Escaping the Cradle

by Karen Page

Part 43

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Part 43
DATE:FC+163

Centenary Square in Birmingham was the planned location for the rally. As the time got closer, the crowd began to change from people milling around, to standing by the podium. Two black SUVs drew to the rear of the podium.

A row of police vans was parked along Bridge Street, ready if intervention was required. Most officers were in normal uniforms. The front two vehicles though had teams in tactical gear to quell any uprising. However, they waited, not being deployed. The end of the Drug Laws had caused a rethink in strategy. The public had made it clear that highly visible police was not welcome, even for events they hated. Their authority rested on policing by consent; the same way politicians relied on the ballot box.

"Remember those faces," reminded the leader in each van. "The two kidnapped victims and the three suspects. If you see any of them, they are your priorities. This is the time for the country to know that this is the best force in the world. Do it cleanly. Do it by the book."

Brenda made her way towards the front of the crowd. The rain had so far held off, but the air had a certain feeling, and she knew there would be a storm before the day was out. She didn't want to be at the actual front, fully visible to the cameras, but she knew her target would be there, somewhere within the first few rows. He liked to watch the progress of his cause. A glint of light from the nearby high-rise hotel caught her attention. Someone was watching, probably with binoculars.

The press reports worried her. Becky and Ashleigh missing wasn't good. She suspected something else was going on and didn't like it. It was evident the Prime Minister was coming out swinging. The first report was obvious. The second seemed to be goading. Brenda sighed. That wasn't her job. She was Roberta Prince, distraught pilot and probably losing her career. Her job was to infiltrate the top ranks of Earth Fist.

As the time neared, the organisers began to realise the crowd was nowhere near the size they expected. This was supposed to be a premier event. This was supposed to show the government that Earth must be put first. People exiting the library and the nearby streets were herded into the crowd, unwilling extras in the spectacle. Supporters were used to stop them leaving.

"This Government are selling us out," growled the speaker. "The alien loving Prime Minister spends more time snuggling up to the slimy aliens than she does in Downing Street. Then when she is in the United Kingdom, she spends her time telling us how our future is bright. Perhaps it would be if she wasn't trying to have us run by aliens' light years away."

There were cheers and half the crowd shouted. "Earth First!"

Roberta unfurled her banner and held it aloft. 'Earth First, Save Humanity!'

"And our alien loving Prime Minister is corrupting our children. Instead of learning Italian, or French they're being taught alien filth. They are delegating our culture to the bins of history!"

Roberta had heard all of this before. The crowd wasn't as tightly packed as one of their usual rallies, and she was able to move, looking for her target. She couldn't move quickly, but with the sway and hype of the true believers at the front she slowly sank deeper to the centre of the row. She spotted Luke before she spotted her target. He'd got his own mark, and they deliberately didn't acknowledge each other.

"And for a government who promised us jobs, we're hearing about job losses. In Scotland their rockets are no longer going to launch our satellites. Jobs gone. In Wales, the makers of aircraft wings have been told their jobs are under review. In all countries, companies don't want to invest, as they don't know what the future holds. This government is risking our future by pandering to new untested technologies. We don't know if it is going to hurt us. Radiation from Aurora might cause cancer in our children."

The roar of the crowd wasn't enough, and he signalled to the vehicle behind him. The SUV doors opened and someone was dragged out, a huge blanket covering them from head to toe. The person under the blanket struggled, and tried to wriggle free, but a bash to the head stopped that. They were guided to the podium, stumbling as they couldn't see where they were being taken.

"This is the cause of our issues," the speaker screamed, trying to stir the crowd. "This THING is causing our world to fail. This is the creator of Aurora."

With a flourish he removed the blanket, revealing Becky. She looked dazed and bewildered, shaking after being under an oppressive blanket for hours. Brenda sucked in a lung full of air. She caught herself before she rushed forward to help. Her training flooding back. Never break your cover. For now, she was Roberta, not Brenda.

"You're a Barbarian," one of the unwilling participants called, echoing the Prime Ministers earlier phrase. There was a stunned hush and a few more shouted, "Barbarian".

"Last decade was the decade Woke died," the speaker called, trying to regain control over the crowd. He used a pair of scissors to cut open Becky's clothes, revealing the fact that she was pre-op transgender. "Do you really want someone like this dictating your future?" Becky shivered and tried to cover herself, tears starting to fall down her cheeks. The person holding her in place was laughing at her embarrassment.

"Kill it," came a yell.

Brenda realised that came from Luke. Sheesh. Luke's wife and sister were both post-op transgender. What must it have taken for him to call that. She also hope that this wasn't being recorded and if it was that Jenny would never know. She averted her eyes, not risking being distracted by Becky.

The people that had been forced to be part of the crowd wanted none of it. The momentum of movement at the back caught the people holding them in place by surprise, and a stream of them made their way out still yelling "Barbarian."

"I'm out of here," someone muttered nearby. Brenda was surprised, that was one of the hardcore supporters.

Someone close to them agreed. "Yeah. I think I'd support the aliens over a sicko like that."

The police were out of the vans and had started to make their way across. Suddenly Becky disappeared. One minute she was naked, trying to cover herself, the next she was gone, leaving the agitators on the podium confused and emptyhanded.

Not wanting to be arrested, or caught supporting such an action, the rest of the supporters started to flee. The police must have been told there had been a hostage, as they were running across the square. Supporters now were abandoning the rally. They were dropping their placards and running, not wanting to be publicly named as being there.

Police were coming from the other side too, like a pincer movement. As Brenda took off, she noticed her target suddenly coming to a halt, unsure which way to go.

"This way," she called, and grabbed the man's arm. "I grew up here."

There was a sudden bolt of fork lightning, splitting the air. The immediate loud roll of thunder indicated the storm was on their doorstep. It probably hit one of the high-rise buildings. The rain that the clouds had managed to hold onto, was released and a heavy storm erupted. Visibility was reduced, and Brenda managed to lead the man away from the square without being seen.

A small low-quality café was across the street and Brenda ducked in. The man followed.

"Hey Roberta," the owner behind the counter called out. "You look like a drowned rat. I bet you're glad you're not flying in this weather."

"Too true. Though at least I would be dry. Can I have a tea?" She turned to the man who'd followed her in. "What do you want?"

"Double espresso."

Roberta paid, and they sat at a table to await their drinks. She spent so much downtime keeping her legends alive, and at this moment was so glad of the effort.

"You're a pilot?" the man asked. "As in aeroplanes?"

"Yes. I've been slowly building a small private charter company. I've got two planes. I fly one of them. I'd been hoping to add a third, but that looks hopeless now. The last twenty years slowly getting better planes is probably now a waste."

The drinks arrived and they sat there in silence, getting a bit of warmth back into themselves. Outside the thunder moved on, and the rain turned from a torrent to a gentle patter.

"What type of plane do you have?"

Roberta said proudly, "Embraer Legacy 600. It can sit thirteen passengers. It's not as swish as modern planes, but I can do most of Europe easily."

The man had his phone out, frowning at what he was looking at. Roberta just sipped on her tea, letting him come to her. She presumed he was checking updates on the rally. It had been a disaster.

"Do you know if the tram goes to the airport?" he asked.

Roberta threw back her head and laughed. It sounded slightly manic. "No. It's still delayed and going to be at least another five years before it's finished. They diverted money to get HS2 finished. The quickest way there is by taxi, or the train from New Street."

The man was chewing things over. He said carefully, "I think it might be best for us to leave for a bit. That idiot has lost a lot of public opinion. You said you had a plane. Can you fly me to Italy?"

"No," she said, not wanting to seem too eager. "I'd need my colleague, but Sally is out. I don't mind doing UK hops on my own, but Italy is a few hours. I should have a number two. Unless you have a licence?"

He chuckled. "I can do many things, but flying isn't one of them."

"Can you afford it?"

"I can. I'll give you 200,000 euros."

Roberta took out her phone and made a call. "Sally, we have an urgent flight. Oh, great. See you in a bit."

"She's in Leicester, so can be there by the time we are. By the way, I'm Roberta Prince."

"Mario Berlusconi."

The rain stopped, and they made their way back through the centre of Birmingham. They passed close to Centenary Square where there was nothing left from earlier apart from a taped off area. The ground was strewn with abandoned banners and placards, a few police patrolling to make sure nobody entered the cordoned off area. It looked like a sad end to the earlier rallying cries.

* * *

"Hilda!" was the first whimper that passed her lips. "Hilda!"

She knew she was no longer in the square. The noise had suddenly disappeared. Now there was just a bright light. Was she dead? Perhaps it was all over, and she would see Hilda once more.

Was she at the pearly gates? Was she in hell? She hoped she wasn't in hell, because Hilda would surely have gone to heaven. Oh God, please let me be with Hilda.

She heard some whispered voices. She concentrated but couldn't understand the words. Trying to open her eyes just caused shooting pain. Not just in her eyes and head, but she felt pain across her body.

"Hilda!" she called one last time before slipping back into the dark void.

She felt herself come too again. Her senses a bit stronger this time. After laying there, glad the pain was gone, she slowly opened her eyes. No pearly gates. She was in hospital.

"Ashleigh?" she called. "Jenny?"

There was no immediate answer, just a small distant beep every so often. The voices she remembered hearing last time weren't there. She tried to turn, but found she couldn't, yet that didn't panic her.

The sound of running feet and then, "Ma!"

Oh, how that voice made her feel so much better, and so much worse. Jenny would see her like this.

"Jenny!"

Jenny came into her field of view. She had her impish smile on, and Becky wondered what her daughter had been up to.

"Where am I?" Becky asked.

"Hospital?" Jenny replied, questioning herself more than her Ma.

"Which hospital?"

"I don't know." Jenny sounded sad that she couldn't give her Ma the answers.

"On Earth or elsewhere?" A year ago, this would have sounded a bizarre question. But for Becky, it was the world she lived in.

Jenny disappeared for a second and returned. "It looks like Earth."

She felt light-headed and realised after a few seconds she was laughing.

"What is it Ma?"

"What a world we now live in when we don't even know if we're on Earth."

She heard a male voice, "Jenny, let your Ma sleep. She needs to let those nanites heal her body."

She heard someone say in Hytuna, "That drug doesn't work well with the nanites."

"Go to sleep, Ma," Jenny said, leaning across to kiss her.

That sweet kiss from her daughter meant so much. It was freely given, and meant Jenny was not captured. Becky knew she was safe and this time, Becky slipped into a more natural sleep.

Becky woke with a scream. Ashleigh was being dragged away, a knife hovering near her throat.

"Becky," a voice said gently. "Open your eyes. You're in the hospital."

She did as she'd been instructed and in a chair was sat the psychiatrist that she'd seen on her first visit to Milton Keynes GIC. Her heartbeat started to calm as she saw someone she knew. A professional she knew.

"Dr Mathews?"

"Remember, I'm Dan."

"Is Ashleigh here?" Becky asked, remembering what had woken her.

He was quiet for a few seconds before saying sadly, "They're still looking but they haven't found her yet."

Dan waited, watching Becky's reaction. There was no more screaming.

"Does Jenny know what happened?"

"Some. Not everything. She wants to know. She asks everybody she sees."

"She didn't see what happened in Birmingham, did she?"

"No."

Becky paused, she took some shallow breaths, gearing herself up. She looked Dan directly in the face. "Is it out there? Is it on the internet?"

"Yes." Dan was matter of fact.

Becky wanted to scream but knew it wouldn't do any good. She wanted to cry, but she didn't feel capable. She just felt hurt.

"Back in January, a team of thirty mercenaries attacked the factory. We'd heard they were coming and took the ships and hid. The building had been built with a defence mechanism. It automatically killed those that broke in. The police were called, and they removed the bodies, but when we returned there were bullet holes in the wall. It was suggested we take Jenny back to the house via the ship, so she didn't see."

"I've never hidden anything from her. Not the death of Hilda, not the reason why she died and I didn't hide the bullet holes. She is a curious girl. I prefer to be the one to tell her, not her find out from other sources."

"But—" started Dan, shocked.

"If she sees it online, which she will, she will only get half the story. If I tell her what happened, then she will understand how it felt."

"But she's only eight."

"Yes, she is. Have you talked to her?"

"No," Dan admitted.

"She was kidnapped a few months ago. The kidnappers said they would kill Ashleigh and me. I'm surprised that she hasn't talked to you or reached out to Edith Covington. That's who helped her post kidnapping."

"I know Edith, but I thought she was retired. I'll talk with Edith. Now, back to you. The police want to talk with you and then we can talk more. Are you up to seeing them?"

Becky grimaced. "I'm not looking forward to this. Can you sit in?"

"Sure," Dan agreed without any hesitation.

"Oh, quick question. Where am I?"

"Milton Keynes Hospital."

"How did I end up here?" Becky asked, feeling confused.

"I don't know. I want to talk to you more, but not until after you've talked to the police."

"You don't want my thoughts tainted," Becky mused aloud.

"I knew you were clever."

In the end it wasn't much of an interview. It covered the abduction and that was it. After that, Becky had been under that blanket and had no idea where they went or for how long. She'd been kicked and punched several times through the blanket, but that was the worst. They didn't ask about the rally. They'd seen footage of that.

"You did well," Dan praised. "How are you doing?"

"Glad that's over with. I'm just sorry I couldn't tell them more."

"While I contact Edith, I'll let the nurse come in. Now you're up and about, she wants to remove your catheter."

"Oh good," Becky said with heartfelt joy. "I forgot it was there when I sat up earlier. That hurt."

"There have been a few doctors from..." Dan trailed off wondering how to describe them. "From out of town who've been observing."

Becky smiled a bit and wondered if Shinara was one of them. "How did that go down with the local staff?"

"It was surprisingly cordial. There was concern the drugs might cause a conflict with your current treatment. It's been a learning experience for both teams."

"Okay, send them in. I'll be glad to get it out."

Not long after he left, a nurse came in. She didn't look flustered, and her smile was comforting. "Hi Becky. I'm Kelly, a urology nurse. Since you're up and about, let's get that catheter out."

Becky grinned. She had a no-nonsense approach. She was taking out the catheter and that was that.

"Sure," Becky agreed. "This is the first time for me. How do you want me?"

"If you sit up, legs over the side and slightly parted."

"Er, are you aware I'm pre-op trans?"

"Good to know, though it makes no difference from what I'm going to do. I know it might make you uncomfortable me seeing you like that, but I've removed four catheters from pre-ops this month."

As Becky sorted herself out, the nurse continued. "There are some doctors that wish to observe. Are you okay with that?"

"Everybody else has seen me naked, so why not. How's your Hytuna?"

"Basic," she admitted.

"I'll translate. My daughter translated for me, until I got better. It suddenly clicked and it now makes sense. Where I used to translate in my mind, it's now just there."

"I had that when I learnt French. When reading a book, I used to translate the words or sentences. It then just clicked and I understood the language."

Becky was pleased to see the diplomatic doctor team. It was the same as when she'd been to the alien space station. There wasn't the same chatting as last time they'd met. They were here to only observe.

"I'm ready if you are," Kelly said. "Take a deep breath and two sharp coughs."

The next thing Becky knew, the catheter was out. She hadn't felt a thing.

The Reginadde doctor asked, "Can you do that sharp air expulsion again?"

Becky thought for a second wondering what they meant. Coughing? She didn't know a Hytuna word for that. Perhaps there wasn't one. She repeated the process, and they seemed pleased, pointing to something on their devices.

"What are you seeing?" Becky asked, intrigued.

"When you did that, it relaxed some of your muscles. That would have made it easier to get that tube out of you."

Becky repeated the findings to Kelly, who was putting the waste in the medical bin. Kelly nodded. "It does that, and it also distracted you, so you were thinking about the coughing, rather than what I was doing."

Kelly left, leaving the doctors in the room with Becky. "How am I?"

"Your body is healing well," said the Reginadde doctor. "You had some broken bones, and they gave you something to make you less responsive. Your nanites weren't programmed to impact that, but because it changed some of the chemicals, they counteracted that to keep your hormones correct."

"You also have to be careful with what drugs hospitals give you. Some don't interact well with nanites when healing. The last day has been interesting for all doctors."

"How did you get here? How did you find me?"

"We came by spaceship," Shinara said, puzzled at the obvious answer. "When you were taken, your nanites stopped reporting and the automated system thought you were dead. We came to check, as did others."

"How did they block the nanites?"

"We don't know. We've never seen it before. And don't worry, we have permission to be here."

"I'm sure you do. So, you know more about the human body now?"

"And they know a bit more about us," Vam'tar, the Alphonian doctor said. "Though that electromagnetic machine was not nice to my ears."

The thought of any of the aliens having an MRI made Becky feel slightly better. If she'd been in a better condition, she might have smiled.

"So when can I go home?"

"Physically, you're fine. You need to talk with Dr Daniel Mathews more," said Shinara. "He is your brain doctor. One thing that might improve you though, we had a chat with some people here about how your body works. We have more to think about but come and see us in a few weeks at the Rohastin station."

"Thank you so much for helping me. You are all very kind."

They disappeared, leaving Becky pondering how they'd done that. She'd have to discuss it with Evan later for future research. Being free of tubes and wires, she looked in the bedside cabinet and after finding some clothes, she got dressed. They were hers, and she briefly wondered who'd got them.

She didn't find her phone, which wasn't a surprise. The kidnappers had removed it as soon as they'd captured her and Ashleigh. Why did they take Ashleigh? She could understand being on Earth Fist's radar, but Ashleigh? She was just goodness in a human body.

Sitting down in a nice wingback chair, Becky pondered if it was her fault that Ashleigh had been taken. Perhaps if they weren't so close things would have been better. She then pulled herself back together. That was stupid. Being with Ashleigh wasn't the cause of the trouble. Ashleigh lit up her day. Ashleigh and Jenny made life a thousand times better. A million times.

"A penny for your thoughts?" asked Dan, coming into the room with Laura, Jenny and Colin Hood.

Becky did a double take when she saw Colin and then looked again. "Colin, I didn't expect to see you. Sorry I'm not at my best."

"I thought you might like to know some of the other things that happened while you were under the blanket," he said.

"That would be great," Becky responded weakly. "Dan, are you happy for Jenny to be here?"

"No, but I'm told it's the way you do things, and you are right that inquisitive minds search out answers. However, you need to be honest with yourself, and I worry you might not be with others. So, let's just talk it through and then we can have a chat tomorrow. I've got the day off, so will visit you at home. How does that sound?"

"Okay, I suppose," Becky said numbly.

The four visitors grabbed chairs and sat down, facing Becky. Jenny sat next to her Ma, and Dan on the other side.

Dan gave a warning to the youngest in the room. "Jenny. If you feel upset, say. This isn't going to be nice."

"I want to know," she insisted.

And so, they talked. Becky told them about what happened when she was taken, and Colin updated them on the alien's arrival. He even took out his phone and showed Becky the Prime Minister's speech and the article she'd written.

"They'd drugged me," Becky said. "Yet when I felt the air when they removed the blanket, it gave me a jolt. I couldn't run, but I could see the crowd. I could hear the crowd. I could hear what the guy at the podium said and what he called me.

Becky swallowed, her voice now quivering. "He pulled out a pair of scissors, and I thought he was going to stab me. I couldn't move. I wanted to run or lash out, but I couldn't move. The metal hovered against my skin, and I didn't know what he was going to do. Then he jeered and began to cut, slowly. As the blades inched lower, I realised what was happening. I knew what he was doing and it was that delay. I knew and I couldn't stop it. Eventually I was naked, and all I could do was try to cover myself up."

Tears started to trickle down her face. "Someone shouted Barbarian. I thought they meant me. But in what Colin showed, I think they were referring to Earth Fist."

Jenny had moved her chair and slipped her hands into her Ma's. "Then above the calls of Barbarian I heard the shout 'Kill it'. A few seconds later, they were running and I don't remember any more."

There was silence and Becky just looked at the floor, trying to control herself. Her breathing was shallow and she ended up panting. She'd recognised the voice. Well, she thought she had. She just couldn't bring herself to tell anybody.

After a bit, Dan asked. "How did you feel then, and how do you feel now?"

"I—" Becky tried to start and paused, then tried again. "The 'Barbarian' shouts I thought were aimed at me. Now I'm not sure."

Colin said, "There were people in the crowd that were forced to be there. Passersby that were rounded up. They were the ones shouting 'Barbarian' and no, it wasn't aimed at you. It was aimed at the people who'd kidnapped you."

Becky paused, thinking about what Colin had shown her a few minutes earlier. "The Prime Minister manipulated the situation, didn't she? She used the kidnapping of Ashleigh and me to hurt Earth First."

Becky wanted to say that the Prime Minister had used her, but she was still unsure of the whole story.

Colin continued, "That was one of the side effects. She did it though to force them to put you on the podium. They didn't know how to find you. There was a worry that the aliens might start looking themselves. She asked Vers'am to extract you. She was going to delay extraction to cause the maximum damage, but when she saw you uncovered like that, she got them to extract you as soon as they could. It took a few minutes to make sure they only took you."

"Oh." That was all Becky could say. She was too weary.

"Like there were plans for aliens to come into the country, there were plans for certain hospitals if there were alien patients needing treatment. The agreement between Earth and the Rohastin Council has mutual rescue."

Laura spoke for the first time. "That was your planning, wasn't it?"

Colin blushed and nodded.

"I knew I was losing when you decided to run for parliament. Thanks for coming and explaining."

"My pleasure." Colin turned to Becky. "Get well. I'm glad you're safe. The police will continue to look for Ashleigh."

When Colin had left, Becky looked at Laura. "I recognised the voice who said, 'Kill it'."

Laura sighed. "He didn't mean it. You know that, don't you?"

"It was filled with such hatred."

Jenny looked up at her Ma trying to understand, but Becky hadn't said who.

"He said it like that to force those around to reevaluate what they were doing. They might have been happy to support an extremist group, but would they be happy to support a group that murders? Most wouldn't. If you watch the video, you will see they all fled at that point."

"Can I go home?" Becky asked wearily.

"I'll ask," Dan said, and went out of the room.

"It was Luke, and Brenda was there too, wasn't she?" Becky asked.

"Yes. And they both managed to get close to their targets. They have been recruited into the worldwide group with another in touching distance. They are all keeping an eye out for Ashleigh."

For the first time since waking, Becky felt a flicker of relief. Ashleigh wasn't forgotten. Somewhere out there, people she trusted were still searching.