New Title 1 (42 page)

Although it seemed stupid, and undoubtedly was stupid, she had entered the clearing unarmed. She had credited the dogs with an unnatural intelligence, which meant that if they saw the gun, they wouldn’t attack because they had learned that the tube that spits fire takes them to the great doggy pound in the sky. And she wanted them to attack. So she patiently waited while they assessed her. While they circled, checked, sniffed and scanned.

Another bush rustled as something brushed through it, and a shadow danced on her periphery before clouds drifted over the moon, extinguishing the light and plunging her into darkness. She held her breath, ears straining for the slightest sound. Then she heard it and her heart missed a beat: the scurry of long nailed claws clicking through the undergrowth, a panting breath, the grating of teeth and the forlorn howl which signalled the attack.

The beasts were closing in fast. She could hear them, could imagine their fetid maws, the lines of teeth eager to crunch down on flesh and sinew before snapping bone. Although every instinct in her body told her to run for dear life, she had to hold her ground. Her limbs felt like jelly and the blood was pumping in her head.

A breeze caressed her cheek, or was it the beast’s fetid breath? If it was the beast’s breath, her plan had failed. In response to the thought, a howl of pain (or was it anger?) filled the air and Chase felt a glimmer of hope. As the wind blew the cloud from the face of the moon, light radiated down, illuminating the clearing and Chase let out a whoop of joy.

She had hardly dared hope that it would work, but it had. Less than three feet away one of the dogs was snarling and hopelessly gnashing its teeth as it strained to free itself from the trap Chase had set. By the light of the moon, the fishing line snares were just visible like a spider’s web, but the dog had most likely been too full of killer lust to pay them much attention. Now it struggled and snapped at the line that had ensnared its leg. Already there was a trickle of blood coming from where the line dug into its flesh as the beast pulled it tighter. Knowing that the line was liable to break at any moment, Chase called out for Jane at the top of her voice. She knew there was another dog out there somewhere, but she put that thought to the back of her mind.

Almost immediately, Jane burst into the clearing.

“Quick, shoot it,” Chase screamed.

Taking a moment to assess the scene, Jane lifted the gun in her hand and pulled the trigger. The gun bucked like a bronco and three shots rang out. The snared dog fell silent in the wake of the peal of death.

“The other one’s around here somewhere.” Chase ran to stand by Jane who swept the barrel of the gun round the clearing. But deep down she knew that the other dog wouldn’t fall into the trap, not after seeing the last of its pack outwitted. No, it would bide its time, but at least now there was only one of them left.

The odds were getting better, but she knew it wasn’t just the dogs they had to worry about. The handlers and the guards would be out there somewhere, too.

***

Izzy
shivered and Ratty hugged her tighter. At this distance, and distorted by the trees, Chase’s whoop of joy sounded like a cry of pain and Jane had gone to help even before Chase called her name. After a moment they heard the sound of gunfire. Three shots which punctuated the night.

“Oh Ratty ...” Tears streamed down
Izzy’s
cheeks.

“It’s okay. They’ll be all right.” But his tone of voice betrayed his own lack of confidence.

Sitting hunched against a tree, Adam flinched as the shots rang out, but he didn’t look up. Lying next to Ratty and
Izzy
, Mandy moaned, blood trickling from her lips. Ratty didn’t know what to do. If he was by himself, he could cope. But now with Chase and Jane gone, Adam being unresponsive, Mandy dying and
Izzy
scared witless, he felt as though he was responsible for the remaining little group. He was in charge. But he didn’t know what to do. The leaves rustled and Ratty let out a loud breath.

“At last.” He extricated himself from
Izzy
and stood up, grinning with relief. “I’d almost given up on you.”

The grin dropped from his lips and his relief turned to panic as instead of Chase and Jane, a salivating mutated dog stepped out of the bush.

***

It didn’t take long for Moon to gather up his files. Most of the relevant ones were kept locked in his safe. These were the ones that contained the results of the experiment. He could have kept it all on disc, which would have made it less bulky, but he preferred to read and study from good old-fashioned paper. Computer screens were too harsh on his eyes and after a while they gave him a headache. Of course there were master copies kept on disc that the scientists in the lab had access to, but he preferred his reams of paper. But then some of the files he had didn’t have master copies. He had the one and only paper copy.

Various departments handled the work, and Moon was the only person who had access to the results that he alone collated. This was made possible because not all of the work was carried out in the same place. Keeping the experiments separate meant that he was the only person who knew what worked and what didn’t. If one group was working on inherent diseases, and another group was working on the effects of toxicity on the immune system, only he could build up a picture of what the combined results or effects were. This meant that he was always on top. Indispensable. He knew the nefarious nature of his backers and what they could do. But without him, the results were useless because only he knew where the shadow groups were, and what they were working on. This was his ace up the sleeve, and when this was all over, it was what he hoped would keep him alive.

Taking a sip from the bottled water on his desk, Moon looked around the room to make sure that he hadn’t forgotten anything when he noticed the photograph of his wife on the desk. He picked it up and smiled. She was a pretty woman, small of stature with high, defined cheekbones and sharp, clear blue eyes. Her wavy brown hair was left long, cascading over her shoulder and framing her face. When the experiment was a real success, he would feed her the food of the Gods, his Elixir, and they would turn back time. Until then he would make sure that she continued to eat only the organic food he farmed on his smallholding and drink only bottled mineral water. He didn’t trust all of the chemical laden food or water that could be bought commercially. You just didn’t know what you were eating.

With one final look around, Moon left the room, laden down with folders.

Out in the reception, he saw Miss Coombs gathering personal items from her desk and putting them in a cardboard box.

“Don’t bother with those. Help me carry these.” He held out the folders and Miss Coombs took some from the top of the pile. He knew that she wouldn’t argue. It was hard to find good workers, but he’d come up trumps with Miss Coombs. She was reliable, discreet and diligent. He trusted her implicitly. They had been through a lot together in fifteen years, but she had never questioned her employer or his motives.

“Did you make all of the necessary calls?” he asked as they made their way through the building.

“Yes, Nigel. So is it really finished?”

Knowing that she knew him well enough to see through a lie, Moon evaded the truth. “It’s finished here.”

Miss Coombs nodded but didn’t ask any more. She was too discreet to pry for more information.

Out in the main reception the guard stood to attention but didn’t salute. Most of the guards in the compound were ex-military, and while they still carried the bearing of military service, they didn’t salute someone who had not been or was not in the forces, as though they had not earned that honour. That privilege was only bestowed on the few visiting generals and field marshals that occasionally came to inspect the project. The military were always hovering around on the periphery of Moon’s work, looking for new weapons to add to their arsenal. Moon tolerated them, but it wasn’t what he wanted. But he had made some concessions. The dogs were one of them. It was a case of not biting the hand that feeds, especially when the hand was powerful enough to crush his dreams. Most of the money that was put into projects such as Moon’s had been tainted by military connections. Even the government didn’t know the true extent of military projects. There were shadow operations, wheels within wheels and siphoned expenses that ran into billions of pounds that never showed up on any records. The government was just the public face of corruption, puppets for higher powers.

Outside it was dark and Moon was sure that he heard gunfire in the distance. He mentally shrugged it away and cast a look back at the building.

“
Fait accompli
,” he whispered, turning and walking toward the waiting Land Rover.

CHAPTER 32

The dog growled, saliva dripping from its maw. Ratty took a step back and
Izzy
screamed.

“Shoot it,” Ratty screamed at Adam.

But Adam didn’t even look up. He mumbled something that Ratty didn’t quite catch, although it might have been ‘Nicola, forgive me’.

“Shoot the bloody thing,” he cried again.

“Adam,”
Izzy
screamed. “Shoot the bloody dog.”

But Adam didn’t move.

The dog took a growling step forward, its hackles raised. Its eyes reflected the moon like twin pools of silver, sinister. Ratty took another step back, almost losing his footing on a branch that snapped beneath his foot like bone. Then the dog stopped and sniffed the air, turning its head from side-to-side as though it could sense something. It stretched out its neck, its nostrils flared. But whatever it could smell didn’t stop it from advancing.

Ratty looked across at Adam and the gun in his hands. Could he make it over to him before the dog leaped? And if he did, could he wrestle the gun from Adam and fire it successfully?

A rustling sound emanated in the branches above but Ratty didn’t look up. He couldn’t take his eyes off the dog.

“
Izzy
, run.”

But
Izzy
didn’t move. He didn’t know whether she was paralysed with fear, but he couldn’t let the dog get to her. Perhaps he could lead it away. If he ran, perhaps it would follow him. But if it didn’t it would attack
Izzy
and she would think that he had run out on her like a coward. He wasn’t going to leave her. Not now. If he had to, he would lay down his life for her. And as the dog prepared to pounce, he thought that’s what he was going to have to do.

With no time to lose, Ratty crouched down and picked up the branch he had stepped on. He straightened up with two, sharp, jagged spears in his hands. Giving a scream that shocked both himself and the dog, he rushed forward, not noticing the rabbit hole into which his foot disappeared, causing him to stumble, his chin hitting the ground and chipping a tooth.

Without hesitating, the dog leaped at Ratty. It seemed to fly through the air in slow motion. Ratty rolled over; he could see its open jaw lined with teeth, its tongue far back in its throat like a bloated red slug, saliva dripping from its maw. He could see its sharp claws, clenched like a cats talons, its eyes glinting. He could even smell its fetid breath as it landed on top of him, knocking the wind from him, the salivating jaw inches from his face. Ratty closed his eyes, and his life didn’t so much flash before him as flicker like a flame before he felt the dog’s face on his. He steeled himself for the pain of those teeth biting into his flesh, but it never came and he felt something warm and sticky running down his hands. When he eventually opened his eyes he saw that the dog had been inadvertently impaled on the sticks he held. Blood ran down his hands and tears of relief filled his eyes. He rolled the dog off, stood up, his legs shaking uncontrollably.

The next thing he felt were arms flung around his neck and
Izzy
sobbing into his ear.

“I’m okay,” he said.

Izzy
silenced him with a kiss. It was as though a bolt of electricity passed between them and Ratty felt more tears welling in his eyes. As their lips separated, he heard more rustling in the bushes and for one terrifying moment he thought it was another dog, but then Chase and Jane appeared, their bewildered faces taking in the scene.