Luke – Wednesday: 8 Days to Plague Day
He left Shitsville early next morning. The wasp man was still in the pub, face blemished with tiny red spots and pulse slow. Luke glanced at him as he walked out the front door. The place was empty, the barman having fled when his third local collapsed screaming. Luke spent the night lounging by the fire and flicking through the TV channels.
He stomped down the road far enough to find a car and knocked on the door of the house. An elderly gentleman opened it and, after a short discussion in which the words ‘snap’ and ‘neck’ were used liberally, he handed over his car keys with shaking hands. Luke slipped behind the wheel of the Micra, glanced with amusement at the small cross hanging from the rear view and pulled away.
He hadn’t driven in… he hadn’t ever driven, but he knew the theory. It took him until the first junction to get it sorted and from there he drove as fast as possible toward London. The inevitable blue lights led to a brief stop on the hard shoulder of the M3.
‘Excuse me, sir, are you aware of the speed limit on the motorway?’
‘Actually, no. This is my first time.’
‘First time on a motorway, sir?’
‘First time driving. How was I doing?’
‘Well, you were doing 120 in a 70, which means I’m afraid this is your first and also your last time driving. Could you step out of the vehicle please?’
Luke glanced at the wheel and then in the rear view at the BMW covered in blue and yellow signage. Their car would be even faster. And much classier. Actually, police cars weren’t classy, but certainly cooler than a Micra. Anything was cooler than a Micra. With a shrug he stepped out of the car.
The passing traffic pulled at his hair and he shifted from foot to foot. His wings itched horribly but the Father had been clear on that. No powers, no flying. Then again, he’d already disobeyed the first part. But there was something wonderful about doing things the human way. Everything here was rich and lush. Saving the human race felt like a small deal compared with the fun he’d already had. Speaking of which…
‘Officer, I’m sorry, but I’m going to need your car.’
The policeman raised an eyebrow and gestured. The man sat behind the steering wheel of their cruiser opened his door and moved to join them.
‘Hey, Steve, this gentleman needs our car.’ He said it with a smile on his face, the sort Luke had seen too often selling flowers. It was the sort of look that was accompanied by the belief that the smiler was in some way superior. It was perfect. Luke leaned closer, lowering his voice so it was almost stolen by the roar of the traffic.
‘Tell me, officers, what are your worst fears?’
The smiler went pale and his mouth dropped open. He screamed and ran. Unfortunately, he had forgotten where he was and dashed straight into the path of an oncoming HGV. The sound was somewhere between dropping a watermelon and squirting the last bit of ketchup out the bottle. Luke blinked as a spatter of blood caught his shoes.
That wasn’t supposed to happen. He grinned, ignoring the quiet voice, deep inside that cried out in distress. He just had to think, what would Az think about this? The smile widened. How about Seph? He shook his head, lips pressed into a thin line and turned to the other policeman.
He was naked, his clothes piled neatly on the tarmac. He was stood five feet away from the pile and firing a tazer repeatedly at them. Luke was tempted to go deeper and find out what was so scary about them. Instead, he took the long way around him and jumped into the cruiser. After the Micra, it felt like the cockpit to a space shuttle and he grinned as he flicked switches and played with things.
Not a great deal happened, so he pulled around the officer and put his foot down. The lorry had pulled into the hard shoulder, pieces of the policeman attached to the front bumper. Wincing, Luke pulled away. He needed to be careful. Or did he? He wasn’t sure. This felt natural, more natural than what he’d spent the last few centuries doing. This was the real him, wasn’t it?
Too many questions. Boring ones at that. He was enjoying the experience, but the sooner he could find Alex and convince him of the error of his ways, the sooner he could get back to the Flights and his cosy chamber and his flowers. Life was far simpler there, even if it wasn’t strictly life. And Sara was there.
The M3 cut through the M25 and soon he could see the landmarks that brought a sense of homecoming to him, far stronger than he’d expected. He drove right in until he hit the river. Then he parked the cruiser on Waterloo bridge and walked until he came to his spot. It was empty and he felt the absence of his stall in the eyes of the passers-by.
Many of them had no idea what had been there, but they felt it anyway. But some of them, the workers and regulars, knew what to expect and struggled with the space. Change is difficult, always so difficult, and it’s sometimes the little things, the things taken for granted that, when gone, have the biggest impact.
He needed to find Alex. He studied at the University of Westminster, but the lab in which he did his research was close by. The Universities in England had a remarkably unrecognised stranglehold over property, particularly here in the city. There were all these pockets and bolt holes owned by random educational establishments.
The one in which Alex worked was part of Temple, a place close to Luke’s heart. Anywhere that practiced secret and creepy belief systems was fine by him. Anything that stuck the finger up at the Father had to be a positive. He pushed through the gate and let the traffic sweep him along. It was quieter in here than out by the river, but there were enough people for him to fade until he reached the lab.
He slipped away, down a tiny alley and pushed through the door. The red brick and green lawns outside changed abruptly to the white tiles and linoleum of the laboratory. Alex was here, humming to himself as he bustled about. This was going to be easy. There was no way it would be this easy.
Alex glanced up, saw him and backed away, shaking his head. ‘It’s you. What are you doing here? I’ve made my decision, we’re keeping the baby, there won’t be any problems.’
‘See, it’s funny. Because you say that, but I have it on good authority that you’re still pushing ahead with your experiments.’
Alex shook his head, still backing away until he bumped against the wall. ‘I’m not, really. I’ve changed the thrust of my research. I’m working on a cure for chemical weapons. I sold it to the university this morning.’ He frowned. ‘Well, I sold the idea. They haven’t given me any money yet, but I’m sure they will.’
Luke stared at him. He couldn’t be telling the truth, because where would the problem be? Why was he here? Then again, the problem was thirty years away, so maybe nothing Alex did here made any difference. Perhaps a change of tack was needed.
‘You’re sure you want to keep the baby?’
‘Huh? I mean, what the hell? How can you ask me that? Of course I do, after what you showed me. I mean, I can’t really remember what you showed me, but I know I have to keep it, him.’
‘Even though you’ve changed your research. Don’t you think that will be enough?’
‘I don’t bloody know, this was your idea.’
Luke smiled as Alex’s voice rose. For a smart man, he was as unconfident as they came. He just wanted to be led around. Did his girlfriend know that yet? Luke smiled reassuringly. ‘Well, I think your change in study would probably be enough. You might want to have another chat to your girlfriend, just to be certain. You could do amazing things here, if you didn’t have a child.’
He almost felt bad as Alex’s face crumpled and he dumped his notepad on the table. ‘Who are you? Why are you doing this to me?’
‘My only interest is the safety of the human race.’
‘Yeah, well, my interest is my sanity, so go away. Please.’
It would have to do for now. He could work on him over time. He had plenty of it. He headed for the door and was about to leave when he spotted something written on a piece of paper by the door. He pulled it out and read the entire thing.
MOD/MI6 fhurng/rg/234
Full gagging and secrecy order
Dear Alex
Thank you for your recent efforts in support of our nation’s continuing security. As discussed in our meeting, this is your copy of the secrecy agreement you signed.
May I take this opportunity to remind you that any attempts to break this order, or share any information pertaining to the contribution you have made, will result in severe and immediate sanctions upon both yourself and any you hold dear.
Thank you again.
Sincerely
There was no signature. Luke held it up and turned back to Alex. The man watched him, sickly smile on his face.
We’ve got a cover variant on this post. Once again, I’d really appreciate any thoughts you might have. Cheers.
Next Installment Monday 25th August
