Chapter 35

Dan reported for his first day at the army base. There was a mountain of forms for him to sign before he could learn what his role would be. He signed insurance papers, waivers and the official secrets act. He was still a civilian, so he would not be issued with a uniform although he was given overalls for when he worked in the development centre.

He was taken to Ryan's office after his induction and he sat down for a chat with a man he knew so well and yet not at all. Dan learned what his role would be inside this specialised unit of the army. The section run by Colonel Ryan Anderson was concerned with intelligence and policing. They took over when the unarmed police force had done what it could.

"We deal with rebels, black marketeers, thugs and violent murderers. If it is possible that someone is armed and dangerous, we take over from the police. We disperse mobs as well. All the good stuff. We look after the south of England and there are other squads all over the place.

What we want from you, Dan are ideas. At the moment, we carry guns and use them where we need to. I'd rather find another way of dealing with situations. Also, we often need to keep tabs on someone. Watch what they are doing. If you could think about that, too."

"I saw what that gas did to people. It made me very uncomfortable to think that the army had developed such a terrible weapon. I don't want to be involved with anything like that."

"No, dreadful. I want something that saves lives, not takes them."

Dan had a background in mechanical engineering and had come up with innovative ideas for cars. He had needed to be alerted to a possible intruder and he had devised a way to do that. Ryan thought that if they gave him a problem, he might be able to come up with more ideas. The first thing he wanted was a way to capture someone who was violent and possibly armed without having to shoot them.

They needed to be able to subdue a criminal and then take them into custody for questioning. Those involved in rebel activities were fanatical enough to sacrifice their lives for the cause. Ryan's people needed to take prisoners who could be interrogated. A corpse could not tell them anything.

The unit had water cannon and tear gas but these were blunt instruments to be used on a crowd. So many times, Ryan had seen a man shot because they had no alternative. It was a terrible waste of life as well. The other thing he wanted was some sort of camera which could take photos whenever someone came and went from a specific location. The plate which formed a contact like the one which set off the alarm might be employed somehow, he thought.

There was space set aside for him to work in one of the factory buildings. He could requisition what he needed, within reason, and would have people to assist should he require them. These were his initial projects, but more would no doubt be added as and when problems became apparent.

The workspace allocated to Dan was like a school science laboratory. There were work benches, tool boxes, boxes containing wires and switches and all manner of electrical components. He saw the ESD, or computer, in the corner on a desk and immediately went and switched it on.

Thank God he had lived in a completely different world, thought Dan. He knew exactly what his first invention would be. Dan was about to introduce the army, as run under the OWG to the taser. He knew basically how they worked, but he would have to do a bit of research on the right voltage to employ. He felt sorry for his future assistant already, as he imagined tasing him on a regular basis.

As he introduced items from his world, Dan would have the opportunity to rename them. He imagined a future where dozens of things had the name Ellis incorporated into the titles. He had done a quiz once which asked about the origin of the word taser. It had come from a book written in 1911. He would assume that the book didn't exist in this world and would think up something new.

The new item couldn't just appear a few days after he started work. Dan wanted to seem clever, but not a genius. A time would come when he might be given a puzzle to which he had no solution. He spent a couple of days sketching designs and then thinking up names for his stun gun. It should be suitably grand and formal to fit in with this world.

Dan supplied some drawings for the gun part of the product. There was a space for the charge which would propel the wires which were tipped by darts. A power source would supply the charge which would be delivered. All you had to do was point the weapon, pull the trigger and then watch as the recipient crumpled to the floor. The Ellis Immobiliser was coming closer to fruition.

Ryan listened as Dan explained his idea.

"So, it won't cause someone to die."

Ryan was trying to ascertain if Dan had just invented another way to kill. Dan considered the question and tried to reassure his friend that it was relatively safe.

"It will deliver a shock so there could be unexpected consequences. It is, however much safer than shooting someone with a bullet."

Word came through to Ryan that Bertie had been spotted on the south coast. A reliable informant had seen him and had made a call to the local police. Because of the risk from the gas Ryan's unit had been called and asked to go to the area. He picked up the phone and called Dan.

"Want to come on a trip?" he asked.

This was the man who had killed Sam and his mother-in-law. He had also murdered others indiscriminately. Dan thanked Ryan and said that he most certainly did want to go on a trip. He was told to make any arrangements and then they would set off. Time was of the essence. Whilst Dan called Phyllis, Ryan was gathering troops and getting them onto transport. The army already had the new turbo engine in some of their vehicles for just such an occasion.

Phyllis and her husband Peter would move into Dan's house overnight whilst he was away. The children would have someone there all the time and the couple would have a bit of luxury. Dan grabbed some clothes and waited to be picked up in the large car which would go ahead of the troop transport. A driver and a soldier would travel with Ryan and Dan.

There was a sense of excitement tinged with apprehension as they set off from District 31.

"Put your foot down." Ryan instructed the driver after revealing to Dan that it was a turbo engine. As the accelerator was pushed the driver and soldier looked at each other with wide grins. They were enjoying the speed.

The call had come at 8 O clock at night. People had to be contacted and equipment had to be readied. Phyllis and Peter had quickly packed and made their way to Dan's house. It was after 10pm before the journey started. It would take them some time to get to the south coast and then they could try to find Bertie.

The town they were heading for had a port which was used to transport goods all over the world. If Bertie had been seen there it was possible that he was thinking of leaving the country. Whatever the reason, Ryan wanted to find him and get him into custody before he could do anything else.

The docks were usually busy with goods being loaded and unloaded. Ships were setting sail for destinations throughout the world. Dan had only been concerned with his small area of England, but now he was thinking about how vast the reach of the OWG was. He knew very little about how things worked around the rest of the globe.

Ryan led Dan to a rendezvous with the informant. He had initially just let them know that Bertie was in the town and they hoped to learn more specific details from him. It was the early hours of the morning. Over six hours had passed since the phone call. Still, relatively slow, cars and inferior roads had hampered their progress.

They were told that Bertie had been seen talking to a ship's captain the night before. The vessel in question was a cargo ship which was due to take frozen lamb to America along with a variety of other goods. As soon as the troops arrived, they would go to the dock to speak to the captain and see if he could tell them where Bertie was.