‘Enough for all four of us?’
‘Yeah. Why?’
‘Can you get them working, please?’
Charlie nodded. ‘Come and help me, Wren.’
The two of them left the office.
Jack sat back at the computer, typed lines of code for several minutes and grumbled under his breath about the mind-numbingly slow internet connection he had to work with.
After rechecking everything had worked as he’d expected, he stood up and Slink followed him into the main workshop.
Charlie was at a bench with a drawer full of batteries and several walkie-talkies in front of her. She plugged in an earpiece and pressed the mic button on one of them.
‘What about this one, Wren?’ she said. ‘Can you hear me?’
Wren was at the other end of the workshop. ‘Yep,’ she replied.
Charlie looked at Jack. ‘We’ve got four sets working.’
‘Great,’ he said, waving Wren over to them. ‘We need to hurry.’
‘What have you done?’ Slink asked.
‘I’ve made it look like we’re back at the bunker,’ Jack said. ‘Now, listen carefully . . .’
An hour later, Jack sat hunched in the corner of the platform at Badbury Underground Platform, partly obscured by a pillar. It was pitch black down there and the abandoned station was eerily quiet. Normally there was the constant rumble of Tube trains. Without them, it was like the city had no blood pumping through its veins – without the Underground, London was a lifeless corpse.
Jack stayed still, staring into the darkness in the direction of a door that he knew was on the other side of the tracks.
He ducked his head inside his jacket and pressed the mic button on the radio intercom. ‘Charlie?’ he breathed.
She answered, ‘Yeah?’
She was the only one in range that he could talk to.
‘Are you sure they came down here?’ Jack whispered.
‘Positive,’ Charlie said. ‘I saw them.’
Jack sighed. He’d been sitting in this position for almost twenty minutes and the only movement he’d detected was a rat scurrying past his feet.
‘Keep a lookout,’ he said in a hushed tone. ‘And tell the others to do the same. We can’t afford to make any mistakes.’
‘Understood.’
A noise made Jack’s head snap up and a sliver of light appeared ahead of him.
The door creaked open and Jack could make out two figures stepping through.
‘. . . was a waste of time.’ The lead man had a phone pressed to his ear and Jack recognised his voice.
It was Hector’s number-one henchman, Connor. He crossed the tracks.
‘I understand that,’ Connor said into the phone. ‘But someone has obviously tricked you. There was no one there. Have you checked in with the Shepherd?’ He stopped as he listened. ‘Right. I understand that too,’ Connor said through gritted teeth. He hung up and made a snarling sound. ‘And I don’t appreciate being spoken to like a moron by a jumped-up little kid.’ He glanced around then strode along the platform.
Jack quietly got to his feet and breathed into his microphone, ‘He’s coming.’
Jack counted to five then slipped Charlie’s torch from his pocket, cupped his hand over it and used the dim light to follow.
Charlie, Slink and Wren were positioned at strategic vantage points around the area – Slink was on the roof of a block of flats that was so high he could see for miles – so they could watch where Connor went after he left. Connor must have parked a car somewhere nearby.
Once the team had spotted him, Jack and Charlie would then follow at a safe distance on her motorbike. Most of the roads in the local area were already empty and, with a huge amount of luck, Connor would lead the Outlaws straight to where the Del Sartos were hiding Obi.
Jack ascended a short flight of concrete stairs, pushed open a hatch and stepped into a narrow alleyway. He hurried to the end of it and glanced left and right.
‘Where is he?’ Jack whispered into the headset.
Connor was nowhere to be seen.
‘Guys?’
There was still no answer.
Jack pulled the walkie-talkie from his pocket.
The display was dead.
CHAPTER SIX
Jack stared at the blank display on the walkie-talkie, trying to think of a quick solution.
He smacked the side of it.
It still wouldn’t turn on.
No.
He flipped it over, slid off the battery compartment and turned the batteries around a few times for good measure.
Nothing.
Jack swore under his breath and looked about.
It was eerily quiet, and he had no way of telling which way Connor had gone.
He hesitated and was about to turn left when he heard hurried footfalls.
‘Hey.’ Charlie came jogging up to him, out of breath and wheezing. ‘What’s going on?’
Jack held up his walkie-talkie. ‘It’s dead.’
‘Here.’ Charlie swapped it with hers.
‘Thanks.’ Jack put in the earpiece and pressed the microphone button. ‘Guys? Guys, did you see him?’
‘No,’ Wren replied.
‘Me neither,’ Slink said.
Jack groaned and shook his head.
Charlie leant against the wall as she fiddled with the walkie-talkie. ‘What do we do?’
‘Wait,’ Wren said. ‘Yes, I see him now. He’s gone right.’
‘Yeah, I’ve got him too,’ Slink said. ‘Go right, Jack, then head towards the bridge.’
‘Charlie, this way,’ said Jack. With utter relief, he did as they said and hurried to the end of the road.
Charlie held up the walkie-talkie. ‘It’s working again.’
‘Good.’
‘I’ll get the bike.’ Charlie turned and strode down a side street.
Jack stayed put. ‘Guys?’
‘I’ve lost him again,’ Slink said.
‘It’s OK,’ Wren said. ‘I can still see him. He’s just going under the bridge now.’
Jack kept close to the buildings and hurried in that direction.
When he reached the concrete bridge, he slowed his pace and squinted into the darkness.
He couldn’t make out any sign of movement.
‘Bet he’s parked under that somewhere,’ Wren said.
Jack stopped, unsure whether to follow or not.
‘Anyone see the other side of the bridge?’ he asked.
‘Not from here,’ Wren said.
‘Me neither,’ Slink said. ‘This is stupid. I’ll try and get into a better position.’
‘No,’ Jack said. ‘Stay where you are.’ He’d carefully picked the vantage points for them so they covered the widest area possible.
Jack took a breath. He had to go in there himself and see what was happening.
He kept close to the wall, staying in the shadows as much as possible, and crept towards the underpass. He reached the edge, peered around the corner and could just make out a black SUV parked at the far end.
‘He’s gonna come out on the east side,’ Jack whispered into his headset. ‘Get ready.’
He glanced back over his shoulder and saw Charlie’s bike speeding towards him.
Jack looked forwards again, just as a set of rear lights glowed red and an engine roared to life.
Charlie stopped alongside him and handed Jack a helmet, and he leapt on to the back.
He plugged the walkie-talkie into the helmet’s microphone and headset. ‘Wait a minute, Charlie,’ he said, as her fingers twitched on the throttle. ‘We can’t let him spot us.’
‘I know,’ Charlie said, sounding agitated and ready for the chase.
They watched the SUV pull from the tunnel and turn left.
‘What are you waiting for?’ Slink asked. ‘Connor’s getting away.’
Jack adjusted the chinstrap on his helmet. ‘You can still see him though, yeah?’
Slink and Wre
n both replied with a resounding ‘yes’.
‘You know what to do,’ Jack said. ‘Guide us.’
Directed by Slink and Wren, Jack and Charlie kept several streets behind Connor’s SUV, but after just a few minutes of them twisting and turning through London’s streets, only Slink still had eyes on Connor.
Jack could feel Charlie tense more with each passing moment.
Before long, Slink’s panicked voice filled their ears. ‘I’m losing him, Jack. He’s heading towards the business district and there are too many tall buildings blocking my view.’
‘No choice then.’ Charlie opened the throttle and wove left and second right, until they could see the SUV ahead of them.
Jack ground his teeth. Most of London was dark now, and it wouldn’t take much for Connor to spot them in his rear-view mirror.
‘Hang back,’ Jack said, squeezing her arm.
She shrugged him off. ‘No way, Jack.’
‘Better to lose them for now than get caught,’ Jack said.
The SUV turned left.
Charlie stopped at the end of the road.
Before Jack could protest, Charlie turned the bike around, opened the throttle and shot back the way they’d come.
‘What are you doing?’ Jack said.
‘I’m on it.’
They reached the Thames, but instead of following the road next to it, Charlie bumped on to the pavement and drove along the footpath.They were running parallel to the SUV – Jack could see it to their left every time there was a gap in the buildings.
He smiled and relaxed slightly – Charlie had it under control.
The SUV turned off the road and went behind a high-rise office block.
‘We’re losing them again,’ Jack said.
‘No, we’re not.’ Charlie twisted the throttle and accelerated along the path, then took a hard left and shot back on to the main road.
Ahead, the SUV had parked next to a set of bollards and Connor was striding towards a tall glass building.
Charlie turned off the bike’s engine. ‘They’re hiding Obi in there?’ She shook her head. ‘Can you believe it, Jack?’
‘Actually, I can,’ he said.
It made perfect sense – the Millbarn building was the first place the Outlaws had laid eyes on Hector’s father, Benito Del Sarto. Del Sarto Senior had been pretending to be an accountant by the name of Richard Hardy. That was also the first mission that had led them to all these problems.
Jack looked up at the tenth-floor, far-right-corner window, to where he knew Del Sarto’s rented office was, though of course Hector and his dad wouldn’t be stupid enough to hide out there.
In a way, now Jack thought about it, it made sense that the Del Sartos had demanded their men take Obi here – it was Hector sticking his fingers up at the Outlaws. Hector and his dad were probably laughing about how clever they were, picking a location to hide Obi where Jack thought they’d never return to.
Jack balled his fists.
Charlie turned to look at him. ‘Is this gonna be a problem?’
He nodded.
The Millbarn building’s security had individually key-coded doors, biometric scanners, many CCTV cameras and pressure sensors under the carpets, which was the reason Jack had chosen a different plan for that particular mission – they’d wound up using a modified telescope on a rooftop across the street.
He let out a breath. ‘Let’s go. I need some time to think.’
Back at Charlie’s dad’s garage, Jack brought Slink and Wren up to speed with what they’d seen.
By the time he’d finished, they both looked despondent.
‘Well then,’ Slink said, sitting on the desk and crossing his arms. ‘That’s the end of that then.’
‘No, it isn’t,’ Jack said.
‘We can get to Obi?’ Wren asked.
‘Of course we can.’
‘Hold up,’ Slink said, frowning. ‘I remember you saying the Millbarn building had some of the best security you’d ever seen.’
‘Exactly,’ Charlie said. ‘It took you months to plan a way around it.’
Jack nodded. ‘I know.’
Now they were all frowning at him.
‘So,’ Slink said, ‘is it impossible?’
‘Not any more,’ Jack said.
‘What do you mean?’
Jack pulled up a chair and sat down with a heavy sigh. ‘What’s different from the last time we were there?’
‘People,’ Wren said. ‘There’s no people because of the evacuation.’
Jack smiled. ‘Right. No people, which means no security guards and the police have their hands full already.’
‘Ha.’ Slink slapped his leg. ‘So, no need for gadgets or nothin’. If the alarm sounds, who blinkin’ cares? We can just bust a window and walk right in.’
‘Yeah, something like that,’ Jack said. ‘But, if I can play it right, it won’t be us who does the busting. It’ll be Talya.’
A loud bang made them spin to face the door.
‘What was that?’ Wren whispered.
There was another loud bang.
‘Someone’s trying to break in,’ Charlie hissed.
‘Out,’ Jack said. ‘Now.’
The four of them hurried into the main workshop.
There was a third bang and the sound of splintering wood.
Jack, Charlie, Slink and Wren raced to the back door at the rear of the workshop.
It was padlocked shut.
Charlie fumbled with a set of keys as her hands shook uncontrollably. ‘Blinkin’ virus. It’s winding me up.’
Jack spun back towards the front door as three men burst into the garage. ‘Hide.’
The Outlaws crouched down behind one of the cars that was covered in a dust sheet.
Charlie waved the key at Jack. ‘Got it,’ she mouthed.
Jack held up a hand and whispered, ‘Wait.’
He peered around the corner.
One of the men was a police officer; the other two were dressed in army uniforms and had their weapons drawn. All three of them wore breather masks and latex gloves.
‘I saw kids go in here,’ the policeman hissed to the others. ‘Lights are on. They must be hiding somewhere.’
The men split up and started searching the garage, looking under worktops and lifting dust sheets.
Jack waited for the coast to become clear and then signalled to Charlie.
Keeping low, she edged to the door, reached up, undid the padlock and quietly opened it.
With his heart in his throat, Jack held up a hand again as one of the men passed right in front of them. But he didn’t look in their direction.
Jack waited until he was gone, then signalled.
Charlie ushered Slink and Wren through, then turned back.
The dust sheet on the car to Jack’s left was suddenly yanked off, and one of the army men shone a torch through the windows.
‘Don’t move.’
Jack spun to his right, and to his horror the policeman was now standing on the other side of the car’s bonnet, his feet planted shoulder width apart, gun aimed.
Jack leapt to his feet, ran to the door and shouldered Charlie, taking her with him.
They hit the ground outside and rolled.
A fraction of a second later, the two army men burst through, their weapons drawn.
‘Hands above your heads,’ one of them demanded.
‘What do you reckon the chances are that they’ll shoot us?’ Charlie breathed to Jack as they scrambled to their feet.
Jack hesitated. It was a tough –
‘Doesn’t matter,’ Charlie said. ‘Decision made.’ She turned on her heels and ran in the opposite direction.
Jack let out a small groan, then raced after her.
‘Stop,’ one of the men shouted.
Jack’s shoulders hitched up as he braced himself for a gunshot. Mercifully, it didn’t come, and he followed Charlie around a corner and along an alleyway behind the industrial units.
The ache in Jack’s chest made him feel woozy. Every breath, every step made him wince.
To make matters worse, it started raining.
He glanced back to see both men were in pursuit.
‘Why are we always running?’ Jack shouted as he looked forward again and hurried past a skip and a stack of crates after Charlie.
She darted through a narrow gap between two buildings.
‘If we didn’t annoy people so much,’ she said over her shoulder, ‘we wouldn’t have to.’ She stopped at the end and looked about, breathing heavily and clutching her chest. ‘You know what we haven’t done for a while?’
Jack turned around and saw the two men running into the alleyway behind them. ‘What?’ he wheezed.
‘Blind faith.’ Charlie ran across the road at full pelt.
‘No, Charlie, please.’
But it was too late. She vaulted the railing on the other side and disappeared.
The rain was torrential now.
Jack wiped water from his face and glanced back at the men. In a few seconds they’d be on him.
He turned back around and took a juddering, painful breath. Then, head low, he ran across the road and leapt over the railing.
On the other side was a steep embankment. Jack’s feet slipped on the wet grass and, before he could get a grip, he was hurtling down it, out of control.
‘Just relax,’ he heard Slink saying. ‘Let your body go limp.’
Easy for you to say, Jack replied in his head. Relaxing was a little difficult to do, especially knowing that at the bottom of the embankment was a –
Jack’s legs slammed into something hard and he tumbled head over heels like a Catherine wheel. The world spun about him so fast he didn’t know which way was up.
He braced himself and closed his eyes, resigned to his fate, and just hoped there was a hospital still open somewhere in London.
A second later, Jack cried out in pain as he slammed into a concrete wall and crumpled to the ground, winded and feeling like every bone in his body had been shattered.
Rain continued to soak through his clothes.
Charlie grabbed his arm and pulled him to his feet.
Jack gasped, shivering. ‘Thanks.’
‘Well, Jack,’ Slink said, sauntering over to them with Wren in tow. ‘I’ll give you nine out of ten for the impressive acrobatics, but a two for the landing. What happened?’ He grinned.
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