I Can Help You

"He's not coming" Adrienne said, "He wont come, it can't happen. Everything'll be fine; no one knows anything, right?"
Billie Joe ignored her, drumming his fingers on the edge of the couch. If this doctor was coming, if he could either sort out all their problems or ruin their lives, he just wished he would hurry up about it. He knew he should give Adie a hug, try to comfort her, but he couldn't bear to look at her. She had caused this; she had called this dodgy-sounding doctor. She had told someone the thing they had all sworn never to let out of the family. He hated her.
"I'm sorry" she said sadly, "I'm so sorry Billie"
Sorry wasn't good enough for him. It wouldn't be good enough for Jakob when he was being experimented on like an alien. It wouldn't be good enough for Joey when he was taken away. Adrienne had destroyed everything he knew.
"What if they come back early?" she said, "Or what if they come back and nobody's here? Who's going to look after them?"
That was the least of their worries. An ominous knock echoed through the quiet, house. It would ordinarily have made them jump, but it was such a frightening situation already, they couldn't be any more scared.
"Don't answer it" Adrienne squeaked, "If we ignore them for long enough, they'll give up and go home"
Billie Joe knew it wasn't as simple as that. He knew that the authorities didn't 'give up' when there was illegal cloning research being carried out in the area.
"Mr and Mrs Armstrong" someone shouted, "I'm asking you to open the door, we have a warrant to arrest you and search the premises. If you don't cooperate with us we will have to use force. We don't want to do that Mr and Mrs Armstrong"
His head spinning, Billie Joe got to his feet and headed towards the door. This was it, the moment they'd been dreading for four years. He promised himself that, what ever happened, even if he was going to prison, he wouldn't let them take Jakob. And he wouldn't let them hurt Adie. He hated her, but he still loved her. He would tell the truth in court, tell the judge how desperate they'd been. How much they were hurting. Maybe he would listen; maybe he would take pity on them and give them a chance.
Jakob deserved that chance, he had done nothing wrong. He was the innocent, caught up in all these lies, like a fly in a spider's web. Billie Joe reached for the door handle, finding fourteen armed, uniformed officers, a team of me in white coats, and DR HILL!
"That's him" the doctor said shortly, "He's the one. Disgusting, that's what this is. He's keeping my boy here"
For a moment, Billie Joe wondered if he was going mad. Surely if they had been discovered, then Dr Hill would be in the most trouble. Surly they would find out about the Rebirth institution, and that would be it. Then Billie realised, Dr Hill had deceived them. He had given them Jakob back, but at a price. What ever had been in those injections he'd given Adie had created something terrible. Perhaps even something evil. Jakob wasn't his son; he was the result of an experiment. And Dr Hill had used they're real son as an instrument, just another ingredient for his science. Filled with a burning rage, Billie Joe lunged at him.
"You evil piece of shit" he roared, "You used us, you used Jakob. I'm gonna fucking kill you"
He swung his fist, smacking Dr Hill in the ribs. He fell to the floor, gasping for breath and clutching his side. But he made no attempt to fight back.
"He-he's k-keeping my b-boy here" he stammered, "He's a lunatic"
Dr Hill was certainly a convincing, over-the-top actor; he wouldn't have been out of place in a soap opera.
"Liar" screamed Billie Joe, "You know what you did, you don't have a son. But you've taken ours. You're evil"
He grabbed a knife from the kitchen table and pressed it against Dr Hill's throat. The metal shone in the darkness, illuminating his shaking hand.
"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't slit your throat" he whispered, his voice shaking, "Go on, tell me. Why do you deserve to live? You've destroyed my life, and Adie's. And you told us once that you've done this before, you've cloned other kids. How many families have you destroyed then?"
The armed police surrounded them, but Billie Joe barely noticed. All that mattered in the world was getting revenge. People were begging him to step back, police urging him not to do anything stupid, anything he would regret. He knew he wouldn't regret this.
"What about Joey?" Billie demanded, "What are we meant to tell him, if we ever get the chance. He might be taken into care, we might never see him again, and it's all your fault. Your fucking evil you are"
He pressed the knife deeper, a red groove appearing on the doctor's neck.
"Mr Armstrong" an officer warned, "Put your hands in the air now"
"No" Billie sobbed, "You don't know what he's done. You don't know what he's like. He's been lying to us for years"
He pulled his hand back, releasing Dr Hill from his grasp.
"Mr Armstrong" the officer said, "Your under arrest for the abduction of Harry Hill, violent and threatening behaviour and assault. You do not have to say anything, but it may harm your defence if you do not mention when questioned, something which you may later rely on in court. Anything you do say can, and will be used as evidence"
And it was those words, so familiar from countless cop shows and films that got to him. The words which meant he was going to be spending the next few years of his life locked away, which made him wriggle out of the policeman's grasp and fly at Dr Hill, the knife still in his hand. But he never got to him. The officer sprang into action, aimed his gun and fired. And a sickening gunshot rang through the house, making Adrienne leap from the sofa to find her husband lying horribly still on the ground, blood pouring from his back.
"Billie Joe" she screamed "No"
He opened his eyes a crack.
"Adie" he said weakly, "Go and get the boys. You know where they are. Tell Joey to take Jakob away, make sure nobody finds them"
And with that, he closed his eyes.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
"It's freezing out here" Joey muttered, "I wish they'd hurry up with this stupid doctor"
Jakob said nothing, simply looking at Joey with his big eyes. He was used to, in fact he enjoyed, extreme cold. He longed to wade right into the lake, as he had done before, and sink under the water. But he didn't dare, not after the last time. It was when he was out at night, engulfed in darkness, that he began to question things. They were stupid things, but they bugged him. Harry had been bright, he had wanted to learn. But he'd never got the answers, he'd died too soon.
"Do the planets make a noise?" Jakob asked suddenly, "I bet they do, but we're all so used to hearing in that we don't notice it any more."
Joey whipped his head round. Jakob was only four years old; it seemed a strange thing to be asking.
"What?" he said, "Where did that come from?"
Jakob shrugged, kicking himself for allowing the question out. The more he asked, the more Harry was taking over. He wasn't going to let that happen, he'd fought for too long. He concentrated on the chill wind, seeping through his thin clothes, making his skin tight with goose pimples. It was calming, it was the way Harry had been the night he died in that draughty hospital. The way he'd been in the mortcharry, where they'd kept his body. It was they way we were all supposed to be, at the end of eternity, when the two Jakobs would meet. And Fight.
"We're gonna be all right Jakob" Joey said, pulling his collar up around his ears, "Dad'll sort everything, he's like Superman"
That was when he remembered something. Something which should have stayed in another lifetime. An interview.
Some girl dressed in revealing clothes was smiling at his dad. And asking him about a new CD.
"Tell us Billie Joe" she said in a false, giggly voice, "How do you see yourself now. Do you think of yourself as a celebrity?"
His Dad had glanced at a taller, blond man.
"No" he said, "I see myself as Superman"
Jakob saw them, laughing, joking. Truly happy.
"Dad was famous wasn't he?" he whispered, "He was in a band, before all this. Before Harry, before I died"
Joey had no idea what to say. He still thought whatever Dr Hill said was gospel. And he had plainly said that Jakob could never know. What was going to happen to them now?
"Joey" someone called.
Glad of a diversion from the huge responsibility now resting on his shoulders, Joey run towards the voice. He saw a shadow of someone who seemed to be carrying suitcases, racing down the hill.
"Mum" Jakob screeched, "Mum, where are we going, where's Dad?"
Adrienne ran to them, tears pouring down her face, practically falling over from the weight of the bags.
"Right" she said, "You two need to get out of here, NOW"
She stared into their confused faces, pale with cold. Was this the last time she, or Billie Joe was going to see them? She couldn't bear it.
"Just get as far away as you can, here's some money Joey"
She handed him an envelope, bulging with notes.
"I want you to look after Jakob for me" she said, "Don't let anybody find you, take as many trains as you can, just get out of here. I don't have time to explain, but I'm not going to let anything happen to either of you. Jakob might really be this Harry, but he's still my son and I'm not going to let them experiment on him. It's like what Gran used to say when you begged for ice cream - ' There's some thing's we're just not meant to have'"
And she hugged them tight.
"Promise me you'll look out for each other" she whispered, "I'll try to find you one day, I swear"
And, gripping his brother's hand, Joey led him to the nearest bus stop. He looked up into the night sky.
"I'm sorry Summer" he murmured, "I won't forget you"