GUIDESTAR

Chapter 2 'The Core'

As the last of the students signed their names and filtered noisily out of the theatre, Carrick thanked the CND rep and his rag tag band of followers for helping him to organise the meeting. Finally, he walked slowly over to the young Miss Pemberton and sat beside her.

"I think we've got nearly all of them this time 'P'. I can feel it!" said Carrick clearly pleased with himself to the extent that he was becoming just a little smug. Paige was having none of it and was quick to bring him down a peg or two.

"Well let's see how many actually turn up this time shall we. Just because you get them to sign a piece of paperdoesn't mean they'll get off their fat, lazy backsides and come does it Carrick. You do know that half of them only turn up for those silly little badges you hand out don't you. They think having ideals pinned to their lapels will help them pull girls in the Union bar." Carrick just smiled broadly as he could see she was in one of her spectacularly defiant moods again.

"Paige, you saw them, all that energy, all that untapped, undirected anger. They're up for it, they hate this two faced backstabbing government just as much as we do, have some faith Paige."

Paige decided to inject a little sarcasm to bolster her point.

"So, you think these Students are different from the ones that let us down at Memworth Hill do you, or those arseholes that blew the lid on the Drax demo for us. Oh wait, what about the famous 'Faslane Fiasco'? Face it Carrick, in three years' time they'll all be earning fat cat salaries in London doing the Times crossword and worrying about their fucking hedge funds not some poor bastard in Cumbria that's got leukaemia because his water table's been contaminated by Norex!" Carrick looked around to see the last student leaving the room before moving much closer to Paige. He placed his lips dangerously close to her soft white ear and whispered something that he knew would stop her dead in her tracks.

"It's time to break in to the Citadel Paige."

Paige turned sharply to look at Carrick as a feeling of overwhelming disbelief enveloped her.

"Are you out of your mind Carrick? Even you couldn't be that stupid. For God's sake you said yourself we needed complete surprise and months of detailed planning if we were ever going to get inside the Citadel." Paige barely paused for breath before continuing. "Jesus Christ! You want to just wander into the heart of one of the most heavily guarded nuclear installations on the planet on the anniversary of Hiroshima with half ofCND, most of Trident Ploughstocks and threethousand dick head students outside the main gate?

            Do you not think they might be ready for you Carrick? Tell me you're fucking joking, just tell me you are, please!" Even Carrick was a little surprised at the severity of Paige's barrage.

"For Christ's sake Paige keep it down, we'll not be doing anything if you can't keep your voice down." A cold, uneasy silence broke out in the lecture theatre as Paige and Carrick just glared at one another for what seemed like several minutes. Strangely, Carrick looked down at the floor first and broke the apparent deadlock.

"Look. Paige, there's a bit more to it than that, I've already called a meeting of the Core, there's a few things I haven't told you…" Carrick didn't get time to finish his sentence before Paige's temper flared violently once more.

"You bastard Carrick, if it wasn't for me you'd still be rotting in that filthy jail in Athens, and now you're telling me we've got secrets?" Carrick was beginning to wish he'd never said anything at all.

"Look, it's not just you, I haven't told anyone about it yet, it's too big to risk telling anyone until they absolutely need to know." Carrick hoped that his remark might ease things a little but he was sadly mistaken.