Chapter 3 The drone.
The drone hovered over the facility it had zeroed in on the Toyota's license plate and followed it here. A sign read 'PharmOp Ltd' and in small letters underneath 'please show security passes'. The Toyota stopped briefly at the gate before it opened and it sped up a winding road that overlooked an old abandonded quarry.
The resistence held cloning facility was hidden deep underground inside the abandonded quarry the sign was supposed to deter unwanted visitors and the Order from sniffing around. About a quarter mile from the quarry was an old factory for the manufacture of diet pills. Or so it appeared.
The old man opened the boot of the toyota just as another man greeted him, "Jackson, its been a while where have you been?" "Ohh you know this and that. Ive been helping some friends of mine." "Hooking them up with a gateway eh? I always knew you were the go to man for smuggling"
"Oh no nothing like that they just needed my help is all"
"Yeah sure Jackson whatever you say. Mums the word eh!"
"You want these two cloned right?"
"Yeah how much you reckon they'll fetch on the black market Jones?"
Jones toar back the covers on the two stiffs, "20 maybe forty weve got some new money coming through. Defectors from the Order and they are willing to pay atleast twice the going rate."
"Well yes they would I suppose"
"Anything to get away and start a new life somewhere else with a new untraceable body I suppose"
"Let me help you with those"
Jones helped carry the bodys over to the shute. He spoke into a CB radio "Another two bodys for strip and search Franky"
"Alright" came back the reply.
The bodys were fresh returns from the vessel SS Lionard and arrived at the docks late last night - Jacksons only clue that his companions had left earth safely - without their bodys.
They called them floaters. Jackson had pulled them out and loaded them onto the Toyota before being stopped by the Order on the way back to Inverleary. He gave them a story about working late in the docks and showed him a security pass and they let him go. He could feel the sweat trickling down his face and was just glad the Order did'nt search his vehicle.
He'd made it back to the shack no problem.
The strip and search procedure took the bodys , removed their clothing and an MRI machine scanned them then they were burnt.
It scanned the brain and the body and used that data to make perfect living breathing copys - clones.
The drone appeared above the two men and Jones pulled out an em gun and disabled it, but not before it had taken a few photos and sent them back to its HQ. It fell to the ground before them and they examined it.
"Yeah looks like Order issue they must have followed you here. Guess we will have to lock it down for a few days." Sighed the man.
"Thanks.." he whispered to Jackson who immediately put his hands up. "Can't be helped theyre everywhere at the minute. Apologys for the inconvenience. Here for your trouble."
Jackson handed Jones a bottle of 50 year whisky and whispered "Remember the good old days"
Both men laughed.
Jackson got back in the toyota and left.
Theres a message for you from HQ. Oh thanks read it out to me. Whisper it.
An older distinguished looking man wearing a seamless grey uniform with four stars across the lapel which differentiated it from a room filled with similarly uniformed men bent down to listen to someone on his earpeice and exclude the din of a thousand voices. They were all sitting around a massive table drinking and discussing the war in the colonys.
"Yes I understand your saying that one of our drones has gone down over inverleary. But what use is that to me its not even in my juristiction. Ok your saying it could be an illegal clone lab. I doubt it. Wheres the evidence? Look it sounds to me like a big waste of time and I am not sending a garrison up into the wop wops to find a bunch of red necks with guns who like shooting down our drones. The answers no." He hung up and resumed drinking and rejoined the throng.
"If we invade them now then we stand a much better chance then if we are sitting on our hands and doing nothing. The 5th parallel is and always will be a disputed region. The Grrillion aramada is not going to do nothing when they see us occupy one of theyre main sources of plutonium. They are just like us their ships are hungry.
"The bigger we get the more fissionable material we need its that simple
The arguments of whether they should or not go to war with the Grrillion's raged on into the night.
Chapter 6 A good measure
Later that same day in a rather tasteful looking wine bar off commerical street in glasgow a man sat nursing a double dram of ministry sanctioned 5 year old scotch. "God this tastes awful havent you got anything better"
"Thats all they'll allow us governer. You should know right your urrgh you know one of them..
"I'm in law enforcement not customs. If you want my honest opinion I think the Order should lossen up on this kind of thing.
'It would make the whole thing that much more bareable' he whispered to himself whilst he took another swig sighed resignly and drew heavily on his B&H cigarette.
Are you alright darling? You never showed for dinner." It was inspector Greg Parsons wife Mrs Parsons on the line.
"Working late darling be with you in a tick sweetheart don't wait up"
"Ok darling see you later smuchem's", she hung up.
They'd been married fourteen year and she was uttery devoted to him.
A bright idea suddenly just jumped into Parsons whiskey addled mind and he voiced it as he left the bar, "I know what I will do I will pay someone to go there. but who...."
He wandered down the street towards the taxi rank as he did he watched across the street as a couple of teenagers began to hammer away at the lock on a bike
"Hey you stop that doya know who I am.. He threw up and propped himself up agains one of the taxi's
You can't do that here governer
Oh its you
"Take me home please
"Yes sir right away
He sat in the back of the taxi and three words came to mind - 'Use the boy'
"What was that sir
Oh nothing never mind how much do I owe
12 and 6
Thanking you kindly sir
Thanks goodnight
He slammed the taxi and fell into his rather expensive looking town house he crawled into the living room taking care not to wake anyone and fell asleep by the fire only to wake up at dawn when the milkman rattled up to his back door.
He took a shower,dressed kissed his wife and ate breakfast. Three words stuck in his head.
"Use the boy"
"Whats that schmuchems"
"Oh don't worry see you tonight.
He grabbed a slice of toast and hurtled out into the street and flagged down the nearest cab
'Jameson you in yet. Ive got an idea. Can you bring that teenager in you know the one that said he'd seen the two bodys. I think I can get him to do something...well nevermind just see if you can get him in for questioning
'Is this about the phantom cloning facility or the fictitious alien artifact sir or do you want me to leave the record clean
'Just get the boy' he hungup
To read more please sponsor me by purchasing this wonderful compilation of short reads:
