Chapter 2
A Mini Holiday
In the morning Stephen checked on Paul, he had a peaceful night no nightmares like the previous evening. Douglas was already up he was finishing in the bathroom; Stephen said he would wake Paul up in a few minutes. There was a knock on the suite door Douglas, who had walked out of the bathroom so Stephen could use it, went to answer the door first he looked through the peep hole. He saw the Home Secretary standing outside so he opened the door and invited him in.
"Good morning Douglas how are you this fine day?"
"I am doing fine sir, Stephen is in the bathroom, and Paul is still asleep."
"Douglas who was knocking on the door? " asked Paul yawning as he walked from the hall where the sleeping area was located, "oh! Mister Secretary hello."
"Good morning Paul, I am here to let you know that your things from school are being sent to the motel here. I also have," he reached into his suit coat he was wearing and pulled out three envelopes giving Paul one and Douglas the other two, " some spending money while you are here and a letter from the Education Department letting anyone know that you are on special holiday while your school is closed. Paul for your safety I will contact your parents and let them know you are safe."
Stephen came into the living room area of the suite drying his hair with a towel. He was dressed in some casual clothes. It was then he spotted the Home Secretary sitting with Douglas and Paul.
"Thought I heard your voice in here Mr. Secretary, good morning."
"Good morning Stephen, I was just telling Douglas and Paul about your things from school, they will be sent here, also you have an envelope which Douglas has in his hand, with spending money and a letter which you can read later," the secretary got up from where he was sitting and walked towards the door, " there will on the news, a mention of the arrest of Dr. Laird and the closing of the school."
They each shook his hand and thanked him as he said goodbye and left the suite. Paul went to get ready for the day Stephen decided to contact John.
"John the Home Secretary just left the suite."
"Yes he contacted me this morning about the money and your belongings from school. How did they sleep last night?"
"It was quiet no problems at all."
"Well I need you three here at the Lab for a few minutes, before you decide to go off into London."
"Okay John, and good morning too."
"So what are we doing today Stephen?" Douglas asked as he came from the bedroom area.
"I just talked to John he needs us to stop by the Lab first for a few minutes. Which we will do after we go downstairs for breakfast."
Stephen went over to the telly turning it on to watch the news with Douglas until Paul had finished getting ready which was not to long of a wait. After the weather report, the news anchor began the news segment; it was about their school.
"The Headmaster of Glen College in Scotland was arrested on charges of attempted murder involving three students. Identity of the students will not be revealed and they are now at an undisclosed location, the school will be closed for about three weeks so authorities can assess the schools involvement in a national security issue that was related to the arrest of the headmaster."
Paul came into the living room area dressed in casual clothes also, he asked if anything interesting was in the news, they told him what the news said about Glen College. Turning off the telly they headed down to the motel restaurant and had a nice breakfast paid for by the Home Office. Afterwards they went back to the room put on their jaunting belts and headed to the Lab. The three appeared on the jaunting pad, Stephen looked around the room John was nowhere in sight.
"John!" he called out.
"I'll be right out Stephen," came his reply from to workshop located off the main part of the room.
"Good morning TIM, " Stephen said as they walked over to the sitting area.
"Good morning Stephen, Douglas and Paul, " came the reply from above the three as they sat down.
Douglas and Paul said good morning to TIM and noticed John coming from the workshop with a box in his arms. He sat it down on one of the tables in the center part of the Lab.
"Good morning guys, I need you three to take off the jaunting belts you are wearing."
"What's in the box John?" Stephen asked as he unbuckled his jaunting belt and handed it to John.
"Newly designed jaunting belts," he said as Douglas and Paul put the bulky belts on the table.
He took a belt out of the box giving it to Stephen; the buckle had a black and white checkerboard design with the black waist strap similar to the old belt he wore. The buckle was a lot thinner than the silver box he was use to wearing making it easier to conceal under clothing. John then took two more belts out of the box they were similar to the first one, the buckle had a checkerboard design but thicker and wider than the one Stephen had put on.
"Stephen to activate your belt touch the two upper corner squares, these other two are the new matter transporter belts,' he said giving one to Douglas and the other to Paul, "these work almost like the older belts. You open the buckle and there are controls to set coordinates, of course TIM can preprogram them remotely."
He continued to explain the new belts to Douglas and Paul so they could operate them without any problems. They also could be hidden under their clothing that was a huge difference than the bulky box on the old belts. John had been working on the new belts for the last month, he gave Elizabeth one of the new belts before she for her teaching job at the school Stephen attended before going to Glen College.
"So what plans do you have for today?" John asked them as he put the old belts in the box.
"I thought we would go to the British Museum."
"Just be aware of your surroundings, they still have not caught the other two men yet. TIM has programmed both of the matter transporters to bring," John looked at Douglas the Paul." you two back to the Lab when you press the emergency transport button."
"Okay John," they both said at almost the same time.
"Why don't you come with us John?" asked Stephen.
"I would like too, but I have to start working on a re-education program for rest of the students at Glen College."
"John the Home Secretary is on the phone for you, " TIM said from above him and the others.
"Put him through please TIM."
"Good ahead Mister Secretary."
"Thank you TIM, John do you know where the boys are, I called the motel and they were not there?"
"They are here at the Lab right now Harold."
"Good, I have just received news that the two men were spotted in Scotland at a farm house. Police have surrounded the building and are about to go in to arrest them."
"That was fast work Harold."
"Well a local farmer called it in, it seems the farmhouse was suppose to be vacant when he saw two men there. Can you four go to Scotland after we get them to the police station to make sure they are the two that were at the windmill?"
"Yes we can do that for sure."
"Hold on John," Harold said as there was a few seconds of silence, "the police now have the two men in custody. I will give TIM the address of the police station they will be taken to when I get the information."
"Okay we will be waiting to hear from you, goodbye Harold."
"Good bye John," they then heard the phone being disconnected.
"I hope they are the ones," Douglas said.
"Yeah, then we all will be able to sleep better," Paul added in.
"John how are you going to re-educate the entire school?" Stephen asked while they were waiting to hear from the Home Secretary.
"Well according to Dr. Laird, after he was question again this morning, only a few of the students were actually involved with the Doomsday Men. He designed the curriculum so that most students would think they were in a regular military school."
"And I thought all the students were Doomsday Men," said Paul sitting on the couch.
"He and grandfather never actually told me how many there were."
"Harold told me Dr. Laird gave them a list with the names of the students who are Doomsday Men this morning. Of course your three names were on it and twenty five other students."
"John I may have a solution on the re-education process, " TIM said.
"What do you suggest TIM?"
"You use a similar process like we used with Douglas and Paul, you could build a portable device that could handle one or two students at a time."
"That might work John, " Stephen said.
"Yes you might have the solution TIM," John said as he thought about it, " any estimate on how long it would take TIM?"
"About one week once we figure out what parts we will need."
"Will you please start working on a diagram and parts list TIM?"
"I have already started working on the project, also the Home Office has given me the location where the two men they have in custody will be taken."
"When can we go to Scotland? I want to get this over with," Paul said anxiously.
"You all can leave in ten minutes, it will give the police time to prepare a line up so you can identify them properly."
Paul could hardly sit still waiting those ten minutes. Who could blame him with what they had been through the last couple of days. The Home Secretary called John giving him the name of the inspector who was in charge of the case until the two could be transferred to a prison. When it was time to leave Paul was the first one on the jaunting pad. TIM jaunted the four to a place just outside of the police station so they would not be seen jaunting. They headed inside the police station with John asking for Inspector MacDonald. The inspector came out to meet them; he was six feet tall, with a medium build and dark red hair.
"You must be John," he said as he shook hands, " the Home Secretary has already told me he has statements from the three students which I take are the three with you?"
"Yes they are the students, Douglas, Paul, and Stephen, " He said as they shook hands.
"Here is the procedure we will be using, one boy at a time will be in a room which contains a one way mirror. We then bring in five guys for a line up to see if they can identify the guy they saw inside the windmill. There will be two line-ups one for each of the accused. Any questions before we begin?"
No one said anything so they proceeded to the line-up room, Douglas was asked to go in first. He picked out Boswell and then Price right away since he knew them well. Paul and Stephen took just a little longer, but they also identified the correct men. Inspector MacDonald thanked the boys and John for coming in, he told them he would call the Home Secretary with the results of the line-up right away. All four left the police station then jaunted back to the Lab. TIM had completed the plans for the equipment to re-educate the students. Stephen, Douglas, and Paul went to the British Museum to take their minds off the last few days they deserved it. While inside the museum Stephen heard his name called by a familiar voice.
"Stephen Jameson is that you?" a boy his age called out.
Turning towards the voice he recognized him right away it was one of his classmates from the school he attended before going to Glen College. With the other boy were two girls and a second boy from his former art class taught by Elizabeth.
"Hi Seth what are you and the others doing here?" he asked the blond haired Seth Bartlett.
"We are on a school trip with Ms.M'Bondo and one other class, where did you go so suddenly? Who are your friends Stephen?"
"This is Douglas and Paul two of my mates from the school I had transferred to."
Stephen introduced each other and then noticed that Elizabeth had seen them and was walking over with a group of students and two other teachers he knew. She knew more questions would be asked so she came up with something to say real fast.
"Good to see you again Stephen, most of you know that he had left school quite sudden recently. Stephen was chosen to go into a special exchange program, the boy who would have taken his place dropped out at the last minute so our school did not get a new student."
"That was good one Elizabeth."
"Had to come up with something before they started to ask too many questions."
"Who are the two with you Stephen?" someone said in the crowd.
"This is Douglas and Paul two of my room mates from school, we are on a special holiday from school together."
Both Douglas and Paul said hello to the group, Elizabeth told her group it was time to move along saying goodbye to the three boys. When they were a safe distance away Elizabeth called Stephen telepathically.
"Stephen tell Douglas and Paul I heard the good news from John about the two guys they captured; also thank them for not recognizing me. That would have been a lot harder to explain."
"Okay Elizabeth I will, guess we will see you tonight back at the Lab."
"Bye Stephen."
Stephen told them what Elizabeth had said, they both agreed it would have been very awkward saying hello to Elizabeth in that situation. The three decided to eat lunch at the fish & chips shop before continuing the self guided tour. Stephen could tell there was a huge difference in the way Paul and Douglas were feeling. They were more relaxed, telling jokes and laughing along with Stephen. After finishing the tour they went to an ice cream shop for a good afternoon snack before heading back to the Lab.
Jaunting into the Lab they saw John assembling some electronic components on a metal panel. Elizabeth sat at one of the circular tables in her hands was an AE helmet she was attaching a solid face shield. Between both tables was a metal frame with some electronic equipment already installed.
"John you have been working fast," Stephen said as he walked up to him.
"Well it still needs a lot of work, we can use the extra hands from you guys."
"Sure John what can we do?" asked Douglas who had walked up with Stephen.
Paul had gone over to Elizabeth to see what she was doing and also to help her if he could. She was just finishing with the faceplate when she asked him to bring a wiring harness that was on the folding table they had used for the party the other night. When Paul went over to get what she wanted he saw three harnesses and asked her which one. John heard the question telling Paul which one was the correct with the color of the wires. Paul did not know much about electronics, however he was glad to help his new friends. Holding the harness for Elizabeth she attached it to something inside the helmet, that finished she and Paul went to work on something else. They talked about the museum they had visited today. Douglas was putting the panel on one side of the frame they saw earlier. After working for about an hour John decided they could stop for the day. That was a good thing too they heard Paul's stomach make a loud noise making all of them laugh even after he looked embarrassed. It was time for dinner so they all went out to eat at a local restaurant.
Returning to the hotel they find that suitcases from school have been delivered to their suite. They watch the telly for a while and decide to turn in before 11 p.m. so in the morning they can help John with his building project. In the morning they eat breakfast then jaunt to the Lab to help John. Things go very smooth in the assembly of the re-education machine they had built. It is connected to TIM by ultra high radio frequency so that no interference in data is lost.
"John, I have the Home Secretary on the phone."
"Harold good afternoon."
"Hello John, I hope the boys are with you?"
"Yes they are helping me. You have news for them I hope?"
"Yes I do. They will be able to go home tomorrow, and wait for Glen College to reopen. I have personally spoken to Paul's parents they were very concerned about him since he was not able to contact them. I have asked them not to question you very much because some of the things are considered classified. He can now call home and we will make arrangements for him to go home."
"Thank you sir," said Paul from where he was at in the Lab.
"Douglas you might have a problem since you have lived with your grandfather, his place is right now off limits to you until the ministry has finished their investigations. Stephen I talked with your mom and she has gladly agreed to take in Douglas until you can return to school, that is if Douglas has no other place he wants to go?"
"Sir," Douglas spoke up, " I will stay with the Jameson's since I have no other relatives."
"That's fine Douglas, Stephen would you like to call them or should I?"
"No I will call them or jaunt over there and let them know, thank you Mr. Secretary."
"Well good day to you all," and they heard the phone being disconnected.
"Lets take a break from what we are doing," John said," Stephen why don't you go ahead home and talk to your mom. I'll get TIM to call Paul's parents so he can talk to them."
"Okay John, well Douglas you might as well go with me and meet my mom at least."
"See you two later," he said as he put on his coat, then he and Stephen jaunted out of the Lab.
Paul contacted his parents and talked to them for almost half hour he could not mentioned the Tomorrow People, besides they would not probably believe him. After he finished talking to his parents John asked where he lived. Originally they lived in Scotland, his company transferred his father to London when he was five. TIM then informed John that the Frazer's lived just two miles from Stephen's house, which surprised them both. Elizabeth jaunted into the Lab just after Douglas and Stephen left. She asked how thing went in Scotland. John told her Paul and the others positively identified the two, she could tell young Paul was relieved that they were caught. He was acting fidgety the other day; today he was acting like a well-behaved young man. Perhaps some of the training at Glen College was in a positive way and should be continued. John in the mean time had gone into the workshop to put away some of the tools they had used that day.
"Stephen just called me, his parents are going to take him and Douglas out to eat, and I told him we will go out to the cinema. I think we deserve it my treat."
"What about dinner John?" Elizabeth asked.
"TIM can you get us some steak, chips, and ginger beer?" John asked the computer.
"Certainly John, three meals coming up. Paul perhaps you need to go wash your hands before you eat."
"Yes mother," he said jokingly and went to the bathroom.
They enjoyed the dinner in the Lab then went out to the cinema. Stephen let John know he and Douglas had returned to the hotel to pack everything before they left in the morning. Paul jaunted back to the hotel after John had TIM do it by remote control. Paul told them about learning he lived two miles from Stephen. TIM contacted Stephen to let him now what time in the morning they would be leaving for home. John had decided to let them keep the jaunting belts for now so long as they do not abuse their use. Three days after they had returned home each one of them received a letter from Glen College, the letter contained the new uniform policy that was being adopted effective immediately. Gone was the everyday wearing of the kilt, which Stephen was glad, they had to purchase black trousers, which the school had made arrangements with shops near the student's homes. Using the purchase order that was included in the letter they would need also their student ID cards that they had made when they first arrived at school. Glen College was paying for the new uniform pants and also a black belt. During the next three weeks they kept in close contact with each other often visiting each other house. When the school reopened they took the train back to Scotland, the school made hourly trips to the train and bus stations to pick up students who did not live near the school.