Dory's Avengers

by Alison Jack

  ‘Why wouldn't she?’ asked Theo, whose own mother had been the strongest and most positive influence in his life.

  ‘Because she's always out of her head, that's why,’ replied Louis simply, wondering as he spoke if maybe his mother had hidden depths he didn't know about.

  As the time passed all too quickly, and the sounds of Lord William's soirée drifted up to Louis and Theo, they continued to talk long into the night. Soon worries about the present gave way to more pleasant reminisces about the past, and to the sheer joy of being together again. Finally, as the guests were leaving the house, calling cheerful farewells to each other in the avenue below, Louis and Theo fell asleep.

  Theo was awoken some hours later by the sound of screaming downstairs. Marina, he thought anxiously, hearing feet hurrying to the back of the house where Marina slept. Leaning over the sleeping Louis and peering out from behind his bed curtains, Theo found to his surprise that it was already daylight outside.

  ‘Louis,’ he said urgently, shaking his friend who gradually and reluctantly woke up.

  ‘Bloody hell, Trev,’ said Theo, smiling. ‘I'd forgotten you sleep like the dead once you're out! Just thought you ought to know, morning has broken.’

  ‘What's going on downstairs?’ asked Louis.

  ‘Marina was shrieking. I think she gets nightmares or something. Wait until the furore dies down, then you really need to get out of here.’

  ‘Why don't you come too?’ asked Louis.

  ‘You do know your door's unlocked?’

  ‘Not if I go near it,’ replied Theo. ‘Camera spies Theo making a bid for freedom, door locks immediately. Even if I were to get through before it locks, you'd hear the claxons go off from Land's End to John O'Groats!’

  ‘So how do I get out?’ asked Louis.

  ‘Same way as you got in. You open the door, walk through and close it behind you. After that, it's down to you.’

  ‘I'm going to get you out of here you know, Theo. It may take some time but I'm going to do it.’

  ‘I know,’ replied Theo. ‘I never doubted you for a second.’

  Theo, long accustomed to the routine of the house in which he was imprisoned, waited until the perfect moment for Louis to make a bid for freedom. Breakfast was delivered and taken away, this time by a surly, silent servant rather than the loathsome Dyer, and Theo had distracted the camera so Louis could use the bathroom before he decided the time had come.

  Sitting once again in the sanctuary of his curtained bed, Theo said, ‘This is it, Louis. Good luck, and thank you for everything. I'm going give the camera something to watch, you know what to do.’

  ‘I don't want to leave you, Theo,’ said Louis desperately, tears forming in the corners of his eyes at the thought of the awful life he was leaving Theo to face.

  ‘Don't you blub, Louis; don't you dare! It's time now. I'm going to get off the bed right now.’

  ‘Theo…’

  ‘Now!’

  Hugging Theo briefly, once again marvelling at his friend's strength of character, Louis said, ‘Now!’

  Without hesitation, Theo slid out of his bed on the window side, opening the bed curtains as the camera panned on to him, and Louis left by the other side of the room. Hearing the door close behind Louis, Theo kept his face impassive despite the sudden unbearable loneliness he felt.

  Once again, Louis was in luck. The hallway outside Theo's room was deserted as it had been the previous afternoon. Security guards were happy to rely on the camera to alert them to any escape attempt, never thinking for a second that anyone else would be in the room with Theo. Household staff were happy to give the unpleasant fourth floor a wide berth as much as they could – the last door on the right and the crazy son in the room behind it gave them the creeps. Knowing that the lower, pleasanter floors wouldn't be so deserted, Louis was very relieved to see Marina waiting for him on the third floor.

  ‘Hello,’ she said simply.

  ‘Hello,’ replied Louis. ‘Are you all right?’

  ‘Yes thank you…oh, you mean earlier?’ said Marina, smiling. ‘Good job I got one of my nightmares, something had to get you moving!’

  ‘Thank you,’ Louis began, but Marina hushed him with a wave of her hand.

  ‘Father's showering; Rose is plastering make-up on her face. Hurry!’ she whispered. Once again grabbing Louis's hand, she led him rapidly down two flights of stairs before frantically ushering him into the shadows.

  ‘Good morning, Lady Marina,’ said a pleasant, female voice. ‘Off for a morning stroll?’

  ‘I am indeed, Mrs White. Bit of fresh air.’

  ‘Jolly good, Lady Marina,’ said Mrs White, going on her way and thinking what a nice young woman Lady Marina was, unlike her troublesome bitch of a sister. Mrs White was far too wise to ever give voice to these thoughts, though, and guiltily put them to the back of her mind. Instead, she thought wistfully that Lady Marina was so like her gentle mother, whom Mrs White missed every day. It was possibly this thought that made her pretend not to notice Lady Marina was sneaking a young man from her room!

  ‘Come on!’ hissed Marina to the young man who'd actually spent the night in her brother's room, and they sprinted down the stairs to the front door.

  ‘Go!’ said Marina, pushing Louis through the door. ‘Kensington Gardens, five minutes.’

  Running down the steps of the St Benedict household, in full view of anyone who cared to be looking, Louis slowed to a walk as he reached the sanctuary of the public pavement. Sneaking a look at his A to Z, he found he didn't have far to go to Kensington Gardens. He also realised that they covered a large area, and his chances of meeting Marina there were remote.

  However, meet her he did. Sitting himself down in the welcoming shade under the mature trees near the first gate he came to, he didn't have long to wait before a small figure sat down beside him.

  ‘I don't have long,’ said Lady Marina. ‘Thank you for being there for Theo.’

  Remembering all the things Theo had asked him to tell Marina, Louis looked at her and gaped in surprise.

  ‘God, you look like Abi!’ was all he could manage when confronted by a blue-eyed and rather more anxious version of the woman he loved.

  Laughing, Marina replied, ‘I'm told I very much favour the Farrell side of the family in looks. Say hi to Abi and Cam for me, will you? Now, how is Theo?’

  ‘Strong,’ said Louis truthfully, ‘and all the stronger for knowing you still care.’

  A smile that was pure Farrell lit up Marina's hitherto anxious face. ‘That's good,’ she said.

  ‘He also said he loves you.’

  ‘I know!’

  ‘He said don't take risks.’

  ‘I won't. Promise me you won't either!’

  The two were silent for a minute, then Marina asked, ‘What are you going to do next?’

  ‘I've got to get back to Applethwaite. I heard some bad things last night, and need to pass on a warning to some very dear friends.’

  Looking at Marina, Louis continued: ‘I won't give up on Theo, I promise.’

  ‘I know, Louis.’ Then, in response to a bleep from her phone: ‘Got to go. Good luck! I'll see you again.’

  Not waiting for a reply Lady Marina blew a kiss at Louis, then she was gone.

  Chapter Seven

  Louis remained for some time sitting on the grass in Kensington Gardens after Marina had departed, savouring the feeling of freedom after his brief experience of Theo's prison, and wondering how his friend managed not to go mad. There was so much for him to do, but still Louis gave himself time for contemplation. The things he'd heard the previous night, both from Theo himself and from the room below, gave him plenty of food for thought. What should he do first? Get back to Applethwaite as quickly as possible, that was imperative. Not only did he want to warn Dexter and Alan that they were attracting unwanted attention from the Sponsors, he also knew that his absence couldn't go unnoticed for much longer. Louis didn't like to think of the trouble it woul
d cause if he were found to be missing from Applethwaite; or, worse still, if he were found to be in London. Slightly comforted by the fact that William St Benedict clearly didn't think him to be very bright, Louis knew he could play on that if ever brought to task by the Sponsors; but if it were discovered that his mother had lied for him the previous night, it would be all the worse for her. Still amazed that Nicola had covered for him, Louis was also anxious to get back to her. Despite all this, though, Louis continued to linger under the shade of the trees, smiling at the pleasant memories of being reunited with Theo. Louis didn't know how long he would have stayed there had a furious park-keeper not approached.

  ‘Get lost, you worthless underclass. There's no place for the idle Unsponsored here!’

  Startled, Louis found himself answering back without thinking. ‘How do you know I'm not just on my day off? You don't know who I am.’

  ‘The Sponsored have worthwhile things to do on their days off!’ screamed the park-keeper, making a grab for Louis, who, being far more fit and agile, was easily able to dodge the grab and sprint off. Despite having escaped unscathed, the encounter gave Louis yet another example of the Sponsors’ control, and it left him very shaken. Cap pulled low on his forehead, Louis hurried through the streets, hunching into his clothes to make himself as invisible as possible. Squinting nervously around as he approached the high-class shops of Knightsbridge, Louis made a wrong turn and headed towards the river along Sloane Street. Trying to ignore the suspicion that he'd never seen his surroundings before, Louis was pleased to find a signpost directing him to the Thames Path, but when he arrived at the river it became very apparent that his suspicion had been correct and he didn't have a clue where he was. Having bad eyesight, recognising landmarks wasn't Louis's strong point, but even he reckoned he would remember having seen the huge chimneys of Battersea Power Station before!

  There was a bridge right in front of him, but Louis decided to walk along the river for a while in the hope of coming across the route back to Walworth that he knew. However, the comfort Louis gained from being close to water soon gave way to concern about still being deep in Sponsored territory. Coming across another bridge after a mile or so, Louis decided he would be a lot happier south of the river, closer to Unsponsored areas, and he crossed without hesitation. Head still down, Louis didn't notice that the London Eye was clearly visible further along the river, or that there were signs to Elephant and Castle as soon as he'd crossed the bridge. Whether or not he would have recognised the significance of these pointers would never be known, as all Louis could see were his own feet. Finally, hopelessly lost as he'd dropped his A to Z at some point during his flight, Louis decided to look for a phone box and call the Lonsdales.

  Knowing that his use of a telephone box would reveal him as one of the Unsponsored, the Sponsored all having mobile phones, Louis chose a quiet street from which to make his call. It had struck Louis as strange that the Sponsored allowed the Unsponsored to have telephones, but as Rick had explained the previous day it was only so that the Sponsored could make contact when they needed a menial task doing without having to set foot in the realms of the underclass. Remembering the Lonsdales’ number, Louis dialled, glancing anxiously around him as he waited for his call to be answered.

  ‘Hello?’ said Lisa's voice, causing Louis to sigh with relief.

  ‘Lisa? It's Louis…’

  ‘LOUIS!’ Lisa shrieked in delight, and he could immediately hear a commotion start up behind her as the other occupants of the flat realised who was on the phone.

  ‘Let me,’ he heard in the background, then the next voice on the line was Sarah's.

  ‘My darling Louis, thank God you're safe! Where are you?’

  ‘Hopefully not far away, Sarah. I got a bit lost, I'm afraid.’

  Once more there was the murmur of voices in the background, then Rick spoke on the phone.

  ‘OK, Louis; do you know the name of the street you're on at the moment?’ Louis read the street name out, and Rick continued after a short pause.

  ‘OK, I've found you on my map. Good God, Louis, you did get lost didn't you. Did you cross over Vauxhall Bridge?’

  ‘Umm…well it wasn't Westminster Bridge…’

  ‘Never mind which bridge it was for now, Louis,’ said Rick, laughing. ‘If you go back to the main road, which should be Kennington Lane, keep going away from the river. Walworth will be signposted, and it will bring you back to Elephant and Castle. Can you find your way from there?’

  ‘I think so, Rick,’ replied Louis, his stomach churning with nerves. Rick then handed the phone back to Sarah.

  ‘Louis darling, let's not chatter on the phone anymore. Get back to Rick and Lisa's, then we can talk in safety. Oh, and be careful when you get here; there are a lot of Sponsored hanging around for some reason. Rick's going to wait outside for you as much as he can. Be careful. I love you.’

  ‘Love you too, Sarah. I'll see you soon. Bye now.’

  Unfortunately for Louis, a group of Sponsored teenagers strolled along his hitherto-quiet street as he ended his phone call. Looking for an opportunity for a bit of underclass bashing to brighten up their dull, stifled lives, the youths were delighted to see a lone man exiting a phone box. For the second time that morning, Louis had to sprint; but this time his pursuers were younger and fitter than the angry park-keeper had been. Once or twice, even though he ran as fast as he could, Louis felt a hand touch his collar. Using his last reserves of energy, Louis sprinted round a corner and disappeared into a yard, slamming and locking the gates behind him. One or two of the youths rattled the gates a couple of times, but soon lost interest once their companions drew their attention to a new quarry. Hoping that the Unsponsored man the youths were now very vocally pursuing would escape unharmed, Louis waited for his breathing to return to normal, then turned to look at his new surroundings.

  ‘Oh no,’ he said.

  ***

  Louis wasn't the only one having a bad morning; Max Barrington was furious. Still smarting from his earlier telephone conversation with Stephen Dyer, he was deaf to Abi's attempts to call him back to bed.

  ‘They're sending security up here! They don't think I can do the job! How was I to know the cripple was lying?’

  Suddenly rounding on Abi, Max roared, ‘Did you know?’

  ‘No, Max, I don't know him that well…’

  ‘Crap! You told me not two days ago you could get information out of him.’

  Max had been instructed by Dyer to go and see Louis Trevelyan. Lord William wouldn't be happy unless his watchman had actually seen Louis in person.

  ‘Don't trust others to do the job, Barrington,’ Dyer had snapped. ‘That's not the way His Lordship expects his staff to work. I have to say we're very disappointed in you!’

  ‘Max,’ said Abi from the bed, desperate to calm the angry man and buy Louis more time.

  ‘Have you any idea how I felt finding there was no sign of Trevelyan in that house? I had to try and explain that to Dyer.’ Abi winced at the mention of Dyer's name, but Max either didn't notice or didn't care.

  ‘Now Lord William thinks I'm useless, and all because I trusted the crip. And you! I trusted you!’

  ‘Max – Louis may have gone into the woods; he often does…’

  ‘Yesterday he couldn't move from his bed,’ yelled Max. ‘Today he's gadding about on a fucking mountain? Do you think I'm thick?’

  Realisation suddenly dawned on the usually quite dense Barrington.

  ‘You've been distracting me for Trevelyan, haven't you? You fucking bitch, where is he?’

  Abi was silent.

  ‘Don't tell me you've got feelings for that freak?’

  ‘He's not a freak!’ snapped Abi without thinking.

  ‘Looks like one to me – fucking freak.’

  ‘He's not a fucking freak, as you so eloquently put it; he's albino.’

  ‘Same thing!’

  ‘Completely different thing!’

  Knowing it was
useless to pretend any more, Abi offered a silent apology to Louis for not doing a better job, then said, ‘I've no idea where he is, and even if I did know I wouldn't tell you.’ Grabbing her clothes from the floor, she started to dress herself.

  ‘Get out of here, you slut! I never want to see you again.’

  ‘Fine by me!’ retorted Abi. ‘You're an arrogant shit, Barrington, and you're crap in bed.’

  Max's fist connected with Abi's face, taking her totally by surprise and knocking her to the floor.

  ‘Get up!’ Max spat. ‘Get up, and get out!’

  Abi's fist, as unexpected as Max's had been, made far better contact with his face than his had with hers. As he fell to the floor, clutching his nose and crying like a baby, Abi calmly finished dressing then stood over him.

  ‘Regard that as a lesson learned, Barrington. Goodbye!’

  Grabbing her jacket, Abi walked from the guesthouse, outwardly calm as her stomach churned with fear for Louis.

  ‘Stephen,’ said Lord William, beckoning Stephen Dyer into his office. ‘Thank you for coming so promptly, do sit down. I hope I haven't called you away from anything urgent.’

  Sitting opposite his boss, Dyer said, ‘Thank you, Lord William. No trouble at all, anything I can do to be of service…’

  ‘I do have a job for you, Stephen. Two actually. Ah, here's Rose.’

  Dyer leapt from his seat as Lady Rosanna entered the room.

  ‘Morning, Father – is this important?’ she said, ignoring Dyer completely and kissing Lord William lightly on the cheek.

  ‘It is, and I have a little something lined up I think you'll find…entertaining, my darling Rose.’ Turning to Dyer, Lord William added, ‘Thankfully I have one child of whom I can be proud.’

  Dyer smiled nastily, thinking of the cameras-off time he'd enjoyed that very morning with the child of whom Lord William was least proud.

  ‘Now then, Rose; Stephen here has discovered that the Trevelyan boy isn't ill in his bed after all. In fact, we don't currently know where he is. I believe Stephen has informed Barrington that he will be disciplined for dereliction of duty. Now, Stephen, as we discussed earlier we have the problem of The White Lion Inn to deal with. Have you decided on the men you wish to take with you to Applethwaite? Good man. While you're there, if you would be so good as to pay a visit to Nicola Trevelyan, I think maybe she needs to be made aware that it's not a good idea to lie to her husband's employer.’