None of us spoke much on the journey back to London, so when she leaves us alone in the room for a few minutes, the things we’ve left unsaid come out.
“I dunno if I like this,” Jer says. He’s been looking more agitated the further we’ve gone into the complex and now seems fit to burst. Usually calm and collected, he’s fidgeting and restless, and beads of sweat are forming on his furrowed forehead.
“We’ll be fine, right, Ella? Anyone comes near us will light their arses on fire,” Lou says, giving him a peck on the cheek.
“Yep. I don’t intend to be split up from any of you. We’re a team, okay?” Ella says, looking at each of us. We all nod in response.
“Why are we doing this again?” Jer asks me.
“Well, keep your friends close and enemies closer, right? I figured we’re better off inside the ATU looking out than being chased by police, the Magic Circle and the government.”
“Once again, the brains of the outfit,” Marco says with a smile. “Anyway, worse-case scenario I’ll pull us all out through the ceiling,” Marco says, surprisingly relaxed.
“Did you get anything back from Enzo or Gio?” I ask him. I know he messaged them to give them an update as soon as he had signal, although he kept it short and didn’t happen to detail that we had ended up in the hands of the ATU.
“Just a few words from Gio to say that everything was fine and that their plan was going along smoothly.”
“Any news on Agnes?” Ella asks anxiously.
“She says ‘hi’ apparently,” he shows her the screen of his phone and she visibly relaxes.
“Well that’s one thing less to worry about.”
“Never mind Agnes, Ella, what about us? Anyone got any ideas of how we’re going to make contact with the outside world again?”
“All in good time, Jer,” Miss Banks says, coming back in with a familiar face.
“Dr. Lindhurst!” I stand to greet the doctor. I’m not sure if she’s forgiven me for our last encounter; the last time I saw her, I injected her with tranquilliser and broke Jer out of custody. She gives me a severe look, and I hold out a hand sheepishly. She eyes it suspiciously before breaking into a smile and shaking my hand.
“Hello, laddie. I’m glad to see you fit and well,” she says before being introduced to the rest of the gang.
“Here’s some paperwork for you all to sign.” Miss Banks hands us each a stack of forms and a few pens, which I look at in dismay.
“Is there an abridged version?” I ask, flicking through the fifty-page document.
“The abridged version is you do as I say, and I can help you. You don’t do as I say or decide to act on your own initiative, and it goes sideways, then I can’t help you. Oh, and you don’t get to tell anyone about what you’re doing here. Not another living soul.”
“And if we do? Hypothetically, I mean?” Jer asks.
“Then there’s a ten million pound fine and a prison sentence waiting for you for betraying your country. Hypothetically.” Miss Banks gives a cold smile, and I remember why I was frightened of her.
“In the meantime, I’m going to have to ask you all to come to my office one at a time and do a brief medical examination. Nothing out of the ordinary, just to ensure that you’re all fit, well and aren’t carrying any peculiar viruses. After all, you did all just spend rather a lot of time in a hospital, and lord knows that some of the staff here are a bunch of sissies. One only has to suggest that they might catch a cold for them to take a week off,” she says with a glint in her eye. Miss Banks clears her throat disapprovingly, but Lindhurst ignores her and ushers me out as the first examinee.
“I’ll be back in a sec,” I say to Ella, squeezing her hand before following the doctor out, leaving them to fill out their contracts.
Down a bleak concrete corridor and off to the right is her examination room, and I settle myself on the paper-covered table and kick my shoes off as instructed.
“Apart from your obvious bruises,” she says, inspecting my face, “how much trouble have you gotten into since we last saw each other, Curtis? I see your leg healed nicely.”
“I had some help. I have a couple of friends who are healers,” I explain. She stops shining a torch in my eyes and looks at me sharply.
“I see. And are they also qualified medical doctors? You know it’s illegal to practice Augur healing unless you have done medical training as well?”
“I didn’t know, but yes, they both are. David works as a doctor on Harley Street. After Carlton Munday snapped my spine, he and his mother put me back together again,” I say, unable to hide the bitterness in my voice.
“My goodness. You got into more trouble than I thought,” she says, instructing me to remove my shirt and prodding my back. Something cold is pushed in the gaps between my vertebrae. “Does that hurt at all?” she adds as she pokes me particularly hard.
“A little, why?”
She indicates that I can put my shirt back on and makes a few notes on her computer, followed by some handwritten notes on a clipboard.
“You seem to have a heightened resilience to pain, which is probably due to all of the Augur healing you’ve had.”
“You’re kidding me, right? I got hit in the face twice in the past four days and it hurt like hell.”
“And yet I just shoved a rather hefty rod into one of your spinal discs, and you said it hurt a little. That should’ve landed you on the floor writhing around in agony if you’d had normal spinal treatments.” She taps her pen on her chin thoughtfully before waving a hand at me. “Nothing to worry about, just interesting is all. Let’s do the other tests and see what we get.” She hops over to a set of drawers and takes out various appliances.
After blood samples, urine samples and every test under the sun, she lets me go and tells me I’m fit for field work.
“What? But I’m not doing field work. Miss Banks said she was going to protect us,” I say, worrying that I’ve walked everyone into yet another trap.
“Don’t worry, Curtis. Miss Banks knows exactly what she’s doing. Sometimes the easiest way to protect someone is by hiding them in plain sight. By making you official ATU agents, or near enough, that means you’re all immune to being arrested by the police. You can show your faces in public and will find that if anyone wants to question you, you can show some ID and tell them to direct all questions to your senior. You’d be amazed at how helpful flashing a badge at someone can be.” She smiles and pats my arm. I just hope she’s right.
“One more thing, Doctor,” I say before she lets me go.
“Uh-huh, out with it, lad,” she says when she sees my hesitation.
“I just wanted to apologise. For knocking you out and stealing your gun, I mean. It was really nothing personal.”
She smiles at me kindly and removes her spectacles, slipping them into her lab coat pocket.
“I thought about it afterwards, Curtis, and I realised that, had I been in your position, I probably would’ve done the same thing. You’re a fine young man, and I hope your girl realises how lucky she is to have you,” she adds, which takes me by surprise. Embarrassed by her candidness I mumble something by way of thanks and shuffle out.
I return to our waiting room and Ella is up next, which leaves me time to glance over the contract that Miss Banks left me. There’s a lot of long words I don’t know, and just looking at it makes me want to fall asleep, but I sign it and place it on the low table with everyone else’s. Someone comes in and deposits sandwiches on the table, for which our stomachs are eternally grateful, and Ella comes back looking a little flustered but otherwise okay.
“You next, Jer,” she says, taking a sandwich and wolfing it down.
“Easy now.” I chuckle as she gives a little groan of gratitude for the food.
“I’m bloody starving,” she says, taking the last two sandwiches before anyone can argue.
As soon as each one of us has had our exam, over an hour later, Miss Banks and a new chap come in to retrieve us.
“Dr. Lindhurst tells me you’ve all been cleared for active duty, which is fantastic news, particularly as we’ve just had confirmation from our sources that the Duke is still in his hideout at the hotel.”
“Wow, I would’ve thought he’d keep moving rather than stay in one place for too long,” Marco says, echoing my thoughts.
“Fortunately for us, there is a certain arrogance that comes with the upper classes whereby they believe if you have enough money you are untouchable. That is true, in part, but not when it comes to being a wanted suspect in a terrorism case.”
“You still think he had something to do with Munday?” Lou asks flatly.
“I’m afraid so. He disappeared after the incident and failed to make contact despite being a key witness. If it weren’t for Curtis’s letter, he would still be in the wind, and I’m afraid that comes under the heading of suspicious behaviour.”
“So, what does it have to do with us?” Ella insists. I think I know what’s coming, but I don’t like it any more when she says it aloud.
“You’re going to meet with him.” It’s not a request or a question, but more a direct order. A small tendril of fear and dread tries to work its way through my body. As much as I’ve wanted to have the Duke outed as the bad guy all this time, I didn’t expect to be the one to do it. The look of apprehension on Ella’s face mirrors my own, though I suspect for different reasons.
“Good,” says Lou, giving a satisfied nod, “maybe we can put all of Curtis’s suspicions to bed once and for all.”
“Maybe so, but only Curtis and Ella will be at the rendezvous.”
“What?” we all chant in unison.
“It isn’t up for debate. Curtis was invited, and it stands to reason that he’d take Ella. But Jonathan Clarence would undoubtedly become suspicious if you all turned up, especially young Marco here. Besides, I don’t have enough time to brief you all. Curtis, Ella, to the briefing room please.” She turns on her heel, but Jer stops her by placing a firm hand on her arm.
“Hang on, can’t we at least be outside? Or nearby? You’ll need backup.”
She doesn’t take her eyes off his hand on her pressed suit until he removes it. “I can see it’s going to be a problem for you all if we separate you.”
“Bet your arse it will,” Lou says frostily.
“Okay, for this particular assignment you can be undercover backup stationed outside the hotel, but I can’t promise that you’ll be able to stay together all the time.
“For now, though, I’ll allow it. Mr. Simms here will take you to level -7 to be kitted out, and we’ll meet by the car in an hour.”
With nothing more to be said on the matter, Ella and I follow her out with a small shrug and a wave to our friends.
To my surprise, she takes us into the lift and punches a button, taking us straight back up to ground level where Sunglasses Steve is standing by a black Mercedes, apparently waiting for us.
“Whoa, Hang on a minute. What happened to our friends being our backup?” I protest.
“They will be, but we don’t have time to hang around. If Clarence realises that we’ve been watching him or that you’re working with us, he will probably disappear again, and we don’t have time for that. Now, in the car, both of you, and I’ll brief you on the way.” She opens a door and, with a dubious look at Ella, I duck into the back seat.
“Do you think something dodgy is going on?” she asks me. Miss Banks seems to be retrieving something from the boot of the car, and Steve is still outside, so I whisper.
“I think that there’s something we’re missing, for sure.” I take her hand in mine and give her a steady look. “I know I got us into this mess, but I won’t let anything bad happen to you, I promise.”
“How is any of this your fault?” Ella asks, suddenly irritated.
“If I’d never asked you all to help my Dad at the hospital, well, Kai and Cassie would never have found us. That’s on me.”
“Curtis, we would have followed you anyway. And no matter where we were yesterday, they would have located us. That’s the impossibility of this situation and why I wanted to tell you but never could. I need to say it now. I hate that I ever—” She’s cut off by Miss Banks stepping into the car and Steve slamming the door behind her. What Ella wants to tell me will have to wait. The moment of privacy is gone, and Miss Banks sets a small briefcase on her lap, opening it up as Steve starts up the car and pulls us through security and out of the warehouse.
“Bugging equipment. I’m going to need you to wear a wire, Curtis,” she says, pulling out what I assume is a tiny microphone. I lean back into the leather of the dark interior and study the device. It’s bigger than I expected, although still small in comparison to a proper microphone. A small wire protrudes from a black cylinder and runs into a rectangular device, which I assume is a recorder. I don’t know if it’s nerves or the fact that the heating is on high, but already I find myself sweating.
“How is this keeping us safe again?” I ask skeptically.
“I know it seems odd Curtis, but in order to make sure you’re somewhere I can keep an eye on, you I need to prove that you can also help your country. Realise that if it weren’t for you doing this mission, I’d be ordered to stick you all in one of our cells and question you until the end of time.” She’s trying to sound kind I think, but it comes out like she’s telling me off.
“And the ATU can just violate basic human rights how, exactly?” Ella interjects, equally as angry as I am at the threat.
“Because the law dictates that we can, in the interest of public safety. The ATU aren’t the ‘Anti-Terror Unit’ as you were told when we first encountered one another. We’re the Augur Terror Unit.”
The revelation gives me a physical reaction. How could I have been so utterly stupid? I search my memory to see if at any point I had seen ‘Anti-Terror’ or even ‘Augur Terror Unit’ in writing anywhere. But no, even the contracts we signed had the acronym or referred to the body simply as a British government organisation. Stupid, stupid, stupid.
“I trusted you!” I shout at her, not sure whether I should throttle her now or not.
“Curtis, shut up and listen!” she shouts right back. “One of these days your temper is going to get the better of you. I’m glad you’re not an Augur, or you’d probably blow us all to bits with your outbursts.”
Ella’s hand is firmly gripped on my arm, and I feel the heat seeping through my sleeve. I’m amazed she hasn’t done anything herself.
“My position hasn’t changed for any of you. I am still absolutely planning to keep you and your friends safe in return for your assistance, but you need to control yourself and pay attention. The only, and I mean ONLY, reason you aren’t being searched for by police and on everyone’s most wanted list in reference to yesterday’s attack at Hampstead Hospital is because we have taken over the entire case,” she huffs. “We are just one of dozens of Counter-Terror divisions in the government. Of course we’d be specialised. And you being on our side gives you far more immunity than you all running around trying to save the day by yourselves. But I didn’t have the authority to tell you who or what we were last year. You were just some kid off the street that we picked up outside a newspaper office, and our real purpose is if no concern to the general public.
“Since the ATU began actively working in London, we’ve managed to identify dozens of Magic Circle members and have over a hundred thousand registered Augurs in our database,” she says, sounding almost pleased with herself.
“I don’t understand,” Ella interjects, “I thought Augur registration only started a couple of days ago?”
“Oh, no. We’ve been building up registration for months in anticipation of the new laws. Don’t look at me like that, Ella. It’s my job to stay one step ahead of anything that would put the country at risk,” she says, eyeing our reaction to this news.
I clench my jaw to avoid another outburst, and Ella takes my hand, gripping it in hers. I can feel her fin
gers, hot between my own, and I worry that she’ll be the one blowing us all to pieces if we don’t both calm down.
“Take a deep breath, both of you, and think about it logically for a moment. We are keeping you out of prison; you are helping us in turn. You get access to all the information, databases and resources I can give you to protect each other. You get to find out what the Duke is really up to, after all this time. This is a win-win situation,” Miss Banks prattles on.
I look out of the window as an excuse not to look at her or Ella. What will Jer, Lou and Marco say when they find out what I’ve actually signed them up for? I may end up with more black eyes before the end of the day at this rate. Suddenly exhausted, I put the little microphone back in its box and rub my eyes.
I can’t help but feel angry, but I realise that losing my temper right here and now isn’t going to help anyone - particularly not Ella.
“She’s right. We’ve no other choice,” she whispers to me eventually, her hands cooling in my own.
“What about the others?” I whisper back. I’m sure I can be easily overheard, but I want Miss Banks to at least feel like she’s not part of the conversation.
“They’ll be mad at first, but I think they’ll understand. Eventually.”
I nod sadly and stare back out of the window, until Miss Banks evidently loses patience and begins telling me how the bugging device works. I listen numbly, trying to drown out my thoughts with what she’s saying.
“Whatever you do, Curtis, I know you hate him, but you need to keep your temper. You may suffer from shock when you first see him, and that’s completely understandable considering your last encounter was... traumatic for you. Do you understand?” I look at her and nod, before resuming my position of looking back out of the window. Although I’m not completely sure why, I battle with the guilt gnawing on my insides the rest of the way.
CHAPTER 15
Broken by Magic Page 19
