Spiral (37 page)

Chester was in the small canteen just off the Hub where he was making tea for everyone while his mother prepared some sandwiches.

“Gone very quiet out there,” he observed, half glancing through the open door. Then he went back to topping up the last of the mugs with water from the kettle.

“I’m just so glad you made it back safely,” Mrs. Rawls replied.

“I’ve got a car entering by the front. Time is nine fifteen,” Elliott reported as an expensive-looking vehicle appeared at the main gates and was allowed through.

Drake nodded. “The registration number might be useful, but I won’t stop the playb —”

“More cars,” Elliott interrupted him.

Chester scooped out the tea bags from each of the mugs with a spoon, then added the milk.

“I’ll take these through and hand them out. How are you getting on over there?”

Mrs. Rawls didn’t answer, her back to Chester as she continued to make the sandwiches.

Chester stepped nearer to her. “Are you still only on the butter?” he asked with surprise. He couldn’t understand why it was taking her so long.

“I’m just so glad you made it back safely,” she said again.

Chester shook his head. “Mum, are you OK?”

She didn’t answer, meticulously spreading butter on a piece of bread, which was already thickly buttered.

“I’ve got both Rebeccas in the corridor,” Will announced with a shudder. “I think one’s talking on a cell phone.” Then the Rebecca twins disappeared from the scene.

“I’ll slow the playback a bit,” Drake said, typing on the laptop.

“Too late, they’ve already gone out of view — but I’m pretty certain that one was speaking on her cell,” Will said.

“I’ve picked them up in the main warehouse. Keep the playback at that speed,” Parry said. “This is interesting. They’re moving rapidly . . . but what are they up to? See that — they’re hauling a couple of the Styx women out with them!” He struck the floor with his walking stick. “They’ve taken them out of the warehouse!”

“Now I’ve got a Rebecca with a Styx woman heading toward the front entrance,” Will said.

Elliott took over. “And I’ve got one of the Rebeccas around the back. She’s got a Styx woman with her, too.”

Drake squinted up at the big screen. “Styx women? You’re sure about this?”

Elliott’s voice was uncharacteristically flat as she replied, “Yes. I had a clear view of her insect limbs.”

Will spotted more activity in one of his scenes. “Me, too.”

Drake shook his head. “This isn’t good. Keep your eyes peeled — we need to know what else went on before we pitched up.”

“Mum? Tell me what’s the matter. Are you upset because Dad was injured?”

Chester laid a hand on his mother’s shoulder, but she shuffled sideways along the work surface, to the next piece of buttered bread. She began to spread even more butter on it. “Isn’t that overdoing it a bit?” Chester said gently.

She remained silent.

“Because if you’re cross he got hurt, it wasn’t Drake’s fault — he did his best to keep us out of any danger.”

Chester craned his neck, trying to see her face. She certainly didn’t appear to be anxious.

“Why don’t you go and join Dad? Mrs. Burrows is putting a new bandage on him, and I’m sure he’d really like it if you were there,” he said softly to her.

“. . . made it back . . . made it back . . . made it back,” Mrs. Rawls mumbled, like a stuck record.

“What?” Chester couldn’t understand it.

He thought for a second. “They’ve forecast showers of chocolate frogs for tomorrow,” he declared confidently. “We should catch ourselves a few and eat them. What do you think of that? Chocolate frogs?”

Mrs. Rawls sounded normal enough as she replied — only Chester had heard the same phrase too many times before. “I’m just so glad you made it back safely,” she said.

Several of the monochrome views faded to black while others were filled with a seascape of wavy interference. “That’s where we came in,” Drake said. “The camera sensors are maxing out with the light from the explosions.”

Parry turned to him. “So we’re pretty sure the twins bugged out.” He shook his head as if appalled with himself. “No pun intended. And they extracted two of the Styx women.” He looked at Drake. “Their timing was very convenient. Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”

Drake raised his eyebrows.

Parry went on. “The call on the cell could have been to warn them that we were about to enter stage left.”

“So there’s a mole in the Old Guard?” Will thought aloud. “Or one of Eddie’s Limiters is a traitor?”

“That’s not possible,” Eddie said.

As everyone had been talking, Chester had emerged from the kitchen and was standing beside Drake. “I need to speak to you,” he said, with a concerned expression.

“Hold on a minute, Chester,” Drake replied, rewinding to the moment when Will had seen the Rebecca twin enter the corridor, then freezing it. “You’re right — she’s definitely on a call. If the system clock on the security camera has been set at the right time, we’ll be able to tell roughly when the call took place. Danforth can try to trace the incoming number through the nearest transmitter.”

“Drake,” Chester said, his voice shaky with desperation.

“Where is the Prof, anyway?” Drake asked as he resumed his typing on the computer.

Chester slapped the screen of the laptop shut, almost catching Drake’s fingers. “Why won’t you listen? Something’s not right with my mum.”

“What do you mean?” Drake said, only now realizing how upset the boy was.

“She’s acting weird and just saying the same thing over and over again when I speak to . . .” Chester was gabbling, then trailed off as Drake and Elliott exchanged urgent glances. They both seized their weapons and began to move rapidly.

In an effort to catch a glimpse of Mrs. Rawls in the canteen, Will had edged toward the center of the Hub. But instead, he’d spotted something else rather incongruous.

“There’s Danforth,” he said, pointing into the entrance tunnel. All the section doors were open, and the small man was standing a distance down it.

At that moment, the Hub completely powered down, and they were all plunged into total darkness.

“Is it the Styx?” Mrs. Burrows said, sensing something was wrong. Will hadn’t seen her enter the Hub, and of course the darkness made no difference to her.

“No, we don’t know that. All of you stay where you are,” Parry ordered, trying to keep everyone calm.

“Where’s Emily off to?” Mrs. Burrows asked.

The emergency lighting blinked on. And, sure enough, in the pale yellow glow suffusing the passageway, Mrs. Rawls was striding purposefully toward the Professor.

“Mum!” Chester shouted after her.

She hadn’t reached Danforth when she came to an abrupt halt and wheeled around.

“What’s she wearing?” Chester asked in a choked voice as he saw his mother was dressed in some sort of bulky vest.

Elliott had her rifle trained down the passageway. “I might be able to wing him,” she whispered loudly enough for Drake to hear.

Drake gave the slightest shake of his head, then called out to Danforth. “What
is
this? What’s going on?” he asked.

“Plan B,” the Professor laughed. “I didn’t think you’d be on my tail so soon.” He was holding something in his hand. It wasn’t a weapon.

“What do you mean,
your tail
?” Drake demanded as he started toward him.

“Might I suggest that you keep well back?” the Professor threatened, brandishing the control in his hand. “I Darklit Mrs. Rawls when Sergeant Finch was having his nap. It may have been a little rushed and not as polished as I’d have ideally liked, but the task I’ve programmed into her is simple enough. She’s sporting enough explosive in her vest to bring the roof down if I tell her to detonate. And if anyone fires a shot at me, or even comes too close, she also knows what to do. It’s
boom
time.”

“DANFORTH!” Parry bellowed. “What the
hell
do you think you’re playing at?”

“Don’t raise your voice at me, Commander, old chap. I’ve overridden all the systems in the Complex, so please be civil to me. There isn’t anything you can do.” Danforth touched the control in his hand, and the section door between him and Mrs. Rawls began to close across the passageway. Mrs. Rawls didn’t move, standing as still as a statue. Danforth touched the device again, and the door immediately reversed direction, rolling back into the wall. Sergeant Finch was trying the buttons on the handlebars of his mobility scooter, but they no longer had any effect.

“Explain yourself, Danforth!” Parry yelled, his voice like thunder.

“You can’t win,” the Professor proclaimed. “The Styx are ushering in a new dawn. You know I finished translating the
Book of Proliferation
while you were down in London. It’s a blueprint for what comes next . . . after the human race. And what I found when I investigated Elliott — well — it opened my eyes. So it’s nothing personal, Parry . . . it’s evolution, and I want to be on the winning team.”

“So you’re jumping ship and joining the other side? Is that it?” Parry shouted. “Sounds pretty personal to me, you damn fool!”

“Why shouldn’t I?” Danforth replied. “I’ve had it with my own kind — they had the benefit of my life’s work, and all the thanks I got was an enforced retirement and house arrest in some Scottish backwater. It wasn’t right, but I don’t expect you to understand, Parry.”