by Dave Lacey
“Well, that’s not worth a great deal to us as an appraisal is it?” Bill said, huffily, slapping his hip in frustration.
“Sorry, Bill. I wish I could tell you exactly what’s coming, but I’d just be guessing.”
“What’s your best guess then?” he asked, his face set and his voice hard.
“I think he would have been more angry than prepared. I think he will have laid down the law, but some are more inclined to listen than others. Most of the guards will be more alert than these two,” she said, nodding at the two men lying at their feet.
“What do we do then?” Jack watched Bill while he thought of his response.
“I guess we carry on through here like there’s nobody waiting,” said Bill, looking pointedly at Debbie. “And hope we don’t walk into a hail of bullets.” He walked over to the rest of the group, reassuring them, sharing a few words to make sure everyone was okay and ready to go. He was a good leader, Jack thought. Debbie tugged at his sleeve.
“Sorry, in a world of my own. What’s up?” Jack asked her.
“I really don’t know. I have no idea what Duke’s plans are most days, let alone when he’s been badly beaten,” she said, her face and eyes looking for understanding.
“I know,” said Jack. “Don’t worry about it, he’s just annoyed this whole thing happened.”
“They took your sister, aren’t you angry?” Debbie asked.
Jack looked up at her, his gaze flat and cool. “You have no idea how angry.” Jack’s jaw clenched tight. “I’m angry at her, myself and your crowd.” Then he paused and took a breath. “But not you, strangely enough. It’s not your fault, so don’t stress it.” He smiled and gripped her shoulder. Debbie blushed once more and looked at the ground.
After a few minutes they moved on. Jack found his way to the front to check in with Bill. “You considered taking me with you just then, didn’t you?” he asked as he drew level.
Bill tucked his thumbs behind the straps of his pack, and dipped his head. “You don’t miss much,” he said with a wry smile.
“No, I was watching you pretty closely,” Jack chuckled. “It was the right thing to do, back there. Absolutely the right thing.” Jack paused, then went on. “This is going to be tough, isn’t it?” He saw Bill nod out of the corner of his eye.
“Yes, I would think so. But it needs to be done, even if…” Bill ran out of words, aware that he had been about to say something clumsy.
Jack smiled. “Don’t be too hard on yourself. You were going to say ‘Even if she’s dead’?”
Bill pulled a face, but nodded all the same. “Yeah, even if. We need the case, so don’t you feel too bad about things either. And don’t be too hard on her, she just thought she was doing the right thing.” Bill rested his hand on Jack’s shoulder.
Jack smiled in the darkness. “Yeah probably trying to make up for the flare cock up. She has a habit of doing crazy things, my sister. A bad habit,” he said. He paused for a moment, while his thoughts, the bad thoughts, almost suffocated him. “I just hope she’s okay,” he said, licking lips dry with anxiety. He felt Bill’s hand squeeze his shoulder.
“I’m sure she’ll be fine,” Bill said, then corrected himself awkwardly. “Well, maybe not fine, but… alive.”
“Yep,” said Jack, unable to think of anything else to say.
Once more, the column was drawing to a stop. Jack frowned, thoughts of Millie receding. “What?”
Bill squeezed Jack’s shoulder before he could finish the question and moved to the front of the column. Jack followed.
“What’s wrong?” Bill whispered. Nick and Simon, back from ranging ahead, huddled around him, and Jack leaned in to listen.
“More guards up ahead. Four of them,” relayed Simon staccato fashion. “Alert, quiet. Around two hundred yards.”
Bill’s hand rubbed at his jaw as he stared at the ground before him. He thought for a moment, nobody talking into the silence. They waited. Finally he nodded. “Is there a cleft in the tunnel wall near them?” he whispered. “A niche, or a doorway? Anything that would give two people cover?”
Nick nodded. “There’s a service doorway between fifty and a hundred yards from their position. Two people could shelter there. Especially if we took out any nearby lights, then it would be in the shadows. What are you thinking, Bill?”
“We need to split them up. You and Simon get to that doorway, two of us will stay behind and make some noise. I’m guessing that two of them will move to investigate, leaving you and Simon to take care of the remaining guards.” He paused, drawing breath. “We’ll sort the other two.” It was a good plan, off the cuff too.
“So, me and Nick go to the doorway; who waits here?” Simon asked.
“Mark and I,” Bill said, his expression hard to read in the dim light.
Jack swallowed, feeling his face grow hot. He knew he couldn’t go, but it still rankled. Bill glanced at him as he passed, giving nothing away. Jack moved to the head of the column and leaned back against the wall as the four members of the assault team readied themselves. Anything loose, any equipment that might make a sound, was removed.
When they were ready, they moved off slowly through the tunnel, water rippling outward from their feet. There must have been a burst pipe nearby, the tunnels were designed to route water away from the track areas. For a few minutes, there was nothing. Then, they heard sounds coming from the tunnel: some splashing, raised voices. It went quiet again.
After another minute, Jack could hear the sound of people moving through the shallow water – the guards investigating he guessed. He tensed, his ears tuned, ready to intervene if necessary. Then, eventually, they heard the sounds of a struggle. It went on for no more than thirty seconds, the tunnel walls and water conspiring to carry the sound over the distance.
After another two minutes or so, three figures came down the tunnel. As they moved into the light of the nearest lamp, Jack could see Nick wasn’t there.
“Where’s Nick?” Jack asked as they drew up in front of the column.
“He’s dead,” Simon muttered. Debbie’s hand flew to her mouth as Jack watched. Jack closed his eyes for a second or two, then breathed out through his nostrils.
“Yep,” said Bill. “So it’s time we moved on. The threat has been neutralized. For now.” Bill slipped his arm through his kit and turned to leave. Smithy moved up alongside Jack, and for a moment or two said nothing. “We’re leaving quite a trail of bodies in our wake.” Smithy muttered.
“Yeah, we are.” Jack said, looking over his shoulder to where Darren walked with his new friend, Anna. “Let’s hope some of us make it back,” Jack said. He looked at the back of Bill’s head.
Jack knew Bill sounded cold to the others, but there was little they could do. They needed to keep moving. He pulled up alongside Bill. “They’ll be fine,” he said.
“I know,” he replied. “Not sure I will be though.”
Jack said nothing to that.
Chapter 34
A mile further in, they reached the outskirts of Duke’s realm.
“We’re only five minutes from where he sleeps now,” Debbie told Bill and Jack as they paused. The tunnels had opened onto a station platform, and they could hear sounds coming from the tunnel leading away from it. “That’ll be more guards. They’ll be more alert and in greater numbers now that we’re getting closer to Duke.” In the soft light, Debbie’s face looked grave, her body tense.
“I wouldn’t worry too much, you won’t be going inside with us,” Jack said, laying a hand on her shoulder. She was a good looking woman, Jack thought, then chided himself. Really, Jack, is now the right time? He turned away and spoke to Darren for the first time in a while. They’d been speaking for less than a minute, when Bill addressed the group.
“Okay, things are going to get more interesting now,” he said, his face grim. “There are certainly more than four guards this time, and there’s likely to be many more wherever Duke is.” Bill looked around the face
s of his team as he spoke, weighing them up. “Not everybody needs to go in there,” he said, “and we certainly can’t afford for all of us to get caught up in this.” He paused. “I need volunteers.”
Jack put his hand up, along with most of the group.
“Well, thank you, but it’s too many,” said Bill, a light smile flicking across his features. “I’m going to divvy it up. We need an even split. If the rest of us don’t make it back, we need guys who can go back for more seeds and make it home.”
There was a murmur of dissent among the group. Bill held out his hands to placate the group. “Yes, I know most of you want to go in, and I know the rest of you don’t want to face what may come as a result. But the fact of the matter is, we need that case, and we need to get our comrade back. It’s that simple.” Bill’s eyes moved around each member of the group. Then he split them into two crews. One would wait, and one would go into the dragon’s lair. Two groups of seven, leaving five more as contingency.
Bill gave his final instructions to those waiting, including Jack. He understood why he was staying behind, but it hurt nonetheless. He stood motionless, silent, as he watched his comrades disappear into the gloom.
“I’m sorry,” came a voice at his shoulder. Debbie.
“What’s your surname, Debbie?” Jack asked, still looking straight ahead.
“Stopford,” she answered, her voice sounding small.
“Well, Debbie Stopford, we may never see that group of people again. My best friend and my sister. I may never see them again.” Jack reluctantly released the breath that he felt he had held for the last few days. There was more than a hint of a sob about it. He felt her arm go round his shoulder, her other hand rubbing at his arm.
“They’ll come back, I know they will,” Debbie said.
Jack cocked an eyebrow. “That’s nice, Deb, but I’m not sure you believe that any more than I do.”
A full hour they’d been gone. Jack and the remainder of the squad hadn’t heard a sound. They should have heard something by now. Gunfire, explosions, shouting, screaming, anything. Jack stared into the dark. His mouth was dry, his shoulders ached from a force he couldn’t identify, his stomach squirmed intolerably and his heart raced like a wild animal in his chest. Debbie had sat with him for a while, then he had told her she should go and get something to eat and drink, that he wasn’t good company.
Mitch appeared, and sat down next to Jack like a stroppy teenager. “This is ridiculous,” he said. “How can it take them so long?”
Jack gritted his teeth. “I agree.”
“Shouldn’t we do something?” Mitch asked.
Jack took a deep breath, and released it. It sounded like air escaping from a tyre. “We have our orders,” he said. He could feel a nerve ticking under his eye, his hands gripped tighter and tighter, until he could feel the knuckles groaning under the pressure.
“Yeah, but we should do something anyway. What could be taking them so fu–” Mitch began, his voice wheedling.
“Fuck it, Mitch, just leave it the fuck alone. We’re here for a reason. We have our orders. Bill knows what he’s doing. Now fuck off and leave me alone.”
Mitch’s jaw dropped open. He got to his feet, never taking his eyes off Jack, and walked over to the others. Jack’s breath hissed through his teeth. Then he got to his feet and walked back and forth along the tunnel.
Seconds later, there came the rattle of gunfire, echoing and reverberating around the underground warren. The gunfire was followed by an explosion, then shouting and screaming. It went on for a few minutes, and with each passing minute Jack grew more angry and tense. Finally he broke.
“Okay, listen up everyone.” He gestured for them all to come to him. “Crippled or no, I’m going in there. We don’t know for sure how many were lying in wait for our guys. There may have been few, or there may have been hundreds. They’re armed, and for all we know the element of surprise has been lost, and our guys in trouble.” He paused, gauging the faces in front of him. “Or worse.”
Darren nodded. “We agree, we’re going with you.” Bill had split his team for good reason, but it seemed they were all of one mind.
“Good,” said Jack, “then let’s not piss about any further. On me, fall out.” Jack hobbled to the front of the line. They all followed, without so much as a look, or a shake of the head. Debbie too, her eyes staring straight ahead, her chin set and determined. Jack smiled. He felt better now they were doing something. He increased his pace and his ankle screamed at him. But he ignored it. There was no time for pain right now.
His mind was active, and there was one thought he couldn’t shake off. There’d been no gunfire since the initial staccato bursts. Which meant one of two things: either it was going well, or they had been captured. The muscles in his jaw flexed at that thought. His pace increased again.
They barely slowed as they passed a few bodies lying in the shallow water. Enemy guards.
“What’s the plan?” Darren asked as he drew level. Jack grimaced before responding.
“I don’t know yet,” Jack said, a little heat spreading through his cheeks. “I hadn’t thought that far ahead.”
“Ha, okay,” Darren chuckled. “Well, we might want to think of something before we get there. At this pace, we don’t have long.”
“Good point,” said Jack. He paused, then went on. “We’ll stop when we’re close. Two of us will move forward, probably you and I, and we’ll get as close as we dare. Then we’ll see what lies ahead.”
“Okay,” said Darren. “Almost sounds like a plan,” he said, slapping Jack on the back.
Then they were there, or as close as they thought they could get without giving themselves away. There was more gunfire. Much louder than before, it forced them to stop. Jack held out a restraining arm in front of Darren on his right and Mitch on his left while his mind whirred into action and ran through the possibilities. There was nothing for it but to move forward and see what was happening. Ahead looked like an opening to the main area, and they ran for it.
Once part of Westminster underground station, it was now being used as a hall. It was an atrium of sorts; great fires threw up immense liquid shadows on the walls that towered above the inhabitants like mythological beasts poised to attack. It appeared that Bill and his vanguard had taken the enemy by surprise, had even subdued them for a while. Then the enemy had moved to take back the initiative.
The gunfire started again. Bill and a few of his team were pinned in one corner of the atrium, whilst the rest had scattered to the cover afforded them by the underside of the huge escalators that spanned the height of the atrium and beyond. There were around a hundred of the enemy, and they were in the ascendancy. Things looked grim for Bill and his team. Jack smiled a hard smile, Lucky for you I disobeyed an order, he thought.
“Okay people,” he began. They were behind the majority of the enemy, the rest were slipping round the sidewall, trying to flush Bill and his group out. “We have the element of surprise. Let’s make the most of it.” He paused, squinting at the numbers in front of them. “We’ll fan out left and right, forming a flat line. We’ll take cover there and there,” he pointed with his flat hand at the piled equipment and booty that Duke and his community had plundered. “Then we’ll open fire. It’ll give our brothers and sisters a chance to get out of the trap they’ve dug themselves into.” He smiled again, grim and humourless. The remaining members of the team moved, quick and disciplined.
They fanned out, then Jack gave the hand signal to open fire. It was devastating. The backs of the enemy were totally exposed, and the bullets tore through their ranks. Bodies dropped. There were panicked cries and shouts. People dived for cover, and those in the front ranks, closest to Bill’s smaller pod, turned at the sound. That gave Bill’s guys their chance. And that was as devastating as the opening salvo. The enemy masses were now taking continuous fire both front and back, and Jack was gratified to see it tear into their ranks.
Blood filled the air a
bove them like a mist, and its coppery smell began to occupy the space. Jack took a breath. This wasn’t right, he knew that. But it was necessary. He gnawed on the corner of his mouth, frowning as he watched the piece unfold. Shouts went up from the centre of the atrium, calls for people to move away from the gunfire.
Jack shouted to his group. “Cease fire! Cease fire!” It did little good. They couldn’t hear him, or wouldn’t. “I said cease fucking firing!” he screamed at the top of his voice. Some stopped, the others followed once they caught on.
The enemy ranks were mostly cowering on the ground, weapons held aloft. Bill also stopped firing, as did the remainder of his group that had sought shelter under the escalators. An ugly silence descended. The kind of silence that held dark significance. He could hear the groans and moans now, the wounded making themselves heard. Then a great booming voice cut across the sounds of the fallen.
“Who comes into Duke’s lair? Who dares come here and defile Duke’s village?”
The voice rang for seconds after Duke had stopped speaking, trebling in menace. He was above them, or that was Jack’s best guess anyway. Somewhere on the mezzanine floor. Jack tried to look up, but the angle was bad. He pulled a face, straining to see any sign of his sister. He moved out a little from cover, and then he saw them – a group of rebels, up top. Jack spotted the man he assumed was Duke: big, bald and bare chested, with a long goatee hanging from his chin.
In one hand, Duke held a large curved blade, a scimitar in old money. In the other was Millie. She was bound and gagged, and her captor held her by the scruff of the neck.
“Duke,” Jack called out. “Can I call you Duke?” He hunkered behind an old ticket turnstile and angled his head so his voice carried.
“Who dares speak to Duke?” Duke answered. “Who dares raise his voice in Duke’s house?”
This guy’s fucking nuts, Jack thought.
“Duke rules here, and for many miles. Duke would see you. Duke wishes to feast his eyes on the dead man.”