Monthly Archives: March 2021

©GeraldineBanks2020

Sandy’s documentary was nominated for two Industry Awards. She had invites to many functions and requests for interviews which seriously ate into the time that she wanted to spend with her children never mind the time that she wanted to spend to help Alex.

The main Award Ceremony was in September which she and her now hand picked team would be attending. Gerry told her that he had invited Allenby and that Allenby had accepted. Indeed Allenby in his role of Top Scientific Guru, had been asked to present a prize in a Science Category. Either way they were bound to bump into each other. Until then Sandy was determined to spend quality time with her twins and where possible cut back on engagements.

On one fine Spring day, she had managed to find the time to take the twins to the local Park for a Picnic, the weather promised to be kind, glorious sunshine and warm. Martin unusually was working away and Sandy was pleased to have the twins to herself.

As Sandy began laying the Picnic Blanket on the ground and placing the food on plates while the twins ran off towards the children’s play area. Sandy sensed someone was behind her, as she turned around , she saw it was Maria.

“Hi Sandy, do you mind if I join you , she sat down.”

Maria stretched the rug out a little more and took a seat as she watched Sandy prepare the food for the picnic. The twins noticed the strange woman and ran back to see who it was. Sandy was at first annoyed, but when she saw the way Maria made a fuss of the two children, she thought better of it and decided it was just like an old friend joining her on an outing with her children. They all picked at the food and the children were again enticed away to play on the swings and slide.

“You have a lot going on at the moment , don’t you?” Maria asked as she drank a little orange juice from a beaker.

“You can say that again, too much, I’m finding it hard to focus. I’m not sure anyone or anything is getting my best. I’m spread a little thin at the moment.” Sandy plucked at some grass beside the end of the Picnic Rug and threw it in the air, she continued.

” I hate all this fuss about the documentary, seems like everyone has their opinion and wants me to talk to them about it. Mostly wasting my time. All I want to do is help Alex. He’ll die if I don’t do something won’t he? ” Sandy looked towards the twins playing on the swings and said

” All I want is to see him being a child , doing the things other children do.”

“I’m sorry, Sandy, for all I know Alex may not be alive, I haven’t heard anything for quite a while. It seems that you were right about Allenby, his people are getting a lot closer to us. Our communications are getting tighter and tighter, we are not sure who we can trust anymore. All I have been told is to ask you again to visit Allenby’s Science Park Facility , as soon as possible . I need you to do that.”

Sandy was about to remonstrate with Maria, but suddenly without warning Maria was grabbed from behind by two men who Sandy hadn’t even see approaching. Each man held an arm and they forcefully lifted her off the picnic mat , like a rag doll.

“Maria Seccoy, you are under arrest for violating parole conditions, please come with us now, please don’t make a scene.”

Maria began to struggle.

“Get off me you goons” She cried.

The men’s grip was however too firm and they began to manhandle her away from the site of the picnic.

Sandy watched in horror as Maria was taken away. It all happened so fast that she had no time to do anything. As she watched Maria disappear , suddenly the twins ran up to her.

“Mummy, what has happened to that nice lady.”

“Oh , she had to go home and see someone.”

” But those men…mummy”.

“What men ?”

“The men that were holding on to her , she didn’t look very happy.”

” Oh I don’t know, they just said they had to take her home. I’m sure it’s alright , she’ll be fine. Let’s pack up and go home. We can tell Daddy all about it. ” As she packed her things up, Sandy felt a shiver down her spine.

When she arrived back home with the twins, Sandy was relieved that Martin was there. Sandy didn’t need to explain much about what had happened to Maria , because it was all the twins could talk about. Sandy made her excuses and went upstairs to lie on the bed , she was feeling fearful as if the World was closing down on her. Martin listened to the twins and eventually settled them down in the living room and went upstairs to speak to Sandy.

“They took her , I mean how much do they know. Will they come here?” Sandy pleaded with Martin, her eyes red and glistening with tears. Martin handed her a tissue and she blew her nose.

“Well if they’ve been following Maria, they know she’s been here. Seems odd though that they’d arrest her in the middle of a Park while she was with you, particularly for a Parole Violation. Sounds like a set up to me. They wanted you to know she’d been taken away or captured whatever you want to call it. It could be just for show by her own side. “

Sandy looked up at Martin who continued talking.

“It could be the case, it’s now life or death for the people involved as you’ve seen, but you are in such a high-profile position with your documentary, they cannot touch you. You are the darling PR lady. They need you to spread the message and make it palatable. Maria may have been followed but no one really knows what she wanted to talk to you about. Do they?”

“Well no, those men , it was just Maria, they didn’t ask me anything?”

“It’s definitely a back-burner situation, we don’t know which side those men were on or how much they know about what Maria was involved in . I’ve got something important to discuss, do you fancy a bite to eat downstairs?”

” Yes, I do , just give me a few minutes and I’ll freshen up in the bathroom, I’ll be down in a minute.” Sandy felt a lot better, she was not frightened anymore and was intrigued with what Martin wanted to tell her.

As they sat down in the kitchen and began to eat . Martin said.

” I’ve had a look at the boxes that Maria delivered, it’s some very nice kit. I think you need to go back and gather more evidence. I think you and I can do it.”

” What do you mean , you and I? I can hardly bring you with me.”

“Well perhaps you can. I’m an expert in South American Archaeology. I’ve just published a Paper on Aztec Gene Profiling, mind blowing really , but we’ve been profiling Ancient remains and it really has thrown up some interesting data. Some of which, and you won’t believe this The Vatican are interested in. South America , being mainly Catholic still has not taken kindly to Allenby’s Policies, but more importantly , Gerry has suggested to Allenby that I detail my work to him in the hope that they can persuade the Vatican not to be quite so active in lobbying their views to the Governments within the Americas.”

“You’ve been talking to Gerry behind my back.” Sandy looked crossly at Martin.

” Well I thought he’d told you, I mean it’s pretty mundane really, the Paper, and everything.”

Sandy laughed!” Well , I mean who can I trust anymore, not even my own husband! No I’m bloody delighted, you and I can visit Allenby and take this whole thing apart, that’s what you’re saying isn’t it?”

” Well , that is actually the plan.”

She reached over to Martin and gave him a hug.

“Martin, that’s brilliant news, I didn’t want to go back there by myself. I had made up my mind I would return. I think it will be very dangerous but I don’t think Alex will survive if we don’t do something soon. Does this mean that you trust Gerry?”

“I don’t think Trust is the word. It’s damage limitation , Sandy” he put his hand to her cheek.” I think Gerry is right though, the South American Gene Profiling really is relevant. There’s a strong lobby also from the Right Wingers for purity in the race, they want to remove the European Spanish Heritage. Potentially it’s a time bomb. You’ve got the Church on one side and Dictators on the other and my evidence putting a spanner in the whole works.” Martin smiled.

” You always were a trouble maker. Where will it end? Remove History, Change History or Cleanse History.” Sandy dipped her fork and played with some peas on her plate.

” Cleanse is a good word. The Catholics are against the whole thing and there could be one gigantic blood bath. I suspect that is what Allenby wants.

“Heaven help us , this is a real nightmare.” One of the peas flew across the table onto the floor.

Later that month it was announced that Sandy and her Crew had won the Best Documentary Award and Best Investigative Reporting at the Award Ceremony in September. It had proved easy to add Martin to her existing team. There was the usual gossip about nepotism, which Sandy thought quite hypocritical; as before she had been judged as highly sexed and working her way through the Executive Board. Now she was helping her husband. She just couldn’t win.

She had overheard a conversation in the Ladies Toilet between two make- up assistants, they were scandalised by her open relationship with Gerry and her promotion of her own “cuckold ” husband onto her show. In the past , Sandy would have confronted both the women and given them a piece of her mind. However, she knew it wasn’t important what they thought and in fact it was very good cover. She decided to let it roll, let them believe what they wanted to believe, she had more important things on her mind.

Allenby was unable to attend the Award Ceremony and had sent his apologies. However, he had suggested that a more in depth documentary be made now with cameras and a full crew. Sandy was invited back to his facility with her crew in what was going to be a two to three week project.

©GeraldineBanks2020

Sandy’s Documentary was given a prime-time spot on a popular Government Network. The figures that came through were significant and were an excellent demographic. The Documentary had caused a furore of discussion in the Media about three “High Profile” Cure cases which had been included in the documentary, and had led to questions in the English Parliament about Policy towards medically challenged children curiously there was no mention of hereditary causes.

Sandy had never before had a reason to question how serious debate over issues was glossed over. Her final analysis of what had been said was that the Parliamentary Questions were deliberately sterile. Her documentary in the guise of promoting Allenby’s “solution” raised some serious questions about the origins of these conditions and their subsequent “Miracle Cures”. They were simply ignored or not addressed. The overall opinion was how wonderful Medical Science was and how it should be lauded and applauded.

Sandy’s main concern though was she had not received any texts on her and Martin’s secret mobile for a number of months. She checked every night and had been disappointed. There was no news about Alex and his condition.

Thankfully the night after the Broadcast ,they received a text . Sandy was to place an order with a Computer Equipment manufacturer who would make a delivery to her house. Dutifully Sandy placed the order and the next day the delivery arrived. Maria was the delivery driver, as she explained later, an excellent cover as her work record showed her as a self-employed courier driver. She could work for a number of Companies and deliver across a large Geographic Area without gaining attention. It was working well.

Martin helped Maria unload the boxed equipment and once inside the front door Maria put the boxes down and hugged Sandy. Sandy sensed something was wrong. Maria seemed quiet. After the initial greetings and the offer to sit down Maria quietly said.

” I thought your programme was wonderful. I could read between the lines. Allenby must think you are in his pocket.” Maria looked Sandy in the eye.

” I suppose he must, that was the intention.” Sandy replied.

Martin felt uneasy at the mention of Allenby and moved away to make some drinks for everyone. After a few moments they all sat down at the kitchen table, mugs in hand.

Sandy continued. ” I had to promote Allenby, it’s what he wants, I suppose it’s the next phase of his project, at the same time I hope that it would get people thinking. We’re being led down a very nasty path , there is no discussion or debate. It simply is not allowed. Our eyes have been closed and hence it’s come to this. What’s in the boxes Maria? Have you any news about Alex?”

Maria stood up and began to open them, she did not say anything at first.

” Alex is not a very well , we have had to move him a number of times and I think it has taken it’s toll. I have a letter from him for you and if you want I can take something to give to him from you.” As she opened one box , she took out a letter from among the electronic equipment inside.

Sandy reached out to take the letter and recognised Alex’s child like scrawl. Unlike his previous letter, this one was only one page and on one side and she couldn’t quite read all the words, Alex had obviously struggled writing it. It was still precious. She handed it to Martin who also read it, he also began to survey the electronic paraphernalia on the table.

” Alex’s condition is deteriorating isn’t it?” Martin said to Maria as he picked up one or two items from the table.

” We are doing our best. Sandy’s work has raised moral throughout our organisation, she did an excellent job. We will not stop fighting people like Allenby.” Maria looked up at both of them.

” How is the Organisation doing? According to Allenby it’s very close to being unravelled. Is that true?” Sandy pushed her hair away from her forehead as she looked at Maria for an answer.

“Really?” Maria looked at Sandy.” That is what he thinks, well that’s good if he does. I can’t be certain, we all work on a need to know basis, but there will always be resistance as long as there are people and children to protect.”

“Allenby is killing people, I saw a nurse she was given a cocktail of drugs so she would tell them what she knew, whatever they gave her , she never recovered. She died right in front of me. Allenby watched, he said it was necessary.” Sandy looked at Maria.

” Did you see Dr King?” Maria had a priority and the death of the Nurse was not her concern.

” Yes, I saw him, he was at Allenby’s Science Park and he had been through some sort of interrogation before the Nurse, they were taking him to the recovery room, I expect he is dead now , just like the Nurse.” Sandy answered feeling very depressed.

” I hope not, he was making such inroads and treating so many conditions, he was our best Specialist. It’s why I came to see you. We need to get him back, it’s the only chance we have for a lot of our children. Our treatment success rates have declined . Now we know that he is there, we must try and get him back. We need you to go back to the Science Park and find out if he’s still alive and if we can get him out of there. It’s ours and Alex’s only hope.”

Martin interrupted ” No it’s too dangerous ”

Sandy burst into tears. Maria continued ” We need to try.”

Maria was a zealot .The loss of her own child had made her very focused. It was her life, working to stop the gene pool cleansing projects. She waited while Martin hugged Sandy and comforted her. Maria put her hand on Sandy’s hand. Martin looked at Maria suspiciously , he knew Maria was not going to give in.

“Look Maria, you need to give us some time, we’ve got the twins, Sandy needs to be there for them too, you are asking too much.” Martin pleaded with Maria as he held Sandy.

Sandy howled like a wild animal, she was getting torn in so many directions and she felt she could no longer cope. The twins had almost forgotten what it was like to have a bedtime story read to them by their mum. Sandy was always tired and thinking of other things. Maria knew she wasn’t going to get the answer she wanted tonight, and although time was of the essence, Maria knew she had to back off.

Maria took a deep breath and continued.

“OK , but there are some more pictures of Alex I can show you , some recent video. I might as well leave this equipment here for now. I’ll support you both should you decide you are able to go back to Allenby’s hell-hole.”

Sandy had already made up her mind. Sandy stopped crying and began to calm down.

Maria handed Sandy a small hand held device with video of Alex on it. He was playing, he was so much more slower and thinner than she remembered. He smiled and waved at the camera, but it was obvious he was in pain. His stomach seemed distended.”

” My poor child!” Sandy touched the screen with her fingertips.

“He looks so ill. Martin look!”

Martin knew now there was nothing he could do to change Sandy’s mind. Before Maria left , Sandy and Martin wrote a short note to Alex and gave it to Maria to pass on . Maria said she would make sure he got it and as she went out the door she gave a final glance to Sandy .

“I’ll be in touch ” Maria said.

©GeraldineBanks2020

Sandy was desk bound for the next few weeks and some misgivings surfaced again in her mind again as she sat preparing a report that was going to feature in a Government Funded Documentary. Her initial pitch had gained unanimous approval and she had received a congratulatory email from Allenby, as well as some flowers and champagne which were delivered to her home address, with a note saying that he hoped that they would meet again soon. She threw it all in the bin . It all felt very creepy.

She had showed Martin , Allenby’s email and he suggested that if Allenby came to London, she should book some holiday and say that she was away with her family. Gerry would have to deal with him. It was a sensible suggestion and one that would be very plausible. Except Sandy knew Allenby would not believe it or accept no for an answer and she would also miss out on an opportunity to find out about his next move. Would Sandy be able to take much more of Allenby, she knew she had to and the thought turned her stomach.

She had not heard from Maria for a long time. Gerry supplied the money without question and only asked about her work, not specifically about Alex. Perhaps if she had heard something about his condition she might have shared it with him, but she hadn’t had any new information. She didn’t know whether Alex was alive or dead, but for the sake of her own well being she chose to believe he was alive.

©GeraldineBanks2020

On arrival in London, Sandy felt the nervous shock she had experienced begin to dissipate, she had not been able to sleep on the plane and the in-flight movies were either fatuous or far too violent for her to watch. Sandy knew that real life was far more dangerous than any fake cinematic creation. She weighed up whether she would share all that had happened during the visit with Martin. Her body was still sore from the sexual gymnastics she had performed for Allenby. She was now convinced that he was a psychotic narcissistic dangerous man, one capable of enormous cruelty, but one nevertheless who she needed to keep close to.

Sandy had briefly said goodbye to Joss as the chauffeured car arrived at her accommodation to pick Sandy up and taker her to the airport. They had briefly exchanged social niceties in keeping with their limited knowledge of each other, but Sandy knew Joss was relieved to see the back of yet another one of her lover’s conquests.

As Joss waved Sandy off , Sandy realised Joss was just as trapped as all of those poor unfortunates in Allenby’s Prison. Sandy was just another humiliation for Joss to endure. Allenby had her exactly where he wanted her. There was no time for a friendly girl chat, although the two of them would have had a lot to talk about .Sandy surmised that Joss would not listen initially but had the impression that Joss was beginning to question the controlling behaviour of her mentor. Sandy was perhaps one humiliation too many and that might be another chink in the invincible Professor’s armour.

Back in London however , Sandy thoughts took refuge with her family. It was a Friday night when she got back and Martin had announced that the twins were planning the “traditional Mothering Sunday Celebrations”. Sandy had forgotten entirely that it was Mothering Sunday, she looked at Martin in disbelief. Martin could see that Sandy was not sure that she could cope, but he reassured her that it was for the best and that he had organised everything with thetwins and it was their surprise for her. There would be a trip to the supermarket on Saturday morning and the Cinema on Saturday Afternoon. Then on Sunday there would visit each set of in-laws with cards and presents in hand. Sandy went through the weekend in a daze, which she explained away as jet lag. Still it had lifted her spirits and let her forget for a short time what lay ahead.

Late on Sunday night with the twins in bed she had her chance to tell Martin what she had seen. They were both getting ready for bed and Martin noted the bruises on Sandy’s thigh.

” That looks nasty”

” Oh yes, it was very nasty.” Sandy replied with a distance that meant there was nothing that could be said that would make anything better.

“Sandy you did what you had to do. “

” I know , there was no other way. I did what I did for Alex.” Her head bent down.

” Look Sandy , you don’t need to justify yourself to me. I understand. I know that when this is over, we may not be the same people, we might not be able to help that, but for now until we get Alex back home with us and safe, I’ve got your back. I can keep everything together for you, no matter what you have to do. You are my heroine.”

Sandy looked Martin in the eyes and reached out her arms to him and hugged him.

” I feel so dirty, so used ,thank you Martin for telling me that , I needed to hear it. Martin whatever love is this is what I imagine it feels like. I had no option. We will get through this, I can’t forget what I’ve seen and done, but it’s like a battle and this is just the beginning. I don’t know if what we’re doing will work. I’m in deep, well over my head. I don’t even know who I can trust anymore , apart from you. Have you heard from Maria?”

Martin explained he had heard nothing from Maria. There was nothing else either of them could say, they lay in bed and held each other. Sandy gently wept and her eyes closed and she eventually went to sleep. Martin could not sleep, but he kept still and listened for the familiar rise and fall of Sandy’s breath. It was back to work for both of them tomorrow. Their normal routine, Martin dropping off the children at school and picking them up in the afternoon. Sandy would be away most of the day, he never knew what time she would be back. That was how it was and it was going to stay that way for the foreseeable future. There was nothing else they could do.

©geraldinebanks2020

Sandy and Allenby watched through the one way window as the interrogations began.

Sandy saw a young man being wheeled in on a gurney , he was strapped to it and despite attempting to extricate himself could not

move his arms or legs. He was surrounded by people in white lab coats who began to attach monitors to his body. Sandy saw

one of them inject what she assumed was a sedative into his arm. Gradually he stopped struggling and seemed to relax and fall

asleep. Finally all the monitors were in place and he was given another shot in the arm. He opened his eyes wide as if he was

having the most awful nightmare, he began to scream, the monitors began to show crazy readings and the people in the lab coats

began to move around him trying to see what was going on. There was blood coming from the young man’s mouth as he had bit

his own tongue. Someone rushed to hold his head while they put a cloth in his mouth for him to bite on to. They tried as best they

could to clean the blood from his mouth.

“The idiots! Sandy I’m so sorry, this is not what I wanted you to see. This is purely research , experimental, trying to find out what

combinations of drugs work best. This is not helpful. ” Allenby stood up in sheer frustration

Sandy looked at the young man. ” Will he be OK?”

” I don’t know, but this is not what I wanted you to see. This is our research laboratory where we are trying to find the ideal drug

combination to get the results that we want. This should not have happened, however, we may as well move on.”

Sandy could see that Allenby was annoyed.

” I’ll let you know tomorrow how the young man is. We may aswell go to the Prison Facility now, I wanted to soften the blow, but

in truth this has just made things worse.” He passed his hand over a sensor and the window reverted to it’s normal glass and Sandy

could no longer see what was going on in the laboratory.”

Allenby explained that they would have to take his car to the prison facility She followed him down the corridor , trying as best as

she could to remember the directions as to where she was going. As yet she hadn’t even taken out her notebook. They reached the

Professor’s car and she got in .She could see the Professor was angry and he didn’t say anything, but he sent a brief message on his

phone. The Professor relaxed a little as he started driving.

“It’s about a ten minute drive. It’s getting dark which is just as well, this part of the site is not landscaped.

Doesn’t seem necessary, literally people are bussed in here and they will never leave.”

Sandy watched the road ahead of her , it was dark and the atmosphere felt dark. The conversation stopped while Allenby parked in

a reserved spot. Sandy again tried to memorise the route he had taken and these foreboding surroundings.

They had arrived at a characterless, concrete facility that austerely contrasted with the rest of the site .As they got out of the

car, two security guards passed by with their dogs. One of the dogs snarled at Allenby. He quickly moved away.

” Come this way Sandy.” He snapped.

Sandy made her way around the car , avoiding the two dogs. She smiled at the Security men, who just

ignored her and kept walking on their patrol. Unlike the rest of the Campus , there was an air of disquiet and foreboding.

They used their Iris recognitions to gain entrance through a small double door which was in fact at the back of the building, so

there was no one there to greet them. They ascended a short stairwell, and began climbing a flight of stairs. Sandy could just

make out the walls as the lighting was minimal. As they reached the top of the stairs there was a walkway which lead to an

elevated platform above a quadrangle. About four floors below she could see a lot of people milling around. There were some

uniformed security guards , but most of the people below were dressed in civilian clothes, and all looked tired and their clothes

were shabby. Sandy could see what looked like cells surrounding the quadrangle on all the floors apart from the one she was on.

“We came in the back way.” Allenby explained. “Gives you a good view of the people down there, these are from all over the

World, people who have been working against us.”

” You bring them here, it’s not dealt with locally then?”

” No longer, it just wasn’t working. The local Laws just couldn’t cope, there was always interference. Now , we have control.”

Sandy looked down at all the people milling around and realised it must have been a mealtime, some of them were queueing at

a mobile kitchen, some were walking back to benches situated in the middle of the quadrangle with plates of food. No one

seemed to be talking to each other, they all seemed very subdued.

“Is this really necessary Professor?” Sandy looked directly at Allenby.

” Yes, we have tried all other means and now we have to resort to this.” Allenby looked down at the quadrangle.

Sandy looked below her , she could see that most of them had the clothes on that they were probably captured in , there was a

mixture of medical fatigues and civilian clothes.

” Come on, we have a lot more to see.” Allenby beckoned to Sandy.

Sandy continued to follow the Professor along the walkway Another iris recognition and then they turned left and entered a large

reception like area, manned by people in lab coats and what could have been a large waiting room. There were people like Sandy

had seen below in the quadrangle area waiting on benches, they looked nervous and apprehensive.

Suddenly as Sandy was taking in this new location , a pair of double doors burst open and an unconscious man in a wheel chair

was pushed through by two orderlies in white coats. Sandy recognised him immediately it was Dr William King. Being a tall man ,

he was practically sliding downwards out of the chair, some orderlies appeared and helped the nurses pull his body upwards with

, they propped him up as best as they could , but again he slid downwards and began to moan. His eyes opened and closed.

” Come on Dr King, we’ll go to the recovery room now.” Dr King was wheeled out through another set of doors and disappeared.

Sandy stayed calm and continued to watch the unfolding situation. Two more orderlies took hold of a woman who was

sitting on the bench nearest the door , she struggled as they both took one of her arms and lifted her up and marched her out. They

disappeared through the double doors that Dr King had came through.

Sandy sensed the trepidation and disbelief in the people who sat on the benches waiting to see what their fate was.

Sandy had mentally prepared herself and she whispered in the ear of the Professor with the appearance of genuine curiousity.

“What is going on?”

” Sandy , this is our torture chamber.” he whispered.

“Modern Torture or Medieval” Sandy quickly responded.

” Nothing messy” The Professor smiled at her.” Just a lot of questions and drug treatments and some flashing lights.Nothing to be

scared of really. We’re trying as hard as we can to get as much information out of these people as we can. Mainly locations and if

we are lucky some names.”

“Is this Legal?”

“Not really, but not on record either, officially these people now officially no longer exist. We don’t even know their real names,

they will have been captured at one of the locations that our monitoring has unearthed and transported here. We have a lot

of support from a Global Point of view. Basically these people now have no status.

Sandy already knew about the secretive web surrounding Alex and this reassured her that despite these extreme efforts, that the

Professor was making slow progress.

” I think they are about to begin the next interrogation, it’s an important part of our jigsaw. These are criminals, we need to show

them as such. This is an important , if unpalatable part of our story.”

Allenby motioned for Sandy to again follow him , which she did, the doorway to the side where Allenby led her was

basically another viewing gallery. Again they could watch through a one- way mirror . Sandy sat down beside another man who

was already seated watching the proceedings through the window and making notes. Allenby did not introduce him. Sandy could

tell Allenby was tense. The lights dimmed, and Sandy’s eyes adjusted to the view. Allenby remained standing.

Sandy saw a woman strapped to a chair, she wasn’t sure if it was the one that she had seen a few minutes before as her face was

contorted and her eyes were wide open. The woman strained to see what the people surrounding her were doing, but her head was

held in place by leather straps. The nurses or doctors were putting an intravenous drip into her arm. The woman’s eyes tried to

follow everything that was going on around her, she looked like a scared wild animal.

Another injection was put into her arm and the laboratory where she was began to flash with strobe lighting of many colours. The

white lab coats increased the instensity of the lights as the orderlies and nurses backed off and the interrogating team came in.

They were dressed in suits and held clip boards. The strobe lights flashed , their speed increasing and the range of colours

alternating. The woman reacted to the lights and they obviously made her terrified.”

“What are those drugs?” Sandy asked.

” A mixture of hallucinogens and inhibition suppressants, it’s taking us a while to get the mix right. We’ve had a few problems, we

have an infirmary and a long stay facility. I’ll show you later . We have found that by heightening the fear quotient the drugs are

more effective , hence all the theatricals with the lights. Completely pointless, except one of the drugs will have made the lady

highly sensitive to light. We are not sure what the pain threshold with that is , but obviously when we turn them off , she probably

feels relief.”

Sandy just blurted “Neat”.

Sandy kept looking straight ahead at the woman. The strobe lights stopped suddenly and the laboratory was in complete darkness,

Sandy heard a click , the Professor had turned on the sound.

” Stop it, Stop it, Please. ” The woman was sobbing and snuffling as she cried out in desperation.

The bright laboratory lights were turned on and the woman in the chair was faced by three interrogators sitting opposite her. The

questioning began like a rapid fire machine gun. The woman stared at them, rigid with fear.

“What’s your name?”

“Where do you come from?”

“Where were you educated, do you have a degree?”

“Why are you here?”

“Where are your parents?”

They gave the woman no time to reply and this seemed to agitate her even further. She struggled in the chair and could only move

her arms and legs a little. The strobe lights came on , Sandy sensed they were a higher intensity. The questioning continued.

“Who recruited you/?”

” Did you think you were doing the right thing?”

” Where were you born?”

” Do you have any brothers or sisters?”

” When is your birthday?”

Sandy was finding this extremely stressful, the woman in the chair was obviously beginning to lose her mind.

“No I can’t take this let me go! The pain, in my head is unbearable!”

Immediately the lights stopped and the lab was again in darkness. Sandy did not see two of the interrogators leave room , but when

the lights came back on only one of them remained seated facing the woman who had now succumbed to uncontrolled sobbing

which was painful to hear.

Professor Allenby moved closer to Sandy.

“They don’t usually succumb that quickly , maybe she’s faking it. Oh well , we’ll find out. Ridiculous really, we know all the

answers to our questions, we just need to know if she’ll cooperate and I think this one will .” Allenby grabbed the notes of the man

sitting beside him and read some details. Allenby pressed the intercom button and spoke. His voice echoed throughout the

Laboratory where the woman sat. Allenby’s voice boomed as if it was coming from nowhere.

” Ruth we know all about you, we want you to cooperate now, the drugs will be working through your system . Shortly we

can get you to do exactly what we want, but by then it will be too late for you. The effects are irreversible and you really would

be of no use to us. Tell us now before it is too late. Tell us now and we’ll put the anti-dote in your system and you will be none the

wiser for your experience , you can come and work for us. We need people like you.”

Ruth began to sweat profusely and Sandy began to think that what the Professor was saying was true.

Ruth’s face was pale and she whimpered and looked defeated.

” I know nothing, I was a nurse, I looked after children , it was my job. I don’t know anything about anything. “

” You are on the wrong side Ruth, I don’t believe you . Well if you won’t help us , then that’s it!” Allenby turned off the intercom.

” Absolutely pointless” He passed the notes roughly to the man who was sitting beside him. ” She’ll be of no use to us , I don’t

think she knows anything of importance.”

Allenby turned to Sandy.

” I’m sorry you’re going to have to see the next bit, it can be very upsetting.” He put his hand on her shoulder. She felt her stomach

churn and her skin crawled.

” I’ll see how much I can stomach”. Sandy looked as Allenby turned and watched the interrogation continue. At first there

was a calm period. The woman seemed as if she was recovering. The questioning had stopped and the interrogator that had stayed

in the room with her reached forward and touched her hand reassuringly. He was prompting her with questions which she

answered, it was almost as if they were having a conversation. Sandy realised how little Ruth knew about her position and how

that even now people like Ruth were protecting her son even now.

After about ten minutes of this , however, things changed rapidly. Ruth became irritated and asked for a drink of water, which was

not forthcoming.

Allenby whispered to Sandy. ” We’re not being cruel. If we give her a drink now, she’ll drown in her own fluids, and that would not

be a pretty sight.”

“I’m not sure I can watch much more.” Sandy shifted in her chair slightly.

“This is all a bit pointless, but it is a life we are destroying and I feel we should at least respect the process and see it until the end.”

Ruth’s pallor changed very quickly and her body began to spasm and the veins in her arms distended. Sandy could see the fear in

Ruth’s eyes.

“What’s happening to her now?”

“Awful isn’t it Sandy, but we can’t keep everyone here forever. This is the part of the operation that is very distasteful, I’m not sure

if people knew about it that we would be allowed to continue? That’s my dilemma. On one hand if we keep it hidden we’re OK ,

on the other if people understand and accept that this is necessary than we can do what we need to do much more quickly. “

“I can’t look anymore Professor, I think I’m going to be sick.”

Allenby signalled to someone and the blind came down on the viewing station and a woman in a white lab coat entered carrying a

glass of water and a small tablet on a saucer.

Allenby turned to Sandy and said “Here take this.” He took the glass and the saucer from the assistant and passed it to Sandy.

Submissively Sandy took what she was given, she was in shock.

” Out of respect , I normally watch until the very end, I am the one who makes the decision about whether the interrogation will be

useful. We have a non-denominational service for the deceased and we have a Garden of Peace. As I have said Sandy we are not

animals and these people officially do not exist.”

” Perhaps you see how important to me you are now. I need your support. Gerry said that you are very supportive of our gene

cleansing programme, we know it is important to keep the Public on our side and if this ever got out , well all our work would be

ruined. This is the hard but unavoidable end of the process, but we’ve done everything else to stop these people and nothing has

worked. We must learn to be hard.

Sandy listened to Allenby and couldn’t help but wonder how Gerry had convinced Allenby that she was who Allenby needed. Up

until a few months ago she was a second rate sports hack, given the jobs that no one else wanted. She realised that she ‘d have to

keep her story consistent. She pretended to be annoyed with Gerry.

“I really could kill Gerry at this moment. I just didn’t expect this. Did you tell Gerry you were executing people?” She went on the

offensive.

“Well no, for obvious reasons I would not openly discuss this with anyone. I wanted you to see it though with your own eyes. You

must remember I’m not now breaking the Law. These people do not exist in their Countries anymore. The decision as to what

happens to them now is up to me . However I am well aware that if this ever got out into the Public Domain, then there could be a

lot of trouble. So I was hoping you as a journalist could advise us going forward”

” Advise you on what exactly, am I supposed to say this is OK?”

Allenby continued .”Gerry said that you are a strong individual, independent thinking, I expect you to have reservations. Let’s talk

further, hopefully the queasiness has passed and you have an appetite for dinner. I’ll show you the rest of the facility tomorrow.

You will meet some of the best people in their field.”

Sandy gathered herself and her things together, the queasiness had passed entirely due to the tablet she had been given.

“Some dinner and a chance to talk would be nice Professor.”

“Call me Ian Sandy, it’s after 9.00pm.” Allenby winked at her.

“Call me Ian” echoed in her mind as she realised later that Allenby was a serial womaniser as he instigated some very kinky sexual

manoeuvres with her in her room later that evening. Sandy did not care, she knew it was for Alex and she would do anything to

protect her little boy from this Monster of a Man.

Even in bed Allenby was a total control freak. Sandy knew they were playing a cat and mouse game. He had questioned her about

Gregor and she had given Allenby the excuse that she just wanted to make Gerry jealous, he had dumped her for his new baby

wife. Nothing had happened between her and Gregor , they had parted ways outside her room. Gregor had suggested a meeting

when he was next in London, but she had heard nothing from him, she suspected that Gregor did not support Professor Allenby’s

work and that she felt it would have been an angle worth following up. The meeting of course had never happened and now

she knew what had happened to Gregor.

Over dinner, they had talked a lot about relationships, with her husband with the people she met in her job. Allenby was forever

trying to catch her out. How she felt about Gerry? Did she miss being away from her children? What did her husband think of her

working away from home was ? Was Martin successful in his career.

Sandy later thought that Allenby turned what would be normal social chit chat into an interrogation. Sandy, however had kept a

cool head and began to realise how well Gerry had prepared the ground for her, unintentionally perhaps. Allenby was beginning to

trust her, she also realised that his arrogance was his weakness, the man could never be wrong. He was the Perfect Judge of

everything.

©GeraldineBanks2020

Professor Allenby and the women had finished their lunch and Allenby gently patted his top lip with his napkin . This was the signal he used to Joss to say he was about to leave. He stood up and said that he had some meetings to attend but would be free later on to give Sandy a personal tour of the facility. It worked 24/7 so she would see everything just as it was in situ. He suggested that she take the time to settle into her accommodation and freshen up from her journey and that if she needed anything Joss would attend to her needs. Sandy noticed that suddenly there was a coldness between Allenby and Joss, and she sensed an uneasiness. However , it was fleeting and as soon as Allenby departed Joss made a phone call and arranged for Sandy to be picked up and taken to the Bay Condo she had been allocated.

Sandy’s Condo, was beside a lake , it was a stunning view, even if it was all man-made. There were fountains and a number of three dimensional sculptures made of glass or Perspex that appeared to change shape depending on the angle you looked at them or the direction of the sunlight. Sandy needed some fresh air and decided to go for a walk around the lake. Gerry would have loved this place she thought to herself. She was surprised he hadn’t made the effort to come.

After her walk Sandy showered and drank a cup of herbal tea. It was nearly six o’clock in the evening and the phone rang, it was Joss, the Professor would like Sandy to start the tour at six thirty, Joss would send the car at six twenty. Was that alright? Sandy agreed and she was ready when the car came to collect her. The chauffeur driven car again glided along the pristine road, but it made a sharp turning and Sandy saw that behind the fancy architecture there were more functional , plain and forbidding buildings hidden by the impressive buildings she had seen initially. They were well disguised. As the car stopped and she got out , she noticed Allenby standing at the entrance of one.

He stood patiently as she walked towards him. ” I’m pleased to say that you have me all to yourself for the next few hours. I want to show you the heart of what we do here. What we are capable of. I am sure you will find it most interesting. As I have said previously I want you to see the whole operation “Warts and All”. We are fighting some very dangerous people and organisations and we have to use some very harsh techniques to find out the information we need to destroy them. Some of what you will see , you no doubt , will find upsetting. He smiled, his perfect white teeth showed as he parted his thin brownish chiselled lips. Sandy noted they were moist.

Allenby opened the security door and walked briskly in, Sandy followed him into the building. A long narrow corridor led to the laboratories which Professor Allenby described.

“Here is the low-end research facility, repetitive, but necessary analysis.”

The walls were clinically white, occasionally broken by some windows enabling Sandy to see inside. There was no one about all the workstations were empty. There were rows of microscopes.

” Has everyone finished for the day , it seems a bit quiet?” Sandy asked.

“Yes in this area, there’s no need for 24/7, it’s just routine Science here.” Allenby replied.

” These people still live on Campus though.”

” Yes , they are employed here and we provide them with accommodation. We have a lot of land and we have created a village like atmosphere. It’s mainly for our ancillary workers, they are good facilities and good working conditions. I don’t visit there myself, but we couldn’t function without it. “

” I see, so they live here permanently.”

” Yes, we have everything here for them , schools , gyms , medical facilities and entertainment venues such as a Concert Hall and a Bowling Alley. We attract the best , but sometimes we need the average, so it works for us. “

They reached the end of the corridor and moved into another Security Area, this time Allenby and Sandy both had to go through the Iris Recognition software. It took a few seconds for the door to open and Allenby took Sandy immediately to his office which was at the end of another row of laboratories. Sandy saw there were people working inside of them, however none of them even looked up to acknowledge her or the Professor. The Professor’s office was unassuming in comparison to the opulence she had experienced so far.

” Sit down Sandy” Allenby gestured to a chair . ” What you are about to see , may well shock you to the core, and what I’m going to tell you may find distasteful, but be aware I have the backing of some very powerful people. We need to tell our side of the story . We can no longer continue in the background, we are strong and we must use our strengths.”

Sandy sat and listened.

Allenby pressed a button underneath his desk and a projector screen rose from a hidden cupboard opposite Sandy. The lights in the office dimmed and the Professor began to talk as he began a prepared presentation.

“What you see on the screen Sandy is your DNA Profile. We collected your saliva when you had lunch. Totally illegal of course. In normal circumstances we would have to ask your permission, but these are not normal circumstances. Please forgive us. This shows how quickly we can process the information.”

” There’s nothing to forgive Professor, I mean this is part of the story isn’t it?” The penny dropped why Gerry had not been able to make the visit with her and had made his excuses.

The Professor, pressed his hand held device and more information about Sandy flashed on the screen. Scientific classifications, but basically reflecting your strengths, where you fit in in the general population and any problems that we foresee. Without knowing you personally I can tell that your genetic makeup is one that is beneficial to our future. Country programmes vary, but I assume you are sponsored to have children?”

” Yes, I have twins, glad to say. After my sports career, there were so many incentives, but I didn’t feel pressurised. By then my maternal instincts had kicked in and I had been with Martin a long time, so it was quite natural. Not at all clinical, like your analysis , don’t get me wrong, I think it’s wonderful what you can do , but it’s the old Nature versus Nurture isn’t it? Are we just strands of protein?” Sandy wondered just how much the Professor knew about her history of child bearing.

” Thank you for being so direct, well those strands of protein are very important to our future, the future of our World”

” Well that’s why I’m here, to find out what we can do to help. Promote the cause. I have to admit though I’m a bit scared of what I’m about to find out. I can imagine that your work must be constantly under threat from people who don’t support it”.

” I appreciate that, so let us continue, there is no point me trying to hide anything .”

A new slide popped onto the screen.

“This presentation shows the Global Picture, the patches of red are where we are experiencing problems, no matter what we do the gene pool gets contaminated. If I show you over the last five years, it changes and moves around and then comes back again and we don’t know why. It can only be subversive forces. I find it extremely frustrating. I don’t think the raw data is as accurate as it needs to be , but we are finding resistance when gathering it, even violence in some instances. Increasingly members of our field staff are being ostracized and prevented from collecting samples.

” I’ve never came across anyone collecting my DNA, you mean like a medical facility, swabbing people , analysing and recording their DNA, perhaps they do it like you’ve just done it to me. Without my knowledge. So the areas that aren’t red , how do they work?”

” Resource mainly and Government Support.”

“That takes money, I suppose”.

“Yes, these Underground Agencies have won historically, they have backers and they have battled successfully. The problem is we just don’t know who they are. We clean one area and a few years later we’re back to square one again to do the same work as some rogue DNA has appeared out of nowhere.”

” So a bit like a virus re-infecting.”

” Well , similar , but scientifically there is no similarity. DNA cannot be transmitted, it’s within us. The only way DNA can be passed on is through Progeny. We know there are people who want to play God and we need to stop them. “

” Perhaps they think you are playing God Professor?” Sandy eyed the Professor, to see how he reacted to being directly challenged.

” Do you think so?”

Sandy wished she had not been so direct, but Allenby continued.

” God doesn’t come into it, I’m an atheist.”

Sandy thought quickly and decided to play Devil’s Advocate. ” I suppose to stop these people we need to think like them.”

” Yes, exactly, we’ve got a lot of data and we know what we think is going on, but up until now we haven’t had the Authority to deal with these people like criminals they are. Thankfully as of last week we have a Global, cross border agreement which allows us to hunt these people down. I don’t like wasting valuable scientific resource, some of these miscreants are at the top of their game, so I prefer to use other methods to persuade them that they’ve been pursuing the wrong path.”

” I feel we are getting to the nasty bit , Professor”

” Sandy , unfortunately the situation we are in calls for extreme measures. We can record all the data we want, but now is the time to take action. That is one of the reasons I want the Media in here, I wouldn’t like this information leaked and cause some furore that would get out of hand. I want to present the facts and our arguments for doing what we are doing. I need your input just to keep us straight. So we don’t come out of this looking like the villains .”

” Will I need a strong stomach Professor?”

“No, no we’re not animals, it’s harrowing, but the ends justify the means.” The Professor moved away from the screen and pressed the button under the desk to make it retract.

” OK Professor, I think if you show me what you are doing, I may understand it better and of course we can talk about everything in the best light. I’m intrigued by the change in the the Law and last week. Would I be right in thinking that the ” Criminality Angle” is going to be a major part of the story?”

“As the Law stands now these men and women are now classed as “Criminals”. They are offered re-education and rehabilitation in some cases but not all. We’ve had some success stories. One of them joined us recently and is now working for us. I believe you met Gregor Lavlet at the Conference in Barcelona.” Allenby waited for Sandy’s reaction.

” Oh yes, Gregor, I met him in Barcelona, but he was at a very successful institution in Iceland. Iceland had totally wiped out all genetic illnesses, screening was 100%. It was definitely not a Country to cause you concern. I did have a long chat with him and yes I would say he expressed some doubts about what was taking place in Iceland. We were going to meet up in London, I still have his business card somewhere…”

Allenby smiled.

” Gregor was captured at a site just outside Berlin. There were three hundred children who were being kept in a secure location.”

” Three hundred children.” Sandy knew she had to be careful and not ask too many questions now.

” My are you confident that he is rehabilitated now?”

” Well he will never leave here, all in all , it’s not a bad place to live, his expertise as a statistician is invaluable. He says he now believes he was wrong, it doesn’t really matter , the main thing is a talented researcher like him is out of the mix working for the opposition, and now can help us with our work. ”

” And what happened to the children?” Sandy asked.

” Oh they would have been relocated at a new facility , that would be dealt with at local level.” Allenby turned off his computer and moved towards the door of his office.

” I’m ready now to show you our facility where we keep those who are resistant to our ideas. The ones who don’t accept that what we are doing is necessary.” He opened the door of the office and led the way into a small room with a large window looking out onto a laboratory. The Professor and Sandy could see out , but the people they were watching could not see in.

Sandy continued talking to the Professor.

” A Life Sentence, is there anything worse? ” The Professor turned towards her and Sandy looked him straight in the eye. She felt it was expected of her as a hard nosed journalist , but in side her stomach churned with the thought of what she was about to witness. The stakes were high and the means ruthless.

Sandy and the Professor entered the small room and closed the door . They both sat down on a bench from which they could look out the large window onto a laboratory. The Professor continued talking.

“That’s the tricky , untidy part. It’s still up in the air, for the moment we are trying persuasion. We have many options , some not so palatable, but all now thankfully legal and above board.”

Sandy remembered Alex playing with the other children when she had visited him and looked at the Professor. Sandy would do anything to stop this man. The Professor was sitting almost knee to knee with Sandy and she felt his hand touch her knee. Sandy did not react. In other circumstances she would have turned and made her position quite clear, but the only thing on her mind was Alex and she was going to do anything to protect her little boy from this Monster.

She felt that she had won over the Professor and she realised that her DNA was the Perfect Cover . Gerry would not have passed Allenby’s analysis and most likely would have been arrested by now. Sandy would be the cuckoo in the nest. She’d do anything to help the people who would help Alex. Martin would understand.

Professor Allenby’s Research Centre was indeed like a very large University Campus. Once you passed through the first Security Gates and the trees that surrounded the Centre. What you saw initially were large impressive buildings covered in reflective glass. They stood out on the manicured lawns like glistening jewels on the horizon. The foremost building was glass and steel with a long straight driveway leading up to it. The only thing missing were students wandering on the impressive acres of grass. Sandy squinted as the sun caught one of the steely glass spires and shot a high intensity beam in her eye. She immediately reached into her handbag for her sunglasses.

As the car glided up the driveway, they were stopped by a security barrier .Sandy noticed a small Portacabin beside the barrier which was manned by uniformed guards from a Private Security Firm. Their uniforms had badges on them. Sandy noted the Company’s name and intended to write it down when she had the chance. She reflected, however, that for her sake it would be safer to try to remember it. Her notes would probably be checked and why would she need to know the name of the Security Company? She wanted to appear totally supportive of Allenby’s organisation. She felt that he would be adverse to hostile criticism or to anyone digging to deep.

The chauffeur appeared at the passenger door and opened it, Joss beckoned to Sandy to get out of the car to sign in with security. Once inside the cabin Sandy had her photograph taken which included an iris scan . Sandy was given a few forms to sign and one of the guards went out to the car to check with Joss. When he returned he said firmly.

” Yes access , all areas”.

Sandy was going to be on site for a couple of days ; she had been given a Condo on “The Bay Area”. As Joss had said the accommodation was near leisure facilities. The iris recognition would give her access to anywhere she wanted to go.

Sandy was relieved when she picked up her information pack and got back in the car with Joss. She was feeling claustrophobic as if she was entering a spider’s lair. Joss was speaking to Professor Allenby on the phone when she sat back down on the soft leather seats. Sandy couldn’t help but notice that there was some warmth in the relationship and that Joss spoke gently to the Professor.

” OK, we’ll meet you in the Atrium.” she finished her call. ” Sandy, slight change of plan , no time to freshen up yet. One of the Professor’s meetings was cancelled , he wants to meet you for lunch, is that alright?” Joss turned and looked at Sandy.

“You are very honoured, he rarely stops for lunch.” Joss smiled.

” That’s brilliant, to be truthful that’s great, I mean it’s only a short visit , so I can freshen up later.”

The car continued it’s stately journey and glided silently along past the main building, it made a left turn and stopped outside another building beside it . As Sandy got out of the car, she gazed at the enormous impressively etched Romanesque Glass door, which featured many colours. As Joss and Sandy approached, the two doors parted effortlessly .Joss turned and told the driver to drop off Sandy’s luggage at her condo. The driver nodded and silently departed.

Sandy and Joss walked into the large plant filled space. It was full to the brim of exotic plants and they were decked at all levels that the eye could see. Joss made small talk to Sandy as they walked towards the elevator along a raised platform which appeared surrounded by an artificial pond. Sandy looked down it felt as if she was walking on the water.

Joss raised her hand and pointed to the greenery.” These plants are all grown hydroponically with distilled water and organic nutrients, we grow some rare succulent herbs. The Professor is extremely interested in how we grow our own food and wants the Atrium to be totally self-sufficient. We haven’t quite reached that stage yet there are so many factors, we struggle with getting the nutrient mix right.”

They reached the elevator. As the doors opened automatically water appeared to swish around either side as they got in. Sandy thought her feet were going to get wet, but she remained totally dry.

” The Professor’s sense of humour, it usually makes people jump”. Joss laughed

As the elevator doors closed and the elevator began to go up , the displaced water moved back to it’s original location in the clear Perspex floor. Also as the elevator rose, plumes of water went off as they moved through different floors, the effect was stunning and Joss explained that it also helped maintain the correct humidity as well as being a delightful feature.

On the upper floor ,where the restaurant was, the special effect plumes ceased and Sandy and Joss got out of the elevator. The effect was similar to downstairs, except the water had a sapphire blue hue. Again Joss couldn’t help but look down at her feet to see if they were wet , but they were bone dry.

Sandy saw Professor Allenby walking towards Joss and Sandy, he was with a couple of other smartly dressed men. Allenby appeared to be giving them instructions, they parted ways just before Allenby reached Sandy.

” Ah, Sandy, I’m so pleased that you are able to finally see our site. I know it’s just a whistle stop tour, but thank you for coming. I’m so sorry Gerry couldn’t make it”. Allenby smiled and took Sandy’s hand. The grip was a little too tight and Sandy felt went on longer than she was comfortable with.

She talked as he held her hand.” Hello Professor , this is quite a place. I’m really looking forward to finding out about what you do here. It’s such important work. I hope we can do you justice in just two days. I just didn’t expect this.”

Allenby let go of Sandy’s hand.

” Come on , come on , please let’s have lunch, it’s certainly not your average work’s canteen.” Allenby turned and beckoned Joss and Sandy towards a table.

They all sat down and Sandy noticed that there were probably about thirty covers, all deceptively placed among pots of foliage. There were formally dressed waiters and waitresses moving backwards and forwards across the floor, imperceptibly taking orders, bringing dishes and clearing tables.

Sandy picked up her menu and began to read it. There was water on the table and some long glasses, Joss poured each one of them a glass. Sandy thanked Joss and sipped the water as Allenby and Joss continued to converse politely. When the waiter came Joss checked what everyone wanted and ordered.

The Professor began talking . Sandy listened and took a long sip of water to disguise her surprise when she saw Gregor at one of the tables on the opposite side of the “Atrium”. Sandy knew that Allenby had noticed she had spotted Gregor, but Allenby made no comment , he continued talking to her about the work of his Institute and Sandy replied by asking a question about how such a prestigious facility was funded. Allenby was very forthright on that issue, there were major donors , philanthropists who supported the work. They realised that cleansing the Human Genome was the only way to stop disease . You only needed to look at cancer figures, that had been a real success story and had helped him gain support. Cancer had effectively been eradicated. The rest would follow naturally , why stop at cancer. The money to be saved in curative care was enormous and easily funded the preventative measures that Allenby and his supporters were promoting.

“Already the Medical Insurance Companies are on their knees, imagine. There just is no need for intrusive medical care, we have healthy populations and we want to keep them that way.”

Sandy found herself accepting the Professor’s arguments and found that Allenby was being very open and frank. She was impressed by his arguments and it wasn’t until later when she was alone with her own thoughts back at the Condo that she realised what a good promotional job he had done on her.

©GeraldineBanks2020

It was not long after the Conference in Barcelona that Professor Allenby contacted Gerry. Subsequently there had been a lot of work to do and time and events went very quickly. Sandy attended regular planning and production meetings and she put a team of people together with a view to producing a documentary about Allenby’s work. Gerry for good reason wanted to keep Allenby at a distance. Gerry explained to Allenby that he was going on a delayed honeymoon with his young wife and that he had tasked Sandy with preparing the ground by producing a one off programme about his work. It would lay the ground for some of the other things Gerry had in mind. Professor Allenby was delighted.

Gerry left a lot of the planning to Sandy and rarely attended any Production meetings. However one morning he arrived promptly and took the chair uninvited and announced that Sandy would now be liaising directly with Professor Allenby. Sandy nearly choked on her coffee, she was frightened of Allenby and she didn’t mind admitting to it. Gerry gave her the details of how to contact him and suggested that she take a small hand picked crew with her for her initial visit to his research centre near Washington in the United States of America. Apparently Allenby had made a specific request that Sandy be part of the crew.

She rang Allenby later that day and got hold of him immediately. Allenby was quite clear the initial visit would be just her and no one else. No cameras, no phones, just her notebook. She would have to get a feel for the place. She was going to see it “Warts and All”. Allenby played the “Gerry and ” card very well, Sandy knew she had to agree to anything that Allenby wanted, she knew that she was between a rock and a hard place, but at the same time she knew it was just too good of an opportunity to miss and that it could be key to protecting Alex.

The night before she flew to the States Sandy and Martin talked through the visit. She railed against Allenby, she was convinced he was a lecherous predator. Martin made her laugh at herself, when he told her really she should be getting used to dealing with them by now and he reassured her that she could handle anything , even the “Dirty Doctor”. The important thing was to make the visit and if possible unearth the dark side of Professor Allenby’s Genetic Cleansing Policy.

When’s Sandy’s flight arrived at Washington Dulles Airport Sandy was met at the exit lounge by Professor Allenby’s assistant Dr Jocelyn Zander. Sandy recognised her from the conference in Barcelona as the Professor’s unflappable assistant. Sandy was fast tracked through customs and the two women got into the back of a Chauffeur Driven , electric Bentley, while the driver dealt with Sandy’s hand luggage. The seats were as big as a sofa and the two women sat quite far away from each other. Sandy tried to make some small talk about the flight and how it had been delayed, but her efforts fell on deaf ears as Jocelyn was obviously tied up with another issue and was making notes on her hand held computer. Sandy decided to sit back and relax, she gazed out the windows of the car and watched as they criss-crossed Highways and left Dulles Airport and Washington State with it’s suburbs and drove into open farmland, Sandy could see they were surrounded by beautiful mountains and it was such a contrast to the tired city of London where Sandy lived, Sandy relaxed into the cushioned seats and gazed out of the window.

“It’s very beautiful isn’t it?” Jocelyn said to Sandy.

” Yes, it is .” Sandy, was taken by surprise by Jocelyn’s voice, however, she quickly decided that she should continue the conversation. ” That’s a New York accent isn’t it? You’re not from here originally?”

“No , you’re right , I’m a New Yorker , through and through, but I can’t help but love the area around here. I love hiking , it’s just great to get out and walk. Just wait until you see our facility , it will blow your mind. It looks onto the mountains , the accommodation in most areas has wonderful views.” Jocelyn replied.

” I’m sorry , but you didn’t tell me your name., ” Sandy was fishing.

” Oh , I’m so sorry, my name is Dr Jocelyn Zander, I’m Professor Allenby’s personal assistant. You can call me Joss if you like, I’m sorry if I was a bit frosty with you, it’s just I had something important to deal with for the Professor, I’ve only just found out that it has been resolved. I’m afraid it was preying on my mind a bit.”

” No problem Joss, I’m used to people being frosty with me , it’s par for the course if you are a journalist, and anyway is that not how “real” New Yorkers behave.” Sandy smiled, hoping to break the ice.

Joss smiled back, ” Yes ,we are a tough lot , we have to be.”

The ice maiden melteth. Sandy thought to herself.

” So how far is the site from the airport?”

“It’s about an hour and a half outside the city, it’s a Campus Facility , so most people live and work on site. I have my own apartment on site, but I travel a lot with the Professor, where the Professor goes I go. I’m rarely ever there.”

” How long have you worked for the professor?” Sandy asked.

” Nearly five years as his P.A., he was my Doctorate tutor, it helps that I understand his work, but I’ve got to admit sometimes I feel out of my depth. I’m not an original thinker. I just squeezed through my Doc Phil.” Jocelyn glanced sideways at Sandy.

“If you don’t mind me saying, I find the Professor quite intimidating, I’m sure he only employs the best.” Sandy replied.

” You’re right, he is intimidating, a lot of pure thinkers are like that , so single minded. I tend to be the one who picks up the pieces in his wake. I know him very well and I understand him. He is very determined to resolve the problems we are now having with foolish misguided people undermining the work of the last 40 years.”

” Resolving? How?” Sandy couldn’t help herself, she regretted immediately how she had posed that question, perhaps a mite too abruptly. Would Joss pick up on the fact she had an ulterior motive? However, Joss seemed un-phased and continued talking with enthusiasm.

” Well yes, he’s incredibly driven, everything we do, as you will shortly see is to improve humanity, we need to cut out those illnesses that come from our D.N.A.. It is something we have achieved successfully in a number of geographical areas and we cannot allow that work to be ruined by ignorance. The methods that now have to be used to achieve the final phase, may seem harsh to some outsiders, but we have no option.” Joss stared at the road in front of her through the gap in the front seats.

Sandy replied looking at Joss.” Professor Allenby’s words to me were “warts and all” , I’ve got to admit , I’m not sure what to expect.”

“It’s not that far now, Sandy, The Professor has told me to give you total access, so you’ll see everything we do at our facility. Your accommodation will be ready and if you want some time to relax , there’s a pool and a gym on site and you can either walk or use one of our electric buggies to get around. It’s five o’clock now , and you’re going to have dinner with the Professor and I at eight thirty. I believe from then on your visit will be pretty full on .”

” Thank you.” Sandy nodded.

There was now a natural silence between the two women. It was a beautiful day and as the electric car glided silently and smoothly along the almost empty highway. Sandy looked out the window in wonder and thought how peaceful it all looked. Why did everything have to be so murky she thought to herself? Perhaps she was getting into this deeper than she could cope with. She wanted to stop the car and jump out, just to walk in the sunshine for a while and head back to the airport and fly back home to be with her family. How easy that would be?

©GeraldineBanks2020

The next day ,Sandy arrived back home from the Airport and as she closed the front door behind her, she was overcome with relief. Martin was out ; having taken the twins to the park, he’d left her something to eat on the kitchen table with a note to say he’d be back soon. It was so good to be home and have just a brief rest bite to gather her thoughts.

As she sat eating ,Martin arrived home with the twins, they were excited to see her and Sandy was delighted to see them. For a few hours she enjoyed being a mum, knowing that her family were safe, that their lives were not in danger. Sandy would discuss later with Martin her thoughts on what she had discovered and her plans on what she needed to do next.

Meanwhile Gerry had gone straight to his office. Millie had been given another foreign assignment and would not be at home to greet him. He had everything he needed at his office, he could shower and catch up with his correspondence and e mails and then settle down on his sofa bed which was in a small room beside his office.

The talk with Professor Allenby in the bar the previous night had been very interesting and shocking at the same time. Gerry had learned how much Gene Theory had progressed. Gerry had always known himself to be a carrier, his mother had sat him down when he reached puberty. It was not the normal bird and bees talk. She warned him for his own safety not to tell anyone about his condition and also that in his case it would be best not to father any children. This alone for a teenage boy was very strange to hear and assimilate. Gerry, however, had other plans and had been very successful in his work at an early age and was too busy building his career to think about marriage or fatherhood. His mother’s warning was always at the back of his mind and though he liked women, he had been careful. He had let his guard down with Sandy. Gerry was struck by the bond he felt for Alex his son. Alex was important to him and he wanted to protect him as best he could from the likes of Allenby. It was not going to be easy.

Allenby, Gerry had ascertained was looking to wipe out any irregularities in the Human DNA Code entirely from the planet. Allenby was an articulate and persuasive talker whom Gerry quickly recognised as a someone who liked the sound of his own voice. The Media was full of them. Gerry found himself getting angrier and angrier as he listened to the droll voice of the good looking and well groomed Allenby. He took control of that anger and all Allenby had seen was what Gerry had wanted him to see. Gerry was an expert at appeasing the big egos of the day and Allenby, he knew, would think him a useful man to know. They exchanged business cards.

Now, in the peace and quiet of his office as he sat sipping his coffee he was secure and could think rationally. His Media World was like a giant sieve, leaks were par for the course, so when it came to keeping data safe Gerry used the latest technology. He was full proof. He used his encrypted computer to search for the names of the Institutions that Allenby had mentioned, he began building up a picture and followed up on the clues to Allenby’s targets that he had intimated were not far off being raided.

He also dug into what Allenby had described as the “messier” side of the process, eradication or denaturing. There was never any right word for what was in fact killing or annihilation, even Allenby acknowledged that. It wasn’t all rumour, it was indeed fact and unpalatable , but what could they do? Resources were not infinite and it took brave people to make the final decision , but they had to, there was no option. Gerry had listened to Allenby describe some events and processes, it was almost as if the Professor felt compelled to explain himself. Gerry had stroked the Professor’s ego by suggesting that a documentary about his work and how it was benefitting the World might help. Allenby said he would be in touch if he felt it would help. Gerry had dangled the bait and he knew he would hear from the professor sooner or later.

When Gerry was happy that he had completed his research and recorded all the threads of what would form his investigation, his thoughts turned to Sandy. He knew, he hadn’t been the only one who had noticed when she went into the lift with the young Researcher Gregor. Allenby had noticed too and had made a very unpleasant remark which even Gerry balked at the severity. Allenby was jealous of Gregor’s conquest. As for Sandy herself, Gerry thought, well she used to be a top athlete, perhaps she just enjoyed the physicality and maybe that guy could help her with information. What did it matter? Whatever floated her boat. He knew she didn’t trust him, but one day she was going to have to if they were going to stop Allenby and his like and save Alex and other children like him. He closed his laptop and began to prepare for bed. Gerry had made progress, which he would share with Sandy at the appropriate time.

After a few hours sleep , he woke and realised that the Canteen would be open for the night shift and he decided it would be nice to get some food and find someone to chew the cud with over an early breakfast. He liked to know what was going on in the office, there was always someone on the make. He was bullet proof now, money talks and thanks to Millie he had plenty of that, but nevertheless old habits died hard and it was fun to see what was going on. He got up , washed and dressed and went downstairs to the Canteen.