The Association, page 12
I watched his face carefully as he replied. "He's a madman, completely insane. I tried to walk out but..."
He was telling the truth. Every expression, every inflexion said so. I held up the device. "He implanted this without your consent, yes?" I interrupted.
For a few seconds he was silent - trying to recall the occasion? I wasn't sure, but then he spoke. "Yes, I didn't know it at the time, but now...obviously."
Jennie spoke. "Jack," she said, "we want to stop him, we've got an idea but we need your help."
He hesitated briefly. There was fear in his eyes, then deep regret and sadness. "He killed my wife, you know," he said, simply.
Jennie spoke. "Oh Jack, I'm..."
"An accident according to the police, but it wasn't," he interrupted. "Stupidly, I told her what Godfrey was planning and she went to the authorities. He found out, I don't know how." His despair was obvious, on his sleeve, but suddenly he cleared the painful memory and his expression hardened. "The authorities took no action, then...the accident. Yes...yes I'll help if I can. What d'you want from me?"
I came straight to the point. "Jack, we want to implant a device in him," I explained. "But if we do, how would we control him with it?"
"The device!"
"Yes."
"No, not the device, my device, the one you took from my arm, where is it?" He saw my lack of understanding. "It’s the last of the model and it’s modified. If it deviates more than a few degrees either side of body temperature, he'll get a signal, he'll know it's out!" I passed it to him, still covered in his body tissue like a fly wrapped in a spider's silk. He took it and placed it into his armpit. "I can trick the signal but it'll take ten minutes." He moved towards the staircase.
It struck me that what he'd done might be dangerous. "Jack, where are you going?"
He turned. "To my lab, upstairs."
I pointed to his armpit. "That close to you," I said, "won't it be functioning again, might you be giving control back to Godfrey?"
He paused, considering. "I don't think so, but..." he retrieved the device and handed it to me.
"Put it under your arm and come with me."
What would normally be the main bedroom was his laboratory - two benches, three screens and banks of electronic equipment the likes of which I'd never seen. "Does Godfrey know about this?" I asked, incredulously.
He smiled broadly as he worked with a piece of equipment. "He provided it. After Ruth's... accident, there was still work to do on the mark three and he agreed that I could do it here."
Apparently finished with the equipment he'd been working with, he smiled to himself, clearly satisfied. "Good," he said. For almost five minutes, he then tapped into what appeared to be a conventional computer keyboard before turning to me and smiling openly. "You can take it out now." I handed him the device. He rubbed his jaw and gave me a look of admonishment tinged with a smile. "How long was I out?"
"Maybe eight or ten minutes," I said.
He went downstairs and checked a wall-mounted thermometer for the hall's temperature then returned to the lab and tapped into the keyboard again. Finally, he sighed and I watched the tension fall from him as he turned to me and spoke. "We're okay,” he said. “It wouldn't have cooled by a few degrees in eight to ten minutes." He smiled. "So, as far as Godfrey's concerned, nothing's happened. He'll still be getting the right signal." He sat down and addressed both of us, saying "Right, how can I help you?"
Jennie explained. "As Ben said, we have in mind to turn the tables by implanting the device into him. But we assume that it's some sort of receiver and that there must be a transmitter for sending information or instructions. That's where we need your help."
"There is a transmitter," he said, "and if I do say so myself, it's an extremely ingenious one. It's controlled by thought and there are several levels. For example, it can be used to instruct or control any number of people at the same time, or it can be more specific so that if you have a special need from one particular individual, you can access that individual via his allocated reference number."
As I watched him speak, it was obvious that he was very proud of the device's ingenuity if not its purpose. "Is it easy to use?" I asked"
Yes," he replied, "once you understand the basic functions."
I looked him in the eye and crossed my fingers. "Have you any idea where Godfrey keeps it?"
"None whatsoever," he said. He saw my disappointment and smiled. "But I don’t need to," he added. He nodded towards some equipment in the corner of the room and grinning, said, "My personal transmitter."
This was fantastic. "How the hell did you get hold of that?"
He caught my mood and beamed. "I invented it, Ben. If you can make one, you can make another."
I took Jennie in my arms, lifted her from the floor, and spun her around. She shrieked and laughed out loud. Jack looked to each of us in turn, clearly amazed and confused. "The idea was Jennie's," I explained, "and it's looking better all the time."
He smiled. "Fair enough," he said. "But if the need for over exuberance overwhelms you again, please ensure that you don't knock my equipment over. It's very expensive, you know."
We both looked suitably apologetic then I turned to Jennie and grinned. "So it wasn't such a crazy idea after all!”
Jack seemed unsure. "That's the easy part," he said, "but how do you intend to implant the device?"
I'd been thinking about that and I had a vague idea. "Godfrey said something about the method being similar to pet security tagging," I said. "To be honest I had in mind to break into a vet's practice and steal whatever they use."
I knew the idea was crude, dumb, even, but it was all I had. Jack's face said he wished I had more. "Would you know what you were looking for?" he asked. "There's a lot of equipment in a vet's surgery. How would you know you'd got the right thing?"
"I wouldn't," I admitted. "I hoped you might be able to describe it to me."
He laughed; he'd been having fun. "I can do better than that." He pulled open a drawer and held what looked like some weird piece of do-it-yourself equipment in the air. "An implant gun," he said.
"This seems to be getting easier and easier all the time," laughed Jennie.
Jack cooled our enthusiasm. "This is for a mark two," he said, "the type you took out of my arm and the type you already have."
"So?" I asked.
"Godfrey knows what the implant gun looks like... he's used it often enough. What do you think his reaction would be if you approached him with one in your hand? Do you think he'd roll up his sleeve for you?"
Obviously not. "Well..."
"Anyway," he continued, "from what you told me you're not his favourite people. He knows you escaped from his surveillance, he knows you have a weapon and he knows you haven't got his best interests at heart. You won't get near him! If he feels in any way threatened he'll have security all over the place. The men he uses know exactly what they're doing and they enjoy doing it, if you take my meaning."
I did. My balloon thoroughly deflated, I looked to him for help. He gave it with a smile. "The mark three is up and running and it's almost microscopic, small enough to be administered by syringe," he said.
Amazing! "Do you have any mark threes?" I asked.
"Yes," he said, “I do.”
"Okay," I said, "so it's now easier to implant, but that doesn't solve the problem of getting close to him."
"No, it doesn't," he agreed. He paced the floor then stopped and turned to me with ‘bright idea’ written all over his face. "It doesn't matter where the mark three is. If it's in the body, it works. It can be injected or taken orally, but there are problems with both methods," he explained. "Normally, an injection would be into the blood stream, but with the mark three that's dangerous. As it travels around the circulatory system it can easily settle in the wrong place. It could cause a heart attack, a stroke or brain damage. In fact it's very likely to do so. It must be injected just under the skin, not in a vein, and Godfrey always considered that to be a problem. It would be too easy to get it wrong. So, he asked for further work on the oral method. The problem here is that it's fine for a while but it passes through the system in the normal way, so it only works for perhaps twenty-four hours or so, depending on the individual’s digestive transit time. Godfrey wanted us to work on something that would somehow stay in the system."
He paused. "Now, even if we could get close enough, the syringe approach is too dangerous because he isn't going to stand there quietly while the needle is carefully and precisely positioned. At best he'd struggle and there'd be every chance of it getting into his blood stream. If you want to kill him of course, that's fine, you'd be in with a chance, but from what you said, you don't, you want to control him, right?"
Would it really matter if the injection killed Godfrey, I wondered. No, but I preferred the control approach. With his help, it would be easier to deal with the other people involved. "Right," I said, not at all clear where this was leading, though his face told me it was leading somewhere.
"My suggestion," he said, "is that I contact him and explain that I've achieved a breakthrough on the oral method, that I've found a way to keep the mark three in the body. He'll suggest that I go to him but I think I can convince him I need to use my equipment to demonstrate the breakthrough. I think I can get him to come here."
"Then?"
"Then, while I'm explaining some jargon ridden nonsense, we sip tea. His will contain a mark three. He'll have bodyguards with him no doubt, but hopefully they'll also be tea drinkers."
"You've lost me," I said. "You said that the mark three would only work for around twenty-four hours if taken orally, so what..."
"Let me explain," he interrupted. "Once the mark three is in place, the transmitter can be used to effectively paralyse the host. It's simply a matter of pressing a button. Now, let's say that we set up a concealed video camera in my laboratory with its monitor in, say, the loft. You are in the loft. When my guests have drunk their tea, you hit the button. They are then paralysed. Then it would be no problem to implant a permanent mark three by injection. With a little help from nature, the oral one would pass through the system and the permanent one would be safely in place. You have your control."
I could see why he was such a well respected scientist. He thought precisely, logically and quickly. But I saw risks. "How many bodyguards d'you think he'll have?"
"I'd guess two."
"What if one of them didn't drink the tea?"
"Anything we might come up with will carry risk," he said. "This is one we'd have to take. Also, there is the possibility that they do drink the tea but that the mark three remains in the cup, like a tea-leaf does, sometimes." He looked vaguely sheepish. "Another risk, I'm afraid."
"But you'd be in here with them, totally vulnerable if something went wrong."
"Yes," he agreed. "If any of them don't drink the tea, we’d have to abort, but I think I could deal with that. I could talk a little more gobbledegook then explain that although there is a breakthrough, a certain amount of refinement is necessary and that I hope to bring him the final result within a week or so. Or, if they do drink the tea, but the paralysis button doesn't work on them all, you'll know that a mark three has stayed in a cup and you can quickly reverse the paralysis on those affected and they'll be none the wiser. Again, my gobbledegook explanation would be used to cover the situation."
For over an hour the three of us discussed the idea in detail. It was good, better than good. Either it would work or if it didn't we'd abort and Godfrey and his guards would leave, none the wiser. Having to abort would be a shame, but not the end of the world. If it happened, we'd just have to come up with some other idea later. Nothing would really be lost and we'd live to fight another day.
When we'd come here, I had vague ideas of implanting the mark two into Godfrey with God knew what and God knew how. Now, thanks to Jack Fancourt we had a plan that had a chance of succeeding. Not a huge chance, but a chance nonetheless, and that’s more than we had before this meeting.
"So, shall we go for it?" I asked when there was nothing left to say. Jennie smiled and Jack nodded.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
21st August 2024
Jack had made the call and as soon as he explained the need to demonstrate with equipment, Godfrey agreed a visit on the following Thursday, the twenty-first. The fact that the first hurdle was so easily negotiated surprised but delighted me.
I made the decision to take a risk.
The bedsit in Derby was far from being an ideal place to live so I determined that Jennie and I would spend a couple of nights in a decent hotel here in Chesham. It made sense to be close to Jack and we'd have a couple of day’s comfort into the bargain.
I asked for a double with twin beds and stopped short when the porter showed us to a room that had a king-size double. "Sorry," I said, "but I..."
Jennie interrupted. "We'd like some sandwiches please," she said. She took my hand, looked at me and smiled.
On the nineteenth and twentieth, I cruised the area around Jack's house, feeling that Godfrey might have instigated surveillance in advance of his visit. But as far as I could see, he hadn't. Perhaps I was being paranoid, why would he? He believed that Jack was still under his control, so there was no need for suspicion.
Godfrey was due at eleven o’clock on the twenty-first, and after much heated discussion, Jennie reluctantly agreed to stay at the hotel. I felt the risks would be high and saw no point in subjecting her to them.
I'd walk to Jack's house well before dawn, checking once more for surveillance - just in case.
***
It was still quite dark as I walked up the avenue then around to the back of the house. There was still no sign of surveillance as I knocked gently on the back door.
Jack let me in, and with a smile that probably displayed more confidence than he felt, offered me a cup of tea. "There's nothing sinister in this cup, is there?" I grinned.
He returned the grin and confirmed that there wasn't. Then he brought me up-to-date while we sipped our tea.
"I have two hidden cameras in place," he explained, "and they cover the whole room. There's a monitor and transmitter in the loft. Unfortunately, the loft has no floor and I haven't had time to make one, so you'll need to step carefully on the joists."
I nodded. "So we're ready?"
"Yes, as ready as we'll ever be," he said.
He glanced at the large brown paper parcel that I'd brought with me and placed on the kitchen table. "Some equipment of your own?" he asked.
"A weapon, just in case," I said.
Though clearly not comfortable with the thought, he nodded.
Well I wasn't comfortable with the thought either, and I had wondered, but in the end it seemed crazy not to bring the GT220.
For over an hour we went over the planned sequence of events. It still seemed good, the only real risk being that one or more of them might not drink the tea or if they did, that the mark three might remain in the bottom of the cup. We confirmed our agreement that if that happened we'd abort.
At just after nine, Jack pulled down the loft ladder and I followed him up it. He showed me the equipment and ran over its operation. It seemed straightforward. We couldn't be sure that Godfrey wouldn't come early, so we agreed that I'd now remain in the loft. He left me sitting on a small stool next to the monitor table, both stool and table with their feet balanced on joists. "Don't jiggle about too much," he said with a smile as he left and lowered the hinged loft hatch behind him.
***
I heard the doorbell at five-past-eleven.
My stomach knotted and I fingered the GT220, which I'd unwrapped and placed on the table next to the monitor. Suddenly there were a dozen things that could go wrong, and I was pleased that I’d brought it.
"Hello, Jack." I could hear the smile in Godfrey's voice as he entered the hall. "So, good news, I understand."
"Very, I think," Jack replied. "If you'd like to come to the lab, I'll explain."
"Lead the way, Jack," said Godfrey.
I heard footsteps on the stairs, more than two sets, but I couldn't be sure how many.
I watched the monitor as the lab door opened and four men entered the room; Jack had been right, two bodyguards.
He indicated the pot and cups that he'd prepared and placed in readiness. "Tea before we start, Gentlemen?"
I held my breath, it would take only one refusal, but Godfrey smiled his acceptance of the offer and the two bodyguards took his lead. Jack poured then handed cups to his guests.
Godfrey sipped from the cup almost immediately. "So, Jack," he said, "what have you got?"
For ten minutes, Jack spewed some nonsense about the need for the mark three to attach itself to body tissue in the gut so that it wouldn't pass through the system, and of how he'd found a way to encourage the body's natural defence mechanism to arrange just that, basically by misleading it into thinking that the mark three was a dangerous invader that needed to be captured.
I cringed several times during his explanation, but Godfrey seemed to take it all in as he concentrated on Jack's words and sipped his tea, presumably because he respected Jack's abilities based on past experience and had no reason to distrust him.
As they spoke, one of the bodyguards picked up his cup, lifted it to his mouth and gulped the contents in one move.
One down, two to go.
Godfrey continued to sip and I feared that his style of drinking might encourage the mark three to remain firmly in the bottom of the cup. The other bodyguard hadn't touched his cup at all.
I watched Jack.
He was getting fidgety, obviously concerned by the full cup that still sat untouched on a bench. "Another cup of tea, Gentlemen?" he asked. I guessed the question was designed to draw the non-drinker's attention to the one he already had. Both Godfrey and the other bodyguard shook their heads.
