Chapter 16
ESCAPE!
No.2
had risen early and had gone out into the Village. His mood was as dull and
overcast as the weather. He went walking; walking along the cliffs, there was a
fresh breeze and it began to rain. Standing at the very edge of the cliffs and
facing into the wind the rain pelting his face in the hope it would wash away
the man he had become
It was mid morning when No.21 of
administration stood on the quayside looking at the stone boat. He was soon
joined by one of the Village’s senior citizens No.66.
“A fine old vessel, sailed her many a
time.”
No.21 looked at the man wearing a naval cap
and red and black striped jersey standing next to him “Really!”
“She’s good in any weather” the ex-Admiral
said “but she could do with a lick of paint.”
“You don’t say” No.21 replied turning his
attention back to the stone boat.
Of course it was impossible to physically
sail the stone boat anywhere, being part of the quay as she was, despite the
black sail, and yet psychologically you could sail anywhere in her. And now the
more No.21 looked the more he could see what was wrong with the stone boat, she
was certainly beginning to show her age, and looked tired and weather beaten!
Then he saw two workmen in dove grey overalls and peaked caps, they were
sitting on the starboard side of the stone boat having their sandwiches.
“Oi, you two come here a minute.”
No.251 glanced over his shoulder “What’s he
want?”
“That’s Number twenty-one of
administration, he’s always wanting something, and if it’s a minute he wants,
it means a hard job of work for us!” No.251b replied.
“What do we do?”
“Better go and see what he wants I
suppose.”
“Right you two, what’s the game?” No.21
asked.
“Game, me and my mate here we’re having our
lunch” 251 said.
“And our coffee’s getting cold” 251b added.
“Have you seen the state of the stone
boat?”
The two workmen turned round and gave the
boat the once over.
“Admittedly she could do with a coat of
paint” 251 said.
“And the bunting’s looking a bit on the
shabby side” 251b added.
“The works committee has charged me
with overseeing the refurbishment and complete refit of the stone boat” 21
said.
251 and 251b looked at each other.
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“And I want you two to be getting on with
it” 21 said “how long do you think it will take?”
“We can’t do that.”
“We can’t do that...sir” 251b agreed.
“Why, what’s stopping you, you know who I
am?” 21 asked.
“Yes we know who you are, Number
Twenty-one of administration” 251 said and asked for a work sheet.
“Work sheet, I haven’t got a worksheet!” 21
admitted.
No.251 shook his head “You have to
get a work order first.”
“It’s the Works committee who set me
on this job” 21 said.
“That’s as maybe” 251 said and went on
to explain “”but you need to get a work order from the Works department which
is passed on to our foreman, who in turn gives the order to us, and tells us to
get on with the job.”
“And by the time that’s all done it will be
next week!” 21 said.
“That’s right” 251 agreed.
“Well it’s not right, all this red tape!
The dinghy” No.21 said pointing at the small white boat hanging from the
starboard davits.
“What about it?” 251 asked.
“She looks a wreck” 21 said.
“Admittedly she’s a bit weather beaten, and
could do with a couple of new straights put in her, but it’s not so bad” 251b
explained.
“Good” No.21 said turning on his heels and
striding away.
“Someone should have a word about that one”
251b said.
“Yeah someone should, but not right now, it's still lunchtime!”
The next day a survey was carried out on
the stone boat and the department of Works passed down a refit order to the
foreman, who studied the work sheet. A number of workmen were assigned to the
refit, materials gathered and the work got underway. The bow sprit was sound,
as was the main mast and jib. The bunting and black sail were removed and had
to be replaced, the rigging was also removed. Parts of the wooden forecastle
were found to be rotten, carpenters cut those sections out and replaced them,
and the whole structure repainted. The dingy was removed from the davits and
taken away to the workshop to have two new straights put into her. The main
cabin, being made of reconstituted stone, only required a couple of coats of
paint. Although some of the uprights of the wooden window frame which ran
around the top of the main cabin were rotten, cut out and replaced. The stern
cabin had to be completely replaced as did the ship’s wheel; the metal frame
work was rusted but basically sound. The hull, being like the main cabin made
from reconstituted stone, once white had taken on a grey and discoloured hue.
Two men were lowered down over the starboard side on boson’s chairs, their task
to clean the hull in readiness for two coats of weather proof paint.
No.21 visited the worksite on a daily
basis to see how the work was coming
along.
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“Instead of standing there all
haughty like” said the foreman “you could put on a pair of overalls and give us
a hand!”
“Do I look like a labourer?” 21
asked.
“Labourer?” said one of the ship’s
carpenters “we’re all crafts men in our own fields I’ll have you know.”
“No offence was intended” 21 said.
“Well offence was most definitely
taken” No.179 said waving a paintbrush at 21 “and more than that we’re
artisans!”
No.21, who had been firmly put in his
place, turned on his heels and marched away along the quayside.
The No.66 the ex-Admiral and his
first officer would visit the worksite each day to observe the refit of the
stone boat, standing at a discreet distance as they watched the work being
carried out.
“Soon have her ship shape” the
ex-Admiral said “then they have to re-launch her, and we can do boat trips up
and down the estuary again.”
“Silly old fool” one painter was
heard to say.
The portside of the stone boat was
nothing more than a low wall the vessel being built into the side of the quay
was painted white, and the vessel’s trim repainted black with a red line. The
dinghy, complete with a set of oars, was once more hanging from the davits. The
rigging replaced, a new black sail, along with fresh bunting fluttered in the
breeze, and the final touch was the fitting of a new ship’s wheel.
It wasn’t only No.21 and the ex-Admiral
who took a keen interest in the stone boat’s refit. No.2 sat in his office
watching the wall screen, at the work being carried out on the folly. He sat
watching as the dinghy was strung from the davits, and an idea occurred to him.
But then the pair of steel doors slid open breaking his concentration of
thought.
“They’ve made a good job of it,
wouldn’t you say sir” No.21 said as he approached the desk.
No.2 turned his attention from the
wall screen to his assistant “Ah Twenty-one, I haven’t seen very much of you
these past few days.”
“Well you have things well in hand
sir, and the Works committee instructed me to oversee a survey of the stone
boat, as well as the refit.”
“Of course you know what a stone boat
is Twenty-one.”
“Yes, the ex-Admiral explained the
whole thing to me. He’s looking forward to the boat’s re-launching!”
“And why not?” No.2 suggested.
“You mean make an occasion of it?
Good idea sir.”
The day came when the stone boat would be
re-launched, and a celebration ceremony was organized much to the pleasure of
the ex-Admiral and his first officer No.1. The crowd gathered on the quay, and
above along the balustrade and on the lawn of the Old People’s Home. The band
played, people waved flags, and there was a genuine
air of
joy and happiness. No.2 was in attendance and gave a short speech before
smashing a bottle of wine over the bow of the vessel. Later he mingled amongst
the gathered crowd of on-lookers’ he was looking for No.8, and then he saw her
standing at the far end of the quay. It had taken time for her to come to terms
with what had happened to her, and she had seen nothing of No.2, not until now.
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He approached her “how are you?”
“As well as can be expected” she told
him.
“Settling down alright?”
“Not really” she told him “this isn’t
the type of place in which I want to spend the rest of my life.”
“You won’t have to” he told her.
“What do you mean by that? Do you
know what they put me through?”
“I can imagine.”
“No,
you know what they did to me…I gave
myself up for you, everything I
knew!”
“It’s a lot to ask I know, but trust
me now and I can get the both of us out of here.”
“You expect me to trust you…even
now?”
As they talked the figure of No.21 stood high
up on the lawn of the Old People’s Home, standing at the balustrade looking
down at the couple until they parted, each going their separate ways.
During the next couple of days, No.2 being
a resilient man returned to his administrative details attending meetings,
dealing with miscreants, authorising the construction of a new cottage. And
then there was No.8……
The pair of steel doors opened and
the figure of No.8 entered the chamber.
“Ah there you are Number Eight” No.2
said rising out of his chair.
“You wanted to see me” she said with
just a tone of defiance.
“We haven’t seen very much of each
other recently” he told her “old friends shouldn’t lose contact.”
“I haven’t seen very much of you, as
for old friends that’s in the past.”
“Oh no not at all. Can I offer you
some tea?”
“Just get on with it, what do you
want?”
“To talk, to ask how you are getting
on.”
“How do you think I’m getting on?”
unable to hide the bitterness in her voice.
“I can help you” he told her.
“You, help me?”
“It’s been quite warm recently” he
said.
“Yes, yes I suppose it has” she
replied.
“Quite hot enough for June wouldn’t you say?”
“Yes, but you should have been….” she
looked him and suddenly recognizing
the man she once knew.
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He stepped out from behind his desk
and approached her “I’m glad you understand the situation Number Eight, we all
have to work together in order to achieve our aims.”
For a moment, and it was a moment he
slipped his hand in hers, she felt the small piece of paper and clenched it
when he withdrew his hand.
“It’s good to see you’re beginning to
see your way here in the Village” No.2 began “I’m sorry we got off to a bad
start, but I trust we can improve that situation over time. You can go Number
Eight, but we will talk again” he told her.
“When?”
No.2 failed to answer the question,
he watched as No.8 left his office.
Outside she unfolded the piece of
paper it read 12.30 at the brass band concert.
With the loud music and speaking quietly
they were able to speak without being overheard.
“Are you sure we should meet in the
open like this?”
“It would have been worse had we attempted
to meet in secret, that would have attracted the attention of the Observers” he
told her.
In the control room No.21 and the
supervisor stood watching the large wall screen.
“Can you get the audio?” 21 asked.
“It would do no good, the music is
hiding their voices” the supervisor explained.
“I want a lip reader to go through
this surveillance footage; I must know what they’re talking about!” 21 ordered.
“You think Number Two is up to
something with Number Eight?”
“Number Two has suddenly become
suspect?” the supervisor asked “they are old friends.”
“I know that, and that’s what makes
Number Two’s actions questionable” 21 said.
“And you are going to catch him out?”
“It’s for his own good.”
“And put a feather in your own cap in
the process” the supervisor suggested.
No.2 and No.8 stood up, they said their
goodbyes and walked their separate ways.
“What are they doing?” 21 asked.
“They are going their separate ways”
the supervisor said “it looks like Number Two is on his way back to the town
hall, and she is going to the café.”
But neither did, instead they managed
to meet up in a passage way between two cottages.
“We haven’t got long” he told her.
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“You have a plan?” she asked.
“Yes, but it must be tonight, my
assistant suspects me” he told her.
“What of?”
“Conspiring with you!”
“I thought you had betrayed me.”
“If I have betrayed anyone it is
myself.”
“What are we going to do?”
“I want you to do some shopping this
afternoon, and buy a basket to put the food in.”
“Then what?”
“Return to your cottage and wait
there. Here you are.”
“What’s this?”
“Tinfoil. Tonight as the maid leaves
your cottage you must manage to slip this into the lock as the door closes, it
will create a circuit break and prevent the electronic lock securing the door”
he explained “you understand?”
She nodded.
“Wait until ten minutes after curfew,
and don’t drink the nightcap, then slip out into the night, I shall do the same
and we’ll meet up in the pink pavilion!”
“And we escape how?”
“By boat” he said “I know where we
are Lena, we’ll be heading north, hugging the coast under the cover of
darkness. Then we’ll row ashore and head in land until we find a road.”
She looked at him “You make it all
sound so easy.”
“I assure you it will not be easy. We
need to get to the stone boat first.”
She looked at him gone out “The stone
boat, why, is the Admiral simply going to sail us away?”
“Of course not, the stone boat has a
dinghy, we use that” he told her.
Her heart lightened, and she smiled.
“We must be careful of the Observers,
and then there’s the searchlight in the tower. So are you game, because I
cannot do this without you. Now go and do your shopping, and act nonchalant.”
“I don’t feel nonchalant” she told him.
He kissed her on the forehead and
told her all would be well in the end, and then they went their separate ways.
In the Green Dome No.21 was awaiting the
dialogue spoken between No.’s 2 and 8 while at the brass band concert. The pair
of steel doors opened and a woman in a white coat rushed in holding a sheet of
paper.
“Good, now let’s see” 21 said taking
the sheet of paper.
“Is this all you could get?”
“Yes sir.”
“They must have said more than this?”
“No sir they didn’t.”
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“How are you keeping? I trust there have
been no ill effects? You’re the last person I thought to meet here. This isn’t
what I wanted to read, where’s the conspiracy in this?”
The woman in the white coat just
stood there.
“Alright, you can go” he told her
picking up the yellow ‘L’ shaped telephone “put me through to the control
room.”
“Supervisor here.”
“I need to know, after Number Eight and Number
Two split up where did they go?”
“You saw, Number Eight went in the
direction of the café, and Number Two towards the Town Hall.”
“Yes, but did they actually go
there?”
“Eventually.”
“Eventually, what do you mean
eventually?”
“There was a minor time discrepancy”
the supervisor reported.
“How long a time discrepancy?”
“Oh two or three minutes, no longer.”
“And Number Eight did go to the
café?”
“Yes sir.”
“And Number Two is in the Town Hall?”
“Yes sir, put up camera thirty-six
vision only.”
On the wall screen was pictured a
meeting in the committee chamber, and there was No.2 chairing that meeting.
“Yes, he’s in a committee meeting at
this very moment” the supervisor observed.
No.21 put the phone down.
That night the maids came to turn down the beds, and make nightcaps for the citizens, as they did every night. Except tonight No. 8 would not drink her nightcap, sleep was the last thing on her mind. The maid bid No.8 a goodnight and crossed the lounge to the cottage door, as the door closed behind her No.8 with tinfoil in hand managed to slip it between the mortise and tenon of the lock creating a false connection of the electric lock. Once in the bedroom she laid down upon the bed, the lights dimmed, and she waited.
In his room in the Town Hall No.2
also waited. His plan was to get out by the bathroom window, which would take
him out to the back of the building. From there he would make his way along to
a set of steps at the back of a cottage, which lead down to the road, and then
it was but a short distance to the wrought iron gates and the pink pavilion
beyond. He checked his watch, it was a little after curfew. Leaving his room,
still fully dressed, he walked along the corridor to the bathroom, he slid the
brass bolt securing the door, then forced the little window open, climbed out
into the night.
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No.8 climbed off the bed and in the
dim light collected the basket of food from the kitchen, then crossing the
lounge pulled open the door, the tinfoil falling to the floor she slipped out
into the night closing the
door
behind her. Under the cloak of darkness she kept low so to dodge the
surveillance cameras, she made her way along the path, at the
end
building she descended a few steps by a statue, then along to the pink pavilion
where she found No.2 waiting.
“How long have you been here?” she
whispered.
“A minute or so” he told her, which
was perfectly true.
It was a dark, moonless night, the
conditions perfect, as they left the cover of the pink pavilion, and made their
way down steps which led to the stop of the waterfall. The biggest obstacle now
was the searchlight based in the top of the tower.
“If I’m right the searchlight crew will be
watching the estuary” he said.
“And if not?”
“If not we’ll be like two bunnies
caught in the headlights of a car!”
Keeping to the sea wall was one
thing, but between them and the sea wall was clear open ground, and there was
always the constant danger of the Observers. No.2 relieved No.8 of her basket
to allow her to make a dash for the swimming pool and the sea wall. She saw the
light sweep out across the estuary, then back lighting up the quayside, and
then the danger struck her. Having made it to the swimming pool No.8 crouched
down with her back to the sea wall. No.2 was not far behind her, and together
they made their way along to the quay and finally to the stone boat and into
the main cabin they both went as the searchlight swept back and fourth across
the estuary. Emerging from the main cabin they went round to the starboard
side, No.2 placed the basket of provisions into the dinghy, then working
together they released the ropes and began to lower the dinghy from the davits into
the water. Suddenly the stone boat was lit up by the searchlight and three
figures stood on the quayside.
“Why am I not surprised Number Two, or do I
mean Six?” 21 said.
“Oh yes, I was forgetting for the
moment. Secure that dinghy.”
Two guardians boarded the stone boat,
No.2 showed a margin of resistance towards the guardians, but were allowed to
secure the dinghy.
“If
you go with these gentlemen my dear” No.21 said in a courteous fashion.
“Where are they taking me?” she
demanded.
“No need to worry my dear, they’ll
take you home that’s all” No.21 said reassuringly.
Two security guards in grey overalls, white
helmets, gloves and boots brandishing white truncheons took No.2 into security.
“It’s such a pity. Yes I had my doubts about
you at the beginning, and yet you grew on me. We had high hopes for you.”
The game was well and truly up.
“What will you do to Lena?”
“You mean Number Eight, but I
shouldn’t waste energy worrying
about
her, you have enough to worry about yourself. In your time you have given the
administration here a great deal of trouble. Now you are going to put us to even
more trouble in having to find someone else.”
“Someone else?”
“You being no longer fit for office.
Oh but I can sympathize with you, there comes a point when we all want nothing
more than to escape. ”
“What is to be my fate?” No.2 dared to ask.
“I think we can find a way in which
you can still be of service to this community, and retain your number at the
same time 2h.”
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