In Constant Fear by Peter Liney

Author:Peter Liney
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: FICTION / Dystopian
Publisher: Quercus
Published: 2015-12-22T05:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

I knew it wasn’t one of the days Doctor Simon had a surgery at St. Joseph’s; he was either at Infinity or his private clinic at his home in the foothills. Bearing in mind we were on foot and that swanky enclave wasn’t that far away—not to mention that I wouldn’t have gone anywhere near Infinity if you’d paid me, the decision had more or less made itself.

It took us most of a coupla hours to get there, the size and forbidding nature of the properties growing by the suburb, security guards forever coming out to make sure we kept moving, that we didn’t end up on their patch. There was some common ground a few hundred yards down the street from the Doc’s estate and Gordie and me waited there in the bushes for that big shiny Bentley of his to come purring along.

The only problem was, it didn’t. We waited there for hour after hour, and the longer we did, the more I became aware of the seconds ticking away, that each one was progressively growing in importance. By late afternoon I was beginning to think I’d made a really bad decision, that the Doc was staying down in Infinity, or maybe even away somewhere.

Gordie was just getting going with his complaints that he was bored and hungry, starting to irritate the hell outta me, when the Bentley almost sneaked past us.

I jumped out into the road, praying the Doc was inside, ready to lay myself down in front of him if I had to. However, not only did the car come to an instant automatic stop, but it was the man himself at the steering-wheel.

He slid the passenger window down a few inches, a waft of expensive after-shave almost knocking me over, as usual dressed like he was about to do a cover shot for middle-aged self-satisfaction.

“Clancy. What the hell are you doing?” he asked, furtively looking all around.

“I had to see ya.”

There was a long pause while he continued to check about him, then the back door shushed open almost noiselessly and I quickly slipped inside, followed by Gordie.

I didn’t bother with fluffing up the conversation—there wasn’t time. “I gotta implant inside me,” I told him.

“Oh,” was all he said, not sounding anywhere near as concerned as you’d want your doctor to be under such circumstances.

“A weevil,” I added.

He shrugged a little helplessly. “It’s a common story, I’m afraid.”

“You got one?” Gordie challenged.

“Er . . . no.” he stuttered, sounding a little taken aback.

“So?” Gordie persisted.

“I’ve got an original—a private one.”

I didn’t know what that meant, and just at that moment, didn’t care, either. “How much d’you know much about them?”

“A fair bit.”

“Can they be removed?”

He paused for a moment, plainly not sure what to say. “Erm . . . Officially, no.”

“Unofficially?”

“Still no,” he replied, though in such a way you knew there was a story.

I turned to him, ready to hit him with my best shot. “Thomas has got one, too.”

I never seen anyone’s attitude change so abruptly.

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