Skyfire

by Michael Adams

  Frank let out a weary sigh. ‘Look inside any one of them.’

  Dylan pulled the top envelope free. He slid out the contents. Instead of a bundle of cash, he held a rectangle of green paper. Beside him, Andy’s face was a mess of confusion as his eyes flicked across the white letters edged in black on the sheet.

  ‘“People pile in to ride the air, but underneath’s the place where”,’ Andy read. ‘Then there’s a bunch of numbers. Are they …?’

  ‘Coordinates,’ his father said.

  ‘What the heck does it mean?’ Andy asked.

  ‘It’s a clue in a game called Geo-Finding,’ Frank said. ‘People post an initial riddle on an online forum along with some coordinates. Geo-Finders go to that location. If they can work out the puzzle, they’ll find the next clue—which leads them to the next location. And so on.’

  Dylan studied the riddle and its coordinates. ‘So, what is this pointing to?’

  ‘The coordinates are for the Santa Monica Pier Ferris wheel,’ said Frank. ‘But the rhyme is a play on words that tells you where to look.’ He pointed at the riddle on the paper. ‘See here, “pile in”, like “pylon”? The next envelope was taped to a pylon underneath the boardwalk.’

  Andy frowned so hard it hurt. Dylan pulled out another yellow envelope. Same green rectangle, another rhyming riddle printed in white letters with black borders.

  ‘“High up above the smog and cars, is the best place in Hollywood to see the stars”.’ he read. ‘“Rest your feet and take a seat!” Thirty-four point one one eight six degrees north …’

  Andy couldn’t get his head around any of this. But what he was hearing still made him feel sick to the stomach.

  ‘“People gather from all around in the dead centre of town. You won’t waste hours if you check the flowers”,’ Dylan read from another green rectangle before rattling off more coordinates.

  Andy let out a groan. Now he understood. Those were riddles pointing to Griffith Observatory and Hollywood Forever Cemetery.

  He shook his head. ‘Dad, Bald Guy and Beard Dude must’ve put these green paper clues in after they took the money out. You know, to use as a cover story!’

  Dylan clicked his fingers. ‘That’s it! Detective Freeman, that has to be what happened.’

  Frank shook his head. ‘These men have been Geo-Finders for years. I’ve spent half the day checking their stories. You couldn’t have picked two more upstanding citizens to accuse of intimidation and extortion. Larry Baker, your “Beard Dude”, teaches English at Beverly Hills High. Tony Jackson, “Bald Guy”, is the reverend at St Mark’s in Inglewood.’

  The boys swapped mortified looks. They had accused a teacher and a pastor in a Scoop story already seen by one million people? This was a disaster! And Felix Scott himself had endorsed the story in a tweet.

  Frank slid another piece of paper out from the folder. The boys forced themselves to look at it. It was a police incident report from officers who attended a call at Hollywood Forever Cemetery the previous evening.

  ‘Larry and Tony’s story checks out. They phoned us to report vandals.’

  ‘Vandals?’ Andy gulped.

  ‘Apparently you boys smashed a statue at the cemetery.

  That wasn’t in your Scoop video, was it?’

  ‘No, no,’ Dylan said, shaking his head. ‘But it was an accident.’

  Frank frowned. ‘You did run off, though?’

  ‘Because they chased us!’ Andy said. ‘We thought they knew we had busted them!

  ‘I don’t understand,’ he continued, rubbing his jaw. ‘Ethan told me he was being threatened. That he had to drop the money at the Griffith Observatory. Dad, you’ve seen the video!’

  Frank slid a photo from the folder. It was a still from the Scoop video, showing Ethan, with his mop of red hair and nerd glasses. ‘That could be a wig and those spectacles could be fake,’ he said. ‘We have no idea what he really looks like, do we? This guy, without a surname, whose phone is disconnected.’

  Andy fumed. His dad was right. He’d been so eager to believe that he hadn’t for a moment questioned whether Ethan was for real.

  With a nod, Andy pulled out his wallet and fanned out a few ten-dollar bills. Their green colour, white lettering and black edging were similar to the envelope clues.

  ‘From a distance, it looked like Bald Guy and Beard Dude were retrieving cash,’ Andy said. ‘Ethan must have switched the envelopes—no wonder he didn’t want me to open it!’

  Dylan nodded. ‘Mate, I reckon you and I were—’

  ‘Set up,’ Andy finished.

  Andy’s shoulders slumped. Dylan blew a frustrated breath at the ceiling.

  Frank rubbed his whiskery cheek. ‘You’ve made some enemies with Scoop, son, and what better way to discredit you than by getting you to fall for a hoax?’

  Andy had to admit that was possible. ‘So what now? Are you really going to arrest us both?’

  Frank held up a finger. ‘I didn’t say I was arresting you. I said I’d have to arrest you if you don’t do exactly as I say.’

  The boys saw a faint light at the end of the tunnel.

  ‘So,’ Andy ventured, ‘what do we have to do?’

  Frank cracked his knuckles, stared from his son to Dylan and then back to Andy. ‘Boys,’ he said, ‘you’re not going to like this one bit.’

  Yasmin wanted to cry. Since rushing into the storeroom, she’d tried to open two dozen lockers. She was sure that one of them had to hold a cleaner’s uniform that’d provide her with the disguise she needed to get across the railway station undetected by Jackal. But every locker lived up to its name: locked! She was running out of time. The train was leaving in just a few minutes. She didn’t have a way to avoid Jackal or to get onto the train.

  Then Yasmin saw her salvation. A big hamper at the back of the room beneath a sign that read LAUNDRY. She scrambled across to it and gave a little whoop of triumph. The hamper was a treasure chest of discarded uniforms awaiting washing. Beside it was a tub of gloves. Without worrying about the smell or the stains, Yasmin whipped off her green scarf and stuffed it into her pocket. She put on a blue scarf, threw a cleaning apron over her top and stretched gloves over her fingers. To complete her look, Yasmin commandeered a trolley standing by the back wall that was loaded with sprays and wipes.

  ‘What’re you doing?’ a voice said behind her.

  Yasmin turned slowly. A security guard stood in the doorway. He munched on a cheeseburger, belly straining against his shirt. Smiling, Yasmin pushed the trolley towards him. She saw his name badge on his shirt—Benny.

  ‘Just about to start my shift, Benny,’ she said.

  Benny wiped his mouth. ‘I don’t know you,’ he said. ‘I know all the cleaners.’

  ‘I, uh, just started,’ Yasmin said. ‘Today’s my first day.’

  ‘I’ll still need to see your ID badge,’ he said.

  Yasmin slapped her gloved hand to her forehead. ‘I left it at home.’

  As soon as the words left her mouth she realised her mistake, and saw the guard had too.

  Benny tossed his wrapper into a bin. ‘I thought today was your first day,’ he said, reaching for the radio hanging on his belt. ‘I’ve got to check you out wi—’

  The guard’s eyes flashed with surprise and he frowned like he was confused. When he opened his mouth, blood trickled out and down his chin. He let out a wheeze and fell forwards with a thump.

  Jackal stood there, holding a bloodied knife. He closed the door and stepped over Benny’s body. ‘See what you made me do,’ he said with a cold smirk.

  Yasmin’s hands gripped the trolley’s handles. She wondered whether she could rush Jackal with it.

  ‘This little chase of ours has been fun,’ he said, ‘but I’ve had enough now. Come with me and you won’t get hurt.’

  ‘Like he didn’t get hurt?’ Yasmin said looking at poor Benny’s bleeding body. ‘You won’t let me live. I’ve seen too much. I’ve seen your face.’

 
; Jackal stepped closer. ‘Good point,’ he said, lifting his sunglasses, revealing dark eyes absolutely without pity. ‘But I can get a ransom and then kill you anyway.’

  Yasmin didn’t have a comeback for that. She didn’t need one.

  Her hand flew to a spray bottle.

  Jackal screamed as she squirted cleaning chemicals into his eyes. He whirled and slashed blindly with the knife. That’s when Yasmin shoved the trolley forwards, slamming him into a wall of lockers. She ran to the door, tore off the cleaner’s uniform, bolted across the food court and bounded down the escalator steps.

  ‘The train to Alexandria will be departing in four minutes,’ a pleasant voice said from the station’s speakers. ‘All passengers please make your way to platform three.’

  Yasmin broke into a sprint.

  Platform three was at the other end of the station!

  ‘Look,’ Frank said, ‘Larry and Tony know you were set up—and realise they were, too.’

  ‘They do?’ asked Andy.

  ‘They were?’ Dylan added.

  Frank nodded. ‘The Geo-Finder member who set the clues was anonymous and they have since deleted their account without a trace. But that doesn’t change the fact that Larry and Tony could press charges. Given how much damage you’ve done to their reputations, you could end up in juvenile detention.’

  Andy and Dylan traded fearful looks, imagining themselves behind bars.

  ‘Luckily,’ Frank continued, ‘they’re reasonable guys. They both work with kids. They don’t want your lives ruined. Besides, they’re not squeaky clean in this.’

  ‘They’re not?’ Andy asked, as Dylan’s eyebrows shot up.

  Frank nodded. ‘They were trespassing in Hollywood Forever Cemetery. Just because a fellow Geo-Finder regularly leaves a gate unlocked doesn’t make it legal to go inside. They didn’t admit to that when they made their anonymous tip-off about seeing vandals. It’s not much, but it’s all the leverage I’ve got.’

  Andy nodded. He’d take whatever hope was offered. ‘So, what now, Dad?’

  Frank drained his coffee cup and tossed it in the bin. ‘I’ve told them I won’t file trespass charges against them. They’ve agreed to drop the charges against you if …’

  The boys looked at each other.

  ‘If?’ Andy asked.

  ‘If you apologise,’ Frank said.

  The boys looked at each other with delight. This could all go away that easily?

  ‘Sure,’ said Andy. ‘I feel terrible about what’s happened.’

  ‘That’s it?’ asked Dylan. ‘They just want us to say “sorry”?’

  Frank shook his head slowly. ‘Not just say it—vlog it. They want a personal apology. But they also want a public apology. They want you both to say sorry on video and post it to Scoop.’

  Silence descended in the interrogation room.

  Andy knew what that would mean for him and for Scoop. He also knew he had no choice. But the least he could do was make sure Dylan didn’t share the blame.

  ‘OK,’ Andy said finally. ‘But just me. It’s my website. It was my idea.’

  ‘No way, mate,’ Dylan said. ‘We’re in this together.’

  ‘I’m impressed by your loyalty,’ Frank said, ‘but you both have to make the video. And Larry and Tony want the apology seen by as many people as saw the accusation, so they need Felix Scott to acknowledge it with a follow-up tweet. Do you think he’ll do that?’

  Andy nodded. But he hated to think how Felix would react to such public embarrassment.

  Frank stood up. ‘I’ll get your phones from Daniels so you can film the apology and contact Felix.’

  ‘Um, Dad?’ Andy said, sheepishly, pulling his InfiniFone from his camo pants pocket. He glanced at Dylan, who produced his phone from the pocket of his Hawaiian shirt.

  Frank’s eyes hardened. ‘I told Officer Daniels to confiscate those.’

  ‘He did,’ Andy admitted. ‘But I kinda, er, liberated them from his desk.’

  His father scowled but swallowed his anger. ‘First trespass and now stealing police evidence? When this is all over, you and I are going to have a serious talk.’

  Andy nodded, eyes downcast. ‘Yes, sir.’

  Frank left and the boys looked at each other.

  ‘Mate, do you reckon we were set up by someone with a grudge against Scoop?’ Dylan asked.

  ‘Could be,’ Andy said. ‘Like I said, I’ve had death threats before because of my stories.’

  ‘Who do you think Ethan really was?’ Dylan asked.

  ‘Dunno.’ Andy threw back his chair and prowled the room. ‘I feel so … dumb,’ he murmured, kicking at a skirting board with a sneaker.

  ‘Well,’ Dylan said, raking his fingers through his dreadlocks, ‘that makes us dumb and dumber because I fell for Ethan’s whole nerd act.’

  Andy let out a little laugh.

  ‘Was there anything about him that was familiar?’ Dylan asked.

  ‘Dude, he could’ve been anyone. He might’ve even been hired to play the part.’

  ‘Hired?’ Dylan said, on his feet now, fists balled in the pockets of his khaki trousers as he circled the table. ‘What do you mean?’

  Andy shrugged. ‘Someone contacts these Geo-Finders and dangles a clue. Then sets up the envelopes and gets “Ethan” to come to us with a story that’s right up Scoop’s alley. All he has to do is hand over an envelope and disappear. You and me, and this Larry and Tony, do the rest, without even realising it.’

  Dylan nodded. ‘I guess there’s plenty of desperate young actors in Hollywood who’d do something like that.’

  ‘That’s how your parents started out, right?’ Andy joked.

  But instead of laughing, Dylan smacked a hand to his forehead. ‘Maybe this didn’t have anything to do with your old Scoop stories,’ he said, grabbing the envelopes left on the table. ‘Remember what Bald Guy said at the observatory?’

  Andy thought a moment. ‘“Five down, two to go”?’

  Dylan fanned out the envelopes.

  ‘Seven envelopes!’ Andy said.

  Dylan nodded. ‘Seven envelopes, seven coordinates, seven weird riddles. No way that’s a coincidence, right?’

  ‘Can’t be. Now it makes more sense. This isn’t about payback.’

  Andy punched a fist into his palm with a smack! ‘It’s to stop me using Scoop to turn the signs into a story! I mean, who’d believe me now I’ve fallen for a massive hoax, right?’

  ‘We,’ Dylan said. ‘We fell for it.’

  Andy nodded. ‘Well, if we try to use Scoop to tell anyone about the signs now, they’ll think we’re making it up.’

  Dylan tapped a finger to his head. ‘Or that we’re a couple of kangaroos short in the top paddock.’

  Andy managed a grin. ‘I’d be surprised if even my dad believes us.’

  ‘We’ve gotta try to convince him,’ Dylan said. ‘These envelopes, the set-up, he’s gotta see it’s for real, yeah?’

  ‘I hope so,’ Andy said. ‘But he’s not gonna listen to a thing we say until we’ve made that apology video.’

  The boys stood side by side and filmed themselves saying sorry for running the story.

  With a minute to go, Yasmin forced herself to slow down as she reached the gate to platform three.

  A neatly uniformed guard was checking a woman’s ticket against his passenger list. ‘Take care, madam,’ he said, waving her through before his eyes skipped to Yasmin. ‘Boarding pass, please, miss.’

  ‘I’m sorry,’ Yasmin said breathlessly, ‘but I haven’t had time to pick it up. With all the traffic out there, I barely made it here.’

  The guard wrinkled his mouth. ‘Well, you’ll have to get it and catch a later train,’ he said. ‘You must understand that security is a big priority today. I have to do my job.’

  Yasmin burst into tears. She didn’t have to fake it. Not only had today’s events taken their toll but getting on this train was her only chance of getting away from here alive!

&nb
sp; The guard shifted awkwardly. ‘Miss, please, don’t cry,’ he said quietly. ‘Have you got ID?’

  Snuffling, Yasmin handed over her passport. The man studied it and checked his passenger list.

  ‘Yasmin Adib, first class, seat 5C,’ he said. ‘Please go through. Hurry!’

  ‘Really?’ she asked, wiping her eyes.

  He nodded. ‘Go before I change my mind. Next!’

  Yasmin rushed along the busy platform to the first-class carriage directly behind the engines that would pull the long train north to Alexandria. She climbed aboard and took her seat, anxiously looking through the window, expecting to see Jackal’s leering face appear at any moment. Yasmin counted down seconds that seemed to take hours.

  There was a long whistle and the cry of ‘All aboard!’

  A horn blared, the carriage lurched forward and then Cairo’s railway station was sliding away. The train settled into a reassuring rumbling rhythm as it picked up speed. Yasmin relaxed a little into her seat.

  Behind her women talked in low voices about the day’s events.

  Yasmin wondered what they would say if she told them what she knew. That the attacks were part of a larger plot. That there might be more to come. That she was somehow caught up in it. She thought the women would probably say she was crazy. Yasmin hoped Andy’s dad didn’t have that reaction. She hoped the detective believed his son and that his contacts could ensure nothing else terrible happened.

  Thinking of Andy’s dad made Yasmin realise she still hadn’t let her own father know she was all right. She pulled out her phone and tapped out a quick text.

  Then she texted Miss Chen.

  Yasmin nearly screamed when she saw a shadow loom over her reflection in the window.

  Terrified, she turned—and then sighed with relief.

  ‘Miss?’

  The blinking man standing in the aisle looked meek and mild. He held out his boarding pass.

  ‘I think you’re in my seat,’ he said.

  Yasmin laughed.

  ‘See—5D,’ he said. ‘Window.’

  ‘Of course,’ she said. ‘I’m sorry.’

  They shuffled around and the man took his seat and promptly went to sleep.