The perimeter fence is this way,” he said. “Code for the gate is 1234. On the way to the main complex we detour to leave a strongbox at the old well. That’s where the DNA sample we’re retrieving will be deposited.”

  He motioned forward with two fingers, a move he’d copied from half a dozen war films.

  “Let’s head out.”

  18.40

  Jimmy burst into the dormitory, hair plastered to his forehead.

  “What the hell is going on?” he shouted wild eyed. “There’s gunfire coming from the main complex.”

  Barn looked behind the boy into the empty passageway.

  “Where’s Cruikshank?”

  “Half way up the nearest mountain, by now. And he’s got the time travel formula.”

  “Jimmy!” Simon’s head shot up.

  “He pulled a gun on me! But he’s ditched it now and Leslie’s following him.” Jimmy held up his hands in a vain attempt to placate the horrified boy. “Let’s sort out the problem here first.”

  “This problem’s no sortable, Hicksy,” Dave said glumly. “You better sit doon.”

  Jimmy’s expression hardened as the boys explained what had been going on. When they were finished, he sat with his hands on his knees, staring into space.

  “What’s the situation now?” he asked suddenly.

  “Most of the base personnel will have heard May-Rose over the intercom.” Simon said. “I imagine they’re under her control and trying to break her out.”

  “We werenae effected because we wir just reading what she said.” Dave pointed to the transcript on the computer screen. “And the team that arrived this morning dinnae seem to be falling for her shtick either.”

  Jimmy thought about that. “Understandable. If they’re a Special Ops force, they’ll be trained to withstand hypnosis and mind altering techniques and probably using their own radios on a different channel.”

  “They’re trying to keep everyone contained in the lower levels, maistly by shooting anything that moves.”

  “I take it base communications are down now?”

  .“Yeah,” Simon confirmed. “Their Lieutenant, some guy called Dunwoody, finally wrecked the system. And he killed everyone in the Ops Room doing it.”

  “So who’s winning?” Barn asked.

  “Dunwoody’s SWAT team are well outnumbered, but they’ve got better guns and they’re obviously trained killers. I’d say it was a tie so far.”

  The children looked at each other. Barn spoke up again.

  “What’ll we do?”

  “I say we gie this argy-bargy a body swerve. Get oot while we can, man.” Dave said. “Barnsy, see if you can spot anything moving oot there.”

  Barn lumbered over to the dark window and peered out, shielding his eyes with his hands to block out the reflections of the worried group behind him.

  Jimmy stood up.

  “What about May-Rose?” he said awkwardly. “We can’t just leave her down there.”

  “Are you kiddin’ man?” Dave held up his hands in despair. “She’s no exactly battin fur the hame team any more, know?”

  “Let’s get out Jimmy,” Simon agreed. “Otherwise we’re going to end up dead.”

  “All right. Grab anything that’s important. to you” Jimmy sat down at the computer. “I’ll print off another copy of your formula, Simon and then try and delete anything that links us to this nightmare. Wait a minute….”

  He sat back, puzzled.

  “What’s wrong now?” The children gathered round.

  “A new security programme has just activated itself.” Jimmy pointed to the screen. “It’s completely independent from the existing system.”

  “Let me see if I can open it.” Simon nudged Jimmy aside and began to type. “It’s separate from the mainframe, but I should at least be able to read what it does.”

  A thick block of data appeared on the screen and Simon swallowed hard.

  “I wish wasn’t seeing this,” he whispered. “Pinewood base has an automatic failsafe system in the event of a viral outbreak.”

  “But we dinnae have a viral outbreak! We’ve got a wee lassie with a big mooth who’s gone raj!”

  “The system obviously doesn’t know that.” Jimmy’s eyes flicked from side to side, taking in the information. “Fifteen minutes after any alarms go off this hidden security programme kicks in. The perimeter lasers turn and point inwards – reprogramming themselves automatically to fire at anything going near the fence. It’s designed to stop anyone infected getting out.”

  Simon looked at his watch. “It’s coming up for than fifteen minutes now,” he said in a shocked whisper.

  “If no all clear is given within half an hour, the system assumes that the infection is out of control and a countdown begins.” Jimmy was clutching the sides of the console so hard, his knuckles were like white marbles. “It can only be countermanded by High Command or by Commander Saunders and Major Cowper together.

  “Countdown tae what, or do I no want tae ken?”

  “A countdown ‘till the base self-destructs.” Jimmy said.

  “But the Commander and Cowper are dead and all links to Central Command are permanently frazzled.” Simon’s eyes were like saucers. “How long before this place goes up?”

  Jimmy bit his lip. “An hour and twenty minutes.”

  “Away tae buggery! Ahm, offski man.”

  “Can’t we shut it down?” Simon urged. “We’ve got access to the security systems.”

  “No. No. Like I said, this one operates independently. There’s no way”

  “Dave’s right then. Let’s take our chances with the perimeter fence.” Simon was already on his feet and heading for his locker. “We’ve got a combined IQ higher than the national debt. Surely we can beat a few lasers.”

  “This is not a case where brains will overcome brawn,” Jimmy said without a trace of doubt. “What do you think you’re going to do? Talk your way past them?”

  “You got any better ideas?”

  “Not a one,” Jimmy admitted. “Let’s get the hell out of here.”

  “Guys.” Barn had his forehead pressed against the window. “Half a dozen of those soldiers in black are heading our way.”

  “How far?”

  “They’re at the front door now.”

  “Aw! Thanks fur the timely heid’s up, flash.”

  “Switch on the cameras in the corridors below and use our code to lock the outer door.” Jimmy grabbed the nearest bed and began pulling it across the floor. “Barricade the dorm door too. Tables, lockers… anything heavy you can find.”

  Barn lumbered over, picked up a table and computer with one mighty heave and staggered towards the door.

  “What do they want Jimmy?”

  “If they’re Dunwoody’s men, I’m pretty sure they’re coming to kill us.”

  18.45

  Private Kruger zigzagged behind the Sergeant across the compound and up to the entrance of the West Wing. Lights on top of the building illuminated all the paths so the men hugged the walls, staying in the shadows.

  “The outlying buildings are empty. Thank Christ it’s Christmas Eve and there is minimal staff on the base.” The Sergeant waved his arm and half a dozen soldiers emerged from the gloom at a run, crunching across the hardening snow and flattening themselves beside their leader. “But there are a bunch of kids in a dormitory at the top of this block.”

  “They can’t actually be infected Sarge,” Kruger said tentatively. “Not if they’ve been up there while all this is going on.”

  “It’s not our call to make, soldier,” the Sergeant retorted. “Besides, they might have heard the girl’s intercom message same as the rest of the base. We have to assume they’re hostile and act accordingly.”

  “Yes sir.” Private Kruger planted a small charge against the outer door and leapt back. There was a dull thunk and a puff of smoke from the lock. He stepped forward and kicked hard. The door swung open and the men entered, rifles held in front of them.

  “Hall is clear!”

  The Sergeant motioned again and the soldiers began climbing the stairs.

  Dave watched the assailants’ progress on the computer monitor.

  “Don’t take a flaky guys but your never gonnae get a barricade built before these gadgies reach us, know?”

  “Maybe we would if you’d get off your skinny butt and help.”

  “Ahm no wantin ma togs dirty when ah go tae meet mah maker”.”

  “Aren’t there any weapons in the West Wing?” Barn asked plaintively.

  “No. But maybe we can make something?” Simon turned to Jimmy in desperation. “A Molotov Cocktail or some kind of bomb made out of chemicals? Hey! Can we tie bed sheets together and lower ourselves out the window?”

  Jimmy looked at the screen over Dave’s shoulder.

  “Not in the two minutes it’ll take them to reach this floor.” He picked up his baseball bat and patted it against his hand. “We can either hide or fight but I don’t think either will do us much good.”

  “If it’s a square-go they’re wantin, they’ll be getting a Glasgow kiss fae yours truly.” Dave reversed his baseball cap so the peak was at the back and pulled a small knife from his pocket. “And a good chibbin an all.”

  “God, there’s another four of them coming in the front door.” Simon pointed to the computer screen. “They’re catching up fast.”

  Gunfire erupted from the floor below.

  Simon’s jaw dropped. “The second group have opened fire on the first!”

  The others crowded round the screen and watched in amazement.

  Private Kruger turned at the top of the stairs in time to see his Sergeant topple backwards, one bloody hand scrabbling at his chest. On either side, his companions convulsed, bobbing like marionettes, caught in a storm of bullets.

  His last sight was of four strangers, one of them a woman, swinging the barrels of their weapons towards him.

  - Trespassers will incur the severest penalty, he thought, as the group below opened fire.

  The children stood in a cluster as the door to the dormitory was forced open. Three men and a woman entered, guns in their hands. Jimmy lifted his baseball bat in a defiant gesture. Dave gave Barn a nudge.

  “You better stand in front of me, big man.”

  “I’m slow Dave. Not stupid.”

  “You can put your weapons down boys.” A stocky man in a leather jacket stepped forwards, lowering his gun. “We’re not going to harm you.”

  He gestured to the other three and they too lowered their arms.

  “My name’s Sherman,” the stranger said. “And I need your help.”

  18.50

  “Are you terrorists?” Barn was as straightforward as ever. Jimmy winced.

  “We’re not.” Sherman smiled. His expression seemed sincere. “We’re on a special mission.”

  “Yer Maw! You just killed the guys that were on a special mission.” Dave still clutched the knife in his hand. “Whit? You on a special, special mission?”

  Sherman’s smile flickered. Madrid stepped in front of him. “I’m an operative working for British Army Counter Intelligence,” she said. “You don’t need to be told that the situation on this base has turned into a bit of a mess.”

  “You can say that again, doll.” Dave cocked his head to one side. “You here tae fix it?”

  “We are.”

  “How did you get here so fast?” Realising he wasn’t about to die, Simon’s natural curiosity kicked in. “This base is in the middle of nowhere.”

  “That’s classified,” Nulce broke in sharply. Sherman held up his hand for silence.

  “Boys. We don’t have time to sit around chewing the fat. We’ve got a limited window to complete our mission. We’ve got to get down to the lowest level of Pinewood and retrieve sensitive data. If you help us, we’ll take you with us when we leave.”

  “Shouldn’t that be if you leave?” Jimmy asked.

  Nulce gave him a cold stare. “What do you mean by that?”

  “Half the base is trying to kill the other half. There’s a genius in the basement who’s probably turned Bunker 10 into a fortress until she can figure a way to escape. The perimeter lasers will shoot anyone who gets near the fence and the whole place is set to blow up in just over an hour.” Jimmy lowered his baseball bat. “There are four of you. Sorry, but I don’t rate your chances.”

  “Then it’s a pity we’re all you’ve got.” Sherman replied pleasantly.

  “We have the element of surprise,” Madrid joined in. “We have the latest technology, better than the most advanced stuff here. And if you help, we have four geniuses who’ve tapped into base security and can get us anywhere undetected.”

  The children looked astonished.

  “How could you know that?”

  Nulce smirked “You’d be surprised the things we know and you don’t.”

  “You’re all smart kids and the situation is simple.” Sherman unzipped his leather jacket, revealing twin holsters - one strapped under each arm. “We need you to help us retrieve the data we came for. You need us to get you off this base before it blows up. End of story.”

  “How do we know you won’t kill us once you’ve got what you want?”

  “Because we don’t kill kids,” Darren said, glancing sideways at Nulce. “And because you’re too valuable to the army.”

  “So?” Sherman asked. “Do we have a deal?”

  The children looked at each other.

  “We have a deal,” Jimmy replied.

  -Part 5-

  19.00 hours – 20.00 hours

  If that machine can do what you say it can do, destroy it, George! Destroy it before it destroys you!

  The Time Machine (1960)

  19.00

  The teens had spent the last ten minutes getting a crash course in espionage. Nulce demonstrated how to load and fire his automatic weapon, though he insisted his team had no arms to spare.

  “Where are we going to get guns from anyway?” Barn asked.

  “From the guys I kill,” Nulce answered simply.

  Each of Sherman’s team carried miniature handcoms, which Darren showed the children how to operate. The devices were more advanced than anything they’d ever seen but, in minutes, they had achieved an understanding of the workings that a normal person would have taken weeks to learn.

  “You guys really are smart,” Darren said approvingly.

  In return, Dave and Simon tried to teach Sherman’s team how the base personnel’s locations could be entered into the handcoms and identified on the screens. The adults weren’t nearly so fast at picking things up.

  “We don’t have time for this,” Sherman announced, after mistaking himself for a security camera twice in a row. “You kids can operate the handcoms. We’ll do the shooting.” He scratched his chin in exasperation and looked at Jimmy. “Now what’s the best way to proceed, in your expert opinion?”

  “We should pair up,” Jimmy said without hesitation. “One kid one adult. How are you getting on with the Special Forces walkie talkies Simon?”

  Simon looked up from the radio he was taking apart. Madrid had removed it from the body of Private Kruger.

  “Each of Dunwoody’s men has one of these. I’ve identified the frequency and I’ll be able to use that to plot the whereabouts of them all. I’ll feed their positions into the handcoms and they’ll show up as black dots on the schematic of the base.” He stroked the handcom reverently. “God, this is a fine piece of hardware.”

  “What about you Dave?”

  “The base soldiers all have electronic identity tags, know? So we can track them too. I’ll make them green dots.”

  Darren looked even more impressed. Jimmy nodded at the little earpieces that Sherman’s team were wearing.

  “And you’ve got these nifty communication devices, so I can use them to mark our positions. White dots, I think.” He smiled winningly at Nulce. “After all, we’re the good guys, aren’t we?”

  Nulce rolled his eyes.

  “It’s like a complicated game of chess, isn’t it?” Jimmy continued. “I say we play it that way, with us directing where the other two sides should go.”

  “And I suppose, you’ll be the one doing the directing?” Sherman put his hands on his hips. “You’re probably a chess grand master or something.”

  “Not me. I haven’t got the patience.” Jimmy pointed to Barn, who was sitting on the floor drumming his knees. “But he’s the best chess player I’ve ever seen. Can’t be beat on the X-Box or PlayStation either.”

  “There are 318,979,564,000 possible ways of playing the first four moves per side in a game of chess,” Barn said solemnly.

  “Wait. Wait! You want the fat kid to come up with a strategy?” Nulce looked incredulously at Sherman. “What kind of commander are you?”

  Barn went bright red and stared at the ground. Sherman looked pained.

  “You remind me of myself when I was young and stupid, Nulce,” he said sadly. “Except I had looks and a personality.”

  Darren coughed, hiding a smirk with his hand. Jimmy sat down next to Barn and gave him a handcom.

  “Here’s a cross section map of the base and the positions of the different groups. What would you think would be the best course of action?”

  “The place is laid out to best defend against attack, so there’s only one stairway leading down to the lowest levels,” Barn said. “But that means the base soldiers are finding it equally hard to break out.”

  He studied the mass of dots on the screen.

  “There’s a concentration of them at the bottom of the stairs on level three. But they can’t get any further up because Dunwoody’s men are at the top of those stairs. The black dots are totally outnumbered but only a handful green dots can fit on such a narrow passage at one time, so the black pieces are able to hold their position. And they’ve got a dozen men in level one too. They’ll be a backup just in case May-Rose’s forces do break through.”

  “What about the three elevators?” Sherman asked

 

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