"Price Worth Paying" Part 4

Here it is folks:

PRICE WORTH PAYING: Part 4

Steve Allen is driving through the Suffolk countryside towards the experimental GM test site. He had felt frustrated after another altercation with Ashton-Scott during which he had insisted on using the car. However it was crisp, blue-skied winter’s day and Steve now felt uplifted by the sunshine gleaming off the thin covering of snow on the fields that he passed. Eventually he arrived at a huge green metal perimeter fence which was topped with pointed spikes and barbed wire. He stopped the car and got out , climbing on top of the car to try and get a view of the crop, however the fence was too tall.
“There ain’t no use in doin’ that, you need a stepladder” an old woman’s voice calls out. Steve looks round and sees an elderly woman dressed in ragged clothes with unkempt hair. She carried a cat in her hands which she stroked:
“I’m Elsie. It ain’t natural whats growin’ behind there. Them there enviromentalist protesters where down here again last week . Good luck to em I say.” Steve smiles:
“Do any of these protesters ever get over the fence and inside Elsie?” he asks.
“They gets in but they soon gets shoved out again. They must have hundreds of them security men in there. And then the bobbies come and take the protesters away in big vans”.

As Elsie speaks, Steve hears a woman scream and a commotion coming from some terraced houses separated from the fence by a patch of unkempt wasteland. Running across he is shocked to see a large, overweight man in a white vest attacking a woman with a plank of wood. Spittle and foam was dribbling from his mouth as he lunged at the woman who was also in a furious rage. The woman ran down the small garden and out of the broken gate . She picked up a half-brick from a pile of fly-tipped rubbish on the waste ground and threw it at the man, cracking his nose open. He fell to the ground grunting and screaming. The crazed woman turned on Steve, lunging at his face . Steve managed to grapple her to the ground as a police car drew up……..

Meanwhile in Bosworth, Charles is sitting in the lounge of the Black Swan with Genna and Abby Hanson, who has just arrived. He explains recent developments to Abby:
“Its clear from what you say that Walker will tell us nothing .” Abby observes.
“So what do you suggest that we do now? There is no actual evidence that Sansom was working for the protesters.” Charles replies.
“Then we find some. We break into that centre and we damn well find the evidence” Abby suggests. Genna looks up:
“I know a way that you can get in. Part of their centre backs onto our battlefield centre’s grounds. They were not allowed to build a massive wall or anything so theres only a thin fence. They do have guard dogs though.”
“We can drug them safely using some steak laced with dizaphane.” Abby responds. As they enjoy a coffee, Genna asks how Abby became involved with Doomwatch:
“After uni I spent a year teaching Geography in Hampshire. However it just wasn’t for me. I could handle the kids but I wanted to make a difference and the syllabus was just too narrow and restrictive. When I heard about Doomwatch I knew I had to get involved.”.
Charles sighs:“I wish I had that certainty. I had absolutely no idea what to do after uni. I just knew I had to get away from living at home.”

Later, Charles, Abby and Genna have cut through the wire and are inside the Zentar Corporation’s HQ grounds. Around them lie the unconscious dogs, having nibbled the beef.
“It is perfectly safe. Those dogs will be perfectly ok again in half an hour” Abby assures Charles.
“I’m pleased that Doomwatch has an ethical approach to dealing with guard dogs. However this means we must move fast” Charles comments. He and Abby use a skeleton key to get inside the building while Genna keeps a lookout. Inside they wander through deserted corridors and come to a side room full of large freezers. Charles opens one up and is shocked to see it is full of frozen monkey corpses in plastic bags. Abby and Genna rifle through some papers kept in a grey cabinet. Abby suddenly gets excited:
“Look at this. Its some of Sansom’s pathology notes on the monkeys.”Charles looks at the papers which are handwritten autopsy notes signed by Sansom. He reads aloud:
“…… it is clear to me that subject 23 died of the same symptoms as 13-22. Intense cerebral haemorrhaging following a long period of severe anger and violent rage. It is also clear that the symptoms are only present in those subjects exposed to the GM grain……..”
Charles is cut short by a voice behind him:
“None of you move”.They see two security guards with guns raised…….…

………..to be continued.