Dory's Avengers (65 page)

‘Who lives in his own exclusive cloud-cuckoo-land,' interrupted Theo.

‘Well, quite,' said Adam, grinning at Theo. ‘As soon as Dad got back from Applethwaite last December, His Lordshit was on to him to get Louis included in the British team.'

‘Didn't your dad explain to His Lordshit that Louis would have to qualify?' Georgie asked, a little disconcerted when a number of her companions, including her brother, howled with laughter.

‘Georgie,' said Lysander, wiping his eyes, ‘you don't explain things to His Lordshit; you just do as you're told.'

‘His Lordshit only hears what he wants to hear, Georgie,' Adam continued. ‘Dad knew there'd be no point even trying to explain the rules of Olympic qualification; instead, he
had to find a way of getting Louis into the Games. As a result, he's been liaising with the Gymnastic Federation and Olympic officials since December. He was on the verge of a breakthrough when, lo and behold; His Lordshit has a hissy fit and decides he doesn't want Louis in the Games after all.'

‘Oh yes, the day I was sacked,' said Lysander, grinning. ‘No wonder David looked so pissed off…'

‘Oh, he was. So was Mum. They've talked about nothing else since.' Suddenly Adam's face broke into a huge grin. ‘I'm delighted to say, my parents have rebelled. They decided that they'd continue with the negotiations behind His Lordshit's back, and that's what led to tonight. Obviously, the Gymnastic Federation representatives had all heard of Gideon…'

Gideon inclined his head, looking immensely pleased with himself.

‘…And they wanted to meet with him, hear his opinion and learn more about his mysterious protégé…'

‘I was the last piece of the jigsaw as far as the officials were concerned,' said Gideon. ‘David and Julia had done all the groundwork. I haven't always seen eye to eye with your father, Adam…'

‘No,' said Jess. ‘Nor did Elliot.'

‘…But he's redeemed himself just when we needed him most. I know your views, Jess,' Gideon added as Jess continued to look sceptical, ‘but I think even Elliot would agree that David Foster's finally come good. All I had to do was confirm that Louis is by far the best gymnast this country has ever produced…'

‘Since you, Gideon…'

‘No, Louis; the best EVER. Thanks to David, the Olympic officials were already aware that you weren't able to compete in any qualifiers due to your lack of Sponsorship. The recent media attention the Unsponsored have been getting
has helped to underline the oppression going on in this country; and, coupled with my guarantee that Louis's talent is well worth displaying to the world, it swung things totally in our favour.'

‘So; no pressure on me, then,' said Louis nervously.

‘None at all, Louis,' said Gideon, wheeling his chair over to the young man in his agitation to make himself understood. ‘None whatsoever, because you are THE BEST!'

‘If you say so,' said Louis, still not fully convinced. ‘What next?'

‘The qualifiers are on Saturday. You turn up. You show the judges what you can do. You qualify for the medal events. Simple enough for you, Trevelyan?'

‘Which events?'

‘THE ONES YOU BLOODY QUALIFY FOR, YOU MORON!' yelled Gideon, earning himself a furious admonishment from Sarah.

‘Gideon, don't talk to Louis like that! He's not stupid.'

‘He's not the brightest, Sarah love…'

‘…HE'S NOT STUPID! Just nervous, aren't you, darling?'

‘It's OK, Sarah; I like Gideon yelling at me. It's comforting. Right, Gideon,' continued Louis, turning to his mentor, ‘I do actually know how this qualifying thing works…'

‘I don't,' said Theo with a chuckle. ‘Could you explain a bit more please, Gideon? Loudly. Calling Louis lots of nasty names as you go…'

‘Dickhead,' said Louis, aiming a playful kick at Theo only to find his foot grabbed by Matilda. Laughing as he was upended onto the cushion, Louis added, ‘Careful, Matty, I think Gideon may just skin you alive if you injure me now…'

‘He wouldn't dare,' said Matilda with a grin.

‘I wouldn't dare,' agreed Gideon.

‘I wouldn't recommend you dare,' added Alan, looking a little put out when everyone burst out laughing at his appearance.

‘If I ever take advice from a man with a headful of pink ribbons,' said Gideon, wiping his eyes, ‘my credibility wouldn't survive the shame.'

‘I think Alan looks very pretty,' said Jenny, looking as put out as her model.

‘Glad someone's got taste,' grumbled Alan, narrowing his eyes at Dex who was completely helpless with laughter. ‘If you'd all like to stop giggling like schoolgirls, I for one am interested in learning more about how our fab Unsponsored gymnast is going to qualify for the Olympic finals.'

‘Quite simple,' said Gideon, trying hard to control his laughter. ‘Louis does his stuff. The judges award him points for each event. If he scores enough points in total, he'll go through to the all-round medal event, and he'll also qualify for the individual events in which he achieves high scores. I'd expect to see Louis qualify for the parallel bars and floor work, as well as the all-round…'

‘So no pressure, then,' interrupted Louis again, nerves chewing him up inside as his friends all turned expectant gazes in his direction.

‘None at all, Lou,' said Abi, squeezing his hand. ‘If Gideon believes in you, then you're good enough.'

‘We're all behind you, son,' added Lysander.

‘Yeah; knock the Sponsored for six, Bleachy,' said Max, not even looking up from his notebook as he recorded the conversation for posterity.

‘Man up, Lou,' said Theo, starting to laugh again, ‘or I'm sure Jenny can find a nice stash of pink ribbons for your hair…'

‘OK, OK,' said Louis, relaxing in the good humoured company of his friends, ‘I believe!'

Finally, the long-awaited Games began in London. The opening ceremony, worked on assiduously by a whole host of Sponsored experts, was hailed across the length and
breadth of the Sponsored country as a tremendous success. Lord William was relieved to see there was no opposition from the Unsponsored; in fact, in stark contrast to them being so conspicuous in the weeks leading up to the tournament, there had been virtually no sign of them on the opening day of the Games. His Lordship, complacent from decades of being surrounded by sycophants, allowed himself to believe that the recent protests on the streets had been the Unsponsored swansong. Nothing had changed as far as Lord William was concerned, so he decided that the Unsponsored must have come to the same conclusion as he had himself; that the Scheme would continue to reign supreme, no matter how much the Unsponsored rebelled.

‘The Games have begun, ladies and gentlemen,' he said to his inner circle of Sponsors, ‘and what a success the opening ceremony turned out to be. How could it be anything but a success, though, with the best Sponsored minds planning it so meticulously?'

Faye thought to herself that the opening ceremony had been rather boring, lacking any spontaneity or originality. Unbeknown to her, Mortimer and one or two of the other Sponsors were thinking along similar lines, but not even the outspoken Faye dared give voice to the thought.

‘Do you think there'll be any more trouble from the Unsponsored, Your Lordship?' she asked instead.

‘I don't think so, Faye,' His Lordship replied amiably. ‘Do you think there will then?'

‘I don't think we can discount it, Your Lordship,' replied Steph, conscious that Faye always seemed to be the one to bring up difficult topics with Lord William and deciding to offer her support. ‘They've been pretty persistent recently…'

‘Until yesterday,' said His Lordship, smiling benignly. ‘My belief is that even the Unsponsored aren't stupid enough to ruin the Games for the Sponsored. I almost wish they'd try – see how popular they'd be in the public opinion then.'

‘I can't help feeling they're planning something,' Faye persisted.

‘Well, I don't think they are,' countered Lord William, looking at Faye with an expression of mild amusement, ‘but as you're so adamant that they are, Faye, perhaps you'd be so good as to share what you know with the rest of the group.'

‘I don't know anything, Your Lordship…'

‘Oh come now, Faye. Your daughter is an active member of the Unsponsored SCUM, not to mention the fact that Theodore's screwing her. Don't tell me she knows nothing…'

‘I'm sure Matilda knows plenty, but she would never tell me, Your Lordship,' replied Faye.

‘So how come you know that they're planning something?'

‘I don't know anything, Your Lordship. My comments were purely speculative.'

‘Why don't you phone Matilda and see what you can find out?'

‘With respect, Your Lordship, that would be about as effective as you phoning Theodore for the same reason. My daughter and I don't get on.'

The Sponsors held their breath as Lord William steepled his fingers under his chin and gazed expressionlessly at Faye. Expecting His Lordship to lose his temper at Faye's blunt assessment of his relationship with his son, the Sponsors were surprised when he spoke in a calm and steady voice.

‘I think no more needs to be said on the subject. Julia; please share with your colleagues the positive feedback the Sports Sponsorship Group has received concerning the opening ceremony…'

Lord William remained happy in his ivory tower until the evening. While Julia was massaging His Lordship's ego with
her report, dwelling on comments such as ‘well organised' and ‘cleverly planned' in relation to the unimaginative Sponsored opening ceremony, her husband was watching an extremely talented Unsponsored British gymnast wow the Olympic judges. The other British gymnasts were at first suspicious and resentful about Louis's last-minute inclusion in the qualifying events, glowering at the nervous, pale-haired young man in the dark glasses as they whispered among themselves. However, they could only watch in awe as Louis performed his routines for the judges, his confidence growing with every fluid move and every familiar flex of his muscles. Word soon went round the Arena that Gideon Wallis was back on the scene for the first time since his horrific accident; and that his protégé was, if anything, even more gifted than the great man himself. Gideon never doubted for a second that Louis would qualify with ease. Louis's scores for floor work and the parallel bars were so outstandingly high that, not only did he qualify for those medal events, he also sailed through to the all-round final with a very healthy total score once he'd completed all six disciplines. Glowing with pride, Gideon wheeled himself over to Louis when the qualifying scores were announced, and for once found himself at a loss for words.

‘Come on, Gid,' said Louis, struggling himself to take in the amazing thing he had just achieved. ‘It's not like you to have nothing to say.'

‘Don't call me Gid!' was all the older man could manage in a curiously choked voice. David Foster was a lot more eloquent.

‘You were brilliant, Louis. Absolutely stunning display. I knew you were good last winter, but you've surpassed my expectations. Amazing. Simply amazing. Gideon; you're a genius…'

‘Louis is the genius, Foster,' replied Gideon. ‘I'm just lucky enough to work with the best…'

‘All the same, no one could have trained Louis better than you. Everyone knows that. It's all anyone can talk about. You're amazing, both of you…'

‘Do stop gushing, Foster,' said Gideon, beaming at David's words. ‘I hope this doesn't bring you too much grief from His Lordshit…'

‘Oh it will,' replied David, not looking at all put out by the idea. ‘And do you know what? I couldn't care less! Sport won the day today, Gideon. Sport won.'

Gideon shook hands warmly with David Foster, a man he used to despise.

‘Noble sentiments, David,' he said, still unable to wipe the smile from his face as Louis continued to look a little dazed. ‘Sport won; couldn't agree more.'

By the time Gideon and Louis returned to the Unsponsored HQ in Philip Lorimer's four by four, the names of the qualifying gymnasts had already been released by the media. As Louis's inclusion came so late, only Gideon had been able to accompany him to the North Greenwich Arena, much to the dismay of Dory's Avengers. Abi, Sarah and Lysander in particular had a highly frustrating day waiting for news, biting their nails and watching the clock. Theo wasn't much better, driving everyone mad with his constant fidgeting until Matilda grabbed him by the hand and ran with him at top speed from one end of the huge old power station to the other. Jenny was too young to have any previous experience of the Olympics, but she had picked up on the fact that something important was happening and that it involved her brother. The little girl dealt with her pent-up energy by performing a string of highly competent handstands, demonstrating that Nicola had passed on her talent to her daughter as well as her son. Abi and Matilda joined in with Jenny's impromptu gymnastic display for a while, until Theo suggested that they all find a pub in which to pass the time.

‘There's a good one up on Kennington Lane,' said Jim with the benefit of local knowledge. ‘Unsponsored, of course, and it'll be showing the Games…'

Jim's voice trailed off as Theo, Abi and Matilda were already heading for the door. ‘I'll stay here, shall I?' said Jim, laughing as Lysander took Jenny's hand and started to follow the youngsters. ‘Let Louis and Gideon know where you've gone?'

‘Thanks, Jim,' replied Lysander. ‘Sorry to desert you like this…'

‘No problem, Lysander mate,' said Jim, laughing again as he added, ‘I'd never have believed it if anyone had told me a year ago I'd one day call Lysander Trevelyan ‘‘mate''! Go on, see you later!'

‘Come on!' said Jess, grabbing Lysander's other hand and leading him out of the HQ. ‘If in doubt, get drunk.'