Doctor Who_ Warlock - Andrew Cartmel [31]
Ace nodded, making all the appropriate noises. But behind her mask of sympathy she was thinking it all sounded a bit too much like an urban myth. The animal kidnapper in the special van. If you’re not careful he’ll take your pets away and torture them. She turned to Jack, hoping to see some confirmation of this in a cynical curl of lip or a sardonically raised eyebrow.
But to her surprise Jack looked entirely serious. He glanced over his shoulder to the bar where the tall blond stood drinking a tequila.
Ace noticed that in the otherwise crowded room a space had developed around him at the bar; nobody wanted to stand beside the man.
Shell was watching him as well, a gleam of pure hostility in her eyes. ‘You can’t reason with the enemy. I used to think you could but I found out differently.’ She sipped her beer and turned to look at Ace. ‘One summer I was hitching in France with a boyfriend who was an art student.’
‘Not the art student story,’ said Jack. ‘No old boyfriend reminiscences, please.’
Shell ignored him. ‘We hitched a ride with this lorry driver. It was dark and I didn’t realise what he was carrying in the back. We were on the road before I began to notice the smell and the noise. Do you know what veal is?’
‘Of course,’ said Ace, repressing a pang of guilt. She’d ordered it in restaurants enough times.
‘Baby beef,’ said Shell. ‘And that’s what was in this lorry. A shipment of calves on their way to become veal. All packed together, moaning and terrified. Don’t tell me that those animals didn’t know what was going to happen to them. They were shit‐scared. Jammed into a dark place, rolling away from their mothers. They knew they were on their way to the slaughter.’ Shell drained her beer. ‘So I decided to do something about it. When we stopped at a café I slipped out and went to the lorry. I don’t know exactly what I was going to do. Unlock the back of the lorry and let the calves out right there, I suppose. But I never got the chance. He caught me. The driver.’
She tilted her empty glass, rotating it, watching the thin film of froth slip around inside. ‘Luckily my boyfriend knew what to do.’ She glared at Jack. ‘He didn’t try to reason with him or make friends. He bashed the driver on the head and we stole the lorry. We drove for the miles through the dark until we found a big field and we let the calves out there. You can’t imagine the sound they made when they knew they were free. Cries of pure, innocent joy.’
Shell’s eyes were dreamy and distant now. ‘There was no mistaking it. And when I heard that sound I knew we’d done the right thing. It wasn’t easy, but we’d done it. I swore then that I’d never again be ashamed to show what I really felt. I decided I’d show my true colours and not care what anybody thought. So I started getting my pictures.’
She held up her hands and spread her fingers, revealing to Ace eight delicately coloured tropical birds with their wings spread. Ace winced inwardly, thinking of the pain that must have been involved in getting those tattoos onto the tender skin.
‘Very stirring,’ said Jack. ‘But we should really be making a move.’ He stood up and slipped on his checked lumberjack shirt. ‘Now is the time for action.’
Ace drained her gin and tonic, mostly melted ice by now and only a wedge of lemon to lend it flavour. ‘I’m still not sure why you want me along.’ She stood up.
‘Oh, come on. You heard what Shell said about the labs.’
Ace eased out of the cramped booth. ‘I mean, I’m sympathetic to your cause. But I don’t know how I can help.’
Shell gathered up her lace shawl and beaded handbag and slid across the bench after Ace. ‘Don’t even think about that now.’ She swept the shawl across her shoulders. ‘Just come and see this place. Look at it and see what goes on there.’ She turned and walked towards the open door of the pub. Beyond the low,