CHAPTER 15... is live
The story continues
All previous chapters - CHAPTER 1 - CHAPTER 2 - CHAPTER 3 - CHAPTER 4 - CHAPTER 5 - CHAPTER 6 - Chapter 7 - CHAPTER 8 - CHAPTER 9 - CHAPTER 10 - CHAPTER 11 - CHAPTER 12 - CHAPTER 13 - CHAPTER 14
Previously on “The bomb in the shed…”; Back in New Mexico 2003 Arthur tries to say goodbye to Elizabeth, but gets an urgent call from her before he can leave, rushing to meet her only in time to witness the facility destroyed, before returning to London.
And here we go with CHAPTER 15…
Chapter 15
London - Present day
After some deliberation, Jacob had decided to hold the launch event for the Sensidium research at their offices rather than a hotel or function venue. It was a modern glass structure and had an impressively large open air atrium in the centre, filled with trees and plants. Once the large stage, lights, a bar and decorations had been added it looked really impressive. A great place to announce a new dawn in green energy. He’d even got a camera crew to capture the moment for posterity. They’d just come back from shooting a documentary in the Ukraine.
Much of the substance behind the launch event was down to Arthur. He’d rescued the Sensidium trials, the main act of the show. But the plan was also to do a short teaser on his pure fusion technology. Something to whet people’s appetite and further boost the value of Sensidium, which should go through the roof after today. Arthur was going to be on stage for this finale, but right now Jacob couldn’t find him anywhere. The first guests had already arrived, champagne and canapés were being served and a string quartet was playing music. The stage was set and everything was ready, they had everything apart from the unlikely star.
Jacob spotted Arthur’s daughter Alex arriving, looking naturally fabulous in a designer cocktail dress and made his way over. She was with who he presumed to be her brother David and his wife Angela. David was in an ill-fitting off-the-peg suit and stiff collared shirt that he pulled at as if it were a noose around his neck. Alex looked fabulous in a designer cocktail dress. Angela wore a sober trouser suit, and a sombre expression. Alex had warned Jacob that she was a human rights lawyer and might not be impressed that the room was half full of arms dealers. He was surprised she’d agreed to come at all. Still, what did they say? Know your enemy.
“Thanks for coming,” said Jacob.
“We wouldn’t miss Dad’s big day,” replied Alex.
“Would have been nice if he’d invited us himself,” said David.
Alex shot him a quick warning look. Angela said nothing. Jacob introduced himself to David and Angela and got them all drinks, then took Alex aside the first opportunity he got.
“You haven’t seen Arthur have you?”
The room was full now and the show was due to start in a few minutes. Jacob was going to be on stage to kick things off.
“You haven’t lost him have you?” replied Alex.
“Not quite.”
“Whenever we lost him at home we’d normally find him working in the shed.”
Which meant the lab. But he wasn’t there. It had been cleared for the day, locked up. He’d checked. But then again… Jacob looked up. Walls of glass rising up above them on all four sides. Could Arthur be up there somewhere, hiding away. As he looked back down he noticed Kinga waving him over. Her expression suggested she might be pissed at something. But who knew, it was hard to tell.
“I have to go,” said Jacob to Alex, then added, “you look stunning by the way.”
He wasn’t just saying it, she really did.
Alex smiled, “Oh, thank you. You’re so sweet.” She turned back to her family.
Ok then.
He went over to Kinga.
“You all set?” she asked.
“I think so.”
“Big night, don’t fuck it up.”
Great pep talk.
“Oh, I want Fitzpatrick on at the end, with Arthur,” said Kinga. “Add some gravitas. He’ll be good for the Americans too.”
Jacob hadn’t planned for that. Last minute changes made him nervous. But so did contradicting Kinga. Fitzpatrick was still over by the bar where Jacob had seen him earlier, getting yet another drink. Hopefully he stayed vaguely sober and knew the right things to say. Gibson, Kinga’s loyal security man, was sticking to the man like glue. Obviously he still didn’t trust him. That was good. Gibson had a few of his team about the place too, looking after security.
Jacob had a few moments before he had to go on stage so he popped over to reception. Did they know where Arthur was? No. Was there anyone in the lab? No, it was still in shut down. Oh well, there was an hour until the session at the end. Hopefully Arthur would reappear before then.
On the way over to the stage Winterbourne collared him.
“Please, Jacob. Don’t talk about the pure fusion work tonight. Arthur is great, but it’s not proven.”
They’d had this conversation before, it was pointless.
“Don’t worry, it will be fine.” He slapped Winterbourne on the shoulder and moved on before the man could reply.
---
“Where’s your husband tonight?” asked Gibson.
Kinga whirled round, nearly spilling her drink.
Jesus he was always sneaking up on people like that. “He’s babysitting,” replied Kinga, trying her best to cover up the fact he’d made her jump.
“I thought you weren’t supposed to call it babysitting,” said Gibson. “If it’s your own kids.”
“You’re not. I invited a couple of girlfriends along tonight and he’s looking after their kids too.”
Gibson nodded his approval, “Well played. Shame your friends are here though. I could have been your date.”
“You wish,” replied Kinga. “Anyway, what would your husband have to say about that?”
Gibson shrugged. “He wouldn’t say anything. I think he’s afraid of you.”
His other half was a lovely man, but terribly quiet. He must have the patience of a saint.
She said. “Where’s Fitzpatrick? Did he get tired of you?”
“Me? Why would he, I’m an absolute delight.”
Of course you are.
“I thought you were going to stay with him.”
“Don’t worry, my guys are on it. Anyway, he just seems to want to get pissed.”
“You still worried about him?”
“I don’t know. We’ve done a full background. He is what he appears to be. An old science guy. Semi-retired. Tenure with MIT. Hasn’t worked with the military for two decades. No known links to US security services. There is one thing though…”
“Which is?”
Fitzpatrick was coming over to them now, back from the bar with more drinks.
Gibson said, “He’s ex marines. Served in the Gulf war. He was in the Marine Raiders, special ops.”
“Which means?”
Gibson shrugged. “That he’s a badass.”
Marine special forces? He didn’t look like much. Just a tired old scientist dressed up in a suit working the free bar. But then again that didn’t mean anything. Gibson looked like a complete fucking mess most of the time.
---
Jacob was on stage working the crowd, setting the scene for the presentations. He didn’t really get nervous. In fact he thrived in these moments. He figured if he knew his audience and was prepared, what could go wrong?
Five minutes into his opening speech the fire alarms went off.
Blaring like an air raid siren.
There were harmful chemicals and other hazardous materials on site so the noise of the alarms was set to a level more obnoxious than in a normal building. For the uninitiated it sounded apocalyptic. Everyone looked about in alarm and confusion. Was it some kind of test? But Jacob knew it wasn’t, he’d checked there wasn’t one due.
He tried to speak calmly into the microphone, even though inside he was freaking out. “Could everyone please make their way to the exit and congregate in the carpark. Hopefully, we’ll get this sorted as soon as possible.”
Thirty minutes to find what triggered the alarm and get the all clear. Forty at most. If they were able to keep people busy with drinks and food outside then it just meant they were little behind schedule, that was all. Something to laugh about at the after party.
---
Arthur awoke sat as his desk in the lab, the sound of a fire alarm blaring in his ears. The lights were off, the only illumination the winking machinery and the faint green glow of the fire escape signs. How did he get here? He was supposed to be at Jacob’s launch. A quick check of his watch confirmed he was late. The air tasted dirty, and it was hard to breathe. It reminded him of waking up half buried in the trench in New Mexico after the explosion.
His desk was covered by his lab notes. It appeared that he’d been pulling them together and packing them into a box, but why? He looked up through the window to the Sensidium lab beyond. It was filled with dark smoke.
The alarm.
It must be a fire.
He had to get out.
Arthur went over to the door and opened it. He was met by a wall of thick smoke and heat. He slammed the door shut again before his own room became filled with it.
What was he going to do?
---
The guests had just started to move towards the exit when there was a huge explosion from above. Windows blew out and shards of glass showered down on the crowds below. Dark acrid smoke flowed freely from the gaping hole where the windows had been a moment before tainting the air with a rancid odour. Then the sprinkler system activated, drenching everyone in water. There were screams and people surged for the exits. Gibson and his security team were doing their best to guide people to safety. The camera crew were still recording, a permanent witness to the mayhem. Jacob wanted to tell people to remain calm. Everything was ok. But it wasn’t ok. He was filled with the same visceral fear that they were.
He ran for the exit.
But then he stopped.
Arthur.
He had to be in the lab. Where else would he be? Jacob changed direction, going against the flow of crowd, into the building and up towards where the explosion had happened. On the way he passed a member of the security staff coming down, who assured him there was no-one up there, but Jacob ignored him and carried on. By the time he got to the third floor the air was thick with smoke, the heat intense. He should go back down, he knew it. The fire fighters would be there soon. And Arthur may not be in there anyway.
But what if he was? He may not have much time.
There was a fire survival kit in the foyer. Jacob grabbed an extinguisher, covered his shoulders with a fire blanket and put a smoke hood over his head. That should give him some protection from the heat and help him to breathe. He couldn’t see much though. He had to move slowly through the lab, staying low to avoid the worst of the smoke and heat. He used occasional blasts of the fire extinguisher to clear his path. Metre by metre he made his way towards Arthur’s pure fusion lab. If he was still in the building, this was where he would be. Every once in a while Jacob lifted the smoke hood and called out Arthur’s name, then paused and listened. The third time he heard a faint reply and moved towards the sound.
Arthur was lying against the door of his lab, coughing.
Jacob pushed hard against Arthur’s weight to create an opening he could squeeze through.
Once inside he said, “I’m here to help you,”
“I can’t move,” replied Arthur.
He looked so withered and frail hunched there, like a sack of bones.
“Yes, you can.”
Jacob took his fire blanket and wrapped it around Arthur’s shoulders, then removed the smoke hood and put it over Arthur’s head. Now he could breathe Arthur started to improve immediately.
“Let’s go,” said Jacob, lifting him to his feet.
It was slow going. They had to take a few steps, pause and wait, take a few steps more, then pause again and wait. The smoke was getting thicker, the room hotter.
“Leave me, go get help,” said Arthur.
It didn’t look like he could go any further, but Jacob couldn’t leave him. He picked Arthur up, put him over his shoulder and carried on. Finally, he made it through the doors out into the foyer, which was now also full of smoke, and almost as hot as the lab. Jacob didn’t have the strength to go on. He lay Arthur down on the floor then sat down himself. Just a few minutes so they could regather their strength, then he’d get going.
Just a few minutes.
The next thing Jacob knew there were strong arms lifting him to his feet, a fireman in a yellow fire suit staring at him through a mask. Then Jacob was lifted onto the man’s shoulders and carried down the stairs. He could just about make out another fire fighter following, carrying Arthur.
That’s it for Chapter 15, I hope you enjoyed it and are looking forward to more. Chapter 16 will be out the same time next week, Friday at 4:00pm UK time.
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Thanks!
Loved the action and the humour in this chapter - it continues to be a very good read
Thanks Will