by Hill, Will
“Amazing,” she said, her voice inaudible to the other men gathered in the loading bay. “You’re completely amazing. You got him, Matt. You got him.”
“I don’t know if I did,” said Matt. “I think… I don’t know.”
Kate pulled away from him, holding his shoulders in her gloved hands. “What do you mean?”
“He said something to me,” said Matt. “He said I should make his father and his brother proud. And then he lunged, and I…” He stopped and took a deep breath. “He could easily have avoided my stake if he’d wanted to. I mean, I barely even moved it. It was more like… I don’t know.”
“What are you saying?”
“I don’t know.”
“Why would he do that, Matt?”
“I have no idea. But just before he died, I could swear…”
“What? You could swear what?”
“I could swear he smiled, Kate.”
“Jesus,” she said, her voice still little more than a croak. “That’s awful.”
“I know,” said Matt.
“But still,” she said. “You’re the Operator who destroyed Albert Harker. No one’s going to care about the details. You’re going to be a hero.”
“I don’t feel like a hero,” he said.
There was silence between them for a long moment. Eventually, it was Matt who broke it.
“What do we do now?” he asked, then nodded at their fathers. “What do we do about them?”
“I don’t know,” she replied. “But there’s someone else we need to deal with first.”
She took his arm and led him across the loading bay to where Frankenstein was lying. They crouched down on either side of him, as Kate took hold of his upper arm and shook him gently. The monster’s eyes flickered and a low groan emerged from his uneven mouth.
“Colonel?” said Kate. “Colonel Frankenstein? Can you hear me?”
The monster’s eyes opened slowly. They revolved unnervingly, then fixed on the purple visors leaning over him.
“I hear you,” he rumbled. “Where’s Harker?”
“Dead,” said Matt.
“Who got him?”
“It doesn’t matter,” said Matt. “He’s gone.”
Frankenstein pushed himself up to a sitting position and looked round the carnage of the loading bay. “Forgive me,” he said. His voice was like distant thunder. “I let you down.”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” snapped Kate. “We’re all still here, aren’t we?”
“Just about,” said Frankenstein. He raised a hand to his chin and winced.
“Can you call this in?” asked Matt. “There’s something we need to do.”
Frankenstein frowned. Then he noticed the stationary shapes of Pete Randall and Greg Browning, and grunted with understanding.
“I’m not going to stop you,” he said. “Go. I’ll call it in.”
Kate nodded, then reached out and took Matt’s hand; she lifted him to his feet and led him slowly back across to where their fathers were standing. He saw his dad’s eyes widen as they approached, saw him take an involuntary half-step backwards, and felt shame rise through him.
He’s scared of me, he realised. They both are.
Beside him, Kate reached up and lifted off her helmet. She shook her head and her blonde hair fell down around her ears. She took a deep breath, and looked at her father.
The colour drained from Pete Randall’s face, as though he had suddenly been switched to monochrome.
He clutched at his chest and, for a terrible second, Matt thought he was having a heart attack. His friend stepped forward, her eyes widening in alarm.
“Kate?” gasped Pete Randall.
She nodded. “It’s me,” she managed, her voice cracking. “How are—”
She got no further. Her father rushed forward and lifted her off the ground in an embrace that crushed her tightly against his chest.
Matt watched, tears rising in the corners of his eyes, as Kate’s dad began to sob uncontrollably against her shoulder. Then he turned to face his dad, who was looking at his friend and his daughter with an expression full of more warmth and empathy than Matt had seen in the sixteen years they had lived under the same roof. He took a deep breath and lifted his helmet from his head. His father glanced in his direction, before returning his attention to Pete and Kate. Then slowly, ever so slowly, he turned back towards his son.
“Matt?” he asked. “My God. Is it really you?”
“It’s me,” replied Matt. “Hi, Dad.”
Greg stared for a long moment, his eyes wide and unblinking. Then he stepped forward very slowly and wrapped his arms round his son.
58
AFTER THE HORSE
HAS BOLTED
Jack Williams led his squad through the blood-soaked reception and into the huge main room of the printing press.
“Two dead here, sir,” said Todd McLean, pausing beside the bound and gagged bodies of the two in blue overalls.
“Leave them,” said Jack, without even looking. “Harker is the priority. Ready One.” He strode down the space between the silent machines, his T-Bone set steadily against his shoulder. Angela Darcy followed him and McLean brought up the rear, casting a final backward glance at the two corpses.
Jack was fuming as he made his way down the long room. Their pilot had pushed his helicopter to its limits, extracting every last bit of speed from its rumbling, protesting frame, but he was depressingly sure it had not been enough. He had been an Operator for a long time, and he trusted his instincts without question; those instincts were telling him that he was too late.
He rounded a corner at the end of the long, stationary conveyor belt and instantly saw that he was right. Colonel Frankenstein was standing off to one side of the wide loading bay that had opened up before him, while five men in blue overalls huddled round a forklift truck at the opposite end. In the centre, beside a huge spray of spilled blood, Matt Browning and Kate Randall were embracing two men he didn’t recognise. There was no sign of Albert Harker.
“What the hell is all this?” shouted Jack, striding out towards them. “Browning, Randall. I want a report this instant.”
Matt and Kate pulled away from the strangers and turned to face him.
“Jack,” said Kate, frowning. “What’s the—”
“I asked you for a report, Lieutenant Randall,” said Jack, his voice seething with anger. “Start with the whereabouts of Albert Harker, then follow that with a damn good explanation for why you decided to go after this particular Priority Level 1 target without informing your superiors.”
“Calm down, Jack,” said Frankenstein, his voice low.
“I will not calm down!” shouted Jack, making everyone jump. “My squad were put in charge of destroying Albert Harker! Cal gave me the responsibility and… and…” He sighed deeply, the fire going out of him as quickly as it had flared up. “Just tell me what happened, Kate.”
“Harker’s dead,” she said, pointing at the wide pool of blood. “Matt destroyed him.”
“Matt did?” asked Jack, turning to face him.
“I suppose so,” he replied. “He’s dead, in any case.”
“McKenna?”
“Dead,” said Frankenstein. “That’s his blood in reception. Harker killed him.”
“OK,” said Jack. “Harker’s dead, McKenna’s dead. Anyone else?”
“The security guard who was manning reception,” said Frankenstein. “Three employees.”
“At least you three are alive,” said Jack. “Who are these two?” He pointed at the two men standing beside Kate and Matt.
“Pete Randall,” said Kate’s father, stepping forward. “Who are you?”
“Who am I?” said Jack, incredulous. “What the hell are you doing here, Mr Randall?”
“I thought I was helping Kevin McKenna expose vampires to the public,” said Pete. “I didn’t realise this was about Albert Harker’s revenge until it was too late.”
“We were helping
him,” said Greg Browning, stepping forward. “We both were.”
“I’m assuming you’re Matt’s dad?” said Jack.
“Greg Browning. That’s right.”
“Of course,” said Jack, feeling the absurd urge to laugh rising through him. “Of course you are. Great. Is there anyone else here? Anyone else who was involved in this complete and utter shambles?”
“No,” said Pete. “Me and Greg, and McKenna, and Harker. These men had nothing to do with it.” He pointed at the five men in the blue overalls, who were watching the conversation with complete confusion on their faces.
“OK,” said Jack. “I’ll have a Security Division team sent here to explain the situation to them. No harm done.”
“I wouldn’t say that,” said Pete. “Not exactly.” He walked across to the conveyor belt, picked up one of the vandalised copies of The Globe, and passed it to Jack; he frowned, read the front page, and felt his heart stop in his chest.
“Jesus Christ,” he said, and held it up for everyone to see. “What the hell did you do?”
“It wasn’t them,” said Frankenstein. “It was Albert Harker.”
“No,” said Pete Randall. “We knew what we were doing. Nobody twisted our arms.”
“Jesus Christ,” repeated Jack. “I can’t believe this. Are you telling me these are out there?”
Pete nodded.
“How many?” he asked, his voice rising. “How many copies have left this building?”
Pete looked over at the printing press workers. One of them shuffled forward, a nervous look on his face.
“Hundred thousand,” he said. “Give or take.”
59
WHAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN LOST
“When did the first lorry leave?” asked Jack.
“About an hour ago.”
“Where was it going?”
The man in the blue overalls shrugged. “I don’t know.”
“You don’t know?” said Jack. “Don’t you have shipping records? Schedules?”
“Normally,” replied the man. “Normally, there are eight of us, not five. And normally, there isn’t a bloody monster flying around threatening to kill us.”
“Goddammit,” said Jack. “Are you telling me there’s no way you can find out where the lorries you loaded are going?”
“I’m sorry,” said the man.
“There’s something else you need to see, Jack,” said Frankenstein.
Jack looked at the monster. “What is it?”
“Come with me,” said Frankenstein. “It’s in the editorial department. I’ll show you.” He cast a sharp glance at Matt Browning, who nodded; he knew exactly what the monster was doing.
He’s buying us time. He doesn’t know what’s going to happen to our dads, so he’s buying us some time.
“Jesus,” sighed Jack. “All right. Darcy, McLean, secure the perimeter. Any new lorries turn up, stop them and hold them. Nothing else leaves this building unless I say so. Randall, Browning, you and your fathers wait here. Is that clear?”
“Yes, sir,” said Kate.
Matt nodded, and waited as Operational Squad F-7 dispersed across the loading bay and Frankenstein led Jack Williams away between the silent machines. When they were gone, he turned to face his dad, anger bubbling up through him; he was intending to ask his dad exactly what the hell he thought he had been doing, if he understood quite how much damage he had done by helping to print the newspapers that were piled behind him, but the outrage died in his throat when he saw the look on his father’s face.
Greg Browning was looking at him with an expression of utter fury.
“You left us,” he said, his lower lip trembling. “Your mother, and your sister, and me. You left us and you didn’t say a bloody thing. We thought you were dead.”
“I’m sorry,” said Matt, a lump leaping into his throat. “I really am, Dad. But I had to. I had a chance to do something important, and it was something I couldn’t tell you about.”
“I don’t understand,” said Greg. “You’re one of them? One of the people that took you away?”
Matt nodded. “I’m really more of a scientist, but yes. I work for them.”
“Who are they?”
“I can’t tell you that, Dad. You already know too much.”
“You couldn’t tell us what you were doing?” Greg’s voice was rising, reaching a volume and pitch that were very familiar to Matt. “You couldn’t even say goodbye to your mother?”
“I’m sorry,” said Matt. “There’s nothing else I can say.”
“Mr Browning,” said Kate. “Matt never meant to hurt you or his mother. I can promise you that.”
“How do you know what he meant to do?” asked Greg, turning on her. “You let your dad think you were dead. What do you know about compassion?”
“I did what?” asked Kate, her voice catching in her throat.
“You let me think you were dead,” said Pete Randall. His voice was little more than a whisper. “They told me you were dead, Kate. I almost believed them.”
Guilt so sharp it was physically painful spilled through her.
They told him I was dead? They promised me they would never tell him that.
She thought back to the conversation that had taken place on the morning she had agreed to join Blacklight; her only condition, the one thing she had asked for, on which she was completely immovable, had been that they let her father know that she was all right, that she was safe.
A pillar of cold fury rose inside her.
Major Gonzalez said they would tell him I was OK. He told me that to my face. He said they would wait a few weeks until things died down, then they would tell him that I was doing something secret, but that I was OK.
She suddenly understood why her father was here, why he had ended up in the company of a monster like Albert Harker, and the realisation threatened to overwhelm her. He had not spent the last few months quietly proud of a daughter who was doing something important and secret; he had spent the last few months wondering whether his only daughter was dead or alive.
He must have felt like he had nothing left to lose.
“I’m sorry, Dad,” she managed. “I never wanted you to think that. I didn’t know that’s what you had been told.”
“And that’s supposed to make it all right?” asked Pete. “You left me without even saying goodbye and I’m supposed to be OK with that?”
“She really didn’t know,” said Matt, his stomach churning; this painful mixture of guilt and recrimination was not how being reunited with their fathers was supposed to be. “I know what she was told.”
“I don’t care what she was told,” shouted Pete, and Matt flinched. “I’ve been on my own in an empty house on a dying island, wondering what happened to you, for three months. Three months. How could you do that to me, Kate? After what happened to your mother?”
Kate’s eyes widened in shock. “Don’t bring her into this,” she said. “It’s not my fault she died, Dad. You can’t blame me for that.”
Pete sagged, visibly. “I’m not,” he said, softly. “And I don’t. Never think that, not even for a moment. But I’ve missed you, Kate. I’ve missed you so much.”
Kate took her father’s hands and met his gaze with her own. “I’ve missed you too, Dad,” she said. “I never wanted what I did to hurt you, although I suppose I knew it would. But it was an opportunity to do something, Dad, maybe the only one I was ever going to get. This was my chance.”
“I would never have stopped you,” said Pete. “I’ve known since you were five that I was going to have to say goodbye to you one day. Lindisfarne was never going to be big enough for you, and that’s fine, that’s great. I wanted you to go out and make a life of your own, and your mum dying didn’t change that.”
“It did for me,” said Kate, her voice shaking. “I could never have packed a case and said goodbye and left you in that house on your own. I could never have done it.”
“So you let me think you were dead?
You thought that was kinder?”
“I didn’t know that’s what you were told!” shouted Kate. “I’ve told you that!”
There was a long moment of silence, deep and pregnant with tension. Father and daughter stared at each other, their chests rising and falling, the heat high and clear in their faces. Eventually, it was Pete who dropped his eyes first.
“So what is it you do?” he said, his voice little more than a whisper. “For these people you work for?”
“I can’t—”
“You can’t tell me,” said Pete. “Right.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Do you kill vampires?”
“Dad,” said Kate, helplessly. “You know I can’t—”
Pete shook his head, then lowered it, as though he was deep in thought. “Is it right?” he asked, eventually. “What you do now. Is it right?”
“It’s necessary,” replied Kate.
“All right,” said Pete. “All right then.” He drew his daughter to him and threw his arms round her. Matt watched, relief spreading through him, before turning back to his dad.
“Your mother is going to be so happy,” said Greg. “She… well. She’s going to be very happy.”
“How is she, Dad?” he asked. “How’s Laura? I miss you all.”
“They’re OK,” said Greg, his voice suddenly unsteady. “As far as I know, they’re all fine. She’s going to be so happy when she hears you’re all right.”
As far as you know? wondered Matt. Why don’t you know for certain?
The answer hit him like a bucket of cold water.
She left him. After I went, she took Laura and she left him. Has he been on his own all this time?
Then he realised what his father had said, and his heart sank.
“You can’t tell Mum about me, Dad,” he said. “If they let you go, you can’t tell anyone about any of this.”
“What do you mean, if they let me go?”
“What did you think was going to happen to you if you got caught, Dad? You were just going to get a slap on the wrist and be sent home on the next train? This is classified government business, Dad, more highly classified than you can imagine.” He was suddenly furious with his father for being so stupid, for having got himself mixed up in this bloody mess. “Why are you even here, Dad? What the hell were you doing with someone like Albert Harker?”