army career had taught him nothing else it had made him realise that fortitude made the man.
Booker’s favourite lament when drinking his evening port at the Duck and Drake was the way that the youth of today expected everything to be handed to them on a silver plate.
“Where is the effort, the drive,” he’d ask anyone willing to listen.
Booker slammed the report shut and removed his glasses, rubbing the bridge of his nose with a forefinger and thumb. Leaning back in his chair, he swung it around to face the huge picture window behind him, staring across the grounds of the facility he’d managed for the past six years.
The sun was high, glinting from the razor-wire atop a high electrified fence paralleling Military Road. The name always brought a smile to Booker’s lips, reminding him of better times. Military Road ran south-east along the Isle of Wight’s coast line, winding its way through scattered villages. It was a pleasant walk at this time of year but one Booker hadn’t been able to take for some months. The project was burying him under complexities that should have been resolved by his staff.
What the hell was he paying them for, he wondered.
Closing his eyes, he pictured his golden retirement fund disappearing because some stupid bitch couldn’t do her job properly. Breathing deeply he watched two gulls skimming low over the sea, trying to calm himself.
The facility he administered, designated Area 7 by the authorities, but known by the staff as ‘The Camp’, had been set up in the late 1990s to research pharmaceutical methods of improving warfare. Booker was offered the post of Director General after he’d retired from the forces. Sir Craig Holland, an old army comrade, had put forward his name, smoothing the way by reaching out to the numerous government contacts he’d built up over the years. It was the loyalty shown to him by Sir Craig that had carried Booker through his initial doubts about the latest project that they were researching.
The Aggression Stimulation Project, or AspByte as it was quickly christened, had raised some serious doubts in Booker’s mind, but Sir Craig had visited Area 7 personally, explaining how important the Government considered the project to be.
Sir Craig was Chairman of Biosphere Cojoin Ltd, a company supplying drugs to the armed forces. He had assured Booker that there was no conflict of interests in this latest undertaking and Booker had taken his word on the matter - after all the man was a retired General, a member of COBRA, and Military Advisor to the Prime Minister.
Sir Craig explained that the Aggression Stimulation Project was being set up by the army to explore the feasibility of producing a drug capable of raising aggression levels in their troops, going on to tell him that Human Rights issues were chipping away at their success rates in such places as Afghanistan - a theatre where the enemy had no such considerations to worry about. And Booker had to admit that after reading media reports of families lining up to sue the government for not supplying proper equipment to its soldiers, he could understand that point of view.
While Sir Craig continued his inspection of the facility, he expanded on the army’s aim of forming a small, select fighting unit within the Gurkha Regiment. These soldiers, treated with the new drug, would form a compact fighting force that would terrorise any enemy into submission. Despite Sir Craig’s gushing enthusiasm, Booker had a difficult time coming to terms with the doubts forming in his mind.
Bringing his thoughts to the matter at hand, Booker turned back to his desk, dropping the report into his top drawer. Walking to a filing cabinet across the office, he pulled a keyring from his pocket, sorting through it, trying a couple in the lock before finding the right one.
Returning to his desk he sat down, dropping the file he’d taken from the drawer in front of him with little enthusiasm. The AspByte file was thick and Booker spread it open on his desk, wiping his forehead as he searched for any clues as to what pressure he might bring to bear.
The file indicated that the early research had gone well, the subjects - initially rats but later cats - displaying an awesome aggression, attacking their handlers at every opportunity - but the project had stalled. The problem facing the team now was finding a method of controlling the aggression. Something they hadn’t yet accomplished.
Dr Sheena Mckenzie, Booker’s flame-haired Director of Research had even tried advanced viral techniques but to no avail. Now she was convinced that it couldn’t be done, recommending that he close the project down.
Booker didn’t accept her analysis, feeling nothing but contempt for somebody who gave up so easily. If it couldn’t be done one way, they would find an alternative. They had to, a lot of money, and his own future was tied up in this project. She just needed the right motivation and it was up to him to find it. He continued reading her file, pouring over every little detail.
Some time later Booker closed the file and picked up the phone, punching out a number, tapping the file with his fingertips while he waited for it to connect. The problem needed dealing with quickly, he couldn’t afford these doubts about the success of AspByte getting farther up the line.
Booker’s thoughts were interrupted and he scowled at the desktop. “Oh yes. Is that you Dr Vasant? Yes, good, listen. I’ve got this report in front of me from Dr Mckenzie recommending that the project be terminated. Can you explain what the hell’s been going on over there for the past eighteen months? I was given to understand from your reports that it was on schedule.”
Booker listened to the deep voice issuing from the handset, muttering a few, ah ha’s and yes I see’s while the Head of Research for the AspByte Project, Dr Mani Vasant, gave his excuses and recommendations.
Booker cut him short. “Well Dr Vasant, thank you very much. That’s very interesting. I’ll call you again later, after I’ve had a word with Dr Mckenzie.”
Booker replaced the telephone in its cradle, a thoughtful expression on his face. He hadn’t said goodbye to Vasant, but then he never did engage in social niceties with his staff, not seeing the need to.
Gazing at the ceiling, he considered what he’d just been told, then buzzed through to his secretary, ordering a cup of tea before sitting back in his chair to mull things over.
If Dr Vasant was right, then the project could be pushed ahead with just a few months delay. Nodding, he wiped the back of his neck. He could deal with that. Sir Craig knew, as well as anybody, that such research never went smoothly or quickly. Digging in his desk drawer Booker got out his dicta-phone. He’d better get an alternative report drafted for McKenzie to sign straight away, time was of the essence.
Feeling pleased with himself, Booker clicked the machine on. “Report to Sir Craig Holland,” he began to dictate. “Use the crested paper and head it ‘COBRA Eyes Only’.
The office door opened and a well dressed woman walked in, placing a china teacup and saucer on his desk. Turning to leave, the secretary’s eyebrows rose when she heard a muttered, “Thank you Sheila.”
My, the old man must be in a good mood today, she thought. Wonder whose head is on the chopping block this time.
Booker picked up the telephone again and punched out another number.
=14:15 hrs=
Sheena Mckenzie gazed from her office window, blue eyes reflecting the bright sunlight. She hated the high chain-link fence surrounding her working world, The gate security and the identification cards they all had to wear made Area 7 seem more like a prison at times. It stifled her creativeness, chipped away at the confidence that had allowed her to realise her dream of becoming the Director of such a prestigious government facility in the first place.
That is if her latest report hadn’t put paid to that particular little dream, she thought, staring through the window with a troubled frown creasing her forehead.
Sheena had grown up in a small village on the east coast of the Scottish Highlands, her early childhood spent roaming the fields surrounding her parent’s smallholding. She would often come back from her wanderings clutching a glass jar containing some insect or small creature she’d found, and when she got home she would always run to her father to ask him what it might be.
He always gave her the same answer, “I don’t know Sheena boy, but if you leave it in the shed, when I’ve finished work we’ll find out together.”
And they always had, delving into her father’s many books - a large eclectic collection that he’d built up over the years.
Although he worked on a small-holding, hard physical work, her father always found time for Sheena, sometimes accompanying her on her searches for new creatures. He fancied himself as something of an amateur naturalist and his bubbling enthusiasm had rubbed off on her at an early age. She still remembered his crinkly, sunburnt face and the smell of stale smoke that always hung about him, with fond memories.
Although poor, Sheena’s family had unlimited pride and enthusiasm in their daughter’s abilities, supporting her throughout her studies at university; her mother even taking on an extra job to help supplement the meagre grant. Sheena had studied hard, gaining a doctorate in virology - a subject that had fascinated her since secondary school - only to join the ranks of the great unemployed who swelled the Job Centres after the bank meltdowns of 2010. Sheena spent the next two years helping out on the family small-holding, convinced that her education had been an utter waste of time.
It had been an accidental meeting with her old university supervisor during a family trip to Edinburgh that had led to her applying for the Directorship of Area 7 - a name that always brought dark thoughts of conspiracy theories to her mind. No-one had been more surprised than her when a letter dropped through the front door late one afternoon offering her the position, and would she start straight away. Her mother and father had been ecstatic, even taking her to the small local hotel where they had a celebration dinner, telling anyone who would listen how intelligent their daughter was.
Sheena was standing in front of her office window, hands on hips, studying her reflection, a soft smile spread on her face at the memories. At five-seven and nine stones, Sheena was what she liked to think of as curvaceous. Waves of red hair framed a pale, round face, highlighting wide blue eyes, a stub nose and full lips. She didn’t consider herself beautiful, but knew a lot of guys - especially Gary Knowles, the laboratory technician working in the animal house - found her bright hair and soft Scottish burr attractive. The thought brought a slight flush to her face and her smile grew wider. Gary had asked her out for a drink on more than one occasion and they’d had one date but so far nothing serious had come of it.
Jumping when the telephone cut across her thoughts, Sheena turned from the window and crossed to her desk. Her office was fairly large, with sparse furnishings; a modern glass desk on which sat a telephone and a large flat-screened monitor, a low coffee table set between two comfortable three-seater settees for visitors, and three grey coloured filing cabinets which sat against the door wall. No pictures, no certificates, nothing to give a hint of who used the office. Her desk was clear of paperwork. Sheena had always been a clear-desk person, hating the papers and personal stuff some people cluttered their workspace with.
Picking up the telephone, Sheena’s forehead creased when she heard Booker’s voice. She’d never got on with Frank Booker, disliking his attitude to the staff at Area 7, women in particular. She sometimes wondered why he’d employed her in the first place. Listening to him speaking she could almost smell the faint odour of sweat that always hung about him.
“Dr Mckenzie, I want to see you in my office at three-thirty. We need to discuss your report.”
Before she could reply with a, “Yes sir! Thank you sir!” or an, “Up yours sir!” Booker had rung off.
Sheena couldn’t remember having met such an arrogant man before joining Area 7. Running her hands through her hair, she checked her watch. Two-fifteen. Settling down at her desk, she opened a drawer and pulled out a copy of her report. Knowing her superior as she did, it would pay dividends to memorise every comma and dot in it. He had a mind like a steel trap and he used it to great effect.
Seventy-five minutes later Sheena was standing outside Frank Booker’s office, waiting for him to acknowledge her knock. Unlike herself, he always had his door firmly closed and appeared to take great delight in keeping his visitors waiting. Finally she heard a gruff voice from behind the thick wooden panel, and assuming that he’d invited her in, pushed it open.
“You wanted to see me,” Sheena said.
“Ah yes, come in. Sit down.”
Sheena crossed to a low seat in front of the desk and sat. Booker stared down at her with hooded eyes, bringing a picture of a large toad eyeing up some unfortunate insect to her mind. Pushing the image aside she waited, her face devoid of expression.
Holding up a folder Booker shook it, a tight smile on his face. “I’ve read your report and talked to Dr Vasant.” Sheena started to reply but he cut across her. “I think you need to explore your options a little further Dr Mckenzie. Both Dr Vasant and I agree that there are other options here that should be considered.”
Sheena felt her temper rising, struggling to stop the red flush that she knew must be growing on her face.
“Oh? Such as?” she managed in a neutral tone.
Booker leant forward, his voice patronising. “Well, Dr Vasant thinks that a change in the type of subject, something nearer to the physicality of humans for instance, is an avenue that should be explored, and is one that you have not looked at in any depth.”
He sat back, hands folded across his stomach, a self-satisfied expression spread across his face that implied he’d won some sort of unspoken argument.
For a few moments Sheena was at a loss but then shrugged, emphasising her words carefully.
“Dr Vasant is not the Director here Mr Booker. Neither is he a virologist.”
Booker held up a placatory hand and smiled across at her.
“I’m well aware of Dr Vasant’s position and qualifications Dr Mckenzie,” he said. “But he is in charge of research on this particular project.”
Sheena heard her voice slip into a deeper Scottish accent, something that only happened when she got defensive.
“He may well be Mr Booker, but the fact remains that I am the Director and in my opinion this project should be closed down. If you read Section 14 of my report you’ll see that these animals have shown an extremely dangerous amount of uncontrollable aggression. In fact it has grown exponentially since the third trial began in January. We’ve tried every approach to control the response, with no success. And we still haven't overcome the problem regarding the subjects showing mental instability after four weeks of treatment.”
Sheena took a breath, trying to control the tremble that had entered her voice. This man always ended up infuriating her. He was so pig-headed. She laced her fingers, wishing that the Director General was a person that one could engage in debate, instead of somebody who refused to see reason.
“I know Mani . . . Dr Vasant,” Sheena corrected herself, remembering how much of a stickler for titles Booker was, “thinks that using our TRC inoculation on pigs might help us to overcome the difficulties we’re experiencing.” She waited a beat, watching Booker nod his head in agreement. “But I must strongly disa . . .”
“Have you tried it?” Booker interrupted, leaning forward.
“Of course not. I’ve explained in my report why it would make no difference. Besides which, porcine subjects displaying that amount of aggression would be impossible to handle.”
Booker looked down at the report, opening it with an impatient flick, turning pages quickly. With a grunt he stopped, running the nail of his forefinger down the page until he reached the section he was seeking. “It states here that, in your opinion,” he glanced up at her with a dismissive twitch of his lips, then continued, “changing the experimental subject to a pig will make no significant difference to the outcome of the results gained. Is that correct?”
Sheena nodded silently, not trusting herself to speak.
“The use of the word significant interests me Dr Mckenzie.”
Sheena faltered under his stare. “Well . . . it’s . . .” Licking her lips, she tried again. “Look, we all know that one can’t be one hundred percent certain about anything regarding experiments such as these. It’s new territory, especially the use of a joint dual-yCRO DNA and testosterone approach. But this I am certain of . . .” Sheena placed both her hands on his desk and stood up, leaning forward so that she was standing over him. “What we’re undertaking here is far too dangerous Mr Booker and now is the time to call a halt.”
Sheena was angry, breathing hard, and suddenly realised that Booker was staring at her chest. The bastard was enjoying this, she realised.
Stepping back from his desk, she gathered herself and managed to smile back down at him. “Will there be anything else Mr Booker?”
“Yes Dr Mckenzie, there will. You will restart the experiment using pigs as the main test subjects. I’ll have the maintenance department make up some special restraints for handling the animals. If you wish you may put your reservations in writing to me and I’ll send them on to the appropriate person. Dr Vasant is waiting for you in the lab to discuss the various options open to us in using this new approach, so I would appreciate it if you would see him immediately you leave here. In the meantime I’ll write a holding report explaining your concerns and the actions we are taking.” Booker nodded his dismissal, the corners of his lips turned upwards in a tight smile. “That will be all thank you doctor.”
Sheena hurried from the Director General’s office, denied even the satisfaction of banging the door behind her because it was fitted with a soft-closer. She rushed down the corridor to her own office, her heels sounding angry clacks on the tiled floor.
A short while later the loud crash of a slammed door echoed back down the corridor.
=17:04 hrs=
Gary Knowles laid out twelve Phenobarbital filled syringes, trying to ignore the heavy gloominess that had settled over the lab since Dr Vasant had instructed him to put down all the cats being sent over from the AspByte project. This was the part of the job that Gary really hated - still it had to be done and done humanely.
Gary searched through his clothes, locating his identity card in the back pocket of his jeans. It was bent, the plastic covering curled away from one corner. Like all things Gary owned, the identity card was well past its sell-by date. A girlfriend he’d once taken back to his flat had walked out in disgust at the state it was in; unwashed dishes in the sink, clothes piled everywhere, a big dirty ring around the bathtub. Gary couldn’t understand why she’d been so fussy, he’d only cleaned the flat a couple of months earlier and the bed sheets the week before that.
Placing his identity card on the work bench, he rummaged around in a drawer, taking out a small tube of superglue. The tip of his tongue protruding from the corner of his mouth in concentration, Gary carefully glued the errant plastic back in place. Then moving across to a steel cabinet, he slid the card through a reader on the door, hearing the soft click of the lock disengaging.
Reaching into the cabinet, Gary lifted out a black plastic box, laying it on the workbench, flicking up the two catches that secured the lid. Inside the box was an anaesthetising dart gun. Checking the weight chart stuck to the inside of the lid, he plucked out twelve coloured darts from the soft foam lining. Supplies were getting low, he needed to order some more. Scribbling himself a reminder on a yellow Stick-it note, he attached it to the side of his computer monitor, where it was instantly lost among the twenty or so others already there.
Placing the dart gun and darts beside the syringes, Gary added the log book that he was required to complete after he’d euthanised the animals. He checked everything once again and nodded.
Yes it was all ready. Now, he told himself, he could take a break before the animals arrived.
Picking up a pair of tongs, Gary removed a beaker of boiling water from a nearby Bunsen burner, pouring the contents into a mug containing the makings of a coffee. Then settling himself on his high stool he picked up The Sun newspaper and turned his attention to the sports page. But no sooner had he taken a sip of his coffee than the two rubber doors leading into the lab slammed open as a powerful looking black man pushed a large trolley through them. The doors swung back and forth behind him with a decreasing clack-clack until they came to a rest. Gary sighed, putting down his mug, folding his newspaper, knowing that this was the end of his short-lived coffee break.
The newcomer gave Gary a big smile, picked up the mug and took a gulp of coffee. “Thanks mate, that’s just what I needed after fighting these little bastards.” Digging out a thick leather glove from his lab coat, he tossed it to Gary, “Take a gander at that my friend and let your eyes widen in awe.”
Holding up the glove, Gary saw that it had been ripped across the palm and was stained with blood.
“Little fucker got me through the top of the cage when I was loading them on the trolley, nearly took my bloody hand off.”
Gary glanced at the untidy bandage wrapped around Rudy’s hand, shaking his head. “Should take a bit more care with these animals Rudy. You had it looked at yet?”
“Yeah mate. Went to the First Aider. You know, that little blond what works in the canteen? Anyway she had a gander and reckoned I should see the doc, especially as I didn’t know what the cats was being used for. Doc Vasant gave me some injection or other, just in case.”
Gary walked over to the trolley and pulled free the thick sheeting covering the cages. The animals hissed at him, ears flatten back against their heads, yellow slit-eyes following his every movement.
As Gary walked around the trolley the cats stalked him, slinking low, claws extended, lips pulled back over sharp teeth, mirroring his movements.
Gary frowned at Rudy across the top of the cages, his voice indignant. “What the hell have they been doing over there? I know Doc Vasant said they’d need knocking out before de-caging but this is bloody ridiculous.” Gary stepped back as a paw reached out of a cage, snagging his lab coat.
Rudy shrugged. “Don’t know mate but whatever it is, remind me not to get caught in a cage with one of them horrors anytime too soon.”
Finishing Gary’s coffee in a noisy slurp, Rudy made for the doors, taking the mug with him.
“Oy!” Gary shouted, just managing to catch the mug as it came flying back through the air at him.
Chuckling to himself as Rudy’s deep laughter faded away down the corridor, Gary shook his head. Putting the mug next to the other four dirty ones already on the worktop, he promised himself a break as soon as he’d taken care of the first few cats.
Pulling on a pair of thick gloves which had small metal inserts sewn into the palms and back and protective tubes in the fingers, Gary picked up the first cage, putting it on the worktop, careful to keep his body out of reach of the sharp claws dabbing the wire bars at him.
Fetching the dart-gun, he loaded it, inserting a small compressed air canister into the end of the butt. Then turning to the cage, he studied the cat inside. It stared back at him with such malice that he recoiled. Feeling a dampness break out on the palms of his hands, Gary shuddered at the thought of what might happen should the animals get loose.
Gary turned the cage around, trying to find the best position to shoot the cat, but it moved with the cage to stay facing him, glaring at him with intelligent eyes. If he hadn’t known any better, Gary would have sworn that the animal knew what was about to happen to it. The cat mewled softly, then gave a long hiss.
Taking careful aim, Gary stayed facing the animal, holding the gun around the side of the cage so that he could shoot it in the meaty part of the hind leg. It stood quite still, fur raised along its spine, eyes fixed on him, as though it were trying to memorise every detail of his face. They stood that way for perhaps a minute, then the cat’s eyes lost focus and it collapsed.
At once the lab was filled with a loud wailing as the other cats began attacking the sides of their cages. For one terrible moment Gary thought that they might bite their way free. Alarmed, he picked up another dart, quickly thrusting it into the gun but as suddenly as they had started the cats fell silent again.
Wiping the sweat from his forehead with the sleeve of his lab coat, Gary took a shuddering breath. He’d never experienced anything like this before and it deeply disturbed him. With trembling fingers he placed the dart gun on the worktop and cracked opened the cage door.
Reaching inside he poked the prone cat. It stirred, causing a shot of adrenaline to flood through Gary’s body. He gasped, wrenching his hand from the cage, his elbow striking the coffee mugs, dashing them to the floor with the crash of smashing china.
Swearing under his breath Gary slammed the cage door shut and went off in search of a dustpan and brush. Having cleaned up the mess, he reopened the cage and reached in, pulling the anaesthetised cat out onto the bench, praying that he hadn’t left it too long.
Quickly shaving a patch of fur from the cat’s foreleg he inserted the syringe into a vein, pushing the plunger home, watching the clear fluid disappear. Pulling the syringe clear, he dropped it into a Sticks Box and sighed, glad that the first cat had been successfully euthanised.
As he turned back to the bench the cat’s eyes flicked open and it began scrabbling at the worktop, trying to stand. Gary hurriedly backed off, eyes wide with surprise, heart thumping in his chest. Then the cat’s head began to droop and it finally collapsed back onto its side, giving one last drawn-out mewl before laying still. Using a stethoscope Gary tentatively checked the cat’s heart, relieved to find that it was dead. Taking a moment to let his own heart rate slow, Gary licked dry lips.
“One down, eleven to go,” he muttered.
Working efficiently and quickly, Gary repeated the process on the remaining animals. They had quietened down now, as though accepting their fate, which Gary knew was ridiculous. No animals apart from humans had any sense of their own impending death.
Gary had reached the penultimate cage when he felt his mobile vibrating against his thigh. Pulling it from his jean’s, he flipped it open, holding it to his ear.
“That damned man is going to drive me crazy!”
Gary checked the caller ID with a frown. He’d never heard Sheena swear before and wasn’t sure that it was actually her calling.
“What’s up Sheena? You okay?”
“Not really Gary. Right now I could spit feathers.”
Gary glanced at his watch with the feeling that this was going to be a long, cathartic call. He needed to get this job finished, he was already way past the time when he should have left.
He should cut the call short of course, but if he listened sympathetically perhaps he could persuade Sheena to come out for a drink with him. Catching his mobile between cheek and shoulder, Gary made placatory noises as he continued working.
Sheena carried on a tirade about the things she would like to do to Frank Booker in one ear, while the cats wailed and hissed at him in the other, and he began to wonder what he’d done to deserve such venom being thrown at him from all directions at once.
“Shit!”
The phone slipped from his shoulder and Gary made a grab for it, dropping the cage he’d just picked up. The cage crashed to the floor on one corner, bursting the door open. The large male was out in a flash, jumping up onto the worktop, upending vials and glass containers as it ran from one end of the long bench to the other.
Gary’s mobile dropped to the floor and he could hear Sheena’s voice calling, asking him what was going on.
The cat turned, its attention on the tinny voice, almost as though it recognised who was speaking. Running back along the worktop it launched itself at the mobile, knocking over a Bunsen burner as it leaped to the floor.
The Bunsen burner landed on Gary’s discarded newspaper which caught fire, igniting some spilt ethanol. The top of the workbench broke into a sheet of flames. Backing away, Gary looked around for the fire extinguisher. Hearing a low growl from behind, he glanced back at the cat, eyes widening in disbelief. The cat had somehow managed to mangle its way through his mobile, which now lay in pieces at its feet.
As the flames shot higher, licking the cei