The Shift of Numbers by David Warrington Page B

him,” c ame a shrill voice from down the corridor behind Tim. He turned quickly to see Richard’s fiancé e running towards him waving her arms franticly. By the time he had turned back, the fire escape door was shutting and the emergency lights had failed again.
     
    *
     
    J oan had had an exhausting day. A busy shift at work , coupled with constantly thinking about the doom about to engulf her and Pete’s life , had left her feeling numb. As she shambled down the long corridor out of the factory past t he delivery bay, 1 of the guard s she had kn own for a long time stopped her
    “You all right, Joanie? L ook like you could do with a drink.”
    “Oh, I think you ’ r e right. B ut you know me and m y Pete don’t touch the stuff,” s he said tiredly.
    “Well , I’ll probably see you tomorrow , my dear. J ust get this load signed for and I’m off home myself .” He motioned to a pile of small canvas bags on a trolley behind him and handed over a clipboard through a metal draw er to another man who was stood behind a small bullet-proof window in the wall. The face behind the glass nodded and slid the clipboard back to the guard who turned and walked away. Almost as an afterthought, he turned his head to say goodbye to Joan. Then the power went.
    In total darkness , Joan stumbled and heard the guard trip and fall, swearing loudly. Trying to grab something that wasn’t there , Joan screamed and fell. To her surprise , she landed on something that wasn’t as hard as the concrete floor. She felt around and disc overed she was on the trolley. W ithout thinking , she put 1 o f the canvas bags into her handbag. T he noise of the zip was covered by the swearing o f the guard . Joan crawled away from the trolley as quickly as she could, all her other senses heightened by the adrenaline flowing quickly through her, pumped by her ever-increasing heart rate. Pangs of guilt and hopelessness quickly followed, and a certainty t hat she would be caught and sent to a cold prison cell.
    Before she could think any more , an ear-splitting siren went off along with some more light. She lay on the floor and closed her eyes wishing the world away, playing at being unconscious.
    After 5 minutes, an eternity to Joan, all the workers from the factory started making the ir way outside. Someone gently shook her u ntil she opened her eyes and le d her outside by the hand. She noticed that a large portion of the workers had angry shocked faces and a couple had fresh bloodstains on their clothes.

7
     
    “A few honest men are better than numbers.”
     
    Oliver Cromwell
     
    The blackness of the moonless night came as no surprise to the Scientist . He had come equip ped with night vision goggles. B eing army issue they let none of the green light he could see leak out into the cold windy night. But h e had never worn them before and he found them uncomfortable and difficult to use.
    He had made his way up the dirt road as quietly as possible and now found himself facing Bill’s barn door. The battered wood and corrugated iron reflected the alien shad es of green light differently. T rails of a luminescent world passed over his tired eyes. The sun would be up in 2 hours . “D o it and do it now, ” he told himself. “T hen you can retreat and watch as vengeance whispers into his ear. ”  
    He opened the door as softly as possible, crouching down to enter, watching the floor for any objects that could make a noise and give away his position to his prey. There were none. Closing the door behind him , he quick ly saw what he was looking for. I t was parked almost directly in front of him. He removed the goggles and turned on a dull red flashlight to ill uminate the tractor. He quickly and decisively placed a small magnetic device under the fuel tank. Replac ing the goggles, he made his way outside.
    A roar went up from somewhere behind as flashes of light moved hurriedly past him, disappearing into the distance quicker than his eyes could