Alien Tongues (23 page)

It turned out that Barbara planned no time alone with Séamus during her visit.  However, she did take a break between meetings to come to his room for a short while.  He was surprised to see her when he opened the door in response to her knock.  He made tea for them and they sat in his kitchen. 

"I'm sorry I haven't said anything since the other night," she told him.  "I know you deserve better.  I hope you don't regret it?"

"Certainly not," he replied firmly, "Except that you've ruined me for other women now.  I'll always expect too much."

She gave him a beautiful smile and rubbed his hand.  "I know.  We were both animals.  I never knew I had it in me.  I can replay it whenever I want in my mind and I feel like a real woman again.  I can't thank you enough, Séamus."

"You're always welcome."

Her hand caressed his cheek. "Such a handsome young man.  I know it's a bit unfair.  To be honest, I don't know when I will feel that need again.  I quite understand it if you tell me not to play you like this.  Otherwise, who knows.  I may call you three months from now, maybe nine months.  I can tell you, when we had the meeting earlier today and I saw you sitting there, I got such a charge out of it.  You may find me inviting you to a lot more meetings, even if they are not terribly relevant to you.  People will talk, but let them.  They always need some gossip."

Séamus smiled, hoping it did not look sad.  "You're the boss."

They chatted a while longer, then his boss left.  In parting, she gave him a lingering kiss on the lips.  Despite telling himself not to, he could not resist putting his hand inside her blouse and bra, caressing her nipple.  She showed no resistance at all, but pulled back from the kiss and grinned at him.  He knew he was only making it worse for himself and let her go.

He suffered from the encounter for a couple of days.  He knew the girls noticed his depression but they said nothing.  Then it was Tina's turn to shock him.  One evening she asked if he ever painted or sketched.  "Sometimes," he told her.  She asked if he had any examples in his room and, when he told her yes, asked to see them.

"I like them," she said simply, looking at sketches from pictures he had found on the Internet, mainly of faces and figures.  "I want you to draw me.  In the nude."

"Why would you want that?" he asked, excited by the idea but suspicious.

"Several reasons," she said, slowly removing her clothes.  "I know you can't love me, Séamus – at least, not in the way I want.  But I know you desire me.  I see it in your eyes often.  I'm really grateful that you're such a gentleman and let me tease you.  Maybe this is just another big tease.  Maybe it's a reward for your patience and protection.  Maybe I feel really hot knowing your eyes are on me.  Maybe I want a portrait before my body gets old.  Maybe I'm too competitive with Chrissy.  Maybe desire is a cheap substitute for love."

She stood naked in front of him, her legs astride, her arms folded.  She then turned slowly, balancing her body in various poses. "How would you like me, Séamus?"

"Sit on the stool," he told her.  He ended up making a collection of ten drawings of her.  When he finished she sat next to him, still naked, studying them.  The temptation to touch her became unbearable.

"You want to touch me, don't you, Séamus?" she finally said.

"To be honest, yes."

"OK.  You can kiss a nipple, but very lightly.  Lips closed, please."

He did so.  She held him in the same position for a while, running her hands through his hair.

"Séamus," she said very quietly.  "You should really try to love me.  Then I could be all over you like a tsunami.  Then you wouldn't want that Barbara anymore."

"You know about my boss?" he asked incredulously.

"Of course.  It's natural, we understand it, but you know it goes nowhere.  I could be the most amazing woman for you."  She sighed, but smiled warmly.  "But I won't be, will I?"  She stood up and slowly dressed again.  "Dear, thank you so much for these pictures.  I will treasure them.  You can now see me back to my room.  I really can sleep well now"

The next morning, as had happened a number of times at the facility, Séamus found a surprising change in his mood.  Had Tina worked some magic trick?  Thinking through the event, it seemed hard to imagine that it had helped him.  What were the ingredients? Her need for love where she took desire as a substitute, an hour of erotic intensity, a moment that combined carnality with a sort of teenage innocence; then finally a departure on warm, gracious terms.  Maybe someday he would be ready to love Tina or a girl like her, and that was something to surely look forward to.  Until that time it felt like Life as Art, perhaps brought to mind by his sketches.  It was a similar boost that he got from his native literature.  A shot of passion, a quick blast of being among the living.

To his pleasant surprise, the mood change survived the next few weeks.  The routine with Alice and the girls continued as before with an increasing sense of contentment.  Spring among the Dales was superb.  He now took them each for drives to other areas nearby where they could experience a greater variety of countryside.  He took Chrissy to see some local racehorses, played cricket with Jenny and football with Tina on the lawn.  He continued to spar with Phyllis in the gym at various martial arts.  He continued to watch TV with each of them, and they began talking to him about life after the project finished.  As it had obviously come up as a topic in the lab, each of them asked him if there would be a chance of them all traveling round Europe together.  Séamus realized he was looking forward to that chance.  Alice continued to praise the results from the lab.  She understood that the actual translation process was going well but that it was likely to be a long haul, quite independently from what the girls were creating.

"In another few weeks I think we'll have done all we can here," Alice told him one evening.  "The number creole is providing us with everything we can usefully digest at the moment.  I really think there is little advantage in keeping the girls separated after that.  They should be allowed to go on a nice long vacation together.  If they need to come back and work on more material, their time together isn't going to have any impact.  They are already so fluent in the number creole that they know everything about each other that they want to know and share."

"Tell me when I can arrange a big party here for them all to meet each other like normal human beings," he told her.  "I think that is going to be a magic moment for us all."

But the party never happened.  The language project fell apart in the worst way he could possibly have feared.

It happened without any warning, one evening when he and Alice were talking over drinks in his room and thinking about getting ready for bed.  The security guard asked them both to come down to the lobby as there were visitors whose documents he needed verified.  Séamus could not imagine who it might be, and told Alice she should stay in the room.

"Don't be silly," she told him.  "I forgot to tell you.  Two of our scientists said they were coming some time tonight.  There is some equipment here that they need to use.  Probably their passes don't work here and that means the guard has to go through some lengthy procedure.  He's being lazy and asking for us to sign them in."

Séamus did not feel fully convinced but was not in a position to dissuade Alice.  They walked down to the lobby to find four young men in black suits.  Séamus felt his heart leap. 

"Hi, Séamus," said one of the men.  "Sorry to interrupt your date tonight."

"What are you doing here, Thomas?"  Séamus also knew one of the other men.

"You two have to come with us," Thomas told them.  The other three men were quickly moving in such a way as to make any escape more difficult.  Séamus knew it was not wise to try, at least at that moment.

"What is this, Séamus?" Alice asked.

"They're agents," Séamus said, "And they're taking us into custody."

"Custody?  But what about their girls?"

"Don't worry, we'll take care of them for now," Thomas said.  "It's all official and above board.  Isn't that right, Séamus?"

"If you say so.  Where are you taking us?"

"Mason wants a word with you.  He's in Leeds.  We'll get Dr Turner here to Professor Wilkie."

"Séamus, what's going to happen to the girls?"  Alice was insistent and starting to sound alarmed.

"It's OK, these guys will be careful with them. We just have to do what they say."

"I knew I could rely upon you, Séimi Boy."  Thomas grinned widely.  "Check and cuff him, Billy."

One of the young men whom Séamus did not know patted him down, taking a penknife, cellphone, and the device used to monitor the girls.  Séamus put his hands behind his back and was handcuffed.

"Why do they need to do that?" Alice remained alarmed.

"Just a routine procedure, it doesn't mean anything," he told her.

"But this is ridiculous!  I demand an explanation!"

Séamus turned to her and looked her in the eye, his face a little closer than would naturally be the case.  "Alice," he said a little sharply, "Please cooperate with these men.  Otherwise they will handcuff you too. It's very uncomfortable on a long journey."

She stared back at him, at first with a look of near-panic, then uncertainty, then a measure of understanding and trust.  "Okay, okay," she repeated. "I guess these are your people.  Basically you're all on the same side, aren't you?"

"You're getting smart," Thomas said.  "Séamus's an agent just like we're agents.  What's happening now may be a disappointment to him, of course, but he knows better than to make a fuss.  It won't change anything.  You can't fight against thirteen countries which represent half the world's people and 90% of its GDP.  But you get good marks for cooperation.  It can save a whole career, don't you agree, Séamus?"

"Don't rub it in, Thomas," Séamus told him.  "I've done my best here.  Principal told me that."

Thomas stepped up to him and gave a forced grin.  "I know Principal likes you, Séamus.  But I have my suspicions it's not because you're a good agent.  Not so hot with the mosque, were we?"

There was a small murmur of agreement, even an element of chuckling, from the men around them.

"Cuff her too, Cap?" Billy asked.

Thomas shook his head.  "No, she's cool.  Burn marks on her wrists would look awkward."  He turned to her. "Don't worry, Baby.  Be like Séimi here and you will come to no harm.  Tonight you two are going to get a suite at the best hotel in Leeds.  It's the romantic evening you two were planning for quite some time."

"Make sure you give 'em some johnnies," remarked the other man that Séamus knew. There was snickering.

"Oh shut up, Graham.  You lower the tone of the mission with your smut."  He checked Séamus's monitoring device.  "OK, you come with me to the girls' rooms and let these others head off to Leeds."

Billy and the other one walked Alice and Séamus outside to one of two cars.  The men opened the rear doors and told them to get in, assisting Séamus to do so and then fastening his seat-belt.  They spent a moment conferring outside the car before entering themselves, during which Séamus spoke quietly but quickly to Alice.

"When I tap your foot with mine, I need you to immediately unfasten my seat-belt, OK?"

Alice stared at him as if confused, but then nodded.  Séamus settled back, the men entered the front seats and they drove off.  The driver was clearly not used to winding country lanes at night and immediately began complaining about the road.  He drove much slower than either Alice or Barbara.

"You'll never catch me living in this wilderness," he commented.  "Now I know why I'm a city kid."

It took them almost a minute to pass over the first two small hills leading away from the facility.  Séamus tried to judge in his mind the timing of events back there.  The moment he had seen his fellow agents in the lobby, he had pressed a button on his security device which had opened all the girls' door and started buzzing their bracelets.  None of them had any doubt about this emergency signal.  They would have all gone to his room, which also opened at the same time.  There they would have found a control for all the lights on the upper floor, and four sets of night goggles.   They would have listened for the two agents coming up the stairs, walking down the corridor and trying to open the girls' doors, which were now locked again and would not respond to Séamus's device.  The corridor light would be extinguished, leaving the men quite blinded, and Phyllis and Chrissy would step quietly out of his room, armed with kitchen knives.  If it wasn't all over by now, it would surely be within seconds unless something had gone badly wrong.  He couldn't be sure if Chrissy had hesitated, but he was certain that Phyllis would not.  He had instructed her to put mercy out of her mind, because the agents were trained to do the same.

As they approached a downhill bend, Séamus pressed his foot in Alice's.  Her hand was already on his belt buckle and released it instantly, giving him ample time for what he needed to do.  Launching himself forward he aimed the crown of his head at the driver's temple.  The car swung violently to the left, allowing Séamus just enough time to jerk himself back into the rear seat as the car tipped into a ditch.  The unsuspecting agents were thrown forward against their belts and one of the airbags inflated.  That proved to be lucky as it completely disabled their ability to react to him.  Séamus worked his legs up the back of the driver's seat and then began kicking wildly.  At first he seemed not to strike anything consequential, then he felt the toe of his boot hit the passenger's face.  Movement on that side stopped abruptly and he aimed both his feet at the driver.  Finally he struck the head with successive heels, and the body stopped moving.  Now came the unpleasant part.  With both figures motionless, he was able to aim his boots with greater precision.  Alice screamed as he seemed to squash in one of the faces.

"I'm sorry but there's no choice," he said, trying to catch his breath.  "Quick, take off my trouser belt."  She did so with fumbling hands.  "Now switch on this light above us here because I need you to find a key and open these handcuffs.  OK.  The back of that belt-buckle snaps off – find the bevel at the side and pull with your nail.  That's it – careful.  There's a key in there which will fit these cuffs – careful not to drop it or we're in a big mess."

Despite shaking badly, Alice did a swift job with the handcuffs.  Séamus then quickly turned off the car lights.  "Let's get out of here before someone spots the car."  He opened the car door and climbed out, realizing how much the crash had bruised him, making every movement painful.  He pulled Alice out and they walked down the road to a gate where they entered a field.  Séamus tried to jog a little but found he had to walk because of shooting pains down his right side.

As they headed towards the facility, he said to her, "Listen to me carefully, Alice.  I believe the girls are safe.  I signaled them as soon as I saw the agents and they would have executed my emergency procedure.  In short, those other guys are very likely dead.  They would have been caught completely unawares.  No one in the Agency would have imagined I would have fought it and made myself the most wanted man in England.  But you're in the clear right now.  You'd be safest going back to the car and calling help.  If you come with me now, we'll try hard to keep you in the clear, but I can't guarantee it.  And I want you in the clear – you're the one who's going to have to find what went so terribly wrong."

"I'm keeping with you," Alice said immediately. 

Séamus did not argue.  Instead he took her phone and dialed a number.  "Mr Grant?  It's Séamus FitzGerald.  I need a big favor from you.  There's a car crashed just under half a mile south of the facility.  Can you clean it up for me?  And I need the four girls, myself and Alice taken somewhere safe.  Don't worry, I know the price.  Have a car at the facility in about fifteen, OK?"

"When did you start working with Grant?" Alice asked.

"This very minute," he told her, "But it's all part of the contingency planning.  When the government wants you dead, your best friends are criminals."

"These agents were going to kill us?"

"No, but they were going to kill the girls. Tase them, drug them and then start a fire.  Our lives were in danger only if we got in the way."

"Won't other people be coming soon?"

"We have about one hour, total.  This would have been seen as a low-risk mission and they won't send back-up until about thirty minutes of no-contact.  With the secrecy needed here, air time is kept to a minimum."  His right side was beginning to loosen up. "Ready to jog?"

Alice said she would do her best and they finished the distance to the facility at a canter.  He first checked the agents' other car, in which he found the two facility guards bound, gagged and blindfolded, but fully conscious.  He pulled off their gags.

"You're safe, Fellahs," Séamus told them.  Someone's going to be here in about thirty minutes to release you.  I'm sorry I can't do that myself, but my future doesn't look anything like as good as yours."

One of the guards said simply, "Good luck, Mr FitzGerald."

"I'll need it, Sam.  Thanks."

Séamus told Alice to wait with the guards until he came back out of the building with the girls.  If he didn't return within twenty minutes then she should have Grant's men come in.  He went to a corner of the lawn and dug up three knives he had buried, each with plastic sheathes.  A long one he put inside his coat, a short one in a side pocket and another short one he kept in hand. As they told everyone at the Agency, guns are a liability but you can't have too many knives.  He was sure the agents had not been issued with firearms for the mission – too much noise, mess and evidence. The agents themselves had a saying: guns are for pussies who are afraid to get in close.

As he entered the lobby, he was curious why he did not feel any fear.  It was a disadvantage, because a certain amount of fear was needed for sharpened wits.  Maybe he just had too much faith in Phyllis. Maybe he already assumed he was a dead man.  Maybe the silence made him sure what must have happened.  He took off his shoes so he could pass noiselessly down the corridors.  He came to the staircase leading to their living rooms.  Waiting and listening, he could hear a faint sound of a woman crying.  He thought it must be Jenny.  Then he heard Chrissy's voice saying, "Hey, Dear, it's OK.  Those were really bad men.  They deserved to die.  Séamus will be here soon like he promised and he'll keep us safe."

He bounded up the stairs and looked down the corridor.  Unlike downstairs it was lined with carpet, which he realized was a very good thing, as it soaked up what appeared to be most of the eight quarts of blood that the two bodies lying on it had once contained.  He went to his own door and called out their four names.  Chrissy opened the door.  Jenny was sitting on the edge of his bed, still sobbing.  He turned to see Tina sitting in his kitchen, apparently in shock.  Phyllis was sitting at his desktop, staring at the screen while eating a bowl of breakfast cereal.  Since she doesn't know when she's next going to get a meal, he thought, she's filling herself up now.

All were dressed in the dark gray tracksuits he had stored for them in his room, and the backpacks he had made them prepare had also been retrieved from his closet and placed near the door. When Phyllis saw Séamus she stood up and brought him the two shoulder bags the men had been carrying.  Inside they contained tasers, syringe packs and equipment for starting a large fire.

"They took these gun things out of the bags and held them in their hands when they tried the doors," she explained, then added, "I'm sorry about all the blood, Séamus.  I know you told me how to prevent it but I guess I just wanted to get it finished with quickly."

"It's fine," he told her.

He took from the closet his own prepared backpack and told them to follow him downstairs.  A van with three of Grant's men was already waiting for them, and the six of them climbed in the back seats.   The van took them on a journey of about thirty minutes, then they stopped in a wooded area and were transferred to another van.  They were taken on another journey of about an hour, supplied with sandwiches and drinks.  When the doors opened again, they were at a large house in private grounds.  The women were shown upstairs to bedrooms, where more food was made available.  Séamus was led into a large living room with an open fireplace.  Grant and McMahon were sitting there.  Grant was reading and McMahon was watching sport on a TV with the sound turned down.  On seeing Séamus, Grant indicated the sofa opposite him where a whiskey bottle, glass and water carafe was waiting for him.