The Battle Ground Series: Books 1-3

by Rachel Churcher

  Play along. Let him have his fun.

  “Scotland, Sir.”

  “Yes, Ketty. Scotland. And how does this help us to arrest them? How does this help us to get them into the cells?”

  I shake my head. “It doesn’t, Sir.”

  Lee looks down at me, his smile fading.

  “No, it doesn’t.” He frowns. “And what about Mrs Ellman? Wasn’t she supposed to keep your recruits in line? Wasn’t she supposed to stop them doing something like this?”

  I’m about to answer, when Bracken cuts in.

  “I think she still can.”

  Lee looks down at him, a sneer on his face. “Oh, please explain.”

  “Bex and her friends could be very useful to the Scottish government, and to the OIE. We can use Elizabeth Ellman to keep them afraid. Corporal Smith can keep talking to her on camera, and we can keep putting the footage on PIN. It will make them think twice before they do anything to act against us.”

  Lee stares at Bracken, and then at me.

  “Are you planning to keep firing questions at Ellman’s mother? Do you really think that will keep their attention, now that they’re out of the country?”

  I nod, my mouth dry. “Yes, Sir. I do. I think Bex can be persuaded to stay where she is, where she can’t launch any more heroic assaults against government targets.”

  Lee shrugs. “I’m all for putting Mrs Ellman in front of that firing squad as soon as possible. But you think you can still use her?” I nod. “Fine. Keep Bex and her friends under control.” He looks me in the eye. “But if they do anything aggressive. If they start making broadcasts or putting out more of these messages? I’m signing her execution papers. Understood?”

  She’s my hotline to Bex. Don’t make her a martyr.

  I nod again. “Understood, Sir.”

  He stands up and walks round the desk to his chair.

  “I understand that you’ve got something else for me?”

  Bracken answers. “We have. The messages from Scotland mention a safe house in Newcastle. If we can trace the location, we can find the cell that helped Bex and her friends after the raid on Makepeace Farm.”

  Lee gives Bracken an appraising look.

  “Interesting. How are you proposing to do that?”

  Bracken looks at me.

  Time to pitch your idea, Ketty.

  “I think we need to put the owner of the car through Enhanced Interrogation, Sir. I think he knows where the safe house is.”

  Lee raises his eyebrows. “The gentleman from Jesmond.” He watches me for a moment too long. “Be my guest, Ketty. See what you can get out of him. I’ll approve Enhanced Interrogation for this afternoon. I’ll have my specialists meet you at Belmarsh.”

  “Thank you, Sir. If he knows where they were hiding, we’ll make sure he tells us.”

  Lee watches me again, without speaking. I feel like the mouse in front of the cat.

  Give me a chance, Sir. I’ll get what we need.

  He nods, eventually. “I’m sure you will, Ketty.”

  *****

  The Enhanced Interrogation room is larger than the room we’ve been using. There’s no furniture, and the walls and floor are tiled. Bracken and I stand against the wall as the guards bring the prisoner in. They check his handcuffs, and leave him standing in the centre of the room.

  He looks at me, and at Bracken, panic in his eyes. I stand still, and stare back at him.

  It’s not me you need to worry about.

  Two men in black jumpsuits walk into the room, closing and locking the door behind them. The prisoner turns as they approach him, and the panic takes over. He’s shaking as they move to stand beside him, one at each elbow.

  They haven’t touched him yet, and already the man is begging us to leave him alone.

  One of the men turns to Bracken. “Do you have questions you want to ask?”

  Bracken nods, and looks at me.

  I smile. I understand this.

  Iron fists and steel toe caps.

  *****

  When we get what we need, we’ve been with the prisoner for an hour. His nose is broken, and possibly his ankle as well. He’ll have bruises everywhere in the morning – he’s going to be hurting for days.

  And regretting every minute of our conversation.

  I’m trying to hide my smile as we walk out. The address we’re looking for is in Bracken’s notebook, along with names and information on the people who helped our recruits.

  One of the interrogation specialists smiles at me as he crosses the waiting room.

  “You were good in there,” he says. “Not squeamish. I like that in a Corporal.” He winks at me, and I give him a cold stare until he walks away, laughing to himself.

  Never underestimate me.

  Bracken watches him leave, disapproval on his face. I pour us both a coffee, and pretend not to notice when Bracken pulls a hip flask from his pocket and takes a long drink, his hands shaking. When the flask is back in his pocket I stop stirring the drinks and turn back to him.

  “Thank you, Ketty,” he says, taking the cup, his hands still shaking. “I forget how good you are at … physical persuasion.”

  “I didn’t touch him, Sir.” I take a sip of my drink.

  Bracken nods. “No. But you didn’t hold back on your questions, either.” He looks at me, and I’m not sure whether it’s fear or respect on his face. “You enjoyed that, didn’t you?”

  I try very hard to hide my smile. “I suppose so, Sir.”

  He sighs. “At least we’ve got our answers.” He finishes his drink. “Let’s go and find out whether he was telling the truth.”

  *****

  Lee gives us permission to send in the troops from Morpeth. The address we’ve been given is a health food shop in Wallsend, and the raid is planned for six o’clock tonight. We’re hoping the staff will still be on site, and we’re hoping to catch the owner. It seems that she was the person who borrowed the car, and judging by the prisoner’s description, she could be my mystery driver from the nursing home.

  There’s nothing to do now but wait. The footage, and any prisoners, will be with us in the morning. I tidy my desk, say goodnight to Bracken, and walk home in the cold.

  I change, and head out for a run. The cold air burns in my lungs, and my knee jars with every step, but the pain keeps me awake.

  You should be here, Jackson. You’d be proud of me.

  Birthday

  Bex

  There’s a loud knocking on my door. I’m waking from a dream, and someone is banging on my door. I crawl out of bed, throw a sweater on over my pyjamas, and stumble across the room. I can hear giggling outside.

  I pull the door open.

  “Surprise!”

  Dan and Amy are standing in the corridor, a cake held on a tray between them.

  A cake with seventeen candles.

  “Happy birthday, Bex!”

  Dan and Amy are grinning at me, and Charlie is smiling. Even Jake is hanging around in the corridor. I rub my eyes, and try to look happy.

  “Are you going to let us in?”

  I look back at my room, with its unmade bed, and yesterday’s clothes all over the floor.

  “Or we could go to the common room?” Charlie winks at me.

  “Common room sounds great.”

  We walk along the corridor – me, my friends, and my cake. I’m rubbing the sleep out of my eyes, and pushing my fingers through my hair to tame it. Covering a yawn with my hands.

  Charlie turns the lights on, and Dan puts the cake down on one of the tables. Some of the candles have blown out, but Dan pulls a lighter from his pocket and lights them again. I’m facing an inferno of seventeen candles.

  My friends break into song, and I wait for them to finish before I blow out all the flames. It takes two puffs, but the cheering is worth it.

  “Cake for breakfast!” Dan calls, as Charlie brings a knife from one of the kitchen drawers and Amy carries a pile of plates to the table.

 
; I carry my slice of cake to the sofa, and sit, one leg folded under me while the others sit down.

  “So how does it feel, Bex? Seventeen! You’re as old as me!” Dan pats his chest proudly.

  I roll my eyes, and take a bite of my cake.

  “This is delicious!”

  Charlie smiles. “I’m glad you like it.”

  “The benefits of having a chef in the gang!” Dan says, around a mouthful.

  Four of us are crowded onto the sofas, and Jake pulls a chair over from the dining area.

  “Happy birthday, Bex.” Amy puts her plate down and gives me a hug. “You OK?”

  I nod. There’s nothing I can do about Mum and Ketty, and right now I’ve got my friends looking after me. I give her a smile.

  Dan holds up his slice of cake. “It’s almost a sandwich, you know. Cake.” He nods, approvingly.

  Amy rolls her eyes. “This again? Why does everything have to be …”

  There’s a noise in the corridor, and we’re all on our feet when someone bursts through the door. We’ve had no warning, but we’re ready to fight, and Dan is reaching for the cake knife before we recognise Jake’s liaison officer. He marches into the room, followed by one of the soldiers who guard the compound.

  He raises a finger and points at Jake.

  “You!” He bellows. “Over here. Right now.”

  Jake reaches down and puts his plate carefully on the floor. Then he turns, giving us all a smug smile before he walks across the room to the two men. His liaison beckons the soldier over.

  “Hands out in front of you.”

  The soldier pulls out a pair of handcuffs and starts to snap them onto Jake’s wrists.

  And that’s when we all start shouting.

  The liaison holds his hands up for quiet.

  “You’ll get your turn. But right now, Mr Taylor here is in a world of trouble. I suggest that the rest of you stay here, and keep out of sight.” He looks at the cake on the table. “I’ll get some breakfast sent over.”

  “You can’t just take him away.” Amy steps towards the two men. “He’s our friend. We’ve fought together, and we’ve been in trouble together.” She points at Jake. “What’s he supposed to have done?”

  The liaison shakes his head, and the soldier puts his hand on Jake’s shoulder. Amy steps closer.

  “What did you do, Jake?” Her voice is quiet, and she sounds hurt.

  Jake gives her a mocking smile. “Something you lot were too scared to do.” He looks over at me, smirking. “Happy birthday, Bex,” he says, and laughs.

  The soldier takes Jake’s shoulder and leads him into the corridor.

  The liaison officer looks around at us. “You lot don’t leave this building. You stay in your rooms, or the common room. No computers. No training or shooting. Just sit tight.” And he follows Jake out of the room.

  *****

  “What the hell was that?” Dan sits down, his plate forgotten on the floor. We look at each other, but no one has anything to say. I’m shaking my head as I sink back onto the sofa.

  Amy wipes tears from her eyes. “What did he do?”

  I’m thinking through everything that happened yesterday. The whole day in the computer room, getting used to searching online, and watching PIN. The three of us, sharing our search results. Jake sitting on his own, typing.

  And I know what he did.

  “He gave us away.” The others look at me. “He told people where we are.” Dan opens his mouth to ask, and I cut him off. “On the computers, yesterday. He gave away our location.”

  Dan swears.

  Amy leans forward. “Are you sure?”

  I shake my head. “I think so.” I look up, at Dan. “It makes sense. He didn’t talk to us all day. And he was typing, not reading.” Dan looks at the floor, shaking his head. “I think he’s told the government where we are.”

  *****

  Someone from the kitchen brings us breakfast and a pot of coffee, and we sit on the sofas in silence picking at our bacon sandwiches. We finish the coffee, and the others tell me what they would have bought me for my birthday, if they’d been allowed to go shopping.

  We’re trying to cheer ourselves up. It should be funny, but no one’s laughing.

  It’s mid-morning before anyone comes to speak to us. We’re collecting up the plates and stacking them on the table when Gail walks in.

  “Good. You’re all still here.” She waves us back to the sofas. “Sit down, all of you.”

  She looks at the birthday cake, and then at me. “Happy birthday, Bex. I’m sorry. I should have remembered.”

  I shrug.

  “Are you going to tell us what happened?” Amy sits on the edge of her seat, waiting for an answer.

  Gail waits for us to get comfortable, then she pulls up the chair Jake was using and sits down.

  “So it seems that your friend spent yesterday doing exactly what we asked you not to do.” I nod, and sit back. I was right. “When we left you to get used to being online, and you all,” she points around the group, “ran searches and found out what’s out there, he was posting information on public sites. Information about you.”

  She looks down at her hands.

  “He let everyone know that you’re in Scotland. He told people about Camp Bishop, and Makepeace Farm, and about your safe house in Newcastle.”

  Dan sits forward. “He did what?”

  Gail waves her hands. “He didn’t give the address, or anything specific, but he did say that you were in Newcastle. And that, obviously, puts our operatives in Newcastle at risk.” She shakes her head. “As of last night, we haven’t heard from Neesh or Caroline, and we’re trying to find out whether the other safe houses have been compromised.”

  I feel sick. I feel dizzy. After everything Neesh and Caroline did for us. After everything we’ve done already to put them at risk.

  “Why would he do that?” Amy is fighting back tears.

  Gail looks at me. “There’s something else.” I see the look in her eyes and I’m starting to panic. “He said some … unfriendly things … about Bex.”

  Amy gasps, and turns to me.

  “In public?” Charlie asks.

  “In public.” Gail glances at Charlie, then looks back at me. “I’m sorry, Bex. It’s better that you hear this from me, than you find it online. There are a lot of people on the sites he used, and they’ve all seen what he wrote. We’ve taken the original posts down, but there are plenty of copies out there, and the replies are still up. I can share them with you if you like, but I’d recommend that you steer clear of it, at least for now.”

  I put my head back and stare at the ceiling. “Let me guess. Everyone thinks I’m a hero, but I’m not. Everyone thinks I save people but actually I leave them to die. I have screaming nightmares because I secretly know what horrible things I’ve done. And I won’t let anyone else be a hero – I want all the glory for myself.”

  Amy reaches out and takes my hand.

  Gail lets out a breath. “I can see this isn’t a new disagreement between you.”

  I shake my head. “Not even close.”

  “I’m sorry,” she says. “Whatever the background is to all that, you didn’t need it to go public.” She pauses. “And we would have liked to keep your arrival secret for a little longer.”

  “So what do we do now?” I sit up as Dan speaks.

  “Now? Now you stay here. In your rooms, or in the common room. Curtains closed. No access to the computers.” She looks around at us. “I’m sorry to do this, but I’m sure you understand. We need to figure out what do to next.”

  She stands up. “We’ll get meals brought over, until we decide how best to keep you all safe. We’ll sort this out, but it might take a bit of time. Just, please, be patient. We’ll figure everything out as soon as we can.”

  She walks to the door. “Any questions?”

  “Where’s Jake now?” Amy asks, her voice a whisper.

  “Jake is safe. He’s under guard, and we’r
e asking him some questions, but he’s not in any danger.”

  Amy nods, and brushes a tear from her cheek. “Thank you,” she says.

  “Are you really worried about me, after what Jake said?” I stand up, making sure Gail doesn’t leave. “Or are you worried about the face of the resistance. About your image. My face, out there on your posters, and Jake, telling people who I really am?”

  “We … we’re worried about all of that. We’re worried about the effect on the resistance, of course. But we’re worried about you, too.” I can hear the sincerity in her voice, right up until she’s talking about me.

  This is about the resistance. They don’t want me to go online and retaliate. They don’t want me to have a say at all. Front-line doll. Keep your face pretty and your mouth shut.

  “Yeah. That’s what I thought.”

  Gail nods, and walks out into the corridor.

  “Happy birthday, Bex,” I say, watching the door close behind her.

  Footage

  Ketty

  Bracken is waiting when I walk in with the morning coffee and briefing papers.

  “Good news and bad news, Ketty,” he says from the chair behind my desk.

  “Sir?” I put a mug in front of him, put the briefing papers on the edge of the desk, and stand, waiting for him to continue.

  “We found the safe house.”

  I smile. “The address was correct?”

  He nods. “Your prisoner gave us the right address.”

  Iron fists and steel toe caps. Give people an incentive to talk, and don’t give them a Plan B.

  “So what did they find?”

  “Empty flats. That’s the bad news.”

  “And the good news?”

  He smiles. “Prisoners.”

  *****

  The footage is grainy, and shot from helmet cameras, but we can see what happens as the soldiers seal off the street outside the shop, then break in through the front doors. Some shouting, some screaming as the staff realise what’s happening. Through to the back of the shop and the store room, and then up the stairs to a small flat.