Janus the Arrival (The Janus Trilogy Book 1), page 6
Mike was the latest recruit at the police forensic laboratory, and he was still trying to learn the ropes and meet the correct people. That meant the movers and shakers in his book. That also included those from other departments, who he’d no doubt be reliant on at certain times. He looked across at the piled up in-tray on his desk, as soon as he reached it, and took the next job from the top of the stack. This he noticed, from the type of packaging it had come in, and would probably contain samples of some kind, with an accompanying worksheet. Once opened, having grabbed a cup of tea from the kitchen first, the items contained inside, were soon causing him major problems. It was very rarely that he ever came across something that left him so perplexed, yet following repeated tests on the black powdered deposits he’d been working on, he could hardly believe his eyes. With no other option than to seek further advice, and to clarify he wasn’t fully losing his marbles, Mike called over to his boss to verify his findings.
Don Murray was the longest serving and most senior manager down in the lab. He naturally assumed that Mike may have had a problem operating the machinery, due to him being a newcomer and not being used to it, but after repeating the tests he also became very excited. He double checked the screen for the DNA results with Mike looking on and realising that Don was getting exactly the same answers. Don had never witnessed such an event in his whole life, and stopping to clean his glasses before refocusing the image, he stood mortified as the green flashing message read:
‘No Match: Origin Unknown: Alien Source Detected.’ Don was like a kid who’d been let loose in a sweet shop. He gave Mike a big slap on the back and then ran around the laboratory punching the air and shouting at the top of his voice. Everyone just stared in wonder. Desperate to see for themselves, they walked across the room and took it in turns to look at the screen to see what had sent their boss so completely off his rocker. Mike Davies was also very pleased with the way things had gone. He’d really made an impression by the look of things. Then, as per the instructions on the worksheet, he immediately contacted Detective Inspector Dave Sorbus. The policeman answered on the third ring and told him he’d be there as soon as possible. He’d also instructed him to keep the whole thing under wraps for now, but Mike wondered if it was maybe already too late for that.
Emma and John both realised that the day would eventually arrive when their son would want to leave home. It was and always had been inevitable. It was something they both feared, yet they’d never really discussed the matter in any great detail. As a consequence, they were not quite so prepared for it when it eventually happened. During the last few days they’d realised that Janus had been busy planning something, especially as he’d been acting completely out of character from his usual everyday self. Something traumatic had obviously occurred. If it was what they assumed it to be, then that would have required Janus to have contacted Vicky Newman. Therefore, if their worst fears were correct, which they both suspected as being the case, then the truth about his real identity would have finally been revealed to him. Knowing that ignoring the fact would only be putting it off and adding to their agony. It was Emma who finally took the initiative and summoned up the courage to tackle Janus there and then. Going upstairs, she literally stepped in his way as he strode from his room and headed towards the bathroom, where he seemed to spend an extraordinary amount of time lately.
‘Janus, please can we talk for a minute?’
‘Not now mother, I’m busy.’ He responded.
Emma realised immediately, from the way he’d looked at her, and how he’d emphasised the word mother, that the truth was finally out.
‘Please, Janus it’s really important.’ she pleaded.
‘So is life!’ he retorted. Slamming the door shut with such force, that it caused a photograph on the wall to spring from it’s hook and crash unceremoniously to the floor. Emma bent over and carefully picked it up, trying her best not to cut herself. Yet as she stared at the picture before her, tears sprung to the corners of her eyes as the happy, smiling faces of herself, John and Janus on holiday a few years ago, appeared through the cracked glass. Deep down, yet not wanting to admit it, she realised things would never be the same again. Everything was happening just as they’d been told. The two of them would simply have to accept the fact that Janus now belonged to the Dra-Na-Zee.
The next day, Janus left the house without a single word. The whole day seemed to drag by without that much being said. That evening, once he’d arrived back home, Emma approached him and tried once again.
‘Janus we must talk!’ she insisted. He had his head down, yet she knew he’d heard her. He was just about to climb the stairs to his room when he suddenly turned and glared at her. It was an awful moment, and it was extremely terrifying. Catching the immediate change in his eyes, the woman felt her knees weaken under her. In that instant she knew what real fear actually meant. She imagined that that was exactly how a person would feel if they ever had the misfortune to come face-to-face with a wounded tiger.
‘All the talking is finished!’ he shouted, as he started up the stairs. She watched and her shoulders sagged in despair, just before he turned back to face her.
‘You and John have been told already, so just obey the rules and be good little humans.’ He shouted down. Emma no longer recognised the person who’d turned his back on her and continued on. Yet the thing that worried her most was the evil look he’d given her… The evil look that warned her that this unknown creature now looked more than ready to kill.
Once he’d left the next morning, Emma and John felt a deep sense of loss and they automatically turned to each other for consolation. They knew their love for each other would see them through the hard times ahead, but how the hell could they deal with the knowledge that they’d never set eyes on their son again?
Having driven from the estate agents where he’d just picked up the keys, Janus brought the car to a halt on the pebbled driveway. He then stepped out of the cheap, second-hand mini that he’d only recently purchased. It wouldn’t draw any attention to him, and it was less likely to be nicked, especially as he’d been informed that the local joy riders preferred to steal more expensive cars in this particular area. Evidently, there was some big deal going on where cars were pretty much stolen to order. It was a racket that had originally started in America but was now becoming quite popular in the UK.
Wiping his feet on the mat before entering his newly rented flat, which was located in the centre of Wandsworth Town, Janus was content in the knowledge that this was generally a good area to be based from, especially as it allowed easy access both in and out of Central London. The estate agent had been a rather stuck up young girl whose daddy just happened to own the business. She obviously felt the estate agents was already hers, the way she’d talked. Having explained that the flat was very basic and would need a little bit of work, Janus really wasn’t all that bothered. As far as he was concerned, the flat met his current requirements perfectly. It was just the type of place he needed, in order to carry out his plans for the time being, no matter what little miss snobby arse thought. After a quick search, he soon located the boiler hidden away at the back of a cupboard. Then, having read the instructions, he calmly lit the pilot and busied himself preparing the bathroom until the water had heated up sufficiently. Once satisfied, he poured the bath, lit a candle, turned off the lights and gently lowered his naked body into the water. This was where Janus put everything behind him, relaxed by staring at the burning candle and gradually set his mind on concentrating on the Stone Disks. At first the flame slowly danced exotically in front of him. It moved in an upward spiral and sent out shadows that flickered on the walls and ceiling in all kinds of differing shapes and sizes. The sensation of being surrounded by so many ghostly images soon took hold. Then, as he looked deeper into the flame and concentrated harder, the shape of a Stone Disk finally materialised. The object appeared to hang in mid-air at first, then it gradually began to rotate quite slowly before getting faster. Janus stared in complete wonder as the image altered its appearance many, many times. Eventually, it finally came to a stop and transformed into a glowing orb that resembled a small sun. It took a great many hours of study, but the disks had been devised specifically to educate the user by revealing the complete history and plans for the future of the Dra-Na-Zee, in as short a time as possible. Using this method of communication, Janus had already witnessed the full beauty of his home planet as it had once been. He’d also received a series of messages from J’Mi the leading Elder of Pagos that told him about the progression and associated problems that his race had faced along the way. Janus was amazed that such superior beings could possibly have destroyed themselves, and he’d felt a deep sense of loss when the truth had finally emerged. It appeared that an equal balance must exist at all times within the universe as a whole. This included, good/bad, dark/light etc… the list was essentially endless. Maintaining a balance was the critical factor, and the Dra-Na-Zee’s whole philosophy was centred on that very fact. Yet as clever as they were, they’d still managed to achieve total genocide.
At least Janus was now aware of his objectives along with the role that he now had to play in restoring his people back to a new and improved life… If that was at all possible.
CHAPTER 6 - Meditation
Colin Lewis was a thirty-one-year-old Insurance Salesman. He was a family man with three beautiful blonde haired children named Sophie, Sabrina and Sam. These were aged seven, five and four respectively, and came with all the good and bad points that parents with young children knew extremely well.
His wife Laura was generally the quiet type who totally adored her family, especially as that was all she’d ever desired from a very early age. They lived in an old Victorian house on the outskirts of Bedford, and having completely renovated the place from top to bottom over a period of years, they were still in the middle of the process of extending it further. Laura had met Colin eight years ago at a party. She’d deliberately dressed to kill in a fetching short black dress that she knew enhanced her long legs, which had always been what she regarded as being one of her best features. Her strategy had worked exactly according to plan, because as soon as Colin had set eyes on her, he was completely smitten. Once she’d set that trap, it was only a short time after that, that she happened to fall pregnant with marriage following soon after.
Colin had worked at his company for the past seven years, where the pay and additional benefits seemed a fairly good package in comparison to some he’d had in the past. Provided with a decent family sized car, that included free private mileage, Colin was quite content with the area he covered along the M1 corridor. This was the section between Luton and Nottingham and he only had to travel the longer distance occasionally, which also kept Laura pleased, as this allowed him plenty of time to play with the kids in the evenings. Sophie was a proper mummy’s girl. She really loved playing with her dollies, while Sabrina was more of a tomboy, as she preferred to kick a ball around and play with Sam with his boy’s toys. He, on the other hand, had been the most awkward of the three children, having caused most concern during his early years. This had consisted of constant visits to the hospital due to him being so accident prone, having broken an arm and two fingers on his right hand. Added to that, he’d also managed to dislocate his collarbone as well as suffering a mild concussion, after running into the road and colliding with the local policeman’s bicycle. The last incident had been a little embarrassing, but fortunately, Sam had calmed down more recently. Colin and Laura were extremely grateful that no one else appeared to be following in his footsteps, so far.
As the family were sitting around the kitchen table eating breakfast one morning, Laura was standing by the worktop making some toast, when she suddenly noticed the news item being broadcast.
‘There’s a warning of bad fog on the motorway.’ she told Colin.
‘That’s no problem darling. I always drive carefully as you well know.’ he replied.
‘I’m only saying……..
‘Well don’t!’ he cut in rather abruptly. ‘You’re always nagging at me about my driving.’
‘That’s only because I worry about you.’ she said nervously.
‘Well don’t!’ he repeated. ‘I’m quite capable of looking after myself, and I know that motorway like the back of my hand.’ he replied, sounding quite annoyed. Colin was fairly well liked by his neighbours. He was generally seen as a polite, friendly, church going sort of chap, yet the moment he sat behind a steering wheel, the man became an entirely different character altogether.
Dave was over the moon after the phone call. The hairs on the back of his neck were playing up, and he could feel the adrenaline rushing right through his veins, as he drove towards the laboratory in Fulham High Street. As he entered the next junction, a passing cyclist got a bit too close and accidentally knocked his wing mirror out of alignment. Then, just to add insult to injury, the guy then looked back and began shouting abuse at Dave. As it happened, Dave completely ignored him, as he was far too busy watching the commotion that was going on in an Indian Supermarket over to his right. Dave passed by the shop, while repeatedly gazing into his wing mirror, and having spotted a space, he drove straight in and parked up. Having left the car and walked back towards the shop, he peered in through the window with caution. Hidden from view by a large advertising poster, Dave quickly summed up the situation inside. Two skinheads appeared to be holding up the shopkeeper. They looked to be completely off their heads on drugs, which from his experience only seemed to make matters worse. Knowing that time was against him, he knew he’d have to move fast. Dave then entered the shop, acting as though he didn’t have a clue about what was going on, and he immediately came face to face with the smaller of the two.
‘Don’t fucking well move man! I’ll blast you all over the floor if you come any closer!’ he shouted, holding up a plastic bag containing what looked to be a gun shaped object. As soon as he heard that, Dave swayed a little and answered back in a drunken voice that really confused him.
‘Thfall right…I…I…Juft wanna drinnnk.’ As the bewildered robber pondered over his next sentence, Dave feigned another stagger and threw himself sideways, before disarming the skinhead and pinning him to the floor. The second, slightly older looking assailant, who’d witnessed the whole thing, panicked as he realised they’d been rumbled. But as he fled towards the door, it suddenly shot open. Striking him full in the face, it knocked him into a stand that was labelled up as special offers. Dave looked over and couldn’t help but laugh out loud. An old lady now stood over the dazed skinhead and was busy apologising, just as a can of beans toppled over and bounced off his head. It was just like something out of a comedy and the timing had been perfect.
Five minutes later the local police arrived as the shopkeeper had rang the moment he’d had a chance to do so. They took change as soon as they arrived and escorted the pair into the back of a waiting police van. Dave was familiar to them already, and he gave them a quick statement and then walked over and thanked the old lady for her intervention. She should have been lapping up her moment of fame but was still too busy apologising for what had happened. Dave felt more than happy that it had gone so well without anyone being injured, and headed back to his car as he needed to get moving. As he approached, the car displayed a telltale piece of paper flapping around on his windscreen.
‘Damn traffic wardens!’ he shouted in frustration, knowing this area to be one of the world’s worst for parking offences, especially down the side streets where double parking had become an everyday occurrence and a major issue for the emergency services.
Mike Davies sat at a table at his regular lunchtime haunt. He watched with interest as the stripper danced provocatively on the small wooden stage and gyrated her body to the strains of Blue Monday by New Order. She was a beauty that he’d seen dance a few times before. You could tell that she’d gained a great deal of experience over the years, by the way that she attempted to tease and delight the audience. She expressed herself perfectly with her moves. She also looked extremely free and comfortable, with not a hint of shyness to be seen, considering she was almost standing up there in her birthday suit. The depths of her femininity and sexuality were more than evident, as she worked hard to drive the onlookers wild and make herself popular with them. Unfortunately, most of those watching, didn’t give a damn as they’d pretty much seen it all before. Many were more interested in the pint they were holding, or what their mates were discussing, so they weren’t really paying that much attention. At least not until the woman came to the end of her routine and stood stark naked before them. It was a pretty sleazy place at this time of the day. Yet, a large majority of them were workers from the gasworks across the road, as this was literally the closest place to get a drink.
