The Legacy

the result of rumours, or is there something going on?’
    Hil ary smiled rueful y. ‘I’m afraid to say that what’s going on here is that there are people out there, evil people, who wish to take away our basic freedoms – people who for various reasons want to see us suffer. These people, the terrorists who cal themselves the Underground, wil stop at nothing to achieve their goals, including at empted and real sabotage of the source of our freedom, Longevity drugs. At a time when we should be focusing our minds on the strategic plan that the Authorities are working on to improve the health, wel -being and standard of living for everyone who lives in this great country, these people are hel -bent on creating mayhem and unrest even, I’m afraid to say, to the extent of taking away people’s lives.’ She looked into the camera and Julia’s eyes widened in fear. Longevity drugs? Longevity drugs had been sabotaged? Her hand moved involuntarily to her throat.
    ‘That sounds very serious,’ Michael said, looking rather taken aback. ‘Are you saying that Longevity drugs have been tampered with?’
    Hil ary nodded gravely. ‘I am sorry to say so, yes,’ she said. Julia took a sharp intake of breath. ‘We have been investigating this for the past two weeks, which is why we have been unable to say anything until now. Obviously this is devastating news. But the Underground – the terrorist organisation that hates science and life –managed to break into Pincent Pharma and sabotage a batch of the drug.’
    Michael and Sophie looked at each other blankly. ‘But . . . but . . .’ Sophie stammered. ‘But what does that mean? Are we safe? How do we know which drugs?
    ’
    Hil ary cleared her throat. ‘We are safe, Sophie – let me make that absolutely clear,’ she said. ‘It was a one-off event, and security is now even tighter at Pincent Pharma. But the criminals who perpetrated this crime are at large and the Authorities wil not rest until they are caught.’
    ‘The Missing?’ Sophie gasped. ‘Are they . . . Did they . . .’ She appeared unable to end the sentence. Death was not a word used lightly; it didn’t happen, except to Opt Outs, soldiers fighting wars and people in faraway countries with bad sanitation. It was dirty. It was alien.
    Hil ary shot her a tight smile. ‘An investigation at Pincent Pharma has revealed that Underground supporters did in fact break through its highest security during a power cut and managed to tamper with one batch of Longevity. The drugs have, of course, been withdrawn, although tragical y some innocent people have been made very il .
    But our investigation has revealed that the Underground could do this because they have their tentacles in every street of this land. Far from being a smal group, the Underground has grown in numbers and is a real and present danger to our civilisation and, indeed, our lives. They hate our freedoms, hate our right to live indefinitely. They want only to cause havoc, to destroy innocent lives. And so we are upping surveil ance, increasing our number of raids – because it is only by stopping the Underground that we can protect our citizens.’
    ‘Answer the question,’ Julia heckled anxiously. ‘Have people died?’
    Sophie seemed to have the same thought. Regaining her composure slightly, she sat up a lit le straighter. ‘So, to get this straight, what exactly are the Missing? Are they people with Underground links who’ve been taken away or are they people who’ve been affected by the sabotaged drugs?’
    Hil ary smiled tightly. ‘As we understand it there have been just over two hundred people affected by the Underground’s despicable actions,’ she said, ‘and these people are receiving state-of-the-art medical at ention from the doctors at Pincent Pharma. Their families are being kept informed at al times. But in the main, what we are seeing with the so-cal ed Missing is anyone with suspected links to terrorist organisations being questioned and held until we have a clear picture of the Underground’s network. Natural y we have had to suspend our usual rules and laws governing the arrest and questioning of suspects. The day these terrorists at acked Longevity, the day they tried to end our way of life, was the day they lost any right to the criminal justice system that was established to protect our citizens. These are dangerous people and what we need is to get them off the streets, to question them, to find out what