The Capture
Earth - South Africa - 2013, Monday
The Cast
Mandy, William, Gordon, Jon, Rob, Gobbler, Sonia, Sam, Grace
Amanda Walker, with William and Gordon, arrived at Pietermaritzburg airport late Sunday morning. They jumped into separate taxis, with Mandy going straight to the bike race and William and Gordon heading into town to find accommodation.
She arrived at the downhill course in plenty of time. Jon wasn’t due to start his run until 3.35pm—ninety minutes away. She decided to climb the hill and find a daring section of the descent and watch the riders come flying down. She chose a section just past halfway, where there was a triple jump followed by two tight turns straight after landing, showcasing the riders’ skills to the maximum.
She stood next to two American lads who seemed well up for the next couple of hours of thrills and spills.
Before she knew it, there was a buzz going around the crowd. The blond-haired American said, ‘Rider on the course,’ as his mate was whooping loudly.
Mandy looked at the series of jumps, trying to imagine what speed they would be going over each one. It would need to be quite slow, she thought. How wrong she was, for when the first rider came into view he was flying, and hit the take-off ramp so fast that he cleared all three jumps, landing sweetly on the final down ramp. The two Americans were screaming with delight, as was the rest of the crowd. The rider was now firmly applying his brakes but still looked to Mandy to be going far too fast for the upcoming turns. With the banking helping him he zipped through both and was gone, the roar of the crowd following him down the hill.
‘Oh my God!’ said Mandy to nobody in particular, but the blond American replied, ‘It’s gonna be a great afternoon.’
Very soon she was whooping with the rest of them, amazed at what these guys—and Jon—actually did. She couldn’t believe that after all the years being so close to him and knowing his love for this sport, that she had never actually watched him race. She turned to the Americans.
‘I never knew they went so fast!’
The second American shouted back to her, ‘And the girls, dude. The awesome Rhian has just won the women’s race. She’s world champion, and she’s one of yours—a Brit.’
These guys seemed to have a handle on who was coming next, so she asked them, ‘Do you know when Jon O’Malley’s turn is?’
They consulted their scruffy notes. ‘Yeah, two more then the lucky Irishman is up,’ and both added a tremendous whoop, whoop, with Mandy joining in.
Next was a Frenchman. His jump lacked height, and his rear wheel landed perilously close to the up side of the third ramp. He did well to stay upright. The Americans were mega animated. ‘Wow… serious casing, man! How did he stay on?’
Then it was Jon’s turn. Amanda couldn’t help feeling apprehensive. Before she knew it, though, he was flying through the air right above her. He looked majestic, at least to Mandy, and landed effortlessly on the exit ramp, the wheels kissing the ground simultaneously. He eased forward marginally, slowing for the turns. He banked hard for the left one, flowing gracefully through it, then a wobble. He wasn’t taking the line for the right-hand turn that the previous riders had. He hit the bend, flying high over the bank, man and cycle completing a full summersault.
There was a groan from the crowd. The marshals were climbing onto the course to get to the bank Jon had gone over. The Americans looked at each other, silently conveying their dismay.
Amanda raced over to him, but she had crowds of spectators to negotiate, many of whom were heading in the same direction to see the wreck. When she arrived, Jon was already on his feet, talking to two marshals. One was holding his bike, and the other was pointing to his front tyre, which had completely ripped off.
‘Are you okay?’ Mandy was tapping him on the back.
‘Amanda. You managed to get here,’ He took his helmet and goggles off and pecked her on the cheek. ‘What time did you arrive?’
‘Never mind me,’ she said, fear having risen to angry tears. ‘How are you?’
He stopped to assess the damage. ‘A bit of road rash here and there, but nothing broken.’ He smiled at her. ‘You must be my lucky charm. The first time you come and watch me, and I crash.’
‘You know I’m your only charm.’ She grabbed his arm, pulling him to her.
He winced, and she let go. ‘Road rash,’ he said, trying to smile.
The two marshals, one carrying his bike, began to help him down the hill, with Mandy right behind. The journey that would have taken just over a minute to finish from here on his bike would now be closer to half an hour.
At the bottom, they arrived at the team van, a monstrous thing with Fortune Factory Downhill Team plastered across both sides.
Mandy was still trying to get Jon on his own. She needed to tell him what they thought might be going on but wasn’t sure how to broach the subject. She didn’t have to, for the time being anyway, because out of the van stepped Rob.
‘What happened, man?’ said Rob.
‘Tyre ripped out, mate. I didn’t stand a chance. Really lucky that I found a soft landing,’ Jon replied.
Amanda studied Rob, trying to find clues as to his true nature. Nothing apparent.
‘This is my friend Amanda,’ Jon said. Mandy shook Rob’s hand. It felt normal, but then, so did Grace’s.
Rob looked at Amanda warily. He knows who I am, she thought. He’s given himself away.
‘Have you been riding today?’ she asked, smiling. She was looking at his riding outfit, with his number still on. ‘Oops, I see you have.’
They then carried on chatting, with Jon grilling Rob about his performance. He was currently in sixth place, but there were quite a few big hitters still to come.
‘Well, I’m off to get showered,’ Jon said to Rob. ‘Amanda is buying me dinner later.’
‘I thought you were in the chair, O’Malley,’ she said, poking him and finding some more road rash.
At dinner, Mandy explained everything they had deduced about Rob. Jon was utterly astonished.
‘Haven’t you noticed anything wrong with him?’ she asked.
‘No, just like I had no idea about anyone at Harewood Hall, before the assassination attempt.’ Jon looked a little hurt. ‘Though I have caught him talking to his ghetto blaster quite a few times.’
‘Nothing?’ persisted Mandy.
‘Now his aunt? Alien all the way. That’s one strange woman.’ Jon smiled. ‘I’m not convinced, Mandy. We’re going to have to dig around a bit. Set a trap.’
‘Or look inside the ghetto blaster,’ Mandy countered.
The following day, Jon invited himself and Mandy over to Rob’s for a late breakfast.
‘Mandy’s heard about your legendary fried breakfasts,’ Jon told him.
‘I’ll need to get some stuff in,’ Rob said. ‘Make yourself at home.’
‘Is your aunt in?’ Jon asked.
‘I haven’t seen her all morning. I think you’ll be safe.’
As soon as Rob left, Jon set about the ghetto blaster. No conventional way of getting in. No screws, nuts or bolts, rivets. Jon looked in Rob’s toolkit and saw what he wanted. A sonic entry device. Jon’s look to Mandy when he found the alien tool said it all. Peter had shown him one at Harewood Hall, and showed him how to use it. He held it close to the blaster casing and depressed a button. He was rewarded with a click. Four secret entry point catches released, revealing a weird looking machine inside.
Jon smiled at Mandy. It all seemed perfectly clear.
Unfortunately, all was perfectly clear elsewhere.
An indignant food processor was reporting to Rob about being violated by aliens. Rob was sitting outside wondering what he should do about Amanda. This was all happening too fast, and still no sign of his father’s arrival. He would need to chat with Sonia.
Sonia was monitoring everything from her room. She was aware of the imminent arrival of Mancer’s cruiser, but had her own agenda, and it didn’t include Rob.
She entered the room to a startled Jon and Mandy and before they could react, subjected them to a weird green mist from her wristbands. They collapsed.
When Rob returned, she subjected him to the same treatment, and began planning a variation on a night of ‘fun’ she’d been planning for the last few days.
Later, when she had loaded the back of the van with her three playmates, the reporter turned up on the pretence of a couple of beers with the other boys. She knew exactly what he was here for, and now would be the right time to sort him as well. The last thing Sam remembered was a strange green mist emanating from Rob’s aunt’s wristband.
The day after William and Gordon’s arrival in South Africa, they lost contact with Amanda and Jon.
They visited Rob’s apartment, but there was no one in sight.
They contacted Grace, informing her that her friends were missing.
‘Janet’s arranging another jet, so we’ll be over there as soon as possible. It will just be me, Janet and Krankel. Janet is arranging for two local South African NIA agents to meet you at the airport prior to our arrival. Bring them up to speed as quickly as possible—especially as to our alien origins—we won’t have time for surprises on the day. Janet will have briefed them as much as is possible before you meet up. They’ll have transportation for us at the airport.’
‘All clear, gentlemen?’
‘Yes, Princess,’ William replied.