The Hurst Chronicles | Book 4 | Harbinger

by Crumby, Robin

  “If LaSalle is committing boots on the ground here in the UK, he knows more than he’s letting on.”

  The colonel considered the implied question. “What we need is more evidence, not more speculation. The only way to know the truth is to get an inspection team into Porton Down.”

  “Donnelly will never allow that to happen.”

  “He won’t have a choice. Plans are already in motion to force our way in.”

  Chapter 41

  The sound of voices woke Terra from a deep sleep. Car doors slamming, raucous laughter from the car park outside Walhampton School. She checked the bedside alarm clock. It was just after three in the morning. She hurried downstairs, still tying the cord on her dressing gown.

  Briggs’s enormous bodyguard appeared in the doorway, torch between his teeth, straining under the weight of two huge suitcases. He deposited them by reception, lumbering back to collect the rest. Outside, in the chilly night air, she spotted Briggs, oblivious to her approach. She tip-toed towards him in her slippers and covered his eyes.

  He span round, enveloping her in a tender embrace, smothering her forehead in kisses. She pressed her face into his short-sleeved Puffa jacket, inhaling his aftershave, raking her painted nails up and down his bare arm, tracing from memory the outline of the serpent wrapped around a broadsword. She had always hated that tattoo.

  “I thought something must have happened,” she admitted, extricating herself from his grasp and playfully slapping him on the chest. “You’ve been gone so long.”

  “I always come back eventually.” Briggs reached out to stroke her face, but she pushed his hand away. “You worry too much.”

  “So,” she enquired coquettishly. “Where have you been?”

  “What? It took longer than we expected to get back, that’s all. Things are moving quickly now,” he replied, side-stepping the question. “Every group, from here to Dover, is talking about the UN’s arrival and what it means.”

  “It’s the same here. Victor says it’s divided the Council. They can’t agree on a course of action.”

  “Just as I predicted. Means they’ll be paralysed. Trust me, this is all going to work out for us. You’ll see.”

  She shivered against the cold. Briggs snaked his heavily-tattooed arm around her slender waist and ushered her back inside. A small crowd had gathered to welcome their leader home, despite the early hour. He shook hands with those nearest, greeting Copper like a long-lost friend. “Where’s Victor?” asked Briggs, not finding his face in the crowd. His question was met by a shrug from Copper.

  “Be a good girl and wake him up, will you, Terra?”

  She knocked again, louder this time, trying the handle to the headmaster’s old study Victor had made his own. Inside, the beam of her torch reflected off a dozen trophies in a display cabinet, photos of various sporting teams, chins high, chests puffed out. The double bed by the window had not been slept in. Footsteps from behind made Terra start. Victor’s valet stood in the doorway, rubbing sleep from his eyes.

  “Oh, it’s you,” he said with some relief.

  “I’m looking for Victor. Where is he?”

  “Upstairs.” The valet winked playfully, but it was early and Terra was in no mood to indulge his laddish behaviour.

  “Tell him Briggs is back and to get his arse out of bed.”

  He scuttled away crestfallen, taking the stairs to the next floor two at a time in his bare feet. Now she thought of it, Terra remembered Victor flirting with one of the kitchen staff, a young blonde girl with a push-up bra, too much make-up. Danny or Danielle. Just his type. Local girl, easily impressed.

  A few minutes later, Victor slunk in, unnoticed, unshaven, bloodshot eyes, stinking of alcohol from however recently he’d staggered home. Avoiding Terra’s scorn, he made a bee-line to Briggs and apologised.

  “Looks like someone’s been enjoying themselves,” he suggested with heavy sarcasm. Victor lowered his head. “How did it go with the Italians?”

  “I got back last night. Salieri is fond of whiskey and teenage girls. I made sure he had plenty of both.”

  “Then he’s agreed to support us?”

  Victor inclined his head. “Of course.”

  “What made him change his mind?” asked Terra, knowing full well the answer.

  “Fear is a powerful weapon,” acknowledged Victor. “I took your advice. Reminded them what happened to the Bunnies. You should have seen the look in his eyes when I told him it was smallpox. He was quick to negotiate when I told him we had the vaccine.”

  “Excellent.” Briggs turned to Terra. “And how did it go with Hurst?”

  “They’ll come round. They’ve had one suspected case of smallpox already. The Professor says everyone will have been exposed by now.”

  Briggs rubbed his hands together in mock celebration. “Good. Let’s make them sweat for a couple of days. Soften them up. Copper, what about you?”

  “Everything’s ready. The meeting will take place the day after tomorrow.”

  “Good. We can make final arrangements in the morning. I suggest we all get some sleep.”

  Briggs grabbed his overnight bag and set off towards the stairs. Terra made as if to follow but he waved her away. “Not tonight, babe. I’ll come find you in the morning.”

  Terra struggled to hide her disappointment, much to Victor’s amusement.

  Early the next morning, a sharp knock at the door woke Terra. It was still pitch black outside. The mental image of Briggs with a tray of breakfast and a rose between his teeth made her smile and roll out of bed. She checked her hair in the mirror, wiping sleep from her eyes.

  “I knew you couldn’t stay away,” she began before realising Copper was stood outside, holding a lantern. She groaned in displeasure, sitting back down on the bed. “Can’t this wait till morning? I just got back to sleep.”

  “One of the night patrols picked up a couple of teenage girls wandering along the main road.” Terra looked bemused, waiting for him to continue. “I think you know one of them.”

  Terra was intrigued, assuming it was one of the girls she had taken under her wing at the school. She had always liked the idea of a protégé, someone she could train up to be her understudy. “Just give me a minute, can you?”

  She pulled on tight blue jeans and a sweater, boots and some lipstick, following Copper and the lantern across the courtyard to a low-rise building that once served as storerooms, converted to act as holding cells. Copper shone a pocket torch through the reinforced observation window picking out two girls hugging their knees, shivering against the cold on the linoleum-tiled floor. Now Terra understood all the secrecy. One of the girls bore a striking similarity to Connor. She had her father’s features. The other girl she didn’t recognise. They were both about the same age. Thirteen or fourteen, certainly no older. Copper said the patrol picked them up, stumbling along the main road in the darkness, in the direction of Milford, near Taddiford Gap and the old Barton golf course.

  “They wouldn’t talk to me,” admitted Copper, peering through the window at the grubby faces now staring back at them. “The little one is terrified.”

  “Let me try,” said Terra, turning the handle, putting on one of the surgical masks hanging on a hook by the door.

  She dragged the metal chair across the worn tiles, scuffed in places, and sat next to Zed’s daughter, Heather. The two girls stared into space, their faces expressionless, barely reacting to Terra’s presence.

  “Bit early to be out?” Silence. “Walking the dog, were we?” She let the question hang, looking from one to the other. Terra reached out to comfort Heather, but she withdrew her hand like it had been scalded, breathing heavily. The girl’s entire body started to tremble until Terra backed away. “Hey. No one’s going to hurt you.”

  Neither reacted, but their shoulders seemed to relax a little. “Are you hungry?” asked Terra. The smaller of the two raked her fingernails across a bloody scab on the back of her wrist, where the broken skin was raw
and blistered. It was too dark to get a proper look, but dried blood soaked into the collar of Heather’s jacket. There were purple bruises on her neck, potentially a ligature mark. Terra softened her tone, beginning to understand the trauma the girls had been subjected to.

  “Why don’t I get you both some hot tea and something to eat?”

  Stepping outside and relocking the door, Terra sighed, her brow furrowed. “They’re both in shock. I think something awful’s happened to them. We should get them checked out.”

  A uniformed nurse finished her examinations and joined Terra and Copper in the corridor, removing her mask and surgical gloves.

  “They’re resting now. I gave them both something to help them sleep.”

  “Do you know what happened?”

  “The taller one with dark hair, Heather, said they’d been walking most of the night. Their boots were caked in mud. The other little one with freckles is Jen. She didn’t say much. From the scars, I’d say this isn’t the first time she’s been in trouble.”

  “Are they hurt?”

  “Not that I can tell. Just cuts and bruises. Someone gave them a pretty good going over.”

  Terra glanced at Copper, giving nothing away. She could only imagine what Salieri’s men had done to the girls.

  “Are they sick?”

  “Not that I noticed, no. But we should keep them quarantined just in case.”

  “Any rash? Swellings under the arms?”

  “If there’s something you need to tell me,” asked the nurse, her eyebrow raised.

  “The Professor didn’t want to alarm anyone but there’s been a suspected outbreak of smallpox in the local area.”

  “Wherever did he get that idea?” laughed the nurse, assuming this was some practical joke. “There hasn’t been a case of smallpox anywhere in the world for, well, years.”

  “We saw one yesterday at Hurst Castle. There are likely to be many others by now.”

  “If that’s true, we’ll need to isolate everyone who’s been in contact. Including you two.”

  “We’ve already been inoculated,” confessed Copper with no explanation.

  “Have you now? Sounds like I need to talk to the Professor.” She made as if to leave.

  “Wait,” Terra called after her. “Did the girls say anything else? About what happened to them? Were they,” Terra hesitated, “assaulted? Sexually?”

  “They both have heavy bruising on their wrists. I can conduct a more thorough examination if that’s a concern.”

  “Handcuffs or restraints most likely,” agreed Copper. “I noticed a cigarette burn on the back of the little one’s hand.”

  “What about the blood?”

  “There’s a cut to her temple but not deep enough to produce that volume of blood. Perhaps an animal or someone else’s?”

  “Who would do this to a couple of kids?” asked Terra.

  “They should be a bit more talkative when they’ve both had some rest and something to eat. I’ll keep an eye on them. Why don’t you come back later?”

  They thanked the nurse and stepped outside, taking in the pre-dawn sky. “Can I ask you a favour?” asked Terra. “Please don’t say anything to Briggs. About Heather. Not yet at least. I worry what he might do.”

  Copper reluctantly agreed, puzzled by Terra’s secrecy. “Make it quick. I’m not lying for you.”

  They parted ways at the fork in the path. The canteen staff were already preparing breakfast for the two hundred people who lived on site at the school. Terra followed the sounds of crockery and conversation, her stomach rumbling. She almost collided with Briggs coming the other way, dropping the lantern.

  “There you are. I’ve been looking everywhere for you.”

  “Oh, I,” she stuttered, “wanted to get an early start,” hoping he didn’t notice which direction she walked from.

  “Shame, I came to surprise you. Coffee and toast, but you weren’t there.” Her cheeks flushed with guilt, but he misunderstood her reaction. “Look, I’m sorry about last night. I was just tired. I know I owe you some answers. I’m just trying to protect you and Connor.”

  If truth be told, in spite of the progress she had made in the last few weeks, he remained evasive, guarded, opaque even, a deep-seated distrust she found impenetrable.

  “Protecting us from what? I know about the smallpox outbreak.”

  “You’d try and stop me if I told you everything.” He laughed, that roguish charm that made her melt. It was impossible to be angry at him for any length of time.

  “I’m always the last to know. Copper and Victor tell me nothing.”

  “I thought you had Copper twisted around your little finger,” he replied cryptically, perhaps suspecting an emerging alliance.

  She smiled, in spite of herself. “He’s all right when you get to know him. Underneath that coarse exterior, he’s a big softie.”

  “I knew you’d wear him down. You always do,” said Briggs, with almost marital pride that surprised her.

  “Blame Connor.”

  “Kids do that.”

  “You were gone too long,” she cooed. “Connor missed you. We all missed you.”

  “I hear Copper took him fishing.”

  “You should have seen the look on his face when he brought back this massive sea trout. I wish I had a photo.” She reached out to touch his face, but he grabbed her hand. “Why do you have to flinch every time I touch you?”

  His smile evaporated, bending her fingers back until she winced. She was used to his sudden mood swings. They failed to shock her anymore.

  “You’re hurting me,” she pleaded, trying to unlock his fingers.

  “Always these guilt trips, trying to manipulate everyone. Trust me, I’m not like Copper.”

  “I would never betray you.”

  Her choice of words seemed to give Briggs pause. He loosened his grip. “Haven’t you learned your lesson already? Don’t let me catch you hatching plans with the Professor again.”

  How could she forget? Last time, he beat her so badly she couldn’t walk for two days. The bruising to her ribs lasted much longer. At least Briggs was consistent. Never a mark above the neckline. Never the face.

  “The Colonel is coming here the day after tomorrow,” he blurted, as if this might actually mean something to Terra.

  “Why?”

  “He needs our help.” In that instant, Terra realised something. Ego was driving this entire process for Briggs. She knew enough about the colonel to realise he might use Briggs’s narcissism as leverage. She had to hand it to the colonel. He was almost as good at manipulating others as she was. “He wants to talk to you too,” continued Briggs.

  “Me? Why?” asked Terra.

  “I’m sure he has his reasons. Perhaps he wants something.” He winked, to Terra’s bemusement. “Do me a favour? Don’t mention the Colonel’s visit, will you?”

  Terra reluctantly nodded her agreement, in return for a kiss planted on her cheek. Briggs span on his heels and left.

  Chapter 42

  By the third day of the outbreak, they had isolated four more suspected cases of smallpox in the East Wing of the castle. Terra kept her word, delivering enough vaccine to inoculate all the remaining residents. Riley figured any price was worth paying. They would need to work double shifts for the foreseeable future to settle their debts.

  Sister Imelda had proven a timely source of counsel to Riley in their daily conversations, walking the beach or working in the fields, listening carefully to her plans for Hurst, interrupting only when Riley indulged in self-doubt. The sister drew on a wealth of experience serving in overseas missions, wisdom that belied her youth. “How old were you when you joined the Church?” asked Riley, when there was a break in conversation.

  “Twenty-three, two years after Uni.”

  “Oh, then you had a proper life before taking the veil?” Riley instantly regretted her choice of words, but they were taken in good humour.

  “I wasn’t born a nun, if that’s
what you mean,” joked the sister. “I did the whole student, office job, travel, dating thing.” There was something unconvincing about her response.

  “Then you’ve been in love?”

  “Platonic love, certainly.” She faltered, her cheeks reddening, adjusting the folds of her grey skirt. “Why, do you need my advice on a personal matter?”

  “No, I was just thinking of all those girls at Ventnor. About boys and relationships.”

  “Don’t worry. I’ve read a lot of trashy romance in my time. Sometimes, I’m not sure who’s more embarrassed. Me or the girls.”

  “How many are there in the programme?”

  “Nearly four hundred. More join every week.” She looked up, struck by a thought. “Have you ever considered joining us? We could use someone with your skills.”

  “Me, a nun?”

  “No, I just meant you coming to live in Ventnor. It would make Stella so happy. You could bring Heather too,” she suggested, tugging at Riley’s heart strings. It was something she had briefly considered. There was not much at the castle to entertain a mischievous teenage girl in search of adventure.

  “No, I left once before when the soldiers came. It was the worst mistake ever. The castle may look cold and uninviting but it’s our home.” She thought of Jack and the others who had given their lives for Hurst. The graves lining the shingle causeway as a reminder of their sacrifice. “There’s all the animals to consider,” she mused, reflecting on the practical considerations. “Who would care for them?”

  “Your team would manage without you. Did Stella tell you about the animals we have in Ventnor for the children? We have a real zoo with lions, tigers, meerkats, wallabies.”

  “You’re serious?”

  “Yes, there’s been a zoo on the island for years. Actually, we fenced off a new paddock on the golf course to create more space. The kids love it.”