Children of the Cull by Cavan Scott Read Free Book Online Page A

back.
    Chat time was over.
    Brennan walked in, Fenton beside her, strutted along like a ’90s Brit-Rocker. I wasn’t looking forward to having him by my side. Beck I could trust, at least to handle herself in case we got in trouble. When we got in trouble. Fenton, well, one glance told you that he was full of it. A legend in his own mind. Shame his body didn’t match up. As scrawny as a smackhead, with a pock-marked, ratty face. And the stink. Why didn’t Brennan insist that he take a shower? Perhaps they didn’t notice anymore. Live with shit long enough and you no longer smell it.
    “Did you enjoy the coffee?” Brennan asked, coming to a stop in front of me.
    “From her own stash,” Fenton pointed out, wanting me to be impressed.
    I ignored him, replying directly to Brennan instead. “Best brew I’ve had for years. Thanks. For everything.”
    “The least we could do,” the woman said, stepping forward to look at the papers on the desk, “seeing that you’re going to get us into... what did you say it was called?”
    “Abbey Wood.”
    “Sounds like a retirement home,” said Fenton, sneering.
    I brought the largest sheet of paper to the top of the pile. “I don’t know about that, but if you’re looking to build a nest, you could ask for a lot worse.”
    I’d drawn a rough map of the complex, half from memory and half from my observations that morning.
    “As I said, the base is made up of four main Neighbourhoods—”
    Brennan interrupted immediately. “Neighbourhoods?”
    I had to give him that one.
    “Sorry—MoD speak. Four main buildings, each with four or more wings. Back in the day, each building corresponded to a different service.” I pointed out each building as I ran through the list. “Navy, Army, Air Force and so on. Each had accommodation, offices, cafés...” I shot a look at Fenton. “Shower blocks. The whole kit and caboodle. Moat on one side, fencing on the other.”
    “Which they’ve added to since,” cut in Beck.
    I nodded. “From what I saw yesterday, the entire campus has been surrounded by a secondary perimeter fence, topped with razor-wire.” I tapped on the former entrance to the base. “The road in here has been barricaded, new gates constructed, and subsequently clad with metal plates.”
    “Iron sheeting,” Brennan confirmed.
    “Have you tried to take them?”
    “We have a van parked round the side of the store,” Fenton revealed. “We were going to drive through the gates, you know, like a battering ram.”
    “But?”
    “But we haven’t enough fuel,” Brennan admitted.
    “We have a few canisters of gas for the generator,” added Fenton, “but not enough to get her started.”
    “So, scratch that,” I concluded.
    “That won’t be a problem though, will it?” Beck asked. “You said you can get us in.”
    “Not a problem at all,” I assured her. “So far you’ve attacked the potential weak points, yes?” I put my finger on the location of today’s failed attempt. “Here—”
    “And here and here,” Brennan said, pointing.
    I nodded, feigning appreciation. “All good spots, but you’re missing a trick. It’s not your fault, of course. You weren’t to know.”
    “To know what?” Beck asked, frustration creeping into her voice.
    “About the tunnels.”
    Brennan’s eyes lit up. “Under the buildings.”
    I gave her a conspiratorial grin. “This is an MoD base. Tunnels, bunkers. You name it, it’s under there. There are storerooms full of enough dried rations to survive a nuclear war. Weapons, vehicles. Probably even fuel.”
    I pointed out of the window, towards the tall white roofs in the distance. “What you can see is only the tip of the iceberg.”
    Brennan was looking hungrily at my maps now. “That’s how we get in? The tunnels?”
    I picked up a pencil. “The tunnels were built to allow movement between Neighbourhoods in case of emergency—but they also offered escape.”
    I pulled the paper towards me and drew a cross