by Jim Eldridge
‘When they feel like it,’ said Gareth. ‘I’ve been here for four days now and have had a few pieces of bread.’
‘Why do you think they haven’t killed you?’ asked Jake.
‘I think Guy sees me as a bargaining chip if things go bad for him,’ said Gareth. ‘From what I can make out, Alex Munro told him about my real job.’
‘Your real job?’ queried Dan.
‘As everyone else here seems to know, I don’t see why you should be kept out of the loop,’ said Gareth. ‘I work for the secret services.’ He gave a wry smile. ‘But that’s a secret, and I expect you to keep it.’
‘I will!’ Dan assured him.
‘Providing we get out of here,’ sighed Lauren.
Deep night came. Lauren, Gareth and Dan eventually succumbed to sleep, but Jake stayed awake. Every nerve in his body was twitching. The whole time he was waiting for the sound of footsteps on the stairs and someone to appear with that machete, or Guy with the gun. They’re going to kill us, he said to himself. The question is: when? Will Guy keep us as a bargaining chip, the way he’s hanging on to Gareth? Unlikely. Gareth’s worth something, he’s valuable. Me, Lauren and Dan, we’re disposable.
By the time daylight filtered in through the tiny hole, Jake still hadn’t slept. Lauren, Dan and Gareth woke, and they all took sips from the bottles of water. No one spoke, there wasn’t much to say. Nothing positive, anyway.
They sat on the floor, or paced to stretch their legs, as the hours passed. No one came down to the dungeons to see them. One hour passed, then two, then three. They thought they heard sounds of banging and crashing going on somewhere outside, but the sounds were distant.
Finally, at half past eleven, they heard the sound of boots on the stone steps. Duke and Des appeared. As before, Duke was holding the machete.
Des unlocked the door and pointed at Jake and Lauren.
‘You two,’ he snapped. ‘Guy wants to see you.’
Guy was sitting waiting for them as Jake and Lauren were pushed into the room. The other members of the gang were lounging about. From the sullen expressions on their faces and the dirt on their clothes, Jake guessed they’d been digging for The Index at the site of the old chapel. Guy’s opening words confirmed this.
‘Well, you have kept us busy, Jake,’ he said. ‘After you found the Journal, it really got us quite excited, so we’ve spent the whole morning, ever since the sun came up, lifting those very heavy flagstones and searching the whole site. And guess what?’
Jake didn’t need to guess. The venomous looks he was receiving from the members of Guy’s crew said it plainly.
‘That’s right, Jake. A couple more empty holes, but no sign of The Index. Which is very disappointing. So, Jake, where is it?’
‘I don’t know,’ said Jake.
‘Let me have a go at him,’ snarled Des. ‘I’ll make him talk.’
‘Wait, Des. Don’t be so impatient. I’m sure Jake will be helpful to us, without our having to resort to too much violence.’
Jake looked at the kids’ faces. Not all of them would enjoy inflicting pain. Yes, Des and Duke would be nasty, he could tell that. But there was hope in the others: in the two girls, Midge and Gadge. They were part of this crew, but at the same time he had the feeling they were separate from it. The two unknowns were Patch and Spider. Were they cruel, enjoying torture, like Des and Duke? Or did they have something that could be appealed to, deep down?
Guy was talking again.
‘You see, Jake, so far out of all the people I’ve talked to about The Index, or any of the Malichea books, you’re the only one who’s shown the kind of brains to work out where they are. Munro told me you’d found some of the books. Pierce Randall told me the same. And here you are, successfully tracking down the Journal, something that no one has done before. So you see, Jake, I feel you have the power.’
‘The power?’
Guy nodded.
‘Something inside your brain works things out and comes to the right answer. Where do you think it is, Jake?’
‘I told you, I don’t know!’ said Jake firmly.
Guy sighed.
‘That’s a pity.’ He gestured to Patch and Midge. ‘Put her in the chair and tie her to it.’
‘What?’ demanded Jake, shocked.
As Patch grabbed hold of Lauren, Jake saw Midge hesitate.
‘Midge!’ barked Guy, his tone commanding, and the girl took Lauren’s other arm and the two began to drag her towards a heavy wooden armchair.
Jake shouted, ‘No!’ and leapt at them. There was a flash of metal and he felt a sickening crunch on the side of his head that knocked him to the floor.
He struggled to his hands and knees, dazed, his head hurting, the taste of blood in his mouth.
Duke was grinning nastily down at him, holding the machete.
‘He only used the handle that time, Jake,’ said Guy. ‘Next time it’ll be the blade.’ He turned to the watching kids and ordered, ‘Spider. Des. Take hold of Jake and keep him under control.’ To Jake, he added, ‘If you do try anything, Jake, it’ll be your girlfriend who gets it. Duke here will take a slice out of her.’
‘I won’t try anything,’ Jake promised fervently.
‘Good,’ said Guy, adding with a mock apologetic tone, ‘and, because I can’t bear to hear someone scream . . . Gadge, stick some tape over her mouth.’
Gadge came forward, holding a roll of duct tape in her hand. She held out the roll to Duke, and he cut off a length with his machete. Gadge stuck the thick tape over Lauren’s mouth, while Midge and Patch continued tying her to the chair.
‘Good,’ said Guy. ‘Duke. Let me have the blade.’
Duke hesitated.
‘The blade, Duke!’ snapped Guy, and there was no mistaking the authority in his voice.
Sullenly, Duke handed over the machete to Guy. He turned towards Jake, who now had Spider and Des standing very close on either side of him.
‘This is the way it’s going to be, Jake,’ said Guy. ‘I ask you a question. If I’m happy with the answer, we can all leave. If I’m not . . .’ He brandished the machete. ‘Your girlfriend loses a finger. You’ll have ten opportunities to tell me what I need to know. After that, I start cutting off other parts of her.’
Once again, the image of Jasper Brigstocke’s mutilated body filled Jake’s mind.
‘No!’ pleaded Jake. ‘Please, don’t hurt her.’
‘Give me a reason not to,’ said Guy calmly.
He’s mad, thought Jake, just as Gareth said. Absolutely insane. There’s no way of appealing to him.
‘You’re not talking, Jake,’ said Guy with a sigh. ‘You’re not telling me what I want to know.’ To Patch he said, ‘Stretch out her right hand.’ To Jake, he said, ‘I think we’ll start with the little finger. Midge, hold her tightly.’
Again, Midge hesitated, and Jake could see the reluctance on her face. He looked across at Gadge, and saw that she was also very unhappy about what was happening.
But both girls are in too deep, Jake realised. They wouldn’t betray Guy.
Midge tightened her grip on Lauren, while Patch took hold of Lauren’s right hand and forced her clenched fist open, separating her fingers. Guy raised the machete. Lauren struggled wildly, and Jake could tell she was trying to scream, but the thick tape over her mouth stifled her cries.
‘This will hurt,’ Guy told her.
‘No!’ screamed Jake. ‘OK, I’ll tell you!’
Guy hesitated, the machete still raised.
‘As easily as that?’ he queried, with a sardonic smile. ‘I think you’re trying to fool me, Jake, just to stop your girlfriend getting carved up.’
‘No,’ said Jake desperately. ‘I think I know where The Index is.’
There was a pause, and then Guy slowly lowered the weapon.
‘If you’re lying to me I’ll cut off all her fingers and her toes,’ he threatened.
‘I’m not lying,’ said Jake desperately. ‘And it’s just
a guess, but it’s the same sort of guess that got me here to find the Journal.’
Guy walked over to Jake and stood studying him thoughtfully, the machete still poised in his hands.
‘Where is it?’
‘I think it’s at the place they call the British Area 51. It’s a Government base at Laker Heath.’
Guy frowned, trying to work out if Jake was really telling the truth, or if it was just a ploy to save Lauren.
‘What makes you think that?’ he asked.
‘Because the only other place it could have been was here, at the site of the old chapel,’ said Jake. ‘You said yourself, you found hollow places beneath some of the flagstones you lifted, and I’m guessing they were just like the one where we found the Journal.’
Guy’s eyes watched Jake. They’re like a snake’s, thought Jake: he’s waiting to strike, but holding off for the moment.
‘Go on,’ said Guy.
‘So my guess is The Index was buried here, but found. We know that it’s not Pierce Randall who found it, otherwise they wouldn’t still be looking for it. So that leaves the British security services, MI5.’
‘But your friend, Mr Findlay-Weston, didn’t offer that information when I first asked him,’ said Guy suspiciously.
‘Maybe he doesn’t know it’s there,’ said Jake desperately. ‘It could have been found before his time.’
Guy still looked suspicious.
‘Let’s say that MI5 had found it,’ he said. ‘What makes you think it’s at this Laker Heath place?’
‘Because that’s where they keep the stuff they count as weird. Oddball.’
‘Flying saucers?’ came Des’s jeering voice behind Jake’s back.
‘Yes,’ said Jake, keeping his eyes on Guy. ‘There’s an aircraft hangar on the site where they keep all those sorts of things.’
Guy wasn’t laughing, he was thinking.
‘If this is a scam to play for time, Jake, I will be very unhappy,’ he said. And he brandished the machete. ‘I will kill your girlfriend first, right in front of your eyes, very slowly and bit by bit. And then I’ll kill you.’
‘It’s no scam,’ said Jake desperately. ‘I’m sure that’s where The Index is. It’s the only place it can be.’
Guy fell silent and began to pace around the room, in deep thought, watched the whole time by Jake and Lauren, and by his crew. Finally, he turned to Patch and Des.
‘Bring up Mr Findlay-Weston,’ he said. ‘I think he and I need to have another conversation.’
Chapter 22
This time, Gareth was the centre of attention. He’d been forced down to the floor by Patch and Des and sat, looking warily at Guy, who paced around him, the machete swinging casually in his hand. Now, in daylight, Jake could see how badly Gareth had been treated: his face was puffed up and bruised.
Lauren was still tied to the chair, her mouth taped up. Jake was sitting on a rickety wooden chair.
‘So, Gareth . . .’ said Guy. Then he smiled. ‘You don’t mind if I call you Gareth, do you? Mr Findlay-Weston seems so formal, and we have known one another intimately for a few days now.’
Gareth shrugged.
‘Laker Heath,’ said Guy. ‘Jake tells me the hangar there is where top-secret things are held.’
Gareth shot a frown of disapproval at Jake.
‘So?’ he said.
‘Is it?’ asked Guy.
Gareth didn’t reply.
‘Slash him!’ called Duke.
‘Patience, Duke,’ said Guy soothingly. To Gareth, he said, ‘I will be doing an internet check on the place, see what gossip there is about it. So, ask yourself, in view of that, is it worth dying for?’
‘Yes, it does contain top-secret and classified artefacts.’
‘Flying saucers?’ asked Gadge, and Jake could hear her genuine interest.
‘Perhaps,’ said Gareth. ‘I have never been inside it myself.’
‘Oh, come on, Gareth!’ scoffed Guy. ‘A head of section of MI5!’
‘That’s why,’ said Gareth. ‘I have no need to go inside it. If I need anything, I send one of my staff.’ He shrugged. ‘You can check, if you like. You have my ID pass. See if you can run it through one of your software checks. You’ll find it’s never been used to gain access to the hangar.’
‘But you know the sort of things that are in there?’
‘I know some of the things,’ said Gareth carefully.
‘The Malichea Index?’ asked Guy.
‘I don’t know,’ replied Gareth.
‘But it could be?’ pressed Guy.
Gareth hesitated, then he admitted reluctantly, ‘Yes, it could be.’
Guy smiled.
‘That’s good enough for me.’ He turned to Patch and Midge and ordered, ‘Untie the girl and take them all back down to the dungeons.’
As they untied Lauren, Guy told Jake warningly, ‘I’m going to do some further checking on this Laker Heath place, Jake. If I think you’re lying, or trying to set me up, you will all suffer more than you can ever imagine.’
After they had been pushed back into the cell, Jake gently removed the tape from Lauren’s mouth and hugged her tightly.
‘I really thought he was going to cut my fingers off,’ she shuddered. ‘I thought I was going to end up just like Jasper Brigstocke.’
‘I wouldn’t let that happen to you,’ Jake reassured her.
‘You wouldn’t have had much choice,’ said Lauren, still trembling. ‘Not against that many. They’re armed, remember.’
‘What happened?’ asked Dan.
Quickly, they told Dan what had taken place upstairs: the threats, and Jake’s desperate attempt to put Guy off by suggesting The Index was hidden at Laker Heath.
‘What made you mention Laker Heath?’ asked Gareth, curious.
‘It was a hunch,’ said Jake. ‘I’m so glad you backed me up.’
‘I could tell you were up to something, but I couldn’t work out what,’ said Gareth. ‘I guessed it was to play for time.’
‘Right,’ said Jake. ‘I was thinking: if I can persuade Guy The Index is there, and I can get him away from here, hopefully going with me to Laker Heath, that might give you a chance to do something while we’re gone. Overpower his crew when they come down. Get out of here.’
‘That might be possible.’ Gareth nodded. ‘From what I can make out, Guy’s the only one with a gun.’
‘We saw Spider holding one when we saw them at de Courcey Hall,’ pointed out Lauren.
‘It could be the same gun,’ said Jake thoughtfully. ‘It was all part of a scam, anyway.’
‘I’m pretty sure they’ve just got the one gun,’ agreed Gareth. Then he added, ‘You realise you won’t be able to get into the hangar at Laker Heath, Jake. It needs Level Five security clearance at least, and there are lots of security precautions in place to stop unauthorised people getting access.’
‘I know about fingerprint ID,’ said Jake. ‘But I don’t need to get into the hangar. I don’t even need to actually go to Laker Heath. All I want to do is get Guy away from here, and try and overpower him in some way, and then call up help. If you’ve been able to get out of here in the meantime, great. But, if not, I’ll get reinforcements.’ He looked at Gareth. ‘Do you have a special number for me to call? And a code word?’
Gareth hesitated, and Jake could tell he was deliberating whether to reveal a top-secret code and contact.
‘It’s our only way out,’ Jake urged him.
Gareth nodded. He gave Jake a three-digit number.
Jake frowned.
‘Is that all? Just three digits?’
‘It’s an emergency number,’ said Gareth. ‘Like 999. In an emergency, there’s no time to start keying in a long sequence of numbers.’
‘OK.’ Jake nodded. ‘At least it’s easy to remember. And the code, to prove it’s not a hoax when I call.’
‘Pig seven,’ said Gareth.
‘Pig seven?’ queried Jake.
‘That’s t
he current codeword. It’s changed every month.’
‘OK,’ muttered Jake. He hugged Lauren tightly to him again as he said, ‘Let’s hope Guy takes the bait.’
It was another two hours before they heard footsteps on the stone steps, and Duke and Des appeared at the door of the cell. As before, Duke was carrying the machete, and he held it menacingly as Des unlocked the cell door.
‘Guy wants you,’ Des said to Jake. ‘The rest of you, back away from the door.’
Lauren, Dan and Gareth moved to the back of the cell as Jake stepped forward, through the doorway. Des locked the door, then Jake followed Des up the steps. Duke followed behind, prodding Jake painfully with the point of the machete to remind him what would happen if he tried any tricks.
Guy was sitting at a laptop. Gadge, Midge and Patch stood behind him, looking over his shoulder, studying the screen.
Spider was sprawled across two chairs, his eyes closed, as if he was grabbing a nap.
‘I’ve done some checking on this Laker Heath place you mentioned, Jake,’ Guy said, gesturing at the laptop. ‘The internet gossip, conspiracy websites, that sort of thing. I’ve also put in a few calls to some old school chums I haven’t seen in years who seem to back up what you’d said about weird stuff being kept at this place. They also mentioned this aircraft hangar at the base as the place where things like that are kept.’
‘Just like I said,’ said Jake, feeling the relief creep in.
That feeling vanished with Guy’s next words.
‘The problem, these old school chums tell me, is that security is very tight there. You can get into the base with Level Three security clearance, but to get into the hangar needs clearance at a much higher level. According to a pal of mine, that needs Level Five. Do you have your work ID card on you, Jake?’
Jake hesitated, wondering whether to deny it, but what was the point? They’d just take his wallet off him and find it inside.
‘Yes,’ he said. He took his ID card out of his wallet and handed it to Guy. Guy studied it. The photo of Jake on the front. The black magnetic strip on the back. The number 3 in silver lettering next to Jake’s photo.
‘Security Level Three,’ he said. ‘So, you can get into the base, but you can’t get into the hangar.’