The Happening

By Leonard Kail

At a top secret defence establishment High Cross somewhere in the south west of England a security guard is abducted leaving the establishment completely cut off by a force-field. The computers contained within the buildings have been reprogrammed nullifying the British nuclear capability. A similar event has occurred in all the worlds countrys that have a nuclear capability.
Mark Steel a British secret service agent with the UET is summoned to London to investigate the happening but is abducted whilst on route. He is given a message to pass on to the British government that aliens intend to take over Australia for themselves.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse UK
• Release date: Feb 13, 2014
• ISBN: 9781491894460

Leonard Kail

Leonard Kail was born in the city of Bristol in 1940. He spent nine years as an instructor in weapons in the British army, which he left in 1967. On leaving the army, he trained as an engineer and worked in the industry until 1992, when he had to leave due to illness. He later worked as an office manager. He has always been interested in science and started writing ten years ago. He has been married to his wife, Joyce, for fifty-three years and lives in Bristol.

Book preview

CHAPTER 1

Location: The High Cross Security Centre, somewhere in the south of England.

Time is 0400 hrs. Date 2nd February in the near future.

Rat-a-tat-tat went the sound of hail on the metal roof of the single story building which was the High Cross security centre. It was just like the sound of a heavy machine gun, and the security guard remembered the sound well from his time in the Falkland Islands, and the noise sent a cold shiver down his spine.

Bloody weather, George said to no one in particular, which was not surprising as there was no one else there, as the last member of staff had left three hours ago. The last person to leave was as usual Sir Peter Phillips who was the director of the establishment.

It was a cold dark night, overcast with persistent drizzle which was punctuated with bursts of heavy hail which ceased just as George was ready to start his tour of the security fence, much to his relief.

It’s going to be one of those nights, he muttered to himself as he prepared to leave the warmth of the central complex.

Raining all night I’m going to end up with pneumonia he moaned, And for what, a bloody pittance.

George was well aware that the patrol had to be done and so he pulled on his topcoat and started on his rounds. He moaned a lot but up until this night always completed the job, whatever the weather. George is a very conscientious man, and very happy to be the senior security officer of this prestigious site.

George is in charge of two other guards at the complex, and all three of them do a rotating shift pattern, which mean that they each do a 56-hour week, maintaining 24-hour cover. There are 27 checkpoints on his patrol 20 external and 7 internal, and he is well aware that, if he missed even one of them he would have to face an inquiry and a possible reprimand from the security controller of the Ministry of Defence, not a pleasant prospect.

George Webster is forty eight years of age, an ex Regimental Sergeant Major who retired from the Midshire Light Infantry Regiment after Twenty five years service five years ago. Even though he was on a very good pension he did not like the idea of being home all the time, so he decided to take on the responsible position of, (Senior Security Officer with the M O D).

After he had decided to accept the position he told his wife Enid, and she said that it suited her very well, as she did not want him moping about the house getting under her feet all day long. She also thought that the extra money would come in very useful for little extras like holidays.

When a person puts forward an application for any position within the Ministry of Defence there is a very thorough vetting system. This looks in to the history of all applicants and their families, even their Parents and Grandparents. The procedure can take quite a time but because of George Webster’s distinguished Army service, and, that of his father before him and the fact that he had been vetted before, his application went through very quickly.

Once he was accepted for the position and posted to his present location George and his wife Enid were both more than happy. The four bedroom detached house that went with the job was situated in a beautiful location within easy reach of the lovely city of Bath and close to his place of work. It was quite a large house for them as their two children; Peter and Anne had both married and moved away.

George used one of the spare bedrooms as a study; the other two were for visitors. The thing they liked most about the property was the large garden that surrounded the house, as they were both keen gardeners. Enid cultivated a beautiful rose garden at the front and George grew most of the vegetables that they required at the rear, there was even some left over for his work colleagues. George had a very large greenhouse which was great.

George found that his tomatoes and cucumbers were the talk of the complex and always in great demand.

Although he was a moaner George really enjoyed his job and he never shirked his duty, he was always smart; conscientious and carried out his duties to the best of his ability. He had other duties however besides the patrols. When on nights he had to pay special attention to the computers housed in the centre of the complex. This was a very important part of the job and the security guards received extra pay for the responsibility. If there was, a problem or an alarm was activated there were several emergency telephone numbers to call at once.

He was not to touch the computers under any circumstances no mater what happened. In the event of fire, he was to clear the building immediately. Once empty the building was to be sealed, the building was then filled with a special gas automatically on it being evacuated and sealed, and no one was to enter. This special gas removed all the oxygen from the air. Any one caught inside the buildings when this happened would be dead within ninety seconds.

Although these computers were officially dealing with environmental problems, such as water pollution and flood levels, George knew that they were in fact the main defence computers controlling the British nuclear forces throughout the world. He also knew that if the computers went down then so did the British defence capability. When, the complex was constructed, it was in a rural setting but several years after its completion an industrial estate sprung up on three sides so it was now part of a busy area. The only clear area was opposite the main gates. This was fields and a lane, which leads to a collection of farm buildings.

This was not as bad as at first feared because the complex now blended in well with the other offices and warehouses and did not stand out as anything remarkable. George had a very important job, and he was proud of the fact. Under normal circumstances, nothing would stop him doing his duty. However, things were about to change and be anything but normal; George however did not know this, yet!

O well let’s get on with it, he said to himself.

George often spoke to himself when he was alone on duty it helped him to concentrate.

The sooner I finish my patrol the sooner I can relax and enjoy a hot mug of coffee and something to eat.

Earlier that day his wife had made him a steak and kidney pie, she made tasty pies and his mouth watered at the prospect of it. He knew he was in for a treat later on, or so he thought.

He had almost completed the external part of his patrol around the perimeter fencing when he felt rather than heard a faint hum. It seemed to be right inside his head, and to try and get rid of the uncomfortable feeling he shook his head, but without success. Just before re-entering the building he felt so giddy and sick, he had to catch hold of the column by the entrance to stop him from falling. He had never felt like this before and was getting worried that he was seriously ill.

Slowly however his head began to clear, clearer in fact, than it had ever been before, he stood up straight and smiled. He felt better than he had ever felt in his life, gone were all those aches and pains he had associated with getting older he felt physically like a young man in his prime.

His head also was full of figures and mathematical calculations. Although he had never really been interested in mathematics, strangely he seemed to know exactly what the figures all meant. George had never known much about computers, up until now. He only knew enough to know when something was wrong; enough to do his job, but now this had all changed.

George suddenly knew more about computers than any other computer expert on Earth, and he was about to use this knowledge to devastating effect.

He chuckled to himself as he entered the building, and ignoring the final checking points, he made straight for the computer suit.

Sod them, he said, I have more important things to do. George knew somehow that he would not be around when the points were checked. If ever they were, and by now, he had also forgotten all about having a hot mug of coffee and he had even forgotten about his homemade steak and kidney pie, and that was a great shame, his wife would be disappointed.

George ignored the phone ringing urgently in the reception area; he knew it would be his supervisor calling. The supervisor would want to know why he had not made his check call.

I’m not going to answer them, he said, to no one in particular.

I’ve got my instructions, they are more important; the check calls don’t matter any more.

He carried on through the reception area and straight into the computer suit, calmly looked around at the banks of computers, smiled and then moved to the master keyboard, he sat down and started to input data.

Far away in London at the MODs security headquarters the shift supervisor waited patiently at the end of the phone, he waited for five minutes then slowly replaced the receiver.

This is not like George, he said to his assistant, he’s usually so punctual with his check calls.

His assistant thought for a short while and then said,

I expect he is still on patrol, and just forgot to make his call, or made it while some other site was phoning in. He will phone later he’s the most reliable guard we’ve got.

The supervisor frowned and then said.

Well, there is less than three hours left until his shift finishes and we can’t get anyone there before then, just mark him down as making his call, he is very reliable as you said I’m sure there’s no problem. I will have a quiet word with him the next time he phones we can’t have him making a habit of it.

That was the first mistake!

George’s hands moved like lightning over the keys as he started to do what the designers of the system believed to be impossible without all the required security codes; reprogram the defence computer. He did in two hours what it had taken a dedicated team of programmer’s two years to do. Suddenly there was a hum and a silver coloured ball on a tripod appeared on the security desk at the front of the building.

George froze I will obey, he said with a smile.

On completing his work at the computer console, he strolled out into the compound car park singing.

He sang, I’m coming home I’ve done my time quietly to himself.

He walked to the centre of the car park and raised his arms to the heavens.

Your instructions have been obeyed, he cried.

Across from the electronically operated gates that controlled the entrance to the High Cross complex a tramp was sitting under a tree by the side of the road with a cider bottle for company. He watched George raise his arms above his head and heard him call out.

What he never saw was the strange glowing craft hovering high above the clouds. He did however see a green beam break through the cloud cover and strike George who appeared to glow for a few seconds, and then he just appeared simply to fade away. The tramp looked at his cider bottle then at the spot where George had been standing, threw the bottle away and ran screaming towards Bath.

At the same location, 0730 2nd February.

Sir Peter Phillips the director of the High Cross Defence Establishment arrived at the complex at his usual time, half an hour early, he always liked to get in before the guards changed shifts at 0800hrs, just in case there had been a problem during the night

He was a small man about 5’6" tall; smartly dressed, slim with a pencil thin moustache and dark brown hair that was greying at the temples. He was proud of the fact that he was always punctual and keyed in the admission code on the freestanding panel just outside the gate the code was required to gain access; this would normally open the gates. To his surprise however, nothing happened.

Dam he said and tried again still, nothing happened so he pressed the intercom button, he heard it buzz but there was no reply.

What the hell’s going on here; where’s the bloody security guard, he muttered to himself leaning on his car horn.

As there was still no response to his actions, he left his car and walked to the gates. He shouted for the guard, and when there was no reply, he stretched out his hands toward the gates thinking that if there was a power failure he could open the gates manually. As he was not mechanically minded however; he did not know that the clutch has to be released from inside before the gate can be moved manually.

That was a second mistake.

There was a blue flash and, and he was thrown through the air until he collided with his car, he slumped to the floor at the side of the vehicle unconscious, and that was where his deputy Angela Thompson found him six minutes later. Angela quickly checked his pulse; it was quite strong if a trifle irregular, she went to her car and used her mobile phone to dial 999 and call for an ambulance.

Looking toward the complex, she noticed that something was not quite right. There seemed to be an almost invisible barrier. It looked something like a heat haze rising from the perimeter fence all around the site and meeting about thirty foot above the main building.

She stayed well clear of the fence.

That was not a mistake.

Angela did not waste any time while she was waiting for the ambulance to arrive; she telephoned an unlisted number in London.

Is Sir Brian there, she enquired after giving her name and a special code word. On being connected to a Sir Brian’s office, she said.

I think something that’s just happened here at High Cross is right up your street.

Explain yourself Angela what’s been going on.

After she had told him, what she had found on arriving at work, and her actions to date he said.

"I think you may be right, it sounds like a job for the (UET) I’ll be right down there to see for myself. Keep every one away from the complex and do not let the press get hold of this.

Give all the staff the rest of the week off and swear them to secrecy."

Right Sir Brian Angela said, and after giving him her assurance, that every thing that had happened would be kept secret, she set about telephoning the members of staff whom she knew would not yet have left yet for the complex.

Just then, the relief guard arrived at the site and Angela told him that there had been an accident and that he was to return home on full pay and await further instructions. If asked why he was not at work he was to say that he returned home, as he did not feel well and the supervisor was covering his shift for the time being. Angela also assured him he would not lose any pay for the time he was off work, which could be for at least a week and may be longer.

The guard went away, happy to have time off with pay, it would give him chance to do those little jobs around the house his wife had been nagging him to do. The ambulance arrived about ten minutes later and the Paramedics quickly set about stabilising Sir Peter who was now just beginning to regain consciousness.

They made him comfortable ready for his journey to the large modern hospital in Bath, which was about ten miles away. The Paramedics told Angela that Sir Peter was not in any immediate danger but that the hospital would probably need to keep him in overnight for observation. Before they left, Angela told Sir Peter that she would call in to see his wife and explain that he, Sir Peter had been taken to hospital but was in no danger. She also promised to take his wife to the hospital as soon as she could.

The staff that Angela had been unable to contact before they left for work began arriving shortly after the ambulance had left. She called them all together and told them that the guard had contracted a highly infectious disease and that the complex had been quarantined, and had been sealed off until further notice to allow medical tests to be carried out.

The members of staff were told to remain at home on full pay until they were contacted and told when to return. They were also told that no mention of this was to be made to the press or any other media, under any circumstances. If the press or any other media contacted them, they were to say nothing, and inform her at once. Angela herself was not very happy with her explanation but it was the best she could do in the short time she had available.

Angela organised the sealing off of the site then handed the security over to the local Army garrison commander whom she had summoned with a request that he should telephone her as soon as Sir Brian arrived at High Cross.

She warned him that no one should approach closer to the fence than fifty yards; and that, they should stay well clear of the gate. She also told the commander that if any thing unusual happened outside or inside the site then she should be contacted at once. She gave the commander her mobile telephone number and left the scene to pick up Sir Peter’s wife and take her to the hospital.

After Angela rang off Sir Brian sat quietly for few minutes then called his secretary on the intercom,

Get me Angela Lush I want her here in one hour and order me a car for eleven o’clock.

CHAPTER 2

Location: Crete. Time: 1100 hrs. 8th February.

Mark Steel was relaxing in the bar of the Pathos Hotel which was situated in the town of Kracos in the beautiful island of Crete; he was quite tall, 6ft 2ins, fair haired, bluff and handsome. He looked very fit and built like a rugby player, with a mindless grin that went with the image. An image that was deceptive, as many people have found out, to their cost in the past. Both on the rugby field when, as a younger man, he used to play for a top team, this was many years ago however, and when not in his present profession. He frequently used this image to his advantage.

He was single and looked about twenty-eight years of age but he was in fact thirty-five. His looks in fact were very deceptive; he was highly intelligent with a will of iron. His employers have always known that once he had his teeth into a case he will never let go.

The Pathos was not a large hotel but was very comfortable with beautiful gardens; it also had a fair sized swimming pool at the front of the hotel and four tennis courts to the rear. The Scottish barman whom Mark had known for many years mixed the most marvellous martini just the way he liked it.

Mark turned to the barman and said, Same again Angus, and, could you bring it out onto the terrace for me, please?

Certainly mister Steel, be with you in two shakes, he replied with a broad Scots accent and began mixing the drink in his usual efficient manner.

Mark strolled out of the bar and seated himself at a small table to the back of the terrace where he could watch the swimming pool, the entrance to the hotel and be in the shade where it would be difficult to pick him out. Experience of many tricky situations over the years had made him very cautious. Two minutes later Angus brought the martini and set it on the table in front of Mark.

Will there be anything else sir, he enquired.

No thanks Angus, if I need anything I will call, have a drink on my account.

Thank you Mr Steel, he replied then returned to the bar. Although he was not working on an assignment, and was officially on leave now Mark never relaxed completely.

A colleague of his did just that only last year, whilst on holiday in Monte Carlo. The harbour-master found him floating face down in the local marina. That was on only the second day he was there. Mark has found that in his line of work total relaxation could be very dangerous or even fatal.

He saw her straight away as she passed through the entrance and entered the pool area. Well, he could hardly miss her. She was a strikingly beautiful blonde-haired person, fairly tall about 5 ft. 10 inches, with a deep golden tan, a terrific figure and dressed to show it off. She paused, looked around for a minute or two, and then walked over to where Mark was seated;