Dory's Avengers (12 page)

‘I know, Abi. Don't let me hold you up any longer,' said Louis, wishing he could hold her up for ever and wondering when he would see her again. With that last thought in mind, realising that, if the Sponsors got hold of him, he'd probably never return to Applethwaite, Louis decided to throw caution to the wind.

‘Abi,' he said simply, ‘I love you.'

Reality turned out to be far better than Louis's wildest fantasies. Without hesitation, Abi cupped his face in her hands and kissed him. Pulling her into his arms, Louis held her tight as their kiss deepened and decided he must be in heaven. For too short a time Louis's heart's desire was fulfilled, before Abi gently pushed him away and said, ‘I must go. Just make sure you come back to me safely so we can finish what we just started.'

Before her resolve faltered, Abi strode from the room and grabbed her jacket from the hall chair. At the door she turned to look at Louis, who had followed her into the hall.

‘Just make sure you come back safely, Louis Trevelyan,' she repeated desperately, ‘because I love you too.'

Deep in thought, still basking in the pleasure of kissing Louis, Abi made her way down the lane from the Trevelyans' house and into the village. So wrapped up was she in her daydream that she didn't even notice Max Barrington beside her until he spoke into her ear.

‘Hi, gorgeous, what's with the visit to Bleachy's house?'

Remembering her task, Abi bit back a retort and plastered what she hoped would pass for a delighted smile on to her face.

‘Max, I was just coming to find you. I'm so sorry for being a bitch earlier; I've been regretting it ever since. Thought I'd do a bit of research for you. You know, use my feminine charms to try and get Louis to loosen up a bit.'

‘Hope you didn't get too loose, darling,' said Max, chortling at his effort at a joke. ‘You know old Bleachy's got a major crush on you, don't you?'

Abi's laugh sounded revoltingly forced to her ears, but Max seemed happy enough and continued.

‘How did you get on then, darling? Any juicy bits of gossip for me?' Max wrapped an arm around Abi's shoulder and nuzzled her ear, making her feel slightly nauseous. He really
thinks he's God's gift to women, she thought. Think of Louis, just think of Louis.

‘One or two,' she replied, making a passable attempt to return Max's affections while ruing the fact she didn't have longer to savour Louis's kisses. ‘How about we discuss them over a drink or two. Unless,' she continued with her best faux seductive smile, ‘you'd prefer to discuss them in the bedroom?'

‘You're a fast mover, ain't you girl!' replied Max, smiling with delight. ‘Bedroom sounds good to me.'

‘Damn!' said Abi silently to herself. ‘Wrong answer.'

The cases packed and ready to put in the car the following morning, Sarah and Louis headed off to carry out their final tasks of the night. Following a quick visit to Chris Farrell and Georgia Montfiore to ask them to keep an eye on Nicola, they headed out of the village on one last visit. Louis found himself slightly apprehensive as Sarah drove into the wild countryside beyond Applethwaite, down narrow lanes bordered by dry-stone walls, hedgerows brushing against the car which barely had room to pass. On into the foothills of 'Thwaite's Fell they went, finally arriving at what looked for all intents and purposes like a deserted farm cottage.

‘He lives in that?' asked Louis in amazement.

‘You wait!' said Sarah, parking her car safely out of sight of the lane before ushering Louis to the door, which flew open before they had the chance to knock.

‘Get in, quickly!' snapped Gideon. ‘And then tell me what the fuck is going on.'

Louis and Sarah hurried into the cottage, and Louis stared around him in surprise at the interior. In total contrast to the outside, the cottage couldn't have been more modern inside. Everything was designed to allow Gideon move around his home freely and be totally self-sufficient.

‘Did you think Elliot would leave me without the means
to look after myself?' Gideon growled following Louis's train of thought, before turning his anger back on to Sarah.

‘What do you mean by bringing him here?' he roared. ‘Didn't I tell you to never, ever bring him here?'

‘Excuse me, Gideon, I am here,' said Louis. ‘This visit is my idea. I wanted to see you in person, before we go.'

‘Go?'

‘To London. We're going first thing, Gideon, and I didn't want to leave without saying goodbye.'

‘How touching,' said Gideon, sarcasm masking his despair. ‘Do you have a plan? Or were you just going to vanish over the horizon and hope no Sponsors were around to notice?'

‘We have a plan, Gideon,' said Sarah, while Louis regarded his feet with sudden interest. ‘The Barrington boy is being distracted to give us time to get away.'

‘In what way distracted? How do you know he's the only one watching?'

‘It's a chance we've got to take. He's the only obvious one at the moment.'

‘Who's distracting him?' asked Gideon, noticing Louis staring at his feet and guessing the answer before Sarah spoke.

‘Abilene Farrell,' she said, surprising Gideon not one jot. ‘No, we don't like it either; but if anyone can pull it off, she can.'

‘She can't hope to distract him for ever, though. What then?'

‘We'll need you to cover for us then, Gideon,' said Louis, suddenly raising his head and joining in the conversation. ‘Go to the studio as usual. Say I'm ill or something.'

‘And how do you expect me to get to the studio, boy? What do you think I normally do – walk?'

Louis looked from Gideon to Sarah and back again, realisation dawning.

‘Oh,' he said, ‘does Sarah fetch you?'

‘Hallelujah,' sneered Gideon. ‘You are capable of independent thought after all.'

‘Chris Farrell said he'll pick you up while I'm away,' said Sarah. ‘He's got a van and he's thoroughly trustworthy.'

‘So, I'm to rattle around in the back of a van all the way-' Gideon began, but Sarah interrupted him sharply.

‘We're all making sacrifices, Gideon,' she snapped. ‘And we really don't have time to argue. Are you going to help us or not?'

Still scowling, Gideon said, ‘Of course I'm going to help. That was never in question. Now, I know time is of the essence, but may I have a few moments alone with Louis before you leave?'

Nodding, Sarah said, ‘Thank you, Gideon, I'll wait in the car.'

When Sarah had gone, Gideon looked at Louis and beckoned him over.

‘I don't want to lose you, Louis,' he said. ‘Be careful.'

‘I will, Gideon.'

‘Come here. Give me a hug for once.'

For the first time he could ever remember, Louis hugged his mentor, pulling Gideon's thin frame close briefly before Gideon pushed him away.

‘Now go!' said Gideon. ‘Get out! Go!'

As Gideon heard the door close behind the young man he loved as much as any father ever loved their son, he gave way to the tears he'd been holding back and sobbed all night.

Chapter Five

First thing the following morning, before the sun had risen, Louis and Sarah were up and busying themselves with preparations for their journey. Neither had been able to sleep the previous night so there was no point in continuing to lie in their beds. Louis was making himself a cup of tea when Sarah appeared through the short corridor connecting her small, self-contained annexe to the kitchen of the main house.

‘Morning, Sarah,' he said. ‘Sleep well?'

‘No!' said Sarah. ‘You?'

‘No!' replied Louis. ‘Cup of tea?'

‘Love one, my sweet,' said Sarah. Their pretence at normality continued as they ate breakfast together, struggling to chew the food in their dry mouths. Sarah made up a mountain of sandwiches, and filled every flask in the house with hot tea or soup. To this feast she added fruit, sweets and bottled water before packing the lot into the boot of her car. She then collected together blankets, clothing for every possible weather, a ludicrous amount of sun block for Louis and just about everything else they might need. By the time Sarah had finished packing, she and Louis had trouble closing the car boot on the stash.

‘Will we really need all this stuff?' asked Louis. ‘Don't they have shops in London?'

‘Not necessarily for the Unsponsored, darling, no,' was the only reply she'd give.

The car packed and ready to go, Louis and Sarah wandered around aimlessly until it was a reasonable time to collect Jenny from her friend's house. Before they left, Louis looked in on his mother, hoping for a few words with her. He was thwarted though – Nicola was dead to the world. Sighing, he took a final look in his own bedroom, wondering when he'd next sleep in his own bed and regretting that his last opportunity had been so restless. Then he went down the stairs, locked the front door of his home behind him, and got into the car beside Sarah.

Jenny was absolutely delighted to be going on an unexpected road trip. Life just went from one excitement to the next as far as the six-year-old was concerned. Hugging his sister with undisguised delight before strapping her into her child seat, Louis was relieved to have the little girl's constant stream of chatter to take his mind off the task ahead.

Looking out of the window of Max's room in the Applethwaite Guesthouse, The White Lion's Sponsor-endorsed rival, Abilene Farrell was just in time to see Sarah's car disappearing out of the village in the direction of the main road. Carrying her beloved Louis away to the motorway, the trip down south and whatever lay in wait for him there.

‘Good luck, Louis, my love,' she whispered.

‘What's that, sexy?' said Max's voice from the bed. Fighting back her latest wave of revulsion, Abi painted her false smile back on her face, knowing now more than ever that she'd got to keep Max occupied.

‘Glad you're awake, sleepyhead,' she lied. ‘I was getting lonely!'

‘Climb back in then, darling,' said Max, delighted. ‘There's plenty more where last night's action came from!'

Bracing herself, Abi climbed back into bed next to Max's naked body. Think of Louis, she said to herself repeatedly
as Max heaved himself on top of her and satisfied his needs with a series of grunts. Abi was actually glad that Max was an extremely selfish lover as it meant she didn't have to act too much; just make all the right noises as he came, mercifully quickly.

‘Enjoy that, gorgeous?' he asked, flicking on the television and not really interested in her reply.

Knowing that before long she'd have to distract Max once more, Abi took the opportunity to enjoy a time of respite and actually found the mindless chatter on breakfast TV quite relaxing. Less relaxing, however, were the constant Sponsored adverts reminding the populace how to live their lives. As each Sponsor-endorsed reminder got an approving grunt from Max, Abi found herself loathing the man more and more.

For the first time in his life, Louis left the Lake District and all that was familiar to him as he, Jenny and Sarah headed rapidly south on the M6. Turning round to chat to the still-excited Jenny, he saw the fells etched on the horizon, his weak eyes crossing in an attempt to focus on the comforting sight. All too soon the fells slipped out of sight completely, and Jenny was starting to get fractious.

‘I'm hungry! I need a wee! Are we there yet? Are we there yet?'

By the time the car started to slow in heavy traffic around Manchester, the child was repeating her mantra constantly, her voice more whiny by the minute.

‘Sarah, I think we'd better stop at the next services,' said Louis, getting heartily sick of Jenny's whinging

‘I don't think we'll be able to, Louis love,' replied Sarah. ‘They're all Sponsor-controlled.'

‘Oh, come on, Sarah; just so Jen can go to the toilet!'

‘OK, Louis,' Sarah snapped back, ‘but don't say I didn't warn you.'

The next motorway service station turned out to be close, only another five miles or so further on. Sarah parked up without any trouble, Louis giving her a smug look which lasted only as far as the entrance door. Large signs on either side of the door read: ‘Insert Sponsorship Card to Gain Entry'.

‘What?' said Louis, shocked. ‘We can't even use the toilets?'

At that moment a security guard ambled past.

‘Insert your card in the slot, lad,' he said. ‘Either side of the door will do.'

‘Err, I don't actually have…' stammered Louis, but the guard interrupted.

‘No card, no entry!' he snapped, his previously friendly demeanour vanishing in an instant.

‘But my little sister needs the toilet, and my father is…'

‘I don't care if your father's the Sultan of Brunei, boy. No card, no entry. We don't tolerate Unsponsored riff-raff around here, so get lost before I have to call the police!'

Totally unmoved by Jenny's tears, the security guard herded the three of them back to Sarah's car and watched as they drove out of the car park back on to the motorway. ‘Unsponsored scum!' he muttered, before going about his business.

Thoroughly shaken by the encounter with the security guard, Louis was silent for a while once Sarah started driving south again. Laying his head against the window he tried to focus his eyes on the gradually flattening land as soon even the Pennines were lost from his view. Sarah talked to Jenny, cheering the little girl immensely with promises of a picnic very soon. True to her word, Sarah left the motorway and drove into the countryside.

‘I'm sorry I snapped earlier, Sarah,' said Louis, his voice thick. ‘I didn't know…'

‘Of course you didn't, love. It's something we've been
protecting you from for so long; I think maybe we've kept you too much in the dark. The reality is that, in the more populated areas of the country, the Sponsors control pretty much everything.'

‘Where are we going to stay then?' asked Louis, worried. ‘If we can't even take Jenny in to use a service station toilet, I can't see many London hotels welcoming us.'