“Cool,” Angus said enthusiastically. His respect for Jack’s dad was rising by the moment.
Christie grinned. “You set the timer and just stick the charge onto the target… if you take that piece off you’ll see it’s sticky – it will attach to just about anything. A little modification I made myself.”
“Altenberg says the launch is scheduled for early afternoon. There is a very carefully planned sequence of events prior to launch. They’ll make the final checks and assemblies in the morning, which will include inserting the dirty bomb in the special payload compartment inside the rocket. Altenberg is going to try and disrupt this process.”
Jack listened intently.
“We will wait out the early part of tonight in the cave so I can go in before dawn and plant the explosives. I want you to wait for me. Then, we’ll return here via the tunnel and make our way back up to the chateau. When the explosion goes off all hell will break loose, so Sophie, that’s when I’m hoping we can get to the chateau and try to free your parents. My promise to you is that we will try. OK?”
Sophie nodded.
“Assuming all goes according to plan we’ll then make our way back to Paris,” he looked around. “Is that all clear?”
“Right – let’s go. Keep very quiet.”
In a moment they were inside the graveyard. The colour had already leached from the evening sky and the gravestones were washed in a shadowy monochrome.
Jack whispered, “The mausoleum is over there – in the corner – through those yews.”
As they sneaked across the graveyard towards the mausoleum, Jack had a sense of déjà vu – everything was just as it had been the day before. They opened the metal gate and descended into the crypt. Angus and Christie switched on their torches.
“This place is even worse when you can actually see it.”
“Keep your voice down – where’s the entrance that leads to the caves?”
“Over here.” Sophie had picked her way over to the far side and was crouching down. There was a dark hole where Angus had broken down the old wooden door the night before. They ducked their heads through the small doorway and crept into the passage beyond. Jack tried not to look at the grim sight of the human bones and skulls in each of the recesses along the walls. After a while the gradient started to descend and the passageway became more dilapidated. Soon they reached the shelf high up in the underground cavern. The great swirling stalactites and stalagmites were even more impressive by the light of the electric torches.
“The ladder is over here,” Jack said.
At the bottom of the cave, they walked on for a bit and finally Christie called them to a halt.
“This will do. We’ll hunker down here for the night. It’s not going to be particularly pleasant – but it is only for a few hours.”
They wrapped themselves up in the blankets that they had brought with them as best they could and used the bags as pillows. Christie handed round the last of his chocolate and the water.
“Sorry – it’s all I’ve got left.”
The cave was cold and uncomfortable, but they were all tired and soon Jack could hear Angus and Sophie breathing heavily in a deep sleep, exhausted by their tumultuous day. The torches were off and it was pitch dark in the cave. But despite his fatigue and aching limbs, Jack could not get to sleep. Random worries and thoughts churned backwards and forwards through his head. Each minute that ticked away, he knew they came closer to the point where his dad would leave them to complete the mission. He had played down the dangers, but Jack knew that he was risking his life, in fact, they all were.
“Dad – you still awake?” Jack whispered.
“Still here, Jack. I forgot one thing.”
“What?”
“The time phones. I have got mine with me. I want you to take Pendelshape’s.” Jack felt his dad pass something over to him in the darkness. It had the familiar smooth surface of the precious time-travel device. “These time phones connect to the Revisionist Taurus. When I left there were only two of the team left. The rest were on the VIGIL raid. One of them is a friend of mine – he’s stayed loyal – he tipped me off about Pendelshape and helped me get back into the Revisionist base. The Revisionist Taurus will automatically poll its linked time phones whenever there is a signal. It’s standard procedure and means we can initiate a transfer when the yellow light is on. With Pendelshape’s time phone, if anything happens to me, well, you and Angus have a way back.”
“Dad, I’m scared. What’s going to happen to you – to all of us – tomorrow.”
For a moment Jack’s father didn’t answer. There was just the black silence of the cave.
“It’s going to be OK, Jack. We’ve both been in tougher spots than this. You just need to concentrate on what you’ve got to do. We’ll be fine. Soon we’ll be home and it will be over – for good this time. I promise you that.”
“I hope so Dad, ’cos I’m not sure I can take much more of this.”
Jack could hear his father’s voice closer now, whispering in the darkness. “I’m sorry. That I’ve got you, all of you, into all this… trouble. It’s not what I wanted. I thought I could control them, but then Pendelshape… he kind of went off the rails… and ever since then, well, the Revisionists have become fanatical. They expelled me. I can’t have anything to do with them. We’ll get through tomorrow, and then we’ll get home, and we can finish it for good this time.”
“You’ll give up, you mean? Give up trying to change history – making everything better?”
“It’s been a difficult journey for me, Jack. I guess I have discovered that the future is more important than the past: our future. I realise that now. We will have to make some important decisions – we can’t let this happen again.”
Jack felt the comfort of his father’s words. For the first time in a long time, it felt like someone else was sharing the load. Jack remembered the strange image of himself next to his father, which he had seen from the Taurus Transfer Chamber. The image was stronger than ever in his head. Maybe that time was drawing closer. He wanted to tell his father about it, but something held him back. For some reason he was scared that telling him about it would jeopardise everything. Maybe it was irrational, but that was how he felt.
After a while, he pulled the blanket tight around his shoulders and slid into a deep sleep.
In what only seemed like minutes, Jack woke up with a gentle hand on his shoulder. “It’s time.”
His bones ached from the cold.
“Give me some light, while I get changed.” Christie stripped down and pulled on the German uniform. He looked at his watch. “Fine. Now we need to wake the others.”
Jack leaned over and shook Angus and Sophie, who were still wrapped up, mummy-like, in the blankets.
“What’s going on?” Angus murmured, semi-conscious.
In a minute they were all wide awake and packing up, ready to get started.
“Are we ready?” Christie said.
Slowly, they crept forward. The cave tapered into a passageway and then led through the mini-caves.
Jack whispered, “I think we’re near. Yes. Shine the torch there. The front caves are blocked off by this planking – but that one over there is loose. You can get through.”
Christie flashed his torch at the planks. He turned to them with final instructions and looked at his watch.
“Five-thirty a.m. Angus – make sure your watch is synchronised with mine – right?”
“Done,” Angus said.
“OK – listen carefully,” Christie said. “I’m going through and then I’ll make my way to the storage caves at the front. The assembly sheds are across the clearing only about fifty metres from the cave entrance, right?”
“Yes,” Jack and Angus spoke together.
Christie continued, “As Altenberg said, everyone will be busy preparing the rocket launch – they’re not going to worry about another guard. I aim to plant a charge behind each of the assembly sheds on a timer. T
hen I’m going to return here and we’ll retrace our steps through the caves and up into the graveyard. We should be well away before the whole place goes up. I’m leaving you a gun and one of the charges – just in case.”
Jack studied his father’s face in the fading light of the torch. He looked as tired as Jack felt. “You sure about this, Dad… Tom, I mean…?” Jack corrected himself quickly, hoping he hadn’t revealed his dad’s identity to Sophie.
“Yes Jack. I’m sure. It’ll all be fine – OK?”
They nodded.
“Now, here’s the thing,” he continued. “I am allowing myself a maximum of one hour plus thirty minutes contingency. If I’m not back before seven a.m. you must go.”
And with that, Christie crouched down, squeezed his way past the loose planking and was gone.
“He’s late,” Angus said. “It’s seven-ten.”
“We must go,” Sophie said. “My parents…”
Jack was fraught. “We can’t just leave him.”
“Jack, it is what he said,” Sophie tapped her foot impatiently. “We must go. I am sure he will be very close behind. You must help me now.”
Jack pushed her away.
“I’m sorry, Sophie. I lost him once and I’m not going to lose him again. I’m going after him.”
Sophie looked at Jack with a puzzled expression. She had no idea what Jack was talking about. But she didn’t have time to question him, because he had already ducked through the hole in the wall. Angus whispered angrily after him, “Jack!”
But it was too late. Jack was gone. Angus rolled his eyes. “Come on Sophie – otherwise he’s just going to get himself into trouble.”
Angus set off and Sophie followed, muttering something to herself in French.
They hurried through from the back of the cave and soon found themselves at the front again with its stacked crates. They crept along the side behind the crates, just as before. The gates at the front of the cave had been left open and the light from a clear summer’s day poured in, straining their eyes. It seemed to be eerily quiet. Gingerly, they approached the entrance.
Jack crouched down and peaked out from the front of the storeroom. The scene before him was very different in daylight, but his recollection of the broad features of the site just before they had been caught was accurate. The entrance to the storerooms, which led into the limestone cave system, was built into a steep-sided, wooded hill. The chateau must be somewhere on the hill above them. There was thick woodland all around but immediately in front was a clearing. The four concrete assembly houses were opposite and to the left, across the clearing. Each was about seven meters high and about the same width. There was a narrow-gauge railway built into the ground, which ran from the assembly houses and then curved away along a track that disappeared into the woodland beyond. Outside the assembly houses was a crane. The doors of the assembly houses were open. There was no one about.
Angus crept up beside Jack. “It’s completely dead – I thought there were supposed to be people, soldiers, engineers. Where is everyone?”
Suddenly, they heard the sound of an engine coming towards them. They pulled back from the entrance and ducked down behind a crate near the door. The noise grew louder and Jack poked his head above the top of the crate. Approaching fast, from the track into the woods, an army motorbike and sidecar appeared, followed by a Kübelwagen. They drove into the clearing and Jack’s heart sank when he saw who was in the back of the jeep. He whispered to the others, “They’ve got Dad!”
“Christie – he’s your father? But…?”
Jack suddenly realised his mistake, “I’ll explain later…”
Angus fingered his backpack. “Jack – we’ve got the other gun in here… and the other explosive charge…”
“We don’t stand a chance – there are two of them on the bike and two in the jeep. We’ve had it.”
The Kübelwagen pulled up right outside the entrance to the storeroom, partially blocking the entrance. The motorbike and sidecar pulled up alongside, puttering away in neutral. Jack was frozen to the spot. He knew they should run to the back of the storeroom and escape through the cave… but then he saw his dad’s face. It was bruised and puffed up and blood was dripping from a cut in his cheek. He had been beaten up. The soldiers dragged him from the back of the Kübelwagen and onto the floor of the storeroom. His hands were tied behind him and, unable to break his fall, his head hit the ground with a crack. The four SS soldiers stood above him. One was an officer and he leaned down and screamed something in German millimetres from Christie’s ear. Jack heard his father moan. The officer clicked his fingers and one of the soldiers slammed his boot into Christie’s stomach. Christie screamed.
Jack suddenly lost it. He grabbed the pack and snatched out the pistol. Leaping onto the crate, he fired wildly into the group of soldiers. The first round struck the nearest soldier in the leg and he reeled backwards. The next three bullets went wide, but the fifth caught the officer in the shoulder and he sank to his knees, clutching himself in pain. The other two soldiers twisted round, reaching for their weapons. Jack pulled the trigger again and then twice more. But the gun was empty. He was standing high up on the crate, gun dangling uselessly from his hand, as the two soldiers brought their machine guns to bear on him. But Angus and Sophie moved quickly. Sophie climbed, catlike, onto a second crate and, as Jack prepared to die, she hurtled through the air with one leg fully extended and her other tucked beneath her. Her father may have criticised elements of Sophie’s technique, but as her outstretched foot connected with the jaw of the unfortunate SS soldier, there was no doubt, that had Jean-Yves been there, he would be have been proud. The gun flew from the soldier’s hands and he tumbled backwards with Sophie on top of him, before cracking his head on the floor of the storeroom. He did not move.
Meanwhile, Angus had decided to take a less graceful approach to the problem of the final SS soldier. He shot through the gap between the crates like a frenzied bull and propelled himself into the air. His body was horizontal as he slammed into the soldier, who careened across the floor before coming to rest somewhere on the other side of the storeroom with Angus on top of him.
Jack jumped down from the crate and held his father’s head in his hands.
“Dad – are you OK?”
His father moaned. Jack looked around at the mayhem. Angus had already picked up one of the soldier’s guns and was holding it at the ready.
“There’s some rope next to that crate – we can tie them up.” “Jack…”
Jack turned back to his father who was trying to say something. “What Dad? What do you need?”
“I’m OK… a broken rib… it’s nothing… the rocket…”
“What?”
“The rocket… we have to stop the rocket. It’s going to launch.”
Christie tried to haul himself up, but he was too shaken.
“Lie there for a minute, Dad, what are you talking about?”
“They are about to launch the rocket…” he spoke in a whisper, obviously in pain. “They’ve accelerated the launch sequence… it’s even earlier than Altenberg expected… I planted the charges, but they won’t go off in time. We only have a few minutes.”
Jack was flabbergasted. “What? But how? We have to get out of here.”
Christie grabbed Jack’s hand, understanding his desperation, “But I don’t know what’s happened to Altenberg… the payload… he won’t have had time to change it. If it launches, thousands will die. It’s not meant to be…”
“How? How do we stop it?”
“Take the last charge. Take the sidecar – the rocket silo is at the end of the track, through the woods. Drop the charge into the silo. You will have a clear run. Everyone is inside the observation areas. No one is out in the open.”
“But…”
Through the pain, Christie summoned all his energy. “Go!”
Jack looked around. Angus and Sophie, oblivious to Jack’s conversation with his dad, had finished ty
ing up each of the soldiers, who were battered, but alive. Jack ran over, picked up the backpack and took out the explosive charge and detonator.
He called over to Sophie. “Sophie – I know you can drive a Kübelwagen – but can you manage that thing?” he gestured over to the motorbike and sidecar that still sat outside the entrance, its engine idling.
Sophie looked at him oddly, “No problem. Why?”
“Angus – you stay here and make sure those guys don’t move. Try and patch Dad up… we’ll be back… I hope.”
“What are…?”
“No time to explain. Come on Sophie.”
In a few seconds Sophie was straddling the Zündapp KS 750 and Jack hunkered down in the sidecar. Sophie revved the engine and looked down at Jack.
“Where to?”
“Follow the track that way, through the woods, it should take us straight to the launch pad.”
The rear tyre spat up a plume of dust as Sophie threw the Zündapp into a tight turn and powered across the clearing to where the track curved into the woodlands. She redlined each gear in turn as they roared down the track. “How far?” she shouted to Jack, who clung on for dear life in the sidecar beside her.
“Quarter of a mile at most.”
“What happens when we get there?”
“Get close to the silo – it will be obvious – in the middle of the next clearing. I’ll set the charge and throw it into the silo on top of the rocket… should give us a few minutes to escape…”
At that moment, dead ahead, the track opened up into a small clearing. There was a flat concrete apron in the middle, and a circular, banked mound rose from the concrete pad, about two metres above the ground at its highest point. Beyond the mound was a tall crane and to the left was a large mechanical device that held a circular disc that had been lifted off the top of the mound like a giant lid. The narrow-gauge railway, built into the track, extended all the way to the mound. Parked up along the track were some army vehicles and what looked like three fuel tankers. Off to the right of the clearing, set far back from the concrete pad, where the clearing met the surrounding woodland, there was a strange-looking armoured vehicle with caterpillar tracks – a sort of stunted tank. Given all the vehicles and engineering equipment, Jack thought it strange that he could not see one person in the open. Suddenly, he understood why.
Day of Vengeance Page 16