The sound of rain rattling against the panes drew David Milton to the window of his hotel room. He looked out onto the road four stories below. The darkness of night had arrived but the streets were illuminated by streetlamps and headlights from cars. Every wet surface reflected the light giving a fresh, polished look. He watched the white headlights of approaching cars grow bigger and the red taillights of the receding cars grow smaller. He thought back to something Stuart once told him when they were kids. It was a rainy night just like this one. They were sat in the back of their dad’s car, returning home after visiting an old aunty. Stuart was staring out of the car window when Dave asked him what he was looking at. Stuart replied he was watching all the new souls arriving on earth and all the old ones leaving. He asked his brother what he meant by this. Stuart told him to look out of the window at the stream of approaching cars on the opposite carriageway and imagine the white lights were the souls of new-born babies arriving on Earth. He told him to look at all of the taillights of the cars stretching out in front of them on their carriageway and imagine these were the souls of the dead departing the Earth.
“That’s how many people are born and how many people die every day,” Stuart offered as he stared dreamily out of his window. “It’s a constant stream of life and death.”
“But does that mean we are dead souls leaving?” Dave had asked, concern on his young face.
“That depends on which side of the road you are looking from,” Stuart replied without turning away from the window.
Dave didn’t understood the comment but spent the rest of the journey and many more that followed mesmerised by the coming and going of souls. It seemed pertinent he should be having this memory now. Birth and death were natural events he could comprehend, but what he had just learned in the debrief with the Home Office agents went way beyond his natural understanding of existence.
The debrief had been held in a small conference room at the hotel. It was hosted by Agent Lawrence, the man Dave had travelled back from China with. Accompanying him was a second representative from the Home Office and, much to Dave’s surprise, Dr Catherine Carson, his brother’s psychiatrist. After introductions, the second representative, who had been introduced as Agent Mann, asked him to sign a copy of the Official Secrets Act. Dave had no problem with this but had started to get worried as to where it might be leading, especially with the presence of a psychiatrist. There were no windows in the room and it felt cluttered. Half the space was taken up by stacks of chairs. The air felt thick and stuffy due to a lack of ventilation. The only relief came from a large pedestal fan stood in one corner, swinging from side to side with a whir and click every few seconds, bathing them momentarily in an artificial breeze. They sat at the end of a long meeting table designed to seat far more than the four of them. Dave and Dr Carson were sat on one side, with the two home office representatives opposite them. Agent Lawrence asked the questions while Agent Mann typed his responses into a laptop. Connected to the laptop by USB was a small, round speaker. The debrief started when the agent pressed a button on the speaker and a tiny, red LED started to flash. Agent Lawrence pointed to it and explained what it was for. “David, Dr Carson, this unit is a microphone that will digitally record everything we discuss here today. Do you consent to this?” Dr Carson shrugged and looked toward Dave. “I have no issue with it. You?”
“Nope, fine with me.” Dave replied also shrugging. “Thank you, then let’s begin”
The debrief lasted for almost two hours. During the first hour Dave was asked to describe the people he had encountered in China. The agents showed him a series of photographs and asked him to point out the ones he recognised. Dave recognised most of them. He explained to the agents the roles the people in the photos had carried out. They seemed especially interested in the two suited dignitaries that had arrived to witness the calibration of ‘the machine’. They referred to them as ‘The Chairman’ and ‘The Director’. Dave informed them he had not had anything to do with the men except that the tall slim man had wished him good luck and informed him he was about to make history. Agent Mann showed him a picture of a woman, a woman who Dave immediately recognised. “That’s the evil bitch that abducted me.” Even seeing her in a photo sent shivers down his spine. “I think her name was Lin, or Lee, something like that.” He shuddered and turned away from the photo.
“We know all about Lin Lee, David,” Agent Lawrence offered. “And you don’t need to worry about her now,” Agent Mann added, “According to our colleagues in China she was killed trying to escape from the police.” This information was welcome but it did little to allay the trauma of his encounter with her. The agents continued, explaining to him what he already knew, that his abduction was a mistake and it was Stuart she had intended to take. Before the men could elaborate further, Dr Carson, who had been taking notes throughout, suggested they take a comfort break to which they all agreed. During the break, she took Dave to one side. “I need to warn you David,” she advised out of earshot of the agents, “what you are about to hear in a moment will be very hard for you to believe.” She looked over to the two men who were talking to each other at the table. “I want you to keep an open mind and trust that if I feel anything being said is not true I will intervene.”
“Ok, thank you Doctor.” Dave replied not knowing what else to say. Before anything else could be said, Agent Lawrence called them back to continue.
What Dave learned over the next hour about the purpose of the machine in China and circumstances surrounding Stuart’s situation was beyond anything he could comprehend. On several occasions during the unbelievable revelations, he turned to gauge Dr Carson’s reaction to the incredible story the men were telling him. Her passivity throughout suggested she believed all they had said was true. The parallel universe, machines designed to open up wormholes, people disappearing and reappearing. The whole thing had started to feel a like some strange psychedelic dream, set to the rhythmic whirring and clicking of the large fan in the corner of the room.
A horn sounded from one of the cars below snapping Dave back to the present. He looked at his watch. He was due to meet Dr Carson for dinner in the hotel restaurant but not for another hour. He was contemplating what to do next when there was a knock at the door. He was not expecting anyone to call and it was too early for it to be the psychiatrist. Before he had chance to answer, a white envelope appeared under the door. He walked over and peeked through the peephole. He caught a glimpse of a blond-haired man stepping into a lift down the corridor from his room. Even from this briefest of glimpses he recognised the man as the same one that had exited the airport with the blonde Chinese woman earlier that day. This was no coincidence. He felt sure his initial instinct about the woman had been correct. Despite what the secret service had told him about her demise he had little doubt she was the same women who had abducted him and taken him to China. He looked out of the peephole one more time confirming the area outside of his room was clear before he bent down to retrieve the envelope. It felt very light and thin so he doubted it contained anything more than a sheet of paper or two. He had no intention of opening it. Instead he placed it on a table by the window and picked up a cell phone the security service officer had given to him after the debrief. There were just two numbers in the contacts; one listed as Dr Catherine Carson and the other with no name assigned to it. He dialled the latter and the call was answered within three rings. It took approximately five minutes for the officers to arrive at his door. He recognised one of them as the man who had introduced himself as Robert Mann at the debrief, but the other, a tall, heavyset man was new to him. Dave pointed to the envelope on the table and the agent he did not recognise walked over and picked it up. He held it up to the ceiling lamp allowing the light to shine through it before tearing it open without further ceremony. It contained a single sheet of paper, which he scanned over quickly before passing it on to his colleague. The agent scanned over it just as quickly and handed it to Dave. The letter read:
Dear Mr. Milton (David!),
Your life is still in grave danger. The woman you spotted at the airport today is the same woman that abducted you. She intends to kill you, your brother and anyone else she needs to in order to get to the machine they are building here in Oxford. If you are as sensible as I think you are, you will have contacted the security services by now. Meet me in the bar at your hotel in thirty minutes and bring them with you.
Regards,
Your new friend.
The familiar stomach churning rush radiated through his body at the thought of encountering this deadly woman again. He looked to his protectors for reassurance. “Shit, what now?” he asked looking up from the letter. Agent Mann turned to his colleague and asked him what he thought. The man approached Dave and held out his hand to introduce himself. “David, my name is Terry, I have been working with your brother and Dr Carson for the past few days. I was hoping to join you and the doctor for dinner tonight by way of introduction but obviously this changes things somewhat.”
“Good to meet you Terry. Yes, I guess we should call Dr Carson and cancel? But what do we do about my new friend?”
“If you are up to it I suggest we go down and meet him.”
Terry took out his phone and tapped a few keys. He passed the phone to Dave and asked him if he recognised the man on the screen. To his amazement the phone displayed a video image of a blond-haired man drinking at the bar of the hotel. “Yes, that’s him,” he answered. “Is that live?” Without answering, Terry turned to his colleague and bombarded him with instructions.
“Bob, have the two undercover locals carry out an immediate, but discreet, sweep of the premises to see if Lin Lee is lurking anywhere − emphasis on the discreet, you know how subtle they can be,” he added sarcastically. “Have the remainder of your team set up in the bar in strategic positions. Call in a few more locals and have them monitor entry to the hotel, in particular anyone wanting to come into the bar. Finally, call the college and tell the duty site coordinator to beef up security and have the professor and his team stay put until further notice. Dr Carson is probably already on her way over. When she arrives have a uniform take her straight back to the college.”
Terry turned back to Dave as his colleague left the room. “What was that, ah yes, the video. We are monitoring the CCTV from the hotel wirelessly using an IP address. It’s just like logging onto a website really if you have the security clearance.” He put the phone back in his pocket before continuing. “So, how do you feel about going to meet our friend here and seeing what he has to say?” Dave thought about this for a moment. It was unlikely the man was plotting to attack him in the bar with the security services present. “Sure, if you think it’s safe. To be honest it’s not him I’m afraid of. It’s the crazy bitch he is travelling with. I’ve already seen what she is capable of.”
“Let us worry about her now, Stuart,” Terry offered. Besides, we won’t be leaving this room until I have confirmation we have full control of the area. Shit, sorry about that David,” he added as he realised he had just called him by his brother’s name, “I’ve been spending a lot of time with your brother lately.”
“Don’t worry about it, you’re not the first to make that mistake recently,” Dave replied with a wry smile. “Yeah, not great timing under the circumstances. Anyway, when we do go down let me approach him first and see what he has to say. I believe it is us, the security service, he really wants to talk to anyway, but having you there may just make him more comfortable. We don’t want to spook him but rest assured there will be several pairs of trained eyes watching his every move.”
They still had fifteen minutes before the requested meeting time. Terry briefed Dave on what he should and should not say to the man if he engaged him. “Stick to short yes or no answers where possible and don’t mention anything of your experience in China.” Dave nodded in agreement before changing the subject.
“So, how has Stuart been coping with all of this, Terry?” he asked the agent. “The last time I saw him he had just about come to terms with the fact he had suffered some kind of delusional breakdown. How has he handled the fact that everyone he trusted had gotten it all so wrong?”
“Incredibly well to be honest David,” Terry answered. “He has remained dignified and pragmatic about all of this from what I’ve observed. Many folk couldn’t have coped with all he has been through yet he has accepted everything thrown at him and cooperated fully.” Dave was just about to ask him if he had any idea what had happened to his brother from this world when there was a knock at the door. Terry approached the peephole and peered through. “Ok, you ready David?” Terry asked as he opened the door. Dave just nodded and followed him through. Agent Mann was waiting for them outside. “Just stick close to me and follow my instructions. If you do that everything will work out just fine.” Terry offered as they marched down the corridor to the lift.