Chapter 16

Cathy Douglas

It was a few days later that the other bombshell fell, Cathy was awoken by Samantha who was very pensive, immediately Cathy could tell it was bad news and so she was instantly awake.

"What's happened? Has the Association started their attack?" She asked.

Samantha shook her head but just handed Cathy a piece of paper, on it the call from PC Sheargold was noted and the actions taken, Cathy took in the implications of the ransacked house and missing woman immediately.

"I want a full surveillance to monitor the cell phone that we gave to Sheargold; its tracker should give her current position!" She said to Samantha as she quickly dressed.

Samantha nodded and went to her apartment to pass on the order, Cathy made her way to the communications section, the man in charge saluted her, "I'm sorry to disturb you so early Cathy, but I didn't know what else to do." He said.

Cathy returned the Salute, "It's alright Ronald, if only we were allowed to keep a closer eye on Gwen in the first place, none of this would have happened, still 20-20 hindsight isn't helping us. Has her tracker been activated?" She said

Ronald nodded, "Yes Cathy, it was the first thing I ordered when we received notification of her call, she remained in place until 2 minutes before the team arrived, and then she was moved to outside her location and the signal just stopped ... I'm not sure if it was switched off or shielded." He added.

Cathy nodded, "It shouldn't have been switched off, nobody else knew about the tracker, and it's normally too hard to find. Okay keep the tracker monitored, just in case. And Ronald..." She looked at him.

"The minute it response we're going to send out a team to investigate!" He said seeing Cathy nod.

Cathy, for lack of anything else to do, had returned to her office, she found a cup of tea was waiting for her which she sipped appreciatively. She knew that she couldn't go back to sleep, she was too wound up. 'I hope Chris looks after her!' she thought to herself and then shook her head, she must have been tired to have thought that!

She picked up a piece of paper and began reading it, after a few hours she was busy reading reports, mainly of non-events! Several escaped criminals had been recaptured and returned to their prisons — with increase sentences for escaping custody.

The immigration investigators had found plans for the escapes, all directing the escapees to waiting vehicles, what these were wasn't disclosed. But Cathy nodded this was the Association's work not anyone else's, which confirmed her suspicions.

Sharon, Charlotte and Kathy arrived just after 6 O'clock, they didn't say anything but sat with Cathy.

It was later in the day that a report came from the Communications section, the tracker was responding and a retrieval team had been despatched!

Half-an Hour later they received news that a body had been recovered!

Cathy couldn't help it, she remembered Sheargold and was struck by the woman, she began to cry. Her friends felt her pain as well. "We didn't do enough to help her!" Cathy said.

"We did what we could. She didn't want to be kept in cotton wool. We couldn't keep her away from her work." Sharon said holding her friend.

"But we could have watched over her, have someone there... !" Cathy said angrily.

Kathy shook her head, "If we did that for everyone that the Association had contact with, we'd never be able to do any work. We offered and she said no." She told Cathy gently.

"Remember you can't save everyone." Charlotte said, 'Be happy for those you have saved'. Were the thoughts in her head.

"How can I be happy when Gwen's dead?" Cathy cried out.

None of the girls could reply to that.

When the retrieval team returned Cathy and the girls were there, "Where was she?" Cathy asked.

The leader of the team looked puzzled, "She? I'm sorry Commander but there was only the man there, we didn't see anyone else." He said.

Cathy frowned and went to the back of the van. She reached out to undo the zip away from the body bag but she was stopped by one of the men. "I don't think you want to see it Cathy, he was shot in the head." He said.

Cathy opened the bag to be greeted by the open eyes of Jones, a hole in his forehead where the bullet had entered.

"Jones? This is Jones! But where is Sheargold? It was her phone you were tracking!" She said mystified.

"The phone, yeah here it is!" Another man said showing Cathy Sheargolds' mobile phone, "but it doesn't work!" he added.

Cathy nodded and took the phone, holding it in her hands. 'If Jones was the body they found then where was Gwen? ... and more importantly what were they doing to her?' She thought (see Chris Henderson Chapter 5 for this answer!)

She rejoined her friends who were surprised to see her smiling face, "What happened?" Kathy asked.

Cathy looked at her, "It wasn't Gwen they found Kat! It wasn't Gwen! She must still be alive!" She said.

Kathy shook her head in mock anger although she also felt Cathy's relief, "its Kathy, Got that K-A-T-H-Y!" She said.

Cathy shook her hand dismissively, "Whatever! Okay now we've got to put a message out to all the troops, keep an eye out for Gwen Sheargold! Pass her description around and make sure it's top priority!" Cathy said

Charlotte had written the order down; she looked up and frowned at Cathy. "How do we know she's still alive?" She asked.

Cathy shook her head; somehow she could feel Gwen ... out there ... somewhere. "I don't know how? But she is still alive!" Cathy said.

Cathy went back to her office, she placed Gwen's phone on her desk, a reminder never to give up hope.

The girls were in a better mood now, although it was sad that Jones was dead he wasn't anyone they really knew — it was always harder to lose friends than strangers.

Cathy received a report from the training camp, the liaison officers had been going through some of the refresher courses and had reported that they were more intense than their own; they were recommending that the Organisation started up courses for the regular army as well.

Sharon was delegated to arrange this.

Charlotte was embarrassed when the new range of bomb-disposal robots arrived, each one was emblazoned with her name. "It's just the thought of all those people with a Charlotte under their control!" Kathy said with a grin.

The Organisation received several of the robots, all of which had an additional tank of liquid oxygen for freezing any of the Association bombs. Due to her knowledge Charlotte was given the task of training the Organisation teams in the use of the robots.

Kathy was feeling left out with two of her friends with tasks and leaving her behind, Cathy sensed this, "They also serve who only sit and wait!" She misquoted.

Kathy nodded, "Yeah, but it still sucks!" She said with a smile.

Cathy thought for a moment, "Why don't you go and have a word with Hiram, he'll be happy to see a different human face and it will show him that we still rely on him." She said.

Kathy didn't think much of this, it meant that she would be out of the office and away from Cathy ... she didn't want her friend to be left alone too much! But then it would help their cause if Hiram could work out the probable locations.

"Okay Cathy, if you want me to." She said.

Cathy frowned, "You don't have to if you don't want to? It's just that it will give you something different to do, you've been in this office for too long, you need to stretch your legs a bit." She said telling that Kathy was reluctant to be away from her for too long.

Kathy smiled to show that it was alright, "No, I'll go. I'll get one of the pool drivers to take me there ... You will be alright on your own?" She asked.

Cathy waved her hand at the paperwork she was working on, "Just petrol requisitions, nothing to endanger the Organisation about." She said

And so Kathy went to the motor pool, a captain noticed her. "Hello, what brings one of the musketeers here?" he asked. — The girls had accepted their unofficial title by now.

"I need transport to location H .1., is there anyone available?" She asked.

The captain nodded, "Always for you girls. Corporal Bolton? Front and Centre." He called into the ready room."

A youngish woman came out of the room, when she saw Kathy she smiled and saluted. "Corporal Bolton reporting as requested Sir." She said.

The Captain returned the salute, "Can you take Miss Kathy to H .1., and she needs a car." He said

Corporal Bolton smiled, "Anytime Captain. If you'll come this way Miss, I have just the vehicle for you." She said.

Kathy was preparing herself for anything — she'd heard how the transport crew tried to pull tricks on unsuspecting people. So she wasn't too surprised when Bolton started walking to a Tank, and so she decided to play along.

"Oh great, I always wanted to travel in one of these ... can I fire the gun?" She asked.

Bolton's face dropped, "You want to do what??" She asked shocked.

An outbreak of laughter sounded from behind them, the two women turned to see that the drivers were behind them and had listened in! Bolton put her arms on her hips. "You put her up to that didn't you?" She asked.

Kathy shook her head, "They didn't. I didn't even know they were there ... tell you what let's take it anyway!" She said.

Bolton shook her head, "I can't they've locked it! If you'll come this way Miss Kathy I show you to a car." She said

Kathy took pity on her and ran to her taking her arm, "I'm sorry ... Look I can't call you Bolton all the time, what's your name?" She asked.

Bolton looked around. "Don't tell them, but it's Candy! My dad had a strange sense of humour and I've had to live with it all my life!" She said.

Kathy put her arms around Candy's shoulders, "That's okay; you've never heard my middle name either." She said.

Candy looked at her and Kathy blushed, "Its Flora! But if you tell anyone I'll make sure that the whole base knows your name. How do the others call you?" She asked.

"I've got them calling me CB; they think it's my dad's nickname for me!" She confided.

"Gotcha CB, we'll keep it a secret." Kathy said as they got to a normal Organisation car.

The trip to Hiram's was uneventful and Kathy was let out of the door by CB. As Kathy was about to enter CB stopped her, "I know I shouldn't ask, but what's inside there, I mean there's be a lot of talk that it's a top secret research base?" She said.

Kathy thought to herself, 'should she, or shouldn't she? It meant bringing someone new into Hiram's 'life', and CB didn't seem the type to freak out with something strange. "Hold on a moment." She said and took out her mobile phone. She called Cathy on a direct number.

"Hello Kat! What's wrong?" Cathy replied — caller display being part of the phone that Cathy was using.

"That's Kathy, is it okay to allow my driver to come in with me? She seems interested and I can't see it would do any harm." Kathy said.

"Whatever! And I can't see why not? Do you want me to warn Hiram?" Cathy asked.

"No, he'll see I've got company anyway." Kathy said and then she broke contact. "CB if you come in with me you won't be able to tell anyone what you've seen. This is beyond top secret." She said concealing a smile.

CB frowned, "I don't want to tread on anyone's toes." She said rather nervously.

Kathy looked at her, "You wanted to find out. Now secure the car and come with me." She said and then softened, "Look at it this way you'd be sitting out here being bored otherwise." She added.

CB sighed and then locked the car, she then activated the anti-theft devices which also served to seal up the car so that it couldn't be tampered with. "Lead on boss." She said to Kathy.

Kathy walked to a door and entered in a 5 digit code, the door opened and allowed them both to enter, as they approached a camera Kathy signalled to it by holding a finger to her mouth, the camera moved up and down slightly.

"You see CB, this is just a normal corridor, there's nothing too frightening about this is there?" Kathy said, knowing that Hiram's microphones would pick up her words.

"I don't know! Some of the stories I've heard made it seem like Frankenstein's castle." CB said still slightly spooked.

From somewhere came a loud thudding, like a heart-beat and a low rumbling tone. CB jumped, "What's that?" She asked.

Kathy frowned, "I don't know ... I think they were working on a giant robot, maybe they're testing it." Kathy said trying hard not to laugh.

They arrived at a doorway, Kathy knew that behind it was a range of computer screens, she wondered what Hiram had planned for CB, but the sounds made it seem that he was ready for her. She opened the door and entered, nervously CB followed her.

The screens were dark at first but then a head appeared on every one of them, just a head and no shoulders! The background was a mass of flames. "WHO DARES DISTURB ME?" A voice boomed out.

Kathy was impressed Hiram was making a great impression. "I'm sorry Doctor, but this person wanted to know what happens here." She said.

The face seemed to focus on CB. "SO YOU WANTED TO KNOW WHAT WE DID HERE? HMMM! WHAT IS YOUR NAME MORTAL?" Hiram asked.

"I ... It's Bolton ... Sir? I'm sorry Kathy I'll go back to the car." CB said but the click from the door announced it was being locked.

"GOING SO SOON? BOLTON ... BOLTON ... CANDY BOLTON ... PROJECT GIRL! INVOLVED IN SEVERAL FIGHTS DURING YOUR FIRST YEAR AT THE PROJECT AND ALMOST EXPELLED! NOT A VERY GOOD IMPRESSION YOU MADE THEN WAS IT?" Hiram said.

CB looked at the screen. "Wait a minute, that's a top secret file ... and how could you access it so quickly, Kathy didn't tell you who I was? Just who are you?" She asked looking at the screen.

"I AM THE GREAT AND ALL POWERFUL WIZARD OF OZ!" Hiram said quoting from the film.

CB shook her head, "Oh yeah and I'm the Queen of Sheba!" She responded.

The face on the screen frowned, "You make cat food?" Hiram asked responding to the brand name of a feline food product.

CB looked from the screen to Kathy who could no longer restrain herself, "Okay just what is happening here?" CB demanded.

The screens display went to that of a small mouse talking into an ear trumpet. "ignore the picture on the screen." It squeaked and Kathy began laughing aloud.

"You deserved that after your tank joke earlier. CB meet Hiram. Hiram this is Candy Bolton but she prefers the name CB, she doesn't know about you." Kathy said.

The screen cleared to show a computer room. "Hello CB, my name is Hiram, I am a computer designed to emulate Human responses, my use to the Organisation is to analyse and determine possible events." He said.

"But somewhere along the time Hiram became self-aware." Kathy filled in.

CB frowned, "So he's a computer that can think for itself?" She said.

"Exactly, sorry about the fun and games just now, but I couldn't help it." Hiram said, "And once you gave me your name, plus the fact you drove Kathy here meant you were on the Organisation's database, it was simple to pull your file and to read through it." Hiram said.

CB shook her head, "You've seen my reports and the photo's?" She asked anxiously.

"Yes, well the digital versions of them anyway, why what's wrong?" Hiram asked.

"But what if you showed them to someone else?" CB asked.

"There's no chance of that, Hiram is very dependable." Kathy said not understanding.

"I know of your problem CB, if you want I can wipe the whole file from the system and anywhere else?" He said.

CB thought for a moment, "No, it's okay if you say it's safe I'll believe you ... but ... you said anywhere else?..."

"Anywhere there's an active computer, I can delete them." Hiram said.

"If you could ... But you'd keep the Organisation's file safe?" She asked.

Kathy had an idea what was happening now, her mouth opened in shock.

"I can do this, and the program is running. Facial matches will be located on active and on-line systems and deleted where possible." Hiram said.

"I wish I knew of that earlier Hiram, you could have done the same for me and Charlotte." Kathy said this time making CB look at her; Kathy nodded and gave her a brief history of her early life (See George Douglas for the story)

There was a smug laugh from Hiram, "How do you think I was able to get the program to run so quickly, it was already in my circuitry after the last time I ran it." He said

CB was now looking at Kathy in a new light, "And we just thought you were a pampered girl who tagged onto Cathy." She said "Why didn't you go into the Program?" She asked.

Kathy shrugged, "It happened so fast and we all seemed in the same boat so the Program wasn't even mention, but I don't mind. I've come so far and I'm happy where I am." Kathy said.

A cough from the screen made both women look at it. "I'm sorry to interrupt you two but is there a reason why you are here Kathy?" Hiram asked.

Kathy was at a loss, "There wasn't really anything but Cathy thought you might want some company." She said artlessly.

The face appeared on the screen smiling, "Well there's a lot to be said for the personal approach, and I only see the guards occasionally when your father's on duty, most of them seem to be afraid of me. I don't know why?" Hiram said.

CB spoke up, "It's because this place has a rumour about it." She said.

The face laughed, "Frankenstein's castle? I don't understand how this started?" Hiram said.

And for the next few hours the three of them talked about rumours and how they could spread, Kathy hadn't enjoyed herself so much before.

Cathy was working away, there seemed to be so much paperwork involved in running the Organisation, how did Sir Timothy get over it? She wondered.

A telephone rang, a tone she hadn't heard before, she picked it up. "Hello?" She said cautiously.

"So how are you finding life in charge of your worthless Organisation?" A voice she knew from the broadcasts was speaking.

"Grogan!" She said accusingly.

"Yeah! Except I'm known as Lord Grogan!" Grogan said but Cathy detected another voice behind it, a voice she knew from the Dreamtime.

"You've been taken over by Bemalin I hear." She said.

"Don't make assumptions where they're not needed." Grogan said sharply.

"What do you want?" Cathy asked.

"Just to tell you that unless you surrender your group, I'll order the next phase of the plan to start!" Grogan told her.

"I'll never surrender the Organisation to you Grogan!" Cathy said keeping her voice low and even.

"Then the next attack is on your head!" Grogan said mockingly.

"Oh no Lord Grogan. You're the one making the moves not me. When you attack it will be by your orders not mine, so you're not blackmailing me into this. You've already made the decisions. Make your move ... We're waiting!" Cathy said putting more effort into her voice, although the thought of more bombings made her shudder.

"See you in hell bitch!" Grogan said and hung up.

Cathy pressed a communications button on her desk. "Yes Cathy?" The operation manager asked.

"Red alert, I've just heard from Grogan, he's about to start their attack." She said.

"I'll get the troops out to their standby positions. Do we have any idea where he's going to attack?" He asked her.

Cathy shook her head, "Not at all, but it would be somewhere obvious and likely to give the highest disruption. Have you received any information from H .1.?" She asked.

"They seem to think that railway terminals and main stations. They give a high possibility to the main London Stations — Kings Cross, Victoria and St. Pancras International!" He said.

Cathy nodded, "Alright get the troops there and ensure that the Charlottes are with them, we'll need at least two in each location." She said.

"We only have 5 in the Capital, more are on order! What should the troops look for?" He asked.

"Send two to Kings Cross and St. Pancras! Standard search, anyone suspicious, bottles of any descriptions just lying unattended, they're to be frozen and collected." She said.

"Recorded and being transferred to troops anything else?" He asked.

Cathy thought for a moment, "Just this. I'm sorry I can't be with you on this, but please take care I don't want to lose any of you!" She said.

"That was transmitted live! Deployment is being carried out!" The communications officer said and pressed a button. On the screens in Cathy's office a display from the three team leaders was being displayed along with their radio communications.

"Blue team leader checking in." A man said.

"Red Team leader checking in." A female voice.

"Gold Team leader checking in." another male voice.

"This is control, search for anything suspicious. We will monitor team leaders so report via them!" this was the communications officers' voice.

Cathy watched as the three groups started their search. For some reason she watched the Blue team who were at St. Pancras. The building had been newly opened with such a build-up and she felt that if anything happened it would be there!

"Blue team searching ... we've found out that there's been a drink delivery earlier today, I've sent some men to the refreshments area." The man reported. Cathy nodded this is what she would have expected. She kept watching as the camera moved down a platform, scanning left and right in a sweep of the platform.

It was several minutes later that a voice called out and the camera was then lurching with the running of the officer.

He arrived at a storage room where crates of bottles were being held, along with them were unconscious figures, their clothing was dishevelled and they looked filthy. "Control we need paramedics here urgently, plus send a Charlotte we need this lot taken away!" The man said.