21
The Sewer
Keith opened my door with a bang which woke me up, but he wasn’t alone, he was with three other people.
“Chris I want you to meet our head of special operations, Jill who you will bump into quite a lot I’m sure, this is Johnny who designs all our specially adapted weapons and vehicles, and this is Peter who helps Johnny. I expect you can’t wait to see Johnny’s ideas for you to try out.”
Johnny’s office had opened out like the simulator doors had done, as I was pushed into Johnny’s room I heard the doors electronically close behind me, I saw on both sides of me racks of scuba gear and dead ahead of me was a powered chair. Johnny asked me –
“Do you have one of these? Well if not you should.”
“Why?” I asked.
“Because of all the added advantages it has.” Johnny replied.
“Like what?”
“Like the removable armrests which double up as Jets, if you want we could slow the jets down, this is what both Peter and I are both particularly proud of. Keith jumped in –“We have filled up the chair up with the latest technology and a few gadgets like for example a GPS in the battery pack compartment”
“I’d need that? “ I questioned.
“Yes we’d need some way of staying in touch.” Keith replied.
“I don’t know what for? What would I have to do?”
Well the GPS does exactly what it says on the tin. It’s a global positioning system. We can either contact you or you can contact us by using the built in phone in the right control panel which is just like the left panel - you just lift up the arm cushion. Please call us if you see or hear anything suspicious because remember you’re one of us now, stay safe.”
I was feeling tired, a little moody and I was confused, because I had met another set of people and I didn’t know who to trust apart from Ben and Keith. However I couldn’t change the past, I just rolled with them.
“Alright, you couldn’t tell me where to get out without being seen could you?”
“Yes just through that door there is a monorail, you just get in the vehicle and type in the destination. However you must get in the vehicle and type the destination within a minute. The monorail travels quite fast so it’s best if you put on your seat belt.”
I followed the directions that Johnny had given me. The door I went through led me into a long room and waiting for me was a small metallic blue egg like train. I put on the belt that was provided and then I started typing where I wanted to go into the keypad. I got as far as “Bur” for Burgess Hill when the doors and windows shut spontaneously sealing me in. Then I heard a hissing sound and some sort of gas was coming out from behind my head. Thinking to myself was this a ploy and were they really who they say they are.
The next moment the train started to power up and all I could see was the dark silver of the cabin. This gave me a sense of nervousness and suspicion.
I was then awoken by the noise of the monorail slowing down. I had arrived; the sleeping gas had worked its way out my system. I pushed myself up once my vision had returned. I found the vehicle release lock for the door and I pushed the capsule door up with my feet, then I hauled my way out of the vehicle and I crawled a further couple of feet only to find that I was at the back of Burgess Hill train station. I saw the opening to some sort of shaft; I crawled into it as I was interested to see where it went. I crawled towards another mucky looking shaft; I didn’t have a torch so I had to improvise. I used my telephone’s torch system. I saw a light ahead of me, I blinked to make sure I wasn’t seeing things, however the light faded. I guessed I was in some kind of sewer. I kept on moving towards where I thought I had seen the light. Now the ground underneath me changed from damp, soggy mud to metal. I thought the shaft might lead to some kind of factory. I carried along the steel tube until I reached the end; at that point I wondered whether to continue. I looked through the vent in front of me, there was a choice of ways, I thought of resting where I was for a while but my torch on my phone was down to a slight glimmer so I decided to carry on as far as I could.
Then I heard a loud alarm go off which somehow I must have set off.
“Warning, warning there has been a code 5 in cell 9!”
I wondered if I was in some kind of prison rather than being in a factory, but why would they make it so easy to explore if it was an entrance to a prison cell? Suddenly a person rushed in wearing a gas mask holding a gun in his left hand. He shouted some sort of profanity and then he moved towards the air duct where he announced –
“I’m the Vice Chairman of the Burgess Hill MI5, how the heck did you get in here, who the devil are you?
and how old are you?” he asked.
My original thoughts were dead wrong about what this place was.
I just ignored him. I didn’t know what to do, I crawled further towards the edge of the vent, as soon as he saw what I had in mind he rushed over and helped me down from the ventilation system. He then brought a stool which had been close by and sat me down.
“We won’t do anything to you tonight, now answer the questions young man?”
“my name is Chris Manson and
I’m 12.” I replied.
“Just Chris will be fine, my name is Bill.” he said. Bill was about seven foot with a bald head and looked like he could knock someone out with one punch.
I spent the night in a vibrant green room and there was a table opposite the bed with a jug of water on. I wasn’t thirsty until the morning so I was grateful for the water then and I drank about a quarter of the jug. Bill came in with Keith swiftly following behind him. Keith sat on my right and Bill was standing in front of the table in front of my bed.
“Right Chris we’ve found something for you to do for us. We would like you to spy on your friend Alex C because we believe someone in his family is planning with Harry Howler a national disaster. Something to do with banks and a bomb?”
“Alright, but what’s in it for me?”
“Well you may meet the Queen and you might get paid.”
“Alright then arrange a date.” I replied.