Gerry in his role as a Senior Manager had been doing the rounds at the Awards Ceremony, keeping everyone sweet and networking with people he knew in the Industry. This included keeping Millie’s parents happy too. They were very pleased with him as a son-in-law, he had made Millie very happy and that was the thing that their money could not buy. He was about to leave them after some small talk , when Millie appeared beside him.
“Hey Babe” He put his arm around her waist.” You’re doing a great job I don’t know what I’d do without you Mills.” He looked at Millie lovingly.
Millie nodded to her parents and pulled Gerry away.
“Gerry , these people are so boring , I feel like my head is going to explode. I hope you’ve got time for me tonight. I’ve been missing you.”
Millie was almost pleading, she wanted children and she had been hinting for a long time.
Gerry winked.
“Tonight might just be your lucky night , my little Minx.”
Millie smiled wickedly. She knew he meant it.
They both winked at each other and parted company. Gerry turned to head back to the green room.
Millie disappeared into the crowd. Gerry just caught her voice saying to a tall dark man with a beard.
“Raymond, so when are you doing a casting for your new project?”
Gerry lost sight of Millie in the crowd.
When Gerry reached the Green Room, they were just making the announcement for the Winner of The Documentary Category. As expected Sandy had won.
And the Winner is “Sunshine Media’s Gene Power”
Sandy and Martin had moved out of the Green Room and were waiting in the wings, so Martin took Sandy’s hand and they both walked on stage. Martin wasn’t really supposed to be there but with Sandy being so frail he had decided it was best. When they reached the presenter of the Award they both smiled and as the presenter handed it over to Sandy, she felt the weight of it in her hand and her arm fell towards the ground. Martin just managed to grab her wrist and lift it back up and they both lifted it to eye level with the audience. There was a murmur of concern from the audience , but a sense of relief when they saw that disaster had been averted. Those of them who knew Sandy wondered at her frailty .
“Sandy would you like to say a few words?” It was expected and Sandy with the little energy she could muster, moved unsteadily towards the microphone. She raised the award slightly and said “Thank You” and smiled at the audience and then turned and kissed Martin, the audience erupted in cheers and clapping. As Sandy and Martin left the stage, the Presenter announced that there would be a full screening of “Gene Power” shortly and that Professor Allenby would be available for a short question and answer session afterwards.
Gerry who was now standing with Allenby in the wings said.
” I hope you like it, I’m sure it’s going to generate a lot of interest, we’ll be syndicating it.” Allenby motioned to Gerry to move out of the way as Sandy and Martin passed by.
“That’s good news , we need to keep the Public behind us. Keep the trouble makers quiet.” but Allenby was distracted , he wanted to talk to Sandy, he wanted to share her triumph with her.
Gerry had to act fast, he took the Professor by the arm and pulled him towards the viewing area. He knew the Professor was very annoyed and was about to remonstrate with him. However, Millie appeared out of nowhere and enthusiastically congratulated Allenby, so Martin and Sandy had a chance to get by without Allenby stopping them.
” It’s so important the work that you do, and how wonderful that you are here tonight, I’m so looking forward to the film.” Millie gushed enthusiastically
“Thank you” Allenby said , distracted by Millie’s beautiful eyes and figure.
“We must head to our seats now ” Gerry interrupted ” The screening will start in five minutes.”
Gerry couldn’t help but wonder how Millie had appeared so quickly, but Millie had sensed Sandy’s reluctance to spend any more time than necessary with Professor Allenby . Millie had no idea why, but she thought that some extra congratulations wouldn’t go amiss for the high achieving Professor and it would give Sandy and Martin a chance to reach their seats before the Professor could monopolise them, or even worse try and sit beside them.
Sandy and Martin disappeared into the audience, while Gerry, Millie ,the Professor and his entourage took seats in the front row to watch the film.
Well it has to be The Little House on The Prairie(An American T.V. Drama Series from the 1970’s).
The story of the rural comfort of a hardworking farming community in a sandy dry like dessert land that nothing much grew in.
Everyone ,at least on T.V. , played their part in feeding ,clothing and watering themselves and their small holding .
There were rattlesnakes and flu could kill you,but mama made the best apple pie and always looked nice in her worn out apron and her hair and make up.
Disaster came in the form of big corporations and Bank Loans that forced them to sell their land to big Corporations and move their families to the city to work in the newly expanding car factories.
Their memories of that idyllic rural life kept them going.
Such dreams can only be generated by American TV series of the 70’s.They were so influential and perhaps misleading They gave us our dreams though .
The tension in the Green Room was palpable. Sandy’s thoughts were however focused on coming face to face with Allenby again. Sandy didn’t care who received the Awards. Martin would be by her side and he had no intention of letting Allenby near her. However, Sandy knew that would be impossible and that Allenby would approach her. She had to stay calm and appear as normal as possible. It would be difficult.
There were a lot of people gathered in the Green Room. There was enough food and drink to feed them all five times over. Fortunately , as time passed and the various Prizes were announced and the Awards distributed the crowd thinned and Martin and Sandy were able to make their way to the delicious buffet. Martin was ravenous, so he helped himself to a plate and made his choice. Sandy held her plate in her hand and tentatively chose a couple of hors de oeuvres which she began to nibble.
She laughed as Martin began to shovel food into his mouth. “Stop it Martin, slow down.” she chided.
However, Martin stopped eating altogether and put his plate down.
“What’s up?” Sandy whispered in his ear.
“It’s him, he’s here.”
“Pick that plate up now, we ‘ve got to pretend there’s nothing wrong.” Sandy picked up Martin’s plate and handed it back to him.
Martin held the plate of food in his hand as he watched Gerry and Allenby enter the Green Room , they were followed by Allenby’s entourage . The room was full to the brim again.
“Help yourself to our meagre fayre”. Gerry announced. Plenty for everyone. I’m just going to check on a few details at the front, so relax and enjoy, we’ve got a tight programme and I don’t expect we’ll hear anything for about half an hour and we may over run depending on the speeches.
Gerry left the room and Martin watched as Allenby moved towards one of the drinks table accompanied by a tall young man in a blue suit. Martin placed a vol-au-vent to his lips, it felt dry and crumbly in his mouth, he had suddenly lost his appetite, but he popped it in his mouth nevertheless and with his free hand he touched Sandy’s shoulder to reassure her. She was beginning to tense up and she put her plate down on the table. She couldn’t eat anything.
Martin watched as Allenby poured himself some water and spoke firmly to the man in the blue suit who rapidly left the green room, nodding and gesturing that whatever Allenby wanted would be done.
Martin looked at Sandy and caught her attention momentarily, she looked away when she heard Allenby’s voice and she froze. Martin took her hand in his.
“It’s alright Martin, I’m fine.” Sandy said.
A sound of raucous, loud applause coming from the main stage area reverberated through the room. It was the announcement of one of the Acting Awards, it garnered quite a few people’s attention in the Green Room, so much so that with the milling and cooing of the crowd Martin didn’t notice Allenby making his way behind Sandy and suddenly touching her shoulder.
” Hello Sandy, such a long time since we’ve seen each other, have you been out of circulation? I’ve tried calling you, but all your numbers have changed.”
Sandy didn’t flinch , but she twisted gently and moved so that the Professor’s hand was left mid air and she turned to face him.
“Oh we do that quite regularly, it’s Industry Standard, otherwise I’d get pestered night and day, particularly as it looks like our Documentary is going to win the top spot. ” Sandy said matter-of-factly.
” Yes, Gerry seems very confident. I saw some exerts in the editing suite, I would have like to have seen a preview, unfortunately we ran out of time and Gerry said it was bad luck anyway. How have you been keeping?”
Sandy wanted to scream at Allenby, but she kept her cool.
” Oh I’m fine , took a while to get over the virus. Funny, Gerry comes out with all sorts of things, bad luck nonsense, it’s really because our Industry has so much loose talk, it’s hard to keep anything secret. It looks like we’re on to a winner with your facility and it’s work. You will join us on stage won’t you. I’ve just got to make a quick phone call to my baby sitter, so we’ll catch up later.
She took Martin by the arm.
” Come on, just want to remind the twins to watch us on T.V. , I promised them they could stay up and watch.” She looked at Martin and both of them moved quickly away from Allenby. Martin smiled as he left Allenby standing. Allenby was briefly distracted by the sound on an overhead screen, he watched and listened as a young actor made an earnest thank you speech. Allenby turned and looked at the food on the table, he brusquely turned his back and took out his mobile phone and begun to make a call. He ended the call abruptly and turned again to look up at the screen. He kept watching the Award proceedings for a few moments, until his Mobile phone bleeped, he looked at it .
On the Night of The Award Ceremony , Sandy looked stunning , she had been given the best advice that money could buy , to be honest Sandy had little interest and just went along with what they told her. The make-up people had known she had been ill and had lost a lot of weight , so they helped her pick an outfit as well as doing her hair and make-up. The dress was simple with some very discrete padding to enhance her almost skeletal figure. Sandy was relieved that they had given her skin tone a lift and the drawn look on her face had disappeared without her looking like she was caked in concealer. The whole process began to lighten her mood and renewed her confidence, perhaps she could face Allenby after all.
Gerry,true to his word, was keeping the Professor busy. Allenby had been whisked away along with his entourage to a tour of Sunshine Media’s editing suite. He had told Sandy and Martin that the probable meeting place for everyone would be the Green Room at the Awards Ceremony Theatre , but until that moment he had plenty to show Allenby. Once they were all in the Green Room Allenby’s fate would be sealed as the Documentary would be shown in all it’s glory.
Gerry sat with Allenby in the editing suite giving him a preview of the Documentary. They were looking up at a large screen which showed the picture and was linked to a console which Gerry was operating.
“This is a good cut , have a look”
“Allenby’s face appeared, a talking head, and in the background one of his impressive laboratories.
” Our facility has made leaps and bounds on counteracting the forces that will damage the future of our planet and our children.”
Gerry pressed a button on the console and looked across at Allenby.
” We are going to win tonight , Professor thanks to you.”
“But enough of that , let me show you what this suite can really do . Let’s have some fun.”
The Professor looked puzzled, but Gerry continued.
Gerry produced a still of the handsome Professor Allenby and began to manipulate the image. One of the technical boffins had set it up for him and so all he needed to do was press some buttons in a specific order.
“Ever wonder what you’d look like when you are ninety Professor?”. Gerry looked up at the Professor.
The image on the screen began to change slowly. The skin began to age, developing wrinkles and age spots, and the well cut hair grew long and thinned out until eventually the Professor was bald and what was left of his receded hair had turned from grey to white.
“Still a handsome old goat ? Aren’t I?” He laughed and looked at Gerry.
“If you say so Professor, no comment. How do you fancy being a super hero? ” Gerry pressed more buttons on the console.
“Professor Nojomouse ……”
The Professor appeared with large whiskers , mouse ears and two prominent front teeth. He was also purple.” There was a titter in the background from one of Allenby’s entourage.
“Aaah, Nojomouse! So popular with the children, the little mouse who is continually trying to save the World from the Evil Dr Flerhaus.”
“You are a fan , Professor Nojomouse is very big globally, a big earner for us.”
” My younger sister has three children under five, that little mouse is her Saviour. I wore a Dr Flerhaus costume at Christmas last year, a big mistake, it didn’t go down well. I believe the children had nightmares and didn’t settle that night.”
Gerry fiddled with the console and the Professor’s image , mimicked what he had just said in the voice of Nojomouse in an animated form.
Again one of the Professor’s assistant’s laughed at the animation on the screen and the squeaky voice of the Professor and the Professor turned coldly and looked at him.
“Perhaps this is more your style Professor. The Evil Dr Flerhaus!”
Again the features on the screen changed .The whole entourage stood in silence and waited to see the Professor’s reaction.
“The Evil Dr Flerhaus!” There we are. Your alter ego. A man wo tries to destroy the World as opposed to a Great One who is saving it.
“Enough! We must get ready and make our way to the Award Ceremony, the Cars are waiting.”It’s only ten minutes away”. Gerry stood up.
Gerry reached over as he spoke and took a sip of water from a paper cup that was sitting on the console, when he finished he threw the cup in the bin beside him. As he got up from his seat he turned to Allenby and patted him on the back.
” We’ll go in my car , it’s just outside.”
Allenby smiled. Like best friends they walked out of the double doors followed by Allenby’s entourage. No one noticed one of Allenby’s assistants discretely take the paper cup that Gerry had disposed of in the bin and put it in a plastic bag, which he then carried out of the room.
Martin received a telephone message from Gerry to say that Allenby’s office had been in touch and that both Sandy and Angela had contracted a virus and weren’t able to travel. Sandy was recovering in a hospital in Washington, but unfortunately for Angela the virus had proved fatal and he was making arrangements to get her body home. Sandy would be travelling as soon as Gerry could get the Med-Evac organised , but in the meantime she was in the best of hands.
Martin was relieved when he got a telephone call from Sandy. As he listened to her on the telephone , she sounded very weak, and it was a real effort for her to speak but it was the old Sandy.
” Martin, I’m so looking forward to getting home, this virus has just been awful. How are the twins?” She was being careful , she didn’t want to say to much for fear of her conversation being monitored.
“The children are just fine, missing you an awful lot. My parents send their love, they’ve enjoyed their baby sitting stint, but would be grateful if you would hurry up and get home.” Martin tried to be jovial but could feel the tears welling up in his eyes.
Sandy smiled , but any movement would cause her pain, she was talking on audio phone which worked from the bedside table.
” I’ll be home as soon as I can, I think Gerry is working on it.”
“How’s Professor Allenby? Was he pleased with your work?”
“Oh yes, he’s very pleased with himself and everything. Gerry’s handling everything now. We’ve got some great footage. Really shows the place off.”
” That’s good, Gerry’s kept me in the loop, we were both very worried about you. You sound so weak.”
“Yes, I’ve spoken to Gerry, he’s doing everything to get me back home as soon as possible. The only thing that’s keeping me sane at the moment is the thought of getting home. I can’t think any further than that at the moment. The doctor’s are beginning to say I can travel in the next few days. “
” I hope so.” Martin wiped the tears from his eyes, partially out of relief that Sandy was still alive, but also worried that he didn’t know what she had been through.
” I think , they’ll be organising special transport, I’m not very mobile. I can’t walk, the pain is too intense. I don’t want to take too many painkillers , they make me feel like a zombie.”
” Maybe for the flight back, take what they give you, you can go into rehab and detox you when you get back. You don’t even like taking Aspirin .”
” I know, maybe you’re right. I’m so tired now, I think I’ll have a sleep. This has changed me .” Sandy’s voice got weaker.
” Let’s talk when you’re stronger , get some rest.” Martin held the phone to his ear, and he heard Sandy’s shallow breathing.
“OK Martin, love you.” Sandy drifted off to sleep.
Martin put the phone down and looked at the twins asleep on the bed beside him.
Sandy was able to recuperate at home after leaving hospital. The Doctor’s in the UK were shocked by what had happened to her. They had not seen Female Genital Mutilation performed on an adult woman and were unsure why it had occurred. The road to recovery would be a long one and would involve a number of reconstructive operations.
Her flight and escape from Allenby’s clutches were a distant memory and at Gerry’s behest she returned to work. Sandy had agreed despite the fact she was extremely tired, she did however stipulate that she could work mornings only as her sleep was being interrupted by terrible nightmares. She had flashbacks which left her screaming in the middle of the night. Martin would do his best to comfort her but it was no use, the twins were shipped back to their grandparents. The screaming and crying was too upsetting for them.
Gerry had had access to Sandy’s Medical Records in order to arrange the Insurance for the Med-Evac from Washington. He knew what Allenby had did and he was fired up to complete Sandy’s project and to get Alex and now Sandy the treatment they needed. Dr King was in Japan and was safe. Gerry was an absolute genius when it came to organising and editing Sandy’s material. He also appointed a top team to organise the News Awards Ceremony where the final part of Sandy’s Documentary on Allenby would be shown. Allenby and his retinue would be attending in anticipation of gaining more funding and global acceptance for the work they were doing.
Gerry had arranged for Sandy’s work telephone number, email and passwords to be changed. Gerry knew that Allenby would try to contact Sandy and as her nerves were frail, it could be very harmful. One morning as Sandy and Gerry sat drinking coffee in the shared social area, Gerry’s mobile rang. It was Allenby. Sandy sensed who it was and Gerry signalled to her that he would take the call elsewhere. Sandy sighed with relief.
When Gerry returned, Sandy had almost finished her coffee.
” So what did he say?” Sandy asked Gerry.
” Took the bait, hook line and sinker, he’s coming on the 29th , he’ll be staying in London a few days.”
“What am I going to do , I cannot face seeing that man.” She looked pleadingly at Gerry.
“We’ll see what we do closer to the time. As far as he’s concerned you are still getting treatment. I can handle him, I can give him a busy time. Keep him away from you, but I assure you when he falls he’s going to fall hard, so you’ll want to be around to see it.”
Sandy looked at her empty coffee cup.
“We’ll see, Gerry, I’m very tired , can I go a bit early today.”
“Of course, look if you need a few days, I’ve got everything done our side. Maybe see you Monday?” Gerry could see that the call from Allenby had upset Sandy.
” Yes that would be good thanks. My head just isn’t right. Allenby is such a cruel man, I have such weird thoughts. It’s like Allenby’s won, subdued me by his will.”
Gerry surprised her by leaning over her and giving her a big gentle bear hug.
” Allenby hasn’t won and isn’t winning, and by facing up to him you have given our son the best chance he has. You’ve done the best job ever. Don’t be hard on yourself. I’d pay for a psychologist , but I know you Sandy, you’ll rationalise all this yourself, remember who you are hasn’t changed. It was the cruellest thing imaginable to have happened, which I’ve no doubt Allenby intended, but the man and his friends need to be stopped, the lid is going to be blown on this in a very public way.
Sandy was taken aback by the gentleness of his hug and the encouraging words.
” Our son Alex, has two daddys, Martin and you.” She began to sob.
“Yes, you , Martin and I are definitely a Nuclear Family and what could be better than that. Get some rest.”
They both embraced each other as someone passed by.
” Final cuts” Gerry said out loud” Gets you like that and winked at the passer by.
Sandy drove home, she still was not mobile enough to look after the twins and this frustrated her. She missed not picking them up from school. Sandy could be tearful one moment and the next she could feel a surge of anger which was so powerful it would make her heart race. As her car pulled into the driveway she used her voice to turn the engine off .She knew it would be painful getting out of the car. Some scarring had got infected and she desperately wanted to go to the toilet. She opened the car door and struggled to her front door. Once safely inside, she made her way to the restroom in the hall.
The opening day of the Great Show arrived and the Tedi had the job of pulling the ribbon at the door of the House to tell everyone that the Show was open. All the villagers had entry tickets and the rest of the tickets had staggered arrival times to ensure everyone would have a good day. It was sold out.
When Tedi reached up and pulled at the ribbon which covered the great door with his paw there was a great cheer from the surrounding area as the door swung open. It was televised on big screens throughout the park and at the locations where the entrance booths were. Everyone around the Park cheered when they saw the ribbon fall to the ground and Tedi excitedly gazed up as the door swung open. Mr and Mrs Graham who had VIP tickets and were standing near Tedi walked through the doors . The whole house was full with animals of all shapes and sizes, there were so many exhibits.
As well as the wild animals , there was a livestock show, with cows, sheep and goats , and of course a dog show, with a special competition for the best “Village Dog”, which gave the “Village Dog’s ” a chance to show off. Which of course they did.
The day was going to be incredibly busy for all the people attending there was so much to see.
Tedi was one of the judges at the The Village Dog Show along with Cross, so after they’d had some tea with the Graham’s they made their way to the arena which had been set up for the Police Dog Demonstration and The Palace Top Breed Show and then various demonstrations by Agility, Dog Behaviourists, Dog Dancing and Flyball.
Tedi and Cross arrived just as the Flyballl was finishing, it was one of the early rounds, so there were no prizes ,but there were a lot of excited dogs. Tedi recognised the Village dogs, they were all hanging around waiting for the “Flyballers” to come out of the arena. Tedi knew this meant trouble, but Cross had him on the lead, and Tedi knew Cross would not understand why Tedi would pull him towards the Village Dogs. Cross would think Tedi just wanted to say hello to his friends.
Tedi gave the equivalent of a dog sigh, which in truth most people wouldn’t even have noticed. He continued to the main arena and walked up the steps to the booth where all the judging was being done.
Tedi was introduced to some of the other judges and the various dignitaries that were watching the demonstrations and competitions. They were all very pleased to be introduced to this famous dog, and in order to enable Tedi to meet everyone Cross took Tedi off lead. Tedi waited a few minutes and finished greeting the local Councillors, then looked up at Cross and went running off to the back of the tent at great speed.
Tedi was in a great hurry to avoid disaster. The ” Flyball dogs ” were with their owners on their leads and we’re just preparing to exit the arena.They were all very tired and excited having enjoyed their game of flyball.
The Village Dogs were however waiting for them to exit the arena and they were going to ambush them. It looked to most people that the Village Dogs were just waiting their turn to enter the arena to be part of the show, but Tedi knew different. The Village Dogs hated “Flyballers” as the called them and thought they were idiots. He had to stop them. The Flyball owners would get very upset if the Village Dogs scrapped with them. The Village dogs were not on leads, some didn’t even have collars on , they were a rough lot really , and just wanted to show off.
Tedi reached the arena and ran in front of the Flyball owner who was first in line and stopped her in her tracks. She was very close to the exit, everyone stopped behind her , no one really knowing what was going on. Tedi waved a paw as a signal to stay and wait there. Luckily the lady understood and waited.
Next Tedi turned and ran towards the exit, he found he could crawl under the tarpaulin to get to the other side where the Village Dogs were waiting. The minute he got out, the village dogs saw him.
“Tedi” ” they all barked!”
Tedi was not pleased, he knew what they were up to .
“Right you lot, you leave the “Flyballers” alone, I don’t want any name calling, I know you think it’s stupid , but they enjoy it and I don’t want any trouble. “
” Aw Tedi, but they’re stupid!”
” No, you are not going to annoy them, you must behave!”
The Village Dogs all looked disappointed, it was too good of an opportunity to miss, but what Tedi says goes, so they all looked at him and said the equivalent in dog language of
“OK”
Tedi turned and squeezed underneath the tarpaulin again and signalled to the lady leading the “flyballers ” that it was alright to exit the arena now.
Tedi led the way and the flyballers walked by the line of village dogs who were mostly quiet , although, there was a few murmuring growls of derision from the back, but Tedi told everyone to keep going and to ignore those ruffians. Tedi knew the growl had came from a little Chihuahua who was always causing trouble and was actually very posh but was always winding up the bigger dogs. Fortunately the bigger dogs listened to Tedi.
When they were clear and the Village Dogs had been called to the ring , Tedi ran back to Cross, who told him that the Village Dogs Show was just beginning. Cross had been watching and when Tedi stopped the Flyball lady, he had a good idea what Tedi was doing. So Cross gave Tedi a tummy rub and said come on boy, I hope you can keep these ruffian Village Dogs on the straight and narrow. Tedi looked up at him and Cross swore there was a smile on his face.
The Village Dogs wandered into the arena like as if they owned it, it was their to time shine and they were going to enjoy it. Their owners accompanied them , some were on lead and some walked to heel nicely. There was a prize for obedience and also the best looking dog prize.
First up was the obedience. The owners did there best to make it look like a proper dog show, but for most of this unruly lot it was impossible. The Judge was in the centre of the arena and it was his job to give commands for the dogs to show what they could do. The Judge had his work cut out because there were dogs of all sizes from a Chihuahua to a Great Dane Cross.
The first command, to walk around the outside of the ring was going well until the Great Dane stopped as he needed a wee. He’d spotted a nice post and decided to head for that pulling his owner with him. Two or three other dogs behind him followed him , pulling their owners too. The rest of the dogs continued walking in a circle, and when the Great Dane had finished , he realised he’d made a mistake and leapt back into the middle of the dogs who had continued without him, knocking two or three with their owners sideways.
The Great Dane was big enough to get his spot back by pushing the Chihuahua out of the way , but the ones that had followed him, after sniffing at the post , couldn’t get back inside the circle and just walked around the outside with their owners. The Judge shouted the next command.
” Sit”
The Great Dane almost sat on the Chihuahua, but it got out of the way and yelped at The Great Dane, who was oblivious and actually sat very nicely so the judge thought. Some of the dogs by now were very tired and the judge got a mixture of sitting and lying down. He looked at the dogs and their owners despairingly.
It was time now for the dogs to be assessed individually, so the Judge walked up to each one and chatted to the owner and for the ones that were lying down instead of sitting, he gave a tummy rub. Which of course was all the dogs wanted.
A very intelligent Collie did all his obedience instructions correctly, and ignored all the other dogs shouting at him that he was a show off. He remained sitting up , and when the Judge came over to him very nicely gave his paw when asked and also responded to the command.
“Lie down”
The Collie didn’t roll over to get his tummy rub.
“At least something is going right ” thought the Judge as he handed the “Most Obedient “Rosette to the Collie’s owner. Both the owner and the Collie were very pleased. Though there were lots of derisory growls and yelps from the rest of the Village Dogs who were actually very jealous.
Added to that they were getting bored and began to bicker amongst each other. They had really lost interest by now.
The prize for the “Best Looking ” was next and it had been a vote from the local dignitaries that decided it . The result and the prize was handed to the judge and he walked back to the centre of the arena. All the dogs were looking at him wondering what was happening next.
The prize for ” Best Looking ” was a bag of treats and as he opened the envelope, the smell of the treats wafted across the arena and it was just too much.
Tedi and Cross looked at each other , but it was too late.
All the Village Dogs, except the Collie ran towards the Judge and jumped up and flattened him into the ground. They grabbed the bag of treats. They began to race around the arena chasing each other as the bag was dropped and then picked up and all the treats went everywhere. Some dogs stopped to eat some and there were scuffles and scraps as the bag burst open and emptied very quickly. Soon there was none left and the owners frantically ran after their dogs and put them on their leads and walked them out of the arena.
Funnily enough, no one ever found out who won the “Best Looking Dog” that day, but everyone enjoyed the chaos of the Village Dog Show, even the Judge after he had cleaned himself up thought it had gone well and that the Collie had been a very deserving winner.
Allenby’s plane was late and Joss arranged for the chauffeur to pick up Martin and Sandy and take them to the airport. They had packed everything and were both about to get into the waiting car when Sandy’s phone beeped, it was Allenby.
“I’ve arranged another car , I’d like to see you , you can catch a later flight.”
Sandy really wanted to get in the car with Martin and get out of there, but something told her she was not going to be allowed to. Another car appeared in front of them and the driver signalled to Sandy to come with him.
“Oh,Oh” Martin said.
“I’ll be fine, I’ll let you know how I get on. Don’t make a fuss . Kiss me , you’ve got the film . Sandy’s pupils were dilated with fear.”
Martin gazed helplessly as Sandy got into the other car and was whisked away, there was the driver and another man in the front passenger seat. Martin continued through security and the small electronic device that held all the footage that Allenby would not want anyone to see remained undetected.
Martin sighed as the car drove out onto the highway and he hoped Sandy would also be on her way shortly. The filmed evidence would protect her, but he knew she was in a precarious situation. He wanted to go back and get her, but it was impossible. The anti-dote for some of the truth drugs that Allenby could use was on a small crown at the back of her mouth, all she needed to do was bite on it half an hour before the drug was administered. Hard to judge though, he thought ,and suppose it didn’t work. What would Allenby do if he found out what they had done?
Meanwhile when Sandy arrived at one of the interrogation buildings, she immediately sensed something was wrong. The car stopped abruptly and the driver and the other man in the front of the car jumped out and opened Sandy’s door. She was manhandled out of the vehicle with each man taking one of her arms and frog-marching her in through the entrance. There was none of the usual security , everything opened automatically and she realised she was in an “interrogation area” she had never seen.
They came to a reception area and she was literally thrown at one of the chairs. A few minutes later Angela, the make-up artist was wheeled by semi-conscious in a wheel chair. Angela lifted her head to look at Sandy but there was no recognition.
” Angela” Sandy stood up and shouted. ” What have you done to her , she should be on the plane, what the hell is going on?”
Sandy was roughly thrown back and made to sit down by another Security Guard who unbeknown to Sandy had been directly behind her.
“As Angela was wheeled by, Sandy watched as the limp body in the wheelchair almost tipped forward, the orderly who was pushing her frantically grabbed at her and Angela gave a slight whimper .
“You people will pay for this!” Sandy shouted.
The Security Guard hit her viciously in the face. Sandy thought he had broken her jaw, the pain was so intense.
Angela was wheeled through some double doors and disappeared. Sandy was stunned and then Allenby appeared.
“Oh my , my not so rough! ”
Sandy knew that Allenby had been watching all the time and thought perhaps this had all been staged. She wondered what had happened to Martin , was he at the airport, would he make the arranged flights? If he did then the film that he had would be enough to stop Allenby in his tracks. The pain in Sandy’s mouth was intense and she knew her mouth was bleeding.
“My dear Sandy, that is certainly not a good look” Allenby walked up to her and put his hand on her chin and held it up to his gaze….. damaged goods eh?”
“Nurse, clean her up”. A Nurse appeared and wiped the blood from Sandy’s face. Sandy’s lips were beginning to swell.
“You’re a Mad Man Allenby, what the hell is going on , is this how you get your kicks. You pervert””
Sandy’s mouth hurt like hell , but she got her words out. She felt at the back of her mouth for the gel capsule that contained the anti-dote to the truth drug and bit into it. She felt the fluid dissipate and swallowed.
” You won’t kill me Allenby , I’m the Star Presenter, you can’t explain away me disappearing, you need me just as much as I need you.”
” You think so , I’m not so sure . There are worse things than death you know, as your colleague Angela has just found out. She’ll never be the same . Accidents happen , a viral infection , loss of all motor function. We will say we did the best for her that we could . We can say the same for you. It’s awful isn’t it?” Allenby smiled and continued.
“Nothing is ever how it seems, Angela told us everything, I just want you to collaborate her story. This will help.”
The nurse reappeared with the paraphernalia to administer the truth drug, the Security Guard moved to hold Sandy down.
Sandy wanted to delay the drug a bit longer. She jumped out of the chair and ran towards the door and turned directly to look at Allenby.
” Allenby you are mad, do what you want ! You are a mad control freak. Ever think that you might not be the genius you think you are? That you are wrong and everyone else is right!”
Allenby looked as Sandy moved around the room. He signalled to the Security Guard to leave her alone.
“How admirable a journalist to the very end, still asking difficult questions. Well perhaps not really that difficult. According to my peers , I am no genius, but that matters little now. They are nobodies, some have died , some have retired, but look at me , look at my reputation, my honours, my awards , this place. Funny none of my peers thought my work of any value, none of them would work for me. Now , I force people to work for me. It’s not pleasant and I’m not happy about losing Dr King Sit down Sandy.”
” No I will not sit down!” Sandy remonstrated and gesticulated at Allenby, she moved closer to him, even though the movement caused a throbbing pain in her jaw.
Allenby shouted “Guards”
The Guards grabbed Sandy and made her sit down on one of the reception chairs.
Allenby moved towards the now seated Sandy.
” Losing Dr King has very much upset me.”
“Where did he go? He wanted to retire , he said he was looking to complete the project and get the hell out of here. Let’s face it you are running a prison camp here.” Sandy looked up at Allenby.
“Don’t play the innocent with me young lady” Allenby raised his fist and hit Sandy on her right breast. The pain Sandy felt was horrendous and she was severely winded.
” I don’t want to mark that pretty face anymore, I still find it most attractive. ” Allenby held Sandy’s chin in his hand and raised her head to look directly into his eyes. Sandy’s eyes filled with tears. She tried to talk , but all she could do was mumble a few words which were incomprehensible.
“Creep!” was all Allenby heard.
He hit her again , this time on the other breast.
Sandy felt the pain go right through her body, she was very frightened but still wanted to give herself more time. The truth anti-dote had to work, it was her only chance.
“I want Martin!” She cried.
“Martin is on the way to the Airport, he can’t help you!”
“This is crazy, what is it you want? Call him back please?
“What for? The man is an idiot. A useless dolt. Nurses ! ” Allenby raised his voice and the Nurses with a gurney and a trolley with the paraphernalia to inject Sandy arrived . Sandy kicked at the trolley and caused one of the silver kidney dishes containing a syringe to fall on the floor. One of the Nurses , hurriedly left the reception area and came back with a replacement.
” That was stupid Sandy!” Allenby , moved back and the Security Guards held Sandy while the Nurses gave her the first injection.
Within a few minutes Sandy’s body went limp and she was aware that she was lifted onto the gurney trolley and strapped onto it and wheeled into another room. More drugs were administered and the room that she was brought to was brightly lit. Sandy heard an instruction given by Allenby to strip her.
Sandy could no longer struggle but was totally aware of what was said and done to her. After the interrogation which she kept to the story that Ian and Angela were additions to the crew she knew nothing about and that Dr King was chosen because Martin had said , he was an expert in genetics. Sandy did not know who he was.
She remembered, that Allenby had calmed down as she had answered his questions . Sandy remembered that after the initial interrogation Allenby had instructed the other people who were there to leave them alone. Sandy was helpless.
When Sandy regained consciousness, the ties that held her down had been removed , she was still in the interrogation room and Allenby sat in a chair opposite watching her. Sandy was very groggy and all she could feel was the moistness and stickiness between her legs, she could hardly keep her eyes open.
” Ah, Sandy , you are awake. Well it seems that what you were saying was true.”
The sound of Allenby’s voice caused her irritation and gave her the strength to reply.”
“What are you talking about , you Madman?”
” You knew nothing about Dr King’s escape?”
” I don’t understand, what gave you the idea that I did? What have you done?”
“It was just too convenient, you arrive with the crew and Dr King disappears. Your set up was infiltrated.”
“Look , you’ve dragged me into this, where’s Martin, get me Martin. I want nothing to do with you. You’re a dangerous Madman.”
“Oh yes, you’re right, I’m dangerous, but you needn’t worry, we’ll make you all better and we’ll continue with our work.”
” Fuck you” Sandy screamed, she began to feel the pain that was shooting through her body.
” Oh don’t be angry, perhaps I’ll give you some more pain relief. Like a good doctor , I will look after you, I’ll take you to the recovery room , you will need to rest, and I must dispose of this. “
Allenby held up a sample dish. Sandy looked at it , there was blood and bits of tissue in it. Sandy could barely register what he was showing her.
“Yes Sandy, I am the last man to enjoy you and pleasure you. No one else will ever be able to do that now. I’ve taken away all your external genitalia. I just couldn’t help myself. “
Sandy fainted.
Allenby continued talking and rubbed her forehead.
” I shall look after you myself the next few days, my sweet girl. You will be in pain when the anaesthetic wears off and the stiches will take some time to heal. We’ll telephone your office and say you’ve caught a virus and won’t be able to fly for a couple of weeks. Angela unfortunately will not make it as we discussed. I’m sure you understand that this is for the best .
Allenby wheeled the unconscious Sandy into the recovery room.
thenotsomightyom 