Can A Snowflakes Be Saved?

Closing In

Joe bent over the rough map that Mark had managed to draw for him, despite the enormous pain he was experiencing.

"Here..........and here" Mark circled another  two areas of the map. "These are where the security cameras are all based. It's really hi tech stuff. They'll know you're coming before you've got more than a few inches into the the area. Everything, and I men everything, will have time to vanish before you reach the town. " Mark paused, then added scarily "If they let you get that far"

"Vanish?" Joe asked, puzzled. "How can a town vanish?"

"Not the town itself" Mark smiled grimly "Just the so called children and every trace of them. You'd think children never existed there. I don't know all the ins and outs of it, to be honest. I just know they have ways of making the children disappear. Unfortunately, I was never included that far into the security levels to know how they did it. Louis Tomlinson, the computer geek, is a f.cking genius. You'll never beat him. Never!" Mark's warning was stark.

"Then I'll find a geek of my own" Joe said ."You just tell me everything you can and we'll do our bit."

"You have no idea what you are up against" Mark said bitterly. "

"Then tell me...tell me everything you can." Joe challenged. "Even if you think it isn't important." He settled back and Mark, after glaring at him for a few moments, began to ramble on about the community, who lived there, it's routines, how it functioned, security, the hospital...and the regression drugs. Joe listened attentively, his pen constantly scrapping across his notebook as he made furious notes.

"I think it can be done" . Alberto Alvarez said, scratching his head  as he thought. "I mean, their security system is very sophisticated . State of the Art. Who ever set it up is a f.cking genius, man. Any idea who it was?"

"Guy called Louis Tomlinson" Joe replied as he surveyed the diagrams Alberto had drawn.

"I know him!" Alberto yelled. "At least I know that name. He's a computer genus in the true sense of the word. I don't know anyone or anything that will defeat him. Tommo is the sass master ."

"Then we'll need to be smarter" was Joe's response." Much smarter. Tell me everything you know about the man." Alberto responded immediately , and at great length. Joe listened carefully, nodding from time to time.

A few days had passed and there had been no security breaches  at the community. Louis practically lived on the computer yet nothing had shown up. He was grateful. It meant that they had time, a precious commodity, to plan an orderly removal of everyone from the town who wanted to leave. The warning system had been extended so they would have even longer warning of intruders. Families were busy packing and planning where they would go into hiding. 

"It's all arranged, Li, the plane is on standby. The house is all prepared." Zayn said as he walked rapidly into the room. "Louis, Serena and their littles will come with us. We've room. Nobody will ever think of looking there for any of us."

"There's just one snag, babe" Liam looked up into Zayn's eyes, his own soft brown ones serious. "The regression drug. If the children are not on it, what then?"

"Maybe we take some with us. Eventually the children must be so used to being babies , we won't need to continually drug them. And you can provide their medical needs, can't you." Zayn said.

"Babe, I'm a Paramedic, not a doctor. If we need serious help, we're f.cked." Liam was sombre.

"Then we'll pray we don't need it. Or maybe Doc Andrews will come with us? She's the real mom to Patience after all." Zayn sounded confident. Between Liam and Doctor Andrews, surely the children would be safe, after all. "Come on, we haven't time to waste. Make sure we have everything we need, equipment as well, as we won't be able to get the right stuff on the Island. There is plenty of room in the cargo hold of the plane. More than we need , to be honest. Look, I'm going back to the station to help Louis." He kissed Liam then left the younger man to the packing.

"Anything, Lou?" Zayn asked as he strode towards where Louis was hunched over his computer monitor.

"I think we're running out of time. I've been trying to get into their system for hours but I think they are finally on to me. I'm being blocked. Unless I can bypass their security, I can't see when we'll be attacked. Zayn, we have to move and move fast." Louis pushed away from the desk and grabbed his jacket. "Let's get moving." He ran out to his car, Zayn hot on his heels.

"Liam, where's Niall?" Zayn yelled as he raced up the stairs to the bedroom where Liam was carefully folding Niall's clothing into a  plastic storage books. Another one, containing some toys, baby monitors, infant medication and sundry other small items, was full.

"I've put Niall out in his pram in the back yard" Liam told Zayn as the  raven haired man  raced into the room and  hurried started  packing everything men needed for themselves.. "He'll be able to nap without us disturbing him."

"Good call. babe" Zayn replied. He stared at the box that Liam  was currently packing full of baby clothes, ticking off a mental checklist of things they absolutely needed to take. Satisfied that Liam had that under control, Zayn  reached for another bag, preparing to throw in diapers, wipes, bottles and pacifiers. Liam had already got the cooler packed with bottles and bottles of water to make up more feeds as needed. He glanced at his watch, anxious to get away before anything happened.

"What's the sudden panic?" Liam wanted to know, suddenly registering Zayn's tense movements.

"Time has run out" was the blunt reply.

"Finished?" Louis asked Serena and got a terse nod of the head. He pulled his phone out of the back pocket of his jeans and  placed the call. Louis chewed his nails nervously as he waited for Liam to answer the phone.

Suddenly loud alarms screamed into the relative peace. Time had, indeed, run out.

"Right, thanks" Joe took the necessary warrants from the officer that had just arrived. "Make sure everything is ready to go." The officer nodded and disappeared , leaving Joe to sit back and take a few calming breaths. It was a risk, he knew, but he was convinced that Mark Jarvis had told the truth. If he was wrong, then it was the end of Joe's career, along with those of the people backing him up. But he could feel he was right. This was it.

Alberto set up the jamming signals. If he was right, then it would give them a few minutes extra time before the community knew that the Police were there. Even a few minutes would be a bonus. Alberto pressed the button on his control unit then nodded to Joe.

"Go! Go! GO!" Joe yelled and dozens of police cars moved towards the road leading to the fuel dump, not knowing that the extra security system Louis had installed was already shrieking it's warning.

Just who was going to be the fastest as the net closed in on them.