GALAXY AT WAR - Book 2 - Probing Anthera

CHAPTER NINETEEN - October 2172 - Earth / Moon

AUTHOR'S NOTE :- OKAY GUYS - I'M PREWARNING YOU AGAIN. LATER IN THIS CHAPTER THERE IS A TORTURE SCENE. SOME READERS MAY FIND IT REPULSIVE (NOT SURE IF THAT'S THE RIGHT WORD BUT IT'S THE ONE I'M GOING WITH). THANKS AGAIN FOR READING THIS STORY.

...Earth...

"We're nearly there. Is there any sign of him yet?" asked Steve.

"You're the one with the mirrors," said Suzanne. "But no. I haven't seen a beige car."

"He could have changed it," said Ben from the back seat.

Steve looked in his centre mirror. "I've seen several possibilities, but none have continued to follow us."

"Well, there's nothing we can do about it anyway. I hope that Mr Taylor knows what he's doing or we're as good as dead," said Suzanne.

"That's a cheery thought," said Ben. "Is it all right if I go back home and forget all about this?"

"You agreed, Ben," Suzanne had half-turned in her seat to look at him. "You're the reason we're still risking our lives."

"Okay, okay, just a thought. I didn't mean it," said Ben.

From high above, double ess followed Steve's car. He had painted a large X on the roof only visible through his U.V. Glasses. The silent microlight, which he was flying, turned northwards – following Steve's latest attempt to lose him. Double ess smiled to himself. It had been a good idea to abandon the car.

He looked around at potential target buildings. Nothing stood out and his wrist-mounted info-pad hadn't come up with any potential destination yet. He looked back at the X on Steve's car and watched it make yet another unnecessary turn. They were up to something.

His info-pad beeped, drawing his attention back to his wrist. It had been searching for all buildings with any connection to Roxanne, Suzanne, Steve and Ben. So far, every house or business connected to them had been miles away – until now. A house had been highlighted.

Double ess pressed a button and details of the owner started printing on screen. It belonged to Eric Taylor who had only recently purchased it. He touched Eric's name on screen. A lot of information started scrolling and he paused it when he saw the name 'Roxanne Taylor'.

He looked at Steve's car again. It had got a little ahead of him while he was distracted but it seemed obvious to him that they were going to meet Roxanne's father. Double ess took a risk and turned away from the marked car. He flew straight to Eric Taylor's house to look for a place to land.

He circled the house and saw a flat section of roof that ran the entire length of it. He would have to land at close to stalling speed to have a chance of stopping but from up there he could observe Suzanne's arrival and get into the house unseen. He made another pass to allow his info-pad to scan the location of all the cameras within the house. During the recon he visually looked for guards and saw several roaming the grounds.

He lined the microlight up with his makeshift runway and reduced the throttle as far as he dared. The microlight started to descend towards the roof with double ess making subtle adjustments to his approach as the wind kept pushing him slightly off-course. The wheels touched down just two meters away from the edge and he reversed the throttle to assist in slowing the microlight down.

The wingtips brushed the roof on either side where they rose up in the traditional triangle shape. Double ess breathed a sigh of relief as he stopped a metre short of the end. He unhooked himself from the microlight then lifted it above his head and turned it round to face the other way. He then tethered it to the roof. While he was busy securing the microlight, he consciously controlled his breathing to bring his heartrate back down then moved over to the edge of the roof and watched the main gate.