by John Moralee
“The men are not at fault, Brother. You are.” His face revealed no emotions, but his eyes studied everything in the warehouse with the attention of a bird of prey. He spoke without looking directly at Morgan. “I’ve studied your reports, but I have unanswered questions.”
“I’ll gladly answer them, sir.”
“Really?”
“Of course, sir. What would you like to know?”
“Someone searched the internet for the name ‘Ravencroft’, but you have not identified them. Why not?”
“The person used an open network, sir. We know the request for information came from Hobley, but narrowing it down further isn’t possible. Any computer in range of the signal could have accessed it. There’s no record of the user’s name. The server was designed with that purpose, sir.”
“Yes, I know. I also know there are more than one way to skin a cat. That person was seeking information on our greatest enemy. They probably asked questions elsewhere, like at the local library. You haven’t questioned the library staff, though. Why not?”
“I –uh – don’t know, sir. I think -”
“You don’t think,” Gideon Hunter said. “That is your problem. Tell me, why did you only investigate girls with black hair?”
“Because the girl in the CCTV images had black hair, sir.”
“Girls dye their hair, Brother. Or wear wigs. You are not living in the Middle Ages any more. You have failed me once too often. The Brotherhood does not tolerate weakness or stupidity in its members.”
With a slight nod, Gideon’s bodyguards stepped forward and surrounded Morgan. Each fired a taser gun into him, zapping him with enough electricity to drop him to the floor writhing in pain. Morgan could not move, but his eyes were wide open as Gideon Hunter stood over him, looking down with distaste.
“You won’t be making any more mistakes, Brother. Never again.” Gideon pulled a gun from his jacket and fired three times. The gunshots echoed off the walls, but the sound did not leave the building.
It was suddenly very quiet.
Nobody looked at the body on the floor.
Gideon sighed with boredom. “What are you people waiting for? Someone take out the trash!”
*
“Gregory Armstrong?” Miss Kadinski said without looking up from her registration book. When she received no answer, she repeated it louder. “Gregory Armstrong? GREGORY ARMSTRONG?”
“He’s not here, miss,” a girl said.
“He’s not here?” Miss Kadinski looked up and saw it was true. “Anyone know why he’s absent?”
Ryan looked at Saffron, whose eyes met his. He thought of making up an excuse, but then people would wonder why he knew why Greg Armstrong wasn’t there. No – it was better to remain silent.
Luckily, Miss Kadinski barely waited for an answer before she marked Armstrong as absent, muttering something in Russian that sounded suspiciously like a prayer of thanks, then moved on to the next name on her list. Their teacher did not mention him the next day – she just marked him absent. Remarkably, nobody made a fuss about why he was absent. It seemed as though nobody wanted to jinx their good fortune. Their school was better off without Greg Armstrong, so he was soon forgotten like a bad memory. Because no one – especially the teachers – cared why he had gone or wanted him back causing more trouble, little effort was made to find out why he had stopped coming to school. Ryan suspected the school’s secretary made a few half-hearted attempts to contact his mother, but nothing happened. His absence was just accepted with a shrug. After two weeks, his name was struck off the register and he was never mentioned again.
One problem was solved.
But another remained.
The Brotherhood.
*
That Tuesday a van was on Saffron’s street parked in front of her next door neighbour’s house. It was a red Royal Mail van, so she didn’t feel worried as she approached it. The postman was walking back to his van with an undelivered parcel under his arm.
“Not in!” he said to her, rolling his eyes.
She smiled with sympathy and walked towards her home.
He noticed where she lived and spoke before she got to the door. “Excuse me - I don’t suppose I could leave this with you for next door?”
“I – uh – guess that’s okay.”
“Just sign to accept it,” he said, offering her an electronic pad and a stylus. “You’ll be saving me a trip.”
“No problem.” She reached for the stylus, but he let got before she had it in her hand. It dropped at her feet. He couldn’t pick it up with the parcel in his other hand.
“Sorry,” he said. “Could you ...?”
“I’ll get it,” she said. When she bent down to pick it up, she heard a noise behind her. Suddenly someone was grabbing her around the waist, lifting her off the ground.
“Scream and I’ll kill your family,” the man said. He was also dressed like a postman. The first postman had abandoned his parcel to help her abductor. He grabbed her feet so she couldn’t kick out. The other man had her arms trapped. Together they lifted her off the ground and moved towards the rear of the van. The doors opened from the inside. More men were inside, waiting.
*
Someone was frantically ringing Ryan’s doorbell. He was in the middle of watching a funny TV show in his bedroom and didn’t want to miss a second. “Can’t someone get that?” he said.
His sister called out from the bathroom for Ryan’s to answer it because she was taking a shower. His mother had taken some pills to help her sleep.
“Okay – I’m going!” he shouted.
The caller was still ringing the doorbell over and over when he opened the door. “Neal?”
Neal had never come to Ryan’s home before, but he was standing outside it now, looking scared and manic, like someone who had been running for his life. When he saw Ryan, he ran up to him. “Ryan! Ryan! Ryan! They took my sister!”
“Who did?” he demanded, but he’d already guessed. “Start at the beginning.”
“I was coming home when I saw my sister in front of me. She was about to go in our house when two Royal Mail delivery guys grabbed her. They started putting her into the van like they were kidnapping her. I was going to yell something, but she saw me and shook her head. Warned me. I saw them put her in the van and drive off. My sister once told me that if anything strange happened to her, I was to find you because you’d know what’s happening. Do you know what’s going on?”
“Yeah,” Ryan replied. “Did the men see you?”
“No – I ran straight here. What’s going on? Shouldn’t we call the police or tell my parents?”
Ryan shook his head. “That’s won’t help. Those guys are more powerful than the cops. Look, you’d better listen to me. I’m going to rescue Saffron, but you have to stay away from those guys. Don’t go home. It’s not safe.”
“What’s not safe? Ryan –”
“I can’t explain. It’s better for you if I don’t. Go to a friend’s house. Stay there for a few hours. When you go home later, act like nothing is wrong.” Ryan hoped the Brotherhood would not kill her after getting the information out of her. But he thought the chance was slim. “I’m going to bring her back, Neal.” Ryan touched Neal’s arm, loathing what he was going to do next. “Under no circumstances say what you saw to your parents. Forget what you saw happen to Saffron. Go home and forget, Neal.”
“Go home and forget,” Neal said. He turned around in a daze and left. Ryan hoped he had done the right thing. He didn’t want Neal involved in this.
Ryan had to help Saffron now, but he could not do it alone. Ryan grabbed his jacket and hurried outside.
He ran the whole way to Willow Lane, hoping he wasn’t too late.
*
Blindfolded, gagged and handcuffed, Saffron didn’t know where the men were taking her, but the van stopped after five minutes. She heard the doors opening and voices outside. They carried her out, then set her down on her feet, removing the blind
fold. Her abductors held her arms tightly, probably causing bruises. She was inside a warehouse – the warehouse Ryan had located, she suspected – and a man was facing her. Her abductors had scared her, but this man’s eyes showed no humanity. It was like being in the presence of a wild animal.
“Well?” he said to the men.
“Sir, we checked her for a symbiont. She’s negative. Also, she was carrying no weapons or electronic equipment, except for an ordinary cell phone. It’s been deactivated.”
“Have it analysed for names and addresses,” the man said. “Find every person she’s contacted. Question them all.”
“Yes, sir.”
They released her arms and went away, but there was no way to run. She was still handcuffed and surrounded by Brotherhood agents. Their leader looked at her with a sinister smile. He had something in his hand, which she thought for a second was a gun, but he turned and used it to turn on a bank of computer screens. Her face was instantly displayed on dozens of screens. One screen was split in half, showing two pictures of her. One showed a picture taken just minutes earlier by one of the men inside the van. The second picture was of her in her disguise at the train station. The sight of it made her heart thud hard in her chest. A software program had analysed both pictures. The results were written on the screen: Facial Recognition Comparison: 100% match.
“Saffron Michelle Hardcastle,” the man said. “My people have been looking for you for a long time, ever since you followed an old friend of mine out of Hobley train station, a friend who was supposed to be dead. I’ve looked forward to meeting you. My name’s Gideon Hunter.”
Gideon Hunter. The name itself frightened her.
“I’ve never heard of you,” she lied. “Why have you kidnapped me? Is this because I didn’t pay for a train ticket? Are you like railway police? You can’t arrest me like this. I didn’t do anything wrong. Let me go!”
“Very convincing act,” he said. “But I don’t have time for games, Saffron. You’re not innocent. You know Lucas Ravencroft, don’t you?”
“Lucius who?” she said.
“Lucas Ravencroft,” he said. “Don’t pretend ignorance. Know how I found you? A very helpful librarian remembers you reading a book that contained information about him – that was how I finally traced your identity. My people have also been inside your home when you were at school. They examined your computer. Interesting research. You’ve taken on an unusual interest in looking up information on him for an ordinary schoolgirl. I knew Lucas a long time ago, but you probably know that already. He stole something from me. Where is he keeping it?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“I’m talking about the Holy Grail,” he said. “Where is it?”
She frowned. “Isn’t that the cup thing in the Indiana Jones movie?”
“I said no games, Saffron.” He stepped forward and touched her arm with his bare hand. She felt a sharp pain, but could not pull away. It felt as though she had been bitten by a snake. A sweet poison flowed into her blood, taking control of her mind. She fought against it ... but she could feel her will dissolving as Gideon Hunter asking her a question.
“Tell me, Saffron, where is Lucas Ravencroft?”
Saffron didn’t want to tell him the truth. She didn’t want to betray her friends. But ... but ... but ... Despite fighting the drug with all of her will, wanting to lie to him to save them, the true answer slipped from her lips as easily as a breath of air.
“Willow Lane,” she said. “Willow Lane ...”
*
Ryan was on Willow Lane, running up to the gates of the big house. Looking around for signs of danger, he rang the buzzer three times – paused – then pressed it another two times – paused – then twice more. It was his secret signal. Come on, come on, he thought, waiting for someone to answer. Hurry up. There seemed to be nobody watching him, but he felt it would only be a matter of minutes before the Brotherhood swarmed to the house.
Mira opened the door looking happy to see him – until she saw his face. “What’s it is?”
“They’ve captured Saffron!”
“No!” Mira rushed to open the gate. “Hurry inside! Quick!”
Ryan saw a van at the bottom of Willow Lane. His improved eyesight recognised the face of one of the men inside. He’d last seen him guarding the warehouse. Another van was coming from the opposite direction. “They’re coming now!”
Mira locked the gate after him. They sprinted into the house, slamming the door shut. Professor Ravencroft had heard everything. He spoke very quickly. “I knew this day would come. We have to get out of here immediately. Mira, go with Ryan to the study. Open the safe. I’ll be there in two minutes. Set your watch for that. Follow protocol if I don’t arrive in time.”
“Grandfather – don’t!” Mira called out, but he didn’t answer because he had raced down the hall.
“What’s he doing?” Ryan wondered as he followed Mira towards the study.
“He’s going to set the timer on the bomb in the cellar.”
“Bomb?” he said. “There’s a bomb in this house?”
“No – the house is a bomb. Everywhere is rigged with C4 explosives, designed to destroy everything in a series of explosions. The cellar will explode first, then the other rooms.”
“That’s insane,” Ryan said. They had reached the study. “Why blow up the house?”
“Because the Brotherhood can’t get their hands on Jonah, even if that means destroying her.” There were tears in her eyes. “The bomb will destroy her instantly. She’ll feel no pain.”
“And us?” he said. “What happens to us when the bomb goes off?”
“We die too – unless I get the safe open in less than two minutes and thirty seconds.” She looked at her watch. “Correction – two minutes and twenty-five seconds.”
The safe was opposite the entrance. Mira stopped running at the safe and started entering a code. “The code’s the word Dragnok in his own language,” she explained while twisting the dials.
“Shouldn’t we just be getting out of the house via the back door?” he asked.
“They’ll have that covered,” she said. She was concentrating hard. When she entered the final code letter, she twisted the handle. Something clicked. The door bolts released. The safe was unlocked. Saffron pulled the handle until the door started opening slowly. It was so heavy she asked him to help her pull it open. Through the widening gap, Ryan saw the safe wasn’t a safe at all. It was the door to an old tunnel. He could feel a cold draught on his face and the smell coal dust. The light in the study didn’t go very far. Wooden beams supported the tunnel’s roof. The beams looked a hundred years old.
“Is that a mine shaft?”
“Sort of,” Mira said. “My grandfather built this house with an emergency exit connected to the old mine. Nobody know of its existence except us. The tunnel is the only way out. Come on!”
They stepped into the entrance. There was some equipment near the door – backpacks and torches. Mira explained the bags contained emergency supplies – food, water and weapons. She slipped one her shoulders, telling him to do the same. The backpack was bulky. Mira switched on her torch, shining its beam down the long tunnel. She also took out a gun, snapping in a loaded cartridge. She gave it to him, then loaded another one for herself.
“Now what?” he asked.
“My grandfather’s supposed to meet us here in less than two minutes.” She looked at her watch. “He’s got another twenty seconds. If he’s late, I’m supposed to close the door and leave without him because it means the Brotherhood have breached the house.”
“How long has he got now?”
“Fifteen seconds.”
“Grandfather!” she shouted. Ryan shouted too. “Professor! Hurry!”
The deadline passed without his arrival.
“He’s late,” Mira said. “I’m now supposed to shut the door or the blast will kill us in thirty seconds, but I can’t leave him behind. GRANDF
ATHER! IT’S TIME!”
The professor burst through the door like a madman. He was carrying Jonah in his arms. Her tail was thrashing at him like a whip.
“I decided I couldn’t let her die,” he explained, as he carried the thrashing creature across the study. “Sorry I didn’t factor it into the escape time!”
“Twenty seconds, professor,” Ryan reminded him.
“Yes, yes – of course!” Professor Ravencroft squeezed through the gap left by Mira. Jonah wriggled in his arms like a snake. She probably didn’t understand they were saving her life. He passed Jonah to Mira and Ryan. “Take her down the tunnel. I’ll close the door – you get down the tunnel to safety. This door should protect us from the explosion, but there’s no guarantee. Run!”
Ryan and Mira carried the slimy creature between them. Jonah’s slippery wet skin was as cold as ice. Her tails kept whipping him in the face, but he held onto her as they moved down the shaft. Their torches shone off the rock walls just ahead. The walls didn’t look very solid to Ryan. What if the explosion collapsed the tunnel?
Just then, Ryan heard a bang – twelve seconds early. It was loud - but not as loud as he expected for a bomb. He looked back and saw thick white smoke coming through the gap. The professor was on his knees, coughing.
Tear gas! The enemy were inside the house.
And the door wasn’t fully closed!
“I’ll get it!” he said to Mira. She took the full weight of Jonah in her arms as he ran back towards the professor.
He had to close the door before the bomb exploded. The tear gas stung his eyes, but he reached the door without breathing any of it in.
Seeing soldiers in black combat gear inside the tear gas-filled study, Ryan knew he only had seconds to shut and lock it. The soldiers wore sinister-looking breathing masks and goggles, making them look like aliens. They were sweeping the room with powerful torches attached to the barrels of guns. The smoke had made it hard for them to see him closing the door, which gave him hope. He almost had it closed when a soldier spotted him.