Henwood and Huber both nod. My heart thumps inside my chest. I keep one hand in my pocket, finger on the trigger of the gun which I have there.
‘He’s dead?’
The boy nods.
‘You’re sure?’
‘As sure as I can be, yeah. I left him in a pool of his own blood. I wasn’t gonna stay around and check his pulse, was I? I’d have been caught.’
Henwood sighs. He looks over at Huber.
‘I want the rest of my money,’ Markus says, leaning in through the window.
‘I need to know for sure that Jesper Hausmann is dead before I pay you,’ Huber says. ‘Bring me proof and then you’ll get the rest of the money.’
Markus stares in through the window, disbelieving. ‘Of course he’s dead. There’s no way he could have survived.’
‘You’d be surprised,’ Henwood says. ‘We need proof before you get paid.’
The boy sighs. ‘OK,’ he says. ‘But if I start asking questions, I’m gonna make myself look suspicious. I’ll need more money . . .’
Henwood shakes his head. ‘I don’t care if you look suspicious. This is what we’re paying you for. Bring us proof, or you get nothing.’
Markus tuts, but then he nods. He looks around once more before hurrying back across the street to the orphanage.
From the front of the car I hear the beep of a message being received by a scroll, and a second later Huber takes his from his pocket and looks at the screen. He sighs. ‘I’m needed back at the facility,’ he says. ‘Girl 16 has contracted the new strain. You two stay here until we know for sure that Boy 23 is dead. You’ll need to get his body out of the orphanage somehow, to make sure nobody else gets their hands on it and starts poking around, finding out things they shouldn’t know.’
‘Of course,’ Henwood says.
Jesper
It seems like wherever I go, everyone means me harm.
And so when I hear footsteps approach and then keys in the lock of my new room, I feel nervous.
But it turns out it’s just Father Frei.
He asks me a load of questions about what happened. He makes me show him the scar it left. And he asks if I recognised who did it.
And when I say, ‘I think it was Markus, cos he has my knife and whoever did it used my knife,’ Father Frei nods and goes quiet for a while, staring into space.
‘We’ll investigate,’ he says eventually. ‘We’ll search his dorm for the knife. We’ll ask him some questions.’
And then before he leaves he says, ‘You’re special to us here, Jesper. Let me reassure you that we’ll do everything we can to keep you safe.’
Carina
The first thing I hear is, ‘Psst.’
The sound makes my heart race and my head pound. I sit up in my bed and look around. The rest of the dorm is sleeping. The room is dark.
And then another noise.
‘Carina.’
Somebody calling me from the corridor. I can’t tell who from the hushed voice though.
Could it be whoever attacked Jesper? Could it be Markus? He could have come for me. Perhaps he worked out that I know what he did to Jesper. Maybe it’s my turn.
‘Carina, out here.’
I slowly get out of my bed. I open my drawer and grab the gun, put it in the pocket of my nightclothes. And then I head towards the corridor, towards where the sound came from.
And in the darkest shadows of the corridor I see something which makes me jump out of my skin – a cloaked figure, face hidden in shadows and cloth.
I put my hand on the unloaded gun, still tucked into my nightdress. I place my finger on the trigger. ‘What do you want?’ I ask.
‘Carina, don’t worry. It’s me,’ says a voice. The figure pulls the hood of the cloak back. It’s Father Liebling. My finger relaxes and I let go of the gun in my pocket.
‘What is it?’
‘I need to talk to you about Jesper.’
I nod.
‘I was visited, the night before last, by an old friend.’
‘And . . . ?’
‘He was acting on behalf of the Spirit of Resistance, Carina. He claimed that an organisation called the Huber Corporation wants Jesper killed.’
I take a deep breath. ‘Jesper said that name. Was it them that stabbed Jesper?’
Father Liebling shrugs. ‘I don’t know for sure. But I do know that my friend wants us to help Jesper and the Spirit of Resistance. Are you willing?’
I nod.
‘Excellent. In return they’ll offer you freedom. A new life away from St Jerome’s.’
Did I hear him correctly? Freedom? ‘What do I have to do?’
‘In the immediate future we must ensure Jesper remains safe from New Dawn and the Huber Corporation. And as soon as we can, we must help deliver him to the Spirit of Resistance.’
I nod. ‘But how?’
‘I don’t know the details yet, Carina. No doubt we’ll receive more instructions soon.’
Before I can ask him any more questions, Father Liebling pulls the hood back over his head and hobbles away.
Jesper
Later that day I hear the key in the lock again and I start to panic once more. Before I can even hide though, they’re walking into the room.
Three of them.
Father Liebling and two men wearing the uniform of New Dawn, one of whom carries a brown leather bag in his hand.
I stay where I am, gawping as they close the door behind them, lock it and take out the key. The man with the bag places it down beside me on the bed and opens it up.
Father Liebling speaks to the men in German. I don’t understand the words, but I can tell he isn’t happy with them. His hands make a praying gesture, like he’s pleading.
But the men answer him back with one word. ‘Nein.’ Which means no, doesn’t it?
‘What’s happening?’ I ask.
‘Commander Brune from New Dawn has asked for a sample of your blood,’ says Father Liebling. ‘He’s interested in your healing and wants to know more about you.’
I say nothing. My heart thuds.
‘I’ve asked them not to, but they won’t take no for an answer. I don’t think we have a choice, Jesper.’
And all the while he’s talking, the man with the bag is taking things out of it, putting together a needle and then taking out an empty bottle.
I look to Father Liebling to help me, but all he says is, ‘Sorry,’ and then he gawps as one of the New Dawn men holds me down and the other one sinks the needle into my arm and draws blood.
And even though I scream, they ignore me.
Blake
With Huber still back at the facility attending to the case of the new strain, Henwood and I are once again in charge in Manburg. It’s early and we sit in the car. Henwood makes a note as we watch a militia car drive into the orphanage and then leave again ten or so minutes later.
‘What do you think that was about?’ Henwood asks.
‘No idea,’ I say. ‘Perhaps New Dawn learned of Jesper’s death.’
‘Hmmm. I’m not sure Mr Huber will be happy about that.’
Markus appears and we watch in silence as he hurries across the road from the home. He comes to the car window, which Henwood lowers.
‘What’s the news?’
Markus shrugs.
‘What does that mean?’
‘Jesper survived,’ Markus says.
I say nothing.
‘How?’ Henwood asks.
He shrugs again. ‘They’re saying it was another miracle. It didn’t kill him. He healed himself. Father Frei asked me about the attack. Everyone thinks I did it. I denied it though. They searched my stuff and found nothing. I hid the weapon in the fireplace of my dormitory. They won’t find it. Besides, Father Frei wouldn’t do anything to me. I know things about him he doesn’t want people to know.’
Henwood sighs. ‘So where’s Jesper now?’
Another shrug. ‘I don’t know. He’s been taken away from the rest of
us. The medical ward maybe.’
Henwood runs his hand through his hair, cursing under his breath.
‘Can I have the rest of my money now?’ Markus asks.
Henwood and I both shake our heads.
Markus swears.
‘Did you see a car visit the home just now?’ Henwood says.
Markus nods. ‘Yeah. Two New Dawn officers were in it.’
Henwood nods, then presses the button that makes his window buzz back up. Markus stares at the glass for a moment before kicking the ground and walking back to the home.
‘This is bad,’ Henwood says.
I nod. ‘What do we do?’
He says nothing for a few seconds, but stares out of the windscreen, thinking. ‘I need to speak to Huber. You go and get us something to eat from the town.’
I nod. This is my opportunity. I grab my briefcase and get out of the car.
‘I can’t let you see him, I’m afraid,’ Father Frei says.
‘But I must,’ I say. ‘He’s in danger.’
‘I’m sorry,’ Father Frei says as he sits behind his desk. His fire spits and crackles.
I sigh. ‘You don’t understand. I come from the same place as Jesper. I brought him up. And now I need to take him with me. He’s in imminent danger.’
Father Frei raises an eyebrow. ‘You brought him up? Interesting. Jesper has been very reluctant to tell us about his upbringing . . . He says he didn’t live with anyone, that he had no mother or father, that food was always there, but no people.’
I nod. ‘That’s true enough.’
‘Perhaps you’d care to explain that to me . . .’
I shake my head. ‘There’s no time for that now. I need to get Jesper out of here immediately. There’s someone waiting outside this home who wishes to kill him.’
‘I assure you, Mr Blake, Jesper is safe here,’ Frei says. ‘St Jerome’s is the safest place for him right now. Nobody will get to him in here, and nobody will take him away. Including you.’
‘Then let me see him for a short while,’ I say. ‘Please. Just a minute with him –’
He shakes his head. ‘I’m afraid not.’
For a second I say nothing, but I think this through. By now, Henwood will have spoken to Huber. God knows what course of action they’ll have decided on. I have to find a way to get Jesper out of here immediately. ‘I have money, if that’s what you want.’
Father Frei smiles. ‘Don’t waste your time, Mr Blake.’
‘How much?’ I say, pulling a tightly bound wad of banknotes from my pocket. ‘There’s enough here to keep your children’s home running for years to come . . .’
‘You’re very kind,’ Father Frei says, ‘but as I’ve already said, you’re wasting your time. St Jerome’s has recently accepted an extremely generous donation in respect of Jesper. In return for this, we’ve agreed to look after him here and keep him safe and healthy.’
‘Really? Who made the donation?’
Father Frei doesn’t answer. His expression is impervious.
‘New Dawn, wasn’t it?’
And although he doesn’t say anything, I detect a slight change in his facial expression and I know I’m right.
‘I can give you more money than they have . . . How much?’ I say.
But Father Frei simply shakes his head. ‘I’ve made my promises to Commander Brune,’ he says. ‘And now I think perhaps it’s time you left.’
I sense my chance slipping away. I have to do something, so I reach inside my jacket and take out my gun. I point it at Father Frei. For a second he looks surprised, frightened even. But almost immediately he regains his composure and a look of calm appears on his face.
‘I need to see the boy,’ I say. ‘Now.’
Father Frei opens his desk drawer and calmly brings out a gun of his own. ‘We could both play this game, Mr Blake,’ he says, ‘but I have an idea it won’t end happily.’
‘I’ll shoot you. Take me to the boy.’
He shakes his head. ‘Go ahead and pull the trigger, Mr Blake. Take your chances. You have no idea where Jesper’s kept. If you shoot me, do you really think the other priests will show you where to find him?’
I say nothing. I adjust my finger on the trigger.
A knock at the door makes us both jump.
‘Come in,’ Father Frei calls, maintaining my gaze, keeping his gun pointed at me.
A second later the door opens. I hear someone walk in, but I don’t look round.
‘Ah,’ Father Frei says, ‘Father Liebling. Just in time. Could you help me to show this gentleman out?’
I lower my gun. Because perhaps there’s another way to do this.
Father Frei and Gerd Liebling escort me down the spiral staircase and into the church at gunpoint. I walk in silence, my own gun holstered. Father Frei talks the whole way through the church and into the orphanage, telling me about the interest Jesper has attracted due to his ‘miracles’. I let him speak; I don’t correct him.
All the while I’m looking for an opportunity to speak to Gerd, to get the message to him, but no opportunity presents itself, and as we near the door I’m starting to panic that I’ve failed.
But as Gerd unlocks the front door to let me out of St Jerome’s, Father Frei hangs back. I reach discreetly into my bag and take the essentials Jesper will need in the palm of my hand. As Gerd opens the door and I leave the building, I shake his hand, passing the items over. He immediately slips them into his robes.
‘Give my regards to Jesper,’ I say. ‘Tell him I came to see him.’
He nods. Behind him, Father Frei checks his watch.
I look directly at Gerd. ‘It’s time,’ I say.
And then the door of St Jerome’s shuts behind me. All I can do is hope and wait.
Carina
I’m cleaning the kitchens when Father Liebling finds me.
He taps me on the back and I jump, before turning to see him.
‘Carina,’ he says. ‘The time has come.’
‘What? Already.’
He nods. ‘Jesper’s life is in danger. We need to get him out of here now.’
‘OK.’
‘You’ll be given new documents. New identities. You can start a new life, Carina. Away from St Jerome’s. Away from New Dawn.’
He doesn’t need to say any more to convince me. ‘What do I need to do?’
Life has taught me that there’s only one person you can really trust and that’s yourself. And in this case, I’m trusting my judgement. I judge that Liebling has Jesper’s best interests at heart, not least because he’s plotting against New Dawn. And I trust him when he says that Blake – his friend from the Spirit of Resistance – can give me the new start he promised, the opportunity I need.
If I don’t trust him, I’ll be stuck in Manburg for the rest of my life.
So here I am, following Liebling’s instructions, sneaking around deserted corridors with Jesper’s bag on my back while everyone else is at work.
I’ve already been to my dormitory, collected what I need – clothes, the gun – and now I’m on the boys’ corridor, which appears empty. I creep inside Markus’s dormitory. The room’s empty except for a musty smell of stale sweat and dirt. I stand and stare, trying to work out which bed and which wardrobe belong to Markus.
I walk between the two rows. Near the end of the room, something on the floor catches my eye. By the side of the bed, amongst a pile of dirty clothes, I see something that at first glance just looks like a black metal tube. But at either end there are glass lenses – a telescope. It’s new and sleek and has buttons on the side. It’s unlike anything I’ve ever seen. It’s got to be Jesper’s. And that surely must mean this is Markus’s place – his bed and his wardrobe.
I look around once more, see that I’m alone. I dash over to the wardrobe beside the bed. A large metal padlock guards the doors. I reach out and try it, hoping it won’t be locked, but it is.
I take a hairclip from my hair and start on the lock, workin
g it until it clicks apart. I open the wardrobe door and root around inside. There are piles of clean, folded clothes, like they’ve come from the laundry room. I put my hand underneath them and feel around. It doesn’t take more than a few seconds to find most of Jesper’s other things: a torch, and a kit for starting fires.
There’s meant to be a knife too though. The knife Markus used to stab Jesper. I search all the way through the wardrobe without any luck. I try his bed instead – lift the sheets and the mattress, get on my hands and knees and search underneath, feel along the edges to see if he’s stuck it there. I try the top of the wardrobe, but all I find is dust.
I look around the room, thinking about where I’d hide a knife in here. I try the sinks first, feel behind them, seeing if anything is in the space between the basin and the wall. Nothing.
Then, at the end of the room, I spot the fireplace and rush straight to it.
I reach my hand up it and feel around until I find a ledge, and on it there’s something cold and metallic and hard. Even before I’ve brought it out, I know from the weight of it, from the feel of it, that it’s a knife. I take it out of the fireplace and look at it, pull out the largest blade, which has smears of dried blood on it. Jesper’s blood.
I put the knife in Jesper’s bag and sling the bag across my shoulders, then hurry from the room.
Blake
When I arrive back at the car, carrying bread and coffee, Henwood is staring straight out of the windscreen. He takes his gun from its holster and checks the clip. I offer him his breakfast, but he shakes his head without even looking at me.
‘What’s the matter? Aren’t you hungry any longer?’
Henwood shakes his head. I sit and watch with a feeling of dread as he busies himself, loading the clip with bullets. ‘Huber’s nearly here. We’re going to act today.’
‘What? Why?’
‘The fact that New Dawn have been into the orphanage, coupled with Markus’s failure to kill Jesper – it’s forced our hand. We have to get inside and make sure Boy 23 dies. A bullet through the heart.’
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