Jimmy Coates (5 page)

“Just Chris being weird again,” said Felix quickly.

“And these two running off to who-knows-where,” Helen added.

Saffron nodded slowly.

“Chris being weird isn't news to me,” she said softly. Her voice seemed as smooth as her skin, and had some of the same darkness.

“Do you think we should, erm, keep him under surveillance?” said Felix quickly.

Jimmy smiled. He was always impressed by Felix's ability to distract attention from anything that could get him into trouble – and as long as they were talking about Viggo, they couldn't talk about Jimmy, Felix and Georgie sneaking off together.

“I know he has a lot on his mind,” Jimmy joined in, “but he's kept so many secrets from us. He hardly talks to us any more.”

Saffron and Helen looked at each other, but Jimmy couldn't read their expressions.

“It's the money that worries me,” admitted Saffron. “You might be right, Felix. We might need to keep an eye on him – for his own safety. I don't know how well we can trust his campaign staff or even his security guards. Everybody was hired in such a hurry.”

“We've come this far without any problems,” said Helen, now eyeing up Jimmy and Felix, as if to tell them
she
hadn't forgotten they were in trouble. But so far, Jimmy thought, Felix's distraction technique was working. They hadn't been sent straight to bed yet.

“But with the election so close…” said Saffron softly. “This is when it counts. If he loses—”

“He won't lose,” Felix cut in. “How can he? Everybody knows this Government is evil. They tried to go to war with France, and they haven't let anybody vote about anything until now.”

“But if he does lose,” Saffron went on, “I doubt many of his so-called supporters will stick by him. And if he wins it could be worse. We'll find out how many of them have been using him for their own power.”

There was genuine concern on her face. It was obvious to Jimmy that she still cared deeply about Viggo, despite his erratic behaviour since his campaign had become official. The man had worked against the Government in secret for so long, thought Jimmy. Maybe he just wasn't used to being allowed to do it in public. Maybe sometimes secrets could protect you.

Jimmy felt his fingers tingling. He knew it wasn't his programming, or even the radiation poisoning. It was his mind churning, unsure whether to show his mum.While he was deep in his thoughts, Saffron said goodnight and went back to bed. Now Jimmy looked at Felix. To Jimmy's relief, his friend saw the uncertainty on his face and immediately understood what to do.

“OK, bye then,” said Felix brightly. “I need my beauty sleep, you know.” He tilted his head and patted his hair, as if he was some kind of supermodel, then hurried out of the room. Jimmy couldn't help smiling, despite the dread in his heart.

“You too, Jimmy,” said his mum.

Jimmy didn't move, but he couldn't say anything either. It was several seconds before he forced his arm muscles to pull his hands from his pockets.

“What's this?” asked his mum, taking his hands and turning them over to examine them.

“Mum,” choked Jimmy, “I have to explain where I went tonight, and why and…” He paused, staring at the floor, knowing that if he looked at his mother's face he might not be able to stop himself crying. “…and I have to tell you what's happening to me.”

The White House seemed to glow in the late-afternoon sun. The perfectly neat lines of its construction were broken by the flashes of red and blue coming from the dozens of Stars and Stripes flags that flapped wildly. In the centre of it all was Colonel Keays.

His medals glinted off his navy uniform. He was a stocky man of about sixty, but today, with his chin high and triumph in his eyes, he looked a little younger. The seal of the President of the United States was emblazoned on the lectern in front of him. It may as well have been on the man's chest.

“…I am greatly humbled by the honour the people of this great nation have thrust upon me,” he was saying. His words boomed over the public address system. The gathered crowd listened obediently, smiles fixed. The whole occasion was perfectly stage-managed. Even the few thin hairs left on top of Colonel Keays' head were greased flat so they wouldn't misbehave.

“…and I promise to you all that the country will be made even greater by my efforts, within our own boundaries and beyond. For example, while our cousins in the United Kingdom struggle through their own election, I pledge to help them in their first steps towards real democracy, whatever the outcome of their vote.”

He puffed up his chest and stretched his shoulders, appearing even more broad than usual. Behind him, the marching band was given their cue. They lifted their instruments, light shimmering across the crowd as the sun reflected off the brass.

“I have already extended the hand of friendship to the British,” Keays went on, “and will continue to do so in countries around the world. We must never waver in our determination to extend our influence across the globe. This is the greatest nation on Earth.” There was a small ‘hurrah' from the crowd. “And I pledge to you now that as President I see our future as the greatest nation the human race has ever seen.” Another cheer, slightly louder, just as well orchestrated. “God bless America!”

Finally the crowd was allowed to give full-bodied applause. The carefully positioned Secret Service staff made sure it lasted just the right amount of time, never dropping below a spirited level, but remaining civilised.

The brass band struck up a lilting chorus of ‘Hail to the Chief' and dozens of government staff lined up for Keays to grip each hand in turn and grin into the nearby TV cameras.

At the end of the line, the cameras were escorted away and a team of aides bustled around Keays.

“Congratulations, Colonel,” whispered one, as they marched into the shadows, away from the crowds.

“I'm no longer a colonel,” Keays barked immediately. “I'm now Commander-in-Chief. You'll address me as ‘Mr President'.”

“Yes, Mr President.” The aide was so embarrassed he almost bowed.

“Any news from Britain?”

“Not yet, Mr President. Still a few hours to go. But Operation Blackout is in play.”

President Keays let out a stabbing laugh that echoed off the colonnades, then he led his staff quickly away through the doors of the White House.

 

Eva felt her eye muscles twitching. She'd gone through the whole night without sleep, but so had most of the staff of NJ7, she realised. She guessed that outside the labyrinth of NJ7 HQ the sun was probably rising, but down here in the tunnels there was no difference between night and day.

She stared at her notebook, watching her pencil move across the page automatically, barely able to focus on what Miss Bennett was saying. Instead, all Eva could see were the faces from an old photograph. Not only was she exhausted, but every time Miss Bennett looked at her she imagined the woman could see straight through to her back pocket, to the scanned copy of a tattered snapshot of a dozen old scientists.

Three of them already had bold black crosses over their faces. Those three could be no help to Jimmy now. The records of their deaths had been relatively simple to find, though Eva had been shocked to discover how easy it had been for NJ7 to assassinate their own staff. Now she had to fight to force the image from her mind.

“Eva, are you bored?” Miss Bennett's voice was cool and steady. She slipped so effortlessly from dictating notes to barbed comments that Eva almost scribbled down ‘are you bored' before she realised what Miss Bennett meant.

“Bored? No, of course not,” said Eva in a hurry. “Sorry.” She looked up from her notebook to see a compact smile on Miss Bennett's lips – a bright red flash across the middle of her pale face, like a ‘no entry' sign in negative. The Director of NJ7 was leaning against her desk, her long legs crossed casually in front of her. Her brown hair was, as always, immaculate, and with a glossy sheen that made it look almost unreal. She was dressed in a sharp black business suit, with a black shirt. How did she look so smart, Eva wondered, when she's also been up for almost 36 hours without sleeping?

“Good. Then we're done for now,” said Miss Bennett, gliding across her office to make her way out. “No need to read anything back to me. You can deal with it all in the car on the way to the airport.”

“Airport?” Eva could feel the tiredness enveloping her mind.

“Are you under the impression that the final word of anything I say needs translating into gibberish?”

Eva froze in Miss Bennett's glare.

“Er, no, Miss Bennett.”

“Then let's get on with the day, shall we?”

Eva hurried after her boss, mentally kicking herself – until now she'd completely forgotten that the first item on her schedule for that day was accompanying Miss Bennett to Heathrow. She longed to run as far away from NJ7 as possible. Every hour now felt like the prelude to her execution.

“This is going to be very delicate,” Miss Bennett explained as they walked briskly through the NJ7 complex. “The United Nations inspection team hasn't been making enough noise.”

“Isn't that a good thing?” Eva asked, terrified that her tiredness and her fear would make her give something away. “Doesn't it mean that they haven't found anything illegal or unfair about the election campaign so far?”

“Of course, but what's the point in me inviting the UN to send a team if they don't make a big fuss about how fair we're being? And are you going to ask stupid questions all day?”

“I will if you will,” quipped Eva before she could control her mouth. Miss Bennett glanced back, as shocked as Eva herself. Then, to Eva's huge relief, Miss Bennett raised an eyebrow and smiled. She was impressed.

“So now…” Eva went on, eager to show that she wasn't completely off the ball. She quickly flicked through her notebook, consulting her notes. “…now you've asked the head of the inspection team to come and oversee everything, and the Prime Minister is meeting him off the plane to introduce him to the press…” She flicked through another few pages, expertly keeping up with Miss Bennett's rapid march while also reading her own ordered scribblings.

They hurried through a small metal door and the surroundings changed. The bare concrete was gone. Suddenly there was plush red carpet. The walls were covered in ornate golden wallpaper and there was natural daylight. But Eva was used to this. She didn't even break stride. They'd passed through the secret entrance from NJ7 HQ into the back of Number 10 Downing Street.

“Everybody in the country…” Miss Bennett said, smoothly taking a cup of coffee from a waiting aide. “…everybody in the whole world, in fact – they'll all know that today's election is utterly fair. So when we win, our enemies will have no possible comeback.”

They swept through the building, their path lined with civil servants and government officials. Each of them handed Miss Bennett something she needed, or took something she was finished with. Eva noticed several of them couldn't help bowing their heads.

“Once this election is over, it's over,” announced Miss Bennett. “The last vestige of old-fashioned democracy dies today.”

Eva was taken aback by the certainty in Miss Bennett's tone. Finally the front door was held open for them. The brightness of the morning made Eva blink hard, but within seconds another aide held open the back door of a waiting car and they slipped into the black leather interior.

“I've been waiting here for ten minutes.” Ian Coates was already in the back seat, but the Jaguar was easily roomy enough to accommodate the three of them.

“I hope you've used the time to memorise the speech I wrote for you,” replied Miss Bennett, giving the driver a nod.

“Watch how you talk to me, Miss Bennett,” spluttered Ian Coates, “I'm still Prime Minister. Technically, I still run the country.”

“Yes,” Miss Bennett purred, “but who's running
you
?”

The Prime Minister had no response. Eva had seen these tiny battles a hundred times in the last few months, but the result was always the same. Ian Coates might have been Prime Minister, but he was nothing more than Miss Bennett's puppet.

“Straighten your tie,” Miss Bennett ordered, as if she was talking to a teenager. Ian Coates did as he was told. “And when you get out of the car, remember to smile a little.”

Coates nervously stretched his lips into a hideous grin.

“Less than that,” Miss Bennett sighed, without even looking at him. “You're British, remember.”

 

“So nobody knows how he can afford to rent this building?” asked Felix, twisting on the sofa until his knees hooked over the side.

“Get off me,” Jimmy insisted, shoving Felix's head away from his leg.

“Get a room, lovebirds,” joked Georgie. “And keep quiet.” She pointed at the TV screen to indicate she was trying to listen. The sofa was the only place to sit to watch the TV, so the three of them were closely bunched up together. “Chris is meant to be making a speech. If we're not allowed to be there ourselves then we can at least watch it on TV.”

Felix and Jimmy were silent for a few seconds before Felix deliberately nudged Jimmy's thigh with the top of his head.

“That's it!” Jimmy exclaimed with a laugh. He jumped up and landed with a bump right on Felix's face. Felix made a big show of wriggling and twisting to escape.

“Aargh!” he cried when he'd finally pulled himself free. He clawed at his own face and staggered round the room. “It's toxic, super-powered, genetically modified gas… Nooo!”

They all laughed, and Jimmy said, “I bet that's the first thing you'd put into someone's programming if you were designing them.”

“No,” Felix replied. “The first thing would be… never having to go to sleep!”

“Never sleeping?” Jimmy chuckled. “You'd be even more hyper than you are now!”

Soon they were distracted by images at the top of a news bulletin on TV. There were shots of a plane landing at Heathrow, then a tall, wiry man in a light-grey suit climbed down to the runway to shake hands with the Prime Minister.

Nobody said a word, but Jimmy could feel the joy draining from the room. He stared at the pictures of Ian Coates, the man he had thought of as his father for the first eleven and a half years of his life. On the screen, he was gripping the visitor's hand and twisting his face into a horrible, false smile. For a second Jimmy remembered laughing with him, messing around with him – loving him.

He forced away the emotion. Instead, he shifted his attention to his sister next to him. The man on screen really was
her
father, as far as they knew. Jimmy knew her feelings were as painful and complicated as his own, and he wanted to say something. He opened his mouth, but nothing came to his lips and his tongue felt dry.

The TV report cut away from the Prime Minister and went back to the wiry man, showing snippets of his speech. The caption on the screen read ‘Dr Newton Longville – UN Election Inspector'. Beneath it was a scrolling message that announced, ‘Chief UN Inspector welcomed by PM to monitor today's election.'

“My team will make sure there is no intimidation at the polls,” declared Dr Longville in a melodious American accent. In close-up he was much older than Jimmy had first thought. His nose was bony and crooked. “The ballot will be carried out under strict observation,” he went on, “using state-of-the-art technology known as HERMES – the Higher Echelon Remote Monitoring Election System.”

“HERMES?” said Felix. “Sounds like some kind of disease.”

The UN man's grey eyes stared into the TV camera, not blinking. “The design, manufacture and testing of every component has been overseen by UN engineers in controlled conditions. I'm certain that every voter will enjoy using the secure touch-screen kiosks that are currently being installed at polling stations around the country. The votes will be sent digitally, but securely, to the central hub in a secure location near Milton Keynes, where they will be counted by the HERMES mainframe computer.”

“He looks like some kind of robot,” said Georgie.

“Do you think he's telling the truth?” Jimmy asked, leaning towards the TV as if lies would give off a scent. Inside, his programming was rumbling, suppressing another wave of pain, but at the same time making him throb with suspicion. “Do you think NJ7 will control his team? Or him? Have they already rigged the vote?”