The Code War (6 page)

Nancy fished in her handbag. 'No, no
need,' urged Tadeusz, trying to stop her. But Nancy found a £1 note
and pressed it into his hand.

'Thank you,' she said, her eyes
rapidly moistening. She stared into his face for a long moment and
then turned and walked briskly away.

As she departed through the
crowds, Tadeusz followed her with his eyes. For a moment he thought
he saw a dark figure wearing a curved blade at its side walking
behind her. Very close behind her. He blinked and wiped his eye.
The figure was gone. That damn war, he said to himself. It spared
my body but not my mind. I'm seeing things that don't
exist.

He looked down at the sandwich bag
between his hands. Then he sat down on the pavement again and began
to open it carefully.

'So tell me,
Nance,
' said Mel, when Nancy had
returned. 'How is your boyfriend situation?' It was still lunchtime
and Mel was in gossipy mood.

'What do you mean?' Nancy took
another bite of sandwich and dabbed the corner of her mouth with a
paper serviette.

'You know what I mean. Have you got a
boyfriend or not?'

Nancy smiled. 'Not really. No-one
special anyway.'

'How come? You're not that bad
looking.
On a good day.'

'Oh thanks.'
Nancy took a drink of coke. 'Anyway, I've had boyfriends.
There's just no-one about at the moment.'

'So come on then, what's your
type? What kind of guy do you like bringing you breakfast in bed?'
Mel was turned sideways towards Nancy with her elbow on her desk
and a hand cupped around her cheek.

'Oh, just the usual, I suppose. Someone
nice. Someone I can rely on.'

'That doesn't sound very romantic.'

'Oh, I don't know. I think reliable is
romantic.'

'Reliable is boring. Reliable is,
well..next thing you've got a family. Two point four kids and a
mortgage.'

A faraway look came into Nancy's
eyes.
'I didn't have much of a family you
see. If I could, I'd have a family first. Mum and dad and brothers
and so on. Love to have a brother. And then a boyfriend. In that
order.'

She wiped her hands and rolled her
serviette in a ball.

'Brothers aren't that special,' said
Mel, determined to be helpful. 'I've got a brother. You can have
him. He's rubbish.'

'Oh thanks a lot.' And Nancy threw her
serviette at Mel who ducked and laughed and flicked her legs under
the table.

The shop door opened. It was two of
Mel's customers and she rose to greet them.

Nancy
returned to her thoughts. A holiday brochure in the rack on
the wall caught her attention. Israel. As she stared at it her face
became serious again. She thought of Tadeusz Jacek who had lost
contact with his family in Poland. She reached for the phone. The
booking form on the desk in front of her surrendered Martin's
details and she dialled his home number. Beside her, Mel was
reaching for brochures of Greek villas while talking to her
customers about island-hopping.

A woman’s voice answered.

‘
Hello, can I speak
to Martin, please. It’s Nancy from the travel agents in Ealing,’
Nancy announced.

‘
Martin,’ shouted the
woman at the top of her voice in the commanding way that only a
mother would summon a teenager. 'Phone'.

Nancy heard the thunderous footfall of a
heavy person coming slowly down the stairs.

‘
Hi, Martin here.'
Flat monotone.

‘
Martin, it’s Nancy.
From Ealing Travel? It's about your holiday that you were hoping to
book. I was just thinking about your call and reflecting that it
was such a shame that Dan can't go with you.’

‘
Yes, what a bore,’
said Martin sounding fed up. ‘Some people never stop to think of
others.’

‘
Look,’ said Nancy,
‘I’ve had an idea which would save your field study trip. Fact is,
I’ve found someone who would like to come with you as your fourth
member. It’s a female. A girl, that is. I mean a woman. She’d pay
her way but keep out of your way, if you know what I
mean.’

Nancy's eyes were shining
brightly. ‘What do you think? Or shall I just tell her that it’s
not possible?'

‘
No, no, don’t do
that,’ blurted Martin. ‘Who is this mystery lady, where has she
popped out from?’ he asked.

‘
Well, actually,’
said Nancy who was gripping the phone so tight she could almost
feel Martin's thoughts down the phone, ‘it’s me. You see I haven’t
had a holiday in ages and I’ve always wanted to know more about the
ancient Egyptians.’

‘
Er..it's
actually Roman and Greek settlements we're looking
for
.'

‘
Yeah, that's right,
I was just testing you. No I know that. Well OK, I didn't. But you
see that's the point. I love all those camels and temples and
things. Only I didn't pay attention at school. And it would just
all fit quite well 'cause... But you probably wouldn’t want me
along. It’s silly to even…’

‘
No, it’s not silly
at all,’ blurted Martin for the second time. His mind was now
racing.

‘
No, it could be
good,’ he continued. ‘Look, if you’re sure you’re up for this, why
not let me talk to the others and see if they’re OK about it too. I
certainly am. It could be a laugh and it would save our studies
from going to the wall.’

Nancy put down the phone. She put her
head in her hands, already suffering remorse.

'Stupid,' she said out loud to
herself.

The phone rang ten minutes later.

It was Martin.

The other two boys had eagerly agreed to
Nancy’s proposition.

It was on.

Nancy cradled the phone and
stared intently out of the window for several
seconds. Then she rose and walked slowly and purposefully back down
the aisle of the shop and stood by David's desk. She put her hands
behind her back. A schoolgirl seeking audience with the head
teacher.

'I need to take some leave,' she
announced.

David turned and stared at her
incredulously. 'You've only just joined us. You haven't earned any
leave.'

Other agents were turning around
to listen. David waved them back to their work.

'I know.'

They continued staring at each other.
David wore an anxious look. Nancy was relaxed.

'How long?'

'Two weeks,' replied Nancy evenly.

'You can take unpaid leave.' David
turned away.

'No.'

He
looked back at her. Fear was across his face now. His hand
brushed his top pocket where he still held the business card she'd
written on. He looked around the office. For help, Nancy
thought.

'What is it for?'

'An elderly relative of mine needs
to see me.'

David's arms were flapping around
his desk like kites in the wind. Nancy was holding him with her
eyes, pinning him with her unblinking stare.

She decided to help him out. 'It's
urgent.'

He sucked
in his breath between his teeth and looked around him as if
he'd been pushed to the edge. 'Well, all right then. If it's really
life and death.' He raised his voice so all could hear. 'But after
that, no more holidays till next year.'

'Thank you,' said Nancy quietly.
Then more audibly, 'Do you want a cup of tea?'

Pentacurse Region,
Inferno - one mile from Husk Tower, three levels
underground.

Captain Kodrob cast his cards down
on the table and stood up abruptly. A trip-alarm had sounded in the
wall of the squadroom warning him that someone was approaching. His
intelligent eyes looked towards the door while his brain tried to
assess the threat.

The six satyr
soldiers playing with him, members of the Marauders
battalion, put their hands to their weapons. Just in
case.

'It's probably just a dumb troll,'
said Lafarge the French demon.

'Or someone trying to steal our liquor,'
said Holzman the German.

Kodrob needed quiet. 'Shut up all
of you
, or I'll send you where the lights
are bright.'

He
walked to the doorway and looked down the
corridor.

'I
t's
Bezejel,' he hissed. 'She's early. Quick, get this place in order.
Put those cards away. And take that cover off the face!'

Chairs were pushed back and
clattered to the ground. Liquor tankards were hurriedly put
away.
An infantryman sprang to the wall
and pulled away a leather skin which had been draped over two
hooks. The eyes of the Leader, etched in charcoal on the ochre
walls, again looked out.

Footsteps approached the door at
a
clip. Light footsteps, not boots.
Clack, clack, clack. The Marauders gave each other one final
nervous look and snapped to attention. Bezejel swept into the room
followed by her two grim-looking satyr bodyguards, Gog and Magog.
The hem of her red dress swished as she turned around and surveyed
the anxious soldiers.

Only Kodrob had the courage to
look at her directly. She was a high-caste siren demoness and was
both beautiful and terrible
in equal
measure. The fear used by the Leader to control his subordinates
was taken up in turn by all commanders to control their own
underlings. Bezejel was adept at intimidation.

'Ma'am, Captain Kodrob and his
squad at your service. We weren't expecting you till later. How may
we help you?' Kodrob kept his speech and tone even.

'So
,
you're Kodrob,' said Bezejel through her perfect teeth and
blood-red lips. 'They tell me you're less of a maggot than most of
your breed.' From Bezejel, this amounted almost to praise. Kodrob
maintained his composure, looking her in the eyes.

'I have a mission to accomplish on
the direct order of the Leader,' she announced, surveying his face
for any sign of weakness. 'This is to be my base for some time to
come. You will report directly to me and make sure I have all that
I need. You will not rest until we are finished and our victory is
accomplished. Now, you will provide me with some quarters nearby.
You will furnish them appropriately for my rank and ensure I have
all listening and communication equipment for the earthly rock. We
have hearts to break and souls to take.'

'Yes ma'am, thank you
ma'am.'
Kodrob liked a boss who knew what
she wanted.

Bezejel walked around the squad
room, looking closely at the faces of the other Marauders. Some of
them were twice her size. But it was they who trembled.

She continued her conversation
while still inspecting the room.
'Well,
aren't you going to ask me something Kodrob, or are you about to
drop in my estimation of you?' She was back at his side, looking up
at him.

'Ma'am, may it be permitted to
know something of the nature of your
mission?' He braced, wondering if this was the right
question.

'And why
do you need to know more about my mission?' Bezejel's voice
had dropped to a whisper.

'Because ma'am,
I and my team can serve you better if we have a greater
understanding of your destructive purpose.'

Bezejel moved back slightly.

'Destructive p
urpose? What does a captain like you know about destructive
purpose?' There was a mixture of respect and curiosity in Bezejel's
eyes.

'I listen and learn, ma'am. I know
it's the phrase used to denote projects of special interest to our
Leader.'

A
silence ensued while Bezejel studied Kodrob's face
intently. The other Marauders remained rooted to the floor, only
their eyes flicking nervously as they tried to see what was going
on. At last she relaxed and the ends of her full lips turned up
slightly.

'Well, Kodrob,' she said, suddenly
charming, though maintaining her steady gaze into his eyes. 'Maybe
my sources were right and you and I will get along after
all.'

Then Bezejel's mood flipped as if
someone had turned a switch. Kodrob would come to see this as one
of her defining characteristics. She placed her hands lightly on
her hips, swishing her elegant dress and taking in the figures of
his squad who were standing as still as chess pieces.

'All right, listen up all of you
and pay attention. Bezejel is in a good mood today, thanks to your
dashing captain. I can't be bothered with being grumpy when there's
work on. It's not productive. It's time to have a fireside chat and
get acquainted. We're going to do words and looks around the table,
not burns and hooks on the wall. We'll be all cosy and matey-like,
how does that sound?'

S
he
walked around the room, picking up fallen chairs and patting down
the collars of relieved Marauders while administering gracious
smiles to all. Gone was the killer wolf-mother and in had come the
drawing room princess paying court to her favourite
nobles.

'So much to be done and so little time
to do it,' she chatted amiably. 'I just don't know where the day
has gone.'

But no-one doubted that she could
switch back just as easily.