we deal with the ones that want to eat you. All of us have an agreement; we won’t become one of those things. Now if that upsets your sensibilities, then fucking excuse us!”
“Fairclough, enough!” barked Archer. “I’m sorry, doctor, but opinions of The Lingering vary wildly. No one is right or wrong, so please can we get on with our briefing?”
She nodded. “Of course, follow me.”
The door from airlock two to her lab opened, and Archer placed his shirt back on. He jerked his head at his men, and they all headed to the next room.
After some food and drinks, Archer headed to the front of the lab and looked at those assembled. On one side of the room sat his men, on the other sat Dr Bartholomew and the rest of her team.
He cleared his throat and began. “As you all know attacks on the clean have increased tenfold in the past year, and the protection agency is struggling to counter the attacks. As of yet, we have no clear idea of why the attacks have increased, or who is behind them. But this we do know – the attacks are becoming more violent, more frequent and harder to predict. In fact whoever these people are, they are now using The Lingering as a weapon.” He looked towards Bartholomew and noted her approval of his usage of the word, ‘Lingering’. “The agency has decided the best way to protect the clean, is to centralize the remaining villagers to one defendable location.”
Bartholomew stood and raised her hand.
“Yes, doctor.”
“That is out of the question, we cannot simply rip these people from their homes.”
Archer nodded. “I understand your misgivings, but we have no choice. In the past week alone my team has lost two villages, and we only managed to save this one by the skin of our teeth.”
Bartholomew shook her head, and said, “No, we can’t move this village. The protection agency will simply have to send more men.”
“There are no more men to send,” replied Archer. “Budgets have been cut, and recruitment is down. The agency barely had enough personnel before the attacks increased. Now it’s stretched to breaking point. Doctor, if you want these villagers to survive, then we have to move them to a safe zone. I’m no happier about it than you are, but we have no choice.”
Bartholomew sighed and threw her hands in the air. “Very well, how soon will the move begin?”
“The choppers have been ordered for later today. My men and I will hold position outside the village until the evac is finished, then we’ll head for the next village.”
Bartholomew turned and whispered to her colleagues, then returned her attention to him. “We won’t have time to dismantle this unit, or gather all our equipment.”
“Then leave it all. Just take your data, and we’ll arrange to have everything else sent to you.”
“Okay, Mr Archer, you win.”
“It’s not about winning or losing, Doctor. It’s about making sure the clean survive. Now if you’ll excuse us, my men and I have work to do.”
Archer strode towards the airlock with his men hot on his heels. After suiting up, they returned to their duties of guarding the village.
He and his team held a defensive position just outside the settlement until the last of the clean were in the air. Darkness was closing fast, so they camped the night and began their long trek to the next clean village in the morning.
Chapter 8
Location: Protection Agency headquarters, Whitehall, London
Date: April 12 th 2013
Time: 11:20 a.m.
Archer stared at his watch for the tenth time. It had been close to three years since his last visit to HQ, and it always made him nervous when they summoned him out of the blue. One upside of returning to London, it gave his men some time for R&R, which they all sorely needed. For close to two years, he and his team had spent most of their lives deep in one jungle or another. Civilization gave them the opportunity to catch up with old friends, and the chance to eat decent food
“Fairclough, enough!” barked Archer. “I’m sorry, doctor, but opinions of The Lingering vary wildly. No one is right or wrong, so please can we get on with our briefing?”
She nodded. “Of course, follow me.”
The door from airlock two to her lab opened, and Archer placed his shirt back on. He jerked his head at his men, and they all headed to the next room.
After some food and drinks, Archer headed to the front of the lab and looked at those assembled. On one side of the room sat his men, on the other sat Dr Bartholomew and the rest of her team.
He cleared his throat and began. “As you all know attacks on the clean have increased tenfold in the past year, and the protection agency is struggling to counter the attacks. As of yet, we have no clear idea of why the attacks have increased, or who is behind them. But this we do know – the attacks are becoming more violent, more frequent and harder to predict. In fact whoever these people are, they are now using The Lingering as a weapon.” He looked towards Bartholomew and noted her approval of his usage of the word, ‘Lingering’. “The agency has decided the best way to protect the clean, is to centralize the remaining villagers to one defendable location.”
Bartholomew stood and raised her hand.
“Yes, doctor.”
“That is out of the question, we cannot simply rip these people from their homes.”
Archer nodded. “I understand your misgivings, but we have no choice. In the past week alone my team has lost two villages, and we only managed to save this one by the skin of our teeth.”
Bartholomew shook her head, and said, “No, we can’t move this village. The protection agency will simply have to send more men.”
“There are no more men to send,” replied Archer. “Budgets have been cut, and recruitment is down. The agency barely had enough personnel before the attacks increased. Now it’s stretched to breaking point. Doctor, if you want these villagers to survive, then we have to move them to a safe zone. I’m no happier about it than you are, but we have no choice.”
Bartholomew sighed and threw her hands in the air. “Very well, how soon will the move begin?”
“The choppers have been ordered for later today. My men and I will hold position outside the village until the evac is finished, then we’ll head for the next village.”
Bartholomew turned and whispered to her colleagues, then returned her attention to him. “We won’t have time to dismantle this unit, or gather all our equipment.”
“Then leave it all. Just take your data, and we’ll arrange to have everything else sent to you.”
“Okay, Mr Archer, you win.”
“It’s not about winning or losing, Doctor. It’s about making sure the clean survive. Now if you’ll excuse us, my men and I have work to do.”
Archer strode towards the airlock with his men hot on his heels. After suiting up, they returned to their duties of guarding the village.
He and his team held a defensive position just outside the settlement until the last of the clean were in the air. Darkness was closing fast, so they camped the night and began their long trek to the next clean village in the morning.
Chapter 8
Location: Protection Agency headquarters, Whitehall, London
Date: April 12 th 2013
Time: 11:20 a.m.
Archer stared at his watch for the tenth time. It had been close to three years since his last visit to HQ, and it always made him nervous when they summoned him out of the blue. One upside of returning to London, it gave his men some time for R&R, which they all sorely needed. For close to two years, he and his team had spent most of their lives deep in one jungle or another. Civilization gave them the opportunity to catch up with old friends, and the chance to eat decent food
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