Rosewar

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The door opened again, and a well-dressed man in his mid-forties marched in, a big smile on his face.  

“Hello, I’m Gary Nightingale and I’m the owner of this hotel. Rachel informed me about your request, and I’m only too happy to help you.” 

After they had introduced themselves, Martin left it to Mary to talk to Gary Nightingale, while he watched him carefully.  

She said, “They say that the beach here is good for immigrants to land. Have you heard anything about that?” 

Smiling and rubbing one of his ears, Gary Nightingale thought for a while, then replied, “Nothing like that happens around here. I would check your sources if I were you”.  

Mary shot straight back at him. “So, can you explain the arms caches stashed around here? If nothing is going on, then I suppose these arms must be for the villagers, am I right?” 

That hit the mark. 

He gave a little laugh, ran his fingers through his hair and then clasped his hands together tightly on his lap. “What is this? I’m sorry, but I’ve just got out of bed to come over here and help you as any upstanding citizen would, and all you want to do is act like this is some kind of thriller.”  

Mary could see that Martin was fading. She didn’t even reply. 

More confident now, Nightingale said, “Why don’t I give you a lift to your next port of call. Both of you have obviously had a long day.” 

“A lift to Littleton would be very kind. Thank you,” said Martin, his jaw clenched, tension, and tiredness overwhelming him. 

Mary realised that the more polite Martin was, the more he was trying to control his temper. 

Gary Nightingale’s smile was sincere this time. “Anything to help,” as he uncoiled and relaxed.  

“Let’s go.” 

*****

There was only tension and silence in the car.  

They stepped out at the tiny village with a cursory thank you. Weary but determined, they headed to its only habitation: a row of farm cottages, only one with a slight glow behind its window, all the others dark to the now dry, moonless night. 

Martin walked up to the door beside the window and knocked. It opened immediately, almost as if they had been expected, and were ushered in to a fusty livingroom where three women in their thirties sat on a threadbare three-piece suite. 

“We heard the car,” said one. “No one stops around here.” 

“I’m sorry, but we need help,” said Mary, doing the introductions. 

She explained their situation. Meanwhile, Martin just sat on the arm of one of the chairs in silence. 

“You two look like you are just about dead on your feet. Come on, relax, and we’ll rustle up something for you to eat. How about some soup?” 

Sighing with pleasure as she took the weight off her feet, Mary said, “No, no, but a cup of coffee and a sandwich would be perfect. Wouldn’t it, Martin?” 

The one with the red hair, Agnes, said, “Why don’t we get the coffee ready, and we’ll tell you what we know. I recognise you from the bakery, by the way, but you probably don’t know me.” 

“Aye, me too,” said the one with the perm. “I wish I had one of these danishes to give you right now. The cinnamon ones.” She went through to put the kettle on with the aroma of freshly made coffee following soon after. 

It came with a big plate of thick cheese sandwiches.  

Agnes started their story. “Our boys came home the other day and were kind of quiet, which isn’t like them at all. I mean, they’re eleven, and after playing on the beach, they always have something to tell you.” 

“So, I had to drag it out of them.” 

“What?” Mary urged, the caffeine perking her up. 

Elsie took over. “They’d been playing in the derelict factory near the bay. You know, that building that you can just about see from the road.” 

Agnes carried on, frowning at Elsie for stealing her show. “They went in, which is pretty brave really seeing as how they’re under threat of a damn good hiding from their dads if they even go near the place, never mind inside.” 

“But what was inside?” Mary said, gnawing at her bottom lip. “What did they see?” 

“There’s some kind of machine. They said it hummed, and the coil’s light throbbed faster as the sound got louder, but it changed to beeps when the planes went over,” Agnes continued.  

“They got such a fright, they just jumped on their bikes and pedalled home like the clappers. They were shitting themselves. They thought they’d broken it.” 

“You mean they touched it?” said Mary. 

“They swear they didn’t, but reading between the lines, they probably did. I don’t know about yours, but our Lee’s going to get hell for this, I can tell you!” 

Mary nodded. 

“We were thinking about going down to have a look, but now that you’re here, it’d be better you two going instead. Then you can report it or whatever.” Agnes said, still trying to be the leader. 

“You’re right.” “Mary said, “We’re knackered, but we have to go. Now!” 

Martin sounded irritated. “Why the rush?”  

Mary’s tone sharpened. “So, we can find out what’s going on rather than just guessing all the time. Even you could’ve worked that one out, Martin,” she seethed, too tired and fed up to care what he thought of her anymore. Maybe it was the caffeine speaking, maybe she still didn’t trust him. 

“Come on, I’ll take you,” said Annie, speaking for the first time. “Let’s get going before the rain starts again.” 

A few minutes later, the three of them set off into the pitch black until they came to a gate. The smell of wet grass hung in the air, with the sound of waves lapping in the distance. 

“Let’s go this way,” said Annie. “It’s much quicker and there’s no traffic. I’ve got a torch, just in case, but it’ll be better if no one sees us.” 

They climbed over the gate and followed a path through the field to a deserted farmyard, then out onto the road again.  

It was on the other side of the road. The derelict factory. 

Annie led them through the hole in the wall her son had mentioned. As soon as they went in, they could hear the humming sound and see a kind of glowing coil.  

Annie turned on her torch, so Mary took out the crumpled schematic, and held it up.  

Mary gasped and grabbed Annie for support.  

The serial number on the side of the machine matched the one on the paper! 

The same! 

They’d discovered the device.  

Now, all they needed to do was work out what it did and how it worked. 

At their direction, Annie moved the light around the machine.  

Even though the humming sound wasn’t that loud, Mary could feel it in her feet and chest.

It was a thick black metal tube, about two metres long, a metre thick and mounted on a heavy metal frame. Attached underneath was a box, maybe a power supply, and the glowing coil was on the right of that. It was warm and vibrating slightly when Mary touched it.

The device brought an air of almost surreal high technology to the dusty and disused factory interior.

The first thing they noticed was that above the serial number, there was a name, presumably a company, then the number, then underneath in smaller letters “Aerial Guidance System”. 

Mary couldn’t stop herself. “If this is a guidance system for these bombers, then we have to destroy it.” 

Martin rubbed his fingers together. “It would be better if we reprogrammed it so that the planes dropped the bombs somewhere that would damage their country most. That would be the smart move, wouldn’t it?” 

“So, what do you want to do?” Mary spat, “Wait until tomorrow to change it so innocent people in another country are killed or left homeless and starving?” 

Annie was nodding furiously, tears streaming down her face. 

Mary grabbed Martin by the shoulders and started shaking him furiously. “Don’t you care?”  

“You make me sick! It’s just a game to you, but hundreds die. All because a plan changes! I fuckin’ hate that!” 

Shivering slightly, Martin looked into Mary’s eyes, breathed out slowly, escaped her grasp and pleaded with her to sit down. He was so compelling; she did so immediately.  

Martin rubbed his thumb and index finger together. 

“I think there’s something you should know,” he said, so kindly she almost thought he was someone else. 

“Today, well yesterday now, the factions joined for the good of the country and formed Unity Accord. But the fact is, there’s always been a Unity Accord above faction level that’s responsible for national security.”  

Mary looked at Annie sitting there with her mouth open. She supposed this was good news after everything that had happened. 

He went on, “Both Heritage Front and New Tomorrow have foreign backers. It’s not a secret, although many of those investors would prefer it to be.”  

Annie made a leap. “So they’re behind the immigrant problem, then? 

“Yeah, and what we’ve got wind of tonight is the activation of immigrant sleeper cells. They’re waiting for the signal to rise.” 

“So, these bombers are theirs, then?” said Mary, totally engrossed in Martin’s revelations now. 

“That’s right. The bombs are dropped, and then these groups or cells go in and take advantage of the resulting devastation, while their other forces are probably waiting off the coast to invade. You following me?” 

“Yes. So, these hidden arms are for them, then. The invasion forces?” 

Martin grinned. “Yes, and no. The immigrants think they are, but these guns are actually for our side. The youngsters who have been disappearing all over the place are all members of the resistance formed by the original Unity Accord.  

“What?” The two women’s heads snapped up at exactly the same time. 

“Yes. About half of them come from immigrant families too, so they understand the chaos these other incomers want to cause. Our ones like their life here too much to stand by and do nothing.” 

“So, you knew all along that the weapons were going to be used by our side, and you didn’t say…”. 

A distant drone interrupted them. 

It was as if time had stopped. 

The glowing light of the coil fixed to the tube throbbed. 

Annie was frantic. “It’s the bombers! They’re coming back! What about my kids? What about Jim? I’ve got to get home.” And she rushed out the door with the torch. 

Mary raced after her. “Annie, Annie, go, go as fast as you can, but leave us the torch. Please leave us the torch! You’re worried about your family; we might be able to save thousands of them.” 

She stopped, handed it to Mary, saying, “Do the right thing, Mary. I trust you! And after you’ve finished, if you can, come back to the house and get something to eat before the two of you collapse.” 

Mary rushed back in to find Martin poring over the diagram.    

They needed to decide. Change or destroy. 

Between a rock and a hard place. 

Mary stared at the device. 

Her hands were shaking. 

Her eyes welled up. 

The drone, the hum and her heartbeat were all she could hear.

A knot in her stomach. 

She ached for the safety of her bakery with its smell of bread.  

Much better than this smell of hot metal and fear. 

*****

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