The Londum Omnibus Volume Two (The Londum Series Book 12)

by Tony Rattigan

  There were gasps of astonishment and comments such as, ‘See, I knew it,’ and ‘I told you so, didn’t I?’ from the assembled scientists. Two of them stared at each other and one, with a curse, took out a bank-note and passed it to the other one, who pocketed it with obvious glee.

  The king turned back to Cobb, ‘So this is how you travel between dimensions, by somehow changing your frequency?’

  ‘Apparently. I should point out though that I have no control over where I go. I can make it happen, I call it “pushing”, but the electrical field I generate is entirely random. I can’t aim for a particular Universe. So if you wanted me to go to the Elves Home world for example, I wouldn’t be able to do that.’

  ‘Fear not,’ replied Victor. ‘Our colourful friend here claims that he can make sure that you materialise in the right place. I believe his wife did that for you once before?’

  ‘Yes, that’s right, sir.’ (See The Speed of Dark)

  The prime minister butted in, ‘This is all well and good in theory but I want to see Mr. Cobb in action. Unless he can do what is claimed then all our clever plans amount to nothing. Mr. Cobb, would you give us a demonstration, please?’

  Cobb looked around him. ‘With respect Lord Parmesan, Your Majesty, can we go outside to do this? You see whenever I jump, I appear in exactly the same place in the other Universe. We’re on the first floor here but if there’s no palace wherever I go to, I will appear thirty feet up in the air and that’s quite a drop. If we go outside and stand on the ground then there’s a better chance of me ending up on solid ground on the other side.’

  ‘Of course, makes perfect sense,’ agreed Victor. ‘Follow me everyone.’ He led the way out of the War Room where he was confronted by Won Lungh. He saw the short Cantonese man, shaped like a barrel, nearly as wide as he was tall, dressed as a butler and with his bowler hat jammed on his bald head. He looked him up and down and asked, ‘Is this one of your friends, Harlequin?’

  ‘No, Your Majesty, he’s with me,’ explained Adele. ‘He’s my self-appointed guardian and he won’t let me go anywhere without him.’

  ‘Sensible precaution, especially in these uncertain times. Very well, bring him along.’

  Following the king, they all trooped down to the ground floor, through Buck House and outside into the spacious back gardens.

  Cobb stood on the lawn and everyone gathered around him and the king. ‘When you’re ready, Mr. Cobb,’ the king encouraged him.

  ‘How do we know he doesn’t just turn invisible instead of going somewhere?’ asked one of the crowd.

  ‘Okay, everyone gather round me in a circle,’ instructed Cobb. ‘That way there is no way I can get past you without flying over your heads, agreed?’ Everyone agreed and hastily encircled him, joining hands to make an unbreakable chain.

  ‘Ready?’ said Cobb and disappeared. No bang, no flash, he just faded away. Nobody said a word, they just inched forward to look at the empty spot where he had been standing.

  ‘Looking for me?’ came a voice from behind them and they turned round to see Cobb standing there. They broke the circle and gathered around him.

  ‘Amazing ... do it again,’ urged the king.

  Dutifully Cobb disappeared again and this time re-appeared a few moments later standing by a tree some distance away.

  ‘Go on, one more time,’ the king asked him again when he had rejoined the group.

  ‘Very well,’ he agreed. This time there was a longer delay before he re-appeared and this time he came back into view with a loud cry of ‘Aaaaaggggghhhhhhh!’ as he ran across the lawn with smoke pouring from his jacket. Adele and several of the scientists helped him to put out the charred bits of his jacket. When they tried to question him about what had happened he just put up his hands and said, ‘Don’t ask. Just don’t ask.’

  ‘Well, Mr. Cobb, I’m convinced,’ admitted the prime minister. ‘It means our plan has a chance after all.’

  ‘Ah yes, about that. May I ask, what exactly is this plan?’ asked Cobb.

  ‘Let’s go back to the War Room,’ said the king. ‘I’ll have them serve up dinner and then we can explain to Mr. Cobb what we require of him.’

  ***

  After they had eaten a buffet dinner and some of the men had lit up cigars, the king turned to one of his military staff and said, ‘Admiral Collins, I believe the recovery of the Dark Matter will fall to the Royal Navy as you control the airships, which I imagine will play some small part in the operation. Perhaps you would like to give Mr. Cobb a brief oversight of how things stand and what our intentions are.’

  To Cobb he said, ‘You understand that thanks to your demonstration we have only just had proof of the viability of this plan. Naturally we haven’t worked out any details yet but when we have, I take it you’ll be willing to place yourself in danger for the sake of your country?’

  ‘Of course, Your Majesty, it’s the duty of every loyal Albion citizen to do whatever he can to protect his country. You can count on me,’ replied Cobb.

  The king toasted him with his glass, ‘Well said, sir. And now, over to you, Admiral.’

  Admiral Collins, the First Sea Lord, the top sailor in the Royal Navy stood up and addressed Cobb. ‘Perhaps you would care to join me at the map?’ He stood up and walked over to one of the huge maps that had been hung on the walls. The others around the table followed them. Admiral Collins picked up a long, wooden pointer and used it to indicate locations as he spoke.

  ‘As you can see, this is a map of the Lake District. The portal is situated outside Ambleside, near the top of Lake Windermere. The Elves hold a large portion of the Lake District stretching from Keswick and Penrith in the north, Sca Fell in the west, Tebay in the east and down as far as Lake Windermere. Our forces are ranged south and east of them, with our main force Headquarters at Kirby Lonsdale and our advance HQ at Kendal, several miles south of the Elven front line.’

  ‘Thank the Gods we were able to save Kendal. How would we survive without Mint Cake?’ joked Cobb, which got him a few dirty looks and a few ‘Harrumphs’ and a poke in the ribs from Adele. Tough crowd, he thought. ‘Sorry, please carry on.’

  ‘The Elves have taken over every town and village within the area they hold, either slaughtering the inhabitants or driving them out completely. We have a few ‘spotters’ in the area and the Arch-Mage’s people have been helpful with remote viewing. From what we can see the portal is open most of every day. Presumably when it is closed they are using it to contact their Home world or other dimensions. But every time it opens fresh troops come through. So as well as holding all the towns I mentioned, there are vast areas of open ground in the hills and valleys that are used as encampments. We estimate that there are at least twenty thousand of them, with more coming through every day.

  ‘After their initial push which took over the Lake District, they appear to be consolidating their troops and supplies and fortifying their positions, until they’re ready and then, we assume, they’ll begin to expand the front line in every direction.’

  Cobb was no fool, he looked around at the anxious faces and saw the truth of the matter. ‘We can’t hold them, can we?’ he asked.

  ‘Frankly, no we can’t,’ the admiral admitted. ‘From what Harlequin has told us they have almost limitless resources. But this is where you come in, we hope. It’s our intention to send you in, accompanied by a small team of marines. These men are highly trained and specialise in these kind of quiet infiltration missions. It will be a four man team and all of you will be taken by airship to somewhere near the portal and dropped off under cover of darkness. Then you will do your piece and move, jump, whatever you call it, to the other dimension. Then you make your way to the portal and steal the Dark Matter. Simple, eh?’

  ‘Yeah,’ replied Cobb. ‘Just a walk in the park. And when are you thinking of doing this?’

  ‘Well, it will take some time to finalise the plans and get all our pieces into place ... tomorrow or the day after perhaps.’


  ‘I don’t see that Mr. Cobb can be of any further use to us today, Admiral,’ interjected the king. ‘After all, it’s just planning out the details of the mission. Might I suggest that he and his friends be allowed to go home and return tomorrow?’

  ‘Excellent idea,’ said Harlequin. ‘I think I’ll go with them. Do a bit of catching up, you know. I’ll come back later to see how you’re getting on.’

  The king nodded his assent. He ordered up a carriage to take them home and an armed guard to remain outside their house overnight, in case the Elves tried attacking Cobb again. Cobb, Adele, Harlequin and Won Lungh made their obeisance to the king and went outside to the waiting carriage.

  ***

  When the four of them had returned to Cobb’s house, Won Lungh said, ‘I make some tea.’

  He is finally beginning to understand the Albion way of life, thought Cobb. Tea is the answer to everything from an earthquake to a death in the family.

  They went into the drawing room and Harlequin sat down and began flicking through the paper. Adele flopped down into an armchair, ‘I’m bushed.’

  ‘Yes, it’s been a strange and tiring day,’ Cobb agreed. ‘You just put your feet up; the tea will be here soon.’

  When she didn’t reply he looked down at her. She just sat there, staring at her shoes.

  ‘What’s up?’ he asked.

  ‘How does one deal with something like this? The world as we know it is coming to an end, win or lose things will never be the same again. It’s all a bit much to take in and I don’t know how to deal with it. How do you stay so calm about it? You have to go to another world and face the Elves. You might not come back! Gods, I just don’t know how you cope with it all.’

  Cobb didn’t really want to have this conversation in front of Harlequin but they were stuck with him. He looked at him but he seemed to be engrossed in the paper, so Cobb pulled up a dining chair and took her hand. ‘Small steps, that’s how, small steps.’

  ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘One thing that being in the police taught me is that when something major happens, or is about to happen, and it’s up to you to deal with it, then sometimes it’s necessary to not stand back and look at the big picture but instead focus on the small details, for the sake of your sanity. Occasionally one can’t face the enormity of the situation, and yet you can’t afford to let yourself go to pieces as people may be depending on you for help, so you just concentrate on how to help them. Ask yourself what’s the first thing you must do? Do that. Then, what’s the next thing? Just put one foot in front of the other and deal with each tiny piece of the puzzle at a time and forget about the whole.

  ‘Do you remember that train crash about ten years ago when that railway bridge collapsed while the train was still on it and it went into the river? The Pevensey Bay Disaster? Over a hundred people drowned, took them a week to get them all out.’

  ‘Vaguely.’

  ‘I was involved in that. The local constabulary had requested assistance from Caledonia Yard in identifying the bodies. I had to take a team down to help them out. When we walked into the warehouse they were using as a mortuary, I nearly turned around and left. When I saw the bodies laid out in rows on the floor of the warehouse, it nearly all became too much for me to handle. But ... there were relatives, sons and daughters, husbands and wives, relying on us to let them know what had happened to their loved ones.

  ‘So, I advised my men to forget about the hundred bodies, just concentrate on the one in front of you. Study it, learn what you can, make your notes, hand them over to the collators and then move on to the next one. Small steps ... just deal with one body at a time. Then, when you’re done, move on to the next “one body”, forget about all the others. It’s the only way to deal with something as big as that.’

  ‘Small steps, small steps ... I’ll remember that, thanks.’

  Harlequin chipped in, ‘Wise words, Cobb. I sometimes forget that you humans have a depth to you that we immortals seem to lack.’

  Cobb shrugged. ‘I’ll be back in a moment, just going into the office. You wait here,’ he told Harlequin.

  Cobb went into his office and locked the door behind him. He went quickly to the safe and unlocked it. He had visited the jeweller that Thornton had recommended and picked out a nice engagement ring for Adele. He hadn’t intended to ask for her hand quite this soon, but given what he had learned today, the fact that he would have to leave once more on a dangerous adventure in the next day or two, he thought he shouldn’t waste any more time. Taking the ring out of the safe he put it in his jacket pocket.

  As he locked the safe again and turned around he was startled to see Harlequin standing at his desk, checking through his mail.

  ‘Expecting a letter are we?’ Cobb asked him.

  ‘No ... but if I get one the stamp will really be worth keeping.’

  ‘Anyway, what are you doing in here? I thought I’d locked the door.’

  ‘Apparently not. Do you think she’ll like the ring?’

  ‘What ring?’

  ‘The ring in your pocket that you’re about to give Adele when you ask her to marry you ... do you think she’ll like it?’

  Cobb was about to curse Harlequin out but then he thought, what’s the point? ‘Well, you tell me, you seem to know everything. Will she say yes?’

  ‘Ah Cobb, I’m not allowed to tell people their futures but I suspect she will say yes and you’ll both be very happy together. Well, if you survive that is.’

  ‘And will I?’

  ‘Sorry, not allowed to give hints.’

  Cobb contemplated punching Harlequin – he’d done it once before and it had given him immense satisfaction – but he decided against it. Life was too short for unnecessary aggravation, so he just headed across the room, turned the door handle and walked smack into the door as it had been locked all along. Giving Harlequin a dirty look, he let himself out and went to join Adele in the drawing room.

  Won Lungh was serving tea. After he had finished he went off to get things ready for a late supper, leaving the two of them alone.

  ‘Where’s Harlequin?’ asked Adele.

  ‘He’s in the office, nosing through my mail. He’ll be in, in a minute but before he is, I just wanted to ask if you are really okay with me going on this ... mission, I suppose you’d call it?’

  ‘Oh Cobb, are we ever going to be left alone? Why does it always have to be you?’ she asked, forlornly.

  ‘Apparently I’m the only man that can do it. Or at least, that’s what you tell me every Friday night,’ Cobb replied with a smile and a wink. ‘Yes, I have to go … but this could be the last time.’

  ‘This could be last time?’

  ‘May be the last time, I don’t know.’

  ‘Why, do you think you won’t come back?’

  ‘No, it’s just that after this caper I think I’m going to stop sorting out everyone else’s problems and just concentrate on my own. Have no fear about me not coming back, Jeremy promised me a long life. But just to make sure it’s also a happy one ... I’d like you to marry me. I know this is a bit out of the blue, I had planned to do it in a more romantic fashion but the world has just got mad again for us, so I thought I’d better seize my opportunity while I can.’ He took the ring out of his pocket and held it out to her. ‘Unless of course there are any other men you might prefer to marry.’

  Adele replied, ‘There’s only one man in my life and that’s enough for me.’

  ‘It’s the milkman, isn’t it? I knew there was something going on between you and the milkman.’

  ‘No, it’s you.’

  ‘Oh, okay. Not the milkman then?’

  ‘No.’

  ‘Fine. Well, will you marry me?’

  ‘You know what? I think I will.’ She held out her hand and he slid the ring onto her finger. They kissed and as they broke apart, Harlequin appeared holding a bunch of flowers and a bottle of champagne.

  ‘Congratulations to you both,’ he s
aid.

  ‘Did you know this was going to happen?’ she asked him.

  ‘Why do you think I wanted to come back with you two tonight?’

  She looked at Cobb. ‘Well I didn’t tell him,’ he assured her.

  ‘I can see into the future, you know. Come now, get some glasses.’

  Cobb went into the hall and called for Won Lungh to join them and bring some champagne glasses with him. When he did, they explained what the celebration was about and the little man almost danced with joy around the room, so happy to see his substitute daughter engaged at last.

  They drank the champagne and then Won Lungh served supper and Cobb was even gracious enough not to complain when Adele invited Harlequin to stay and join them. Eventually Harlequin said goodnight and with bow and a click of his fingers, disappeared. Cobb and Adele said goodnight to Won Lungh and went to bed, leaving him to clear up.

  ***

  Next day at Buck House, Cobb, Adele and Harlequin stood at the dining table in the War Room, looking down at a map of the Lake District. Also at the table were King Victor, the prime minister, the Arch-Mage and Queen Eloise, the First Sea Lord, Admiral Collins, and his second in command. Next to them were the top man in the army, Field Marshal Harcourt, and his second in command.

  Admiral Collins was giving the briefing. ‘You, Mr. Cobb will be picked up from here by airship and taken down to Chatham Dockyards where you will meet up with your support team of marines. It’s a four man team and their job will be to get you safely to the portal device so you can remove the Dark Matter. Once you’ve done that, it will be up to you to bring everyone back to this Universe.’

  ‘And if I’m killed on the operation?’ Cobb asked the obvious question.

  ‘Keeping you safe so you can bring everyone back is their primary objective. However we must face the fact that you may be killed before you can do that, so their secondary goal will be to deny the Elves use of the Dark Matter and thereby the portal to our world. They will obtain the Dark Matter themselves and then hide it, bury it, whatever; somewhere the Elves will never find it. Then they will attempt to survive in that world. They are prepared to sacrifice themselves for the sake of Albion.’