Chapter 17

Chris Henderson

In his room Chris and Gwen were eating dinner, the camera had been replaced several times but kept mysteriously blowing fuses and so was left inactive.

Gwen was now out of her 'costume' as the faux suit was called, and was silently eating, as they weren't sure who might be listening, although Chris could tell that there was nobody near enough.

After the meal Gwen stepped back into the costume and Chris added a few more bruises and welts before she had to take the plates back to the kitchen. She marvelled as to how many of these so called 'tough men' seemed to shrink back when she walked anywhere.

Chris was still finding out more about his developing powers, by strengthening up the air just in front of him he could create a shield that could stop bullets — this was thanks to Gwen firing a gun at him in the dungeon area, she didn't want to but then she found her hand pointing at Chris. "That's not fair! What if this doesn't work?" She asked him.

"Then you're free! Just think of it like that!" He said imitating Grogan's voice.

The sound was so realistic that Gwen automatically pulled the trigger several times. Watching as the bullets slowed and then flattened against the empty air. She dropped the gun. "Never make me do that again!" She said to Chris.

He nodded, "I agree, I almost didn't think it was going to work either." He said shakily.

Gwen frowned, "How did you copy his voice?" She asked

Chris shook his head, "I don't know, somehow I knew how to alter the airwaves to sound like him, but I don't know how I knew?" He said the situation puzzled him.

Chris was puzzled over something else; he'd expected to have heard something by now, his message that was in Gwen's phone made it clear enough where the headquarters was! But nothing was happening!

It was obvious that a second plan had to be used, but what? He knew that Grogan would be watching everybody for backstabbing; it was a hazard of being the leader. So an outright takeover bid wouldn't work, he would have to be sneaky.

The opportunity would be with the Cathy voice double, Chris was well aware of the game between Cathy and Kathy and this was the one thing that the Association wouldn't be aware of! With his power he could make someone sound almost the same as someone else! He didn't really need anyone to be there!

Grogan was expecting something and so he had to 'audition' the voice doubles, many of whom, when they learnt who was conducting the tests, wanted to drop out! But it was an order of the leader and so they had to appear in the room.

Chris felt it would be more intimidating to have Gwen with him, the sight of her damaged body having to hold herself upright caused more than one of them to faint and a couple of them ran from the room!

Finally one managed to complete her interview and Chris was amazed, after hearing her he couldn't tell it wasn't Cathy, it just needed a slight tweak and she would be perfect. Chris sent Gwen back to his room. "Okay what's your name?" He asked her.

The woman was breathing easier now that Gwen wasn't there. "It ... it's Margaret Preeth." She said. "That ... that woman isn't she... ?" She couldn't ask the question.

"Her? She was the police bitch that betrayed my plans. Lord Grogan got rid of her boyfriend and I asked for her ... I keep her just so that she can regret what she did to the Association."

"How ... how can she live like that?" Margaret asked.

Chris gave a nasty smile, "She has no choice in the matter, I keep her chained up when I sleep, so she can't kill herself. And at the moment she's standing in the centre of the room, all the cupboards are locked so she can't get anything from there!" He said.

"But that's not..." Margaret stopped herself from saying 'human'.

Chris nodded, "People who betray the Association deserves all they receive. This is Lord Grogans' command! You'd better remember this!" Chris said, "Anybody who lets the Association down are also betraying the Association." He said creating fear into Margaret which he knew would be passed onto others.

"The reason why you are chosen is that we need you to imitate the voice of Cathy Douglas, she's the leader of the Organisation. You are going to sow the seeds of their demise." Chris said, feeling slightly awkward about doing so, he didn't want the Association to win, but at the moment had to act as if he did.

"But won't she be able to interfere with this, the first time she opened her mouth they'd know?" Margaret said.

"If she was there to stop this, but we're going to kidnap her and then all the Organisation will hear is your voice, telling them to give up!" Chris said almost certain that this plan would never work. How could Grogan manage to get Cathy, when she was safe at Alpha 3?

Lord Grogan read the reports, their voice double had been found, but at some time they would need to grab the queen bitch herself. Grogan had plans for what he wanted to do to Cathy, the torments she would face...

'NO GROGAN. SHE IS NOT TO BE HARMED ... NOT JUST YET! THERE IS STILL TIME TO TURN HER ... AND IF NOT ... THEN HER CHILDREN ... THE TWINS! ... WE WILL GET THEM AND WIN!' Bemalin's voice echoed in Grogan's mind.

Grogan closed his eyes and could see Bemalin standing in front of him. "My Master. How can we make her have the twins?" He asked.

Bemalin shook his head at Grogan's question. 'FOOLISH MORTAL ... WE MATE HER TO THE NEXT PERSON IN THE FAMILY ... THE CHILD CHRIS! HIS LINE WAS ALSO SUPPOSED TO PRODUCE THE TWINS. WHEN DOUGLAS AND HENDERSON ARE MATED THEN THE TWINS ARE BOUND TO BE BORN! IT IS INEVITABLE!' Bemalin said with a twisted smile.

Grogan frowned, "But the boy doesn't like this Cathy bitch? What if he doesn't want to mate with her?" He asked.

'YOU FORGET JUST WHAT I CAN DO! HAVEN'T YOU GROGAN? THE BOY WILL MATE WITH THE BITCH AND WON'T EVEN REMEMBER IT! ... BUT I WILL!' Bemalin said with a smile and then he thought to himself, 'and I'll take her mind and mould it just like I did with that Mary bitch!'

Grogan smiled, "It would be something to see Master, but we can never get to her. She's always behind the walls of that House. If she's not there then she's surrounded by their blasted troops ... We'll never get her!" Grogan said.

'GROGAN, YOU ARE A PESSIMIST. THERE WILL COME A CHANCE, THERE ALWAYS DOES! JUST ENSURE THAT YOUR PEOPLE ARE READY WHEN IT HAPPENS' Bemalin said but he wasn't sure why he thought that.

"I bow to your superior knowledge Master." Grogan said, he hadn't noticed his grovelling attitude when Bemalin was talking to him, such was the control that Bemalin had over him.

Grogan opened his eyes and nodded, 'Yes, once we get our hands on her! Then things will change.' Grogan thought. He picked up a phone and called his intelligence room. "This is Lord Grogan. Where's the Cathy bitch now?" He barked into the mouthpiece.

"Last known location is her office, we've seen two of her known co-workers leave, cars are following them" The person at the other end replied.

"If I wanted to know about them I would have asked!" Grogan shouted at the man. "Okay, when's the first strike planned?" He then asked, although he already knew the answer.

"Tomorrow! We're going to hit the Eurostar! But we've got a problem with the air conditioning system. We won't be able to get the stuff to the right temperature!" The operator said dreading Grogans' response.

At this point Grogan noticed that Chris was requesting an audience.

"You hold on!" Grogan said and put the phone down. He admitted Chris; he didn't worry about the boy being in the room as all those allowed in were searched first. Grogans' eyes followed Chris as he walked in. He gave a false smile. "Chris m'boy, we have a slight problem. The bombs have to work at a critical temperature, but where they're going there's air conditioning so they won't reach it. How would you get over this?" Grogan asked him.

Chris wondered why he was being asked this, but he put his mind to the problem. "Air conditioning? ... Are the bombs going to be in an enclosed area?" He asked.

Grogan frowned, "How should I know? All I tell them is to plant the things, not where they should go." Grogan said testily.

Chris shook his head, "Well if they were separate then there isn't a real chance. But if they are together in an enclosed area I would suggest fan heaters." Chris then said.

"Fan heaters?" Grogan repeated his disbelief showing in his face.

Chris nodded, "Yes! Put them on a timer and when we want them to blow up we set the time and then our people can be miles away!" He said.

Grogan blinked, "Why that's marvellous. It might work! ... Now what did you want to see me about?" He asked.

"Me ... Oh yes I've found the person to copy Cathy's voice, but I'd need some sort of reference to check her against. I don't suppose you'd have any tapes of her voice?" He asked.

Grogan frowned, he knew they had some recordings, but they weren't any good as far as he remembered. "Check the archives, they might have some?" He said but Chris shook his head.

"They're not right, I mean they're a couple of years old, what we need is something recent ... I was wondering..." He stopped at this point.

"Well, what?" Grogan asked knowing that it could be important.

"Well, I thought if you were to phone her up, make her talk to you ... that way we could have something to work with." Chris said casually.

In him mind Grogan was reminded that there was a telephone link to the head of the Organisation, it was automatically routed to wherever that was. It would be simple to have the whole lot recorded... "I'll see what I can do, might even give her the chance to give up." Grogan said laughing.

Chris bowed, he didn't want to but Grogan had to be coddled.

Grogan returned to the phone, "Put the bombs in some storage room and set up fan heaters with timers, make sure the time gives our people enough time to get away..." He said there was a surprised question at the other end and then Grogan barked out "Yes FAN HEATERS! Don't question me again!" He said and then slammed the phone down.

He picked up another phone, "Personnel? Replace the fool in Intelligence he's a complete idiot!" He said and hung up again. "Having an idiot in intelligence how daft!" He said and then laughed at his joke; he stopped and looked around guiltily.

Chris returned to his room to find Gwen lying on the bed asleep, but to the observers outside she was still standing in the middle of the room, it was an image carefully constructed when people looked in the spyglass in the doorway.

Gwen opened her eyes and started to panic until she saw who it was, Chris smiled, "It's alright, I've arranged the door so that only your hand or mine can open it." He told her.

Gwen smiled, "I was so worried that someone would come in. Just how long can we keep this up?" She asked him.

Chris shook his head, "I'm not sure. But even if Grogan takes you away all he'll have is the costume, you'll be hidden in another costume." He said.

Gwen looked at Chris, "Why don't you just take a new face and leave here?" She asked him.

Chris frowned, it was simple all he had to do was to copy a driver and have orders to drive away. So why didn't he? "I have to be here ... It is important!" He said.

"But why are you keeping me here? Why don't you let me go?" Gwen asked.

Chris shook his head, "You don't understand? Without you I would have nobody to help me. I would be alone ... and ... I ... don't ... want ... to ... be alone." Chris said tears showing in his face and allowing Gwen to see how young he really was!

Gwen held onto Chris as he gave himself up to his emotions, she was comforting him until he pulled himself together. "I'm sorry about that ... It's just that when Sir Timothy was killed I realised what I had lost." He said.

Gwen shook her head, "So how did you get involved with these people." She asked him and listened to his story, how Cathy seemed to be so high in the visibility of everyone and Chris was an afterthought, he told her how he found out that his father's programming of his mind had affected him and his plan to join the Association to show Sir Timothy that he could control others just as Sir Timothy had.

"But he doesn't control people ... I met him. He organised them I agree, but control? No not him. He was too open." Gwen said.

Chris looked at her, how could she say that? Didn't she know how much he ... and then when he ... but ... but he didn't ... That was Chris's dad not Sir Timothy! The last vestige of the control that the Association had implanted in his mind was destroyed. And with it the control that Bemalin had was lost as well.

Chris gave Gwen a smile that was completely different from his normal look, Gwen was amazed at the change in Chris, "What happened?" She asked.

"I understand it now. I know how the Association had several suggestions implanted in me and thanks to you they are now gone! I can see what I have to do!" He said.

"You're not going to try to fight them on your own?" Gwen asked slightly scared for him.

Chris laughed, "No, not even with my powers can I stand up against them all, mentally I'm not match for Bemalin, he can't take me over but he could hold me in place, no I've got to use guile until help arrives." He said.

The next day, after learning that the bottles had been stored away along with some immigrants they, or rather their bodies, were to be found and would take the blame for planting the bombs — killed while setting up the site it would be assumed, especially as the Association had newspapers reports ready.

It was time to give the Organisation the warning. The part of Grogan that was Bemalin thought back to the times when a body of one of the Organisations would be sent back to their troops with a note stabbed into its back, nowadays they use a telephone, it was more personal but lacked something.

Grogan ensured the voice recorder was active and pressed the only button on the phone, it began ringing. Then he heard the voice of Cathy Douglas. "Hello?" She said

Grogan couldn't resist it. "So how are you finding life in charge of your worthless Organisation?" he asked gloatingly

"Grogan!" Cathy said in tone that he didn't like, she would soon learn.

"Yeah! Except around here I'm known as Lord Grogan!" Grogan said letting a bit of venom into his voice.

"You've been taken over by Bemalin I hear." Cathy said but this wasn't something that the controlling force in Grogan wanted revealed.

"Don't make assumptions where they're not needed." Grogan found himself saying sharply.

"What do you want?" Cathy asked she sounded annoyed.

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

"I'll never surrender the Organisation to you Grogan!" Cathy replied in a low voice.

"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!" She said which annoyed Grogan so much.

"See you in hell bitch!" Grogan said and hung up, he knew that he should have kept things going but he was in no mood to keep talking to her. He stopped the voice recorder and threw it to a guard. "Take that to the boy; see if it's what he needs!" He ordered.

Chris was with Margaret getting her used to Cathy's mannerisms, when the guard found him. "The boss says is this what you need?" He said.

Chris replayed part of the recording and then smiled at the sound of Cathy's voice, something that he had missed, "That's fine." He said and then at the look of the guards sneering face he went back into character. "What are you still doing here?" He said angrily the guard's face blanked out and the man left the room.

Chris waved Margaret over, "I'll try to get this onto a computer file for you to study and listen to." He said and started playing the track for her.

As he listened to the threat being given by Grogan he could hear Bemalin's thinking behind the words. 'Trying to shift the blame onto the innocent! That's So like him!' Chris thought to himself.

He stopped the recording and then looked at Margaret, "I will never surrender the Organn- isation..." She said

"No! One word 'Organisation' don't split it!" He said.

"I'm sorry Sir, but I'm not used to saying that word." She said.

"It's just another word, now try it again!" Chris said.

"I will never surrender the Organisation to you Gro ... Lord ... Gro... !" She looked at Chris her pleading clear in her eyes.

"Okay I get the message. Let's try altering the phrase. Say 'I will surrender the Organisation to you!' It's almost the same with one word missing." Chris told her.

Margaret breathed deeply and then closed her eyes, "I will surrender the Organisation to you." She said in an almost Cathy like tone.

Chris smiled, "Well done, it was as if she was in the room!" He said, "Now remember your toughest thing is to convince the three girls with her, they've been with her the longest. Sharon and Charlotte should be quite simple, but it's Kathy Webb that you're going to have trouble with! They keep bickering about their names Cathy Douglas calls Webb Kat! And if she protest then Cathy counters with 'who cares' as if it doesn't matter." Chris said with a straight face.

"So if this Kathy Webb should say anything I should just dismiss it!" Margaret said

Chris smiled, "Exactly! Don't let her get the upper hand!" He said and then turned to a computer and downloaded the voice recorder file to a directory. "Now this is where you'll find the file, study it and keep practising!" He ordered Margaret.

She nodded and began replaying the file, listening to the voice on it, and then copying the voice as much as she could.

Chris could feel a headache coming on, and knew the only way to cure it was a few minutes meditation; he'd been doing this a lot recently although he could never remember what had happened during these times.

Chris got to his room where Gwen was reading a book while in her costume. She didn't talk to him as his face showed what he was feeling; she was now used to his meditation routines and knew to make as little noise as possible.

Chris sat on the floor, moving his legs into a lotus position and closed his eyes, drifting away while concentrating on clearing his mind.

He opened his eyes to find himself in the panelled room; the strange man was standing there. "Welcome back Chris, you have come far in this but you know there is one more thing needed to complete the prophecy" He said.

Chris's memory of his training was with him now; he wondered how this could be?

"You're subconscious is always aware of what my sister and I have been teaching you. But we had suppressed that while you were awake! ... This is no longer needed." The man said.

Chris concentrated on the man, it was like peering through fog, and then he recognised the man for the boy he was. "Samuel? Is that you ... then you and Samantha are the..." He began but Samuel was shaking his head.

"We are not the twins foretold, brother; we have told everyone that we are just pointing the way for the twins. And so we are!" He said.

Chris frowned, "So our mother is expecting again is she, only that way can the Twins be created?" He said

Samuel laughed, "If you think of twins in that way then yes, mother is pregnant, but she's only carrying one child!" Samuel said cryptically, "Now brother, your final lesson. After this you will keep your memory. You will need it for when we send Cathy to you." Samuel said.

Chris shook his head, "Cathy would never come willingly." He said.

Samuel nodded, "That is true. But she will come to you and you must protect her at all cost. Without her the prophecy is in jeopardy." He said and then a wave of mental energy emanated from him and stuck Chris, instinctively Chris created a barrier which deflected the effect.

Chris looked at his work in shock, "But that shouldn't have happened! I can't affect things here! Not like that. We would have to be in real-time! He said.

Samuel grinned, "Brother, we are in a world that we create, if we decide a thing can be done then it will be! I've made sure that your powers would work normally." And then he changed to the boy he was, "Just think of it as the Matrix, and you are Neo!" He said with a laugh.

Chris understood what he was told and then began created a shield around Samuel, to trap him, but with a wave of his hand Samuel wiped it away. Chris shook his head and then fired off some curved blades, designed to hold a person not to penetrate them.