Itchcraft

by Simon Mayo

  ‘Jack’s not looking good,’ interrupted Lucy. Under the blankets Jack was shaking uncontrollably, her skin white, her eyes tight shut.

  ‘Like I said – she needs proper care,’ said Leila. ‘Gran Canaria has a hospital, but that’ll take us hours. This RIB isn’t built for long haul.’

  ‘What does she need exactly?’ asked Itch, getting to his feet.

  ‘Right now she needs body warmth,’ said Leila. ‘Chloe and Lucy, lie down beside her. Seriously – it’ll help. But mainly she needs oxygen. And we are using our last supplies . . .’ She glanced at Jack.

  Itch looked around the deck . . .

  At the divers who had saved him, and at his sister, his cousin and his friend.

  At the darkness, the lapping waves and the empty sea around them.

  ‘I know where she can find all those,’ he said quietly.

  ‘Really?’ said Dada. ‘Where? I can’t think of—’

  ‘On Flowerdew’s ship,’ said Itch, cutting her off. ‘On the Strontian. I saw the sick bay. It has all that.’

  There was silence, interrupted only by coughing from Jack.

  ‘We’re not going back,’ said Lucy. ‘Please tell me we’re not going back to that ship . . .’

  30

  The RIB bounced along on the Atlantic waves, its crew deep in discussion. It was still dark, the only light coming from the stars and Leila’s torch. The divers were crouched by Itch; Chloe and Lucy were still lying next to the sleeping Jack. Every few minutes, the torch beam swept over her. The oxygen mask magnified her deathly white, clammy face. The sight gave an extra urgency to their arguments.

  ‘If we run out of oxygen – which we will in under an hour – and Jack is still like this, we might lose her.’ Leila looked at the faces around her. ‘That’s the risk we take if we cut for home.’

  ‘I’m not going back on that ship,’ Lucy said firmly. ‘I’ll do anything else to help Jack, but please—’

  ‘That’s fair enough,’ said Aisha. ‘You won’t need to. The issue is whether we can board the Strontian, collect the medical supplies she needs, and get off again.’

  ‘Are there any ships nearby who could help . . .?’ Even as she said it, Chloe sounded unsure.

  ‘Yes, there will be, but we don’t have time, Chloe. We could catch the mining ship in thirty minutes if we hit top speed,’ said Leila.

  ‘They’ll see us coming,’ said Lucy. ‘You’ve got radar, so they certainly will.’

  ‘It won’t be a problem. And if they do challenge us, we can say we need urgent medical supplies. Which we do.’

  Aisha looked at her colleagues. ‘Are we doing this?’ One by one they all nodded. ‘You’ll be safe here,’ she told Lucy. ‘We can handle ourselves quite well, you know.’ She smiled and Lucy nodded. ‘You guys will watch Jack; Tobi will stay on the boat, Chika too. The rest of us will go and steal some oxygen.’

  Chloe was aware that Itch hadn’t said anything for a while. He was hugging his legs to his chest, staring off into the distance.

  ‘I’ve seen that look before, Itch,’ she said. ‘What are you thinking?’

  He turned to his sister. ‘I’m going too.’

  ‘No, Itch! No, you can’t! Please—’

  ‘Itch, you should stay here,’ said Aisha. ‘Seriously, you’ve been through enough.’

  ‘I know where the sick bay is,’ he said. ‘It’ll be faster with me.’

  ‘Draw a map then!’ said Lucy.

  ‘I’m going,’ said Itch. ‘All this is my fault. All of it. And I’ve had enough.’

  Aisha nodded to Tobi, who ran to the wheel. She corrected their heading, checked her radar and opened the RIB’s three engines to full throttle.

  As the boat speeded after the mining ship, Chloe looked at Itch. ‘Those didn’t sound like the words of someone who was just planning on liberating some oxygen.’

  Itch didn’t look at her. ‘What did they sound like?’

  ‘Like someone planning revenge.’

  ‘Maybe.’

  ‘Really? After all this?’ Chloe was angry now. ‘Itch, if we need the oxygen and drugs for Jack, then OK, but that is it. You come back here – you don’t go and give Flowerdew a kicking.’

  ‘What if—?’

  She put her hand over his mouth. Tears in her eyes, she glared at her brother. ‘You come back. You understand?’

  He nodded and she took her hand away. ‘OK,’ he said.

  The 900-horsepower engine sent the RIB crashing through the swell. At the bow, the divers were checking their equipment.

  Leila called Itch over. ‘We’ve downloaded the plans of the ship.’ He saw that her phone displayed a map of each deck. ‘This the medical room?’ She pointed to a room with a red cross on it. Itch nodded. Leila looked at him. ‘So we don’t really need you to show us when we get there.’

  ‘Guess not,’ he said flatly.

  ‘Unless you feel you might still have something to contribute . . .’

  He stared back at her. ‘Chloe has made me promise to just get the oxygen and come back.’

  ‘Of course she has. And I’m sure we’ll all try to keep to that. If we can . . .’ Itch saw the beginnings of a smile on her face, and slowly realized what was going on.

  ‘You want to go after Flowerdew too,’ he said.

  Leila’s voice was barely audible above the roar of the engines. ‘He’s a few kilometres away, Itch. We might never get another chance.’

  ‘Yes, but you’d be doing this for Shivvi, and she was as bad as him! Cruel, greedy, ruthless . . . She tried to kill me and Jack!’

  Leila gazed out over the sea. She was silent for so long, Itch thought the conversation was over. Just as he was turning to check on Jack, she took his arm.

  ‘I know what she became. And I know what she did . . . But she wasn’t always like that. When we started diving together, she was just one of us. We made a great team. She was always the fiercest competitor, always had to be the best, and Flowerdew exploited that. The Greencorps machine turned her ambition into cruelty and recklessness. By the time she went to prison she was virtually unrecognizable, a different person, and we blame Flowerdew. But she was still our friend and we want to tell him to his face.’

  ‘And then?’ asked Itch.

  ‘We’ll see,’ she said.

  She didn’t need to explain and he didn’t need to ask. She turned away, but he caught her arm.

  ‘What’s up with the radar?’

  Leila looked surprised.

  ‘When Lucy asked about the radar, you said it wouldn’t be a problem. Why not?’

  Leila smiled again. ‘Glad we’re on the same team, Itch.’ She took a breath. ‘When we got to El Hiero, we knew the sort of ship to look out for. When the Strontian blew in, we knew that Flowerdew was on it. We thought this moment might come. Chika got on board and placed a small scrambler by the masts. We switched their radar off as soon as we got near.’

  Itch’s bloodshot eyes were wide with shock. ‘You planned all this?’

  ‘Too loud, Itch – keep it down. Don’t make this trickier than it needs to be.’

  ‘But your intention was always to board Flowerdew’s ship?’ Itch couldn’t keep the astonishment out of his voice. ‘It was lucky for us you were around – but you were following him, not us? Is that right?’

  Now Leila held onto Itch’s arm, her olive skin contrasting sharply with Itch’s waxy paleness. ‘What I said before was true. We decided to do this after seeing how you stood up for us at the press conference. Saving you guys was the first part; this is the second.’

  ‘Five kilometres!’ called Tobi.

  Itch and Leila peered into the gloom and saw the Strontian’s lights.

  ‘You coming?’ asked Leila.

  Itch looked at Chloe and Lucy, who were still trying to warm Jack up. ‘Try and stop me,’ he said.

  She nodded. ‘OK. We all need to talk.’

  The mining ship’s outline was becoming clearer by the minute. The divers
and Itch gathered around Tobi at the wheel; Chloe came over to listen too.

  ‘How many men on board?’ Leila appeared to be directing operations now.

  Brother and sister looked at each other. ‘There’s Flowerdew,’ said Itch, ‘his new puppet – Wing, or Bale, or whatever she’s calling herself today – and about twelve others? Fifteen maybe.’

  ‘There seemed to be loads,’ said Chloe. ‘We were always surrounded, right from when we arrived.’

  ‘Presumably there are technicians and scientists somewhere,’ said Itch, ‘but we didn’t see any – just Flowerdew’s thugs.’

  ‘With Greencorps,’ said Leila, ‘they’re often one and the same. I think we’ve all learned that.’ There were nods and murmurs of agreement. ‘We’ll have the element of surprise,’ she continued. ‘Just before dawn, they’ll still have a skeleton crew on duty – if we’re lucky, just two on the bridge. The sleeping quarters are clearly marked on the plans. If we can lock them in, we’ll be able to reach the medical supplies without interference. Which is Flowerdew’s room?’

  Chloe replied, ‘When you go down the main stairs, his room is on the right, after the sick bay.’ She looked straight at Itch. ‘But hopefully you won’t see him, will you?’

  ‘Obviously,’ he said quietly.

  ‘We’ve got a spare wetsuit,’ said Aisha. ‘We’ll have our headwraps on too, so we should all look the same. That way, we talk to each other and they won’t know who we are. Or that it’s you, Itch – which might be helpful. Chika will show you.’

  At the front of the RIB, sections of the deck lifted to reveal cavernous amounts of storage. From it, after flares and more backpacks, came a wetsuit of indeterminate shape and Chika threw it at Itch.

  ‘Should fit,’ she said.

  Itch grabbed it and started to peel off his wet clothes. This was no time for modesty, but he was glad that it was still dark and the torch was at the other end of the boat. Every wetsuit is a struggle, and this one was no exception – especially with a nasty hip wound. After he’d got it on, Lucy came over and zipped him up.

  ‘You sure about this?’ she whispered.

  ‘Jack needs the oxygen, Luce. She looks terrible. We don’t have a choice.’

  She hugged him briefly. ‘Sure it’s OK if I don’t come with you? I can look—’

  ‘Lucy, stop . . .’ Itch pulled away, conscious of being watched. ‘You keep Jack warm. When the O2 arrives, get it to her quickly. She needs you here.’ He bent down and felt in his trouser pocket, retrieving a small stone.

  ‘Itch?’ said Lucy.

  ‘It’s a surprise,’ he said, zipping it into his wetsuit. He went over and knelt down beside Jack. Her chest was rising and falling in short, quick breaths.

  ‘Doesn’t look right, does it?’ said Chloe.

  ‘No. But she’s alive and we’re going to make sure she stays that way,’ he said. ‘We’ll be as quick as possible.’ He got up before he got another lecture, and joined the divers again. They gave him a small round of applause as he approached.

  ‘Six inches taller than the rest of us, and clearly not a woman, but apart from that, you’ll blend in perfectly,’ said Aisha, and they all laughed.

  The looming mining ship ensured the levity was brief. The churn of the mining ship’s engines could be picked out, as could the letters of its name. There was the first hint of lightness in the sky off to their right; they could now distinguish between sea and sky for the first time.

  ‘We need to get on with this,’ said Leila. ‘Itch, you’re with Dada and Sade. Aisha’s with me. You all know what you’re doing. Let’s make it look like it’s just Tobi and some injured friends. Take us in.’

  Following in the mining ship’s wake, the RIB bounced hard as it closed on the Strontian. Ahead, the bright deck lights of the ship made Itch uneasy; the darkness had seemed safer. Raising his head, he could now see the place at the stern from where he and Chloe had jumped. How long ago was that? An hour? Two? Five? He had lost all sense of time. But he didn’t care. As his strength had returned, so had his anger. He glanced back at Jack, oxygen mask clamped to her mouth, Chloe and Lucy lying beside her, trying to warm her.

  ‘You’re going to pay for this, Flowerdew,’ he whispered. ‘It ends here.’

  The RIB adjusted course so that it avoided the propeller’s turbulence and came in hard on the Strontian’s starboard corner. They were close enough to touch – Tobi was on tiptoe, making minute adjustments and corrections to the wheel to avoid any collision. The noise from the engines was deafening as Aisha ran onto the RIB’s v-shaped platform. Under her arm was a slim extendable metal ladder with a curved hook at the top.

  That’s a grappling hook! thought Itch. I thought they were just for pirates!

  Feet spread wide against the roll of the boat, Aisha held it up high, then let it fall onto the mining ship’s railings. It hooked over first time, and she let go. The ladder swung against the ship’s hull and Aisha waved Tobi in closer. When the gap between rig and ship was no more than a metre, she leaped across. Her feet found a rung, her hands the sides, and she climbed. Before she’d reached the top, Leila jumped too. As Aisha disappeared over the rail, Leila scurried after her.

  ‘I’m last up,’ said Dada to Itch. ‘You wait here. We’ll wave you up when we think it’s safe. You’ll hear what’s happening in your earpiece: pull up your hood and it should just hook in. Copy me.’ She forced the tight-fitting neoprene over her head, and a small bud swung on a cable. She tucked it under the hood and into her ear.

  Itch grabbed his hood and struggled to wrench it over his wild hair. ‘Must get short hair next time,’ he muttered, then winced as he pulled it tightly over his face. It snapped around against his cheeks and forehead. Dada caught his swinging earpiece and helped him push it into place. Instantly his head was filled with hushed, urgent conversation. Aisha and Leila were swapping observations about the ship and the location of its crew.

  ‘Sade and Dada. Need you now.’

  ‘Your mic is in the hood,’ said Dada. ‘From now on we all hear what you say. Wait here. Good luck.’ She ran over to the platform from where Sade had just launched herself onto the ladder. Dada watched her climb. As soon as she was halfway up, Dada flew at the ladder. Her ascent was the fastest, nearly catching Sade at the top.

  And then they were gone.

  Chloe and Lucy had moved Jack over, near to the wheel. When Itch turned, Chloe and Chika both gave him a thumbs-up. He returned the gesture, then crouched again under the platform. On board the Strontian, the divers sounded busy:

  ‘Bridge first.’

  ‘On it.’

  ‘How many?’

  ‘Three. One’s on the radar.’

  ‘Wait.’

  ‘Now!’

  ‘Hands away from the controls!’

  ‘Step back!’

  ‘Lie on the floor!’

  (Muffled shouting.)

  ‘Lock – lock!’

  ‘How many?’

  ‘We need oxygen. We want Flowerdew. We don’t want you or your ship.’

  (Muffled shouting.)

  Itch turned to Chika and Tobi, both with hoods up and the live feed in their ears. Tobi’s attention was on the gap between the RIB and the mining ship, but Chika, pacing around the stern of the rig, caught his eye and nodded slightly.

  ‘Doors locked. No one’s moving.’

  ‘Secure?’

  ‘Secure. Got them all.’

  ‘OK, Itch. Your turn. Come on up.’

  He didn’t stop to think, didn’t look back. As soon as he heard his name, he ran to the platform. The cracked and peeling paint of the Strontian’s hull filled his vision, the rungs of the ladder a few centimetres in front of him. He waited until the bow of the rig was high and cresting a wave.

  Then he jumped.

  31

  Itch hit the ladder hard. His hands grabbed at a rung; his bare feet scrabbled and kicked before they found a footing. Below him, the Atlantic Ocean – and the shi
p’s propellers, which would surely turn him to mincemeat if he fell. He looked up. Ten metres above him, Sade beckoned, then disappeared.

  He climbed fast. In seconds his hands found the Strontian’s rail and he was scrambling over. He allowed himself one look back down at the bobbing RIB – Lucy and Chloe giving him thumbs-up salutes – then ran across the deserted deck. Past the cranes, past the drilling equipment, he weaved his way towards where he guessed the divers would be. Then he stopped, realizing that he could join in the rapid, urgent conversation in his earpiece.

  ‘I’m here. On deck,’ he said. ‘Should I get the oxygen?’ He hesitated, not wanting to stray anywhere he shouldn’t.

  ‘Sade with you now . . .’ Aisha’s voice crackled in his ear.

  He looked around. The entrance to the lab and the living quarters was a few metres ahead, the steps to the bridge and the helipad just beyond that. He realized that the ship was stopping, the engines suddenly quiet. In the new silence, the rattle of feet on metal echoed loudly, and Sade appeared, jumping up the steps three at a time.

  ‘Let’s get the oxygen!’ she said. ‘It’s you and me. Show me.’

  ‘But it’s down there,’ said Itch, pointing below decks, ‘where Flowerdew is.’ He hoped he didn’t sound too scared.

  ‘He’s not there any more,’ said Sade matter-of-factly. ‘Let’s go.’

  ‘No,’ said Itch. ‘Where is he? I’m not going down there . . .’

  A brief smile flickered across her face. ‘He’s being dealt with. The crew and the captain are locked in their quarters, Leila and Aisha have the bridge. It’s amazing what a dawn raid by a few divers can achieve. Now, the first-aid room – quickly.’

  Itch had a feeling there was something he wasn’t being told but thought better of asking. They needed the medical supplies and he’d seen the room. He led the way through the lab and down the dark steps, his heart racing. The medical room was the first on the right, but beyond it, Flowerdew’s door swung open as the boat swayed. Itch hesitated, but Sade reassured him.

  ‘It’s fine. He’s not there. You can look if you want to.’

  ‘No thanks. Let’s get the air and go.’

  From the first-aid room they took four small oxygen tanks, packets of painkillers and a variety of plasters and bandages. Itch stuffed what he could into Sade’s rucksack and they ran for the steps, with an oxygen tank under each arm. As they emerged on deck, they saw Dada waiting for them by the rail.