Chapter Twenty-One
The Seeds of Doom
When Ben arrived, he found Jayne still in tears over the news of the death of her parents. Sandra was doing her best to console her, while Matthew just sat at his desk with a smug grin on his face.
Ben quickly took the initiative. “Alright! The pair of you, out!” he said. Matthew and Sandra both stared at him in surprise. “You heard me! Out!” Ben repeated. And ignoring their protests, he began herding them both out the door. “Go on! I need to talk to Jayne alone! We need to talk about everything that’s happened to her, and we don’t need you two listening in! You’ve both done a fine job! Now it’s over! Out you go!”
In a few seconds, Matthew and Sandra found themselves in the corridor, the door closed behind them.
Sandra was looking really annoyed. “Over, is it? Right then! It’s nearly the end of my shift, so if that’s the way he thinks he can talk to me, I’m going home!”
Matthew just smiled at her and shrugged his shoulders. Sandra shook her head in indignation and stormed off. Still smiling, Matthew slowly followed her.
Inside, Ben had gone to sit on the side of Jayne’s bed. He took her hand in his and said, “You just take it easy, Jayne. If you want to bawl and cry for the next hour and a half, I’m happy to wait. And when you’re good and ready I’ll explain anything and everything you want to know. Okay?”
Jayne nodded, but continued to cry. She held tightly on to Ben’s hand, and leaned on his shoulder. In between her tears, she would occasionally mutter things in both English and Italian. When she spoke in English, Jayne had a very broad Oldham accent, but it disappeared completely when she spoke in Italian.
Although she was obviously deeply upset, Ben was sure that she was fully recovered. And that was the problem. Because of what Tyler had done, Jayne might now know far more about the project than both Sandra and Matthew. And if that was the case, Ben would have to be very careful about what he said to her in front of them. That was why he had chased them both out. He needed to talk to Jayne alone. He needed to know what she knew. And if he had to wait an hour and a half, or all day to find out, he would wait. And then would come the difficult task of dealing with it.
Slowly, Jayne’s tears began to subside. And when they had reduced to just the occasional sob, Ben decided to try again.
“I’m so sorry to hear of the death of your parents, Jayne. It was so unexpected, and so tragic at this time. But Matthew told me that it was hearing the news that finally awoke you. And although I didn’t know them both, I’m sure it was a trade they would have willingly made to get you back. I am so sorry.”
“Thank you, Benjamin,” Jayne managed to reply.
Although her recognition and the use of his name surprised him, Ben squeezed her hand and smiled at her warmly. Jayne smiled weakly back, and at last she seemed to recover her composure.
“How do you feel, Jayne?” Ben asked her.
“I feel very confused,” Jayne replied, rubbing the tears from her eyes. “I keep thinking different things, as if I had two memories, or as if I was in two places at once. Sometimes even my feelings are different. And for some reason I keep thinking that I should be out of this bed instead of in it.” She rubbed again at her face and brow. “I don’t know what to think, Benjamin. And my head hurts.”
“I’m sure it will all pass in time,” Ben told her. “You’ve been through far more than anyone could have imagined. It’s bound to have some effect. And what with your bereavement, I don’t think anyone will expect you to do anything more for awhile. You take it easy and rest, and I’ll see about finding you a better room.” Ben glanced quickly around him. “This place was never meant to be a bedroom, and I see that Matthew has got it into a bit of a mess. The sooner we find you somewhere more comfortable to rest, the better.”
“Ma io non e—” Jayne stopped, closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and said in the most perfect, upper-class English tones, “But I don’t want to rest. I want to get up. I’ve been lying here like a slab of meat for long enough.”
Her change in accent caused a void of immense size to open up in Ben’s stomach. And from the moment he heard that familiar accent, Ben knew that the project was doomed. But he didn’t let that knowledge affect his composure. The last thing he wanted to do was to arouse any suspicion in Jayne. At least not until he had found out everything he needed to know, and until he was well prepared to deal with it.
“Tomorrow, maybe,” he told Jayne without hesitation.
“But, Benjamin—”
“No buts. You might feel okay now, but you do need to rest. Let your mind get used to things. You’ve had a couple of big shocks, so sleep it off. Things will be a lot clearer after a couple of days of proper sleep and rest. Anyway, you’ve earned it.”
Jayne gave up. “Alright,” she said with a sigh, her Northern accent back once more. “Just a couple of days. Then I’m out of here. Agreed?”
Ben nodded. “Agreed. Now that that’s settled, is there anything you want to ask me? Anything not clear in your mind? How you got here, who Matthew and Sandra are? Anything?” There was no hint in Ben’s voice, but the answers Jayne now gave would decide everything.
Jayne thought about it. “No....,” she said softly. “I think I remember. I know I agreed to it all.....It was sometime after the car accident. I just can’t remember when.” Her voice suddenly took on the upper-class accent again as she said with more emotion, “I remember! It was Tyler! He told me it wouldn’t hurt! The liar! I’ll brain him when I see him again!”
“It’s nothing he doesn’t deserve,” Ben said, and meant it. This was far worse than he could ever have imagined. But he still needed to know more. “Anything else?” he asked.
“No, I don’t think so.” Jayne seemed to be going over everything in her mind as she spoke. Her accent had returned to normal, and she didn’t seem to be aware that it had ever changed.
“What about Matthew and Sandra?”
“Matthew is the student who dreamt all this up, and Sandra’s the nurse.”
“And what do they know?” Ben pressed her.
Jayne stared at him. “Are you interrogating me, Benjamin?”
The posh accent was back, and Ben decided that it was time to deal with the problem head on. He was now sure that the young woman he was talking to was no longer Jayne Middleton, or at least, not the Jayne Middleton who had been crying over the death of her parents only a short time ago.
“Would you have expected anything less?” he said.
“No, I suppose not.” She sighed and stretched before answering. “The Corporation doesn’t allow small fry to know it’s secrets. Matthew and Sandra both think this is a medical experiment being run by MedTec. They don’t know anything about the Corporation, or the computer centre in Exchange Quay. Once they’ve finished, if we are feeling in a benevolent mood, both of them will be paid off without ever knowing the truth.”
“And if we aren’t feeling benevolent,” Ben asked her.
“Then they’ll just be paid off.”
Jayne’s answer was both confident and cold. It left no doubt in Ben’s mind as to her meaning. “One final question. What do you do for the Corporation, Jayne?”
“You know damn well what I do, Benjamin.”
“Yes, but do you?”
“Of course I do! But I’m not telling you!”
“You have to!” Ben insisted, his voice raised. It was the moment of no return, but Ben had to know, one way or the other. “You and I both know that you’re never going to get out of here if I think your brain is even remotely fuddled! Now, give me a clue, will you? Who’s your boss? What have you worked on that I know about? Tell me something, Jayne!”
Jayne’s eyes narrowed as she stared at Ben. She didn’t answer straight away, instead she seemed to be thinking, calculating. When she finally did answer, it was still with that familiar upper class accent. But her tone was now very icy.
“Firstly, you aren’
t supposed to know who my ‘boss’ is, Benjamin. That’s standard Corporation policy. And if I thought you did know, I’d kill you. Secondly, you wouldn’t know about anything that I’ve worked on, so telling you wouldn’t make any difference. So I’m not going to. If you’ve got a problem with that, you take it upstairs and see where it gets you.”
Ben nodded and stood up. He seemed satisfied. “Good! That’s exactly what I’d expect you to say. If you had said anything else, I’d have got Rawlston in here straight away to kill you! Now, I’ll leave you to rest. I’ll tell Sandra and Matthew they can come back in. Is there anything you want before I go?”
Jayne held on to her stomach. “Yes, I’m starved!” she replied in broad Lancashire tones. “I’ve got this mad craving for a pizza. You couldn’t get me one, could you?”