Justtin

Chapter seven
The intruders

It was dark when Aunt B woke Zed and Barry, and told them that a couple of sinister looking men had been seen near the pub, in the village.
“ What makes them sinister?” asked Barry, wiping sleep from his eyes.
“ Maybe they have noses on the sides of their heads,” said Zed, not quite awake.
“ That’s not sinister,” said Barry. “ Just weird.”
“ Justtin is on full alert,” said Aunt B. “ He’s scanned the area, and has picked up two unidentified’s heading this way. Shall I get the tank?”
“ Bit early for that isn’t it?” said Zed.
“ Well, I’ve been up all night and I think it’s getting late,” said B.
“ What’s the time?” asked Barry.
“ A little after four,” said B.
“ I don’t need all this,” said Zed, kicking off his bed covers and revealing white boxer shorts, with red lip marks all over them.
“ Very nice,” said Aunt B.
“ You still here?” asked Zed.
“ I haven’t had an answer yet,” she said.
“ Sorry. What was the question?”
“ Can I go back to sleep?” asked Barry.
“ No, that wasn’t it.”
“ Shall I get the tank?”
“ Oh yeah, er, no. Justtin will sort this out, so don’t worry about the tank,” said Zed.
“ Oh poo!” said Aunt B, and she went back to the kitchen.
“ Come on Barry. We have to get up.”
“ Why?”
“ Coz this is serious,” said Zed. “ We have to sort ourselves out.”
They got dressed and went down to the kitchen, where Aunt B was drinking damson tea, with milk. She offered some to the boys, but without hesitation, they both declined her fantastic offer, and grabbed some bottles of pop from the fridge.
“ So, what now?” Barry asked.
“ We wait, I suppose,” said Zed.
“ What for?” asked Barry.
“ The scum,” said Aunt B.
“ Pardon?” said Barry.
“ The scum,” repeated Aunt B. “ Well, we’ve got to call them something.”
“ But why scum?” asked Barry.
“ Coz it comes out nicer than arseholes,” Aunt B said.
“ Oh,” said Barry. “ Yeah, I suppose you’re right.”
“ I knew that’s what it was, right an’ all,” said Aunt B, with a, I told you so, sort of look.
“ So anyway,” Barry said to Zed, “ What are we waiting for?”
“ For them to make the first move. Justtin will monitor their movement, and as soon as they’re close enough, smash, it’s goodnight paella.”
“ Vienna,” Barry corrected him.
“ Him too,” said Zed.
***
Barry’s mind was racing. Two people were close by, and possibly trying to kill him. Barry was scared, but he sensed that Zed wasn’t.
And he was right, Zed wasn’t. His training had prepared him for moments like this. This was why he was here. This was what he wanted. That’s why he had posted Justtin on guard duty, minutes before he had gone to bed. He’d also told Penny to leave her walkie-talkie switched on, just in case. He knew it was only a matter of time before someone would attempt to get to Barry. But if that time was now, how did they know that Barry was here? Was Barry still as safe as the Ministry had insisted? Did they have a mole? Was there somebody in their camp that he couldn’t trust? Too many questions, and not enough answers. Whoever these people were, they didn’t just stumble on Barry by accident. There was always the possibility that the phone line was bugged, but again, they must have known that Barry was there, or why would they bug the phone? As if Zed didn’t have enough on his mind.
“ Penny, you there?” Zed asked into the walkie-talkie.
“ Yes,” said the sleepy voice at the other end.
“ We’ve got a couple of people heading this way, and we don’t know who they are. Can you get over here?”
“ On my way,” she said sleepily, and as she promised, she dressed and made her way to Aunt B’s place.
The only person, who didn’t know what was going on, was Barry, and that’s why he was scared. He’d been shown how to use the machine gun, and with Aunt B’s help, he’d mastered the hand grenades. But what if they attacked now, while it was dark, and he couldn’t see who or what he was shooting at, or blowing up?
Zed was reading his mind.
“ Here, try these,” he said.
“ What are they?” asked Barry.
“ Night vision goggles. You’ll be able to see everything.”
“ Cool,” said Barry putting them on. The goggles instantly slid to one side, and Barry could only see through one eye.
“ They don’t fit,” said Barry, “ and they’re a bit heavy.”
“ You can’t have everything mate,” said Zed, as he helped Barry straighten the goggles and tighten the chinstrap.
“ There you go. Is that any better?” asked Zed.
“ Ooh, this is weird,” said Barry looking round.
“ Wait till you get outside in the dark. That’s really freaky,” said Zed.
That didn’t make Barry feel any better, but he was willing to give a go…once.
He followed Zed outside and tripped over the doorstep, and if it hadn’t been for the night goggles, he would have buried his nose in the gravel on the drive. Barry picked himself up, like he had countless times before, brushed himself down, and started all over again.
“ Have you quite finished?” Zed asked.
“ I think so,” the lad said, and together they made their way through the dark, to the barn to get some weapons.
Penny was already there, suited and booted, and ready to kick some major bottom. She had ammo belts across her shoulders, and a few grenades hanging off her waist-belt, a la Aunt Betty. She had just finished checking her gun barrel for blockages, when the boys walked in.
“ Hello you two,” she said, all happy and stuff.
“ See anything?” asked Zed, souring Penny’s happy mood.
“ Not a sausage,” said Penny.
“ You were looking for sausages,” said Barry, “ in the dark?”
“ Don’t be a tit,” said Zed. Not only clumsy, but stupid with it, he thought.
“ Too dark to see much,” Penny was saying, “ except the moon and the stars.”
“ That’s a bit, well, you know, girly, isn’t it?” Barry asked.
“ Far too girly for me,” said Zed.
“ Well I thought it was romantic,” said Penny.
“ You would. It’s a girly thing,” said Zed. “ Look, there’s a time and place for things like that, and this is neither of them. We’ve got two intruders prowling around out there and we need to concentrate. We are just about to get shot at, or blown up or something.”
Barry didn’t hear the rest. It suddenly hit him that they, whoever they were, would be shooting back.
“ I need a loo,” he said, and ran off to find one.
“ What’s up with him?” Penny asked. “ I thought he would relish the chance to get some action.”
“ Oo er, misses. If only,” said Zed, wondering why he said it.
“ Wrong kind of action, buster,” said Penny. “ Just remember, you’re only ten.”
“ Sorry about that,” said Zed. “ The odd innuendo does tend to slip out. It’s hanging around Barry’s dad that does it. He did it all the time. I’m surprised that Barry’s not like it.”
“ I’m glad he’s not. He can be insufferable at the best of times.”
“ Give him a chance. After all, he’s only ten as well.”
“ Well, considering how young we are, how did we get roped into all this?”
“ Right place at the right time, I guess.”
“ You make it sound like you knew what was going to happen, all along.”
“ I did, in a way,” said Zed. “ Barry’s dad was convinced that the row in the middle-east was going to cause a backlash. He had the foresight to set all this up. Justtin is a huge part of the puzzle. Barry’s dad has programmed the robot to protect him at all cost. He told me that in the garage, before all this started. That’s why I was assigned to this case. This is not easy for me. Barry’s my best friend, and I can’t see anything happen to him. This is also my first case, so I don’t want to screw up.”
“ You daft muppet,” said Penny, understanding Zed’s plight.
“ What’s a muppet?” Zed asked, curious.
“ Just something I’ve seen on T.V.”
“ Oh, ok,” said Zed, whose mind was wandering.
“ I wonder if Justtin can hear me on the walkie-talkie?” he said, switching his set on.
“ Justtin, can you hear me?”
“ Sure can, big buddy. Come back.”
What is he on? Zed thought.
“ What’s happening?”
“ Hey dude. What’s happening back at you.”
“ No,” said Zed. “ I mean, what’s happening out there?”
“ Oh! Sorry. Got your drift. It’s a bit quiet. Not much to report, I’m afraid.”
“ So what happened to the intruders?”
“ Gone man. I’ve got no readings.”
“ Well, that can’t be right,” said Zed. “ I assume you’ve scanned the whole area.”
“ And then some. But there’s nothing out here. I don’t understand it either. Unless they have some way of blocking my scanners, but I doubt it. Their equipment is very basic.”
“ Ok,” said Zed, “ Just keep me informed if anything happens.”
“ That’s a big ten-four. Over and out.”
“ Out,” said Zed. “ I’m getting worried about him. He’s really changed since Barry fitted that new chip.”
“ As long as he’s changed for the better, what’s the problem?”
“ None, I suppose. He says that the intruders have gone, or that he can’t detect them. If that’s the case, they could be anywhere. We better be ready for anything.”
“ We better find Barry,” said Penny, and with that, they left the barn, extremely well armed.
Barry was on his way back to the barn, when he met the others.
“ What’s going on?” he asked them.
“ Not quite sure,” said Zed, “ Justtin’s lost track of our intruders, so we are going to have to be on our guard.”
“ I need the loo again,” said Barry.
“ It’s just nerves,” said Zed, as they all walked to find Justtin “ You’ll get over it. Right now, we need to find out where they disappeared to. We could split up, or we can stay together. What’s it gonna be?” There were no offers.
“ Ok, Barry if you stick with Justtin. Me and Penny will go one way, and you two can go the other. We can meet up back here. All agreed?”
“ Yes,” said Barry, reluctantly.
“ Sounds ok to me,” said Penny.
“ Delicious,” said Justtin.
“ Ok, let’s do it,” said Zed, with an air of authority. “ Keep your walkie-talkies switched on at all times, Ok?”
“ Ok” said Barry, as they parted company.
With the night vision goggles, Barry could see Justtin very easily. A seven-foot, metal robot was not easy to lose, even in the dark.
“ What are you doing, Jus,” Barry asked
Justtin was running systems check, in case there was a problem.
“ I’m running a systems check, in case there’s a problem. Everything seems ok,” he said. “ I’m not sure where our intruders got to though. I can’t detect them anywhere.”
“ I hope that means it’s good news,” said Barry. “ Well, lets just go and have a look, and we can meet up with the others later.”
“ Oh goody,” said Justtin, and they headed off towards the river. It was only a short walk, or in Justtin’s case a short perambulate.
They arrived at the trees within a few minutes, and Barry looked around. He noticed a large hole in the bushes, and pointed it out to Justtin.
“ That’s probably where they came in,” said Barry.
“ You reckon,” said Justtin, in a sarcastic tone.
“ Sure of it,” Barry said, not noticing. “ I wonder where they went?”
“ Well, I’m still scanning, and I can’t find anything. Let’s go back and find the others.”
“ Ok. Zed?” Barry spoke into his walkie-talkie.
“ What you got?” asked Zed
“ Nothing here. We’re coming back.”
“ Ok, meet us at the house.”
“ Ok.”
Zed and Penny had walked through the grounds on the other side of the house, but they hadn’t found anything either, so they made their way back to the farmhouse.
Barry was waiting outside with Justtin, when Penny and Zed arrived, and they all walked into the kitchen together.
“ Hello deary, look what I found,” said Aunt B.
The children looked at where Aunt B was pointing. They couldn’t believe their collective eyes. In the corner, gagged and bound, were two middle-eastern looking gentlemen, both unconscious.
“ That’s why Justtin couldn’t read them. They have to be conscious,” said Barry.
“ But, but, but,” Penny spluttered.
“ What she’s trying to say is, what happened?” said Zed
“ I still haven’t lost it,” said B. “ They tried to grab Barry as he came down the stairs, but I saw them first. I’m going to need a new shovel. They broke this one. Can I keep them?”
Aunt B got up to put the kettle on, just as one of the intruders started to come round, and she gave a hefty kick in the ribs, and knocked him out again.
“ I’m going to have to call the Ministry, and get these two taken away. They’ve already sent two, and they will send more. We may have to move.”
“ Oh bugger,” said B. “ My beautiful home.”
***
“ Unbelievable,” Barry was saying. He couldn’t get his head round what his Aunt had done.
“ Tell me again, Auntie. How did you catch them?”
“ Not much to tell really,” she started. “ You came down the stairs and those two were hiding under the coats, in the hall. I saw their feet sticking out, always a dead give away, that one. I grabbed my shovel and moved into the hall, and you went straight past me and out the door. The first one tried to make a grab for you, so I twatted him with the shovel. The other one looked out from behind the coats to see what was going on, and I kicked him, straight in the goolies. Made a hell of a crunch, I can tell you. I hope he has children, coz I don’t think he’ll have any more.”
Barry wasn’t sure what that meant, but he didn’t care. He was so proud of his Aunt B. He was even prepared to eat one of her choc chip mushy pea biscuits.
But something was puzzling Penny.
“ Why did you have a shovel in the kitchen?” she asked.
“ Why else?” said B, as she pointed to a small conifer tree, that she had planted earlier, at the side of the kitchen, where the cooker used to be.
“ Nice,” said Penny.
“ The cooker wasn’t being used, anyway. Well, not properly,” said Barry.
“ I love my wellies,” said B.
“ And with the added weight of a wooden foot inside it as well, it makes a very handy weapon,” said Zed, returning from the phone.
“ What’s happening?” asked Penny.
“ The Ministry are sending some people over straight away. They should be with us within the hour. All we have to do, is keep an eye on those two.”
“ Let me,” said B. “ I caught ‘em.”
“ Be my guest,” said Zed. “ I wouldn’t fancy their chances very much. Nice tree, by the way.”
“ Ta!” said B, eyeing the two men on the floor suspiciously. “ I know. I’ll make them some nice tea.”
The kids all stared at each other, and started to laugh.
“ That’s the spirit, B,” said Penny.
“ Do you think that’s wise?” said Zed.
“ Why?” asked Barry.
“ Well, if they’re being taken in for questioning, surely they shouldn’t be poisoned first.”
The kids all fell about laughing.
“ Oh, you kids,” said Aunt B. “ You do like to tease.”
They laughed even harder now.
One of the men, thinking that no-one was watching him, started to move, but Aunt B had one of her eyes on him, and in a flash, she leapt from her chair, and grabbing a knife from the table, she impaled the man’s hand to the floor.
“ Where do you think you’re going, dog breath?” she said.
Barry went white. He’d never seen such a brutal act of violence before. Well, he has now. He stared at the man’s hand, with the big knife sticking in it, and the blood going all over the floor. Wow, he thought, is that what we have to do to defend ourselves?
“ Fight fire with fire,” said Zed, almost reading Barry’s mind. “ That’s no more than he would have done to us.”
“ I think I’m going to be sick,” said Barry, and he left the kitchen, to do just that.
“ Slippery bugger, that one,” said B. “ I’m surprised he can move at all. His nuts must be killing him. You go and get some rest. I’ll watch these two.”
No one doubted her ability, so they left her to it.
***
It wasn’t even the full hour, when the black unmarked car and two black vans of similar persuasion, screeched to a halt in the drive. Within seconds, the building was surrounded by armed agency officers, and in through the kitchen door walked Agent Jacobs, followed closely by Agent Stevens.
“ Hello deary,” said B. “ Want some tea?”
“ Not for me, thanks B,” said Jacobs, taking a quick look around.
“ Nice tree,” he added. “ A bit unusual, but nice.”
“ I thought about moving it over near the window,” said B. “ To give it a bit more light. What do you think?”
“ Personally? Well, if it had stayed outside where it belongs, then it would have all the light it needs. But then, who am I to question you? If you want a tree in your kitchen, you have a tree. Not my problem, But they, on the other hand, are.”
He looked at the two men that he’d come to collect, cowering on the floor.
“ My, my, you have been busy.”
“ Not really,” said B. “ They came to me, so that made things easy. I might not know much, but I know the layout of my home.”
“ You did a great job,” said Jacobs. He gestured to Stevens, and Stevens went outside to get some of the officers.
“ Where are the children?” he asked.
“ Upstairs, resting. Barry was a bit shocked with the knife business.”
“ I’m not surprised. We may have to break the knife, to get him off. I hope you have another.”
B opened a drawer.
“ Just a few,” she said, displaying a drawer full of knives, some even bigger than the one she used.
“ Fair enough,” said Jacobs. “ I’m going to check on the boys. I’ve got some news for Barry.”
“ That’s nice dear,” said B, as she watched the two men being taken away to the waiting vans.
Agent Jacobs climbed the stairs to the bedroom, and found Barry asleep on his bed, and Zed and Penny cuddled together on the other.
He quietly and gently moved across to where Barry slept, and sat on his bed.
“ Hey, sleepy head,” he whispered, and Barry opened his eyes.
“ Hi,” Barry said, sleepily.
“ How you doing?” Jacobs asked him.
“ Been better,” Barry replied.
“ We all have, son, but things will get better. I have some news from your parents,” said Jacobs, as he passed Barry a note. In what little light Barry had, he opened the note as quick as he could.
Dear Barry, we hope this finds you ok. Agent Jacob’s tells me that you are ok, and that’s good enough for me. You can trust him, Barry. He’s the closest thing I have to a brother. We’ve had to move around a bit recently, as you can imagine. We hope to be crossing paths very soon, but we won’t be able to stay for too long. We can’t take any chances. These people will stop at nothing to get what they want. As I have said to you before, you are in the safest possible place, so stay where you are, and we will meet up soon. I hope Justtin is behaving himself, and I hope that you have everything you need. Be brave son. Love you lots, Mum and Dad. x x x
“ Wow,” said Barry, quietly. “ When can I see them?”
“ I knew you’d enjoy that. Sometime in the next two weeks, we hope. In the meantime, you stay put. We are putting up some electrified fences, to keep the beggars out. We may even put up some spot towers, and we also intend to put a guard on the front gate. They’ve been here once, they may try again, and we have to take every precaution.”
“ After watching Aunt B today, I feel safe here already.”
“ That’s good. I’m pleased with the way you’re coping, Barry. It must be hard for you, but you’re a good kid, and you’re doing fine.”
“ Thanks,” said a sleepy child.
“ Ok, well you get some sleep, and we will talk some more soon. If I hear any more from your folks, I will let you know straight away. Oh, and one last thing.”
“ What’s that?” asked Barry.
“ Keep your eye on those two, or they’ll be married in no time.”
“ Eeyuk!” said Barry, as he fell asleep smiling and thinking of his dad.
***
Later that day, when the children woke and made their way downstairs to the kitchen, there was no sign that anything had happened the night before. The blood had been washed from the kitchen floor, and the hole, where the knife had been, had been cleverly filled in to look like it had never been there at all. Men were working frantically in the garden, erecting the electric fence, and a huge gate was being put up in the front drive.
“ Bloody hell,” said Zed. “ What’s going on?”
“ Agent Jacobs was here last night,” said Barry. “ He told me all this was going to happen. I just didn’t expect it so soon. I got a note from my mum and dad too. They’re coming to see me.”
“ Really, when?” asked Zed.
“ Sometime in the next couple of weeks,” said a happy Barry.
“ You must be over the moon,” said Penny.
“ And then some,” said Barry. “ I’m starving.”
They all were, so Penny went home and got some fresh eggs, and when she returned they made themselves some omelettes.
After they’d eaten, Barry decided to get himself cleaned up, so he made his excuses and left the kitchen. Zed and Penny sat in the kitchen and chatted, while they finished off their coffees. Aunt B was in the garden, chatting to one of the workers, and fluttering her eyelashes a lot.
“YEEEEOWWW!” came the scream from upstairs.
In seconds, Aunt B, Zed and Penny had rushed up the stairs to see if Barry was alright.
“ What’s wrong?” asked Penny.
“ Nothing. Go away.”
“ Why are you standing like that?” she asked.
“ I’m not. Now will you please go away?”
“ Ok. Touchy.”
“ What’s the matter, Barry?” asked Aunt B.
“ Jesus Christ, she got my name right. Nothing I can’t handle. Where’s Zed?”
“ I’m here. What’s up?”
“ Get me some pliers,” said Barry, through gritted teeth.
“ Why?”
“ Can’t tell you.”
“ Why are you standing like that?”
“ Like what?”
“ Like that.” Zed mimicked Barry’s stance, but the ginger lad wasn’t laughing.
“ I’m not.”
“ You are.”
“ Will you please, just go and get me some bloody pliers?”
“ Ok, ok. You’re right Pen. He is touchy,” said Zed, as he went off to pester a workman for some pliers.
“ Why are you crying?” Penny asked.
“ Onions,” said Barry.
“ You’ve got onions in your trousers?”
“ That’ll make your eyes water. In my day, it used to be courgettes,” said Aunt B.
“ What?” said Barry.
“ Nothing,” said B.
“ Got them,” said Zed, returning with a workman.
“ Wassup lad?” the workman asked.
“ Make them go away, and I’ll show you.”
“ Ok you lot. You heard him.”
“ Aw, Can’t we stay?” asked Aunt B.
“ If it’s what I think it is, the lad is going to need some privacy.”
“ And surgery,” said Barry.
“ Boo,” said Aunt B.
“ Ok, we’ll see you later,” said Zed.
“ Yeah, whatever,” said Barry. “ Now give me those bloody pliers.”
“ I’ll give you a hand, lad. I’ve done it myself, a couple of times actually. Ooh, nasty.”
A few minutes later, Barry was free of his zip, but sweating profusely. He looked down at the swollen mess in his hand. It will never be the same again, he thought to himself.
What a clumsy twat, the workman thought to himself.